[Posted 4:30 PM ET, Friday]
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Edition 1,411
As the White House waits for Iran’s response to the latest peace proposal, this coming week should be momentous, as President Trump heads to Beijing for a little summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
There is a ton for them to discuss, such as the current situation in the Middle East, trade, and artificial intelligence.
But I’m curious just how much face-to-face time there will be between Trump and Xi. Four hours over two sessions? Eight hours?
I can just guarantee that Xi’s big focus will be on Taiwan, and assuming there isn’t a joint press conference, the communiques between the two sides will be fascinating to see what each emphasizes.
Afterwards, especially on the long flight home, Trump will tout ‘huge’ successes, even where there were none.
Tale of the Tape….
Oil / West Texas Intermediate (WTI)
Friday, Feb. 27…$67.30.
Friday, May 8…$94.90.
The global benchmark for crude, Brent, is $100.55.
Nationwide average prices at the Gas Pump [Source: AAA]
Friday, Feb. 27…regular gas $2.98…diesel $3.75.
Friday, May 8…regular gas $4.54…diesel $5.66.
As it went down, day by day, in the Middle East….
President Trump said a U.S. ceasefire stopped hostilities against Iran as he tried to bolster his argument that he does not need Congress’ permission to continue the conflict. Trump says the ceasefire gives him extra time under the 1973 War Powers Resolution to ask Congress to authorize his fight against Iran. Democrats say the law, which gives a president 60 days to fight before asking Congress for more time, contains no such provision.
At an event Friday evening in Florida, Trump said: “They’re not coming through with the kind of deal that we have to have and we’re going to get this thing done properly. We’re not going to leave early and then have the problem arise in three more years.”
The U.S. said that any shipper who pays tolls to Iran for passage through the Strait of Hormuz will risk punitive sanctions. Trump rejected a proposal that an Iranian official said would open the Strait and end the U.S. blockade on Iran while leaving nuclear talks for later. A multi-level yacht owned by Russian billionaire Alexey Mordashov crossed the Strait with no objection from Iran or the U.S.
President Trump on Truth Social, Sat. 6:47 PM:
“I will soon be reviewing the plan that Iran has just sent to us, but can’t imagine that it would be acceptable in that they have not yet paid a big enough price for what they have done to Humanity, and the World, over the last 47 years. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Editorial / Wall Street Journal
“The war isn’t a failure, but it could be if Mr. Trump settles for a bad deal. Iran’s nuclear program was devastated in June and hit again in March, but some important targets remain. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of senior officials have been killed, leaving Iran with less-experienced replacements, a Supreme Leader in hiding and a divided junta.
“Iran’s missile program has been set back and its navy and defense-industrial complex demolished. These can be rebuilt, but it will take time and money, and Iran has been denied the missile arsenal it seeks to shield a nuclear restart. Oil facilities are its main remaining asset.
“These columns have supported the war on the assumption that the President wouldn’t start a conflict he doesn’t intend to win. If the war ends with real Iranian concessions, or the U.S. forcibly opens Hormuz or seizes Iran’s enriched uranium, Mr. Trump and the GOP can enter the midterms with a better story to tell.”
Iran’s proposal included setting a one-month deadline on talks for a deal to reopen the Strait and end both the U.S. naval blockade and the fighting in Iran and Lebanon, Axios reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported the proposal called for a complete end to the conflict within 30 days along with guarantees against renewed strikes. It said the plan reiterates Tehran’s earlier demands, including that U.S. forces withdraw from near Iran, a maritime blockade be lifted, sanctions removed, and reparations paid. The nuclear issue wasn’t mentioned.
On Sunday, Iran said it received the U.S. response to its 14-point plan via Pakistan, which has been acting as an intermediary, and was reviewing it, according to Iranian TV. The report didn’t offer details about what the U.S. said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has indicated Tehran is ready to continue diplomatic efforts if the Americans change their approach and avoid “excessive demands, threatening rhetoric, and provocative actions.” The military remains “fully vigilant,” he said.
Later Sunday, President Trump said the U.S. would begin guiding commercial ships out of the Strait in what he described as an effort “to free up people, companies, and Countries that have done absolutely nothing wrong.”
Trump, in a Truth Social post, said countries “from all over the world” asked for help from the U.S. to free their ships that are stuck in the Strait amid the maritime standoff between Washington and Tehran. The president said the operation would begin Monday morning and that any interference would be “dealt with forcefully.”
The announcement came after a merchant ship reported being attacked by multiple small boats off the coast of Sirik, Iran, near the Strait, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, adding that there were no reports of injuries.
“For the good of Iran, the Middle East, and the United States, we have told these Countries that we will guide their Ships safely out of these restricted Waterways, so that they can freely and ably get on with their business,” Trump posted. “Again, these are Ships from areas of the World that are not in any way involved with that which is currently taking place in the Middle East.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. is “suffocating” Iran with economic and financial pressure, suggesting that the rulers in Tehran will eventually buckle.
“We are running a marathon over the past 12 months, and now we are springing toward the finish line,” Bessent said Sunday on Fox News. “They are not able to pay their soldiers. This is a real economic blockade.”
The U.S. believed Iran’s oil industry may need to start shutting in wells “in the next week” as the country’s crude storage is “rapidly filling up,” Bessent said.
“Their oil infrastructure is starting to creak,” he said. “It hasn’t been maintained again because of our decades-long sanctions against them.”
But Monday, the United Arab Emirates issued a missile threat warning after an oil tanker was struck by Iranian drones outside the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran warned it would attack U.S. forces if they entered the Strait, and its military fired warning shots at U.S. Navy ships after they made an attempt at approaching it.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said two U.S.-flagged ships successfully passed through the Strait on Monday “as a first step” in President Trump’s effort to reopen the waterway.
CENTCOM denied Iranian claims that it had fired on two U.S.-flagged ships. Adm. Brad Cooper, who heads CENTCOM, then said the U.S. sunk seven Iranian boats (the mosquito boats) that were targeting commercial vessels, this after the UAE reported missile fire and drone attacks from Iran.
The UAE said two ships near the Strait reported fires following a missile and drone attack which also sparked a blaze at an oil refinery that left three injured. It was the first missile attack reported by the UAE since a ceasefire between the United States and Iran took effect nearly a month ago.
President Trump on Truth Social, Monday afternoon:
“Iran has taken some shots at unrelated Nations with respect to the Ship Movement, PROJECT FREEDOM, including a South Korean Cargo Ship. Perhaps it’s time for South Korea to come and join the mission! We’ve shot down seven small Boats or, as they like to call them, ‘fast’ Boats. It’s all they have left. Other than the South Korean Ship, here has been, at this moment, no damage going through the Strait.”
Then on Fox News, Trump threatened that Iran’s armed forces will be “blown off the face of the earth,” if they attack U.S. vessels trying to reopen a route through the Strait of Hormuz.
More than 800 ships and roughly 20,000 crew members remain stranded in the region. [Another report I saw said 1,600 ships were stuck in the Strait.]
Ship tracking tool MarineTraffic shows little shipping traffic passing through the Strait on Tuesday, after the strikes in the waterway Monday.
