BERLIN (AP) — Steffen Baumgart oversaw his first win as Union Berlin coach as his team ended its 11-game winless run with a 2-1 victory over Mainz in the Bundesliga on Sunday.
Goals from Benedict Hollerbach and Robert Skov gave Union its first win since October, and the first at the third attempt since former player Baumgart’s return as coach for the fired Bo Svensson.
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Berlin's Leopold Querfeld, left, battles for the ball with Armindo Sieb of FSV Mainz during the German Bundesliga soccer match between 1. FC Union Berlin and 1. FSV Mainz 05 in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (Andreas Gora/dpa via AP)
Berlin's Jordan Siebatcheu, center, goes for the ball against Danny da Costa of FSV Mainz during the German Bundesliga soccer match between 1. FC Union Berlin and 1. FSV Mainz 05 in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (Andreas Gora/dpa via AP)
Berlin's Robert Skov, left, and his teammate Jordan Siebatcheu, right, celebrate their side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between 1. FC Union Berlin and 1. FSV Mainz 05 in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (Andreas Gora/dpa via AP)
Berlin's scorer Benedict Hollerbach, left, and his teammate Robert Skov, right, celebrate the opening goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between 1. FC Union Berlin and 1. FSV Mainz 05 in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (Andreas Gora/dpa via AP)
Berlin's Robert Skov celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between 1. FC Union Berlin and 1. FSV Mainz 05 in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (Andreas Gora/dpa via AP)
“Everyone was aware of the pressure, but the nice thing is that every run ends at some point and maybe one also begins,” Baumgart said.
Hollerbach got the home team off to a great start when he won the ball from Mainz defender Danny da Costa and fired between the legs of goalkeeper Robin Zentner in the first minute.
The visitors were given a prompt way back when Aljoscha Kemlein was penalized for a robust challenge on Jae-Sung Lee.
Nadiem Amiri wasn’t put off by whistles from the crowd as he equalized from the spot in the fifth. Amiri ran past the Union fans with his finger to his mouth, urging them to be quiet, then performed a short dance, prompting a vulgar chant in response.
There has long been animosity between the player and Union fans going back to when Amiri, a Germany player whose parents are from Afghanistan, was allegedly racially abused by Union player Florian Hübner when Amiri was playing for Bayer Leverkusen in 2021. Hübner was later cleared of racial abuse after Amiri told a federation investigation that he could not rule out that different words might have been used, but the bad feeling remained between fans and the player.
Union’s fans quickly forgot about Amiri’s equalizer when Dominik Kohr conceded another penalty for a foul on Hollerbach. Skov duly fired the home team back in front from the spot in the 24th.
It proved to be the winner with Mainz only mounting a threat in the final minutes.
“I don’t know when the last win was, so this does a lot of good,” Hollerbach said. “In that sense, today was a drop in the ocean. We have to just keep going, not to get in another negative spiral.”
Also Sunday, Samuel Essende scored twice to lead Augsburg to a 2-0 win at Werder Bremen in the late game.
League leader Bayern Munich stayed four points ahead of defending champion Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, when both teams won their games against Wolfsburg and Borussia Mönchengladbach, respectively. The league rivals will play in Leverkusen on Feb. 15.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Berlin's Leopold Querfeld, left, battles for the ball with Armindo Sieb of FSV Mainz during the German Bundesliga soccer match between 1. FC Union Berlin and 1. FSV Mainz 05 in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (Andreas Gora/dpa via AP)
Berlin's Jordan Siebatcheu, center, goes for the ball against Danny da Costa of FSV Mainz during the German Bundesliga soccer match between 1. FC Union Berlin and 1. FSV Mainz 05 in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (Andreas Gora/dpa via AP)
Berlin's Robert Skov, left, and his teammate Jordan Siebatcheu, right, celebrate their side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between 1. FC Union Berlin and 1. FSV Mainz 05 in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (Andreas Gora/dpa via AP)
Berlin's scorer Benedict Hollerbach, left, and his teammate Robert Skov, right, celebrate the opening goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between 1. FC Union Berlin and 1. FSV Mainz 05 in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (Andreas Gora/dpa via AP)
Berlin's Robert Skov celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between 1. FC Union Berlin and 1. FSV Mainz 05 in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (Andreas Gora/dpa via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks of credit-card companies are tumbling on Monday after President Donald Trump threatened moves that could eat into their profits. The rest of Wall Street, meanwhile, was showing only modest signals of concern after tensions ramped to a much higher degree between the White House and the Federal Reserve.
The S&P 500 edged down by 0.1% from its all-time high as U.S. stocks drifted through mixed morning trading, while prices for gold and other investments that tend to do well when investors are nervous rose. The value of the U.S. dollar also dipped against the euro and other currencies amid concerns that the Fed may have less independence in setting interest rates to keep inflation under control.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 179 points, or 0.4%, as of 10 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was nearly unchanged.
Some of the market's sharpest drops came from credit-card companies, as Synchrony Financial, Capital One Financial and American Express all fell between 4% and 7%. They sank after Trump said he wanted to put a 10% cap on credit-card interest rates for a year. Such a move could eat into profits for credit card companies.
But it was a separate move by Trump that was grabbing more attention on Wall Street. Over the weekend, the Federal Reserve's chair, Jerome Powell, said the U.S. Department of Justice subpoenaed the Fed and threatened a criminal indictment over his testimony about renovations underway at its headquarters.
With an unusual video statement released on Sunday, Powell said his testimony and the renovations are “pretexts” for the threat of criminal charges, which is really “a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President.”
The Fed has been locked in a feud with the White House about interest rates. Trump has been loudly calling for lower interest rates, which would make borrowing cheaper for U.S. households and companies and could give the economy a kickstart.
The Fed did cut its main interest rate three times last year and has indicated more cuts may be arriving this year. But it’s been moving slowly enough that Trump has nicknamed Powell “Too Late.”
In a brief interview with NBC News Sunday, President Donald Trump insisted he didn’t know about the investigation into Powell. When asked if the investigation is intended to pressure Powell on rates, Trump said, “No. I wouldn’t even think of doing it that way.”
Powell’s term as chair ends in May, and Trump administration officials have signaled that he could name a potential replacement this month. Trump has also sought to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook.
The Fed has traditionally operated separately from the rest of Washington, making its decisions on interest rates without having to bend to political whims. Such independence, the thinking goes, gives it freedom to make unpopular moves that are necessary for the economy’s long-term health.
Keeping interest rates high, for example, could slow the economy and frustrate politicians looking to please voters. But it could also be the medicine needed to get high inflation under control.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury ticked up to 4.19% from 4.18% late Friday. A less independent Fed and higher inflation in the long term could also erode the value of the U.S. dollar, and it slipped 0.3% against the euro and 0.4% against the Swiss franc.
In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across much of Europe and Asia. Stocks jumped 1.4% in Hong Kong and 1.1% in Shanghai for two of the world’s bigger gains following reports that Chinese leaders were preparing more help for the economy.
AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
James Lamb works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Specialist Anthony Matesic works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Daniel Kryger works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Dealers watch computer monitors near the screens showing the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A dealer walks near the screens showing the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Dealers talk near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A dealer walks near the screens showing the foreign exchange rates at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
