Wall Street's Bonus Pool Will "Break Records" This Year
Wall Street's Bonus Pool Will "Break Records" This Year
Wall Street bonuses are on track to hit new records this year as profits surge and dealmaking rebounds. Profits at the 130 New York Stock Exchange firms reached $30.4 billion in the first half of 2025, according to New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who said they could reach the “highest level on record” if the trend continues.
Compensation expenses rose nearly 10% from last year, signaling another jump in payouts after 2024’s record $244,700 average bonus, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-10-23/wall-street-bonuses-expected-to-hit-record-as-bank-profits-surge
.
“While uncertainty remains around interest rates, inflation and the broader economy, Wall Street looks to have another strong year,” DiNapoli said.
?itok=OT1c9txZ
Major banks — including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Wells Fargo — reported $15.4 billion in third-quarter trading revenue, the most in at least five years, fueled by AI-linked stock rallies and tariff-driven volatility.
New York City tax collections from the securities industry climbed 35.1% to $6.7 billion, with the average industry salary up 7.3% to $505,630, about five times higher than the citywide average.
DiNapoli emphasized Wall Street’s importance to public funding: “However you feel about Wall Street, good or bad, the reality is the services that we provide... significantly rely on the profits of Wall Street.”
The gains come amid political debate over wealth inequality, as communist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani campaigns to tax the rich and use the funds to knock down luxury housing and replace it with Section 8 housing (OK, we're being hyperbolic here...but not much).
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 10/25/2025 - 11:05
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/wall-streets-bonus-pool-will-break-records-year
Leftist Musicians, Record Labels Meltdown Over Spotify Allowing ICE Ads
Leftist Musicians, Record Labels Meltdown Over Spotify Allowing ICE Ads
Streaming company Spotify is featuring ICE recruitment ads in between content on its free tier, prompting deranged leftists within the music industry to throw tantrums.
?itok=tDCVsA59
Bands and musicians including Massive Attack, Sylvan Esso, and King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard have started campaigns to remove their songs from Spotify over the ads, with many of them also expressing anger at Spotify founder Daniel Ek investing in an AI military company called Helsing.
It’s the ads for ICE recruitment, however, that have triggered the most backlash.
Spotify has reportedly been running ICE recruitment advertisements in the US. https://t.co/HumvkWJSAF
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) https://twitter.com/PopCrave/status/1977836073964192154?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The short ads encourage listeners to “join the mission to protect America” and apply to become an ICE agent.
Some of the ads are also directed toward police, stating, “In sanctuary cities, you’re ordered to stand down while dangerous illegals walk free.”
Indie label Epitaph Records complained last week on Instagram calling for Spotify to “remove these ads immediately.”
“Epitaph joins others in the independent music community calling on Spotify to remove ICE recruitment ads,” the record label demanded, adding “Artists and fans deserve platforms that reflect the values of the culture they sustain.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/DP4P-bvj0lX/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading
https://www.instagram.com/p/DP4P-bvj0lX/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading
https://www.instagram.com/p/DP4P-bvj0lX/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading
A band called Thursday also decrees that Spotify “remove any and all” ICE recruitment ads from its platform, “immediately.”
“Thursday is an independent band and we join the wider independent musical community calling upon Spotify to remove any and all ICE recruitment advertising from its platform,” the band said.
It encouraged others to get on board, proclaiming, “A single voice is tiny but collective action is mighty.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/DP4s5jrAfkS/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading
https://www.instagram.com/p/DP4s5jrAfkS/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading
https://www.instagram.com/p/DP4s5jrAfkS/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading
What they don’t say is exactly why they want ICE ads removed, and that’s because they don’t want to see illegal aliens, many of them gangbangers and violent criminals, brought to justice.
Whether that’s because of complete ignorance of the reality of the situation with crime and degradation in metropolitan areas or because they’re extreme leftists captured by ideological propaganda is up for debate. It’s probably a mixture of both.
All your favorite streaming services are serving up ICE Ads
HBO Max, Pandora, Spotify, and more have been running recruitment ads from the Department of Homeland Security for monthshttps://t.co/mUvqqcDE2B
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) https://twitter.com/RollingStone/status/1978537357029642737?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Spotify has addressed the situation, pointing out that the ICE advertisements are “part of a broad campaign the U.S. government is running across television, streaming, and online channels,” and that the ads in no way violate the company’s policies.
A spokesperson also outlined that Spotify users have the option within their accounts to effectively down vote or block entirely the ads on their personal feeds.
CANCELLED. https://twitter.com/Spotify?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— JP (@american_lex) https://twitter.com/american_lex/status/1978139104161272059?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
after 10 years i’ve made the switch from spotify to apple music
displaying ICE ads and their refusal to ban AI artists was the nail in the coffin https://t.co/o3o7uXolMN
— newhaven 🌿 (@imnewhaven_) https://twitter.com/imnewhaven_/status/1978606506112081970?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
After learning that Spotify doesn’t mind accepting money from a fascist government and supports running ads from a government agency (that shouldn’t exist) which is responsible for tearing apart families I’ve cancelled my Spotify subscription🖕Fuck ICE and fuck Spotify. https://t.co/a6ksqfDCtC
— RJ (@MKENewYorker) https://twitter.com/MKENewYorker/status/1980666429176443069?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Oh Lordt Nooooo!!! I've been paying for a https://twitter.com/Spotify?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
subscription for about 8 years & I loooove my Spotify!
Whyyyyyy are yall playing ICE ads???? I can't believe I have to cancel it. https://t.co/W8kVstgCfD
— Drink Water (@PromiscuousLadi) https://twitter.com/PromiscuousLadi/status/1977873743759175953?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Many bands and singers already hate Spotify with a passion due to the minimal profits they earn from their music streams, a grievance rooted in the platform’s per-stream payout model.
For instance, Spotify pays an average of $0.003 to $0.005 per stream, meaning an artist needs millions of streams to generate substantial income—approximately 1 million streams to earn $3,000-$5,000.
Independent or mid-tier artists lack the massive fanbases of top-tier acts, and the issue is compounded by the fact that a significant portion of streaming revenue is split among rights holders, including labels, publishers, and distributors, often leaving artists with only 20-50% of the payout.
This has led to a perception that Spotify undervalues artistic work, fueling resentment among creators struggling to sustain their careers.
However, Spotify itself isn’t entirely to blame, as it operates within a complex and historically flawed music industry ecosystem. The company distributes roughly 70% of its revenue—$6.5 billion out of $9.3 billion in 2024—to rights holders, a payout ratio comparable to or higher than other streaming platforms.
Spotify must also cover operational costs, including licensing fees, infrastructure, and innovation, to remain competitive. The real issue lies in the broader music industry’s failure to adapt to technological advancements like digital distribution and streaming, which disrupted the once-lucrative model of physical album sales.
Piracy in the early 2000s decimated profits, forcing labels to lean heavily on streaming without restructuring contracts to fairly compensate artists. This systemic imbalance, not Spotify alone, perpetuates the struggle for artists to earn a living wage in the digital age.
Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via https://pauljosephwatson.locals.com/support
.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 10/25/2025 - 10:30
Trump Wants New "Golden Fleet" Of Future Battleships For Hemispheric Defense
Trump Wants New "Golden Fleet" Of Future Battleships For Hemispheric Defense
America is back in the Americas.
President Trump's Monroe Doctrine 2.0 plan, focused on hemispheric defense, centers on securing the homeland and the wider Western Hemisphere. The first visible military reposturing came with Trump's announcement of the Golden Dome continental missile defense shield, followed by renewed pressure on Venezuelan narco-terror networks and https://www.zerohedge.com/political/suitcases-filled-dollars-venezuela-reportedly-propped-americas-radical-left-sow-chaos
.
?itok=B5b_-lWo
Prioritizing the Western Hemisphere after decades of endless wars in the Middle East may also require upgrading America's naval fleet, as the proliferation of hypersonic weapons and drones by foreign adversaries could render some warships in the current fleet obsolete.
The replacement fleet of next-generation warships, referred to internally as the "Golden Fleet" by senior White House and Navy officials, is intended to secure the Western Hemisphere as the world moves toward a bipolar state in the 2030s, repel Chinese influence in the Americas, and maintain a naval edge in the Pacific theater, according to a new https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/trump-pushes-for-new-classes-of-navy-warships-0fe217b9?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=AWEtsqfKg2CJPfzEuYR_D_MGLEQv5RZKKwB639I7itWRXobCOaqW3eIGJ27YFimFnUk%3D&gaa_ts=68fcbe94&gaa_sig=k-v1nU-mPX4g1IVhgqU8AWAFwwJAKOldiX6MnQMmsgjMHYJrcEWiC_YJm-yFenT3buOn6GhbG6j8BgUDMydScw%3D%3D
report.
?itok=vhvHrRcI
At the center of the Golden Fleet are plans for a 15,000 to 20,000-ton "future battleship" equipped with long-range, hypersonic missiles, described as the modern equivalent of the World War II battleship. Instead of cannons, these next-gen warships will be optimized for missile warfare.
Here's more from WSJ:
Under the Golden Fleet concept, the Navy wants to move away from a specific number of ships as a goal, Clark said. Instead, officials will focus on a fleet of roughly 280-300 crewed ships, plus large numbers of unmanned vessels—called "robotic and autonomous systems"—to bridge the gap. The drone ships would act as "hedge forces" in each maritime theater to make up the difference between what the fleet can do day-to-day and what might be needed in conflict, Clark said.
. . .
Senior Navy officials see alignment between their own goals and the president's interests, said Clark, who is involved in Navy wargames meant to inform the Golden Fleet. The Navy has found that today's fleet is struggling to keep up with modern threats, for example the Yemen-based Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, Clark said.
. . .
Clark acknowledged that it could take many years to build new, large warships from scratch, and the ship likely wouldn't see the light of day until after Trump leaves office. Plans for a replacement cruiser, the canceled CG(X) program, indicate such a ship would take five years to design and another five to seven years to build, according to a former official.
Next-gen battleships have been on Trump's mind for some time. In late September, while addressing military leaders at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, the president spoke about the urgent need for new battleships.
President Trump says the U.S. military is “seriously considering” bringing back Battleships.
“I think we should start thinking about battleships.”
“It is something we're actually considering, the concept of battleship. Nice six-inch side solid steel. Not aluminum, aluminum… https://t.co/a7dQwzNOik
— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) https://twitter.com/RedWave_Press/status/1973026965159301193?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
. . .
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 10/25/2025 - 09:55
They're Coming For Your Wood-Burning Stove... Again
They're Coming For Your Wood-Burning Stove... Again
Authored by https://off-guardian.org/2025/10/22/theyre-coming-for-your-wood-burning-stove-again/
The weather is getting colder, and that means getting back to anti-wood-burning propaganda.
?itok=wLj3bOui
Did you know a wood burner can kill you? They pollute more than cars and cause cancer, https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/health/wood-burning-stove-warning-new-35983028
and so on.
.
This isn’t new – for want of a better word – “information”. We covered this https://off-guardian.org/2024/12/25/this-christmas-in-the-new-normal-3/
. Then over the summer, it was folded in with a barrage of “indoor air quality” fear-mongering, only to re-emerge now that the days are getting shorter again.
Sort of like reverse-hibernation.
A trendy wood burning stove almost killed me…they need to be banned before they do anymore damage
.
I like the word “trendy” — they keep using it — it’s so shamelessly manipulative, painting the humble stove as some pretentious luxury accessory, rather than the basic means of heating your home for literal millennia.
Anyway, the crux of the story is that this lady – Lizzie – had a severe asthma attack, and she “believes” it was linked to wood-burning stoves.
So they should be banned. Or something.
Then they quote a doctor:
‘This is why we want the government to launch a public awareness campaign on the health impacts and sources of pollution to empower the public to make cleaner choices and protect lung health, and other people like Lizzie.’
Then come the graphs. It’s all very predictable.
https://archive.is/NQ1yn#selection-3369.0-3373.114
, more refined and less hysterical than the Daily Mail (which admittedly isn’t saying much) goes with…
Wood burners are bad for you. Here’s why you didn’t notice.
Detailing how new research has shown that wood burners are really terrible for everyone who uses them, but we just never noticed before.
Why didn’t we notice?
Oh, because the people who use them are “mostly” otherwise healthy and wealthy so the data was disguised by demographics.
Now, you might think that “research” which concludes “wood burning might make you sick, but being poor, eating badly or smoking are worse” is a shoe-in for the Well Duh! Prize at the annual Waste of Time Awards, but you’re wrong. It’s very serious.
Anyway, here’s their version of the doctor quote:
“It would be good to see increased awareness on the impact of wood burners, with clearer information and guidance from the Government on the health impact, as well as increased regulation around domestic wood-burning.”
No graphs this time, which is nice. But notice, like the Daily Mail article, the repeated association of wood burning with the upper class. It’s a luxury, not a right. That’s the message. The “expert” in the Telegraph even says, “primarily the reason for having a wood burner is the aesthetic of it.”
That’s a common sentiment, always presented without evidence.
That’s something I still find hilarious about the press — perhaps the British press in particular. These are identical stories, just in a house style. It’s like AI image filters, where you upload a photo of yourself and ask, “Show me this image as if it were painted by Van Gogh.” Or Rembrandt. Or Picasso.
“Tell me burning wood causes cancer in the style of the Guardian”. Or the Mirror. Or The Sun.
The aesthetic changes, the message does not.
And, of course, it’s not just the UK. When is it ever?
The devolved Scottish Parliament has alreadyhttps://www.msn.com/en-za/news/other/war-on-your-wood-burner-amid-new-calls-to-ban-them/ar-AA1vLqk2?apiversion=v2&domshim=1&noservercache=1&noservertelemetry=1&batchservertelemetry=1&renderwebcomponents=1&wcseo=1
in their council houses.
The anti-stove agenda clearly summers in Australia, because back in July, ABC https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2025-07-28/national-map-wood-heater-pollution-smoke-health-deaths/105517056
on “the silent killer” of wood smoke, and how experts were calling for bans.
In New Zealand, government-commissioned research is blaming not just wood-burning stoves, but open fires, gas heaters and gas ovens for https://airqualitynews.com/health/report-exposes-health-impacts-of-home-appliances/
In Canada, British Columbia is https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/metro-vancouver-fire-fireplace-wood-stove-register-1.7610976
for those who want to burn solid fuel domestically.
It comes back around to “indoor air quality”, the trendy new public health concern I wrote about back in July:
Reports are asking https://www.healthyair.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/HAC-Policy-Blueprint-Report.pdf
to enforce limits and bans, and so on.
The European Public Health Alliance is https://epha.org/healthy-indoor-air-is-a-right-and-a-prerequisite-for-resilience-a-european-call-with-global-relevance/
a “dedicated, harmonised EU framework for indoor air quality”, calling “healthy air” a human right:
Healthy air is a human right, and indoor air is no exception. It should be a shared global goal to make sure that this right is adequately and urgently enshrined, providing stronger legal tools for people to claim protections against environmental harms, including poor indoor air.
Investment in clean indoor quality is https://theconversation.com/why-investment-in-clean-indoor-air-is-vital-preparation-for-the-pandemics-and-climate-emergencies-to-come-265743
, apparently.
The United Nations launched a brand new Global Healthy Indoor Air Commission https://www.wellcertified.com/global-commission
; they are developing a “Global Framework for Action” even as we speak, to be published next year.
Consider buying a Smart Air Monitor, says https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-home-air-quality-monitor/
.
The Smart Air Monitor is the thing to watch here, I suspect. Full-on banning wood burners is a difficult sell – especially in the US – so the “compromise” measure may be mandated air quality meters to replace the smart meters in electrically heated homes.
Data and obedience to authority. That’s what this is actually about.
Yes, I’m sorry to have to disillusion anyone; it’s not really about asthma attacks.
The people that nailed you inside your house and forced you to mask up and vaccinate don’t actually care about whether or not you have asthma, Lizzie. They don’t really care about your well-being at all.
I’m sorry to have to tell you.
Likewise, it’s not about climate change. The preening idiots who fly private jets to catered global summits care about the planet about as much as they care about you. Or Lizzie.
It’s about information, not even important information, or useful information…just information. And control too, of course, how could we forget that part?
Information and control. The system is a machine designed to acquire both, forever. It requires we tell it everything and that everyone be dependent on it…for everything.
Wood burners — like people who keep chickens or dig their own wells or live without electricity — realistically represent only a small percentage of the population, but their existence poses nagging questions.
Questions like, How much wood are they using? How warm are they keeping their houses? For how long?
And most importantly: Who the fuck do these people think they are?
Burning your own fuel in your own house is about far more than the “aesthetic of it”, no matter how hard the papers try to tag it with that superficial label. A wood burner offers energy independence, and for that reason, like everything else that offers any kind of independence, they are considered a threat.
The existence of anyone or anything outside of the system, even in token or vestigial ways, threatens the idea that the system is even necessary. Therefore they must be attacked.
It’s an autoimmune response, a reflex; they can’t help it.
They need to know everything you’re doing, how you’re doing it, and why.
And, more importantly, they need you to be OK with that, to welcome it, even thank them for it.
They need you to know that is the safe; the normal; the only way the world works.
So, expect this messaging to continue until the ban is in place, or licenses are required, or they manage to wire a smart meter to a wood axe.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 10/25/2025 - 09:20
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/theyre-coming-your-wood-burning-stove-again
"We're Living Through A Coordinated Sabotage Of Truth-Seeking Institutions"
"We're Living Through A Coordinated Sabotage Of Truth-Seeking Institutions"
"A civilization is defined by its ability to discern truth from falsehood," writes 'Camus' (@newstart_2024) in a post on X.
?itok=HwEBImb7
So, what happens when every apparatus built for that purpose is systematically dismantled?
Bret Weinstein issues a stark warning: we are living through a coordinated sabotage of our truth-seeking institutions.
This is not a minor critique; it is a fundamental attack on the very mechanisms of a functional society.
He argues that the assault is comprehensive:
The University System: Once a beacon of knowledge, now a source of unreliable research and curricula that teach verifiably false concepts as truth. The cornerstone of academic rigor has been cracked.
Regulatory Agencies: These bodies have been inverted. Their purpose is no longer to protect citizens from harm, but to protect the regulators and the system from the citizens they are meant to serve.
Scientific Integrity: We are left grappling in the dark on critical issues. Determining something as scientifically straightforward as the potential link between mRNA vaccines and turbo cancers should be a matter of transparent data. Instead, we are forced to rely on buried anecdotes and studies designed to fail.
This is the realization of René Descartes’ deepest fear - that the very foundations of what we believe to be factual cannot be trusted.
We have been severed from the tools of the Enlightenment, left in a precarious state where anecdote replaces evidence and ideology replaces inquiry.
We are now navigating a world without a compass.
The predicament is not just dangerous; it is existential.
The question is no longer just “what is true?” but “how do we find out, when the paths to truth have been deliberately destroyed?”
Watch the brief interview with Bret Weinstein below:
A civilization is defined by its ability to discern truth from falsehood. What happens when every apparatus built for that purpose is systematically dismantled?
Bret Weinstein issues a stark warning: we are living through a coordinated sabotage of our truth-seeking institutions.… https://t.co/yL14zAl4mH
— Camus (@newstart_2024) https://twitter.com/newstart_2024/status/1981410748275339312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 10/25/2025 - 08:45
EU Leaders Call for "Regulatory Reset", But It's Just A Power Play
EU Leaders Call for "Regulatory Reset", But It's Just A Power Play
Submitted by Thomas Kolbe
The criticism of the European Union’s regulatory policies is growing louder. In a letter to Ursula von der Leyen, 19 EU heads of government demand the abolition of “superfluous and unbalanced regulations.”
It’s a grotesque political theater we are witnessing these days. Nineteen EU heads of government have signed a semi-public letter—obtained by https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/international/buerokratie-merz-macron-und-meloni-schreiben-mahnbrief-an-eu-kommission/100165959.html
—demanding nothing less than a “regulatory reset” in Brussels. This comes after years of these same governments diligently building up the bloc’s eco-bureaucratic behemoth.
Merz Renews His Criticism
The letter follows just days after sharp remarks from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who criticized Brussels’ overregulation and the resulting bureaucratic burden—factors that have contributed significantly to Germany’s economic crisis.
Speaking at the SME Day of the Mittelstands- und Wirtschaftsunion in Cologne in September, https://www.welt.de/regionales/nrw/article68d6d542ddb84e3be304c589/Merz-will-Bruessel-das-Stoeckchen-in-die-Raeder-halten.html
declared:
“Let me put it a bit more bluntly: we need to throw a stick into the spokes of this Brussels machine so it finally stops.”
He lambasted the EU legislative machine for continuing its regulatory work “on and on and on—completely independent of whether a new Parliament has been elected or not, whether a new Commission is in office or not.”
Tough words from a chancellor who, domestically, has so far failed to reform even a single aspect of Germany’s own regulatory overreach, sky-high tax burdens, or its bloated welfare state.
A Coordinated PR Offensive?
Merz’s words appear to have set the stage for a broader wave of criticism that has now culminated in the letter signed by 19 EU leaders. Alongside Merz, Emmanuel Macron and Giorgia Meloni have openly joined in the chorus against Brussels’ regulatory frenzy.
Their stated goal: to return Europe to a path of growth and competitiveness.
The letter calls for the elimination of “superfluous, excessive or unbalanced regulations.” A truism, perhaps—but in the face of Brussels’ sprawling regulatory apparatus, this reads like a maximalist demand, as real reform would also require dismantling parts of the bureaucracy itself.
The authors also demand relief for SMEs from reporting obligations—such as those contained in the planned supply chain law—and from absurd climate regulations like the EU deforestation regulation.
Subsidies, Once Again
More telling, however, are the letter’s final paragraphs. Here the true intentions are revealed: demands for eased rules on subsidies and corporate mergers. The scale of these subsidies is no mystery: they involve the enormous funds embedded in both the EU and national budgets for climate programs—and possibly for building a European war economy.
In other words, the transformation toward an increasingly centrally planned EU economy is supposed to run more smoothly. Merz’s recent call for a “European competitiveness pact” and his warnings about competition from Asia and the U.S. are not wrong per se—but the crucial question is how this challenge is interpreted, and how it’s addressed.
Notably, there was no mention whatsoever of lowering the bloc’s absurd CO2 taxes.
The Draghi Plan as a Blueprint
Brussels and EU capitals are now, in effect, aligning with the https://commission.europa.eu/topics/eu-competitiveness/draghi-report_en
laid out by former Mario Draghi. He had called for an investment fund worth €800 billion annually for the Eurozone economy—flanked by deregulation where it suits Brussels’ interests.
In short: capital flows are to be channeled more directly into Brussels-preferred pipelines—fast, concentrated, and with minimal red tape. Policymakers hope this will trigger a kind of self-healing economic effect. But the crisis itself is largely the consequence of precisely this misallocation of capital and top-down overregulation.
Europe has clearly chosen the path of isolationism: centralization, debt pumping, and chronic deficit financing. It’s a dead end—and Brussels is its most visible manifestation.
Smoke Screens and Shadow Boxing
The fact that 19 EU leaders are now publicly criticizing Brussels’ regulatory politics is remarkable in two respects. First, it raises the question of whether Brussels has indeed become a bureaucratic spaceship—so detached from reality on the ground that its occupants no longer notice Europe’s accelerating economic decline.
Given the regulatory orgy of recent years, much of it justified by an apocalyptic framing of climate change, the answer is most likely yes.
Second, the semi-public way in which this criticism was presented—via selective leaks to outlets like Handelsblatt—was carefully chosen to create the impression that national governments are still sovereign, economically competent, and attuned to the concerns of their citizens.
In reality, it’s the same old shadowboxing between Brussels and increasingly powerless national governments. Apart from a few outliers like Hungary, Czech Republic or recently Poland, they all share the same ideological course.
Von der Leyen Firmly in Control
Von der Leyen may appear isolated, but she has already achieved her central objective: expanding the EU Commission’s https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/eu-budget/long-term-eu-budget/eu-budget-2028-2034_en
for 2028–2034 to around €2 trillion. Roughly €750 billion—more than one-third—will be funneled into the drying channels of green cronyism. On top of this, massive national subsidy injections, such as Germany’s special funds, will flow.
Such state intervention cannot be implemented without additional regulation and an even larger bureaucracy.
So despite the lofty language in the letter to von der Leyen, there will be no real regulatory or administrative relief for businesses.
Ultimately, she should be judged not by her words—or those of her critics—but by her actions. And by that measure, this policy direction is already clear.
* * *
About the author: Thomas Kolbe, born in 1978 in Neuss/ Germany, is a graduate economist. For over 25 years, he has worked as a journalist and media producer for clients from various industries and business associations. As a publicist, he focuses on economic processes and observes geopolitical events from the perspective of the capital markets. His publications follow a philosophy that focuses on the individual and their right to self-determination.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 10/25/2025 - 08:10
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/eu-leaders-call-regulatory-reset-its-just-power-play
Africa Is The World's 'Youngest' Region, Asia The 'Oldest'
Africa Is The World's 'Youngest' Region, Asia The 'Oldest'
The world’s population is aging, but not evenly. While some regions are growing older at an alarming pace, others remain remarkably young.
In this graphic, https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-the-median-age-in-every-country/
the median age in every country, showing where populations are oldest and youngest around the globe.
Median age measures the midpoint of a population’s age distribution. In other words, it’s where half the people are younger and half are older. This is different from a mean average, which sums all ages and divides by the total number of people, making it more affected by very young or old individuals.
?itok=7Lt8Pv9P
Data & Discussion
The data for this visualization comes from the https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/median-age/country-comparison/
. Note that the median age of the world is around 30.9 years.
