Iran 'Incredibly Weakened' By Over 200 US Strikes On Houthis: White House

The White House on Tuesday declared that Iran has been "incredibly" weakened as a result of the Pentagon operation against Yemen's Houthis which was renewed on March 15 by President Trump and his national security cabinet.

Immense controversy has ensued in the wake of 'Signalgate' which involved discussions of war planning with Atlantic journalist Jeffrey Goldberg privy to the group chat conversation. 

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said there's has been over 200 strikes on targets in Yemen. It has long been a US talking point going back to 2015 that the Houthis (Ansarallah movement) has been supplied by the Iranians. Shipments of Iranian weaponry has over the years been intercepted by US naval ships in Gulf area waters.

US Navy image

The group has fired at least eight ballistic missiles on Israel over the past week, but the US is leading the way in anti-Houthi operations.

"There have now been more than 200 successful strikes," Leavitt said. "Iran is incredibly weakened as a result. They’ve taken out Houthi leaders, critical members who have been launching strikes on naval ships and commercial vessels. This operation will not stop until the freedom of navigation in this region is restored."

The Houthis haven't confirmed the deaths of any leaders, nor has the US side acknowledged the repeat attacks on US warships or the carrier USS Truman. 

According to some of the latest:

According to a brief statement broadcast by the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV, five airstrikes at dawn targeted the Jarban area in the Sanhan district southeast of Sanaa, while two others hit the Bani Matar district west of the capital.

The statement further indicated that Saada, a stronghold of the group, was subjected to 15 U.S. airstrikes overnight, but did not disclose specific locations targeted.

Israeli media and The Associated Press have meanwhile said that these last two weeks of strikes on Yemen have been far more devasting than similar aerial assaults under Biden.

According to a report featured in center-left Times of Israel:

A new American airstrike campaign against Yemen’s Houthi rebels appears more intense and more extensive, as the US moves from solely targeting launch sites to firing at ranking personnel as well as dropping bombs in city neighborhoods, an Associated Press review of the operation shows.

The pattern under US President Donald Trump reflects a departure from the Biden administration, which limited its strikes as Arab allies tried to reach a separate peace with the group. It comes after the Iran-backed Houthis threatened to resume attacking “any Israeli vessel” over the country’s refusal to allow aid into the Gaza Strip.

Both sides appear content to keep mum on the extent of 'success' of the back-and-forth attacks. But the consensus among war analysts is that if the Houthi threat to Red Sea shipping is to be rooted out, it will take a long, sustained campaign - which we should note has not had formal war authorization from Congress.

"Folks that say, ‘We’ll go in there and take out everyone with the last name Houthi and we’ll win.’ The Houthi leadership has been taken out in history in the past, and they are resilient,” said retired US Navy Vice Adm. Kevin Donegan, per AFP. “They came back and they grew stronger. So this isn’t something that is a one-and-done.”

.@PressSec: "These Houthi strikes have been incredibly successful. Last time I was at this podium, there were more than 100 successful strikes. There have now been over 200 successful strikes -- Iran is incredibly weakened as a result of these attacks." pic.twitter.com/FEPyvFH5c8

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 1, 2025

As for Iran, it costs little for it to wage proxy war against US Navy ships positioned in the region. In a sense, the Pentagon is in the Iranians' backyard. Already, the Houthis have claimed to have downed the 16th US MQ-9 Reaper drone as of Tuesday, which hasn't been acknowledged as yet by the Pentagon. The controversy over the scope of US actions will likely only grow among the American populace.

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/01/2025 - 23:00

Russian Arctic LNG 2 Project Resumes Gas Processing

By Charles Kennedy of Oilprice.com

Arctic LNG 2, the processing and export facility that was billed as Russia’s flagship LNG project, has gradually resumed gas processing after months of hiatus, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing industry sources and satellite images.

Arctic LNG 2 has been under U.S. and EU sanctions since last year, and the project hasn’t been able to sell any cargo because of the sanctions.

The first production train at the plant was shut in early October over the project developers’ inability to secure buyers amid the Western sanctions on Arctic LNG 2, according to one of Reuters’ sources.

The plant continues has now slowly resumed gas processing and keeps it at low rates as Russia expects what the Trump Administration would do with the sanctions.

Russian LNG developer and exporter Novatek, the majority owner of Arctic LNG 2, is looking to rebuild relations with the U.S. with the help of lobbyists, sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters in December.

Hit heavily by sanctions, Arctic LNG 2 was put on ice last year and Novatek has struggled to sell any cargo to a buyer.

Located in the Gydan Peninsula, Arctic LNG 2 was considered key to Russia’s efforts to boost its global LNG market share from 8% to 20% by 2030-2035.

But the project has come under intensifying sanctions from the United States, which have put off any buyers that were previously considering buying cargoes from Arctic LNG 2.

The project has seen months of delays after the initial U.S. sanctions in November 2023 upended the company’s plans for production start-up and export timelines.

In August 2024, the U.S. State Department intensified efforts to derail Arctic LNG 2 exports by targeting companies involved in the development of the project and vessels found to have loaded LNG from the facility.

The U.S. designated multiple companies related to Arctic LNG 2 to further disrupt the project’s ability to produce and export LNG, as well as the project’s ability to procure critical LNG carriers.

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/01/2025 - 22:35

FBI Weaponizes Background Checks To Enforce California Gun Ban

Submitted by Gun Owners of America,

When you go to a gun store to buy a new gun, you can expect a few things to happen.  First, some paperwork.  Second, you can expect to have to pass a background check before leaving with your gun.  And third, you can expect that the gun store will keep a record of your purchase for as long as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ("ATF") requires.  After all, that is how the government traces crime guns back to their original purchasers.

But what you might not expect is an FBI agent receiving a ping that you – yes, you – just successfully bought a gun.  And you might be surprised to learn that this agent has been receiving notifications of your purchases for months – or years.

Of course, such a surveillance scheme would be flatly unconstitutional – not to mention a violation of several safeguards already codified in federal law.  Yet slowly but surely, the government has been building a record of the private collections of thousands of American citizens, even though federal law expressly prohibits that "any system of registration of firearms, firearms owners, or firearms transactions or dispositions" be established.

Of course, even though they are being monitored, these victims remain law-abiding, meaning the government has no probable cause to justify seeking a warrant authorizing such a search in the first place.

Now, Gun Owners of America has discovered that the FBI has been using its Second Amendment surveillance program not only to enforce federal law, but also to help California target owners of newly banned "assault weapons."

FBI's NICS Monitoring Scheme

When news first broke of the FBI and ATF's joint "NICS Monitoring" surveillance scheme, the public was shocked.  As journalist John Crump reported in April of 2021, "monitoring of NICS isn't for prohibited people," but rather those who are eligible to purchase firearms but who law enforcement agents nevertheless suspect might commit a crime.

GOA learned that targets of NICS Monitoring – which exploits records in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System ("NICS") before they are deleted within 24 hours – never receive notice that their firearm transactions are being monitored.  Thus, there is no way to challenge the FBI's surveillance.

In fact, in order to enroll a target for NICS Monitoring, an agent only needs to complete an internal request form. At no point does an agent seeking NICS Monitoring have to convince a judge (or anyone other than himself, really) that this surveillance comports with the Fourth Amendment.  Entirely usurpingly, then, the FBI's abuse of NICS Monitoring is rampant.

Rampant Abuse of NICS Monitoring

After the NICS Monitoring scandal went public, GOA filed Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA") requests with the FBI and ATF seeking further records.  Naturally these agencies, the program's biggest abusers, were less than forthcoming with evidence of their clandestine activities, and GOA ultimately had to file suit to compel production of documents.

The subsequent document productions were illuminating.  They revealed a pattern of surveillance abuse so pervasive that federal agents could obtain NICS Monitoring based on anonymous tips.

As GOA reviewed more documents and public scrutiny increased, more and more abuses came to light.  For example, in one case an ATF agent requested NICS Monitoring of a man who had purchased a shotgun during the George Floyd riots, on the theory that he "may use a gun for rioting." 

In another case, an ATF agent requested NICS Monitoring of a man whose "reported wage earnings" did not "appear to supply the financial means to afford" firearms.  And in another case, ATF had a man monitored who merely "had a 'habit' of purchasing new guns, tinkering with them, losing interest, and subsequently selling them."

Thus, it would seem that self-defense, having a savings account, and a tinkering hobby – although perfectly lawful activities – are justification to have one's gun purchases surveilled indefinitely.

NICS Monitoring Is Unconstitutional and Unlawful

The FBI's surveillance scheme violates the Second and Fourth Amendment rights of gun owners. 

The Founders never sanctioned governmental monitoring of Americans' gun purchases.  Moreover, the Founders specifically required that all searches be reasonable, almost always meaning that they are based on warrants issued upon a finding of probable cause.  The FBI's NICS Monitoring program respects neither right.

NICS Monitoring also violates a number of provisions of federal law.  In anticipation that the NICS system would be abused to track gun owners, Congress has mandated that the FBI destroy all NICS records of "approved" firearm transactions within 24 hours. 

The FBI's copying and pasting of certain records out of the NICS system before they can be deleted clearly contravenes the 24-hour destruction requirement.

NICS Monitoring also violates the federal prohibition on the creation of registries of gun owners – a prohibition so important that Congress codified it twice: once generally, and once specifically with respect to NICS.

FBI Now Aiding State Gun Control Efforts

If the NICS Monitoring program's history thus far was not troubling enough, GOA has made a shocking new discovery – that, since at least 2023, the FBI has been surveilling gun owners on behalf of anti-gun states.  And to make matters worse, the FBI's surveillance involves firearm sales that are perfectly legal under federal law.

In one FBI NICS Monitoring submission, an FBI Special Agent from the agency's Chicago field office cited the following suspected violations of California law to justify a sixth-month monitoring period:

"MFG/SELL/TRANS/ETC ASSAULT WPN (30600(A) PC), STATE OFFENSE CODE 52509, FELONY 2; ILL POSS ANY ASSAULT WEAPON (30605(A) PC), STATE OFFENSE CODE 52510. FELONY."

Just how a federal background check approval would constitute evidence of unlawful state possession of an "assault weapon" within California, the agent did not say.  Nor did the agent seem to recognize that it is entirely possible to possess a firearm (or even have a residence) in a neighboring state and lawfully purchase and possess an "assault weapon" there without committing a California crime.

And regardless of California law, it is entirely unclear how it furthers the FBI's mission to prosecute violent crime by monitoring gun purchases that are completely legal under federal law.

Tellingly, the FBI refused to release further details of its investigation into the California gun owner, asserting a so-called "privacy Glomar" as to those details.  In other words, the FBI ridiculously refuses to acknowledge the existence of redacted information that it has already produced.

Thus, we are left with more questions than answers:

• What is the FBI doing worrying about violations of California's ban of pejoratively labeled "assault weapons"? 
• Is the enforcement of state gun control laws really an FBI priority, such that Second and Fourth Amendment rights are thrown by the wayside?

We hope FBI Director Kash Patel can answer these questions and dismantle this unlawful and unconstitutional program once and for all.

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/01/2025 - 21:45

China's Role In US Fentanyl Crisis Directed By Regime Leadership, Expert Says

Authored by Terri Wu & Olivia Li via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Tensions have been simmering between the United States and communist China as the two countries escalate tariffs on each other’s imports. Meanwhile, Beijing’s rhetoric has become increasingly confrontational.

Illustration by The Epoch Times, Getty Images, John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

In early March, the Chinese Embassy in Washington shared a social media post from its Foreign Ministry, repeating its message: “If war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight till the end.”

President Donald Trump has warned that, while the United States does not seek war with China, it is “very well-equipped to handle it.”

Trump has imposed an additional 20 percent tariff on all goods made in China, citing a national emergency on the continued trafficking of fentanyl—a deadly opioid that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine—into the United States.

To this day, China remains the primary source of fentanyl precursors, which are shipped to Mexico, where they’re manufactured into the illicit drug. It is then smuggled into the United States mainly via the southern border.

In response to Trump’s added tariff, Beijing imposed an additional 15 percent tariff on U.S. coal and natural gas and an extra 10 percent on agricultural equipment and pickup trucks.

