Authored by Matthew Williams via The Mises Institute,

“Don’t Be A Panican” is a memeable mantra adapted from a Truth Social post released by the President during the market turmoil triggered by the threat of a broad-sweeping tariff policy. While the panican meme is comical and jovial, its sentiment carries a more insidious undertone.

Voting conservatives have given lip service to the classical liberal tenet that a smaller government is the most effective way to run a country—though we will not delve into how this desire fails to manifest in Washington, D.C. Traditionally, conservatives are supposed to question government, support free markets, condemn government overreach, and uphold constitutionalism.

On April 2, 2025—“Liberation Day”—Trump announced a litany of tariffs. However, they were not genuine tariffs but pseudo-tariffs. The calculations relied on the ratio of trade deficits to US imports, producing a falsely-inflated tariff percentage. In response, Trump introduced retaliatory tariffs based on this misleading figure. Critics argued that the tactic was inherently dishonest. Yet, when confronted with this faulty approach, many of President Trump’s most ardent followers retorted, “trust the process” or “it’s going to hurt in the short term”—believing that the ends justify the means.

Tariffs sent the markets into a frenzy. Both Trump and representatives from his administration conveyed conflicting messages about the tariffs’ ultimate purpose. Meanwhile, obsequious conservative think tanks scrambled to justify the policy, often issuing paradoxical interpretations of tariffs as a strategy.

A Euthyphro’s dilemma of sorts emerged. Were tariffs sound policy—capable of paying debt, replacing taxes, and bolstering American exceptionalism—or were they valuable solely because they could be leveraged to bargain for free trade with other nations? Rather than reconciling this dilemma or acknowledging the inherent contradictions, followers and messengers embraced all premises, frequently conflating disparate ideas. The goal was clear: to cast Trump’s decision in a positive light. Even more disheartening was the fact that many of these trusted intellectuals compromised their foundational values, such as the commitment to free trade, in an effort to justify an enigmatic presidential move.

Put bluntly, “Don’t Be A Panican” was less about avoiding panic and more a euphemism for “trust Donald Trump.” This message—emerging from traditionally skeptical conservatives—is particularly troubling given the garbled communications from the Trump administration. There were ample reasons to be skeptical—regardless of the ultimate outcome or one’s political leanings. Unfortunately, this blind trust had already taken root before April 2, and it is not a phenomenon confined solely to the Right.

Don’t Be A Panican: Bias Media and Public Health Figures

Five years ago, a novel virus swept the globe. Covid was a highly-contagious threat, particularly dangerous to high-risk individuals, and it cost over one million American lives. Public health figures urged citizens to confine themselves at home—no visiting family or friends, mask up, and even avoid hiking outdoors. Media outlets broadcast death counters alongside the latest news, and images of people isolated at home—waving from behind windows or hugging through plastic barriers—became ubiquitous. Commercials urging citizens to mask up and do their part to stop the contagion inundated every broadcast, fostering an environment of pervasive fear.

A vaccine was developed in record time and though—sometimes a controversial point—data showed the vaccine safe; its efficacy in containing the spread of the contagion was questionable. Regardless, many companies and institutions pushed mask and vaccine mandates on the public at the discretion of government entities like the Center for Disease Control (CDC).

These mandates were poorly managed and infringed on many American freedoms. Questioners or dissenters were frequently excluded from public discourse, their concerns dismissed without proper debate; in some instances, individuals even faced career-ending repercussions. Worries about vaccine side effects were labeled as “conspiracy theories.” When side effects became public knowledge, there was neither an apology nor an admission of error. Covid policy and response was a complete disaster.

The panican narrative was quite different in this situation. It was the panicans urging the public to blindly trust authorities and the “science,” while non-panicans exercised caution and rejected that narrative. 

Non-panicans fervently detested and rejected the technocratic establishment.

Fast forward to 2025, and new faces have supplanted the technocrats in institutions of public health, such as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Many non-panicans—once adamantly opposed to bureaucrats lecturing us on health decisions—now welcome these new figures as leaders in public health. Some even call for them to use bureaucratic power to remove additives or unwanted ingredients from foods and baby formula. Such calls are often embellished with justifications like, “They are poisoning us!”—a claim that sounds awfully like an appeal to panic.

In this scenario, there are several reasons to reject—or at least protest—the advocacy for government intervention as a panacea that should be obvious to government minimalists—and non-panicans. First, the idea that government regulations will hold corporations accountable is debatable, as evidence suggests that such measures can instead embolden corporate entities. Second, emboldening the market, by decreasing regulations and bureaucratic controls, to apply pressures on corporations is the orthodox conservative approach. What happened?

