Delta Air Lines lowered its sales and earnings expectations for the first quarter, citing a “recent decline in consumer and corporate confidence due to increased macro uncertainty, leading to softness in domestic demand.”

The Atlanta-based airline issued a profit warning in an 8-K filing shortly after Monday’s market close. This comes ahead of its Tuesday morning presentation at the J.P. Morgan Industrials Conference and massively differs from its outlook at the beginning of the year… 

Delta slashed its first-quarter revenue growth forecast to 3%–4%, well below the initial guidance of 7%–9%. Additionally, it lowered its adjusted earnings forecast to 30–50 cents per share, down from the previous range of 70 cents to $1 per share.

“The outlook has been impacted by the recent reduction in consumer and corporate confidence caused by increased macro uncertainty, driving softness in Domestic demand,” Delta wrote in the filing, adding, “Premium, international, and loyalty revenue growth trends are consistent with expectations and reflect the resilience of Delta’s diversified revenue base.” 

A slide in Delta’s presentation for the JPM conference tomorrow noted that, despite consumer and corporate confidence shifts, the airline is expected to have a “solidly profitable March quarter, reflecting Delta’s durability.”

After hours, Delta CEO Ed Bastian joined CNBC’s “Closing Bell,” informing viewers that a recession is not in the cards but noting that consumer confidence has softened. 

Delta’s downward revised forecast sent shares plunging as much as 13% in after-hours trading, adding to a year-to-date loss of 17%.

The airline industry closely tracks GDP, with a near 1:1 correlation. Take a look at Delta’s shares compared to the U.S. Economic Surprise Index…

Earlier, we shared a note with readers stating that President Trump was eager to push the U.S. economy into a recession—one he can rightly blame on the Biden-Harris regime’s failed ‘Bidenomics.’ Remember what Trump said in an interview on Sunday: “There could be a little disruption.“

Delta’s first-quarter weakness suggests continued softening of the U.S. economy and should make traders and investors consider what type of economic landing lies ahead.

Authored by Jackson Richman via The Epoch Times,

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced on March 10 that she had revoked dozens of security clearances in accordance with President Donald Trump’s order.

Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and attorneys Mark Zaid, Andrew Weissman, and Norm Eisen were among those who lost clearances.

Gabbard also revoked the clearances of the 51 former U.S. intelligence officials who signed a letter alleging that the Hunter Biden laptop story had the “earmarks” of Russian disinformation. Former FBI employees testified to Congress in 2023 that the laptop was not disinformation.

In February, Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social that former President Joe Biden’s intelligence information would be “cut off immediately” and that his daily Intelligence briefings would stop.

The laptop was an issue in the 2020 presidential election, as critics said it contained information that could be negative about the former president’s son. He was later convicted of criminal tax and gun charges but was pardoned by his father shortly before the latter left the White House.

The October 2020 letter stated that “the arrival on the U.S. political scene of emails purportedly belonging to Vice President Biden’s son Hunter, much of it related to his time serving on the Board of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma, has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.”

“We want to emphasize that we do not know if the emails provided to the New York Post by President Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, are genuine or not and that we do not have evidence of Russian involvement–just that our experience makes us deeply suspicious that the Russian government played a significant role in this case.”

Trump took action on Jan. 20, the first day of his second term, to revoke the security clearances of 50 former government officials, including his former national security adviser, John Bolton.

“Federal policymakers must be able to rely on analysis conducted by the Intelligence Community and be confident that it is accurate, crafted with professionalism, and free from politically motivated engineering to affect political outcomes in the United States,” stated the presidential action.

“The signatories [of the letter] willfully weaponized the gravitas of the Intelligence Community to manipulate the political process and undermine our democratic institutions.”

*   *   * 

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InfoWars reporter Jamie White has died in what host Alex Jones says was a ‘brutal murder‘ which occurred around midnight outside of his Austin apartment.

At 11:57 p.m., Austin PD responded to a call in the 2300 block of Douglas Street – finding a white male victim with “obvious signs of trauma,” according to APD Public Information Officer Leah Ratliff. White was transported to a local hospital where he died shortly after arrival.

According to Ratliff, “This is pretty early on in the investigation, and the homicide unit will be releasing more information as they’re able.”

According to Jones, staff at InfoWars grew concerned after White did not show up to work on Monday.

“We sent some people over this morning when he didn’t answer the phone because he’s always here early, loves to work, loves to fight tyranny, loves to promote freedom,” adding “He passed away at the hospital very soon after they got him there.”

“Jamie was our best writer,” Jones said.

