Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times,

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a case that could determine whether states are allowed to remove noncitizens from their voter rolls in the 90 days leading up to an election.

In the case, the DOJ argues that the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) of 1993 does not prevent states from taking noncitizens off voter rolls before elections.

The National Voter Registration Act is also known as the Motor-Voter law because it allows people to register to vote with relative ease at motor vehicle agencies and government offices. The NVRA requires states to make a reasonable effort to remove ineligible individuals’ names from voter rolls, but a federal appeals court ruled that names cannot be removed in the 90 days before an election.

The DOJ made its argument on May 26 in a brief urging the high court to grant the petition in Republican National Committee (RNC) v. Mi Familia Vota.

If the Supreme Court grants the RNC’s petition, states may be allowed to purge voter rolls close to elections.

Arizona law allows only U.S. citizens to vote in federal elections. It requires people registering to vote to produce documentary proof of citizenship, such as a passport, birth certificate, or naturalization papers. It also allows the names of noncitizens to be removed from voter rolls.

If election officials procure “information” from periodic inspections of the state’s voter rolls that confirm a “person registered is not a United States citizen,” they “cancel the registration,” according to the brief.

A 2018 consent decree, reached as part of a court-enforced settlement from a previous lawsuit, required the state to register applicants who lack proof of citizenship as “federal-only” voters who could participate in federal elections but not state or local elections. A consent decree is a legally binding court-enforced settlement made with the consent of the litigants.

Mi Familia Vota and other groups sued, alleging that the Arizona law violates the NVRA and the consent decree.

A federal district court ruled mostly for the plaintiffs, issuing an injunction that blocked certain parts of the state law, including the proof of citizenship requirement, the brief said.

The Supreme Court in August 2024 issued a partial stay of the district court order that allowed Arizona to continue to enforce its proof of citizenship requirement when voters register using state forms.

In February 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the injunction, finding that the consent decree blocks the proof of citizenship requirement and that the NVRA preempts, or supersedes, the requirement—among other things. The appeals court also blocked the removal of names from the voter rolls in the 90-day run-up to an election, a practice it said the NVRA already forbids, according to the brief.

The Supreme Court’s partial stay prevails over the Ninth Circuit’s block of the proof of citizenship requirement. The high court’s stay will remain in effect until the circuit court disposes of the appeal, or the Supreme Court issues a final decision or denies the RNC’s petition for review.

Does Not Apply to Noncitizens: DOJ

The DOJ argues in its brief that the NVRA’s restrictions on taking individuals’ names off the list of eligible voters in the 90 days preceding an election “do not apply to noncitizens who were never eligible to register in the first place.”

The Ninth Circuit’s ruling to the contrary is “badly mistaken,” deepens a split among federal courts of appeals, and “risks significant harm,” said Hashim Mooppan, filing as acting U.S. solicitor general for the purposes of this case. Solicitor General D. John Sauer himself is recused in the case.

Using the reasoning of the Ninth Circuit, “a State could never remove a noncitizen from its voter rolls once registered,” he said.

“That cannot be correct and cries out for reversal,” Mooppan said, urging the Supreme Court to grant the RNC’s petition.

Although the current federal voter registration form requires only that applicants attest that they are citizens, the NVRA gives states the flexibility to mandate that applicants supply documentary proof of citizenship when using state voter registration forms, he said.

Mooppan said the Supreme Court in Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona Inc. (2013) gave Arizona’s prior proof of citizenship requirement as an “example” of the rule that “state-developed forms may require information the Federal Form does not.”

The Ninth Circuit’s decision “cannot be reconciled” with this precedent, and the majority on the circuit panel “did not even try,” he said.

The RNC’s petition “presents both of these questions and provides a good vehicle to address them,” Mooppan said.

It is unclear when the Supreme Court will consider the petition.

The Epoch Times contacted the RNC’s attorney, Gilbert Dickey of Consovoy McCarthy in Arlington, Virginia, and Mi Familia Vota’s attorney, David Fox of Elias Law Group in Washington, for comment. No replies were received by publication time.

The S&P Retail Select Industry Index rose more than 1% Thursday morning as shares of Kohl’s, Best Buy, and Dollar Tree surged on better-than-expected earnings results. Results suggest the U.S. consumer was stronger than feared in the prior quarter, even as households were battered by a fuel-price shock at the pump, persistent inflation, and softening confidence, which has led to them draining what little savings they have left.

