Judge Blocks Trump's $100,000 Fee For H-1B Visas Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times , President Donald Trump's $100,000 fee for H-1B visas is not legal, a federal judge said on June 8. President Donald Trump speaks before signing an executive order in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington on Aug. 5, 2025. Win McNamee/Getty Images The fee ...
Judge Blocks Trump's $100,000 Fee For H-1B Visas Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times , President Donald Trump's $100,000 fee for H-1B visas is not legal, a federal judge said on June 8. President Donald Trump speaks before signing an executive order in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington on Aug. 5, 2025. Win McNamee/Getty Images The fee for visas for specialty foreign workers "imposes a tax on H-1B petitions without the requisite delegation by Congress, " U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin said in a 42-page decision. While the president is able to restrict noncitizen entry into the United States, Congress has the power to tax, and federal law does not delegate it, the judge said. He also ruled that the fee violated a law called the Administrative Procedure Act because it was issued without allowing the public to comment before it took effect, and ordered officials to vacate the policy in its entirety. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by Massachusetts and 19 other states. They challenged the fee, which Trump announced in September as a way to reduce taxes and bring better people into the country. A different judge in late 2025 had upheld the fee, finding that Trump had the authority to increase the fee from between $2,000 to $5,000 to the $100,000 level. An appeal is pending in that case. This is a developing story that will be updated. Tyler Durden Mon, 06/08/2026 - 15:20
Maximusnd/iStock via Getty Images Transcript Today’s world is shaped by supply. That means the availability of workers, energy and other key materials for economic activity shapes the outlook more than demand for those factors. And mega forces like AI and geopolitical fragmentation are transforming markets and economies, with multiple plausible scenarios playing out. This environment tests how lon...
Maximusnd/iStock via Getty Images Transcript Today’s world is shaped by supply. That means the availability of workers, energy and other key materials for economic activity shapes the outlook more than demand for those factors. And mega forces like AI and geopolitical fragmentation are transforming markets and economies, with multiple plausible scenarios playing out. This environment tests how long-term portfolios have traditionally been built and creating the need for a different approach. 1) Can’t avoid making big calls Markets are increasingly being driven by a few mega forces that are cutting across asset class labels. The result is asset class labels can mask the underlying economic drivers of return and risk. This means asset allocation decisions in this environment are big active calls. This all explains the rising interest in what’s been called a total portfolio approach, or TPA for short. Investors are increasingly thinking in terms of exposures and themes - not just broad asset classes. 2) What is TPA? TPA is inconsistently defined across the industry. But it reflects an approach to building portfolios that allocates capital and risk across the whole portfolio to meet client-specific objectives. This approach defines exposures through underlying economic and factor drivers, looking at public and private markets together. All investments are assessed by their contribution to total portfolio risk and return. 3) A more dynamic framework A scenario-based approach can help investors adapt faster to changing conditions. But it needs a clear framework. That includes internally consistent risk and return assumptions across public and private assets, a plan for blending alpha, factor and index returns, and systematic ways to deal with economic uncertainty. This is especially important when mega forces are driving returns and making almost every portfolio decision an active call. All asset allocation decisions are active calls in today’s investment environment. We t...
The Madao hub of the Pinglu Canal on June 6. Photo: Xinhua China has begun water testing on a $10 billion, 134-kilometer canal in its south, aiming to drastically cut shipping times to Southeast Asia when it opens to navigation in September. The Pinglu Canal connects the Xijiang River to the Beibu Gulf in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, creating a direct maritime gateway for southwestern Chi...
The Madao hub of the Pinglu Canal on June 6. Photo: Xinhua China has begun water testing on a $10 billion, 134-kilometer canal in its south, aiming to drastically cut shipping times to Southeast Asia when it opens to navigation in September. The Pinglu Canal connects the Xijiang River to the Beibu Gulf in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, creating a direct maritime gateway for southwestern China. The mega-project is the vanguard of a broader wave of provincial canal building across the country, raising concerns among analysts about the risks of mounting local government debt.
The offshore energy landscape is shifting as global demand for oil and gas requires more complex subsea engineering. Investors must choose between TechnipFMC (NYSE:FTI) and Valaris (NYSE:VAL) to determine which company is better positioned for this recovery. TechnipFMC provides the sophisticated technology and equipment needed for subsea production, while Valaris operates the actual rigs used to d...
