Tag: finance

Authored by Michael Snyder via TheMostImportantNews.com,

The fact that economic conditions are getting worse is certainly not good news, but it is better to know in advance what is coming.  After four years under Joe Biden, the U.S. economy is a giant mess.  We have been witnessing a slow-motion collapse right in front of our eyes, and those at the bottom levels of the economic food chain have been experiencing more pain than anyone else.  Of course this is one of the biggest reasons why Donald Trump won the election.  

Large numbers of poor and working class Americans are desperate for change.  Unfortunately, economic conditions have continued to deteriorate since early November.

The following are 11 signs that the slow-motion collapse of the U.S. economy is far more advanced than most people think…

#1 When the economy is in good shape, holiday spending increases each year.  In 2024, only 16 percent of Americans say that they are going to spend more than last year and 35 percent of Americans say that they are going to spend less…

Americans this holiday season say they are seeing a ghost of Christmas past: inflation.

The CNBC All-America Economic Survey finds inflation is still haunting the buying public, leading to what’s shaping up to be just an average season for retailers. Just 16% of respondents say they will spend more, down two points compared to last year. Forty-eight percent said that they’ll lay out the same amount for holiday gifts, up five points. At the same time, 35% say they’ll spend less, down two points as well.

#2 The number of job openings in the U.S. is now the lowest it has been since January 2021, but unlike January 2021 we don’t have a pandemic to blame our poor performance on…

US job openings tumbled last month to their lowest level since January 2021, a sign that the labor market is losing some momentum. Still, posted vacancies remain well above pre-pandemic levels.

The Labor Department reported Tuesday that the number of job openings dropped to 7.4 million in September from 7.9 million in August.

Economists had expected the level of openings to be virtually unchanged. Job openings fell in particular at healthcare companies and at government agencies at the federal, state and local levels.

#3 The manufacturing numbers that we are getting are extremely dismal.  For example, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Manufacturing Index just experienced an extremely sharp decline…

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Manufacturing Index, a critical gauge of the general business conditions in Philadelphia, has reported a significant drop. The actual figure stands at -16.4, a sharp decline that suggests worsening conditions for manufacturers in the region.

This figure starkly contrasts with the forecasted number of 2.9, highlighting a more severe downturn than initially predicted. Analysts had anticipated a positive shift, indicating improving conditions, but the actual data presents a different, more concerning situation.

Moreover, when compared to the previous index value of -5.5, the current reading of -16.4 further emphasizes the severity of the decline. This continuous drop indicates a concerning trend for manufacturers within the Philadelphia Federal Reserve district.

#4 Thanks to rapidly rising mortgage rates, the average U.S. homebuyer just lost $33,250 in purchasing power in just six weeks…

Mortgage rates hit 7% on October 28, the highest level since the start of summer and up nearly one percentage point from the 18-month low they dropped to in mid-September.

A homebuyer on a $3,000 monthly budget can afford a $442,500 home with a 7% mortgage rate, the daily average 30-year fixed rate on October 28. That buyer has lost $33,250 in purchasing power over the last six weeks; they could have purchased a $475,750 home with the 6.11% average rate on September 17. That was the lowest level since February 2023.

#5 Our cost of living crisis is officially out of control.  According to Bank of America, almost a third of all households “spend more than 95% of their disposable income on necessities such as housing costs, groceries and utility bills”…

Many Americans are still in a tough spot: Nearly 30% of all US households this year said they spend more than 95% of their disposable income on necessities such as housing costs, groceries and utility bills, according to a Bank of America Institute report, up from 2019 levels.

#6 A recent Lending Tree survey discovered that nearly a quarter of all households couldn’t pay their entire power bill at some point within the past year…

LendingTree’s findings about electricity bill costs comes as it reported 23.4% of Americans experienced an inability to cover their entire energy bill or portions of it in the last year, based on Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey data.

