In their phone call on Wednesday, President Donald Trump proposed to President Volodymyr Zelensky that the United States take over Ukraine’s nuclear power plants. “President Trump also discussed Ukraine’s electrical supply and nuclear power plants,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said of the call summary.

Trump said that “the United States could be very helpful in running those plants with its electricity and utility expertise,” the summary added, as it was pitched that US ownership would offer “the best protection” for Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

Zelensky’s office said that Ukraine is willing to agree to a 30-day halt on hitting Russia’s energy infrastructure, after Putin agreed. “Ending strikes on energy and other civilian infrastructure could be the first step toward fully ending the war and ensuring security. Volodymyr Zelenskyy supported this step, and Ukraine confirmed its readiness to implement it,” the readout from the Ukrainian side said.

No specific mention was made of which nuclear facilities the plan might involve, but Zelensky said later that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine was discussed, which is Europe’s biggest. It is at this moment under control of Russian forces.

Ukraine has three other nuclear power facilities which it still holds. Zelensky said the question of Zaporizhzhia’s fate would be determinant based on Ukraine forces regaining it at restoring normal operations:

Whether US control over the plant could serve as part of a peace plan was a “question of whether we are able to recover it and recover operations”, Zelenskyy added. The Ukrainian president said he was exploring with Washington whether “there could be an understanding that the US could recover [the power plant]”.

Trump hailed the talks with Zelensky as “very good” and that peace talks are “very much on track.” However, there doesn’t appear to have been much new momentum on the controversial minerals deal, but clearly the nuclear power proposal is similar or an outgrowth of that.

But Zelensky on Thursday followed by saying of the proposal that he “will not discuss” US ownership of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants with the US. Thus after hearing the idea Kiev has quickly rejected it. He has also not signed on to the minerals deal, which has floundered.

Leavitt: Trump said the U.S. could help run Ukraine’s power plants. He believes American ownership would be the best way to protect Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

Translation: the U.S. wants to own Zaporihzhya nuclear power plant, otherwise it might fall into Russian hands.0/ pic.twitter.com/Ct58BtA4y7

— Tymofiy Mylovanov (@Mylovanov) March 19, 2025

The US and Ukraine delegations will soon meet in Saudi Arabia again, parallel to US-Russia delegations meeting. Of talks with Moscow, Waltz has said, “We agreed our technical teams would meet in Riyadh in the coming days to focus on implementing and expanding the partial ceasefire President Trump secured from Russia.”

The US has confirmed it will continue sharing defensive intelligence with Ukraine, and that Trump has agreed to work with Zelensky on his request for more air defenses to protect Ukraine.

One war observer and pundit questioned on X: “Rare Earth Metals are no longer hot topic, as the United States now shifts its attention to Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plants. Could someone clarify how is this supposed to help Ukraine?”

Authored by Zoltan Vardai via CoinTelegraph.com,

Tether, the $143 billion stablecoin giant, was the world’s seventh-largest buyer of United States Treasuries, surpassing some of the world’s largest countries.

Tether, the issuer of USDt, the world’s largest stablecoin, was the world’s seventh-largest US Treasury buyer, surpassing Canada, Taiwan, Mexico, Norway, Hong Kong, and numerous other countries.

The stablecoin issuer acquired over $33.1 billion worth of Treasurys, compared to over $100 billion purchased by the Cayman Island in the first place in global rankings, according to Paolo Ardoino, the CEO of Tether. 

“Tether was the 7th largest buyer of US Treasurys in 2024, compared to Countries,” wrote Ardoino in a March 20 X post.

Source: Paolo Ardoino

However, Luxembourg and the Cayman Islands figures include “all the hedge funds buying into t-bills,” noted Ardoino in the replies, whereas Tether’s figures represent the investments of a single entity.

Tether is investing in US Treasurys as additional backing assets for its US dollar-pegged stablecoin since treasuries are short-term debt securities issued by the US government and are considered some of the safest and most liquid investments available.

Tether’s significant growth comes during a period of growing stablecoin adoption among both investors and US lawmakers.

Source: IntoTheBlock

The growing stablecoin supply recently surpassed $219 billion and continues to rise, suggesting that the market is “likely still mid-cycle” as opposed to the top of the bull run, according to IntoTheBlock analysts.

Stablecoin bill may pass as soon as August: Blockchain Association

US lawmakers are on track to pass legislation setting rules for stablecoins and cryptocurrency market structure by August, Kristin Smith, CEO of industry advocacy group the Blockchain Association, said during Blockworks’ 2025 Digital Asset Summit in New York.

