July 28 (Reuters) - The Trump administration plans to end a subsidy program that helped hold premiums for Medicare ‌drug plans, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, ‌citing government officials.
The program, expected to provide insurers with roughly $3.6 billion in subsidies this year to cushion Medicare Part D premium increases, will not be renewed beyond 2026, the report said.
Medicare Part D, which provides prescription drug coverage to millions of Medicare beneficiaries through private insurance ‌plans, is a key ⁠component of the federal health program for seniors.
Rising healthcare costs remain a growing concern in the ⁠U.S., particularly for older Americans living on fixed incomes. Nearly 25 million people were enrolled in standalone Medicare Part D prescription drug plans in 2026, according to data from health policy research group ‌KFF.
The Journal quoted an administration official who said the additional subsidies gave insurers an incentive to raise premiums because the government would absorb much of the added cost. The official also said the subsidies were no longer necessary, saying that other measures ‌aimed at keeping Medicare Part D costs in check remain in place.

#medicare #program #drug #subsidies

The Seahawks' contract standoff with Leonard Williams just took a new turn originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Seattle Seahawks star defensive tackle Leonard Williams is entering the final year of his current contract, but the two-time Pro Bowler isn't letting ongoing extension talks distract him from preparing for the 2026 season.
Williams confirmed Tuesday that his representatives and the Seahawks have had preliminary discussions about a new deal, though nothing has been finalized.
"There's been a few conversations, but nothing set in stone," Williams said.
The 32-year-old veteran is in the final season of the three-year, $64.5 million contract he signed in March 2024, just months after Seattle acquired him from the New York Giants during the 2023 season. Under the Seahawks' long-standing policy, players are not eligible for contract extensions until they have one year remaining on their current deal, making Williams eligible for negotiations this offseason.

#seahawks #contract

Health policy has quietly become a stock-moving variable in 2026, and the figures are significant enough to matter. Approximately 2.6 million Americans discontinued ACA marketplace coverage this year after increased pandemic-era subsidies ended at the end of 2025, with health policy experts predicting that total enrollment would decrease to between 16.5 million and 17.5 million by year-end. Meanwhile, the Urban Institute has projected that 4.8 million more people will be uninsured in 2026 as a direct consequence of the lapsed subsidies, with certain HealthCare.gov-reliant states witnessing enrollment losses of 20% or more.
Whether this translates into fewer elective medical treatments is now a hotly debated topic in the healthcare industry, with Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) emerging as the evident casualty. The company's shares plunged more than 12% before the bell on July 17, despite Intuitive maintaining its global procedure-growth prediction for its da Vinci surgical robots. Instead, the selloff was driven by the company's own admission that changes in insurance coverage could impact demand.
US da Vinci procedure growth slowed to roughly 12% in the second quarter, down from where Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) expected to be at the beginning of the year, with a focus on surgeries that patients may defer. On the July 16 call, CEO David Rosa told ******* ysts that customer conversations indicated that fluctuating patient coverage and premium dynamics affect "when patients seek care," as opposed to if they seek it at all.
That reaction came at an awkward time, as a highly public disagreement was already taking place in the sector. Abbott, a major medical device and diagnostics manufacturer, had argued recently that blaming industry-wide procedure weakness on ACA disenrollment was a "flawed ******* umption." HCA Healthcare, the largest for-profit hospital operator in the United States, took the opposite stance, warning earlier of lower surgical demand and an increase in uninsured patients when pandemic-era subsidies expired.
Intuitive's own results now appear to support the HCA side of the argument, at least in procedures when patients can choose to delay. Stifel's response immediately reflected the tension: the firm reduced its price objective to $550 from $670 on July 17 while keeping a Buy rating on the company's shares, despite Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) exceeding expectations in revenue, earnings, system placements, and procedure growth in the same quarter. Both US procedure and installed-base growth have slowed since the 2020-2021 COVID era, with management blaming the slowdown on ACA disenrollment and the basic law of large numbers as the installed base matures.

