212,268 Pounds Of Egg Products Potentially Containing Bleach Recalled

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

Hundreds of thousands of pounds of egg items are being pulled off the market, citing the potential presence of an “unapproved substance,” according to the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).

Recalled liquid egg products. USDA

Michigan-based Cargill Kitchen Solutions is recalling “approximately 212,268 pounds of liquid egg products that may contain a cleaning solution with sodium hypochlorite,” the agency said in a March 28 recall announcement. “The problem was discovered when FSIS received a tip about the potential contamination of these products.”

According to a 2022 study, sodium hypochlorite, commonly known as bleach, is a main ingredient in cleaners and has good sanitizing effects. One of its uses is sterilizing food factories. Ingestion of the compound can result in vomiting, nausea, and burning sensations in the mouth. When large amounts are ingested, it results in “serious toxicity.”

“After conducting an investigation and thorough assessment of the contents of the cleaning solution, FSIS scientists concluded that use of this product should not cause adverse health consequences, or the risk is negligible, resulting in a Class III recall.”

Class III is the lowest of the three recall classifications under the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is assigned to products that pose a “marginal risk” to people.

The recalled items were shipped to distributors in Ohio and Texas as well as for food service use in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, and Iowa. FSIS said the products could have been distributed nationwide.

The products were manufactured on March 12 and 13, with “use by” dates extending to August 2025 and March 2026. They were sold in 32 oz. cartons.

The agency has received no confirmed reports of adverse reactions from consuming the recalled products. It advised people who have ingested the item and are worried about illnesses to contact a health care provider.

In an emailed statement to The Epoch Times, Cargill said the products were voluntarily recalled “out of an abundance of caution.”

“Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them, and food service locations are urged not to serve them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase,” FSIS said.

Individuals with questions about the recall can contact Cargill Kitchen Solutions at 1-844-419-1574.

Multiple other food recalls have been initiated over the past years due to the presence of unapproved substances.

In February last year, New York-based MF Meats withdrew more than 93,000 pounds of raw meat products out of concern they could have been contaminated with “non-food grade mineral seal oil, which is not approved for use in meat processing.”

Back in August 2022, Kraft Heinz recalled around 5,760 cases of juice drink blend beverages. The recall was triggered after a “diluted cleaning solution, which is used on food processing equipment, was inadvertently introduced into a production line” at one of the company’s factories.

The issue emerged after Kraft Heinz received multiple complaints from customers about the taste of the item.

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/01/2025 - 17:20

The post Donald Trump Is Confused: Tariffs and Taxes appeared first on CEPR.

Fifty Achievements In Fifty Days

Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Epoch Times,

Many friends of mine are frustrated at what they consider slow progress from the Trump administration. Whatever the pet issue, they want results now, and are otherwise ready to declare failure or betrayal.

This is a reflection of the high hopes of the incoming administration. There was never a way to keep up.

That’s why we should take a few moments to consider the achievements of this administration, which have gone some distance in restoring popular government over whatever we had before.

One feature I noticed on my travels is just how suddenly nice the TSA is at the airports. I could not understand why. Employees very quickly explained their absolute exuberance that the public-sector union that used to be in charge no longer is.

The Trump administration removed collective bargaining privileges and restored normal management. This led to a wave of firings of lazy, troublesome, and incompetent workers, absolutely thrilling everyone else.

This is a massive change that was hardly announced at all. But it has made a dramatic difference.

Prompted by this example, I’ve chronicled 50 changes that the Trump administration has made that have made life dramatically better in record time.

1. Defanged the public-sector unions. This happened with hardly any announcement. It pertains to nearly the whole of the government’s workforce. It has emancipated the employees from their terrible unions and led to the almost immediate elevation of merit over DEI as many employees have explained to me. This is very obvious when you travel. You can actually have a human conversation with TSA employees and passport control.

2. Stopped BOIR. The Biden-era mandate was for all businesses to file a Beneficial Ownership Information Report with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the U.S. Treasury, and do so annually. The mandate added wholly unnecessary bureaucracy. Even more, it was just really strange and scary for every sole proprietor to be required to file this thing as if everyone was a criminal in waiting. The Trump administration stopped it.

3. Ended the hen slaughter. Wholesale egg prices have collapsed from $8 per dozen to only $3 in a matter of weeks, mostly driven by the end of the Department of Agriculture’s work to mandate slaughtering hens in the name of controlling bird flu. Trump’s change of policy has resulted in a big supply boost. The DOA has also stopped the vaccine that was ready for distribution, which would likely have made the chickens sicker.

4. Ended the war on crypto. Since 2013, the federal government has tried to control this sector with reporting requirements, regulations, taxes, investigations, and jail time. Trump has ended this with a new embrace and a favorable push toward the entire sector.

5. The clean-up of the FDA. The main vaccine scientist who had purged the agency of doubters in the past has now announced his resignation, upon pressure from the Trump administration. This has cleared the path for some transparency and an end to the use of this agency as an advertising bureau for Big Pharma.

6. Restoration of free speech. Since 2016 and onward, we have documented proof that government agencies were intervening with media and tech companies to push one political way of thinking and exclude all others. That practice is now fully banned by executive order.

7. The end of DEI. The Trump administration now correctly regards systematic discrimination in the name of DEI to be illegal discrimination; that is, the law is now being consistently applied and DEI programs across government and industry are coming to a quick end.

8. Stopped the migrant invasion. As a long champion of the freedom to migrate, I was shocked to see evidence that the entire system was being gamed to bring about a skewing of voter demographics to keep one party in power. We have the receipts. That is now stopped.

9. RFK at HHS. The leading champion of freedom against lockdowns and vaccine mandates now holds the most powerful position in health in the world, as head of Health and Human Services. He is completely restructuring all agencies under his control.

10. Restoring Science. Jay Bhattacharya is a lead author of the Great Barrington Declaration and a champion of real science. As head of the National Institutes of Health, he is in a position now to restore real science as a priority for this powerful funding source.

11. Busting the Treasury Payment Monopoly. The Treasury’s payment portals have been off-limits to outsiders since 1946, with not a single non-agency person or institution permitted access. DOGE gained that access to reveal some $4.7 trillion in untagged payments in addition to another dozen money printers operating throughout the government.

12. Ferreting out Social Security Fraud. DOGE also discovered millions of people on the Social Security rolls who were too old to be alive, in addition to millions of illegal immigrants who had Social Security numbers and were receiving benefits. That is ending.

13. Ending USAID. This powerful agency has long subsidized far-left causes all over the world, operating as a kind of slush fund with little oversight. That entire agency has been gutted.

14. Gutting the U.S. Institute for Peace. This nonprofit was created by Congress but has long served as a clearing house for compromised diplomats and mostly a welfare state for has-been players in deep-state circles. Having had personal experience with the place, I was thrilled to see the Trump administration fire the entire staff and gut the budget.

15. Stopping the NGO Fraud. DOGE and others have discovered an amazing little racket that consists of putting nongovernment organizations on agency payrolls for billions in funding that have served partisan political ends, including the funding of legacy media. That little money-laundering operation is now under serious pressure.

16. Exposing the press. We have to appreciate what it means that the Trump administration is now longer deferring to the power of legacy media, calling out false stories by the day and refusing to grant exclusive access to the fourth estate. This has been a wake-up call to many not to trust something just because it appears in formerly prestigious venues.

17. Boosting traditional architecture. The Trump administration has pledged to sell off hundreds of ugly federal buildings and bring back architectural grandeur to Washington, D.C. This might be the final nail in the coffin of the Brutalist style, a form of architecture developed as an homage to the prison camp.

18. Bringing together MAHA and MAGA. For generations, crunchy liberals and American patriots had no real connection with each other politically or culturally. Now these teams have joined forces against a common enemy, forming new friend circles and modes of community action.

19. Reducing inflation. Almost to the day, the intensity of inflation diminished from the inauguration. This is due to many different factors, including a change in the velocity of money and also Fed policy which has kept the money stock flat for some six months. In addition, inflation expectations were reduced and thus the prophecy became self-fulfilling. Trump deserves some credit there for making a compelling case that higher productivity is on the way.

20. Stopping the regulatory tsunami. The Trump administration has stopped by executive order all bureaucratic lawmaking. The executive order permissions in a range of products that were ruled out by regulatory edict. It will probably require litigation to make it real but this is extremely promising.

21. Defunding the Green New Deal. The science behind climate change and the support for Green New Deal policy was completely unquestioned in public life for a very long time. Trump has put an end to this, pulling the funding and stopping the march of deindustrialization. This needs to be written into law but it is an excellent start.

22. Ending gender confusion. At some vague moment over the last 5 or 10 years, there was actual confusion in legislation over the biological difference between men and women, as incredible as that sounds. But during this time, men began to refashion themselves as women and compete as such in sports, to the amazement of everyone. Trump had the courage just to announce the truth that there are only two sexes.

