By Mike Schuler of gCaptain

Major maritime industry stakeholders are voicing strong opposition to the U.S. Trade Representative’s proposed Section 301 actions targeting Chinese-built and operated vessels, warning of potentially catastrophic effects on U.S. trade and consumer prices.

The USTR’s proposed measures aim to counter China’s growing dominance in maritime sectors by imposing port entrance fees of up to $1.5 million on Chinese-built ships and operators, while promoting U.S. vessel usage. A public hearing is scheduled for March 24, 2025, at the International Trade Commission.

A public comment period is also currently open, giving industry stakeholders a chance to voice their opinion on the proposed measures.

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), representing over 80% of the global merchant fleet, warns that the proposed fees could severely disrupt U.S. trade and increase consumer prices. Current data shows China builds 61% of the world’s new merchant vessels, with the proposed fees potentially affecting 98% of container ships calling at U.S. ports.

“The proposed remedies could have an overall net negative impact on the U.S. economy, and result in a decline in U.S. exports,” states ICS in their submission.

Atlantic Container Line (ACL), a specialized carrier, projects dramatic cost increases: export container rates could surge from $500 to $2,500, while import rates could jump from $2,500 to $4,500. ACL warns they would be forced to “terminate its US service, close its American offices, lay off its American staff and redeploy its ships to non-US trades.”

The Chamber of Shipping of America (CSA) emphasizes that U.S. shipbuilding capabilities are currently insufficient, citing decades of industry decline. This limitation is further highlighted by ICS data showing U.S.-built ships cost four times more than foreign-built vessels, with delivery times exceeding 10 years for specialized vessels.

“Due to decades of neglect, the US maritime industry has seen a steady decline…we necessarily must rely on vessels registered in other nations,” CSA states in its submission. CSA further states imposing port fees alone won’t revitalize U.S. shipbuilding or the U.S.-flagged fleet, rather, proactive legislation like the SHIPS for America Act is required.

SeaPort Manatee in Tampa Bay, Florida stresses that the fees would severely harm American businesses, particularly those providing critical short-sea services between the U.S. and neighboring countries. It provided a striking example of potential consequences, noting that one operator, World Direct Shipping, could face fees up to $104 million annually. This could force cargo diversion to trucks, resulting in “1,000 more trucks crossing the border each week, increasing congestion at Texas border crossings and wear/tear on U.S. highways.”

The East Coast Stevedore Company warns that implementing the fees as written would “destroy trade across the entire United States.” This sentiment is echoed across the industry, with particular concerns about impacts on agricultural exports, energy trade, and regional shipping services.

BIMCO, another major industry voice, warns that the fees would severely increase shipping costs, reduce U.S. trade competitiveness, harm American consumers, and disrupt global maritime supply chains without addressing China’s underlying policies. Also, regional short-sea shipping costs could increase by 100-500%, potentially cutting off critical supplies for manufacturing, mining, and construction.

BIMCO argues such measures won’t incentivize a shift away from Chinese shipyards but will instead raise costs and create market distortions. It recommends considering alternative policies to directly enhance U.S. shipbuilding, avoiding unintended consequences that threaten the competitiveness and stability of global maritime trade.

As the March 24 hearing approaches, stakeholders emphasize the need for carefully considered alternatives that can strengthen U.S. maritime competitiveness without causing widespread economic disruption.

Amid a rising, international wave of deranged leftists damaging and destroying Tesla vehicles and charging stations as a crude means of lashing out at Trump advisor and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, people accused of anti-Tesla violence in three different states have been hit with federal charges. 

“The days of committing crimes without consequence have ended,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Let this be a warning: if you join this wave of domestic terrorism against Tesla properties, the Department of Justice will put you behind bars.” If found guilty, they face charges that have minimum penalties of 5 years in prison, with maximum 20-year sentences.  

The Department of Justice has not yet named the alleged villains, but, in a Thursday press release, the DOJ described the criminal acts they’re accused of perpetrating in Oregon, Colorado and South Carolina: 

• One defendant…armed with a suppressed AR-15 rifle, was arrested after throwing approximately eight Molotov cocktails at a Tesla dealership located in Salem, Oregon.
• Another was arrested in Loveland, Colorado after attempting to light Teslas on fire with Molotov cocktails. The defendant was later found in possession of materials used to produce additional incendiary weapons.
• In Charleston, South Carolina, a third defendant wrote profane messages against President Trump around Tesla charging stations before lighting the charging stations on fire with Molotov cocktails.

While the charges represent a welcome development, there are many more criminals still at large, such as a black-clad arsonist who spray-painted RESIST on the doors of a Las Vegas Tesla Collision Center in the early hours of Tuesday morning before setting two cars ablaze and shooting three more with a firearm. 

DEVELOPING: Video provided to the Review-Journal shows several @Tesla vehicles engulfed in flames after Las Vegas police say they were set on fire by an individual early Tuesday morning.
UPDATES→ https://t.co/sZQr9j1E5A pic.twitter.com/uXeLsdpTVl

— Las Vegas Review-Journal (@reviewjournal) March 18, 2025

Hatred of Trump and Musk crosses international borders; so too has anti-Tesla violence. In one of the largest attacks yet, upwards of 80 vehicles at an Ontario Tesla service center suffered damage that included deep scratches and punctured tires. On Thursday, Musk said security at Tesla outlets has been bolstered, in part by activating “Sentry Mode” on all Teslas that are parked at them. Sentry Mode uses the vehicle’s external cameras to detect suspicious activity and record video of what’s happening. 

Tesla has ramped up security and activated Sentry Mode on all vehicles at stores https://t.co/3HwUgE8ZoF

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 20, 2025

Sentry Mode has already helped many Tesla vehicle-owners capture vandals in the act. San Jose police arrested this man who was recorded keying a Tesla in a Costco parking lot last week. “Our residents can’t be held accountable for something Elon Musk is doing 3,000 miles away,” said San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan. 

The man caught on video keying a #Tesla in San Jose has been identified and arrested for felony vandalism according to #SanJose Police. Chief Paul Joseph says “no matter one’s personal beliefs or frustrations, they do not justify illegal actions…” @SanJosePD pic.twitter.com/BhGa83I8Jn

— Dan Thorn (@DanThorn_) March 18, 2025

This man was reportedly arrested on a Class 6 criminal mischief felony charge after keying a Tesla at a Crunch Fitness in Fort Collins, Colorado:

This guy keyed a Tesla at a gym in Colorado and just got arrested and charged with a felony.

Imagine ruining your life because a bunch of anons on social media told you Elon Musk was a Nazi.pic.twitter.com/LK7ifCW7PQ

— George (@BehizyTweets) March 19, 2025

Here’s another sociopath using a less destructive yet repulsive form of attack; there’s no indication he’s faced consequences yet: 

EXCLUSIVE — Another radical leftist was caught on Tesla Sentry Mode, this time throwing his dogs feces at a parked Cybertruck in St. Petersburg, FL.

The owner needs help locating this suspect to pursue criminal and legal action— if anyone has any information, please DM us. pic.twitter.com/EIWllpb9vm

— Liberacrat™️ (@Liberacrat) March 19, 2025

The wave of violence has Tesla dealerships and individual vehicle owners on edge, with law enforcement eager to put the hammer down on the perpetrators. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is among officials around the country pushing for arrests. “If you are a law enforcement officer in Florida and you interfere with somebody and prevent them from hurting a Tesla — come find me and I’m gonna try to get you a pay raise and a promotion,” he told Fox News on Thursday morning. 

