MAHA Rising: HHS, FDA Announce Phase-Out Of All Artificial Food Dyes
MAHA Rising: HHS, FDA Announce Phase-Out Of All Artificial Food Dyes
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr's quest to "Make America Healthy Again" grew far more substantial on Tuesday, with the announcement that the federal government will eliminate all petroleum-based synthetic food dyes by the end of 2026. The announcement came at a Washington DC news conference, with RFK Jr joined by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Marty Makary and National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya. The podium was flanked by "MAHA Moms" and their children; the moms are a coalition of outspoken advocates of the Trump administration's health agenda.
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Kennedy framed the move against artificial, petroleum-based dyes using forceful language:
“For too long, some food producers have been feeding Americans petroleum-based chemicals without their knowledge or consent. These poisonous compounds offer no nutritional benefit and pose real, measurable dangers to our children’s health and development. That era is coming to an end. We’re restoring gold-standard science, applying common sense, and beginning to earn back the public’s trust. And we’re doing it by working with industry to get these toxic dyes out of the foods our families eat every day.”
The first two dyes in the crosshairs are Citrus Red No. 2 and Orange B. The FDA is initiating a process to revoke their authorizations "within the coming months." The FDA will also pressure food producers to eradicate Red No. 3 earlier than Jan 15, 2027. The Biden administration had already set that deadline for its removal from foods and beverages, after long-running concerns about its https://www.fda.gov/industry/color-additives/fdc-red-no-3
and interfere with hormonal functions. The FDA will also pursue the removal of the remaining six previously-approved petroleum-based dyes by the end of 2026.
This is what M&Ms look like in countries with artificial dye bans. Clearly an aesthetic upgrade. Never was sure why American food has to look like clown vomit. https://t.co/fxfHc8rjxc
— Brad Lemley (@BradCLemley) https://twitter.com/BradCLemley/status/1914800204559343989?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Here's a small sampling of foods these artificial dyes are used in today:
Blue No. 1: M&Ms, blue sports drinks
Blue No. 2: Cereals, candy
Citrus Red No 2: Enhancing the color of real orange rinds
Green No. 3: Mint candy, Sour Patch Kids
Orange B: Hot dog and sausage casings
Red Dye 40: Flamin' Hot Cheetos, M&Ms, sports drinks, cereals
Yellow No. 5: Mountain Dew, Froot Loops, Doritos
Yellow No. 6: Reese's Pieces, Cheetos,
Red Dye No. 3: Drinks, cakes, cookies, frozen desserts, frosting, icing
“For the last 50 years, American children have increasingly been living in a toxic soup of synthetic chemicals,” said Makary. Justifying the sweeping change, the former Johns Hopkins surgeon pointed to a https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(07)61306-3/abstract
study that found artificial colors cause "increased hyperactivity" in a study of 3-year-olds and 8- and a 9-year-old children. He also cautioned that there's more to America's health problems than petroleum-based food dyes:
"There’s no one ingredient that accounts for the child chronic disease epidemic. And let’s be honest, taking petroleum-based food dyes out of the food supply is not a silver bullet that will instantly make America’s children healthy, but it is one important step.”
Democrats Begin Chugging Artificial Food Dyes To Protest RFK https://t.co/pM0nnhDt0v
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) https://twitter.com/TheBabylonBee/status/1914786348554158361?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
While noting that the FDA and Congress can force the desired changes, Makary said the drive to remove the dyes will https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/22/fda-announces-food-dye-ban.html
. “There are a number of tools at our disposal. I believe in love, let’s start in a friendly way and see if we can do this without any statutory or regulatory changes."
Former FDA senior adviser and current Harvard professor Jerod Mande thinks Kennedy and Makary have a good chance of pulling it off. “It will meet some resistance, but https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/rfk-jr-announces-plans-remove-artificial-dyes-nations-food-supply-rcna202184
," he told NBC News.
To facilitate the momentous change, the FDA will authorize four new naturally-sourced food dyes in the upcoming weeks, https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/rfk-jr-announces-plans-remove-artificial-dyes-nations-food-supply-rcna202184
Meanwhile, outside of an artificial food dye manufacturing facility https://t.co/Wum2HnSETm
— Mayson Burch (@anticatlady) https://twitter.com/anticatlady/status/1914805941133885942?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The transition will complicate the lives of countless brand managers across the food and beverage industry, with potential hits to profitability in the offing. Some brands have previously attempted their own voluntary removals of synthetic colors with bad outcomes. General Mills, for example, tried using natural dyes on its Trix cereal, but with the colors far less bold and people even complaining about the taste, sales waned -- and https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/21/trix-bringing-back-to-artificial-colors-after-customers-complained.html
.
CNBC reports that at least one company is poised to profit from the elimination of petroleum-based dyes: global seasoning and flavoring heavyweight McCormick, which helps brands achieve their desired tastes. "Reformulation activity has always been a part of the work that we do with our customer base, and we’ve been doing that for quite some time, but https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/22/fda-announces-food-dye-ban.html
” CEO Brendan Foley said on a March conference call.
While the libertarian crowd may wince at the idea of governments telling companies what ingredients they can use, many of them will no doubt feel some relief at the end result. As for the choices food companies make, Kennedy quipped, “If they want to add petroleum, [if] they want to eat petroleum, they ought to add it themselves at home, but they shouldn’t be feeding it to the rest of us without our knowledge or consent."
POV: RFK Jr. walking into the Skittles factory to make sure they aren’t using artificial food dyes. https://t.co/qQJkreEbkt
— Trung Phan (@TrungTPhan) https://twitter.com/TrungTPhan/status/1914792431419269197?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
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Wed, 04/23/2025 - 09:05
https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/maha-rising-hhs-fda-announce-phase-out-all-artificial-food-dyes
Rubio Announces Sweeping Reorganization Of State Department
Rubio Announces Sweeping Reorganization Of State Department
(emphasis ours),
Secretary of State Marco Rubio released a plan on Tuesday to significantly restructure the Department of State to reduce “decades of bloat.”
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“In its current form, the (State) Department is bloated, bureaucratic, and unable to perform its essential diplomatic mission in this new era of great power competition,” Rubio https://www.state.gov/building-an-america-first-state-department/
in a statement. “Over the past 15 years, the Department’s footprint has had unprecedented growth and costs have soared ... but far from seeing a return on investment.”
An https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/DOS-Reorg-4.21.2025.pdf
shows Rubio’s plan on how to restructure the agency and eliminate several departments.
Rubio https://statedept.substack.com/p/a-new-state-department-to-meet-the
a longer, separate post on Substack that singled out the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Human Rights, and Democracy, which oversees the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor and the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, among others.
That umbrella group, which is sometimes called “J Family,” will be put under the new Coordinator for Foreign Assistance and Humanitarian Affairs, Rubio https://statedept.substack.com/p/a-new-state-department-to-meet-the
.
“The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor became a platform for left-wing activists to wage vendettas against ‘anti-woke’ leaders in nations such as Poland, Hungary, and Brazil, and to transform their hatred of Israel into concrete policies such as arms embargoes,” the statement said.
The Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, he said, “funneled millions of taxpayer dollars to international organizations and NGOs that facilitated mass migration around the world, including the invasion on our southern border.”
Rubio also provided an update on the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, and the work carried out by the Elon Musk-run Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) by saying that transferring USAID’s duties to the aforementioned offices within the State Department would effectively undo DOGE’s work.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration moved to shut down USAID’s headquarters, lay off most of its staff, and replace its director. Although lawsuits have been filed against the administration, an appeals court https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/appeals-court-allows-doge-to-continue-to-downsize-usaid-5833036
that DOGE can continue to downsize the agency.
More broadly, across the State Department, “redundant offices will also be removed, and non-statutory programs misaligned with America’s core national interests will cease to exist,” he said. “All non-security foreign assistance will be consolidated in regional bureaus charged with implementing U.S. foreign policy in specific geographic areas.”
Rubio also provided another example of what he said was a State Department office that allegedly operated in a rogue manner. The former Global Engagement Center, which was closed down this past week, had allegedly “engaged with media outlets and platforms to censor speech it disagreed with, including that of the President of the United States,” Rubio said, adding that the agency also attempted to circumvent efforts by Congress to close it.
Rubio https://x.com/SecRubio
shared by its editor Bari Weiss on Tuesday that provided more details about the plan. It said, in part, that 132 offices within the department will be shut down, including ones designed to counter extremism, promote “democracy overseas,” and “prevent war crimes.”
Undersecretaries in the State Department were told to provide a plan within 30 days on how to reduce staffing within their departments by 15 percent, the Rubio-endorsed post said.
The Epoch Times contacted the State Department for comment on Tuesday.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 04/23/2025 - 08:45
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/rubio-announces-sweeping-reorganization-state-department
Oil Prices Drop As Kazakh Chaos Threatens OPEC Alliance
Oil Prices Drop As Kazakh Chaos Threatens OPEC Alliance
Oil turned lower after Kazakhstan said it will prioritize national interests over those of the OPEC+ alliance, a move that risks fueling further tensions within the cartel.
Overnight saw prices rally after bigger than expected inventory drawdowns reported by API in the US, but that was all erased this morning as Kazakhstan’s newly appointed energy minister Erlan Akkenzhenov said the country is not able to reduce production at its three largest projects as they are controlled by international oil majors, Reuters reported.
He said the country will prioritize its national interests over commitments to the OPEC+ alliance.
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The move lower shows just how overly sensitive financial markets have become in recent months. Kazakhstan has been 'over-producing' for years with OPEC unable to control them... but suddenly it's an issue?
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 04/23/2025 - 08:38
https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/oil-prices-drop-kazakh-chaos-threatens-opec-alliance
Futures Surge After Trump Tones Down Rhetoric On China, Powell
Futures Surge After Trump Tones Down Rhetoric On China, Powell
US futures jumped and the dollar stabilized after president Trump said he has no intention of firing Powell, easing some fears on the Fed’s independence, while he also plans to be “very nice” to China in trade talks and sees China tariff coming down substantially which hinted a potential pivot in trade policy. As of 8:00am ET, S&P futures are up 2.3%, with Nasdaq futures surging 2.7%. Pre-market, Mag 7 names are all higher led by TSLA (+6.4%, after Musk said that his time on DOGE will significantly drop next month), NVDA (+4.9%), AMZN (+4.1%) and META (+3.7%). Intel rose 3% on reports it will cut more than 20% of its staff, a move aimed at eliminating bureaucracy. 10y TSY yields are down 10bps to 4.30% as longer-dated Treasuries rally, recovering from selling on concerns about the Fed’s continued independence; the USD reversed earlier gains. Commodities are mostly higher led by oil (+1.6%) and base metals; gold is 1.3% lower.
?itok=G2IRqY5K
In premarket trading, Tesla led the Mag 7 stocks higher as CEO Elon Musk pledged to pull back from his work with the US government to concentrate on the electric-vehicle company (Tesla +7.4%, Alphabet +2.4%, Nvidia +5.7%, Amazon +5%, Apple +3.3%, Microsoft +2.6%, Meta +4.7%). Chip, cryptocurrency-linked stocks and US-listed Chinese companies rally after Trump said China tariffs will drop if the two countries can reach a deal. The president also said he had no intention of firing Powell. Semiconductors gained (SMCI +6.7%, Nvidia +5.7%, Dell +5.5%) as did Apple suppliers: (Qualcomm +2.6%, Broadcom +4.6%, Cirrus Logic +4.3%). Crypto-linked stocks jumped after bitcoin surged above $94,000 (Robinhood +8.1%, Coinbase +4.2%, MicroStrategy +3.4%). Here are some other notable movers:
AT&T gains 4% after adding 324,000 mobile-phone customers in the first quarter, beating Wall Street projections for 254,000.