#NASDAQ #Growth #healthcare

Bitcoin (BTC) bounced over the weekend session and was stabilizing above the $65,000 support as of Monday.
The cryptocurrency climbed more than 3% from its weekend low to reach an intraday high of around $65,722. Its recovery followed a pause in hostilities between the US and Iran, which sent oil prices sharply lower and improved risk appetite across global markets.
Brent crude consequently fell more than 4% toward $92 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate dropped over 5% to around $84.
Falling energy prices eased concerns that the Iran conflict would trigger another inflation shock and force the Federal Reserve to maintain a more aggressive monetary policy stance.
Lower oil prices are typically supportive for speculative ***** ets because they can reduce inflation expectations, improve liquidity sentiment and limit upward pressure on bond yields.

#west

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The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is meeting this week. During these meetings, the committee **** ses the health of the economy and potentially adjusts the federal funds rate. Read on to learn more about the timeline for this meeting, what it involves, and expected outcomes.
The latest FOMC meeting takes place on July 28-29, 2026. This is its fifth scheduled meeting of the year.
Once the meeting concludes, the FOMC will release its policy decisions on Wednesday at 2 p.m. Eastern time. Then the Fed chairman will hold a news conference at 2:30 p.m.
The live news conferences, held by the Federal Reserve chairman, are livestreamed and recorded. Additionally, the minutes of regularly scheduled meetings are released three weeks after the date of the policy decision.

#committee #chairman #advertiser

The Seattle Seahawks will be throwing it back to the 1990s for two of their nine home games this regular season.
Seattle's widely acclaimed throwback uniforms will be worn in primetime against a pair of high profile opponents:
Week 7 (Oct. 25) vs. Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football
Week 13 (Dec. 7) vs. Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football
The Seahawks are permitted up to three throwback games under the NFL's alternate uniform policy. Last year they had an iconic double throwback thriller with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who were also celebrating their 50th season and came out of Lumen Field as 38-35 winners. Seattle took its throwbacks on the road to Maryland for a 38-14 beatdown of the Washington Commanders on Sunday Night Football, before scoring a 26-0 shoutout win in the same unis against the Minnesota Vikings.

#night #throwback #seahawks

The U.S. dollar, euro and British pound enter a pivotal week as investors prepare for the Federal Reserve's July 29 to 30 meeting and the ECB's decision last week while new data comes through. Most **** ysts expect that the Fed will leave rates where they are, although the market will be watching out for clues from Chair Jerome Powell given that the latest US data has confirmed the strength of the economy.
June retail sales were up by 0.2% on the month, while the control group increased by 0.4%, and initial claims for unemployment benefits dropped to 208,000, a three-month low, underlining the strength of the consumer and the labour market. This week brings out the second-quarter GDP, the PCE inflation print for June and July non-farm payrolls which could alter thinking around the second half of the year.
The ECB decided to keep its deposit rate at 2.25% as it sees inflation edging toward its 2% target while remaining data-dependent. ECB President Christine Lagarde said growth remains weak, with members continuing to **** s the impact of the economic effect of trade and higher energy costs on the economic environment.
Sterling remains supported by expectations that the Bank of England will proceed cautiously after it kept Bank Rate at 3.75%, and it sees the UK policymakers juggle between curbing inflation and a steady wage-growth and a cooling labour market. UK mortgage approvals, consumer credit and business surveys are released this week as they provide evidence for the economy ahead of the next Bank of England meeting.
The U.S. Dollar Index is maintaining a healthy uptrend after bouncing off support in the 100.50 zone along the uptrend line. Currently, the index trades at 101.28, keeping the 50-day EMA (101.12) and 100-day EMA (101.01) beneath the index level. The RSI is sitting at 53.

#market #inflation #england

President Trump's campaign for lower interest rates in the U.S. faces another setback this week at the meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). Wall Street ***** ysts have generally come to the conclusion that the FOMC will hold rates steady, if not hike them—and Trump's own foreign policy is an underlying factor.

The FOMC, led by central bank chairman Kevin Warsh, will meet Tuesday and Wednesday of this week to discuss progress toward its targets of maximum employment and inflation at 2%.