The communist regime has also called the fentanyl epidemic the United States’ “own problem“ and has cast the U.S. tariffs as ”blackmail.”

Yuan Hongbing, a former law professor at Peking University in China who now lives in Australia, said the American opioid epidemic is far from the self-inflicted wound the CCP has suggested it is.

The Chinese regime has played a significant role in America’s fentanyl crisis, and blaming the United States for it has long been Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping’s strategy, Yuan told NTD, Epoch Times’ sister media outlet, in a recent episode of the Chinese-language program “Pinnacle View.”

Yuan, who has insider access to senior CCP leaders, said Xi has consistently given internal directives during both Trump’s first and second terms that Beijing must maintain the narrative that the drug crises in both Europe and the United States are not linked to China.

Yuan said the regime has also been directed by Xi to assert that China makes the chemical precursors legally, and that if they are converted into deadly drugs and smuggled into the United States or Europe, it is not China’s responsibility.

The China expert further stated that fentanyl is at the core of Xi’s bid to “take revenge” on the West. He said Xi blames the West for subjecting China to a century of humiliation as a result of the Opium Wars in the mid-19th century. During that time, China had to sign a series of unequal treaties that ceded Chinese territory and opened Chinese ports to foreign control.

“It is precisely due to Xi’s directives that we are now seeing a dramatic increase in both the production of fentanyl precursors in China and the export of these chemicals, fueling the ongoing fentanyl crisis in the United States,” Yuan said.

Fentanyl overdose deaths have become a national crisis, taking more than 200 American lives per day, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. In 2023 alone, about 75,000 Americans died from fentanyl overdose, a staggering 23-fold increase from 10 years ago.

A bag of illicit fentanyl pills is held as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem tours the San Ysidro Port of Entry at the U.S.–Mexico border in San Diego on March 16, 2025. Alex Brandon/Getty Images

Today, accidental drug overdoses are the leading cause of death among Americans aged 18 to 45. On a more positive note, the number of opioid-related overdose deaths decreased by more than 20 percent in 2024, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The fentanyl crisis has become a key concern among American voters and has become one of the driving forces behind the dynamics of U.S.–China relations, said China expert Alexander Liao.

He said relations between Beijing and Washington have fundamentally changed. During the Biden administration, the two countries went through a diplomatic “ice age,” when senior-level official communication froze for approximately 10 months in 2022 and 2023. However, Liao believes the confrontation has now escalated to a new level.

“Whether it’s trade or other aspects, the United States and China have basically turned against each other,” Liao told The Epoch Times.

“Little noise but fierce action” is how he categorizes the current state between Beijing and Washington, in contrast to the “big arguments and little action” going on between the United States and Europe.

“The politics play differently between enemies and friends,” he said.

US Makes Perfect Enemy for Chinese Regime

Over the past decade, China saw significant economic growth. Its nominal GDP is now over three-quarters of that of the United States, according to data from the World Bank. When measured by purchasing power, China’s economy surpassed that of the United States in 2016.

Xi rose in the CCP ranks a few years before that and in 2013 took over its leadership.

According to Yuan, Xi’s communist nature drove him to immediately cash in on China’s economic strength to establish a foreign policy program, the Belt and Road Initiative, aimed at expanding communist totalitarianism around the world.

Under the guise of infrastructure development, the $1 trillion geopolitical platform snatches up other countries’ natural resources, including critical minerals for computer chip production, and expands its use of their ports for its own civil and military purposes.

Read the rest here...

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/01/2025 - 20:55

Indian Refiners Seek Alternatives To Russian Oil After Trump Tariff Threat

Indian oil refiners have started looking for alternative supplies of crude after President Trump threatened secondary sanctions on Russian energy exports if Moscow refuses to sign a ceasefire deal for the Ukraine.

Bloomberg reported that companies such as Bharat Petroleum Corp. and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. were looking for oil cargoes from the Middle East, the North Sea, and the Mediterranean for May delivery in anticipation of tariff action.

India has emerged as one of the biggest buyers of Russian crude since the start of the war in Ukraine, with grades including Urals accounting for almost 40% of the nation’s imports last year. Refiners have enjoyed elevated profits due to the cheaper supplies, although that advantage has waned in recent months. China has also purchased bigger volumes since the invasion.

President Trump threatened a 25% tariff on all Russian oil, saying “If Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia’s fault — which it might not be — but if I think it was Russia’s fault, I am going to put secondary tariffs on oil, on all oil coming out of Russia,” in an interview for NBC.

“That would be that if you buy oil from Russia, you can’t do business in the United States. There will be a 25% tariff on all oil, a 25- to 50-point tariff on all oil,” Trump elaborated.

The mechanism would be the same as the one Trump applied to Venezuela, slapping a 25% tariff on all imports from countries that continue buying crude from the South American nation.

Since the US is India’s top trading partner, under a scenario of “secondary tariffs” for buyers of Russian oil, it’s likely that the South Asian nation would look for alternative supplies, said Warren Patterson, the head of commodities strategy for ING Groep NV in Singapore.

“Traditional sanctions have created enough uncertainty,” he said. “The idea of secondary tariffs only intensifies this uncertainty, given that it is a new tool. Buyers need to decide whether the advantages of picking up discounted crude outweigh the potential hit on its economy from additional tariffs.”

“The big question is, will these repeated shocks end up structurally reducing Indian appetite for Russian crude? I have my doubts, as long as the economics works,” said Vandana Hari, founder of Vanda Insights in Singapore. “It’s a bluff, a bargaining ploy on the part of Trump. But refiners need to prepare, they can’t rely on hunches, no matter how bizarre and unlikely a supply threat.”

Such a tariff would be a considerable problem for India, whose dependence on imported crude hit an all-time high in the latest fiscal year. India imported 88.2% of the crude it consumed in the April 2024-February 2025 period, according to oil ministry data released at the end of last month. This is up from 87.7% for the previous fiscal year.

Due to this dependence, India is particularly price-sensitive, which is why it stepped up its purchases of Russian oil following the barrage of Western sanctions directed at Russia’s energy industry. Russia is currently India’s biggest single oil supplier.

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/01/2025 - 20:30

"There Will Be No Negotiating": Tesla Firebombing Suspect Hit With Federal Charges, Faces 20 Years In Prison

Authored by Rudy Blalock via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed federal charges against a suspect in connection with a firebombing attack on a Tesla dealership in Loveland, Colorado.

Cooper Frederick. Larimer County Sheriff's Office

Cooper Frederick, 24, faces federal charges related to the March 7 attack, according to Attorney General Pamela Bondi, who announced the charges on Monday.

“I made it clear, if you take part in the wave of domestic terrorism, I’ve made it clear if you take part in the wave of domestic terrorism against Tesla properties, we will find you, arrest you, and put you behind bars,” Bondi stated. “Today, I’m proud to announce that the Department of Justice has unsealed federal charges against another Tesla attacker.”

Frederick, a Fort Collins resident, was initially arrested by Loveland Police on March 13 on multiple state charges, according to a City of Loveland news release. The charges included possession of explosives, second-degree arson, criminal mischief, and criminal attempt to commit a felony.

A fire erupted after an incendiary device was thrown at the Tesla building and landed between two vehicles. Several people inside the building were cleaning at the time and could have been injured, according to the news release, which stated a responding officer quickly extinguished the fire.

Larimer County Jail records show Frederick bonded out of jail on March 14.

Bondi stated in the same announcement that, following the latest charges, Frederick was re-arrested in Plano, Texas, following an investigation by the FBI.

Frederick’s arrest comes amid a wave of violent attacks against Tesla properties since CEO Elon Musk became head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the Trump administration.

Incidents have occurred in at least nine states since January, with targets including Tesla showrooms, vehicles, and charging stations.

According to a report by The Epoch Times, on March 18, two Cybertrucks were set ablaze at a Las Vegas repair center, and “Resist” was spray-painted on the building.

Over that incident, police arrested 36-year-old Paul Hyon Kim on March 27, charging him with 15 offenses, including arson and firearms violations. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren said Kim had self-proclaimed affiliations with far-left organizations, including Communist Party USA-affiliated groups and other movements.

In February, a suspect allegedly threw eight Molotov cocktails at a Tesla showroom in Salem, Oregon, while armed with a suppressed AR-15 rifle.

Additional attacks have also occurred in Charleston, South Carolina, and Austin, Texas.

“All of these cases are a serious threat to public safety. Therefore, there will be no negotiating. We are seeking 20 years in prison,” Bondi said.

In Canada, approximately 80 Tesla vehicles were also vandalized in Hamilton, Ontario, on March 19.

President Donald Trump has condemned the attacks on Tesla properties, suggesting perpetrators would face long sentences for their crimes.

“I look forward to watching the sick terrorist thugs get 20-year jail sentences for what they are doing to Elon Musk and Tesla,” he said in a March 21 post on Truth Social.

During a town hall event in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Sunday, Musk condemned the attacks.

“They’re burning Teslas and shooting up dealerships and calling for the death of the president and me … That’s somebody else’s car. Leave it alone,” Musk said during the livestreamed event.

A group called Tesla Takedown has organized protests at dealerships nationwide. On its website, the group states that “Elon Musk is destroying our democracy, and he’s using the fortune he built at Tesla to do it.” The group called for a Global Day of Action on March 29, which saw protests targeting Tesla around the United States and smaller-scale rallies in several European locations.

From NTD News

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/01/2025 - 20:05

Hollywood Claims Rachel Zegler Is "An Icon" Despite Epic Snow White Bomb

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few years you're probably familiar with the controversy surrounding the "wokification" of Disney and their constant attempts to inject leftist activism into their media products.  Disney's cult-like dogma played a considerable role in the rise of the anti-woke movement and ultimately the fall of Hollywood, which is now reeling from an avalanche of box office failures.

One such predictable failure (perhaps the ultimate predictable failure) is the woke Snow White live action remake starring a veritable unknown actress by the name of Rachel Zegler.  To summarize why the public despises Zegler and this film so much, let's backtrack to 2021 when Zegler was announced for the beloved role.

First, the movie is called Snow White.  It's based on a centuries old German fairy tale which was eventually written down and published by the Brothers Grim in 1812.  These tales are an integral part of Medieval European heritage.  Though she is part Polish, Zegler is certainly not "snow white".  The casting choice was viewed by many fans of the original animation as a deliberate attempt to race swap yet another classic European character and troll western audiences with DEI.

If it was minority folk figure being replaced, the response from leftists would be rabid.  But, it's okay as long as the characters are white.

Then there was the public complaints of an angry little actor by the name of Peter Dinklage, who praised Disney for hiring a Latina to play Snow White but argued that hiring real life dwarfs to play the Seven Dwarfs would be "backwards" and demeaning.  Thus, in his burst of pint-sized outrage, Dinklage destroyed any chance for seven actors with dwarfism to make a name for themselves on the big screen. 

Then there was the leaked production photos of the "Seven Dwarfs", who were played by a laughably diverse cast of normal sized people.  Disney initially lied about the images and claimed they were "Fake and not from our production..."  As it turned out, the images were real.  The internet collectively laughed and gasped simultaneously at how bad and woke the movie was clearly going to be.

This is the sort of blunder that occurs when you try to make every "marginalized" activist group happy. 

The biggest handicap for the film, however, was Rachel Zegler's big mouth.  The actress hammed it up in interviews, disparaging the original Snow White as a "weird" relic of the patriarchal past and asserted that the remake would be a representation of empowerment for women who "don't need no man". 

Then there was Zegler's steady stream of anti-Trump and anti-conservative rants on social media.  A classic mistake of modern Hollywood actors; thinking that the public has any interest in their political insights.  Her comments hurt the film's chances even more.  Disney was eventually forced to delay the release for a year, claiming that it was "because of the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike".  

The final product turned out to be a travesty, as everyone expected.  Snow White's bizarre DEI casting, set in a Medieval European landscape, takes the audience out of the story and reminds them that they are watching propaganda.  The overall structure and changes to the original are ill conceived and poorly though out.  The movie has hit a 40% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 1.5/10 on IMDB.  It is currently expected to lose at least $140 million at the box office, though this may not include marketing costs.

