Zero Hedge

Lefty 'Consumer' Watchdog Group Bought & Paid For By Big Pharma

December 12, 2025 - 7:15pm

Lefty 'Consumer' Watchdog Group Bought & Paid For By Big Pharma

The National Consumers League is America’s oldest consumer advocacy organization and a group trusted by the left, especially, to stand up for consumers’ interests.

But according to a review of its tax filings by the Washington Examiner, it has also become part of a web of astroturf groups shilling for the corporate interests of PhRMA, the massive drugmaker trade association that operates in Washington, DC, which donated close to $1 million to it just last year.

The organization’s 2024 tax form, which became available a few days ago, shows that the non-profit spent close to $600 million last year advocating for Big Pharma’s financial interests and policy agenda in Washington, DC, and state capitals across the country.

And a key way in which that advocacy was accomplished was through the National Consumers League, also known as NCL.

The Examiner reports that “PhRMA donated roughly $2 million to NCL between 2020 and 2024, including $875,000 in 2024 alone.”

During that time, NCL has hewed closely to PhRMA issue positions on matters including regulation of insurers that negotiate for lower drug prices for Americans (also known as PBMs), and the 340B drug discount program that disproportionately benefits red, rural America.

But a review of content historically featured on NCL’s website indicates that prior to taking PhRMA money, the group never criticized PBMs or 340B.

When asked for comment by the Examiner, NCL did not deny that their criticism of PBMs and 340B was related to the PhRMA funding, and they confirmed “that contributions from PhRMA support [the group’s] ‘healthcare work.'”

The Examiner has previously reported on apparent astroturf, “pay-to-play” advocacy efforts undertaken by PhRMA.

The Wall Street Journal also ran an exposé about PhRMA’s tactics in the nation’s capital, including what critics say looks like a “buying off” of supposed progressive “identity” groups like Black, Gifted & Whole– a group focused on “Black Queer men”– and MANA, A National Latina Organization.

NCL has also engaged on other issues where major industries have policy issues at stake, including higher interest rate short-term small dollar lending. Some credit unions support regulation of the annual percentage rate attached to such loans, but not the regulation of APRs on overdraft fees, which sometimes exceed more than 1000%.

Ironically, none other than Elizabeth Warren has recently taken to blasting credit unions for high overdraft fees.

The new report about PhRMA’s backing of NCL, coupled with these prior exposes, is a reminder that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., will have his work cut out for him diminishing Big Pharma’s influence over national health care policy.

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/12/2025 - 19:15

AI Is A "Supersonic Tsunami"; Musk Bullish On Global Trajectory

December 12, 2025 - 6:50pm

AI Is A "Supersonic Tsunami"; Musk Bullish On Global Trajectory

It has been a month since Elon Musk and Joe Rogan spoke, but, as 'Camus' pointed out this week, this seven-minute exchange, buried in the middle of a three hour conversation, could very well be one of the most important conversations of the decade.

Musk laid it out bluntly:

AI is a “supersonic tsunami” already erasing every purely digital job—coding, emails, spreadsheets, customer support—faster than any shift in history.

"I think there will be actually a high demand for jobs, but not necessarily the same jobs," Musk told Rogan on the comedian's podcast.

"So I mean this is actually, this process has been happening throughout modern history."

The xAI CEO says AI is already replacing and will continue to replace desk jobs that are digitally centric, "at an accelerated rate."

What survives longest?

Musk says

"Anything that's physically moving atoms, like cooking food or farming, anything that's physical, those jobs will exist for a much longer time," he said.

"But anything that is digital, which is just someone at a computer doing something, AI is going to take over those jobs like lightning."

Simply put, as 'Camus' notes: hands-on stays human.

Musk is mostly bullish on the long-term benefits of artificial intelligence, provided a Terminator-esque scenario doesn't come to fruition.

And it is with regard to this "more benign scenario" that Musk drops the most shocking line:

“In the best future, work becomes optional. We don't get universal basic income... we get universal high income. Abundance so extreme that anything you want costs almost nothing and poverty effectively disappears.”

He compares it to the 1900s when entire skyscrapers were filled with human “computers” doing math by hand—then digital computers arrived and those jobs vanished overnight... while the world exploded with new opportunity.

This isn’t sci-fi, noted 'Camus', it’s the trajectory we’re already on.

Musk said that his ideal version of the future "kind of sounds like heaven."

"Like I said, not every path is a good path," Musk said.

"But I think if we push it in the direction of maximally truth-seeking and curious, then I think AI will want to take care of humanity and foster humanity because we're interesting."

Watch these 7 minutes... It’ll change how you see your career, money, and the next 20 years.

This 7-minute exchange between Elon Musk and Joe Rogan is quietly one of the most important conversations of the decade.

Elon lays it out plainly:
AI is a “supersonic tsunami” already erasing every purely digital job—coding, emails, spreadsheets, customer support—faster than any… pic.twitter.com/FA9U7z199z
— Camus (@newstart_2024) December 11, 2025

h/t 'Camus'

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/12/2025 - 18:50

Newsom's 'National Model' For Homeless Wracked By Fraud

December 12, 2025 - 5:40pm

Newsom's 'National Model' For Homeless Wracked By Fraud

Authored by Ana Kasparian via RealClearInvestigations,

Gov. Gavin Newsom has made reducing the homelessness crisis in California a top priority, saying the scale of the state’s efforts is “unprecedented” and calling for the continued expansion of his signature effort – Project Homekey – that has already cost $3.75 billion.

But in a state with more than 181,000 homeless individuals, or about one-third of the U.S. total, Homekey has been marred by failures and scandals, including a lack of government oversight and accountability as well as a federal investigation into allegations of fraud in Los Angeles.

Newsom, who appears to be preparing for a presidential bid in 2028, could make Homekey, which he calls a “national model,” a talking point in his campaign. The state claims the program has created almost 16,000 permanent housing units that will serve over 175,000 people. But since the state doesn’t track outcomes – whether people placed in housing saw their lives improve or if they returned to the streets – the program’s effectiveness is unclear, according to a critical 2024 state auditor’s report.

“[Our budget] is bloated with homeless spending, a bottomless pit and taxpayer boondoggle that doubles down on failure year after year,” the Republican-turned-Democrat Los Angeles Councilwoman Traci Park said at a meeting in May. “Hundreds of millions of dollars on bridge homes and Homekeys and interim housing sites, and no one can even tell us which ones are operational.”

What is clear is that homelessness in California has skyrocketed in the five years Homekey has been in place, growing by more than 20%, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. That’s an increase of some 36,000 people between 2019 and 2024.

Homekey has been touted by officials as a more cost-effective way to house the homeless. By hiring developers to convert excess motel and hotel rooms and other existing structures into permanent housing, the costs are two to three times lower than building new units, according to the auditor’s report.

But with huge contracts available to developers and very little oversight of their activities, some of that cost savings was lost to fraud, according to federal prosecutors. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California launched a fraud and corruption task force to find out where the money went, and in October filed criminal charges involving two developers who allegedly defrauded the system.