As the sick, leftist spectacle unfolds, things are likely to get worse before they get better. As we detailed on Thursday, a George Soros-funded non-profit is getting ready to fan the flames. Here’s how Robby Starbuck broke it down on X: 

Over the next few days you’re going to see an organized progressional protest effort at Tesla stores put together by a group called Indivisible. They’re calling these ‘Tesla takedown’ events and they’re doing it in the midst of a domestic terror spree targeting Tesla and Tesla owners. They have these planned across the entire country…The Indivisible founders are Ezra Levin and his wife Leah Greenberg. They became ‘resistance’ figures during Trump’s first term…There’s reportedly even a form protest leaders can fill out to receive “reimbursement” payments for their protests. 

While Bondi and others have reasonably characterized the violence as “domestic terrorism,” there’s no indication that terrorism charges have been filed agains the three people described in Thursday’s DOJ announcement. That’s because, believe it or not, there’s no stand-alone federal domestic terrorism law; however, more than 30 states have laws addressing domestic terror. 

People that get caught sabotaging Teslas will stand a very good chance of going to jail for up to twenty years, and that includes the funders. WE ARE LOOKING FOR YOU!!!

Donald Trump Truth Social Post 3/20/25 11:08 PM

— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) March 21, 2025

While there’s some debate over whether that label applies to the anti-Tesla violence, Bruce Hoffman, senior fellow for counterterrorism and homeland security at the Council on Foreign Relations, has no doubt: “It’s absolutely domestic terrorism,” he told NPR. “I know that may discomfort many people. But vandalism is a crime that if it’s committed with a political motive, can certainly be defined as terrorism.”

Whatever the specific charges, here’s hoping for a deluge of state, local and federal indictments pouring down from sea to shining sea. 

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is considering invoking its state secrets privilege in its showdown with a federal judge over the invocation of the Alien Enemies Act and deportation of illegal immigrants, a high-ranking DOJ official said in a new court filing submitted Friday.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, a former criminal defense lawyer for President Donald Trump, confirmed a statement issued by Robert Cerna, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official, in court papers filed earlier this week in the case that Cabinet secretaries under Trump “are currently actively considering whether to invoke the state secrets privilege.”

“I attest to the accuracy of those statements based on personal knowledge of the events described by Mr. Cerna,” Blanche wrote, “including my direct involvement in ongoing Cabinet-level discussion regarding invocation of the state-secrets privilege.”

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg told government officials that they have a Friday deadline to submit a sworn declaration by a person “with direct involvement in the Cabinet-level discussions” about the state secrets privilege and to tell the court by next Tuesday whether the government will invoke it.

Invoking the state secrets privilege—an evidentiary rule used under U.S. legal precedent—means that government lawyers can assert that court proceedings may divulge sensitive state information that may endanger national security.

Boasberg this week ordered the government to explain why it did not turn around flights carrying deportees to El Salvador and to argue whether the move violated his court order blocking the Alien Enemies Act deportations of those individuals last week.

Boasberg had directed the government to return flights with Venezuelan illegal immigrants alleged to be members of the Tren de Aragua back to the United States.

The judge, who is based in Washington, had given the government until noon Thursday to either provide more details about the flights or make a claim that it must be withheld because it would harm “state secrets.” The government resisted the judge’s request, calling it an “unnecessary judicial fishing” expedition.

In a written order, Boasberg called government officials’ latest response “woefully insufficient” and said that the Trump administration “again evaded its obligations” by merely repeating “the same general information about the flights.”

The judge ordered the government to “show cause” as to why it didn’t abide by his court order to turn around the planes, increasing the prospect that he may consider holding government officials in contempt of court.

The order issued by Boasberg has drawn sharp condemnation from Trump and some Republicans, who have said the judge should be impeached. At least one Republican lawmaker introduced articles of impeachment targeting the judge, although it’s unclear whether GOP House leaders will pursue their usage.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) told news outlets that they may pursue an alternative legislative remedy other than impeachment but will hold hearings on Boasberg and other judges in the coming days.

Calls for impeachment, meanwhile, sparked a response from U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, who released a statement suggesting that it’s unprecedented to impeach a judge for issuing an order that the government disagrees with.

“Impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” Roberts said in his statement.

While no other Supreme Court justices have publicly commented on the matter, retired Justice Stephen Breyer told CNN this week that he agrees with Roberts’s assertion and said that instead, the government should appeal the matter rather than focus on impeachment.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has said in court papers and in media appearances that she believes Boasberg is exceeding his authority by issuing a nationwide injunction blocking deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 law that typically is invoked in times of war.

While issuing the proclamation on the Act, Trump said that his administration believes that the United States is being invaded by Tren de Aragua, a transnational gang that was declared a foreign terrorist organization last month.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

JPMorgan analyst Emma Wu told clients that the current level of retail enthusiasm for Tesla is unlike anything seen in the last ten years. This surge in retail buying comes as the stock remains halved from its December high of around $479. Weighing on shares are concerns over a potential slowdown in electric vehicle deliveries during the first quarter, along with mounting backlash from radical leftist nonprofits seeking to destroy the company and investors. 

The global equity derivatives strategist told clients that retail net buying flows into Tesla topped $8 billion over the last 13 consecutive sessions through Thursday. This was the longest buying streaks for Tesla via JPM data dating back to 2015. 

Data from Bloomberg shows Tesla shares are halved from mid-December’s peak of $479.

“Tesla made some rookie to mid-stage public market investors extremely wealthy, a lot of people became millionaires because of this stock,” said Nicholas Colas, co-founder at DataTrek Research, quoted by Bloomberg.

Colas said, “People don’t forget that. And they will come back to a stock again and again if they feel it has been beaten up,” adding, “These kind of investors don’t care about valuations at all. They just believe in the future of the company and Elon Musk’s abilities.”

In recent weeks, Goldman Sachs analysts Mark Delaney, Will Bryant, and others provided clients with a downward revision in their 1Q25 vehicle delivery estimate from 399k to 375k, citing weaker demand. 

“Weak Demand”: Goldman Lowers Tesla Vehicle Delivery Estimate For Quarter https://t.co/l4K15HjHTC

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) March 5, 2025

On Thursday, Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas lowered his price target for Tesla and slashed sales forecasts, citing the risk of a potential buyers’ strike.

Tesla investors are facing not only souring fundamentals but also a network of anti-capitalist NGOs …

This was my favorite speaker, the independent journalist and hacker who tells us the entire point of these organized protests are to tank Tesla stock.

Not a lawyer but this seems illegal to me. pic.twitter.com/9V2aNrdDR2

— Insurrection Barbie (@DefiyantlyFree) March 20, 2025

… planning color revolution-style campaigns against the most American-made car company—aimed at destroying the brand and driving shareholder value to zero.

Authored by John Haughey via The Epoch Times,

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has directed the Bureau of Land Management to “pursue steps to expand opportunities for exploration and development” of oil, gas, and mineral resources across nearly 20 million previously off-limits acres within Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve (NPR) and Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).

The move was not unexpected after President Donald Trump issued a Jan. 20 ‘Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential’ executive actions package mandating federal agencies “expedite permitting and leasing of energy and natural resource projects,” prioritize “development of Alaska’s liquified natural gas (LNG) potential,” and expand fossil fuel development in the 23-million-acre NPR and 19.6-million acre ANWR.

Burgum followed through with a Feb. 3 order requiring the Bureau of Land Management to “exercise all lawful authority” in developing a plan to implement the president’s policy.

“It’s time for the U.S. to embrace Alaska’s abundant and largely untapped resources as a pathway to prosperity for the nation, including Alaskans,” Burgum said in a March 20 press release announcing the directive.

The sweeping actions by Trump and Burgum, who also chairs the National Energy Dominance Council, rescind “all regulations, orders, guidance documents, policies, and any other similar agency actions … promulgated, issued, or adopted between Jan. 20, 2021, and Jan. 20, 2025,” essentially erasing dozens of actions related to Alaska by President Joe Biden and his administration.

