California attorney general Rob Bonta said he has sued the US energy department to stop it from using a cold-war era law to restart the long-disputed Sable Offshore pipeline system linking the Santa Ynez offshore platform to California refineries. US energy secretary Chris Wright earlier this month restarted the pipelines using powers granted to him by Donald Trump through an executive order that ...
California attorney general Rob Bonta said he has sued the US energy department to stop it from using a cold-war era law to restart the long-disputed Sable Offshore pipeline system linking the Santa Ynez offshore platform to California refineries. US energy secretary Chris Wright earlier this month restarted the pipelines using powers granted to him by Donald Trump through an executive order that invoked the Defense Production Act to supersede state laws. “We won’t let this outrageous federal overreach go without a fight,” Bonta said in a Monday press conference. Bonta alleged Wright’s restart order violates state law, state court orders and a settlement approved by a federal court. Spokespersons for the US energy department and Sable Offshore did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit, which was filed in San Francisco federal court. California is asking the court to rule that Wright’s restart order violated federal law and the US constitution, and to prohibit the energy department from relying on the order to operate the Santa Ynez platform and its pipelines. The Santa Ynez platform was shut down due to a 2015 spill that dumped more than 100,000 gallons of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean and on to beaches near Santa Barbara. The lawsuit is the latest in a series of conflicts between Trump, who wants to supercharge domestic fossil-fuel production, and the California governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who has championed his state’s ambitious climate change agenda. Wright’s order came as fuel prices have surged across the globe due to the US-Israeli war on Iran. Sable said earlier this month it began shipping hydrocarbons from Las Flores Canyon to Pentland Station on 14 March, and that it expects to sell 50,000 barrels per day by 1 April. “Donald Trump started a war, admitted it would spike gas prices nationwide, and told Americans it was a small price to pay,” said Newsom in a 13 March statement about Wright’s order. “Now he’s using this crisi...
SlavkoSereda/iStock via Getty Images Crude oil futures plunged Monday, with Brent settling below $100/bbl for the first time in nearly two weeks, after President Trump postponed threatened attacks on Iranian energy infrastructure for five days following "productive" talks with Iran, although Tehran denied it was in talks with the U.S. Trump's announcement on Truth Social kicked off another highly ...
SlavkoSereda/iStock via Getty Images Crude oil futures plunged Monday, with Brent settling below $100/bbl for the first time in nearly two weeks, after President Trump postponed threatened attacks on Iranian energy infrastructure for five days following "productive" talks with Iran, although Tehran denied it was in talks with the U.S. Trump's announcement on Truth Social kicked off another highly volatile trading session; in fact, four of the six largest swings ever seen in Brent futures have come since the Middle East started on February 28, according to Bloomberg. " It is unclear how far back-channel talks have progressed or if the IRGC is in any mood to settle at this stage when they remain in firm control of the Strait of Hormuz," RBC Capital analysts including Helima Croft said in a note, referring to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The International Energy Agency is considering the release of more oil reserves and is speaking with member countries to determine whether it is necessary, executive director Fatih Birol said on Monday. However, U.S. Energy Secretary Wright said it is " highly unlikely " that the U.S. will release more barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve than recently announced plans for 172M barrels; he said the U.S. release started Friday afternoon, sooner than expectations that the first oil could take three weeks to start flowing. Goldman Sachs raised its oil price forecast for the year because of what it called the "largest oil supply shock ever," now expecting Brent crude to average $85/bbl in 2026, up from a previous forecast of $77, while U.S. WTI crude is seen at $79/bbl, compared to $72/bbl previously. Goldman estimated losses in crude output in the Middle East will increase from ~11M bbl/day to a peak of 17M bbl/day before fully recovering over four weeks once production resumes, leaving total losses just above 800M barrels. Front-month Nymex crude ( CL1:COM ) for May delivery plummeted 10.3% to $88.13/bbl, and front-month...
Torsten Asmus/iStock via Getty Images Market Overview The S&P 500 Index increased by 2.66% (total return, in USD) in the fourth quarter of 2025, while the Russell 2000 Index rose by 2.21% (total return, in USD). The fourth quarter demonstrated broad resilience, as the major US indices achieved widespread gains despite softening labor market data, a record government shutdown, and increasing scruti...
Torsten Asmus/iStock via Getty Images Market Overview The S&P 500 Index increased by 2.66% (total return, in USD) in the fourth quarter of 2025, while the Russell 2000 Index rose by 2.21% (total return, in USD). The fourth quarter demonstrated broad resilience, as the major US indices achieved widespread gains despite softening labor market data, a record government shutdown, and increasing scrutiny of heightened artificial intelligence-related expenditures. While initial concerns regarding the sustainability of the artificial intelligence growth theme and elevated valuations led to some volatility and sector rotation, this shift broadened market leadership, further underpinned by robust corporate earnings that indicated fundamental strength. Concurrently, the Federal Open Market Committee continued its path of monetary easing, which further contributed to a broadly positive market outlook. The best performing sectors within the S&P 500 were Health Care, Communication Services, and Financials, while the worst performing sectors were Real Estate, Utilities, and Consumer Staples. For the Russell 2000, the best performing sectors were Health Care, Materials, and Communication Services, while the worst performing sectors were Consumer Staples, Information Technology, and Consumer Discretionary. Portfolio Attribution The Goldman Sachs VIT Mid Cap Value Fund underperformed its benchmark, the Russell Midcap Value Index (net), during the quarter. The Industrials and Energy sectors contributed to returns, while the Materials and Health Care sectors detracted from returns. Western Digital Corporation ( WDC ) (1.5%) was a top contributor to relative returns during the quarter. The company is a global provider of solutions for digital content collection, storage, management, protection, and use. Western Digital Corporation's stock price rose throughout the quarter as the company benefitted from continued strong demand within its cloud segment, alongside increasing needs for art...
