Tag: news

Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack,

The outcome of Trump’s continued struggle with the “deep state” will reverberate across the world…

Putin’s senior aide Nikolai Patrushev, who ran the FSB for nearly a decade (1999-2008) before chairing the Security Council for over 15 years till recently (2008-2024), made three predictions about international affairs in his latest interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda. The first concerns the continued struggle between Trump and the “deep state”, the latter of which can be described as US’ permanent military, intelligence, and diplomatic bureaucracies, some members of whom are known to oppose him.

Patrushev expects Trump to implement domestic and foreign policies that are practically the opposite of Biden’s, which he characterizes as pragmatic and more aligned with the interests of the American people, but he’s unsure whether he’ll ultimately succeed due to internal resistance. The precedent from his first term bodes ill for his second, but the outcome of this latest struggle will reverberate for decades seeing as how the world is undergoing far-reaching systemic changes last seen since 1991.

On that topic, Patrushev assessed that one of Trump’s top foreign policy priorities is to ramp up pressure on China, including by artificially exacerbating bilateral tensions.

He then reminded everyone that “For us, China has been and remains a most important partner, with whom we have relations of especially privileged strategic cooperation. These relations are not subject to the situation, they remain regardless of who occupies the Oval Office.” This can be interpreted as signaling that Russia won’t backstab China.

In other words, Trump’s declared goal of “un-uniting” those two will fail, thus meaning that no worsening of their relations will occur. This shouldn’t be misunderstood as suggesting that Russia will go out of its way to help China at the expense of provoking the US’ wrath, however, seeing as how China hasn’t done that for Russia. After all, the Chinese-based BRICS Bank and SCO comply with US sanctions against Russia as do some of its local banks, all of which is proven in the preceding hyperlinked analyses.

A Chinese company also pulled out of Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 megaproject under sanctions duress too while private drone companies sell their wares to Ukraine. At the same time, Russia continues arming China’s Indian rival to the teeth despite their nascent rapprochement, and it also authorized the shipment of jointly Indian produced BrahMos supersonic missiles to the Philippines a year ago. Accordingly, while Sino-Russo ties will remain strong, some differences will nevertheless still exist.

And finally, the last prediction that Patrushev made in his latest interview was that Moldova and Ukraine might cease to exist as a result of their anti-Russian policies, with the first possibly “becoming part of another state” in an allusion to joining Romania like some nationalists there want to have happen. As for the second, his ominous prediction was preceded by him remarking about how such policies “are destroying once prosperous cities in Ukraine, including Kharkov, Odessa, Nikolaev, and Dnepropetrovsk.”

While some might believe that he’s implying that Russian forces will sweep across both to the Romanian and Polish borders respectively, it’s much more likely that he simply wants Moldova, Ukraine, and their shared American patron to bear in mind the possibly existential stakes if the conflict further escalates. Of course, it’s also possible that one or both collapse under the weight of their anti-Russian policies due to a combination of domestic instability and Russian pressure, but that probably isn’t what he meant.

This take on his intentions stems from what else he said about the need for Russia to only negotiate with the US, not with the UK, the EU, or anyone else. He reaffirmed that Russia will achieve its goals in the conflict and won’t cede any territory, but the overall impression is that Russia is interested in compromising with Trump the pragmatist, though the potential failure to agree to a decent deal (perhaps due to “deep state” subterfuge) could doom Moldova and Ukraine (at least with time).

Reflecting on Patrushev’s predictions, all three are grounded in a solid understanding of their associated dynamics, which is to be expected from someone like him. What unites them all is whether or not Trump will succeed in overcoming “deep state” opposition to his policies, thus making this domestic aspect of his platform globally important. If he does, then the US will likely cut a deal in Ukraine in order to “Pivot (back) to Asia” pronto, while it’ll likely remain in Ukraine and possibly even escalate if he doesn’t.

In the past, the name Costco has been synonymous with high employee morale and quality of life. The company has been revered as a place to work due to its good pay, stock options and high focus on employee retention. 

But leave it to unions to take that and flip it on its head. 

Now, “eighteen thousand Costco Teamsters are preparing to strike if a ‘fair contract offer’ is not presented by the end of the month,” according to a new report from Fox Business News. 

Eighty-five percent of Costco Teamsters nationwide voted to authorize a strike, according to a Sunday press release. As final negotiations began on January 20, tensions rose with practice pickets held in California, Washington, and Long Island. Hundreds in San Diego are set to join a large practice picket by Thursday, the union said.

Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien commented: “From day one, we’ve told Costco that our members won’t work a day past January 31 without a historic, industry-leading agreement.”

“Costco’s greedy executives have less than two weeks to do the right thing. If they refuse, they’ll have no one to blame but themselves when our members go on strike,” he continued. 

Bryan Fields, a Costco worker in Baltimore, added: “We are the backbone of Costco. We drive its success and generate its profits. We hope the company will step up and do right by us, but if they don’t, that’s on them. The company will be striking itself.”

Costco’s website says it “is often noted for being much more employee-focused than other Fortune 500 companies. By offering fair wages and top-notch benefits, the company has created a workplace culture that attracts positive, high-energy, talented employees.”

How are you positioned for 2025?

Entering a new year and new era of ZeroHedge Debates, we’re hosting top strategists (institutional guys typically only accessible to accredited investors) for long-form discussions wherein market calls will be scrutinized and opposing view voiced so you can deploy capital armed with more than a 2-minute cnbc soundbite.

Piper Sandler’s Michael “Kantro” Kantrowitz was ranked 2024’s number 1 portfolio strategist by the widely followed Extel survey. Matt King was head of global strategy for Citibank for two decades and now runs Satori Insights.