During Trump’s first term, Congress directed the Department of Interior (DOI) to open a 1.56-million acre coastal plain area within ANWR’s Section 1002 to oil and gas drilling for the first time when it adopted the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). The U.S. Geological Survey estimates the area could hold up to 11.8 billion barrels of oil.

However, the Biden administration auctioned only 400,000 acres in January 2025, drawing no bidders because “new severe restrictions” imposed in November 2024 made “any development economically and practically impossible,” Alaska argued in a Jan. 5 lawsuit that alleged DOI and the Bureau of Land Management were in violation of the TCJA.

Under the executive actions and Burgum’s directive, the bureau must now make the entire 1.56-million-acre ANWR coastal plain and 82 percent of NPR available for oil and gas leasing. More than 13 million of NPR’s 23 million acres had been off-limits to development for decades since at least 1980.

“For far too long, the federal government has created too many barriers to capitalizing on the state’s energy potential,” Burgum said.

Trump campaigned on a vow to “unleash American energy” to ignite economic development and pay down the national debt, something Burgum expounded upon during a March 12 discussion before global energy leaders at CERAWeek by S&P Global in Houston.

“Our national assets far exceed the $36.5 trillion in debt,” he said, noting assets administered by DOI—500 million acres of public land, 700 million acres of subsurface mineral rights, 2.5 billion offshore acres—are long-mismanaged resources the Trump administration sees as debt-busting revenue generators.

Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS) said in a March 20 statement that Oil and gas leases and the revenues they generate may not be the answer the president and his interior secretary are touting them to be.

The January 2021 ANWR lease sale authorized by the TCJA “yielded only $16.5 million in revenue, largely funded by the state-backed Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority,” the nonprofit said, citing its recently posted analysis of ANWR lease sales as a case-in-point.

Subsequent withdrawals and cancellations of leases “ultimately led to taxpayers receiving no new revenue from the sale” the Washington-based watchdog said.

The second lease sale, the January 2025 auction that spanned 400,000 acres, attracted no industry bids at all.

“ANWR lease sales were originally projected to generate $1 billion in federal revenue to offset the TCJA tax cuts, which Congress now seeks to make permanent,” the nonprofit said.

“Our examination, grounded in lease sale data spanning the past two decades, provides a rigorous, data-driven estimate of likely federal revenues,” it said, that “directly challenge overly optimistic revenue projections that have been used to justify recent fiscal policies, particularly using ANWR lease sales as revenue-raising offsets for the proposed $4.5 trillion in lost revenue as part of the budget reconciliation package.”

Burgum’s directive also calls for the land management bureau to “convey” federal lands framing Dalton Highway north of the Yukon River to the state, essentially tracing the proposed route of the 211-mile Ambler Road project proposed by the Alaska Industrial and Development Export Authority, and along the 807-mile Trans-Alaska Pipeline Corridor.

The pipeline project, sponsored by the state-owned Alaska Gasline Development Corporation, seeks to funnel about 3.3 billion cubic feet of gas a day (Bcf/d) from Prudhoe Bay above the North Slope to Nikiski on the Kenai Peninsula, about 80 miles south of Anchorage. It would be the only LNG export terminal on the west coast of the United States.

The proposed pipeline/terminal project was initially submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in 2017 and received authorization to proceed in May 2020 under the Trump administration. It was reauthorized under the Biden administration in 2022.

Despite the re-authorization, nearly 80 Biden executive orders related to Alaska energy development had locked the LNG project in a regulatory limbo.

“It’s a very different world, right?” Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said during a March 14 CERAWeek address, noting Trump’s Alaska executive actions don’t just untangle oil, gas, and the state’s LNG project from regulatory straitjackets, but clear away federal rules restricting access to critical minerals, timber, and other resources in the massive state.

“It’s an amazing executive order,” he said. “I mean, we’ll have that framed on our walls for decades” in the Alaska governor’s office in Juneau.

The governor has been on a sales trip to Japan, South Korea, and Thailand securing customers for when the state’s LNG pipeline/liquefaction plant begins producing in less than three years.

Dunleavy called Burgum’s directive “more great news for Alaska,” in a March 20 statement.

“The news today will provide more investment opportunities, more jobs, and a better future for Alaskans,” he said. “We look forward to our continued work with President Trump and his administration to move Alaska and our country forward.”

Update (1205ET) 

London’s Heathrow Airport announced that some flights will resume later today, following a complete shutdown since Thursday night after a nearby power substation caught fire and backup generators failed to kick on.

👀 Flights in and out of London-Heathrow last week and today at 13:00 UTC. pic.twitter.com/CKo3SqAQfP

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) March 21, 2025

“We’re now safely able to restart flights, prioritising repatriation and relocation of aircraft. Please do not travel to the airport unless your airline has advised you to do so,” the world’s fifth-busiest airport wrote on X. 

Our teams have worked tirelessly since the incident to ensure a speedy recovery. We’re now safely able to restart flights, prioritising repatriation and relocation of aircraft. Please do not travel to the airport unless your airline has advised you to do so. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/fhUGiXCh6B

— Heathrow Airport (@HeathrowAirport) March 21, 2025

The airport said, “We hope to run a full operation tomorrow and will provide further information shortly. Our priority remains the safety of our passengers and those working at the airport.” 

We hope to run a full operation tomorrow and will provide further information shortly. Our priority remains the safety of our passengers and those working at the airport. We apologise for the inconvenience caused by this incident. (2/2)

— Heathrow Airport (@HeathrowAirport) March 21, 2025

“You would think they would have significant backup power,” one top executive from a European airline told Reuters.

Maybe this…

The sheer lunacy of Heathrow airport swapping reliable diesel generators with a net zero biomass system. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/ksuikAVwhN

— James Melville 🚜 (@JamesMelville) March 21, 2025

Heathrow’s closure caused over 1,300 flight cancelations and sparked widespread delays at other airports.

One airline insider told Reuters that the last time European airports faced this much disruption was during the 2010 Icelandic volcano eruption, which produced an ash cloud that grounded 100,000 flights.

*   *   * 

Britain’s busiest airport, Heathrow, suffered a massive power outage after a fire broke out at a nearby electrical substation in West London. Backup generators failed to kick on, forcing the airport to shut down and resulting in the cancellation of more than 1,000 flights. The disruption sent shockwaves through global air travel. While the cause of the incident remains under investigation, UK officials have stated there is “no suggestion of foul play.”

Friday morning in London with Heathrow Airport closed. pic.twitter.com/jufFvNKr42

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) March 21, 2025

UK Energy Minister Ed Miliband confirmed that a preliminary investigation into the electrical substation fire in West London has found “no suggestion” that it was caused by foul play.

Heathrow Airport closure due to an explosion at a fire at a power station nearby last night.

Had to deploy the drone rq and capture this#hayes #fire #london #heathrow pic.twitter.com/GAsOGP1uj0

— ‘ (@zain_018) March 21, 2025

“At the moment, the focus is on restoring power. We don’t yet have a full understanding of what caused the grid failure or the fire,” Miliband told LBC Radio, adding, “There’s no suggestion of foul play—just a catastrophic accident, as far as we can tell.”

This is the sub station fire that has caused blackouts and the 24 hr closure of Heathrow airport.

200,000 passenger will be affected… carnage. pic.twitter.com/eu00kCliVl

— Adam Brooks AKA EssexPR 🇬🇧 (@EssexPR) March 21, 2025

Heathrow, which serves nearly 90 airlines—including Britain’s national carrier, British Airways—has canceled about 1,300 flights, affecting over 145,000 passengers.

London-Heathrow will be closed for ALL of Friday due to a “significant power outage” caused by a fire in an electrical substation.