As Bloomberg notes, the three chains operate in very different parts of the retail sector, yet all surprised investors to the upside in a sign of strength by US consumers who are facing multiple hurdles. Here are the earnings highlights from this morning:

• Kohl’s comparable sales declined 1.1%, beating the estimated decline of 1.71%
• Best Buy reported first-quarter sales of $8.9 billion, beating analyst estimates, with comparable sales rising 2%
• Dollar Tree boosted comparable sales 3.5% in the first quarter, topping estimates, driven by a 4.5% gain in average transaction

The result was a surge in their respective stock prices: 

With gas prices soaring since the start of the war in Iran, and workers worried about the impact of artificial intelligence amid still elevated inflation, consumer confidence has collapsed. And yet, Americans are still opening their wallets. US data released Thursday showed that consumer spending edged up in April despite accelerated price increases. In fact, spending growth is now drastically outpacing income growth, in a trend that is certainly unsustainable and the only buffer – personal savings – is rapidly being depleted.

This is unsustainable: personal spending growth is surging while income growth is collapsing, resulting in an extremely rapid drain of personal savings https://t.co/uXTN4wOKNp pic.twitter.com/d0uujZknU0

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 28, 2026

At Kohl’s, stronger-than-expected sales boosted the department-store chain’s turnaround. Electronics seller Best Buy said revenue across major categories gained and this month was off to a strong start. Dollar Tree highlighted that customers spent more per transaction.

“Across all income levels, customers are value focused and definitely prioritizing affordability,” Dollar Tree CEO Creedon said on the earnings call.

Shares of all three retailers jumped on Thursday. Kohl’s soared 25%, followed by Dollar Tree with a 16% advance and Best Buy at a roughly 8% gain.

Despite these results, retailers and consumer brands have been saying throughout this earnings season that there is plenty to worry about. S&P Retail Select Industry Index has been range bound since mid-2025. 

Last week, big-box retailers including Target and Walmart signaled that shoppers remain resilient despite years of elevated inflation. But higher prices on essentials like groceries and gas have squeezed shoppers’ discretionary budgets, pushing them to trade down to cheaper brands and cut back on less essential purchases. Earlier, new personal savings rate data showed that Americans are frantically digging into their savings to keep up with inflation.

Earlier this month, Kraft Heinz CEO Steve Cahillane said lower-income Americans were “literally running out of money at the end of the month” because of higher costs, especially gasoline. 

At Dollar Tree, its lower-income customers are visiting less because of their pressured finances, wrote Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, in a note to clients. The retailer boosted comparable-store sales last quarter 3.5%, but that growth came from a gain in shoppers spending more on each transaction as the number of purchases fell 1%. 

“The trips they’ve cut out are those of a more discretionary nature which, on some level, is pleasing because they’re still using Dollar Tree for essentials,” Saunders said. 

Meanwhile, Burlington Stores shares tumbled 14%, the most since May 2022, despite beating Bloomberg Consensus estimates.

Some chains have kept prices low amid their own rising costs to maintain market share. But it’s not clear how long they can maintaining that strategy. Walmart warned last week that if fuel prices stay at current levels, prices across the board could rise throughout the year.

While wealthier shoppers have been the driving force behind the US consumer economy for some time, even they are feeling pressure and increasingly trading down to cheaper options. Dollar Tree and other low-priced chains have been courting higher-income shoppers, often with great success. That’s a good outcome for these retailers, but raises doubts about the sustainability of these spending levels.

US consumer confidence edged down this month amid anxiety over the economy, according to the Conference Board. Two-thirds of shoppers reported cutting back on spending due rising prices, with many respondents saying they are delaying expensive purchases and buying cheaper versions of the same item.

Oil prices bounced higher overnight after the US and Iran exchanged new strikes despite their purported ceasefire, rekindling uncertainty about an end to the Middle East war.

The latest strikes were the most serious since an April ceasefire, and came despite a series of headlines suggesting talks on a deal were progressing.

“A fresh exchange of strikes between the two countries is testing the fragile ceasefire and forcing a reassessment of the chances of a near-term agreement which can reopen the Strait of Hormuz and dial down the pressure the crisis is putting on the global economy,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

But then, around 1000ET, Axios reports that U.S. and Iranian negotiators have reached an agreement on a 60-day memorandum of understanding to extend the ceasefire and launch negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program.