Stocks rallied Tuesday, however, as oil and gasoline figures fell about 4%, West Texas Intermediate below $102, reversing gains from the previous session, after Defense Secretary Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said the ceasefire with Iran remains in place despite this week’s attacks on the UAE. Hegseth said the Strait is open, noting that two U.S. commercial vessels transited safely with U.S. military support, which repelled attacks from Iranian drones, missiles, and armed small boats.
As of the weekend, more than 800 ships and roughly 20,000 crew members remain stranded in the region.
So the standoff remained in place Tuesday afternoon with little progress toward new talks as Tehran demands an end to the naval blockade while Washington maintained pressure on Iran’s oil exports.
And then late Tuesday afternoon, Secretary of State Maco Rubio, during a White House briefing, said the combat operation launched in February against Iran had ended, suggesting the American priority now was reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
“The operation is over. Epic Fury, as the president notified Congress, we’re done with that stage of it,” Rubio said, adding: “We achieved the objectives of that operation.”
“We’re now on to this Project Freedom,” he went on, referring to Trump’s initiative to guide merchant ships through the Strait. He added later: “That’s what we’re undergoing now. What they may lead to in the future is speculative.”
Questions about Iran’s nuclear program – including its stockpile of highly enriched uranium – will be resolved through talks, Rubio said.
“As far as a negotiation is concerned, I think the president’s been clear that part of the negotiation process has to be not just the enrichment, but what happens to this material that’s very deep somewhere,” he said.
Project Freedom, however, was off to a halting start. The two U.S.-flagged commercial ships passed through on Monday, but none followed on Tuesday, as global shipping companies continued to say they were not prepared to take the risk.
But at 6:52 PM, Tuesday, President Trump posted on Truth Social:
“Based on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran, we have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom (The Movement of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz) will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed. President DONALD J. TRUMP”
So top U.S. officials spent Monday and Tuesday offering new details on the role of the U.S. military in helping ships pass through the Strait as part of President Trump’s bid to break Iran’s chokehold over the waterway, and then hours later, Trump shelved the operation entirely after being warned it risked escalating a conflict he is eager to bring to an end.
Meanwhile, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged Iran to keep negotiating in pursuit of a lasting truce with the U.S., as he hosted Tehran’s top diplomat just days before President Trump is scheduled to arrive in Beijing.
“We believe that a comprehensive ceasefire brooks no delay, a resumption of hostilities is inadvisable, and persisting with negotiations is particularly important,” Wang told his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi at the start of their meeting in Beijing.
As talks intensified with Tehran, Beijing is maintaining close contacts with Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin will likely travel to China in May, according to a Russian business daily, Vedomosti, which would be his first trip abroad this year.
Araghchi thanked China for “standing on the right side of history” and its “constructive and firm stance” in condemning the conflict initiated by the U.S.
As we awoke Wednesday morning, oil and gasoline futures were collapsing as Axios reported that the U.S. and Iran are closing in on an agreement on a one-page memorandum to end the war.
A Pakistani mediator told Reuters that the report by Axios was accurate.
“We will close this very soon. We are getting close,” the Pakistani source said.
Tehran then said it was evaluating a 14-point U.S. proposal.
Among other provisions, Axios said, the deal would involve Iran committing to a moratorium on nuclear enrichment, the U.S. agreeing to lift its sanctions and release billions of dollars in frozen Iranian funds, and both sides lifting restrictions around transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
The one-page, 14-point memorandum of understanding was being negotiated between U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and several Iranian officials, both directly and through mediators, Axios said.
In its current form, the memorandum would declare an end to the war in the region and the start of a 30-day period of negotiations on a detailed agreement to open the Strait, limit Iran’s nuclear program and lift U.S. sanctions, Axios added.
Iran’s restrictions on shipping through the Strait and the U.S. naval blockade of Iran would be gradually lifted during the 30-day period, Axios said, citing one U.S. official who added that if the negotiations collapsed, U.S. forces would be able to restore the blockade or resume military action.
Separately, French shipping group CMA said on Wednesday that one of its vessels had been targeted in an attack while transiting the Strait, resulting in injuries among crew members and damage to the vessel, the incident occurring on Tuesday.
So, at 7:41 AM, Wednesday, Trump posted on Truth Social:
“Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end, and the highly effective Blockade will allow the Hormuz Strait to be OPEN TO ALL, including Iran. If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before.”
Oil and gas futures pared their losses significantly.
An Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson cited by Iran’s ISNA news agency said Tehran would convey its response to the 14-point plan, while Iranian lawmaker Ebrahim Rezael, a spokesperson for parliament’s powerful foreign policy and national security committee, described the proposal as “more of an American wish-list than a reality.”
“They want to make a deal. We’ve had very good talks over the last 24 hours, and it’s very possible that we’ll make a deal,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Wednesday afternoon, saying later “it’ll be over quickly.”
Thursday, the United States and Iran were supposedly edging toward a limited, temporary agreement to halt the war, with a draft resolution that would stop the fighting but leave the most contentious issues unresolved.
Hopes that even a partial deal could lead to the reopening of the Strait moved markets, with global stocks approaching record highs on Thursday after Wall Street’s record highs on Wednesday.
But late Thursday, Iranian state media reported multiple explosions on Qeshm Island and the city of Bandar Abbas, both Iranian shipping hubs on the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian officials said the UAE had carried out the attacks – not the United States or Israel – in retaliation for Iranian drone and missile strikes this week.
President Trump then posted on Truth Social, Thursday, 6:34 PM:
“Three World Class American Destroyers just transited, very successfully, out of the Strait of Hormuz, under fire. There was no damage done to the three Destroyers, but great damage done to the Iranian attackers. They were completely destroyed along with numerous small boats, which are being used to take the place of their fully decapitated Navy. These boats went to the bottom of the Sea, quickly and efficiently. Missiles were shot at our Destroyers, and were easily knocked down. Likewise, drones came, and were incinerated while in the air. They dropped ever so beautifully down to the Ocean, very much like a butterfly dropping to its grave! A normal Country would have allowed these Destroyers to pass, but Iran is not a normal Country. They are led by LUNATICS, and if they had the chance to use a Nuclear Weapon, they would do it, without question – But they’ll never have that opportunity and, just like we knocked them out again today, we’ll knock them out a lot harder, and a lot more violently, in the near future, if they don’t get their Deal signed, FAST! Our three Destroyers, with their wonderful Crews, will now rejoin our Naval Blockade, which is truly a ‘Wall of Steel.’ President DONALD J. TRUMP”
Friday, the UAE said it responded to a missile and drone attack. Three people suffered minor injuries.
Secretary of State Rubio told reporters Friday that Iran “should” give an answer to the latest U.S. proposal today.
—From the Washington Post, in an exclusive:
“A confidential CIA analysis delivered to administration policymakers this week concludes that Iran can survive the U.S. naval blockade for at least three to four months before facing more severe economic hardship, four people familiar with the document said, a finding that appears to raise new questions about President Donald Trump’s optimism on ending the war.
“The analysis by the U.S. intelligence community, whose secret assessments on Iran have often been more sober than the administration’s public statements, also found that Tehran retains significant ballistic missile capabilities despite weeks of intense U.S. and Israeli bombardment, three of the people familiar with it said.