There are currently 120 aircraft in the air that will be diverting to alternate airports or returning to their origins. https://t.co/TEHf2kJO23 pic.twitter.com/Lot0lsJLz8

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) March 21, 2025

Heathrow Airport was handling 83.9 million passengers last year. That gives about 220k passengers per day. pic.twitter.com/kymm3VpH6N

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) March 21, 2025

Inbound flights to Heathrow were diverted to several airports, including ones nearby, such as Gatwick, London’s second-largest airport, and Manchester. According to Flightradar24 data, some flights were rerouted to international airports in Madrid, Paris, and Ireland.

“The diverted flights were already in the air, so that’s a diminishing number,” Heathrow Airport spokesperson Michael Murphy-Pyle told CNN.

In markets, shares of European airlines fell. IAG—the parent company of British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia, and others—declined around 2.5%. Air France-KLM shares were also down about 2%.

LoL!

I’m looking forward to Russia being blamed for the Heathrow fire 🔥. What are you waiting for, Starmer?

— Dmitry Medvedev (@MedvedevRussiaE) March 21, 2025

Developing…

US equity futures are lower, as are European and Asian markets, with sentiment after the latest batch of earnings after yesterday’s close were mostly mixed or negative (particularly Fedex and Nike, both of which guided lower again). S&P500 futs are down 0.2%, off session lows, with the index facing an additional test on Friday in the form of a huge option expiration quad-witching. Nasdaq futures dropped 0.3% with all Lag 7 names lower led by NVDA -1.2%, and TSLA -0.7%. Micron reversed an earlier gain after reporting earnings after hours and was down 3%-premarket amid margin weakness. 10Y Treasury yields are down 4bps while the dollar reversed an earlier gain. In commodities, oil markets are already feeling the effect of the first effort to target a vast private processing industry, with traders preparing for significant disruption after Washington’s move to sanction a Chinese refiner over its Iranian links. London’s Heathrow airport will be closed all day Friday and service interruptions are likely to continue for days after a nearby fire cut power to the hub and brought travel to a standstill. Today, the macro data calendar is largely quiet, with eyes on any additional headlines from the White House.

In premarket trading, TSLA stock was down even as Elon Musk sought to reassure Tesla employees that despite “rocky moments,” they should “hang onto” their stock. Other Mag 7 names were also mostly lower (Alphabet -0.2%, Amazon -0.2%, Apple -0.7%, Microsoft -0.2%, Meta +0.2%, Nvidia -0.7% and Tesla -0.1%). Nike tumbled 6% as the company signaled further declines in revenue and profitability due to an ongoing merchandise reset and the impact of US tariffs on products from China and Mexico. FedEx was just as ugly, sliding 7% after the parcel delivery company lowered its full-year guidance for a third consecutive quarter, citing inflation and uncertain demand for shipments. Here are some other notable premarket movers:

• Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALNY) gains 5% after the company won expanded approval for a heart drug that could be the biggest boon yet for the 23-year-old biotech and put it in competition with Pfizer Inc.
• Lennar Corp. (LEN) declines 4% after the homebuilder’s margin guidance came in below expectations amid a challenging US housing market.
• Lockheed Martin (LMT) inches 2% higher after Bloomberg reported the White House is poised to announce on Friday the winner of its contest to build the next-generation fighter jet, choosing between the aerospace giant and peer Boeing.
• Luminar (LAZR) climbs 8% after the automotive technology company reported revenue for the fourth quarter that beat the average analyst estimate.
• Nio Inc. (NIO) ADRs slip 4% after the Chinese electric vehicle maker now expects to deliver only as many as 43,000 cars in the three months that will end March 31; that’s short of the around 65,000 units the market was looking for.
• Ouster Inc. (OUST) rises 5% after the maker of sensors used in robotics posted 4Q revenue that increased 23% from the year-ago period and beat estimates.
• Planet Labs (PL) slides 9% after the Earth imaging company’s revenue outlook disappointed.

The S&P 500 is up slightly this week, following four weeks of losses. As previewed yesterday, stocks face a big test today in the form of another massive quad-witching , an event that can stoke volatility as options contracts worth $4.7 trillion head for expiry, including $2.8 trillion of S&P index and $645 billion of single stock options. Goldman doesn’t see the gamma picture getting meaningfully better as we continue to be well below most call overwriting strikes. Interesting to note that since the close on March 10, S&P is up 48pts, but VIX spot is down more than 8pts. This demonstrates the vol destruction the past week, even as the market itself has not recovered much. Further, we have seen fixed strike vol compression every day this week as vol supply has not let up for even 1 day

Not helping matters was the latest batch of dour earnings from FDX and NKE which added to concerns over a worsening global economic outlook, especially ahead of Trump’s April 2 deadline for a series of broad reciprocal tariffs. While the Federal Reserve has indicated it sees room to cut interest rates, many economists fear the inflationary impact of tariffs will hinder central banks from delivering support to slowing economies. 

“The Fed revised their growth forecast lower earlier this week, so the whole street is moving their forecast lower. But they could have further to go,” said Michael Metcalfe, head of macro strategy at State Street Global Markets. “We just need to see whether what we’ve seen so far this year is the start of something more serious in terms of slow growth.”

Despite the challenges, investors haven’t entirely given up on equities with US stock funds enjoying the largest weekly inflows this year on a view that the trade war won’t derail the economy or equity market, BofA’s Michael Hartnett said.

Meanwhile, the Turkish lira headed for its biggest weekly crash in nearly two years, shrugging off an emergency rate increase in the face of mounting political tensions. Istanbul stocks were halted again, after plunging as much as 7%, having shed $30 billion in value this week.

European stocks decline, with the Stoxx 600 down 0.7%. Regional airline stocks underperform after London’s Heathrow airport was shuttered by a major fire nearby.  Here are some of the biggest movers on Friday:

• Asos shares jump as much as 25%, their best day in nearly five years, after the online fashion retailer reiterated it expects a “significant improvement” in profitability in the first half.
• Energean shares rise as much as 5.8% after the oil and gas company said it has terminated a deal to sell natural gas assets to a unit of Carlyle Group.
• Tele2 shares gain as much as 3.4%, the most since January, after the Swedish telecommunications firm was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• IAG shares fall as much as 4.3% after British Airways hub Heathrow Airport was forced to close all day Friday after a nearby fire caused a power outage.
• Douglas shares fall as much as 23.5%, the most ever and to a record low, after the German beauty product retailer issued a profit warning.
• Wetherspoon shares slide as much as 12%, hitting a two-year low, after Shore Capital said it expects consensus estimates to fall after the pub chain’s results came in softer than anticipated in the first half.
• Amadeus Fire shares plunge as much as 13% after the German recruiter said it expects a significant fall in profit this year as the economic environment continues to deteriorate
• Ceres Power shares fall as much as 13% after the British fuel-cell technology company reported revenue that came in short of expectations and a guidance for 2025 that suggests no major commercial developments near term, according to RBC
• Polish Banks fall after Poland’s EU Funds Minister Katarzyna Pelczynska-Nalecz, member of junior coalition party, floated the idea of windfall tax for banks amid the industry’s record profit

Earlier in the session, Asian stocks fell as a selloff in Chinese shares extended amid a lack of catalysts, while traders braced for US President Donald Trump’s upcoming tariffs. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined as much as 0.7%, with Alibaba and TSMC among the biggest drags. Benchmarks in Taiwan, mainland China and Hong Kong declined, while South Korea gained. MSCI’s regional gauge is still headed for a nearly 2% advance this week. Chinese shares in Hong Kong posted their biggest two-day drop since October as traders digested earnings and awaited further policy catalysts.
“With the ‘Two Sessions’ now behind us, market attention has shifted to looming tariff risks set to take effect in less than two weeks, which may prompt investors to adjust their positioning amid the uncertainty,” said Jun Rong Yeap, market strategist at IG Asia. 