It is the latter task that has caused the Fed some difficulty over the past few years. At the time of writing, inflation stands at 3.5%—a drop from May to June, but still elevated compared with the start of the year and the Fed's target.
Part of that reading has come from higher fuel prices, up 15.7% from a year ago. While pressure in this category is beginning to fade (down 4.9% May to June), prices remain elevated as a result of conflict in the Middle East, choking global oil supply as a result.
There is little sign of a resolution between Washington and Tehran in sight. While the two sides are not currently engaged in active military conflict, as they have been over the past fortnight, no official ceasefire has been announced. While the fragile pause of fire allows ***** e for diplomacy to proceed, neither side has indicated they will capitulate over control of the Strait of Hormuz—the key shipping lane in the movement of oil around the planet.
Trump's foreign policy is therefore standing in the way of Warsh's path to a cut—Wall Street ***** ysts highlighted at the start of the week.
Bank of America's base case is for a hold this month, wrote chief U.S. economist Aditya Bhave and his team: "With markets now pricing nearly 10 [basis points] of hikes in July, Chair Warsh faces a difficult choice. Not hiking could challenge the Fed's credibility on inflation. But raising rates would go against his framework of looking through supply shocks.

#bank

The Federal Reserve kicks off its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday, culminating with an interest rate decision at 2:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday. The Fed's next move — to hold or hike — remains a close call.
Markets expect the central bank to keep interest rates unchanged, but inflationary pressures arising from the war in Iran and AI bottlenecks could prompt officials to opt for a surprise hike. Bond traders placed 68.5% odds that the Fed will hold rates steady and 31.5% odds that it will hike, according to the CME Group's FedWatch on Tuesday morning.
The Fed's decision is opaque not only due to the balance of economic forces; it's also by design. As new Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh reforms the institution, he's looking to bring the Fed back to an era of less communication with markets on the path of policy.
Warsh has repeatedly said he wants a "good family fight" at Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meetings. He's likely to get that, as officials remain divided on whether to hike interest rates this year.
Bloomberg report:

#interest #federal #markets #hold

England international? Tick. Premier League winner? Tick. At least 35 years old? Erm, tick that too. Chelsea's transfer policy has taken a surprising turn this summer, ripped up and rewritten, and it's led the club to the doors of Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck.
Chelsea are working on deals to add both to Xabi Alonso's squad in time for the start of the new season. They have also missed out on other experienced targets such as John Stones, 32, who is set for a move to Inter Milan, and Granit Xhaka, 33, who Sunderland are determined to keep as captain.
It is a stunning departure from one of the most aggressive youth-focused transfer strategies in Premier League history, which has brought waves of potential to Stamford Bridge replete with lavish decade-long contracts. BlueCo have been dogmatic, signing only one player over 25 – defender Tosin Adarabioyo – since the summer of 2023. Last season, Chelsea signed 10 players ranging in age from 18 (Estevao, Kendry Paez) to 23 (Joao Pedro).
Danny Welbeck could be heading to Stamford Bridge (Getty)
It would be wrong to say the transfer policy has been completely flawed. Nurturing young talent and investing in sellable ******* ets is the modus operandi of many well-run clubs. Cole Palmer and Moises Caicedo were youthful signings, as were Enzo Fernandez and Wesley Fofana. Estevao and Joao Pedro had excellent debut seasons in an underwhelming Chelsea team.

#transfer #danny #bridge #estevao

Medicare Advantage enrollees get one 12-month trial right to return to Original Medicare and buy a guaranteed-issue Medigap policy without medical underwriting.
The trial window closes 63 days after year one ends, and missing it can permanently expose beneficiaries to unlimited 20% outpatient coinsurance with no cap.
The MA Open Enrollment Period, which runs from January through March, lets you leave Advantage but does not guarantee Medigap access, leaving post-year-one switchers vulnerable to health underwriting.
Two retirees, same $1 million, same 4% rule, buy one finished with $1.4 million, the other hit $0 in 12 years. Our free reader guide explains the flaw that separated them, and the income-first method built to avoid it.
A 66-year-old retiree signs up for a zero-premium Medicare Advantage plan the month she turns 65. Fourteen months in, her orthopedist drops the network, her prior authorization for an MRI is denied twice, and she wants back on Original Medicare with a Medigap policy. She calls a broker. The broker asks when she first enrolled. Then he tells her the escape hatch closed 60 days ago.