“Iran retains about 75 percent of its prewar inventories of mobile launchers and about 70 percent of its prewar stockpiles of missiles, a U.S. official said. The official said there is evidence that the regime has been able to recover and reopen almost all of its underground storage facilities, repair some damaged missiles and even assemble some new missiles that were nearly complete when the war began.
“Trump painted a rosier picture in Oval Office remarks on Wednesday, saying of Iran: ‘Their missiles are mostly decimated, they have probably 18, 19 percent, but not a lot by comparison to what they had.’”
—Tehran has stepped up hangings of people accused over anti-government unrest earlier this year or of working with foreign forces, deploying a new legal framework in the wave of politically linked executions, the Financial Times reported.
At least 28 men have been executed since March 18th, at the height of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, according to official accounts in state media. Half of those were killed over the past two weeks as the pace of hangings accelerated following a fragile ceasefire.
Many were accused of collaborating with the enemy or killing members of the security forces during unrest in January, when the Islamic republic faced its biggest anti-regime protests in years. Others were accused of spying for Israel during the war.
—At least 13 people, including four women and a child, were killed in Israeli air strikes on southern Lebanon, Saturday.
Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has continued despite an ongoing three-week ceasefire extension.
On Saturday, Hezbollah said it had targeted Israeli soldiers and military vehicles in Lebanon.
The Israeli military said one of its soldiers was killed during combat in southern Lebanon a week-ago Thursday, bringing the number of Israeli troop deaths since early March to 17.
Israeli attacks killed 17 people in Lebanon on Monday, bringing the number killed since Thursday to 110, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
Thursday, Israel said it had killed a Hezbollah commander in an airstrike on Beirut a day earlier, the first Israeli attack on the Lebanese capital since a ceasefire was agreed to last month.
—
Wall Street and the Economy
We had a closely watched jobs report for April today, the U.S. economy adding 115,000 jobs, blowing past market expectations for 60,000. This follows an upwardly revised 185,000 increase in March, and a downward revision for February of 23,000 to -156,000.
For the first four months of the year, monthly payrolls have averaged 76,000, up from an average of about 42,000 during the same period last year, offering a glimmer of hope that the labor market is improving.
Job gains were seen in health care, transportation and warehousing, retail, and leisure and hospitality. Job cuts were in manufacturing and IT.
The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.3%. Average hourly earnings rose 0.2%, 3.6% year-over-year, less than expected.
Among the other data releases this week, the April ISM service sector PMI was in line with expectations, 53.6.
March new home sales were a little better than consensus, 682,000, up from February’s 635,000 pace.
And both March factory orders and construction spending were up far more than forecast, 1.5% and 0.6%, respectively.
The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow barometer for second-quarter growth is 3.7%.
Freddie Mac’s 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is 6.37%, up 7 basis points on the week.
Next week we get the April inflation and producer price data, as well as retail sales. It should be telling.
Lastly, the Court of International Trade ruled Thursday that President Trump didn’t have the authority to enact new global tariffs of 10% on imported goods after the Supreme Court rejected his previous broad slate of tariffs in February.
While the split 2-1 decision may have limited effect, and no doubt will be appealed by the administration, it is another blow to the president’s trade policy, and it comes before his trip to China, where in his talks with Xi Jinping, trade is going to a top agenda item, and the ruling weakens Trump’s leverage.
Europe and Asia
We had final PMI readings for the eurozone for the month of April, manufacturing 52.2, services 47.6 (a 62-month low), for a composite of 48.8 (17-mo. low).
Germany: manufacturing 51.4; services 46.9 (worst since Nov. 2022).
France: mfg. 52.8; services 46.5
Italy: mfg. 52.1 (48-mo. high); services 49.8
Spain: mfg. 51.7; services 47.9 (worst since early 2022)
Ireland: mfg. 54.9; services 49.7 (first contraction since 2021)
Netherlands: mfg. 54.4 (best since July 2022)
Greece: mfg. 52.4
UK: mfg. 53.7; services 52.7
Chris Williamson / S&P Global Market Intelligence:
“The final eurozone PMI data confirm the earlier signs of an economy slipping into decline during April as the ongoing war in the Middle East derails the recovery that had been building prior to the outbreak of the conflict.
“Although indicative of only a modest 0.1% quarterly GDP decline so far, the absence of any signs of the crisis easing any time soon suggests that the downturn may soon deepen.”
Separately, retail trade in the EA21 in March fell by 0.1% over February but was up 1.2% from a year ago.
Industrial producer prices in March rose by 3.4% in the euro area, and by 2.1% year-over-year. [Eurostat]
China and Japan reported out their April manufacturing PMIs last week. On the service sector side, the private RatingDog reading for China was 52.6. For Japan, the S&P Global figure was 51.0.
Meanwhile, South Korea and Taiwan reported their manufacturing PMIs for last month were a solid 53.6 and 55.5, respectively.
Street Bytes
—The S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose a sixth straight week, focused on strong earnings and the AI boom, while ignoring the stalemate in the Middle East and the ramifications for the global economy. The moves in stocks like Micron and Intel are extraordinary.
For the past week, the Dow Jones rose 0.2% to 49609, while the S&P, up 2.3%, and Nasdaq, 4.5%, are at new all-time highs.
—U.S. Treasury Yields
6-mo. 3.70% 2-yr. 3.89% 10-yr. 4.36% 30-yr. 4.94%
Virtually unchanged on the week.
—Major OPEC+ nations agreed on a modest and symbolic increase in their June production quota levels, as the group sent a business-as-usual message following the surprise exit of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi at the same moment touted its own growth plans.
Seven countries led by Saudi Arabia and Russia will add 188,000 barrels a day next month under the agreement, which was finalized at a video conference on Sunday, OPEC said in a statement.
Still, the UAE reminded the world at the same time of its ambitions to boost production, a sticking point in its participation in OPEC going back years.
As for the U.S. oil situation, over the past nine weeks, more than 250 million barrels of crude from oil wells and storage tanks across the U.S. have been shipped overseas. That’s made the country, once again, the No. 1 exporter of crude, overtaking Saudi Arabia, and turning the U.S. into a lifeline for global consumers as the near closure of the Strait of Hormuz throttles Middle Eastern supplies.
But record American exports also come with warnings that this supply cushion is rapidly being pushed to its limits. Many energy experts are questioning how long shipments can be sustained at such levels. U.S. domestic inventories are quickly depleting, with total oil and fuel stockpiles drawing down for four straight weeks to below historical averages. Meanwhile, America’s oil producers are struggling to keep up.
“Ships are coming to take our oil, but once significant volumes of oil are leaving the United States, it can be expected that balances will tighten,” said Clayton Seigle, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “We are digging ourselves a hole in terms of spending down inventories.”
[Gasoline inventories stood at 222 million barrels as of late April – the lowest for that time of year since 2014, according to the Energy Information Administration. Meanwhile, President Trump said there’s no need for curbs on U.S. oil or jet fuel exports. “We don’t need them,” he told reporters Thursday. “And we have tremendous amounts of oil.”]
Much of the oil leaving American shores during the Iran war has headed to Asia.