That sent oil prices reeling lower…

With the geopolitical headlines so dominant, this morning’s official US crude inventory and supply data is taking a back seat to Washington and Tehran again (despite some chunky draws reported by API overnight).

API

• Crude -2.8mm

• Cushing -2.9mm

• Gasoline -3.19mm

• Distillates +1.1mm

DOE

• Crude -3.33mm (-3.2mm exp)

• Cushing -2.79mm – biggest draw since Aug 2023

• Gasoline -2.57mm

• Distillates -2.11mm

Inventories saw across the board drawdowns with Cushing standing out. Distillate draws returned as gasoline stocks fell for the 15th straight week

Source: Bloomberg

‘Tank Bottoms’ loom as inventory at Cushing is the lowest for this time of year since 2014…

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve saw another major drawdown (over 9mm barrels)…

Source: Bloomberg

US Crude production ticked higher as rig counts are rising rapidly…

Source: Bloomberg

The market has backed away from believing the Axios report (after a denial from Iranian news) and the big draw is helping WTI recover…

“The bigger picture is that crude is still on course for a second weekly decline, suggesting investors are not yet pricing in a worst-case disruption,” Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Matt Britzman said.

“For now, the market looks caught between short-term nerves over renewed hostilities and a lingering hope that both sides still have enough incentive to get energy flows moving,” he added.

Investment strategist Ed Yardeni wrote in an overnight note that “oil markets will be in dire straits” if the Strait of Hormuz doesn’t open soon. He sketched out looming crisis points that have turned the U.S.-Iran negotiation into the “ultimate game of chicken.”

The U.S. blockade of Iranian ports means the country’s oil industry is producing too much and storage capacity is quickly filling. Yardeni concludes that Iran has until mid- or late June before storage is maxed out, forcing a sharp cut in production to domestic consumption levels. “The toll on Iran’s oil industry and its broader economy is certainly one of President Trump’s best negotiating cards,” he wrote.

Yardeni further notes that oil inventories in Asia are already approaching minimum levels, meaning the war-driven dearth of oil imports will soon lead to shortages.

Europe faces the same situation, possibly by late June.

Yardeni highlighted International Energy Agency Director Faith Birol’s warning that depleted stocks and high usage during the summer travel season could push global oil markets into “the red zone in July or August.”

The Bank of Canada said the global financial system has functioned (surprisingly) well through recent global shocks, but underscored the risk of a sharp asset price correction as well as vulnerabilities related to the role hedge funds are playing in debt markets.

The central bank’s 2026 financial stability report released Thursday noted financial asset valuations have continued to rise, while the stock market is increasingly concentrated in a handful of large tech companies that are heavily invested in artificial intelligence. That makes asset managers more vulnerable to a sudden correction, and a negative shock to AI sectors would have an outsized impact on broader stock indexes.

The central bank also reminded markets that the risk of basis trades remains front and center, warning that the increased role of hedge funds in overnight funding markets poses a vulnerability to the overall financial system, Bloomberg reported.

“A sharp pullback in hedge fund activity in government debt markets, for example, could negatively affect the liquidity and functioning of these markets and other fixed income markets. This, in turn, could generate financial system stress,” the report said.

While senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers said individually, these vulnerabilities look “manageable”, he added that “the economic and geopolitical environment has become more volatile. And this has made it more likely that a new shock or a combination of shocks could cause several vulnerabilities to crystallize at once.”

The report analyzes risks to the Canadian financial system, but doesn’t assign probability and isn’t a projection from the central bank.

Meanwhile for households and businesses, the bank said the main financial health vulnerability relates to a geopolitical or economic shock that leads to a deep recession and a spike in unemployment. While the central bank previously flagged mortgage renewals as a concern, it noted on Thursday that most borrowers have managed this risk well.

“With the final wave of these renewals set to happen over the next 12 months, we expect this risk to have fully passed by the second half of 2027,” Deputy Governor Toni Gravelle said.

While the ratio of household debt to disposable income has increased slightly over the past year, the central bank noted households appear better off when wealth is taken to account.

It attributes that improvement to higher home prices over time, but noted the recent increase in net worth has been driven by gains in financial markets as the housing market softened.