In FX, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2% but was off session highs. The yen reversed a 0.3% drop against the greenback and was now higher. The pound and the euro lose 0.2% each. Spot gold drops $13 to around $3,032/oz. 

In rates, treasuries inch higher, pushing US 10-year yields down about 2 bps to 4.22%. Euro-area government bonds also advance with traders now pricing in two more quarter-point European Central Bank reductions this year.  Gilts fall, underperforming peers across the curve, after UK government borrowing topped estimates in February. UK 10-year yields rise 4 bps to 4.69%.

In commodities, European natural gas futures rise over 2% after an attack on a pumping station in Russia’s Kursk region. Oil prices dip, with WTI down 0.4% near $67.81 a barrel. Gold held near record highs, as several banks raised their price forecasts for the haven asset. Gold funds have seen the biggest four-week inflow ever, the BofA data showed. 

Looking to the day ahead, data releases include the UK GfK consumer confidence for March whilst in France there’s the manufacturing confidence for March and retail sales for February. Additionally, Eurozone consumer confidence for March and Italy’s current account balance for January will also be published. Outside of the Eurozone, we have Canada retail sales for January. Otherwise from central banks, we’ll hear from the Fed’s Williams and the ECB’s Escriva.

Market Snapshot

• S&P 500 futures down 0.4% to 5,638.25
• STOXX Europe 600 down 0.9% to 548.14
• MXAP down 0.5% to 188.95
• MXAPJ down 0.8% to 588.93
• Nikkei down 0.2% to 37,677.06
• Topix up 0.3% to 2,804.16
• Hang Seng Index down 2.2% to 23,689.72
• Shanghai Composite down 1.3% to 3,364.83
• Sensex up 0.6% to 76,786.38
• Australia S&P/ASX 200 up 0.2% to 7,931.23
• Kospi up 0.2% to 2,643.13
• German 10Y yield little changed at 2.76%
• Euro down 0.2% to $1.0825
• Brent Futures up 0.2% to $72.14/bbl
• Gold spot down 0.4% to $3,031.74
• US Dollar Index up 0.21% to 104.07

Top Overnight News

• Britain’s Heathrow Airport was shut on Friday after a huge fire at a nearby substation knocked out its power, stranding passengers around the world and angering airlines who questioned how such crucial infrastructure could collapse
• Germany’s new era of big spending is pulling up borrowing costs across Europe, reigniting jitters around fiscal stability on the continent’s periphery.
• Trump posted “Egg prices are WAY DOWN from the Biden inspired prices if just a few weeks ago. “Groceries” and Gasoline are down, also. Now, if the Fed would do the right thing and lower interest rates, that would be great!!!”
• Trump posted “Unlawful Nationwide Injunctions by Radical Left Judges could very well lead to the destruction of our Country!… STOP NATIONWIDE INJUNCTIONS NOW, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE”.
• Trump and Defense Secretary Hegseth are to deliver remarks from the Oval Office today at 11:00EDT/15:00GMT, according to the White House.
• President Trump denied a report that the Pentagon was going to brief Elon Musk about the US military’s plan for any war with China.
• Elon Musk sought to reassure Tesla Inc. employees during what he referred to as “a little bit of stormy weather,” after the carmaker’s shares plunged more than 50% in just three months.
• White House has commenced a review of Federal Agency plans for a 2nd round of mass layoffs: RTRS
• The Israeli cabinet voted early on Friday to dismiss the head of the Shin Bet domestic intelligence service effective April 10, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said, after three days of protests against the move.
• Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves is set to overshoot her borrowing forecasts significantly for the current fiscal year, highlighting the fragile state of the UK’s public finances ahead of a key economic statement next week.
• Germany’s move to unlock hundreds of billions of euros in debt-financed defense and infrastructure spending passed its final legislative hurdle on Friday when lawmakers in the upper house of parliament in Berlin approved the measures.
• The financial industry is abandoning caution and chasing the rally in European stocks, hiking their targets and looking to the upside.
• President Xi Jinping’s government is set to welcome a US senator close to Donald Trump for talks in China, as the world’s largest economies try to move forward trade negotiations that have stalled at lower levels. 
• China’s imports of US cotton, cars and some energy products all plunged in the first two months of the year after President Donald Trump started imposing tariffs and Beijing retaliated. In a prelude to what could be widespread disruption to global trade, Chinese purchases of cotton fell almost 80% from a year earlier, according to Bloomberg analysis of data released Thursday. Imports of large-engined cars were down nearly 70%, while purchases of crude oil and liquefied natural gas dropped more than 40%.

A more detailed look at global markets courtesy of Newsquawk

APAC stocks ultimately traded mixed following the choppy performance stateside in the aftermath of the Super Thursday deluge of central bank announcements and ahead of quad witching. ASX 200 was just about kept afloat by notable outperformance in Consumer Staples as shares of Coles and Woolworths rallied after a report by the competition regulator which noted the supermarket retailers along with discount rival Aldi, were among the most profitable supermarket businesses in the world. Nikkei 225 initially traded higher on favourable currency moves but then reversed course after hitting resistance ahead of the 38,000 level and as the mostly firmer-than-expected Japanese inflation data supported the case for the BoJ to continue policy normalisation in the future. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were pressured despite the lack of fresh catalysts and as earnings results trickled in, while trade uncertainty continued to cloud over risk sentiment and NYT recently reported that Elon Musk is set to get access to a top-secret US plan for a potential war with China although President Trump later refuted this.

Top Asian News

• Elon Musk was initially reported to get access to a top-secret US plan for a potential war with China, according to the New York Times. However, President Trump later refuted the report which he said was fake news.
• Japan’s Rengo says second round data shows avg. wage hike of 5.4% for Fiscal 2025 vs 5.46% in the first-round data.
• Meituan (3690 HK) FY24 (CNH) Net Income 35.8bln (exp. 37.8bln), Revenue 337.6bln (exp. 337bln); Q4: Adj. Net Income 9.85bln (exp. 9.91bln), Revenue 88.5bln (exp. 87.9bln).
• Nio Inc (NIO) Q4 (CNY): EPS -3.17 (exp. -2.4) Revenue 19.7bln (exp. 20.07bln); sees Q1 total revenue 12.367-12.859bln

Top European News

• London’s Heathrow Airport said it is experiencing a significant power outage due to a fire at an electrical substation supplying the airport and will be closed until 23:59 GMT today, while it stated significant disruption is expected over the coming days and passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until it reopens.
• Denmark is reportedly open to joint European projects and funding if required, via FT citing sources
• UK says it is pausing the publication of Service Producer Price Index and Producer Price Index; planning to recommence publication in the summer and will keep users informed of progress; CPI unaffected.
• German Bundesrat has passed the debt reform bill and EUR 500bln fund, according to the vote tally cited by Reuters

FX

• USD is slightly firmer and trading within a 103.74-104.15 range in what has been a quiet session thus far – the US data docket remains light for the remainder of the. Focus however, will be on Fed speak from Williams, Waller and Goolsbee; the former will see the release of an accompanying text release and a Q&A thereafter. Elsewhere, US President Trump is to speak with Hegseth at 15:00GMT.
• EUR is a little lower and trades towards the bottom end of a 1.0820-35 range, continuing the losses seen this week. Aside from EZ Consumer Confidence, the docket remains light with no ECB speakers scheduled – though some focus will be on DBRS, who will review France’s credit rating today.
• USD/JPY has edged higher and reclaimed the 149.00 handle despite the cautiousness in the region and with the pair also unfazed by the mostly firmer-than-expected Japanese inflation data.
• GBP is on the backfoot vs. the USD in an extension of yesterday’s downside. Despite yesterday’s mildly hawkish skew to the BoE announcement in which external member Mann reverted back to the unchanged camp, the pound has fallen victim to the broadly firmer USD. This morning’s public sector net borrowing data showed a further deterioration in the nation’s finances.
• Antipodeans are both struggling for direction after recent losses and with price action contained amid a quiet calendar and the mixed risk sentiment.