Boston Scientific rises 6% after the medical device firm boosted its net sales and adjusted profit forecast for the full year.
Bristol-Myers Squibb falls 4.7% after the company’s treatment for schizophrenia failed in a study designed to expand its use, denting the company’s ambitions to turn it into a blockbuster.
Enphase Energy drops 11% after the solar equipment maker’s revenue forecast missed analyst estimates at the midpoint. Morgan Stanley downgrades the stock to underweight from equal-weight.
Intel rises 4% as the company is poised to announce plans this week to cut more than 20% of its staff, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
Packaging drops 4.5% after the containerboard producer p gave a second-quarter earnings per share forecast that was below the average analyst estimate.
Pegasystems soars 26% after the customer relationship management software company reported first-quarter results that beat expectations.
Philip Morris climbs 3% after the tobacco company boosted its adjusted earnings per share guidance for the full year; the guidance beat the average analyst estimate.
Sportradar slips 3.6% after shareholders including an affiliate of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, an affiliate of Technology Crossover Ventures, and Sportradar CEO Carsten Koerl offered 23 million class A shares via Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan.
Vertiv Holdings advances 18% after the company boosted its net sales guidance for the full year.
XPeng ADRs jumps 8% after the Chinese electric vehicle maker unveiled a fast-charging variant of its P7+ sedan model at the 2025 Shanghai auto show.
Wall Street is set to build on the biggest equity gains in two weeks, with S&P 500 futures climbing 2.3% after Trump allayed fears that he plans to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Optimism of easing US-China trade tensions added to the risk-on mood. Treasuries also rallied as worries about threats to Powell’s position faded: 10-year yields dropped ten basis points to 4.30%. A gauge of dollar strength steadied after rallying from a 16-month low. Bitcoin stormed above $90,000 for the first time since early March. Gold fell as demand for havens cooled. Oil extended its rebound.
Trump said Tuesday he had no intention of firing Powell, despite his frustration with the Fed not moving more quickly to lower borrowing costs. The president posted on social media last week that the Fed chair’s “termination cannot come fast enough!” His rebuke of the Fed and comments from officials that Trump was studying whether he could replace its chief had sent the dollar to the lowest level since December 2023.
Trump’s comments on the Fed chief late Tuesday are a walk-back from opinions expressed in the past week that sparked concerns about the US central bank’s independence. On the trade front, Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that a standoff with China can be de-escalated. On trade, Trump said he plans to be “very nice” to China in any talks and that tariffs will drop if the two countries can reach a deal. The US president also said that final tariffs on China wouldn’t be “anywhere near” the 145% level set.
Still, gains come with a warning from some on Wall Street of possible “head fakes,” given Trump’s unpredictability. Stock trading volumes were light on Tuesday, while the S&P 500 remains down about 7% since Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs. Some money managers, like Janus Henderson, are looking to cut exposure to the US.
“I took the view that the actual probability of Powell getting sacked was close to zero, but the tuning down of the rhetoric on China is clearly a relief,” said Francois Rimeu, a strategist at La Francaise AM in Paris.
“It’s really hard to see the endgame on trade,” said Rimeu at La Francaise AM. “Investors need to prepare in the event that say, in three months, we land with US tariffs that are manageable for the global economy.”
“If one is optimistic, one can take the view that Trump is slowly backing down on trade and on firing Powell,” said Gillles Guibout, head of European equities at AXA IM. “But he has a structural tendency to create uncertainty and now there’s a real defiance among international investors, and that’s palpable in the dollar.”
It’s also a busy day for earnings, with Boeing rising in premarket after first-quarter sales topped estimates. AT&T climbed after a strong first-quarter report. Philip Morris gained as its earnings forecast beat estimates. SAP soared the most in six years after profit at Europe’s most valuable company exceeded expectations.
In Europe, the Stoxx 600 rose 1.8%, led by gains in mining and technology shares. SAP soared as much as 11% after the German software firm reported profit and free cash flow that topped estimates; Reckitt Benckiser was the biggest laggard. Here are the biggest movers Wednesday:
SAP shares surge as much as 11% after the German software company reported a 29% growth in current cloud backlog on constant-currency terms, indicating resilient demand for its cloud-based software
BE Semiconductor soars as much as 10% after the Dutch firm said two leading memory chipmakers placed orders for its hybrid bonders, a chip-packaging technology used to connect chips and enhance their performance
Croda shares rise as much as 10%, their best one-day gain in 14 years, after the chemicals maker reported earnings and analysts pointed to a strong performance across divisions
Valmet shares rise as much as 9.6% after the supplier of tech and services to the pulp and paper industries reported higher order numbers than anticipated and reiterated its annual outlook
Babcock International shares rise as much as 6%, in sixth straight day of gains and hitting the highest level since July 2018, after the support services company released a pre-close update
Randstad shares rise as much as 6.2% after the Dutch staffing firm’s earnings beat estimates with a smaller-than-expected contraction in first-quarter organic revenue, with analysts pointing to stable trends
Akzo Nobel shares rise as much as 8.2% after the specialty chemicals firm posted first-quarter Ebitda that was ahead of consensus and reaffirmed its adjusted Ebitda forecast for the full year
Reckitt Benckiser shares drop as much as 4.7% after the personal care and homecare product maker delivered like-for-like growth below expectations following a miss in North America and Europe
European defense shares fall, with traders pointing to a Financial Times report that said Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered to halt his country’s invasion of Ukraine across the current front line
Temenos shares drop as much as 8.3%, the most since October, after reporting results that reflect a difficult start to the year and add risk to the company’s reiterated full-year forecasts
Hochschild Mining shares plunge as much as 17%, the most in over three months, after first-quarter production fell short of expectations. Analysts point to poor weather and challenges at the Mara Rosa mine
OVH Groupe slides as much as 11%, following two sessions of strong gains, after Morgan Stanley downgraded to underweight and said the cloud computing company’s valuation appears stretched
Earlier in the session, Asian stocks rallied after President Donald Trump’s administration indicated softer stances on trade with China and Jerome Powell’s tenure as Federal Reserve chair. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose as much as 1.9%, with TSMC and Alibaba among the biggest contributors. Benchmarks in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan led gains in the region. One by one, equity benchmarks in Asia are recouping losses suffered since Trump’s announcement of inceased tariffs on April 2. India, which has emerged as a relative safe haven amid the tariff war, was the first major global market to wipe out such declines last week. South Korea and Australia stock gauges did so on Wednesday, after Indonesia on Tuesday.
In FX, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index slipped 0.1%, wiping out an earlier 0.6% gain; the US currency fell versus all G-10 currencies bar the safe-haven yen and Swiss franc; the higher-risk Australian dollar rose, gained amid hopes of easing trade tensions between China and the US. The Swiss franc falls 0.2% and to the bottom of the G-10 FX pile while the yen weakens 0.1% against the greenback.
In rates, treasuries rose with 30-year yield falling nearly 15bp to week’s low 4.73%; 10-year yields declined 10bp to 4.30% while short-end tenors were little changed, leaving curve spreads dramatically flatter. US session includes 5-year note auction and several Fed speakers. German bonds drop, led by short-term debt, despite downbeat euro-area PMI data. The UK gilt curve flattens as long-end bonds rally following the DMO’s shift in bond sales further away from long maturities, narrowing the 2s30s spread by 12bps. while 2-year yields was little changed, leaving 2s10s and 5s30s curves nearly 10bp flatter on the day. Treasury auction cycle continues with $70 billion 5-year notes sale at 1pm New York time; Tuesday’s 2-year tailed by 0.6bp. WI 5-year yield near 3.955% is about 14.5bp richer than last month’s auction, which tailed by 0.5bp. This week’s cycle concludes Thursday with $44 billion 7-year note sale
In commodities, spot gold tumbles $47 to $3,334/oz as haven demand ebbs. Oil prices advance, with WTI rising 1.6% to $64.70 a barrel. Bitcoin jumps over 3% and above $94,000.
Today's econ calendar includes April S&P Global manufacturing PMI (9:45am) and March new home sales (10am). Fed releases latest Beige book at 2pm. Fed speaker slate includes Goolsbee (9am), Musalem (9:30am, 2:35pm), Waller (9:35am) and Hammack (6:30pm)
Market Snapshot
S&P 500 mini +2.1%
Nasdaq 100 mini +2.5%
Russell 2000 mini +2.1%
Stoxx Europe 600 +1.8%
DAX +2.9%, CAC 40 +2.4%
10-year Treasury yield -6 basis points at 4.34%
VIX -2.3 points at 28.31
Bloomberg Dollar Index little changed at 1221.89
euro -0.2% at $1.14
WTI crude +1.8% at $64.8/barrel
Top Overnight News
President Trump said he is not planning to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell prompting some relief from investors who had been spooked by the White House’s commentary towards the Fed in recent weeks. WSJ
Trump suggested tariffs on China may be “substantially” cut if a deal is reached. China said the door was “wide open” for talks. BBG
Tesla shares climbed (+6% premkt) premarket despite an earnings miss after Elon Musk said he’ll pull back “significantly” from DOGE in May. BBG
JD Vance said the US has issued a “very explicit proposal” to Russia and Ukraine on a path forward to a peace deal and that territory concessions are needed.
Fed's Kugler (voter) said tariff increases are significantly larger than previously expected and economic effects of tariffs and uncertainty will likely be larger than anticipated. Kugler added that Fed policy is well-positioned for macroeconomic changes and she supports holding the policy rate steady as long as upside risks to inflation continue, whilst economic activity and employment remain stable.
Trade war is starting to slam Europe's economy. The euro-area’s flash composite PMI gauge fell more than expected this month to 50.1, as both the German and French measures missed. The UK gauge also fell more than estimated. BBG
Talks between the U.S., Ukraine and European officials to discuss ending Russia's war in Ukraine faltered on Wednesday as U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio abruptly cancelled his trip to London and negotiations were downgraded. Rubio's no show prompted a broader meeting of foreign ministers from Ukraine, Britain, France and Germany to be cancelled, although talks continued at a lower level. RTRS
UK government borrowing exceeded official forecasts made just last month. The budget deficit in the full fiscal year through March was £151.9 billion, above the OBR’s £137.3 billion projection. BBG
The US wants the UK to lower levies and other non-tariff barriers on a variety of US goods, including a reduction in its automotive tariff from 10% to 2.5%, the WSJ reported. Chancellor Rachel Reeves will meet Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this week. BBG
Tariffs/Trade
"China: Door wide open for trade talks with US", according to Sky News Arabia
US President Trump said they are doing fine with China and are going to be very nice with China, while he added that they have to make a deal and if they don't, the US will set a deal. Trump also stated the tariff on China will not be as high as 145% and will not be anywhere near that level but it won't be zero.
US is preparing negotiating terms for UK trade talks and will aim for the UK to reduce its automotive tariff from 10% to 2.5%, while the US will also push the UK to relax rules on agricultural imports from the US, including beef and revise rules of origin for goods from each nation, according to Wall Street Journal citing sources.
A more detailed look at global markets courtesy of Newsquawk
APAC stocks rallied amid tailwinds from the US owing to trade deal hopes and after US President Trump softened his rhetoric on Fed Chair Powell in which he stated he has no intention of firing the Fed chair. ASX 200 was led higher by outperformance in energy and tech with the former supported by a rebound in oil prices and after a quarterly production update from Woodside Energy, while gold miners suffered after the precious metal dropped as the risk-on mood sapped haven demand. Nikkei 225 benefitted from initial currency weakness and briefly surged to above the 35,000 level shortly after the open before fading some of its advances. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were varied as the Hong Kong benchmark joined in on the broad rally and the mainland was contained despite the encouraging comments from Treasury Secretary Bessent who noted the tariff standoff with China is unsustainable and expects the situation to de-escalate, while President Trump said they are going to be very nice with China and that the tariff on China will not be anywhere near the 145% level.