Kantro and King will come face-to-face this Thursday evening at 6pm ET, only accessible on the ZeroHedge homepage and only visible to premium and professional subscribers so sign up now and save the date. The event will be moderated by Real Vision’s Ash Bennington.

Overview of their positions below.

Kantro: Cautiously Optimistic

• Expects housing to stay stagnant with elevated rates. Though rates may come down with Fed’s easing.

• Should see modest economic growth. Manufacturing appears to be picking up — either because of the Trump win or Fed easing cycle. PMI to increase. 

• Profit bifurcation: “If you look at S&P 500 profits, they look like the line has been going straight up. Everything’s great. But if you dig under the surface, there’s been another big bifurcation between the MAG-7 [Microsoft, Meta, Apple, Amazon, Google, Nvidia, Tesla]  and the rest of the market where you’ve had really good growth in the MAG-7, pretty tepid growth in everything else, and then when you go down in capitalization down to small caps, they’ve seen three consecutive years where earnings have declined.”

In the debut episode of Kantro’s new podcast “What’s Next For Markets”, he calls for a reversal of the small/large cap bifurcation: “What the PMI suggests for profits is that we should begin to see the breadth of profits start to improve.”

Another key underpinning of his bullish outlook was counterintuitively kicked off by poor jobs data: “Ironically, that rise in the unemployment rate has actually been a good thing for stocks because it helped to get inflation down. It started to get the Fed pivoting.”

And jobs may be turning…

Hot jobs, cold market. #macro #hopE https://t.co/pP2c3okT0T pic.twitter.com/6TT6f1CilC

— Kantro (@MichaelKantro) January 10, 2025

Kantro caveats his optimism with the concession that “if the 10 year goes above 4.5%, then markets are going to struggle.”

King: Optimism Priced In

Too much “U.S. exceptionalism” is priced into valuations, says King, taking a more bearish view. King prefers charts to words and sees U.S. equities as ahead of their skis compared to the rest of the globe, an increasingly widening divide in recent years (pictured bottom left). And as King concedes, this is not unjustified as American firms are the “biggest and the best” (bottom right):

Yet money is beginning to flow out:

Lastly, foreign-born jobs have grown while native positions stagnate (bottom right). Meanwhile S&P has become unhinged from its previously tight correlation to job openings (bottom left). As King says, “Trump’s policies carry two-way risks” as eliminating foreign jobs will add more downward pressure to S&P”:

Both strategists agree: what Trump does on tariffs and immigration will be key to watch.

To see how they are both positioned in 1H ‘25, tune into the live debate: Thursday, Jan 23 at 6pm ET right at the top of the ZeroHedge homepage but only if you are logged in as a professional or premium user so sign up now. Professional users may email debates@zerohedge.com to submit questions for the debaters.

Authored by Shawn Musgrave via TheIntercept.com,

In less than 30 minutes on Monday, Elon Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency were hit with four different lawsuits over the legal status of the effort to find federal regulations to eliminate and federal employees to fire.

The lawsuits landed as Musk rubbed elbows with fellow billionaires at President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

As Trump crowed during his speech about DOGE and sending astronauts to Mars, government watchdogs and civil society organizations filed litigation claiming DOGE violates federal law because of its structure and secrecy.

“Currently, DOGE is operating unchecked, without authorization or funding from Congress and is led by unelected billionaires who are not representative of ordinary Americans,” said Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, in a statement announcing one of the lawsuits, which it filed alongside the American Federation of Teachers and other groups.

Another lawsuit was filed by National Security Counselors, a nonprofit law firm.

The third lawsuit came courtesy of Public Citizen, a consumer protection group, and the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest union for federal workers.

Unions have spent the months since the election steeling themselves for a fight over DOGE.

The fourth suit, from the Center for Biological Diversity, per Politico “…seeks all records from the Office of Management and Budget relating to DOGE. ”

Although DOGE is styled as a “department,” Trump lacks the legal authority to create official departments without legislation from Congress.

(During his speech, Trump also said he would establish an “External Revenue Service” to collect his promised tariffs, which would also require a statute.)

The four lawsuits, filed in federal court in Washington, all allege that DOGE flouts the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The law requires certain committees that advise the federal government to follow particular procedures, including drafting a formal charter and holding public meetings, which DOGE has not done.  

“The advice and guidance that Mr. Trump has charged DOGE with producing is sweeping and consequential,” said Public Citizen in an emailed statement.

“DOGE — the members of which currently do not represent the interests of everyday Americans — will be considering cuts to government agencies and programs that protect health, benefits, consumer finance, and product safety.”

In its statement, CREW said:

“DOGE representatives have reportedly already been speaking with agency officials throughout the federal government, and communication is allegedly taking place on Signal, a messaging app known for its auto-delete features.”

The initial fight will be over whether DOGE fits the criteria of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The litigants argue it does since it is “an advisory committee charged by Mr. Trump with providing advice or recommendations to the President and to one or more federal agencies regarding regulatory and fiscal matters,” as Public Citizen asserts in its filing.

Since Trump’s victory in November, Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who Trump also tapped to lead DOGE, have been busy staffing up the effort with Silicon Valley types and finding office space, including potentially inside the federal Office of Management and Budget.

(Ramaswamy is expected to step away later this month to run for governor in Ohio.)

DOGE’s “intended goal is clear,” according to the National Security Counselors’ suit, which named both Musk and Ramaswamy personally as defendants, along with Trump and other officials. The suit says “recommendations made by unaccountable outsiders without transparent deliberations which will reduce the size of the federal workforce by whatever means necessary.”

CREW’s lawsuit names DOGE, the federal Office of Management and Budget, and the acting head of OMB as defendants, while Public Citizen’s names just Trump and OMB.

