Shares of Exxon had their 2nd largest pop since the regional banking crisis of 2023 (second only to last week’s record surge) after the Wall Street Journal reported that the Energy Department is eyeing steep cuts that could wipe out nearly $10 billion in clean-energy funding, jeopardizing major projects with Exxon Mobil and Occidental Petroleum.

Or, as the market appears to see it, a cost saving measure for the likes of Exxon, who will no longer have to endeavor to spend on low-margin “green” businesses. 

Internal memos show the cuts would scrap government contracts tied to hydrogen, carbon capture, and energy storage, with thousands of DOE jobs on the chopping block. Part of President Trump’s broader push to slash federal spending, the move is driven by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by adviser Elon Musk. The agency has already axed numerous contracts and federal jobs.

The $10 billion figure spans two DOE offices and reflects broader DOGE-driven cancellations under review, according to the Wall Street Journal report.

“No final decisions have been made and multiple plans are still being considered,” a DOE spokeswoman said.

The Energy Department, responsible for everything from nuclear weapons oversight to energy R&D, is weighing steep funding cuts, including pulling support from four hydrogen hubs in Democratic-leaning states, while continuing to fund three in GOP-leaning regions. Over 250 clean-tech projects—spanning EV charging, solar, wind, and more—could be scrapped.

The report says that roughly 9,000 of the department’s 17,500 jobs are deemed essential. More than 1,200 employees have resigned or been sidelined—many tied to diversity efforts. Another round of buyouts is underway.

Federal grants and loans have largely been frozen since February, when Trump halted funding tied to Biden-era laws, including the Inflation Reduction Act—legislation he’s criticized as the “green new scam.”

Only a few projects, such as Michigan’s Palisades nuclear plant, have received funding.

Jigar Shah, former head of the DOE’s Loan Programs Office, warned this risks driving clean-tech investment overseas: “That just makes me so sad… now they’re receiving the opposite message.”

Submitted by “Hyper Pi”,

Yesterday at the Economic Club of Chicago, Jerome Powell doubled down on his tariff-pocalypse fetish, warning that Trump’s trade levies could spark “higher inflation and slower growth.” 

Sound familiar? 

In 2021, he called 9.1% inflation “transitory” while M2 money supply exploded 42%. 

That delusion triggered a market rout and crushed Main Street. 

Now, Powell’s playing Nostradamus again, fixating on hypothetical tariff shocks while ignoring deflationary red flags like $60/barrel oil prices. 

The Fed’s job isn’t to predict trade wars – it’s to react to data. Powell’s flunking that test, again. 

Powell’s April 16 speech hyped Trump’s 10-25% tariff proposals as a looming inflation bomb, claiming they’re “larger than anticipated” and could derail the Fed’s 2% target. 

Sure, tariffs might bump some prices, but Powell’s acting like they’re the whole story. 

Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude is at $60 – multi-year lows – slashing transport and production costs. 

That’s a deflationary sledgehammer, yet Powell barely nods at it. 

The data screams caution, not panic. 

Consumer confidence cratered to January 2021 lows in March 2025. Small-business uncertainty spiked to near-record highs in February. 

First-quarter GDP growth is slowing, with consumer spending “modest” despite car sales. 

These are signs of an economy wheezing, not overheating. 

Yet Powell’s 4.3% interest rates, frozen since mid-2024, are squeezing harder than a bear market vise. 

Trump’s Truth Social rants for rate cuts might be brash, but they’re not wrong. 

Powell’s tariff obsession mirrors his 2021 blunder: betting on guesses over facts.

Back then, he ignored money supply and CPI spikes. 

Now, he’s blind to oil prices and softening demand, chasing trade-war ghosts. 

The Fed has tools—producer price indices, commodity trackers—to spot real inflation. 

If tariffs bite, hike rates then. 

Preemptively choking growth on “what-ifs” is malpractice. 

History honors Fed chairs who act, not prophesize. 

Volcker smashed 1980s inflation by reading the data, not tea leaves. 

Powell’s stuck in model-land, leaving markets jittery—S&P 500 dropped 2% post- speech—and Main Street exposed. 