Top Asian News
Chinese Foreign Ministry said the US cannot say that it wishes to reach an agreement whilst on the other hand maintaining extreme pressure; this is not the correct way to deal with China.
BoJ Financial System Report said Japan's financial system has been maintaining stability as a whole; Considering that Japanese banks have a certain amount of market risk associated with stockholdings, developments in asset prices warrant attention Since the beginning of April, financial markets at home and abroad have fluctuated significantly. Financial institutions need to be vigilant against materialization of various risks.
China's Commerce Ministry said China received the EU side's appeal request on intellectual property rights case and will handle it in accordance with relevant rules, while China will work with other multi-party interim arbitration arrangement participants to firmly uphold the rules-based multilateral trading system.
European bourses (STOXX 600 +1.8%) are entirely in the green and with clear outperformance in the DAX 40, which benefits from upside in SAP (+9%) after its Q1 results. A slew of EZ PMIs and the latest ECB Wage Tracker had little impact on the complex. Sentiment in Europe has been lifted in continuation of the upside on Wall Street, in the prior session. The strength follows some positive trade related updates, including; a) US Treasury Secretary Bessent expecting the tariff standoff with China to de-escalate, b) US President Trump saying he has no intention to fire Fed Chair Powell. European sectors hold a clear cyclical bias, in-fitting with the risk tone. Tech is the clear outperformer, with the industry lifted by post-earning strength in SAP. Optimised Personal Care and Utilities, two defensive sectors, find themselves at the foot of the pile.
Top European News
UBS lowers its 2025 global GDP growth forecast to 2.5% (prev. forecast 2.9%)
FX
USD is up vs. most peers (ex-Antipodeans) with markets encouraged by two primary inputs. 1) optimism around the trade war following more upbeat comments from US President Trump overnight, reporting yesterday suggesting that Treasury Secretary Bessent sees the current levels of tariff on China as unsustainable and comms from the White House that it is nearing deals with China and India. 2) comments by US President Trump overnight that whilst we wishes for the Fed to lower rates, he is not looking to fire Powell. For today's docket, focus will be on US PMI data and Fed speak from Goolsbee, Musalem, Waller, Hammack. DXY sits towards the top end of Tuesday's 98.01-99.65 range.
EUR is on the backfoot vs. the USD on account of the current trade optimism with the EUR suffering as its viewed as a liquid alternative to the USD. PMI metrics this morning from France, Germany and the Eurozone have all conformed to the same picture of beats on manufacturing, services and composite missed. EUR/USD has delved as low as 1.1309 before recovering to levels closer to 1.14.
JPY is a touch softer vs. the USD but notably less so than seen during APAC hours where the pair hit a peak at 143.21 overnight as markets reacted to the positivity on the trade front and comments by US President Trump on Fed Chair Powell. On the trade front, it remains the case that Japan is front of the queue at the White House and comms suggest that a trade agreement to stave off large US tariffs is nearing. USD/JPY is currently holding above the top end of Tuesday's 139.88-141.67 range.
GBP is on the backfoot vs. the USD with losses briefly exacerbated by a soft outturn for UK PMI metrics which saw the services print unexpectedly slip into contractionary territory, dragging the composite reading with it. Elsewhere, on the trade front, reports state that the US is preparing negotiating terms for UK trade talks and will aim for the UK to reduce its automotive tariff from 10% to 2.5%, while the US will also push the UK to relax rules on agricultural imports from the US. Cable delved as low as 1.3235 overnight before recovering to levels just above the 1.33 mark.
Antipodeans are the G10 outperformers vs the Dollar, benefiting from the broader risk tone. AUD/USD is yet to reapproach Tuesday's YTD peak at 0.6439. If breached, the 200DMA sits at 0.6470. Similar price action for NZD/USD which sits below yesterday's YTD high at 0.6029.
PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.2116 vs exp. 7.3466 (Prev. 7.1980).
Fixed Income
USTs are bid with markets encouraged by two primary inputs. 1) optimism around the trade war following more upbeat comments from US President Trump overnight, reporting on Tuesday suggesting that Treasury Secretary Bessent sees the current levels of tariff on China as unsustainable and comms from the White House that it is nearing deals with China and India. 2) comments by US President Trump overnight that whilst we wishes for the Fed to lower rates, he is not looking to fire Powell. Focus now turns to US PMI, a slew of Fed speakers and 2yr FRN and 5yr auctions - as a reminder, Tuesday's 2yr outing was soft. Jun'25 contract has ventured as high as 111.00+ with the next resistance point coming from the 21st April peak at 111.09.
Bunds are diverging from their US peers on account of the more encouraging risk tone and increased positivity on the trade front. From a data perspective, PMI metrics this morning from France, Germany and the Eurozone have all conformed to the same picture of beats on manufacturing, services and composite missed. A couple of ECB speakers are on the docket, with focus also on a 2035 Bund auction. Jun'25 Bunds briefly slipped below Tuesday's low at 131.46 before stabilising above the 131.50 mark.
Gilts are diverging from European peers following the latest update from the DMO which saw it cut GBP 10.4bln from its planned sales of long-dated Gilts and increase sales of short Gilts by GBP 5.6bln. Upside was briefly extended following a soft outturn for UK PMI metrics which saw the services print unexpectedly slip into contractionary territory, dragging the composite reading with it. Jun'25 Gilts have been as high as 92.85 with little in the way of resistance until 93.00. From a yield perspective, the 10yr has bottomed out at 4.515%, failing to test 4.50% to the downside.
UK DMO revises its 2024/25 Gilt remit to GBP 299.1bln (prev. 299.2bln); cuts GBP 10.4bln from planned sales of long-dated Gilts, increases sales of short gilts by 5.6bln; increases unallocated portion of Gilt issuance remit by GBP 4.7bln Increases net T-bill issuance to GBP +10bln (prev. +5bln).
Commodities
Firmer trade across the crude complex with optimism was facilitated by the more sanguine language from the US regarding China, whilst US President Trump also dialled down his tone regarding the dismissal of Fed Chair Powell, which, in turn, boosted risk sentiment. WTI currently resides in a USD 63.76-64.84/bbl range while its Brent counterpart trades in a USD 67.68-68.63/bbl parameter.
Mixed trade across precious metals, with spot silver outperforming following yesterday's underperformance. Investors are unwinding some risk premium from gold following the more sanguine language from the US regarding China, whilst US President Trump also dialled down his tone regarding the dismissal of Fed Chair Powell, in turn boosting risk sentiment. Spot gold trades in a USD 3,291.73-3,386.77/oz range.
Firmer trade across base metals amid the constructive risk tone, although gains overnight were limited by the unambitious performance in Chinese equities. 3M LME copper currently resides in a USD 9,380.60-9,483.73/t range.
IEA Executive Director Birol said oil prices may see further downward pressure, via Bloomberg TV; expects oil demand to slow down.
Shanghai Futures Exchange to adjust the transaction fees for Gold's June future contract.
Azerbaijan said average oil price seen at USD 70bbl in 2025 (prev. forecast USD 77bbl).
Norway's Prelim March oil production 1.757mln BPD (prev. 1.723mln BPD); Gas production 10.9bcm (prev. 9.9bcm).
Iran set May Iranian light crude price to Asia at Oman/Dubai plus USD 1.65/bbl.
Peru's Antamina copper mine reported the death of an operations manager in an incident at the mining camp, while Antamina launched a total shutdown for security as it investigates the accident.
Corporation National del Cobre de Chile market intelligence and strategy specialist Eric Medel said the upside potential of copper has been reduced and copper prices are likely to remain bearish in the short term amid trade war risks.
Geopolitics: Middle East
Israeli army said it monitored the launch of a missile from Yemen towards Israeli territory and air defence systems were activated, according to Sky News Arabia.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson said the new US energy sanctions contradict Washington's claims of dialogue with Tehran.
Geopolitics: Ukraine
UK government said Ukraine peace talks with international foreign ministers have been postponed, via AFP.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said the Chinese ambassador was summoned and told of 'serious concern' over Chinese involvement on Russia's side in the war.
US President Trump's "final offer" for peace requires Ukraine to accept Russian occupation, according to Axios. It was also reported that the US proposed recognising Crimea as Russian as peace talks ramp up and proposals include eventually lifting sanctions against Russia under a future accord, according to WaPo.
UK Foreign Secretary Lammy said the UK is working with the US, Ukraine and Europe for peace and to put an end to Russian President Putin's illegal invasion, while he added that talks continue at a pace and officials will meet in London today.
Russian President Putin reportedly offered to halt the invasion of Ukraine across the current front line as part of efforts to reach a peace deal with US President Trump, according to FT.
Russia launched a large drone attack on east, south and central Ukraine, which damaged civilian infrastructure, according to regional officials.
US Event Calendar
7:00 am: Apr 18 MBA Mortgage Applications -12.7%, prior -8.5%
9:45 am: Apr P S&P Global U.S. Manufacturing PMI, est. 49, prior 50.2
9:45 am: Apr P S&P Global U.S. Services PMI, est. 52.6, prior 54.4
9:45 am: Apr P S&P Global U.S. Composite PMI, est. 52, prior 53.5
10:00 am: Mar New Home Sales, est. 685k, prior 676k
10:00 am: Mar New Home Sales MoM, est. 1.33%, prior 1.8%
Central Banks (All Times ET):
9:00 am: Fed’s Goolsbee Gives Opening Remarks
9:30 am: Fed’s Musalem Gives Opening Remarks
9:35 am: Fed’s Waller Gives Opening Remarks
2:35 pm: Fed’s Musalem Gives Informal Closing Remarks
6:30 pm: Fed’s Hammack Speaks on Balance Sheet
DB's Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap
It was my first day back yesterday after a 2 week break that in some ways was a one week break after Liberation Day impinged on much of the first week. The highlight was speaking on a conference call whilst on a chairlift. We had a good week and a bit on the slopes in glorious sunshine though, followed by a few days at home where I won a big golf competition (although not quite as big as Rory McIlroy's which I loved), and I caddied for my twins in a national under 8 tournament. My identical twins have totally different golf swings which is strange. Talking of identical twins, the most remarkable story yesterday was a global viral video of two Australian female twins reliving their horrific carjacking ordeal. If you haven't seen it search "in sync twins" online and be prepared to be dazzled. My identical twins don't stop fighting long enough to be able to do what these twins can do.
Markets have started to sync up much more positively over the last 24 hours after Easter Monday's fraught US session (S&P 500 -2.36%) when fears of Powell being replaced by Trump dominated. Yesterday was already seeing most of those losses erased before markets powered past them just after Europe went home as Treasury Secretary Bessent suggested at a private event that the stand-off with China was unsustainable and that he expects de-escalation. The S&P 500 closed +2.51% higher with the strongest performance since the 90-day tariff extension was announced on April 9th. Elsewhere the Dollar index (+0.65%), US HY (-15bps) and 30yr USTs (-2.5bps) also rallied.
Nevertheless, markets remain skittish from day to day, and with the VIX (-3.25pts) still above 30 (30.57 close) we're certainly not out of the woods. But for now, the mood has turned more positive, also helped by other constructive headlines around trade talks yesterday, for instance Politico reporting that the US is nearing framework agreements with Japan and India. Gold did take a rare pause for breath after hitting a fresh record high earlier in the day to close -1.27% at $3,381/oz. But note it's up +9.25% since Liberation Day and +28.81% YTD.