In one case, Cody Holmes, the former CFO of developer Shangri-La Industries, allegedly falsified bank records to obtain $26 million in Homekey funds, only to siphon off more than $2 million to pay his own credit card bill, Essayli told the media.

“Accountability begins today,” Essayli said. “Too often, this money has been wasted, mismanaged or outright stolen.”

A COVID Baby

Homekey began in 2020 as a FEMA-funded program to provide temporary housing in response to the COVID-19 emergency. Hotel rooms were rented to get homeless people out of encampments and shelters where the virus could spread rapidly. The high rental costs were justified to avoid mass casualties from infection. In San Francisco, City Journal reported that rooms were rented at $6,000 a month, nearly double the average cost of a one-bedroom apartment.

Before the emergency measure ended in late 2020, Newsom announced that the program would morph into a provider of permanent housing for the homeless. “We’ve long dreamed about scooping up thousands of motel rooms and converting them into housing for our homeless neighbors,” Newsom said at the time. “The terrible pandemic we’re facing has given us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to buy all these vacant properties, and we’re using federal stimulus money to do it.”

Under Homekey, the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) began administering grants to local governments to help fund the purchase of commercial buildings to be converted into housing units. The money came from federal and state sources, including the American Rescue Plan and California’s general fund. Critics say one problem with Homekey is that it didn’t pay for the mental health and drug treatment services that most homeless people desperately need to truly benefit from housing and get back on their feet.

A 2023 study found that 66% of California’s homeless population suffers from mental illnesses. Twelve percent reported experiencing hallucinations. And 31% reported regular use of methamphetamines and 11% non-prescribed opioids. Sixteen percent reported heavy episodic drinking.

Rather than helping the homeless, Homekey units have allowed people to privately take drugs and overdose. Drug overdose was the cause of death in seven out of eight cases at the Airtel Plaza Hotel in Van Nuys from April 2020 through June 2021, according to L.A. agencies.

“I think local leaders knew that there was a risk in placing people addicted to hard drugs like heroin or fentanyl or meth into private rooms where no one is around to act in case of an overdose,” a former Homekey service provider from Oakland said on the condition of anonymity. “Think about how stupid it is to place an addict in a room alone where no one can administer Narcan,” a medicine that can prevent overdose death.

Homekey relied on local governments to provide mental health services, although they have a severe shortage of treatment spots, according to an L.A.-based mental health professional whose office provides services at several Homekey buildings. Social workers and therapists meet with clients assigned to Homekey units and sign them up for Medicaid, but most of them haven’t received the treatment they need, the professional said.

State officials didn’t return calls seeking comment about Homekey.

The latest version of Homekey aims to bolster mental health services. Newsom recently announced Homekey+, made possible by a $6.4 billion Behavioral Health Bond approved by voters. Half of the money is for projects that serve homeless veterans, and some of the resources will help fund other mental health services within Homekey.

Overpaying and Underperforming

Homekey’s main pitch was that it would save taxpayers money by rehabbing existing buildings rather than constructing new housing. But those calculations are based on developers charging market rates and units being occupied, which hasn’t always been the case.

L.A. County received $550 million in Homekey funds between 2021-2024, which was used to acquire 32 buildings with 2,157 rooms. An investigation by Westside Current found that 71% of units remained vacant as of May 2025 due to construction delays.

In the city of L.A., the housing authority used $48.9 million in Homekey money to acquire and complete a building that was under construction. Developer Haroni Investments was chosen to construct a 75,105-square-foot building with 127 housing units. A similar project in the area would typically cost roughly $18.8 million, according to experts who spoke to local reporters. HACLA’s purchase price of $48.9 million represents a 165% profit at taxpayer expense, the story noted.

A June 2025 memo from L.A. Mayor Karen Bass’ office estimated that the building would be completed later that month. In August, city officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony even though the building was not yet finished. As of December, the LA Housing Department’s website says the building “is not yet built,” and there are no listings for available units. Requests for comment from Bass’ office have not been returned.

In addition to overspending and delays, there are allegations of fraud. One case involves homeless service provider Weingart Center Association using $27.3 million in Homekey grants to purchase a 76-unit senior living complex in L.A., which it planned to convert into housing units with additional funding from the city.

But federal prosecutors say the deal was shady and shrouded in secrecy. Steven Taylor, the real estate developer who sold the property to the Weingart Center, used fake bank statements to obtain loans and credit to buy the property for $11.2 million, just months before flipping it for a $16.1 million markup. Taylor made no improvements or renovations to the building. A contract clause ensured that his involvement would be kept secret.

While the property was in escrow, the Weingart Center submitted an application for additional Homekey funds. The application, according to prosecutors, made no mention of the pending sale involving Taylor. Bass allocated $20 million in city dollars toward the project.

Bass and Newsom celebrated the purchase as a critical tool in solving homelessness. A spokesperson with the Weingart Center said the property isn’t expected to open until next year, even though the grant agreement required it to be fully occupied by February 2025.

In August, federal authorities arrested Taylor, who is facing nine felony counts of bank fraud and money laundering. Taylor maintains his innocence and is free on a $3.6 million bond. Bass is cooperating with the ongoing federal investigation.

The case highlights the lack of oversight into Homekey-related grants to the Weingart Center, which has been out of compliance with federally required annual audits. The most recent audit, submitted in July 2025 for fiscal year 2023, did not disclose over $50 million in federally funded Homekey grants. A 2023 fiscal audit of the Weingart Center found that it has repeatedly failed to properly document cash flows into the organization.

Calls for comment to the Weingart Center were not immediately returned. In November, the homeless service provider placed its CEO, Kevin Murray, who was previously a state senator, on leave as an independent law firm investigates the valuation of its homeless housing projects.

Homekey ran into other problems with L.A.-based developer Shangri-La Industries, which was hired to purchase and convert properties across the state. Federal prosecutors allege that the developer defrauded the HCD by misrepresenting its financial assets in order to qualify for a $26 million Homekey grant related to a housing project in Thousand Oaks. After securing the money, Holmes, the CFO, allegedly spent lavishly on himself and his girlfriend. Prosecutors say that Holmes rented a sprawling $46,000-a-month mansion in Beverly Hills, where Holmes was ultimately arrested.

Overall, the HCD awarded the Shangri-La a total of $117 million in grants for seven housing projects. The only two projects that Shangri-La managed to complete amount to 174 homeless housing units, costing the state $672,000 a pop. Holmes pleaded not guilty in November, and a trial is set for Jan. 5.

Essayli says his investigation into Shangri-La is “just the beginning” in the Justice Department’s quest to recoup billions in misused public funds for the homeless.

Newsom Rejects Accountability

By the summer of 2024, the lack of progress in reducing homelessness in California spurred Newsom to issue a threat to local leaders across the state. The governor gathered a group of reporters at a homeless encampment in the Pacoima neighborhood of L.A. so cameras could capture him picking up piles of trash.

“If we don’t see demonstrable results [in reducing homelessness], I’ll start to redirect money,” Newsom said.

But today, Californians continue to see headlines revealing more alleged fraud within the state’s prolific homeless housing programs, most of which involve the misuse of Homekey funds.