Oil’s at $60, confidence is tanking, and Powell’s still dreaming of tariff-driven doom. 

Ditch the guesses and drive the damn car.

The European luxury sector, tracked by Goldman via GSXELUXG, came under continued pressure on Thursday after French luxury giant Hermes added to the gloom with a disappointing Q1 earnings report, following LVMH Moet Hennessy’s shock results just a day earlier. Most notably, a slowdown in Chinese demand is rippling through the industry — prompting one Goldman analyst to warn: “Luxury is late cycle.”

Hermes’ first-quarter earnings report was mixed to say the least, with growth in Europe, Japan, and the Americas, but disappointing results in Asia and key segments like Watches and Perfumes.

Here’s a snapshot of the first quarter report with estimates provided by Bloomberg: 

Total sales growth: +7.2%, missed Bloomberg Consensus of +7.89%

Revenue: €4.13B, +8.5% y/y, just shy of €4.16B estimate

Segment Performance:

• Leather Goods: +10.0% (vs. est. +10.8%) — Slight miss, still strong double-digit growth

• Watches: -10.0% (vs. est. -3.9%) — Deep miss, weakest segment

• Perfumes: -0.5% (vs. est. +7.06%) — Sharp disappointment

• Silk & Textiles: +4.5% (vs. est. +3.64%) — Beat

• Ready-to-Wear & Fashion: +7.2% (vs. est. +9.34%) — Moderate miss

Regional Breakdown:

• France: +14.2% (vs. est. +10.3%) — Strong outperformance

• Europe (ex-France): +13.3% (vs. est. +13.1%) — In line

• Japan: +17.2% (vs. est. +12.7%) — Significant beat

• Asia Pacific: +1.2% (vs. est. +4.02%) — Weak

• Asia (total): +3.7% (vs. est. +5.39%) — Soft demand in China likely a drag

• Americas: +11.0% (vs. est. +8.55%) — Strong outperformance

Axel Dumas, Executive Chairman of Hermes, released comments about the challenging macroeconomic environment: 

“In a complex geopolitical and economic context, the house is strengthening its fundamentals more than ever: uncompromising quality, creativity at the heart of all development, and vertical integration, a guarantee of preserving unique savoir-faire. Despite a high comparison basis in the first quarter, the group achieved solid growth in sales, thanks to the trust of its customers and the commitment of the teams, whom I thank warmly.” 

Hermes’ uninspiring quarterly report builds on LVMH’s first-quarter results yesterday, which served as a luxury gut-check for the industry. The miss was broad-based across segments and regions, led by sliding demand in key markets, including China and the U.S. Fashion and Leather Goods—the group’s growth engine—also stumbled, signaling concerns about a wider slowdown in the high-end consumer space. 

“Magnitude Of Deterioration”: Wall Street Stunned By LVMH’s Earnings https://t.co/96uM1CoZQA

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) April 15, 2025

Commenting on Hermes, but more importantly, the broader industry, Goldman analyst Natasha de la Grense warned, “Luxury is a late cycle.” 

Here’s more from the analyst:

• The Luxury sector is failing to perform this morning (GSXELUXG flat) despite three relatively reassuring prints and watch exports in positive territory in March. We think this is partly a function of positioning (Hermes, Brunello and Moncler all consensus longs) but also reflects wariness around the forward.

• First the good news: Brunello was bang in line, while Moncler and Hermes beat in the areas of the business that usually matter most (Moncler brand retail, Hermes Leather Goods). All three said that they are not seeing a noticeable change in trend through April. And all three sounded relatively calm on the direct impact of tariffs – the message has unanimously been that there will be no change production footprints, strategy is unaltered (Moncler still sees the U.S. as a growth opportunity) and any price increases would take place in the U.S. in H2 (Brunello quantified this at 3-4% which feels manageable).

• However, feedback this morning is that Q1 is backward looking and Luxury is late cycle – people pretty much unanimously expect U.S. demand to deteriorate even if this is not happening just yet. Moncler acknowledged risks to U.S. underlying demand looking forwards. In addition, the misses in Hermes’ non-leather divisions has made some wonder if the business will be more cyclical than in the past as these categories have grown in the mix. Meanwhile, everyone understands that March Swiss Watch exports were helped by stocking up (exports to the US +14%) while other major markets were weak (China -12%).