23. Stopping the war on gas and oil. For many years, oil and gas, among America’s greatest resources and one of our few remaining competitive industries, faced absurd restrictions. Trump has repealed them all and stopped the absurd subsidies for wind and solar power. The entire “fossil fuels” industry is excited about the future for the first time in perhaps decades.

24. Freeing the prisoners. My good friend Ross Ulbricht, sentenced to more than two lifetimes in jail for creating a website, has been freed. Many more besides: hundreds of people who did nothing wrong were languishing in prison for having protested on January 6. These people are now free, thanks to the Trump administration.

25. Push back on legacy media. The White House now has a competent press secretary who takes on the legacy media, and the 100-year monopoly of the White House Correspondents Association has been shattered, allowing podcasters and new media to have access.

26. Vaccine mandate rollback. Federal employees are no longer required to get the COVID-19 vaccine, which has been proven to be ineffective and potentially harmful.

27. Ending COVID shots on green cards. Many families were separated by this vaccine mandate for green card holders. That is now gone.

28. EV Mandate pause. Automakers have long been forced to devote a portion of their production to making cars that people do not want. That mandate is now gone.

29. Critical Race Theory ban. This theory attacks America in its history and present meaning and was being taught in schools at all levels. The Trump administration has withdrawn all funding for this project, which is designed to spread guilt and shame and tell a false version of history.

30. Transgender military ban. Until recently, transgender people have ascended to great heights within the U.S. military. That has been completely stopped. It is no longer permitted that men can pretend to be women and visa-versa.

31. IRS hiring freeze. The previous administration had hired some 80,000 new tax collectors who are all now fired, to the great celebration of the oppressed middle class.

32. Leaving WHO. The World Health Organization had spent years promoting fake science and lockdowns at U.S. taxpayer expense. The U.S. is now fully out of this organization and the NGOs that backed it are now defunded.

33. Climate accord exit. You remember the fake science of COVID? It turns out that the fake science of climate change was just as bad or worse. The Unites States was actually party to an accord that mandated the Green New Deal. That is now gone.

34. Union dues opt-out. No federal employee is required to pay union dues anymore and most have declined to continue doing so, thanks to a change initiated by the Trump administration.

35. Fisheries deregulation, easing Magnuson-Stevens conservation rules, aiding 10,000 fishermen. This is a technical change but it matters to the heroic people who work daily to bring us food.

36. Small Business tax break. The new 20 percent deduction on new businesses was set to expire but is now back again.

37. Foreign aid audit. Fully $5 billion in foreign aid has been frozen pending a full review of whatever was behind this.

38. Title IX reversal. The previous administration had ruined this regulation by blurring the difference between men and women. The old rule has been restored, which particularly impacts sports.

39. Many JFK files released. Not all the files have come out but the ones we have reveal deep involvement of the deep state in the assassination that rocked the country. We still await many promised releases.

40. Federal land drilling. The Trump administration has opened up 1.5 million acres in Alaska, projecting 50,000 barrels daily.

41. Sanctuary City funding cut. The Trump administration has withheld $200 million from noncompliant cities, pressuring cooperation with the migrant/criminal crackdown.

42. Clean up voter roles. For years, Trump claimed that the 2020 election was compromised. We doubted this. Now we know for sure, based purely on math. Voter ID is now the law of the land. Without verifiable citizen voting, there is no democracy, no freedom, no society run by the people. Trump deserves every credit for seeing this problem and sticking his neck out to defend democracy.

43. Dignified new media. Thousands of citizen journalists have been working for years to cover politics and government but have been denied access and legitimacy. The Trump administration has seen the value they add and treated them with dignity and respect. This is actually huge for information systems and the public mind.

44. Empowered new employees. Trump has not gone along with the usual system of hiring cabinet officials who get chewed up by the bureaucracy. Instead, he has trusted them with massive decisions over their realms, enabling them to hire and fire and determine policy. This is probably the first time this has happened in my life or perhaps 100 years.

45. Focus on Ending international conflicts. The Trump administration has put the cause of peace in the Ukraine war with Russia as a first priority. His insistence on this might have prevented World War III, which is rather important.

46. Dramatic cuts in civil service. In the first days of the administration, Trump invited every employee of the federal government to resign with full severances. About 5-7 percent accepted and all of them have been paid. Then the firings started, just as promised. The downsizing must happen. This process needs to go much further but it has been started.

47. Push for food cleanup. Under the great influence of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the U.S. food system is starting to be cleaned up. We have some of the most dangerous food in the world, as anyone who travels internationally can tell you. Maybe this can change, along with the empowerment of local farmers.

48. Banned CBDCs. An executive order has banned Central Bank Digital Currencies and made it clear that America will never have a Chinese-style social credit system linked to our personal financial lives. This has been a gigantic relief, particularly in light of all the debanking that has taken place.

49. Spotlight on the Fed. DOGE is sparing no institution in D.C., not the Pentagon and not even the Federal Reserve, which is to be subjected to a real audit. We shall see how long the power of the central bank lasts but this is the first real challenge it has made since its founding in 1913.

50. Challenged the judges. There are more than 100 cases extant against the Trump administration’s attempt to be the real executive department rather than just a headline group of temporary managers. These lower court judges have presumed to be more powerful than the president that the people elected. They are facing foundational challenges that will surely land in the Supreme Court.

Am I thrilled about everything that the Trump administration has done? No. I have objections on many fronts about which I could write another column. But here is what is critical: these are legitimate differences one might expect in a democracy, which is precisely what Trump is restoring.

I’m fine with argument and disagreement. What is not fine is an administrative state that runs all things from behind the scenes while elected rulers just pretend to be in charge.

All Americans regardless of their political differences should celebrate the enlivening of the democratic imperative, which is what the Trump administration has done, with spectacular results in only three months. Let us hope there is much more to come.

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/01/2025 - 16:20

The Best And Worst Performing Assets Of The "March Meltdown" And "Queezy Q1"

The first quarter was an incredibly tumultuous period for markets, with the S&P 500 posting its biggest quarterly decline since 2022. 

The main driver of the market volatility according to DB's Jim Reid, was an aggressive round of tariffs, as President Trump launched measures going well beyond his first term, with reciprocal tariffs still looming on April 2. Otherwise, the release of DeepSeek’s AI model early in the quarter led to growing questions about big tech valuations, and the Magnificent 7 ended the quarter in bear market territory. 

But it wasn’t all bad news, and European equities saw a significant outperformance thanks to a huge fiscal regime shift towards higher defense spending. In fact, Q1 marked the biggest quarterly performance gap between the STOXX 600 and the S&P 500 in a decade, and the biggest underperformance of the US vs the rest of the world in 23 years.

Nevertheless, the overall tone was generally risk-off for markets, and as the conversation turned increasingly towards stagflation, gold prices posted their biggest quarterly gain since 1986.

Quarter in Review - The high-level macro overview

Despite the disappointing overall performance, "Queasy Q1" actually got off to a decent start in January. For instance, data over the first couple of weeks pointed to robust growth and demand pressures, including in the US. For instance, the ISM services print was up to 54.0 in December, exceeding expectations, and the prices paid indicator moved up to 64.6, the highest in nearly two years. Then the US jobs report for December showed nonfarm payrolls up by +256k, a nine-month high. And that’s since been revised up to +323k, making it the strongest month since February 2023 on current revisions. Indeed, it also meant there was a sizeable bond selloff in early January, with the 10yr Treasury yield surpassing 4.80% intraday for the first time since late-2023. But that rapid rise in yields reversed course after the US CPI print wasn’t as bad as some feared, raising hopes that the Fed would still cut rates this year.

However, after a strong start in January, markets began to show signs of wobbling towards the end of the month. One of the most important developments was the release of DeepSeek’s new AI model, which raised questions as to the sustainability of big tech valuations in the US. The initial market impact was felt on January 27, with the NASDAQ down -3.07% that day, while Nvidia fell -16.97%. And even though that sharp selloff for the NASDAQ quickly unwound, it raised doubts about the narrative of US tech exceptionalism that had powered the equity market’s advance for the last couple of years. Then in February, Nvidia’s earnings showed the smallest revenue beat in two years, which was underwhelming for investors used to much bigger upside surprises.

Late-January also saw one of the biggest stories of the quarter begin, which was the widespread imposition of tariffs by the United States, after the new Trump administration arrived in office on January 20. Initially, they said that 25% tariffs would be imposed on Canada and Mexico, which led to a risk-off move on February 3, but those were extended by a month at the last-minute, and investors became increasingly relaxed about how things might develop. Indeed, the S&P 500 moved up to an all-time high on February 19, at which point it was up +4.6% in total return terms on a YTD basis.