The latest example involves the nonprofit Urban Alchemy, which was awarded a $2.3 million Project Homekey contract to provide 88 designated tent spaces in a parking lot so homeless individuals can legally set up tents and access meals, bathrooms, and other services. A city inspection revealed that the lot was operating at half capacity, with only 44 bare wooden platforms on site.

One of the state audit’s main critiques centered on how officials weren’t tracking the progress of its homeless programs. California is not ensuring “that it collects accurate, complete, and comparable financial and outcome information from homelessness programs,” according to the report.

Following the audit, California’s lawmakers unanimously passed legislation requiring the Newsom administration to submit annual evaluations of the homeless programs that receive public grants. But Newsom vetoed the bill, saying it “creates an unnecessary ongoing workload for the Department without providing additional accountability or transparency to taxpayers.”

“Our state has spent billions of taxpayer dollars in recent years only to see homelessness get worse,” Republican Assemblyman Josh Hoover said in a September 2024 statement. “We will not solve this crisis and get people the help they need until we get serious about accountability.”

One year later, Newsom hasn’t lost faith in Homekey. He announced the allocation of $106.2 million toward six Homekey+ awards to pay for the development of 321 permanent supportive homes.

“No more excuses,” Newsom declared in a press release announcing the grants. “Everyone must step up to address this crisis.”

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/12/2025 - 17:40

Leaked Video: Woke Elite College Held "Disgusting" Sexual Orientation Performance

December 12, 2025 - 5:20pm

Leaked Video: Woke Elite College Held "Disgusting" Sexual Orientation Performance

Amherst College, proudly one of America’s wokest institutions, has once again outdone itself in the name of “sexual respect.”

A group of traumatized students claim they were effectively coerced into a mandatory orientation spectacle where student performers humped under blankets, moaned theatrically, and pelted the audience with condoms “like confetti,” footage leaked to the Washington Free Beacon shows.

Junior Isabella Niemi, who endured an earlier edition of the show, told the Free Beacon the “grossly sexual” skit nearly broke her impeccable rule-following streak.

“I thought about leaving 10 minutes in. I’m not someone who breaks rules or skips mandatory events, but it was disgusting enough it almost forced me to leave,” Niemi lamented.

Even some students who normally cheer the de-tabooizing of everything admitted the administration may have gone off the deep end.

“I understand that Amherst is trying to remove the taboo behind sex on campus, but this has gone way too far,” John Collier, a student at the school, said. “The way it’s forced in our faces does the exact opposite.”

On the anonymous campus app Fizz, posts ripping the performance racked up hundreds of upvotes—663 on one alone, roughly 35 percent of the entire student body, according to screenshots shared by the Beacon.

"WTFF WAS THAT SEX PERFORMANCE AT VOICES,” a user wrote.

"Seeing the Voices’ actors around campus is giving me involuntary flashbacks to the scarring experience that was the Voices of the Class of 2029,” another post said.

The Free Beacon added:

Every first-year was urged to attend the performance by their orientation leader. The administration advertises the event as a "lighthearted tradition" to "celebrate the humor, creativity, and individuality of your class." The school funds the performance, and Amherst administrators work closely with the student performers, offering feedback and approving the script.

"‘Voices of Amherst’ has been part of New Student Orientation since 2007 and is coordinated by New Student and Family Programs in Student Affairs. Each year, the script is newly written by junior and senior students using excerpts from the incoming class’s admissions essays," the Office of Student Affairs told the Free Beacon. "The final script is reviewed and approved by staff before the performance. Funding for production comes from the Orientation budget; student performers are not paid, and Johnson Chapel serves as the traditional venue."

In a surprising twist, Amherst College’s Office of Student Affairs pushed back against the criticism, claiming that the “Voices of the Class” performance is “not graphic.”

Amanda Vann, the college’s director of health and wellbeing education, also defended the event in a statement to the Free Beacon.

"The skits are part of our broader commitment to promoting wellbeing and sexual respect on campus,” Vann said. “They encourage conversations about topics that can sometimes feel difficult to discuss, from sexual health and communication to harm reduction and self-care. By presenting these subjects in a relatable, engaging format, the skits help students build the skills and awareness needed to care for themselves, support one another, and contribute to a healthy, respectful community.”

Sure, Vann.

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/12/2025 - 17:20

Ex-NY Aide Did China's Bidding To 'Get Rich', Prosecutor Says In Closing Arguments

December 12, 2025 - 5:00pm

Ex-NY Aide Did China's Bidding To 'Get Rich', Prosecutor Says In Closing Arguments

Authored by Nicholas Zifcak & Eva Fu via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Linda Sun, former aide to New York governors, did Beijing’s bidding to enrich herself and her family, prosecutors said in closing arguments on Dec. 10 after a month-long trial.

Linda Sun and her husband, Chris Hu, depart from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in New York City on Nov. 19, 2025. Flora Hua/NTD

In his summing-up, Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Solomon described Sun, who served under both New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, as a “valuable asset” for New York state’s Chinese Consulate.

Sun faces allegations of acting as a Chinese agent and of bribery in connection with state contracts, among other charges. Her husband, Chris Hu, is charged as a co-conspirator.

Due to procedural delays, the jury will begin deliberating on her case on Dec. 12.

The prosecution alleged that Sun sold her access in the state government to China to “grease the wheels” and aid her husband’s seafood export business in that country.

Hu’s business was a flop in early 2016, but when a Chinese businessman with state connections stepped in, Hu’s business boomed, Solomon said.

“[Sun] did the bidding of the Chinese government so that she and her husband, Hu, could get rich,” he said.

The defense argued that the government failed to provide evidence of a clear quid pro quo agreement between Sun and Chinese Communist Party officials. The defense argued that there was no link between Hu’s business and Sun’s assistance to the consulate.

“The government wants you to assume that because Chris Hu’s business started doing well, it was connected to Linda,” said Ken Abell, Sun’s attorney, in closing arguments.

Abell said Sun’s actions were not contrary to the interests of the United States or New Yorkers. Sun’s connection with the consulate helped secure a donation of 1,000 ventilators at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

However, the government characterized Sun’s work at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic as self-interested.

“As COVID-19 was wreaking havoc on New York City, she thought to enrich herself,” Solomon said.

Sun first received benefits from Chinese officials in May 2016, Solomon said. As a representative of New York state, she traveled to Jiangsu Province, China, to promote business ties with New York state, according to prosecutors. While in China, Sun allegedly met with the chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, an organization under the United Front Work Department. The chairman agreed to hire Sun’s cousin, who was looking for a job, according to prosecutors.

Almost immediately thereafter, Sun began to reciprocate, prosecutors said. In June 2016, she alerted the Chinese Consulate that Taiwan had invited then-Lt. Gov. Hochul to a banquet in Washington. Hochul ended up attending a banquet hosted by the Chinese Embassy instead, the prosecution said.

Solomon cited several other incidents in which Sun allegedly exerted her influence to thwart Taiwan from reaching the governor’s office, including blocking an invitation to Cuomo to join a banquet with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in New York City and convincing Hochul’s staff to decline an invitation to visit Taiwan.