As for Canada’s big banks, the report says they have become more resilient over the past year amid higher profitability and healthy capital buffers.

“They have also set aside additional funds to absorb potential loan losses. This positions them to support the economy and financial system, even in a severe downturn,” Gravelle said.

The report cautioned that in the stress‑test scenario, as unemployment rises and housing prices fall, households and businesses come under significant stress. Rates of mortgage arrears increase and reach a multi‑decade high. Businesses face increased costs and a decline in demand, which pushes corporate default rates close to levels seen during the global financial crisis.

Meanwhile, the aggressive use of repo markets has further increased their importance in Canada’s financial system. More than $130 billion in repo transactions now take place in Canada each day, about double the amount from five years ago. A wide range of market participants use repos to obtain leverage, borrow and lend securities, earn returns on extra cash and manage funding liquidity.

The report cautioned that repo activity is rising in part because more Government of Canada bonds are being issued and traded.

Repos are a flexible and cost‑effective way to finance trading in government bonds and therefore play an important role in facilitating dealers’ market‑making activities. They also allow hedge funds to finance their activities, including basis trades in government bonds and futures. These activities, in turn, support liquidity and efficiency in the markets for government securities.

Government bonds are widely used as collateral and liquid assets to manage risks. They are also used as pricing benchmarks for other securities. Because of this, a disruption in repo markets would have broad implications for the financial system. These include:

• A sudden deleveraging by asset managers. For example, if hedge funds or other asset managers cannot obtain repo funding, they may need to quickly sell government bonds, further reducing market liquidity.
• A reduction in overall market liquidity. Wider bid‑ask spreads and higher trading costs in government bond markets could spill over into other fixed‑income and derivative markets. If this led to significant margin calls, it could result in a liquidity spiral as market participants are forced to sell liquid assets to raise cash.
• Sharp movements in the Canadian Overnight Repo Rate Average (CORRA). This would affect the large numbers of financial instruments that use CORRA as a risk‑free rate, such as interest rate derivatives and floating rate notes.

The report concludes that if any of these situations were to occur, “borrowing costs across the economy would go up, leading to potential second‑round effects.”

The government of Kuwait on Thursday has made clear it retains all rights to take measures to preserve its security, following a overnight Iranian missile strike. Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry further condemned the fresh missile ⁠and drone ⁠attacks on its territory as ‌a serious escalation and “blatant violation of sovereignty and ⁠security.”

The Iranian launch, which Tehran says targeted a US base in Kuwait, came in response to US bombardment of an Iranian drone base near the southern city of Bandar Abbas which occurred just prior.

In a new statement, US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirms that “At 10:17 p.m. ET on May 27, Iran launched a ballistic missile toward Kuwait that was successfully intercepted by Kuwaiti forces.”

“This egregious ceasefire violation by the Iranian regime occurred hours after Iranian forces launched five one-way attack drones that posed a clear threat in and near the Strait of Hormuz,” the US military statement continued.

“All drones were successfully intercepted by U.S. forces which also prevented a sixth drone launch from an Iranian ground control site in Bandar Abbas,” it added. “U.S. Central Command and regional partners remain vigilant and measured as we continue to defend our forces and interests from unjustified Iranian aggression.”

Additionally, the Gulf stated strongly condemned the fresh Iranian attack, with the head of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Jasem Mohamed Al-Budaiwi, denouncing it as follows: “The secretary-general pointed out that the continuation of these treacherous attacks is a flagrant violation of the principles of international law, the Charter of the United Nations, and the principles of good neighborliness.”

“His excellency affirmed the GCC countries’ full support for the state of Kuwait in all measures it takes to preserve its security and stability, and the safety of its citizens and residents,” the GCC statement added.

A separate Gulf statement further condemned the act of ‘terrorism’ – per Al Aljazeera:

The United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have condemned a missile attack on a US airbase in Kuwait with only the UAE expressly naming Iran as responsible for the “terrorist attacks”.

In statements shared on social media, the foreign ministries of the UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia said they consider the attack “a flagrant violation” of Kuwait’s sovereignty, and expressed their countries’ “full solidarity” with Kuwait and “support for all measures” it takes to preserve its sovereignty, security and stability.