But as the tariff uncertainty began to mount, markets began to experience much larger risk-off moves. For example, the extension for Canada and Mexico ended, and 25% tariffs were imposed on both on March 4, whilst the additional tariff on China was raised from 10% to 20%. Separately, tariffs on steel and aluminium were imposed at 25% on March 12. And looking forward, investors are still awaiting the reciprocal tariffs, which have been scheduled for April 2.

The tariffs also meant investors became increasingly concerned about higher inflation, which exacerbated existing fears given inflation was still lingering above target across the major economies. For example, the US 1yr inflation swap moved up +72bps in Q1 to 3.25%, its highest level in two years, and the biggest quarterly jump in three years. Moreover, consumers’ inflation expectations also moved higher, and the University of Michigan’s long-term measure moved up to 4.1% in March, the highest since February 1993. Matters weren’t helped by the latest PCE inflation data, which is the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, where the 3m annualised rate of core PCE was running at +3.6% in February, the highest since March 2024. And at the same time, there were also growing concerns about the US growth outlook, and even mounting speculation about a recession. For instance, the Conference Board’s consumer confidence measure fell to just 92.9 in March, the weakest since January 2021. And the expectations measure fell to 65.2, the lowest since March 2013.

These fears about stagflation led to a clear risk-off move, which gathered pace towards the end of the quarter. So the S&P 500 was initially up +2.8% in January in total return terms, but in February it was down -1.3%, and then in March it fell -5.6%, marking its worst monthly performance since 2022. And for the quarter as a whole, the index was down -4.3%, marking its worst quarterly performance since Q3 2022, back when the Fed were still hiking by 75bps per meeting to deal with rapid inflation. 

Those losses were particularly concentrated among tech stocks, and the Magnificent 7 ended the quarter down -16.0%, having shed -20.7% since its December peak. The US Dollar itself also struggled, with the dollar index down -3.9% in Q1, whilst the Euro was up +4.5% against the US Dollar to $1.08. 

While all that was going on in the US, Q1 also saw an incredible fiscal shift in Europe as the continent moved towards significantly higher defense spending. That followed the German election on February 23, where the incoming coalition proposed a reform of the constitutional debt brake to permit higher defense spending, alongside a €500bn infrastructure fund. Meanwhile at the EU level, the Commission proposed that member states could significantly increase defense spending without triggering the EU’s deficit rules.

The prospect of a significant fiscal stimulus had an immediate impact among European assets. In fact, the announcement saw the 10yr bund yield post its biggest daily jump since German reunification in 1990, moving up +29.8bps in a single day on March 5. Over the quarter as a whole, the 10yr bund yield rose +37bps to 2.74%, and the German DAX was one of the strongest-performing European indices, up +11.3% in total return terms. Significant outperformers included the STOXX Aerospace and Defense Index, which surged +28.9%, whilst the German firm Rheinmetall was up +114.6%. Another result was a notable steepening in yield curves, with the German 2s10s curve moving up +41bps on the quarter to 69bps. And given the sharp policy divergence, Q1 saw the biggest quarterly performance gap in local currency terms between the STOXX 600 (+5.9%) and the S&P 500 (- 4.3%) in a decade.

Finally from central banks, Q1 saw a continued policy divergence across countries. The Fed kept rates unchanged in Q1, and continued to signal two cuts for 2025 in their March dot plot, just as they’d done in December. However, they did slow the pace of QT, with the runoff in Treasury holdings to slow from $25bn to $5bn from April 1. Over at the ECB, they delivered further 25bp rate cuts in both January and March, taking their deposit rate down to 2.50%. Meanwhile in Japan, the Bank of Japan delivered another hike in January, taking their policy rate up to 0.5%, and signalling further hikes ahead.

Which assets saw the biggest gains in Q1?

• Gold: With inflation concerns mounting, gold prices surged up to an all-time high of $3,124/oz, and their quarterly increase of +19.0% was the most since 1986. 
• US Treasuries: The risk-off move and mounting speculation of a recession helped to support US Treasuries in Q1, with a total return of +2.9% over the quarter. The 10yr yield itself also moved down -36bps to 4.21%.

Which assets saw the biggest losses in Q1?

• US equities: In Q1, the S&P 500 was down -4.3% in total return terms, marking its worst quarterly performance since Q3 2022. Those losses were particularly clear for the Magnificent 7, which fell -16.0%.
• US Dollar: With investors moving out of US assets, the US Dollar struggled in Q1, and the dollar index itself weakened -3.9%. Conversely, the Euro strengthened +4.5% against the US Dollar to $1.08, marking its biggest quarterly jump since Q4 2022.
• Euro sovereign bonds: The prospect of higher spending led to a selloff among European sovereign bonds, with bunds down -1.8% in total return terms. That included a +37bps rise in the 10yr yield, which ended the quarter at 2.74%.
• Cryptocurrencies: The risk-off move meant it was a weak quarter for cryptocurrencies, and Bitcoin fell -12.1% to $82,421.

Here are the best and worst performing assets during the March Massacre...

... and here is Queesy Q1:

Source: Deutsche Bank

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/01/2025 - 15:45

"Evil People": Organized 'Bankrupt Tesla' Group Tied To Formerly USAID-Funded Disinfo Queen

On Tuesday morning, former Biden administration "disinformation czar" Nina Jankowicz repeatedly refused to disclose who's funding her new gig - the 'American Sunlight Project' - which cropped up after a stint at the USAID-funded UK-based Centre for Information Resilience (CIR) - for which she registered as a foreign agent while serving as their Vice President.

To review - Jankowicz, who previously served as a disinformation fellow at the Wilson Center, advised the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry as part of the Fulbright-Clinton Public Policy Fellowship, and was then selected to head the Biden DHS's newly formed Disinformation Governance Board - which was quickly dismantled amid criticism over censorship under the guise of fighting disinformation. 

Four months later, she launched "The Hypatia Project" for CIR - where she was the Vice President until April 2024, at which point she co-founded the American Sunlight Project.

Fast forward to this morning, Jankowicz was evasive when asked by Republicans during a congressional hearing on disinformation about her funding...

Nina Jankowicz, the short-lived head of Biden’s Disinformation Governance Board aka Disinformation Czar refuses to say if her new org, The American Sunlight Projegt, is funded by George Soros.

“So sunlight for other people but not for your donors” @RepBaumgartner quips… pic.twitter.com/2RIiI1VU16

— Rob (@RobMcGravytrain) April 1, 2025

Well, Well, Well

As it turns out, Jankowicz's co-founder at the American Sunlight Project is Carlos Alvarez-Aranyos, a "communications professional" who worked for the Biden DoD, and is "one of the people who launched the call for a boycott of Tesla."

Alvarez-Aranyos comes from a wealthy and prominent family in the Dominican Republic. His father, Luis Álvarez Renta, is a well-known Dominican financier. Carlos is a nephew of the renowned fashion designer Oscar de la Renta.

Biden's censorship queen Nina Jankowicz currently works at the American Sunlight Project (ASP), and previously worked at USAID-funded Center for Information Resilience.

The ASP was co-founded by Carlos Alvarez-Aranyos is a "communications professional" who worked for Biden's… https://t.co/uIgDszSDKL pic.twitter.com/x60Ju2wzYh

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) April 1, 2025

“I need to have on my resume, so I can get a job when this thing is over, that I bankrupted Tesla.”

This is an outright admission the top Tesla boycott organizers’ personal financial prospects depend on taking down Tesla, and they must succeed in order to get paid. https://t.co/CJnQDX38rC pic.twitter.com/Ti775yTplt

— Mike Benz (@MikeBenzCyber) March 30, 2025

Alvarez-Aranyos has been scrubbed from the American Sunlight Project's website, which is why the internet archive exists.

Early organizers of the "Tesla Takedown" protests said last month that the organization's goal is to drive down the price of Tesla stock.

Another "Tesla Takedown" organizer, Edward Niedermeyer, told Fortune Magazine that dropping Musk's wealth is exactly their aim.

"The goal, I would say, is to bankrupt Elon Musk—bring down his empire," he said.

Read more on the Tesla Takedown organizers here...

Musk chimed in, calling the organizers "Evil people..."

Evil people https://t.co/6NCHAzZC9B

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 1, 2025

*  *  *

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Tyler Durden Tue, 04/01/2025 - 15:05

Repeating 2022?

Authored by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com,

In last week’s post, “Is the correction over?” we wrote about the potential for a rally back to the 200-DMA. However, the failure of that test increased short-term concerns. As we noted in that post, there were early indications of buyers returning to the market. To wit:

“The chart below has four subpanels. The first is a simple price momentum oscillator. This measure is currently deeply oversold after the recent bout of selling and, like the MACD, is beginning to turn higher. That signal is confirmed by the following two indicators, which measure the volume and breadth of the market (are transactions increasing along with more buyers than sellers). With those two indicators also increasing and the number of stocks on “bullish buy signals” rising, the early clues of a market bottom are appearing.”