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order on Monday suspending all US foreign assistance programs for 90 days while his staff reviews whether they are aligned with his policy goals.

According to the EO, the “foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests and in many cases antithetical to American values,” and “serve to destabilize world peace by promoting ideas in foreign countries that are directly inverse to harmonious and stable relations internal to and among countries.”

Trump also declared that “no further United States foreign assistance shall be disbursed in a manner that is not fully aligned with the foreign policy of the President of the United States.”

It’s unclear how much assistance will initially be affected by the Monday order, as funding for many programs has already been appropriated by congress and is obligated to be spent, AP reports.

Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that “very dollar we spend, every program we fund, and every policy we pursue must be justified with the answer to three simple questions: Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous?“

Monday’s EO leaves those decisions up to Rubio, or a Rubio designee, in consultation with the Office of Management and Budget – with the State Department and the US Agency for International Development being the primary agencies which oversee such foreign assistance.

Trump has long railed against foreign aid despite the fact that such assistance typically amounts to roughly 1% of the federal budget, except under unusual circumstances such as the billions in weaponry provided to Ukraine. Trump has been critical of the amount shipped to Ukraine to help bolster its defenses against Russia’s invasion.

The last official accounting of foreign aid in the Biden administration dates from mid-December and budget year 2023. It shows that $68 billion had been obligated for programs abroad that range from disaster relief to health and pro-democracy initiatives in 204 countries and regions. -AP

Of course, Egypt ($1.5 billion / year + 1 US Congressman), Israel ($3.3 billion / year and most of Congress), and Jordan ($1.7 billion / year) are unlikely to see much of a reduction, as those amounts have been included in long-term packages, and are in some cases governed by treaty obligations.

During Trump’s first term, he moved to reduce foreign aid spending – suspending payments to certain UN agencies, including the UN Population Fund, as well as funding to the Palestinian Authority. Trump also pulled out of the UN Human Rights Council, along with its financial obligations, while the Biden administration pulled funding from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

President Trump fired four high-profile presidential appointees just after midnight Tuesday, including Gen. Mark Milley, and Biden’s top envoy to Iran, Brian Hook (who also served in the role during Trump’s first term).

“Our first day in the White House is not over yet! My Presidential Personnel Office is actively in the process of identifying and removing over a thousand Presidential Appointees from the previous Administration, who are not aligned with our vision to Make America Great Again,” Trump wrote on Truth social just after midnight Tuesday.

“Let this serve as Official Notice of Dismissal for these 4 individuals, with many more, coming soon,” Trump said before listing off the four officials in the post that ended with “YOU’RE FIRED!”

Hook was fired from the Wilson Center, Milley from the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, while celebrity chef José Andrés was chopped from the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, and former Atlanta mayor Keisha Bottoms was axed from the President’s Export Council, after she dropped out of the Atlanta mayor’s race to work as a senior advisor on Biden’s reelection campaign. 

Andrés, the founder of World Central Kitchen, has questioned whether Trump can carry out his ambitious deportation plans, and seems to be considering a future in politics himself.

The celebrity chef said he submitted his resignation from the post last week and that his term was already up. He elaborated that he was “honored” to work as the co-chair and asked Trump to allow the council to continue its work. -The Hill

“I’m proud of what we accomplished on behalf of the American people…like a historic partnership between the White House and every major sports league to increase access to sports and health programs for kids,” Andres posted Tuesday morning on X.

Coast Guard Commandant Fired

Meanwhile, the acting secretary of Homeland Security removed the Coast Guard commandant from her position, according to USNI News.

Adm. Linda Fagan, the first female commandant of the Coast Guard who assumed duties on June 1, 2022, was terminated over issues with recruitment, operational concerns, and a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion.

“Under my statutory authority as the Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security I have relieved Admiral Linda L. Fagan of her duties as Commandant of the United States Coast Guard. She served a long and illustrious career, and I thank her for her service to our nation,” reads an ALCOAST message.

Bye Felicias…

By Mark Glennon of Wirepoints

Bally’s, the big casino operator, is selling shares only to women and minorities in its new gambling resort mecca being built in Chicago’s River West neighborhood. A minority preference of some kind was a condition to city approval of the project, and this is what the city and Bally’s agreed to.

Yes, that appears blatantly illegal, but wait to understand the deal before deciding whether it’s truly doing any favor for women and minorities. Opinions may vary on that. The offering is being promoted by the City of Chicago Treasurer and some city aldermen.

Let’s start with city officials hyping the sale, as reported by The Triibe. Last Thursday, “City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin and members of the Chicago Aldermanic Black Caucus hosted an information session in the 21st Ward, the city’s largest Black ward, to inform residents about an opportunity for minorities and women to “create generational wealth” by buying shares in Bally’s Chicago, Inc.

“The most captivating part,” The Triibe wrote, “was when residents learned that they could put up as little as $250 of their own funds to partake in the investment that presenters expressed as the biggest benefit to the Black community.”

“Generational wealth”? “Captivating”? “Benefit to black community”?

Here’s the deal that’s offered, which is detailed in the company’s S-1 filing with the Securities Exchange Commission and other company materials: Instead of just buying one share for $25,000, a buyer can put up as little as $250 and Bally’s will loan you the remainder of the purchase price. You thus buy an “Interest,” as it’s called in the offering documents.

A buyer will never see any dividends until the loan is repaid plus interest at 11% annually, compounded quarterly, and that could be a long, long time, if ever. The company says in its S-1 that it currently expects not to have cash available for distribution until approximately three to five years after the Chicago facility opens, which they are targeting for September 2026. “However, this may fluctuate depending on ”the ability to generate cash from operations and its cash flow needs and payments on senior debt.” At 11% compounded quarterly, the loan balance would double in less than six and a half years.