The headlines kept coming after the US close though. Firstly, Tesla’s Q1 results saw sizeable misses on both revenue ($19.34bn vs $21.37bn expected) and operating income ($399m vs $1.13bn exp.), with the company saying it would “revisit” the 2025 revenue guidance in its Q2 update. Nonetheless, the company’s shares gained around +5% in after-hours trading as CEO Elon Musk touted the prospects for the company’s autonomous vehicle and robot businesses and said that he would “significantly” pull back from his government work and devote “far more of my time to Tesla” starting next month. The stock had risen +4.60% in yesterday’s regular session, though this still left it -41.07% YTD.
An even bigger story for markets after the close was Trump’s comments that he has “no intention of firing” Fed Chair Powell, which has helped the rally continue. Equity futures on the S&P 500 and NASDAQ are trading +1.43% and +1.65% higher as I type. The 10yr Treasury yield is -5.3bps lower at 4.35% after a modest -0.9bp move on Tuesday, while the dollar index is another +0.40% higher. The Hang Seng (+2.40%) is leading gains in Asia, stretching its gains to a third consecutive session with the Nikkei (+2.04%), the KOSPI (+1.56%) and the S&P/ASX 200 (+1.48%) also among the top performers. Meanwhile, mainland Chinese stocks are far more muted with the CSI (+0.24%) and the Shanghai Composite (+0.05%) only just above flat.
This morning we’ve also started to get some of the April flash PMIs from around the world. These will be intensely watched, as they are one of the first indicators we have for how the global economy has reacted to the tariff announcements at the start of the month. Ahead of the European PMIs this morning, yesterday saw a concerning signal from the euro area flash consumer confidence print, which posted its largest monthly decline since the 2022 energy shock, falling to its lowest level since November 2023.
Overnight Japan's factory activity shrank for the tenth consecutive month in April, coming in at 48.5, a touch above the 48.4 reading in March as new orders declined at the steepest rate in over a year amid US tariff concerns. Conversely, Japan's service sector experienced a robust rebound, with the au Jibun Bank services PMI climbing to 52.2. Meanwhile, the overall composite PMI expanded to 51.1 in April from 48.9 in March, after its first decline in five months in the previous month.
Elsewhere, Australia’s private sector's business activity slightly slowed as the flash services PMI dropped to 51.4 in April from a reading of 51.6 in March. At the same time, the manufacturing PMI edged down to 51.7 in April, compared to 52.1 in March. The composite PMI fell from 51.6 to 51.4.
Back to markets yesterday and the US saw a very broad-based advance, with every S&P 500 industry group rising on the day, along with 494 companies. Indeed, that matched the number of gainers that we saw in the S&P’s +9.52% surge on April 9, making it the joint broadest advance in the last two years on this metric. The move was also helped by the Magnificent 7 (+3.02%), which managed to snap a run of 5 consecutive daily declines, with all of the Mag-7 advancing by at least 2%.
US Treasuries were another asset that unwound the previous day’s move, with a notable curve flattening as investors grew a bit more optimistic on the US outlook and took out some of the risk premium they’d been assigning to long-end Treasuries over recent days. The 30yr yield (-2.5bps) fell back to 4.88%, moving off from its 3-month high on Monday, with the 30yr real yield down by a larger -4.8bps to 2.63%. By contrast, the 2yr yield (+5.5bps) moved up to 3.82% following the risk-on tone as well as a soft 2yr auction.
Back in Europe, the performance was much more muted given markets were closed on Monday, so we didn’t see the big rebound that took place in the US but we didn't see it respond to the fall on Monday either. Nevertheless, it was still a decent session, with the STOXX 600 (+0.25%) posting a modest gain, alongside a larger advance for the DAX (+0.41%), the CAC 40 (+0.56%) and the FTSE 100 (+0.64%). Sovereign bonds also rallied, with yields on 10yr bunds (-2.7bps), OATs (-2.7bps) and BTPs (-3.6bps) all falling back. French OATs had earlier spiked by a couple of basis points following a Bloomberg report that President Macron had consulted his inner circle about whether to hold snap elections as soon as the autumn. That meant investors got a fresh reminder of French political risk, but the reaction unwound by the close and the current spread to bunds (77bps) is still some way beneath its recent peak of 88bps in early December, shortly before PM Michel Barnier was defeated in a no confidence vote.
In other news, yesterday saw the IMF slash their global growth forecasts relative to January, with widespread downgrades after the US tariff announcements. The global forecast for 2025 was cut half a point to 2.8%, and next year’s was also reduced by three-tenths to 3.0%. Those negative revisions happened across every region, although the US saw a particularly sharp downgrade of nine-tenths to 1.8%. Otherwise, Mexico saw an even larger 1.7pp downgrade, and is now projected to have a to -0.3% contraction. Europe wasn’t affected quite as much, although Germany was downgraded three-tenths this year to show zero growth, following on from two annual contractions in 2023 and 2024.
To the day ahead now, and the main highlight will be the flash PMIs for April from the US and Europe. From central banks, we’ll hear from the Fed’s Goolsbee, Musalem, Waller and Hammack, the ECB’s Knot, Villeroy and Lane, and the BoE’s Pill and Breeden. Finally, today’s earnings releases include IBM, AT&T and Boeing.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 04/23/2025 - 08:26
https://www.zerohedge.com/market-recaps/futures-surge-after-trump-tones-down-rhetoric-china-powell
Intel Reportedly Slashing Workforce To 2007 Levels
Intel Reportedly Slashing Workforce To 2007 Levels
Intel's new turnaround strategy aims to prepare it for the 2030s. This includes a potential partnership with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing to bolster 'https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/intel-tsmc-tentatively-agree-chip-jv-america-first-era
its programmable chip unit, Altera. But the overhaul doesn't stop there—Intel is also expected to continue addressing its bloated workforce with another round of cuts sometime this week.
If Intel wants to compete effectively in the 2030s, it must "streamline management and rebuild an engineering-driven culture," according to a new https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-23/intel-to-announce-plans-this-week-to-cut-more-than-20-of-staff
report that cited sources who say a massive 20% workforce reduction will be announced imminently.
Data from Bloomberg shows that Intel went on a hiring spree during Covid but has since been trimming its workforce. Last August, the chipmaker laid off 15,000 employees, and as of Q4 2024, had about 109,000 employees on its payroll.
The incoming cuts will bring total workforce levels back to a range seen right before the GFC (2007 level: 86k workforce) —or about 18 years ago.
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Intel has been struggling for a while, and in recent quarters, management has been attempting to right the sinking ship with a turnaround plan:
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/intel-tsmc-tentatively-agree-chip-jv-america-first-era
In February, Robert W. Baird analysts wrote in a https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/best-week-intel-record-fueled-vp-vances-us-chip-pump-potential-jv-tsmc
that the Trump administration was working to broker a JV between Intel and TSMC, one which would focus on something we said last August has excess value at the Intel enterprise, namely its fabs...
Intel has 15 fabs; the fabs alone are worth $10bn/each in liquidation value.
The value created by management is negative $50 billion. https://t.co/HkqUQJ4A6J
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) https://twitter.com/zerohedge/status/1819369464527237513?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Last week, Reuters reported that new CEO Lip-Bu Tan flattened the leadership team to trim workforce numbers to remove bureaucracy.
Intel shares are up about 5% in premarket trading around the $20 handle. Shares trade at 2010 lows.
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The turnaround won't be easy and will take time. A question for the management team is whether the transformation will be completed before the 2030s. And why is that? Well ... https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/goldmans-china-tech-tour-underscores-one-message-america-must-reclaim-these-supply
.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 04/23/2025 - 08:05
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/intel-reportedly-slashing-workforce-levels-2008
EU Hits Apple, Meta With €700 Million Fines For Violating Digital Markets Act
EU Hits Apple, Meta With €700 Million Fines For Violating Digital Markets Act
European Union regulators fined Apple €500 million ($570 million) and Meta €200 million ($230 million) for violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA). These are the first non-compliance penalties against Silicon Valley tech under the DMA.
The European Commission https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_1085
that Apple breached its anti-steering obligation by restricting app developers from directing users to alternative payment offers outside the App Store. As a result, developers and consumers were denied access to cheaper, non-App Store options. Apple must now remove these restrictions and refrain from engaging in similar practices in the future.
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"As part of today's decision, the Commission has ordered Apple to remove the technical and commercial restrictions on steering and to refrain from perpetuating the non-compliant conduct in the future, which includes adopting conduct with an equivalent object or effect," the Commission wrote in a statement.
The Commission noted that it has closed the investigation into Apple's user choice obligations, thanks to proactive engagement by Apple on a compliance resolution.
Meta's fines totaled €200 million for violating the DMA by forcing a "Consent or Pay" model on Facebook and Instagram users to choose between personalized ads (via data sharing) or a paid ad-free experience.
Here's more about Meta's non-DMA compliance:
The Commission found that this model is not compliant with the DMA, as it did not give users the required specific choice to opt for a service that uses less of their personal data but is otherwise equivalent to the 'personalised ads' service. Meta's model also did not allow users to exercise their right to freely consent to the combination of their personal data.
In November 2024, after numerous exchanges with the Commission, Meta introduced another version of the free personalised ads model, offering a new option that allegedly uses less personal data to display advertisements. The Commission is currently assessing this new option and continues its dialogue with Meta, requesting the company to provide evidence of the impact that this new ads model has in practice.
Without prejudice to this ongoing assessment, today's decision finding non-compliance concerns the time period during which end users in the EU were only offered the binary 'Consent or Pay' option between March 2024, when the DMA obligations became legally binding, and November 2024, when Meta's new ads model was introduced.
The Commission outlined that Apple and Meta have two months to comply with DMA compliance - or be faced with another round of fines.
"Today's decisions send a strong and clear message. The Digital Markets Act is a crucial instrument to unlock potential, choice and growth by ensuring digital players can operate in contestable and fair markets. It protects European consumers and levels the playing field," EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera wrote in a statement.
Ribera continued: "Apple and Meta have fallen short of compliance with the DMA by implementing measures that reinforce the dependence of business users and consumers on their platforms.
"As a result, we have taken firm but balanced enforcement action against both companies, based on clear and predictable rules. All companies operating in the EU must follow our laws and respect European values," she concluded.
Threats of retaliation from the Trump administration loom over these tech investigations by European regulators who think they're 'regulators of the world'... Google faces potential fines for business practices relating to its Google Pay app, store, and search engine, which may have violated DMA.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 04/23/2025 - 07:45
Today's PMIs Hold The Key To Whether The US Is Slipping Into Recession
Today's PMIs Hold The Key To Whether The US Is Slipping Into Recession
Authored by Simon White, Bloomberg macro strategist,
The flash US PMIs for April are released today and will give the first concrete indication of how far upheaval in the markets has damaged sentiment.
A set of weak PMIs increases the risk of further falls in stocks (and, EM style, possibly bonds and the dollar too), compounding negative sentiment.
The stock market’s resilience continues to be tested, with the latest salvo an increasing concern that Trump is angling to de facto take charge of monetary policy himself. Stocks were already contending with tariffs and increasingly jumpy foreign capital. Before that, though, excess liquidity had begun to weaken notably, leaving equities without a safety net and more exposed to erratic policymaking.
Stocks are currently down about 16% from their highs, but they would face much more downside if a recession struck. From a hard data point of view, that risk in the near term remains low. The Philadelphia Fed indicator created a bit of a stir last week when it came out much weaker than expected, but it’s wildly volatile, and in the context of the other Fed regional indexes, recession risk is not high and has been falling.
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But if sentiment really started to weaken, all bets are off. The flash PMIs this week will give us the first tangible indication.