One example is Japan. Before the war, the nation bought around 90% of its crude and fuel supply from the Middle East, along with only minimal volumes of American oil. Now it’s snapping up U.S. supply.
Demand from South Korea – long the world’s second-biggest buyer of U.S. crude – remains strong.
Given all this, you’d think there would be more rigs drilling wells in the U.S., but last week there were fewer than when the war started on Feb. 28, as noted by the New York Times’ Rebecca Elliott.
“There are a few reasons companies are being so conservative. It takes many months to drill a new well and extract oil from it. As a result, companies base their decisions far more on what they think the price of crude will be in six months or a year than on today’s price.
“Plus, Wall Street analysts and investors would generally prefer that oil companies stick to their budgets rather than chase higher production and risk losing money if the Strait of Hormuz reopens soon and oil prices fall.
“ ‘Do you want to be the dumb guy that sees oil at $100, raises your budget 25 percent and then watches oil plummet?’ said Dan Pickering, chief investment officer for Pickering Energy Partners, a Houston financial services firm.
“The answer so far from U.S. oil executives has been a resounding ‘no.’ The two largest U.S. oil companies – Exxon Mobil and Chevron – reported first-quarter results on Friday and said they would not drill a lot more than they had planned to before the war.”
–As expected, Spirit Aviation Holdings Inc. started a shutdown of its operations early Saturday morning, shortly after 2 a.m. Eastern. The troubled discount carrier said all Spirit flights had been canceled, and passengers were advised not to go to the airport, after the airline failed to secure a deal with the Trump administration for funding.
“Sustaining the business required hundreds of millions of dollars of additional dollars of liquidity that Spirit simply does not have and could not procure,” said Dave Davis, Spirit’s CEO. “This is tremendously disappointing and not the outcome any off us wanted.”
The administration had been considering providing Spirit with $500 million in exchange for warrants to purchase up to 90% of the airline once it emerged from bankruptcy. But key creditors wouldn’t agree to the deal, which would have given the government’s claims priority if the carrier were to fail in the future.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced measures to support ticketholders and employees, and said several carriers including United, Delta, Southwest, Frontier and JetBlue agreed to cap prices or reduce fares for Spirit customers impacted by the shutdown.
Spirit reshaped aviation in the U.S. in recent decades through a business model based on keeping costs very low and offering customers cheap tickets. The approach served Spirit well for years, generating huge profits, but competition from larger airlines and rising costs hobbled the company. It also suffered from engine issues and other problems.
In its statement Saturday, Spirit said: “We are proud of the impact of our ultra-low-cost model on the industry over the last 34 years and had hoped to serve our guests for many years to come.”
Spirit said they would “automatically process refunds for any flights purchased through Spirit with a credit or debit card to the original form of payment.”
“Guests who booked flights via a travel agent should contact the travel agent directly to request a refund,” the airline added.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the union representing thousands of airline workers, said in a statement Saturday “corporate mismanagement” was to blame for the shutdown.
“Today’s news is devastating for the thousands of airline workers who showed up every day and gave everything to keep Spirit Airlines in the air,” the IAM Union said.
Transportation Sec. Duffy said he doesn’t think the U.S. government needs to provide financial lifelines for now to other low-cost carriers, following the collapse of Spirit.
The Association of Value Airlines, which represents carriers including Frontier and Allegiant, has asked the government for $2.5 billion to help its members.
Sunday, Spirit said it had almost completed refunding passengers and returning its crew to their home bases following its decision to cease operations. [Refunds may take a few days to hit statements.]
The airline had filed for bankruptcy twice after a proposed merger with JetBlue was blocked by the Biden administration in 2024. As I noted a few weeks ago, yes, Spirit’s failure is on them.
By the way, the New York Times had an interesting chart on U.S. airline market share.
Delta 17.8%
American 17.4%
Southwest 17.0%
United 16.7%
Alaska 6.2%
JetBlue 4.6%
Frontier 3.7%
Spirit 3.4%
–We had a scary incident at nearby Newark Liberty International Airport on Sunday after a United Airlines flight from Venice, Italy, struck a light pole and damaged a commercial truck traveling along the New Jersey Turnpike. The weather was clear, but it was windy.
The driver of the truck suffered minor injuries from broken glass and none of the 221 passengers and 10 crew members were injured.
Video emerged showing a landing tire and the underside of the plane striking a pole that then struck the truck.
Regular travelers to Newark know the approach well and you do come in low over the Turnpike.
But a catastrophe was barely averted. Pilots on that route are specifically told not to come in too low.
–According to the Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics, fuel costs for U.S. airlines increased by more than 56% in March from the month before.
—TSA checkpoint numbers vs. 2025
5/7…118 percent of 2025 levels.
5/6…107
5/5…79
5/4…92
5/3…130
5/2…77
5/1…96
4/30…119
—Advanced Micro Devices shares soared 20% at the open Wednesday, after the company reported higher profit and revenue in the latest quarter as its data center business continues to boost results.
The chip maker posted a first-quarter profit of $1.38 billion, or 84 cents a share, compared with $709 million, or 44 cents a share, a year earlier.
Adjusted earnings per share were $1.37, compared with estimates of $1.29 a share.
Revenue jumped 38% to $10.25 billion, compared with estimates for $9.9 billion.
AMD’s data center segment sales surged 57% year-over-year to $5.8 billion, driven by strong demand for its EPYC processors and the ramp-up of its Instinct GPU shipments.
Client and gaming segment revenue climbed 23%.
CEO Lisa Su said the company’s results were driven by accelerating demand for AI infrastructure.
“We are seeing strong momentum as inferencing and agentic AI drive increasing demand for high-performance CPUs and accelerators,” Su said. “Looking ahead, we expect server growth to accelerate meaningfully as we scale supply to meet demand.”
On an earnings call, management said server growth is expected to meaningfully accelerate, and the data center category is now the primary driver of revenue and earnings growth.
While Nvidia chips and software are still the standard kit for AI computing and remains the most prized, companies have been looking to diversify their supply chains and AMD is the only other major GPU maker in the world, so it was natural for some of these Nvidia customers to turn to AMD.
AMD will start shipping on contracts with Meta Platforms and OpenAI in the second half of 2026.
—Palantir Technologies soared to record quarterly revenue and profit in earnings reported after the close on Monday, boosted by strong U.S. military demand and a rapidly growing business selling data-crunching software to American corporations.
The data-analytics company based in Denver said it had $1.63 billion in sales for the first three months of this year, a year-over-year gain of 85%, its largest annual jump and ahead of analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. The combination of Palantir’s rising profile as a major competitor in artificial intelligence, the inroads it has paved in Washington, and soaring demand from commercial customers has put the company on an earnings hot streak.
“Our biggest problem currently is demand in the U.S.,” CEO Alex Karp said on a call with investors. “We just cannot meet demand.”
The company’s first-quarter net income totaled $876 million, quadrupling from the same period last year. Adjusted earnings per share were 33 cents, above the Street’s estimate of 28 cents, and up from 13 cents last year.