Country
Region
Median Age
🇸🇭 Saint Helena
Africa
45
🇲🇺 Mauritius
Africa
40
🇸🇨 Seychelles
Africa
39
🇹🇳 Tunisia
Africa
34
🇲🇦 Morocco
Africa
31
🇿🇦 South Africa
Africa
30
🇩🇿 Algeria
Africa
29
🇨🇻 Cabo Verde
Africa
29
🇧🇼 Botswana
Africa
27
🇩🇯 Djibouti
Africa
26
🇱🇾 Libya
Africa
26
🇸🇿 Eswatini
Africa
25
🇪🇬 Egypt
Africa
24
🇱🇸 Lesotho
Africa
24
🇳🇦 Namibia
Africa
23
🇰🇲 Comoros
Africa
23
🇲🇷 Mauritania
Africa
22
🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea
Africa
22
🇬🇦 Gabon
Africa
22
🇬🇭 Ghana
Africa
21
🇪🇷 Eritrea
Africa
21
🇲🇬 Madagascar
Africa
21
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
Africa
21
🇨🇮 Cote d'Ivoire
Africa
21
🇰🇪 Kenya
Africa
21
🇸🇹 Sao Tome & Principe
Africa
21
🇷🇼 Rwanda
Africa
21
🇹🇬 Togo
Africa
21
🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo
Africa
21
🇨🇫 Central African Republic
Africa
20
🇪🇹 Ethiopia
Africa
20
🇲🇼 Malawi
Africa
20
🇬🇲 Gambia
Africa
20
🇱🇷 Liberia
Africa
20
🇬🇳 Guinea
Africa
19
🇸🇱 Sierra Leone
Africa
19
🇳🇬 Nigeria
Africa
19
🇸🇩 Sudan
Africa
19
🇸🇳 Senegal
Africa
19
🇹🇿 Tanzania
Africa
19
🇸🇴 Somalia
Africa
19
🇨🇲 Cameroon
Africa
19
🇸🇸 South Sudan
Africa
19
🇧🇫 Burkina Faso
Africa
19
🇿🇲 Zambia
Africa
18
🇧🇮 Burundi
Africa
18
🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau
Africa
18
🇲🇿 Mozambique
Africa
17
🇧🇯 Benin
Africa
17
🇨🇩 DRC
Africa
17
🇹🇩 Chad
Africa
17
🇲🇱 Mali
Africa
16
🇦🇴 Angola
Africa
16
🇺🇬 Uganda
Africa
16
🇳🇪 Niger
Africa
15
🇯🇵 Japan
Asia
50
🇭🇰 Hong Kong
Asia
47
🇰🇷 South Korea
Asia
46
🇹🇼 Taiwan
Asia
45
🇲🇴 Macau
Asia
43
🇷🇺 Russia
Asia
42
🇹🇭 Thailand
Asia
42
🇨🇳 China
Asia
40
🇸🇬 Singapore
Asia
39
🇦🇲 Armenia
Asia
39
🇬🇪 Georgia
Asia
38
🇰🇵 North Korea
Asia
36
🇦🇿 Azerbaijan
Asia
34
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
Asia
34
🇻🇳 Vietnam
Asia
33
🇧🇳 Brunei
Asia
32
🇰🇿 Kazakhstan
Asia
32
🇲🇻 Maldives
Asia
32
🇲🇾 Malaysia
Asia
32
🇮🇩 Indonesia
Asia
32
🇲🇳 Mongolia
Asia
32
🇹🇲 Turkmenistan
Asia
31
🇲🇲 Burma
Asia
31
🇧🇹 Bhutan
Asia
31
🇮🇳 India
Asia
30
🇧🇩 Bangladesh
Asia
30
🇺🇿 Uzbekistan
Asia
29
🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan
Asia
28
🇰🇭 Cambodia
Asia
28
🇳🇵 Nepal
Asia
28
🇵🇭 Philippines
Asia
26
🇱🇦 Laos
Asia
25
🇵🇰 Pakistan
Asia
23
🇹🇯 Tajikistan
Asia
23
🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea
Asia
22
🇹🇱 Timor-Leste
Asia
21
🇦🇫 Afghanistan
Asia
20
🇧🇱 Saint Barthelemy
Central America & the Caribbean
47
🇵🇷 Puerto Rico
Central America & the Caribbean
46
🇻🇮 Virgin Islands
Central America & the Caribbean
43
🇨🇺 Cuba
Central America & the Caribbean
43
🇧🇧 Barbados
Central America & the Caribbean
41
🇰🇾 Cayman Islands
Central America & the Caribbean
41
🇸🇽 Sint Maarten
Central America & the Caribbean
41
🇦🇼 Aruba
Central America & the Caribbean
41
🇱🇨 Saint Lucia
Central America & the Caribbean
40
🇰🇳 Saint Kitts & Nevis
Central America & the Caribbean
39
🇹🇹 Trinidad & Tobago
Central America & the Caribbean
39
🇻🇬 British Virgin Islands
Central America & the Caribbean
39
🇨🇼 Curacao
Central America & the Caribbean
38
🇻🇨 Saint Vincent & the Grenadines
Central America & the Caribbean
38
🇦🇮 Anguilla
Central America & the Caribbean
37
🇩🇲 Dominica
Central America & the Caribbean
37
🇲🇸 Montserrat
Central America & the Caribbean
37
🇹🇨 Turks & Caicos Islands
Central America & the Caribbean
36
🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Central America & the Caribbean
36
🇬🇩 Grenada
Central America & the Caribbean
35
🇸🇲 Saint Martin
Central America & the Caribbean
34
🇦🇬 Antigua & Barbuda
Central America & the Caribbean
34
🇵🇦 Panama
Central America & the Caribbean
32
🇯🇲 Jamaica
Central America & the Caribbean
31
🇧🇸 The Bahamas
Central America & the Caribbean
31
🇸🇻 El Salvador
Central America & the Caribbean
30
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
Central America & the Caribbean
29
🇳🇮 Nicaragua
Central America & the Caribbean
29
🇧🇿 Belize
Central America & the Caribbean
27
🇭🇳 Honduras
Central America & the Caribbean
26
🇭🇹 Haiti
Central America & the Caribbean
25
🇬🇹 Guatemala
Central America & the Caribbean
25
🇲🇨 Monaco
Europe
57
🇦🇩 Andorra
Europe
49
🇮🇹 Italy
Europe
48
🇪🇸 Spain
Europe
47
🇩🇪 Germany
Europe
47
🇬🇷 Greece
Europe
47
🇵🇹 Portugal
Europe
46
🇸🇮 Slovenia
Europe
46
🇸🇲 San Marino
Europe
46
🇷🇴 Romania
Europe
46
🇱🇻 Latvia
Europe
46
🇱🇹 Lithuania
Europe
45
🇧🇬 Bulgaria
Europe
45
🇭🇷 Croatia
Europe
45
🇪🇪 Estonia
Europe
45
🇬🇬 Guernsey
Europe
45
🇦🇹 Austria
Europe
45
🇺🇦 Ukraine
Europe
45
🇮🇲 Isle of Man
Europe
45
🇭🇺 Hungary
Europe
45
🇧🇦 Bosnia & Herzegovina
Europe
45
🇱🇮 Liechtenstein
Europe
44
🇨🇿 Czechia
Europe
44
🇨🇭 Switzerland
Europe
44
🇷🇸 Serbia
Europe
44
🇲🇹 Malta
Europe
44
🇫🇮 Finland
Europe
43
🇵🇱 Poland
Europe
43
🇸🇰 Slovakia
Europe
43
🇫🇷 France
Europe
43
🇳🇱 Netherlands
Europe
42
🇩🇰 Denmark
Europe
42
🇧🇾 Belarus
Europe
42
🇧🇪 Belgium
Europe
42
🇸🇪 Sweden
Europe
41
🇲🇪 Montenegro
Europe
41
🇳🇴 Norway
Europe
41
🇬🇧 UK
Europe
41
🇲🇰 North Macedonia
Europe
41
🇮🇪 Ireland
Europe
40
🇲🇩 Moldova
Europe
40
🇱🇺 Luxembourg
Europe
40
🇨🇾 Cyprus
Europe
40
🇯🇪 Jersey
Europe
38
🇮🇸 Iceland
Europe
38
🇫🇴 Faroe Islands
Europe
37
🇬🇮 Gibraltar
Europe
37
🇦🇱 Albania
Europe
36
🇽🇰 Kosovo
Europe
32
🇱🇧 Lebanon
Middle East
36
🇦🇪 UAE
Middle East
36
🇶🇦 Qatar
Middle East
34
🇹🇷 Turkiye
Middle East
34
🇮🇷 Iran
Middle East
34
🇧🇭 Bahrain
Middle East
33
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia
Middle East
32
🇰🇼 Kuwait
Middle East
30
🇮🇱 Israel
Middle East
30
🇴🇲 Oman
Middle East
27
🇯🇴 Jordan
Middle East
25
🇸🇾 Syria
Middle East
24
🇮🇶 Iraq
Middle East
22
🇾🇪 Yemen
Middle East
22
🇵🇸 West Bank
Middle East
22
🇵🇸 Gaza Strip
Middle East
20
🇵🇲 Saint Pierre & Miquelon
North America
51
🇧🇲 Bermuda
North America
44
🇨🇦 Canada
North America
43
🇺🇸 U.S.
North America
39
🇬🇱 Greenland
North America
35
🇲🇽 Mexico
North America
31
🇨🇰 Cook Islands
Oceania
41
🇨🇨 Cocos Islands
Oceania
40
🇦🇺 Australia
Oceania
38
🇨🇽 Christmas Island
Oceania
38
🇳🇿 New Zealand
Oceania
38
🇼🇫 Wallis and Futuna
Oceania
36
🇵🇫 French Polynesia
Oceania
35
🇵🇼 Palau
Oceania
35
🇳🇨 New Caledonia
Oceania
34
🇲🇵 Northern Mariana Islands
Oceania
32
🇫🇯 Fiji
Oceania
32
🇬🇺 Guam
Oceania
30
🇦🇸 American Samoa
Oceania
30
🇫🇲 Micronesia
Oceania
28
🇹🇻 Tuvalu
Oceania
28
🇳🇷 Nauru
Oceania
28
🇼🇸 Samoa
Oceania
27
🇰🇮 Kiribati
Oceania
27
🇹🇴 Tonga
Oceania
26
🇲🇭 Marshall Islands
Oceania
26
🇸🇧 Solomon Islands
Oceania
25
🇻🇺 Vanuatu
Oceania
25
🇨🇱 Chile
South America
37
🇺🇾 Uruguay
South America
37
🇧🇷 Brazil
South America
35
🇦🇷 Argentina
South America
33
🇨🇴 Colombia
South America
33
🇸🇷 Suriname
South America
32
🇵🇾 Paraguay
South America
32
🇻🇪 Venezuela
South America
31
🇵🇪 Peru
South America
30
🇬🇾 Guyana
South America
28
🇪🇨 Ecuador
South America
28
🇧🇴 Bolivia
South America
27
Africa Has the Youngest Populations
Africa stands out as the youngest region by far, with 21 countries reporting a median age below 20, led by Niger (15), Uganda (16), and Mali (16). Altogether, these 21 countries represent 790 million people.
This demographic structure reflects high fertility and improving child survival rates, but also signals future challenges in job creation and https://www.visualcapitalist.com/most-educated-populations-in-world-ranking/
in the decades ahead.
Europe and East Asia: Aging at Record Speeds
On the other hand, Europe and East Asia have some of the oldest populations on the planet. Europe’s oldest include Monaco (57), Italy (48), and Germany (47), while in Asia, Japan (50), Hong Kong (47), and South Korea (46) underscore the region’s demographic decline.
Shrinking workforces and https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/ranked-old-age-dependency-of-the-top-10-economies/
pose serious challenges in the future, particularly when it comes to healthcare and pensions.
If you enjoyed today’s post, check out https://www.voronoiapp.com/demographics/The-Worlds-Fastest-Shrinking-Countries-by-Population-6671
on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 10/25/2025 - 07:35
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/africa-worlds-youngest-region-asia-oldest
The Green Mirage: The Hidden Costs Behind The Electric Car Hype
The Green Mirage: The Hidden Costs Behind The Electric Car Hype
In Sweden, a two-kilometer stretch of electrified highway allows electric vehicles to charge while they drive — a prototype for 3,000 kilometers of such roads planned by 2045.
It all sounds sleek, modern, and progressive, like something from a futurist’s dream.
Eddie Grant once sang, “We’re gonna rock down to Electric Avenue.”
But before we charge headlong into this electric future, we should pause to ask: is any of this really helping the environment?
The answer, inconveniently, is no.
Electric vehicles are not the sustainable miracle they’re marketed to be — this article details the hidden environmental toll of battery production, the inefficiency of “green” energy systems, and the deeper agenda behind the global push toward EVs and UN-driven sustainability mandates.
The prevailing narrative of “zero-emission” transportation falls apart with documented evidence, industry data, and science itself.
The green movement’s corporate and political drivers open up broader questions of personal freedom, economic control, and truth in environmental science.
Why Electric Cars Are Fake Environmentalism
The truth is that electric cars represent not genuine environmental progress, but a triumph of corporate marketing — or, depending on your view, outright deception. Buyers are told they’re saving the planet, but the materials required for millions of lithium-ion batteries — lithium, rhodium, cobalt — must be mined and refined in massive industrial operations powered by diesel and coal.
Those mining and processing sites, particularly in rural China and Mongolia, have left behind serious air, water, and soil contamination. These are real environmental problems — not the imaginary CO2 “crisis” that global bureaucrats prefer to talk about.
In a recent https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2025/10/the_climate_creed_how_fear_replaced_science.html
, I describe how 2,000 scientists from over 30 nations have signed a declaration stating there is no “CO2-induced” climate emergency — a document I also signed.
In the book Climate CO₂ Hoax I detail that modern environmentalism has been hijacked by a communist-type agenda of political control aligned with the deceptive U.N. Sustainable Development Goals; and is also designed to compel us all to buy millions of so-called green products, such as EVs.
“Buy an [expensive] electric car to save the planet” is one of the great marketing lies of our time — a devastator, as I call it, a lie so large it bewilders the public.
Furthermore, when a cold snap hits an EV can lose 10%–50% of its driving range; and can take two to three times longer to charge.
?itok=lD8SUq8d" alt=""/>Consider this image: a lithium leach field so toxic that a bird landing on it dies within minutes. This is what your “eco-friendly” battery is made of. Yet we are told to congratulate ourselves for saving the environment.
The Carbon Footprint of an EV is Worse Than Diesel
Governments are now pushing to eliminate gasoline and diesel cars by 2035 in favor of EVs.
But once you factor in the energy and pollution costs of mining and manufacturing, the carbon footprint of an EV is worse than that of a diesel vehicle.
Even after production, most EVs run on electricity generated from fossil fuels. Despite decades of subsidies, wind provides less than 5% of global energy and solar just 1%.
According to a European Commission study, the total “well-to-plug” efficiency of electric energy — after accounting for production and distribution losses—is only 37%.
The electric dream, then, is profoundly inefficient.
Marketing, Not Miracles
The first illusion came with the “hybrid.”
These cars are still gasoline-powered; the tiny battery is charged by the engine itself. A hybrid that gets 55 mpg is no cleaner than a conventional car achieving the same mileage. A planet full of hybrids would remain 100% addicted to oil.
Elon Musk’s Tesla marketing has taken this one step further.
Musk writes that Tesla’s mission is to move humanity from a “mine-and-burn hydrocarbon economy” to a “solar electric economy.” He argues that even if EVs use fossil-generated electricity, they emit less CO2 per mile than conventional cars.
But Musk omits five crucial facts:
Repurposing the world’s industrial base for “green” energy demands a vast new fossil-fuel expenditure — factories, grids, and distribution systems—all still dependent on diesel, coal, and mining.
The energy return on investment (EROEI) for solar and wind is too low to sustain modern civilization without subsidies.
Mining for rare earths — lithium, cobalt, rhodium — remains devastating to land, air, and water.
The full life cycle of an EV, from mining to manufacturing, shipping, and eventual disposal, consumes enormous energy. Charging from solar barely scratches the surface of this embedded cost.
CO₂ itself is not the problem as detailed in the book Climate CO2 Hoax.
As a former technical expert at the U.N. Environment Programme, I have seen firsthand what real pollution looks like.
CO2 is not soot, not poison, and not a pollutant. It is an odorless gas and an essential plant nutrient. The Earth’s biosphere runs on CO2 — without it, crops and forests would die.
Climate shifts, meanwhile, are natural. The Little Ice Age ended around 1800; a modest warming since then is hardly cause for alarm. Periods of warming and cooling have defined our planet for billions of years.
The Physical Cost of a “Zero Emission” Car
The reality of EV production should end the myth. A single Tesla Model Y battery demands massive resources — about 12 tons of lithium ore, 5 tons of cobalt minerals, 3 tons of nickel ore, and 12 tons of copper ore. Roughly 250 tons of soil must be moved to yield small amounts of these metals. Each battery also requires hundreds of pounds of aluminum, steel, plastic, and graphite.
The giant Caterpillar machines used in this mining can burn hundreds of gallons of diesel every 12 hours. Once complete, we get a so-called “zero-emission” car — built with materials largely sourced from China or Africa, often mined by child labor.
Tesla battery packs cost $5,000–$20,000 and last about ten years. It takes roughly seven years for an EV to reach “net-zero” carbon parity with a gasoline car — by which time the battery’s life is nearly over, and the cycle begins again.
The Real Agenda
The green revolution, like so many fashionable causes, is less about saving the planet than consolidating control — over energy, your money, and your freedom. The word “sustainable” has been hijacked by mega-corporate interests and global institutions, such as the U.N., the WEF, and the Davos elite. Behind the U.N. slogans lies a communist-style totalitarian vision of control over the people: “sustainability” as perpetual dependency, “carbon neutrality” as bureaucratic rationing, and “climate emergency” as a tool of economic centralization.
Electric cars are not liberation — they are compliance devices.
It’s time to call the bluff: driving an electric car does not make you a defender of nature. It makes you a customer in the most profitable deception of the modern age.
* * *
Mark Keenan is the author of https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1JB53TD
. A former UN technical expert, he writes on culture, science, and the ideological forces reshaping the West.
Fri, 10/24/2025 - 23:25
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/green-mirage-hidden-costs-behind-electric-car-hype
What Americans Worry About
What Americans Worry About
More than half of Americans said that they considered the cost of living among the biggest issues plaguing the country.
https://www.statista.com/chart/35340/respondents-rank-issues-united-states/
this is more than any of the other 17 issues surveyed by Statista Consumer Insights among 60,000 Americans between October 2024 and September 2025.
https://www.statista.com/chart/35340/respondents-rank-issues-united-states/
You will find more infographics at https://www.statista.com/chartoftheday/
Around 40 percent of respondents considered crime, https://www.statista.com/topics/1467/global-economy/
health and social security as well as poverty and housing major issues.
Approximately a third of respondents said the same about education, immigration, unemployment and climate change.
Worry about inflation was very widespread among the 21 countries in the survey.
Many nations collectively rated it as the https://www.statista.com/topics/13850/democracy-in-the-united-states/
- not surprising in the current global environment of rising or persistently high prices.
A problem the United States rated higher than other countries was https://www.statista.com/chart/35041/countries-with-the-highest-lowest-share-of-respondents-seeing-crime-as-a-major-issue/
.
Only between a quarter and a third of people thought it was a major issue in several European and Asian locales as oposed to 42 percent in the United States.
On the other hand, worry about https://www.statista.com/chart/31042/share-of-respondents-who-think-climate-change-is-one-of-the-biggest-issues/
was lower in the U.S. at only 30 percent worrying about it to a high degree.
In other developed countries, this rate was closer to 35 or 40 percent, with the issue normally reaching rank 5-8 among important problems, ahead of rank 10 it occupies in the United States.
https://www.statista.com/chart/33140/share-of-respondents-immigratione-on-of-biggest-issues/
was not rated as big a concern by Americans, however, when compared to other nations. 31 percent of Americans said they thought it was a major issue, compared to around 40 percent in Italy, Sweden and Germany and even higher ratings in Turkey (49 percent) and Chile (62 percent).
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Fri, 10/24/2025 - 23:00
https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/what-americans-worry-about
China Envisions 'Dry Canal' To Compete With Panama Canal
China Envisions 'Dry Canal' To Compete With Panama Canal
(emphasis ours),
In response to the Trump administration’s new U.S. policy of reasserting control over the Panama Canal, China and Brazil are exploring the possibility of building a transcontinental railway to provide an advantageous alternative to the Panama Canal. The proposed rail system would potentially run from Brazil’s Atlantic coast, perhaps Ilhéus, Bahia, to Peru’s Pacific coast at Chancay.
?itok=-wceWvjW
The project, known as the Central Bi-Oceanic Railway Corridor (CRBC), has been in consideration since at least 2017. Other proposed projects of a similar nature and objectives have been considered since at least 2013. There are other terms applied to the transoceanic railway project, but essentially, the system would cut across the Amazon rainforest and go over—and likely tunnel through—the Andes mountain range, linking Atlantic and Pacific port facilities.
Many Obstacles and Risks to Overcome
Of course, there’s often a wide gap between planning a project and actually doing it successfully. There are certainly formidable obstacles that would have to be overcome for the project to move forward to completion. The geographic and topographic challenges are considerable. Clearing a path through the Amazon rainforest or tunneling through the Andes mountains aren’t easy engineering feats.
There would also be legal challenges over land rights and environmental resistance to the project and against the development of the necessary supporting infrastructure along the way. The initial costs incurred by each country would also be a significant challenge, as would be establishing a sustainable debt service and maintaining the political will to stick to the plan when these and other obstacles arise.
The Trade Advantages Would Be Significant
Although it would be a complex, multi-year project with significant costs and engineering challenges, there would also be several advantages in doing so. For one, proponents estimate that it would cut shipping time to Asia by 10 to 12 days. With shipping costs rising and economies struggling, those factors aren’t easily ignored.
?itok=wM-Ecgsy
But it’s not just a railway system that would be built. The system will be a key addition to the deep-water port that China is building in Chancay, Peru, on the Pacific Ocean. Deep-water ports enable the largest cargo ships and container vessels to dock and transfer their goods quickly and easily, without the complications of moving through various locks and channels that come with relying on the passage through a very crowded and slow Panama Canal transit.
A similar deep-water port would be constructed on Brazil’s Atlantic coast, with both ports providing a much smoother and more economical way to move goods around the world.
Much More Than Just a Railroad
Chinese planners envision the CRBC as a comprehensive project that serves the entire trade and transportation cycle. This “dual-track” logistics corridor—combining port infrastructure, rail links, logistics hubs, and industrial zones to permit transit from Pacific to Atlantic (or vice versa)—could well prove to reimagine and redirect global and regional trade flows.
It would also reduce the canal’s chokepoint dependencies and potential vulnerabilities. Compared to all of the benefits the proposed railway, the Panama Canal would become seen as more burdensome—not less—to global trade, rendering it a less-desirable, more costly and time-consuming option.
The transformative potential of the CRBC project cannot be overstated. It would be a continuation of China’s role as a major player in ports, dams, energy, and other infrastructure in the region.
Gaining Strategic Regional Leverage While Avoiding US Control
From China’s perspective, the proposed transcontinental rail system is a way to minimize or even eliminate U.S. dominance of interoceanic trading in the region. The proposed overland route would significantly reduce Beijing’s vulnerability to U.S. control, blockades, and trade leverage over canal access.
That alone is a compelling reason to pursue the project.
But developing an economically superior alternative to the Panama Canal also gives Beijing more leverage and influence over their Latin American trading partners. That influence would largely come at the expense of U.S. influence, thereby diminishing American power in the region. It would also add proof of concept and gravitas to China’s Global South initiative and help expand the BRICS currency influence and use in the Americas.
All of these factors would give China added leverage over its Latin American partners. Those countries helping to build and host parts of the railway system will certainly gain strategic importance. At the same time, their dependency on Chinese capital, products, and technical assistance would expand, allowing Beijing to embed itself into those regional governments and economies more deeply.
Furthermore, the development of deep-water ports in both Brazil and Peru will give the Chinese regime safe havens to park its rapidly expanding navy, and the pretext to establish and maintain a large and adversarial naval warship presence in America’s backyard. A regional threat on such a scale would have been unthinkable even a few years ago. It could reasonably be compared to the re-colonization of the region.
A Multidimensional, Long-Term Impact
Beijing’s plans for the CRBC are as expansive as they are threatening to U.S. regional hegemony and beyond. The resulting impact of the CRBC would be transformational in a multidimensional context, and for the long term. Beijing would reasonably be able to shape trade terms, shipping standards, customs operations, and logistics norms in the region, and much of the rest of the world.
If Beijing succeeds in its CBRC plans, it could elevate the blighted Belt and Road Initiative up to a new level and lift China to the pinnacle of global power. The United States, on the other hand, would find itself out-hustled, out-traded, out-funded, and out-gunned by China in the Americas.
Let’s hope that the United States has plans to preempt or prevent China’s big move in America’s backyard.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Fri, 10/24/2025 - 22:35
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/china-envisions-dry-canal-compete-panama-canal
Political Protests Have Tripled Since Trump 1.0
Political Protests Have Tripled Since Trump 1.0
The number of political protests held during https://www.statista.com/topics/13639/the-second-trump-administration/
this year have more than tripled compared to the same period in his first term.
https://www.statista.com/chart/35335/cumulative-number-of-protests-per-day-in-the-us/
, there had been 29,138 political protests as of September 30, 2025, compared to just 8,314 on September 30, 2017.
https://www.statista.com/chart/35335/cumulative-number-of-protests-per-day-in-the-us/
You will find more infographics at https://www.statista.com/chartoftheday/
The organization includes a wide range of protest types within its scope including, but not limited to, rallies, counter protests, marches, civil disobedience, vigils, student-led walkouts, encampments and banner drops. These cover a range of issues, from calls for a ceasefire in Gaza to justice for police brutality.
Saturday October 18, 2025 saw anti-Trump protests across the United States, under the “No Kings” movement. The Crowd Counting Consortium is yet to add the data for the total number of protests and events held across the country on that day. However, according to G. Elliott Morris of https://www.gelliottmorris.com/p/second-no-kings-day-protests-likely/
, the median estimate for protester figures, based on local officials, protest organizers and attendees, stands at 5.2 million.
According to the Harvard data platform, as of September 30, the biggest day for protests in 2025 was June 14. Coinciding with Trump’s birthday, this was when the first nation-wide No Kings rallies were held, with a total of 2,363 protests counted in one day. The next biggest day for protests was April 5, when the Hands Off wave of demonstrations took place. These were also against the Trump administration’s policies, including decrying newly imposed https://www.statista.com/chart/34229/additional-reciprocal-tariffs/
, cuts to government agencies and the federal workforce, as well as broader concerns such as democratic backsliding.
In 2017, the biggest day of protests was January 21, which was one day after Trump entered office for the first time and marked the Women's March.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Fri, 10/24/2025 - 22:10
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/political-protests-have-tripled-trump-10
Civilian Casualties Reported As US Conducts Record Number Of Somali Drone Strikes
Civilian Casualties Reported As US Conducts Record Number Of Somali Drone Strikes
,
A drone strike that hit southern Somalia on Tuesday may have caused civilian casualties, https://www.garoweonline.com/en/news/somalia/somalia-drone-strike-hits-lower-shabelle-region-civilian-casualties-reported
to Somali media reports.
Garowe Online reported that the strike hit the Lower Shabelle Region, which neighbors Mogadishu, in an area controlled by al-Shabaab militants. The report did not say how many civilian casualties were caused by the strike, which was likely carried out by US Africa Command.
?itok=Mzpa3-hh
So far, AFRICOM hasn’t said it launched an airstrike in the area that day, but the command typically reports airstrikes a few days after they occur. Turkish drones are also known to carry out strikes against al-Shabaab in Somalia, but on a much less frequent basis.
Garowe Online https://www.garoweonline.com/en/news/somalia/somali-forces-kill-seven-al-shabaab-militants-in-operation
that the US-backed Somali government claimed it killed seven al-Shabaab fighters in an operation with support from AFRICOM, though it was conducted further north in the central Hiraan Region.
If the drone strike in Lower Shabelle is confirmed to have been carried out by the US, it would mark at least the 84th US airstrike launched in Somalia this year, as the Trump administration has been bombing the country at a record pace.
The current administration has shattered the record for total US airstrikes in Somalia in a single year, which President Trump previously set at 63 during his first term in 2019.
for an airstrike in the northern Sanag region that killed a prominent clan elder. AFRICOM claimed he was an al-Shabaab weapons dealer, but that was strongly denied by family members and locals who say the victim, Abdullahi Omar Abdi, was known as a peacemaker.
?itok=HastcpMm
The US has also been bombing the ISIS affiliate in northeastern Somalia’s Puntland region, where it is backing local forces. AFRICOM https://news.antiwar.com/2025/10/22/us-bombs-somalia-for-83rd-time-this-year/
that it launched a strike in Puntland on October 20.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Fri, 10/24/2025 - 21:45
Duffy Threatens To Strip California Of Ability To Issue Commercial Driver's Licenses
Duffy Threatens To Strip California Of Ability To Issue Commercial Driver's Licenses
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned on Oct. 23 that California could lose its ability to issue commercial driver’s licenses and risk losing more funding if it fails to comply with federal transportation rules.
The Transportation Department has already withheld more than $40 million in funding from California after an investigation found that the state had not met federal English-language proficiency standards for truck drivers, Duffy said in a https://x.com/SecDuffy/status/1981544548170944994
on X.
?itok=LRdDf_QB
Harjinder Singh is escorted onto an airplane by Florida Lt. Gov. Jay Collins and law enforcement in Stockton, Calif., on Aug. 21, 2025. AP Photo/Benjamin Fanjoy
In an https://www.foxnews.com/video/6383666432112
with Fox News aired on Oct. 23, Duffy threatened to pull another $160 million from California if it refused to adhere to federal regulations governing the issuance of commercial driver’s licenses.
“I’m doing a quick review of [the state’s] lack of compliance for our rules. I have the ability and I’m going to pull almost another $160 million,” Duffy said.
“And then I have the ability for California to say, listen, you don’t follow any of these rules that keep Americans safe, we’re going to revoke your ability to issue a commercial driver’s license.”
to California Gov. Gavin Newsom dated Sept. 26, the department’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) stated that its investigation found that California had issued commercial driver’s licenses to nondomiciled drivers that were valid beyond the expiration of their work authorization in the country.
The agency required that California implement corrective measures, warning that failure to do so could result in the loss of certain federal highway funds and the decertification of the state’s commercial driver’s licensing program.
The state was ordered to pause issuance of commercial driver’s licenses to nondomiciled drivers, identify all unexpired nondomiciled drivers who failed to comply with federal regulations, and conduct an internal audit to identify procedural and programming errors in the issuance of commercial driver’s licenses, among other requirements.
The Epoch Times reached out to Newsom’s office for comment, but did not receive a response by publication time.
The department initiated an investigation into California’s compliance with federal safety rules following a fatal https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/truck-driver-faces-deportation-after-illegal-u-turn-that-killed-3-in-florida-5902555
in Florida on Aug. 12 that involved a semi-truck driver who illegally entered the United States in 2018 through the southern border.
The truck driver, identified as Harjinder Singh, an Indian national, allegedly made an illegal U-turn on the Florida Turnpike on Aug. 12, causing a minivan to collide with his commercial semi-truck. All three of the minivan’s occupants were killed in the crash.
Singh was issued a commercial driver’s license in July 2024 by California, despite being in the country illegally. He had also obtained a full-term commercial driver’s license in Washington state in July 2023. Singh also did not pass English-language and road tests, https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/trump-admin-withholds-41-million-from-california-over-english-language-trucking-rules-5930277
to officials.
On Oct.23, federal immigration authorities https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/ice-seeks-arrest-of-california-truck-driver-who-killed-3-post-5933919
an arrest order for an Indian national who is alleged to have killed three people in California while driving a semi-truck under the influence of drugs. The incident occurred on Oct. 21.
Three people died instantly in the accident, and several others were injured, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said in a statement.
ICE lodged an arrest detainer on Oct. 22 for Jashanpreet Singh, 21, who they said is “a criminal illegal alien from India.”
The Trump administration https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/us-pauses-visas-for-commercial-truck-drivers-citing-safety-and-other-impacts-5904594
the issuance of all worker visas for commercial truck drivers on Aug. 21, stating that the increasing number of foreign drivers was “endangering American lives” and undercutting jobs for American truckers.
California’s Department of Transportation issued an emergency ruling last month that prohibits the state from issuing or renewing limited-term legal commercial driver’s licenses to noncitizens.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Fri, 10/24/2025 - 21:20
Prominent Personalities Sign Letter Seeking Ban On 'Development Of Superintelligence'
Prominent Personalities Sign Letter Seeking Ban On 'Development Of Superintelligence'
Hundreds of people, from conservative commentators to prominent tech executives, have signed a https://superintelligence-statement.org/
seeking a ban on “the development of superintelligence.”
?itok=3DzzXtrw
This year, leading technology firms such as Google, Meta Platforms, and OpenAI have accelerated efforts to build artificial intelligence (AI) systems capable of outperforming humans across a broad spectrum of elementary and complex tasks.
A growing chorus of prominent people thinks that it is time to hit the brakes—at least temporarily.
The letter, put together by the Future of Life Institute, calls for a ban on advancing superintelligent AI until there is public demand and science charts a safe path for the technology.
“We call for a prohibition on the development of superintelligence, not lifted before there is broad scientific consensus that it will be done safely and controllably, and strong public buy-in,” reads the brief statement, released on Oct. 22.
The Future of Life Institute has spent the past decade sounding the alarm over the existential risks posed by advanced AI. Its petition has drawn thousands of signatures and support from hundreds of high-profile figures aligned with the group’s mission, including AI pioneers Yoshua Bengio and Geoffrey Hinton.