The offshore energy landscape is shifting as global demand for oil and gas requires more complex subsea engineering. Investors must choose between TechnipFMC (NYSE:FTI) and Valaris (NYSE:VAL) to determine which company is better positioned for this recovery. TechnipFMC provides the sophisticated technology and equipment needed for subsea production, while Valaris operates the actual rigs used to drill those offshore wells. Both companies are vital to the energy supply chain, but they offer distinct ways to play the sector based on your risk tolerance. TechnipFMC focuses on delivering subsea and surface technologies, serving energy projects from initial well setup to final export pipelines. They work with over 40 clients, but two customers provided roughly 15.5% and 14.0% of revenue in 2025, respectively. Customer concentration like this adds a layer of risk to the business since the loss of a major contract could significantly impact operations. Continue reading
Four high-yield savings accounts recently cut their rates — even though the market isn't expecting the Federal Reserve to curb rates anytime soon. The accounts, run by Apple , Ally Financial , Capital One Financial and Marcus by Goldman Sachs , all saw reductions over the past week, bringing the peer median savings rate down by 5 basis points to 3.4%, according to BTIG. One basis point equals 1/10...
Four high-yield savings accounts recently cut their rates — even though the market isn't expecting the Federal Reserve to curb rates anytime soon. The accounts, run by Apple , Ally Financial , Capital One Financial and Marcus by Goldman Sachs , all saw reductions over the past week, bringing the peer median savings rate down by 5 basis points to 3.4%, according to BTIG. One basis point equals 1/100th, or 0.01%, of a percent. The yields are typically tied to the federal funds rate, so when the central bank reduces its rate, banks tend to follow. But the Fed hasn't cut rates since last December. Elevated inflation and a hot jobs report last week has pushed back expectations of any further reductions happening this year. Some traders are even pricing in rate increases this year, according to the CME FedWatch tool . "We're candidly unsure what to make of deposit rate cuts, with the market probabilities calling for one [quarter point] Fed rate hike in December 2026," BTIG specialty finance analyst Vincent Caintic said in a note Friday. "Our intuition would tell us that loan growth must be slowing, which would therefore drive less demand for deposits," he added. "However we haven't heard, from recent competitor financials conferences, that loan growth appears to be decelerating across the board." On the other hand, Caintic is hearing from some online banks that competition for deposits will likely increase as the Trump administration approves more bank applications. "[T]his would make us surprised at significant deposit rate cuts at this time," he said. For now, there are still two online banks that pay a 4% annual percentage yield (APY) on their high-yield savings accounts — Bread Financial and LendingClub . In addition, Bread Financial pays a 4% APY on its 1-year certificates of deposit. The remaining 1-year CDs that fall under BTIG's research coverage all pay less than 4%. The benefit of CDs over high-yield savings is that investors are locking in those rates for the d...
Richard Drury/DigitalVision via Getty Images Thesis Summary Strategy Inc. ( MSTR ) made headlines last week as it broke its "never sell" Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) doctrine. Michael Saylor disposed of 32 BTC to fund preferred stock dividends, a small transaction but with significant implications. Indeed, the preferred stock overhang is a genuine new risk that we must address in this article. However, I r...
Richard Drury/DigitalVision via Getty Images Thesis Summary Strategy Inc. ( MSTR ) made headlines last week as it broke its "never sell" Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) doctrine. Michael Saylor disposed of 32 BTC to fund preferred stock dividends, a small transaction but with significant implications. Indeed, the preferred stock overhang is a genuine new risk that we must address in this article. However, I remain bullish on MSTR at these prices. Bitcoin's structural bull case is intact. Strategy resumed buying this week, and the stock's compressed NAV premium still leaves meaningful upside. A Quick Update Back in February, I made what I called my "ultimate contrarian bet for 2026." The core argument was that even though the four-year halving cycle had broken down, Bitcoin itself hadn't. MSTR still offers a leveraged way to play a Bitcoin recovery, with a compressed NAV premium and elevated short interest as potential catalysts. Since my last piece, the stock has been essentially flat, which is actually quite good given the volatility we’ve seen. However, Saylor was forced to sell last week, and this is something we must address. The Preferred Stock Overhang: A New Risk Factor I'm Taking Seriously On June 1st, Strategy filed an 8-K disclosing the sale of 32 BTC , roughly equivalent to $2.5. This was done in order to fund distributions on the company's STRC perpetual preferred stock. A lot of investors become worried about this move, but we have to look at things in a broader context. MSTR holds 843,706 Bitcoin, so 32 coins represent roughly 0.004% of the total treasury. But this move indeed highlights a clear weakness in Strategy's strategy. Strategy now carries five series of preferred stock with combined annual dividend obligations of over $750 million. The company held over $2.25 billion at the start of the year to fund this, but that’s now down to under $1 billion. And MSTR has also been actively selling common stock through its at-the-market program, raising during this ti...
Jackson National Life Insurance Company（Jackson）近日宣布推出Jackson Market Link Pro 4（JMLP4）和Jackson Market Link Pro Advisory 4（JMLPA4），进一步强化其注册指数挂钩年金（RILA）产品线。此次推出的新品首次在RILA领域引入 道琼斯 工业平均指数作为挂钩选项，同时提供灵活保费缴纳...