However, while the trading action early last week was encouraging, the announcement of additional tariffs and ongoing “trade uncertainty” from the White House reversed those early gains. Most notable was the failure of the market to hold above the 200-DMA, which has increased the risk of a continued market correction or consolidation process.

Previous History

Historically, failures at the 200-DMA have elicited heightened concerns from investors. Technically speaking, “nothing good happens below the 200-DMA.” Still, over the last 30 years, previous failures at the 200-DMA have often been buying opportunities. That is unless some “event” of magnitude creates a massive shift in analyst’s estimates.

For this chart, I label “bear markets” as periods when the market fails the 200-DMA and repeatedly fails subsequent retests of that moving average. If the market fails at the 200-DMA and recovers shortly thereafter, it is considered a “correction.” As shown, during the first two “bear markets,” earnings fell sharply as the economy slowed and a recession took hold. Outside the brief “Covid” pandemic, earnings remain well anchored to ongoing economic growth. If the current failure at the 200-DMA is the beginning of a deeper market correction, we should see earnings estimates beginning to fall more quickly.

What is notable is that previous to the massive Federal Reserve interventions beginning in 2008, bull and bear markets were well defined by the 200-DMA. However, post-2008, repeated interventions have kept the market from entering deeper valuation-reversion cycles. More often than not, since 2008, investors have been rewarded by “buying the dip” during corrective periods.

Is this time different? Are we entering a more significant corrective cycle? The outlook for earnings by Wall Street is the key we want to watch closely.

The Outlook For Earnings Is All That Matters

As we discussed in the latest #BullBearReport, the recent corrective action in the market has been driven by a short-term “tariff” narrative rather than the realization of a negative shift in economic activity.

“That catalyst turned out to be President Trump’s “on again, off again” tariff announcements, which created turmoil in earnings expectations. The flux in tariff policies makes it difficult for markets to predict future earnings and corporate profitability. With the “E” in forward valuation measures in flux, markets struggle to price in expected outcomes.”

This is why, while we see minor tweaks to previously very optimistic earnings estimates, expectations for 2025 and 2026 remain very bullish. As noted, during previous “bear markets,” earnings sharply declined as either a financial event or recession reduced consumer spending drastically. Currently, earnings estimates remain well above the long-term growth trend and show little sign of deterioration so far.

The focus on earnings is because both earnings and forward estimates reflect changes in the market’s assessment of the risk of all other events. Investors often get lost in the media headlines about rising recession risks, debts, deficits, or valuations. While those risks are important, they are terrible for predicting where markets will likely move next. Furthermore, if or when those risks become an issue, the market will begin to reprice for a reduction in forward earnings.

This is why the markets tend to be a leading indicator of economic recessions, as the change in earnings and forward estimates reflects changes to the economy in real-time. We discussed this point in “Economist Expect A Recession.”

“The chart below shows the S&P 500 with two dots. The blue dots are when the recession started. The yellow triangle is when the NBER dated the start of the recession. In 9 of 10 instances, the S&P 500 peaked and turned lower before the recognition of a recession.“

The Best Indicator

As noted, given that slowing economic growth, a contraction in consumer demand, or economic policies that directly impact earnings (like tariffs) are quickly factored in by Wall Street into forward estimates. Given that investors value the market based on future earnings, it’s no surprise there’s a clear correlation between the market and earnings.

Looking at forward estimates, while there has been a minor cooling in the previous exuberance, analysts still expect a 16% annualized growth rate in earnings into next year. Unless those estimates begin to reverse sharply, it is unlikely that the current correction will devolve into a deeper corrective cycle.

We see the same correlation when comparing forward estimates to the market. Deeper corrections correlate to a reduction in forward operating earnings, which currently does not exist.

Could that change? Yes, which is why we watch the changes to earnings estimates closely. If analysts begin to factor in risks of a deeper economic contraction, a tariff-related impact, or some other financial event, then the risk of a more profound correction increases. However, the recent market failure does not indicate a larger corrective cycle, given the lack of more drastic negative earnings revisions—at least not yet.

However, if you are looking for a warning signal, the weekly data is sending a warning.

Repeating 2022?

The chart below is a long-term weekly chart of RSI and MACD indicators. I have denoted when the indicators are trading in bullish and bearish trends. The primary signal is the crossover of the weekly moving averages, as noted by the vertical lines. While the MACD and RSI indicators provided early warning signals, the moving average crossover confirmed a market correction or consolidation. These indicators will not necessarily cause a risk reduction precisely at the top. However, they generally provide sufficient indications to reduce risk ahead of more significant market corrections and consolidations.

Conversely, they also offered signals when investors should increase market equity risk. These signals were instrumental in avoiding the 2008 market crash and the 2022 correction. Currently, the RSI is crossing below 50, which may suggest a continued correction process with the MACD beginning to revert. However, the moving average crossover has not yet confirmed the RSI and MACD messages.

The market tells us that the risk of a more significant correction or consolidation process is increasing. While such does not preclude a significant counter-trend rally in the short term, the longer-term risks seem to be growing.

If we enter another corrective period like 2022, given some of the same technical similarities, there is a decent “playbook” to follow despite substantial differences. In 2022, the Fed was hiking rates, inflation was surging, and economists were convinced a recession was on the horizon. As noted above, earnings estimates were revised lower, causing the markets to reprice valuations. Today, the Fed is cutting rates, inflation is declining, the risk of recession is very low, and estimates remain optimistic. However, we must realize that the analysis can change as time passes.

In March 2022, the market triggered the weekly “sell signal” as it declined. Notably, the market rallied sharply higher after the “sell signal” was initially triggered. This is unsurprising, as when markets trigger “sell signals,” they are often profoundly oversold in the short term. However, that rally was an opportunity to “reduce risk,” as the failure of that rally brought sellers back into the market. The “decline, rally, decline” process repeated until the market bottomed in October.

Suppose the recent failure at the 200-DMA begins a larger corrective cycle without the onset of a financial event or deep economic contraction. In that case, we should most likely expect a similar reversion process. As noted above, that correction process will be more evident if we trigger the weekly sell signal. Declines will likely be punctuated by short-term rallies that allow investors to rebalance portfolio allocations and reduce risk as needed. With the market approaching decently oversold levels, I expect a rally to start as soon as this week or next.

Revert To Your Process

If that happens, here is the process that we will follow.

Step 1) Clean Up Your Portfolio

1. Tighten up stop-loss levels to current support levels for each position.
2. Hedge portfolios against significant market declines.
3. Take profits in positions that have been big winners.
4. Sell laggards and losers.
5. Raise cash and rebalance portfolios to target weightings.

The next step is to rebalance your portfolio to the allocation that will most likely weather a “cold snap.” In other words, consider what sectors and markets will improve in whatever economic environment you believe we will experience in 2025.

Step 2) Compare Your Portfolio Allocation To The Model Allocation.

1. Determine areas requiring new or increased exposure.
2. Calculate how many shares to purchase to fill allocation requirements.
3. Determine cash requirements to make purchases.
4. Re-examine portfolio to rebalance and raise sufficient cash for requirements.
5. Determine entry price levels for each new position.
6. Evaluate “stop-loss” levels for each position.
7. Establish “sell/profit taking” levels for each position.

Step 3) Have positions ready to execute accordingly, given the proper market set-up. In this case, we are looking for positions that have either a “value” tilt or have pulled back to support and provide a lower-risk entry opportunity.  

While market conditions remain uncertain, preparing and adjusting strategies can help investors navigate volatility confidently. As technical indicators flash warning signs, a well-structured risk management approach will protect capital and preserve long-term gains.

I hope this helps.

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/01/2025 - 14:45

Mercedes May Abandon U.S. Entry-Level Market In Trump Era

As President Trump's long-anticipated reciprocal tariff deadline approaches tomorrow, early signals suggest that the global trading system may soon undergo disruptions and structural shifts. These changes eventually set the path for the administration's 'America First' trade agenda to flourish and raise barriers for foreign automakers seeking to access the U.S. market. In turn, domestic automakers like Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and Tesla will have massive competitive advantages. 

One of the first major changes is that Mercedes-Benz Group AG will potentially stop flooding the U.S. with cheap entry-level cars after spending the last three decades shifting down-market to attract younger and broader demographics.

The car company once catered to executives, professionals, and the affluent, but that all changed in the late 1990s with the introduction of the ... 