 

Despite this undeniable defeat, once again proving that if you "Go woke" you will also "Go Broke", the Hollywood elites are proclaiming Zegler's role a success.  Why?  Because it served the interests of progressive messaging, even if no one watched the movie.  

Variety argues that Zegler is now an "icon" simply because "everyone is talking about her", playing on the old fallacy that all press is good press.   This piece was published after Variety posted a more honest assessment of Zegler's behavior, blaming her negativity as contributing to Snow White's demise.

Rachel Zegler: “People will wait in line despite my flaws.”

Welcome back to reality princess.. Snow White was a complete flop
pic.twitter.com/QaPHZtjqnL

— aka (@akafaceUS) March 24, 2025

Some celebrities have also jumped to Zegler's defense, and activists suggest that her behavior had nothing to do with the film's poor reception.  In other words, progressives  continue to deny that wokeness is box office poison.  All the evidence to the contrary will not sway them.  

Snow White only matters because it is a symbol of the culture war and the political left's refusal to accept reality.  They were warned for years that the movie would implode, but they would not listen.  Now that it's undeniable, they once again shift gears and make the controversy about the "victimization" of another loud-mouthed lead actress.

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/01/2025 - 18:00

Jim Quinn: Prophets, Nomads, & A Fourth Turning Accelerating Towards A Bloody Climax

Authored by Jim Quinn via The Burning Platform blog,

“In retrospect, the spark might seem as ominous as a financial crash, as ordinary as a national election, or as trivial as a Tea Party. The catalyst will unfold according to a basic Crisis dynamic that underlies all of these scenarios: An initial spark will trigger a chain reaction of unyielding responses and further emergencies. The core elements of these scenarios (debt, civic decay, global disorder) will matter more than the details, which the catalyst will juxtapose and connect in some unknowable way. If foreign societies are also entering a Fourth Turning, this could accelerate the chain reaction. At home and abroad, these events will reflect the tearing of the civic fabric at points of extreme vulnerability – problem areas where America will have neglected, denied, or delayed needed action.” – The Fourth Turning – Strauss & Howe

“Don’t think you can escape the Fourth Turning the way you might today distance yourself from news, national politics, or even taxes you don’t feel like paying. History warns that a Crisis will reshape the basic social and economic environment that you now take for granted. The Fourth Turning necessitates the death and rebirth of the social order. It is the ultimate rite of passage for an entire people, requiring a luminal state of sheer chaos whose nature and duration no one can predict in advance.” – Strauss & Howe – The Fourth Turning

In my last Fourth Turning article, a few days before the presidential election, I stated Trump would win in a landslide, unless the Deep State pulled some outrageous stunt to steal it, like they did in 2020. Their cheating machines were unable to overcome the dementia dummy effect and running a vacuous cackling moron DEI candidate as Trump’s opponent. I also thought the ingrained opposition would use all their vast ill-gotten financial resources to pay for violent protests, if Trump won. The gutting of USAID has defunded the domestic terrorists and made their protests pathetic.

Trump’s overwhelming victory in the election and defeat of the illegal lawfare attacks from his Deep State enemies defused their ability to keep him from being inaugurated. And boy did he hit the ground running. His first 7 weeks in office have been a tornado of executive orders, shockingly bold cabinet picks, mass firings of government drones, deportations of illegals, tariff wars, threats to take over Greenland and Canada, confrontations with world leaders, war on DEI and woke bullshit policies within the government and at universities funded by the government, and unleashing Musk and his DOGE team on the Federal bureaucracy.

The dynamics of this Fourth Turning have begun to crystalize in my mind with the re-ascension of Trump to the most powerful position in the world, and now willing to wield his power on a far grander scale then he did during his first term. The previous two Fourth Turning presidents, during the Great Depression/World War II Fourth Turning and the Civil War Fourth Turning, acted like dictators, wielding their authoritarian powers, using war as the excuse for overstepping their Constitutionally granted authority.

Ruling by executive order has now become commonplace, as our Republic has degenerated into a corporate fascist totalitarian state where the spoils have been shared by the privileged few, while the rest of us have been propagandized into subjugation, depravity, debt, and debasement. Trump has assumed a dictatorial attitude, with the rationale that he must do so to defeat the evil forces of the Deep State, and more than 50% of the population is enthusiastically onboard.

There is generally no middle ground when it comes to Donald Trump. You either despise him and scream he is literally Hitler, or you worship him as the savior of America, leading us to a glorious renaissance. Personally, I find myself in the middle ground, based on what he has done, rather than what he says. I was disappointed in his first term, even though he did a number of good things. His personnel choices were awful, putting Barrett on the Supreme Court was a terrible selection, and locking down the country while making a deal with the devil (Fauci & Pfizer) to produce a toxic vaccine destined to kill far more than it saved, continues to be a massive blemish on his record. But what is done is done. Even the most skeptical cynic has to admit, there have been several positive developments in Trump’s second term.

The issue which had biggest impact in getting Trump elected was the border and the democrat plot to destroy America by funding the invasion of America by 3rd world dregs. The dementia dummy president was given ice cream and told to stand aside by his Obama handlers, while millions of lowlifes poured across our southern border. Trump’s selection of Tom Homan as border czar was brilliant, and the actions taken to secure the border thus far have produced dramatic results. We need millions more deportations, but we are off to a good start.

Trump learned his lesson from the first term, when he surrounded himself with Deep State backstabbers, while failing to purge the departments of his enemies. He has appointed highly competent outsiders into most of the key cabinet positions. The DC bureaucracy is being gutted as we speak, if not by his appointees, then by Musk and his DOGE army. Purging the swamp of his bureaucratic enemies is essential to achieving progress. And purging the judiciary of far-left apparatchiks on the payroll of Soros must be next.

There truly is $2 trillion in spending that can be cut. Going back to 2019 spending levels, before the “Covid emergency spending” should be the goal. The amount of corruption, bribery, and fraud within the Federal government is astronomical, and Musk and his DOGE unit should be applauded for lifting the rocks and shining a light on these maggots. DOGE claims to have saved $130 billion thus far. That sounds like a lot, and it is. But some perspective will reveal the true nature of our predicament.

The Federal government spends $130 billion per week on average. We add over $5 billion to the national debt every single day. This tsunami of deficit spending is a perpetual uniparty supported machine. The continuing resolution jammed through by Trump and his minions increases spending. DOGE is great PR for the Trump army, and it is the perfect bogeyman for his enemies. But, it is unlikely to materially alter the course we are on. The national debt was $36.2 trillion when Trump assumed control. There is no doubt it will exceed $44 trillion before he leaves office.

There are 135 million full-time workers in the U.S., and approximately 18 million of them work for the government. Many millions more in private industry are dependent upon government contracts to sustain them. I am 100% onboard gutting government bureaucracy. But there will be consequences. Data from Washington DC is already showing a plunge in home prices and surge in unemployment. The combination of layoffs, reduced government outlays, and tariff impacts will likely push us into recession during 2025.

Taking the pain in year one of his administration may be Trump’s game plan, with an anticipated strong recovery in the 2nd half of his presidency. The question is whether the recession will deflate the everything bubble – stocks, bonds, real estate, and crypto, or just be a bump in the road to long term prosperity. With valuations in all asset classes at nosebleed heights, I expect a major correction across the board. Whether a recession and correction turn into a depression and crash will depend upon the behavior of our leaders.

At each of these great gates of history, eighty to a hundred years apart, a similar generational drama unfolded. Four archetypes, aligned in the same order – elder Prophet, midlife Nomad, young adult Hero, child Artist – together produced the most enduring legends in our history. Each time the Grey Champion appeared marked the arrival of a moment of “darkness, and adversity, and peril,” the climax of the Fourth Turning of the saeculum. – The Fourth Turning – Strauss & Howe

There has been much debate since Trump descended on the escalator in 2015 at Trump Towers as to whether he was one of the Grey Champions of this Fourth Turning. I had my doubts after the 2020 election was stolen, but his re-ascension to power in 2025 leaves no doubt he is the lightning rod for what will take place in the final stages of this Crisis period. Trump, Putin and Xi Jinping are all from the Prophet generation and have assumed the mantle of Grey Champions for their nations.

How these men interact over the next several years will determine the course of this Fourth Turning. Thus far, the skirmishes in Ukraine and the Middle East have been relatively contained. Fourth Turning climaxes have been historically bloody and devastating. If China invades Taiwan, North Korea invades South Korea, or the EU pushes Putin too far, that will surely spur mass destruction and mass casualties on a grand scale. And with nuclear technology far more advanced since WWII, the possibility of planetary destruction is not a zero possibility.

Fourth Turnings can have multiple regeneracies with the first being when the financial system was artificially propped up by the Fed and Treasury in 2009, making the financial system far less stable over the long-term and setting the stage for the grand collapse. The regeneracy cannot always be identified with a single news event.  But it does have to mark the beginning of a growth in centralized authority and decisive leadership at a time of great peril and urgency.

Trump’s actions during his first 7 weeks back in office most certainly classify as a regeneracy, through executive orders, mandates, and decisive actions, designed to undo all the purposeful destruction incurred under Biden. The reaction of his enemies, using lawfare, their media mouthpieces, and judicial roadblocks, has ratcheted the anger and vitriol within the country to a boiling point.

The blowback from the Trump/Musk agenda of slashing Federal bloat, firing government drone bureaucrats, dismantling corrupt, treasonous organizations hidden within the Federal bureaucracy (USAID), eliminating ineffective departments, like the Department of Education, and trying to root out corruption and waste, has been predictably violent. The burning of Tesla dealerships, coordinated anti-Musk messaging from the captured mainstream media, and artificial protests across the nation are all funded by Soros and his ilk, just as the fake BLM protests were used to destroy Trump’s first term.

Every executive order designed to rectify the purposely created border invasion, cut waste, fraud, and corruption within the Federal government, along with the purging of agencies of his enemies, has been met with judicial obstruction by judges placed in positions of power by Soros and the lawfare army created by Obama and his minions. The term Constitutional Crisis has been overused, but I believe we are headed for a clash that will not resolve itself through the existing legal system.

The judiciary can no longer be expected to interpret the law in an unbiased manner based upon the Constitution. When Trump decides to ignore the rulings of this plethora of corrupt judges, what happens next? The so-called judges thwarting Trump at every turn are not interpreting the law, they are exercising activist political prerogatives which they have been paid off by Soros and his lawfare organizations to sponsor.

From my perspective, the world has become more chaotic and confusing on a daily basis since Trump’s election. From a Fourth Turning perspective, this is to be expected. The Crisis never resolves itself through compromise or an agreed upon peaceful resolution. The cascade into a spiraling downward implosion of trust in institutions, politicians, media talking heads, corporate titans, and central bankers is leading the country and world towards a catastrophic debt collapse which will plunge the world into a global depression.

Whether this has been pre-planned by the ruling oligarchs to invoke the Great Taking, the new world order, and CBDCs, is still a question in my mind. Is Trump a willing participant in this diabolical plan or a well-intentioned patsy they are manipulating with his MAGA army to ensure their plan goes off without a hitch?

What is clearly evident to me, is the globalist cabal ruling elite are absolutely trying to thwart Trump and Putin’s peace efforts in resolving the Ukraine war. They are using every opportunity to provoke Putin into starting WW3 with NATO and forcing the U.S. to honor our treaty obligations. Their desperation is obvious, as the discredited and highly unpopular stooges governing France, the U.K., Canada and Germany make unhinged statements and threats on a daily basis, threatening war with Russia.

Putin is the only statesman, operating in a rational manner, and attempting to negotiate a sane outcome to a conflict initiated by U.S. neocons in 2014. This global crisis will just be exacerbated by the brewing Constitutional crisis being precipitated by the Deep State operatives and their judicial machinations, designed to force Trump into initiating a violent response to Soros and his bought off treasonous judicial cronies.

Trump’s rhetoric about a glorious new era of economic nirvana, built upon tariffs, lower taxes and energy independence sounds great, but it is nothing but pie in the sky pipe dreams. It’s too late. Talk about balancing the budget is nothing but bloviating bullshit. Trump and his economic gurus have no intention of balancing the budget, because doing so would lead to the worst depression in history.

