Axios

The U.S. will impose new sanctions on Iran's missile and drone program after the country's unprecedented attack on Israel over the weekend, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan announced Tuesday evening.

Why it matters: President Biden is urging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to exercise military restraint. But in the economic sphere, the administration is demonstrating a willingness to retaliate against Iran.

This year's average income tax refund is larger, but fewer taxpayers have gotten money back than last year in the final stretch of tax season, IRS data shows.

Why it matters: Nearly a third of taxpayers say they depend on tax refunds to make ends meet, according to a Credit Karma survey.

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday suggested that interest rate cuts won't occur as soon as previously thought, citing a "lack of progress" on cooling inflation so far this year.

Why it matters The Fed may keep rates at the current, two-decades high level for longer as it assesses incoming economic data, Powell said in his first public remarks since last week's hotter-than-expected inflation report.

Starbucks is jumping into the TikTok-driven "swicy" trend — sweet and spicy — Tuesday by raising the heat with a new line of lemonade drinks.

Why it matters: The coffee giant is making a play for Gen Z and millennial consumers who have been embracing the growing sweet-heat fad.

The era of rip-roaring global growth — with rapidly rising prices to match — is over. Now the global economy is transitioning to a steady but slow state, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Why it matters: The world has so far skirted doom-and-gloom forecasts of a global recession, with faster disinflation and more resilient growth than expected.

The craft beer industry saw negative production for the second straight year in 2023, continuing a downward trend for independent, small brewers.

Yes, but: Craft beer fared better than the beer market as a whole, new data released Tuesday from the Colorado-based Brewers Association shows, and new brewery openings continue to exceed closings.

The cost of day care and preschool rose 4.4% in March from the year before — outpacing the overall inflation rate, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Why it matters: Rising costs are putting stress on families, with some spending at a slower pace and dipping into savings and, there's even some evidence that parents are leaving the workforce entirely.

I was curious how Wawa got its name and logo.

Answer: From Wawa, Pennsylvania.

Details: Owner George Wood set up the company's first dairy farm in the Delaware County community in 1902.

Plus: Wood also lived in Wawa near a train station where Canada geese gathered at a nearby creek.

• Wawa takes its name from the Native American word meaning "wild goose," per the company.

The goose had been included in some of Wawa's dairy product logos since the early 1900s.

Yes, but: It wasn't until 1974 that the company's vintage goose and gold background appeared, per the company.

• That's when a Villanova University student and part-time worker at a Delaware County Wawa submitted the design to a logo contest and won.

Tesla is cutting 10% of its workforce — and multiple executives are departing — as the company grapples with middling electric vehicle sales.

Why it matters: Tesla is the world's largest maker of premium EVs, but the company recently reported its lowest quarterly sales since 2022.

CEO Elon Musk told employees in an email that the move stemmed from a need to cut costs and bolster productivity.

• "There is nothing I hate more, but it must be done," Musk said in the email. "This will enable us to be lean, innovative and hungry for the next growth phase cycle."
• Drew Baglino, Tesla's SVP of powertrain and energy, and public policy exec Rohan Patel both said on X that they're also leaving.

🛒 U.S. retail sales rose 0.7% in March, the latest sign of economic resiliency. (Axios)

🚴 Peloton has quietly pulled its unlimited free app membership tier because it failed to bring in paid subscribers. (CNBC)

Goldman Sachs posted a 28% gain in net income in the first quarter, a welcome surprise for investors who pushed the stock up nearly 3% on the day.

Why it matters: This was a big quarter for Goldman and for CEO David Solomon, who's been trying to put the company's ill-fated move into consumer banking in the rear-view mirror.

Between the lines: Goldman delivered for Q1 today on the back of its traditional strengths.

Donald Trump's meme stock fell on Monday, just like it has fallen on most of the 14 days it has traded on the Nasdaq stock exchange. It closed at $26.61 per share, down 18% from Friday's close and down 66% from its March 26 high of $79.38.

Why it matters: Trump's shareholding in Trump Media and Technology Group accounts for most of his net worth.

For the latest sign of U.S. economic resiliency, look no further than Monday's retail sales report.

Driving the news: Retail sales rose 0.7% in March, while the previous months' figures were even better than originally thought, the government said.

Hong Kong-based asset managers got the nod from regulators Monday to launch spot bitcoin and ether ETFs, cracking open a market that now lists only futures-based crypto products.

Why it matters: Exchange-traded investment products stand to usher in a new crop of bitcoin and ether investors, and have helped push bitcoin prices higher since launching in the U.S. in January.

While the rising cost of auto insurance is pushing up the official inflation rate, there's a stealth insurance cost that isn't showing up in the Consumer Price Index: homeowners insurance.

Why it matters: Along with high mortgage rates and record home prices, soaring insurance rates are just one more thing putting pressure on the cost of homeownership.