Bengio said AI systems could outperform most individuals in various cognitive tasks in the next few years. While they will bring advancements, they could also “carry significant risks,” Bengio wrote in a personal note released with the letter.
“To safely advance toward superintelligence, we must scientifically determine how to design AI systems that are fundamentally incapable of harming people, whether through misalignment or malicious use,” he wrote.
“We also need to make sure the public has a much stronger say in decisions that will shape our collective future.”
The letter warns of increasing threats to the world, including the loss of freedom, civil liberties, and “human economic obsolescence and disempowerment.”
Among the other signatories are conservative media personality Glenn Beck, Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, former national security adviser Susan Rice, and political commentator Steve Bannon.
The letter expresses consternation over the rapid development and deployment of AI across a wide array of industries, political ideologies, and religious sects.
“The future of AI should serve humanity, not replace it,“ Prince Harry, one of many signatories alongside his wife, Meghan, said in a personal note released with the letter. ”The true test of progress will be not how fast we move, but how wisely we steer.”
Stuart Russell, an AI pioneer and computer science professor at the University of California–Berkeley, said that the statement is not a prohibition or moratorium “in the usual sense.” Instead, he wrote, it is a proposal to install the necessary safeguards for a technology that “has a significant chance to cause human extinction.”
“Is that too much to ask?” Russell wrote.
In a 2015 blog https://blog.samaltman.com/machine-intelligence-part-1
, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wrote that the rise of “superhuman machine intelligence (SMI) is probably the greatest threat to the continued existence of humanity.”
?itok=kxluypkQ
Tesla CEO Elon Musk attends the Building a Legacy: Remembering Charlie Kirk memorial event at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., on Sept. 21, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors and SpaceX, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSOxPJD-VNo&t=8298s
podcast host Joe Rogan earlier this year that there is “only a 20 percent chance of annihilation.”
“The probability of a good outcome is like 80 percent,” the billionaire entrepreneur said.
It is not only experts and famous individuals who voice caution.
The Future of Life Institute cited a recent national https://futureoflife.org/recent-news/americans-want-regulation-or-prohibition-of-superhuman-ai/
of 2,000 adults that found only 5 percent support for “the status quo of fast, unregulated development.” Close to two-thirds (64 percent) think that superhuman AI either should not be created until it is proven safe and controllable or “should never be developed.”
AI on the Street and at Work
For the past three years, Wall Street has been immersed in the rise of AI, with many market watchers comparing it to the dot-com bubble 25 years ago.
Others say it is very different from the exuberance of the late 1990s, when investors poured billions of dollars into companies with “dot-com” in their names.
“Overall, there are some similarities (increasing market concentration in tech stocks; aggressive capital investment ahead of revenues),” John Belton, portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds, said in a note emailed to The Epoch Times.
“But I think it is oversimplifying things to say we are in a ‘bubble’ (almost certainly not in a valuation bubble; but an argument to be made that there is some recent froth in earnings streams).”
Whether the AI bubble is real or not, companies are pressing ahead with AI, and U.S. workers are worried.
from FactSet Insights, during the second quarter, more than 40 percent of S&P 500 firms commented on “AI” during earnings calls. This is the fifth consecutive quarter in which more than 200 S&P 500 firms have done so.
A Reuters-Ipsos https://www.reuters.com/world/us/americans-fear-ai-permanently-displacing-workers-reutersipsos-poll-finds-2025-08-19/
conducted this past summer found that 71 percent of respondents were worried about AI “putting too many people out of work permanently.”
While AI has yet to spur widespread job displacement, member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors Christopher Waller said last week that more companies are preparing for the new technology in their day-to-day operations.
“Retailers in particular are cutting back on employment for call centers and IT-related occupations,” Waller https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/waller20251015a.htm
at an Oct. 15 DC Fintech Week event. “So far, most say this is being handled through attrition, but a number of retailers say that there is the potential for downsizing next year.”
Even employees working in the AI field are facing job cuts.
Meta announced on Oct. 22 that it is eliminating about 600 positions in its Superintelligence Labs, which will affect Facebook Artificial Intelligence Research and other AI and AI-related products and infrastructure.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Fri, 10/24/2025 - 20:55
Pentagon Orders Carrier Strike Group To Join SOUTHCOM Operations Near Venezuela
Pentagon Orders Carrier Strike Group To Join SOUTHCOM Operations Near Venezuela
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has on Friday ordered the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to the US Southern Command area of responsibility, joining what is already an unprecedented US military build-up in the southern Caribbean off Venezuela.
And so after nine attacks on alleged narco-smuggling boats, it looks as if the strikes on cartels will only intensify, also after President Trump suggested that "land" operations could commence against the Maduro government.
?itok=_NRxih-N
"The enhanced U.S. force presence in the USSOUTHCOM AOR will bolster U.S. capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States homeland and our security in the Western Hemisphere," the Pentagon says.
"These forces will enhance and augment existing capabilities to disrupt narcotics trafficking and degrade and dismantle TCOs," the statement adds.
Below is the list of assets which will join at least eight warships already deployed to the waters, led by the SS Gerald R. Ford:
Arleigh Burke-Class Guided-Missile Destroyers
USS Mahan (DDG-72)
USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81)
USS Bainbridge (DDG-96)
These are being redirected from the Mediterranean Sea to the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) Area-of-Responsibility near Venezuela.
Already the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and several other air and naval assets are currently operating off Puerto Rico with an eye on Venezuela.
Trump’s Venezuela task-force counts 140,200 tons of ships. That’s more than the UK’s only carrier strike group. The deployment’s firepower is about equal to half of the entire Royal Navy’s warship and attack submarine displacement. https://t.co/dDVLsKUYEo
— barry with the NED (@bonzerbarry) https://twitter.com/bonzerbarry/status/1965059549972636036?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
President Trump has insisted he doesn't need a formal war authorization from Congress to conduct anti-Venezuela operations aimed at 'terrorists' and 'narco-traffickers' and has at various times threatened regime change in Caracas.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Fri, 10/24/2025 - 20:30
Gen Z's Grim Economic Prospects
Gen Z's Grim Economic Prospects
The generation of young people just starting out in their careers faces an uphill battle unlike anything confronted by their parents and grandparents.
?itok=iEvjiT6L
For them, the promise of the American Dream is elusive at best.
Everything is more expensive. The job market is frozen for pay for which they were hoping. Industry is changing so fast that educational credentials are ever less valuable.
There is real panic in the air among them, which is why so many have turned to substance abuse and far-flung hopes of making it rich in crypto or the influencer economy.
A new https://press.theteflacademy.com/united-states
on the expenses faced by this generation has appeared that frames it up in alarming terms.
Over 20 years from 2005 to 2025, the cost of all essentials has soared:
Housing (rent) is up 120 percent.
Transportation is up 86 percent.
Education is up 133 percent.
Groceries are up 79 percent.
Entertainment is up 100 percent.
Utilities are up 53 percent.
Time to save for house down payment has gone from 8 to 14 years.
The average student debt burden has moved from $20K to $30K.
The real increase in salaries is 12 percent.
Health insurance these days is a killer of living standards, averaging $27,000 from the business side and that’s without using it.
Housing ownership seems largely out of the question.
In general, this whole generation has a delayed wealth curve that is 7 to 10 years relative to prior generations. In other words, it’s a lost generation, with a financial challenge that is matched by the trauma of pandemic lockdowns, ill-education, and digital addiction.
Behind all this is a hidden force at work, the dramatic devaluation of the currency over five years. During this time, the dollar lost 25-35 percent of its value, depending on the service or good in question. Salaries simply are not keeping up.
All this began to unfold in 2020 when the Federal Reserve accommodated the wildest spending binge by Congress in American history. The result was debt, which the Fed purchased with newly printed cash, which was then dispersed to the public in the form of stimulus payments.
Anyone with a modicum of economic knowledge could foresee the problem. This was not like the quantitative easing of 2008 which deployed an accounting trick to keep the new money locked up in bank vaults. The monetary expansion of 2020-2023 resulted in hot money on the street, which translates directly to higher prices and a lower purchasing power.
?itok=PVSBt9T-
There are many ways to represent the impact on income but consider what has happened in the world center of markets for a century, New York City. What we see is a picture of massive disruption over five years, to the point of absolute calamity. Real median household income is lower now than five years ago. Many businesses were driven out or died completely. Some of the most productive residents left.
?itok=mqBKhBnY
The reality on the ground is worse than it seems. The city is unaffordable for any regular income earned by a young person. Even worse, the physical conditions of the city have deteriorated dramatically. If you haven’t visited in 20 years, you will likely find the place unrecognizable. The same can be said of many U.S. cities, the very places where young people once depended upon for career starts.
All the political winds in D.C. right now are demanding lower and lower interest rates so as to make servicing the new debt more affordable. The problem with this strategy is that artificially lowered rates send distorted signals to industry. The message is borrow, expand, build in leverage or get wiped out by the competition. At some uncertain point in the future, the pattern breaks as consumers are completely tapped out.
The economy cannot operate as a perpetual motion machine. Prosperity cannot be maintained by endless cycles of fakery, with fresh money fueling higher financials and rewarding people on the other side of the divide. Anyone with a million in the bank can sit back and live off the proceeds forever while young workers just starting out can hardly pay the bills.
This is combustible, politically and culturally.
What is the solution? As with every inflation in history, the first step is to stop the money printers. That is easier said than done simply because the entire financial system today is addicted to debt finance which in turn depends on a Fed forever cranking out the fiat. The fear here is that the fix will be worse than the disease.
Today, it is widely accepted that inflation should run hotter than it has normally been in the entire postwar period, so between 2 and 3 percent. Many suspect that the Fed has quietly changed the target to 2.5 percent. There is plenty of evidence that this is true, in which case there will be no real solution forthcoming.
The latest CPI data is running hot at 3 percent, further suggesting the possibility of a second wave. This would be a disaster, sealing the fate of a generation. Meanwhile, there is no mystery about the cause: it’s the money printing!
?itok=YDV5Kzja
It was four decades ago when I graduated from college without a thought about a job, debt, or paying the bills. I wasn’t irresponsible. These were not issues my generation confronted. We just assumed that if you had skill and will, everything else would fall into place. You found a place to live, worked hard, and everything worked out.
We had no idea at the time that we were living in a rare moment of history. Low inflation, low unemployment, high growth, freedom and ebullience all around. Now that moment is entirely gone, replaced with anxiety that is mutating to panic and despair. Old people don’t care much because they are doing just fine—perhaps the last American generation that can count on being comfortably well off.
The only way that Gen Z can battle this problem is by a big change in spending habits. The same survey cited above reports that young workers are spending on average $300 per month on restaurants and bars. Maybe that doesn’t sound like much but simply changing that habit—cooking at home instead of throwing away money on expensive dining—would make a big difference.
A major problem here is that Gen Z needs to change its expectations, all of which are rooted in class fears fueled by social media nonsense. They have to be at the right spots, wear the right clothes, live in the best places, and drive fashionable cars. These are extremely powerful psychological pulls. Corporate finance is there to seem to make it all possible for a while.
In the last three years, myriad companies have sprung up to give cash advances by linking one’s bank account on the spot while shopping. The fees are high because they are not classified as interest, and they evade regulatory controls. What these companies are doing is exploiting class insecurity and pillaging the people who can least afford it.
The only real solution here is the traditional value of frugality. It’s possible to buy groceries from less-fashionable places, dial back amenities in apartment living, buy used clothing from online marketplaces, and forgo vacations and entertainment. You can cut the bills, with the goal of having zero debt. This is the only way to live as a young person if you have any hope of building a secure future.
Economic headwinds are leaning hard against Gen Z and this has produced a kind of demoralization. Nothing works as it once did. Policymakers and parents can help but the ultimate solution is going to come down to a change of priorities.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Fri, 10/24/2025 - 20:05
https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/gen-zs-grim-economic-prospects
Rising D.C. Uncertainty Hits "Stressed" Homebuyers, Dining Demand
Rising D.C. Uncertainty Hits "Stressed" Homebuyers, Dining Demand
The government shutdown has now entered its 23rd day, after the Senate on Wednesday once again failed to pass a House-approved funding bill - the 12th such attempt. Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon led a marathon speech on the Senate floor that lasted nearly 23 hours.
Republicans and Democrats continue to battle for narrative control. This time, https://www.zerohedge.com/political/trump-winning-shutdown-fight-public-opinion-shifts-his-favor
holds an advantage, as he has anticipated and countered left-wing disinformation campaigns. His administration also appears less likely to yield to unhinged leftist demands, such as funding healthcare subsidies for illegal aliens.
Earlier this week, Goldman analysts, led by Chief Economist Jan Hatzius, https://zerohedge.com/markets/flying-blind-goldman-lists-five-drivers-pressuring-labor-market
pressuring the labor market, including "Reduction in government hiring and funding."
Drilling down into the District of Columbia, where nearly one in four workers has a federal job, the government shutdown appears to be "rattling" prospective home buyers, according to a new https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-10-23/-people-are-stressed-dc-house-hunters-rattled-by-shutdown
report.
Showings were already muted since August, when President Trump deployed National Guard troops to clean up violent crime sparked by failed criminal justice reforms by Democrats.
Lisa Sturtevant, Chief Economist at Bright MLS, also confirmed this trend of a souring mood among prospective homebuyers. "We're seeing the impact of the uncertainty we've been living with for six months," she said, adding, "People are stressed."
Marc Dosik, who leads the Fed City Team of agents at Century 21 Redwood Realty, warned about the mounting "uncertainty" in the nation's capital.
"I've got more listings than I normally hold." Buyers are still out there, but they're looking for something special, Redfin Rebecca Love said, adding, "Most people aren't flat out stopping their search. They are looking for much more perfect places now because they're being cautious with their funds."
To be fair, MLS's weekly housing report in the D.C. metro area shows that listings were already above trend this year...
?itok=pUjfsezh
Separately, restaurant data from OpenTable shows that online reservations in the D.C. metro area, a proxy of dining demand, have noticeably slumped since National Guard deployment, compounded by the shutdown...
?itok=lhxxe4E8
Latest shutdown odds from https://polymarket.com/event/when-will-the-government-shutdown-end-545?tid=1761224550927
.
?itok=uPkmtekE
From big-ticket purchases to discretionary spending behavior, it seems the metro area, where nearly 20% of workers are employed by the federal government, is showing a dampened mood.
The Brookings Institution recently asked: "Is the D.C. region’s economy stalling?"
Is the D.C. region’s economy stalling?
For The Current, Tracy Hadden Loh and Glencora Haskins break down the latest DMV Monitor data on jobs, housing, and business trends across the region 📊 https://t.co/Km5xrHyc9P
— The Brookings Institution (@BrookingsInst) https://twitter.com/BrookingsInst/status/1980662549474357282?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
When was the last time D.C. experienced a recession?
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Fri, 10/24/2025 - 19:40
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/rising-dc-uncertainty-hits-stressed-homebuyers-dining-demand
Watch: Fetterman Continues To Slam His Own Party
Watch: Fetterman Continues To Slam His Own Party
https://modernity.news/2025/10/23/video-fetterman-continues-to-slate-his-own-party/
Democrat Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) has once again openly criticised his own party over the ongoing government shutdown, intensifying discussions about a potential primary challenge against him in 2028.
?itok=OJ_iIVVw
Filming a video in front of the U.S. Capitol, Fetterman bluntly states “Hi, here we are and our government remains closed. And I think that’s failure.”
He continues, “and I’m the guy that’s gonna consistently vote for country over Party, always going to vote for paying our military over the Party. I’m always gonna vote for paying the Capitol Police over my Party.”
He further vows, “I’m gonna continue to fight for the two millions Pennsylvanians that depend on SNAP to feed themselves.”
"And I’m also going to fight for the four hundred and twenty thousand Pennsylvanians that depend on those tax credits to make health insurance more affordable,” he adds concluding that “we can fight for all of them as long as our government is open.”
“My vote is going to remain firmly on keeping our government open,” Fetterman concludes, a position that aligns with public sentiment but sharply diverges from the Democrats’ tactics.
Watch:
🚨 BREAKING: Leftists now want to primary challenge out Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) more than ever, after he posted a video scorching his own party for refusing to pay the troops and police by shutting the government down.
"This is FAILURE."
"I will consistently vote for… https://t.co/SLu80tw1vz
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/1981094884476920011?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
In addition, Fetterman appeared on Hannity, and referred to Democrats’ unwillingness to tone down the violent rhetoric.
“I refuse to do those kinds of things [call people fascists and Nazis] because that kind of extreme rhetoric makes it easier for those kinds of extreme actions, like what happened to poor Charlie Kirk,” Fetterman said.
“It’s like, that’s just basic humanity there… I refuse to be a part of comparing people to Hitler and those things because if that’s what’s required to win, then I refuse to.”
John Fetterman points to Charlie Kirk’s death as proof that his party’s “extreme rhetoric” has gone too far.
Democrats are already furious with Fetterman, and this latest statement is the last thing they want to be said on-air:
“I refuse to do those kinds of things [call people… https://t.co/Uekd6o4uiq
— Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) https://twitter.com/VigilantFox/status/1981172741660368905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
He again criticised the shutdown, and his Party’s use of it to score political points.
From there, Fetterman exposed how Democrats are letting their own base GO HUNGRY over the shutdown just to score political points against Trump.
“Two million Pennsylvanians depend on SNAP to help feed themselves and their families. Two million,” Fetterman stressed.
“And now… https://t.co/8CGCWpzgut
— Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) https://twitter.com/VigilantFox/status/1981203642062413827?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
“I’m not afraid of telling the truth. I’ll be the Democrat that refuses to lie to the base and pretend that this is right,” the Senator noted, adding “I’m proud to stand with Israel. I’m proud to say that we need to secure our border. I think it’s entirely appropriate to bomb the Iranian nuclear facilities.
John Fetterman issues a defiant message to Democrats threatening to primary him:
“I’m not afraid of telling the truth. I’ll be the Democrat that refuses to lie to the base and pretend that this [shutting the government down] is right. I’m proud to stand with Israel. I’m proud to… https://t.co/yc0aHPfLfc
— Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) https://twitter.com/VigilantFox/status/1981180073509032390?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Fetterman concluded, “And now I refuse to call on my fellow citizens as they’re fascists or Nazis or those things. And if somebody wants to primary me or the party wants to vote me out, it’s like I’m going to go down being honest and telling you that this is wrong to do these kinds of things. And I refuse to do that. I think we need to be a big, big tent party. That doesn’t sound like it.”
John Fetterman spends two full minutes torching his own party for abandoning common sense just to spite Trump.
The music told Fetterman to wrap it up, but he just kept going — raving about how much he LOVES Trump’s “No Tax on Tips” and how disgraceful it was for Democrats to not… https://t.co/aw7aQfe1x0
— Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) https://twitter.com/VigilantFox/status/1981186605537779886?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Fetterman’s continued remarks to this effect have sparked a firestorm within Democratic circles, as he prioritizes national interests over party loyalty, a stance that many in his party find increasingly untenable.
His words reflect a growing impatience with the political gridlock that has led to the shutdown, a sentiment that resonates with many Americans but clashes with the strategic calculations of Democratic leadership, which once again refused to reopen the government Wednesday.
Fetterman’s pledge to prioritize military funding and national security over partisan politics is a direct challenge to the Democratic strategy of leaning on the shutdown for political leverage.
His refusal to toe the line is seen by some Democrats as a betrayal of the collective, especially during a time when unity optics, no matter how crazy in reality, are deemed crucial.
This stance has not gone unnoticed, with reports indicating that Democrats are increasingly frustrated with Fetterman’s independent streak.
As we noted in recent analysis, potential 2028 contenders within the Democratic Party are already positioning themselves against him, with figures like Rep. Brendan Boyle and Rep. Chris Deluzio considering primary challenges.
The backlash within the Democratic Party is palpable. Sources close to the party have expressed dismay at Fetterman’s positioning, with one senior Democratic staffer telling CNN, “His response is kind of baffling and makes it seem like he’s not really listening to what’s being said.”
This sentiment is echoed in the strategic calculations of party leaders who fear that Fetterman’s independence could split the Democratic vote in Pennsylvania, a critical battleground state.
The prospect of a well-funded opposition, potentially backed by party elites like Chuck Schumer, looms large, as Democrats seek to punish Fetterman for his deviation.
Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via https://pauljosephwatson.locals.com/support
.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Fri, 10/24/2025 - 19:15
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/watch-fetterman-continues-slam-his-own-party
Atlanta At The Center Of Nationwide Boom In Rental Application Fraud
Atlanta At The Center Of Nationwide Boom In Rental Application Fraud
Atlanta has become the center of a nationwide boom in rental-application fraud, according to a https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/renter-fraud-apartment-applications-bb3c9c75?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=AWEtsqcyAym1ncHKzrT099zrGGGMGqSqnwyNMGXMPXpoV4OHinv3yC1WTEndEt6ucyc%3D&gaa_ts=68f7b8df&gaa_sig=5MXKpg0g_esqmmErChuBRL2ifEGWddCsxUlQgrBau2v9yzu_W5gGF84gfsUGfOKKtOdVem7t7VzZW6wZcX0WHg%3D%3D
.
With average rents for two-bedroom apartments nearing $2,000 a month—well above what many locals can afford—some renters are turning to fake documents and fabricated financial details to qualify for luxury apartments.
Social media has fueled the trend. TikTok influencers promote “rental packages” with doctored pay stubs, false employment letters, or fake Social Security numbers. One influencer bragged, “When that apartment package got you approved for your luxury apartment in two weeks even though you had two evictions and a 500 credit score.”
?itok=IYBlV2U5
Greystar, the nation’s largest apartment landlord, says up to half of its applications in some Atlanta buildings are fraudulent. “Anybody that says they want to move in today or move in tomorrow, it’s fraud,” warned Kori Sewell, an Atlanta apartment manager.
that the rise stems from a mix of factors: a glut of high-end apartments after Atlanta’s building boom, shrinking affordable housing, and advancing technology that makes falsifying documents easy. Between 2018 and 2023, the region lost more than 230,000 affordable rental units.
Nationally, nearly three-quarters of landlords reported a 40% increase in rental fraud last year. “It’s becoming a bigger and bigger problem coast to coast,” said Damon McCall, CEO of ApproveShield, a fraud-detection software firm.
?itok=rNBTLQhl
Fraud carries legal risks but is rarely prosecuted; landlords usually focus on evictions. Some scammers pay rent for a few months before defaulting, forcing landlords to absorb losses and write off bad debt. Others never pay at all—like one Atlanta tenant who said, “Basically, the entire building was filled with people who got in fraudulently.”
To combat the issue, many landlords now use verification software. As fraudsters adopt AI tools to fake documents, detection firms are responding in kind. “We fight fire with fire,” said Kyle Nelson of Snappt.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Fri, 10/24/2025 - 18:50
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/atlanta-center-nationwide-boom-rental-application-fraud
Congress Takes A Page From Louisiana: The Case For An American Energy Renaissance
Congress Takes A Page From Louisiana: The Case For An American Energy Renaissance
,
When Louisiana enacted Act 462 earlier this year, it did more than redefine “green energy.” It redefined leadership. Under Governor Jeff Landry’s direction, Louisiana became the first state in the nation to recognize natural gas and nuclear power as a clean, affordable, and reliable energy source – cementing its place as a model for states and, now, for the nation.
?itok=cPf_dUaY
Last Friday, Congressman Troy Balderson introduced federal legislation building on Louisiana’s landmark law. The measure takes the same common-sense approach: prioritizing American-made energy, reducing reliance on adversarial nations, and ensuring that “green” energy policy reflects economic and scientific reality.
Governor Landry had urged exactly this kind of action from Washington. When he signed Act 462, he called on Congress to adopt a national energy security strategy built around America’s abundant hydrocarbons – particularly natural gas and nuclear. His argument was simple: energy security is national security, and no country should be dependent on supply chains that run through Beijing, Moscow, or child-labor camps in the Congo.
The new federal bill answers that call.
A Return to Reality in Energy Policy
For too long, federal energy policy has been guided by slogans rather than science and economics. Policymakers in Washington have subsidized unreliable energy sources, ignored full life-cycle costs, and allowed critical infrastructure to depend on foreign materials produced under appalling labor and environmental standards.
Louisiana broke that mold. Act 462 directed state agencies to consider affordability, reliability, and domestic sourcing when evaluating energy projects. It mandated a new method to calculate the cost of energy that includes the hidden expenses of foreign supply chains – like child labor, environmental destruction, and geopolitical vulnerability. And it treated hydrocarbons such as natural gas not as an enemy of the environment, but as an ally of prosperity and innovation.
The federal legislation now mirrors those principles. It redefines “green” and “clean” energy to include not just intermittent renewables but also natural gas and nuclear power – resources that provide stable, dispatchable power without the economic and moral costs of dependence on foreign critical minerals.
An Abundance Waiting to Be Used
America’s natural gas reserves are among the largest in the world, yet federal policy has often treated them as a liability. Governor Landry challenged that mindset, arguing that America’s abundant hydrocarbons are a strategic advantage to be leveraged, not a problem to be managed.
By unlocking domestic production, the U.S. can achieve three vital goals: lower costs for consumers, greater resilience for the electric grid, and stronger national security. Every cubic foot of gas produced in Louisiana, Texas, or Ohio displaces energy that would otherwise come from countries that do not share our values. Every pipeline and LNG terminal built here strengthens our economy and weakens our adversaries.
The Louisiana model recognizes this interconnected truth. The federal version now before Congress brings that logic to the national stage.
Leading by Example
Louisiana’s success story demonstrates what happens when energy policy is grounded in reality. Since passing Act 462, the state has attracted new manufacturing investments, expanded LNG exports, and secured thousands of high-paying energy jobs. Businesses value predictability and affordability – two qualities that hydrocarbon energy delivers.
Governor Landry’s message to Congress was clear: Build energy policy around American resources, American workers, and American values. Representative Balderson’s introduction of this new federal legislation proves that message was heard.
A New Energy Consensus
The debate over energy is no longer between “green” and “dirty.” It’s between the real and the imaginary. The real path to clean, affordable, reliable energy lies in embracing the resources beneath our feet – using innovation, not ideology, to reduce emissions and expand opportunity.
By adopting a new framework, Congress is taking a crucial step toward restoring balance, security, and common sense to national energy policy. The era of energy dependence and self-inflicted scarcity can end – if Washington has the will.
Louisiana showed the way. Now it’s time for Congress to finish the job.
Cameron Sholty is the Executive Director of Heartland Impact, the advocacy arm of The Heartland Institute.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Fri, 10/24/2025 - 18:25
https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/congress-takes-page-louisiana-case-american-energy-renaissance
Rand Paul Again Slams Trump Over Strikes: 'If We Don't Blow Up Boats Off Miami, Why Do It Off Venezuela?'
Rand Paul Again Slams Trump Over Strikes: 'If We Don't Blow Up Boats Off Miami, Why Do It Off Venezuela?'
Senator Rand Paul has again slammed President Donald Trump over his military operations off Venezuela, which has killed 27 people after at least half a dozen alleged drug smuggling boats have been blown out of the water by US drones.
Paul spoke with British journalist Piers Morgan this week and argued that any armed conflict should be approved by Congress. The Republican and libertarian-leaning Senator further questioned the administration's claim that the strikes aim to thwart the fentanyl trade in particular.
Rand Paul argues against the indiscriminate targeting of boats off the coast of Venezuela:
"When can you kill people indiscriminately? When you're at war. We don't just summarily execute people, we actually present evidence and we convict them." https://t.co/4c45YZ9H0D
— The American Conservative (@amconmag) https://twitter.com/amconmag/status/1980989861898416346?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
"There is no fentanyl made in Venezuela. Not just a little bit, there's none being made. These are outboard boats that, in order for them to get to Miami, would have to stop and refuel 20 times," Paul said.
"It's all likely going to Trinidad and Tobago. There are a lot of reasons to be worried about this. Number one is the broader principle of when can you kill people indiscriminately when there's war. That's why when we declare war is supposed to be done by Congress. It's not supposed to be done willy nilly. When there's war you just kill people in the war zone, there are rules of engagement," Paul added.
He further emphasized that "interdicting drugs has always been an anti crime activity where we don't just summarily execute people, we actually present evidence and convict them."
The Kentucky lawmaker has also recently asserted on social media that "it's imperative that we make it clear that war powers reside with Congress, not the president."
Paul has recently joined Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine in seeking to force a vote which would stop Trump from unilaterally declaring war on Venezuela.
The Washington Post meanwhile writes on Wednesday that Trump is beating the drums of war https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/10/22/venezuela-trump-maduro-war-narcotics/
:
Trump has made clear his intentions to go beyond blowing up boats, saying “we’re going to stop them by land” in Venezuela. Several people familiar with internal administration deliberations said any initial land attack would probably be a targeted operation on alleged trafficker encampments or clandestine airstrips, rather than a direct attempt to unseat Maduro.
Some said the U.S. deployments and boat strikes were psychological warfare to promote fractures in the Venezuelan armed forces or persuade Maduro to step down.
But Trump has said nothing to dispel concerns that the United States could launch a full-scale military operation.
Paul argues to Piers Morgan: If we don't blow up boats off Miami, why do it off Venezuela...
🇺🇸🇻🇪 SEN. RAND PAUL: IF WE DON’T BLOW UP BOATS OFF MIAMI, WHY DO IT OFF VENEZUELA
“If you go off the coast of Miami, the Coast Guard will be stopping boats today, and about 25% of the boats they stop that they’re suspicious of drugs, there won’t be any drugs on board.