JUST IN: Alex Jones reveals his top reporter Jamie White was m*rdered outside of his home in Austin, Texas last night.

Jones says his staff became worried when White didn’t show up to the office this morning.

“There are a lot of really cool people that have worked at Infowars… pic.twitter.com/dPSmHvpBrK

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) March 10, 2025

Jamie White
1988 – 2025
American Patriot

Remembering Murdered Infowars Journalist, Jamie White.

Rest In Peace pic.twitter.com/jDbZroAptI

— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) March 11, 2025

Our deepest condolences to the InfoWars family.

Authored by Steven Kovac via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

This week, a federal investigation determined that the Maine Department of Education (MDOE) violated the rights of female athletes under its charge.

Official notice of the MDOE’s failure to comply with Title IX was sent to state officials in a Feb. 25 letter from Anthony Archeval, acting director of the Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights. Archeval estimated that about $700,000 received by the MDOE in 2024 from federal sources could be in jeopardy because of its noncompliance.

The notice was addressed to Maine Gov. Janet Mills and state Attorney General Aaron Frey.

Neither Mills nor Frey responded to a request for comment.

The determination of violation was made four days after a widely publicized exchange about men in women’s sports between Mills and President Donald Trump at a Feb. 21 White House meeting with the nation’s governors.

After Trump called Mills out for her defiance and threatened to cut off federal funds, the Maine governor affirmed her opposition to Title IX policy and said she would see him in court.

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any educational program or activity that receives federal financial assistance, in part, stating: “No person shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, be treated differently from another person or otherwise be discriminated against in any interscholastic, intercollegiate, club or intramural athletics offered by a recipient (of federal funds).”

In 2024, the Biden administration implemented a rule that, for the purposes of Title IX, the definition of discrimination on the basis of sex includes sexual orientation, gender identity, sex stereotypes, and sex characteristics.

In his letter, Archeval cited a recent decision by the United States District Court Eastern District of Kentucky (Tennessee v. Cardona), which said in part, “When Title IX is viewed in its entirety, it is abundantly clear that discrimination on the basis of sex means discrimination on the basis of being a male or female.”

On Jan. 9, the federal court vacated the Biden-era rule.

Evidence of Noncompliance

Archeval wrote that the Office for Civil Rights investigation found that on Feb. 17, 2025, Greely High School violated Title IX “through the participation of a male athlete in a women’s high school track meet.”

The letter also cited that Maine Coast Waldorf, a public high school, violated Title IX by allowing a male athlete to participate in a women’s high school ski event on Feb. 18 and 19.

States’ Rights Versus Federal Supremacy

Institutional policies and certain state laws in Maine that conflict with Trump’s executive order and the Title IX rules put forth by the Trump administration were highlighted in Archeval’s letter.

Archeval noted that the Maine Principals’ Association (MPA) is the governing body for youth sports in the state and that all public high schools, as well as a number of private schools, are MPA members.

In 2024, the MPA approved a policy allowing athletes who identify as transgender to compete on teams either according to their birth-assigned gender or their gender identity.

Archeval also cited the Maine Human Rights Act, which states, “The opportunity for an individual at an educational institution to participate in all educational, counseling and vocational guidance programs, all apprenticeship and on-the-job training programs and all extracurricular activities without discrimination because of sex, sexual orientation or gender identity, a physical or mental disability, ancestry, national origin, race, color or religion is recognized and declared to be a civil right.”

Mike Burnham, executive director of the MPA, has stated that the MPA is committed to following state law on gender identity.

The Office for Civil Rights letter cited comments made by Burnham, who said Trump’s executive order is “in conflict” with the Maine Human Rights Act. Trump signed the Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government order on Jan. 20, which states that there are only two sexes and women-only spaces are to be protected for women only.

Jeff Porter, superintendent of Maine School Administrative District 51, the home of Greely High School, published a letter stating that the MDOE told the state’s school districts that Trump’s order applies only to federal agencies and does not mitigate the authority of Maine law or locally adopted school board policies.

Porter said the MDOE memo stressed that schools are expected to abide by the Maine Human Rights Act, and in the case of athletics, the MPA has adopted the position to follow state law.

The issue of federal funding of school districts rests with the state and not local districts, Porter said.

“After a federal court vacated the 2024 rules last month, the new federal guidance reinforces compliance with the 2020 rules, which we are re-adopting,” he said.

Archeval told Mills and Frey that if compliance from the MDOE is not forthcoming, he may send a referral to the Department of Justice, in addition to the potential loss of federal funding.