Smith’s timeline echoes a similar forecast by Bo Hines, the executive director of the President’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, who said on March 18 that he expects to see comprehensive stablecoin legislation in the coming months. 

“I think we’re close to being able to get those done for August […] they’re doing a lot of work on that behind the scenes right now,” Smith said on March 19 at the Summit, which Cointelegraph attended. 

US President Donald Trump sits beside Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at the March 7 White House Crypto Summit. Source: The Associated Press

“I’m optimistic when you have the chairs of the relevant committees in the House and the Senate and the White House that want to do something, and you’ve got bipartisan votes in Congress to get it there,” she added.

WATCH: The complete Presidential address at the Digital Asset Summit pic.twitter.com/PL2BoGJiws

— Blockworks (@Blockworks_) March 20, 2025

Authored by Scott Pinsker via PJ Media,

This is an actual, real-life newspaper headline that ran today on planet Earth: 

Tim Walz: Maga voters are scared of my masculinity

And to clarify, that headline ran on OUR planet Earth. Not on an alternate dimension or some MCU-ish multiverse version of Earth, where all the bad guys have goatees. To paraphrase “Seinfeld,” that headline is 100% real — and it’s spectacular!

Tim Walz made the startling declaration on the podcast of the equally manly Gavin Newsom, the well-coifed governor of California. Here’s their exchange:

Tim Walz has claimed that Maga voters are “scared” of his masculinity.

The former vice-presidential candidate said Republicans targeted him during the election campaign because they were fearful he would win over male voters.

“I think I scare them a little bit, [which is] why they spend so much time on me,” Mr Walz told Gavin Newsom during an episode of the California governor’s new podcast.

When Mr Newsom burst into laughter, the Minnesota governor added: “No, I’m serious, because they know I can fix a truck, they know I’m not bulls—ing on this.” [emphasis added]

Tampon Tim Walz on his masculinity: “I think I scare them a little bit.” pic.twitter.com/oiU36BvGky

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 19, 2025

Tim Walz is so masculine, Bud Lite will be issuing him his own can. (Probably.)

Either way, the (inadvertent?) emasculation was off the charts: Clearly, Tim Walz wanted to play the Alpha card, but Newsom no-sold his Y chromosome. When someone tells you they’re scary and intimidating, TRUST ME, they don’t want to be met with hysterical laughter.

That’s no way to treat a lady!

So Masculine…

The guy who kicks up his legs weirdly and waves and flails around his arms like a child having a tantrum- made fun of how @elonmusk walks on stage

There is something very off about Tim Walz pic.twitter.com/kksoI8Dizc

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) October 31, 2024

But according to Walz, the GOP attacks worked:

During his appearance on the This is Gavin Newsom podcast, Mr Walz acknowledged that during the campaign, the Trump team successfully portrayed the Democrats as weak.

“It just baffled me how much time they spent trying to attack me, that I was not masculine enough in their vision,” he added.

I’m baffled that he’s baffled: If he’s acknowledging that the attacks worked and were successful, then doesn’t that explain why MAGA used it? It’s like being mystified why the batter swung on a slow-moving pitch over the middle of the plate.

The article continued:

Throughout the 2024 campaign, Mr Walz was repeatedly mocked over his hunting prowess and mechanic skills, as well as the way he used a straw, and waved at crowds.

“They focused on it obsessively, which I think again is their obsession, their weirdness.

“We buy their frame on these issues of sexuality,” he told the host, describing how people attacked him online for appearing “gay” and “not masculine”. “I think I could kick most of their ass,” he said. [emphasis added]

The Democrats already tried to play the “Walz is Manly” card in 2024. And not only the Democrats — the Never Trump Nitwits tried to sell it, too. Like ex-Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele: “What Walz offers is probably the more traditionally and actually appropriate view of what a ‘real man’ is. He’s a father, he’s a coach, he’s at times a disciplinarian, he’s the guy who’s going to help you fix your car. I think he’s a phenomenal role model.”

In fact, right after Steele’s quote, this paragraph appeared in the USA Today story (“Football coach and cheerleader: How Tim Walz is defining masculinity in 2024”):

Walz’s version of virility embraces the male-dominated spaces of football fields, veterans’ groups and hunting grounds, but also classrooms, Pride parades, and abortion clinics. [emphasis added]

What could be more “traditionally manly” than pride parades and abortion clinics? Nice reporting, USA Today!

Steele wasn’t the only Never Trumper to extol Walz’s, er, “testicular credentials.” There was this gem from Mona Charen (from her column, “Tim Walz is a man’s man, unlike MAGA’s man-children”):

Tim Walz, whose politics are to the left of most Americans and certainly most swing voters, has been welcomed not as a box-checking, progressive pick, but as a Midwestern dad who poses with his hunting dog, served for 24 years in the military and coached the high school football team to a state championship. He’s a man’s man without being a strutting jackass. A good male role model is an excellent foil for the swaggering, snarling, cartoonish version of masculinity on offer from the Republican Party right now.