#medicare

BEIJING, July 27 (Reuters) - Profits at China's industrial firms grew at a solid, though slower, pace as resilient exports helped cushion sluggish domestic demand, highlighting ‌the economy's uneven recovery despite policymakers' efforts to spur consumption.
Exports and industrial production ‌have done much of the heavy lifting for the world's second-largest economy. Persistent weakness in consumption and the property sector, however, helped drag second-quarter growth to its slowest pace in more than three years, keeping calls alive for further policy support to address economic imbalances.
Industrial profit growth eased to 15.1% in June from 21.1% in May, while first-half profits rose 18.7% from a ‌year earlier, compared with an ⁠18.8% increase in the January-to-May period, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Monday.
"If this recovery can be sustained, it will ⁠be a good sign for the rest of the economy, as a return of profits growth could give companies room to resume wage growth," said Lynn Song, chief economist of Greater China at ING.
The figures add to evidence of a two-speed recovery in the world's second-largest economy, ‌where manufacturers have benefited from robust overseas demand, while sectors tied to domestic spending continue to struggle.

#industrial #recovery #second

By Xinghui Kok
SINGAPORE, July 27 (Reuters) - Singapore's central bank tightened its monetary policy settings unexpectedly on Monday, with inflation projected to step up in the months ahead.
Singapore's central bank has a unique ‌method of managing monetary policy, tweaking the exchange rate of its currency instead of changing domestic interest ‌rates like many economies.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) sets the path of what it calls the policy band of the Singapore dollar nominal effective exchange rate (S$NEER), thus strengthening or weakening the local currency against those of its main trading partners.
WHY DOES SINGAPORE USE THIS METHOD?

#Singapore

Markets face the week's most consequential moment Wednesday at 2:00pm when the Federal Reserve announces its rate decision and Fed Chair Kevin Warsh holds his first post-decision press conference, setting policy direction.
This comes amid extraordinary uncertainty about technology sector valuations, artificial intelligence infrastructure spending, and economic growth trajectory.
The decision arrives after a week dominated by disappointing technology earnings that intensified AI bubble concerns and validated investor skepticism about whether massive data center investments will translate into proportional revenue and earnings growth.
Intel Corp Shows Strong Q2 Results and Free Cash Flow - Shorting INTC Puts is Still the Best Play
Option Volatility And Earnings Report For July 27-31
Markets move fast. Keep up by reading our FREE midday Barchart Brief newsletter for exclusive charts, ******* ysis, and headlines.

#decision #free #reserve

WASHINGTON – Six weeks after he was hospitalized for a fall and pneumonia, Sen. Mitch McConnell's doctors still have not medically cleared him to return to work or leave a rehabilitation facility, the Capitol physician's office said.
Since June, the Kentucky Republican's health has been a source of widespread speculation and interest. He has missed 38 roll call votes in the Senate, including on key measures such as the annual defense policy bill and ending the Iran war, as well as high-profile confirmation hearings for crucial Trump nominees like Todd Blanche, who is awaiting a vote to become the next attorney general.
All summer his office has provided only limited updates on his condition. But in a statement July 27, McConnell, 84, said he was still having "intense physical therapy" and wouldn't be able to travel to western Kentucky for the annual Fancy Farm picnic, a marquee political event in the state.
"As always, I appreciate all of your continued well wishes, and I'm looking forward to getting back to the Senate and to Kentucky soon," he said.
The Office of the Attending Physician, which provides medical services and guidance to members of Congress, said the lifelong effects of McConnell's bout with childhood polio continue to be a "significant factor in his mobility." Doctors visit with him every day.

#still #annual

BEIJING, July 27 (Reuters) - Profits at China's industrial firms grew at a solid, though slower, pace as resilient exports helped cushion sluggish domestic demand, highlighting ‌the economy's uneven recovery despite policymakers' efforts to spur consumption.
Exports and industrial production ‌have done much of the heavy lifting for the world's second-largest economy. Persistent weakness in consumption and the property sector, however, helped drag second-quarter growth to its slowest pace in more than three years, keeping calls alive for further policy support to address economic imbalances.
Industrial profit growth eased to 15.1% in June from 21.1% in May, while first-half profits rose 18.7% from a ‌year earlier, compared with an ⁠18.8% increase in the January-to-May period, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Monday.
"If this recovery can be sustained, it will ⁠be a good sign for the rest of the economy, as a return of profits growth could give companies room to resume wage growth," said Lynn Song, chief economist of Greater China at ING.
The figures add to evidence of a two-speed recovery in the world's second-largest economy, ‌where manufacturers have benefited from robust overseas demand, while sectors tied to domestic spending continue to struggle.