Conversely, the panicans have reacted in an entirely opposite manner. Now, it is the panicans telling us to no longer trust the experts—blaming them for measles outbreaks and for wasting taxpayer money on frivolous experiments like investigating a cause for autism. This stance seems excessive and misleading, especially since anti-vaccine sentiments had been on the rise before figures like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. came to prominence. Ironically, this anti-vaccine trajectory appears largely as a reaction to the panican response during covid. It is bewildering that the covid panicans failed to assume any responsibility for this trend, choosing instead to project blame onto figures like RFK Jr. and Dr. Bhattacharya for the growing movement against established scientific thought.

The polarization surrounding nearly every policy decision leaves one questioning the appropriate course of action.

To Be or Not to Be a Panican

It seems the American public is constantly instructed on when to be—and not to be—a “panican” by the powers that be. While only two scenarios have been outlined above, recent years have presented a plethora of examples: Russian collusion, Biden’s mental health decline, “if you like your doctor you can keep your doctor,” etc. The list is extensive.

It is good advice not to be a panican. Panic induces strong emotions of fear and uncertainty, rendering individuals more susceptible to short-sighted solutions that promise comfort or security. Typically, these solutions manifest as government interventionism—leading to rigid legislation and eventual bureaucratic expansion. In the words of V from V for Vendetta, “Fear got the best of you and in your panic you turned to the now high chancellor [the government].... Fear became the ultimate tool of this government.”

However, a more troubling message accompanies the panican mantra. Whether one is labeled a panican or not often depends on partisan politics rather than objective analysis. Although panicans are generally associated with the Left and non-panicans with the Right, this alignment is not absolute. Both camps tend to place their trust in government solutions solely based on who is in power—a stance that builds a house on a foundation of sand. At its core, this philosophy assumes that the government will, or is, acting in the best interests of the people.

Demagoguery has become commonplace in political discourse and in approach to policy. This trend sets a dangerous precedent by encouraging the abandonment of the very ideals on which our nation was founded. The Founders believed strongly in rights endowed by an extrinsic, all-powerful Creator, not government. This belief is potent precisely because it shifts power away from a flawed human institution and places it in individual rights, which transcend human authority. Thomas Jefferson famously averred, “The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it to be always kept alive. It will often be exercised when wrong, but better so than not to be exercised at all.”

On the other hand, President Trump has taken significant steps to reduce government power in some areas through initiatives such as DOGE, executive orders implementing sunsetting legislation, and crackdowns on illegal immigration—actions that support a smaller government framework. These decisions should be lauded, as they position Trump as a champion of reducing government overreach. Trump excels when held accountable and listens to his base—a notable strength—it is all the more important that conservatives uphold their values rather than succumb to populist rhetoric and defenses.

We must remember that America’s values do not originate from those in power but from a set of ideals that exceed human authority. When the administration pursues actions that contradict these values, it is our duty to question and hold them accountable. Excusing or attempting to justify poor policy sets a dangerous precedent. With that being said, don’t be a panican.

And the hits just keep on coming...

UNH shares are plunging after hours (down 6% and back below $300 for the first time since September 2020) following a report from The Wall Street Journal that, according to people familiar with the matter, the DOJ is investigating UnitedHealth Group for possible criminal Medicare fraud related to its Medicare Advantage business.

While the exact nature of the potential criminal allegations against UnitedHealth is unclear, the people said the federal investigation is focusing on the company’s Medicare Advantage business practices.

The Justice Department’s criminal healthcare fraud unit focuses on crimes such as kickbacks that trigger higher Medicare and Medicare payments.

UnitedHealth’s latest annual securities filing says the company “has been involved or is currently involved in various governmental investigations, audits and reviews,” and flags involved agencies including the Justice Department.

It doesn’t specifically mention the criminal, civil and antitrust probes the Journal has reported.

The probe adds to a list of government inquiries into the company, including investigations of potential antitrust violations and a civil investigation of its Medicare billing practices, including at its doctors offices.

All of this comes as the Trump administration and Congress look to cut federal health spending, a key source of UnitedHealth’s success.

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

Undisclosed communication devices reportedly discovered in Chinese-manufactured solar panels and related equipment have sparked concerns among U.S. officials about the vulnerability of the nation’s power grid, according to a Reuters report. 

These “rogue” devices, found over the past nine months, could potentially destabilize energy infrastructure and trigger widespread blackouts, sources familiar with the matter told the outlet.

The undocumented devices, including cellular radios, were identified in solar power inverters, batteries, electric vehicle chargers, and heat pumps produced by several Chinese suppliers. 

BREAKING:

The U.S. has found Trojan horse communication devices in Chinese-made solar power inverters. They are used to connect solar panels to electricity grids.

The devices could be turned out remotely to destabilize energy grids, potentially leading to massive blackouts like… pic.twitter.com/mShdpVD4oD

U.S. experts uncovered the components during security inspections of renewable energy equipment, prompting a reevaluation of the risks posed by these products. 