This entire Ponzi economic house of cards depends upon the issuance of $6 billion of debt PER DAY. Our fake positive GDP growth data depends on the government spending $5 trillion of printed fiat (17% of GDP) per year on wars, welfare, and waste, with the ignorant brainwashed masses spending $19 trillion of money they don’t have (using credit cards) on shit they don’t need making up 68% of total GDP.

Meanwhile, financial markets are at historically high (and dangerous) levels, home prices are at all-time highs, real inflation has been pushing 10% for the last five years, credit card, auto and student loan debt are at record levels, and most importantly, gold continues to hit new record highs every day. The stock market is wobbling like it normally does as a precursor to a crash. Home sales are at decade lows as sky high prices and higher mortgage rates have made it impossible for most people to buy.

Credit card and auto loan delinquencies are surging. Millions of people who haven’t made a student loan payment in years now have to pay up. Their credit scores are crashing due to non-payments. Gold surges when the financial system shows signs of collapse. All the ingredients are present for a catastrophic explosion, just waiting for a spark to ignite the volatile mixture. At this point, the financial system is so unstable and fragile that an otherwise inconsequential grain of sand added to the pile could precipitate the collapse.

I believe the chaos, confusion, conflict, and collapse of confidence portends a prolonged period of discord as this Fourth Turning accelerates towards its denouement. The numerous neocon forces in the EU and US attempting to prolong and broaden the Ukraine conflict, along with the Zionist efforts to provoke a war with Iran, have pushed the world to the brink of a new global conflict. All previous Fourth Turnings were decided by an all-out bloody war, and this one is likely to experience a similarly tragic outcome. The billionaire oligarchs who have purposely created havoc and turmoil as a means to increase their wealth, power, and control over the politicians they have put into place to implement their new world order agenda.

The proliferation of assassinations and assassination attempts is a sign of increased vitriol towards those considered evil and expendable by their enemies. The assassination of corporate executives, attempts on Trump, and foiled plans against a Supreme Court justice and Musk mark a new violent turn to this Fourth Turning. Will someone try to take out some of these leftist judges who are impeding the will of the people on behalf of their leftist billionaire quislings?

Will the Ukraine and EU attempt to assassinate Putin, as they have done to numerous other Russian politicians? What I do know is there is a powerful faction attempting to initiate a global war as part of their new world order agenda. All it will take is for someone somewhere to do something stupid and then it will turn nasty, with more death and destruction than a reasonable American can possibly conceive after living in their false bubble of safety and security for decades. Once the dominos begin falling, there will be no stopping them.

“With so much chaos, someone will do something stupid. And when they do, things will turn nasty.” – Inspector Finch – V for Vendetta

The burning of Tesla showrooms, brainwashed idiots committing acts of vandalism, and the Soros funded fake protests across the country are only infuriating the normies and pushing us closer to civil chaos. Russia rightfully accusing France and the UK of committing acts of war against energy sites within Russia, along with Trump fulminating about Putin not cooperating, while bombing the shit out of Yemen as instructed by Israel, has turned up the heat on the imminent global conflict.

The two Prophet generation lightning rods for the coming conflict, Trump and Putin, with Bill Gates and RFK Jr. as lesser players, will make the decisions and choices which will determine the future course of this world. In the previous two Fourth Turnings, Nomad Generation facilitators of Lincoln and FDR’s strategy, Grant, Sherman, Eisenhower, and Patton, had to unflinchingly send hundreds of thousands of men to their deaths. Trump’s Nomad Generation agent of change – Elon Musk – has concentrated on rooting out fraud, waste, and inefficiencies in the Federal government, provoking violence and revealing the traitorous henchmen within the judiciary and Soros financed NGOs. Putin’s chief Nomad generation right hand man – Dmitry Medvedev – is a bomb thrower who thrives on conflict.

This Crisis period is accelerating and intensifying on a daily basis, as Trump, Putin and Xi, and a myriad of other world leaders provoke, posture, and threaten each other, with all signs pointing towards military conflict. The propaganda media, led by the NYT, are now admitting we have been at war with Russia since 2014. The entire conflict since 2022 has been funded and fought using U.S. technology, weapons, and personnel. Over $200 billion wasted on another lost war. Those of us in the alt-media revealed the truth about this proxy war years ago.

With Zelensky following orders from his EU benefactors, the fledgling peace efforts of Trump and Putin are destined to fail. The ongoing slaughter in the Middle East, along with the intense saber rattling regarding the U.S. attacking Iran on behalf of Israel, and the US declaring China as its largest military threat regarding their eventual takeover of Taiwan, are building towards a major global conflict, which the purposely distracted and dumbed down masses have no clue is approaching. Boomer leaders are unbending, punitive, authoritarian minded, and willing to risk the destruction of the planet in order to achieve what they have been assigned to accomplish by the globalist oligarchs calling the shots. In 1997, Strauss & Howe predicted the dangers we would face as the climax of this Fourth Turning approached.

“The risk of catastrophe will be very high. The nation could erupt into insurrection or civil violence, crack up geographically, or succumb to authoritarian rule. If there is a war, it is likely to be one of maximum risk and effort – in other words, a total war. Every Fourth Turning has registered an upward ratchet in the technology of destruction, and in mankind’s willingness to use it.” – Strauss & Howe – The Fourth Turning

“History offers no guarantees. Obviously, things could go horribly wrong – the possibilities ranging from a nuclear exchange to incurable plagues, from terrorist anarchy to high-tech dictatorship. We should not assume that Providence will always exempt our nation from the irreversible tragedies that have overtaken so many others: not just temporary hardship, but debasement and total ruin. Losing in the next Fourth Turning could mean something incomparably worse. It could mean a lasting defeat from which our national innocence – perhaps even our nation – might never recover.” – Strauss & Howe – The Fourth Turning

Gold and Oil have been surging, with gold hitting new highs every day, up 38% in the last year, indicating all is not well in this world. The United States has been a nation for two and half centuries, only becoming an empire within the last one hundred years. Trump can pontificate about creating a new morning in America, but it is too late, as darkness descends upon the Republic created by strong courageous men, but slowly destroyed by weak cowardly men, moneyed interests, corrupt politicians, traitorous globalist billionaires, and a populace too dumbed down and distracted by technological bread and circuses to care about future generations.

In 1785 the Americans had won the Revolutionary War, but had not yet written the Constitution or elected a president in the final stages of the first American Fourth Turning. Exactly 80 years later in 1865, the American Civil War Fourth Turning reached its bloody conclusion. Exactly 80 years later in 1945, World War 2 was won, after the loss of 65 million lives. We are now exactly 80 years later in 2025, ready to write another dramatic chapter in the annals of history.

After World War 2, America was the conquering hero wearing the golden crown, but failed to heed the warning all previous empires had also ignored – all glory is fleeting. As we approach our rendezvous with destiny, take note, as described in the bible, that history is cyclical and there is a time for everything. 

I think everyone needs to understand we are entering a time of war, a time to hate, a time to kill, and a time to die. I wish it weren’t so, but the cycles of history don’t lie. Good luck and Godspeed.

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven;
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/01/2025 - 17:40

212,268 Pounds Of Egg Products Potentially Containing Bleach Recalled

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Hundreds of thousands of pounds of egg items are being pulled off the market, citing the potential presence of an “unapproved substance,” according to the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).

Recalled liquid egg products. USDA

Michigan-based Cargill Kitchen Solutions is recalling “approximately 212,268 pounds of liquid egg products that may contain a cleaning solution with sodium hypochlorite,” the agency said in a March 28 recall announcement. “The problem was discovered when FSIS received a tip about the potential contamination of these products.”

According to a 2022 study, sodium hypochlorite, commonly known as bleach, is a main ingredient in cleaners and has good sanitizing effects. One of its uses is sterilizing food factories. Ingestion of the compound can result in vomiting, nausea, and burning sensations in the mouth. When large amounts are ingested, it results in “serious toxicity.”

“After conducting an investigation and thorough assessment of the contents of the cleaning solution, FSIS scientists concluded that use of this product should not cause adverse health consequences, or the risk is negligible, resulting in a Class III recall.”

Class III is the lowest of the three recall classifications under the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is assigned to products that pose a “marginal risk” to people.

The recalled items were shipped to distributors in Ohio and Texas as well as for food service use in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, and Iowa. FSIS said the products could have been distributed nationwide.

The products were manufactured on March 12 and 13, with “use by” dates extending to August 2025 and March 2026. They were sold in 32 oz. cartons.

The agency has received no confirmed reports of adverse reactions from consuming the recalled products. It advised people who have ingested the item and are worried about illnesses to contact a health care provider.

In an emailed statement to The Epoch Times, Cargill said the products were voluntarily recalled “out of an abundance of caution.”

“Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them, and food service locations are urged not to serve them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase,” FSIS said.

Individuals with questions about the recall can contact Cargill Kitchen Solutions at 1-844-419-1574.

Multiple other food recalls have been initiated over the past years due to the presence of unapproved substances.

In February last year, New York-based MF Meats withdrew more than 93,000 pounds of raw meat products out of concern they could have been contaminated with “non-food grade mineral seal oil, which is not approved for use in meat processing.”

Back in August 2022, Kraft Heinz recalled around 5,760 cases of juice drink blend beverages. The recall was triggered after a “diluted cleaning solution, which is used on food processing equipment, was inadvertently introduced into a production line” at one of the company’s factories.

The issue emerged after Kraft Heinz received multiple complaints from customers about the taste of the item.

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/01/2025 - 17:20

Fifty Achievements In Fifty Days

Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Epoch Times,

Many friends of mine are frustrated at what they consider slow progress from the Trump administration. Whatever the pet issue, they want results now, and are otherwise ready to declare failure or betrayal.

This is a reflection of the high hopes of the incoming administration. There was never a way to keep up.

That’s why we should take a few moments to consider the achievements of this administration, which have gone some distance in restoring popular government over whatever we had before.

One feature I noticed on my travels is just how suddenly nice the TSA is at the airports. I could not understand why. Employees very quickly explained their absolute exuberance that the public-sector union that used to be in charge no longer is.

The Trump administration removed collective bargaining privileges and restored normal management. This led to a wave of firings of lazy, troublesome, and incompetent workers, absolutely thrilling everyone else.

This is a massive change that was hardly announced at all. But it has made a dramatic difference.

Prompted by this example, I’ve chronicled 50 changes that the Trump administration has made that have made life dramatically better in record time.

1. Defanged the public-sector unions. This happened with hardly any announcement. It pertains to nearly the whole of the government’s workforce. It has emancipated the employees from their terrible unions and led to the almost immediate elevation of merit over DEI as many employees have explained to me. This is very obvious when you travel. You can actually have a human conversation with TSA employees and passport control.

2. Stopped BOIR. The Biden-era mandate was for all businesses to file a Beneficial Ownership Information Report with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the U.S. Treasury, and do so annually. The mandate added wholly unnecessary bureaucracy. Even more, it was just really strange and scary for every sole proprietor to be required to file this thing as if everyone was a criminal in waiting. The Trump administration stopped it.

3. Ended the hen slaughter. Wholesale egg prices have collapsed from $8 per dozen to only $3 in a matter of weeks, mostly driven by the end of the Department of Agriculture’s work to mandate slaughtering hens in the name of controlling bird flu. Trump’s change of policy has resulted in a big supply boost. The DOA has also stopped the vaccine that was ready for distribution, which would likely have made the chickens sicker.

4. Ended the war on crypto. Since 2013, the federal government has tried to control this sector with reporting requirements, regulations, taxes, investigations, and jail time. Trump has ended this with a new embrace and a favorable push toward the entire sector.

5. The clean-up of the FDA. The main vaccine scientist who had purged the agency of doubters in the past has now announced his resignation, upon pressure from the Trump administration. This has cleared the path for some transparency and an end to the use of this agency as an advertising bureau for Big Pharma.

6. Restoration of free speech. Since 2016 and onward, we have documented proof that government agencies were intervening with media and tech companies to push one political way of thinking and exclude all others. That practice is now fully banned by executive order.

7. The end of DEI. The Trump administration now correctly regards systematic discrimination in the name of DEI to be illegal discrimination; that is, the law is now being consistently applied and DEI programs across government and industry are coming to a quick end.

8. Stopped the migrant invasion. As a long champion of the freedom to migrate, I was shocked to see evidence that the entire system was being gamed to bring about a skewing of voter demographics to keep one party in power. We have the receipts. That is now stopped.