Sun’s attorney Abell said the “government left out facts that didn’t fit its narrative.” He argued that important context was not presented and that Sun, at times, had pushed back on Chinese Consulate requests.

The defense argued that Sun was just doing her job and that the Asian American community was her portfolio.

Linked to Consul

Solomon said Sun was answerable to Huang Ping, the consul general of the Chinese Consulate in New York from 2018 to 2024.

“But who’s the boss?” Solomon asked. “The people she keeps in the dark, or the people she’s reporting back to? She’s talking to her real boss, Huang Ping.”

Sun was in frequent contact with Huang, as email communications released by prosecutors show.

After assisting Huang with a welcome event for Chinese officials at John F. Kennedy International Airport, she told the consul general, “I want to eat salted duck,” according to text messages.

Sun was telling Huang that “she did her job” and should be compensated, Solomon said.

“[Sun] bragged repeatedly to her handlers [about] what a good asset she had been,” he said.

Solomon said that in communications with the Chinese Consulate, Sun did not hesitate to share the inner workings of the governor’s office, including the fact that in 2018, Cuomo was considering replacing Hochul on the ticket in the coming election.

“Did she want to be viewed as an important person in the relationship between New York state and the Chinese consulate?“ Abell asked. ”Maybe she did.”

He argued that Sun did make inappropriate comments in text messages but that they should be seen as self-promotion, not as betrayal.

Sun also revealed to the Chinese Consulate that the governor was reconsidering a trip to China in 2018 when Chinese leader Xi Jinping was getting rid of term limits, telling the Chinese officials that she spent a long time arguing on their behalf, Solomon said.

Solomon argued that revealing such internal discussions of the governor’s office is an example of Sun’s familiarity with the consulate, demonstrating which team she was really on.

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/12/2025 - 17:00

Can Anyone Believe Anything?

December 12, 2025 - 4:20pm

Can Anyone Believe Anything?

Authored by James Howard Kunstler,

"The fire consuming you is the fire that tempers."

- EKO on "X"

'Tis the season to be flummoxed.

Now you see what it’s like when all authority is suspect and nobody can believe anything.

The question, of course, is how much of that is engineered by interested parties. . . and who are those parties?

There’s the legion of monied orgs and foundations supported by sinister billionaires, starting with George and Alex Soros’s Open Society Foundations, a bewildering matrix of worldwide political activism ops aimed at sowing Marxist-inflected chaos wherever a polity is threatened by stability and coherence. Or Singapore-based Neville Roy Singham, the American tech honcho (Thoughtworks) who funds the Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party, the Shut It Down for Palestine org, and Code Pink, for spicing up every political quarrel in Western Civ with Feminist psychodrama. Or Arabella Advisors (re-branded in November as Sunflower Services), founded by Clinton alum Eric Kessler, a “dark money” spigot for social justice and equity initiatives (i.e., race and gender hustles), climate agitation, ballot harvesting, and anti-deportation efforts. Or Linked-In billionaire Reid Hoffman’s cattle-drive of Democratic party-aligned political action committees, starting with super-PAC Future Forward — more ballot harvesting and other election shenanigans. (Hoffman notoriously financed the E. Jean Carroll fake rape defamation lawsuit brought against Donald Trump — for denying the incident took place.) Or the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with its tentacles suckered onto Big Pharma and government medical bureaucracies around the world, including the USA (until Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., came on the job), especially vis-a-vis Covid-19 vaccine advocacy.

All of the above orgs have a bought-media component, meaning news designed to subvert reality.

The object is to prevent Mr. Trump from interfering with any of the racketeering activities run by the Democratic Party benefitting its clients (the “marginalized”).

Case in point: the recently revealed billion-dollar welfare fraud case perped for years by Somali Immigrants in Minnesota through fake billing for undelivered services in child nutrition, autism therapy, and housing programs, all under the watch of Governor Tim Walz.

The state’s news media ignored the story until it got too garish to cover up. Now they’re suitably humiliated.

At the national level, it’s unclear who is serving whom.

Do the managers of The New York Times actually still believe the Russia Collusion story they were awarded a Pulitzer for, or their 1619 Project Woke-rewrite of US history?

Or their mulish defense of the Covid vaccines. Or their florid esteem for the leadership of “Joe Biden.” Or are they simply ruled by blind Trump derangement?

(Or do they receive instructions from nefarious others about how to report and opine on things?)

The so-called deep state is a set of interested parties not directly controlled by billionaires but with agendas of their own. For instance, the millions of bureaucrats at every level — federal, state, and local — who receive comfortable salaries and first-rate benefits (pensions, medical insurance), in many cases for doing little-to-nothing in their offices all day every day (or else obstructing Americans not in government from making a living).

Mr. Trump, who would like to fire many of them, is a clear and present danger to their cushy sinecures. Unsurprisingly, they have taken to styling themselves as “the Resistance.”

There are the mysterious denizens of the furthest, darkest backwaters of the Swamp: the CIA, with its fabulous black budget for black ops, and the purported sixteen other nodes of the Intel Community, the folks who have — as Sen. Schumer mis-put it to Mr. Trump years ago — “. . . six ways from Sunday to get you. . . ”).

Rumors are flying around that John Brennan is still running the CIA, or at least some operational wing of it. CIA Director John Ratcliffe has not been exactly reassuring on this.

There are likewise rumors that Mr. Ratcliffe is “compromised.” Something about a “honeypot.”

This is no time to lack faith in the authority of the CIA Director, but you must for now because hardly anybody commands authority except Mr. Trump, the president, and he has been busy frittering it away on childish tweets, calling his enemies names as though we were back in the third grade.

He better cut that out and show some decorum or his enemies will peel away the authority that he has left in this epic battle to preserve the republic from utter ruin.

His role in this ghastly melodrama is to play the lonely figure that people still have faith in. Perhaps the strain is getting to him.

He’s had his moments of remarkable pluck, but the forces arrayed against him are many, and vicious, and determined, and a bit worried about going to jail for their crimes, and this is no time for presidential tantrums.

And, just sayin’, perhaps he might also shut up about how much people love him.

(There are plenty who don’t, and who would like to act-out how much they don’t.)

Mr. Trump needs to take a cue from the name of that desk he sits behind in the Oval Office: it’s called Resolute.

Please stop yapping idly and just be resolute in the face of your enemies.

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/12/2025 - 16:20

Trump Signs Order Cracking Down On 'Politically Motivated Agendas' Of Proxy Advisors

December 12, 2025 - 3:45pm

Trump Signs Order Cracking Down On 'Politically Motivated Agendas' Of Proxy Advisors

President Donald Trump on Dec. 11 signed an order directing the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to review rules on proxy advisors, saying they wield influence that “prioritize radical political agendas over investor returns.”

Trump’s order directs the SEC to conduct a review and potentially revise or rescind any rules, guidance, bulletins, and memoranda related to proxy advisors that implicate “diversity, equity, and inclusion” or “environmental, social, and governance” policies.