The Trump White House wants Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to begin planning elections or else consider stepping down as a condition for the resumption of US military aid and intelligence sharing, a fresh NBC report reveals. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also said Monday that Ukraine must cede territory.

Ukraine “would have to make concessions over land that Russia had taken since 2014 as part of any agreement to end the war,” The NY Times reports. “The most important thing that we have to leave here with is a strong sense that Ukraine is prepared to do difficult things, like the Russians are going to have to do difficult things, to end this conflict or at least pause it in some way, shape or form,” Rubio told reporters as he flew from the US to Jeddah – as quoted in multiple outlets.

American and Ukrainian officials are meeting in Saudi Arabia. The question of elections in Ukraine, which have been canceled indefinitely under martial law, has moved to the forefront also as pressure is still on for Kiev to sign the minerals deal.

“As President Trump demonstrated by reading President Zelenskyy’s message at the joint session, the Ukrainians have made positive movement. With meetings in Saudi this coming week, we look forward to hearing more positive movement that will hopefully ultimately end this brutal war and bloodshed,” White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said this weekend when asked about Trump’s requirements.

Rubio in Riyadh has further explained, “The important point in this meeting is to establish clearly their intentions, their desire, as they’ve said publicly now numerous times, to reach a point where peace is possible,” Rubio said of Tuesday’s delegation meeting with the Ukrainians. “And then we’ll have to determine how far they are from the Russian position, which we don’t know yet either. And then once you understand where both sides truly are, it gives you a sense of how big the divide is and how hard it’s going to be.”

There’s widespread acknowledgement in Washington that Ukrainian forces will never be able to pry the four annexed territories in the east back from Russia.

The question of Crimea will be something Moscow will also never budge on – and Kiev is likely more willing at this point to give up any future claims on it, which has been the historic home of Russian naval power on the Black Sea.

As for elections, Zelensky’s term in office expired in May 2024, and Ukrainian parliament has recently reaffirmed the Constitutionality of Zelensky’s mandate as leader of the country during wartime. However, Trump last month called him a ‘dictator’ who canceled elections, and even long before that called him the “world’s greatest salesman” as he received hundreds of billions from the US and Western allies.

Below are the key lines from the Sunday NBC report:

Trump wants the deal, which would give the United States a stake in Ukraine’s mineral resources, signed. But he also wants to see a change in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s attitude toward peace talks, the officials said, including a willingness to make concessions such as giving up territory to Russia. Trump also wants Zelenskyy to make some movement toward elections in Ukraine and possibly toward stepping down as his country’s leader, the officials said.

As for some reports which suggest the next round of US-Russia talks are about to get underway, the Kremlin is denying that anything has been set:

Russian and U.S. officials do not plan to meet in Saudi Arabia this week for a new round of diplomatic talks, the Kremlin said Monday.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied a CNN report claiming that Trump administration officials planned to meet separately with Russian and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia this week. The report, citing an unnamed source, did not specify who would have attended the discussions.

Increased speculation came after President Trump said Sunday that “big meetings” in Saudi Arabia would include Russia – after one “successful” meeting led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio already took place.

On the battlefield, Russia and Ukraine continue trading drone attacks on key energy infrastructure. But in the ‘war of attrition’ the Ukrainian side is losing, by almost all accounts.

Authored by Victor Davis Hanson,

Former Clinton strategist James Carville has reinvented himself at age 80 as a sage Democrat podcaster. His predictions—remember, a victorious Kamala Harris?—are usually wrong. He enjoys engaging in public duels with celebrities to gain online clicks and media appearances.

Yet sometimes he appears judicious in his effort to return his party to the Clinton glory days of 1992-2000, before the takeover of the party by the lunatic left. That said, he too has become part of the new left nihilism he supposedly despises.

Most recently, Dr. Carville diagnosed Donald Trump as suffering from tertiary syphilis. Carville’s “proof” was his identification of a bruise on Trump’s much-used shaking hand, along with his supposed brain dementia. As confirmation, Carville described Trump as a “fat f—ing slob” with a “beached whale body.” 

So, a once top Democratic strategist has gone from his 1992 iconic campaign reminder, “It’s the economy, stupid,” to smearing Trump as a fat slob with syphilis. 

Carville’s descent sums up his entire party.

Meanwhile, the congressional Democratic opposition finds itself loudly and proudly standing with only 20-30 percent of the American people on matters from biological males competing in female sports to an open border. For years, Democrats claimed the lack of “comprehensive immigration reform” prevented them from securing the border and stopping a 10-12 million influx of illegal aliens. And then they went quiet when Trump, without any new legislation, simply enforced existing immigration statutes and nearly eliminated all illegal entries.