The PMIs as of March were anticipating fairly stable growth, more than the Atlanta Fed’s forecast, which has been weighed down by gold imports (which are excluded from the official GDP data).
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The Bloomberg survey is expecting the composite PMI to see only a fairly modest drop to 52.2 in April versus 53.5 in March. However, if purchasing managers are much more downbeat than that given the disorder created by US tariff policy, expect stocks to selloff more. And if they pay less attention to the PMIs (which the market tends to do), then they will likely listen to the ISMs when they come out in early May (assuming of course there has been no further U-turns, zigzags or backflips in policy).
Weaker PMIs and ISMs in the current environment of the Federal Reserve’s political independence under threat (its operational independence has already in practice been compromised), the dollar - the most vulnerable of the “Trump trades” - is poised to come under more pressure.
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Typically when US PMIs underperform DM PMIs, as they are doing now, this leads to dollar weakness.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 04/23/2025 - 07:20
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/todays-pmis-hold-key-whether-us-slipping-recession
Judge Slams Trump VOA Shutdown As 'Arbitrary,' Orders Reinstatement
Judge Slams Trump VOA Shutdown As 'Arbitrary,' Orders Reinstatement
A federal judge delivered a stinging rebuke to the Trump administration on Tuesday, halting its attempt to shutter Voice of America (VOA) and its sister networks, calling the move likely unlawful and "hard to fathom."
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U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, a Reagan appointee, indefinitely blocked efforts to wind down the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) - VOA’s parent agency, and ordered the full restoration of its operations and workforce.
Lamberth didn’t mince words, writing in his ruling that the administration “silenced VOA, canceled funds to affiliate Networks, and shut down all transmitters at foreign service stations abroad,” with no discernible legal process.
"It is hard to fathom a more straightforward display of arbitrary and capricious actions than the Defendants’ actions here," Lamberth continued.
“In short, the defendants had no method or approach towards shutting down USAGM that this Court can discern,” the judge declared. “They took immediate and drastic action… without regard to the harm inflicted on employees, contractors, journalists, and media consumers around the world.”
The judge also ordered USAGM to return employees who were placed on leave and prohibited further staff reductions while the lawsuit proceeds. He further directed continued funding for the agency’s international broadcasting efforts, emphasizing that the silencing of USAGM undermines both journalistic integrity and U.S. strategic interests.
The court battle began after former President Donald Trump issued an executive order disbanding the agency. In a controversial appointment, Trump tapped Kari Lake, a former news anchor turned political firebrand and Arizona gubernatorial candidate, to lead the agency. Lake justified the shutdown by citing “waste, fraud and abuse,” echoing broader administration efforts to slash the federal workforce.
But critics saw the move as a thinly veiled assault on press freedom.
“They can use a scalpel or a sledgehammer; either way it’s viewpoint discrimination,” said attorney Andrew Celli, representing a coalition of VOA journalists, unions, and the free press watchdog Reporters Without Borders, who filed suit last month.
Celli argued the administration targeted the network’s coverage of issues ranging from Hamas to transgender rights, topics that reportedly drew the ire of Trump allies.
Lamberth’s ruling stopped short of reinstating all operations. While VOA and its major affiliates, Radio Free Asia and Middle Eastern Broadcast Network, were covered by the injunction, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the Open Technology Fund were left out due to related ongoing litigation.
The decision delivers a major blow to the administration’s effort to rein in the global media outlet. Lamberth warned that financial harm posed by the shutdown wasn’t just a budgetary issue, it threatened the “very existence” of the network and the safety of its journalists.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 04/23/2025 - 06:55
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/judge-slams-trump-voa-shutdown-arbitrary-orders-reinstatement
Archeologist's Comment On Human Sacrifice Exposes Inanity Of 'Oppression Studies' Mindset
Archeologist's Comment On Human Sacrifice Exposes Inanity Of 'Oppression Studies' Mindset
Making the rounds this past week were comments by a Mexican archeologist regarding the discovery of a Mayan altar at which child sacrifices were performed.
As reported by https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tikal-altar-guatemala-jungle-used-sacrifices-mayan-teotihuacan-cultures/?linkId=797087244
, the altar, found in Tikal National Park, showed “the remains of three children not older than 4 years,” according to the scholar who led the discovery team.
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The savagery of how such sacrifices were performed, however, is not brought up. Instead, we merely read how Tikal was “a cosmopolitan center,” a “center of cultural convergence,” and how the altar had a “figure representing the Storm Goddess.”
CBS also managed to get a comment from an archeologist not affiliated with the findings at Tikal. How come? Probably because María Belén Méndez of the National Autonomous University of Mexico said the child sacrifices were merely “a practice.”
“It’s not that [its practitioners] were violent,” Belén Méndez said, just that sacrifices were “their way of connecting with the celestial bodies.”
As Reason Senior Editor (and former College Fix contributor) https://x.com/robbysoave/status/1912230519846367357?t=g6m17rov45kj70vxiQC4mw&s=03
put it, “mostly peaceful child sacrifice”?
Now, imagine CBS News finding some deep-woods gentleman in, say, Middle-Of-Nowhere Arkansas. He’s holding several individuals captive on his property and forcing them to work for him and tend to his land:
Professor Antoinette Whitebread told CBS News it’s not that this man was practicing slavery. It was just his way of https://www.bibleodyssey.org/articles/the-legacy-of-the-bible-in-justifying-slavery/
. After all, in Leviticus and Joshua we read “Moses tells the Israelites on the way to the Promised Land how they should acquire and keep slaves,” and that “some of you shall always be slaves.”
In the the New Testament, Ephesians notes that Paul said “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling.”
We have to imagine this as of course CBS would never run such a segment — because it’s ridiculous. The West long ago rejected such justifications (if they ever really existed https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/does-the-bible-support-slavery
), and there’s no way CBS or other news outlets would treat this hypothetical without referencing the inherent barbarity.
Oppression studies dictates that Western values, culture, and even science aren’t any better than others’, and since they’ve been the (positive) focus for so long, the focus must now shift elsewhere — but only with favorable narratives.
New Zealand, for example, tells us “indigenous ways of knowing” https://www.thecollegefix.com/bulletin-board/new-zealand-says-indigenous-ways-of-knowing-are-equal-to-modern-science/
“indigenous ways” of understanding “health … and being one with nature.”
In the meantime, high school and college students are taught that the West’s history of “settler-colonialism” is responsible for just about any conceivable ill. Courses and workshops on “whiteness,” “white supremacy,” “white fragility,” etc. cover all that and then some.
The irony of the CBS story is that 1) the Maya/Teotihuacan never encountered Europeans (their eventual successors, the Aztec, wouldn’t meet Cortez and Co. until 700 years later), and 2) the Maya actually were https://www.history.com/articles/mayan-scientific-achievements
mathematically and scientifically.
Thus, even on an oppression studies basis, there’s no reason to sugarcoat their heinous practice of human sacrifice.
But whoever said oppression studies and its adherents make any sense?
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 04/23/2025 - 06:30
Breaking Down Copper Trade In Charts Amid Noisy Trade War, IMF Downgrade
Breaking Down Copper Trade In Charts Amid Noisy Trade War, IMF Downgrade
The ongoing trade war is poised to deliver a negative shock to US growth, prompting the International Monetary Fund to https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/imf-slashes-global-gdp-forecasts-warns-trade-war-fallout-china-us
—particularly the copper market.
Goldman analyst Adam Gillard provided clients with a snapshot of current conditions in the copper market, highlighting tight physical supply in China and continued strength in domestic demand.
However, Gillard cautioned that ongoing global industrial production weakness and declining Chinese exports—driven by the deepening trade war—could tip the market into surplus.
The analyst outlined four micro data points on the copper markets for clients to better gauge sentiment:
1. US cathode imports: YTD imports from BL data 408k MT implying an "over-import" of ~100k MT vs market expectations of ~300k MT (by June). If this run rate continues LME should tighten despite the likely tariff related demand shock.
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2. Scrap: US scrap spreads remain under pressure as rising discounts erode the CME premium (US scrap is priced off CMX). March exports unchanged sequentially despite ARB strength; we don't have April export data yet but this will be key given lower US exports (FY production ~542k MT contained) were key to the bull thesis.
3. Chinese demand: Ostensibly strong; YTD demand +10% due to production strength (from increased smelter capacity), seasonally adjusted stock draws (in part due to tariff related tolling exports) and strong net imports (despite deeply negative SHFE / LME import arb). Think this figure inflated by SMM production numbers (base affect) but a strong number nonetheless.
4. Positioning: Although our CTA model is running close to max short LME net spec at 28k is above the Aug24 low of 16k, and China appear to be still be running long on Shanghai (due to strong domestic demand).
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The question remains whether https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/something-exceptional-happening-copper-bull-forecasts-new-record-highs-most-profitable
, Trafigura Group's former co-head of metals and now with Mercuria Energy Group, and/or Carlyle Group's Jeff Currie (former Goldman boss of commodities) are still bullish on the industrial metal—or if the trade war has delayed their thesis of much higher prices.
LME Copper...
?itok=OvYE9RRP
. . .
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 04/23/2025 - 05:45
AfD Is Now Germany's Most Popular Party For The First Time Ever As 'Ban' Efforts Escalate
AfD Is Now Germany's Most Popular Party For The First Time Ever As 'Ban' Efforts Escalate
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) has hit a historic watermark, and is now the most popular party in Germany for the first time ever, reaching 26 percent. The poll, from Forsa, shows the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in second place with 25 percent.
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If the vote were held today, the two parties set to enter government, the Social Democrats (SPD) and the CDU, would not have enough votes to enter government. The SPD is at 15 percent, giving the two parties a combined total of 40 percent. The poll showed that support for the Greens dropped a point to 11 percent and the Left Party also dropped a point to 9 percent.
BREAKING: 🇩🇪The AfD party is now the most popular party in Germany for the first time ever, soaring to 26%.
The main German parties are working to ban the AfD, and a vote on a ban is expected in the coming months in the new Bundestag.
Follow: https://twitter.com/RMXnews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) https://twitter.com/RMXnews/status/1914638333092766040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The news comes at a time when the left is racing to vote on a ban on the AfD in the German parliament, the Bundestag, a topic covered in detail by Remix News. However, despite inital reports that the CDU would back such a ban, the picture is becoming muddier.
For one, there are more and more voices in the CDU and its sister party, the CSU, who are calling for “more calm” towards the AfD, including from the influential vice-chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Jens Spahn. Spahn even said that the AfD should be able to lead some of the committee in the Bundestag, which would give the party more say and power. Given that it received the second-most votes during the German election, it should, like all other parties, have access to these committees, but many want to shut it out completely, especially from intelligence committees.
The issue could lead to a major split in the coalition between the CDU and SPD. SPD Bundestag member Ralf Stegner told https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article255969368/Debatte-um-AfD-Verbotsverfahren-Solche-Vorschlaege-ausgerechnet-aus-der-selbst-ernannten-demokratischen-Mitte-das-ist-blamabel.html
his party has “absolutely no sense of humor” on any attempt to go easy on the AfD.
🇩🇪🚨 "Germany needs the AfD"
Young women are increasingly promoting the AfD party on TikTok.
Many of them feel increasingly unsafe in Germany, and they believe AfD is the answer. https://t.co/iXemPYBV0c
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) https://twitter.com/RMXnews/status/1891158720022720838?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
He said any kind of rapprochement would represent a “maximum stress test” for the new coalition govenrment.
“Anyone who wants to form a coalition with the SPD cannot join forces with right-wing radicals. And joining forces also means voting for enemies of democracy,” he said. The MP, known for his left-wing views, instead is calling for a ban on the AfD if the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) classifies the party as “confirmed right-wing extremist.”