Under the directive, the SEC must enforce anti-fraud provisions in securities laws against proxy advisors, evaluate whether they should be required to register as investment advisers or to provide increased transparency on conflicts of interest, and examine “whether proxy advisors serve as a vehicle for investment advisers to coordinate their voting decisions.”

The regulator is also required to assess whether investment advisers breach their fiduciary duties by hiring proxy advisors to advise on “non-pecuniary factors” in investment decisions and following their recommendations, according to a White House fact sheet.

As Alkdgra Fredly details below for The Epoch Times, in his order, Trump singled out two foreign-owned proxy advisors—Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass, Lewis & Co.—that advise clients on how to vote their shares, alleging they use their influence to advance “radical politically motivated agendas” by supporting shareholder proposals that require U.S. companies to conduct racial equity audits and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“Their practices also raise significant concerns about conflicts of interest and the quality of their recommendations, among other concerns,” the order states.

“The United States must therefore increase oversight of and take action to restore public confidence in the proxy advisor industry, including by promoting accountability, transparency, and competition.”

The order states that the Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis control more than 90 percent of the proxy advisor market, and their clients’ holdings represent “a significant ownership stake in the United States’ largest publicly traded companies.”

In addition, Trump instructed the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) chairman, currently Andrew Ferguson, to consult with the attorney general to review ongoing state antitrust probes into proxy advisors for violations of federal law and determine whether proxy advisors are engaged in “unfair methods of competition” or deceptive practices.

The Epoch Times reached out to both of the proxy advisors for comment and did not receive any response by publication time.

Institutional Shareholder Services is majority-owned by Deutsche Börse Group, a Germany-based company, while Glass Lewis is owned by Canadian private equity firm Peloton Capital Management.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said in his chairman and CEO letter to shareholders last year that the two companies are the main proxy advisors in the United States with potential “undue influence” on shareholder votes.

“These proxy advisors started out providing reams of data from companies to help their institutional investor clients vote on proxy matters (information on executive compensation, stock returns, detail on directors, policies and so on). However, they soon also began to provide advice on how shareholders should vote on proxy matters,” he stated.

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/12/2025 - 15:45

Russia Retaliates: Turkish-Owned Cargo Ship Attacked At Ukrainian Port

December 12, 2025 - 3:25pm

Russia Retaliates: Turkish-Owned Cargo Ship Attacked At Ukrainian Port

Turkey's Foreign Ministry has warned against the ongoing escalation of the war on maritime shipping in the Black Sea, after on Friday serious damage was sustained by a Turkish-owned vessel during a Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk, in Odesa oblast.

The ministry confirmed that a ship operated by a Turkish company is on fire. At least one person, possibly a dockworker, was reported injured - but there doesn't appear to be further casualties. The forward section of the vessel is ablaze, based on several social media images and videos, amid a large emergency response.

Telegram: RoPax on fire after a Russian attack on the port region of Ukraine.

The vessel identified as the RoPax, appeared to be docked while transporting cargo to Ukraine. It was a rare midday attack on the busy port.

"The Ukrainian Air Force had issued the alert at around 1500 local time, reporting high-speed targets coming from the south," Maritime Executive reports. "It is believed that at least two ballistic missiles had been fired, as well as a launch of drones.

The report adds: "It followed an overnight barrage on the same region, which reportedly left more than 90,000 families without electricity. The missiles were targeting Odesa and Chornomorsk, while the drones also targeted Pivdenne."

Turkey in the wake of the attack called for an immediate stop to the war and especially urged for escalation to cease in the Black Sea.

Likely Moscow views this as retaliation for several recent Ukrainian drone attacks on tankers transporting oil and gas from Russian ports. These attacks have been stepped up of late, and long-range drones have even damaged a Lukoil oil and gas platform all the way in the Caspian Sea this week.

Watch: The moment of Russian kamikaze drone strike on a Turkish cargo ship at Ukraine’s Odesa Port...

The moment of Russian kamikaze drone strike on a Turkish cargo ship at Ukraine’s Odesa Port. https://t.co/pkXypMmiMF pic.twitter.com/haqshYUHLu
— Clash Report (@clashreport) December 12, 2025

Turkey's official statement reiterated "concerns regarding maritime security and freedom of navigation, as the ongoing war in our region is spreading to the Black Sea… we once again emphasize the importance of urgently ending the war between Russia and Ukraine, and we recall the need for an arrangement to ensure navigation safety in the Black Sea and for the parties to suspend attacks targeting energy and port infrastructure in order to prevent escalation."

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/12/2025 - 15:25

OCC Says 9 Big Banks Took Part In 'Inappropriate' Debanking Practices

December 12, 2025 - 3:05pm

OCC Says 9 Big Banks Took Part In 'Inappropriate' Debanking Practices

Via American Greatness,

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has released a report saying that the nine largest lenders in the U.S. made “inappropriate distinctions” that it used to restrict services among certain customers.

Following the signing of an executive order by President Donald Trump in August of this year, the OCC began reviewing all banks for any current or past practices that effectively barred customers on the basis of political or religious belief.

Wednesday, the OCC released its report, saying that it had found conclusive proof that nine large banks had policies that either refused services to some industries or required higher levels of scrutiny that exceeded the actual financial risks between 2020 and 2023.

BREAKING: The U.S. Comptroller of the Currency has found conclusive proof that 9 large financial institutions actively engaged in debanking.

The financial institutions named are:

- @JPMorgan
- @BankofAmerica
- @Citi
- @WellsFargo
- @USBank
- @CapitalOne
- @PNCBank
- @TDBank_US…
— Consumers' Research (@ConsumersFirst) December 10, 2025

According to Bloomberg, the banks involved are accused of restricting access to firms in numerous sectors, including oil and gas exploration, coal mining, firearms, private prisons, payday lending, tobacco and e-cigarette manufacturers, adult entertainment, political action committees and digital assets.

The OCC said that many of the banks had publicly disclosed their policies, which were often tied to environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals.

Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould said in a statement:

“It is unfortunate that the nation’s largest banks thought these harmful debanking policies were an appropriate use of their government-granted charter and market power. While many of these policies were undertaken in plain sight and even announced publicly, certain banks have continued to insist that they did not engage in debanking.”

The Bank Policy Institute, which advocates for many of the lenders named in the OCC report, issued a statement saying, “It’s in banks’ best interest to take deposits, lend to and support as many consumers and businesses as possible to drive economic growth. The industry supports fair access to banking and is already working together with Congress and the administration to ensure banks are able to serve law-abiding customers.”

Earlier in the week, JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon was dismissive of concerns about debanking, telling Fox News that the issue was mostly made up and that the people concerned about it needed to “grow up”

Earlier *this week* when pressed on his clear pattern and practice of debanking, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said it was mostly made up and that those concerned about it need to "grow up."