This marks the second live-fire attack flare-up this week, after earlier Wednesday Iran fired drones on American and other foreign commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

“American F/A-18, F-16 and F-35 jet fighters shot down the drones, then the F/A-18s hit the ground-control unit before it could launch a fifth drone, one of the officials said,” The Wall Street Journal summarizes of that first incident.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard released footage showing the launch of missiles toward the U.S. base in Kuwait, describing it as retaliation for the American attack near Bandar Abbas in southern Iran.

The video also featured symbolic anti-U.S. imagery. pic.twitter.com/s1qlIQEQRy

— Clash Report (@clashreport) May 28, 2026

It seems that Iran is asserting some red lines through single, sporadic attacks, when it perceives a US military violation of its sovereignty. WSJ cites the following:

The spokesman for the National Security Commission in Iran’s parliament said Trump’s unwillingness to acknowledge that the U.S. and Tehran were still at war was a sign of his weak negotiating position. “Diplomats should not let go of the enemy’s weak point and should impose maximum demands on them,” the spokesman said.

Currently, negotiations are still primarily stuck on the nuclear issue. President Trump has vowed not to let off sanctions pressure until Tehran agrees to dismantle its nuclear program by handing over highly enriched uranium to be transferred off its territory. Iranian officials say this simply will not happen, and that it would be tantamount to handing over the country’s sovereignty. 

Authored by Micah Zimmerman via BitcoinMagazine.com,

The United Kingdom has unveiled a fresh package of sanctions against Russian financial structures that use crypto and offshore payment routes to sidestep restrictions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine. 

The measures focus on the Kremlin-backed A7 network, a ruble-based settlement system, and a cluster of exchanges and firms that route payments through Kyrgyzstan and Georgia.

Announced by Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, the package covers 18 new designations that target what London describes as the backbone of Russia’s illicit finance channels. 

Officials say the list includes a Kyrgyz bank suspected of handling A7 flows, a major global cryptocurrency exchange that has sent more than 1.5 billion dollars to entities close to the Kremlin, and three Georgian companies that run Russia-focused trading platforms.

The A7 network has emerged as a central hub in Russia’s attempts to blunt the impact of Western sanctions on its war economy. Investigations by independent researchers describe A7 as a cross-border settlement platform that uses a ruble-backed token, branded A7A5, and links to Promsvyazbank, a state lender that supports the Russian defense sector.

According to the UK government, A7 claims to have moved more than 90 billion dollars during the past year, a sum that officials say approaches half of Russia’s annual military spending. 

Separate journalistic probes have found that A7-connected wallets and entities handle a significant share of cross-border transfers for sanctioned oligarchs and state-linked businesses.

The crackdown lands at a moment when Russia’s own forecasts show a weaker outlook for growth under sanctions pressure. This month the Economy Ministry cut its 2026 growth projection to 0.4 percent from 1.3 percent and reduced the estimate for 2027 from 2.8 percent to 1.4 percent, an admission that extended war spending and trade limits weigh on expansion.

Crypto is replacing bank links for Russia

Western authorities and crypto analytics firms have flagged crypto as a key tool in Russia’s effort to replace severed bank links. Research into related platforms such as A7A5 and exchanges that serve Russian users has traced billions of dollars in stablecoin and token flows that bypass traditional banking checks, much of it through venues in Central Asia and the Caucasus.

Cooper framed the new sanctions as part of a broader drive to hit the financial lifelines of Moscow’s war machine and close off safe havens for enablers of the invasion. She said the UK would keep working with allies to expose, disrupt and dismantle the structures that move money and goods for Russian forces.

Since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, Britain has sanctioned more than 3,300 individuals, companies and vessels linked to the Kremlin, from banks and energy giants to defense suppliers.

The government estimates that international sanctions have stripped more than 450 billion dollars from Russia’s economy, a loss equal to an estimated two years of funding for its war against Ukraine.

President Trump’s war economy is accelerating, with a new report indicating that the Department of War is set to unleash funding deals across a handful of drone companies. The effort comes as the DoW’s procurement program now favors startups, and there has been an emphasis within the department on ramping up America’s drone manufacturing base, as hyper-innovation from the war in Ukraine has brought forward 2030s-era war technology.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the DoW has been in talks with a group of drone startups and suppliers, including Performance Drone Works, Unusual Machines, and Neros Technologies, about potential funding packages that could include debt, conditional loans, and possible equity stakes.