Whether it’s Never Trumpers, the DNC, or Walz himself, the core problem remains unchanged: The Democrats want to redefine our definition of “masculinity.” The public doesn’t agree with their definition. But instead of backing off, they’re doubling down, insisting everyone else is wrong.

It’s like that “Latinx” nonsense, where guilty white liberals took it upon themselves to render the Spanish language “gender-neutral” — ignoring the protests of Spanish-speaking people. No matter how many times Latinos and Hispanics told them they wanted to honor their heritage and retain their language, guilty white liberals insisted they were “Latinx”… and then they wondered why Trump made record-setting gains with non-white voters.

The Democrats lost the male vote, so they want to redefine what a man is. Sorry, donkeys, but it doesn’t work that way.

We’ll leave the last word to Caitlyn Jenner:

I am more ‘masculine’ than this 🤡 Gov Walz https://t.co/EjW2fU1hI7

— Caitlyn Jenner (@Caitlyn_Jenner) March 19, 2025

As so often happens, just as Wall Street had given up on oil, it’s soaring.

WTI spiked to a 3-day high, and was on pace to hit the highest price since the start of the month, after the US announced sanctions targeting Chinese individual and crude oil tankers, who support Iran’s oil exports.

Specifically, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated a Chinese “teapot” oil refinery and its CEO for purchasing and refining hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian crude oil, including from vessels linked to the Foreign Terrorist Organization, Ansarallah (commonly known as the Houthis), and the Iranian Ministry of Defense of Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL).

“Teapot refinery purchases of Iranian oil provide the primary economic lifeline for the Iranian regime, the world’s leading state sponsor of terror,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “The United States is committed to cutting off the revenue streams that enable Tehran’s continued financing of terrorism and development of its nuclear program.”

OFAC additionally imposed sanctions on 19 entities and vessels responsible for shipping millions of barrels of Iranian oil, comprising part of Iran’s “shadow fleet” of tankers supplying teapot refineries like Luqing Petrochemical.

The news sent WTI up 2% to the highest level in 2 days, and just shy of the highest price hit in March.

As a caveat, and as Bloomberg’s inhouse energy expert Javier Blas pointed out, the US has in the past sanctioned large Chinese oil traders that were heavily involved in the Iranian-China business (such as Zhuhai Zhenrong Company) with little impact. Maybe this time will be different.

But do note that the US Treasury has in the past sanctioned a large Chinese oil trader that was heavily involved in the Iranian-China business (Zhuhai Zhenrong Company Ltd.) with little impact | #OOTT

— Javier Blas (@JavierBlas) March 20, 2025

Today’s spike in oil will only make already happy energy investors, even happier. 

As Bloomberg notes, traders have been taking cover in oil and gas producers as inflation fears mount, putting the group back at the top of the S&P 500 leaderboard after trailing badly the past two years. One reason: as we have repeatedly noted, energy stocks are the conventional short leg to a “long tech” pair trade. As such, any time tech names slide, energy bounces and vice versa. 

The price of oil may be down about 6% this year, but energy shares are now the top-performing of 11 sectors in the equity benchmark. The group is up almost 8% in 2025 amid a broad market slide of nearly 4%. 

The last time the sector led the S&P 500 for a full year was in 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent oil costs skyrocketing above $100 a barrel. That price was about $67 on Wednesday. In 2024, the sector got trounced, gaining about 2% as the overall market soared more than 20%, powered by tech shares.

According to Bloomberg, lingering inflation anxiety, a supportive administration (Trump met with oil executives on Wednesday) as well as intensifying geopolitical tensions have fueled the strength in the shares. With long-term inflation expectations surging, the sector’s hedging appeal is key for investors looking to gird their portfolios against the risk of rising price pressures.

To Simon Lack, a portfolio manager for the Catalyst Energy Infrastructure Fund, it’s just the beginning for the shares. 
“Energy’s going to outperform,” he said, adding that the sector remains underappreciated even after its recent climb. The White House “really likes US energy and wants us to export more.” 

Despite rising fears of inflation and, worse, stagflation, investors are pouring money into the energy stocks, which makes sense: energy tends to be the best performing sector during periods of economic stagflation.

Bank of America clients piled into energy more than any other sector as the S&P 500 went into a correction last week. Institutions were big buyers as the cohort notched its biggest inflow since the Silicon Valley Bank crisis, the bank’s analysis showed. 