#profits #economy #exports

A decade ago, Seattle was the poster child of American tech prosperity. Amazon and Microsoft had turned a midsize Pacific Northwest city into a magnet for engineers, executives, and capital, adding roughly 40,000 jobs per year at the peak of the boom, according to the Puget Sound Regional Council.
Today, more than one-third of downtown Seattle's office **** e sits empty, its job postings have collapsed faster than almost any other U.S. metro, and even Starbucks—the coffee giant founded in the city in 1971—is shifting jobs south to Nashville, as it commits to a $100 million, 2,000-person new footprint in Music City. The story of Seattle's reversal unfolds in three overlapping arcs: an office market in free fall, a labor market that has gone from boom to bust, and a policy environment that has made survival harder for the small businesses left behind.
Seattle's downtown office vacancy rate hit 35.6% in the fourth quarter of 2025, up from 32.3% a year earlier, according to Cushman & Wakefield data. That marks a stunning reversal from the pre-pandemic era: As recently as early 2025, the central business district's availability rate—offices with departures pending—and vacancy rate were already hitting all-time highs based on CoStar data stretching back to 1982.
Some brokers put the number even higher, with Colliers reporting vacancy touching 39.1% in late 2024 as remote work, tech layoffs, and cautious leasing decisions compounded. Office building values in the district have plunged sharply as a result, with landlords struggling to fill **** e abandoned by major tenants.
The office crisis is inseparable from a broader collapse in hiring. Seattle metro job postings fell 35% between February 2020 and October 2025, the second-steepest drop of any major U.S. metro after San Francisco's 37% decline, according to Axios's **** ysis of Indeed data.

#city

Shopify CEO Tobias Lütke, whose company commands a market capitalization near $154 billion, told his social media followers this week that a tax-tiered voting system—one that would strip voting rights from anyone who pays no income tax—would be a "good system."
That two-word endorsement, dropped into a viral thread, has reignited a debate over wealth, power, and democracy that most Americans thought was settled more than a century ago.
The proposal would invert the founding American principle of "no taxation without representation" into something closer to "no representation without taxation"—and specifically, high taxation. Reactions online split sharply: Some framed it as a provocative thought experiment about aligning fiscal responsibility with political voice, while others called it a naked attempt to legitimize plutocracy by giving billionaires and multimillionaires a formal, multiplied vote over the laws that govern everyone else.
But it also revealed that America is grappling with a political economy debate, as a frozen housing market and an entrenched wealthy baby boomer demographic have many, not just Lütke, arguing that something big needs to change.
The exchange began with a provocation from Lütke: Pension recipients should have their financial futures "locked in and guaranteed," but in return would be reclassified as "dependents" and lose the right to vote—the same way minors can't vote. A reply from "Eric Thor," who claimed to be a retired banking executive as well as "armchair economist and policy wonk," proposed a sliding scale: zero votes for anyone who pays no income tax, one vote for those earning $1–100K, two votes for $100–200K, scaling up in that pattern to a hard cap of five votes for anyone earning $500K or more. The pitch was framed as fairness—reward "representation" for those who "foot the bill" through taxation.

#taxation #representation #votes

The lawsuit against actor Malcolm Jamal-Warner's mother should serve as a reminder to everyone to update estate plans and other documents regularly, lawyers say.
On July 20, Tenisha Delilah Warner, "The Cosby Show" star's widow, filed a lawsuit against the actor's mother, Pamela Warner, claiming she's owed more than $1.2 million under a premarital agreement.
The agreement included a $1 million life insurance policy that was never put in place by her late husband, $16,000 tax-free each year on their wedding anniversary, Roth IRA funding for as long as they remained married, and $5,000 monthly for serving as his chief of staff and ****** istant. The actor died in July 2025, and his mother is successor trustee of the Warner Family Trust.
The revocable Warner Family Trust left nothing to the Emmy-nominated actor's widow or his 9-year-old daughter because it was established in 1996 and never updated to reflect his new family, the widow said. The couple met in 2015 and married in 2017, the same year their daughter was born.
The trust leaves 70% of Malcolm-Jamal Warner's ****** ets to his mother, 15% to his late father, Robert Warner Jr., and 15% to his half-sister Collage, according to a legal petition Tenisha Warner filed. "This was not Malcolm's intent," she said.