Palantir sells software to centralize, manage and analyze large amounts of data, helping government agencies and private companies derive insights from disparate databases. It has become an integral part of the U.S. Defense Department’s war-planning, targeting and back-office functions. The military deployed Maven Smart System, a command-and-control system that uses Palantir’s software, in the Venezuela raid in January and the war with Iran.
The company said first-quarter revenue from U.S. government contracts was $687 million, rising 84% from the same period the prior year and coming in ahead of expectations. Its sales to U.S. commercial customers were $595 million, more than double from a year earlier but slightly missing expectations.
Palantir also recently announced a $300 million deal with the Agriculture Department and a five-year, $1 billion agreement with the Department of Homeland Security, further embedding the company in the Trump administration’s immigration-enforcement efforts.
Palantir significantly raised its guidance for the full year.
–Internet infrastructure and cybersecurity company Cloudflare said on Thursday it would cut about 20% of its workforce as the company restructures operations around the rapid adoption of AI tools, and forecast second-quarter revenue slightly below the Street’s expectations. The shares fell 20% in response.
Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince and co-founder Michelle Zatlyn said in a message to employees that the company was reimaging every team and function to operate in what they described as an agentic AI era.
The announcement comes as concerns grow among investors and economists that AI-driven automation could disrupt industries and accelerate job losses in sectors most vulnerable to automation.
In a similar move, payments firm Block said in February that it would cut more than 4,000 jobs, nearly half its workforce, as part of an overhaul to embed AI across its operations.
Earlier this month, Goldman Sachs economists said AI was responsible for 5,000 to 10,000 monthly net job losses in 2025 in the most exposed U.S. industries.
—Many American car buyers are gravitating to hybrid vehicles to offset the recent surge in gas prices from the Iran war, according to data from research firm Motor Intelligence.
U.S. hybrid sales rose 37% in the two months since the Middle East conflict began at the end of February, which outpaced the sales growth of the overall car market, which was up 15% in that period.
But fully electric cars have not attracted the same level of consumer interest, even as U.S. gasoline prices topped $4, according to data from the American Automobile Association.
U.S. sales of EVs rose just 11% in the two months, and EV sales remain far below where they were a year ago, still depressed following the expiration last autumn of a $7,500 federal tax credit.
In the UK, EV sales jumped 79% in the two months after the Iran conflict began.
—Berkshire Hathaway CEO Greg Abel made his debut at his first annual meeting in his new role, last weekend in Omaha, and by all accounts he gave a solid performance, though some shareholders were not happy with the trivial amount of stock purchases and buybacks that was disclosed Saturday.
Berkshire has a record $380 billion in cash reserves as of March 31. Abel said that Berkshire would deploy its cash, which is growing about $50 billion annually from earnings, but has not shared specifics. Berkshire pays no dividend, and there is no prospect of one while Warren Buffett is alive. Buffett told CNBC that this isn’t “an ideal environment” for investing.
—Walt Disney’s new CEO Josh D’Amaro laid out his strategy for the entertainment company Wednesday, saying it would remain committed to creative excellence, strengthen its streaming business, capitalize on the power of live sports and continue to invest in its theme parks and cruise lines.
“Our focus remains consistent – improve the consumer experience, deepen engagement, and continue building a healthy and more durable growth business,” D’Amaro said during the company’s first-quarter earnings call, his first at the helm of Disney.
D’Amaro succeeded Bob Iger as Disney CEO in mid-March and is steering the company through a consumer shift to streaming, the advent of artificial intelligence tools, and a challenging economy hit by higher oil prices and fewer international visitors to its theme parks.
In a 10-page letter to shareholders, D’Amaro said he expected adjusted EPS growth for fiscal 2026, which ends in early October, to reach about 12%. The company had earlier projected growth for that period in the “double digits.”
The entertainment giant reported adjusted earnings-per-share of $1.57 and revenue of $25.2 billion for January through March. Analysts, on average, had expected adjusted EPS of $1.49 and revenue of $24.78bn.
The experiences division, which includes parks, cruise ships and consumer products, reported a 5% increase in operating income for the just-ended quarter. Guests spent more at U.S. theme parks, and cruise ships saw higher volume, compared with the same period a year earlier, Disney said.
Disney CFO Hugh Johnston said attendance at the company’s domestic theme parks was down, in part because of a drop in international visitors and competition from Universal Epic Universe in Orlando, Florida. He said he expects growth in the second half of the year.
Johnston acknowledged economic uncertainties, noting Disney is “not immune” from the impacts of rising gas prices – saying a further significant increase could lead to changes in consumer behavior.
At the entertainment unit, operating income rose by 6% to $1.34 billion. The boost came from higher subscription and advertising revenue from streaming services including Disney+. Movie box-office hits “Zootopia 2” and “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” released last year, continued to contribute to the quarter.
As for one burning issue, the company said it doesn’t intend to sell or spin off its linear networks, including ESPN.
Sports-rights costs continued to put pressure on ESPN, which reported a 5% drop in operating income to $652 million despite a 2% increase in revenue to $4.6 billion.
—McDonald’s shares fell a little as the company missed Wall Street estimates for growth in quarterly U.S. comparable sales on Thursday, as low-priced meal deals and limited-time offers struggled to draw diners whose budgets have been strained by higher fuel and grocery costs.
After several years of price hikes, operators in the fast-food industry have been forced to rely more on value-driven promotions to revive demand as customers cut back on spending.
The world’s biggest burger chain posted U.S. same-store sales growth of 3.9% in the first quarter, missing expectations of a 4.2% increase.
CEO Chris Kempczinski said the operating environment remained “challenging,” even though McDonald’s beat quarterly estimates for revenue and profit.
McDonald’s U.S. traffic remained uneven through the first quarter, data from Placer.ai showed. Same-store visits fell 1.3% in January due to winter storms. Traffic rebounded 3.8% in February on pent-up demand, but slipped in March to 1.2% in a more muted response to new menu launches as rising fuel prices further hurt household budgets.
To capture cost-conscious customers, McDonald’s has expanded its McValue platform with new $3 and $4 tiers in April.
Globally, McDonald’s comparable sales rose 3.8%, an improvement from a 1% decline a year ago.
—Tyson Foods reported fiscal second-quarter earnings of 87 cents a share and sales of $13.65 billion (up 4.4%), both exceeding analysts’ estimates.
Soaring prices continued to weigh on Tyson’s beef segment. Beef sales volume declined 13% due to high prices, while pork, chicken, and prepared food segments see growth in volume and price.
“We delivered strong results in the second quarter, with our Chicken and Prepared Foods segments driving meaningful momentum,” said CEO Donnie King, referencing “sustained market demand for protein.”
Tyson boosted its guidance for fiscal 2026 operating income to $2.2 billion to $2.4 billion, from a previous range of $2.1 billion to $2.3 billion. The company reiterated its forecast for year-over-year revenue growth of 2% to 4%.
—Anheuser-Busch shares rose after its earnings beat expectations. Beer volumes rose even as global alcohol consumption weakens.
Then owner of Budweiser, Corona Extra, and Stella Artois reported adjusted earnings per share of 97 cents for the first quarter, up from 81 cents for the same quarter last year. Revenue came in at $15.27 billion, equating to organic growth of 5.8%.
