Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,
A federal judge on Feb. 23 said that the final report on President Donald Trump compiled by a former special counsel shall not be released.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who is based in Florida (and was appointed by President Trump), said in a 15-page decision that she was granting requests from Trump and his co-defendants to keep part two of the report from former special counsel Jack Smith shielded from the public.
Hungary strikes again... As the European Union confirms no agreement Monday on a proposed 20th package of sanctions against Russia, EU leaders are furious at Budapest.
The majority of EU states were hoping to unveil their next round of punitive sanctions in time for the four year anniversary of the grinding war, on Tuesday. But instead Hungary came in with a resounding veto, and not just one - but two.
Former UK cabinet minister and Ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson, has been arrested just weeks after resigning over revelations that he gave Jeffrey Epstein advance notice of a €500bn bailout to save the Euro.
Mandelson was arrested at an address in Camden on Monday and taken to a London police station for an interview in connection with 'misconduct in public office.'
Submitted by QTR's Fringe Finance
When Zohran Mamdani ran for mayor, he sold New Yorkers a vision of relief. Free childcare. Free buses. A rent freeze. A city that would finally tilt toward the struggling rather than the secure. What he did not campaign on was a nearly 10% property tax hike affecting more than three million residences and over 100,000 commercial properties. Yet, days after his election, here we are.
PayPal shares were briefly halted due to volatility and are now up 9% after a Bloomberg report said the digital payments firm is attracting takeover interest from potential buyers, as the stock slid to a decade low. The report, based on unnamed sources, has not been confirmed by PayPal.
In a Monday televised speech on the occasion of Russia's "Defender of the Fatherland Day," President Vladimir Putin declared that the development of the nuclear triad "remains an absolute priority" for Russia, coming soon on the heels of the collapse of the New START nuclear treaty with the United States.
Authored by Jacki Thrapp via The Epoch Times,
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said he does not support President Donald Trump’s decision to send a hospital ship to Greenland.
“It’s going to be a no thank you from here,” according to a translation of Nielsen’s Facebook post on Feb. 22.
“President Trump’s idea to send an American hospital ship here to Greenland is noted. But we have a public health system where treatment is free for citizens. It’s a deliberate choice. And a basic part of our society. It’s not like that in the United States, where it costs money to go to the doctor.”
While much digital ink has been spilled on the Supreme Court's striking down of Trump's IEEPA tariffs and the consequences of this decision (see "Full Analysis Of The Supreme Court IEEPA Decision: How It Impacts The Economy, Policy And Markets"), a lot more is on deck for this week when we will also have more geopolitical headlines to contend with, as the latest round of US-Iran talks is expected in Geneva on Thursday. The talks come amid a recent buildup of US forces in the region and yesterday the New York Times was the latest outlet to report that Trump is considering an initial targeted strike against Iran in the coming days, which could be followed by a larger attack if Iran does not give in to US nuclear demands. Other highlights for the week ahead include the State of the Union address in the US (late tomorrow), US PPI and preliminary CPIs in Europe (both Friday). In earnings, the focus will be on Nvidia, Salesforce (both Wednesday) and Home Depot (tomorrow). Nvidia’s earnings could be the most important of these but expect lots of headlines from the State of the Union speech.
Submitted by QTR's Fringe Finance
There’s an obvious growing failure at the center of modern markets that, as a former short seller, has become beyond obvious to me over the years.
It isn’t just fraud or aggressive accounting. It’s the ecosystem that allows both to thrive: financial media that won’t press, and a sell side that won’t risk upsetting management teams they depend on for access.
While sentiment is sagging to multi-year lows, 'hard' data is helping support growth forecasts (GDPNOW) and holding stocks at record highs.
This morning we get a fresh glimpse at America's manufacturing segment - hard data - with Orders data (which is expected to drop MoM in December).
Update (9:40am ET): In response to the EU's decision to freeze ratification of Trump's landmark deal, the US president has come out swinging and on Truth Social threatened any countries that "play games" with the supreme court decision that they "will be met with a much higher tariff." It just isn't clear what the procedure for these much higher tariffs - aside from Section 122 which is limited to 150 days - will be now that IEEPA has been ruled unconstitutional.
Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S plummeted again on Monday after the company reported trial results showing its next-generation obesity shot, CagriSema, delivered 20.2% weight loss at 84 weeks, compared to 23.6% for Eli Lilly & Co.’s tirzepatide (Zepbound).
