Kevin Warsh has officially been sworn in as the new chair of the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors. If his past comments are to be believed, big changes could be coming to the Fed regarding how it thinks about inflation, the size of its balance sheet, and even how it communicates with the public. Warsh has been critical of the Fed and thinks that, under Jerome Powell's leadership, the agency ma...
Kevin Warsh has officially been sworn in as the new chair of the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors. If his past comments are to be believed, big changes could be coming to the Fed regarding how it thinks about inflation, the size of its balance sheet, and even how it communicates with the public. Warsh has been critical of the Fed and thinks that, under Jerome Powell's leadership, the agency made one of its largest policy errors in 50 years. But reversing this move won't happen overnight -- and may not be so fun for Wall Street. What the Fed did At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates to zero and restarted quantitative easing (QE), the process of purchasing U.S. Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities (MBS) to flood the economy with liquidity. This swelled the Fed's balance sheet over the next few years to nearly $9 trillion in assets. At the same time, the federal government was also implementing significant stimulus measures. Now, officials were responding to a particularly scary time for the world and the economy, so there are still varying opinions on whether the Fed and the government acted correctly. However, during congressional testimony in April, Warsh referred to the COVID-era moves as "the biggest economic policy error in 40 or 50 years." Many blame QE, the Fed's large balance sheet, and government stimulus for some of the highest inflation in 40 years, which peaked at over 9% in the summer of 2022. While inflation has slowed significantly, prices are still rising, and affordability has become one of the largest problems in the U.S. today. Warsh believes that using the Fed's balance sheet as a monetary tool disproportionately benefits people who own assets, such as homes or stocks, which have performed extremely well since the Great Recession. The fix is easier said than done Fixing the Fed's large balance sheet is fairly simple on the surface: If the balance sheet is too big, the Fed simply needs...
Taiwan prosecutors suspect that three individuals successfully smuggled at least one shipment of Nvidia Corp. AI chips to China after first exporting them to Japan, people familiar with the matter said. The trio was detained last week by Taiwan’s Keelung District Prosecutors Office for allegedly falsifying documents related to exports of Super Micro Computer Inc. servers containing advanced Nvidia...
Taiwan prosecutors suspect that three individuals successfully smuggled at least one shipment of Nvidia Corp. AI chips to China after first exporting them to Japan, people familiar with the matter said. The trio was detained last week by Taiwan’s Keelung District Prosecutors Office for allegedly falsifying documents related to exports of Super Micro Computer Inc. servers containing advanced Nvidia chips, which the US has barred from sale to China without a license from Washington. The move marked the island democracy’s first public crackdown on AI chip diversion after years of pressure from the US to take a more active role in curtailing China’s tech access. Read More: Taiwan Seeks to Detain Three in Nvidia Smuggling Crackdown When Taiwan authorities apprehended the three defendants — who’ve now been officially detained — they also seized about 50 servers for which they accuse the trio of preparing fraudulent export documents. But at least one shipment had already gone through Taiwan customs, according to the people familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity to speak about an ongoing criminal investigation. That earlier shipment went to Japan before eventually making it to Hong Kong, a known waypoint for hardware that’s ultimately shipped to mainland China, the people said. The people declined to specify the amount of hardware that Taiwan authorities believe was successfully smuggled. The defendants also allegedly planned to use Japan as an intermediary location for the batch of servers that Taiwan officials seized last week, according to the people. The probe may be the first known instance of prosecutors targeting an AI-chip smuggling route through Japan, a close ally of the US and cornerstone of American defense strategy in the Asia-Pacific. Other cases have focused on diversion via Southeast Asia, including the biggest such indictment in the US. Officials at the Japanese Ministry of Finance’s Customs Bureau and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry ...
(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Friday, following the mostly positive cues overnight from Wall Street, with support from crude oil prices and as traders looked to pick up stocks at somewhat reduced levels after the recent drop. The recent data showing acceleration in the rate of consumer price inflation has raised the possibility of the Federal Reserve hiking rates by ...
(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Friday, following the mostly positive cues overnight from Wall Street, with support from crude oil prices and as traders looked to pick up stocks at somewhat reduced levels after the recent drop. The recent data showing acceleration in the rate of consumer price inflation has raised the possibility of the Federal Reserve hiking rates by mid 2022. Asian markets ended mixed on Thursday. There are also reports from China that several bondholders had received overdue coupon payments from cash-strapped developer China Evergrande Group. The Australian stock market is rebounding on Friday, after four straight sessions of losses, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving above the 7,400 level, following mostly positive cues overnight from Wall Street, led by gains across most sectors, with particular strength in energy and mining stocks amid higher commodity prices. Traders are also bargain hunting after the recent losses. Traders are still cautious as the country is gradually reopening after lifting lockdown restrictions, particularly in Victoria where COVID-19 cases are still high. Victoria reported 1,115 new locally acquired cases and nine deaths on Thursday. NSW has reported 286 new local cases of COVID-19 and two deaths. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 71.60 points or 0.97 percent to 7,453.50, after touching a high of 7,465.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 74.40 points or 0.97 percent to 7,775.60. Australian markets ended significantly lower on Thursday. Among major miners, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals are gaining more than 4 percent each, while BHP Group is adding more than 3 percent and Mineral Resources is rising almost 4 percent and OZ Minerals is advancing almost 3 percent. BHP received approval from its Australian shareholders in favour of the roadmap for its climate transition action plan, with 84.5 percent of votes cast in favour. Oil stocks are higher. Oil Search, Woodside ...
