The Metro: Navigating an uncertain stock market

, , , April 10, 2025

Chen Zhao, head of economics research for the real estate firm Redfin, and financial advisor Bobby Barrett joined the show to help shed light on the market shock and uncertainty around tariffs.

Wall Street Stock Market loc.gov 6.13.17-jn

Photo credit: Library of Congress

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Economists are describing what’s happening in the markets as volatile. 

President Donald Trump placed double-digit tariffs on many countries around the world last week, including those in Europe, China and Japan, among others. After these actions, the markets tanked. Over two days the stock market lost over $6 trillion. Things changed yesterday, when Trump paused his tariffs for 90 days, with the exception of China which saw its tariffs increase to 125%. 

Conventional economists argue against tariffs, saying trade is generally good. It makes both countries richer in the deal. Economists often don’t like tariffs because they increase prices and make it harder to get the materials countries need to build and sell stuff.  

But a minority of economic thinkers are pushing back. They’re saying we have to give these tariffs time. Some are saying that the market and American companies need a while to restructure themselves to this new economic order. 

Chen Zhao, head of economics research for the real estate firm Redfin, joined the show to help us understand this market shock. Local financial advisor Bobby Barrett also joined the show to discuss how tariffs and the resulting turmoil in the stock market is raising concerns for retirees, or soon-to-be retirees, about their 401(k)s.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

More stories from The Metro on Thursday, April 10:

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

Authors

  • Sam Corey is a producer for 101.9 WDET, which includes finding and preparing interesting stories for the daily news, arts and culture program, The Metro. Sam joined WDET after a year and a half at The Union, a small newspaper in California, and stints at a variety of local Michigan outlets, including WUOM and the Metro Times. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the University of Chicago.

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  • David Leins is the senior producer of WDET’s daily news and culture program, The Metro. He has produced several award-winning podcasts and multimedia series at WDET including Tracked and Traced, Science of Grief and COVID Diaries, which earned a National Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in Innovation. He previously led WDET’s StoryMakers program. David has an M.A. in Media Arts and Studies from Wayne State University, and a B.A. in anthropology from Grand Valley State University with a minor in Arabic. David teaches podcasting at Wayne State University and is an alumnus of the Transom Audio Storytelling Workshop.

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  • Robyn Vincent
    Robyn Vincent is the co-host of The Metro on WDET. She is an award-winning journalist, a lifelong listener of WDET, and a graduate of Wayne State University, where she studied journalism. Before returning home to Detroit, she was a reporter, producer, editor, and executive producer for NPR stations in the Mountain West, including her favorite Western station, KUNC. She received a national fellowship from Investigative Reporters and Editors for her investigative work that probed the unchecked power of sheriffs in Colorado. She was also the editor-in-chief of an alternative weekly newspaper in Wyoming, leading the paper to win its first national award for a series she directed tracing one reporter’s experience living and working with Syrian refugees.

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