To be sure, there are a raft of potential challenges to the sector’s rally — including from Trump. Energy faces a “barrage of uncertainties,” according to Eric Nuttall, a portfolio manager at Ninepoint Partners, including the administration’s mantra of seeking lower oil prices and the potential of more Russian oil supplies hitting the market should there be a ceasefire in Ukraine.

On the other hand, energy remains one of the cheapest sectors in the market and faltering performance from high-growth tech stocks has investors looking for value. That’s why after slamming the sector for much of 2024, Wall Street is once again growing more positive on the group. The sector saw negative earnings revisions last year but is now garnering upgrades at a time when other S&P 500 segments are being hit with downgrades, according to Barclays Plc.

“Energy has been unloved for a long time,” said Lack at the Catalyst Energy Infrastructure, but that is rapidly changing. The sector is also poised to see double-digit profit growth in the third quarter and market-leading earnings growth of 20% in the following three months, according to analyst forecasts.

Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times,

A North Dakota jury has ruled that Greenpeace must pay more than $660 million in damages to Dallas-based oil and gas company Energy Transfer, finding the environmental group liable for defamation and other claims related to protests against the Dakota Access pipeline.

The nine-person jury delivered its verdict on March 19 in a lawsuit brought by Energy Transfer Partners, which sought hundreds of millions in damages from Greenpeace. The case stemmed from the 2016–2017 protests against the pipeline’s Missouri River crossing, located upstream of a tribal reservation. 

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has long opposed the project, citing risks to its water supply and sacred burial grounds.

The lawsuit cited Greenpeace’s claims that Energy Transfer desecrated burial grounds and culturally significant sites during construction, as well as assertions that the pipeline would “catastrophically alter the climate.” Cox countered that the company had made 140 route adjustments to protect sacred sites and said Energy Transfer was committed to being “a good corporate citizen in North Dakota.”

Energy Transfer accused Greenpeace International and Greenpeace USA of acts including defamation, trespass, nuisance, and civil conspiracy. During the trial, which began in late February 2025, the company’s attorney, Trey Cox, argued that Greenpeace funded and organized protesters, provided blockade supplies, conducted training sessions, and spread misinformation to block the pipeline’s construction.

Greenpeace attorneys rejected the allegations, stating there was no evidence linking the organization to the disruptions caused by the protesters. They argued the lawsuit was an attempt to silence activism through financial and legal intimidation.

“Beyond the impact that this lawsuit could have on the Greenpeace entities, one of the most worrisome things about the case is that it could establish dangerous new legal precedents that could hold any participant at protests responsible for the actions of others at those protests,” Deepa Padmanabha, Greenpeace USA senior legal advisor, said in a Feb. 24 statement. 

“And you can imagine that this would have a serious chilling effect on anybody who wants to engage in protest.

Greenpeace USA was found liable on all counts, while the other entities were held responsible for some. The damages will be divided among the three groups in varying amounts. The total damages amount to nearly $666.9 million. The jury ruled that Greenpeace USA is responsible for the largest share, nearly $404 million, while Greenpeace Fund Inc. and Greenpeace International must each pay approximately $131 million.

Energy Transfer said the verdict is a victory for North Dakotans affected by the protests.

“While we are pleased that Greenpeace has been held accountable for their actions against us, this win is really for the people of Mandan and throughout North Dakota who had to live through the daily harassment and disruptions caused by the protesters who were funded and trained by Greenpeace,” a spokesperson for Energy Transfer said in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times.

“It is also a win for all law-abiding Americans who understand the difference between the right to free speech and breaking the law. That the disrupters have been held responsible is a win for all of us.”

Greenpeace has not publicly commented on the ruling and did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times. However, allied environmental group EarthRights International in a March 19 statement said that Greenpeace intends to appeal the decision to the North Dakota Supreme Court.

EarthRights also raised concerns about trial irregularities, citing alleged jury ties to the fossil fuel industry, Energy Transfer’s $3 million donation to the trial’s host city, and the denial of Greenpeace’s requests for a venue change.

“These irregularities, which may amount to a violation of Greenpeace’s right to a fair trial, almost certainly factored into the verdict, and may form the basis of an appeal,” EarthRights said in its statement, adding that it “proudly joins Greenpeace USA in speaking up against brazen legal attacks and ensuring that the environmental movement only continues to grow stronger, despite the appalling result in North Dakota.”

Continuing its remarkable parallels with its “developed” yet fascist European and UK neighbors, where a twitter post is enough to get your house raided and land you in jail, overnight Turkish authorities said they arrested 37 people over social media posts criticizing the contentious detention of Istanbul’s popular mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, which triggered a market meltdown as we described.