#malcolm #tenisha

July 24 (Reuters) - London-listed shares of Wise fell 10% on Friday after the money transfer ‌group said its application to create a ‌national trust bank in the United States was denied by regulators, amid major changes in financial policy.
The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency denied Wise's application as it was incompatible with the Federal Reserve's ‌new policies for ⁠payment system access, the dual-listed company said. As a national trust bank, Wise ⁠sought to settle U.S. dollar payments directly with the Fed.
U.S. regulations for payments have changed significantly since the firm submitted its application in June of last year, ‌it said.
"With the Federal Reserve generally pausing account access for an uninsured trust bank, the approach in our application became non-viable," the firm said.
The fintech firm plans to submit a new application for ‌a national trust bank charter under the GENIUS Act framework, which pertains to digital ****** ets like stablecoins.

#federal

Markets were recalibrating after the European Central Bank kept its benchmark rates unchanged. It maintained the deposit rate at 2.25%, the main refinancing rate at 2.40%, and the marginal lending facility rate at 2.65%. "Decisions next time will be meeting by meeting and data dependent," Christine Lagarde said. "As regards the inflationary effects of higher energy prices in view of the Middle East escalation, this adds to the uncertainty of the path of inflation over time."
The dollar continued to be supported by strong fundamentals, and Treasury bonds were also higher. Attention turned to today's S&P Global flash PMI surveys with US manufacturing seen at 54.5, services at 51.5, and the composite above the 50 threshold for expansion. A good set of numbers will provide more evidence of the US economy's resilience ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting next week. Investors will also hope the Fed keeps rates on hold with officials signaling their cautious approach.
The euro was less focused on the outcome than on the ECB's communication. Policymakers noted that inflation was easing in the euro area. But they said inflation might not return sustainably to the 2% target for some time due to fluctuating energy prices and noted that there is still room for more hikes.
Sterling focused on June retail sales and the flash PMI data for July this afternoon. The manufacturing PMI is projected at 52.0 and services PMI at 50.0. Stronger sales figures will provide more proof of the resilience of the domestic economy, supporting the Bank of England's approach as the focus turns to fighting inflation.
The USD Index remains positive after bouncing off the 100.50-100.60 support area and recapturing the 101.20 level. Current quotes around 101.33 sit above the 50-EMA (at 101.06) and the 100-EMA (at 100.97), which indicates buyers have been taking charge. The DXY's rising trend line is continuing to act as support, and the current reading at RSI 60 suggests there is room for further upside, with no imminent signs of overbought conditions.

#inflation #rate #higher

By Leika Kihara
TOKYO, July 24 (Reuters) - The Bank of ******* an will likely maintain its warning over the risk of inflation overshooting its 2% target next week, but signal that those risks have not increased significantly from three months ago, three sources familiar with its thinking said.
In a quarterly ‌outlook report due at next week's policy meeting, the BOJ is expected to highlight lingering inflation risks stemming from the Middle East conflict, robust global ‌AI demand and rising import costs from a weak yen.
At the same time, the central bank believes the likelihood of a worst-case scenario, in which severe supply disruptions trigger a sharp surge in prices and force rapid interest-rate hikes, has diminished from three months ago, said three sources familiar with its thinking.
"There is a risk of underlying consumer inflation deviating upward from our 2% target," the BOJ said in June when it raised interest rates, language sources said is likely to feature again in next week's quarterly outlook report.

