Stock markets rally as President Trump says he has no plans to fire the Fed chair.

Plus Tesla stock surges after Elon Musk says his work in D.C. could be winding down.

And federal contractors offer billions and cost cuts to win over an administration skeptical about their contributions.

Within the consulting industry, this has been a real source of stress.

Companies have thrown hundreds and hundreds of people at these reviews, trying to figure out how do we describe our work, how do we justify it.

It's Wednesday, April 23rd. I'm Luke Vargas for the Wall Street Journal,

and here is the AM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories, moving your

world today.

Markets around the world are breathing a sigh of relief this morning, with stocks gaining after President

Trump last night signaled a softer tone on China tariffs and said he isn't planning to

fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Now, I have no intention of firing him. I would like to see him be a little more active

in terms of his idea to lower interest rates.

This is a perfect time to lower interest rates.

If he doesn't, is at the end? No, it's not.

Those Oval Office comments came after Trump lashed out at the Fed chair last week,

writing in a social media post that Powell's termination cannot come fast enough,

prompting a sell-off in American assets like the dollar and U.S. treasuries and pushing

safe haven assets like gold to a new record high. Trump also said that the 145 percent tariff on

China was too high. That boosted Japanese and Korean stocks, in particular, as tech companies

with large exposure to the U.S. market like TSM and Foxcon rallied on the prospect of a

de-escalation in hostilities between Washington and Beijing.

...