Fixed Income

• USTs are slightly firmer, in-fitting with action in Bunds as the risk tone remains under pressure this morning. US specifics a little light thus far though the docket ahead is packed. Firstly, POTUS is due to give remarks from the Oval Office at 15:00GMT alongside his Defence Secretary. Given Hegseth’s inclusion the remarks may be focussed on Iran, with rhetoric from the Supreme Leader this morning punchy. As it stands, USTs are at the upper-end of a 111-00 to 111-09 band, with yields softer across the curve which itself is incrementally steeper.
• Bunds are firmer and at the top-end of a 128.15-128.58 band. Strength this morning comes from the downbeat risk tone which broadly speaking appears to be a continuation of the recent narrative of taking risk off the table into the April 2nd tariff announcement. German Bundesrat has passed the debt reform bill and EUR 500bln fund, as expected.
• Gilts gapped higher by a handful of ticks given the lead from EGBs but then succumbed to the morning’s borrowing data and slumped to a 91.73 trough. However, as the risk tone deteriorated, the benchmark lifted off worst and briefly got back to within reach of the 92.00 mark in a 91.73-92.12 band; though, ultimately, Gilts remain under notable pressure. PSNB showed a larger-than-expected borrowing figure alongside a downward revision to the prior which has taken borrowing for the 11-months of the current FY to the GBP 132bln mark, exceeding the GBP 127.5bln forecast by the OBR for the entire FY period.

Commodities

• Crude is incrementally lower, after spending the majority of the European morning around the unchanged mark; WTI’May now trades towards the lower end of a USD 67.80-68.65/bbl range. Energy-specific newsflow has been light today, whilst punchy rhetoric from Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei failed to lift prices.
• Natural gas prices have been boosted today after Kyiv Post reported “Putin’s forces shelled the Sudzha gas metering station in Russia’s Kursk region with artillery in order to blame Ukraine — the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces”. In response to this attack, Russia’s Kremlin said Ukrainian President Zelensky cannot be trusted.
• Precious metals are on the backfoot, with spot gold pulling back from best levels in overnight trade; into the European session, price action has been fairly contained and currently sits towards the mid-point of a USD 3,021.73-3,047.51/oz range.
• Base metals are entirely in the red given the downbeat risk tone and poor Chinese performance overnight. 3M LME Copper currently trades towards the lower end of a USD 9,842.2-10,001.8/t.
• China is to add cobalt and copper to its state metal reserves.

Geopolitics: Middle East

• Hamas says it is still studying the US proposal and the other proposed ideas in order to reach a deal that ensures hostage releases, the end of the war, and Israeli withdrawal.
• Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei says the “US need to know if they mess around with Iran, it will receive a hard slap”; “has no proxies in the region, those groups act independently”.
• Israel’s cabinet voted to fire the head of Shin Bet Ronen Bar, according to AP.
• US National Security Adviser Waltz said Israel has every right to defend its people from Hamas terrorists and the ceasefire would have been extended if Hamas released all remaining hostages, but they chose war instead.

Geopolitics: Ukraine

• Russia’s Kremlin says Russian President Putin’s order not to strike Ukrainian energy infrastructure remains in force; attack on Russian Gas transit station in Sudzha shows Ukrainian President Zelensky cannot be trusted.
• Kyiv Post reports “Putin’s forces shelled the Sudzha gas metering station in Russia’s Kursk region with artillery in order to blame Ukraine — the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces”.
• Explosions were reported in the sky of Ukraine’s capital and air defences were working to counter a large-scale attack with drones, while it was also reported that Russian drones hit civilian targets in Odesa on Thursday night.
• US reportedly seeks to reopen terms of a Ukraine minerals deal, according to FT.
• Germany, Italy, Poland, UK, and Canada leaders are to meet in Paris next week to discuss Ukraine, while French President Macron said the European meeting next week is to discuss ways to accelerate immediate military support for Ukraine and will discuss plans to strengthen the Ukrainian army if an agreement is reached with Russia.
• EU’s Costa said he believes EU member states will increase pledges of support to Ukraine.
• Russia’s presidential security adviser Shoigu arrived in North Korea and is to meet with North Korea’s leader.
• Russian Investigative Committee opens a case over explosion at Sudzha gas metering station in Russia’s Kursk region organised by Ukraine; station significantly damaged in a blast.

US Event Calendar

• Nothing scheduled

DB’s Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap

As London basks in temperatures warmer than Ibiza, a renewed focus on trade fears derailed a recovery in risk assets yesterday, with the S&P 500 closing -0.22% lower last night, though it’s still up +2.56% from last Thursday’s close, having so far only spent that one day in -10% correction territory. Yesterday was also the first day in a while where European stocks bore the brunt of the negativity with the FTSE-MIB (-1.32%) and the DAX (-1.24%) leading the declines. The Stoxx 600 (-0.43%) was helped by exposure to UK stocks with the FTSE (-0.05%) outperforming even after a slightly hawkish hold from the BoE (more later).

European markets had seen a sharp slide lower just before 9am GMT yesterday with no real explanation but by mid-morning they had stabilised and range traded into the close. There was no associated story but there was a lot of chatter about Mr Trump’s social media post from the early hours of the London morning that suggested the Fed should be cutting rates as “…. US Tariffs start to transition (ease!) their way into the economy. Do the right thing. April 2nd is Liberation Day in America!!!”. In an era of analysing every nuance of every post, the clear suggestion was that this implied that tariffs would cause some economic pain ahead. And while markets recovered during the US morning session, they then turned lower again with the S&P falling from +0.63% at the peak to close down -0.22%. So a modest but fairly broad-based decline, with 65% of the S&P lower on the day and the equal-weighted version of the index down -0.37%.

Bonds also had a topsy-turvy session, with 10yr Treasuries yields a mere -0.5bps to 4.24% by the close after having traded as low as 4.17% amid the earlier risk-off tone. The reversal of the bond rally was helped by a decent batch of US data. Existing home sales saw an unexpected acceleration in February (4.26m vs 3.95m expected and 4.08m previous), although there may be some residual seasonality in the data as sales have seen large February spikes for the past three years. Meanwhile, the latest initial jobless claims (223k vs 224k expected) painted a steady picture of the US labour market.

Looking forward to today, the vote on the debt brake reform in the Bundesrat starts at 9.30am CET this morning with news at the start of the week that Bavaria will support the bill meaning that its safe passage probability is even higher than it was in the Bundestag where it passed comfortably on Tuesday. Assuming it passes, it is theoretically possible that the AfD and the Left could seek an abstract judicial review at the Federal Constitutional Court as soon as the new Bundestag is constituted, which sits for the first time next Tuesday, but the Left have said they won’t file a complaint alongside the AfD. The potential legal challenges have steadily fallen away over the last couple of weeks and the story will likely move onto coalition talks next week with the expectations that this will be completed before the end of March and Friedrich Merz to be sworn in as chancellor shortly after Easter.

As for the BoE, our economist Sanjay Raja, believes the on-hold decision (at 4.5%) was on the hawkish side with the MPC’s vote tally and messaging highlighting growing concern around the disinflation progress in the midst of weaker demand. The biggest surprise was that only one member voted for a cut with 8 voting for unchanged. We thought there would be 2 doves. Sanjay still thinks there’ll be four 25bps cuts this year but his conviction levels have fallen. The risk is now that they could pause between May and November when CPI is expected to push up against 4% YoY. Ultimately, Sanjay thinks that beyond that the labour market will cool, pay settlements fall, tariffs will bite, and a terminal rate of 3.25% will be hit. See his report here. The hawkish lean left the probability of a cut in May at 64% down from 72% at the prior close. 10yr Gilts slightly underperformed, climbing +1.0bps with 2yr yields +3.5bps in contrast with German and French 2yr yields which were -2.3bps and -2.5bps lower, respectively.

