Here are five things you need to know this morning

Tentative recovery: Markets are showing a cautious rebound this morning, as investors continue to assess the impacts of a possible global trade war. U.S. equity futures were up by about two per cent at 8 a.m. EDT, following the biggest three-day plunge since 2020. Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index surged six per cent, and European stocks rose one to two per cent. Still, some of the biggest names on Wall Street are giving a gloomy outlook for stocks. Strategists at BlackRock downgraded U.S. equities to neutral from overweight, while a team at Goldman Sachs said the equity selloff could turn into a longer-lasting bear market as recession risks mount.

China vows to ‘fight to the end’: The global trade worries have been stoked by China’s pledge to retaliate against U.S. tariffs. “The U.S. threat to escalate tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake,” the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in a Tuesday statement. “If the U.S. insists on its own way, China will fight to the end.” The response came after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened a further 50 per cent tariff on all Chinese goods unless Beijing withdraws its retaliation against his earlier “reciprocal” levies.

Mixed signals: The White House is keeping investors guessing amid speculation about their ultimate goal on tariffs. After the threat directed at China, Trump said he would not consider a blanket pause on higher tariffs, nor did he answer when asked if he would consider reducing rates below the minimum 10 per cent. “There can be permanent tariffs and there can also be negotiations, because there are things that we need beyond tariffs,” Trump said. White House adviser Peter Navarro reiterated the tariffs are “not a negotiation,” while U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated part of the tariffs’ purpose is gaining leverage on trading partners.

Levi’s forever: Meanwhile, it seems that even if there is a global trade war, people will still be buying… jeans? Levi Strauss & Co. is sticking with its sales and profit forecast for this year. The San Francisco-based company says its guidance for fiscal 2025 “assumes no significant worsening” of macroeconomic pressure on consumers, supply-chain disruptions, increased tariffs or similar factors. Levi shares were trading up by more than 10 per cent in the premarket.

AI imperative: There is new evidence of how pervasive artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming for technology companies. Shopify is implementing a series of new policies that make the technology a “fundamental expectation” for everyone working there. A new memo released by CEO Tobi Lutke urged the Ottawa-based e-commerce company’s staff not already treating AI like a critic, tutor, programmer or deep researcher to use the technology. Lutke says that as part of the company’s AI push, questions about the use of the technology will be added to staff performance and peer review questionnaires … and teams wanting more resources and the ability to hire must also demonstrate why they cannot get what they want done with AI instead.