#7 The same Lending Tree survey found that about a third of all households had to reduce spending “on necessary things” within the past year in order to pay utility costs…

Needing to cover utility bills prompted 34.3% of Americans to curb their spending on necessary things – or eliminate some altogether – in at least one instance in the prior year, LendingTree said.

#8 As I discussed last week, demand is at record levels at food banks all over the nation…

Why is demand at food banks all over the country higher than it has ever been before?  The media keeps insisting that economic conditions are just fine, but it has become quite obvious to everyone that this is not true.  In particular, the rising cost of living has been absolutely crushing households from coast to coast.  In the old days, most of the people that would show up at food banks were unemployed.  But now food banks are serving large numbers of people that actually do have jobs but that don’t make enough to pay for all of the basics.  The ranks of the “working poor” are growing very rapidly, and this is creating an unprecedented crisis all over America.

#9 During normal times, troubled retailers would at least wait until after the holiday season to throw in the towel.  But we haven’t even reached Christmas and Party City has already announced that it will be closing all stores…

Party City is closing down all of its stores, ending nearly 40 years in business, CNN has learned.

CEO Barry Litwin told corporate employees Friday in a meeting viewed by CNN that Party City is “winding down” operations immediately and that today will be their last day of employment. Staff were told they will not receive severance pay, and they were told their benefits would end as the company goes out of business.

#10 Not to be outdone, Big Lots has announced that all 936 of their remaining stores will be shutting down on a permanent basis…

Big Lots is beginning ‘going out of business’ sales at all its stores across the US, as it prepares to close its remaining locations.

The discount retail chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September, and has already shut hundreds of stores nationwide.

In a press release Thursday, the company said it would begin the sales at its 963 remaining locations, after a sale to a private equity firm fell through.

#11 As of the end of November, more than 7,000 store closings had been announced in the United States.  That is a 69 percent increase from last year…

According to a report from CoreSight Research, U.S. retailers had announced more than 7,100 store closures through the end of November 2024, which represents a 69% increase compared to the same time in 2023. These closures are spread across numerous different sectors of retail from auto parts to restaurants to pharmacies, leaving many consumers wondering which companies will survive. This brings us to GameStop, the beloved retail gaming store, which has not only been closing hundreds of retail store locations since 2020, but also appears to be on track to close hundreds more of its locations in the very near future.

This is what a failing economy looks like.

Last week, a prominent mall in downtown San Francisco was empty of shoppers in the middle of the afternoon…

Look at all of these beautiful Christmas decorations at the Crocker Galleria mall in San Francisco. It’s 4:47 PM and everybody should be shopping and buying Christmas presents for their family, but nobody is in this mall.

There are only three stores left that are open here. The escalators hum on inside this beautiful but empty decorated mall.

Outside on Market Street the fentanyl addicts lay folded over while a street performer sings Last Christmas to an empty Street.

Of course the lack of shoppers at that particular mall is just the tip of the iceberg.

Unfortunately, the truth is that downtown areas all over California “are crumbling under the weight of homelessness and drug addiction”…

California’s biggest downtown areas are crumbling under the weight of homelessness and drug addiction, causing a vital part of its economy to dry out.

Cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco have made countless headlines since the pandemic about their drug-infested streets where businesses are quickly pulling out due to high crime rates and low consumer passage.

The number of drug addicts in America is at the highest level ever.

The number of homeless people in America is at the highest level ever.

They are victims of our slow-motion economic collapse, and the holidays will not be very happy for them.

So if you still have food on the table and a warm home to sleep in, you should consider yourself to be incredibly blessed.

Sadly, more Americans are being forced out into the streets with each passing day as the slow-motion collapse of our economy accelerates.

*  *  *

Michael’s new book entitled “Why” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

American Airlines experienced a “technical issue” early Tuesday morning, forcing the carrier to ground flights nationwide. The timing could not be worse, as Christmas Eve travel is just beginning.

“We’re currently experiencing a technical issue with all American Airlines flights. Your safety is our utmost priority, once this is rectified, we’ll have you safely on your way to your destination,” American Airlines wrote on X in response to angry customers. 