Defeated candidate Kamala Harris is still trying to reassure donors that she did not know how she blew millions of dollars in last-minute 2024 campaign gifts by paying off the likes of Oprah, Al Sharpton, and Cardi B for interviews and endorsements while flying young staffers around the country on rented private jets.

The Democratic Congress under Chuck Schumer and Hakim Jeffries demonstrates their opposition to Trump by cutting videos in which party luminaries promise to stop the “sh-t.” Fellow Democratic congresswomen rivaled them with a worse ad in which they dressed in macho kickboxing attire and clumsily gyrated as if they were punching out their conservative opponents.

At Trump’s first congressional address, most Democrats did not stand when a young survivor of a brain tumor was honored by receiving an honorary Secret Service membership. Instead, many of them displayed hand-held, bingo-like-placards attacking Elon Musk as a thief. Democratic Women’s Caucus members wore pink uniforms, while septuagenarian Rep. Al Green shook his cane, screaming like a lunatic at Trump at the dais. He had to be forcibly escorted out of the joint session of Congress, which otherwise was already frequently interrupted by Democratic heckling and jeering.

What is going on?

Like a drug user who knows his addiction is killing him but cannot quit, the Democratic Party privately understands that the majority of the American people do not buy into their transgender, open border/illegal alien, reckless spending, fanatical green advocacies, and diversity/equity/inclusion racial essentialism.

Yet, they continue their destructive fixations in fear of their own hardcore base. And who are these radicals that run the party?

Some are the students who hit the streets and disrupt campuses to protest for the terrorists of Hamas, or the edgier and even crazier who approve of violent acts, such as youth between 18-29 who poll in favor of Luigi Mangione’s recent assassination of a United Health executive.

And then there are the various racial caucuses who no longer make much attempt to hide their overt racial obsessions and separatism. There is also a growing overt anti-Semitism among many of the DEI crowd who seem to think their own minority status shields them from repercussions. The various public sector and teacher unions are babied. Both can rally money and protests, but otherwise cannot improve dismal schools or incompetent bureaucracies.

So, the current Democratic Party is completely unaware of the irony that to stop Trump, they must become far more unpopular than Trump. We are witnessing the most radical counter-revolution in the last 100 years, as the Trump administration attempts to slash government spending and the federal bureaucracies. It insists on reciprocal tariffs with friendly, neutral, and hostile nations alike. It will vastly expand energy production, end once and for all illegal immigration, fire the DEI industry and its overt racism, reboot public health policies, redirect the Pentagon, and, in general, reexamine almost every entrenched left-wing government institution and policy of the last 50 years.

Normally no party would even attempt such needed but radical changes in a country that in the last three elections split nearly 50/50. To conduct such a rare counterrevolution, a president by nature would have to become controversial and make enemies as he battled opposition in Congress, the courts, the media, and the street. And Trump does all that. Yet in less than 60 days, he has done more to reverse the radical left-wing agenda than even Ronald Reagan did in eight years. And so far, he is continuing on course.

How and why? Part of his audacity is found in the unique personage of Trump, who enjoys controversy. He is a private sector builder who hates delay and obfuscation. He sees his political modus operandi as no different than building a Manhattan high-rise, whose success is predicated on cutting deals, bulldozing obdurate opponents, and delivering a superior product that eventually the public appreciates despite the controversies surrounding its construction and implementation.

But part of Trump’s success is also the gift of the new Democrat Party. It is so foul-mouthed, so embarrassingly infantile and exhibitionist, and so out of touch with the wishes of the American people that at least for now it makes Trump’s counter-revolution seem normal and long overdue—especially after the four-year catastrophe of the nihilist Biden administration.

Rather than agree on anything with Trump, the Democrats will automatically oppose everything he does, even if that means pushing issues that 70 percent of the people don’t want, or play-acting like 1960s spoiled college protestors, or shielding violent illegal aliens, or mouthing now-tired Trump-is-Hitler-Mussolini-Stalin boilerplate.

In a sane world, the Democrat opposition would do two things.

One, for each of Trump’s initiatives that it opposes, it would publish a comprehensive counter agenda, hoping to side with the majority of the people. And when it rarely more or less agreed with Trump, or felt he was on the right side of public opinion, sane Democrats would then offer bipartisan support in hopes of helping the nation, as well as stealing Trump’s thunder by taking credit for popular reforms.