The good news is that the loans are nonrecourse, meaning a buyer is not personally liable for repayment; only the shares that would be bought with the loan is at risk. A buyer therefore could put down the small amount of $250 in exchange for a hope and a prayer that everything will go well and the investment eventually pays off.

That’s not necessarily irrational, being akin to buying a cheap, out-of-the-money option on a stock. Kind of like playing a slot machine though hopefully with fair odds. I can’t assess whether it’s a fair bet of that type. But it’s hardly a ticket to “generational wealth.” The Interests are indeed highly risky and speculative, just as the offering documents say.

The Interests are subject to extensive transfer restrictions and won’t, at least initially, be traded on any public exchange, so “you may find it difficult to sell your Class A Interests,” as the S-1 mildly puts it.

If that’s not enough, read the Risk Factors section of the S-1 – all 40 pages of it. It’s daunting, to put it mildly. Also daunting is the corporate structure behind the process through which earnings would flow to pay off the loans.

All this comes as concerns mount that the gambling business in Illinois is cannibalizing itself through the proliferation of betting sites and methods. That was reflected in the most recent report last year by Illinois Commission on Governmental Forecasting and Accountability. There “are concerns of oversaturation,” as the report put it, and Illinois casino revenue was essentially flat from 2023 to 2024.

Aside from all women, the minorities for whom the offering is open is broad and vague. It includes pretty much any group that the City of Chicago decides is disadvantaged, which you can see in the relevant section from the S-1, reproduced below.

Loop Capital Markets LLC is the lead placement agent on the offering, meaning they quarterback the deal for Bally’s. Loop is a prominent, politically connected, minority-owned financial firm in Chicago.

City of Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin is perhaps among the politicians least qualified to be promoting the deal. She was fined last year for violating the government ethics ordinance by firing whistleblowers and improperly using city resources. We’ve criticized her here for failing to provide even the most basic information that should be expected from a treasurer and for a misguided divestiture from fossil fuel makers.

Ald. Ronnie Mosley (21st Ward) was also there Thursday night boosting the deal. “Tonight is about a new opportunity on how to participate, about not just being a consumer but to be an owner,” he told the crowd of a couple hundred people, according to The Tribe.  

They apparently sold many in the room at Thursday’s event, according to The Triibe, whose article also reads like a puff piece. They quoted one attendee from Chicago’s Chatham neighborhood who said, “It’s so many ways you can invest. I mean, to go from $250 all the way to $25,000, I mean, if you don’t have any money and all you have is 250 and they let you in,” she said. “That’s, like, a no-brainer for me, and then it’s a no recourse loan, so therefore you’re not liable for it if it [the project] doesn’t go through.”

Could the deal be challenged as illegal discrimination? Yes, absolutely. I can think of no plausible defense to such a challenge and I have found no precedent for a similarly exclusionary securities offering.

Is it the type of deal that should be sold for minorities to build “generational wealth”? Absolutely not.

*  *  *

Groups eligible to buy interests, from S-1:

This offering is only being made to individuals and entities that satisfy the Class A Qualification Criteria (as defined herein). Our Host Community Agreement with the City of Chicago requires that 25% of Bally’s Chicago OpCo’s equity must be owned by persons that have satisfied the Class A Qualification Criteria. The Class A Qualification Criteria include, among other criteria, that the person:

• if an individual, must be a woman; ​
• if an individual, must be a Minority, as defined by MCC 2-92-670(n) (see below); or
• if an entity, must be controlled by women or Minorities.

​MCC 2-92-670(n), in turn, defines Minority as:

• any individual in the following racial or ethnic groups:
• African-Americans or Blacks (including persons having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa);
• American Indians (including persons having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintain tribal affiliation or community attachment);
• Asian-Americans (including persons whose origins are in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the islands of the Pacific or the Northern Marianas or the Indian Subcontinent);
• Hispanics (including persons of Spanish culture with origins in Mexico, South or Central America or the Caribbean Islands, regardless of race); and
• individual members of other groups, including but not limited to Arab-Americans, found by the City of Chicago to be socially disadvantaged by having suffered racial or ethnic prejudice or cultural bias within American society, without regard to individual qualities, resulting in decreased opportunities to compete in Chicago area markets or to do business with the City of Chicago. Qualification under this clause is determined on a case-by-case basis and there is no exhaustive or definitive list of groups or individuals that the City of Chicago has determined to qualify as Minority under this clause. However, in the event the City of Chicago identifies any additional groups or individuals as falling under this clause in the future, members of such groups would satisfy the Class A Qualification Criteria.

Duquesne Family Office Chairman Stanley Druckenmiller stated Monday that “animal spirits” have returned to the market, fueled by “giddy” CEOs anticipating Trump’s return to the White House. Speaking to CNBC, the billionaire investor argued that the U.S. economy is shifting from “the most anti-business administration” in history to the most business-friendly administration. 

REBECCA QUICK: A lot of people have been wondering how you’re feeling about things, just from a market’s perspective, from an economy perspective. What do you have to say today?

STANLEY DRUCKENMILLER: The economy is very interesting. We’re at a very low unemployment rate, essentially 4%, with 3% GDP growth. I’ve been doing this for 49 years, and we’re probably moving from the most anti-business administration to the opposite. We do a lot of talking to CEOs and companies on the ground, and I’d say CEOs are somewhere between relieved and giddy. We’re believers in animal spirits. Paul Ryan was on your show last week talking about a 32% increase in business confidence over the last 12 months, which is probably a record in terms of change.

So the economy looks very strong, at least for the next six months, which is about as far out as one can see with any degree of confidence.