Police identified 261 “suspicious account managers,” Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said in a post on X on Thursday. 

The suspects made “provocative statements” on social media platforms, Yerlikaya said, accusing them of inciting hatred and provoking people to commit crimes. Cybersecurity forces continue conducting “virtual patrols” around the clock, he said. 

İstanbul Cumhuriyet Başsavcılığınca başlatılan soruşturmalar kapsamında, İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediye Başkanı ile birlikte toplam 106 şüpheli hakkında gözaltı kararı verilmesi sonrası, bazı sosyal medya hesapları üzerinden;

-“Halkı Kin ve Düşmanlığa Tahrik” ve
-“Suç İşlemeye…

— Ali Yerlikaya (@AliYerlikaya) March 20, 2025

Turkey also restricted access to major social media platforms and WhatsApp after Imamoglu’s detention, internet-monitoring group Netblocks said. Some users were still reporting problems accessing the platforms on Thursday. The Turkish government has restricted access to popular social media platforms in the past, including during terror incidents and major natural disasters, mostly citing security reasons.

The country’s internet regulator has the authority to slash bandwidth under several conditions and social media platforms are subject to a long list of rules. The government’s tighter grip over the platforms has worried human rights organizations, opposition politicians and other critics, who say it diminishes freedom of expression.

As reported yesterday, Imamoglu, who is viewed as the main rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in elections scheduled for 2028 was taken into custody early Wednesday, along with dozens of others, on corruption charges.  Prosecutors accused Imamoglu, from the secular Republican People’s Party (CHP), of corruption and aiding a terrorist group, calling him a “criminal organization leader suspect”. He denounced the move as politically-motivated just as he was preparing to formally announce his intention to run.

Late Wednesday, a local court also ordered the seizure of Imamoglu Insaat Ticaret ve Sanayi AS, the construction company where the mayor is a partner.

Imamoglu said online “the will of the people cannot be silenced” as thousands gathered to protest in Istanbul.

Last night, thousands of Istanbulites gathered at Saraçhane Square to demand justice and democracy in Türkiye.

United by a strong common desire for a better future, a nation’s will becomes unstoppable. pic.twitter.com/rbyy7jW1E9

— Ekrem İmamoğlu (International) (@imamoglu_int) March 20, 2025

“We must stand against this evil as a nation,” Imamoglu said on social media platform X, calling on members of the judiciary and Erdogan’s ruling party to fight injustice.

“These events have gone beyond our parties, political ideals. The process is now concerning our people, namely your families. It is time to raise our voices,” he said.

After Imamoglu’s arrest, hundreds of thousands took to the streets in protest. According to Reuters, thousands of Turks were expected to ramp up protests on Thursday over what they called the undemocratic detention of Istanbul’s mayor Ekrem Imamoglu despite a ban on gatherings, police barricades and dozens of detentions over social media posts.

Police on Thursday blocked off roads and stationed trucks with water cannons near the police station where the mayor is held and other areas of Turkey’s largest city.

“They hastily detained our mayor, whom we elected with our votes,” said Ali Izar, an opposition supporter on his way to work in central Istanbul. “I do not think this is a democratic practice and I condemn it.”

Though civil disobedience has been dramatically curbed in Turkey since the nationwide Gezi Park protests against Erdogan’s government in 2013, which prompted a violent state crackdown, thousands of protesters took to the streets and university campuses on Wednesday in Istanbul, Ankara and other cities.

Crowds had chanted anti-government slogans and, at the main municipality building in Istanbul, they hung banners of Imamoglu and the nation’s founding leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk alongside Turkish flags.

His arrest sparked a historic plunge in the lira, although the selloff in Turkish assets that began following his arrest eased on Thursday as authorities announced measures to curb volatility and sold billions in dollars to support the lira.

Update:

On Wednesday evening, Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary appeared on CNN NewsNight and called Democrat Minnesota Governor Tim Walz a clown for wishing death on Tesla. O’Leary criticized Walz for being a “bozo” after it turns out that Minnesota’s state pension fund holds over a million shares of the American automaker. 

“That poor guy did not check his portfolio – and his own pension plan for the state. It’s beyond stupid what he did. He is talking down a 3% weighting in his pension plan. What’s the matter of that guy? He doesn’t check the well-being of his own constituents in his state? That’s their investment. What a bozo,” O’Leary told the leftists at the CNN roundtable. 