• Big picture, the takeaway from this week is that the outperformers last year (high end, strong brand momo) are still putting up better growth. Coupled with some potential pull forward of demand in watches/jewellery, that does bode well I think for Richemont cFX. Interestingly, unlike Moncler/Hermes/Brunello, our data suggests Richemont is a consensus short (with bears worried about higher gold costs, CHF headwinds and management’s tone on outlook). That said, the other takeaway from reactions today is that the market doesn’t care too much about Q1 beats which don’t tell us anything about what’s to come.

• Bottom line: conviction levels low in this space right now. We are net sellers on the desk this morning. I haven’t changed my view that Hermes and Moncler are relatively better places to be but I still think the whole space is going down. On Hermes, I expect Leather to accelerate in Q2 (as supply constraints drop out) and note that anyone on a list for a bag is expected to spend on other product categories first. Beauty and Watches are small and can be quite volatile, relating to timing of shipments and launches – I’m not overly concerned about the misses here. Meanwhile at Moncler, the strong performance with the Chinese cluster really stands out and speaks to excellent brand momo. Moncler also accelerated in Japan which is impressive post LVMH comments. Pushback on Moncler this morning is we are now entering low seasonality for the business/stock – I wonder if that’s actually helpful to have a smaller proportion of FY sales vulnerable to near-term shocks to demand. Remain cautious on Kering and Burberry based on weak brand momo, more limited pricing power to pass on tariffs and idiosyncratic risks. On Kering, we still think FY25 consensus EBIT is too high and expect some comments on H1 margin outlook could drive further downgrades. On Burberry, we see negative read across from Moncler/LV comments on the South Korean cluster. I’m also concerned that the scarf/trench push will be less relevant into S/S months.

Commentary from other analysts:

Barclays (overweight)

• Hermes reported a slight miss on its first-quarter sales update, analyst Carole Madjo writes, though all regions saw robust growth

• Growth in its leather goods division should be driven by a price increase and volume contribution in 2025, so it should pick up throughout the year

CIC Market Solutions (neutral)

• Hermes saw a solid start to the year which confirms its status as a safe haven, says analyst David Da Maia

• Its unique status is “highly valuable” in a backdrop that has become very uncertain, and has been reflected in its premium to the luxury sector

Bernstein (outperform)

• Tough comparisons in China weigh heavily, but should get better as the year progresses, says analyst Luca Solca

• Category mix confirms a slower consumer demand environment; watches again are the weakest link in the Hermes lineup

Stifel (buy)

• Lighter-than-expected growth in Asia Pacific overshadowed solid growth in the Americas, France, Europe ex-France and Japan, writes analyst Rogerio Fujimori

• Share-price weakness offers opportunity to buy ahead of growth re-acceleration for leather goods in the second and third quarters

Citi (neutral)

• Hermes continues to outperform with resilient sales, says analyst Thomas Chauvet, noting continued double-digit growth in all regions but Asia ex-Japan

• Notes that U.S. tariffs will be fully offset with pricing from May 1

Jefferies (buy)

• Hermes’s first-quarter organic growth confirms the resilience of the group’s model, even if it may be slightly below buyside ambitions, says analyst James Grzinic

• The 2025 price rise in leather will have helped, but also provides a good sense for Hermes’s pricing power at a time when tariffs, as well as euro strength, are likely to represent mounting gross margin challenges

Bloomberg Intelligence

• Hermes’s 1% Asia Pacific-excluding-Japan sales gain in the first quarter dragged otherwise robust low double-digit constant currency growth elsewhere, writes analyst Deborah Aitken

• Slowed China store traffic in April could see more trimming to consensus

For the first time in decades, Hermes’s market cap exceeded LVMH’s this week.

The theme sticking here is Goldman’s “Luxury is late cycle.”

By Michael Every of Rabobank

The Bank of Canada left rates on hold at 2.75%, as expected and predicted either we get a quick resolution to US-Canada trade tensions or a year-long recession (see here for more). There’s the kind of nasty, geopolitical, binary outcome I was flagging for 2025 from mid-2024.