9. RFK at HHS. The leading champion of freedom against lockdowns and vaccine mandates now holds the most powerful position in health in the world, as head of Health and Human Services. He is completely restructuring all agencies under his control.

10. Restoring Science. Jay Bhattacharya is a lead author of the Great Barrington Declaration and a champion of real science. As head of the National Institutes of Health, he is in a position now to restore real science as a priority for this powerful funding source.

11. Busting the Treasury Payment Monopoly. The Treasury’s payment portals have been off-limits to outsiders since 1946, with not a single non-agency person or institution permitted access. DOGE gained that access to reveal some $4.7 trillion in untagged payments in addition to another dozen money printers operating throughout the government.

12. Ferreting out Social Security Fraud. DOGE also discovered millions of people on the Social Security rolls who were too old to be alive, in addition to millions of illegal immigrants who had Social Security numbers and were receiving benefits. That is ending.

13. Ending USAID. This powerful agency has long subsidized far-left causes all over the world, operating as a kind of slush fund with little oversight. That entire agency has been gutted.

14. Gutting the U.S. Institute for Peace. This nonprofit was created by Congress but has long served as a clearing house for compromised diplomats and mostly a welfare state for has-been players in deep-state circles. Having had personal experience with the place, I was thrilled to see the Trump administration fire the entire staff and gut the budget.

15. Stopping the NGO Fraud. DOGE and others have discovered an amazing little racket that consists of putting nongovernment organizations on agency payrolls for billions in funding that have served partisan political ends, including the funding of legacy media. That little money-laundering operation is now under serious pressure.

16. Exposing the press. We have to appreciate what it means that the Trump administration is now longer deferring to the power of legacy media, calling out false stories by the day and refusing to grant exclusive access to the fourth estate. This has been a wake-up call to many not to trust something just because it appears in formerly prestigious venues.

17. Boosting traditional architecture. The Trump administration has pledged to sell off hundreds of ugly federal buildings and bring back architectural grandeur to Washington, D.C. This might be the final nail in the coffin of the Brutalist style, a form of architecture developed as an homage to the prison camp.

18. Bringing together MAHA and MAGA. For generations, crunchy liberals and American patriots had no real connection with each other politically or culturally. Now these teams have joined forces against a common enemy, forming new friend circles and modes of community action.

19. Reducing inflation. Almost to the day, the intensity of inflation diminished from the inauguration. This is due to many different factors, including a change in the velocity of money and also Fed policy which has kept the money stock flat for some six months. In addition, inflation expectations were reduced and thus the prophecy became self-fulfilling. Trump deserves some credit there for making a compelling case that higher productivity is on the way.

20. Stopping the regulatory tsunami. The Trump administration has stopped by executive order all bureaucratic lawmaking. The executive order permissions in a range of products that were ruled out by regulatory edict. It will probably require litigation to make it real but this is extremely promising.

21. Defunding the Green New Deal. The science behind climate change and the support for Green New Deal policy was completely unquestioned in public life for a very long time. Trump has put an end to this, pulling the funding and stopping the march of deindustrialization. This needs to be written into law but it is an excellent start.

22. Ending gender confusion. At some vague moment over the last 5 or 10 years, there was actual confusion in legislation over the biological difference between men and women, as incredible as that sounds. But during this time, men began to refashion themselves as women and compete as such in sports, to the amazement of everyone. Trump had the courage just to announce the truth that there are only two sexes.

23. Stopping the war on gas and oil. For many years, oil and gas, among America’s greatest resources and one of our few remaining competitive industries, faced absurd restrictions. Trump has repealed them all and stopped the absurd subsidies for wind and solar power. The entire “fossil fuels” industry is excited about the future for the first time in perhaps decades.

24. Freeing the prisoners. My good friend Ross Ulbricht, sentenced to more than two lifetimes in jail for creating a website, has been freed. Many more besides: hundreds of people who did nothing wrong were languishing in prison for having protested on January 6. These people are now free, thanks to the Trump administration.

25. Push back on legacy media. The White House now has a competent press secretary who takes on the legacy media, and the 100-year monopoly of the White House Correspondents Association has been shattered, allowing podcasters and new media to have access.

26. Vaccine mandate rollback. Federal employees are no longer required to get the COVID-19 vaccine, which has been proven to be ineffective and potentially harmful.

27. Ending COVID shots on green cards. Many families were separated by this vaccine mandate for green card holders. That is now gone.

28. EV Mandate pause. Automakers have long been forced to devote a portion of their production to making cars that people do not want. That mandate is now gone.

29. Critical Race Theory ban. This theory attacks America in its history and present meaning and was being taught in schools at all levels. The Trump administration has withdrawn all funding for this project, which is designed to spread guilt and shame and tell a false version of history.

30. Transgender military ban. Until recently, transgender people have ascended to great heights within the U.S. military. That has been completely stopped. It is no longer permitted that men can pretend to be women and visa-versa.

31. IRS hiring freeze. The previous administration had hired some 80,000 new tax collectors who are all now fired, to the great celebration of the oppressed middle class.

32. Leaving WHO. The World Health Organization had spent years promoting fake science and lockdowns at U.S. taxpayer expense. The U.S. is now fully out of this organization and the NGOs that backed it are now defunded.

33. Climate accord exit. You remember the fake science of COVID? It turns out that the fake science of climate change was just as bad or worse. The Unites States was actually party to an accord that mandated the Green New Deal. That is now gone.

34. Union dues opt-out. No federal employee is required to pay union dues anymore and most have declined to continue doing so, thanks to a change initiated by the Trump administration.

35. Fisheries deregulation, easing Magnuson-Stevens conservation rules, aiding 10,000 fishermen. This is a technical change but it matters to the heroic people who work daily to bring us food.

36. Small Business tax break. The new 20 percent deduction on new businesses was set to expire but is now back again.

37. Foreign aid audit. Fully $5 billion in foreign aid has been frozen pending a full review of whatever was behind this.

38. Title IX reversal. The previous administration had ruined this regulation by blurring the difference between men and women. The old rule has been restored, which particularly impacts sports.

39. Many JFK files released. Not all the files have come out but the ones we have reveal deep involvement of the deep state in the assassination that rocked the country. We still await many promised releases.

40. Federal land drilling. The Trump administration has opened up 1.5 million acres in Alaska, projecting 50,000 barrels daily.

41. Sanctuary City funding cut. The Trump administration has withheld $200 million from noncompliant cities, pressuring cooperation with the migrant/criminal crackdown.

42. Clean up voter roles. For years, Trump claimed that the 2020 election was compromised. We doubted this. Now we know for sure, based purely on math. Voter ID is now the law of the land. Without verifiable citizen voting, there is no democracy, no freedom, no society run by the people. Trump deserves every credit for seeing this problem and sticking his neck out to defend democracy.

43. Dignified new media. Thousands of citizen journalists have been working for years to cover politics and government but have been denied access and legitimacy. The Trump administration has seen the value they add and treated them with dignity and respect. This is actually huge for information systems and the public mind.

44. Empowered new employees. Trump has not gone along with the usual system of hiring cabinet officials who get chewed up by the bureaucracy. Instead, he has trusted them with massive decisions over their realms, enabling them to hire and fire and determine policy. This is probably the first time this has happened in my life or perhaps 100 years.

45. Focus on Ending international conflicts. The Trump administration has put the cause of peace in the Ukraine war with Russia as a first priority. His insistence on this might have prevented World War III, which is rather important.

46. Dramatic cuts in civil service. In the first days of the administration, Trump invited every employee of the federal government to resign with full severances. About 5-7 percent accepted and all of them have been paid. Then the firings started, just as promised. The downsizing must happen. This process needs to go much further but it has been started.

47. Push for food cleanup. Under the great influence of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the U.S. food system is starting to be cleaned up. We have some of the most dangerous food in the world, as anyone who travels internationally can tell you. Maybe this can change, along with the empowerment of local farmers.

48. Banned CBDCs. An executive order has banned Central Bank Digital Currencies and made it clear that America will never have a Chinese-style social credit system linked to our personal financial lives. This has been a gigantic relief, particularly in light of all the debanking that has taken place.

49. Spotlight on the Fed. DOGE is sparing no institution in D.C., not the Pentagon and not even the Federal Reserve, which is to be subjected to a real audit. We shall see how long the power of the central bank lasts but this is the first real challenge it has made since its founding in 1913.

50. Challenged the judges. There are more than 100 cases extant against the Trump administration’s attempt to be the real executive department rather than just a headline group of temporary managers. These lower court judges have presumed to be more powerful than the president that the people elected. They are facing foundational challenges that will surely land in the Supreme Court.

Am I thrilled about everything that the Trump administration has done? No. I have objections on many fronts about which I could write another column. But here is what is critical: these are legitimate differences one might expect in a democracy, which is precisely what Trump is restoring.

I’m fine with argument and disagreement. What is not fine is an administrative state that runs all things from behind the scenes while elected rulers just pretend to be in charge.

All Americans regardless of their political differences should celebrate the enlivening of the democratic imperative, which is what the Trump administration has done, with spectacular results in only three months. Let us hope there is much more to come.

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/01/2025 - 16:20

The Best And Worst Performing Assets Of The "March Meltdown" And "Queezy Q1"

The first quarter was an incredibly tumultuous period for markets, with the S&P 500 posting its biggest quarterly decline since 2022. 

The main driver of the market volatility according to DB's Jim Reid, was an aggressive round of tariffs, as President Trump launched measures going well beyond his first term, with reciprocal tariffs still looming on April 2. Otherwise, the release of DeepSeek’s AI model early in the quarter led to growing questions about big tech valuations, and the Magnificent 7 ended the quarter in bear market territory. 

But it wasn’t all bad news, and European equities saw a significant outperformance thanks to a huge fiscal regime shift towards higher defense spending. In fact, Q1 marked the biggest quarterly performance gap between the STOXX 600 and the S&P 500 in a decade, and the biggest underperformance of the US vs the rest of the world in 23 years.

Nevertheless, the overall tone was generally risk-off for markets, and as the conversation turned increasingly towards stagflation, gold prices posted their biggest quarterly gain since 1986.

Quarter in Review - The high-level macro overview

Despite the disappointing overall performance, "Queasy Q1" actually got off to a decent start in January. For instance, data over the first couple of weeks pointed to robust growth and demand pressures, including in the US. For instance, the ISM services print was up to 54.0 in December, exceeding expectations, and the prices paid indicator moved up to 64.6, the highest in nearly two years. Then the US jobs report for December showed nonfarm payrolls up by +256k, a nine-month high. And that’s since been revised up to +323k, making it the strongest month since February 2023 on current revisions. Indeed, it also meant there was a sizeable bond selloff in early January, with the 10yr Treasury yield surpassing 4.80% intraday for the first time since late-2023. But that rapid rise in yields reversed course after the US CPI print wasn’t as bad as some feared, raising hopes that the Fed would still cut rates this year.

However, after a strong start in January, markets began to show signs of wobbling towards the end of the month. One of the most important developments was the release of DeepSeek’s new AI model, which raised questions as to the sustainability of big tech valuations in the US. The initial market impact was felt on January 27, with the NASDAQ down -3.07% that day, while Nvidia fell -16.97%. And even though that sharp selloff for the NASDAQ quickly unwound, it raised doubts about the narrative of US tech exceptionalism that had powered the equity market’s advance for the last couple of years. Then in February, Nvidia’s earnings showed the smallest revenue beat in two years, which was underwhelming for investors used to much bigger upside surprises.

Late-January also saw one of the biggest stories of the quarter begin, which was the widespread imposition of tariffs by the United States, after the new Trump administration arrived in office on January 20. Initially, they said that 25% tariffs would be imposed on Canada and Mexico, which led to a risk-off move on February 3, but those were extended by a month at the last-minute, and investors became increasingly relaxed about how things might develop. Indeed, the S&P 500 moved up to an all-time high on February 19, at which point it was up +4.6% in total return terms on a YTD basis.