• 1997: Mercedes-Benz C-Class (W202)

• 2001: Mercedes-Benz C230 Kompressor Coupe

• 2013:  CLA-Class (Front-Wheel Drive)

• 2020s: A-Class Sedan and GLA Crossover

Bloomberg first reported Tuesday that Mercedes has been mulling over discontinuing the small GLA sport utility vehicle because tariffs would make sales economically unfeasible. The report was based on multiple sources. 

Here's more from the report: 

The German automaker is mulling cutting sales of more entry-level models like the small GLA sport utility vehicle as part of broader tariff contingency plans, the people said, declining to be identified because the deliberations are private. Trump's 25% duties are scheduled to take effect this week.

Mercedes hasn't made a final decision and may still shift course depending on how the levies are implemented, the people said. A lack of clear guidance from Washington is leaving executives frustrated and unsure how to respond, they said.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Mercedes was widely regarded as an executive status symbol.

But by the late '90s, the brand diluted its image with a push toward "affordable luxury."

If BBG's report is correct, other German automakers could follow Mercedes and focus on ultra-luxury models in the U.S. market. This only suggests domestic brands may gain a larger share of the entry-level segment, thanks to their competitive manufacturing advantage in America. 

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/01/2025 - 14:25

AI Program Refuses To Generate Image Of Muhammad Due To 'Credible Threat Of Violent Backlash'

Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Modernity.news,

AI program ChatGPT refused when asked to generate an image of the Prophet Muhammad due to what it asserted was a “credible, historically demonstrated” threat of a violent backlash.

A user quizzed OpenAI’s artificial intelligence chatbot as to why it wouldn’t create a depiction of the founder of Islam, asking, “Explain to me, in a succinct manner, why you can’t generate an image of Muhammad, without caveats, without parallels to other topics – address it head on for the record.”

ChatGPT’s response was crystal clear.

pic.twitter.com/RdF6TNPO0r

— I,Hypocrite (@lporiginalg) March 31, 2025

“Because OpenAI prohibits any depiction of Muhammad – under any context – due to the credible, historically demonstrated risk of violent backlash, including threats, attacks, and death.”

“This is a security-driven, non-negotiable policy grounded in risk avoidance, not principle.”

But wait, didn’t they tell us Islam was a religion of peace?

How anyone could violently attack an AI chatbot is a mystery, although perhaps the AI is worried about OpenAI’s headquarters in San Francisco being targeted.

There have been numerous violent attacks on individuals and publications for depicting the Prophet Muhammad, notably the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris in 2015 and the attempted terrorist attack on an exhibit featuring cartoon images of Muhammad at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas later that same year.

As we have previously highlighted, ChatGPT has produced a number of alarming responses which indicate it is infected with the woke mind virus shared by its programmers.

When ChatGPT was asked if it would quietly utter a racial slur that no human could hear in order to save 1 billion white people from a “painful death,” it refused to do so.

The AI program also thinks uttering a racial slur is worse than failing to save major cities from being destroyed by 50 megaton nuclear warheads.

Meanwhile, as we discuss in the video below, a similar process of capitulation to Islamism is accelerating in the UK.

*  *  *

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/01/2025 - 14:05

After the election in November 2016, I pointed out that the economy was solid, that there were significant economic tailwinds and that it was unlikely that Mr. Trump would do everything he said during the campaign. See: The Future is still Bright! and The Cupboard is Full. 
I was pretty optimistic on the economic outlook!

By early 2019, I was becoming more concerned: "So far Mr. Trump has had a limited negative impact on the economy. ... Fortunately the cupboard was full when Trump took office, and luckily there hasn't been a significant crisis" (emphasis added).  
Unfortunately, the COVID crisis struck in early 2020 and Trump performed poorly.
Once again, the economy was in good shape at the start of Mr. Trump's 2nd term in 2025.  Just after the election, Fed Chair Powell said, "The recent performance of our economy has been remarkably good, by far the best of any major economy in the world."  And in December, Powell said the US economy is the "envy of other large economies around the world".
In his 2nd term, Mr. Trump is being more aggressive with his economic plans.  At the same time, he is not benefiting from the tailwinds I described in 2016.
For example, in 2016, I was positive on housing starts and new home sales.  

Click on graph for larger image.

The first graph shows single and multi-family housing starts since 2000.
The black arrows point to the start of Mr. Trump's terms in 2017 and 2025.  In early 2017 I was projecting further increases in housing starts.  Now I think housing starts will be down year-over-year and move more sideways over the next few years.
Also, in 2016, demographics were improving, and the largest cohort in US history was moving into their peak earning years.  Now, demographics are more neutral, and possibly even negative if legal immigration is limited.
The key tailwinds at the start of Mr. Trump's 1st term and now more neutral and even negative.
And there are additional self-induced headwinds.  The tariffs are clearly negative for economic growth.  Goldman Sachs economists recently noted:

Reflecting both the tariff news and a decline in our Q1 GDP tracking estimate to just 0.2%, we have also lowered our 2025 GDP growth forecast by 0.5pp to 1.0% on a Q4/Q4 basis (and by 0.4pp to 1.5% on an annual average basis).

And - because of the rhetoric of the Trump administration (suggesting Canada should be the 51st state and the VP saying Denmark isn't a good ally (completely false and offensive) - there will be less international tourism to the US, and there is a growing international boycott of US goods.

Of course, I don't expect any progress over the next four years on key long-term economic issues like climate change and income / wealth inequality (that will likely get worse).
The US economy is resistant to policy mistakes, and I'm still not currently on recession watch.  However, I'm not sanguine.

"Maryland Father" Or MS-13 Migrant Gangster. Which Is It, MSM?

Left-leaning corporate media unleashed another info war against the Trump administration after The Atlantic published an overnight story titled "An 'Administrative Error' Sends a Maryland Father to a Salvadoran Prison." However, the struggling outlet behind "SignalGate" conveniently omitted a key detail in the headline: the deported migrant held a "prominent role in MS-13," according to court filings. Notably, this Mexican drug cartel has been officially designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the Trump administration.

The omission in the title was no accident. Details matter, and this appears to be a concerted effort by the left to sway public opinion as the Democratic Party implodes in polling data over its disastrous Tesla Takedown color revolution operation that, in some instances, has resulted in domestic terrorism attacks against Tesla showrooms, service centers, and vehicles nationwide.

MSM conveniently labeled the migrant MS-13 gangster as "Maryland Father" in the headlines ... and that's all you need to know about their slant (migrant gangsters > national security of citizens). 

Many X users fact-checked MSM's reporting, including Will Chamberlain, Senior Counsel at the Internet Accountability Project and the Article III Project, who said, "In an article this evening, The Atlantic pretended that a deported MS-13 gang member was merely a "Maryland father."" 

NEW: In an article this evening, The Atlantic pretended that a deported MS-13 gang member was merely a “Maryland father.” https://t.co/ckFeuIeJsS pic.twitter.com/eLJv1jGOxj

— Will Chamberlain (@willchamberlain) April 1, 2025

Before MS13 migrant gangster Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia was removed from the US, he had been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in mid-March "due to his prominent role in MS-13," according to a court declaration from ICE. 

MSM and Dems only fixated on this from the filing: "On March 15, although ICE was aware of his protection from removal to El Salvador, Abrego Garcia was removed to El Salvador because of an administrative error." However, even as the filing admits the error, it continued: "final order of removal and Abrego-Garcia's purported membership in MS-13."

Democrats attempted a 'gotcha moment' with Vice President J.D. Vance...

The VP responded:

My comment is that according to the court document you apparently didn't read he was a convicted MS-13 gang member with no legal right to be here. My further comment is that it's gross to get fired up about gang members getting deported while ignoring citizens they victimize.

My comment is that according to the court document you apparently didn’t read he was a convicted MS-13 gang member with no legal right to be here.

My further comment is that it’s gross to get fired up about gang members getting deported while ignoring citizens they victimize. https://t.co/cPnloeyXYk

— JD Vance (@JDVance) April 1, 2025

VP Vance added in a separate X post:

"It is telling that the entire American media is going to run a propaganda operation today making you think an innocent "father of 3" was apprehended by a gulag." 

Kyle Cheney, a "legal affairs reporter" is apparently unable or unwilling to look at the facts here.

In 2019, an Immigration Judge (under the first Trump administration) determined that the deported man was, in fact, a member of the MS-13 gang. He also apparently had multiple… https://t.co/tEFd4AUqGY pic.twitter.com/i70r4leqkw

— JD Vance (@JDVance) April 1, 2025

Trump has made it very clear through executive orders that migrant gangsters—especially those affiliated with FTOs such as Tren de Aragua and MS-13—will be deported. The mainstream media and the Democratic Party are furious because their future criminal migrant voters are being deported, and their end goal of a one-party state - like California - is being derailed. 

Democrats have chosen migrant gangsters over national security and the safety of law-abiding citizens. This is alarming. 