SlavkoSereda/iStock via Getty Images Portfolio Changes in April Net investment activity in April dipped to a multi-year low as stock valuations continue to rise, especially in the tech sector, while the rate-sensitive BDC sector continues getting hammered, accompanied by multiple dividend cuts. As the war on Iran is in some kind of shaky stalemate, the situation remains fluid and erratic. Until th...
SlavkoSereda/iStock via Getty Images Portfolio Changes in April Net investment activity in April dipped to a multi-year low as stock valuations continue to rise, especially in the tech sector, while the rate-sensitive BDC sector continues getting hammered, accompanied by multiple dividend cuts. As the war on Iran is in some kind of shaky stalemate, the situation remains fluid and erratic. Until the war is resolved and the Strait of Hormuz has reopened without any tariffs or tolls for global shipping, I remain cautious and don't really trust the current market euphoria. Against this background I focused my purchases more or less exclusively on BDCs, which have been badly beaten on fears of a collapsing software sector driven by AI. I invested my limited funds into Ares Capital ( ARCC ), Blue Owl Capital ( OBDC ), and Hercules Capital ( HTGC ), totaling a meager $267. Altogether, my April purchases only added $31 in annual net dividend income, continuing the trend of missing my informal goal of boosting monthly income by around $100. I'm still hoping to make up for it in 2026, but I remain highly skeptical of that. Overall, the average yield on cost of my new investments in April came in at around 7.5%. All these purchases break down as follows: Added Dividend income - April 2026 (Designed by author) All net purchases in April can be found below: Net Purchases April (Designed by author) Dividend Income in April 2026 Yearly Dividend Overview (April) (Designed by author) Dividend income eked out a small April dividend record of $990 and is up 3% Y/Y. BDC Split 2026/Q2 (Designed by author) In Q2 year-to-date, BDCs accounted for 27% of my total dividends. Some of these dividends could still be cut this year or next, which has me considering whether adjustments to my portfolio allocation are needed. For now, I'm already slowing down purchases to build up more cash, but the question remains whether additional steps should be taken. Top 3 Dividend Payers (Designed by author)...
Space-Squatters Will Open The Final Frontier Authored by Rainer Zitelmann via American Greatness, When we talk about the future of mankind in space, we should learn from history. Squatters played a crucial role in the settlement and economic development of the American West. Long before government institutions were firmly established, settlers moved onto unclaimed land, built homes, cultivated far...
Space-Squatters Will Open The Final Frontier Authored by Rainer Zitelmann via American Greatness, When we talk about the future of mankind in space, we should learn from history. Squatters played a crucial role in the settlement and economic development of the American West. Long before government institutions were firmly established, settlers moved onto unclaimed land, built homes, cultivated farms, and created entire communities without initially possessing formal legal title to the land they occupied. In many cases, these settlers were the true pioneers of westward expansion. They established the foundations of economic life—farms, towns, trade networks, and local infrastructure—while the state often arrived only later. The expansion of the American frontier was driven less by central planning in Washington than by millions of individuals acting on their own initiative. What made the squatters especially important was that they created facts before the law recognized them. They settled the land first and expected legalization afterward. Over time, American lawmakers accepted this reality and introduced legislation allowing settlers to obtain formal ownership of the land they had improved and cultivated. The squatters embodied a distinctly American idea: that those who productively use land should have the right to own it. This belief stood in sharp contrast to the European tradition of aristocratic landownership and became deeply connected to the American ideal of the independent entrepreneur and pioneer. Their activities transformed vast territories into economically productive regions. By cultivating land, building businesses, and creating communities, squatters helped turn the frontier into one of the most dynamic areas of economic growth in the nineteenth century. Some economic historians view the squatters as an early example of how property rights emerge from below—through use, investment, and social recognition—before they are formally recognized by the st...
American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) is betting on Elon Musk-led SpaceX to power faster in-flight internet across hundreds of planes, marking another major win for Starlink as airlines race to modernize onboard connectivity. American Airlines Picks Starlink For More Than 500 Aircraft On Tuesday, American Airlines announced that it plans to equip more than 500 narrow-body aircraft with Starlin...
American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) is betting on Elon Musk-led SpaceX to power faster in-flight internet across hundreds of planes, marking another major win for Starlink as airlines race to modernize onboard connectivity. American Airlines Picks Starlink For More Than 500 Aircraft On Tuesday, American Airlines announced that it plans to equip more than 500 narrow-body aircraft with Starlink satellite internet, including its Airbus A321neo fleet, early next year. The move comes after the carrier reportedly evaluated both Starlink and Amazon.com, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AMZN) low-Earth-orbit satellite offering Leo, formerly Project Kuiper. "Your scrolling just got an upgrade," American Airlines said in a post on X, adding that the new service is designed for "streaming, browsing, gaming, and staying connected in real time, gate to gate." Source: X Musk also shared the post on X, saying, "Starlink coming to American Airlines!" Source: X Shares of American Airlines closed Tuesday up 7.18% at $14.84 and slipped 0.095% to $14.83 in after-hours trading, according to Benzinga Pro. Read Also: SpaceX 'Hasn't Earned Its Seat At The Table Yet': Why One Market Expert Is Pushing Back On S&P 500 Inclusion Starlink Expands Airline Industry Dominance The agreement further strengthens Starlink's growing position in the airline industry, where carriers are increasingly prioritizing faster and more reliable Wi-Fi to attract higher-spending travelers. Several major U.S. airlines — including United Airlines Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL), Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) and Alaska Airlines (NYSE:ALK) — have already selected Starlink for onboard internet services. Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE:DAL) announced earlier this year that it plans to use Amazon's Project Kuiper-powered connectivity solution on hundreds of aircraft starting in 2028. American said it currently has no immediate plans to replace internet providers on its Boeing fleet, which uses a mix of Viasat and Panasonic systems, CNBC re...