Fed Chair Powell said tariffs may raise inflation and unemployment, so no rate cuts for you. It’s nice to see the guys who earn, and manage, the big bucks are on the ball.

Next up today, the ECB: please see our preview here (Many forks in the road). We expect them to cut the deposit rate by 25bp to 2.25%, an additional cut to the one we see in June, so we now have our terminal rate at 2%. However, this is again all very much contingent on trade developments, and a significant further escalation of the trade war could require the ECB to return to an accommodative policy stance, even as the Fed seems to be leaning the other way.  

On trade, President Trump said “big progress” is being made on a deal with Japan, and the White House also expects one with the UK “in three weeks.” Europe can get one too if it decouples from China; but German/EU firms are lobbying to ‘give China a second chance’ –and why wouldn’t Europe ‘try again’ with the economy wiping out its auto industry and propping up the Russian war-economy which the EU is rearming against?– as some worry the EU will sleepwalk into the China bloc due to its own rigidities.

That outcome could risk making the US outright adversarial in energy, defence, and swaplines as well as trade – but even that doesn’t necessarily mean institutional inertia/motion, or “because markets” mindsets, can adapt in time. It’s unclear what the ECB would do in those worst-case scenarios, and presumably they won’t even be alluded to today. Expect them to remain cryptic.

Aware of this, however, is Italian PM Meloni, in the US today, with the EU worried she might strike a side deal for zero-tariffs on Italian goods that would split the EU and open the door for others to follow suite. If you were the US and didn’t like the EU, wouldn’t you do exactly that? The question may be if the Italians are prepared to reap the rewards for being the first to break rank while risking brickbats from the EU, and the downside if the US reneges on any agreement. Chi non risica non rosica?

Elsewhere, oil markets noticed earlier Arab press reports about a troop build-up vs the Houthis now it’s in English on Bloomberg; and the latter also ran an op-ed about the five signs to look for ahead of a US-China war (not trade war): and we are already seeing all of them. That isn’t very reassuring, or much guidance for markets.

Gold just surged to a new nominal high and is starting to move like a stock. Glibly, this is ‘risk off’. Yet even with the Middle East and China news above that misses what’s also happening as the US tries to remake itself by remaking the global trading and financial system.

This missive from Matthew Pines shows how US gold reserves could be revalued vastly higher to create $1 trillion of fiscal breathing room and to bid up Bitcoin. Alongside tectonic shifts in the global architecture, is gold up only as a ‘haven’ rather than front-running? Likewise, USD-backed stablecoins, where framing legislation is moving forwards, may also see up to $1-1.5 trillion of new demand for US T-bills ahead. That’s also a controversial and potentially market-moving hypothesis that goes beyond just saying ‘crypto’.

Ok, so here’s my latest take on how Bessent may be able to revalue the gold certificates w/o legislation:

Under 31 USC §5117 & the Gold Reserve Act of 1934, the U.S. Treasury is authorized to issue gold certificates to the Federal Reserve Banks, backed by the gold it holds, at… https://t.co/vRRCS3pGui

— Matthew Pines (@matthew_pines) April 16, 2025

However, looking ahead, the larger issue would be if such financial ‘fartcraft’ were followed by the economic statecraft of adopting gold, Bitcoin, or stablecoins –only accessible via the US dollar– as neutral reserve assets for external trade and clearing. That would truly start the global bifurcation some have been warning of as a risk for years and have massive market implications.

Indeed, what if either the US or China, or Europe refuse to accept Bitcoin, stablecoins, or gold even if the other/s do/does? Mercantilist China, with a vast trade surplus, has no issues with any neutral reserve asset. Partially-mercantilist Europe is pushing ahead with a digital Euro CBDC: would it want to switch to another USD asset if it’s in the China bloc, or to gold? The US, with a vast trade deficit, has a huge problem with a neutral reserve asset until it reindustrialises if it wants to avoid a larger inflation shock than that presented by tariffs (i.e., all commodities follow gold higher). And it has already banned all Central Bank Digital Currencies within the US system, which will necessarily keep a digital Euro off the balance sheet of any US entity.