Instead, it is doing neither. Like a spoiled teenager who sticks out his tongue when his allowance is cut, the Democratic Party and its appendages in the media are now screaming profanities, now crying and whining in despair, and now coming up with all sorts of bizarre conspiracies that Musk is a felonious thief, that Trump is a syphilitic, and that the only way to get their way is to destroy all prior protocols of congressional civility.

Again, the irony is that by doing all that and more, they are gifting to Trump a despised alternative to almost everything he is doing. The more their polls fall, the more Democrats believe that they did not act quite juvenilely, obnoxiously, and foully enough.

In sum, if Trump succeeds with his historic counter-revolution, his new anti-New Deal, it will be due in no small part to those who hate him and thereby reveal themselves to be innately hateful.

And Democrats almost daily apparently want the American people to witness their venom—and thereby to be revolted by them.

It seems some far-left NGOs still have funds to deploy despite Secretary of State Marco Rubio neutering USAID. 

A video shared by X user DOGE Designer shows what appears to be an anti-Musk protester admitting in front of a Tesla showroom during a protest: “I get paid to be out here.” 

BREAKING: DOGE protester outside the Tesla store admits he was paid to protest.

“I get paid to be out here.” pic.twitter.com/FbRiygAQHt

— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) March 10, 2025

In recent weeks, attacks on Tesla dealerships and Superchargers have been reported nationwide. The culprits behind the chaos are unhinged liberals angry about Elon Musk’s DOGE slashing government waste and corruption (now with a “scalpel“). 

• “Vandalism Is Not Free Speech!” Elon Musk Speaks Out After Rise In Tesla Protests, Defacements

• Vandalism And Attacks On Tesla Accelerate As Musk Says ActBlue, Soros To Blame

This is crazy https://t.co/lCzN69NyAY

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 10, 2025

Musk revealed on Saturday that Democrats have unleashed protests against his company through a network of shady NGOs: 

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, and Leah Hunt-Hendrix. ActBlue is currently under investigation for allowing foreign and illegal donations in criminal violation of campaign finance regulations. This week, 7 ActBlue senior officials resigned, including the associate general counsel.

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

This time around, protests have yet to gain traction since USAID—the slush fund for NGOs—came under intense scrutiny during President Trump’s first few weeks in office.

Now…

Rubio Slashes 83% Of USAID Programs, Hails DOGE For Supporting “Historic Reform” https://t.co/JAHgMAOTDH

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) March 10, 2025

So, how will Democrats fund a professional protester army now, as they have in the past—such as with BLM and other groups meant to push color revolutions? Come on, Alex Soros, think. What would master-grifter dad do??

Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times,

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy apologized to President Donald Trump for a heated Oval Office meeting this past week in a letter that Trump cited during his March 4 speech before Congress, White House special envoy Steve Witkoff said.

“Zelensky sent a letter to the president. He apologized for that whole incident that happened in the Oval Office,” Witkoff said on March 10 in an interview on Fox News. 

“I think that it was an important step and there’s been a lot of discussion between our teams and the Ukrainians and the Europeans who are relevant to this discussion as well.”

The letter, mentioned by Trump during his congressional address, also signaled Ukraine’s willingness to negotiate an end to the war with Russia. 

Trump quoted Zelenskyy as saying Ukraine was “ready to come to the negotiating table” and eager to “work under President Trump’s strong leadership” to reach a lasting peace.

Trump also said Zelenskyy wrote in the letter that Ukraine is ready to sign a minerals deal with the United States.

Zelenskyy’s outreach follows his contentious Feb. 28 meeting with Trump and Vice President JD Vance, which the Ukrainian president later called “regrettable.” The meeting, initially meant to finalize an economic agreement granting the United States access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, devolved into a heated exchange over the path to ending the war.

During the meeting, Trump pressed for an immediate cease-fire and direct negotiations with Russia, while Zelenskyy pushed back, questioning the viability of any agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Zelenskyy argued that Putin could not be trusted to uphold a peace deal and insisted that any future agreement with Moscow include explicit security guarantees from the United States. Trump, however, rejected the idea, maintaining that U.S. economic involvement in Ukraine’s mineral sector would provide a strong enough deterrent against future Russian aggression.

After the meeting, Trump accused Zelenskyy of using U.S. military aid to prolong the fight against Russia rather than engaging in negotiations with Moscow. Shortly afterward, Trump halted U.S. military assistance to Ukraine, intensifying pressure on Kyiv to agree to a cease-fire while also pushing European allies to step up their support.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Ukrainian officials are set to meet in Saudi Arabia this week to discuss potential peace talks with Russia. Zelenskyy, who arrived in Jeddah on Monday, is expected to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ahead of the summit.