Jackson National Life Insurance Company（Jackson）近日宣布推出Jackson Market Link Pro 4（JMLP4）和Jackson Market Link Pro Advisory 4（JMLPA4），进一步强化其注册指数挂钩年金（RILA）产品线。此次推出的新品首次在RILA领域引入 道琼斯 工业平均指数作为挂钩选项，同时提供灵活保费缴纳功能和六年期费率锁定保障。 作为Jackson Financial Inc．（纽约证券交易所代码：JXN）的主要运营子公司，Jackson此次推出的JMLP4（佣金型）和JMLPA4（费用型）旨在帮助客户在退休前及退休期间实现资产增值，同时提供不同程度的市场下行保护，包括本金完全保障选项。 Jackson Distribution执行副总裁Alison Reed表示：“通过率先在RILA行业中引入道琼斯工业平均指数作为挂钩选项，并为客户提供向现有合约追加资金的能力，以及锁定前六年保费费率的保证上限计息方式，我们正在为客户提供更多的投资策略选择权和信心。” 此次推出的JMLP4和JMLPA4的主要创新包括：道指指数选项（与标普500、罗素2000、 纳斯达克 100等现有指数并列）、灵活保费功能（允许客户在不重新提交申请的情况下向现有合约追加资金）、以及保证上限计息方式（客户可锁定前六年保费年度的上限费率）。 此外，产品还提供全额或部分业绩锁定功能，客户可在指数账户选项期内的任何时点锁定其阶段性价值。这些资金将转入业绩锁定持有账户，按公布利率计息直至下一个保费分配周年日。客户还可选择费率提升选项，在额外付费基础上获得更高的增长潜力。 Jackson近期还提升了其传统可变年金产品的保证提现率，并强调其在RILA市场的领先地位。分析人士认为，将道琼斯工业平均指数纳入RILA挂钩选项，标志着该类产品正从传统的宽基指数向更具标志性的市场基准拓展，有望吸引更广泛的风险偏好型投资者。 责任编辑：张俊 SF065
Iryna Tolmachova/iStock Editorial via Getty Images About six months ago I wrote a piece on Shopify ( SHOP ). Sure enough, the stock price didn't behave in the way I had expected. It's down 35% while the benchmark has appreciated by 7% here. A significant underperformance. SHOP: Stock Declined 35% Since My Last Piece (Seeking Alpha) But, quite frankly, nothing critical happened. I don't see any sig...
Iryna Tolmachova/iStock Editorial via Getty Images About six months ago I wrote a piece on Shopify ( SHOP ). Sure enough, the stock price didn't behave in the way I had expected. It's down 35% while the benchmark has appreciated by 7% here. A significant underperformance. SHOP: Stock Declined 35% Since My Last Piece (Seeking Alpha) But, quite frankly, nothing critical happened. I don't see any significant structural issues. If anything, Shopify rides the AI wave by using AI-powered solutions. So, I am not in the camp that it's going to be disrupted by it. I view its service ecosystem as too significant to be replaced by a new competitor. On top of this, it remains a steady revenue growth story. I maintained my rating as Buy. I view tailwinds developing favorably for this e-commerce giant. Shaky Earnings, But Top Line Growth Remains Intact That's correct. Although Shopify has a shaky historical earnings performance with a few occasions when it struggled to beat the bottom-line estimates, revenue growth still remains intact. And management has been consistent here. And I still view Shopify as a revenue growth story. SHOP: Historical Earnings (Seeking Alpha) The e-commerce company had its earnings in the beginning of May. Surprisingly enough, a double beat here was met with a nearly 16% decline in the stock price. But was the earnings report so bad? Quite frankly, I don't view it this way. And I also think that the market overreacted. SHOP: Highlights (Shopify Investor Relations) Now, SHOP delivered roughly $3.2 billion in revenue . And that's a 34% increase in the top line over the past 12 months versus $2.4 billion in the same quarter last year. Now, this revenue growth is actually signaling an acceleration from 27% top-line growth last year. On top of this, its monthly recurring revenue achieved an all-time high $212 million mark. Now, that's roughly a 19% 5-year CAGR. I don't find this a walk in the park. If anything, this strengthens Shopify's bull case here. Now,...
Congressman James Comer, Chairman of the House Oversight Committee and Republican representing Kentucky's 1st District joined Balance of Power to discuss the latest on Reconciliation, the DOJ Fund and the likelihood of FISA lapsing at the end of the week. (Source: Bloomberg)
Congressman James Comer, Chairman of the House Oversight Committee and Republican representing Kentucky's 1st District joined Balance of Power to discuss the latest on Reconciliation, the DOJ Fund and the likelihood of FISA lapsing at the end of the week. (Source: Bloomberg)