Elsewhere in Europe, the SNB cut rates by 25bps as expected to 0.25%, their lowest since September 2022, but signalled that it doesn’t anticipate further easing as things stand. And in Sweden, the Riksbank kept rates on hold at 2.25% and also reiterated that it expects stable rates ahead. In other central bank news, Bank of Canada Governor Macklem said that the hotter inflation print the previous day “got our attention”.

Sticking with Canada, the Globe and Mail reported that new Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected this weekend to call a snap election for late April. An election is due by October at the latest. The former Bank of England and Bank of Canada governor took over from Trudeau as the head of the Liberal party earlier this month, and while the Liberals had been more than 20pts behind the opposition Conservatives in opinion polls at the turn of the year, the latest polls now show them in a slight lead in a dramatic turnaround since Trudeau’s decision to step down and amid increased tensions with the US.

Turkish markets remained in the headlines yesterday as Türkiye’s central bank raised its overnight lending rate by 2pp to 46% in a surprise meeting. The Turkish lira saw modest rebound (+0.25%) and has been trading in a narrow range close to 38 on the dollar, hinting at a concerted effort to stabilise the currency after its initially sharp sell-off on Wednesday.
In commodities, Brent crude oil prices (+2.13%) rose to their highest level since the end of February at $72.29/bbl after the US for the first time sanctioned a Chinese refinery for allegedly buying Iranian oil, raising the prospect of stricter US sanctions enforcement against Iran. Meanwhile, copper (+0.03%) hovered within 1% of its record high from last May, after extending its YTD gains to +26% YTD on risks of US duties and stronger China data.

Asian equity markets are sharply lower in China but generally slightly higher elsewhere. The Hang Seng (-2.14%) is leading losses in the region followed by the CSI (-1.30%) and the Shanghai Composite (-1.06%). Elsewhere, the Nikkei (+0.17%) is trading slightly higher with the KOSPI (+0.06%) and the S&P/ASX 200 (+0.16%) also hanging on to gains. US stock futures are a fraction lower and 10yr US yields around a basis point higher.

Coming back to Japan, Japan’s core inflation came in at 3.0% y/y in February (v/s +2.9% expected) but lower than January’s figure of 3.2%. At the same time, headline inflation rose +3.7% y/y in February (v/s +3.5% expected) easing from a two-year high of+ 4.0% seen last month, thus staying above the BOJ’s 2% target for 35 straight months. The “core-core” inflation rate climbed to +2.6% y/y from +2.5% in the month before and maybe a touch above expectations especially as the print nearly rounded up to 2.7%. Following the data release, yields on the 10yr JGBs are +1.3bps higher trading at 1.52%. See our economist’s take on the inflation release here.

Now to the day ahead, the Bundesrat is voting today on the huge fiscal package ahead of the new Bundestag session starting next Tuesday. Data releases include the UK GfK consumer confidence for March whilst in France there’s the manufacturing confidence for March and retail sales for February. Additionally, Eurozone consumer confidence for March and Italy’s current account balance for January will also be published. Outside of the Eurozone, we have Canada retail sales for January. Otherwise from central banks, we’ll hear from the Fed’s Williams and the ECB’s Escriva.

Authored by Katabella Roberts via The Epoch Times,

President Donald Trump said a New York Times story reporting that Elon Musk will be briefed at the Pentagon on U.S. military plans for a potential war with China is “fake news” and “completely untrue.”

The report, which cited multiple anonymous U.S. officials, said Musk would be given a presentation of the plans by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other top U.S. military leaders including Adm. Christopher W. Grady, the acting chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“The Fake News is at it again, this time the Failing New York Times,” Trump wrote in a March 20 post on the social media platform Truth Social.

“They said, incorrectly, that Elon Musk is going to the Pentagon tomorrow to be briefed on any potential ‘war with China.’ How ridiculous?”

Trump added that China “will not even be mentioned or discussed,” when Musk, a special adviser to the president, visits the Pentagon on March 21.

“How disgraceful it is that the discredited media can make up such lies,” Trump added. 

“Anyway, the story is completely untrue!!!”

Hegseth wrote on social media platform X that he looked forward to welcoming Musk to the Pentagon for “an informal meeting about innovation, efficiencies & smarter production” that would not be “a meeting about ’top secret China war plans.’”

“The fake news delivers again,” Hegseth added.

The story also prompted a response from the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson Sean Parnell, who wrote on the social media platform X that the report was “brazenly & maliciously wrong.”

“Elon Musk is a patriot,” Parnell said. “We are proud to have him at the Pentagon.”

Democratic lawmakers and other groups have raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest Musk may have because of his involvement with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), given his stakes in electric vehicle maker Tesla and SpaceX, a U.S. space technology company and major aerospace contractor for the federal government.

Through DOGE, Musk is leading the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the size of government and make sure each agency’s mission is in line with the president’s “America First” vision, an objective the president has emphasized in multiple executive orders.

Among those questioning Musk’s role is Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who has called for the White House to release Musk’s financial disclosure report. He said that as a special government employee, the businessman is subject to federal conflict of interest laws that bar government workers from participating in matters in which they have a financial interest.

The White House has previously said that Musk is a “special government employee” under the Trump administration and acts only as an adviser.

White House officials have also said Musk will recuse himself if any conflicts of interest arise between his business dealings and his role in cutting federal government spending.

Musk has vowed to remain transparent with the American public, telling a White House press briefing on Feb. 11 that you “can’t have an autonomous federal bureaucracy,” and “you have to have one that’s responsive to the people.”

Musk visited the National Security Agency (NSA) on March 12, one week after saying the intelligence agency “needs an overhaul.”

NSA Director Gen. Timothy Haugh, who is also the commander of the U.S. Cyber Command (CYBERCOM), hosted Musk during his first visit to the agency, an NSA spokesperson told The Epoch Times.

“NSA and CYBERCOM are focused on the President, [secretary of defense], and [director of national intelligence’s] priorities; meetings with key advisors ensure we are aligned,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

The New York Times story comes as tensions between Washington and Beijing have increased in recent years amid differences over technology, trade tariffs, and cybersecurity, as well as Taiwan and the origins of COVID-19.

There are no signs a war is imminent between the two nations.

The Epoch Times contacted the White House, The New York Times, and SpaceX for comment.

Three days after an Oval Office visit with President Trump and Elon Musk, UFC fighter and strident anti-immigration hawk Conor McGregor announced he is running for the Irish presidency.

McGregor’s announcement centered on his opposition to the EU’s European Migration Pact, which would streamline screening and asylum processing, with other provisions also aimed at accelerating the deportations of people whose asylum claims are rejected. Last summer, the Irish government committed to the pact, and must start implementing it by June 12, 2026. In preparation for that milestone, Ireland will need to pass several legislative acts so its migration practices conform to the pact.   

In making his announcement via his accounts on X and Instagram, the 36-year-old McGregor attacked Ireland’s adoption of the European Migration Pact and promised to give the Irish people a chance to veto it, rather than the implementation being decided by House of the Oireachtas and the president :  

“The next presidential election must take place by 11 Nov 2025. Who else will stand up to Government and oppose this bill? Any other Presidential candidate they attempt to put forward will be of no resistance to them. I will!

For clarity also, as President, I would put forth this bill to referendum. Although I oppose greatly this pact, it is neither mine nor governments choice to make. It is the people of Irelands choice!” 

The days of weak men creating horrid times for Ireland are over!

MARK MY WORDS.