So 25% of… https://t.co/Uc9Ji9fWcw
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) https://twitter.com/MarioNawfal/status/1980859156933272061?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Earlier in the week Trump was directly asked whether he has authorized the CIA to "take out" Maduro. Trump responded ambiguously by saying it would be "a ridiculous question for me to answer. But I think Venezuela is feeling the heat."
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 10/22/2025 - 18:00
Tesla Earnings Preview: Record Deliveries, Margin Pressure And AI In Focus
Tesla Earnings Preview: Record Deliveries, Margin Pressure And AI In Focus
Tesla is set to report its third-quarter 2025 earnings results after the market closes today. Wall Street’s focus this quarter is squarely on whether record deliveries and energy deployments will translate into meaningful profit growth amid persistent price pressures and an increasingly competitive EV landscape. Additionally, Robotaxi, AI and robotics will be in focus for investors looking to model the company's future.
Revenue and EPS Expectations
Analysts expect Tesla to post earnings of $0.52 per share on revenue of $26.27 billion, while the so-called whisper number stands slightly higher at $0.61 per share. According to Bloomberg’s consensus, adjusted EPS is estimated at $0.54, with total revenue of $26.36 billion, gross margins near 17.2%, operating income of $1.65 billion, free cash flow of $1.25 billion, and capital expenditures around $2.84 billion.
If Tesla meets expectations, the company will post its highest quarterly revenue ever—powered primarily by its record vehicle deliveries. Earlier this month, Tesla disclosed it produced 447,450 vehicles and delivered 497,099 during the quarter, the highest in its history. That total included 481,166 deliveries of the Model 3 and Model Y and 15,933 deliveries of other models. Tesla also confirmed deployment of 12.5 GWh of energy storage capacity during the period, another record for the company. These figures have solidified expectations for top-line growth, even as margins continue to compress.
?itok=nwkMemvQ
On the production side, Tesla built 447,450 vehicles, down 4.8% from a year earlier and just under the consensus of 450,313. Model 3/Y production totaled 435,826, a 1.8% decline but still ahead of forecasts. Production of other models slipped to 11,624, down 13% from the prior quarter.
?itok=E5YefxNH
Despite those records, Wall Street does not expect record profits. Tesla earned $0.72 per share during the same period last year, and consensus estimates now suggest an earnings downtrend driven by ongoing price cuts and cost competition across the global EV market. The company’s earnings per share have fallen steadily since peaking in 2022, and analysts expect full-year 2025 EPS of around $1.75, down from $2.28 in 2024 and $3.12 in 2023.
Auto Focus: EV Credit Pull Forward and Cheaper Model Y
Tesla’s automotive business still dominates its results, accounting for the majority of revenue despite Elon Musk’s frequent characterization of the company as an AI and robotics leader. For now, the automaker’s financial health remains tightly linked to the number of vehicles it delivers, not autonomous driving or humanoid robots.
Recall, Tesla unveiled a cheaper Model Y today weeks ago with prices starting at $37,990–$39,990, about 15% below the previous base model, as the company works to reverse slowing sales and lost U.S. tax incentives. Elon Musk has long promised a mass-market EV, though he scrapped a $25,000 car plan last year. Still, https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/tesla-expected-unveil-lower-cost-model-y-push-reignite-sales-2025-10-07/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
: "The desire to buy the car is very high. (It's) just (that) people don't have enough money in the bank account to buy it. So the more affordable we can make the car, the better."
?itok=zybTRvG_
While Tesla just had a record quarter, global sales are down about 6% this year, and analysts expect U.S. EV sales to fall sharply after the credit’s removal.
What Analysts Are Expecting
Analyst opinions ahead of tonight's report are mixed but focused on several key themes. Cantor Fitzgerald’s Andres Sheppard said investors will be watching for “several upcoming key material potential near-term catalysts,” including the rollout of Robotaxi programs in Texas and California, ramp-up of lower-cost Model 3/Y variants, FSD adoption in China and Europe, and updates on the Optimus humanoid robot and future Cybercab launch. Cantor maintains a $355 price target, implying roughly 20% downside from current levels.
Goldman Sachs analysts are watching five key areas in tonight’s call: vehicle delivery guidance, automotive profit margins, progress on robotaxis and FSD, growth in the energy business, and fresh details on the Optimus robot. Goldman’s price target is $425 per share with a Neutral rating, expecting Tesla to have delivered about 475,000 vehicles in Q3, slightly below the reported total.
RBC is more bullish, setting a $500 price target based on a “sum-of-the-parts” valuation that assigns increasing weight to Tesla’s AI and robotics divisions. RBC analyst Tom Narayan recently raised his target after management discussions around Optimus production, which the bank believes could represent a $9 trillion total addressable market over time. Morningstar’s Dave Sekera, meanwhile, is looking for updates on Robotaxi timelines and Tesla’s recently launched lower-cost Model 3 and Model Y variants, suggesting that affordability could be critical for reigniting demand.
Wedbush’s Dan Ives continues to frame Tesla’s next chapter as the “AI era,” emphasizing that “the most important chapter in Tesla's growth story is now beginning with the AI era now here.” Ives believes autonomous driving and robotics could add $1 trillion in value to Tesla’s story in the coming years, positioning the company at the intersection of mobility and intelligence.
?itok=PnB0vhJa
Despite the futuristic focus, some are also wary about Tesla’s fundamentals. The company recently recalled nearly 13,000 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles due to a defect that could cause sudden battery power loss, forcing in-person repairs rather than software fixes. The recall underscores the tension between Tesla’s cutting-edge ambitions and its ongoing manufacturing and reliability challenges.
Musk's $1 Trillion Pay Plan Would Be Helped By A Bullish Report
Also in focus will be Elon Musk’s proposed new pay package, valued at nearly $1 trillion in Tesla stock, and which has ignited opposition from unions, pension funds, and governance watchdogs ahead of a shareholder vote next month. The plan would boost Musk’s voting control to about 25% and extend his leadership for another decade.
Proxy firms ISS and Glass Lewis have urged investors to vote against it, while supporters on Tesla’s board say it’s needed to retain Musk’s focus and vision. The vote will test shareholder confidence in Musk’s leadership as Tesla’s growth slows and scrutiny over governance intensifies.
In the short term, analysts and investors alike expect a bullish tone from management on the call. Tesla strategically delayed its annual shareholders meeting to early November, likely to coincide with this strong quarter ahead of key votes on Musk’s compensation and board seats. With tax credit expirations pulling demand into Q3, Tesla has good reason to spotlight its record quarter before potentially facing a tougher demand environment in coming periods.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 10/22/2025 - 14:40
FBI Has Arrested 28,000 Violent Criminals Since Jan. 20: Trump
FBI Has Arrested 28,000 Violent Criminals Since Jan. 20: Trump
President Donald Trump commended the FBI in an Oct. 20 Truth Social https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115408925114284473
, saying that the agency is doing an “incredible job,” having arrested thousands of criminals and disrupting criminal activity across the nation.
“Since January 20th, more than 28,000 Violent Criminals have been arrested (RECORD BREAKING!), with over 6,000 illegal weapons seized, more than 1,700 child predators and 300 human traffickers taken off the streets, 5,000 innocent children rescued, 2,000 Criminal Enterprises disrupted, 1,900 kilos of Fentanyl (Enough to kill 125 Million people!) taken out—HISTORIC RESULTS,” Trump wrote.
“We are bringing LAW AND ORDER back to America. Kash, Dan, Andrew, and the men and women of the FBI, are doing a tremendous job, MAKING AMERICA SAFE AGAIN!” he said, referring to FBI Director Kash Patel, Deputy Director Dan Bongino, and Co-deputy Director Andrew Bailey.
?itok=i1NnVb_d
Summer Heat, which ran from June to September and targeted such individuals.
On Oct. 15, Trump and Patel announced that more than 8,700 violent criminals were arrested from major U.S. cities during the operation. Around 11,000 murderers were arrested, with around half of them wanted for more than one homicide.
Some places, such as Nashville and New Orleans, saw a 250 percent jump in arrests of people Trump described as the most violent offenders.
Nationwide, crime fell 20 percent from the same period last year, with Trump calling the recent summer the “safest and most peaceful summer in two decades.”
“There’s still much more work to be done, which is why the FBI continues to work alongside the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of War to defend law and order and combat violent crime, arrest illegal aliens, and make American cities the safest in the world,” Trump said.
“Every American deserves to live in a community where they’re not afraid of being mugged, murdered, robbed, raped, assaulted, or shot.
“And that’s exactly what our administration is working to deliver.”
Multiple FBI offices have released stats related to Operation Summer Heat, touting its success in cracking down on violent crime.
In an Oct. 8 https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/baltimore/news/fbi-baltimore-releases-summer-heat-results
, the FBI’s Baltimore office announced 224 arrests during the operation, including making 62 drug seizures and recovering 17 weapons.
it has made 125 arrests during Summer Heat.
Democrat Opposition, Arresting Criminal Illegals
Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard in cities has faced criticism from Democratic lawmakers.
Earlier this month, a group of Democratic senators issued a joint statement warning against what they called “illegal deployments,” according to an Oct. 7 https://www.padilla.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/padilla-schiff-illinois-oregon-senators-warn-against-trumps-illegal-deployments-of-national-guard-troops-to-their-states/
from Sen. Alex Padilla’s (D-Calif.) office.
They accused Trump of “stretching the limits” of presidential authority beyond its breaking point and pushing the country closer to authoritarianism.
“Whether in Los Angeles, Chicago, or Portland, the Trump Administration continues fabricating claims of chaos and crime on American streets to justify his false assertions that there is a ‘need’ to deploy troops into our cities—all while literally defunding our police by cutting funding that helps local law enforcement make our cities safer,” the lawmakers said.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s drive has led to more than 480,000 criminal illegal aliens being arrested over a nine-month period, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in an Oct. 20 https://x.com/Sec_Noem/status/1980383076136988700
on X.
She said that 70 percent of these arrested individuals have either been convicted or have pending charges.
What law enforcement has achieved under Trump is “nothing short of extraordinary,” Noem said.
In an Oct. 20 https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/10/20/secretary-noem-announces-operation-river-wall-bolster-southern-border-security
, DHS detailed a new measure at the southern border to deter illegal immigration into the United States.
Operation River Wall is aimed at securing the Rio Grande region against illegals, narco-terrorists, and other criminal activity at the border, the department said.
The Coast Guard will mobilize more than 100 boats and numerous personnel to secure the roughly 260 miles of the Rio Grande Valley.
“President Trump delivered the most secure southern border in U.S. history in record time, and now, our goal is to make sure it stays that way for the long run,” Noem said.
“The men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard are experts at defending America’s maritime borders--they have been doing that with honor, respect, and devotion to duty since 1790. Now, Coast Guard Forces Rio Grande and Operation River Wall will be a force multiplier in defending against illegal immigration.”
DHS said that for five straight months, no illegal immigrant has been released into the United States.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 10/21/2025 - 21:20
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/fbi-has-arrested-28000-violent-criminals-jan-20-trump
Sweden Tells Citizens To Prepare For "War Mode"
Sweden Tells Citizens To Prepare For "War Mode"
https://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/sweden-tells-citizens-to-prepare-for-war-mode
Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson said that NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) members should prepare their citizens for “war mode.”
?itok=p-OMcgaC
Jonson said that the possibility of a war with Russia is still on the table.
Jonson toldhttps://www.rt.com/news/626699-nato-war-mode-sweden/
in an interview published on Sunday.
“To preserve peace, we must prepare ourselves both mentally and militarily for the possibility of war,” the official said.
“A change in mentality is necessary: We must switch to war mode to resolutely deter, defend, and preserve the peace.”
?itok=yW3_wNqv
Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson, Warsaw, Poland, April 3, 2025. © Foto Olimpik / NurPhoto via Getty Images
Moscow has long viewed the Ukraine conflict as a NATO proxy war aimed at undermining Russia’s security following decades of expansion.
Sweden is the bloc’s newest member, while Ukraine was 'promised' accession sometime in the future.
https://www.rt.com/news/626699-nato-war-mode-sweden/
The European Commission last week unveiled a roadmap outlining its plans to expand joint arms procurement to at least 40% by 2027.
The document emphasized the need to “invest more, invest together, and invest European,” citing global strategic shifts to other regions among “traditional allies.”
The push for greater defense spending aligns with calls from US President Trump, who has demanded that European members buy more American weapons – including for Ukrainian use.
Jonson justified such purchases, saying that Europe “simply doesn’t have or cannot yet produce” the necessary systems.
“Ukraine needs these assets fast,” he said.
“If Europe lacks them, it’s logical to procure them from the US.”
Recently, several American officials told the https://www.yahoo.com/news/wall-street-journal-slams-donald-091901491.html
that Trump is putting much more pressure on the Ukrainian ruler Volodymyr Zelensky than he is on Russia.
Officials say that they have observed Trump’s “hesitation to push Putin, who has shown little interest in concessions needed for a deal.”
One Wall Street Journal source noted that “the White House has put more pressure on Kiev than on Moscow.”
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 10/21/2025 - 05:00
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/sweden-tells-citizens-prepare-war-mode
EU Energy Ministers Want To Finish Ditching Russian Gas In Two Years
EU Energy Ministers Want To Finish Ditching Russian Gas In Two Years
European Union energy ministers think they'll be able to phase out the import of Russian gas by 2028, and have backed a https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2025/10/20/council-agrees-its-position-on-rules-to-phase-out-russian-gas-imports-under-repowereu/
that would begin the process by phasing out the contracts themselves for both pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) by Jan. 1, 2026.
?itok=IyV39TFk
Current agreements may continue until June 17, 2026, while long-term contracts may would be cut off on Jan. 1, 2028.
That said, landlocked members states (Hungary, Slovakia) which have limited alternatives to Russia would be afforded some flexibility.
If the proposed regulations are backed by the European Parliament, it would require member states to submit plans for how they will diversify their energy supplies if they're currently receiving (directly or indirectly) gas from Russia.
Composed of national ministers from each member state, the Council of the EU said in a press release, "The same requirement to submit a national diversification plan will apply to those member states that are still importing Russian oil, with a view to discontinuing those imports by 1 January 2028."
Danish minister for climate, energy and utilities, Lars Aagaard, said "An energy independent Europe is a stronger and more secure Europe. Although we have worked hard and pushed to get Russian gas and oil out of Europe in recent years, we are not there yet," adding that it's critical for Denmark - which currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, secures "overwhelming support from Europe’s energy ministers for the legislation that will definitively ban Russian gas from coming into the EU."
The Council presidency will begin negotiations with European Parliament (720 lawmakers) before agreeing on the final text of the regulations.
In other words - two years will have come and gone by the time they're done talking...
That said, Europe has already significantly cut back on Russian gas;
Between Q1 2021 and Q2 2025, the EU-27 reduced Russian oil imports by more than 90 percent, cutting the share of Russian oil in total extra-EU imports from 29 percent to less than 2 percent. During the same period, Russia’s share of the EU’s natural gas imports dropped from 39 to 13 percent, driven mainly by a 52-percent reduction of natural gas imports in gaseous state. The value of liquefied natural gas imports from Russia actually almost tripled between Q1 2021 and Q2 2025 but still accounted for a smaller share of the EU’s total LNG imports in the most recent quarter. This is due to total LNG imports more than quadrupling during this period, as the EU replaced Russian pipeline gas with LNG from suppliers like the United States, Qatar and Norway. -Staista
_80_0.jpg?itok=KsuPXC-x
notes further, when it comes to Hungary and Slovakia:
Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU has sought to reduce its dependence on energy from Russia. According to an https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/infographics/where-does-the-eu-s-gas-come-from/
on the European Council’s website, “Russia’s share of EU imports of pipeline gas dropped from over 40 percent in 2021 to about 11 percent in 2024.”
In 2024, Russia accounted for less than 19 percent of the EU’s imported gas and LNG combined.
While much of Europe has moved away from Russian energy and Brussels has imposed extensive sanctions on most Russian oil imports, Slovakia and Hungary still https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/poland-calls-on-eu-to-end-russian-oil-imports-by-2026-amid-hungarian-slovak-objections-5916854
Russian supplies via the Druzhba oil pipeline.
Bratislava and Budapest https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/poland-calls-on-eu-to-end-russian-oil-imports-by-2026-amid-hungarian-slovak-objections-5916854
closer ties with Moscow than the rest of the bloc and have defended their continued purchase of Russian oil, saying alternatives are too expensive.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has repeatedly https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/orban-calls-on-eu-to-end-russian-sanctions-to-avoid-destroying-europes-economy-5760336
for the EU to drop its plan to stop Russian energy from being imported, and his environment minister, Aniko Raisz, echoed those sentiments on Sept. 18.
“I think you know our position. We are one of the few landlocked countries in the region. So, our position has always been guided by the energy security for Hungary,” Raisz https://newsroom.consilium.europa.eu/events/20250918-environment-council-september-2025/150169-arrival-and-doorstep-hu-raisz-20250918
in Brussels.
“We know that we have important, important tasks ahead of us, but let’s not daydream.”
?itok=ssNG8foq
Last month, Slovakia https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/slovakia-sides-with-hungary-against-trumps-russian-oil-phase-out-5920152
on U.S. President Donald Trump’s calls for Europe to curb Russian oil imports.
“We don’t have any other options which could be sustainable and also for the price to be reasonable,” Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/slovakia-pushes-back-pressure-over-russia-energy-purchases-2025-09-24/
Reuters during an interview on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 24.
“It takes time to diversify this. So that’s why we are calling for some kind of empathy.”
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/nato-countries-still-tapping-russian-oil-and-gas-what-to-know-5919711
on Sept. 24 that the country will not stop buying Russian oil.
“We are a landlocked country,” Szijjarto told ATV television in an interview in New York City, where he was also attending the U.N. General Assembly. “It would be great if we had access to the sea; we could build an oil refinery or an LNG terminal on the coast and cover the entire world market. But that’s not the case.”
Guy Birchall and Owen Evans contributed to this report.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 10/21/2025 - 04:15
https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/eu-energy-ministers-think-they-can-ditch-russian-gas-two-years
Victor Hanson: Who Or What Will Finally End Hamas?
Victor Hanson: Who Or What Will Finally End Hamas?
https://amgreatness.com/2025/10/20/who-or-what-will-finally-end-hamas/
Hamas was born and exists to kill Jews, seek the destruction of Israel, and, to some extent, overthrow or subvert pro-Western Arab governments. Period.
?itok=J8rX9_i9
For those ends, it diverted billions of dollars from the people of Gaza to build a vast subterranean labyrinth of military headquarters and arsenals. It expropriated hospitals, mosques, and schools for use as tunnel entries and exits, using expendable civilian shields to protect its rich terrorist hierarchy. Hamas always counted on plenty of collateral damage to sway the Western left to become active enablers of its murderous causes—in a way, it is also stone silent on other “occupied land” and “refugees,” from the recent ethnic cleansing in Azerbaijan and Nigeria to the long-standing illegal occupations of Northern Cyprus and swaths of the Congo.
Hamas was willing to execute its Palestinian Authority rivals, cancel all elections after its first and only victory, hold kangaroo death courts to murder dissidents, and steal hundreds of billions of dollars in Western and international relief. It has already violated the ceasefire, attacking and killing Israelis, and now claims it has “lost” the remains of Israeli hostages, whom it likely murdered (and thus does not want more physical evidence of their barbarity).
Hamas will never give up power, despite the fact that its ruling elite is all but wiped out, thousands of its foot soldiers are dead, and it is now loathed by most nations of the Middle East. The subtext of every negotiation over the future of Gaza is that almost every Arab regime privately wants the U.S. or Israel to eliminate Hamas. It is likely more popular at American college campuses, or in Dearborn, Michigan, and New York City—than in the Middle East.
Nonetheless, the remnants of Hamas are already in public view, in SS fashion, publicly executing any alleged critics or rivals.
And it hopes to be reinvigorated by the recent release of 1,700 convicted terrorists, most with Hamas ties and many flush with cash for their past killing of Jews.
Hamas’s current strategy?
It hopes first to crush any internal Gaza opposition by liquidating critics, particularly oppositional clans and tribes, before mounting terrorist operations against Israel.
It then expects that Iran and Hezbollah will similarly feign cooperation with moderate Arab regimes and the U.S. to “deescalate” and eventually seek “peace”—until the old ring of fire and its Iranian patronage are rebuilt, and once a Democrat administration in Washington returns. It counts on assistance from an insidious UN, expatriate Arabs and Muslims in the West, Western leftist groups, and suicidal Western governments.
For now, Hamas will limit most of its killing to Gazans who complain about the mass death it brought to Gaza by its murderous rampage against Israelis on October 7, or small groups of Israeli peacekeepers.
So, given that peace is impossible with Hamas in the negotiations, who or what is going to eradicate Hamas as it seeks to return to its accustomed killing and terrorism?
If it is allowed power in Gaza, either solely or as part of a coalition, then the entire “peace process” is doomed.
To grant it semi-legitimacy would be analogous to allowing the surviving Nazi apparat to participate in a postwar German democracy, or Tojo and his militarists to help rebuild Japan.
There are three entities who bear the responsibility to end Hamas under the new peace accords: the moderate Arab regimes of the Gulf, Egypt, Jordan, and perhaps Turkey, along with the U.S. and Israel. All of them wish Hamas to vanish as much as they fear doing so themselves. So while it is far-fetched that the three forces would act in concert to finish off Hamas, it is incumbent upon them not to prevent any of the others from crushing Hamas at its first sign of regrouping to doom the peace.
In practical terms, that reality likely means that Israel must finish off Hamas, with full U.S. support—and tacit Arab acquiescence. But key to the present ceasefire and possible peace is a comprehensive plan to anticipate Hamas’s return to terrorism.
One, Hamas’s entire underground complex must be destroyed as a prerequisite for any rebuilding of Gaza. The tunnels should be blown up, collapsed, and filled with the rubble of the war Hamas precipitated.
Two, before Hamas returns to its accustomed killing, it is also important that both Turkey and Qatar expel what’s left of its leadership. Qatar fears another Israeli strike on the Hamas terrorists residing in its territory. So it now seeks U.S. protection, given that all its enemies, neutrals, and friends are tired of its triple-dealing. The Trump administration is apparently offering Qatar a life raft with the status of a protectorate. But the Trump administration should first insist that the Qataris disown Hamas and bar the group from its borders. The same with Turkey, over which the Trump administration has some considerable leverage.
Three, no Arab, Western, or UN aid money should be sent anywhere near Gaza without assurances that Hamas is barred from appropriating it.
Four, anyone with Hamas ties, formal or informal, should be prohibited from entering the U.S. and the EU and their Western allies.
Five, because Hamas has already been branded a terrorist organization for the past 28 years, U.S. campuses should finally be warned that student participation in pro-terrorist demonstrations championing Hamas would be equivalent to rapid expulsion. Businesses, NGOs, and fronts that empower Hamas should be warned that they will be debanked, fined, and prosecuted. In the West, Hamas should be further rebranded as a pariah no different from ISIS.
Six, no sanctions should be lifted from Iran until the end of its nuclear program is verified, and it ceases all funding of Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis. The quickest way for the bankrupt theocracy to implode is to keep it under sanctions and embargoes while it shorts its own people in stealthy attempts to fund its terrorist tentacles—a suicidal trajectory that alone might lead the Iranian street or military to turn on the theocracy.
The chief obstacle to Phase II of the ceasefire and hostage exchange is the elimination of Hamas.
Otherwise, we are at a rare moment of opportunity in the Middle East, where the once unimaginable has become a reality.
Iran, for now, is broke, defenseless, humiliated, and discredited.
Russia has lost its Syrian client and any foothold in the Middle East, and is still trapped in its forever Ukraine War.
China has bet on the wrong Middle East horse.
Hezbollah is still shell-shocked and dismembered.
The equally untrustworthy Palestinian Authority nevertheless sees an opportunity finally to turn on its rival Hamas.
So there is a rare opportunity for the U.S., the Arabs, and Israel finally to forge a peace without the fear of foreign-funded, nihilist terrorism—but only the moment and solely if the last obstacle, the terrorists of October 7 who prompted the last two years of war and death, are finally disarmed, discredited, humiliated, and eliminated.
* * *
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ZeroHedge.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 10/21/2025 - 03:30
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/victor-hanson-who-or-what-will-finally-end-hamas
Brazil Has The Worst Wealth Inequality In The World, Slovakia The Least
Brazil Has The Worst Wealth Inequality In The World, Slovakia The Least
This visualization,https://www.visualcapitalist.com/visualizing-global-wealth-inequality/
compares countries by wealth inequality in 2024 using the Gini coefficient, a standard measure where 0 represents perfect equality and 1 represents maximum inequality.
?itok=xDxWWB3q
The data for this graphic comes from the https://www.ubs.com/global/en/wealthmanagement/insights/global-wealth-report.html
, which analyzes wealth levels and distribution across more than 50 markets.
Where Inequality Is Highest
Brazil, Russia, and South Africa top the list for wealth inequality, each posting Gini coefficients around the low 0.8s.
These scores imply a highly concentrated distribution of assets relative to the rest of the population. Several energy-rich economies—such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia—also rank high, reflecting significant concentrations of financial and real assets among upper tiers of wealth holders.
Country
Gini Coefficient 2024
🇧🇷 Brazil
0.82
🇷🇺 Russia
0.82
🇿🇦 South Africa
0.81
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
0.81
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia
0.78
🇸🇪 Sweden
0.75
🇺🇸 United States
0.74
🇮🇳 India
0.74
🇹🇷 Türkiye
0.73
🇲🇽 Mexico
0.72
🇸🇬 Singapore
0.70
🇩🇪 Germany
0.68
🇨🇭 Switzerland
0.67
🇮🇱 Israel
0.66
🇳🇱 Netherlands
0.65
🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR
0.63
🇨🇳 Mainland China
0.62
🇵🇹 Portugal
0.61
🇬🇷 Greece
0.60
🇹🇼 Taiwan
0.60
🇫🇷 France
0.59
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
0.58
🇰🇷 South Korea
0.57
🇵🇱 Poland
0.57
🇮🇹 Italy
0.57
🇪🇸 Spain
0.56
🇦🇺 Australia
0.55
🇱🇺 Luxembourg
0.55
🇯🇵 Japan
0.54
🇶🇦 Qatar
0.47
🇧🇪 Belgium
0.47
🇸🇰 Slovakia
0.38
Where Wealth Is Most Evenly Shared
On the other end of the spectrum, Slovakia and Belgium post the lowest Gini readings in this dataset.
These countries tend to combine robust social safety nets, relatively high savings among households, and policy frameworks that diffuse asset ownership more broadly.
Global Context Since 2000
Globally, wealth equality has decreased slightly since 2000 (–0.4%). At the same time, UBS estimates that millionaire households account for nearly half of all personal wealth worldwide.
If you enjoyed today’s post, check out https://www.voronoiapp.com/wealth/Visualizing-All-the-Worlds-Millionaires--424
on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 10/21/2025 - 02:45
https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/brazil-has-worst-wealth-inequality-world-slovakia-least
One Third Of Americans Have More Credit Card Debt Than Savings
One Third Of Americans Have More Credit Card Debt Than Savings
One in three Americans now have more credit card debt than emergency savings, according to the latest https://www.bankrate.com/banking/savings/emergency-savings-report/
by financial services company Bankrate.
https://www.statista.com/chart/17018/more-credit-card-debt-than-savings-us
, this is up ten percentage points from 2011, when the company first started polling the question.
Meanwhile, around 53 percent of respondents said that their savings were currently exceeding their credit card debt.
This is down two percentage points from the same time last year, but slightly up from 2011.
Around one in ten Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck in 2025, not making any https://www.statista.com/topics/1203/personal-debt/
or saving up money.
https://www.statista.com/chart/17018/more-credit-card-debt-than-savings-us/
You will find more infographics at https://www.statista.com/chartoftheday/
Millennials were the most likely to say that they had tapped into their emergency savings over the past 12 months.
The most common uses for emergency savings among all groups were unplanned emergency expenses, such as car repairs or medical bills, followed by monthly bills, including rent and https://www.statista.com/topics/1685/mortgage-industry-of-the-united-states/
, followed by day-to-day expenses such as food.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Mon, 10/20/2025 - 20:30
https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/one-third-americans-have-more-credit-card-debt-savings
India's Largest Metals Refinery Just Ran Out Of Silver For The First Time In History
India's Largest Metals Refinery Just Ran Out Of Silver For The First Time In History
Shortages hit London too. The silver market is broken.
?itok=CeuF3hMB
Sold Out in India, Panic in London
Bloomberg comments https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-10-18/sold-out-in-india-panic-in-london-how-the-silver-market-broke
Key Takeaways
Vipin Raina’s company, India’s largest precious metals refinery, ran out of silver stock for the first time in its history due to high demand from Indian customers.
The shortages in India were soon felt globally, with the London silver market also running out of available metal, and traders describing a market that was “all but broken”.
The silver market crisis was caused by a combination of factors, including a multi-year solar power boom, a rush to ship metal to the US to beat possible tariffs, and a sudden spike in demand from India, particularly during the Diwali holiday season.
For months, Vipin Raina had been bracing for a stampede of buying from Indian customers loading up on silver to honor the Hindu goddess of wealth.
?itok=AHOsejuc
But when it came, he was still blown away. At the start of last week, his company, India’s largest precious metals refinery, ran out of silver stock for the first time in its history.
“Most people who are dealing silver and silver coins, they’re literally out of stock because silver is not there,” said Raina, who is head of trading at MMTC-Pamp India Pvt.
“This kind of crazy market — where people are buying at these levels — I have not seen in my 27-year career.”
Within days, the shortages were being felt not just in India, but around the world. India’s festival buyers were joined by international investors and hedge funds piling into precious metals as a bet on the fragility of the US dollar — or simply to follow the market’s irrepressible surge higher.