Hypothetically, what if the US revalued gold higher –encouraging China to buy more of it, which it is doing, partly to prevent capital flight– then used the $1 trillion from that and the $1-1.5 trillion from stablecoin issuance to help onshore production…. and then banned gold again, leaving China with a lot of shiny metal that wouldn’t be useful to it as reserves, or within the US/Western bloc? Why wouldn’t it do so, in fact? “Because gold”? Recall the US has form, having seized/gone off gold in the 1930s, and going off it again in the 1970s.

Of course, this is probably too many dots for those who think only in dot plots, or gold & yachts, to join. Yet if we are going to see financial steps in that bifurcating direction, again we can look for warning signs; like more digital ring-fencing of crypto assets to keep some in and some *out*. Saying what assets can and can’t be used where is not just ‘regulation’, as some will dully put it, any more than China’s Common Prosperity was: it would literally be the digging of trenches to lay the pipes for future central bank liquidity within non-fungible systems.

Meanwhile, see here for our indicative quantitative scenario of what trade bifurcation and milder trade war outcomes could imply for the US, Europe, and China: don’t focus on any one macro number – the point is to look at the spread between them. And, yes, the current American bull in a China shop may be able to force China to shop a lot more… at a high economic price to everyone – but that would just be economic statecraft over policy again. (And kudos to Jeffrey Powell and Lize Naute for their brilliantly original innovation of using an economic gravity model of trade that places China 1,000,000km from the US, three times the distance of the Moon from the Earth, to simulate a Cold War-style bifurcation.)

It’s also hardly a quiet day on multiple other fronts.

Reportedly, the IRS have begun stripping Harvard University — which some have called a hedge-fund with a (highly politicised) school attached– of its tax-exempt status.

A US judge has found probable cause to hold the Trump administration in criminal contempt of court for defying his order to turn around planes in mid-air, as some legal experts point out he likely doesn’t have jurisdiction on the issue at all, which will now have to be adjudicated by the Supreme Court (again).

Lastly, the Financial Times says astronomers have found the strongest signs yet of alien life. I now await their editorial piece arguing that anyone coming from ‘Krypton’ must be in favour of Ricardian free trade, because anything else would be illogical.

Then again, Superman used to promote “Truth, Justice, and the American Way” – which today would mean high tariffs, Bitcoin, and USD-backed stablecoins.

As Democrats work themselves into hysterics over Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a now-deported El Salvadoran man (aka, ‘Maryland Man’) at the center of an intense court battle, several new details about ‘St. Abrego’ have surfaced in the last several days – most recently that the Biden administration flagged him as a ‘suspect alien’ who was potentially involved in “human smuggling/trafficking” following a traffic stop hundreds of miles away from his Maryland home, according to DHS records reviewed by Just the News.

And while it should come as no surprise that the Biden administration did not follow up (or at least the records don’t indicate whether they did), here’s what we know:

Abrego Garcia was pulled over in November 2022 by a Tennessee state trooper for driving an SUV full of people erratically and speeding.

“Subject was observed speeding and unable to maintain its lane, and was subsequently pulled over,” reads one entry. “Encountering officer decided not to cite the subject for driving infractions but gave him a warning citation for driving with an expired driver’s license,” the memo continues. Of note, Maryland issues driver’s licenses to illegal aliens.

According to the report, the trooper believed human trafficking was involved according to a DHS summary recorded on Dec. 6, 2022. 

“During the interview, subject pretended to speak less English than he was capable of and attempted to put encountering officer off-track by responding to questions with questions,” reads the summary. “When asked what relationship he had with the registered owner of the vehicle, subject replied the owner of the vehicle is his boss, and that his work is in construction.”

“There was no luggage in the vehicle, leading the encountering officer to suspect this was a human trafficking incident,” the report continues.

The incident was filed in DHS’s system as “human smuggling/trafficking” according to the memos.

There is no record showing whether the Biden’s DHS ever followed up on enforcing the matter. 