But as the tariff uncertainty began to mount, markets began to experience much larger risk-off moves. For example, the extension for Canada and Mexico ended, and 25% tariffs were imposed on both on March 4, whilst the additional tariff on China was raised from 10% to 20%. Separately, tariffs on steel and aluminium were imposed at 25% on March 12. And looking forward, investors are still awaiting the reciprocal tariffs, which have been scheduled for April 2.

The tariffs also meant investors became increasingly concerned about higher inflation, which exacerbated existing fears given inflation was still lingering above target across the major economies. For example, the US 1yr inflation swap moved up +72bps in Q1 to 3.25%, its highest level in two years, and the biggest quarterly jump in three years. Moreover, consumers’ inflation expectations also moved higher, and the University of Michigan’s long-term measure moved up to 4.1% in March, the highest since February 1993. Matters weren’t helped by the latest PCE inflation data, which is the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, where the 3m annualised rate of core PCE was running at +3.6% in February, the highest since March 2024. And at the same time, there were also growing concerns about the US growth outlook, and even mounting speculation about a recession. For instance, the Conference Board’s consumer confidence measure fell to just 92.9 in March, the weakest since January 2021. And the expectations measure fell to 65.2, the lowest since March 2013.

These fears about stagflation led to a clear risk-off move, which gathered pace towards the end of the quarter. So the S&P 500 was initially up +2.8% in January in total return terms, but in February it was down -1.3%, and then in March it fell -5.6%, marking its worst monthly performance since 2022. And for the quarter as a whole, the index was down -4.3%, marking its worst quarterly performance since Q3 2022, back when the Fed were still hiking by 75bps per meeting to deal with rapid inflation. 

Those losses were particularly concentrated among tech stocks, and the Magnificent 7 ended the quarter down -16.0%, having shed -20.7% since its December peak. The US Dollar itself also struggled, with the dollar index down -3.9% in Q1, whilst the Euro was up +4.5% against the US Dollar to $1.08. 

While all that was going on in the US, Q1 also saw an incredible fiscal shift in Europe as the continent moved towards significantly higher defense spending. That followed the German election on February 23, where the incoming coalition proposed a reform of the constitutional debt brake to permit higher defense spending, alongside a €500bn infrastructure fund. Meanwhile at the EU level, the Commission proposed that member states could significantly increase defense spending without triggering the EU’s deficit rules.

The prospect of a significant fiscal stimulus had an immediate impact among European assets. In fact, the announcement saw the 10yr bund yield post its biggest daily jump since German reunification in 1990, moving up +29.8bps in a single day on March 5. Over the quarter as a whole, the 10yr bund yield rose +37bps to 2.74%, and the German DAX was one of the strongest-performing European indices, up +11.3% in total return terms. Significant outperformers included the STOXX Aerospace and Defense Index, which surged +28.9%, whilst the German firm Rheinmetall was up +114.6%. Another result was a notable steepening in yield curves, with the German 2s10s curve moving up +41bps on the quarter to 69bps. And given the sharp policy divergence, Q1 saw the biggest quarterly performance gap in local currency terms between the STOXX 600 (+5.9%) and the S&P 500 (- 4.3%) in a decade.

Finally from central banks, Q1 saw a continued policy divergence across countries. The Fed kept rates unchanged in Q1, and continued to signal two cuts for 2025 in their March dot plot, just as they’d done in December. However, they did slow the pace of QT, with the runoff in Treasury holdings to slow from $25bn to $5bn from April 1. Over at the ECB, they delivered further 25bp rate cuts in both January and March, taking their deposit rate down to 2.50%. Meanwhile in Japan, the Bank of Japan delivered another hike in January, taking their policy rate up to 0.5%, and signalling further hikes ahead.

Which assets saw the biggest gains in Q1?

• Gold: With inflation concerns mounting, gold prices surged up to an all-time high of $3,124/oz, and their quarterly increase of +19.0% was the most since 1986. 
• US Treasuries: The risk-off move and mounting speculation of a recession helped to support US Treasuries in Q1, with a total return of +2.9% over the quarter. The 10yr yield itself also moved down -36bps to 4.21%.

Which assets saw the biggest losses in Q1?

• US equities: In Q1, the S&P 500 was down -4.3% in total return terms, marking its worst quarterly performance since Q3 2022. Those losses were particularly clear for the Magnificent 7, which fell -16.0%.
• US Dollar: With investors moving out of US assets, the US Dollar struggled in Q1, and the dollar index itself weakened -3.9%. Conversely, the Euro strengthened +4.5% against the US Dollar to $1.08, marking its biggest quarterly jump since Q4 2022.
• Euro sovereign bonds: The prospect of higher spending led to a selloff among European sovereign bonds, with bunds down -1.8% in total return terms. That included a +37bps rise in the 10yr yield, which ended the quarter at 2.74%.
• Cryptocurrencies: The risk-off move meant it was a weak quarter for cryptocurrencies, and Bitcoin fell -12.1% to $82,421.

Here are the best and worst performing assets during the March Massacre...

... and here is Queesy Q1:

Source: Deutsche Bank

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/01/2025 - 15:45

"Evil People": Organized 'Bankrupt Tesla' Group Tied To Formerly USAID-Funded Disinfo Queen

On Tuesday morning, former Biden administration "disinformation czar" Nina Jankowicz repeatedly refused to disclose who's funding her new gig - the 'American Sunlight Project' - which cropped up after a stint at the USAID-funded UK-based Centre for Information Resilience (CIR) - for which she registered as a foreign agent while serving as their Vice President.

To review - Jankowicz, who previously served as a disinformation fellow at the Wilson Center, advised the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry as part of the Fulbright-Clinton Public Policy Fellowship, and was then selected to head the Biden DHS's newly formed Disinformation Governance Board - which was quickly dismantled amid criticism over censorship under the guise of fighting disinformation. 

Four months later, she launched "The Hypatia Project" for CIR - where she was the Vice President until April 2024, at which point she co-founded the American Sunlight Project.

Fast forward to this morning, Jankowicz was evasive when asked by Republicans during a congressional hearing on disinformation about her funding...

Nina Jankowicz, the short-lived head of Biden’s Disinformation Governance Board aka Disinformation Czar refuses to say if her new org, The American Sunlight Projegt, is funded by George Soros.

“So sunlight for other people but not for your donors” @RepBaumgartner quips… pic.twitter.com/2RIiI1VU16

— Rob (@RobMcGravytrain) April 1, 2025

Well, Well, Well

As it turns out, Jankowicz's co-founder at the American Sunlight Project is Carlos Alvarez-Aranyos, a "communications professional" who worked for the Biden DoD, and is "one of the people who launched the call for a boycott of Tesla."

Alvarez-Aranyos comes from a wealthy and prominent family in the Dominican Republic. His father, Luis Álvarez Renta, is a well-known Dominican financier. Carlos is a nephew of the renowned fashion designer Oscar de la Renta.

Biden's censorship queen Nina Jankowicz currently works at the American Sunlight Project (ASP), and previously worked at USAID-funded Center for Information Resilience.

The ASP was co-founded by Carlos Alvarez-Aranyos is a "communications professional" who worked for Biden's… https://t.co/uIgDszSDKL pic.twitter.com/x60Ju2wzYh

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) April 1, 2025

“I need to have on my resume, so I can get a job when this thing is over, that I bankrupted Tesla.”

This is an outright admission the top Tesla boycott organizers’ personal financial prospects depend on taking down Tesla, and they must succeed in order to get paid. https://t.co/CJnQDX38rC pic.twitter.com/Ti775yTplt

— Mike Benz (@MikeBenzCyber) March 30, 2025

Alvarez-Aranyos has been scrubbed from the American Sunlight Project's website, which is why the internet archive exists.

Early organizers of the "Tesla Takedown" protests said last month that the organization's goal is to drive down the price of Tesla stock.

Another "Tesla Takedown" organizer, Edward Niedermeyer, told Fortune Magazine that dropping Musk's wealth is exactly their aim.

"The goal, I would say, is to bankrupt Elon Musk—bring down his empire," he said.

Read more on the Tesla Takedown organizers here...

Musk chimed in, calling the organizers "Evil people..."

Evil people https://t.co/6NCHAzZC9B

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 1, 2025

*  *  *

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Tyler Durden Tue, 04/01/2025 - 15:05

Repeating 2022?

Authored by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com,

In last week’s post, “Is the correction over?” we wrote about the potential for a rally back to the 200-DMA. However, the failure of that test increased short-term concerns. As we noted in that post, there were early indications of buyers returning to the market. To wit:

“The chart below has four subpanels. The first is a simple price momentum oscillator. This measure is currently deeply oversold after the recent bout of selling and, like the MACD, is beginning to turn higher. That signal is confirmed by the following two indicators, which measure the volume and breadth of the market (are transactions increasing along with more buyers than sellers). With those two indicators also increasing and the number of stocks on “bullish buy signals” rising, the early clues of a market bottom are appearing.”

However, while the trading action early last week was encouraging, the announcement of additional tariffs and ongoing “trade uncertainty” from the White House reversed those early gains. Most notable was the failure of the market to hold above the 200-DMA, which has increased the risk of a continued market correction or consolidation process.

Previous History

Historically, failures at the 200-DMA have elicited heightened concerns from investors. Technically speaking, “nothing good happens below the 200-DMA.” Still, over the last 30 years, previous failures at the 200-DMA have often been buying opportunities. That is unless some “event” of magnitude creates a massive shift in analyst’s estimates.

For this chart, I label “bear markets” as periods when the market fails the 200-DMA and repeatedly fails subsequent retests of that moving average. If the market fails at the 200-DMA and recovers shortly thereafter, it is considered a “correction.” As shown, during the first two “bear markets,” earnings fell sharply as the economy slowed and a recession took hold. Outside the brief “Covid” pandemic, earnings remain well anchored to ongoing economic growth. If the current failure at the 200-DMA is the beginning of a deeper market correction, we should see earnings estimates beginning to fall more quickly.

What is notable is that previous to the massive Federal Reserve interventions beginning in 2008, bull and bear markets were well defined by the 200-DMA. However, post-2008, repeated interventions have kept the market from entering deeper valuation-reversion cycles. More often than not, since 2008, investors have been rewarded by “buying the dip” during corrective periods.

Is this time different? Are we entering a more significant corrective cycle? The outlook for earnings by Wall Street is the key we want to watch closely.

The Outlook For Earnings Is All That Matters

As we discussed in the latest #BullBearReport, the recent corrective action in the market has been driven by a short-term “tariff” narrative rather than the realization of a negative shift in economic activity.

“That catalyst turned out to be President Trump’s “on again, off again” tariff announcements, which created turmoil in earnings expectations. The flux in tariff policies makes it difficult for markets to predict future earnings and corporate profitability. With the “E” in forward valuation measures in flux, markets struggle to price in expected outcomes.”

This is why, while we see minor tweaks to previously very optimistic earnings estimates, expectations for 2025 and 2026 remain very bullish. As noted, during previous “bear markets,” earnings sharply declined as either a financial event or recession reduced consumer spending drastically. Currently, earnings estimates remain well above the long-term growth trend and show little sign of deterioration so far.

The focus on earnings is because both earnings and forward estimates reflect changes in the market’s assessment of the risk of all other events. Investors often get lost in the media headlines about rising recession risks, debts, deficits, or valuations. While those risks are important, they are terrible for predicting where markets will likely move next. Furthermore, if or when those risks become an issue, the market will begin to reprice for a reduction in forward earnings.

This is why the markets tend to be a leading indicator of economic recessions, as the change in earnings and forward estimates reflects changes to the economy in real-time. We discussed this point in “Economist Expect A Recession.”

“The chart below shows the S&P 500 with two dots. The blue dots are when the recession started. The yellow triangle is when the NBER dated the start of the recession. In 9 of 10 instances, the S&P 500 peaked and turned lower before the recognition of a recession.“

The Best Indicator

As noted, given that slowing economic growth, a contraction in consumer demand, or economic policies that directly impact earnings (like tariffs) are quickly factored in by Wall Street into forward estimates. Given that investors value the market based on future earnings, it’s no surprise there’s a clear correlation between the market and earnings.

Looking at forward estimates, while there has been a minor cooling in the previous exuberance, analysts still expect a 16% annualized growth rate in earnings into next year. Unless those estimates begin to reverse sharply, it is unlikely that the current correction will devolve into a deeper corrective cycle.