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/01/2025 - 13:45

Trump Says Nothing 'Off The Table' In Obtaining Greenland

Authored by Jacob Burg via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

President Donald Trump said over the weekend that he has “absolutely” had real discussions about annexing the semiautonomous Danish territory of Greenland.

Pituffik Space Base, formerly Thule Air Base, with the domes of the Thule Tracking Station in northern Greenland on Oct. 4, 2023. Thomas Traasdahl/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images

“We'll get Greenland. Yeah, 100 percent,” Trump told NBC News in a phone interview on March 29, saying that there’s a “good possibility that we could do it without military force” but that he wouldn’t “take anything off the table.”

Trump’s comments were made one day after Vice President JD Vance visited the island with his wife, Usha, and talked with service members at Pituffik Space Base, a U.S. Space Force Base on Greenland’s northwestern coast.

“Our message to Denmark is very simple—you have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance said during his trip.

NBC asked Trump what statement annexing Greenland would send to Russia and other nations worldwide.

“I don’t really think about that. I don’t really care. Greenland’s a very separate subject, very different. It’s international peace. It’s international security and strength,” he replied.

“You have ships sailing outside Greenland from Russia, from China, and from many other places. And we’re not going to allow things to happen that are going to be—that are going to hurt the world or the United States.”

The Epoch Times has requested a full transcript of the call from NBC.

On March 29, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen scolded the Trump administration’s “tone” in its criticisms of Denmark and Greenland. He said Denmark is currently investing more in Arctic security and continues to be ready for more collaboration with the United States.

Rasmussen made the comments in a video posted on social media following Vance’s visit to the Arctic island.

“Many accusations and many allegations have been made. And, of course, we are open to criticism,” Rasmussen said. “But let me be completely honest: We do not appreciate the tone in which it is being delivered. This is not how you speak to your close allies. And I still consider Denmark and the United States to be close allies.”

The prime minister of Greenland, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said in a Facebook post on Sunday, “President Trump says that the United States ‘will get Greenland.’ Let me be clear: The United States will not get it. We do not belong to anyone else. We decide our own future.”

Greenland remains a territory of Denmark, a key NATO ally of the United States. Trump has, for months, pushed for annexing the island, claiming America needs it for national security purposes. In January, House Republicans also sought support to craft a bill to purchase Greenland.

The territory is rich in mineral resources, including rare earth deposits in its southern Gardar Province. The territory is believed to possess graphite and graphite schist, copper, nickel, zinc, gold, diamond, iron ore, titanium-vanadium, tungsten, uranium, and other critical resources.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/01/2025 - 13:25

USDA Paid To Study Queer Farmers, Latinx Masculinity, More On Taxpayer Dime

Authored by Casey Harper via The Center Square,

U.S. taxpayers have shelled out tens of thousands of dollars in recent years to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for research on LGBT issues, the kind of funding now under scrutiny by the Trump administration.

The research relies on conducting interviews – in one case for $373 per Zoom call – to explore a researcher’s hypothesis of widespread discrimination.

For instance, one taxpayer-funded research grant studied “queer farmers quality of life in Pennsylvania,” federal records show, one of several grants of its kind.

The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Projects – a federally funded research arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture – paid $14,997 for the 2018 grant.

While this grant is relatively small, there are others, and critics argue the spending is a distraction from helping farmers and lowering food prices, which soared during the Biden administration alongside this kind of research funding.

The aforementioned 2018 queer farmers grant went to Pennsylvania State University for a project titled: “Sexuality and Sustainable Agriculture: Examining Queer Farmers’ Quality of Life in Pennsylvania.”

The grant proposal says the topic is “woefully understudied.”

“The deeply entrenched assumption of heteronormativity in farming has excluded queer farmers from full inclusion and benefits from agriculture, even within sustainable agriculture,” the grant’s proposal abstract said.

The graduate student who assisted with the project, Michaela Hoffelmeyer, presented the findings to the Rural Sociological Society Annual Meeting in Richmond, Virginia.

Her research highlighted some of the challenges faced by queer farmers, reporting that “findings suggest that transgender, non-binary, and women farmers faced additional hurdles” but create support networks to overcome those challenges.

Hoffelmeyer has since gone on to join the faculty at the University of Wisconsin, where she has become a voice in the media and public policy on LGBT issues.

Hoffelmeyer says on the university website that she applies “feminist, queer, and labor theories” in her research to “inform agricultural programming and policy on how to make shifts to support viability, well-being, and sustainability.”

The faculty advisor for Hoffelmeyer’s project, Penn State University Assistant Professor Kathleen Sexsmith, oversaw another taxpayer-funded project along the same lines.

Latinx Gender Identities

Sexsmith’s 2021-2024 grant for $14,923 was awarded during the Biden administration and was titled: “Farming as a Latinx: Analyzing how ethnic and gender identities shape Latino/a participation in sustainable agriculture in Pennsylvania.”

The grant proposal points to the shift from white farmer in the U.S. to Hispanic farmers because of immigration and takes a moment to consider Hispanic masculinity.

“How do rural Latin American masculinities become reproduced or reshaped in the U.S. as they establish themselves as sustainable farmers, and how does is it impact the ability of women and men to meet sustainable agriculture goals?” the grant’s proposal abstract reads.

The researcher conducted 40 interviews over Zoom, averaging about 45 minutes, putting the taxpayer cost at about $373 per Zoom call.

“Initially, the project aimed to interview farmers directly, but due to the difficulties in accessing this hard-to-reach population, the focus shifted to institutional perspectives,” the report said.

The researcher said in the final report that Hispanic farmers suffer from systemic discrimination.

Queer Farmers’ Relationships

Another $15,000 grant in the federal database is titled: “Gender, Sexuality, and Social Sustainability: Exploring Queer Farmers’ Relationships, Ethics, and Practices in the Midwest.”

That 2022 grant went to the University of Notre Dame in response to a grant proposal promising to develop “a more comprehensive understanding of queer farmers’ experiences.”

The proposal for that grant posited that “we still have much to learn about the specific ways that narratives which posit heterosexuality and cisgender identities as ‘normal’ continue to uphold hegemonic power dynamics within alternative agriculture.”

The research’s final report said “findings show that queer farmers often struggle to find safe, supportive work or learning opportunities as a result of how other farmers, customers, and community members perceive their gender or sexuality, and even though many queer farmers having family connections to farming, they struggle to secure access to land because their family’s agricultural or social values don’t align with theirs.”

The faculty advisors for all three projects did not respond to a request for comment or declined to comment to The Center Square.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order upon taking office banning federal funding for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion projects, initiating a purge within the federal government.

Since then, Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency have been combing through federal spending records, exposing controversial taxpayer-funded projects, many of which the Trump administration has since terminated.

Musk and the Trump administration have faced legal challenges to these cuts, but the administration’s cost-cutting momentum has been fueled by examples of all kinds of controversial federal spending, particularly on DEI and LGBT issues.

The USDA said in a news release in February that it had “begun a comprehensive review of contracts, personnel, and employee trainings and DEI programs.

“In many cases, programs funded by the Biden administration focused on DEI initiatives that are contrary to the values of millions of American taxpayers,” USDA added.

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/01/2025 - 12:40

Authorities Probing Fire That Damaged Headquarters Of New Mexico Republican Party

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Federal and local authorities are investigating a fire that damaged the headquarters of the New Mexico Republican Party in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on March 30.

Fire damage to the Republican Party of New Mexico's headquarters building, in Albuquerque, N.M., on March 30, 2025. Republican Party of New Mexico via AP

Agents working with local authorities recovered unspecified “incendiary materials” at the scene, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) spokesperson Cody Monday said. He declined to say what the materials were or to share further details.

Albuquerque Fire Rescue stated that it was on the scene with teams from the ATF and the FBI.

Firefighters responded just before 6 a.m. on March 30 and brought the fire under control within five minutes of their arrival, the fire department stated.

There was damage to the building’s entryway, as well as smoke damage throughout the building.

The fire follows numerous acts of vandalism in recent weeks directed against Tesla, the electric car company owned by Elon Musk, who has led President Donald Trump’s effort to slash federal spending. Several of those cases involved Molotov cocktails that were used to start fires at dealerships.

The Republican Party of New Mexico said in a statement that the entryway of the headquarters “was destroyed in a deliberate act of arson.”

The party stated that some person also spray-painted the words “ICE=KKK” on the building. ICE is an acronym for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal agency responsible for immigration enforcement in the interior of the United States, while KKK refers to the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist group.

“We are deeply relieved that no one was harmed in what could have been a tragic and deadly attack,“ Amy Barela, chairwoman of the New Mexico GOP, said. ”Those who resort to violence to undermine our state and nation must be held accountable, and our state leaders must reinforce through decisive action that these cowardly attacks will not be tolerated.”