Kevin O’Leary nails it on multiple points here:

1. Anyone who lights a car on fire should go to jail, no exceptions

2. Tim Walz is a moron because Minnesota’s pension plan is backed by Tesla stock pic.twitter.com/x5bEBgIGov

— Nick Adams (@NickAdamsinUSA) March 20, 2025

Fox News reporter Bill Melugin found that the state of Minnesota had 1.6 million shares of Tesla in its retirement fund and 211,000 shares of Tesla in its non-retirement fund. 

As Gov. Walz gloats about Tesla stock dropping, records from the Minnesota State Board of Investment show that as of 6/30/24, the state of Minnesota had 1.6 million shares of Tesla in its retirement fund, and 211,000 shares of Tesla in its non-retirement fund. I’ve reached out to… https://t.co/W0EA0cPASS pic.twitter.com/r1obVBpfU7

— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) March 19, 2025

Other state retirement funds that own Tesla. 

Unhinged Democrats attacking an American company as the latest NBC News and CNN polls show the party has hit its lowest approval ratings on record: 27% and 29%, respectively. 

*  *   *

Unhinged Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz told Democrats at an Eau Claire, Wisconsin, town hall on Tuesday he openly roots for the death of the most American-made car company: Tesla Motors. 

“I was saying, on my phone, I know some of you know this, on the iPhone. They’ve got that little stock app. I added Tesla to it to give me a little boost during the day,” Walz told the crowd. 

The failed 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee then excitedly yelled: “$225 and dropping …”

Here’s the full video of Walz… 

If you need a little boost during the day, check out Tesla stock 📉 pic.twitter.com/KBEh6pOZLW

— Tim Walz (@Tim_Walz) March 19, 2025

X users responded, of course, and blasted the anti-American Democrat: 

What is wrong with you. You’re actively rooting for an innovative American company to fail?

The cars are American made and literally drive themselves.

— Calley Means (@calleymeans) March 19, 2025

“Hell yea, fuck the US company producing millions of climate friendly electric vehicles and its employees / investors!”

— litquidity (@litcapital) March 19, 2025

1500 Tesla owners were doxxed today.

Their lives are at risk and you’re cheering on the effects of domestic terrorism.

This is unbelievably evil.

— Reddit Lies (@reddit_lies) March 19, 2025

This is one of the most pathetic, most lame things ever said by a prominent politician. This is going to haunt you for the rest of your career.

— MAZE (@mazemoore) March 19, 2025

You, and everyone like you, is why I left the Democratic Party.

This is not how you win anyone back.

Do better.

— Matt Van Swol (@matt_vanswol) March 19, 2025

Walz said the quiet part out loud: Democrats are openly rooting for the failure of an American company, while other leftists have resorted to anarcho-terrorism.

AG Bondi Declares “Swarm Of Violent Attacks” On Tesla As Domestic Terrorism https://t.co/Ilt63dUnlO

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) March 19, 2025

Ha! 

TSLA +5% cc: @Tim_Walz

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) March 19, 2025

Inverse Cramer? 

This is not “America First” but rather a continuation of the Democrats’ modus operandi: “America Last.” One can’t help but wonder if this anti-American rhetoric is being partly influenced by a foreign adversary, such as China. Remember, China has Tesla competitor BYD. And also remember: “Elite Capture?” Pentagon Stonewalls On Walz’s Frequent Trips To China, Raising National Security Concerns … 

While the FBI investigates far-left terrorist attacks against Tesla service centers, showrooms, Supercharging networks, and vehicles, the radical Soros-funded non-profit Indivisible is preparing to launch a multi-city offensive against the American company in the coming days.

Anti-DEI crusader Robby Starbuck explained more about the rogue non-profit with dirty Soros monies: 

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.

George Soros foundation has given Indivisible nearly $8 million dollars for their “activism”.

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. These images are just six examples.

How can this not be seen as encouraging more violence and terrorism? I personally think that any violence occurring near locations they’ve chosen should result in Soros, his foundation, Indivisible and their founders being held criminally accountable as co-conspirators.

The indivisible founders are Ezra Levin and his wife Leah Greenberg. They became “resistance” figures during Trump’s first term and their work is celebrated by elected Democrats. So yeah, it’s clear to me that the Democrats and their typical thugs are organizing this insanity.

There’s reportedly even a form protest leaders can fill out to receive “reimbursement” payments for their protests.

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.

George Soros foundation has given Indivisible nearly $8 million dollars for their “activism”.

They’re calling these “Tesla takedown”… pic.twitter.com/ayGTE6Y6yW

— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) March 20, 2025

Leftist activist group Indivisible Tennessee is promoting a “Tennessee Tesla Takedown” this weekend.