The initial review determined that Abrego Garcia was a “suspect alien” and referred his matter for review to “passport control,” the records show. Three weeks later on Dec. 27, 2022, Homeland updated its record to urge all personnel who encountered Abrego Garcia in the future to “escort to secondary,” a term referring to the investigative procedures used when someone suspected of wrongdoing is encountered at a port of entry or by border patrol agents. -Just the News

This is just the latest tidbit on Abrego Garcia, the left’s new George Floyd.

Domestic Violence, MS-13 Ties

On Wednesday, DHS released a court filing revealing that Abrego Garcia’s wife sought a restraining order for domestic violence a year before the traffic stop.

In May 2021, a document signed by a judge described allegations of a “violent encounter.” The case was eventually dismissed when his wife, Jennifer Vasquez, failed to appear for a final court hearing in June 2021.

“Just this morning, it was revealed through Maryland court documents that Abrego Garcia’s wife petitioned for an order of protection against him for two instances of domestic violence in May of 2021,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday. “The court ordered that ‘the respondent committed the following acts of abuse. Once, in May of 2021, assault in any degree….’” she added. “On May 4th of 2021, he punched and scratched his wife, ripped off her shirt, and grabbed and bruised her.”

“This is from a court in Maryland,” Leavitt continued. “So not only are Democrats rushing to defend an illegal criminal foreign terrorist gang member, but also an apparent woman-beater.”

Of course, Vasquez has now changed her tune – claiming she filed the restraining order “out of an abundance of caution…”

An abundance of caution… pic.twitter.com/GJGZvzmG9s

— Byron York (@ByronYork) April 17, 2025

Kinda like why he was deported?

Meanwhile, Leavitt noted that “When Gilmar Abrego Garcia was originally arrested, he was wearing a sweatshirt with rolls of money covering the ears, mouth, and eyes of presidents on various currency denominations,” adding “This is a known MS-13 gang symbol of ‘Hear no evil. Speak no evil. See no evil.’”

.@PressSec: “It’s appalling and sad that Senator @ChrisVanHollen and the Democrats applauding his trip to El Salvador today are incapable of having any shred of common sense or empathy for their own constituents and our citizens. Nobody knows this more than the woman standing to… pic.twitter.com/EiNoth8zwM

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 16, 2025

“He was also arrested with two other well-known members of the vicious MS-13 gang,” she continued.

Leavitt went on to point out that not one, but two separate judges confirmed Abrego Garcia’s affiliation with MS-13 — a finding that has never been disputed. But the gang ties are just the beginning. “Just this morning, it was revealed through Maryland court documents that Abrego Garcia’s wife petitioned for an order of protection against him for two instances of domestic violence in May of 2021,” she told reporters. –PJ Media

Abrego-Garcia’s lawyers insisted that there was no evidence that he was MS-13, that the cops were just making it all up, that he’s just a Maryland father.

Turns out that he was hanging out with multiple confirmed MS-13 members when he was arrested, that he was wearing apparel… pic.twitter.com/hwrwDnJcGY

— Will Chamberlain (@willchamberlain) April 16, 2025

And so…

If you’re not fighting tooth and nail for a serial domestic abusing MS13 deported non-citizen — it’s only a matter of time before dictator Trump starts abducting American citizens and disappearing them into torture prisons.

– Current Democrat mid-term campaign message

— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) April 17, 2025

Authored by Travis Gillmore via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The federal government will facilitate and pay for the self-deportation of those who have entered the country illegally, while operations will continue to target gang members and violent criminals, President Donald Trump told Fox Noticias host Rachel Campos-Duffy in an interview filmed at the White House that aired on April 15.

The president said that stipends, including plane tickets and money, could help incentivize illegal immigrants to leave and pursue legal status.

“We’re going to make it comfortable for people, and we’re going to work with those people to come back into our country legally,” Trump said during the interview. “And then … if they’re good, if we want them back in, we’re going to work with them to get them back in as quickly as we can.”

He did not provide further details about how much money illegal immigrants could receive or how to apply for such benefits.

The president also announced a plan to work with some industries, including hospitality and agriculture, to help business owners mitigate the effect of mass deportations.

“We’re making it so that if a farmer can give recommendations to people, we’re going to be very soothing,” he said.