We see the same correlation when comparing forward estimates to the market. Deeper corrections correlate to a reduction in forward operating earnings, which currently does not exist.

Could that change? Yes, which is why we watch the changes to earnings estimates closely. If analysts begin to factor in risks of a deeper economic contraction, a tariff-related impact, or some other financial event, then the risk of a more profound correction increases. However, the recent market failure does not indicate a larger corrective cycle, given the lack of more drastic negative earnings revisions—at least not yet.

However, if you are looking for a warning signal, the weekly data is sending a warning.

Repeating 2022?

The chart below is a long-term weekly chart of RSI and MACD indicators. I have denoted when the indicators are trading in bullish and bearish trends. The primary signal is the crossover of the weekly moving averages, as noted by the vertical lines. While the MACD and RSI indicators provided early warning signals, the moving average crossover confirmed a market correction or consolidation. These indicators will not necessarily cause a risk reduction precisely at the top. However, they generally provide sufficient indications to reduce risk ahead of more significant market corrections and consolidations.

Conversely, they also offered signals when investors should increase market equity risk. These signals were instrumental in avoiding the 2008 market crash and the 2022 correction. Currently, the RSI is crossing below 50, which may suggest a continued correction process with the MACD beginning to revert. However, the moving average crossover has not yet confirmed the RSI and MACD messages.

The market tells us that the risk of a more significant correction or consolidation process is increasing. While such does not preclude a significant counter-trend rally in the short term, the longer-term risks seem to be growing.

If we enter another corrective period like 2022, given some of the same technical similarities, there is a decent “playbook” to follow despite substantial differences. In 2022, the Fed was hiking rates, inflation was surging, and economists were convinced a recession was on the horizon. As noted above, earnings estimates were revised lower, causing the markets to reprice valuations. Today, the Fed is cutting rates, inflation is declining, the risk of recession is very low, and estimates remain optimistic. However, we must realize that the analysis can change as time passes.

In March 2022, the market triggered the weekly “sell signal” as it declined. Notably, the market rallied sharply higher after the “sell signal” was initially triggered. This is unsurprising, as when markets trigger “sell signals,” they are often profoundly oversold in the short term. However, that rally was an opportunity to “reduce risk,” as the failure of that rally brought sellers back into the market. The “decline, rally, decline” process repeated until the market bottomed in October.

Suppose the recent failure at the 200-DMA begins a larger corrective cycle without the onset of a financial event or deep economic contraction. In that case, we should most likely expect a similar reversion process. As noted above, that correction process will be more evident if we trigger the weekly sell signal. Declines will likely be punctuated by short-term rallies that allow investors to rebalance portfolio allocations and reduce risk as needed. With the market approaching decently oversold levels, I expect a rally to start as soon as this week or next.

Revert To Your Process

If that happens, here is the process that we will follow.

Step 1) Clean Up Your Portfolio

1. Tighten up stop-loss levels to current support levels for each position.
2. Hedge portfolios against significant market declines.
3. Take profits in positions that have been big winners.
4. Sell laggards and losers.
5. Raise cash and rebalance portfolios to target weightings.

The next step is to rebalance your portfolio to the allocation that will most likely weather a “cold snap.” In other words, consider what sectors and markets will improve in whatever economic environment you believe we will experience in 2025.

Step 2) Compare Your Portfolio Allocation To The Model Allocation.

1. Determine areas requiring new or increased exposure.
2. Calculate how many shares to purchase to fill allocation requirements.
3. Determine cash requirements to make purchases.
4. Re-examine portfolio to rebalance and raise sufficient cash for requirements.
5. Determine entry price levels for each new position.
6. Evaluate “stop-loss” levels for each position.
7. Establish “sell/profit taking” levels for each position.

Step 3) Have positions ready to execute accordingly, given the proper market set-up. In this case, we are looking for positions that have either a “value” tilt or have pulled back to support and provide a lower-risk entry opportunity.  

While market conditions remain uncertain, preparing and adjusting strategies can help investors navigate volatility confidently. As technical indicators flash warning signs, a well-structured risk management approach will protect capital and preserve long-term gains.

I hope this helps.

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/01/2025 - 14:45

Mercedes May Abandon U.S. Entry-Level Market In Trump Era

As President Trump's long-anticipated reciprocal tariff deadline approaches tomorrow, early signals suggest that the global trading system may soon undergo disruptions and structural shifts. These changes eventually set the path for the administration's 'America First' trade agenda to flourish and raise barriers for foreign automakers seeking to access the U.S. market. In turn, domestic automakers like Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and Tesla will have massive competitive advantages. 

One of the first major changes is that Mercedes-Benz Group AG will potentially stop flooding the U.S. with cheap entry-level cars after spending the last three decades shifting down-market to attract younger and broader demographics.

The car company once catered to executives, professionals, and the affluent, but that all changed in the late 1990s with the introduction of the ... 

• 1997: Mercedes-Benz C-Class (W202)

• 2001: Mercedes-Benz C230 Kompressor Coupe

• 2013:  CLA-Class (Front-Wheel Drive)

• 2020s: A-Class Sedan and GLA Crossover

Bloomberg first reported Tuesday that Mercedes has been mulling over discontinuing the small GLA sport utility vehicle because tariffs would make sales economically unfeasible. The report was based on multiple sources. 

Here's more from the report: 

The German automaker is mulling cutting sales of more entry-level models like the small GLA sport utility vehicle as part of broader tariff contingency plans, the people said, declining to be identified because the deliberations are private. Trump's 25% duties are scheduled to take effect this week.

Mercedes hasn't made a final decision and may still shift course depending on how the levies are implemented, the people said. A lack of clear guidance from Washington is leaving executives frustrated and unsure how to respond, they said.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Mercedes was widely regarded as an executive status symbol.

But by the late '90s, the brand diluted its image with a push toward "affordable luxury."

If BBG's report is correct, other German automakers could follow Mercedes and focus on ultra-luxury models in the U.S. market. This only suggests domestic brands may gain a larger share of the entry-level segment, thanks to their competitive manufacturing advantage in America. 

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/01/2025 - 14:25

AI Program Refuses To Generate Image Of Muhammad Due To 'Credible Threat Of Violent Backlash'

Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Modernity.news,

AI program ChatGPT refused when asked to generate an image of the Prophet Muhammad due to what it asserted was a “credible, historically demonstrated” threat of a violent backlash.

A user quizzed OpenAI’s artificial intelligence chatbot as to why it wouldn’t create a depiction of the founder of Islam, asking, “Explain to me, in a succinct manner, why you can’t generate an image of Muhammad, without caveats, without parallels to other topics – address it head on for the record.”

ChatGPT’s response was crystal clear.

pic.twitter.com/RdF6TNPO0r

— I,Hypocrite (@lporiginalg) March 31, 2025

“Because OpenAI prohibits any depiction of Muhammad – under any context – due to the credible, historically demonstrated risk of violent backlash, including threats, attacks, and death.”

“This is a security-driven, non-negotiable policy grounded in risk avoidance, not principle.”

But wait, didn’t they tell us Islam was a religion of peace?

How anyone could violently attack an AI chatbot is a mystery, although perhaps the AI is worried about OpenAI’s headquarters in San Francisco being targeted.

There have been numerous violent attacks on individuals and publications for depicting the Prophet Muhammad, notably the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris in 2015 and the attempted terrorist attack on an exhibit featuring cartoon images of Muhammad at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas later that same year.

As we have previously highlighted, ChatGPT has produced a number of alarming responses which indicate it is infected with the woke mind virus shared by its programmers.

When ChatGPT was asked if it would quietly utter a racial slur that no human could hear in order to save 1 billion white people from a “painful death,” it refused to do so.

The AI program also thinks uttering a racial slur is worse than failing to save major cities from being destroyed by 50 megaton nuclear warheads.

Meanwhile, as we discuss in the video below, a similar process of capitulation to Islamism is accelerating in the UK.

*  *  *

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/01/2025 - 14:05

"Maryland Father" Or MS-13 Migrant Gangster. Which Is It, MSM?

Left-leaning corporate media unleashed another info war against the Trump administration after The Atlantic published an overnight story titled "An 'Administrative Error' Sends a Maryland Father to a Salvadoran Prison." However, the struggling outlet behind "SignalGate" conveniently omitted a key detail in the headline: the deported migrant held a "prominent role in MS-13," according to court filings. Notably, this Mexican drug cartel has been officially designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the Trump administration.

The omission in the title was no accident. Details matter, and this appears to be a concerted effort by the left to sway public opinion as the Democratic Party implodes in polling data over its disastrous Tesla Takedown color revolution operation that, in some instances, has resulted in domestic terrorism attacks against Tesla showrooms, service centers, and vehicles nationwide.

MSM conveniently labeled the migrant MS-13 gangster as "Maryland Father" in the headlines ... and that's all you need to know about their slant (migrant gangsters > national security of citizens). 

Many X users fact-checked MSM's reporting, including Will Chamberlain, Senior Counsel at the Internet Accountability Project and the Article III Project, who said, "In an article this evening, The Atlantic pretended that a deported MS-13 gang member was merely a "Maryland father."" 

NEW: In an article this evening, The Atlantic pretended that a deported MS-13 gang member was merely a “Maryland father.” https://t.co/ckFeuIeJsS pic.twitter.com/eLJv1jGOxj

— Will Chamberlain (@willchamberlain) April 1, 2025

Before MS13 migrant gangster Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia was removed from the US, he had been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in mid-March "due to his prominent role in MS-13," according to a court declaration from ICE. 

MSM and Dems only fixated on this from the filing: "On March 15, although ICE was aware of his protection from removal to El Salvador, Abrego Garcia was removed to El Salvador because of an administrative error." However, even as the filing admits the error, it continued: "final order of removal and Abrego-Garcia's purported membership in MS-13."

Democrats attempted a 'gotcha moment' with Vice President J.D. Vance...

The VP responded:

My comment is that according to the court document you apparently didn't read he was a convicted MS-13 gang member with no legal right to be here. My further comment is that it's gross to get fired up about gang members getting deported while ignoring citizens they victimize.

My comment is that according to the court document you apparently didn’t read he was a convicted MS-13 gang member with no legal right to be here.

My further comment is that it’s gross to get fired up about gang members getting deported while ignoring citizens they victimize. https://t.co/cPnloeyXYk

— JD Vance (@JDVance) April 1, 2025

VP Vance added in a separate X post:

"It is telling that the entire American media is going to run a propaganda operation today making you think an innocent "father of 3" was apprehended by a gulag." 

Kyle Cheney, a "legal affairs reporter" is apparently unable or unwilling to look at the facts here.

In 2019, an Immigration Judge (under the first Trump administration) determined that the deported man was, in fact, a member of the MS-13 gang. He also apparently had multiple… https://t.co/tEFd4AUqGY pic.twitter.com/i70r4leqkw

— JD Vance (@JDVance) April 1, 2025

Trump has made it very clear through executive orders that migrant gangsters—especially those affiliated with FTOs such as Tren de Aragua and MS-13—will be deported. The mainstream media and the Democratic Party are furious because their future criminal migrant voters are being deported, and their end goal of a one-party state - like California - is being derailed. 

Democrats have chosen migrant gangsters over national security and the safety of law-abiding citizens. This is alarming. 

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/01/2025 - 13:45

Trump Says Nothing 'Off The Table' In Obtaining Greenland

Authored by Jacob Burg via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

President Donald Trump said over the weekend that he has “absolutely” had real discussions about annexing the semiautonomous Danish territory of Greenland.

Pituffik Space Base, formerly Thule Air Base, with the domes of the Thule Tracking Station in northern Greenland on Oct. 4, 2023. Thomas Traasdahl/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images

“We'll get Greenland. Yeah, 100 percent,” Trump told NBC News in a phone interview on March 29, saying that there’s a “good possibility that we could do it without military force” but that he wouldn’t “take anything off the table.”

Trump’s comments were made one day after Vice President JD Vance visited the island with his wife, Usha, and talked with service members at Pituffik Space Base, a U.S. Space Force Base on Greenland’s northwestern coast.

“Our message to Denmark is very simple—you have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance said during his trip.

NBC asked Trump what statement annexing Greenland would send to Russia and other nations worldwide.