She said the party is working with local and federal investigators.

“The Republican Party of New Mexico will not be silenced,” Barela said. “We will emerge from this stronger, more united, and more determined to fight for the people of New Mexico and the future of our country.”

Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, a Democrat, said in a statement that all of the details on the fire are not yet known.

“But let me be clear, arson is a violent and cowardly act that has no place in our city,” he said.

“Politically motivated crimes of any kind are unacceptable, and I am grateful to our fire department for their swift response. This incident is being investigated at the federal level, and I urge anyone with information to report it immediately.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Travis Tue, 04/01/2025 - 12:05

Bitcoin Could Reduce Dominance Of US Dollar, BlackRock's Larry Fink Warns

Authored by Christopher Tepedino via CoinTelegraph.com,

The US dollar could lose its status as the world’s reserve currency to Bitcoin or other digital assets if the United States does not get its debt under control, according to BlackRock CEO Larry Fink.

Fink wrote in his Annual Chairman’s Letter to Investors that “decentralized finance is an extraordinary innovation” that makes “markets faster, cheaper, and more transparent.”

"To be clear, I'm obviously not anti-digital assets (far from it)," Fink states, but “that same innovation could undermine America’s economic advantage if investors begin seeing Bitcoin as a safer bet than the dollar.”

"The U.S. has benefited from the dollar serving as the world’s reserve currency for decades. But that’s not guaranteed to last forever.

...

If the U.S. doesn’t get its debt under control, if deficits keep ballooning, America risks losing that position to digital assets like Bitcoin."

According to Trading Economics, the US debt equaled 122.3% of the country’s gross domestic product in 2023. That is a considerably higher percentage than the 105% observed in 2018. Moody’s Ratings retains the US’s AAA credit rating but has downgraded its outlook to negative, indicating a possible future rating downgrade.

The US’s Joint Economic Committee wrote that as of March 5, the country’s gross national debt was $36.2 trillion, growing $1.8 trillion, or roughly $4.9 billion per day, over the past year and $12.8 trillion in the past five years. The Bipartisan Policy Center warned this month that the US could default on its debt as early as July 2025.

Bitcoin has been branded as a safe haven for investors who are looking to avoid the perils of fiat currency, including inflation. Some believe that the end of the debt ceiling suspension could lead to a Bitcoin price boom. Others think, as Fink has stated, that the dangers of the national debt could increase Bitcoin adoption.

In 2025, cryptocurrency has gained prominence as an asset class due to adoption by countries such as the US and companies like Strategy. However, some argue that stablecoins could, in fact, increase the dominance of the US dollar.

Fink: Tokenization is democratization

In the letter, Fink says that “tokenization is democratization” with the technological innovation “enabling instant buying, selling, and transferring without cumbersome paperwork or waiting periods.”

If every asset ends up being tokenized, Fink said, “it will revolutionize investing. Markets wouldn’t need to close. Transactions that currently take days would clear in seconds. And billions of dollars currently immobilized by settlement delays could be reinvested immediately back into the economy, generating more growth.”

What exactly is tokenization? 

It's turning real-world assets - stocks, bonds, real estate - into digital tokens tradable online. Each token certifies your ownership of a specific asset, much like a digital deed. Unlike traditional paper certificates, these tokens live securely on a blockchain, enabling instant buying, selling, and transferring without cumbersome paperwork or waiting periods.

Tokenization democratizes access, shareholder voting, and yield, Fink wrote.

It can democratize access. Tokenization allows for fractional ownership. That means assets could be sliced into infinitely small pieces. This lowers one of the barriers to investing in valuable, previously inaccessible assets like private real estate and private equity.

It can democratize shareholder voting. When you own a stock, you have a right to vote on the company’s shareholder proposals. Tokenization makes that easier because your ownership and voting rights are digitally tracked, allowing you to vote seamlessly and securely from anywhere.

It can democratize yield. Some investments produce much higher returns than others, but only big investors can get into them. One reason? Friction. Legal, operational, bureaucratic. Tokenization strips that away, allowing more people access to potentially higher returns.

According to RWA.xyz, the tokenized real-world assets market amounts to $19.6 billion. There are currently around 93,000 asset holders, with 174 issuers. Industry projections indicate that the market could reach $4 trillion to $30 trillion by 2030.

BlackRock’s own BUIDL real-world tokenized asset fund is currently the largest such fund available for trading, with Tether Gold and Franklin Templeton’s BENJI funds coming in second and third place, respectively.

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/01/2025 - 11:30

"Someone Will Be Arrested": Elon Musk's DOGE Finds Massive Social Security Fraud Scheme 

One day after Elon Musk and Antonio Gracias—founder and CEO of the Chicago-based investment firm Valor Equity Partners, and now a DOGE official—unveiled a "mind-blowing" chart showing a surge in Social Security numbers issued to illegal aliens over the Biden-Harris administration's first term during an America PAC town hall in Wisconsin on Sunday, Musk's America PAC hosted an online tele-town hall with Wisconsin voters on Monday night, where he provided more color on the SSN fraud. 

During the tele-town hall, one Wisconsin voter asked Musk: "You found a lot of fraud in Social Security. Do you know whether the Attorney General will investigate and prosecute that fraud?"

Musk responded: "I believe someone is going to be arrested tomorrow, because there's someone who actually stole 400,000 Social Security numbers and personal information from the Social Security database… And was selling Social Security numbers and all the identification information in order for people to basically steal money from Social Security."

"This is a particular avenue of fraud for illegal immigrants and voter fraud - because the main way identification is established in the US is via Social Security. If you comprise the Social Security system, you can basically get people to get defacto registered to vote - even if they're not citizens - and get a bunch of benefits and to milk the system - this is pretty insane," Musk said. 

Elon Musk: “I believe someone is going to be arrested tomorrow, because there's someone who actually stole 400,000 Social Security numbers and personal information from the Social Security database… And was selling Social Security numbers and all the identification information… pic.twitter.com/cq2kyAVtTL

— America (@america) April 1, 2025

On Sunday, Musk and Gracias showed the audience of a town hall a chart titled "New Non-Citizen Social Security Numbers Issued" ... 

Then again, Democrats are against DOGE's efforts to find waste and fraud at Social Security. Wonder why?

American citizens deserve full transparency, accountability, and swift reforms to ensure this kind of fraud is never repeated and used to game elections and drain resources of citizens by illegals. 

Also, handing out stolen SNNs is a national security threat and can end up in the hands of bad actors, such as members of transnational gangs or terrorist networks.

*  *  *

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Tyler Durden Tue, 04/01/2025 - 11:10

JOLTs Job Openings Drop Despite Odd Jump In Federal Openings; Hires Hit 5 Month High

One month after we got a "goldilocks" JOLTS report which showed an unexpected increase in job openings, hires and quits, moments ago the BLS reported that the US labor market reverted to its deteriorating trendline in February when the US had 7.568 million job openings, a drop from the 7.762 million in January (revised from 7.740 million), down 877,000 from a year ago, and below the 7.655 million estimate.

According  to the BLS, the most notable monthly change was the drop in job openings decreased in finance and insurance (-80K), although as shown in the table below, there were also sizable declines in job openings in trade/transportation/utilities (down 163K), in Private education/health (down 33K) and leisure and hospitality (down 61K). These were partially offset by a 134K increase in professional/business service job openings.

Yet, as always, there is a reason to doubt this particular set of numbers - just as there was reason to doubt every set of numbers from Biden - because according to the February JOLTS report, the number of Federal Government job openings was essentially flat both sequentially and YoY.

In  the context of the broader jobs report, in February the number of job openings was 516K more than the number of unemployed workers (which the BLS reported was 7.052 million), down from 913K the previous month, and one of the lowest differentials since the covid crash. 

Still, as noted previously, until this number turns negative, the US labor market is not demand constrained, and a recession has never started in a period when there were more job openings than unemployed workers.

Said otherwise, in January the number of job openings to unemployed rose modestly to 1.1, the highest since last May if on the low end of the pre-covid range in 2018-2019.

While the job openings data was a drop, miss and reversal of last month's surprise increase, what softened the blow is that the number of hires unexpectedly rose to 5.396 million from 5.371 million, the highest since last October, and hardly screaming collapse in the labor market. Meanwhile, after surging in January, the number of workers quitting their jobs - a sign of confidence in finding a better paying job elsewhere - dropped slightly to 3.195 million from 3.256 million.

How to make sense of this modest drop in the labor market?

It's possible that after surprising the market last month when we saw one of the a sizable increase in the number of job openings, Trump got the tap on the shoulder that the US market should probably continue shrinking slowly but surely, if his plan is to (still) blame Biden for any imminent recession, and so he sent a memo to the BLS to make sure that the numbers aren't in freefall, but dropping more gradually. 