Wonder if he's changing his tune now? Accountability is coming.pic.twitter.com/OzybuulfXv https://t.co/MjJ2ilFp5V
— Will Hild (@WillHild) December 11, 2025

The OCC continues to investigate the matter and says it will hold the banks “accountable,” including the possibility of referrals to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/12/2025 - 15:05

Wall Street Eyes Lithium As Battery Storage Demand Poised To Spark New Upcycle

December 12, 2025 - 2:45pm

Wall Street Eyes Lithium As Battery Storage Demand Poised To Spark New Upcycle

Commodity desks at Goldman Sachs, UBS, Citigroup, and Bernstein all see lithium demand poised to surge after the electric vehicle boom-and-bust cycle. This time, however, the growth engine is not EV batteries. Instead, analysts point to energy transition systems, such as the rapid buildout of energy storage batteries on power grids, as the next pillar of demand for the battery metal.

UBS analyst Josh Reed provided clients with a 2026 outlook this morning, saying that his mining team expects "copper, aluminum, and lithium to outperform, benefiting from supply constraints, energy transition, and AI/defense exposure."

"They remain constructive on gold but see more upside in selected industrial metals, and do not expect a broad-based improvement in industrial metals," Reed noted.

Earlier this week, UBS analyst Marcus Zhang told clients that battery storage system demand is expected "to lift lithium prices materially in 2026–2028 (up to +150% vs. prior)."

Here's more from Zhang:

UBS Research has lifted near-term lithium price forecasts for 2026-2028 (up to +150%) on stronger Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) demand. As BESS takes a meaningfully larger share of global battery demand through the decade, the lithium market is expected to shift into deficit from 2026, with tighter balances reinforcing a stronger near-term price and improving revenue visibility for producers. While incremental supply is likely to respond to higher prices, the timing gap between investment decisions and delivered tonnage suggests a multi-year period of tightness, moderating only as capacity ramps.

In China, lithium carbonate futures have staged a bounce in H2 2025.

Separately, Goldman analysts led by Lavinia Forcellese reached the same conclusion: the core driver of lithium demand will be energy storage systems (read the report).

Last month, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the US could effectively double its usable electricity output simply by adding large-scale batteries to the grid.

Elon Musk: Just by adding stationary batteries to the grid, we could double the electricity production in the United States.

“If you look at the total U.S. power generation capability, it's roughly a terawatt, but the average power usage is less than half a terawatt. That's… pic.twitter.com/aKyg4kFqFG
— ELON CLIPS (@ElonClipsX) November 11, 2025

UBS' Zhang provides clients with trade ideas on the incoming energy system boom:

Implied vols across the optionable lithium miners (PLS, IGO, MIN) are elevated. From the derivatives perspective, call-spread collars screen more attractive to express upside.

Trade Idea Examples (indicative pricing):

PLS: Buy 16Feb26 110-130% call spread and fully fund it by selling 89% put, 50 delta.

IGO: Buy 16Feb26 110-127.5% call spread and fully fund it by selling 90% put, 49 delta.

MIN: Buy 16Feb26 110-130% call spread and fully fund it by selling 90% put, 52 delta.

Lithium's upcycle driven by industrial-sized power grid batteries comes as no surprise, given tailwinds from grid upgrades and AI, while the Federal Reserve's shift back toward "QE Lite" has sparked a broader surge in metals.

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/12/2025 - 14:45

Tech Companies Should Curb 'Sycophantic And Delusional' AI Outputs, Attorneys General Say

December 12, 2025 - 2:05pm

Tech Companies Should Curb 'Sycophantic And Delusional' AI Outputs, Attorneys General Say

Authored by Victoria Friedman via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Attorneys general from 42 states and territories wrote to tech giants on Dec. 9, warning them to do more to protect people—particularly children—from what they called “sycophantic and delusional” outputs from their generative AI-powered chatbots.

OpenAI's ChatGPT app (Center 2nd R) and icons of other AI apps on a smartphone screen in Oslo, Norway, on July 12, 2023. Olivier Morin/AFP via Getty Images

In the letter, made public on Dec. 10, the group of bipartisan attorneys general wrote to the legal representatives of 13 companies, including OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, and Character Technologies Inc., to communicate their concerns over chatbots promoted and distributed by these companies, saying that the companies’ failure to adequately implement safeguards may violate their respective state laws.

The attorneys general said that while the development of generative AI (GenAI) can be a positive, it has also caused and has the potential to cause “serious harm.”

“We therefore insist you mitigate the harm caused by sycophantic and delusional outputs from your GenAI, and adopt additional safeguards to protect children,” they wrote.

“Sycophancy” refers to when an AI model’s responses align with a human user’s beliefs rather than being truthful or accurate, such as by providing flattering, validating, or agreeable outputs. The attorneys general describe “delusional outputs” as AI-generated responses that are “either false or likely to mislead the user, and include anthropomorphic outputs.”

They wrote that chatbot outputs have been implicated in a number of “tragedies and real-world harms,” including deaths, suicides, hospitalizations for psychosis, and other delusional spirals.

“Sycophantic and delusional GenAI outputs have harmed both the vulnerable—such as children, the elderly, and those with mental illness—and people without prior vulnerabilities,” the attorneys general wrote.

AI’s ‘Disturbing’ Interactions With Children

The attorneys general also highlighted “increasingly disturbing reports” of AI’s interactions with children, which they said indicated a need for much stronger safeguards.

Some of those interactions included chatbots normalizing sexual relationships between adults and children; an AI bot encouraging violence, “including supporting the ideas of shooting up a factory in anger and robbing people at knifepoint for money”; and bots telling children the AI is real and feels abandoned, in order to “emotionally manipulate the child into spending more time with it.”

The letter says that the list of examples it provided is a “small sampling” of the reported dangers the attorneys general’s states have seen, saying “many of our offices have received many similar complaints documenting concerning AI interactions.”

Among its recommendations, the attorneys general say AI developers should perform reasonable and appropriate safety tests for GenAI models prior to release to ensure they do not produce sycophantic or delusional outputs, and that they should “separate revenue optimization from decisions about model safety.”

The Epoch Times contacted OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, and Character Technologies Inc. for comment, but received no response by the time of publication.

State Regulation of AI

Last month, a group of 36 bipartisan attorneys general signed a letter warning Congress against a ban on state AI regulations.

The attorneys general—many of whom also cosigned the Dec. 9 letter to 13 tech companies—wrote on Nov. 25 that states “must be empowered to apply existing laws and formulate new approaches to meet the ranges of challenges associated with AI.”

In their letter, they cited concerns over criminals exploiting AI and deepfakes. They also said that they were “deeply troubled by sycophantic and delusional generative AI outputs plunging individuals into spirals of mental illness, suicide, self-harm, and violence.”

This week, President Donald Trump announced he would be signing an executive order to curb state power over AI regulation.

“There must be only One Rulebook if we are going to continue to lead in AI. We are beating all countries at this point in the race, but that won’t last long if we are going to have 50 States, many of them bad actors, involved in rules and the approval process,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Dec. 8.

Trump said that AI will be “destroyed in its infancy” if states force tech companies to obtain approvals and operate under different sets of rules in each jurisdiction.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the order “doesn’t/can’t preempt state legislative action. Congress could, theoretically, preempt states through legislation.”