We’re currently experiencing a technical issue with all American Airlines flights. Your safety is our utmost priority, once this is rectified, we’ll have you safely on your way to your destination.

— americanair (@AmericanAir) December 24, 2024

The airline wrote in another X post, “Our team is currently working to get this done. An estimated timeframe has not been provided, but they’re trying to fix it in the shortest possible time.” 

Our team is currently working to get this done. An estimated timeframe has not been provided, but they’re trying to fix it in the shortest possible time.

— americanair (@AmericanAir) December 24, 2024

Nightmare Before Christmas:

The FAA just grounded all American Airlines flights nationwide… on Christmas Eve. pic.twitter.com/n2Pcdon1WJ

— John LeFevre (@JohnLeFevre) December 24, 2024

Something up with American Airlines systems? Appears no one can board their flights right now! pic.twitter.com/YTg3B2nTie

— Joshua (@Nextlevel1G) December 24, 2024

The source of the “technical issue” has yet to be revealed. Cyber attack? 

*Developing… 

Amid robust consumer demand and U.S. economic resilience, only a fraction of America’s largest companies have negative earnings this year.

In 2024, S&P 500 firms are forecast to see 9.5% annual earnings growth, exceeding their 10-year average of 8%. Overall, corporate profits have surged by nearly 70% since 2020, led by big tech companies investing in AI technologies. But looking beyond corporate giants, profitability is not as widespread given the riskier nature of small and mid-cap companies.

This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Dorothy Neufeld, shows the share of companies with negative earnings in U.S. markets, based on data from Apollo.

U.S. Markets by Share of Unprofitable Companies

While the vast majority of S&P 500 companies are seeing positive earnings in 2024, earnings growth is being propelled by a handful of technology giants.

In 2024, the Magnificent Seven is projected to drive 62% of earnings growth across the index, with Nvidia making up 13% of the total. Over the next few years, this trend is projected to continue, although at a slower pace amid increasing competition from new players and higher infrastructure costs.

For mid-cap companies, seen in the Russell Midcap Index, the share of companies with negative earnings stands at 14%, given their higher debt loads.

Over the last decade, mid-cap stocks have lagged behind large-caps, largely due to the outperformance of big tech. However, earnings growth across mid-cap stocks has typically risen at a faster pace since many are developing breakthrough technologies.

Additionally, monetary easing and Trump’s proposed corporate tax cuts could have an outsized effect on small and mid-cap companies due to lower borrowing costs.

While small-cap stocks have been on an impressive run this year, the share of unprofitable companies is considerably high, at 42% of firms in the Russell 2000—up from 14% two decades ago. Like mid-cap stocks, they have underperformed large-caps since 2014, but increasing investor risk appetite may drive an upswing looking ahead.

To learn more about this topic from a performance perspective, check out this graphic on the growth of $10,000 across major U.S. indices.

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is recommending taxpayers prepare for the 2025 tax filing season by taking certain key steps to make filing easier and help safeguard their tax information.

“There are a number of things taxpayers can do to get ready as the end of 2024 nears and the start of the 2025 tax season approaches,” said a Dec. 19 statement from the agency. The latest reminder is part of the “Get Ready” series in which the IRS publishes key updates as the start of the 2025 tax season approaches.

The IRS encouraged taxpayers to sign up for an IRS Online Account. The account helps individuals view key information from their recent returns, make and cancel payments, get electronic notices from the agency, set up payment plans, and sign forms like powers of attorney, among other things.

Besides the account, the IRS recommended getting an Identity Protection Personal Identification Number, or IP PIN. “An IP PIN is a six-digit number that prevents someone else from filing a federal tax return using an individual’s Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number.”

“It’s a vital tool for ensuring the safety of taxpayers’ personal and financial information,” the agency said.

For the 2025 filing season, the IRS has made an update regarding dependents on tax forms.

Taxpayers claim dependents during filing returns to receive certain deductions and credits like the Child Tax Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit, medical expense deduction, and education credits.