The financing would not be used to purchase batches of suicide drones directly. Instead, the plan is to expand domestic manufacturing capacity, lower unit costs, and help these war-unicorn startups ramp up production ahead of a major stockpiling effort by the DoW.

The DoW’s $1.1 billion Drone Dominance initiative aims to stockpile 300,000 low-cost attack drones by the end of 2027 at a unit price of less than $5,000.

The WSJ’s report sent drone-related firms soaring in premarket trading, with Unusual Machines soaring 33%, Red Cat up 13%, AeroVironment up 8%, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions up 8.4%, and Airo Group up 2.9%.

None of this should be surprising to readers, as we’ve detailed the Trump team’s playbook with the DoW to reset procurement programs, funneling funding into defense startups while building out production lines for low-cost war machines, such as drones and robots.

We identified Axon, which plans to import Ukrainian war tech into the US to build up US stockpiles faster.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is becoming a drone manufacturing hub for allied forces that stretch across Eurasia.

Let’s remind readers of our forward-looking theme published in January. 31: 

• “Explosion In AI Data Center Buildouts Will Demand Next-Gen Counter-Drone Security”

Then, after a couple of data centers in the Gulf area were hit by Iranian attack drones, we note:

• “Micro AI Sentry Guns May Be Next Layer Of Defense For Data Centers Against Kamikaze Drones”

Beyond one-way attack drones and interceptor drones, we suspect counter-drone threat systems, such as passive acoustic detection, will become popular in the US because there is a missing layer of air defense around critical infrastructure, from power grids to data centers.

Refinancing activity in the U.S. housing market plummeted last week as mortgage rates hit their highest level in nine months, new industry data released on May 27 show.

Refinancing decreased by 18 percent for the week ending May 22 and is up by 19 percent from the same time a year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

“Many borrowers understandably backed away from refinancing last week,” Joel Kan, the firm’s vice president and deputy chief economist, said in a statement.

The decline was largely driven by the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rising by 30 basis points over the past five weeks to 6.65 percent – the highest level since August 2025.

As Andrew Moran reports for The Epoch Times, activity to refinance home loans was spread across the board. Conventional refinance applications fell by 14 percent, Federal Housing Agency applications dropped 18 percent, and Veterans’ Affairs applications tumbled 34 percent.

Overall, refinance loans accounted for 38 percent of all mortgage applications, the smallest share in nearly a year.

But purchase applications also slipped from the previous week, sliding by almost 9 percent.

“Purchase applications were slightly lower across all loan types but still ran at a stronger pace than last year’s pace,” Kan said.

“The average loan size for a purchase application reached another survey high at $473,600, as borrowers with smaller loan sizes were less active given the higher rate environment and its negative impact on their purchasing power.”

Meanwhile, the Federal Housing Finance Agency reported on May 26 that single-family home prices backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rose by 0.1 percent in March, up from a downwardly revised 0.1 percent drop in February.

‘Sensitive to Headlines’

Mortgage rates, which generally track long-dated U.S. Treasury yields, have accelerated since the war in Iran began in late February, driven by renewed war-driven inflation risks.

The main benchmark 10-year yield reached a one-year high of 4.66 percent last week. The 30-year climbed to 5.18 percent, its highest level since the global financial crisis.

Modest relief could be on the way amid increasing optimism that the United States and Iran are inching closer to establishing a peace deal.

Yields have eased by approximately 20 basis points over the past week, translating into lower rates for homeowners and prospective homebuyers.

As of May 27, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dipped to 6.61 percent, but the gap between current rates and the effective (aggregate) rates that Americans are currently carrying on their homes remains vast…

How long this trend lasts depends on what happens between Washington and Tehran, says Jeff DerGurahian, head economist at loanDepot.

“But with geopolitical tensions still front and center and inflation expectations starting to pick back up, the outlook remains uncertain,” DerGurahian said in a note emailed to The Epoch Times.

“Until there’s more clarity, rates are likely to stay sensitive to headlines, with the direction from here tied closely to how events unfold overseas.”

Inflation data could also play a role in both the broader financial markets and monetary policy.

A de-escalation in the three-month-old Middle East conflict could help mitigate medium- and long-term inflation pressures. But the length of persistent inflation could hang over the Federal Reserve.

Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh at the White House in Washington on May 22, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

Traders have recently made an interest rate hike over the next year their base case scenario.