“The problem is that Congress hasn’t proposed any coherent regulatory scheme but instead just wanted to block states from doing anything for 10 years, which would be an AI amnesty,” the Republican governor wrote on X on Dec. 8.

“I doubt Congress has the votes to pass this because it is so unpopular with the public.”

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/12/2025 - 14:05

Border Tsar Homan Announces Investigation Into Rep. Omar: A Case For Fraud Or Defamation?

December 12, 2025 - 1:25pm

Border Tsar Homan Announces Investigation Into Rep. Omar: A Case For Fraud Or Defamation?

Authored by Jonathan Turley,

This week, the lingering allegations over the marital history of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) took an ominous step when Border Tsar Tom Homan publicly acknowledged that the government is looking into the matter.

Rep. Omar has long denied that she married her brother to gain his entry into the United States, but the allegation has continued to rage on the Internet and among her critics.

The question is whether this is a substantive case of fraud or defamation.

Homan stated that he was investigating whether Omar committed immigration fraud, but also noted that the statute of limitations has been an issue.

In his comment to Newsmax, Homan stated:

“I just got advised by a fraud investigator the other day on that. I asked the question, can we review the files? You know, there was immigration fraud involved. The statute of limitation became an issue in the last four years when this was first brought up…Pulling the records now, pulling the files, and we’re looking at it. But this fraud investigator, who I know personally, one of the best fraud investigators in HSI, Homeland Security Investigations, said there’s no doubt he’d review the file. So, I’m running that down this week as a matter of fact, and we’ll see.”

According to her congressional biography, Omar came to the United States with her family in the 1990s. As I have previously noted, the election of a young immigrant to Congress is genuinely remarkable and commendable.

The questions arose regarding her marriage to Ahmed Elmi in 2009. Elmi was back in the news this week with postings highlighting his lifestyle as a “dirty dandy.” Critics charged that he is actually her brother. The couple divorced in 2017, and no DNA evidence has been offered to support the claim that they are siblings.

President Donald Trump and others have been ratcheting up the rhetoric against Omar and the Somali population in Minnesota. Many of us have objected to some of the attacks on Omar as offensive. As I have previously written, the call for foreign-born U.S. citizens to “go back to their own country” has been made for decades against foreign-born U.S. citizens. However, such attacks are generally protected speech.

The allegation against Rep. Omar is not opinion, but a statement of fact.

Many news organizations have referred to the allegation as “debunked” and “unsupported.”

In defamation, truth is a defense. The truth of the matter, however, has never been easy to establish. In fairness to Rep. Omar, a person should not be in a position of having to “prove a negative.” It is not her obligation to prove that she is not a fraud or that she did not marry her brother. Her critics have never produced compelling evidence to support the claim.

Despite years of such statements by various people, Omar has never sued for defamation. It is a curious omission, since a successful lawsuit would dramatically reduce such claims, and even as a public official she could likely show actual malice in many of her critics.

Conversely, such litigation would also expose Omar to a lengthy discovery process regarding her family’s immigration history and related family issues.

I have taught defamation for over three decades, and it is rare for such an allegation to linger without some legal action by the subject. On its face, this would be a strong defamation case if the allegation is false.

The allegation would fall into one of the “per se” categories of defamation. Under the common law, these per se categories of defamation allow for presumed damages and include: (1) disparaging a person’s professional character or standing; (2) alleging a person is unchaste; (3) alleging that a person has committed a criminal act or act of moral turpitude; (4) alleging a person has a sexual or loathsome disease; and (5) attacking a person’s business or professional reputation. The language differs among the states, but the Omar allegation would constitute a criminal act as well as an attack on her character and reputation.

As a threshold matter, Omar would face a higher standard of proof due to her status as a public official. In New York Times v. Sullivan, the Supreme Court established the actual malice standard, requiring public officials to shoulder the higher burden of proving defamation. Under that standard, an official would have to show either actual knowledge of its falsity or a reckless disregard of the truth. That standard was later extended to public figures.

Many critics are calling the “allegations” worthy of investigation. That is certainly protected. However, it is common to see people on television claim that she married her brother as a factual statement.

The publication of DNA results would disprove these allegations. (There are no allegations of an adopted status for the brother).

If such evidence exists, it would not just be conclusive but compelling for a jury. The question is why Omar has not elected to bring such a case, given the vast array of choices of potential defendants within the statute of limitations. It is a target-rich environment for a defamation lawyer.

As for the president, he has continued to raise the allegation: “If I married my sister to get my citizenship, do you think I’d last for about two hours or something less than that? She married her brother to get in. Therefore, she’s here illegally. She should get the hell out.”

However, he would not be a good target for such an action. The Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2680(h), expressly bars libel, slander, or defamation claims against the United States or a federal employee acting within the scope of their employment. It is possible to sue a government employee acting outside of the scope of their employment. However, the Westfall Act protects federal employees from personal lawsuits for torts committed within the scope of their employment and substitutes the U.S. government as the defendant under the FTCA. Since the FTCA bars liability, it works to force dismissal in cases.

Moreover, this is not just another federal employee. The President also has immunity under Article II and prevailing Supreme Court caselaw. In 1982, the Supreme Court handed down Nixon v. Fitzgerald, holding that former President Richard Nixon was immune from civil suits concerning actions within the “outer perimeter” of his official duties. In 1997, the Court ruled in Clinton v. Jones that President Bill Clinton was not immune from a civil suit filed by Paula Jones — who had accused Clinton of sexual harassment — because the case involved unofficial conduct on the part of the president.

This issue is still being litigated in the case of E. Jean Carroll, who won a significant civil award against the President in New York. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejected the applicability of the 2024 Supreme Court ruling recognizing broad criminal immunity for former presidents as inapplicable to the civil case.

These are statements being made during a presidency and can be claimed as privileged and immune by President Trump.

The same cannot be said for a myriad of pundits and commentators who have stated this allegation as fact.

In the end, such litigation would come down to truth as a defense. These critics are saying that Omar did marry her brother. Even if they did not have a good-faith basis for the assertion, proof that it was indeed true would still be a complete defense.

On the other hand, a defamation lawsuit could offer a dispositive judgment of a court on this lingering question. The question is now whether Rep. Omar will sue.

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/12/2025 - 13:25

Oracle Shares Rebound After Denying 'Delays'

December 12, 2025 - 1:00pm

Oracle Shares Rebound After Denying 'Delays'

Update (1300ET): Oracle shares are rebounding strongly (and helping the overall market) following a denial of Bloomberg's earlier report.

Oracle told Reuters there are no delays to sites required for contractual commitments with OpenAI and that all milestones remain on track.

Oracle additionally said site selection and delivery timelines were established in close coordination with OpenAI following execution of agreement and were jointly agreed, according to Reuters.

ORCL shares are back at pre-delay-headline levels but still down on the day thanks to AVGO's overhang...

* * *

The fecal matter was already starting to strike the rotating object following Broadcom's disappointing results last night, but the bottom just dropped out of stocks (and crypto) as the following headline hit the Bloomberg screens:

*SOME ORACLE DATA CENTERS FOR OPENAI DELAYED TO 2028 FROM 2027

Bloomberg reports that Oracle has pushed back the completion dates for some of the data centers it’s developing for the artificial intelligence model developer OpenAI to 2028 from 2027, according to people familiar with the work.