Inverters, critical for connecting solar panels and wind turbines to the power grid, are predominantly manufactured in China, amplifying concerns about their security.

“We know that China believes there is value in placing at least some elements of our core infrastructure at risk of destruction or disruption,” said Mike Rogers, former director of the U.S. National Security Agency.

“I think that the Chinese are, in part, hoping that the widespread use of inverters limits the options that the West has to deal with the security issue,” Roger’s further urged.

Experts warn that these rogue devices could bypass firewalls, allowing remote manipulation of inverter settings or even complete shutdowns. 

Such actions could disrupt power grids, damage energy infrastructure, and cause blackouts. 

“That effectively means there is a built-in way to physically destroy the grid,” another source told Reuters.

The discovery adds to long-standing warnings from energy and security experts about the risks of relying on Chinese-made green energy products. 

*  *  *

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Concerns over espionage and sabotage have grown as the U.S. continues to integrate these technologies into its energy systems.

In December 2023, Republican officials, including former Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher and then-Senator Marco Rubio, urged Duke Energy to discontinue using Chinese-manufactured CATL batteries at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, citing surveillance risks. 

“Directly following our inquiry, Duke disconnected the Chinese-manufactured systems from the grid,” Gallagher and Rubio stated in a February 2024 press release. 

“Others that continue to work with CATL, and other companies under the control of the CCP, should take note,” they added.

The Department of Energy (DOE) acknowledged the issue, with a spokesperson telling Reuters that the department continuously assesses risks associated with new technologies. 

“While this functionality may not have malicious intent, it is critical for those procuring to have a full understanding of the capabilities of the products received,” the spokesperson said. 

The DOE is working to strengthen domestic supply chains and improve transparency through initiatives like the “Software Bill of Materials,” which inventories all components in software applications.

A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington rejected the allegations, stating, “We oppose the generalisation [sic] of the concept of national security, distorting and smearing China’s infrastructure achievements.”

*  *  *

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

Authored by Allan Feifer via AmericanThinker.com,

Watching President Trump speaking from Saudi Arabia, I almost felt sorry for a moment for our enemies. They must ponder how to stay relevant as the world seemingly metamorphizes before them, powerless to stop the transformation. In his speech, the President said something so powerful yet unconventional that I had to stop and consider why he was the first leader of our country to say it:

Before our eyes, a new generation of leaders is transcending the ancient conflicts and tired divisions of the past and forging a future where the Middle East is defined by commerce, not chaos; where it exports technology, not terrorism; and where people of different nations, religions, and creeds are building cities together, not bombing each other.

Commerce is a recurring theme for Trump. His detractors miss the significance of exactly why commerce is so central to Trump’s vision of world peace and why he does not believe in “forever” enemies. I admit that Trump’s beliefs are unconventional for many, including myself.

Trump sees Russia, North Korea, China, and a great many nations and people as future participants in a world of commerce. At the same time, Trump views some nations, traditionally considered friends, as potential adversaries and impediments to such a change in posture. It’s a lot to take in.

In essence, Trump’s vision can be seen as a balance between stakeholder interests and dogma. I admit millions of us are heavily invested in dogma, including myself. Dogma is generally thought of as:

• A doctrine or a corpus of doctrines relating to matters such as morality and faith set forth authoritatively by a religion.

• A principle or statement of ideas, or a group of such principles or statements, especially when considered authoritative or uncritically accepted.

• That which is held as an opinion, a tenet, a doctrine.

Trump sees dogma as static thinking that sees us imprisoned in a cage of a single acceptable outcome, based not on logic but on past decision matrices that have worked at one time or another, but are not readily transferable to the current challenges. The world economy is on a path to bankruptcy, with almost no country putting debt management first. We reflexively return to the old solutions rather than look for an entirely new Rosetta Stone.

At American Thinker, Thomas Kolbe wrote:

In the first quarter of this year, global debt surged to a record high of $324 trillion. This milestone becomes significant when compared to global GDP, which currently hovers around $110 trillion. Governments worldwide now owe 100% of GDP -- an alarming reality, as no modern state has ever managed to free itself from the ensuing fiscal bind once this threshold is reached.

That Rosetta Stone is about collective wealth creation versus inevitable death through debt. 

When I am plagued trying to reconcile ambiguities, I frequently fall back on my love of the 18th-century thinker Immanuel Kant, who is most remembered for his work explaining “pure reason,” “practical reason,” and his ideas concerning applying judgment. 

I tend to understand Kant best with these three statements:

1. What we experience and our perceptions are not necessarily reality.

2. The limits of our abilities can be reflected in our choices, which almost always demonstrate the limits of our knowledge.