By the end of last week, the frenzy had rippled across to the London silver market, where global prices are set and where the world’s biggest banks buy and sell in huge quantities. Now, it had run out of available metal. Traders describe a market that was all but broken, where even large banks stepped back from quoting prices as they fielded repeated calls from clients yelling down the line in frustration and exhaustion.
This account of how the silver market broke is based on conversations with more than two dozen traders, bankers, refiners, investors and other market participants, many of whom spoke on condition of anonymity as they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.
100-to-1 Ratio
When traders and analysts try to pinpoint the immediate cause of the silver crisis of 2025, they inevitably point to India.
During the Diwali holiday season, hundreds of millions of devotees buy billions of rupees worth of jewelry to celebrate the goddess Lakshmi. Asia’s refineries usually meet this demand, which typically favors gold. But this year, many Indians turned to a different precious metal: silver.
?itok=wHxajdbQ
The pivot wasn’t random. For months, India’s social media stars promoted the idea that after gold’s record rally, silver was next to soar. The hype began in April, when investment banker and content creator Sarthak Ahuja told his nearly 3 million followers that silver’s 100-to-1 price ratio to gold made it the obvious buy this year. His video went viral during Akshaya Tritiya, an auspicious day for buying gold — second only to the Dhanteras festival on Oct. 18.
The premiums for silver in India above global prices, usually no more than about a few cents an ounce, started to rise above $0.50, and then above $1, as supplies ran short.
And just as Indian demand was soaring, China — a key source of supply — closed for a week-long holiday. So bullion dealers turned to London.
They soon discovered that the city’s precious metals vaults were largely sold out. While London vaults underpinning the global market hold more than $36 billion in silver, the majority of it was owned by investors in exchange-traded funds.
Demand for silver ETFs has soared in recent months, amid concerns about the stability of the US dollar, a wave of investment that’s become known as the “debasement trade.” Since the start of 2025, ETF investors have hoovered up more than 100 million ounces of silver, according to data compiled by Bloomberg — leaving a dwindling stockpile available to supply the sudden boom in Indian demand.
Premiums soared above $5 an ounce, well beyond the normal spread of a few cents. “I have been here in this company for the last 28 years and I have never seen these kind of premiums,” said M.D. Overseas’s Mittal.
Panic in London
Traders described a growing panic as liquidity dried up. The cost of borrowing silver overnight soared to annualized rates of as high as 200%, according to consultancy Metals Focus. As the big banks that dominate the London market started to step back from the silver market, bid-ask spreads became so wide as to make trading near impossible.
In another sign of the disarray in the market, one trader said the big banks were offering such wildly different quotes that he was able to buy from one bank at its ask price and simultaneously sell to another at its bid for an immediate profit – a rare sign of dysfunction in such a large and competitive market.
For the past five years, silver demand has outstripped silver supply from mines and recycled metal — in large part thanks to a boom in the solar industry, which uses silver in its photovoltaic cells. Since 2021, demand has outstripped supply by a total of 678 million ounces, according to the Silver Institute, with photovoltaic demand more than doubling over the period. That compares to total inventories in London of around 1.1 billion ounces at the start of 2021.
The stress in the silver market has been building since the start of the year, as fears that silver would be ensnared by President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs prompted traders to attempt to front-run any possible levies by shipping more than 200 million ounces of metal into New York warehouses.
?itok=ZaBhBZGH
On top of the tariff drawdowns, more than 100 million ounces of silver flowed into global ETFs in the year through September, as a wave of investment demand for precious metals supercharged a rally that helped drive gold through $4,000 an ounce for the first time in history.
Together, the two trends drained London’s reserves, leaving dangerously little metal available to underpin the roughly 250 million ounces of silver that change hands in the London market every day. Based on Metals Focus estimates, by early October the “free float” of metal not owned by ETFs in the London silver market had dropped to less than 150 million ounces.
Silver Falls More Than 6% as Precious Metals Retreat After Rally
Silver fell more than 6% in its biggest drop in six months as the broad precious metals group retreated following a furious rally this week.
Concerns eased over credit quality in the US and trade frictions between China and the US, which is denting haven demand for gold and silver.
A historic squeeze in the silver market in London is also showing signs of easing, prompting some profit-taking by investors.
I see little reason to believe we have seen the end of this rally. There is no fiscal discipline anywhere.
Despite soaring deficits and inflation well above target, the Fed is cutting rates anyway.
Do you have faith in the Congress or Trump to address the deficit? Faith in the Fed?
Neither do I. And neither do gold or silver.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Mon, 10/20/2025 - 14:45
Amazon AWS Identifies Root Cause Of Widespread Internet Outage Affecting US-East Services
Amazon AWS Identifies Root Cause Of Widespread Internet Outage Affecting US-East Services
Update (0615ET):
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has largely restored operations after a major disruption in its US-East-1 (Northern Virginia) region earlier this morning that affected numerous apps and websites relying on the service.
Root Cause Identified:
AWS engineers traced the issue to a DNS resolution problem affecting the DynamoDB API endpoint in the US-East-1 region. The failure also disrupted other AWS services and global features dependent on that region, including IAM updates and DynamoDB Global Tables.
Timeline of Recovery:
2:01 AM PDT: Engineers identified the DNS issue and began applying fixes.
2:22 AM PDT: Early signs of recovery appeared after initial mitigations, though many requests were still failing.
2:27 AM PDT: AWS reported significant progress, with most requests beginning to succeed.
3:03 AM PDT: AWS confirmed broad recovery across most affected services, including global systems relying on US-East-1, though teams continue working toward full resolution.
* * *
A massive internet outage is being reported at the start of the new workweek. The problem appears to be originating from Amazon Web Services (AWS), which provides infrastructure that powers much of the modern internet.
?itok=fGO1NTiC
AWS' Service Health Dashboard shows "operational issues" in its US-East-1 region (Northern Virginia), one of its largest data centers.
?itok=HsErYAv7
What’s happening:
Several AWS services, including DynamoDB and others, are experiencing slow performance (high latency) or failures (high error rates).
Impact:
Apps and websites that rely on AWS may be loading slowly, timing out, or not working at all.
Users may be unable to create or update support cases through AWS' help system.
Widespread slowdowns and outages are being reported across major platforms that depend on Amazon's cloud, including Snapchat, Roblox, Amazon Alexa, Fortnite, Ring, Robinhood, Venmo, Lyft, and many others.
?itok=c394ifpI
There's no official statement yet on what sparked the outage at AWS' Virginia data centers.
Developing.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Mon, 10/20/2025 - 11:30
China GDP Grows At Slowest Pace In A Year Amid Crumbling Domestic Demand, Crashing Real Estate Market
China GDP Grows At Slowest Pace In A Year Amid Crumbling Domestic Demand, Crashing Real Estate Market
China's economic growth slowed to the weakest pace in a year in the third quarter as fragile domestic demand left it heavily reliant on the output of its exporting factories - which have sparked a global deflationary shockwave as China seeks to capture market share abroad through cutthroat price cuts sparking outrage among traditional Chinese clients - and stoking concerns about deepening structural imbalances.
While the 4.8% GDP print for Q3 came fractionally above expectations and kept China on track to reach its target of roughly 5% this year, the economy's dependence on external demand at a time of mounting trade tensions with Washington raises questions over whether that pace can be sustained. It's why analysts said further policy support is urgently needed to maintain this stable trajectory and improve domestic demand.
?itok=0IEwIzL0
The rest of the Chinese data dump overnight was mixed:
Retail Sales came in line with expectations at 3.0% YoY (exp. 3.0%)
Industrial Output beat expectations, printing at 6.5% YoY (exp. 5.0%)
Fixed Investment missed expectations, printing down 0.5% for th Jan-Sept period (exp. 0.1%)
?itok=06mJ3azH
Some notes here from Goldman:
Industrial production (IP): +6.5% yoy in September (consensus: +5.0% yoy), vs. +5.2% yoy in August. Note sequential figures are highly sensitive to the specific seasonal adjustment methodology (NBS estimates: +0.6% mom sa non-annualized in September, vs. +0.4% mom sa non-annualized in August; GS estimates: +1.4% mom sa non-annualized in September, vs. 0% mom sa non-annualized in August).
Fixed asset investment (FAI): -0.5% ytd yoy in September (consensus: +0.1% ytd yoy), vs. +0.5% ytd yoy in August; September single-month by GS estimates: -6.7% yoy, vs. -6.8% yoy in August (sequential growth by GS estimates: -0.5% mom sa non-annualized in September, vs. -1.3% mom sa non-annualized in August).
Retail sales: +3.0% yoy in September (consensus: +3.0% yoy), vs. +3.4% yoy in August (sequential growth by GS estimates: +0.2% mom sa non-annualized in September, vs. -0.3% mom sa non-annualized in August).
Services industry output index: +5.6% yoy in September, vs. +5.6% yoy in August (sequential growth by GS estimates: +0.7% mom sa non-annualized in September, vs. +0.4% mom sa non-annualized in August).
Main points:
1. Based on NBS estimates, China’s real GDP growth moderated to 4.8% yoy in Q3 from 5.2% yoy in Q2, marginally above market consensus (4.7% yoy) on the back of US tariff impact gradually kicking in, fading effectiveness of some existing easing measures (e.g., the government-subsidized consumer goods trade-in program) and more adverse than usual weather conditions (mainly in July-August). In sequential terms, NBS estimated that real GDP growth edged up to 1.1% qoq sa non-annualized in Q3 from the downwardly revised 1.0% qoq sa non-annualized in Q2. NBS raised its sequential growth estimate slightly for Q3 2024 (to 1.5% qoq non-annualized from 1.3% qoq non-annualized previously), but lowered it slightly for Q4 2024 (to 1.5% qoq annualized from 1.6% qoq non-annualized previously). The official sequential GDP growth of 4.5% qoq annualized (implied by the 1.1% qoq non-annualized growth) is slightly below Goldman's Current Activity Indicator (CAI) tracking of around 5.2% annualized growth in Q3. Year-on-year nominal GDP growth declined to 3.7% in Q3 from 3.9% in Q2 and GDP deflator has been negative for 10 quarters in a row.
2. Industrial production (IP) growth rose to 6.5% yoy in September from 5.2% yoy in August thanks partly to the stronger-than-expected exports and an acceleration in auto output growth. On a sequential basis after seasonal adjustments, IP gained 1.4% mom non-annualized in September (vs. 0% mom non-annualized in August; Exhibit 1). By industry, the August-to-September acceleration in year-on-year IP growth was led by faster output growth in auto, computer and chemicals industries, more than offsetting slower output growth in the ferrous metal smelting industry (Exhibit 2). Among major industrial products (different from by-industry breakdown), auto output growth increased to +13.7% yoy in September from +10.5% yoy in August; computer and industrial robot output growth rose to -5.8% yoy and +28.3% yoy, respectively, in September from -13.1% yoy and +14.4% yoy in August. By comparison, year-on-year growth in power generation and cement output slowed to +1.5% and -8.6%, respectively, in September from +1.6% and -6.2% in August. Crude steel output growth dropped to -4.6% yoy in September from -0.7% yoy in August, and smartphone output growth also eased to +0.1% yoy from +3.2% yoy.
?itok=5TRR7tsu
3. Fixed asset investment (FAI) growth remained depressed at -6.7% yoy in September (vs. -6.8% yoy in August) on a single month basis. The prolonged property downturn and the ongoing "anti-involution" policies (which should constrain manufacturing investment) remained a drag, while infrastructure investment improved sequentially (+6.4% mom sa non-annualized), reflecting better weather conditions than in July-August and an acceleration in government spending (Exhibit 3). Specifically, year-on-year growth in manufacturing, infrastructure and property investment registered at -1.8%, -8.2% and -21.1% in September, respectively, from -2.0%, -8.3% and -19.4% in August. Year-on-year contraction in “other” investment (i.e., services and agriculture-related investment) narrowed to -1.9% in September from -3.1% in August, thanks entirely to a low base.
?itok=JfPbhOQ2
4. Nominal retail sales growth slowed to 3.0% yoy in September from 3.4% yoy in August, mainly dragged by weaker offline goods sales and restaurant revenue sales, year-on-year growth of which declined to 1.8% and 0.9% in September from 2.3% and 2.1% in August. By comparison, online goods growth edged up to 7.3% yoy in September from 7.2% yoy in August. Year-on-year growth in home appliance sales value dropped significantly to 3.3% in September from 14.3% in August, reflecting both a high base and fading effectiveness of the ongoing consumer goods trade-in program. However, year-on-year growth in auto and communication equipment sales value rose to 1.6% and 16.2% in September, respectively, from 0.8% and 7.3% in August (Exhibit 4). On a sequential basis, we estimate retail sales value rose 0.2% mom sa non-annualized in September (vs. -0.3% mom sa non-annualized in August).
?itok=YaiA7WmP
5. Year-on-year growth in the Services Industry Output Index -- which is on a real basis and tracks tertiary GDP growth closely (57% of China's economy as of 2024) – fared better than retail sales growth and remained unchanged from August at 5.6% yoy in September. In sequential terms, the Services Industry Output Index rose 0.7% mom sa non-annualized in September (vs. +0.4% mom sa non-annualized in August).
6. Property market weakness persisted in September, with year-on-year contraction in most property activity indicator . Specifically, year-on-year growth of new home starts and under construction remained depressed in September, registering -14.4% and -9.4%, respectively (vs. -20.3% and -9.3% in August), while new home completions growth improved to +1.5% yoy from -21.5% yoy. Property sales declined by 10.5% yoy in volume (floor space) terms and 11.8% yoy in value terms in September (vs. -10.3% yoy and -13.8% yoy, respectively, in August). Our high-frequency trackers suggest home transactions in large cities stayed tepid as of mid-October. Meanwhile, NBS and private sector data both showed continued downward pressure on home prices in September.
?itok=vF8P1qgW
7. Regarding the labor market, the nationwide unemployment rate and the 31-city metric (not seasonally adjusted) both inched down to 5.2% in September from 5.3% in August. After seasonal adjustment, these two unemployment rate metrics continued to rise modestly in September. The unemployment rate for migrant workers (without local Hukou) was unchanged at 5.1% from August to September after seasonal adjustments. Following the NBS definition revisions (excluding students in schools) in January 2024, the release of youth unemployment rate data has been delayed by around three days vs. general labor market statistics. The latest data available suggests the unemployment rate of the 16-24 age group edged up to 18.9% in August from 17.8% in July, marginally above its recent peak of 18.8% in last August, given the 12.2 million college graduates this year (vs. 11.8 million in 2024). Goldman expects the youth unemployment rate to decline in coming months on seasonal factors, but caution it would be higher than year-ago levels due to weak domestic demand.
?itok=grEWIqlW
According to Goldman, despite recent developments in US-China tensions, we believe China's full-year growth target remains largely on track, given that real GDP grew 5.2% yoy during the first three quarters of this year and exports (driven by tariff frontrunning) remain resilient. Additionally, Goldman does not think policymakers see an immediate need to launch broad-based, significant stimulus in the near-term, even though incremental and targeted easing appears necessary in coming quarters to ensure stable growth and employment into next year. The majority of the growth impulse of recent easing measures -- including the nationwide childbirth subsidies, the RMB500bn policy bank new financing instrument, and the use of an RMB500bn unspent local government bond issuance quota accumulated from previous years – will likely be concentrated in late 2025 or early 2026.
That's the optimistic view. A rather more realistic one comes from Reuters which writes that Beijing may be using the headline "resilience" in growth as a show of strength in talks between its vice premier He Lifeng and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Malaysia in coming days and a potential meeting between presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in South Korea later.
This downbeat view is reinforced by the latest observations from Bloomberg's Econ team which overnight wrote that China's 7% investment slump shows deep demand weakness. According to a note published by BBG overnight, China’s latest data dump reassures near-term growth but underscores long-term challenges. Third-quarter GDP growth of 4.8% means the economy only needs to clear a low bar of 4.5% in 4Q to meet the 5% full-year target, helped by a surge in production.
Yet the imbalance between supply and demand has aggravated. Consumption remains weak, and investment - including public investment - has emerged as the weakest link. That's because Bloomberg Economics calculates that fixed-asset investment contracted for the fourth month in a row, by as much as 7% in September.
The same supply-demand imbalance is evident in the month-on-month comparison. Industrial production rose 0.64% — the highest in seven months and in line with the pre-pandemic trend - while retail sales fell 0.18%, the third monthly contraction in four months.
?itok=EXg84Dkk
As shown below, the collapse in fixed-asset investment has become became the biggest drag on the economy, as government-led investment lost steam. Investment has deteriorated across the board, in both the private and public sectors. The latter is particularly concerning, as government-led investment has been the primary driver of investment over the past few years. BBG calculates that government-led investment declined year-on-year through 3Q, including an 8% drop in September.
?itok=ZK4ev-5T
Slowing consumption is another drag on the economy. BBG estimates that retail sales growth fell below the pre-stimulus trend for the first time in September since the government ramped up stimulus in September 2024. In September, catering revenue rose only 0.9% year on year, the same as in June — the lowest growth rate since 2023. This reflected cautious consumption of households — as they spent less on unnecessary items. In addition, home appliance sales have slowed rapidly, indicating that the boost from government subsidies is fading. Sales in September increased 3.3% from a year earlier, far lower than that in August (14.3%) or July (28.7%).
Meanwhile, the only silver lining - the ongoing export strength, which itself is a function of the trade war - belies weakness on home turf, where lacklustre demand gives manufacturers no choice but to fight price wars in foreign markets, and compromise on their profitability.
Jeremy Fang, a sales officer at a Chinese aluminium products maker, says his firm lost 20% of revenue as higher sales in Latin America, Africa, Southeast Asia, Turkey and the Middle East failed to fully offset an 80%-90% order plunge in the US. Fang said he is learning Spanish to get ahead of his Chinese competitors rushing to non-U.S. markets and is now traveling abroad twice more often than he did last year.
But that extra effort isn’t enough.
"You have to be ruthlessly competitive on price," Fang said. "If your price is $100 and the customer starts bargaining, it's better to drop $10-$20 and take the order. You can't hesitate."
This also explains why despite the surging tariffs, goods increases on US imports remains very tame.
This intense competition among Chinese exporters feeds further weakness at home, with many having to cut wages and even jobs to stay in the race. As noted above, while industrial output grew to a three-month high of 6.5% year-on-year in September, beating forecasts, retail sales slowed to a 10-month low of 3.0%.
?itok=myAsNitp
Further hitting consumers by making them feel less wealthy, data also showed new home prices falling at their fastest pace in 11 months in September. Investment in the crisis-hit property sector fell 13.9% year-on-year in the first three quarters, which is devastating for a country where some 55% of household net worth - among the highest in the world - is found in real estate.
?itok=2gUk47uZ
"China’s growth is becoming increasingly dependent on exports, which are offsetting a slowdown in domestic demand," said Capital Economics analyst Julian Evans-Pritchard.
"This pattern of development is not sustainable, and so growth is at risk of slowing further over the medium-term unless the authorities take much more proactive steps to support consumer spending."
Such calls for structural measures that make China's economy more reliant on household consumption have grown louder ahead of this week's key Communist Party meeting, where its elites will discuss the country's next five-year development plan (see "https://t.co/ko0JZ4BhBo
").
But while the meeting is likely to result in pledges to boost domestic demand, it will also emphasize breaking through technological frontiers and upgrading the country's sprawling industrial complex as a national security priority. This could keep the flow of economic resources tilted primarily towards manufacturers at the expense of households.
A change in its growth model would make China a bigger contributor to global demand and might help tone down trade tensions. But there is no sign that Beijing is willing to relent on the industrial front as competition with the U.S. intensifies. So far, it has been successful in diversifying away from U.S. markets. Its U.S. export sales were down 27% year-on-year last month, but shipments to the European Union, Southeast Asia and Africa grew by 14%, 15.6% and 56.4%, respectively.
And China is using its near-monopoly position in the production of rare earths as leverage to try to extract more concessions from Washington. This prompted renewed threats from Trump to add another 100 percentage points to tariffs on imports from China, but also messages from Washington that the two sides are willing to lower the temperature.
Triple-digit tariffs would effectively place a painful trade embargo on the world's two largest economies, but Beijing might feel it can bear the pain for longer.
"Relatively speaking, China is in a better position than the U.S.," said Yuan Yuwei, hedge fund manager at Water Wisdom Asset Management. "At worst, ordinary people may tighten their belts and some workers are left idle. But in the U.S., if you cut 10-20% of worker's salary, people go out into the street to protest. China can suffer for longer than the U.S."
If policymakers feel the economy is veering off target in the fourth quarter, one option is to speed up infrastructure investment given that they are currently frontloading 2026 debt issuance. After all, fixed-asset investment shrank 0.5% in January-September from a year earlier, suggesting room for improvement in that area.
Some analysts believe Beijing doesn't need more stimulus measures this year. But others still see a strong case to offer support to underperforming sectors.
"With China on track to hit this year's growth target, we could see less policy urgency," said Lynn Song, chief economist, Greater China at ING.
"But weak confidence translating to soft consumption, investment, and a worsening property price downturn still need to be addressed."
Sure enough, China's consumer confidence never managed to recovery after the covid crash, suggesting that behind the cheerful rhetoric, the mood on the ground in China is cataclysmic and that contrary to soundbites, should Trump continue to push and prod China in the ongoing trade war, he may well get what he wants.
?itok=_7vidm5Z
Looking ahead, Goldman writes that the divergent supply and demand trends underscore the need for the government to find effective ways to support growth, even if the economy does not require an additional boost in 4Q. The bank sees less monetary easing in 4Q, with only one possible cut in either the policy rate or the reserve requirement ratio, unlike earlier expectation of moves on both fronts. On the fiscal front, the focus will likely be on implementation and early groundwork for 2026, such as front-loading bond issuance and putting funds in place for projects. The sharp decline in government investment highlights the urgency of identifying more viable investment projects and social programs to spur consumption.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Mon, 10/20/2025 - 11:20
Supreme Court Will Decide Whether Drug Users Can Possess Guns
Supreme Court Will Decide Whether Drug Users Can Possess Guns
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider whether people who use illegal drugs should also be allowed to possess a firearm.
?itok=C8xDjbIk
The justices granted the petition in the United States v. Hemani without comment in an unsigned https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/102025zor_19m2.pdf
which describes him as "a drug dealer who uses illegal drugs."
The FBI obtained a search warrant to raid his home, where they found a Glock 9mm pistol, 60 grams of marijuana, and 4.7 grams of cocaine.
As the case worked its way through the system, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that the Second Amendment prevents Congress from restricting one's right to possess firearms even if they're habitual users of illegal drugs.
"The court’s decision invalidates an important federal statute in the vast majority of its applications and exacerbates a multi-sided circuit conflict. This Court should grant the petition for a writ of certiorari and reverse," reads the petition which was submitted at the urging of the Trump administration.
"This is the archetypal case for this Court’s review," wrote Solicitor General D. John Sauer in court filings.
Currently federal law prohibits anyone "who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance" from possessing a firearm - with violations carrying up to 10 years in prison.
In a recent opinion, Obama-appointee US Circuit Judge Stephen Higginson noted that judges are adjudicating such cases "daily across the country."
A jury convicted Hunter Biden on the charge last year for possessing a Colt Cobra revolver in 2018 while being addicted to crack cocaine. He had argued it violated the Second Amendment until his father, then-President Biden, pardoned him. -https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5563300-supreme-court-second-amendment-drug-users/?email=c14f3288a64818ecb98f8e0573beceb318faed57&emaila=eb3b115abed24cacb59032280aed3dee&emailb=67a847116066088d41479c6f1dae9ff2f033f69b05a6b0ce26810fdcc2c7acc9&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=breaking%20scotus%20guns
Whatever the Supreme Court decides has the potential to radically upend federal and state measures that the DOJ says have been passed in more than 30 states.
Meanwhile, lower court judges have wrestled over the federal crime's constitutionality in the wake of the Supreme Court's 2022 expansion of gun rights, which requires that gun control measures be consistent with the nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation.
In New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022), the Supreme Court struck down New York’s strict concealed-carry licensing law and established a new test for evaluating gun regulations. The Court ruled that modern firearm restrictions are constitutional only if they are consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation, effectively requiring judges to compare today’s laws to those in place during the founding era.
Since that landmark decision, lower court judges have been split on the federal crime’s constitutionality in the wake of this expanded interpretation of the Second Amendment. Some courts have upheld the statute, reasoning that longstanding prohibitions on firearm possession by certain groups - such as felons or individuals under restraining orders - fit within the nation’s historical framework of regulating dangerous persons. Others, however, have struck it down in specific contexts, finding insufficient historical analogues to justify modern restrictions.
Last year, the court ruled that a neighboring provision criminalizing gun possession for people under domestic violence restraining orders was valid.
Meanwhile, the Supremes will also decide the constitutionality of Hawaii's law banning concealed carry on private property without the owner's express permission.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Mon, 10/20/2025 - 11:05
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/supreme-court-will-decide-whether-drug-users-can-possess-guns
Chipmaker Nexperia's China Arm Tells Staff To Ignore Dutch HQ, Deepening Semiconductor Split
Chipmaker Nexperia's China Arm Tells Staff To Ignore Dutch HQ, Deepening Semiconductor Split
China’s arm of chipmaker Nexperia has instructed employees to disregard directives from its Dutch headquarters, marking an escalation in a spiraling cross-border confrontation over control of the company that has already raised alarm bells across the global automotive and electronics supply chain.
?itok=L6fip4IN
published on Oct. 19 on its official WeChat account over the weekend, Nexperia China told staff that they are to follow orders only from the domestic management team and have the “right to refuse execution” of any external instructions—even if delivered through official corporate communications platforms such as Outlook or Microsoft Teams—unless approved by a China-based legal representative.
The notice, signed by multiple Chinese subsidiaries, said that Nexperia’s China operations are legally independent under Chinese corporate law and will continue to operate “as a Chinese enterprise,” with full decision-making authority remaining inside China. It also stated that all salaries, bonuses, and benefits would be paid exclusively by Nexperia China, not by the Netherlands-based parent.
The memo followed an extraordinary intervention by the Dutch government, which earlier this month https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/dutch-government-seizes-control-of-china-owned-chipmaker-nexperia-5928506
“serious governance shortcomings” and fears that critical chipmaking capabilities could be transferred to Chinese ownership. The move was made under the rarely used Cold War-era Goods Availability Act, marking the first such action in Dutch industrial history.
As part of the move, Dutch authorities suspended Nexperia CEO Zhang Xuezheng—founder of Wingtech Technology, the China-based company that owns Nexperia—and installed an interim European leadership. The decision drew immediate condemnation from Beijing and Wingtech, which accused The Hague of “discriminatory treatment” and “excessive intervention based on geopolitical bias.”
At the same time, China’s Ministry of Commerce blocked shipments of Nexperia’s finished goods and sub-assemblies from Chinese factories, effectively halting exports to Europe. With up to 80 percent of Nexperia’s final packaging and assembly located in mainland China, the block has deepened a split in corporate command.
Nexperia Netherlands condemned the Chinese memo in a statement to several media outlets, accusing its ousted CEO of spreading “falsehoods” that the Dutch headquarters had abandoned its China business or ceded control.
“We regret that certain individuals ... see the need to spread these falsehoods, and remain hopeful to come to a solution that allows Nexperia to continue serving its customers and partners, and one that brings stability for its employees,” the company stated.
The Epoch Times reached out to Nexperia for comment and additional details of its response to the memo from the Chinese arm, but did not receive a response by publication time.
Industry groups across Europe and the United States have https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/automaker-groups-warns-nexperia-chip-halt-could-rapidly-disrupt-us-european-vehicle-production-5931127
that the dispute could trigger supply chain shockwaves within weeks. Nexperia produces mature-node semiconductors used across most modern vehicles—components that, although not advanced, are manufactured in the tens of millions.
“Without these chips, European automotive suppliers cannot build the parts and components needed to supply vehicle manufacturers,” the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said in an Oct. 16 note.
In Washington, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation issued a similar alert.
“If the shipment of automotive chips doesn’t resume–quickly–it’s going to disrupt auto production in the U.S. and many other countries and have a spillover effect in other industries,” said the group’s CEO, John Bozzella. “It’s that significant.”
Volkswagen and BMW have confirmed they are conducting contingency planning. While neither has yet paused assembly lines, both said current chip inventories would only cover a limited window.
Dutch Economy Minister Vincent Karremans is expected to meet his Chinese counterpart and the European Commission in the coming days to discuss the dispute.
“Europe would have been 100 percent dependent for these sort of chips, in terms of knowledge, expertise and capacity, on foreign countries,” Karremans said in an interview with Dutch television show Buitenhof on Oct. 19, referring to the imperative behind the Dutch government’s decision to seize control of Nexperia.
The dispute also reflects a wider battle over chips between China and the West. The United States has blacklisted Nexperia’s parent company, Wingtech, and pushed allies such as the Netherlands to tighten export controls, while Beijing has responded with its own curbs—turning semiconductor companies into geopolitical battlegrounds.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Mon, 10/20/2025 - 10:50
Was The CIA Misleading Witkoff & Kushner On Key Intel About Hamas During Critical Phase Of Peace-Talks
Was The CIA Misleading Witkoff & Kushner On Key Intel About Hamas During Critical Phase Of Peace-Talks
A fascinating hour-long interview with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner as they outline the backstory to the Israel-Hamas peace agreement in Gaza.
During a segment (prompted below) Witkoff and Kushner are outlining the step-by-step process as they engaged the leaders of Qatar, Turkey and Egypt.
Witkoff reveals how the CIA was briefing them both, multiple times a day, and the briefing itself was exactly the opposite of what Emir of Qatar and Presidents of Turkey and Egypt were telling them.
?itok=vKchplvO
The CIA intelligence was the exact opposite of reality.