The delays are largely due to labor and material shortages, said the people, asking not to be identified discussing private schedules.

Oracle has been working to deliver on a $300 billion contract to supply the computing power necessary to train and run OpenAI’s models since it was inked this summer. Even with the delays, the timelines for the projects in the US remain ambitious for sites that are set to become some of the largest in the world.

“We have ambitious achievable goals for capacity delivery worldwide,” Oracle Co-Chief Executive Officer Clay Magouyrk said on an earnings call this week. The first data center it is developing for OpenAI — in Abilene, Texas — is on track with more than 96,000 Nvidia Corp. chips delivered, he said during the call.

Oracle and OpenAI declined to comment.

Stocks immediately puked with Nasdaq leading the charge...

And even more problematically, these crashes are occurring following record retail buying...

UBS's US retail market making clients on Thursday had $44 mn of inflows into equity ETFs and some single stocks, outweighing broader outflows across all single stock sectors.

Trading volume in Oracle hit a record level (going back to 2013), with net inflows of $22 mn.

Over the last seven days, RMM clients have net bought $99 mn of Oracle stock, making it the most-bought single stock name in December.

Broadcom also had $22 mn of net buying on Thursday.

The cost of protecting the firm’s debt against default rose 7.4bps to 144.3bps, on track for highest close since 2009, according to ICE Data Services

Crypto was immediately hammered too - extending the ubiquitous 10amET dump...

...we're gonna need that dovish-er Fed head asap!

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/12/2025 - 13:00

Oracle Shares Rebound After Denying 'Delays'

December 12, 2025 - 1:00pm

Oracle Shares Rebound After Denying 'Delays'

Update (1300ET): Oracle shares are rebounding strongly (and helping the overall market) following a denial of Bloomberg's earlier report.

Oracle told Reuters there are no delays to sites required for contractual commitments with OpenAI and that all milestones remain on track.

Oracle additionally said site selection and delivery timelines were established in close coordination with OpenAI following execution of agreement and were jointly agreed, according to Reuters.

ORCL shares are back at pre-delay-headline levels but still down on the day thanks to AVGO's overhang...

* * *

The fecal matter was already starting to strike the rotating object following Broadcom's disappointing results last night, but the bottom just dropped out of stocks (and crypto) as the following headline hit the Bloomberg screens:

*SOME ORACLE DATA CENTERS FOR OPENAI DELAYED TO 2028 FROM 2027

Bloomberg reports that Oracle has pushed back the completion dates for some of the data centers it’s developing for the artificial intelligence model developer OpenAI to 2028 from 2027, according to people familiar with the work.

The delays are largely due to labor and material shortages, said the people, asking not to be identified discussing private schedules.

Oracle has been working to deliver on a $300 billion contract to supply the computing power necessary to train and run OpenAI’s models since it was inked this summer. Even with the delays, the timelines for the projects in the US remain ambitious for sites that are set to become some of the largest in the world.

“We have ambitious achievable goals for capacity delivery worldwide,” Oracle Co-Chief Executive Officer Clay Magouyrk said on an earnings call this week. The first data center it is developing for OpenAI — in Abilene, Texas — is on track with more than 96,000 Nvidia Corp. chips delivered, he said during the call.

Oracle and OpenAI declined to comment.

Stocks immediately puked with Nasdaq leading the charge...

And even more problematically, these crashes are occurring following record retail buying...

UBS's US retail market making clients on Thursday had $44 mn of inflows into equity ETFs and some single stocks, outweighing broader outflows across all single stock sectors.

Trading volume in Oracle hit a record level (going back to 2013), with net inflows of $22 mn.

Over the last seven days, RMM clients have net bought $99 mn of Oracle stock, making it the most-bought single stock name in December.

Broadcom also had $22 mn of net buying on Thursday.

The cost of protecting the firm’s debt against default rose 7.4bps to 144.3bps, on track for highest close since 2009, according to ICE Data Services

Crypto was immediately hammered too - extending the ubiquitous 10amET dump...

...we're gonna need that dovish-er Fed head asap!

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/12/2025 - 13:00

Americans Could See Up To $2,000 Tax Refunds Next Year: Bessent

December 12, 2025 - 12:45pm

Americans Could See Up To $2,000 Tax Refunds Next Year: Bessent

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

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that working Americans are set to get “very large refunds” next year as tax cuts that were enabled in the Republican-backed One Big Beautiful Bill Act are set to go into effect.

The top of a form 1040 individual income tax return for 2005 atop a stack on the same at the Des Plaines Public Library in Des Plaines, Illinois, on March 23, 2006. Photo by Tim Boyle/Getty Images

“I think we’re going to see $100 [billion]–$150 billion of refunds, which could be between $1,000, $2,000 per household,” Bessent told an NBC affiliate station reporter while in Pennsylvania on Wednesday.

American workers haven’t yet adjusted their tax withholding, meaning that the refunds will be coming during the tax year, he said. After the refunds, their withholdings are likely to change so that less tax is taken from each paycheck, he said, adding that there will be a “real increase” in wages.

“The bill was passed in July, working Americans didn’t change their withholding, so they’re going to be getting very large refunds in the first quarter” of next year, the secretary stated.

Earlier in the week, White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett also projected optimism in remarks to CNBC that a typical person with no tax on tips or overtime, which was included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, will see tax cuts of of $1,600 to $2,000 next year.

“A lot of that will come as tax refunds at the beginning of the year,” Hassett said.

The comments on tax refunds come as President Donald Trump held an event in Pennsylvania to tout his economic agenda. While speaking at the rally, Trump said that his economic policies have led to the creation of thousands of jobs in the state and billions of dollars of investments.

“We’re right now drilling more oil than we’ve ever done—ever before,“ he said, adding that the price of gas is down. ”Rent prices are down. Dairy prices are coming down very strongly.”

Speaking at a Mount Pocono casino in northeastern Pennsylvania, Trump said that his economic policies, including his widespread tariffs on imports, are creating jobs, boosting the stock market, and attracting increased investment into the United States.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said that he is skeptical of Trump’s comments about the economy. In an interview with MS Now earlier this week, Shapiro said that the Trump administration’s policies are driving up prices for household items and “the normal staples that they need in their homes ... those prices have dramatically increased on Donald Trump’s watch.”

Trump suggested at the rally and in previous interviews that Democrats are manufacturing a cost-of-living crisis for political gain. But he also conceded that “prices are too high.”

Last month, Trump and administration officials floated the idea of sending out a $2,000 payment to low- and middle-income workers that would be taken from tariff income. Meanwhile, Trump’s tariffs are currently being challenged in a case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Trump warned that should the high court rule against his tariff regime, it would be devastating to the U.S. economy and national security.

“The biggest threat in history to United States National Security would be a negative decision on Tariffs by the U.S. Supreme Court,” Trump said in a post on social media. “We would be financially defenseless.”

Reuters contributed to this report.

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/12/2025 - 12:45