The Street was at 89 cents on net revenue of $14.8 billion.
“Cheers to beer – the strength of the category and the consistent execution of our consumer-centric strategy drove continued momentum across our footprint,” CEO Michel Doukeris said in a statement.
Notably, the brewer booked a 0.8% organic increase in total volumes over the first three months of the year. The company said beer-drinking trends improved due to weather conditions sticking to season norms and stable consumer sentiment.
Much of Anheuser’s growth in recent quarters has come from price increases, while alcohol consumption has weakened across global markets. In 2025, the company’s total sales volume shrank 2.3% from the year before, with beer volume falling 2.6%.
—Marriott International raised its outlook after better-than-expected domestic travel outweighed a hit to revenue in the Middle East.
Executives of the hotel chain said they are increasingly optimistic about the year because travel in the U.S. and Canada is offsetting declines related to the conflict in Iran. After a period of slowing domestic travel, Americans are choosing car trips over flights and spending their tax refunds on local vacations, executives said.
“Relative to our last guidance, we certainly feel better about U.S. and Canada,” CFO Jen Mason told analysts Wednesday.
CEO Anthony Capuano said Americans may be taking more domestic trips to avoid expensive air fares, which have jumped as the Iran war drove up fuel prices.
“You are seeing some pivot to drive-to destinations versus fly-to destinations, given the impact of rising fuel prices on airline fares,” he said.
—A suspected hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean killed three people and sickened at least three others, the World Health Organization said Sunday.
The WHO said an investigation was underway but at least two cases of hantavirus have been confirmed. Hantavirus, found throughout the world, is spread by contact with urine or feces of infected rodents, most often rats or mice.
One of the patients was in intensive care in a South African hospital, the UN’s health agency said.
While rare, hantavirus can be spread between people and it can lead to severe respiratory illness.
There is no specific treatment or cure, but early medical attention can increase the chance of survival.
South African media reports said the outbreak happened on the MV Hondius cruise ship while it was sailing from Argentina to Cape Verde off the coast of West Africa.
Hantavirus was in the news after the late actor Gene Hackman’s wife, Betsy Arakawa, died from hantavirus infection in New Mexico last year. Hackman died a week later at their home.
So then Wednesday, three patients with suspected hantavirus infections were evacuated to the Netherlands, as the ship headed to Spain’s Canary Islands. Of the eight cases recorded at this point, three were confirmed by lab testing.
The WHO’s epidemic expert said the risk to the public is low, but, needless to say, people on the Canary Islands weren’t thrilled.
Two Argentine officials investigating the origins of the outbreak said the government’s leading hypothesis is that a Dutch couple contracted the virus while bird-watching before boarding.
They said the couple visited a landfill during a tour and may have been exposed to rodents.
—The 20th Century Studios’ and Walt Disney’s The Devil Wears Prada 2 debuted globally with $233.6 million in sales last weekend, including $77 million domestically and $156.6 million internationally.
The original The Devil Wears Prada sold $27.5 million in its opening weekend and went on to take in more than $326.4 million worldwide, with 62% of its sales, or $201.7 million, from outside North America, according to Comscore.
Liongate’s Michael sold $54 in its second weekend, bringing its domestic total to $183.8 million, with an additional estimated $423.9 million worldwide.
In Mexico alone, Michael has taken in $168.5 million.
—Norwegian Cruise Line shares fell after reporting adjusted quarterly earnings of 23 cents a share and revenue of $2.3 billion, while slashing its full-year earnings outlook, citing Middle East disruptions and booking shortfalls.
The conflict in the region has driven up fuel prices across the cruise and airline sectors. Fuel-cost projections for the year have been revised upward to $782 per metric ton, compared to an earlier forecast of $670.
Executives also said they are seeing signs of softer demand as customers reevaluate travel plans to Europe.
–And we note the passing of Ted Turner, the swashbuckling media titan who helped shape the modern cable-television industry, ushering in the era of 24-hour news with CNN while building other major networks that bear his name. He was 87.
Turner was an amazing figure, making his mark in many walks of life, including as a sailor for the America’s Cup, a conservationist (which I’ll remember most fondly) who was one of the largest U.S. landowners, where he protected, and raised, bison, that were almost extinct at one point in our history. And he was one of the nation’s great philanthropists.
Turner turned the billboard-advertising company he inherited from his father into Turner Broadcasting System, an Atlanta-based television and movie giant that he eventually sold in 1995 to Time Warner. Turner joined the company and stayed with it through its ill-fated January 2000 merger with America Online before leaving in 2003.
At TBS, Turner, thanks to breakthroughs in satellite technology, turned a local Atlanta TV station into a national “superstation.” That network and TNT became cable TV counterparts to what were then the big three broadcast networks – ABC, CBS and NBC.
Starting in 1980, CNN redefined how breaking news was covered on television, with round-the-clock updates and live reports during major events like the first Iraq War in 1990, the O.J. Simpson murder trial and natural disasters. Programs like “Larry King Live” and “Crossfire” were early signs that talk shows and commentary would have a major role in cable TV.
Foreign Affairs
Russia/Ukraine: Russian drone and missile strikes in Ukraine killed 10 people and injured at least 76 last weekend.
Officials in five regions around the country reported fatalities.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said three Russian oil tankers, a cruise-missile carrier warship and a patrol boat were struck in separate attacks on two Russian ports.
There are no details on damage to the ships, but Zelensky said the tankers were part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” used to evade Western sanctions imposed over Moscow’s full-scale invasion launched in 2022.
On Sunday, Zelensky said infrastructure of the northwestern Primorsk terminal on the Baltic Sea, near Finland, had been significantly damaged, and an oil tanker and a patrol boat were hit.
While Russian authorities have mostly downplayed the impact of such attacks, the Kremlin is clearly concerned about the deep reach of Ukrainian drones into its territory.*
Related to this, on Wednesday, the Kremlin announced it was paring back its annual military parade to mark Victory Day – the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, Saturday, May 9 – due to what it said was the “terrorist threat” from Ukraine.
Tuesday, another Russian drone and missile strike targeted Ukraine’s power grid, killing at least 21 people and injuring dozens of others.
At least 12 were killed in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia as the daytime Russian strikes got underway on Tuesday afternoon. Other cities registering fatalities were Dnipro and Krmatorsk.
President Zelensky rebuked Moscow for what he said was its “utter cynicism” in launching the attacks after Russian announced a unilateral true over two days later in the week to mark the May 9 anniversary.
“Russia could cease fire at any moment, and this would stop the war and our responses,” Zelensky said in a post on X. “Peace is needed, and real steps are needed to achieve it. Ukraine will act in kind.”
*The Kremlin has stepped up security protocols for Putin amid fears of assassination as he grows more isolated and absorbed by the war. He spends more time in underground bunkers micromanaging the conflict, according to a report. It’s the Ukrainian drone threat the security apparatus fears most.
And on Monday, a Ukrainian drone struck an elite residential complex in Moscow, highlighting the Russian capital’s vulnerability. There was no report on injuries.
Today, at 2:00 PM ET, President Trump then announced a 3-day ceasefire for May 9-11 between Russia and Ukraine.