Look out for more terrorism. @fbi pic.twitter.com/tFaUkiMXCp

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 19, 2025

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO:

Tonight, Radical Democrat Congresswoman @JasmineForUS Jasmine Crockett spoke on a CALL TO ACTION call organized by the @Tesla Takedown organizers who have been vandalizing and attacking @elonmusk’s Tesla Showrooms and charging stations across the country and all… pic.twitter.com/eqbPsseIhJ

— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) March 20, 2025

There has been a series of domestic terrorism incidents nationwide by far-left Democrats targeting Tesla showrooms, service centers, Superchargers, and vehicles. The latest occurred on Tuesday in Las Vegas. 

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

On Wednesday night, FBI deputy director Dan Bongino said the agency is investigating attacks targeting Tesla. 

One day earlier, Attorney General Pam Bondi threatened “severe consequences on those involved in these attacks, including those operating behind the scenes to coordinate and fund these crimes.” 

Elon Musk previously wrote on X that an investigation found five ActBlue-funded groups have fueled Tesla protests in recent weeks, including Troublemakers, Disruption Project, Rise & Resist, Indivisible Project, and Democratic Socialists of America (AoC’s party). 

An investigation has found 5 ActBlue-funded groups responsible for Tesla “protests”: Troublemakers, Disruption Project, Rise & Resist, Indivisible Project and Democratic Socialists of America.

ActBlue funders include George Soros, Reid Hoffman, Herbert Sandler, Patricia Bauman,…

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 8, 2025

Crazed Ezra Levin is the mastermind behind the Indivisible…

At least one far-left group published the addresses of Tesla locations and owners on a map, previously hosted on a now-defunct website, that served as a targeting tool for anarcho-terrorists.

Are Tesla Terrorists Using Far-Left NGO To Conceal Identity? https://t.co/TSENE1kDqY

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) March 19, 2025

Meanwhile, the failed 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee wished death on the American company. 

“$225 & Dropping!”: Unhinged Gov. Tim Walz Openly Roots Against American Company https://t.co/Fe7cOeAztJ

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) March 19, 2025

Unhinged Democrats attacking an American company – whether by firebombing vehicles or publishing target lists online for anarcho-terrorists – creates disastrous optics for a party already in disarray and resorting to communist revolutionary tactics. Meanwhile, the latest NBC News and CNN polls show the party has hit its lowest approval ratings on record: 27% and 29%, respectively.

By Michael Every of Rabobank

With the much-vaunted ‘Fed Put’ under discussion —is it still there, and if not, how can markets do their job without knowing they will get bailed out for egregious errors of judgement?– the Fed’s March meeting was closely watched: see Phil Marey’s take, ‘Inertia’. As expected, the Fed did nothing: except lower growth and raise inflation expectations; move closer to suggesting no cuts this year; and still see everything reverting to mean in 2027 (“because neoclassical economics”, which has no home in the White House). In short, they are in wait-and-see mode.

A Trump-Putin meeting seems close – but is a workable peace deal? After a “very good” call with President Zelensky, the US says if it takes ownership of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants it would provide the “best protection for that infrastructure.” Again with the US assets, not boots, on the ground.

Some voices point out an obvious argument: Russia can’t stop its war economy because it has its own momentum, powerful vested interests, and there’s no plan B. Whether that alone motivates President Putin or, as others allege, he genuinely enjoys a return to 18th, 19th, and first-half-of-the-20th century-style statecraft remains to be seen. Regardless, it’s bad news for Europe.

For the EU, the worst possible scenario is the US waking away with Russia walking forwards. In that case, what’s already been agreed on new defense spending is nowhere near enough – as we warned. Militarily, the “four-year” scheme promised would have to be more like 14, say experts.

Europe’s new €150bn centralised military fund also won’t buy US, British, or Turkish arms. Yes, it’s an EU fund and national governments can still spend as they please. Yet this sits awkwardly alongside “Can we get a defence guarantee for our troops in Ukraine, President Trump?”; “Can we have your nuclear umbrella, PM Starmer?”; and “Protect us and Ukraine, President Erdogan.” (As Turkey’s markets collapse following the leading opposition presidential candidate, and current Istanbul mayor, being detained.) Canada –whose military makes Europe’s look good– will cooperate with the EU on a defence build-up, not just the US, but not from that €150bn pot, nor doing anything to help US-Canada relations.

Summarising, a Financial Times op-ed, ‘Europe is only half awake from its long sleep’, points out current europhoria could age like milk given its arms build-up is likely to split it: Spain and Portugal are out, as those closer to Moscow are in. That pressure can build to a fissure if not watched. (Elsewhere in the FT, Martin Wolf has yet to follow up on his promise to dissect the ‘Mar-a-Lago Accord’: presumably he’s still trying to poke holes in it before publishing.)