The blurring of the lines between the traditional financial sector and the blockchain financial sector continues. In March, credit card giant Mastercard (MA +0.90%) unveiled a massive new blockchain payment initiative that will feature 85 different crypto industry partners. One of those partners is Ripple, the fintech company behind the XRP (XRP +3.17%) crypto token. That's good news for XRP inves...
The blurring of the lines between the traditional financial sector and the blockchain financial sector continues. In March, credit card giant Mastercard (MA +0.90%) unveiled a massive new blockchain payment initiative that will feature 85 different crypto industry partners. One of those partners is Ripple, the fintech company behind the XRP (XRP +3.17%) crypto token. That's good news for XRP investors everywhere. In a best-case scenario, this partnership could become the next catalyst to send the price of XRP soaring. Mastercard's crypto initiative The new Crypto Partner Program from Mastercard is the latest sign that blockchain technology is gaining a real foothold in the traditional financial services sector. The new strategic initiative is based on one core idea: connecting blockchain technology with Mastercard's existing global payments infrastructure to make payments faster, cheaper, and more efficient. To make that possible, Mastercard will run a series of blockchain payment pilots with top fintech companies, including both Ripple and PayPal. At some point, if the pilots prove successful, more of Mastercard's transaction volume will run on blockchain rails. That includes cross-border payments, business-to-business payments, and global payouts. The long-term outlook for XRP This new strategic initiative dovetails nicely with Ripple's five-year strategy for XRP, which is focused on institutional adoption. Ripple is trying to find as many partners as possible, as quickly as possible, to use the XRP blockchain. Currently, over 300 banks and financial institutions use the XRP blockchain for cross-border payments and liquidity management. Signing up Mastercard as a partner certainly highlights that things are headed in the right direction. Ripple made its name by offering faster and cheaper cross-border transactions to big financial institutions and banks. Now it's offering the same efficiencies and cost savings to Mastercard. Expand CRYPTO : XRP XRP Today's Change ...
Key Points Mastercard recently unveiled a massive new blockchain payment initiative that features Ripple (XRP). Signing up Mastercard as a partner is more proof that institutional adoption of XRP is growing. While price targets for XRP can be sky-high, it has never traded higher than $4 in more than a decade. 10 stocks we like better than XRP › The blurring of the lines between the traditional fin...
Key Points Mastercard recently unveiled a massive new blockchain payment initiative that features Ripple (XRP). Signing up Mastercard as a partner is more proof that institutional adoption of XRP is growing. While price targets for XRP can be sky-high, it has never traded higher than $4 in more than a decade. 10 stocks we like better than XRP › The blurring of the lines between the traditional financial sector and the blockchain financial sector continues. In March, credit card giant Mastercard (NYSE: MA) unveiled a massive new blockchain payment initiative that will feature 85 different crypto industry partners. One of those partners is Ripple, the fintech company behind the XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) crypto token. That's good news for XRP investors everywhere. In a best-case scenario, this partnership could become the next catalyst to send the price of XRP soaring. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » Mastercard's crypto initiative The new Crypto Partner Program from Mastercard is the latest sign that blockchain technology is gaining a real foothold in the traditional financial services sector. The new strategic initiative is based on one core idea: connecting blockchain technology with Mastercard's existing global payments infrastructure to make payments faster, cheaper, and more efficient. To make that possible, Mastercard will run a series of blockchain payment pilots with top fintech companies, including both Ripple and PayPal. At some point, if the pilots prove successful, more of Mastercard's transaction volume will run on blockchain rails. That includes cross-border payments, business-to-business payments, and global payouts. The long-term outlook for XRP This new strategic initiative dovetails nicely with Ripple's five-year strategy for XRP, which is focused on institutional adoption. ...
Emil Michael, who serves as a senior technology official at the Department of Defense, is back in the spotlight over the government’s ongoing battle with Anthropic, and a newly released podcast interview offers one of the most detailed looks yet into his thinking on that dispute — as well as an unguarded settling of old scores from his Uber days. The interview, released Monday and conducted last m...
Emil Michael, who serves as a senior technology official at the Department of Defense, is back in the spotlight over the government’s ongoing battle with Anthropic, and a newly released podcast interview offers one of the most detailed looks yet into his thinking on that dispute — as well as an unguarded settling of old scores from his Uber days. The interview, released Monday and conducted last month by Joubin Mirzadegan, a partner at Kleiner Perkins who leads the venture firm’s portfolio operating team, covered a range of topics including policy and personal history — and was recorded before the DoD’s feud with Anthropic had fully come to a head. But it is Michael’s remarks about his departure from Uber — and his barely concealed bitterness about it — that grabbed our attention first. When Mirzadegan asked him point-blank whether he had been shown the door alongside Travis Kalanick, Michael answered with a single word: “Effectively.” Michael resigned eight days before Kalanick did, as part of the fallout from a workplace investigation triggered by allegations of sexual harassment and gender discrimination at the company. He was not named in those allegations, but the inquiry — led by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder — concluded he should be removed. Kalanick followed, pushed out in what the New York Times described as a shareholder revolt by some of the company’s most prominent investors, including Benchmark. When Mirzadegan asked whether he was still “salty” about it, Michael didn’t equivocate. “I’ll never forget that, nor forgive,” he said. The ouster grates on both Michael and Kalanick not only because of the personal damage to their reputations but because they believed — and still believe — that autonomous driving was Uber’s future, and that the investors who forced them out killed it. During the interview, Michael argued the decision was driven by a desire to protect near-term returns rather than build something lasting. Techcrunch event Disrupt 2026...