While the United States has restricted intelligence-sharing with Ukraine for offensive operations, Witkoff noted that defensive intelligence remains available. Officials are expected to discuss the future of U.S. military aid and intelligence-sharing during the talks in Saudi Arabia.

“We never shut off intelligence for … anything defensive that the Ukrainians need,” Witkoff told Fox News.

Trump, who said he has received “strong signals” from Russia about peace negotiations, framed the moment as an opportunity to end the war. “Wouldn’t that be beautiful?” he said to applause during his address to Congress.

In a bid to encourage Russia to get serious about peace talks, Trump threatened sanctions and tariffs on Moscow.

“Based on the fact that Russia is absolutely ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield right now, I am strongly considering large-scale Banking Sanctions, Sanctions, and Tariffs on Russia until a Cease Fire and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED. To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late. Thank you!!!” he wrote in a March 7 post on Truth Social.

Trump did not say how much in tariffs or what other types of sanctions he would impose on Russia.

In his latest public statement on March 10, Zelenskyy reiterated his readiness to engage in peace talks, saying on X that Ukraine “has been seeking peace since the very first second of the war,” while blaming Russia for ongoing hostilities.

Back in February, economists and strategists were stunned by the February UMichigan consumer sentiment survey which indicated an absolutely ridiculous surge in 1Yr inflation expectations (from 3.3% to 4.3%), but not because everyone expects more inflation but because Democrats now expect something approaching hyperinflation at 5.1%, even as Republicans expect 0.0% inflation in 1 year (and how the average of these two adds up to 4.3%, maybe socialist UMich “professor” Justin Wolfers can tell us). Yet despite the clearly political, and thus unreliable, nature of the print the market moved dramatically, and hundreds of billions of market cap was wiped out as stocks sold off on fear of more Fed tightening in coming months.

Just because the number was so galactically stupid, we said that when the NY Fed’s inflation expectations printed last month that they would show an unchanged print and “dunk on the UMich idiocy.”

Watch as NY Fed 1Yr inflation expectations are flat and dunk on the Umich idiocy.

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) February 10, 2025

That’s precisely what the Fed revealed when it confirmed that far from soaring, 1-Year inflation expectations were not only unchanged at 3.00% – as we said they would be – but they came in below the median analyst estimate of 3.1%.

So fast forward one month to today, when this time we didn’t even bother to dunk on the ridiculously useless and politicized UMich “data”, and instead we knew that the latest NY Fed numbers would show continued normalization, and that’s precisely what happened, when according to the New York Fed’s survey of consumer expectations, inflation expectations at the one-year horizon were just barely higher at 3.1% in Feb. from the previous month’s 3.00%. At the same time, both 3Y and 5Y inflation expectations were unchanged! So much for some imaginary surge in inflation.

As a result, the gap in 1 Year inflation expectations between the NY Fed survey and the UMich survey – which will deliver its latest pile of steaming horse shit “data” later this week – has exploded so wide…

… even WSJ Fed mouthpiece Nikileaks Timiraos was compelled to comment on it for the second month in a row (and mock it).

That big jump in inflation expectations in the U-Mich survey? It isn’t registering in the NY Fed’s consumer survey for February.

Median 1-year-ahead inflation expectations increased by 0.1 pp to 3.1% and were unchanged at the three-year and five-year horizons (both at 3.0%) pic.twitter.com/uUc7YE5gBz

— Nick Timiraos (@NickTimiraos) March 10, 2025

And for those who claim that this is all due to confusion by the respondents, the NY Fed dunked on that as well, reporting that the the measure of disagreement across respondents (the difference between the 75th and 25th percentile of inflation expectations) decreased at the one-year horizon and was unchanged at the three- and five-year horizons.

 The report also showed that Americans now see faster price growth for gas, food, medical care and rent. Taking a closer look at the composition, year-ahead commodity price expectations increased for all commodities. Median expected price growth increased by 1.1 percentage points for gas to 3.7% (its highest level since June 2024), 0.5 percentage point for food to 5.1% (its highest level since May 2024), 0.4 percentage point for the cost of medical care to 7.2%, 1.0% percentage point for the cost of a college degree to 6.9%, and 0.7 percentage point for rent to 6.7%.