“Hopefully, it is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly, and hard fought war. Talks are continuing on ending this Major Conflict, the biggest since World War II, and we are getting closer and closer every day,” Trump wrote.
Highly doubtful.
—Poland’s prime minister has said NATO is “disintegrating” after the U.S. announcement last week it would pull troops from Germany.
Donald Tusk wrote on social media: “The greatest threat to the transatlantic community are not its external enemies, but the ongoing disintegration of our alliance. We must all do what it takes to reverse this disastrous trend.”
A senior Pentagon official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said recent German rhetoric had been “inappropriate and unhelpful.”
“The president is rightly reacting to these counterproductive remarks,” the official said.
As part of the decision, a Biden-era plan to deploy a U.S. battalion with long-range Tomahawk missiles to Germany has also been dropped – a blow to Berlin, which had pushed for the move as a powerful deterrent against Russia.
But Germany’s defense minister, Boris Pistorius, said the U.S. move was expected and would affect a current U.S. presence of almost 40,000 soldiers stationed in Germany.
“We Europeans must take on more responsibility for our own security,” Pistorius said, adding, “Germany is on the right track” by expanding its armed forces, speeding up military procurement and building infrastructure.
Saturday, President Trump then said the U.S. will significantly reduce its troop presence in Germany, “a lot further than 5,000,” he told reporters in Florida.
—In the latest example of Soviet-style repression in Russia, the country’s biggest publishing house was raided by police last week. The government seized thousands of books and arrested the company’s chief executive for disseminating what the Kremlin calls “homosexual propaganda.”
Always watching his back, Putin is keen to maintain support among social conservatives as the country grows increasingly weary of war.
The internet is severely restricted, journalists have been sent to modern-day gulags, and street musicians have been jailed for performing songs believed to have an anti-war message, no matter how oblique, the Washington Post reported.
Random Musings
–Presidential approval ratings….
Rasmussen: 42% approve of President Trump’s job performance, 56% disapprove (May 8)
A new Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll put Trump’s approval rating at 37%, largely the same as the 39% reading in February. But his disapproval has reached 62%, the highest of his two terms in office.
Among Republicans, the president’s approval has held steady at 85%, but his rating among Republican-leaning independents has reached a new low of 56%. His approval rating stands at 25% among all independents.
In a new Pew Research Center poll, President Trump’s approval rating stands at 34% – the lowest mark of his second term. He has also lost ground across a variety of personal attributes and issue areas.
One of the steepest declines has been in the share of Americans who say Trump “keeps his promises.” Today, 38% say this describes Trump very or fairly well, down from 43% last August and 51% shortly after his reelection in November 2024.
The share who describe Trump as “mentally sharp” (44%) is also down since last August (48%).
Among Republican and Republican-leaning independents: 68% approve of the way Trump is handling his job, down from 73% in January.
Among those who voted for Trump in 2024, 78% currently approve of him, down from 83% in January and 95% in the early days of his term.
Among Hispanic Trump voters, 66% approve of the president’s performance today.
Among Trump voters under 35, 57% now approve.
A new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll, released Wednesday, revealed that Trump recorded his highest disapproval rating across both of his terms: while 59% of U.S. adults disapprove of his job performance, just 37% approve.
So, the numbers are rather consistent.
—Elections in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan on Tuesday reinforced a picture that’s become increasingly clear – while President Trump still dominates the Republican Party, Democrats seem to have the momentum ahead of November’s midterm elections.
The biggest test of Trump’s power came in Indiana, where he backed primary challenges against seven Republican state senators who rejected his redistricting plan in December. Five of the president’s candidates won with the help of an avalanche of cash.
But in Michigan, a Democrat comfortably won a state Senate race in a bellwether district, the latest in a string of special election victories.
In Ohio, which has become increasingly conservative, Democrats still believe their path back to a U.S. Senate majority runs through the state.
They’re putting their hopes behind former Sen. Sherrod Brown, who lost Ohio’s other Senate seat to Bernie Moreno in 2024. Brown easily won the Democratic nomination Tuesday and will face off with Republican Sen. Jon Husted, who was appointed last year to fill the vacancy created when JD Vance became vice president.
The race is a special election to fill the last two years of Vance’s term.
In the campaign for governor of the state, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy has parlayed his national name recognition, tech industry connections and alliance with Trump into a record fundraising haul. He won his primary decisively.
–Friday, the Virginia Supreme Court struck down a measure allowing state Democrats to redraw congressional districts, dealing a significant blow to the party’s efforts to keep pace with Republicans in a nationwide redistricting battle.
The ruling wipes out four Democratic-leaning U.S. House seats in Virginia and means that Republicans will enter the midterms with a structural advantage from their moves to carve out newly red districts across the country.
In the Virginia court’s 4-3 decision, the majority wrote that Democratic legislators had put a constitutional amendment to allow for a new map before voters in “an unprecedented manner” that violated the state’s constitution, adding, “This violation irreparably undermines the integrity of the resulting referendum vote and renders it null and void.”
This was not unexpected. The court mainly took issue with the process, which was indeed suspect, not with the resulting map.
Under the ruling, the current Virginia map – which has six Democratic districts and five Republican districts – will remain in place. State voters had recently approved a newly redrawn map that was designed to make the split 10-1 in favor of Democrats.
The redistricting wars will continue.
–I watched most of the California gubernatorial debate on CNN the other night and to me, Californians would be foolish not to give themselves a choice between former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra (Dem.) and Republican Steve Hilton. [San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan has potential for future elections.]
The most recent poll, from the California Democratic Party, showed Becerra tied with Hilton in first at 18 percent each.
Should those numbers hold, the two would emerge from the ‘jungle primary’ on June 2.
—President Trump on Truth Social, Sat. PM:
“So ironic that Cryin’ Chuck Schmuer and the Democrats are hiring SLEAZEBAGS like Barack Husein Obama’s Crooked former Attorney General, Eric Holder, and others of that ilk, to look into Voter Integrity, when this same group of Human Garbage RIGGED the 2020 Presidential Election. GET TOUGH REPUBLICANS – THEY’RE COMING, AND THEY’RE COMING FAST! They’re no good for our Country, they almost destroyed it, and we don’t want to let that happen again! These are highly dishonest people who are, in many ways, treasonous, in that they are trying to destabilize the United States of America in what, some would call, a War. Republicans must TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER, and approve all of the necessary Safeguards we need for Elections to protect the American Public during the upcoming Midterms. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Yes, sports fans. November is going to be a s—show.
—Senate Republicans inserted $1 billion for White House East Wing security enhancements in the immigration enforcement funding bill they hope to rush through Congress this month, setting up a political fight over a ballroom that President Trump said would be financed with private money.
The leaders of the Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees on Monday released plans for the roughly $70 billion package, which would significantly bolster spending on Immigration and Customs Enforcement and border patrol through the end of Trump’s term using a party-line legislative process that can skirt a filibuster.
The measure does not mention the new ballroom, which is being challenged in court, but Trump has insisted that a main reason for the project is to enhance security.
Democrats pounced on the proposal, signaling that they intended to make the ballroom a centerpiece of their opposition to the measure and their election-year message that the president and his party were not meeting voters’ needs.