#risk

The director of the country's premier American history museum said she has no regrets about any of the museum's exhibits during her tenure after an expert confronted her with a "shocking" display that he said smeared Founding Father Benjamin Franklin.
Smithsonian National Museum of American History Director Anthea Hartig faced intense questioning from lawmakers during two Capitol Hill hearings this week. The hearings followed a White House Domestic Policy Council report accusing the museum of using taxpayer dollars and its status as a world-renowned institution to advance a "radical activist ideology."
During a House hearing Tuesday, Heritage Foundation expert Mike Gonzalez testified that a multiyear special exhibit, "The Electric Dr. Franklin," included a display that "pondered whether he had ever done experiments, electrical electroshock on indentured servants or slaves."
Watch: Smithsonian Director Pressed On Woke Exhibits: 'Is Mickey Mouse Racist?'
Gonzalez testified that the display included this suggestion "without producing any evidence whatsoever," which he called "shocking."

#director #american #franklin #exhibits

This article was originally published on ETFTrends.com.
To the dismay of advisors and fixed income investors, the words "clear" and "overt" seem to have left the Federal Reserve's lexicon. However, there are avenues for investors looking for the combination of elevated income and reduced rate risk.
The WisdomTree Interest Rate Hedged High Yield Bond Fund (HYZD) is one of the ETF's that accomplishes those objectives. The $260.2 million HYZD, tracks the WisdomTree U.S. High Yield Corporate Bond, Zero Duration Index. It could be a valuable tool as new Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh scrutinizes the central bank's data inputs, balance sheet, and commentary on rates.
"In terms of forward guidance, investors have already witnessed the Chairman's plans where the goal is to essentially remove this form of communication to the markets," observed WisdomTree. "Some clear-cut examples were the scaled back, just the facts, Greenspan-esque, June FOMC policy statement as well as Warsh's non-participation in the dot plot. The balance sheet question will take longer to resolve, but the examination of the data the Fed uses to set policy deserves some attention."
HYZD turns 13 years old in December. It carries a 30-day SEC yield of 6% and an effective duration of 0.30 years. For many investors, that high yield and low duration would be enough. No further examination required. However, it is worth digging deeper into HYZD.

#duration #income

The European Central Bank is expected to leave rates unchanged at its meeting concluding today, choosing patience over prediction and preserving maximum room for manoeuvre ahead of a big decision by September.
Neither traders nor ******* ysts believe the ECB will deliver a second consecutive hike today after last month's increase. That means the deposit rate is seen remaining at 2.25%, a level officials have described as being "appropriate" as they evaluate implications of a re-escalation in the US-Iran conflict.
In an economists' panel for Bloomberg I sat on, most economists left open the chance of a second quarter-point rise in rates by September, when policymakers will have new quarterly projections.
A ceasefire following the June ECB meeting along with weaker-than-anticipated inflation that month had bolstered hopes that the worst of the crisis may have passed. However – fresh hostilities recently, placing Brent oil back around USD 100 a barrel, have revived expectations for more tightening ahead.
Traders currently wager that an initial June move will be followed up by another in September and a final one by the end of this year. The ECB's projections last month were based on ******* umptions for a total of three hikes this cycle.

#september

Jul. 24—When Logan Angelo stopped playing baseball at Creston High School, the 2013 graduate gained his first job in entertainment production as public address announcer at the home baseball games.
While announcing the game in the press box, Angelo also served as a DJ, playing digital music tracks via computerized software. At this year's team banquet, coach Brandon Phipps praised current announcer Cory Latham for his work in providing "a true entertainment event along with announcing the baseball game, like you expect from a big-time venue."
Fast forward 13 years, and the venue doesn't get any bigger than where Angelo worked for more than five weeks this summer at the Houston venue for seven FIFA World Cup matches. Angelo was hired by FIFA as stadium entertainment technical operations manager at the home of the NFL Houston Texans (labeled Houston Stadium by FIFA's non-sponsor policy, but officially now NRG Stadium after several years as Reliant Stadium.)
"This was the largest sports event ever," Angelo said, "when you consider it was held in 16 stadiums across three countries (United States, Mexico and Canada), with 48 teams playing a total of 104 matches over 39 days (June 11 to July 19). It's even a larger scale than the Olympics, when you consider the number of fans traveling for this international sports event. And, it turned out to be a successful event. The cities did a great job as hosts."
For perspective, the World Cup final between Argentina and Spain averaged 66.4 million television viewers in the U.S. on Fox and Telemundo combined. Other than Super Bowls, this is the largest sports audience since the 1994 Winter Olympics (skaters Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan).