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) March 19, 2025

On his Monday visit to Washington, McGregor stepped to the microphone in White House briefing room and laid down a brief yet blistering condemnation of the state of affairs on the Emerald Isle. 

“What is going on in Ireland is a travesty. Our government is the government of zero action with zero accountability. Our money is being spent on overseas issues that have nothing to do with the Irish people. The illegal immigration racket is running ravage on the country. There are rural towns in Ireland that have been overrun in one swoop, that have become minority in one swoop…Irish-Americans need to hear this because if [these issues are not addressed], there will be no place to come home and visit.” 

Conor McGregor: “The illegal immigration racket is running ravage on [Ireland]. There are rural towns that have been overrun in one swoop.”

“Irish-Americans need to hear this because there will be no place to come home and visit.”pic.twitter.com/lyXumJwj2p

— Border Hawk (@BorderHawkNews) March 17, 2025

The Irish establishment left quickly criticized McGregor for his remarks. “St. Patrick’s Day around the world is a day rooted in community, humanity, friendship and fellowship,” said Prime Minister Micheál Martin via social media. “Conor McGregor’s remarks are wrong, and do not reflect the spirit of St Patrick’s Day, or the views of the people of Ireland.”

The Irish presidency is nothing like the American one. It’s largely ceremonial, with many of the president’s “authorities” actually being obligations to do what other branches and officials tell him to do. For example, laws passed by the legislature go to the Irish president for signature, but he has to sign them under penalty of impeachment. Similarly, the president carries the title of “Supreme Commander of Defence Forces,” but has zero military authority. The president does have some ability to influence the formation of government in the lower legislative house; thus far, that power has never been used. 

On his path to the presidency, McGregor will be dragging a ball and chain in the form of legal troubles. Last year, an Irish jury found him civilly liable for raping a woman in a hotel following a night of drug use. He’s appealed that result. He’s also been sued in Florida by a woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her in a Miami arena bathroom during the 2023 NBA finals. 

Given he’s an EU critic, there may be other barriers put in McGregor’s way, as best exemplified by the recent events in Romania, where candidates have been banned and arrested for merely voicing anti-EU and anti-NATO sentiments. 

Via America First Legal,

On Thursday, America First Legal (AFL) released explosive new documents obtained through ongoing litigation against the U.S. Department of State’s Global Engagement Center (GEC), exposing a vast, government-backed censorship operation to silence Americans under the guise of “misinformation,” “disinformation,” and “malinformation.” The documents reveal a disturbing alliance between the GEC, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the British Foreign, Commonwealth, Development Office (FCDO), and media censorship organizations, all working in lock-step to manipulate public discourse, control media narratives, and suppress free speech.

The GEC, which was forced to shut down in December 2024, was designed to “combat foreign disinformation abroad.” However, through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, AFL uncovered that the GEC engaged in state-sponsored propaganda, repeatedly using willing participants from private media organizations. Further, AFL’s lawsuit against the GEC revealed that USAID had created an internal “Disinformation Primer” that explicitly praised private sector censorship strategies and recommended further censorship tactics.

The new documents released by AFL show: 

• The GEC and USAID coordinated efforts to censor “COVID-19 misinformation” and counter “COVID-19 propaganda.” 
• The GEC collaborated with officials in the British Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office on disinformation efforts.
• The GEC coordinated with private media censorship firms, including Poynter and NewsGuard, which provided samples of its Misinformation Fingerprints artificial intelligence (AI) tool, designed to identify and rate websites based on their perceived “misinformation.”

I. The GEC and USAID coordinated to counter “COVID-19 Propaganda and Disinformation”

In a widely distributed email to USAID, the GEC’s “Liaison Planner to USAID” stated that GEC would like to “sustain dialogue and connectivity during these unprecedented times” to help counter “misinformation” surrounding COVID-19 despite USAID’s self-described mission being “to extend assistance to countries recovering from disaster, trying to escape poverty, and engaging in democratic reforms.” 

The documents show that GEC communicated with multiple branches of USAID, including “TF 2020-COVID 19,” “Digital Development,” “Asia Bureau ES Taskers,” “Asia Outreach,” “Conflict Prevention and Stabilization (CPS) Policy,” and “CPS Africa.” 

Additionally, GEC and USAID worked together on “counter-propaganda” and “Disinformation and COVID-19 related products,” ranging from a “KHARON” (risk analysis program) demo to monitoring “disinformation” narratives surrounding the 2020 Presidential Elections in Moldova.

II. Coordination with Internet Censors NewsGuard and Poynter

Two days after the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, NewsGuard Technologies’ General Manager, Matt Skibinski, started an email chain to pitch NewsGuard services. Included in this email chain were:  

• Park Advisors’ then-Director Christina Nemr is an Obama Administration State Department alum. According to her LinkedIn, Park Advisors “Designed and led multi-million public-private initiatives addressing security threats in the information environment, bridging gaps between emerging technologies and real-world operational needs. Built and managed a global platform that evaluated and connected tools with mission-critical challenges, supporting government adoption.”
  • The House Small Business Committee found that Park Advisors received a GEC cooperative agreement award of more than $6 million. Park Advisors then distributed subawards to several companies, including NewsGuard, the Atlantic Council, and the Global Disinformation Index, a project funded by George Soros that generated lists of conservative websites it urged advertising companies to boycott. Together, these groups, not subject to international restrictions like GEC was, tested disinformation products, which led to the creation of the “Disinfo Cloud,” an unclassified platform used by the U.S. federal government, the European Union, the U.K. government, the Australian government, and the Estonian government “to counter adversarial propaganda and disinformation.” 

• Government employees from the Department of State, the National Security Agency (NSA), and Department of Defense components, including the National Security Innovation Network (NSIN), U.S. Cyber Command, and the U.S. Army European Command. 

Skibinski showed samples of the new GEC/U.S Cybercommand Testbed Pilot (Misinformation Fingerprints). This program utilized artificial intelligence and machine learning to monitor “misinformation.” The House Small Business Committee report details that “there was no firewall in place to ensure that Federal resources were not being used to develop and promote technologies that would have domestic impacts.” 

While NewsGuard claims to be a fair arbiter of truthfulness, research by the Foundation For Freedom Online reveals how NewsGuard operates the enforcement arm of the censorship industry that rates websites based on how much “misinformation” each site publishes.

Additionally, on February 4, 2021, Vonda Wolcott, Senior Program Manager at the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, connected GEC’s Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) “expert” with Baybars Orsek from Poynter. AFL has shown how Poynter funds a global false-flag operation of international “fact-checkers” that claim to be independent but are, in reality, a tightly woven network funded by Poynter and the GEC. 

This email shows just how closely GEC and Poynter worked with GEC’s expert offering to “walk [Poynter] through GEC’s new M&E workbook.” 

III. U.S. Department of State Officials Shared Information to a Foreign Government

An email from January 8, 2021, shows the distribution of alleged “malinformation” from U.S. Department of State emails to official UK government officials in the British FCDO. AFL previously exposed coordination between other pro-censorship organizations and the U.S. and U.K. governments to censor American citizens’ speech.

These documents further show the now-defunct GEC’s widespread efforts to suppress so-called “misinformation,” often through collaborating with government agencies, foreign governments, NGOs, and the media to silence dissenting voices.

America First Legal will continue fighting to expose government censorship and will always defend the First Amendment.

Statement from Andrew Block, America First Legal Senior Counsel:

“The partnership between USAID and the Global Engagement Center is bad news for the American people. Add in the fact that they were coordinating with internet censorship enforcers at NewsGuard and Poynter, and you can start to see just how dangerous this unholy alliance is for free speech and free expression. Thankfully, the GEC is shuttered and USAID is being exposed — but lawmakers should take note of this example as they consider legislation to ensure the federal government actually serves American principles and interests,” said Andrew Block.

Read the documents here.

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