Investors Are Sending a Warning to Congress. Will Washington Listen by Victoria Guida
May 23, 2025
Introduction:
(Politico) As Republicans haggled this week over a tax bill that would add trillions to federal deficits, the long-term cost of financing the national debt surged.
That wasn’t a coincidence — it was a warning.
In conversations with investors this week, I heard a new level of focus on the sheer volume of debt that Washington is set to pump out and, in some cases, real concern about how it will play out in markets. It was a shift from the perennial elite conversation, where the consensus has generally been that the debt is a worry, but not an immediate one.
“For the first time in my professional life, we’re seeing a shift, with investors looking askance at Treasury debt,” said John Velis, Americas macro strategist at BNY, a bank responsible for safekeeping $53 trillion in assets.
Procter & Gamble to cut 7,000 jobs, exit brands as consumer uncertainty weighs
Source: Reuters
Procter & Gamble (PG.N), will cut 7,000 jobs over the next two years, as the Tide detergent maker contends with an uncertain spending environment, fueled in part by U.S. tariffs that have roiled numerous consumer companies.
The job cuts amount to about 6% of its workforce, which P&G characterized as part of its ongoing strategy.
Notably, CFO Andre Schulten and operations head Shailesh Jejurikar said at the conference that the geopolitical environment was "unpredictable" and that consumers were facing "greater uncertainty."
President Donald Trump's sweeping levies on trading partners have shaken global markets and sparked concerns of a recession in the United States.
DOGE enters ATF with mandate to slash gun regulations
The U.S. DOGE Service has sent staff to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with the goal of revising or eliminating dozens of rules and gun restrictions by July 4, according to multiple people with knowledge of the efforts, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss plans that have not been made public.
The initial target was to change 47 regulations, an apparent reference to Donald Trump’s status as the 47th president of the United States, two of the people said. But ATF and DOGE staffers are now poised to exceed that goal, with upward of 50 changes planned.
The revisions are part of a seismic shift unfolding at ATF as the Trump administration proposes slashing the law enforcement agency’s budget and dramatically reducing the number of inspectors who ensure that gun sellers are in compliance with federal laws. Some Republicans in Congress have called for abolishing the agency altogether, and Attorney General Pam Bondi has said she wants to merge ATF with the Drug Enforcement Administration.
If the plans are enacted, it would be a major win for pro-gun advocacy groups, who have long claimed ATF is an agency with too many gun regulations that tramples on Second Amendment rights. Gun-control advocates fear that the changes afoot at ATF will more easily allow potentially dangerous people to obtain weapons with little recourse.
The exact scope and details of the potential changes are still being determined. ATF has hundreds of regulations, and revisions could include changing the responsibilities of certain ATF positions, updating what types of firearms can be imported, and making licensing fees refundable.
The more complicated a topic is, the more stupid and "post-truth" the takes become.
1+1=2. Simplest thing. Everyone agrees.
Vaccines are good. More complicated. Most people still agree, though you still start to hear idiots say otherwise.
Israel bad, Hamas bad, killing and kidnapping innocent people bad. Should be obvious, but people NEED to think of this in terms of "black and white." This is too complicated for that.
How AI works: Very complicated topic. Almost no lay person on the internet understands any of it. Naturally, the takes on it are extremely stupid, with many objections to the technology not being founded in facts on how it works.
Elon Musk suggested a third political party, which he’s floated as the “America Party,” will hold significant sway in the Senate and House under slim Republican margins, as he aspires to form a competing party after breaking with the GOP over President Donald Trump’s signature policy bill.
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In a subsequent tweet, he said “one way to execute on this would be to laser-focus on just 2 or 3 Senate seats and 8 to 10 House districts,” noting the party could have significant sway under a slim majority that “would be enough to serve as the deciding vote on contentious laws, ensuring that they serve the true will of the people.”
Friday’s tweets are the latest threats from Musk this week to form a new political party, as he feuded with Republicans over Trump’s signature policy bill that passed the House Thursday: “If this insane spending bill passes, the America Party will be formed the next day,” he wrote Monday.
Eyeing Arctic dominance, Trump bill earmarks $8.6 billion for US Coast Guard icebreakers
Source: Reuters
July 3, 2025 5:06 PM EDT Updated 11 hours ago
LOS ANGELES, July 3 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's massive tax and spending bill earmarks more than $8.6 billion to increase the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker fleet in the Arctic, where Washington hopes to counter rising Russian and Chinese dominance.
The funding includes $4.3 billion for up to three new heavy Coast Guard Polar Security Cutters, $3.5 billion for medium Arctic Security Cutters, and $816 million for procurement of additional light and medium icebreaking cutters. The cutters will have reinforced hulls and specially angled bows designed for open-water icebreaking. The Coast Guard had been seeking eight to nine Arctic-ready icebreakers. Its current fleet now just includes three.
Trump has been pushing to revive U.S. shipbuilding to counter China's growing strength in maritime manufacturing and naval dominance. Earlier this year, he unveiled separate plans to levy fees and tariffs on Chinese ships and port equipment including ship-to-shore cranes to bolster that effort.
As climate change shrinks polar ice packs, Arctic seas are increasingly being considered as trade routes connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans to major economies.