Sometimes, multiple people claim the same individuals as dependents on tax forms, like for instance, former spouses.

The IRS processes tax returns in the order they receive. As such, if the agency had already processed a return with certain dependents, another return seeking to claim the same individuals gets rejected.

However, starting from the 2025 filing season, returns claiming same dependents shall be accepted by the agency, provided the taxpayer includes a valid IP PIN.

The IRS says the new update “will reduce the time for the agency to receive the tax return and accelerate the issuance of tax refunds for those with duplicate dependent returns.”

“The best way to sign up for an IP PIN is through the IRS Online Account,” the agency said. However, “if an individual is unable to create an Online Account, alternative methods are available, such as in-person authentication at a Taxpayer Assistance Center.”

The IRS also highlighted the upcoming estimated tax payment due date.

“Taxpayers with non-wage income—such as unemployment benefits, self-employment income, annuity payments or earnings from digital assets—may need to make estimated or additional tax payments,” said the agency.

The deadline to make these payments for the September–December quarter of 2024 is Jan. 15.

1099-K Reporting, Digital Assets

Taxpayers who sold goods or services and collected over $5,000 in receipts via payment apps or online marketplaces in 2024 “should expect to receive a Form 1099-K,” the IRS said.

The form details payments received by taxpayers engaged in such transactions. Taxpayers must now account for these incomes when filing returns.

When previously the form was issued if the total transaction value in a year exceeded $20,000, currently the threshold is set at $5,000. This reduction is part of a plan to eventually reduce the limit to $600.

The IRS clarified that “taxpayers must report all income on their tax return unless it’s excluded by law, whether they receive a Form 1099-K or not.”

“The law doesn’t allow taxpayers to avoid taxes on income earned just because they didn’t get a form reporting the payments received.”

Form 1099-K income threshold reduction has come under criticism from lawmakers.

Rep. Carol Miller (R-W.Va.) introduced the “Saving Gig Economy Taxpayers Act” which seeks to revert it back to $20,000. She called the reduction “a tax hike on Americans and gig workers who use online payment platforms.”

Meanwhile, the IRS also reminded taxpayers to report all income related to digital assets like cryptocurrencies when filing the 2024 returns.

“If a taxpayer had digital asset transactions last year, they should be sure to keep records that prove their purchase, receipt, sale, exchange or any other disposition of the digital assets,” the IRS said. This includes the fair market value of such assets measured in U.S. dollars.

The IRS received around $5.1 trillion in tax revenues in the latest fiscal year 2024, roughly $400 billion more than in the previous year.

While every family celebrates the holiday season a little differently, each with its own sets of customs and traditions, there are things that most celebrants can agree on, things that are considered essential for a merry Christmas.

According to Statista Consumer Insights, a Christmas tree in the house tops the list of holiday must-haves this year, with 50 percent of Americans considering it essential to a proper celebration.

You will find more infographics at Statista

Some proper holiday tunes (there’s more than “Last Christmas”) and Christmas movies, think “Home Alone”, “Love Actually” and (to some) “Die Hard”, are other key ingredients to the holiday season with 46 and 43 percent of Americans calling both essential traditions, respectively.

When asked about what they are looking forward to most thinking about the holiday season, Americans show that community and family still beat the commercial aspects of the holidays.

63 percent of the respondents look forward to spending time with friends and family, making it the top answer by far. Interestingly Americans also prefer giving presents (49 percent) over receiving them (28 percent), showing that not all is lost for Christmas romantics.

Authored by Adam Dick via The Ron Paul Institute,

Upon his inauguration as president, Donald Trump will become the leader of a United States executive branch mired in two major wars via its continuing pumping of money, weapons, and intelligence into support of the Ukraine and Israel governments. Trump has declared his opposition to the continuation of these wars. But, how can he end them?

The means by which Trump can end the wars is simpler than many Americans think. This means just does not come to mind for many Americans because it is far removed from the course US presidents have tended to pursue over the last few decades.