In terms of the markets, I would say it’s complicated. Despite what I just said about all the wonderful things about the economy, we have an earnings yield to bond yield ratio that’s probably the most unattractive level in 30 years.

So you’ll have this push of a strong economy versus rising bond yields in response to that strong economy, and that makes it hard to have a strong opinion one way or the other on the market.

I will say this: in my business, every change creates change in security prices, and having this kind of radical shift from one administration to another, in addition to what’s going on in the private sector with innovation, then you’ve got deregulation from the government, disruption. I think there’s going to be plenty of chance, plenty for your viewers to do. I wouldn’t worry about the market, I would focus on individual stocks. 

Authored by Nathan Worcester, Jacob Burg, John Haughey, Darlene McCormick Sanchez, Ryan Morgan, Savannah Hulsey Pointer, and Andrew Moran via The Epoch Times,

President Donald Trump set a breakneck pace on the first day of his second term, taking numerous executive actions and rescinding 78 executive orders from his predecessor, while also pardoning roughly 1,500 people charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, breach at the U.S. Capitol.

The commander-in-chief moved fast on the border, inflation, energy, government censorship, federal bureaucracy, and much more. He also officially renamed parts of the map, changing the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and reverting Denali back to Mount McKinley. Here’s a rundown of Trump’s first moves upon his return to the White House.

Border and Immigration

Trump issued 10 executive actions on border security, including a national emergency declaration to pave the way for military deployment to the border and the completion of a border wall.

Trump’s executive orders set the stage for deportation operations while cracking down on illegal immigration and crime.

Trump’s orders reinstate Remain in Mexico, end catch-and-release of illegal immigrants, designate cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, pause refugee resettlement, end birthright citizenship, and bring back the death penalty for certain crimes against federal agents.

By stopping catch-and-release and re-implementing policies such as Remain in Mexico, those seeking asylum will no longer be able to live and work in the United States while awaiting adjudication of their claim.

Those policies under President Joe Biden were a significant factor in attracting some 11 million illegal immigrants into the country in four years, experts have said.

Another executive order directs the attorney general to seek capital punishment for the murder of law enforcement officers and capital crimes committed by illegal immigrants.

Ending birthright citizenship will likely spark legal challenges.

Birthright citizenship is addressed under the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, saying “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.”

Trump’s order hinges on the “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” part of the amendment, meaning the federal government will not recognize automatic birthright citizenship for children born to illegal immigrant parents.

The idea of birthright citizenship was decided in the 1898 Supreme Court case United States v. Wong Kim Ark. The high court ruled that children born in the United States to immigrant parents are citizens, regardless of their parents’ immigration status.

Trump also rescinded multiple Biden executive orders related to the border and immigration.

A chart depicting illegal immigration data is displayed on a screen as former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nev., on Oct. 11, 2024. Alejandra Rubio/AFP via Getty Images

Reducing Inflation

Trump also signed an inflation memorandum, titled “Delivering Emergency Price Relief for American Families and Defeating the Cost-of-Living Crisis,” that will assemble a whole-of-government approach to tackle high prices.

In his executive action, Trump referenced the “unprecedented regulatory oppression” from the previous administration that he estimates “have imposed almost $50,000 in costs on the average American household.”

He ordered heads of all executive departments and agencies to provide “emergency price relief.” The measures will include expanding the housing supply, eliminating administrative expenses and rent-seeking practices that add to health care costs, and removing requirements that raise the costs of home appliances.

Trump, according to the memorandum, will abolish “harmful, coercive ‘climate’ policies that increase the costs of food and fuel.”

Trump, in his inaugural address, diagnosed 40-year high inflation as caused by overspending and ballooning energy prices.

Cumulative inflation has surged about 21 percent over the last four years. Trump will begin his second term with an annual inflation rate of 2.9 percent, compared to the 1.4 percent when he left office.

A chorus of economists has said Trump’s economic agenda, especially tariffs, could rekindle the inflation flame by making products more expensive to produce and raising consumer prices.

U.S. Treasury nominee Scott Bessent dismissed these concerns during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee last week. Bessent stated that a layered-in approach could offset a spike in prices. Additionally, he noted that U.S. dollar appreciation, cheaper foreign exports, and changes to consumer preferences could counteract potential adverse effects.

Treasury secretary nominee, Scott Bessent, testifies before the Senate Committee on Finance at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 16, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Trade and Tariffs

A portion of Trump’s raft of executive orders focused on his trade agenda.

The 47th president presented a broad trade memorandum that directs federal agencies, including the Treasury, Commerce, and Homeland Security, to examine unfair trade relationships and currency policies with other countries, particularly Canada, Mexico, and China.

Trump will not impose new levies on other nations.

This does not mean he will abandon his pursuit of tariffs. Speaking to reporters from the White House, Trump said he will consider imposing 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico on Feb. 1 because of their trade policies. The president noted he will think about putting levies on China if it does not approve a TikTok deal.

He also pledged to overhaul the trade system in his inauguration speech.

“I will immediately begin the overhaul of our trade system to protect American workers and families. Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich other countries, we will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens,” he said.

“You put a universal tariff on anybody doing business in the United States, because they’re coming in and they’re stealing our wealth, they’re stealing our jobs, they’re stealing our companies. They’re hurting our companies,” Trump told reporters.

Trump reiterated his plan to establish an External Revenue Service to collect all tariffs, duties, and revenues from foreign businesses and countries.

Tariffs were a chief tenet of his election campaign. He vowed to impose 10 to 20 percent universal levies on all U.S. importers and 60 to 100 percent tariffs on Chinese products arriving in the United States. Shortly after the November election, Trump threatened 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico if they didn’t curb illegal immigration and fentanyl trafficking.