Rising inflation expectations are not just bad news: in deed, the median home price growth expectations increased by 0.1% point to 3.3%, suggesting household believe they will have more home equity in the future. That said, this series has been moving in a narrow range between 3.0% and 3.3% since August 2023.

While expectations of inflation rose ever so slightly, consumers seem to be more pessimistic about their finances, and according to the latest survey, consumers’ year-ahead expectations about their households’ financial situations deteriorated considerably as the share of households expecting a (somewhat or much) worse financial situation one year from now rose to 27.4%, its highest level since November 2023.

At the same time mean unemployment expectations, or the mean probability that the U.S. unemployment rate will be higher one year from now, jumped up by 5.4% to 39.4% in February, its highest reading since September 2023.

Workers were also more downbeat about their job prospects. The average probability of quitting a job in the next year — typically a sign of how confident consumers are in the labor market — fell to 17.6%, the lowest level since July 2023. The odds of finding a job in three months after becoming unemployed also declined, remaining below its 12-month average.

Aside from the job market, the report showed consumers dimmed their outlook for the stock market. The expected probability that stock prices will be higher in a year fell again to just 37%, the lowest since December 2023.  

Finally, a larger percentage of consumers, 14.56% vs 13.32% in prior month, expect to not be able to make minimum debt payments over the next three months

There was some good news: the survey found that the mean perceived probability of losing one’s job in the next 12 months dropped by 0.1% to 14.1%, after increasing by 2.3% in January, to 14.2%, which at the time was the highest since July

Here are some more observations from the latest survey, first looking at the Labor Market:

• Median one-year-ahead earnings growth expectations were unchanged at 3.0% in February. The series has been moving within a narrow range between 2.7% and 3.0% since January 2024.
• Mean unemployment expectations—or the mean probability that the U.S. unemployment rate will be higher one year from now—jumped 5.4 percentage points to 39.4%, its highest reading since September 2023. The increase was broad-based across age, education, and income groups.
• The mean perceived probability of losing one’s job in the next 12 months decreased by 0.1 percentage point to 14.1%. The mean probability of leaving one’s job voluntarily (expected quit rate) in the next 12 months decreased by 2.3 percentage points to 17.6%, its lowest reading since July 2023. The decrease in the expected quit rate was broad-based across education and income groups.
• The mean perceived probability of finding a job in the next three months if one’s current job was lost decreased by 0.3 percentage point to 51.2%, remaining below its trailing 12-month average of 52.5%.

… and Household Finance

• The median expected growth in household income increased by 0.1 percentage point to 3.1% in February. The series has been moving in a narrow range between 2.9% and 3.3% since January 2023.
• Median nominal household spending growth expectations rose by 0.6 percentage point to 5.0%, moving just above its trailing 12-month average of 4.9%. The increase was broad-based across age, education, and income groups, but most pronounced for those with at most a high school education and those with an annual household income below $50,000.
• Perceptions of credit access compared to a year ago showed a larger share of households reporting it is harder to get credit, and a smaller share reporting it is easier. Expectations for future credit availability deteriorated considerably in February, with the share of respondents expecting it will be harder to obtain credit a year from now increasing to 46.7% from 35.6%. This reading is the highest since June 2024.
• The average perceived probability of missing a minimum debt payment over the next three monthsincreased by 1.3 percentage points to 14.6%, the highest level since April 2020. The increase was driven by those without a college degree and largest for those under age 40.
• The median expectation regarding a year-ahead change in taxes at current income level increased by 0.2 percentage point to 3.4%.
• Median year-ahead expected growth in government debt decreased by 1.0 percentage point to 5.0%, the lowest reading since July 2017.
• The mean perceived probability that the average interest rate on saving accounts will be higher in 12 months increased by 0.4 percentage point to 25.4%.
• Perceptions about households’ current financial situations compared to a year ago were mostly unchanged, but year-ahead expectations about households’ financial situations deteriorated considerably. The share of households expecting a worse financial situation in one year from now rose to 27.4%, the highest level since November 2023.
• The mean perceived probability that U.S. stock prices will be higher 12 months from now dropped by 3.3 percentage points to 37.0%, the lowest level since December 2023.

More in the full survey available here.

Authored by Jame Howard Kunstler,

CBS 60-Minutes’ Gaslighter-in-Chief Scott Pelley was at it again Sunday night trying to put over the story that Donald Trump had unfairly cashiered a broad swathe of federal agency Inspectors General — whose job it is to investigate crime, mischief, and administrative malfeasance. In the spotlight sat one Hampton Dellinger, Special Counsel to the independent Office of Special Counsel, who just resigned after a court battle over his firing weeks ago.

