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Wall Street’s main stock indexes closed at record highs on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve eased investor jitters bykeeping borrowing costs unchangedand reinforcing expectations that rates could be cut as many as three times this year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 401.37 points, or 1%, to a record close of 39,512.13. The S&P 500 gained 0.9% and topped 5,200 for the first time, while the Nasdaq surged more than 200 points, or 1.2%

The Fed’s policy statement described inflation as remaining “elevated,” and it updated quarterly economic projections to forecast growth of 2.1% for the year versus 1.4% projected in December and an unemployment rate ending the year at 4%, lower than the 4.1% anticipated in December.

Stocks added to gains after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in a press conference that despite recent inflation data coming in hotter than expected, the numbers “haven’t really changed the overall story, which is that of inflation moving down gradually, on a somewhat bumpy road.”

Strategists said Wall Street was reassured by Powell’s comments.

“He said he wasn’t trying to dismiss any data but he kind of gave the market a reason they could use to dismiss the data,” said Alex Coffey, senior trading strategist at TD Ameritrade.

“We came in to this day feeling Jerome Powell might push back on market expectations or pivot away from dovish expectations since December because of the data we’ve had in the last two months,” said Coffey. “While he didn’t necessarily go full dove, it was dovish versus recent market worries.”

Most of the S&P’s 11 major sectors gained ground.

The healthcare sector was under pressure during the session partly due to COVID-19 vaccine makers. US-listed shares of BioNTech dropped after it reported a 2023 revenue and earnings plunge as it shifted focus to cancer drug development.

Shares of COVID-19 vaccine makers Moderna and Novavax  both eased.

Boosting the consumer discretionary sector, Tesla gained after confirming to Reuters that it will raise the price of its China-produced Model Y vehicles by 5,000 yuan ($694.55) from April 1.

Equinix shares eased after Hindenburg Research said it has taken a short position in the data center operator.

Chipotle Mexican Grill shares climbed after the company said its board had approved a 50-for-1 split of its common stock.

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Sports

Braves activate RHP Anderson, sign OF Rosario

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Braves activate RHP Anderson, sign OF Rosario

It was old faces in familiar places for the Atlanta Braves on Monday after they activated right-hander Ian Anderson to the active roster and signed outfielder Eddie Rosario to a major league contract.

In corresponding moves, outfielder Jarred Kelenic was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett, while right-hander Davis Daniel was optioned to Triple-A after Sunday’s game.

Both Anderson and Rosario emerged as 2021 postseason heroes in Atlanta as the Braves went on to win the World Series.

Anderson, who was claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday, went 4-0 with a 1.26 ERA in eight postseason starts for the Braves over the 2020 and 2021 postseasons.

In the 2021 World Series, Anderson famously pitched five no-hit innings in Game 3 to lead Atlanta to a 2-0 victory over the Houston Astros. The Braves defeated the Astros in six games.

Anderson, who turns 27 Friday, was traded by the Braves to the Angels on March 23 for left-hander Jose Suarez. He struggled badly with his new club, going 0-1 with an 11.57 ERA in seven relief appearances. He allowed 17 hits and seven walks in just 9⅓ innings.

Rosario, 33, signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in February and played in two games with the club, going 1-for-4. He was designated for assignment and became a free agent when Shohei Ohtani returned from the paternity list just over a week ago.

Rosario was the 2021 National League Championship Series MVP, when he powered the Braves past the Dodgers with three home runs, nine RBIs and a 1.647 OPS in six games.

Over parts of 11 seasons, Rosario is a career .261 hitter with 169 home runs and 583 RBIs in 1,123 games with five different clubs, including five seasons with the Minnesota Twins (2015-20) and four with the Braves (2021-24).

Kelenic, 25, was batting .167 with two home runs in 23 games and is a career .211 hitter with 49 home runs and 156 RBIs in 406 games with the Seattle Mariners (2021-23) and Braves.