Righty tighty. That’s it. Taking the US out of these wars is as simple as turning off a standard outdoor water faucet. President Joe Biden has turned the handle all the way lefty loosey. Trump should just turn it back all the way. Shut off the money flow. Shut off the weapons flow. Shut off the intelligence flow.

And there is no good reason for Trump to take his time about it. He should turn off the flow of aid in all forms promptly in his presidency.

Doing so would comport with Trump’s stated objectives regarding the Ukraine War and the Israel War during his campaign and since. Trump has repeated his promise to end the Ukraine War in a day. He has also commented on multiple occasions that he wants the Israel War over before he is even sworn in as president.

Without US support, Ukraine and Israel lack the means to continue their wars. Deprived of the means to continue fighting in anywhere near the strength they have, both governments will immediately find themselves in a new situation where their best option is to seek peace.

Without critical US support, the Ukraine government will negotiate what it will give up in its loss to Russia. Meanwhile, Israel, also deprived of critical US support, will have to pare its ambition in its multifront war. Their only other option is suicidal fighting on in a lost cause. Sober military members would probably put a stop to that. No matter, it was never the cause — lost or otherwise — of America anyway.

What about negative political repercussions for Trump from his ending US participation in the wars?  Such participation lacks popular support, so ending it would seem a plus for Trump’s popularity. Further, since Trump won the presidential election portraying himself as the “peace candidate,” even people who dislike his extraction of the US from the wars would not be very convincing complaining of Trump acting inconsistently or hypocritically. Indeed, Trump could proclaim that his action is a promise kept.

There is even a political urgency for Trump to turn the faucet handle righty tighty. If he continues supporting the wars for weeks or, worse, months or even years, the wars will become Trump wars as they have been Biden wars. Americans would feel relief when Trump after significant delay terminates US involvement, but any effort then to praise him as a man of peace will be met with justified skepticism. There would be blood on his hands.

If President Trump quickly turns off the faucet for the Ukraine War, the defeat of Ukraine will be accelerated. Trump can portray such as the much-needed termination of Biden’s deadly folly, reminding Americans as Trump has over the past couple years that the entire conflict would have been avoided had Trump been president. Trump can also claim victory in stopping the killing of people — Ukrainian and Russian — something he has pointed to as his primary objective.

TRUMP: “I refuse to accept another round of endless war in Ukraine.

I want peace, they want money and conflict! Even if it means pushing us to the brink of World War III, which, frankly, is already happening and very quickly.” pic.twitter.com/OKU2JVBvAB

— Ben Swann (@BenSwann_) November 18, 2024

In turning off the war support for the Israel government, Trump is in a different position as he has expressed his particularly strong support for this government. But, Trump, as with the Ukraine war, has also expressed his strong desire for the carnage in the Israel War to end. Trump, when shutting off the faucet, can declare victory for Israel. He can claim the defeat by Israel of Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. He can claim also Israel’s elimination of threat posed to it from Syria. The war is over and won can be his message.

Trump will surely face difficult challenges as president, but on the major issues of the Ukraine War and Israel War, the solution is simple: righty tighty.

In better times the West Bank city of Bethlehem, where Christ was born, is festive and bustling with locals and international tourists and religious pilgrims at this time of year.

But the Palestinian city will spend its second straight year of the Gaza War with much more low key celebrations only done inside churches and not the typical huge festive Christmas parades through the main square. Absent is also the main large lit-up Christmas tree which usually dominates the town during the holiday season.

The Bethlehem Municipality has announced that the public celebrations that people often flock there for are cancelled and that events will instead be limited to religious rituals.

“For the second straight year, Bethlehem’s Christmas celebrations will be somber and muted, in deference to ongoing war in Gaza,” Time Magazine reports.

“There will be no giant Christmas tree in Manger Square, no raucous scout marching bands, no public lights twinkling and very few public decorations or displays.”

“Last year before Christmas, we had more hope, but now again we are close to Christmas and we don’t have anything,” the owner of the Nativity Store, Rony Tabash, told Time.