President Trump on Truth Social, Wednesday AM:
“The White House Ballroom is going up rapidly on the East side of the White House. The only reason the cost has changed is because, after deep rooted studies, it is approximately twice the size, and a far higher quality, than the original proposal, which would not have been adequate to handle the necessary events, meetings, and even future Inaugurations. The original price was 200 Million Dollars, the double sized, highest quality completed project will be something less than 400 Million Dollars. It will be magnificent, safe, and secure! This was a necessary change, it was done long ago, but the Fake News failed to report it, trying to make it look like there was a cost overrun. Actually, it is coming in ahead of schedule, and under budget!”
—Liberal icon Barney Frank, who is dying of congestive heart failure, spoke out from hospice to deliver a stark warning to Democrats for swinging too far to the left on social issues – and said it will cost them with voters.
The 86-year-old congressman, who is famous for fighting to legalize same-sex marriage and pushing to regulate Wall Street after the 2008 financial meltdown, hopes his lefty bona fides will help his message resonate with the far left.
In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union on Sunday,” Frank said, “Many of us fought to get inequality on the Democratic agenda.”
“But the problem was, as we succeeded in bringing the mainstream of the left into a concern with inequality, we also enabled people who wanted to use that as a platform for a wide range of social and cultural changes, some of which the public isn’t ready for.”
—Editorial / Washington Post
“New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has been scrambling to come up with money to fund a major expansion of city government, and he has put the politics of envy at the center of his effort. This is bound to be a fiscal failure, but it’s already a moral one.
“Last month, the social-media-savvy socialist filmed a video outside the New York home of billionaire Ken Griffin. He told viewers who lived there and declared, ‘We’re taxing the rich.’ Why pick on the hedge fund manager?
“The mayor didn’t accuse Griffin of violating any laws or even dodging taxes. His only crime was owning a nice penthouse – that is, being a successful person. Griffin said Tuesday that the video was ‘creepy and weird.’ It was also unethical.
“ ‘He seems to have forgotten that the CEO of another American company was assassinated just blocks from where I live in New York,’ the Citadel chief executive noted, referencing the assassination of UnitedHealthcare’s Brian Thompson in December 2024….
“To class warriors like Mamdani, success in a capitalist economy is akin to theft. Entrepreneurs don’t provide services for their customers; they steal from them and spend the money on themselves while others suffer. This is the opposite of reality.
“Take Griffin. The longtime Chicago resident relocated to Florida in 2022 after the Windy City became too hostile to business, but he has long-standing ties to New York. In 2023, he joined another billionaire to donate $400 million to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He has given tens of millions of dollars for science, culture and public education in the city.
“Philanthropy is a minor contribution compared with what his capitalist pursuits have done. In pursuit of profit, he has generated wealth for countless people and contributed more in taxes than socialist demagogues ever will.
“Reuters reported that Citadel said its ‘principals and team members have paid nearly $2.3 billion in city and state taxes over the past five years.’ The company’s planned $6 billion office redevelopment in New York is connected to some 6,000 construction jobs and another 15,000 permanent roles.
“ ‘Mamdani’s making it really clear: New York doesn’t welcome success,’ Griffin said. ‘Are these states trying to push away from their populations those who really do believe in the merits of capitalism, the merits of a free society, the importance of education?’
“Political leaders are role models for young people. In New York, the most prominent politicians is sending a message to them: Resent success rather than trying to emulate it. This isn’t a new political tactic, and it’s never ended well.”
—The Supreme Court on Monday restored broad access to the abortion pill mifepristone, blocking a ruling that had threatened to upend one of the main ways abortion is provided across the nation.
The order signed by Justice Samuel Alito temporarily allows women seeking abortions to obtain the pill at pharmacies or through the mail, without an in-person visit to a doctor.
Those rules had been in effect for several years until a federal appeals court imposed new restrictions last week.
—Secretary of State Rubio went to Rome to meet with Pope Leo XIV to help mend fences between the Catholic leader and Donald Trump.
But the Vatican offered a terse statement after, describing the summit as an “exchange of views” about countries caught up in war and the pursuit of peace.
The exchange of gifts was also telling. Rubio gifted the pope a crystal football bearing the State Department seal (as if the gift was selected as they were getting ready to board the plane… ‘Oh no, we don’t have a gift…get something quick…’), while the pontiff gave Rubio a pen made from olive wood. He noted that an olive branch is the symbol of peace.
The Vatican then put out a statement describing the talks as “cordial” and insisted the “shared commitment to fostering good bilateral relations between the Holy See and the United States of America was reaffirmed.” But the niceties stopped there.
“There followed an exchange of views regarding the regional and international situation with particular attention to countries marked by war, political tensions, and difficult humanitarian situations, as well as to the need to work tirelessly in support of peace,” the Vatican added.
In an interview Monday, President Trump accused the pope of endangering Catholics in an interview, the latest in a series of attacks by Trump.
The president has repeatedly claimed that Pope Leo is okay with Iran having a nuclear weapon, which is not the case.
“The pope would rather talk about the fact that it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, and I don’t think that’s very good.”
“I think he’s endangering a lot of Catholics, and a lot of people, but I guess if it’s up to the pope, he thinks it’s just fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump continued.
The pontiff has spoken out against nuclear armament around the globe, Pope Leo saying, “The Church has spoken out against all nuclear weapons for years, so there is no doubt about that.”
—California, Arizona and Nevada announced a new water-saving plan to help address worsening shortages along the Colorado River over the next two years.
Representatives of seven states have deadlocked in negotiations on a long-term plan to take less from the shrinking river; the Colorado River’s giant reservoirs declining toward critically low levels.
Representatives of the three states said in a written statement released Friday night that their plan aims to “stabilize the Colorado River through 2028.” It will require larger cuts in water use than they had pledged previously in talks with other states and the federal government.
This week’s snow in the Rockies helped a little.
–And Happy 100th Birthday to naturalist and broadcaster David Attenborough. The BBC is hosting a party at the Royal Albert Hall today. Cinemas are playing his nature films.
Through BBC programs such as “Life on Earth,” “The Private Life of Plants,” and “The Blue Planet,” Attenborough illuminated the beauty, ferocity and sometimes downright weirdness of nature in a hushed melodic voice that conveys his own awe at what he is witnessing.
Some of the best programming of all time, all while sounding the alarm about climate change, ocean plastic and other human-caused threats to the planet.
—
Pray for the men and women of our armed forces…and all the fallen.
Slava Ukraini.
God bless America.
—
Gold $4724…Silver $80.75
Oil $94.90
Bitcoin: $80,155 [4:00 PM ET, Friday]
Regular Gas: $4.54; Diesel: $5.66 [$3.15 – $3.53 yr. ago]
Returns for the week 5/4-5/8
Dow Jones +0.2% [49609]
S&P 500 +2.3% [7398]
S&P MidCap +1.7%
Russell 2000 +1.7%
Nasdaq +4.5% [26247]
Returns for the period 1/1/26-5/8/26
Dow Jones +3.2%
S&P 500 +8.1%
S&P MidCap +11.9%
Russell 2000 +15.3%
Nasdaq +12.9%
Hang in there.
Brian Trumbore