Daniel, 27, made his only appearance for the Braves on Sunday with a scoreless inning and has appeared in 10 games (six starts) over the past three seasons with a 4.95 ERA.

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Technology

Spotify paid over $100 million to podcasts in the first quarter, including Joe Rogan, Alex Cooper and Theo Von

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Spotify paid over 0 million to podcasts in the first quarter, including Joe Rogan, Alex Cooper and Theo Von

Pavlo Gonchar | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Spotify said Monday it paid more than $100 million to podcast publishers and podcasters worldwide in the first quarter of 2025.

The figure includes all creators on the platform across all formats and agreements, including the platform’s biggest fish, Joe Rogan, Alex Cooper and Theo Von, the company said.

Rogan, host of “The Joe Rogan Experience,” Cooper of “Call Her Daddy” and “This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von” were among the top podcasts on Spotify globally in 2024.

Rogan and Cooper’s exclusivity deals with Spotify have ended, and while Rogan signed a new Spotify deal last year worth up to $250 million, including revenue sharing and the ability to post on YouTube, Cooper inked a SiriusXM deal in August.

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Even when shows are no longer exclusive to Spotify, they are still uploaded to the platform and qualify for the Spotify Partner Program, which launched in January in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia.

The program allows creators to earn revenue every time an ad monetized by Spotify plays in the episode, as well as revenue when Premium subscribers watch dynamic ads on videos.

Competing platform Patreon said it paid out over $472 million to podcasters from over 6.7 million paid memberships in 2024.

YouTube’s payouts are massive by comparison but include more than just podcasts. The company said it paid $70 billion to creators between 2021 and 2024 with payouts rising each year, according to YouTube CEO Neal Mohan.

Spotify reports first-quarter earnings on Tuesday.

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Environment

BYD now has the world’s largest car transport ship and it just set sail overseas

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BYD now has the world's largest car transport ship and it just set sail overseas

The BYD “Shenzhen” set sail on its first voyage overseas this week. With 9,200 parking spots, or about enough to fill 20 football fields, BYD’s new car transport ship is now the world’s largest.

BYD’s largest car carrier sets sail for Brazil

BYD’s Shenzhen is on its maiden voyage to Brazil after setting sail on April 27. The vessel is carrying over 7,000 new energy vehicles (NEVs), including electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). It’s the largest single batch of NEVs exported from China so far.

The new vessel is BYD’s fourth car transport ship and the world’s largest, capable of carrying 9,000 vehicles. According to the company, that’s enough to fill about 20 football fields.

BYD launched its first car carrier, the Explorer No 1, in January 2024. It has already completed several trips to Germany, Spain, and Brazil.

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Its second, the BYD Changzhou, set sail in December 2024, followed by the Hefei earlier this year. All three vessels can carry up to 7,000 vehicles, making the Shenzhen the largest so far.

BYD's-largest-car-transport-ship
BYD Shenzhen, the world’s largest car transport ship (Source: BYD)

The Shenzhen is named after the automaker’s hometown and demonstrates “BYD’s firm determination to promote sustainable development in Brazil.”

BYD is preparing to launch two more vessels, the Changsha and Xi’an. The Changsha is expected to launch soon, while the Xi’an was introduced on April 2.

The new car carriers will help accelerate BYD’s aggressive overseas expansion. In the first three months of 2025, the company sold over 206,000 NEVs overseas, more than double the number it sold last year.

BYD sells a wide range of vehicles in Brazil, including the low-cost Dolphin Mini, starting at around $20,000 (99,800 BRL). In October, it launched its first hybrid pickup truck, the Shark, starting at 379,800 BTL ($66,900).

Brazil is only one overseas market that BYD is targeting. BYD’s sales are expected to double in Europe in 2025, with significant growth in other key regions like Southeast Asia, Japan, Mexico, and South Korea, to name a few.

Source: BYD

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