The isolated Biblical town, which lies behind Israel’s large wall which separates the West Bank, has long relied on religious pilgrimage and tourism for its economic survival.

A Time correspondent further details:

The city hosts more than 100 stores and 450 workshops dealing with traditional Palestinian handicraft, Qumsiyeh said. But just a week before Christmas, when the city should be bursting with visitors, Manger Square was mostly empty save for a few locals selling coffee and tea. Only two of the eight stores in the main drag of the square were open for business.

In the early half 20th century it was an almost completely Palestinian Christian town, predominantly Eastern Orthodox, but now this population has dwindled to merely a sizeable minority.

The growth of the Muslim population and the fact that Bethlehem is almost entirely surrounded by Jewish Israeli settlements has contributed to a steady exodus of the Arabic-speaking Christian population in search of better economic opportunity.

West Bank | A silent Christmas march is taking place in Bethlehem mourning the 20,000+ lives lost in the Israeli aggression on Gaza pic.twitter.com/s4XToueL0C

— TIMES OF GAZA (@Timesofgaza) December 24, 2023

In Gaza, despite new recent headlines of revived talks, a ceasefire in reality seems nowhere in sight. The war had long ago spilled over into the West Bank too, marked by Palestinian street clashes with Israeli police and military.

The about 15-month war has resulted in hundreds killed throughout the West Bank territories. Bethlehem, however, has been largely quiet but faces continued economic strangulation.

Authored by Tsvetana Paraskova via OilPrice.com,

European countries need to work out ways to lower taxes on electricity to revive the competiveness of Europe’s energy-intensive industries, Leonhard Birnbaum, president of electricity lobby Eurelectric, told Reuters in an interview published on Monday. 

Power prices in the EU are up to three times higher than in the United States, for example, which further erodes the competitiveness of energy-intensive industries including aluminum, steel making, chemicals, and cement production. 

Europe is losing and will continue to lose competitiveness and jobs if it doesn’t tackle its high energy costs compared to other regions, Morten Wierod, chief executive of Switzerland-based engineering giant ABB, told Bloomberg last month. 

To restore competitiveness for European companies which have been suffering from high energy costs, the EU governments should look to lower the high energy taxes, according to Eurelectric’s Birnbaum. 

“We appreciate that states always need more money, but if you really want to electrify then you can’t have, for example, an over-proportional tax burden on electricity compared to the tax burden on gas,” said Birnbaum, who is also chief executive of German utility giant E.ON. 

The problem with these taxes lies in the fact that part of the levies and fees on electricity are individually set by the single EU countries, where the EU has no jurisdiction. 

Earlier this month, Eurelectric and energy intensive representatives CEFIC and European Aluminium discussed how to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness and electrify industry. 

The group proposed six actions to ease the pressure on energy-intensive industries, which include “level out electricity taxes and levies.”

“Fixing Europe’s perverse energy taxation” is a way to lower energy prices and support electrification, said Eurelectric and the lobbies of the energy-intensive industries.

Taxes on electricity in the EU as a share of the final bill are respectively three and three and a half times higher for household and industrial consumers compared to natural gas, the industry said. 

“A well-functioning market with long-term investment signals, incentives to reinforce infrastructure and lower taxes on electricity are no-regret solutions that can be implemented immediately,” said Eurelectric’s Secretary General Kristian Ruby. 

In a Telegram post on Monday, Ukraine’s main intelligence directorate reported that a cargo ship, sent to Syria to retrieve Russian military equipment, experienced an engine failure while transiting near the Strait of Gibraltar, a narrow waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea.

“The cargo ship Sparta, sent by Russia to retrieve its weapons and equipment from Syria, broke down off the coast of Portugal due to a malfunction in the fuel pipe of its main engine,” Ukrainian intelligence wrote in the update. 

The ship tracking website Marine Traffic shows the Vladivostok-bound cargo ship, Ursa Major, previously registered as Sparta III, drifting on the high seas near Portugal. A tug vessel appears to be approaching Sparta. 