Do you have any idea what a laugh riot that is? Dellinger’s job was to protect whistleblowers and enforce the Hatch Act (against public employees engaging in partisan political activities). Would you say he did a great job protecting FBI whistleblowers who testified before Congress last year — say, FBI agents Marcus Allen, Garret O’Boyle, and Steve Friend? They were suspended without pay, not allowed to seek other employment, lost homes, were financially wrecked, and hung out to dry by then-FBI boss Christopher Wray. Was Hampton Dellinger heard to make a peep about that? (Nope.) So much for protecting whistleblowers.

You can state categorically that thousands of federal employees have been engaged in what they call “the Resistance” since the first Trump administration. They openly advertise themselves as the Resistance. The Resistance is simply and purely Democratic Party activism. How is that not a violation of the Hatch Act? Hampton Dellinger did not notice any of it. Maybe that’s why he got fired, ya think?

About those many Inspectors General fired from the various agencies. . . considering what is now known about the fantastic racketeering operations run during the Biden years — e.g., the USAID money laundry, the gazillion dollars flushed through the EPA to grifters such as Stacey Abrams under the Inflation Reduction Act’s climate change provisions, the vast royalties paid to NIH employees by Pharma companies for aiding in their product development — do you think the Inspectors General have done a bang-up job of protecting the US public against waste, fraud, and crime? (Maybe not so much, ya think.)

Of all the IGs, Michael Horowitz of the DOJ has been in place since 2012 and mysteriously remains on the job. He was on-the-scene through the entirety of RussiaGate, including the Crossfire Hurricane flimflam, the immense mischief perpetrated in the FISA Court, the whole run of the deceitful Mueller Special Counsel op, the 2020 election fraud, the FBI-sponsored J-6 riot (and the DNC / RNC pipe bomb caper), the Hunter Biden laptop shenanigans (and Biden Family bribery scheme), the feckless Durham investigation (on the origin of RussiaGate), and the matrix of lawfare cases launched by Merrick Garland against Mr. Trump in the 2024 election year. Seems like Mr. Horowitz missed a few things. How would you rate his Inspector General-ship? And why is he still in that office?

By now, you might have grokked that there is another side to the story presented by Scott Pelley, whose mission is to get the deranged half of the American public to go boo-hoo over ersatz threats to Our Democracy. 

Which might lead you to ask: how and why, exactly, is CBS so deeply invested in protecting the Administrative State (let’s call it) from allegations of corruption?

Answer: CBS is the servant of the US Intel Community and its blob tentacles. They are captured. They do as they are told for their masters.

As it happens, Mr. Trump launched a $20-billion lawsuit against CBS last October for fiddling with the interview that candidate Kamala Harris did on 60-Minutes in such a way that it presented a false record of her answers in order to boost her floundering election campaign. So, let’s suppose we have been seeing CBS play a game of hardball against Mr. Trump, consistently painting the once-again president as a villain in case presiding U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk in the Northern District of Texas happens to have nothing better to do on Sunday evenings than watch 60-Minutes, out of sheer habit, like so many Americans.

Notice that you haven’t heard a whole lot for two weeks from AG Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel. 

They have had their hands full attempting to clean up big messes in the Southern District of NY’s DOJ office and its companion, the Manhattan FBI office, where many lawyers and agents have been fired in recent days. Among other things, the FBI office in New York supposedly sat on reams of evidence in the Jeffrey Epstein case. Much flappery has been made over that. But, considering Mr. Epstein’s service to the Intel blob, and its political servants especially, is it really plausible that any truly significant evidence remains?

The FBI raided Epstein”s Manhattan townhouse in July, 2019. They found CDs and hard drives galore and lots of photos of underage girls. None of the videos ever managed to leak out.

Do you find that suspicious, considering how sensationally incriminating they would have been? Would you guess that is because they were destroyed? 

Personally, I wouldn’t expect much now.

But I do expect Ms. Bondi and Mr. Patel to develop a great many cases out of the aforesaid far-ranging corruption — overlooked by all those Inspectors General — that occurred throughout government at least since 2016, and probably involving a whole lot of well-know names, including Presidents Obama and Biden. 

It takes a lot of time and care to construct cases worth bringing to grand juries. Also consider that Dan Bongino will not take up his duties as FBI Deputy Director until March 15. 

As it happens, Mr. Bongino wrote several books about RussiaGate and its spin-offs. 

He will have a pretty good idea of exactly where to look and who to talk to, and he will be in-charge of making that happen. 

Be patient.