WATCH:
What they are describing is EXACTLY why we outlined how ‘outside govt’ emissaries were/are vitally necessary to work around the control agenda of the U.S. Intelligence Community.
This small example is stunning in magnitude when considered around the importance of the moment.
On a positive note, with Witkoff making this stunning public statement, we can now add a major datapoint to President Trump’s reference of NOT TRUSTING the CIA.
Combined with the previous assertions of Marco Rubio and Tulsi Gabbard on essentially the same level of outlook, this example of the CIA getting it wrong (misleading the administration) has long-range ramifications beyond the Hamas example.
With this backdrop for reference, surely now we can have an optimistic sense that President Trump doesn’t trust the CIA intelligence on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Mon, 10/20/2025 - 10:20
Key Events This Week: CPI; Fed Blackout Joins Government Blackout
Key Events This Week: CPI; Fed Blackout Joins Government Blackout
As futures indicate this morning, and as DB's Jim Reid writes overnight, the mood music on tariffs has sounded much more positive in recent days. As it stands, President Trump has threatened additional 100% tariffs on China from November 1, but Treasury Secretary Bessent said that he’d be meeting with China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng in person this week. And on Friday, President Trump said he thought that a meeting with Chinese President Xi in South Korea would still go ahead, and said “I think we’re getting along with China”. So that’s added to investor expectations that those 100% tariffs won’t come into force, and if we look at Polymarket, it’s currently pointing to just a 7% chance they come into effect by November 1.
As all that’s happening, we still have the ongoing government shutdown in the US, which is now on day 20. Bear in mind that only two shutdowns have been longer than this one, which were the 35-day shutdown in 2018-19, and the 21-day shutdown in 1995-96. And as it stands, there’s still no sign of a compromise between Republicans and Democrats that would see the government re-open. In terms of the market implications, this is still affecting the flow of economic data, so we’re not getting regular releases like the weekly initial jobless claims, and we don’t have the payrolls number for September either. However, this week we will get the postponed CPI release for September, which is coming out on Friday, just in time for the FOMC meeting the week after.
In terms of what to expect, DB's economists are looking for headline CPI to come in at a monthly +0.42% pace, which would push up the year-on-year rate to +3.1%, and be the strongest monthly print since January. Meanwhile for core CPI, they expect that to come in at +0.32%, with the year-on-year print remaining at +3.1%. Within the data, they’re still looking for signs of tariff impacts in core goods, with a focus on categories like apparel and new vehicles that haven’t yet seen a meaningful tariff pass-through.
Otherwise this week, another key data highlight will be the October flash PMIs on Friday, which will give us an initial indication as to how the global economy has fared at the start of Q4. We also have a few CPI prints elsewhere, including from Japan, the UK and Canada.
There are no speaking engagements by Fed officials this week, reflecting the FOMC’s blackout period.
?itok=NB7gDYiR
On the earnings side, we’ve got more than 80 companies in the S&P 500 reporting this week - accounting for some 20% of S&P market cap - including Tesla and Netflix, along with more than 80 from the STOXX 600, including Barclays, NatWest and SAP.
?itok=Wq1KXvp_
Here is a day day-by-day calendar of events
Monday October 20
Data: Germany September PPI, Italy August current account balance, Eurozone August construction output, Canada September industrial and raw materials price index
Central banks: ECB's Schnabel, Nagel and Vujcic speak, BoC Q3 business outlook survey
Earnings: Zions Bancorp
Other: China's Fourth Plenum (through October 23rd)
Tuesday October 21
Data: US October Philadelphia Fed non-manufacturing activity, UK September public finances, Canada September CPI
Central banks: ECB's Lagarde, Escriva, Nagel, Lane and Kocher speak
Earnings: Western Alliance Bancorp, Netflix, General Electric, Coca-Cola, Philip Morris, RTX, Texas Instruments, Capital One Financial, Lockheed Martin, 3M, General Motors
Wednesday October 22
Data: UK September CPI, RPI, PPI, August house price index, Japan September trade balance
Central banks: ECB's Lagarde and de Guindos speak
Earnings: Tesla, SAP, IBM, Thermo Fisher Scientific, AT&T, UniCredit, Barclays, Hilton, Heineken, Southwest Airlines, Alcoa
Auctions: US 20-yr Bond
Thursday October 23
Data: US September existing home sales, October Kansas City Fed manufacturing activity, France October business confidence, Eurozone October consumer confidence, Canada August retail sales
Central banks: ECB's Lane speaks
Earnings: T-Mobile US, Blackstone, Intel, Union Pacific, Honeywell, Newmont, Lloyds, Ford Motor
Auctions: US 5-yr TIPS
Other: European Council summit of EU leaders in Brussels
Friday October 24
Data: Global October flash PMIs, US September CPI, October Kansas City Fed services activity, UK October GfK consumer confidence, September retail sales, Japan September national CPI, France October consumer confidence, Sweden September PPI
Central banks: ECB's Nagel, Cipollone and Villeroy speak
Earnings: Procter & Gamble, Sanofi, NatWest, Porsche
Other: Moody’s review France’s credit rating, Ireland presidential election
Looking at just the US, Goldman writes that the September CPI report—originally scheduled for release last week—will be released on Friday. The new home sales report on Thursday will be postponed if the federal government shutdown continues until then. The Department of Labor will also postpone the official release of the jobless claims report if the government shutdown continues through Thursday, but preliminary state-level claims data will likely be available. There are no speaking engagements by Fed officials this week, reflecting the FOMC’s blackout period.
Monday, October 20
There are no major economic data releases scheduled.
Tuesday, October 21
08:30 AM Philadelphia Fed non-manufacturing index, October (last -12.3)
Wednesday, October 22
There are no major economic data releases scheduled.
Thursday, October 23
08:30 AM Initial jobless claims, week ended October 18 (GS 225k, consensus 226k, GS estimate of last 219k); Continuing jobless claims, week ended October 11 (GS estimate of last 1,912k): We forecast that initial jobless claims edged up to 225k in the week ended October 18th. Using state-level data from the Department of Labor (DOL), we now estimate that initial claims declined to 219k in the week ended October 11th (with a likely range between 216k and 222k; vs. our estimate of 217k on Thursday) reflecting new data uploaded by Massachusetts and Tennessee on Friday that were missing in DOL’s Thursday upload. We estimate that continuing claims declined to 1,912k in the week ended October 4th (with a likely range between 1,903k and 1,920k; vs. our previous estimate of 1,917k), also reflecting new data uploaded by Massachusetts and Tennessee.
10:00 AM Existing home sales, September (GS -1.5%, consensus +1.5%, last -0.2%)
11:00 AM Kansas City Fed manufacturing index, October (last +4)
Friday, October 24
08:30 AM CPI (MoM), September (GS +0.33%, consensus +0.4%, last +0.4%); Core CPI (MoM), September (GS +0.25%, consensus +0.3%, last +0.3%); CPI (YoY), September (GS +3.02%, consensus +3.1%, last +2.92%); Core CPI (YoY), September (GS +3.05%, consensus +3.1%, last +3.11%): We estimate a 0.25% increase in September core CPI (month-over-month SA), which would leave the year-over-year rate unchanged at 3.1% on a rounded basis. Our forecast reflects unchanged used car prices reflecting the signal from auction prices, a slight increase in new car prices (+0.2%) reflecting an increase in dealer incentives, and an increase in car insurance prices (+0.3%) based on premiums in our online dataset. We forecast a decline in airfares in September (-1.5%), reflecting a fading boost from seasonal distortions and a decline in underlying airfares based on our equity analysts’ tracking of online price data. We have penciled in upward pressure from tariffs on categories that are particularly exposed (such as communication, household furnishings, and recreation) worth +0.07pp on core inflation. We expect moderation in the shelter components on net after a jump in the prior month (primary rent +0.25% in September vs. +0.30% in August; OER +0.26% vs. +0.38%). We estimate a 0.33% rise in headline CPI, reflecting higher food (+0.25%) and energy (+1.5%) prices. Our forecast is consistent with a 0.21% increase in core PCE in September. We will update our core PCE forecast after the CPI is released.
08:30 AM New home sales, September (GS -11.6%, consensus -11.6%, last +20.5%)
09:45 AM S&P Global US manufacturing PMI, October final (consensus 51.8, last 52.0): S&P Global US services PMI, October final (consensus 53.5, last 54.2)
10:00 AM University of Michigan consumer sentiment, October final (GS 54.0, consensus 55.0, last 55.0): University of Michigan 5-10-year inflation expectations, October final (GS 3.8%, last 3.7%)
Source: DB, Goldman
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Mon, 10/20/2025 - 10:10
https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/key-events-week-cpi-fed-blackout-joins-government-blackout
White House's Hassett Says Shutdown Could End This Week, Threatens "Stronger Measures" If Democrats Balk
White House's Hassett Says Shutdown Could End This Week, Threatens "Stronger Measures" If Democrats Balk
With the government shutdown in its third week, White House's top economic advisor Kevin Hassett said on Monday that the government shutdown is "likely to end sometime this week," and that if it does not, the Trump administration may impose "stronger measures" to try and force Democrats to cooperate.
?itok=qtRv_6YW
Hassett told CNBC that he's heard from the Senate that Democrats thought it would be "bad optics" to vote to reopen the government before this weekend's nationwide "No Kings" protest.
"Now there’s a shot that this week, things will come together, and very quickly," he said. "The moderate Democrats will move forward and get us an open government, at which point we could negotiate whatever policies they want to negotiate with regular order."
"I think the Schumer shutdown is likely to end sometime this week," he said, referring to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who Republicans have blamed for letting the government shut down.
If it doesn't reopen, "I think that the White House is going to have to look very closely, along with [White House budget chief Russell] Vought, at stronger measures that we could take to bring them to the table," Hassett continued - suggesting that Democrats are simply looking for a politically opportune time to fold.
Watch:
HASSETT: There's cracks in the Schumer armor. I think the Schumer Shutdown is likely to end sometime this week. But I can tell you that if it doesn't... the White House is gonna have to look very closely... at stronger measures that we can take to bring them to the table. https://t.co/Z13tK3nyfd
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1980256047395721612?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Hassett's comments added to the market's Monday morning momentum, and sent https://polymarket.com/event/when-will-the-government-shutdown-end
into a frenzy as to when the shutdown will end.
?itok=O6CuB5tS
Hassett's comments aside, the shutdown is currently in day 20 - with no obvious end in sight.
The top issue is Affordable Care Act subsidies - which Democrats are demanding an extension of a Biden-era pandemic ACA expansion set to expire at the end of the year - arguing that failing to do so would increase healthcare costs for families.
That said, maintaining the tax credit carries a big price tag - as permanently expanding the most generous benefits would increase the deficit by $350 billion from 2026 - 2035, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Lawmakers don't have much time, however, as around a dozen states have published ACA heal insurance prices for 2026 which show many premiums skyrocketing unless Congress extends. By next week, dozens of other states will reveal pricing for next year.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Mon, 10/20/2025 - 09:55
Watch: US Military Strikes "Very Large" Drug-Carrying Submarine In Caribbean
Watch: US Military Strikes "Very Large" Drug-Carrying Submarine In Caribbean
President Trump confirmed that U.S. forces "destroyed a very large drug-carrying submarine" off the coast of Venezuela - the sixth such strike on narco-vessels in recent weeks. The operation highlights a broader military reposturing toward hemispheric defense after three decades of endless wars in the Middle East, a https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/making-sense-hemispheric-defense-trump-era
comes as the U.S. reasserts security across the Americas.
?itok=RHp-9aqv
Late Saturday afternoon, Trump wrote on Truth Social:
It was my great honor to destroy a very large DRUG-CARRYING SUBMARINE that was navigating towards the United States on a well known narcotrafficking transit route. U.S. Intelligence confirmed this vessel was loaded up with mostly Fentanyl, and other illegal narcotics. There were four known narcoterrorists on board the vessel. Two of the terrorists were killed. At least 25,000 Americans would die if I allowed this submarine to come ashore. The two surviving terrorists are being returned to their Countries of origin, Ecuador and Colombia, for detention and prosecution. No U.S. Forces were harmed in this strike. Under my watch, the United States of America will not tolerate narcoterrorists trafficking illegal drugs, by land or by sea. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
President Donald Trump and the Pentagon's public affairs team both shared a video showing U.S. air assets destroying the "drug-carrying submarine." However, no details were provided regarding the type of aircraft or weapons used in the strike.
. https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) https://twitter.com/DOWResponse/status/1979622318021456283?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Our explanation above about the U.S. military reposturing to fulfill Trump's Monroe Doctrine 2.0 also includes breaking the death loop of https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/hint-opium-wars-trumps-campaign-against-fentanyl-epidemic
shipped to the Americas, and then cooked by drug cartels, that have in return flooded the nation during Biden-Harris regime's globalist aligned nation-killing open orders (borders have since been shut) that contirubted to the worst drug-death overdose crisis this nation has ever seen - over 100,000 men and women died each year.
China's irregular warfare campaign - death by 1,000 paper cuts - has been an aggressive, multifaceted "total war" against the U.S. that leverages next-generation weapons (https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/chinas-assassins-mace-irregular-warfare-campaign-may-render-trumps-golden-dome-useless
.
In short, viewing Trump's military reposturing through the lens of Monroe Doctrine 2.0 helps make sense of the seemingly chaotic events unfolding in the Caribbean area. The U.S. is reasserting its influence, countering transnational gang threats and preparing to stabilize the hemisphere by pushing China out.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sun, 10/19/2025 - 10:15
More Americans Experienced Homelessness During Biden's Term
More Americans Experienced Homelessness During Biden's Term
The number of adults experiencing homelessness is on the rise in the United States.
https://www.statista.com/chart/24642/total-number-of-homeless-people-in-the-us-by-year/
using data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 771,480 people were living in a state of homelessness in 2024, marking an 18 percent increase from the year before.
https://www.statista.com/chart/24642/total-number-of-homeless-people-in-the-us-by-year/
You will find more infographics at https://www.statista.com/chartoftheday/
Two thirds of these were individuals, while one third were people in families.
Last year saw a particularly worrying rise in the number of families entering homelessness, up 39 percent from 2023, as individuals saw a 9.6 percent rise.
While it remains more common for men to experience homelessness than women in the U.S., at 459,568 men (60 percent) to 302,660 women (40 percent), the gap is narrowing.
?itok=3yQ5_8DB
According to an https://endhomelessness.org/state-of-homelessness/
by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, between 2015 and 2023, 25,665 women and 56,085 men newly entered homelessness. However, from 2023 to 2024, the number of newly homeless women surged to 52,651, while the number of men rose to 64,408. Put another way, women accounted for 31 percent of newly homeless individuals from 2015 to 2023, but that share rose to 45 percent in the 2023–2024 period, with men making up the remaining 55 percent. Although unsheltered homelessness declined for both men and women between 2023 and 2024, men remained more likely to be unsheltered.
As Covid-era protection programs expired and the cost-of-living crisis hit the country, homelessness numbers rose. At the same time, https://www.statista.com/topics/5994/the-coronavirus-disease-covid-19-outbreak/
restrictions on shelter capacity ended, leading to more homeless individuals living in shelters once again.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 10/18/2025 - 20:25
Tests Find High Levels Of Lead In Protein Powders, Shakes: Consumer Reports
Tests Find High Levels Of Lead In Protein Powders, Shakes: Consumer Reports
(emphasis ours),
Popular protein powders and shakes contain high levels of lead, Consumer Reports (CR) https://www.consumerreports.org/lead/protein-powders-and-shakes-contain-high-levels-of-lead-a4206364640/
on Oct. 14.
Twenty-two of 23 products tested by CR had detectable amounts of lead, and more than two-thirds had unsafe levels of lead, according to the organization.
?itok=LPGrYQOa
“About 70 percent of products we tested contained over 120 percent of CR’s level of concern for lead, which is 0.5 micrograms per day,” CR said.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration https://www.fda.gov/food/environmental-contaminants-food/lead-food-and-foodwares
there are no known safe levels of lead.
“The FDA can take action if it finds unsafe lead levels, but the lack of enforceable standards means it doesn’t happen nearly enough,” Brian Ronholm, CR’s director of food policy, said in a statement.
He said that the FDA should establish enforceable limits for foods and supplements.
“FDA does not comment on outside studies. The agency continues to follow gold-standard science to protect consumers,” a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, the parent agency of the FDA, told The Epoch Times via email.
An FDA spokesperson also told CR that it would review the findings from the testing “along with other data we have collected to better inform where to focus our testing efforts and enforcement activities.”
CR is a nonprofit that https://www.consumerreports.org/about-us/what-we-do/
itself as working with consumers “for truth, transparency, and fairness in the marketplace.”
CR found Huel’s black edition, chocolate flavor, and Naked Nutrition’s Vegan Mass Gainer had the highest levels of lead per serving. Huel did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.
A Naked Nutrition spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email that the tested product is a weight gainer, so it has a larger serving size than standard protein powders.
“This difference means that comparing ‘per serving’ data across products with drastically different serving sizes does not provide an accurate, apples-to-apples comparison. When viewed on a per-gram basis, our results are consistent with other plant-based protein products,” the spokesperson said, adding later that “Naked Nutrition remains fully committed to transparency, science-based quality standards, and providing our customers with safe, high-quality nutrition products that meet or exceed all U.S. safety regulations.”
Other powders and shakes with unsafe levels, according to CR, included Momentous’s 100 percent plant protein and KOS organic superfood plant protein.
A Momentous spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email that the products CR tested have been discontinued. The spokesperson also said that its own testing found lower levels of lead than CR did.
A KOS spokesperson said that the amount of lead and metal in each serving of its protein powders is “significantly small.”
CR recommended seven powders and shakes with lower levels of lead, including Owyn’s Pro Elite High Protein Shake and BSN’s Syntha-6 Protein Powder.
A spokesperson for Owyn told The Epoch Times in an email that the company carefully sources all of its ingredients and that every ingredient “is compliant with all applicable state and federal safety standards.” BSN did not return an inquiry by publication time.
CR also said it detected cadmium and inorganic arsenic, two toxic heavy metals, at unsafe levels in three products.
CR first tested protein shakes in 2010. It detected lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury in some products.
In the new testing, the average level of lead was higher, and fewer products had undetectable amounts.
“It’s concerning that these results are even worse than the last time we tested,” Tunde Akinleye, the CR researcher who led the project, said in a statement.
* * * Looking for https://store.zerohedge.com/iq-smart-protein-collagen-peptides/
with peptides?
We've been to the pharmaceutical-grade lab. Wore the stupid hairnets.You could eat off the floor.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Fri, 10/17/2025 - 21:45
Ill. Gov. JB Pritzker's Tax Docs Show $10.3M Income, $1.4M In "Gambling" Gains
Ill. Gov. JB Pritzker's Tax Docs Show $10.3M Income, $1.4M In "Gambling" Gains
Nothing says 'in touch with working class Americans' more than casually throwing around millions at casinos...just ask Gov. JB Pritzker...
Five months before Democratic primary voters hit the polls, Gov. JB Pritzker — Illinois’ billionaire governor and Hyatt heir — dropped partial tax records showing he and his wife pulled in over $10.3 million in taxable income last year, including a tidy $1.4 million from gambling, https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/15/gov-jb-pritzker-and-his-wife-report-10-3-million-in-taxable-income-1-4-million-in-gambling-winnings/
.
As usual, the release came with big numbers and small transparency: Pritzker’s campaign shared only the top pages of his returns, leaving the juicy details of his fortune (and those famously murky trusts) safely out of view.
The $10.3 million haul was his biggest in years, up from $3.2 million in 2023 and $2.3 million in 2022 — though still shy of the $18.5 million in 2021. Asked about the jump, a campaign spokesperson offered the usual shrug: “Certain trusts make distributions each year…”
?itok=XvU4h5pj
Those same trusts paid $4.5 million to the state and $30.2 million to the feds. The Pritzkers personally kicked in another $1.6 million in federal taxes and $512,000 to Illinois.
As for that gambling income, the campaign clarified that “The Governor had winnings and losses from a casino during the year.”
Thanks for that incredible clarification. Meanwhile, his 2026 running mate, Christian Mitchell, made a modest-by-comparison $583,600. Forbes pegs Pritzker’s net worth at $3.9 billion, up a casual $200 million from last year.
As for Zero Hedge readers, they appear to be skeptical. One responded to our Tweet pointing out this story by https://x.com/BrometheusPound/status/1978805679822434378
: "Kalshi prediction markets - he took the over on chicago crime."
"The gambling income is definitely not bribe money laundering. Definitely not," https://x.com/manwithahammer/status/1978804935555768781
another follower: "Pritzker is gambling every time he bends over to tie his shoes."
Pritzker likes to say he’s in a “blind trust,” though experts note it’s not that blind — he still gets enough info to fill out required disclosures. He’s promised to donate any profits from companies with state contracts after leaving office.
The governor and his wife also gave $3.3 million to charity last year, doubling their 2023 donations.
All told, Pritzker’s political spending remains as massive as his fortune — about half a billion dollars so far, including over $130 million to clobber Darren Bailey in 2022. Not bad for a guy who technically doesn’t take a paycheck from the state.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Thu, 10/16/2025 - 09:25
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/pritzkers-partial-tax-release-shows-103m-income-14m-gambling-gains
RFK Jr. Demands Med Schools Teach Nutrition: "Master The Language Of Prevention"
RFK Jr. Demands Med Schools Teach Nutrition: "Master The Language Of Prevention"
Arguing that preventable and chronic diseases can be ratcheted back through diet, nutritional health and lifestyle choices, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has directed medical programs to embed nutrition education into curricula and testing.
“Every future physician should master the language of prevention before they even touch a stethoscope,” he said in announcing the initiative recently.
“In the future, doctors won’t just prescribe drugs, they’ll be able to prescribe diets as well.”
The directive comes as the Department of Health and Human Services works to develop updated U.S. dietary guidelines, expected to be released by December.
?itok=D-TTuxor
The Health Department, along with the Department of Education, has tasked all medical programs across the nation with adding nutrition education into curricula, medical licensing exams, residency requirements, and board certification, https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/hhs-education-nutrition-medical-training-reforms.html
to a news release.
Kennedy, in a https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=7g7zL0bDfGs
announcing the development, said poor nutrition takes over one million American lives per year through “diet-related illnesses.”
He wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that nothing is being done to address this.
“Accrediting bodies and medical organizations look the other way, declining to set clear requirements. We train physicians to wield the latest surgical tools, but not to guide patients on how to stay out of the operating room in the first place,” Kennedy https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/wsj-kennedy-op-ed-nutrition-education-requirements-in-medical-training.html
.
A https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/hhs-education-nutrition-medical-training-reforms.html
announcing the new requirements stated that while “recent Association of American Medical Colleges data shows that all U.S. medical schools claim to cover nutrition, other studies show the majority of medical students report receiving fewer than two hours of instruction.”
“Research published in 2024 documents that 75% of U.S. medical schools have no required clinical nutrition classes, and only 14% of residency programs have a required nutrition curriculum.”
“Future physicians must graduate prepared to prevent disease—by assessing risk, guiding lifestyle change, providing nutritional counseling, educating patients and addressing environmental factors, with nutrition education as the most proven and powerful tool,” Kennedy stated in his op-ed.
Dr. Joe Kosterich, a well-known https://www.drjoetoday.com/about-joe/
, said he believes the effort is a bipartisan one.
He said he agrees that Kennedy has correctly identified the food chain as a significant contributor to ill health. Furthermore, Kosterich said that in his own experience, nutrition is given very little attention in medical school, which he equates to mechanics not knowing what fuel is best for a car.
Using medical schools as the starting point for a reformation of nutrition education is a good start, according to Kosterich, but added that current doctors should not be neglected either; they need this fundamental knowledge as much as their successors.
Med school representatives at the University of Pennsylvania and UC San Diego did not respond to requests from The College Fix for comment.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 10/14/2025 - 18:25
Newsom Signs Law Requiring Online Age Verification
Newsom Signs Law Requiring Online Age Verification
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed into law a series of state bills that will require age verification to access Apple and Google devices, impose social media warning labels, and regulate artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots and the creation of “deepfake” videos.
?itok=J4zGic9q
The seven bills were passed by the California Legislature during its 2025–2026 legislative session and were signed on Oct. 12.
Some of the statutes will take effect on Jan. 1, 2027, while others—related to “deepfake” pornography and legal defenses against liability for AI usage—are effective immediately.
“We’ve seen some truly horrific and tragic examples of young people harmed by unregulated tech, and we won’t stand by while companies continue,” Newsom https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/10/13/governor-newsom-signs-bills-to-further-strengthen-californias-leadership-in-protecting-children-online/
in a statement.
The bill on age verification, https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB1043/2025
, would require operating systems, such as Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android, to determine whether a user was under 13 years old, between 13 and 16, between 16 and 18, or over 18 years of age, and then curate content available to them accordingly.
The restriction would apply to in-built software on those operating systems—such as the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store used to download mobile applications.
Violations of this rule may incur civil penalties of $2,500 per child for each incident and up to $7,500 per child for intentional violations.
Assembly Bill 1043 does not impose age verification requirements to access pornographic websites, which 25 other states have recently imposed, causing several, such as Pornhub, to shut down their operations in those states.
A separate bill to impose such requirements in California, https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB3080/2023
by the state senate.
Another piece of legislation, Assembly Bill 621, imposes steep penalties for producing or sharing “deepfake” pornographic videos, where AI programs are used to create realistic depictions of real people engaging in sexual activity, often with faces adapted from publicly available photographs.
The bill allows plaintiffs who sue to recover a maximum of $250,000 from defendants who create or share such content with malice, as well as punitive damages and legal fees.
The bill does not impose liability on social media companies, however, for content posted on their platforms, consistent with federal law under Section 230 of the Communications Act.
A separate bill signed by Newsom, https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB316/2025
, does not allow users of AI to shield themselves from liability when the AI, prompted by them, creates content that harms another person.
A bill regarding social media warning labels, https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB56/2025
, would require companies to warn users under 17 when they have cumulatively spent more than three hours a day on that platform.
It does not apply to specific content on those platforms, which in the past have been heavily criticized by conservatives for being politically biased and censorious.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 10/14/2025 - 17:00
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/newsom-signs-law-requiring-online-age-verification
San Fran Leftists Triggered As Tech Billionaire Calls For National Guard Troops
San Fran Leftists Triggered As Tech Billionaire Calls For National Guard Troops
A long-left-leaning billionaire philanthropist has triggered San Francisco politicians by praising President Trump's performance in office -- and even more so by urging Trump to deploy National Guard soldiers to suppress the city's rampant criminality.
"I fully support the president," said Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff in an interview with the New York Times. "I think he’s doing a great job." That puts Benioff at stark odds with his fellow San Franciscans: In a June Public Policy Institute of California poll, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/us/marc-benioff-san-francisco-guard.html
of Trump's performance. Benioff recounted his recent honor of sitting across a table from Trump at a state dinner hosted by King Charles at Windsor Castle, and said he used the dinner to tell Trump “how grateful I am for everything he’s doing.”
?itok=gGzI8T5Z
The https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/us/marc-benioff-san-francisco-guard.html
notes that Benioff, a major benefactor of San Francisco, has leaned toward the left side of the spectrum -- for example, urging other business leaders to help the homeless rather than gripe about their existence. Now, however, as homeless, drugged-out criminals are destroying San Francisco, he's ready for soldiers and Humvees to pour into the city he says is woefully under-policed -- figuring it needs another 1,000 cops on top of the 1,500 that are currently on the force.
The situation has compelled Benioff to take matters into his own hands, where his upcoming Dreamforce conference is concerned: He's hiring hundreds of off-duty cops to secure the area around the San Francisco convention area. “You’ll see. When you walk through San Francisco next week, there will be cops on every corner,” Benioff said. “That’s how it used to be.” Until the city's police force is beefed up, Benioff endorses the use of National Guard soldiers. “We don’t have enough cops, so https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/us/marc-benioff-san-francisco-guard.html
,” he said.
?itok=P7m2B9QV
That's a particularly interesting stance, given Benioff is close friends with California Gov. Gavin Newsom -- so close, in fact, that https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/11/slap-in-the-face-marc-benioffs-trump-turn-stuns-san-francisco-00604421
. As Benioff endorses Trump deployment of National Guard troops to San Francisco, Newsom is suing the Trump administration over the deployment of Guard soldiers to Los Angeles. Benioff's left-leaning resume also includes his hosting of a major 2016 fundraiser for Hillary Clinton at his $31 million mansion alongside the Presidio, and his personal bankrolling of a city ballot measure to raise taxes on businesses to fund welfare for the homeless.
"This is a slap in the face to San Francisco," Matt Dorsey, a member of the city's Board of Supervisors, wrote on X. "It’s insulting to our cops, and it’s honestly galling to those of us who’ve been fighting hard over the last few years to fully staff our [police department]...https://x.com/mattdorsey/status/1976842793265119244
in San Francisco.” Assemblyman Matt Haney decried Benioff's "support [of] a direct assault and occupation of our city," while the Times described San Francisco DA Brooke Jenkins as "livid" over Benioff's stance on troops.
To be fair to him, how could Benioff have anticipated that taxing all the businesses and giving the $$ to vagrants would result in many fewer businesses and many more vagrants?
— Moses Kagan (@moseskagan) https://twitter.com/moseskagan/status/1976847482350190845?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
It's safe to say a Benioff aide anticipated the backlash: The Times story about the phone interview with him aboard his private plane concludes in amusing fashion:
At the end of the interview, he turned to a public relations executive. He could be heard asking why her mouth was wide open and if he had said anything he shouldn’t have. “What about the political questions?” he asked. “Too spicy?” Then he hung up.
San Francisco Mayor last month: There will no longer be an option for people to sleep and use drugs on our streets.