Another view of the vessel…

The Kyiv Independent noted that it could not verify the intel agency’s claim whether Sparta was part of a withdrawal operation from Syria.  

Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime earlier this month, two Russian military bases in the country—the Hmeimim Air Base and the Tartus Naval Base—have faced constant threats from the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, also known as HTS.

Last week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “there are no final decisions” about Russia’s bases in Syria. Moscow said diplomatic staff were evacuated from the country.

Satellite images from Maxar show that Russian military personnel have been winding down operations at Khmeimim Air Base. 

Russia continues evacuation from Syria.

Satellite images from Maxar show military equipment concentrated at Russian bases in Tartus and Khmeimim, withdrawn from multiple outposts across Syria. pic.twitter.com/S9mz7LMsoi

— Clash Report (@clashreport) December 18, 2024

The big question for the Sparta vessel is whether any US Navy submarines with special forces units lurk beneath.

Authored by Chris Summers via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Germany’s interior minister said a Saudi national, accused of driving a car into crowds at a Christmas market in Magdeburg on Dec. 20, did not “fit into any existing mold.”

Five people, including a 9-year-old boy, were killed and dozens injured in the attack.

Four women aged 45, 52, 67, and 75 died, as well as the boy, who has been identified as André Gleissner.

German police say the suspect drove into the grounds of the Christmas market using emergency exit points and then accelerated before plowing into the crowds, hitting more than 200 people. He was arrested by armed police.

The suspect—named only as Taleb A, according to Germany’s strict privacy laws that prevent criminal suspects from being identified—had claimed asylum in Germany after fleeing Saudi Arabia 20 years ago because he said his anti-Islamic views put him in danger there.

The 50-year-old psychiatrist’s social media account showed he had voiced support for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on Dec. 22 that a criminal investigation into the attack would leave no stone unturned.

“The task is to piece together all findings and paint a picture of this perpetrator, who does not fit any existing mold,” she said. “This perpetrator acted in an unbelievably cruel and brutal manner—like an Islamist terrorist, although he was clearly ideologically hostile to Islam.”

The AfD has strong support in Germany. Opinion polls put it in second place nationally ahead of elections due in February.

The AfD candidate for chancellor, Alice Weidel, has planned a rally in Magdeburg for Monday evening.

Taleb A.’s X account was filled with anti-Islam themes and criticism of the religion, and he regularly congratulated former Muslims who had left the faith.

He had also accused the German government of failing to stop the “Islamism of Europe.”

Several German media outlets said Taleb A. was a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy who had lived in Germany since 2006 and practiced medicine in the town of Bernburg, 25 miles south of Magdeburg.

Taleb A. had conducted several media interviews in recent years and said he had been helping people who had renounced Islam to come to Europe from Saudi Arabia and claim asylum.

It remains unclear why he drove a car into the crowd.

Magdeburg, located west of Berlin, is the capital of the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt and was part of communist East Germany until reunification in 1990.

The reaction to Friday night’s attack has been a mixture of sadness, horror, and anger.

The police said there were “minor disturbances” at a demonstration attended by more than 2,000 people on Saturday night in Magdeburg.

Some of the protesters wore black balaclavas and held up a banner with the word “remigration,” a term calling for the mass deportation of immigrants.

Eight years ago, an Islamic extremist drove a truck into a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 13 people. That attacker, Anis Amri, a failed asylum seeker from Tunisia, was fatally shot by Italian police four days later in Milan.

Floral Tributes

Thousands of residents deposited a sea of flowers in front of St John’s Church in Magdeburg, close to the scene of the Friday. attack.

Resident Ingolf Klinzmann said: “This is my second time here. I was here yesterday. I brought flowers and it moved me so much and I had to know today how many flowers were brought.”

A magistrate has ordered Taleb A. to be held in pre-trial custody on five counts of murder and multiple counts of attempted murder and grievous bodily harm.

It is not clear whether a lawyer has been appointed for the suspect.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.