Europe also doesn’t have the bandwidth to cope well with more than one geopolitical issue at once as many conflate besides Russia-Ukraine. However:

On the EU’s doorstep in the Balkans, Bosnia could be on the brink of conflict. The former US NSA Balkans director states, “Any world-weary Austro-Hungarian functionary from over a century ago could be briefed up on Bosnia’s current problems in under five minutes. Only some names have changed. Without seeming alarmist, I recommend that no archdukes, or their current European Union equivalents, journey to Sarajevo this season.”

Trump’s letter to Iran reportedly has a 2-month deadline to strike a nuclear deal – or else, and local reports suggest Tehran may prefer US strikes to submitting. Markets may opt to shrug until bombs drop, but the fat tail risk just got fatter and more fixed in terms of timing.

Watching closely, Israel’s PM attacked “the leftist Deep State” in his country and the US as he prepares to fire the head of the Shin Bet internal security service today, against the instruction of his attorney general, who might also be fired, setting up a constitutional crisis. The local take is that traditionally risk-averse Netanyahu is now ‘all in’. (To be clear, the PM can fire the SB head; just not when the latter is investigating allegations the PM, already on trial over corruption charges, had a top aide who received cash from Qatar, which the opposition is calling “treason”.)

Congo is offering the US a trade deal – kick out rebels in the country and get critical minerals. This is the new (old!) realpolitik of key supply chains Europe doesn’t get when it talks about making “upstream investment in third countries’ critical minerals.” You have to fight for them at times – and, for now, the EU still can’t.

Copper prices are leaping as huge quantities of the metal flow to the US ahead of the start of feared 25% tariffs. In some cases, this is leaving other markets physically short. Possession is nine tenths of the law, as they say. And rearmament does require copper.

So does more spending, as Chinese banks are told to offer ultra-cheap consumer loans. If that strategy works, it means even higher consumer debt and higher global inflation and global rebalancing of sorts.

Elsewhere, China or Hong Kong could potentially block the recently-agreed sale of CK Hutchinson’s stake in Panama’s two ports and 43 other facilities in 23 countries to BlackRock – if so, that would set up a US-China geopolitical clash over this key issue at a time when the US military is reportedly already drafting plans for an invasion. That’s as US steps to try to reclaim the seas for itself commercially see the ‘Maritime Industry Warn USTR’s China Port Fees Could Sink US Economy’ – and that process kicks off Monday.

Talking of sudden inflation (and hedges), Trump is to speak on crypto today, to a traditionally libertarian crowd. That’s as Le Monde reports a French scientist, who came to the US for a scientific conference, was expelled after a random search turned up electronic messages highly critical of Trump, which were deemed as a “potential terrorism” threat.

Meanwhile, as Trump will reportedly also close the US Department of Education, Harvard has been forced to offer a remedial algebra course to its maths undergrads for the first time.

There is so much going on, so much of it is so radically different from what most are used to, and collectively it can be so transformative, that it can be easy to stick to old narratives, cherry pick data and headlines, and presume things will turn out the way that suits our book. Or to assume through all this there will still be the Fed Put. I’m not saying there won’t: but relying solely on it rather than looking more broadly risks you being the Fed Putz.

Following January’s big tumble in existing home sales (blamed in large part on winter storms… which apparently surprised analysts as happening in the winter and impacting sales), expectations – despite suddenly declining mortgage rates – were for February to see further weakness in sales (-3.2% MoM).

As we suspected (in our sarcastic intro), sales surprised bigly to the upside in February, rising 4.2% MoM (from a revised 4.7% MoM decline in January). That is the biggest MoM jump since Feb 2024…

Source: Bloomberg

However, despite the rebound, sales remain down 1.2% YoY.

Source: Bloomberg

Sales climbed the most in the West and South, which were afflicted at the start of the year by destructive wildfires in Los Angeles and severe winter storms, respectively. 

To the extent January sales were affected by weather, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said last month that those transactions would be carried into February.

“Home buyers are slowly entering the market,” Yun said in a statement. 

“Mortgage rates have not changed much, but more inventory and choices are releasing pent-up housing demand.”

Source: Bloomberg

The supply of previously owned homes jumped 17% from a year ago to 1.24 million, the most for any February since 2020.

Even so, the median sales price increased 3.8% from a year ago to $398,400 – a record for the month – extending a run of year-over-year price gains dating back to mid-2023.

Which got us thinking…

While home prices (in nominal dollars) are testing new record highs, the number of ounces of gold required to buy a home is at its lowest level in 12 years.