San Francisco today:https://t.co/0RAkC3h8Mg
— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) https://twitter.com/TheKevinDalton/status/1976825572119761036?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
, telling reporters in the Oval Office, “You look at what the Democrats have done to San Francisco — they’ve destroyed it...we’ll clean that one up, too.”
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 10/11/2025 - 18:05
Telegram's Durov: We're "Running Out Of Time To Save The Free Internet"
https://cointelegraph.com/news/telegram-pavel-durov-warns-global-privacy-threats-will-get-worse
Messaging app Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov warns that a “dark, dystopian world” is approaching, with governments worldwide rolling back privacy protections.
?itok=OqfjZZfu
“I’m turning 41, but I don’t feel like celebrating. Our generation is running out of time to save the free internet built for us by our fathers,” https://x.com/durov/status/1976420399970701543
Durov in an X post on Thursday.
“Once-free countries are introducing dystopian measures,” said Durov, referencing the https://cointelegraph.com/learn/articles/eu-chat-control-explained
proposal, digital IDs in the UK and new rules requiring online age checks to access social media in Australia.
“What was once the promise of the free exchange of information is being turned into the ultimate tool of control.”
“Germany is persecuting anyone who dares to criticize officials on the Internet. The UK is imprisoning thousands for their tweets. France is criminally investigating tech leaders who defend freedom and privacy.”
“A dark, dystopian world is approaching fast — while we’re asleep. Our generation risks going down in history as the last one that had freedoms — and allowed them to be taken away,” Pavel added.
?itok=Y41ao-Lw
Source: https://x.com/durov/status/1976420399970701543
Privacy protections are a cornerstone of Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency industry. Bitcoin was https://cointelegraph.com/learn/articles/what-is-bitcoin-a-beginners-guide-to-the-worlds-first-cryptocurrency
to operate pseudonymously, using addresses instead of names, and allowing peer-to-peer transactions without the involvement of banks, among other measures.
Germany may have blocked the EU’s Chat Control
EU lawmakers were set to vote on the Chat Control law next week, which critics https://tuta.com/blog/open-letter-against-chat-control
and people’s right to privacy as it requires services such as Telegram, WhatsApp and Signal to allow regulators to screen messages before they are encrypted and sent.
The legislation, however, has been dealt a heavy blow, with the head of https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/europe-chat-control-germany-oppose-scan-messages/
.
The president of messaging app Signal, Meredith Whittaker, https://x.com/mer__edith/status/1976253900333236445
on Thursday that while Germany’s opposition to the measure is a relief, she warns that “the war is not over,” because it now moves to “the European Council, where the issue is unresolved.”
?itok=9b-bMTJf
Source: https://x.com/mer__edith/status/1976253900333236445
She also warns that any further attempts to enact similar measures allowing the scanning of content should be opposed because it negates encryption and also creates “a dangerous backdoor.”
“The technical consensus is clear: you can’t create a backdoor that only lets the 'good guys' in. However they're dressed up, these proposals create cybersecurity loopholes that hackers and hostile nations are eagerly waiting to exploit .”
UK’s Digital ID has sparked concerns, too
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-digital-id-scheme-to-be-rolled-out-across-uk
a digital ID scheme in September, which would require citizens to prove their right to live and work in the country.
The government is pushing the measure as a way to combat illegal workers, while also cutting down wait times to verify identities and gain access to government services, such as licenses, childcare, welfare and tax.
Critics argue that the scheme raises privacy concerns as individuals would be https://cointelegraph.com/news/concordium-launches-zero-knowledge-age-verification-app
to be stored on a government app, and it would be too easy for the government to misuse it.
Over 2.8 million people have already https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/730194
a petition opposing the introduction of a digital ID. Petitions that gain more than 100,000 signatures have to be considered for debate in Parliament.
Australia’s online age verification system raises privacy issues as well
Australia will https://www.esafety.gov.au/about-us/industry-regulation/social-media-age-restrictions
access to social media platforms for users under 16 from Dec. 10, and one of the measures floated to enforce the ban has been an online digital age verification system.
Lawmakers in the country argue that the scheme will protect minors from harmful content online. However, critics share similar privacy concerns with the UK system, namely that it could lead to government misuse and create privacy issues around the storage of data.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 10/11/2025 - 11:40
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/telegrams-durov-were-running-out-time-save-free-internet
Watch: MSM Interview Covers Up Ukrainian Fighter's Swastika Tattoo
Watch: MSM Interview Covers Up Ukrainian Fighter's Swastika Tattoo
In another embarrassing and revealing moment for Western mainstream media and its many puff pieces on Ukraine's neo-Nazi Azov Regiment, Canadian national broadcaster CBC has aired a news report this week from "an elite training facility" of its 3rd Assault Brigade in Kiev, featuring a fighter with a swastika tattoo on his arm.
The footage, released Thursday, blurred out the swastika tattoo of one of the main military trainers interviewed, but failed to do so in the video’s YouTube thumbnail. Comments were turned off, with a note attached in the YouTube description which reads: "A tattoo of an offensive symbol has been blurred in this video." Watch (officer with tattoo starts at :16 mark)
It was in June 2024 that the US State Department first https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/us-lifts-10-year-weapon-ban-ukraines-neo-nazi-azov-brigade
that it had lifted its longtime ban on giving weapons and training to Ukraine's notorious Azov Brigade (often referenced by its earlier name Azov Battalion).
Since then, efforts to normalize Azov—which mainstream media had long ago grudgingly https://news.sky.com/story/us-lifts-10-year-weapon-ban-on-ukraines-controversial-azov-brigade-which-russia-calls-neo-nazis-as-kharkiv-sees-calm-with-american-arms-13151380
was full of "neo-Nazi ideology"—have only grown.
The group's members have never been shy about sporting Nazi-inspired tattoos and patches. Ultimately, they haven't changed, only their Western supporters' perceptions of them have.
The blurred out tattoo in question from the CBC footage:
?itok=g2wOLXAs
Ukrainian scholar and historian, https://x.com/HavryshkoMarta
:
“Azov changed” – the mantra of many liberal and progressive public in the West, who, after 24 Feb. 2022, demonstrate sympathy toward the Azov movement, whitewashing its past, justifying its present, and showing no concerns about its future.
Just this month, Ukraine's President Zelensky promoted Azov's founder, Andriy Biletsky, to the rank of Brigadier General, amid these efforts to downplay or cover up the group's clear neo-Nazi ideology.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 10/11/2025 - 11:05
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/watch-msm-interview-covers-ukrainian-fighters-swastika-tattoo
OPEC+ Slams Reuters Leak On Oil Plans As "Wholly Inaccurate And Misleading"
OPEC+ Slams Reuters Leak On Oil Plans As "Wholly Inaccurate And Misleading"
Submitted by Julianne Geiger of https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/OPEC-Reuters-Leaks-on-Oil-Plans-Again.html
Reuters and its anonymous (oil-shorting) sources are again stirring the oil market. This time, the wire says OPEC+ is preparing another supply hike in November, with Saudi Arabia pushing for something big and Russia urging restraint. But if recent history is any guide, a report of rising quotas doesn’t necessarily translate into rising barrels... and OPEC is getting increasingly irritated with the narrative.
?itok=Lcone-JH
According to Reuters’ unnamed insiders, Riyadh wants an increase of 274,000 to as much as 548,000 bpd, while Moscow is said to prefer another modest 137,000 bpd bump. The group’s eight key producers are due to meet virtually on Sunday to decide. But it’s hard to forget that just three days ago, OPEC issued an unusually https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/OPEC-Rejects-Media-Reports-of-Major-Output-Hike-Ahead-of-G8-Meet.html
of the media, flatly rejecting circulating reports of a half-million-barrel hike as “wholly inaccurate and misleading.” The statement was widely read as a direct shot at Reuters, whose reports had already knocked prices lower.
The bigger issue is the difference between quota hikes and actual production increases. OPEC+ has been promising staged increases since April as it unwinds cuts, but it’s only managed to deliver about 75% of those barrels. Many members can’t raise production even if they want to.
Nigeria, Angola, and Iraq are still repaying earlier overproduction through “compensation cuts,” while only Saudi Arabia and the UAE have meaningful spare capacity.
That leaves traders stuck parsing press leaks against physical reality. On paper, OPEC+ could announce another big hike. In practice, the barrels may never show up. The result is market theater: Reuters reports a glut-in-the-making, OPEC pushes back to protect the narrative, and prices swing on expectations rather than evidence.
Brent crude is already https://oilprice.com/oil-price-charts/#Brent-Crude
this week on the latest supply-hike chatter, even though the “extra” oil hasn’t actually arrived. For now, the gap between quota headlines and physical flows is as wide as ever.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 10/04/2025 - 18:40
https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/opec-slams-reuters-leak-oil-plans-wholly-inaccurate-and-misleading
The Case For A Citizen-Only Census
The Case For A Citizen-Only Census
https://realclearwire.com/articles/2025/09/29/the_case_for_a_citizen-only_census_153338.html
,
Who is the census for? Or more importantly, who does Congress represent? If you answered "U.S. citizens," you're correct – or at least you should be.
?itok=WvFNyFR5
At the start of each decade, the federal government tallies who's living in the country and where, citizens and non-citizens alike. That census data determines how many seats in the House of Representatives each state receives, as well as its share of Electoral College votes for president. This whole process is mandated by https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/article-1/section-2/clause-3/
of the Constitution, the part most focused on proper representation.
But representation for whom? Since 1790, anyone and everyone living within America's borders, "excluding Indians not taxed." That's approximately 300 million Americans and 41 million non-citizens, the most in our nation's history, nearly half of them living here illegally.
Non-citizens have never been allowed to vote in congressional elections. But they receive improper representation in Congress because the census fails to exclude them from the apportionment process, when all 435 House seats are divvied up between the 50 states and D.C. That's dramatically inflated Democrats' power in the House of Representatives as the non-citizen population has grown, at Americans' expense.
Simply excluding 18.6 million illegal aliens – the most plausible estimate given by the https://www.fairus.org/issue/how-many-illegal-aliens-are-united-states-2025-update
– from the 2020 apportionment would shift eight House seats, mostly from blue to red and purple states. Removing all 41 million non-citizens would shift a stunning 22 seats the same way. In either case, these are districts that should represent U.S. citizens; instead, they're brimming with non-citizens, and Democratic Party politicians prefer it this way.
Blue states, on average, report nearly double the percentage of non-citizen residents than red states: 6.3% to 3.7%. Of the top 20 states with the largest percentage of non-citizens, only six vote red or purple. Democrats also control seven of the 10 House districts with the most non-citizens; the other three are held by Republicans, either born in Cuba or who are children of Cuban immigrants. Those seats were, until recently, Democrat-controlled. I've documented more such revelations in my recent investigative report, "https://restoration-news.com/the-permanent-maga-majority-pt-1
."
Immigrants tend to flock to states with more job opportunities, which tend to be in states with big cities such as California and Texas, the states with the largest foreign-born populations. But as people have abandoned unlivable "progressive" fiefdoms for conservative southern states, this has turned the problem of representation inflation into a cynical opportunity to unfairly boost Democrat power.
To show this in action, imagine two congressional districts with equal populations of 760,000 residents, the national average. District A contains 700,000 U.S. citizens and 60,000 non-citizens. District B has 400,000 U.S. citizens and 360,000 non-citizens (some of them illegal aliens). Both districts elect one congressional representative, but District A’s congressman represents 360,000 more voters than District B.
As a result, a vote in District B is effectively worth twice as much as a vote in District A, because there are far fewer District A voters dividing up the same congressional seat.
Stacking blue districts with so many non-citizens lets a smaller electorate punch above its weight. This isn't a mystery; it's a core feature of Democratic electoral strategy. Take it from Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY), who https://www.foxnews.com/politics/immigrants-needed-redistricting-purposes-house-dem-admits-viral-clip-quiet-part-out-loud
in 2021 that "I need more people in my district, just for redistricting purposes." Thirty-five percent of Clarke's constituents are foreign-born, the 23rd-highest in Congress.
Counting non-citizens also artificially boosts the number of House seats in blue states, even as Americans flee Chicago and New York City for Phoenix and Jacksonville. Democrat-run states lost a net seven House seats between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, and would've lost three more seats had the Census Bureau not https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2022/05/2020-census-undercount-overcount-rates-by-state.html
. In 2030, they could lose between six and nine House seats, according to recent projections.
Ironically, many of the immigrants who are unintentionally boosting Democratic seats hold traditional social views, yet they skew congressional representation toward the far left simply by living in blue cities. They're moderates represented by radicals. They’re also "voting" without a vote.
This has been the logic governing Democratic strategy for nearly three decades: Encourage mass immigration, discourage border enforcement, and reward illegal aliens with U.S. citizenship. It's why Democrats bet the farm on Hispanics building a permanent majority in Washington – never imagining that Donald Trump could convert millions of Hispanic voters into America First populists.
That's good, but it isn't enough to restore America's greatness. We have to push further and end Democrats' cynical exploitation of the census for good.
Conservatives are hawks on closing the border, but they've largely missed or ignored the injustice of counting non-citizens in the census. This isn't good politics, nor is it ethical. States such as Idaho, Ohio, and Tennessee are robbed of congressional representation because California, New Jersey, and Texas house so many non-citizens. In other words, some states are punished for having a big population of Americans – including naturalized immigrants – while others are rewarded for attracting migrants, even if they entered illegally.
This is why it's crucial to ask who the census is for, rather than how we've always done it.
The founding generation viewed the census with a very different priority than we do today: Building a nation rather than preserving one. They adopted an expansive definition of American citizenship, assuming that loyalists, British sympathizers, and other Tories would self-deport from the republic – as some https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/loyalists
. The 1790 census counted as citizens everyone who claimed the new identity of "American" and proved it by remaining within the nation's borders after the war.
Article I, Section 2 counted three-fifths of indentured servants and black slaves, but excluded Indian tribes. Why the distinction? Because one group lived under U.S. jurisdiction while the other did not. The census was never fundamentally about collecting interesting demographic data, but apportioning congressional representation. It was already outrageous and hypocritical that slaves, denied citizenship and legal rights, still inflated the southern states' seats in the House. Yet the principle was already clear: Representation belongs to those who owe allegiance to the United States Constitution, not foreigners under another sovereign power.
This is the same logic that limits voting rights to U.S. citizens. No one outside of woke Berkeley is offended that non-citizens cannot vote for our leaders, although a few blue states are trying to https://restoration-news.com/the-growing-red-wave-against-non-citizen-voting
in huge numbers in red and blue states alike.
Paul Jacob, who chairs https://onlycitizens.vote/
, the group behind these ballot initiatives, points out that voting and representation are inextricably linked. "Only citizens should be voting in our elections, and each state’s representation should be based on the number of U.S. citizens in the state. Not on how many illegal aliens they’ve let in," he told me. "No longer can we allow states to grab extra voting power in Congress by counting their illegal population."
To fix that, we don't need to deport every single illegal alien (though we should strive for that). We simply remove them from congressional apportionment and let the process play out fairly. Call it a "Citizen Only Census," a return to the Founders' high regard for citizenship after decades of being dragged through the mud by Democrats. The simplest way to do this is to restore a citizenship, or place of birth, question to the 2030 Census. This was the case in all but one census from 1820 to 2000.
The first Trump administration tried to in 2019 and lost 5–4 in the Supreme Court, but only because the court ruled the Commerce Department hadn't provided sufficient procedural justification. The high court did not rule that it's unconstitutional. Quite the opposite, actually: "The Enumeration Clause [Article I Section 2] does not provide a basis to set aside the Secretary's decision," the justices https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/18pdf/18-966_bq7c.pdf?emulatemode=1
.
President Trump's first administration started late, used the wrong arguments, and still came within one vote of winning that fight. The takeaway is obvious: Start earlier with a better strategy. The court's transformation since 2019 ought to encourage them. Originalists have gained control of two liberal Supreme Court seats, establishing a supermajority and raising hopes that the court would approve restoring the citizenship question if given a second chance.
That's an opportunity patriots – and America itself – can't afford to miss.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 10/01/2025 - 12:40
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/case-citizen-only-census
Trump's Trade Deal With South Korea On The Rocks As Lutnick Seeks More Cash
Trump's Trade Deal With South Korea On The Rocks As Lutnick Seeks More Cash
A little over a month ago, we joked that Trump was throwing around such ridiculous trade deal numbers - investments in the hundreds of billions if not trillions from countries for whom said promises were multiples of their GDP...
that's 6x Qatar's GDP https://t.co/2ZHYwkp2tW
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) https://twitter.com/zerohedge/status/1922685943846215878?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
... the while impressive sounding, the while house of trade cards would crumble the moment someone does anything more than cursory due diligence, or merely peeks behind the curtain to try to understand what was just signed.
It appears that South Korea just peeked.
, Trump’s trade deal with South Korea - announced with so much fanfare - is on shaky ground, with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick taking a tough line in talks as some Seoul officials privately argue to allies that the White House is moving the goal posts.
As a reminder, in late July Trump said the U.S. had agreed to lower South Korea’s reciprocal tariffs, plus levies on autos, to 15% from a proposed 25%. In exchange, South Korea pledged $350 billion in U.S. investments, plus another $100 billion in American energy purchases.
Well, it appears that Trump is altering the deal (and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GX0oO1z9_N4
). Lutnick, in recent conversations with South Korean officials, has discussed with Seoul the idea of increasing the $350 billion they had previously guaranteed to the U.S. in July and suggested the final tally could get closer to the $550 billion pledged by Japan.
Furthermore, the commerce secretary has also told South Korean officials in private that Trump is looking for more of the funding to be provided in cash rather than loans, a recurring joke by those who first pointed out that the deal is, in a word, ridiculous as the $350BN represents a fifth of the country's entire gross domestic product.
According to the WSJ, the fate of the Trump administration’s trade pact with South Korea represents a key barometer for the U.S.’s broader tariff dealmaking with dozens of countries. Many of those deals, including the one with Seoul, have been verbal, not signed, agreements. That has left a gulf between the U.S. and some of its key trading partners over what it would take to cross the finish line.
A rather naive take came from a White House official who told the WSJ that while the U.S. is working to fine-tune its agreement with South Korea, the administration isn’t asking for anything that would represent a “dramatic departure” from what was already agreed upon. Full details of that framework haven’t been disclosed.
Meanwhile, Korea is starting to sour on the deal with the country's biggest daily, the Chosun publishing an article that https://www.chosun.com/english/world-en/2025/09/16/4ZOEOTDYQJCIBOARBGZYFFYJKU/
"
The good news is that so far at least the cracks in the deal haven't spilled over diplomatically: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reaffirmed to President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday the strong economic and security ties between the U.S. and South Korea on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, according to a Treasury spokesperson. Lee expressed hope for a “commercially reasonable” agreement, a top Seoul official said.
South Korea is closely watched because its trade accord closely mirrors that of neighboring Japan, which, along with the U.K., represents one of the few deals officially signed by both countries. A close ally of Washington and home to America’s largest overseas U.S. military base, South Korea was pegged by the Trump administration to be among the first major trade-deal targets, alongside Australia, India, Japan and the U.K.
But at home, South Korean officials are facing tougher political pressure to not give too much ground, with the public still irked over the immigration raid this month at a Hyundai Motor complex in Georgia that resulted in the arrest of more than 300 South Koreans (whose visas were improper as we subsequently https://www.ft.com/content/c677b9aa-2e89-4feb-a56f-f3c8452b3674
). All but one of the detained Koreans have since returned home.
?itok=cp9wxDul
Washington’s ability to close a deal with Seoul could offer Trump much-needed momentum to complete others. But inaction could relieve negotiating pressure on trading partners, who have bristled at the steep asking price and await clarity on the legal issues swirling around Trump’s proposed tariffs.
Trump said on social media at the time he would select the projects funded by South Korea, with his administration controlling how the money is distributed. He offered no further details on the deal’s structure. Officials in Seoul almost immediately disputed Trump’s assertion.
Lutnick had been pushing the South Koreans to sign a deal more aligned with Japan’s agreement, particularly around the enormous investment funds pledged to the U.S. in exchange for tariff relief, according to WSJ sources.
Japan has earmarked $550 billion for U.S. investment projects as part of a memorandum of understanding signed earlier this month. A committee led by Lutnick will make recommendations to Trump on which projects to pursue, and the U.S. stands to reap 90% of the profits from each investment after Japan has recouped its original outlay. By agreeing to those terms, Tokyo saw its lower 15% auto tariff take effect earlier this month, down from the prior 27.5%. That puts Japan among the countries that have seen a crucial reduction from Trump’s proposed auto tariffs.
Lutnick has made clear that, while South Korea is unlikely to come substantially closer to Japan’s $550 billion figure, in his view Seoul must agree to many of the same terms arranged with Japan. Lutnick doesn’t want to give the impression the administration is offering a dramatically different deal structure to South Korea. That reflects a concern that doing so could undermine the signed U.S. agreement with Japan (which is a document that isn’t legally binding).
Lutnick never demanded a total payment of $550 billion from South Korea, according to a spokesman from South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Economy, which handles trade talks with the U.S. He declined to comment further.
Still, behind the scenes the panic is palpable and suddenly the entire deal looks on the verge of collapse. In recent days, South Korea, through its embassy in Washington, D.C., has been dialing allies in Washington and warning them the Trump administration is trying to acquire last-minute concessions after the two sides had already come to a verbal agreement, according to a person familiar with the calls.
The discussions between Lutnick and his South Korean counterparts have taken place as recently as this month in New York. In these recent talks with Washington, Seoul has sought to make clear it isn’t comparable to Tokyo. South Korea has stressed its economy, with a gross domestic product of roughly $1.8 trillion, is roughly two-fifths the size of Japan’s.
Tokyo also has a currency-swap deal with Washington, which it can tap for U.S. dollars in a crisis. South Korea lacks such a foreign-exchange arrangement and would potentially need to liquidate U.S. dollar reserves to fund the $350 billion. That sum would swallow up more than 80% of South Korea’s current dollar reserves, potentially leaving it vulnerable in a financial emergency.
South Korean officials, including Lee, have recently said accepting the U.S. offer could trigger a financial crisis for the country. In fact, according to a https://www.reuters.com/world/china/south-koreas-president-lee-says-us-investment-demands-would-spark-financial-2025-09-21/
report, South Korea now demands a Fed currency swap be implemented so the US can bailout Korea... after it makes its mandatory payments to the Trump admin!
"Without a currency swap, if we were to withdraw $350 billion in the manner that the U.S. is demanding and to invest this all in cash in the U.S., South Korea would face a situation as it had in the 1997 financial crisis," he said through a translator.
Lee, a liberal, took office in a June snap election after his conservative predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, was removed from office and jailed for briefly imposing martial law. Lee has sought to calm the country and its economy and said he plans to use his U.S. visit to tell the world that "democratic Korea is back".
Lee met Trump for their first summit in August, saying he had built a strong personal tie with the U.S. leader, despite not agreeing on a joint statement or concrete announcement.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has said South Korea should follow Japan's deal with the United States. He said Seoul either needs to accept the deal or pay the tariffs, using the Trump administration's depiction of foreign governments paying the levies, which are instead paid by U.S. importers. Lee, asked if he would walk away from the deal, said: "I believe that between blood allies, we will be able to maintain the minimum amount of rationality."
South Korea has proposed a foreign exchange swap line with the U.S. to reduce the shock of the investments on the local market for the won currency. Lee did not address how likely the U.S. was to agree or whether that would be enough for the deal to go forward.
He said South Korea is different from Japan, which struck a trade deal with the U.S. in July. Tokyo has more than double South Korea's $410 billion foreign exchange reserves, an international currency in the yen and a swap line with the United States, Lee said.
And once the incentives are aligned for South Korea to "have a crisis" to evade its tariff obligations, it will do just that... which means that it will be up to the Fed to not only rescue Seoul, but to indirectly pay the US treasury.
Which may have been Trump's plan all along.
“The devil is in the details,” Lutnick said. “The Koreans either accept that deal or pay the tariffs. Black and white.”
It increasingly appears they may just end up paying the tariffs.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Thu, 09/25/2025 - 12:45
https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/trumps-trade-deal-south-korea-rocks-lutnick-seeks-more-cash
Refugees In Holland Can Obtain Social Housing Within 14 Weeks; Locals Wait Up To 12 Years
Refugees In Holland Can Obtain Social Housing Within 14 Weeks; Locals Wait Up To 12 Years
The Netherlands is the second most densely populated country in Europe, and with surging mass immigration, has been experiencing a raging housing crisis for years.
?itok=nHDlJ7zR
However, despite this crisis, refugees can gain access to social housing in a mere 14 weeks, while the average Dutch citizen must wait up until 12 years. Now, efforts are being made to right this injustice for Dutch citizens with a new bill, but Council of State, the country’s highest legal advisory body, is criticizing any attempt to block housing access to refugees. The authority claims refugees should receive equal treatment, as required by the Dutch constitution.
Of course, the fact that there is no equal treatment currently, and that refugees are gaining access to social housing years before Dutch on waiting lists, does not appear to factor into the Council of State’s concerns, according to Dutch news outlet https://nos.nl/artikel/2583555-raad-van-state-kraakt-plan-om-voorrang-statushouders-te-schrappen-keijzer-zet-door
.
The minister behind the proposal, Mona Keijzer of the BBB party, says she is not backing down. Keijzer’s plan aims to create more affordable housing by ensuring that refugees, or “status holders,” no longer receive priority for housing solely because of their status
The Council of State argues that the proposal leads to unequal treatment, which is “contrary to the Constitution.” The Council has advised the cabinet not to submit the bill to the House of Representatives.
However, Minister Keijzer is not swayed by the advice.
“That’s kind of how the discussion is conducted in the Netherlands. And that’s a shame,” she said. Regarding the “unconstitutional” judgment, she stated, “The Constitution is not mathematics, it also states that I must take care of public housing for Dutch people.”
Arguments for and Against Priority Status
According to the Council of State, status holders have “an unfavorable starting position on the housing market” because they can only register for a home after arriving in the Netherlands, placing them at the bottom of waiting lists. The Council writes that while the government has proposed other measures to help status holders, it is “unrealistic” to expect them to have a timely effect, so “Permit holders therefore remain behind.”
Keijzer counters that the opposite is true, arguing that Dutch citizens are the ones currently at a disadvantage.
She noted that status holders are entitled to social housing after just 14 weeks, while the waiting lists for other home seekers can be more than 12 years.”
Treating equal cases cannot result in Dutch home seekers being treated unequally,” she said.
“Dutch people in their twenties and thirties live with their parents in the attic or share an apartment with two or three people,” she said on EO radio in August.
She believes that status holders should be expected to find housing in the same ways as other citizens, such as living with family or getting help from their employer.
“We also ask that of Dutch home seekers,” she said. The reception organization COA reports that on average, 6 to 10 percent of released social housing units go to status holders.
Keijzer said she would study the Council of State’s advice but maintained her position, saying, “But I am convinced that the ban on priority for status holders should be introduced.”
Keijzer’s proposal is different from another plan from the far-right PVV party, led by Geert Wilders, which seeks to completely prevent asylum seekers with residency from getting emergency housing declarations, even in cases of homelessness or domestic violence.
While that PVV plan has been adopted by the House of Representatives, Keijzer has stated that she intends to delete it because she believes it is discriminatory and “legally untenable.”
Of course, any real talk of restricting immigration is absent from Keijzer’s position, despite the Netherlands spending an estimated https://rmx.news/economy/netherlands-spent-e400-billion-on-migrants-between-1995-and-2019-according-to-new-landmark-study/
.
The country is not the only one facing a housing crisis, in part due to large waves of migrants. Neighboring Germany is also dealing with the same issue. In 2024, https://rmx.news/article/germany-spent-over-e17-billion-on-housing-support-in-2024-with-nearly-half-going-to-foreigners/
.
In a number of shocking cases, https://rmx.news/article/senior-citizens-moved-out-of-housing-complex-in-germany-to-make-way-for-refugees/
.
WATCH: 🇩🇪🇪🇺 Mass immigration is fueling the West's housing crisis.
Here's how it's happening in Germany.
In a powerful speech in the German Bundestag, https://twitter.com/AfD?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) https://twitter.com/RMXnews/status/1758244447630811445?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Thu, 09/25/2025 - 06:30
Which Cities Have The Most Expensive Rent In The World?
Which Cities Have The Most Expensive Rent In The World?
Across major cities worldwide, the cost of rent has climbed sharply in recent years.
Record-high housing prices, paired with a wave of remote workers moving into new markets, are reshaping rental dynamics. At the same time, limited supply is tightening conditions even further, compounding challenges for renters in countless regions.
This graphic,https://www.visualcapitalist.com/which-cities-have-the-most-expensive-rent-in-the-world-in-2025/
. Figures are in nominal U.S. dollars.
?itok=cAnaBIJ3
New York Has the Most Expensive Rent in the World
Here is the average monthly rent of a one-bedroom apartment in each city center in 2025:
?itok=Rg6qWJy8
Today, it costs on average $4,143 to rent in New York City—rising 22% over the past five years.
Even with an exodus of workers during the pandemic, prices remain high given strong demand, rich cultural activity, and the Big Apple’s position as the global epicenter of finance.
Boston, meanwhile, ranks in second with rent averaging $3,394 per month. High land and materials costs have impeded home building activity, contributing to a low supply of housing stock, further driving up prices.
Rounding out the top three is San Francisco, at $3,332, although rental costs have increased just 1% since 2020.
Beyond America, Singapore stands as the most expensive, with rent surging 55% over the period to reach $3,167—the fastest growth rate on the list. Similarly, rental costs are up 54% in Dubai, making it the costliest city to rent in the Middle East and ranking eighth overall in 2025.