“They’re sort of responsible, and we’re going to have the farmer take responsibility. But you know, ultimately, at some point, we want the people to go out, come back as legal.”

Broadcast to a Hispanic audience, the interview was conducted in English and released with Spanish subtitles. Trump successfully courted the Hispanic vote during his 2024 campaign, according to exit polling that showed him garnering a record share for a Republican Party candidate.

While the United States is offering paths to citizenship for many in the workforce, the president said aggressive deportation operations will continue for violent criminals.

“Right now, we’re getting the murderers out,” Trump said. “We have our total aim on the very bad ones, as you can imagine. These are rough, bad people. We want them out, and that’s mostly our focus.”

He thanked Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele—who visited the White House on April 14 to discuss migration and national security policies—for housing violent deportees in his country’s Terrorism Confinement Center.

Trump said White House officials are looking into the legality of potentially housing dangerous U.S. citizens in the supermax prison.

“I call them homegrown criminals,” the president said. “We are looking into it, and we want to do it. I would love to do that.”

Regarding tariffs imposed on nations around the world, the president suggested that revenues could grow large enough to replace income taxes.

“We’re making tremendous amounts of money, taking in billions and billions, hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs from other countries that, for many, many decades, just ripped off the United States,” he said.

He also repeated his goals of introducing more lenient mortgage deductions; allowing interest deductions for U.S.-made vehicles; and eliminating taxes on tips, overtime, and Social Security. But he cautioned that political winds on Capitol Hill are challenging to overcome.

“I have some strange people I deal with, and we have to get it approved,” Trump said.

Far from the international moneyman of mystery as New York Magazine called him, Jeffrey Epstein is now the most notorious child sex trafficker on the planet. But how deep does the rabbit hole go?

After an underwhelming Phase 1 release of the Epstein Files by the Trump administration (still awaiting phase 2 by the way…) we wanted to bring together proper category experts.

I’m starting to think that handing the Mossad pedo files to a bunch of Zionists might not be the best way to get the truth to the public.

— Dave Smith (@ComicDaveSmith) February 27, 2025

Visit the ZeroHedge homepage tonight at 7:15 pm ET for the ultimate deep dive into government sex trafficking rings, hosted by Ian Carroll.

Panelist include Nick Bryant, author of The Franklin Scandal which is an absolute must-read for those wanting to learn more about government’s systematic pedophilia. Bryant spent the better part of a decade on the ground in Omaha Nebraska piecing together the salacious details behind Larry King’s operations that connected to the CIA and highest levels of the George HW Bush administration.

Also joining is Ryan Dawson who has done mountains of research into the Epstein case and its connections to the country of Israel.

We will see you tonight at 7:15 pm ET. Live and uncensored on the homepage and our X channel.

Authored by Aaron Gifford via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The Department of Justice is seeking a federal court injunction requiring Pine Tree State schools to immediately stop transgender boys from competing in girls’ sports and return all athletic records and titles to their rightful female owners.

The federal agency will also consider retroactively pulling funding from school districts that have not complied with Title IX regulations in the past, Attorney General Pam Bondi said during an April 16 news conference in Washington.

“Pretty basic stuff,” she said. “This is about women’s sports. This is also about young women’s personal safety.”

Bondi was flanked by Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Maine Assemblywoman Laurel Libby, who was censured by her state’s Democrat-led state legislature for posting photos and the identity of a male transgender athlete from Greely High School who won an indoor track state pole vaulting title this year.

Maine high school athletes who competed against transgender males also appeared on stage, along with Riley Gaines, a former NCAA swimmer who brought this debate to the national stage after losing the championship to a transgender male who had competed in the men’s division until his senior year.

Bondi said a Maine transgender male also won a cross-country state title last fall in the girls’ division and placed at state-level skiing competitions this past winter.

“That took away a spot from young women in women’s sports,” Bondi said. “Shame on him.”

Bondi did not disclose where this federal lawsuit was filed.

In a separate court case related to the same debate, a judge ordered the federal government to unfreeze Department of Agriculture funding to schools.

President Donald Trump previously issued executive orders clarifying Title IX and prohibiting males from competing in women’s sports. The NCAA has already complied, and Republican House members are working on a bill to codify that regulation.