Containers including some from China Shipping, a conglomerate under the direct administration of China’s State Council, are stacked at the Port of Long Beach in Long Beach, Calif., on July 6, 2018. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

WHO Withdrawal

Trump also signed an executive order to remove the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO), a United Nations agency.

The order also ends any negotiations on the organization’s global pandemic treaty.

It instructs the secretary of state to inform the top ranks of the WHO and the United Nations. The Senate overwhelmingly confirmed Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) to that position earlier on Jan. 20.

Trump previously withdrew the United States from the WHO in 2020, against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. Biden rejoined the organization soon after taking office. The order revokes the Biden administration communication to rejoin.

Climate Pact Exit

Trump has again withdrawn the United States from the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, essentially reissuing his 2017 executive order leaving the global accord.

It will take a year to formally disenroll from the pact but it signals the nation’s energy policy will no longer adhere to global carbon emission goals.

“The United States will not sabotage our own industries while China pollutes with impunity,” Trump said at the Capital One Arena.

“You know, China, they use a lot of ‘dirty’ energy, but they produce a lot of energy and when that stuff goes up in the air, you know, [it] doesn’t stay there … it floats into the United States of America,” he said.

It is difficult to “fight for cleaner air” when “dirty air is dropping all over us,” Trump said. “Unless everybody does it, it just doesn’t work.”

Withdrawing from the climate pact will save taxpayers $1 trillion, the White House said.

A television broadcasts President Donald Trump’s announcement that he is withdrawing the United States from the Paris Climate Accord, at the New York Stock Exchange on June 1, 2017. Bryan R. Smith/AFP via Getty Images

National Energy Emergency

Trump declared a national energy emergency, and opened millions of acres in Alaska to fossil fuel development in the first of many energy-related executive actions expected.

“We will drill baby drill,” Trump vowed to rousing applause during his inauguration address, noting the nation has “the largest amount of energy, of oil and gas, than any country on Earth and we are going to use it.”

Under his ‘Unleash American Energy’ executive order’s emergency declaration, the president can streamline permitting, loosen regulations, and “use all necessary resources to build critical infrastructure.” such as pipelines and electric grid expansion.

“We are going to export energy all over the world. We will be a rich nation again and it will be that liquid gold below our feet” that makes it happen, he said.

Trump directed the Department of Interior (DOI) to restore oil and gas leasing on 13 million acres in Alaska’s 23-million-acre National Petroleum Reserve, reversing Biden’s order reversing his first-term order.

At least two orders unplugged Biden executive orders that placed restrictions on offshore drilling across 625 million acres off the east and west coasts only weeks ago.

A part of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System runs through boreal forest past Alaska Range mountains near Delta Junction, Alaska, on May 5, 2023. The 800-mile-long pipeline carries oil from the North Slope in Prudhoe Bay to the port of Valdez. Mario Tama/Getty Images

Inflation Reduction Act

Three other orders reverse energy-related Biden orders that provided regulatory authority for implementing many aspects of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

Trump and Republican congressional leaders vow to dismember the massive IRA which, along with the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the 2022 CHIPS & Science Act, are the signature bills of Biden’s “New Green Deal.”

The IRA alone authorizes 10 years of sustained tax credits, low-interest loans, and grant programs that by some estimates could top $1 trillion.

Untangling the IRA will require legislation and some of its provisions are popular, including in Republican congressional districts.

By repealing Biden’s three executive orders, the White House and Congress can administratively tighten tax credits, claw back some loans and grants, and revise unfinalized rules under the Congressional Review Act to chip away at the IRA.

End of EV Agenda

In line with his vision for U.S. energy, Trump rescinded an executive order signed by Biden in August 2021 that set a target of 50 percent zero-emission new vehicle sales by the end of the decade. Electric vehicle sales in the United States reached 8.1 percent of sales in 2024, according to Cox Automotive.

The 47th president also overturned a December 2021 executive order requiring that, by 2035, all vehicles the government procures are emission-free. Light-body vehicles would have had to meet that mark by 2027.

Another new executive order establishes as U.S. policy an intention to eliminate electric vehicle subsidies and to eliminate state fuel emissions waivers. California introduced its Clean Air Act waiver as a regulatory driver of electric vehicle adoption.

The president said his orders make good on his promises to America’s autoworkers.

“You’ll be able to buy the car of your choice,” he added. “We will build automobiles in America again at a rate that nobody could have dreamt possible just a few years ago.”

Biden’s August 2021 executive order directed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to work on new emissions standards.

President Joe Biden walks near Chevy vehicles as he arrives to deliver remarks during a visit to the General Motors Factory ZERO electric vehicle assembly plant in Detroit on Nov. 17, 2021. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Consequently, an EPA rule, finalized earlier this year, required automakers to tighten tailpipe emissions standards in a gradual fashion through 2032.

The regulation, which was less severe than one proposed by the same agency in 2023, set a target of 56 percent electric for all new vehicle sales by 2032.

Federal Bureaucracy, DOGE

Trump also promised to reform and streamline government bureaucracy so that it will “work for the American people,” including by freezing “bureaucrat hiring except in essential areas.”

He announced the rescission of a slate of executive orders with the goal to improve government workers’ accountability. Another EO requires that all federal workers return to in-person work, noting that “only 6 percent of employees currently work in person.”

Another executive order formalizes the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). It repurposes the U.S. Digital Service to serve as a White House-based U.S. DOGE Service. Additionally, it creates a time-limited service organization to administer DOGE.

It also mandates DOGE teams of at least four people across all federal agencies. Software modernization is a key focus of the DOGE executive order, in line with the tech-forward outlook of DOGE’s leader to date, Elon Musk.