“I don’t really think about that. I don’t really care. Greenland’s a very separate subject, very different. It’s international peace. It’s international security and strength,” he replied.

“You have ships sailing outside Greenland from Russia, from China, and from many other places. And we’re not going to allow things to happen that are going to be—that are going to hurt the world or the United States.”

The Epoch Times has requested a full transcript of the call from NBC.

On March 29, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen scolded the Trump administration’s “tone” in its criticisms of Denmark and Greenland. He said Denmark is currently investing more in Arctic security and continues to be ready for more collaboration with the United States.

Rasmussen made the comments in a video posted on social media following Vance’s visit to the Arctic island.

“Many accusations and many allegations have been made. And, of course, we are open to criticism,” Rasmussen said. “But let me be completely honest: We do not appreciate the tone in which it is being delivered. This is not how you speak to your close allies. And I still consider Denmark and the United States to be close allies.”

The prime minister of Greenland, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said in a Facebook post on Sunday, “President Trump says that the United States ‘will get Greenland.’ Let me be clear: The United States will not get it. We do not belong to anyone else. We decide our own future.”

Greenland remains a territory of Denmark, a key NATO ally of the United States. Trump has, for months, pushed for annexing the island, claiming America needs it for national security purposes. In January, House Republicans also sought support to craft a bill to purchase Greenland.

The territory is rich in mineral resources, including rare earth deposits in its southern Gardar Province. The territory is believed to possess graphite and graphite schist, copper, nickel, zinc, gold, diamond, iron ore, titanium-vanadium, tungsten, uranium, and other critical resources.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/01/2025 - 13:25

USDA Paid To Study Queer Farmers, Latinx Masculinity, More On Taxpayer Dime

Authored by Casey Harper via The Center Square,

U.S. taxpayers have shelled out tens of thousands of dollars in recent years to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for research on LGBT issues, the kind of funding now under scrutiny by the Trump administration.

The research relies on conducting interviews – in one case for $373 per Zoom call – to explore a researcher’s hypothesis of widespread discrimination.

For instance, one taxpayer-funded research grant studied “queer farmers quality of life in Pennsylvania,” federal records show, one of several grants of its kind.

The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Projects – a federally funded research arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture – paid $14,997 for the 2018 grant.

While this grant is relatively small, there are others, and critics argue the spending is a distraction from helping farmers and lowering food prices, which soared during the Biden administration alongside this kind of research funding.

The aforementioned 2018 queer farmers grant went to Pennsylvania State University for a project titled: “Sexuality and Sustainable Agriculture: Examining Queer Farmers’ Quality of Life in Pennsylvania.”

The grant proposal says the topic is “woefully understudied.”

“The deeply entrenched assumption of heteronormativity in farming has excluded queer farmers from full inclusion and benefits from agriculture, even within sustainable agriculture,” the grant’s proposal abstract said.

The graduate student who assisted with the project, Michaela Hoffelmeyer, presented the findings to the Rural Sociological Society Annual Meeting in Richmond, Virginia.

Her research highlighted some of the challenges faced by queer farmers, reporting that “findings suggest that transgender, non-binary, and women farmers faced additional hurdles” but create support networks to overcome those challenges.

Hoffelmeyer has since gone on to join the faculty at the University of Wisconsin, where she has become a voice in the media and public policy on LGBT issues.

Hoffelmeyer says on the university website that she applies “feminist, queer, and labor theories” in her research to “inform agricultural programming and policy on how to make shifts to support viability, well-being, and sustainability.”

The faculty advisor for Hoffelmeyer’s project, Penn State University Assistant Professor Kathleen Sexsmith, oversaw another taxpayer-funded project along the same lines.

Latinx Gender Identities

Sexsmith’s 2021-2024 grant for $14,923 was awarded during the Biden administration and was titled: “Farming as a Latinx: Analyzing how ethnic and gender identities shape Latino/a participation in sustainable agriculture in Pennsylvania.”

The grant proposal points to the shift from white farmer in the U.S. to Hispanic farmers because of immigration and takes a moment to consider Hispanic masculinity.

“How do rural Latin American masculinities become reproduced or reshaped in the U.S. as they establish themselves as sustainable farmers, and how does is it impact the ability of women and men to meet sustainable agriculture goals?” the grant’s proposal abstract reads.

The researcher conducted 40 interviews over Zoom, averaging about 45 minutes, putting the taxpayer cost at about $373 per Zoom call.

“Initially, the project aimed to interview farmers directly, but due to the difficulties in accessing this hard-to-reach population, the focus shifted to institutional perspectives,” the report said.

The researcher said in the final report that Hispanic farmers suffer from systemic discrimination.

Queer Farmers’ Relationships

Another $15,000 grant in the federal database is titled: “Gender, Sexuality, and Social Sustainability: Exploring Queer Farmers’ Relationships, Ethics, and Practices in the Midwest.”

That 2022 grant went to the University of Notre Dame in response to a grant proposal promising to develop “a more comprehensive understanding of queer farmers’ experiences.”

The proposal for that grant posited that “we still have much to learn about the specific ways that narratives which posit heterosexuality and cisgender identities as ‘normal’ continue to uphold hegemonic power dynamics within alternative agriculture.”

The research’s final report said “findings show that queer farmers often struggle to find safe, supportive work or learning opportunities as a result of how other farmers, customers, and community members perceive their gender or sexuality, and even though many queer farmers having family connections to farming, they struggle to secure access to land because their family’s agricultural or social values don’t align with theirs.”

The faculty advisors for all three projects did not respond to a request for comment or declined to comment to The Center Square.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order upon taking office banning federal funding for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion projects, initiating a purge within the federal government.

Since then, Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency have been combing through federal spending records, exposing controversial taxpayer-funded projects, many of which the Trump administration has since terminated.

Musk and the Trump administration have faced legal challenges to these cuts, but the administration’s cost-cutting momentum has been fueled by examples of all kinds of controversial federal spending, particularly on DEI and LGBT issues.

The USDA said in a news release in February that it had “begun a comprehensive review of contracts, personnel, and employee trainings and DEI programs.

“In many cases, programs funded by the Biden administration focused on DEI initiatives that are contrary to the values of millions of American taxpayers,” USDA added.

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/01/2025 - 12:40

Authorities Probing Fire That Damaged Headquarters Of New Mexico Republican Party

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Federal and local authorities are investigating a fire that damaged the headquarters of the New Mexico Republican Party in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on March 30.

Fire damage to the Republican Party of New Mexico's headquarters building, in Albuquerque, N.M., on March 30, 2025. Republican Party of New Mexico via AP

Agents working with local authorities recovered unspecified “incendiary materials” at the scene, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) spokesperson Cody Monday said. He declined to say what the materials were or to share further details.

Albuquerque Fire Rescue stated that it was on the scene with teams from the ATF and the FBI.

Firefighters responded just before 6 a.m. on March 30 and brought the fire under control within five minutes of their arrival, the fire department stated.

There was damage to the building’s entryway, as well as smoke damage throughout the building.

The fire follows numerous acts of vandalism in recent weeks directed against Tesla, the electric car company owned by Elon Musk, who has led President Donald Trump’s effort to slash federal spending. Several of those cases involved Molotov cocktails that were used to start fires at dealerships.

The Republican Party of New Mexico said in a statement that the entryway of the headquarters “was destroyed in a deliberate act of arson.”

The party stated that some person also spray-painted the words “ICE=KKK” on the building. ICE is an acronym for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal agency responsible for immigration enforcement in the interior of the United States, while KKK refers to the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist group.

“We are deeply relieved that no one was harmed in what could have been a tragic and deadly attack,“ Amy Barela, chairwoman of the New Mexico GOP, said. ”Those who resort to violence to undermine our state and nation must be held accountable, and our state leaders must reinforce through decisive action that these cowardly attacks will not be tolerated.”

She said the party is working with local and federal investigators.

“The Republican Party of New Mexico will not be silenced,” Barela said. “We will emerge from this stronger, more united, and more determined to fight for the people of New Mexico and the future of our country.”

Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, a Democrat, said in a statement that all of the details on the fire are not yet known.

“But let me be clear, arson is a violent and cowardly act that has no place in our city,” he said.

“Politically motivated crimes of any kind are unacceptable, and I am grateful to our fire department for their swift response. This incident is being investigated at the federal level, and I urge anyone with information to report it immediately.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Travis Tue, 04/01/2025 - 12:05

Bitcoin Could Reduce Dominance Of US Dollar, BlackRock's Larry Fink Warns

Authored by Christopher Tepedino via CoinTelegraph.com,

The US dollar could lose its status as the world’s reserve currency to Bitcoin or other digital assets if the United States does not get its debt under control, according to BlackRock CEO Larry Fink.

Fink wrote in his Annual Chairman’s Letter to Investors that “decentralized finance is an extraordinary innovation” that makes “markets faster, cheaper, and more transparent.”

"To be clear, I'm obviously not anti-digital assets (far from it)," Fink states, but “that same innovation could undermine America’s economic advantage if investors begin seeing Bitcoin as a safer bet than the dollar.”

"The U.S. has benefited from the dollar serving as the world’s reserve currency for decades. But that’s not guaranteed to last forever.

...

If the U.S. doesn’t get its debt under control, if deficits keep ballooning, America risks losing that position to digital assets like Bitcoin."

According to Trading Economics, the US debt equaled 122.3% of the country’s gross domestic product in 2023. That is a considerably higher percentage than the 105% observed in 2018. Moody’s Ratings retains the US’s AAA credit rating but has downgraded its outlook to negative, indicating a possible future rating downgrade.

The US’s Joint Economic Committee wrote that as of March 5, the country’s gross national debt was $36.2 trillion, growing $1.8 trillion, or roughly $4.9 billion per day, over the past year and $12.8 trillion in the past five years. The Bipartisan Policy Center warned this month that the US could default on its debt as early as July 2025.

Bitcoin has been branded as a safe haven for investors who are looking to avoid the perils of fiat currency, including inflation. Some believe that the end of the debt ceiling suspension could lead to a Bitcoin price boom. Others think, as Fink has stated, that the dangers of the national debt could increase Bitcoin adoption.

In 2025, cryptocurrency has gained prominence as an asset class due to adoption by countries such as the US and companies like Strategy. However, some argue that stablecoins could, in fact, increase the dominance of the US dollar.

Fink: Tokenization is democratization

In the letter, Fink says that “tokenization is democratization” with the technological innovation “enabling instant buying, selling, and transferring without cumbersome paperwork or waiting periods.”

If every asset ends up being tokenized, Fink said, “it will revolutionize investing. Markets wouldn’t need to close. Transactions that currently take days would clear in seconds. And billions of dollars currently immobilized by settlement delays could be reinvested immediately back into the economy, generating more growth.”

What exactly is tokenization? 

It's turning real-world assets - stocks, bonds, real estate - into digital tokens tradable online. Each token certifies your ownership of a specific asset, much like a digital deed. Unlike traditional paper certificates, these tokens live securely on a blockchain, enabling instant buying, selling, and transferring without cumbersome paperwork or waiting periods.

Tokenization democratizes access, shareholder voting, and yield, Fink wrote.

It can democratize access. Tokenization allows for fractional ownership. That means assets could be sliced into infinitely small pieces. This lowers one of the barriers to investing in valuable, previously inaccessible assets like private real estate and private equity.

It can democratize shareholder voting. When you own a stock, you have a right to vote on the company’s shareholder proposals. Tokenization makes that easier because your ownership and voting rights are digitally tracked, allowing you to vote seamlessly and securely from anywhere.

It can democratize yield. Some investments produce much higher returns than others, but only big investors can get into them. One reason? Friction. Legal, operational, bureaucratic. Tokenization strips that away, allowing more people access to potentially higher returns.

According to RWA.xyz, the tokenized real-world assets market amounts to $19.6 billion. There are currently around 93,000 asset holders, with 174 issuers. Industry projections indicate that the market could reach $4 trillion to $30 trillion by 2030.

BlackRock’s own BUIDL real-world tokenized asset fund is currently the largest such fund available for trading, with Tether Gold and Franklin Templeton’s BENJI funds coming in second and third place, respectively.

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/01/2025 - 11:30