Maine’s attorney general has already informed Bondi that his state has no intention of complying with the order. School district superintendents told their communities that until directed otherwise, they are expected to comply with state laws that are contrary to Trump’s executive order.

Trump publicly sparred with Maine Gov. Janet Mills at a governor’s workshop on Capitol Hill in February, warning her that he would pull funding if she continued to defy his executive order.

At the state level, the Greely High School community has shown public support for all transgender athletes, including their state champion pole vaulter, criticizing Trump and the NCAA for its compliance. But Libby has also received plenty of support via her social media presence and continues to state that most Mainers do not support men competing as women in their state.

“Maine Democrats have doubled down on their far-left agenda, and now our students and families stand poised to lose hundreds of millions in federal funding,” Libby said in a statement provided to The Epoch Times.

“Their radical gender ideology is endangering the continued existence of women’s sports and penalizing Maine students against the will of Maine citizens.”

Mills issued a statement after Bondi’s news conference, saying that Trump and the Department of Justice’s actions are politically motivated.

“As I have said previously, this is not just about who can compete on the athletic field, this is about whether a President can force compliance with his will, without regard for the rule of law that governs our nation. I believe he cannot,” the governor said.

Another day, another sentiment survey collapsing into the abyss of Trump-Tariff-driven hell…

The Philly Fed Manufacturing Business Outlook survey crashed from +12.5 to -26.4 in April (+2.2 exp) – its weakest in two years. However, quietly, the 6-month forward outlook remained positive and actually improved…

The index for new orders also fell sharply, from 8.7 in March to -34.2 this month, its lowest reading since April 2020, and the prices paid index edged up from 48.3 to 51.0, its highest reading since July 2022

Smells a little stagflationary to us.

The future prices paid index climbed to 63.1, and the future prices received index jumped 28 points to 67.7, its highest reading since June 2021.

Finally, the gap between strengthening ‘hard’ data and collapsing ‘soft’ data continues to grow…

Will this be a replay of Q2 2024 – when the hard data ‘caught down’ to soft data? Or Q3 2023 where the sentiment surveys snapped higher as the hard data refused to fold?

Guess who is in Beijing today?

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang boarded a private jet to Beijing shortly after the U.S. Commerce Department announced new export licensing requirements for the company’s H20 AI chips for the Chinese market. Once there, Huang met with the head of a Chinese state-backed trade body, where he reaffirmed Nvidia’s commitment to the Chinese market despite a deepening trade war.

🇨🇳NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang Arrives in Beijing at CCPIT’s Invitation, Reaffirms Commitment to China Collaboration
NVIDIA Corporation CEO Jensen Huang arrived in Beijing today at the invitation of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT). This visit comes… pic.twitter.com/LccSqNHYwp

— CN Wire (@Sino_Market) April 17, 2025

State broadcaster CCTV reported that Huang met earlier today in Beijing with Ren Hongbin, president of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade — a trade agency under the Ministry of Commerce.

CCTV noted that Huang arrived in Beijing under the invitation of Hongbin’s state-backed trade group.

Huang emphasized that China remains an important market for Nvidia and expressed hope for continued cooperation with Beijing.

Another state-backed news agency, China News Service, released footage of Huang and Hongbin speaking. 

“We’ve grown up in China, in fact. And China has watched us grow in the last 30 years. It’s a very important market for us,” Huang said. 

NVIDIA founder Jensen Huang visited Beijing on Thursday afternoon. Huang said that #China is one of the most important markets for #NVIDIA, and he’s willing to further promote cooperation with Chinese enterprises. @nvidia @nvidianewsroom @NVIDIANetworkng pic.twitter.com/MD8CbE1Os1

— China News 中国新闻网 (@Echinanews) April 17, 2025

Huang’s flight to China comes a little more than a day after the U.S. Commerce Department said Nvidia will need a license to export its H20 chips to China and several other countries. Nvidia revealed that it would be hit with a charge of up to $5.5 billion related to the controls. 

So what message does this show? Huang jets off to Beijing. Should the world’s largest chip maker be this cozy with America’s foreign adversary?