“If the Office for the Protection of the Constitution upgrades its classification, then we also have a duty to work towards initiating a ban on the party,” Stegner said.
🇩🇪‼️ Young German woman explains why voters are turning to the AfD
"I’m afraid to travel by train, afraid to go into town, afraid to do anything in public. And they talk about people being afraid of the AfD. The AfD has done nothing to anyone, unlike other people." https://t.co/hYlQVKXb1Q
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) https://twitter.com/RMXnews/status/1888999118326108392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
However, Welt reports that CDU is rejecting an “automoatic” approach to banning the AfD.
The CDU/CSU, in turn, rejects this automatic approach: “To derive an obligation to initiate ban proceedings from an upgrade by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution clearly ignores the legal situation,” said Günter Krings, legal policy spokesman for the CDU-CSU parliamentary group. He instead wants to “fight the AfD politically by exposing its extremism…The best recipe against the AfD is concrete successes by the new federal government, especially in migration, security, and the economy.”
🇩🇪 AfD's Alice Weidel backs mass deportations in party conference speech.
"I have to tell you quite honestly that if this must be called remigration, then let it be called remigration." https://t.co/lyB8aOBCv6
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) https://twitter.com/RMXnews/status/1878785790173741101?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
He also claims that initiating proceedings “would only make the AfD rub its hands together and use it as free support for its victim myth.”
Meanwhile, the AfD is slamming calls for a ban. “The renewed call for an AfD ban is completely unfounded and would be completely hopeless,” said Alice Weidel, the co-leader of the AfD. “Instead of engaging in absurd and anti-democratic ban fantasies, Mr. Stegner should be thinking about why his party has been losing voters in droves for years.”
Sahra Wagenknecht, who is the leader of the left-wing BSW, told Welt: “First gigantic electoral fraud, then the ban debate: could it get any more stupid? The fact that such proposals are now coming from the self-proclaimed ‘democratic center,’ of all places, is disgraceful and will further strengthen the AfD.”
She went so far as to say it was a purely autocratic move.
“No question, in an autocracy, the ‘problem’ would be solved in exactly the same way.”
Even in the SPD, there is debate about a ban.
SPD Minister President of Saxony Stephan Weil (SPD) warned a ban could also fail, which would be “a feast for the AfD.”
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 04/23/2025 - 05:00
Iran Offers More Nuclear Transparency In Exchange For Lifting Sanctions
Iran Offers More Nuclear Transparency In Exchange For Lifting Sanctions
Iran says that ready to make its nuclear program more transparent at a moment it is preparing to send representatives for a third round of talks with the United States, set for April 26.
Iranian government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said Tuesday that Tehran in return for this greater transparency wants US-led sanctions lifted.
"We will try to create more transparency and more trust [in the nuclear program] in exchange for lifting sanctions. In other words, in exchange for lifting sanctions — I emphasize, in a way that is effective and has a [positive] effect on people's lives — Iran is ready to create more trust in its nuclear program and more transparency," Mohajerani https://sputnikglobe.com/20250422/iran-ready-to-make-nuclear-program-more-transparent-in-exchange-for-lifting-sanctions-1121908941.html
reporters.
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Mohajerani made clear that Tehran is ready to reach "good agreement" with the United States on nuclear issue. "We are confident that reaching a good agreement in a short time while respecting our national interests is realistic," she said, calling the prior two rounds "good" amid a "constructive" atmosphere.
The day prior to these optimistic remarks, Iran’s Foreign Ministry https://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-accuses-israel-of-trying-to-undermine-nuclear-talks-with-us/
that Israel was seeking to "undermine" the ongoing nuclear talks with Washington, amid reports in Israeli media that leaders are mulling a 'limited' attack on the Islamic Republic.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Monday that a "kind of coalition is forming… to undermine and disrupt the diplomatic process" and that the "Zionist regime is at the center of this effort."
Alluding to reports from last week of an internal US administration split on Iran, Baghaei further warned that hawks in the US are also involved in the effort to sabotage the talks. "Alongside it are a series of warmongering currents in the United States and figures from different factions," he https://news.antiwar.com/2025/04/21/iran-says-israel-trying-to-undermine-tehrans-talks-with-us/
.
President Trump has reportedly told the Israelis that no, he will not support preemptive strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities and that he prefers to negotiate a solution. Below is what the US side said after last weekend's second round of https://www.foxnews.com/world/us-confirms-third-round-nuclear-talks-iran-after-very-good-progress
:
"Today, in Rome, over four hours in our second round of talks, we made very good progress in our direct and indirect discussions," the official said Saturday. "We agreed to meet again next week and are grateful to our Omani partners for facilitating these talks and to our Italian partners for hosting us today."
Russia too, as an original signatory to the defunct 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal, is getting more deeply involved - reportedly at the invitation of the Trump administration.
The leader of Oman, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said, visited Moscow on Tuesday where he met with President Vladimir Putin to discuss what's next.
"Oman has been mediating between Iran and the United States as President Donald Trump seeks an agreement that would curb Iran's nuclear program, which Washington believes is aimed at developing a nuclear weapon," writes https://www.reuters.com/world/russias-putin-discussed-irans-nuclear-programme-with-leader-oman-tass-says-2025-04-22/
.
Fiery exchange between Israeli spox and editor-and-chief of Russia's RT...
A fiery back-and-forth after we asked Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson if Israel will give up its nuclear weapons if Iran's nuclear program is dismantled.
"Israel is not a threat to anyone. We don't have any ambitions in any other country. Iran has ambition in the entire… https://t.co/LlSH3Y3OYD
— Margarita Simonyan (@M_Simonyan) https://twitter.com/M_Simonyan/status/1914676150615351588?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
"We discussed the progress of negotiations between Iranian and American representatives," a Kremlin statement said. Moscow and Tehran have been increasingly close, given their recent cooperation on defense, and in places like Ukraine - where Russian forces are heavily reliant on Iran-produced suicide drones.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 04/23/2025 - 04:15
Estonia Might Become Europe's Next Trouble Spot
Estonia Might Become Europe's Next Trouble Spot
https://korybko.substack.com/p/estonia-might-become-europes-next
The latest socio-political and security developments suggest that it relishes being a frontline state...
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Estonia catapulted back into international news after it recently seized an alleged vessel from Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet”, to which Russia had a restrained reaction for the pragmatic reasons explained https://korybko.substack.com/p/explaining-russias-restrained-response
allowing Estonia to sink foreign vessels that it deems to pose a national security threat. It’s possible that this could be the next planned regional escalation.
On the security front, Estonia also reportedly wants to https://www.rt.com/news/615567-western-states-ukraine-deployment/
.
Estonia’s internal situation is also becoming increasingly tense as a result of three interconnected developments.
The first concerns the latest law https://ria.ru/20250409/estonija-2010162420.html
living in the country who don’t meet the post-independence criteria for citizenship and are thus legally classified as “stateless persons”.
For background, Estonia considers them to be the descendants of “Soviet occupiers”, which is the basis upon which it’s restricted their rights.
Expanding upon the last point about historical perception, Estonia is also ramping up its long-running campaign of https://www.rt.com/russia/615523-russia-estonia-demarche/
, which the state regards symbols of Soviet occupation.
Russia, however, believes that this move amounts to historical revisionism. In connection with that, readers should be aware that Russia has consistently accused Estonia of https://tass.com/politics/1322323
, with the most blatant example thereof being the annual marches in honor of the SS.
As if these moves weren’t provocative enough, Estonia just passed a law requiring the Estonian Chrisitan Orthodox Church to sever its canonical ties with the Russian Orthodox Church.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharov reacted to this by https://www.rt.com/news/615566-estonia-orthodox-church-russia/
“the systematic destruction of fundamental human rights and freedoms continues under the guise of far-fetched, so-called democratic slogans. Once again, a blow has been dealt to one of the most sensitive areas – religious rights and freedoms.”
Estonia is able to threaten Russia’s direct and indirect interests, correspondingly relating to its national security and the rights of its co-ethnics in that country, with impunity due to its NATO membership. The only realistic scenarios in which Russia might countenance using military force are if Estonia https://interfax.com/newsroom/top-stories/101990/
” that it’s building along their border.
So long as Estonia keeps its provocations below these thresholds, then the risk of a major war breaking out should remain low, but bilateral tensions will worsen as will those between Russia and the European members of NATO. That could turn Estonia into Europe’s next trouble spot, thus accelerating the https://korybko.substack.com/p/putins-senior-aide-patrushev-shared
in the future.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 04/23/2025 - 03:30
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/estonia-might-become-europes-next-trouble-spot
Zelensky Wants To Meet Trump In Rome At Pope's Funeral
Zelensky Wants To Meet Trump In Rome At Pope's Funeral
The last time Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky was in the same room with US President Donald Trump, it didn't go so well. That was scene of the February 28 fireworks in Oval Office (see below), also involving Vice President JD Vance. Since then, US-Ukraine relations have been very strained, and Trump had even briefly halted the flow of weapons to Ukrainian forces.
Zelensky would like to try again, at a moment he's not happy the US and Russia are engaged in ongoing bilateral talks with the purpose of diplomatic normalization and achieving resolution to the Ukraine war. Zelensky on Tuesday made clear that he would like to meet Trump in the Vatican on Saturday where global leaders will attend the funeral of Pope Francis, who died in the early hours of Monday.
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"Yes, I would like to, I am ready. We are always ready to meet with our partners from the United States," Zelensky https://www.barrons.com/news/zelensky-says-wants-to-meet-trump-at-pope-s-funeral-04463c57
in answering a journalist's question on whether he hopes to meet Trump and the funeral ceremonies.
And a Vatican statement has indicated the two leaders are likely to sit near each other, up at the front of the proceedings.
"We expect the world leaders coming for the papal funeral, including U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, will be seated in the front row or towards the front of the funeral in St. Peter's Square on Saturday morning. We might see some images of the world leaders greeting each other. The ceremony will be solemn," it https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-zelenskiy-sit-front-row-185415526.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAFCkVMBqVx90iGRpg0frhghLH9I5X4l4pLWxinyilI4qxuOACSVuuR3gzguQnE7o3K7yyfPmwIbhIMJL7SfsW54e7qgz608X0kPi_E8Jh72t2hyQWwvxEcEidrdbFR-3n2RMawVvFG85hsqowmaiImrudyqNQFj7K7idD4JVjFmH
.
Trump just before this last weekend warned he's ready to walk away from efforts to forge a peace deal if progress is not quickly made, and that's when Putin unveiled his 30-hour Easter truce.
This week much discussion has reportedly focused on Crimea, with the US being open to giving formal recognition of Russia's hold over the peninsula. But this has been another source of tension, as Zelensky has https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/putin-offers-freeze-ukraine-invasion-along-current-front-line-report
.
If Trump and Zelensky do meet, it could be just brief and informal, or else they could set up a meeting on the sidelines while in Rome. According to more details of funeral https://www.nbcrightnow.com/national/trump-zelensky-to-attend-pope-franciss-funeral-saturday/article_31563511-9734-5da3-8f4a-6e05318eaf48.html
:
Francis's coffin -- which he previously ordered should be of wood and zinc -- will then be taken inside the church and from there to Rome's papal basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore for burial.
The funeral date was set by cardinals meeting in a so-called "general congregation", the first of a series of meetings which will culminate in a conclave within three weeks, where a new pope will be elected.
Francis died in the Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican residence where he lived during his 12-year papacy, and his body was laid out in its chapel on Monday evening.
The Pope during his pontificate frequently called for peace in Ukraine, but he also at times lashed out at the West and the arms industry for fueling the bloodshed.