The 2-year yield, which follows expectations for Fed policy, remains above 4 percent. Futures market data suggest a quarter-point increase in March.

Market watchers, however, say the criteria for following through on a rate hike are high.

“From a policy standpoint, the expectation is that the Fed will likely stay on hold for a while,” DerGurahian said.

“The bigger question is how inflation plays out over the next few months, especially if higher energy prices start to show up more broadly across the economy.”

May’s annual consumer inflation rate is expected to reach 4.2 percent, according to the Cleveland Fed Nowcasting Model. If accurate, it would be the highest level of inflation since May 2023.

Ignoring Interest Rates

Despite President Donald Trump’s calls for lower interest rates to support his economic agenda, the data suggest the economy has been indifferent to elevated rates.

Recent growth has been fueled by consumer spending and business investment, mainly artificial intelligence-driven capital expenditures.

Even with markets pricing in higher rates, capex spending plans continue to be adjusted higher.

“It doesn’t matter what the Fed does. There is FOMO [fear of missing out] among hyperscalers, and AI spending is not sensitive to higher interest rates,” Torsten Slok, chief economist at Apollo Global Management, said in an emailed note to The Epoch Times.

“In fact, despite the move higher in rates in recent months, the consensus forecast for capex in 2027 continues to rise.”

If Fed officials tighten policy, it might combat inflation but do little to harm the growth prospects.

Authored by Armstrong Williams via The Epoch Times,

What is unfolding across parts of Europe, particularly in the UK under Prime Minister Keir Starmer, should serve as a warning to every Western democracy wrestling with questions of immigration, national identity, social cohesion, and the limits of political tolerance.

A nation can be compassionate without becoming careless. It can welcome newcomers while still expecting assimilation, civic responsibility, and respect for the laws and traditions that hold a society together. But when governments become so consumed with appearing morally virtuous that they neglect order, border enforcement, public safety, and cultural confidence, the social fabric eventually begins to fray.

Across Europe, many citizens increasingly feel that they are watching this happen in real time.

Businesses struggle under layers of regulation and insecurity. Historic neighborhoods in cities such as London, Paris, Brussels, and parts of Germany face growing tensions between communities living side by side but not necessarily living together. In too many places, political leaders have become hesitant to speak honestly about integration failures for fear of being labeled intolerant or divisive. Yet avoiding difficult conversations does not eliminate problems; it merely delays them until frustration hardens into anger.

This is why political movements once considered fringe are now gaining traction throughout Europe. Voters are not simply reacting to economics. They are reacting to a deeper fear that their nations are losing coherence, confidence, and cultural continuity. People want safe streets. They want functioning schools. They want borders that mean something. They want governments willing to defend the rule of law consistently and unapologetically.

And Americans should understand clearly why this debate resonates so strongly at home.

Many believe that the United States would have headed down a similar path had Vice President Kamala Harris been elected president and continued the policies of the previous administration. Whether one agrees with that assessment or not, the concern itself reflects a growing anxiety felt across the Western world: that governments have become more focused on symbolic compassion than sustainable governance.

But this conversation must be approached with moral clarity and balance.

Immigration itself is not the enemy. In fact, immigration has been one of the great strengths of both America and many European nations for centuries. The United States remains history’s greatest example of people from vastly different backgrounds building a common national identity rooted in shared civic values rather than bloodlines or ethnicity.

However, the key word is assimilation.

Successful societies require more than diversity. They require unity of purpose. They require a shared language of civic responsibility, mutual respect, constitutional order, and national loyalty. People can absolutely preserve the beauty of their cultural traditions, religious practices, cuisine, music, and family customs while still embracing the values and identity of the country they are joining.

America succeeded for generations because millions of immigrants came not merely seeking economic opportunity but seeking to become Americans.

That distinction matters enormously.

Previous generations of immigrants often viewed assimilation as a source of pride rather than oppression. Italian, Irish, Jewish, Korean, Indian, Vietnamese, Nigerian, Cuban, and countless other communities maintained elements of their heritage while simultaneously embracing the broader American civic culture. Their children attended U.S. schools, learned English, served in the military, opened businesses, participated in civic life, and gradually became woven into the national fabric.

And importantly, this process continues to endure successfully in many places today.