Elon Musk speaks following the inauguration of President Donald Trump during an event at Capital One Arena in Washington on Jan. 20, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

No Government Censorship

Trump issued an executive order against government censorship, which he vowed would “bring back free speech to America.”

“Never again will the immense power of the state be weaponized to persecute political opponents, something I know something about,” Trump said in his inaugural address.

The executive order establishes as policy that federal employees cannot restrain American citizens’ free speech or use money from taxpayers to that end.

It also directs the attorney general to prepare a report to address abuses against Americans’ free speech under the Biden administration.

While on the campaign trail, the president outlined his plans for a day one executive order targeting restrictions on speech, often carried out by Big Tech firms under pressure from the federal government.

Trump added that he would swiftly purge the federal government of those who facilitated domestic censorship and keep federal funds from going to initiatives that would empower certain groups to determine what is “mis-” or “disinformation.”

While advocates of such programs say they combat falsehoods online, especially those spread by unfriendly state actors, opponents say that recent campaigns against “mis-” and “disinformation” have targeted many Americans on political grounds.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who attended Trump’s inauguration alongside Jeff Bezos and other tech titans, previously divulged that the Biden administration pressured Facebook to carry out ideological censorship.

(L–R) Priscilla Chan, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, Lauren Sanchez, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk attend President Trump’s inauguration ceremony in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on Jan. 20, 2025. Chip Somodevilla/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

The executive order calls government censorship “intolerable in a free society.”

“Under the guise of combating ’misinformation,‘ ’disinformation,‘ and ’malinformation,’ the Federal Government infringed on the constitutionally protected speech rights of American citizens across the United States in a manner that advanced the Government’s preferred narrative about significant matters of public debate,” the order states.

Exposing Abuse

Trump also moved to prevent the destruction of records as his administration takes the helm, part of a broader executive order aimed at addressing what he has characterized as a partisan takeover of government institutions that should remain neutral.

“To stop the weaponization of law enforcement and our government, I will also sign an order directing every federal agency to preserve all records pertaining to political persecutions under the last administration, of which there were many, and beginning the process of exposing any and all abuses of power, even though he’s pardoned many of these people,” Trump said shortly before signing that and other executive orders, and referring to Biden’s preemptive pardons.

Trump’s executive order on the weaponization of government directs the attorney general to investigate cases over the past several years that appear to fit a pattern of weaponization in the Department of Justice, regulatory agencies, and other agencies, and to prepare a report outlining the alleged abuses.

It similarly directs the director of national intelligence to probe possible abuses by U.S. intelligence agencies.

The executive order instructs the federal bureaucracy “to comply with applicable document-retention policies and legal obligations.”

Cases where employees defy the order “will be referred to the attorney general,” it states.

President Donald Trump speaks after taking the oath of office in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on Jan. 20, 2025. Kenny Holston-Pool/Getty Images

Security Clearances Stripped

Trump’s executive actions also include an order targeting election interference. It cites the 2020 letter signed by 51 former intelligence officials who dismissed accounts of Hunter Biden’s laptop as “part of a Russian disinformation campaign.”

The executive order also criticizes a 2019 memoir from Trump’s former national security advisor, John Bolton, describing it as “rife with sensitive information drawn from his time in government.”

The order revokes the security clearances of Bolton as well as 49 intelligence officials involved in the 2020 Hunter Biden laptop analysis, including former director of national intelligence James Clapper, former Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan, and former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

It also instructs the director of national intelligence to produce a report on steps to take to prevent election interference in the future.

Pardons for Jan. 6

The new president also followed through on a promise to pardon participants in the U.S. Capitol breach on Jan. 6, 2021.

Trump pardoned roughly 1,500 who were charged in connection with that event while commuting the sentences of 14 others. Those who have been pardoned include former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio.

“You’re gonna see a lot of action on the J6 hostages,” Trump promised earlier in the day at the Capitol.

Trump’s pardons for Jan. 6 defendants were issued hours after Biden issued a slew of his own preemptive pardons.

Biden’s Jan. 20 pardons encompassed Dr. Anthony Fauci, Gen. Mark Milley, and the Jan. 6 congressional committee, including former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.).

“Why are we trying to help a guy like Milley?” Trump asked on Monday. “Why are we helping Liz Cheney?”

In the final minutes before Trump and Vance were sworn in, Biden ended his presidency by preemptively pardoning his siblings and their spouses. In December, Biden pardoned his son, Hunter, as the younger Biden faced sentencing and a lengthy prison sentence for firearm and tax convictions.

The D.C. Central Detention Facility in Washington on Jan. 20, 2025. President Donald Trump pardoned roughly 1,500 Jan. 6 defendants after taking office for his second term. Bryan Woolston/Getty Images

TikTok Reprieve

Trump signed an executive order to give social media platform TikTok 75 days to secure a U.S. buyer. Without separating from its Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, TikTok faces a ban in the United States.

After a 14-hour shutdown over the weekend as the original deadline of Jan. 19 approached, TikTok resumed its service after Trump signaled that he would grant the company an extension.

Last week, the Supreme Court upheld the divest-or-ban law, citing valid national security concerns due to TikTok’s “scale and susceptibility to foreign adversary control” and the “vast swaths of sensitive data the platform collects.”

ByteDance, TikTok, and TikTok content creators challenged the law soon after it was enacted in April last year. They brought their case to the nation’s highest court after a federal appeals court denied their claims on First Amendment grounds.

At the core of the transaction is the algorithm owned by China-based ByteDance, without which TikTok wouldn’t be the same. China on Jan. 20 indicated for the first time it would be open to a transaction to allow TikTok to operate in the United States after consistently rejecting any deal for divestiture, citing technology transfer concerns.