Not very long ago, in late February, this scene played out at the White House...
Wow.
Vance and Trump went in on Zelensky and it was deserved. https://t.co/dnAsRDIqWf
— Wendy O (@CryptoWendyO) https://twitter.com/CryptoWendyO/status/1895531363023142994?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
At the moment, at least 99.5% of Kursk territory is back in Russia's control. Russia's military also still continues to advance in remaining parts of Donetsk still held by Ukraine, but slowly and village by village.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 04/23/2025 - 02:45
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/zelensky-wants-meet-trump-rome-popes-funeral
Austria Sees Sharp Drop In Asylum Applications, March Hits Lowest Level Since 2020
Austria Sees Sharp Drop In Asylum Applications, March Hits Lowest Level Since 2020
The number of asylum applications in Austria dropped sharply in the first quarter of 2025, marking a significant decline of 33 percent compared to the same period last year.
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From January through March, a total of 4,644 applications were submitted. With 1,329 applications, March saw the fewest monthly asylum requests since July 2020.
As reported by https://www.heute.at/s/asyl-knaller-antraege-erreichen-neues-rekordtief-120103886
, only around one in three asylum requests are new, with the remainder typically involving requests for an upgrade in status, such as moving from subsidiary protection to full asylum, as well as applications for children born in Austria or those related to family reunification.
This pattern is particularly evident among Afghan nationals. Of the 504 Afghan applications submitted in the first quarter, just 93 were first-time filings. One contributing factor is the continuing effect of a European Court of Justice decision, which states that Afghan women do not require individual hearings in certain cases. As a result, individuals previously granted subsidiary protection are increasingly applying for full asylum status.
Syrians show a similar trend, with 268 follow-up applications compared to only 58 new ones. The Austrian government continues to accept asylum applications from Syrians, but generally does not process them while the political future of Syria remains uncertain following the Islamist coup in Damascus and the fall of the deposed former president Bashar al-Assad.
As of now, there are 12,918 pending asylum cases involving Syrians, followed by 4,112 involving Afghans. In total, Austria is handling just under 15,300 asylum cases a year. During the first quarter, asylum status was granted in 2,120 cases, while subsidiary protection was approved 451 times and humanitarian residence in 299 cases.
Afghans were the most likely group to receive asylum or residence, with almost 1,500 individuals granted asylum titles alone. In contrast, only 77 Syrians were granted asylum during the same period.
The new coalition government in Vienna is expected to introduce new legislation to suspend family reunification for at least a year, which is expected to further halt the flow of asylum applications in the country.
Austria's new government announced it will “temporarily” suspend family reunification for migrants.
The right-wing FPÖ says it's all smoke and mirrors.
"The quota is supposed to be zero for only half a year, then more people will be reunited." said FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl. https://t.co/7n807KB4vm
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) https://twitter.com/RMXnews/status/1900200645778432278?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
A poll published last month found that https://rmx.news/article/over-80-of-austrians-demand-stricter-asylum-measures/
.
A general decline in asylum applications was also observed across the wider European Union, with 210,641 applications filed by the end of March, representing a 19 percent drop. However, some countries, including Poland, Croatia, Luxembourg, and Belgium, have seen increases in applications.
When population is taken into account, Austria now ranks tenth among European countries in terms of asylum application rates.
Despite the drop in new applications, Austria’s basic support infrastructure remains under pressure. As of early April, more than 65,000 individuals were receiving basic care services, although this number has decreased by nearly 3,000 since the beginning of the year.
These services were particularly affected by the influx of Ukrainian refugees over the past few years, with 55 percent of those receiving support coming from the war-torn country.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 04/23/2025 - 02:00
Nikola Tesla's 1898 Prediction Of Warship Doom Is Becoming Reality
Nikola Tesla's 1898 Prediction Of Warship Doom Is Becoming Reality
More than a century ago, Nikola Tesla proposed an invention that he said could “abolish war” as we know it, the New York Herald headlined in a Nov. 8, 1898, article. The newspaper https://teslauniverse.com/nikola-tesla/articles/tesla-declares-he-will-abolish-war
that Tesla was a “great magician of science” who claimed remote-controlled weaponry could neutralize even the mightiest naval forces.
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Tesla envisioned a single operator using electricity to direct ships, balloons, or land vehicles from shore, including torpedo-laden vessels poised to strike enemy ships above or below the surface.
“War will cease to be possible,” he declared, “when all the world knows tomorrow that the most feeble of nations can supply itself immediately with a weapon which will render its coast secure and its ports impregnable,” according to the article.
His system relied on line-of-sight wireless control, a limitation of his era. Tesla couldn’t have imagined today’s satellite communication, sensors, and navigation systems. These modern tools enable the precise, worldwide operation of unmanned platforms, surpassing the possibilities of Tesla’s time.
Fast forward to today, Ukraine’s unmanned surface vessels (USVs) are bringing Tesla’s vision to life amid war with Russia.
Leading the charge is the Katran, https://global.espreso.tv/weapons-supply-ukraine-katran-venom-ukraines-new-sea-drone-for-combat-and-reconnaissance
by Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, the drone program chief, on March 25.
Also nicknamed “Shark,” this advanced USV is designed for attack and reconnaissance. It can travel more than 900 miles at speeds up to 80 miles per hour—formidable in the Black Sea, the maritime battleground for Ukraine and Russia.
Built-in artificial intelligence (AI) allows it to operate under radio silence, essential in areas filled with electronic waves. Meanwhile, its electronic countermeasures can neutralize Russia’s anti-USV drones.
Katran adds to the capabilities of Ukraine’s existing USV fleet.
With at least 15 different types, from basic jet-ski drones to sophisticated attack platforms like the Magura V5 and Sea Baby, Ukraine’s drone fleet has already https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/uncrewed-platforms-have-been-critical-ukraines-success-black-sea
Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, military ports, and the Crimean Bridge.
The Katran builds on that threat, https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/uncrewed-platforms-have-been-critical-ukraines-success-black-sea
as both a kamikaze drone and a multi-role strike vessel.
Katran carries an impressive arsenal: machine guns, surface-to-air missiles, and torpedoes, enabling it to strike land, air, and underwater targets. This kind of firepower poses a serious challenge to conventional defenses, such as helicopters and close-range naval guns, which Russia uses to neutralize USVs.
Last December, a Ukrainian USV armed with anti-aircraft missiles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woDkVwZqDKg
a Russian helicopter—a testament to their versatility.
Moreover, the recent https://www.government.se/press-releases/2025/03/biggest-support-package-to-ukraine-so-far-increases-swedish-support-to-sek-29.5-billion-for-2025
from Sweden—likely Torpedo 47s or Saab lightweight torpedoes (SLWTs)—could further expand the USVs’ attack range, allowing strikes on warships over 12 miles away.
The Katran’s AI-driven autonomy and electronic warfare suite go far beyond Tesla’s rudimentary remote control. It can complete missions with minimal human oversight, reacting to threats in real time—an evolution that Tesla could only have imagined.
The rise of USVs marks a seismic shift in naval strategy, challenging the very existence of large, crewed warships. Ukraine’s success with low-cost, agile drones in undermining Russia’s naval dominance suggests that the days of massive battleships and carriers may be numbered.
With the ability to gather intelligence and launch precise strikes autonomously, the Katran already exceeds Tesla’s 1898 concept, echoing his prophecy that advanced weapons could level the playing field for any nation, regardless of its size.
With stronger weapons, longer ranges, and smarter AI on the horizon, expensive manned platforms—such as warships, aircraft, and tanks—risk becoming obsolete. The Katran and its successors could https://teslauniverse.com/nikola-tesla/articles/tesla-declares-he-will-abolish-war#:~:text=Battle%20ships%20will%20cease%20to%20be%20built%2C%20and%20the%20mightiest%20armorclads%20and%20the%20most%20tremendous%20artillery%20afloat%20will%20be%20of%20no%20more%20use%20than%20so%20much%20scrap%20iron.
, in Tesla’s words, the “mightiest armorclads” become “scrap iron” in the face of innovation.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 04/22/2025 - 23:25
https://www.zerohedge.com/military/nikola-teslas-1898-prediction-warship-doom-becoming-reality
"Future Brighter Than Ever": Tesla Shares Pop 5% After Musk Says He'll Limit Time With DOGE In May
"Future Brighter Than Ever": Tesla Shares Pop 5% After Musk Says He'll Limit Time With DOGE In May
In a candid call with analysts on Tuesday, Elon Musk announced that he will begin scaling back his involvement with the federal government starting in May, signaling a shift in priorities back toward Tesla. As a result, Tesla shares were up 5% late in the after hours session.
“I think starting probably next month, May, my time allocation to DOGE will drop significantly,” Musk said.
Musk has been a central figure in the effort to streamline the federal government under the Trump administration through an initiative he dubbed the "Department of Government Efficiency," or DOGE. That effort has involved an aggressive reduction of federal workforce levels, targeting DEI programs, and a broad reorganization of agency resources.
Despite growing protests against Tesla and Musk’s role in Washington, he remains unapologetic. “The work with DOGE is critical,” he stated, while dismissing the backlash as “organized and paid for.”
Although the billionaire entrepreneur holds the title of “special government employee”—a designation that legally limits him to 130 days of federal work per year—his presence in the capital has been nothing short of influential.
Musk indicated that the heavy lifting to establish DOGE is “mostly done,” allowing him to reallocate his schedule. “I will spend ‘a day or two’ per week on government matters if President Trump wants me to,” he said, but emphasized that more of his attention will now return to Tesla.
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Despite his pullback from the capital, Musk said he will “continue to advocate for lower tariffs, rather than higher tariffs,” noting that this is the extent of his ongoing engagement on trade policy.
Tesla remains the only publicly traded firm among Musk’s sprawling portfolio, which includes SpaceX, Neuralink, XAI, and The Boring Company. As such, it has absorbed much of the public response—both praise and criticism—related to Musk’s deepening political ties.
Yet, the CEO expressed confidence in Tesla’s direction. “I remain extremely optimistic about Tesla’s future,” he said, pointing to the company’s ambitions in autonomous vehicles and humanoid robots.
He reiterated his forecast that Tesla will become the most valuable company in the world, noting that robotaxis are expected to deliver a meaningful financial impact by mid-2026. He also revealed that Tesla aims to have thousands of its Optimus humanoid robots operational in factories by the end of the year, with plans to scale to one million units annually within five years—a pace he described as faster than any product in the company's history.
Closing the call with idealism, Musk said, “I like this phrase sustainable abundance for all,” and affirmed his commitment to continue leading Tesla through its next phase of innovation and expansion.
Tesla reported earnings after the market closed that were worse than analyst expectations. The stock, with most of the bad news seemingly already priced in, held its ground in after hours trading. The results were:
Revenues $19.34BN, big miss to estimates of $21.37BN
EPS 27c, missing estimates of 43c
Gross margin 16.3% (down from 17.4% y/y), and beating estimates of 16.1%
Automotive gross margin ex reg credits 12.5%, beating estimates of 11.9%
Operating income $399 million, -66% y/y, missing estimates of $1.13 billion
Free cash flow $664 million (vs. negative $2.53 billion y/y) missing estimate $1.08 billion
Capital expenditure $1.49 billion (down -46% vs $2.77Bn y/y and down 47% vs $2.78BN Q/Q), missing estimates of $2.49 billion
Of note, Tesla eked out positive free cash flow number by slashing capex almost in half compared with the prior quarter and a year ago. Absent that, it would have burned cash.
Tesla offered a measured outlook during its earnings report, signaling that it will revisit its 2025 guidance in the Q2 update, while notably omitting any concrete forecast for a return to growth. The company emphasized that its rate of growth will hinge on a range of variables, including global trade policy, which it admitted is difficult to quantify in terms of impact.