To learn more about this topic, check out this https://www.voronoiapp.com/real-estate/Where-Homes-Are-Least-Affordable-in-2025--6443
on the least affordable housing markets in North America.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Thu, 09/25/2025 - 02:45
https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/which-cities-have-most-expensive-rent-world
On The One Year Anniversary Of China's Stealthy But Stunning Stock Market Rally
On The One Year Anniversary Of China's Stealthy But Stunning Stock Market Rally
One year ago https://english.www.gov.cn/news/202409/25/content_WS66f3602ec6d0868f4e8eb3c0.html
, China’s top financial regulators and central bankers appeared together in an unprecedented press conference to unleash a raft of stimulus measures aimed at stabilizing the financial markets and support the country’s economic recovery.
?itok=MH4uQcV6
The decision prompted billionaire hedge fund icon David Tepper to appear on CNBC and declare that he is buying "everything" in China: ‘https://www.marketwatch.com/story/david-tepper-is-buying-everything-in-china-etfsfutureseverything-9ef11ac6?mod=article_inline
.’ In retrospect, he was right again.
The market jolted higher on the following days, and over the following 12 months the move materialized into one of the strongest rallies amongst global assets. The past month, in particular has seen an epic meltup, just as we told our premium subscribers on August 25.
?itok=tJCyQ6oV
During this time, China A-shares total market cap surpassed 100TN yuan for the first time (+45% from 70TN yuan). SHCOMP surged from 2700 to 3900 level, while tech-focused benchmarks fared even better: STAR50 +115% and ChiNEXT +110%. During the same time, S&P returned a modest +16% and the Nasdaq rose +24%.
Meanwhile, in China over 3000 stocks in A-shares had gains of more than 50% in the past year, and nearly 1500 stocks more than doubled. Tech shares clearly took the lead here, with telco, electronics, computing names notching the highest gains by sector.
?itok=IXMapm8s
And, as Goldman executive director and trader, Fred Yin writes this morning, China's momentum clearly has legs – just today, despite the https://hongkongfp.com/2025/09/24/hkfp-lens-super-typhoon-ragasa-ravages-hong-kong-part-1/
so far this year ravaging Hong Kong throughout the day, the equity market remained open and posted solid gains. HSTECH +2.6% surged with internet shares posting solid gains as AI optimism continues to drive sentiment. Furthermore, Goldman's HK Top Short basket +0.3% only on the day, suggesting short covering had little to do with the move.
Below we share some more observations from the Goldman trader:
Alibaba stock gained nearly 10%, the largest single day return since the +18.5% gain post earnings earlier in Sep which brings MTD gains for this mega-cap name to an incredible +50%. The HK line is now trading at 4-year highs.
On news front, a few things contributed to the move today:
and released latest LLM QWEN3-MAX
Alibaba Cloud’s Platform for AI will integrate Nvidia’s full suite of Physical AI software, a major collaboration in the domain
Ark’s Cathie Wood https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-09-23/cathie-wood-buys-alibaba-after-four-years-in-china-comeback
for the first time in 4 years
Side note: Alibaba has been getting support from Southbound flows too, the stock was net bought for 23 days in a row with US$8b+ of inflows on this stretch. The name is now 2nd largest holding by Southbound with nearly $42b worth of holding, behind only Tencent’s US$83.5b.
?itok=hSvUJ7ao
The good news doesn’t just stop there – elsewhere in China Internet space, Meituan +1.2% and JD +3.3% also climbed as the “anti-involution” drive finally comes to food delivery space after months-long price war: the SAMR released draft rules to regulate food delivery platforms with a focus on fees, promotions, and safety. The anti-monopoly watchdog calls for “fair competition” and seeks to halt “price wars”. Tencent +2% was not left behind either, stock climbing along with other gaming names as its title “Delta Force” has become one of the most downloaded apps on the Apple App Store.
Thematically, Goldman's China Semis basket 4.6% higher after Micron gave positive outlook in its Q4 earnings and Huawei unveiled a 3-year plan to overtake Nvidia. Solar, Solid State Battery, Anti Involution also stood out with strong gains.
?itok=-qAu31ep
Where does this leave us, big picture? We still think the rally is https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/yetmcego54fpsv21kf7y8/China-Musings_-What-to-do-with-China-equities_-Investor-FAQs-on-China-s-liquidity-bull-market.pdf?rlkey=hdwry9zv89jpeh8qawdjsis0y&dl=0
. In fact Kinger believes the setup for a "slow bull' market seems better constructed now than ever before in A-shares.
Activity level in A-shares has been elevated since early August and remains high. This is the longest such stretch on record.
?itok=5fcNB1g6
Source: BBG as of 24Sep25, past performance not indicative of future results
Retail sentiment is not stretched yet...
?itok=2kSsswGm
...with more dry powder. Chinese households hold just 11% of assets in equities versus 55% in property and 27% in cash/deposits, leaving substantial “cash on the sidelines,” including about https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/chinese-savers-have-23-trillion-and-few-options
from the roughly 80TN yuan deposit buildup since 2020, much of which is maturing and thus re-deployable.
Additional potential equity inflows could come from 31TN yuan in WMP and 15TN yuan in MM funds (with flows sensitive to real-rate declines) plus more than 14TN yuan of annual “new money” seeking deployment amid a weaker property market.
?itok=dcaCsZJy
...while both domestic and foreign institutions still only represent a tiny part of overall market...
?itok=aNA4NPAg
...with as much as 20-40t yuan of potential institutional buying over time
?itok=5TUXBXkm
For example – last week’s inflow into China-dedicated equity funds was US$5.4b, the largest weekly inflow since Apr of this year
?itok=vLfjpY_g
If you’ve made it far – what does the desk like here in terms of upside exposure? Funding levels (outperformance) has been slowing creeping higher again after dipping briefly late-summer so we still like taking advantage of the cheap forward.
However, with implied vol spiking higher and remains persistently elevated and skew inverted, we prefer structures that would cheapen the outright premium spent such as call spreads or up-and-out structures. For example, CSI1000 1y 95% Call w 130% E KO costs less than intrinsic value of the ITM call.
Alternatively, consider taking advantage of NKY/SPX correl in the mix, worst-of [GSC1000P 96%C / SPX 96.5%C / NKY 96.5%C] into Dec 2026 has no carry cost with premium equal to intrinsic value. Please reach out to the desk for more details.
?itok=9gTEeNZr
Good luck – and to those of you in Hong Kong, stay safe and dry.
More in the full https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/5c4f6xmvpj9fzdun7ydfa/GS-Fred-Yin-China-and-HK-some-thoughts.pdf?rlkey=tbsjnsdsioro7tk2b5pkibnng&dl=0
.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 09/24/2025 - 21:02
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/one-year-anniversary-chinas-stealthy-stunning-stock-market-rally
Oklahoma To Establish Turning Point USA Chapters In All State High Schools
Oklahoma To Establish Turning Point USA Chapters In All State High Schools
Oklahoma has struck a deal with the conservative group Turning Point USA to open chapters in all state high schools, Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters announced Tuesday.
“I am very excited to announce a partnership with @TPUSA to establish chapters in ALL Oklahoma high schools. Radical leftist teachers’ unions have dominated classrooms for far too long, and we are taking them back,” Walters wrote in a post on https://x.com/RyanWalters_/status/1970571056051114381
.
The decision comes after Charlie Kirk, who founded the group in 2012, was assassinated on Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University. His wife, Erika Kirk, will take over the organization.
“We have seen the outpouring from parents, teachers and students that want to be engaged in a meaningful work going on at Turning Point,” Walters said in a video attached to the post on X. “They want their young people to be engaged in a process that understands free speech, open engagement, dialogue about American greatness, a dialogue around American values.”
Walters said the move seeks to respond to “radical leftists with the teachers’ union” who he says “dominate classrooms and push woke indoctrination on our kids.”
?itok=VkxCixpR
Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters speaks at a Board of Education meeting in Oklahoma City on April 12, 2023. Sue Ogrocki/AP Photo
He said these individuals “fight parents’ rights, push parents out of the classroom, and lie to our kids about American history.”
Walters said Oklahoma is “going to continue to ... make sure that our kids understand American greatness, engage in civic dialog and have that open discussion. We will continue to do all that we can to make sure Oklahoma students have the best education possible.”
Walters’s post was reposted by Turning Point USA.
Oklahoma is one of the most Republican states in the nation, with the GOP holding 81 of 101 seats in the state House and 40 of 48 seats in the state Senate. President Donald Trump carried the state by over 34 percentage points in 2024.
Historically, Turning Point USA has focused on engagement with students at the college level, and this would mark the group’s largest expansion into the high school sphere.
In a letter from Walters addressed to “Parents and Guardians,” Walters described the process for forming a new chapter at a school. Students will need at least three potential members and would need to fill out a form to be officially recognized.
At that point, Turning Point USA officials would help students with details such as getting a teacher sponsor and receiving recognition from the school.
In the letter, Walters wrote, “Charlie Kirk inspired a generation to love America, to speak boldly, and to never shy away from debate. Our kids must get involved and active. We will fight back against the liberal propaganda, pushed by the radical left, and the teachers unions. Our fight starts now.”
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 09/24/2025 - 19:15
Sharp Rise In China-Indonesia Oil Imports Points To Iranian Workaround
Sharp Rise In China-Indonesia Oil Imports Points To Iranian Workaround
China has logged a sharp increase in crude imports from Indonesia in recent months, suggesting Beijing has found "new workarounds" to access Iranian oil despite U.S. sanctions, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-09-24/china-s-surging-crude-imports-from-indonesia-point-to-iran-trade
reports.
?itok=Lc6KujQB
Chinese customs data show 2.7 million tons of crude from Indonesia - roughly 630,000 barrels a day - arrived in August. That followed a tripling of flows in July compared with the previous month. The volumes are unusually high given Indonesia has been a net oil importer for more than two decades. Last year the country pumped about 580,000 barrels a day, most of it consumed domestically, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Local demand runs near 1.7 million barrels a day.
China has a new conduit for its purchases of Iranian oil.
"Indonesia" is the new "Malaysia."
Last month, China bought 2.7 million tons (~630,000 b/d) of crude oil branded as "Indonesian" -- well above the Asian nation own production.
📰 Link: https://t.co/pAv740Ry7X
— Javier Blas (@JavierBlas) https://twitter.com/JavierBlas/status/1970847369685271008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
China is the world’s largest buyer of Iranian crude, which remains a vital revenue source for Tehran and offers Beijing discounted supplies. Officially, however, Beijing has reported no imports from Iran since mid-2022. Instead, Chinese customs data show purchases from Malaysia regularly exceed that country’s output. The waters off Malaysia’s eastern coast have become a common staging ground for ship-to-ship transfers, with cargoes rebranded before being shipped on to Chinese ports.
Yet over the past two months, China’s reported purchases from Malaysia dropped by more than 30%, while inflows from Indonesia surged. “This is just part of a continuing evolution of the operators’ tactics, hiding what they’re doing,” said Charlie Brown, a senior adviser at United Against Nuclear Iran, a U.S.-based advocacy group. “They’re still doing ship-to-ship transfers in the same area off Malaysia; the basic trade pattern remains the same.”
?itok=MuQKCZEQ
Ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg point to several tankers - including the Aquaris, the Yuhan, the Pola and the Pix - signaling calls at Kabil, a port on Indonesia’s Batam Island near Singapore, before discharging in China. Kabil isn’t linked to any crude-export facilities and lies close to Johor waters in Malaysia, a hub for maritime transfers.
Chinese customs records list buyers registered in Hebei, Liaoning, Shandong and Jiangsu as importers of the Indonesian crude. Inquiries sent to Indonesia’s energy ministry, state-oil company PT Pertamina and Kabil port went unanswered. Local statistics show 1.3 million tons of crude petroleum shipped abroad through July, far short of the volumes reflected in China’s August data. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Among the vessels, the Aquaris signaled Kabil in May, then switched its destination to Johor waters. There, it took on Iranian cargoes from the Sorion, a tanker sanctioned by the U.S. and U.K., before discharging in June at Qingdao’s Haiye terminal, which itself was sanctioned by the State Department in August. The Aquaris has since completed another such voyage and is currently en route to Kabil again.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 09/24/2025 - 14:45
https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/sharp-rise-china-indonesia-oil-imports-points-iranian-workaround
WTI Holds Gains Despite 'Small' Draw; US Crude Production Nears Record High
WTI Holds Gains Despite 'Small' Draw; US Crude Production Nears Record High
Oil extended its biggest gain in more than a week, as US President Donald Trump ramped up his rhetoric against Russia and traders watched for supply disruptions from the OPEC+ member.
Additionally, in the US, API showed crude inventories fell 3.8 million barrels last week, though holdings of distillates increased.
“Oil prices remain supported as inventories in the OECD stay low, and it looks like the US will have another large crude draw,” according to Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst with UBS Group AG. Still, he added, higher OPEC+ crude exports so far in September remain a headwind.
All eye snow on the official data...
API
Crude -3.8mm
Cushing +72k
Gasoline -1.00mm
Distillates +518k
DOE
Crude -607k (-2.7mm exp)
Cushing +177k
Gasoline -1.08mm
Distillates -1.69mm
Following last week's huge draw, crude inventories were expected to tumble once more (and did according to API), but the official data showed a very modest 607k drawdown in crude stocks while products saw significant draws too...
?itok=6tjsjnB1
Source: Bloomberg
US production rose 19k barrels/day on the week, back near record highs, despite the big drop in rig counts...
?itok=PPx0NHsj
Source: Bloomberg
Oil prices held their gains after the official data hit, up near three week highs..
?itok=2kSdctay
Source: Bloomberg
But as Bloomberg reports, oil is little changed this month as traders weigh a bearish fundamental outlook against long-running geopolitical tensions. On the supply front, Iraq is finalizing a deal to restart crude exports from its Kurdistan region following a two-year halt. That could bring about 230,000 barrels a day back to the international market, exacerbating a looming glut.
Some market metrics point to strengthening, with Brent’s prompt spread — the difference between its two closest contracts — at 77 cents a barrel in backwardation, more than double the level two weeks ago. Meanwhile, the difference between the two closest December contracts widened to $1.68 a barrel from less than $1 a fortnight ago.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 09/24/2025 - 10:38
Tom Homan Says 2 Million Illegal Aliens Have Exited U.S., Insists Deportations Will "Explode"
Tom Homan Says 2 Million Illegal Aliens Have Exited U.S., Insists Deportations Will "Explode"
White House border czar Tom Homan joined Fox News' "The Ingraham Angle" late Monday, stating that nearly two million illegal aliens have left the country since President Trump began his second term.
"We're at over 400,000 deportations between CBP and ICE, and that's just since the president took office," Homan told Laura Ingraham in an interview.
He continued, "The first four months of the fiscal year, we can't count them because Joe Biden wasn't doing anything. But here's what people need to understand … two things. Number one, over 1.5 million illegal aliens, close to 1.6 million illegal aliens, have already left the country on their own. Why? Because they see what ICE is doing out there every day."
"We're tripling the size of the workforce. We're adding more detention beds, we're adding more flights... so the numbers are going to explode," Homan emphasized.
.https://twitter.com/RealTomHoman?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
: We have 400K+ deportations and ~1.6 million illegals have left on their own since President Trump took office.
"We're tripling the size of the workforce. We're adding more detention beds, we're adding more flights... so the numbers are going to explode." https://t.co/wTwBXMCRCZ
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1970273534623510825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
"One of the reasons we have the most secure border in the history of this nation is because, the great work of the men and women of the border patrol, the great work of President Trump and his leadership, but also because ICE is out there, over a thousand teams, all across the country arresting people," he noted, adding, "A lot of people have left, a lot of people aren't coming, which helps us secure that border. And that was part of the strategy from the beginning. We said that if we show consequences, if we show we're actually out there looking for them, many will leave. So, we knew a large population would leave, and over 1.5 million have."
President Trump's race to secure the nation comes after globalist Democrats during the Biden-Harris regime years facilitated an invasion of millions of third-worlders, which has since become a major national security threat. The Trump administration has designated certain cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations to combat criminal illegal aliens wrecking chaos across major cities and communities.
The fiercest resistance to deportations comes from anti-American Democrats, radical leftist groups and NGOs, and globalist corporations. Let it be known that no American voted to be displaced and replaced by cheap, illegal labor. However, what they did vote for - and by a majority - was for Trump to secure the nation and deport the illegals.
Chaos from anti-American Democrats:
Democrats are the party of violence. And the party of ...
They are the party of murder
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1967322185254785480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
. . .
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 09/23/2025 - 19:40
How Far Will The German Elite Go In Resisting The Winds Of Change?
How Far Will The German Elite Go In Resisting The Winds Of Change?
https://korybko.substack.com/p/how-far-will-the-german-elite-go
Banning the AfD, more “statistically conspicuous” deaths of its candidates, and even a repeat of the Romanian scenario can’t be ruled out as the nationalist opposition continues growing in popularity...
?itok=93EZ8QNO
A poll from publicly financed German media revealed that the AfD once again ties the ruling CDU in popularity at 26% each, which https://www.euractiv.com/news/afd-ties-cdu-in-latest-german-poll-as-far-right-makes-western-gains/
” death of seven candidates.
The AfD’s surging support across Germany can be attributed to the https://archive.is/jKirB
. Simply put, cutting off reliable access to low-cost energy raised prices across the board, which reduced the competitiveness of German companies and led to economic malaise. This unfolded in parallel with the government taking on more of a “liberal-totalitarian” form.
A growing number of Germans therefore naturally gravitated towards the only real alternative political force that had emerged in the country by then, which was made all the more attractive by its pragmatic approach to the https://thealtworld.com/andrew_korybko/heres-what-i-learned-from-analyzing-the-new-cold-war-every-day-for-three-years-straight
with Russia or risk its client state’s full defeat.
The AfD favors a compromise that paves the way for resuming Germany’s import of Russian gas while the ruling elite want to perpetuate the proxy war as proven by their latest pledge of https://kyivindependent.com/germany-reaffirms-support-for-ukraine-pledges-10-5-billion-through-2026/
in Ukraine.
Circling back to Euractiv’s article, they concluded on the note that “Merz doesn’t face national elections until 2029, but the AfD are eyeing a number of regional elections next year, including votes in two eastern states where the far right have been holding clear leads in the polls.” While early elections are possible, just like the ones in February that brought Chancellor Friedrich Merz to power and in which the AfD shocked the establishment by coming second, the elite probably won’t risk them (at least not yet).
They won’t want to take the chance that the AfD wins and there’s still more work to be done in engineering the elections whenever they’re eventually held, whether in 2029 or earlier. This could take the form of banning the AfD on extremist pretexts or more of its candidates might fall victim to more “statistically conspicuous” deaths by then. A repeat of the https://korybko.substack.com/p/what-comes-next-after-the-allegedly
whereby politically inconvenient electoral results are annulled on unsubstantiated foreign meddling pretexts is also possible.
One way or another, the ruling elite are expected to continue resisting the winds of change that were unleashed by their own policies and are now sweeping across the country, especially those towards Russia that sabotaged the structural strength of the economy. Whether they succeed in keeping AfD leader Alice Weidel out of the chancellorship remains to be seen, but there’s no doubt that her party’s appeal will continue growing since it’s the only one that truly has Germany’s national interests in mind.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 09/23/2025 - 02:00
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/how-far-will-german-elite-go-resisting-winds-change
Trump Calls On World Bank To Reconsider Oil And Gas Financing
Trump Calls On World Bank To Reconsider Oil And Gas Financing
The Trump Administration is advocating for the World Bank to increase its financing for oil and gas projects, a reversal of its previous policy to cease funding new fossil fuel ventures after 2019.
This push prioritizes energy security, especially for upstream gas developments, and also extends to other development banks to finance fossil fuel projects.
The article notes a trend of North American banks and asset managers withdrawing from net-zero alliances following President Trump's election, indicating a shift away from climate-focused lending in some sectors.
The Trump Administration is pushing the World Bank to boost funding for oil and gas in what would be a U-turn in the lender’s policy not to finance new fossil fuel projects.
?itok=TcUtlLN-
Back in 2017, the World Bank Group said it would https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2017/12/12/world-bank-group-announcements-at-one-planet-summit
upstream oil and gas after 2019. But the group noted that “In exceptional circumstances, consideration will be given to financing upstream gas in the poorest countries where there is a clear benefit in terms of energy access for the poor and the project fits within the countries’ Paris Agreement commitments.”
The U.S. Administration is now pushing for more developments, especially upstream gas, prioritizing energy security to any concerns about climate change, development officials have told the https://www.ft.com/content/24c67b12-14d5-43a8-a00e-54eba71fcba5
.
The U.S. is also pushing other development banks to finance fossil fuels, including gas pipeline projects, according to FT’s sources.
In recent years, the World Bank and many commercial banks have backed out of lending money to some fossil fuels, including coal, oil sands, and Arctic oil and gas. Banks were under intense shareholder and stakeholder pressure to cut their exposure to fossil fuels and align their lending portfolios to the Paris Agreement goals.
But the tables have turned with the U.S. Administration strongly promoting fossil fuels and America’s dominance in oil and gas exports.
“An all-of-the-above energy strategy that provides for the financing of upstream gas would be a positive step towards reconnecting the World Bank, and all other multilateral development banks, to their core missions of economic growth and poverty reduction,” a spokesperson for the U.S. Treasury Department told FT.
After years of scrutiny and blacklisting from Republican states in the U.S. and lawsuits from Republican attorney generals, North American banks and asset managers https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Banks-Ditch-Net-Zero-as-Climate-Alliances-Crumble.html
en masse following President Trump’s election victory.
The top U.S. banks and four of Canada’s largest banks are no longer part of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), a group of leading global banks committed to aligning their lending, investment, and capital markets activities with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Mon, 09/22/2025 - 20:05
https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/trump-calls-world-bank-reconsider-oil-and-gas-financing
Walmart Remains Winner In Supermarket Price Wars In September
Walmart Remains Winner In Supermarket Price Wars In September
The latest September grocery pricing survey from Goldman Sachs analysts shows that Walmart remains the leader in the price war among retailers, including Kroger, Albertsons, Sprouts Farmers Market, Whole Foods (WFM), and Dollar General.
A team of Goldman analysts led by Leah Jordan wrote in a note to clients on Monday their key takeaways from the September grocery pricing survey. The survey reveals that overall, month-over-month pricing among tracked retailers remains stable, with Walmart continuing to offer the lowest prices, despite price gaps widening.
?itok=fGZPaGSY
An excerpt from Jordan's note reads:
WMT continued to have the lowest prices
As highlighted in Exhibit 1, WMT had the lowest prices at -14.8% vs. the group average (widened from -13.6% last month), followed by DG at -6.6% (vs -3.7% last month). WFM had the highest prices in the group at +9.8%, followed by SFM at +8.2%. KR had the highest SKU availability for the products surveyed at 38, followed by WMT at 37.
?itok=QP5q1Jce
Looking by category (Exhibit 2), WMT had the lowest prices in dairy (-14.8%), frozen foods (-15.0%), dry grocery (-10.8%), and produce (-20.9%), while WFM had the lowest prices in HPC (-10.3%). On the other hand, WFM had the highest prices in dairy (+13.1%) and produce (+11.1%), SFM had the highest prices in frozen foods (+19.0%) and dry grocery (+24.2%), and ACI had the highest prices in HPC (+5.9%). That said, we note limited SKU availability for SFM in frozen and dry grocery.
?itok=Z-JxjSJQ
Prices overall were relatively stable sequentially
We compare how prices for our select SKUs have changed since our last survey in August 2025. The overall average basket was relatively stable m/m with increases in dry grocery and frozen foods largely offset by decreases in produce and dairy. By retailer, we observed the most sequential increases from ACI and WMT with 3 out of 5 categories, and the most sequential decreases from KR and DG with 3 out of 5 categories
?itok=EK7Qcb0E
Price gaps widened
Considering how the price gap has evolved, we compare the price variance against the group average and learn that price gaps widened m/m for 4 out of 6 retailers in our survey including ACI, WFM, DG, and WMT, while KR and SFM narrowed. Compared to the group average, prices were relatively higher vs. last month for KR, ACI, and WFM, while SFM, DG, and WMT were lower.
Additionally, price gaps widened vs. a year ago for SFM, WFM, and WMT, while KR, ACI, and DG narrowed. Compared to the group average, prices were relatively higher vs. last year for KR, SFM, WFM, and DG, while ACI and WMT were lower.
?itok=WDYNvuqm
The full note, along with consumer survey data from HundredX, can be https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/jxwzm44ayeqrs254i8tdf/Americas-Retail_-Supermarkets_-September-grocery-pricing-survey-shows-relatively-stable-prices-sequentially.pdf?rlkey=vjlgavyez9ohfw8h7w8ijfzzl&st=s2fvs33o&dl=0
for ZeroHedge Pro Subs.
?itok=4eC15LxW
With the back-to-school season underway, investors remain concerned about low-income consumers, although overall spending appears to be stable. Earlier this month, https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/deloitte-forecasts-slowest-holiday-sales-growth-pandemic-amid-faltering-labor-market
raised concerns about a potential slowdown later this year.
Goldman's top sector specialist, Scott Feiler, provided clients over the weekend with https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/4-tactical-thoughts-health-american-consumer-goldman
on the health of the American consumer.
As for the supermarket price war, Walmart has been leading for well over a year, as recent trends have shown https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/walmart-remains-discount-juggernaut-price-war-among-supermarkets
from Whole Foods and other upscale supermarkets to Walmart at the tail end of the Biden-Harris regime's first term.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Mon, 09/22/2025 - 18:50
https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/walmart-remains-winner-supermarket-price-wars-september
ICE Recruitment Drive Draws 150,000 Applicants Amid Hiring Push
ICE Recruitment Drive Draws 150,000 Applicants Amid Hiring Push
(emphasis ours),
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) received over 150,000 applications from citizens looking to join the agency, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a Sept. 16 https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/09/16/ice-receives-more-150000-applications-join-ice-law-enforcement-help-remove-worst
.
?itok=ayQ7ap5r
“We have already issued more than 18,000 tentative job offers. Americans are answering their country’s call to serve and help remove murderers, pedophiles, rapists, terrorists, and gang members from our country,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said.
DHS said that ICE is offering a “robust” package of joining incentives, including a signing bonus of up to $50,000, enhanced retirement benefits, and student loan repayment and forgiveness options.
The ICE https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/more-than-100000-americans-apply-to-join-ice-dhs-5900655
drive, “Defend the Homeland,” was launched by the DHS on July 29. At present, the agency employs approximately 20,000 law enforcement and support personnel across some 400 offices in the United States and internationally.
ICE’s recruitment drive is backed by funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that allocated $170 billion for border security and immigration enforcement over a five-year period.
ICE was granted $76.5 billion, almost 10 times the agency’s typical annual budget.
Out of that, $30 billion will go towards hiring 10,000 more staff members, with the agency aiming to deport a million people annually.
In a Sept. 19 https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/09/19/hundreds-americans-attend-dhs-career-expo-amid-recruitment-drive
, DHS said that a recent career expo in Provo, Utah, was a “resounding success,” with over 1,500 people registering for career opportunities.
“In the first day alone, DHS extended more than 370 tentative job offers for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers. In total, DHS extended almost 500 tentative job offers, and we anticipate additional selections in the near future with over 200 more completed applications received,” Tricia McLaughlin, DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, said.
A similar ICE https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/ice-jobs-fair-draws-hundreds-of-applicants-in-texas-5906448
fair in Dallas, Texas, last month was also a success. Despite protests at the site against the agency and the Trump administration, the applicant flow did not stop.
Cecil Foster Jr., an attorney of 53 years who taught criminal law to military police, told The Epoch Times that he hoped to come out of retirement and serve as an attorney for ICE.
“I want to support the idea of legal immigrants as opposed to illegal immigrants, especially the criminal type. I want to support ICE in rounding up these bad guys,” he said.
?itok=A94Pe4Zv
Democrats have pushed forward multiple bills against federal immigration enforcement.
In July. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) introduced the Visible Identification Standards for Immigration-Based Law Enforcement (VISIBLE) Act of 2025 that would ban immigration enforcement officers from concealing their identity while conducting enforcement activities in public, the lawmaker’s office https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-introduces-legislation-to-require-ice-officers-to-display-clear-identification
in a July 14 statement.
Meanwhile, a similar bill—the No Secret Police Act—was passed by the California Legislature last week, according to a Sept. 11 https://sd11.senate.ca.gov/news/landmark-bill-ban-extreme-masking-local-federal-law-enforcement-heads-governor
from Sen. Scott Wiener’s (D-Calif.) office.
The https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB627
bans federal and local law enforcement officers from concealing their identities using “extreme masking” in the state, the statement said.
“Law enforcement should never be easily confused with the guy in the ski mask robbing a liquor store, yet that’s what’s happening with ICE’s extreme masking,” said Wiener. “California must hold those who are threatening our communities accountable and restore confidence in our local law enforcement who are proud to show their faces.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom now has until Oct. 13 to sign or veto the measure.
In a Sept. 16 https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/09/16/dhs-calls-governor-newsom-veto-californias-no-secret-police-act
, the DHS called on Newsom to veto the Act, warning that forcing officers to show faces could put their lives as well as the lives of their family members at risk.
“Sen. Scott Wiener’s legislation banning our federal law enforcement from wearing masks and his rhetoric comparing them to ’secret police'—likening them to the Gestapo—is despicable,” said McLaughlin.
“Our federal law enforcement officers face a 1000 percent increase in assaults against them, unprecedented online doxing, and are having cars used as weapons against them. Once again, sanctuary politicians are trying to outlaw officers wearing masks to protect themselves from being doxed and targeted by known and suspected terrorist sympathizers.”
Darlene McCormick Sanchez contributed to this report.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Mon, 09/22/2025 - 11:00
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/ice-recruitment-drive-draws-150000-applicants-amid-hiring-push