Previous attempts by Oracle and Walmart to acquire ByteDance’s U.S. operations fell apart in 2021.

Monday’s executive order is Trump’s second one addressing TikTok. In August 2020, during his first term, he issued an EO to ban the video app over national security risks. TikTok sued and overturned that EO with a court order in December 2020.

A news ticker shows information about TikTok outside the Fox News building in New York City on Jan.19, 2025. Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images

DEI Targeted

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies were the focus of another executive order.

“This week, I will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private light,” Trump said in his inauguration speech. “We will forge a society that is color-blind and merit-based.”

The new order ends all federal programs and preferences that are based on race, sex, gender, or any other immutable characteristics. It also instructs the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the attorney general to terminate all “discriminatory programs, including illegal DEI and “diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility” (DEIA) mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities in the Federal Government, under whatever name they appear.”

A White House statement said Trump will “freeze bureaucrat hiring except in essential areas to end the onslaught of useless and overpaid DEI activists buried into the federal workforce.”

The Biden administration prioritized DEI efforts, which often encourages hiring practices that give advantages based on metrics including gender and race.

Another executive order seeks to ensure that merit guides hiring in the federal government rather than race, sex or other factors.

Two Sexes Policy

Trump also signed an order to create a new U.S. policy on gender.

“As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders—male and female,” Trump said in his inauguration speech.

Gender neutral signs are posted in the 21C Museum Hotel public restrooms in Durham, N.C., on May 10, 2016. Sara D. Davis/Getty Images

Trump’s executive order defines a female as “a person belonging at conception to the sex that produces the large reproductive cell,” which refers to eggs or ovum.

The definition does not distinguish gender and sex based on chromosomes, bypassing the issue of those who may have an irregular combination of chromosomes.

The federal government will no longer “promote” gender ideology and will revoke the Biden administration’s efforts to expand Title IX to include gender identity.

The EO also protects women’s privacy in intimate spaces such as bathrooms and changing rooms, while also safeguarding against enforcing pronoun policies that encroach on free speech.

Name Changes

Another EO directs the Interior department to rename the nation’s tallest mountain and a massive Atlantic Ocean basin in the southeast.

“We will restore the name of a great president, William McKinley, to Mount McKinley, where it should be and where it belongs,” Trump said in his inauguration speech.

Mount McKinley received its original name in 1896 by prospector William Dickey, who named it after then-presidential candidate William McKinley. President Barack Obama renamed it to Denali in 2015, a name long used by Native American tribes in the area.

Trump also said the Gulf of Mexico will be renamed to the Gulf of America.

Richard Mount and Thomas Page’s 1700 map of the Gulf of Mexico. Public Domain

The Department of Interior will oversee the change to any reference in laws, maps, regulations, documents, papers, or other U.S. records to refer to the basin as the Gulf of America.

Read more here…

Apple shares traded lower in premarket trading in New York after Jefferies downgraded the world’s most valuable company from “Hold” to “Underperform.” Adding to the pressure, independent research firm Counterpoint revealed disappointing iPhone sales data in China.

Jefferies analysts led by Edison Lee downgraded Apple to Underperform from Hold, slashing their price target of $211.84 to $200.75. They cited underwhelming iPhone sales in the world’s largest handset market that weren’t being boosted by AI hype, adding that Q1 2025 revenue will unlikely be met. 

Lee also reduced the outlook for the iPhone 17/18 due to slower AI uptake and commercialization, adding that Apple’s AI outlook appears “subdued.” 

The analysts noted that iPhone and consumer electronics sales were weaker than expected. 

Adding to the gloom, Counterpoint’s Market Pulse Service showed China’s smartphones declined 3.2% YoY in Q4 2024, marking the only quarter in 2024 to log a YoY drop.

Counterpoint Associate Director Ethan Qi commented on the report, “The country’s smartphone market saw a rebound in the first three quarters of the year, with positive YoY growth each quarter. However, momentum began to slow in Q4 as consumers adopted cautious spending behavior.”

The report showed that the iPhone lost the top position as China’s best-selling smartphone, falling from first to third in the fourth quarter of 2024: “During the quarter, Huawei took the top spot, followed by Xiaomi and Apple.” 

iPhone sales tumbled 18.2% YoY in the quarter.

Counterpoint Senior Research Analyst Mengmeng Zhang said, “In Q4 2024, Huawei climbed to the top spot with an 18.1% share. This is the first time since the US ban that Huawei regained the leading position. Huawei’s sales increased 15.5% YoY driven by the launch of the mid-end Nova 13 series and high-end Mate 70 series.”

Apple faces intensifying market competition from Huawei and other Chinese brands expanding into the premium market. Apple had about 17.1% market share last quarter. 

Counterpoint’s data is nothing new for readers who have known for months about the muted launch of Apple Intelligence:

• Apple Slides After Guiding Below Consensus, Missing On Wearables, China And Service Revenues

• Foxconn Sales Growth Slows Amid Underwhelming AI-Enabled iPhone Upgrade Supercycle

• AI Fails To Spark Upgrade Supercycle For Apple

• Global Smartphone Sales Rebound, But Apple AI Falls Short Of Sparking Upgrade Boom

Goldman’s Allen Chang and Verena Jeng recently provided clients with insights into Apple’s big dilemma in China: How it plans to compete with Chinese brands offering low-cost, AI-equipped smartphones priced as low as $168.

In a separate report from another independent research firm, Canalys, last week, iPhone sales in China plunged by 25% YoY for the final quarter of 2024. 

The takeaway is that AI-equipped iPhones failed to excite Chinese consumers, who are increasingly gravitating toward cheaper domestic-made AI smartphones. How can Apple compete?

Come on, Tim Cook. Think… Moar stock buybacks?