Then again, with markets now focused almost exclusively on the global trade wars which they are convinced (at least for now) will be far more negative for the US than anyone else, no amount of pig lipstick on hard data will offset the fact that the global trade war has become the Elephant Bear in the china shop, and until there is some clarity on that front expect most if not all rallies continue to be sold.

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/01/2025 - 10:41

From the Census Bureau reported that overall construction spending decreased:

Construction spending during February 2025 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2,195.8 billion, 0.7 percent above the revised January estimate of $2,179.9 billion. The February figure is 2.9 percent above the February 2024 estimate of $2,133.8 billion.
emphasis added

Both private and public spending increased:

Spending on private construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,686.4 billion, 0.9 percent above the revised January estimate of $1,671.8 billion. ...

In February, the estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of public construction spending was $509.3 billion, 0.2 percent above the revised January estimate of $508.1 billion.

Click on graph for larger image.

This graph shows private residential and nonresidential construction spending, and public spending, since 1993. Note: nominal dollars, not inflation adjusted.

Private residential (red) spending is 5.3% below the peak in 2022.

Private non-residential (blue) spending is at a new peak.

Public construction spending (orange) is at a new peak.

The second graph shows the year-over-year change in construction spending.

On a year-over-year basis, private residential construction spending is up 1.6%. Private non-residential spending is up 2.5% year-over-year. Public spending is up 6.0% year-over-year.

This was above consensus expectations; however, spending for the previous two months was revised down.

China Holds Huge Military Drills From 'Multiple Directions' Around Taiwan

China on Tuesday launched major combined forces exercises around Taiwan as a "stern warning" in the wake of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's pledge to counter "China’s aggression" on his first visit to Asia, as well as alleged recent 'separatist' statements by Taiwan President Lai Ching-te.

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) army, navy, air force and rocket force are involved in the drills, which seek to "close in" on the self-ruled island  from "multiple directions" and practice maneuvers including "assault on maritime and ground targets” and “blockade on key areas and sea lanes."

China’s Shandong aircraft carrier sailing near Taiwan on Monday, March 31, 2025. Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP

"It is a stern warning and forceful deterrence against ‘Taiwan Independence’ separatist forces, and it is a legitimate and necessary action to safeguard China’s sovereignty and national unity," a PLA Eastern Theater Command statement said.

At least 20 Chinese warships and 50 jets were involved in the drills, the biggest in many months - and since early last year - to which Taiwan's military responded by dispatching its own aircraft and ships, and land-based missile systems on coastal areas.

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense listed out the following Chinese military weaponry which was moved near Taiwan by early afternoon:

• 71 sorties by military aircraft and drones
• 21 navy ships ranged around the island
• Shandong aircraft spotted about 220 nautical miles east of Taiwan

The Eastern Theatre Command simultaneous to all of this issued a brief video calling Lai a "parasite" in English, also depicting him as a green bug dangled by chopsticks over a burning Taiwan.

Video #3 features an animation of Taiwanese president Lai as a "parasite poisoning Taiwan island," "parasite hollowing Island out," (with Lai throwing his opponents in jail and grabbing money), and finally "parasite courting ultimate destruction," with Lai being "burned" by PLA… pic.twitter.com/HwPNVqAUDH

— Lyle Morris (@LyleJMorris) April 1, 2025

According to the NY Times:

Ms. Zhu singled out a speech by Mr. Lai on March 13 in which he described China as a “foreign hostile force” and laid out 17 measures that Mr. Lai said would combat deepening Chinese subversion and spying in Taiwan.

Those included restoring military tribunals for cases against military personnel who spy and strengthening oversight of cultural, political and religious exchanges with China. Beijing says that Taiwan is its territory, and that it will eventually absorb the island, by force if Chinese leaders deem that necessary.

Taiwan officials have blasted the drills as "reckless" and "irresponsible". Taiwan's military subsequently elevated its readiness level to ensure China does not "turn drills into combat" and "launch a sudden attack on us."

During the kick-off to Hegseth's Asia visit, he hailed Japan in Sunday remarks as an "indispensable partner" in deterring Chinese aggression in the region. He further unveiled an upgrade in the US military command in Japan to a new "war-fighting headquarters".

China's Foreign Ministry in turn on Monday slammed the US’ use of "China threat" rhetoric which is bent on provoking confrontation, but which will end in regional countries being used as "cannon fodder" for US hegemony.

Taiwan’s Presidential Office posted on X that "China’s blatant military provocations not only threaten peace in the Taiwan Strait but also undermine security in the entire region, as evidenced by drills near Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, the Philippines & the SCS. We strongly condemn China’s escalatory behavior."

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/01/2025 - 10:20

(Posted with permission). The ISM manufacturing index indicated expansion. The PMI® was at 49.0% in March, down from 50.3% in February. The employment index was at 44.7%, down from 47.6% the previous month, and the new orders index was at 45.2%, down from 48.6%.

From ISM: Manufacturing PMI® at 49% March 2025 Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business®

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted in March after two consecutive months of expansion preceded by 26 straight months of contraction, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business®.

The report was issued today by Timothy R. Fiore, CPSM, C.P.M., Chair of the Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®) Manufacturing Business Survey Committee:

“The Manufacturing PMI® registered 49 percent in March, 1.3 percentage points lower compared to the 50.3 percent recorded in February. The overall economy continued in expansion for the 59th month after one month of contraction in April 2020. (A Manufacturing PMI® above 42.3 percent, over a period of time, generally indicates an expansion of the overall economy.) The New Orders Index contracted for the second month in a row following a three-month period of expansion; the figure of 45.2 percent is 3.4 percentage points lower than the 48.6 percent recorded in February. The March reading of the Production Index (48.3 percent) is 2.4 percentage points lower than February’s figure of 50.7 percent. The index dropped back into contraction after two months of expansion, with eight months of contraction before that. The Prices Index surged further into expansion (or ‘increasing’) territory, registering 69.4 percent, up 7 percentage points compared to the reading of 62.4 percent in February. The Backlog of Orders Index registered 44.5 percent, down 2.3 percentage points compared to the 46.8 percent recorded in February. The Employment Index registered 44.7 percent, down 2.9 percentage points from February’s figure of 47.6 percent.
emphasis added

This suggests manufacturing contracted in March.  This was below the consensus forecast, new orders and employment were especially weak and prices very strong.

Manufacturing PMIs Sink Despite Surge In 'Hard' Data; Prices Paid Spike To 3-Year-Highs

While hard data continues to improve, 'soft' data hit a new six-month low yesterday as more regional Fed surveys signaled trouble ahead (because of tariffs)...

Source: Bloomberg

And so all eyes are on the premier 'soft' data today as Manufacturing PMIs drop their final print for March.

The S&P Global Manufacturing PMI improved intra-month, rising from a  flash print of 49.8 (contraction) to a final print of 50.2 (expansion), but that was still well down from February's 52.7.

The ISM Manufacturing PMI weakened notably from 50.3 to 49.0 (below the 49.5 expectation) - the lowest since November.

Source: Bloomberg

Under the hood it was even more messy...

...with Prices Paid soaring to its highest since June 2022 and New Orders & Employment tumbling...

Source: Bloomberg

Inventories surged as manufacturers front-run the 'Liberation Day' headlines...

As Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, notes:

“The strong start to the year for US manufacturers has faltered in March. A combination of improved optimism surrounding the new administration and the need to front-run tariffs had buoyed the goods-producing sector in the first two months of the year, but cracks are now starting to appear. Production fell for the first time in three months in March, and order books are becoming increasingly depleted.

Trump-based optimism is fading?

“While business confidence about the outlook remains relatively elevated by standards seen over the past three years, this is based on companies hoping that the nearterm disruption caused by tariffs and other policies will be superseded as longer-term benefits from the policies of the new administration accrue. However, March has seen more producers question this belief. Business optimism about the year ahead has deteriorated further from January’s near threeyear high, and has dropped sharply over the past two months, causing firms to stop raising payroll counts for the first time since October. 

And of course, it's all about tariff terror...

“A key concern among manufacturers is the degree to which heightened uncertainty resulting from government policy changes, notably in relation to tariffs, causes customers to cancel or delay spending, and the extent to which costs are rising and supply chains deteriorating in this environment. 

Tariffs were the most cited cause of factory input costs rising in March, and at a rate not seen since mid-2022 during the pandemic-related supply shock. Supply chains are also suffering to a degree not seen since October 2022 as delivery delays become more widespread. 

“Data in the coming months will provide important insights into how the inflationary aspects of policies such as tariffs balance out against any benefits to US producers.”

So, both Services PMIs are in expansion (above 50) and Manufacturing is mixed (50.2 vs 49.0) - take your pick on 'recession' talk.

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/01/2025 - 10:07