Tariffs, in particular, are expected to weigh more heavily on the company’s energy unit than its automotive business, with Tesla cautioning that the broader tariff landscape could have a larger effect on demand and operational strategy. Nevertheless, the company maintained that actions are being taken to stabilize performance over the medium to long term, and it expressed confidence in having sufficient liquidity to fund its product roadmap.
Tesla confirmed that plans for new, more affordable vehicle models remain on track for production in the first half of 2025, though it acknowledged that these models may lead to less dramatic cost reductions than previously expected. Even with trade headwinds, the company reiterated a growing need for energy storage solutions across markets.
Read our full earnings wrap up https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/tesla-misses-sales-eps-slams-uncertainty-automotive-market-affirms-affordable-model-remains
.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 04/22/2025 - 22:55
Dems' Biden Problem: They Broke Him, They Bought Him
Dems' Biden Problem: They Broke Him, They Bought Him
,
Joe Biden was resurrected – for at least one night – when he delivered a paid speech last week to a conference of Advocates, Counselors and Representatives for the Disabled in Chicago.
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While passing up the opportunity to make a tasteless “blind leading the blind” joke, I do think it is necessary to at least question the wisdom of putting the former president, with his now publicly acknowledged mental shortcomings, in the limelight to lead a rear-facing assault on the current administration.
Let’s face it. In the wake of a slew of books and articles detailing Biden’s cognitive decline, it’s hard to take seriously his “analysis” of any major issue without being told up front who wrote his speech.
Still, Biden mostly stayed on script as he attacked President Trump and accused him, without evidence, of trying to gut Social Security. Yes, Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency announced that 7,000 jobs would be lost in the agency out of 57,000 total. But there is no proof that those jobs were necessary, and if you asked the average American if they think government agencies are bloated and inefficient, you would get little argument.
But Democrats know that Americans are also sensitive about protecting Social Security in order to ensure that the program’s benefits will be available to them when they reach retirement age. So the loss of jobs is a perfect target of opportunity for politicians (and former presidents and their handlers) who want to demagogue the issue.
“In fewer than 100 days, this new administration has made so much damage and so much destruction,” https://www.reuters.com/world/us/joe-biden/joe-biden-speech-chicago-2025-04-15/
:
Ask yourself, “Why is this happening? Why are these guys taking aim at Social Security now?” Well, they’re following that old line of tech startups. The quote is, “Move fast, break things.” They’re certainly breaking things. They’re shooting first and aiming later. As a result, there’s always a lot of needless pain and sleepless nights.
The octogenarian Biden probably doesn’t know much about tech startups, but he does know a lot about breaking things. Consider his ruinous border policy which invited millions of illegal aliens into the country and twisted U.S. laws to allow them to stay indefinitely. When he claimed he needed a new law to fix the problems he created, many believed him, but Trump closed the border within days of taking office – by following existing law.
Instead of talking about how Trump is breaking things, Democrats should be looking at the disastrous Biden administration and asking themselves how they can get out from under its burdensome notoriety. But the American people won’t let that happen. They have one simple question: Who allowed the cognitively challenged Biden to take office in the first place, and who stood him up for years to deteriorate in public and hide in private? Because Democrats enabled Biden to stay in office despite his obvious disability, they “bought” both him and his “broken” legacy.
It’s no surprise that CNN and MSNBC barely acknowledged the resurfacing of President Biden in his Chicago speech. Only Fox News covered the event live, since any reminder of Biden is good news for conservatives.
Democrats are sure to demand that Biden return to his basement strategy that worked so well in 2020. Just stay out of the way and hope no one catches on that you are just a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
This quote from https://www.yahoo.com/news/democrats-slam-biden-special-level-182216679.html
says it all:
It takes a special level of chutzpah as the man most responsible for reelecting Donald Trump to decide it’s your voice that is missing in this moment. The country would be better served if he rode off into the sunset.
And if Biden does continue to make speeches, it wouldn’t surprise me to find out that it was Republicans who were footing the bill.
Frank Miele, the retired editor of the Daily Inter Lake in Kalispell, Mont., is a columnist for RealClearPolitics. His book https://www.amazon.com/Media-Matrix-Everything-Heartland-Diary/dp/1732963339
or follow him on Facebook @HeartlandDiaryUSA and on X/Gettr @HeartlandDiary.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 04/22/2025 - 22:35
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/dems-biden-problem-they-broke-him-they-bought-him
Israel Deploying Unmanned Bulldozers In Gaza For Large-Scale Warfare
Israel Deploying Unmanned Bulldozers In Gaza For Large-Scale Warfare
https://libertarianinstitute.org/news/israel-deploying-unmanned-bulldozers-in-gaza/
The Israeli military has increasingly opted to deploy an unmanned version of Caterpillar’s D9 bulldozers to a number of battlefields. The remotely operated systems allows the IDF to flatten areas without risking additional troops.
According to https://www.timesofisrael.com/israels-new-unmanned-bulldozers-changing-the-paradigm-of-war-in-gaza/
, Tel Aviv has deployed the unmanned D9 – or RobDozer – to Gaza and Lebanon since October 7, 2023, and Israeli officials say the IDF is ramping up its use of the system. One source told AFP Israel has used "robotic tools for over a decade, but in very small numbers. Now it is being used in large-scale warfare."
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The RobDozer was developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), which claims the platform is the "ultimate combat bulldozer." IAI’s website https://www.iai.co.il/p/panda
that "The RobDozer’s integration into military engineering units significantly boosts their capability to rapidly alter landscapes to favor defensive or offensive operations."
While the RobDozer can be remotely controlled, IAI claims it can even operate autonomously. As the Jerusalem Post https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-847869
, IAI "says it can operate on several levels of autonomous independence, 'allowing it to dig trenches in the field, clear a route in difficult or otherwise impassable areas, and move large or suspicious obstacles.'"
While the company stresses that the platform ensures the safety of Israeli soldiers who no longer have to drive combat bulldozers in dangerous situations, it does not mention if the RobDozer can identify and avoid civilians during autonomous operation.
The Israeli state arms maker is also in the process of https://www.janes.com/osint-insights/defence-news/land/iai-says-israeli-military-is-using-its-teaming-system-for-unmanned-ground-vehicles
an unmanned M113 armored personnel carrier.
Israeli military D9 armored bulldozers are plowing through the Nur Shams Camp in the Northern West Bank. https://t.co/qCaaaAx4wo
— 🇺🇸ProudArmyBrat (@leslibless) https://twitter.com/leslibless/status/1714960126556115240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Combat bulldozers https://allisrael.com/idf-bulldozers-play-central-role-in-military-operations-against-hamas-in-gaza
role in Israel’s military operations in Gaza, where large swaths of territory have been flattened by Israeli bombs. As the rubble is littered with unexploded munitions and potential Hamas-planted explosives, the IDF has used a large number of D9s to clear regions that were once cities in Gaza.
Tel Aviv has declared a buffer zone along the borders of Gaza, and Defense Minister Israel Katz recently expanded that zone to include the entire southern city of Rafah. Israeli forces have destroyed most structures in those areas and kill any Palestinians who try to approach.
Katz https://www.npr.org/2025/04/14/g-s1-59633/gaza-buffer-zone-israel-military
that "Gaza will become smaller and more isolated, and more and more of its residents will be forced to evacuate from the fighting zones."
At first glance, there is nothing odd about a bulldozer turning up soil at a test site in Israel, but as it approaches, it's clear: the driver's seat is eerily empty.
Army engineers and military experts say the Robdozer is the future of automated combat.https://t.co/PFXseRO15D
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) https://twitter.com/AFP/status/1914099260301492563?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Additionally, the IDF has built corridors that bisect the Strip, flattening the infrastructure in those areas as well. Israel now controls https://apnews.com/article/gaza-buffer-zone-ceasefire-b7dada19483a3f8ef2fdecbc745ee6b5
of Gaza.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 04/22/2025 - 21:45
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/israel-deploying-unmanned-bulldozers-gaza-largescale-warfare
Bug And Tug: WEF Investigates Klaus Schwab Over 'In-Room Massages' And Other Allegations
Bug And Tug: WEF Investigates Klaus Schwab Over 'In-Room Massages' And Other Allegations
One day after it was reported that World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab, 88, https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/klaus-schwab-steps-down-wef-board-globalist-retreat?ref=biztoc.com
reports that Schwab is under investigation by the organization he created after a whistleblower alleged financial and ethical misconduct by Mr. "eat the bugs" and his wife.
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In an anonymous letter from sent to the board of directors by 'current and former Forum employees,' Schwab and his wife are accused of commingling their personal affairs with WEF resources without proper oversight, and much more...
Among the most serious allegations:
Schwab asked junior employees to withdraw thousands of dollars from ATMs on his behalf and used Forum funds to pay for private, in-room massages at hotels.
His wife Hilde, a former Forum employee, scheduled “token” Forum-funded meetings in order to justify luxury holiday travel at the organization’s expense.
The letter also raises concerns about how Klaus Schwab treated female employees and how his leadership over decades allegedly allowed instances of sexual harassment and other discriminatory behavior to go unchecked in the workplace
Other allegations include the Schwab family's use of Villa Mundi - a luxury property bought before the pandemic by the Forum located next to the organization's Geneva headquarters, which the whistleblower letter maintains that Hilde Schwab maintains tight control over, and which the forum paid $30 million to purchase and another $20 million to renovate - also overseen by Hilde.
In recent days Schwab is said to have railed against an investigation - telling board members that he denied the allegations and would challenge them in a lawsuit, according to the report.
Instead, the board launched a probe during an emergency meeting on Easter Sunday. In response, Schwab resigned immediately as chairman vs. staying on for an extended transition period as previously planned.
A spokesman for the Schwabs told the Journal that they deny every allegation in the whistleblower complaint, and that Klaus will file a lawsuit against whoever's behind it - and "anybody who spreads these mistruths."
Furthermore, Scwab says he paid the WEF back for said 'in-room massages', and denied the allegations about luxury travel and withdrawing funds.
According to the WEF, its board unanimously supported the decision to launch an independent investigation "following a whistleblower letter containing allegations against former Chairman Klaus Schwab. This decision was made after consultation with external legal counsel."
"We feel compelled to share a comprehensive account of systemic governance failures and abuses of power that have taken place over many years under the unchecked authority of Klaus Schwab," reads the letter, which states it was from current and former Forum employees.
The organizer of the annual Davos conference has been https://www.wsj.com/business/world-economic-forum-shakes-up-senior-leadership-f0ea23b4?mod=article_inline
in recent weeks in response to a previous board probe into its workplace culture. In a recent memo, Børge Brende, the Forum’s CEO, said the Forum would take steps to address leadership issues identified by the prior probe and that the investigation didn’t substantiate the allegations against its founder.
A few weeks ago, Schwab, 87, said he’d https://www.wsj.com/business/davos-founder-klaus-schwab-to-step-aside-as-forums-chair-0f3231b0?mod=article_inline
as nonexecutive chairman of the Forum’s board, and the Forum said the succession process would be completed by January 2027. The whistleblower letter blew up that timeline.
Behind the scenes, a high-stakes boardroom drama unfolded pitting Schwab against the global powerplayers on the Forum’s board. The board includes celebrities like cellist Yo-Yo Ma and politicians like Al Gore. It also has business leaders like AXA Group CEO Thomas Buberl and Accenture CEO Julie Sweet. -WSJ
As such, it's no surprise that Schwab's relationship with the board had been deteriorating over the past year, according to the report.
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Tue, 04/22/2025 - 21:20