#fifa

By Johan Ahlander
STOCKHOLM, July 23 (Reuters) - After championing huge policy shifts in Sweden by propping up a minority centre-right government for four years, the far-right Sweden Democrats say they have won the political arguments and now deserve a share of power for themselves.
But it is a demand that could prove a step too far for voters in an election in September, and potentially ‌bring down Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. The prime minister, who once told a Holocaust survivor he would never cooperate with the Sweden Democrats, now says he has lifted those "red lines".
Sweden, the stalwart of European ‌socialism for generations, has undergone a startling rightward shift in policy and public opinion in recent years, especially over immigration in a country where one person in five was born abroad.
The number of asylum seekers last year was down 97% from the peak a decade ago. One of Europe's most welcoming immigration systems has become one of its most stringent: newcomers face employment restrictions, language and culture tests, and reduced welfare payouts. Immigrants who break the law can be swiftly expelled, and others are offered payments to leave voluntarily.

#Sweden #minister #johan

African countries must open up their power markets in order to court the private investors needed to supply the electricity that AI will demand, a data center executive told Semafor, as a new report warned the continent risks seeing little economic benefit from the technology.
Africa's economy is barely expanding on a per capita basis, and household living standards are stagnant across the continent. With the labor force projected to almost double by 2050, many African governments fear growing unemployment in the next few years. AI, as in other parts of the world, offers an opportunity to drive economic growth. But Africa only hosts about 160 data centers — around 5.5% of the global total — and aging grids in many African countries mean access to power, the key driver of AI infrastructure expansion, is limited.
In Africa, independent power producers typically sell electricity to state utilities under long‑term power purchase agreements. But private‑to‑private supply — in which a private generator sells directly to an industrial or commercial buyer using the grid, a practice that is commonplace across the West — remains rare on the continent.
In an interview, Robert Skjødt, CEO of Raxio, a data center company that operates in six African countries, said that in many nations, regulatory reform was needed to "allow a private supplier of electricity to supply to a private buyer" while using the grid.
The potential upside is significant: The International Monetary Fund, in a paper published on Tuesday, said AI could make sub-Saharan Africa's economy around 4% bigger over the next decade than its baseline projection — but that requires better ‌electricity supply, internet access, and digital skills. Policymakers and business leaders have long warned that Africa's power shortfall in particular, if left unaddressed, would starve energy-hungry data centers of the electricity needed to digitize economies.

#private #african #needed #many

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With inflation running above the Federal Reserve's target for 64 consecutive months, Moody's ****** ytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi says higher consumer prices are not an accident but a direct result of government policy decisions.
By breaking down the underlying economic math, Zandi points to trade tariffs imposed by the Donald Trump administration and restrictive immigration laws as the primary culprits preventing price stability in the current economy.
Americans largely view "persistently high inflation and the resulting higher cost of living their number one financial problem." Zandi agrees with this public sentiment, noting that top-line inflation sits at no less than 3.5%, which is well above the Federal Reserve's 2% target.
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#inflation #higher #chief

The dollar index (DXY00) is down by -0.10% today. The dollar is under modest pressure today amid a recovery in the yen, which rose from a 39-year low on the prospect of faster interest rate hikes from the BOJ. Losses in the dollar are limited due to today's +3% rally in WTI crude oil to a 6-week high, which raises inflation expectations that could prompt the Fed to tighten monetary policy, a supportive factor for the dollar. Also, higher T-note yields today have strengthened the dollar's interest rate differentials and are supportive of the dollar.
The US and Iran played down the prospect of peace talks as disruptions to global oil supplies continue to mount. The US conducted an 11th straight day of attacks on Iran in an effort to degrade the country's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran retaliated by striking US bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan. President Trump said on Tuesday that the US has "no interest" in meeting with Iran until they are ready for serious peace negotiations.
Why Persistent Inflation Isn't Enough to Prevent a Plunge in Gold Prices
Dollar Edges Higher as Crude Oil Prices and Bond Yields Climb
Dollar Supported by Higher Crude Prices

#prices #today #interest