One can look across countless immigrant communities throughout the United States where assimilation and cultural pride coexist beautifully. Indian American families dominating medicine, engineering, and entrepreneurship while maintaining strong family traditions. Nigerian immigrants excelling academically and professionally while contributing deeply to churches, local businesses, and civic institutions. Hispanic immigrants serving in law enforcement, the armed forces, and small-business ownership while maintaining rich linguistic and cultural traditions. Asian American communities revitalizing neighborhoods, building thriving schools, and producing some of the highest educational outcomes in the country.

These examples remind us that assimilation does not require cultural erasure. It requires civic alignment.

The problem emerges when political leaders encourage fragmentation over integration when multiculturalism evolves into parallel societies separated by language, values, expectations, and allegiance. A nation cannot endure indefinitely if large groups increasingly identify more with grievance, tribalism, or foreign conflicts than with the country they now call home.

Europe is confronting this tension directly.

In parts of the UK, France, Belgium, and Sweden, leaders are now facing difficult questions about whether integration policies failed to create a strong enough shared national identity. Rising crime, anti-Semitism, extremist ideologies, gang violence, and social unrest have intensified concerns among ordinary citizens who feel dismissed whenever they raise legitimate worries about assimilation, public safety, or cultural cohesion.

Yet this issue must never become an excuse for hatred or blanket condemnation of immigrants themselves. That would betray the very values Western civilization claims to defend. The overwhelming majority of immigrants come seeking peace, opportunity, safety, and dignity for their families. Most are hardworking, law-abiding, and deeply patriotic toward the nations that welcomed them.

But nations also have the right—indeed, the obligation—to expect those entering legally to respect the law, contribute productively, learn the culture, and embrace the civic values of their adopted homeland.

Without that expectation, societies eventually lose the trust and shared identity necessary for democracy itself to function.

History repeatedly teaches the same lesson. Civilizations rarely collapse overnight from external invasion alone. More often, they weaken gradually from within through cultural uncertainty, institutional decay, leadership paralysis, declining civic confidence, and an unwillingness to defend the principles that created stability in the first place.

The challenge facing the West today is not whether immigration should exist. Immigration will always exist. The real question is whether leaders still possess the wisdom and courage to preserve social cohesion while remaining humane, lawful, and fair.

Because compassion without order eventually produces chaos.

And order without compassion eventually produces cruelty.

Great nations require the discipline and maturity to uphold both simultaneously.

Solar stocks are showing a clear technical shift, breaking above a well-defined downtrend after more than five years of sustained pressure.

UBS analyst Catherine Gordon is attributing the surge in solar stocks to falling yields and renewed policy momentum. A potential Section 232 tariff announcement in mid-to-late June is adding fuel to the rally, with First Solar leading the charge.

The UBS Solar basket (UBXXSOL) is now up 40% year-to-date.

Gordon provided more context on what’s powering UBXXSOL higher:

Clean tech names are outperforming again on Tuesday, with solar leading higher alongside more speculative growth baskets as yields move lower. The backdrop has been broadly supportive, with the UBS Solar basket (UBXXSOL) now up 33% MTD.

First Solar is the standout mover, with the stock trading around $268 and continuing to rally in anticipation of a potential Section 232 tariff announcement in the near term. Earlier today, Windham hosted Toyo Solar on a call, where the company indicated that mid‑ to late‑June could be the timing for Section 232, with measures potentially including a minimum import price alongside tariffs. There is also scope for domestic manufacturing investments to be used as an offset to tariff liability.

The prevailing dynamic has been “buy the rumor and buy the news,” with momentum building into the expected policy update. Beyond S232, the next key catalyst for First Solar (FSLR) is likely to be order commentary on 2Q earnings calls.

Elsewhere, sentiment remains constructive across parts of the solar complex, with Nextracker (NXT) still viewed as a core holding. On the residential side, there have been questions around the sharp moves in SolarEdge (SEDG) and Enphase Energy (ENPH). Enphase’s recent announcement around a solid‑state transformer appears to have driven a short squeeze. However, this is not viewed as a differentiated development, with multiple electrical equipment players — including Schneider Electric and ABB — already pursuing similar technologies. Against that backdrop, the residential rally looks vulnerable to fading.

Last month, Goldman analyst Brian Lee told clients that “Utility-scale demand remains resilient amid pricing volatility, while residential stays challenged but with cleaner channel conditions.” Professional subscribers can read the full GS note here at our new Marketdesk.ai portal.