3. The morality of our actions can only be defined by what can be logically inferred, yet it is imperfect.

The bottom line that extends these three precepts into the here and now is Trump’s new dictum—trade makes right. 

In other words, nations that depend on each other to be wealthy and prosperous rarely fight each other. The old Reagan dictum was “Peace through strength.” Trump would turn that around to “Peace through interdependent trade.”

We have a Scythian choice before us. Keep doing the things that are comfortable and familiar, or do something radically different, even if it may seem risky or untried.

Trump demonstrates that he is not a theoretician by flatly denying Iran access to nuclear weapons. 

This is proof positive that he is not naively foolish. We haven't seen an entirely new approach that promises to change the trajectory of the world economy since the Marshall Plan was implemented immediately after WWII. 

Trump hasn’t named his plan, but the means and objectives are now clearly in sight. We should all wish him success because he is the captain of our Ship of State.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was just recently one of the some 29 heads of state who attended the Victory Day Red Square parade and events in Moscow. He also met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin while in the country.

And now amid plans for 'direct' Russia-Ukraine talks to be held in Istanbul Wednesday, Brazilian media is reporting that Lula is urging Putin to attend in person. 

"It costs me nothing to say, ‘Hey, comrade Putin, go to Istanbul and negotiate, come on'," Lula was quoted as saying by Brazil’s state news agency Agencia Brasil.

Presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Vladimir Putin. Kremlin.ru

But on Wednesday, Kommersant newspaper is reporting that not even Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will take part in the Istanbul talks.

"Speaking to reporters during a visit to China, Lula said he would stop in Moscow on his way back to Brazil in an effort to press Putin to take part in negotiations," another regional source reports.

As for the United States, President Trump is dispatching his two top diplomats, but there are reports they could arrive after main talks are scheduled to happen, while currently they are accompanying Trump in the Gulf:

US President's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will arrive in Istanbul, Türkiye, on Friday, May 16, reports The Guardian.

As the outlet reports, Witkoff told journalists that he and Rubio will head to Istanbul on Friday for talks regarding Russia and Ukraine. He also noted that it remains unclear whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will be present at the planned negotiations.

However, the potential talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul are scheduled for Thursday, May 15.

The Kremlin has since confirmed that it still plans to participate, also as Zelensky is trying to goad Putin into attending in person. Zelensky has said he's ready to be there if Putin is.

And even Trump had days ago said he was "thinking about actually flying over"; however, this is looking increasingly unrealistic. 

Rubio and Witkoff might arrive late, as regional sources are reporting.

Despite some sensational recent headlines and statements, one thing we can be sure will not happen is President Putin's personal presence. There's no reason for him to be there - from a strategic point of view - given Kiev has yet to make any major concessions, and Russian forces are winning on the ground in the east.

And if Moscow is not willing to send Lavrov, it's a clear sign the Kremlin is not approaching the Istanbul meeting as if it will result to much of great consequence or substance.

Authored by James Hunt via TheBlock.co,

Ethereum has lagged behind Bitcoin and alternative Layer 1s throughout this cycle amid a wave of relative bearishness.

And yet, since the crypto market's April lows, ETH has surged nearly 100% - gaining 65% in the last 30 days alone to tap $2,750, back above pre-election levels (and key technical levels). 

So what's driving the move?

Analysts at research and brokerage firm Bernstein, led by Gautam Chhugani, said in a Wednesday note to clients that several narratives have been put forward attempting to explain this performance.

While bitcoin claimed all-time highs, crossing the psychological $100,000 barrier, the ETH/BTC ratio has dropped 45% over the past year as bitcoin dominated store-of-value mindshare amid the success of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds and corporate treasury adoption, while retail flows shifted to faster Layer 1s like Solana, the analysts wrote.

Ethereum, caught between its Layer 2 roadmap and limited ETF traction comparatively, was "stuck somewhere in the middle," they added - neither the best store of value, nor the best blockchain destination for speculative retail trenches.

Stablecoins and tokenization, Layer 2 institutionalization, and an ETH short unwind

However, according to the analysts, the narrative is beginning to change amid a boom in stablecoin and securities tokenization, Layer 2 institutionalization, and an ETH short unwind.

The cycle is expanding beyond store-of-value use cases, they said, with stablecoin payments and tokenized securities gaining real traction. 

Stripe's $1.1 billion acquisition of stablecoin platform Bridge and Meta's recent comments about reigniting its stablecoin venture are helping to bring back a focus on the underlying blockchains, and Ethereum — which holds 51% of the total stablecoin supply — is emerging as the key platform proxy for this growth trend, they added. 

Traditional finance giants like BlackRock and Franklin Templeton are also advancing adoption of a real-world asset tokenization market now valued at over $22 billion, according to RWA.xyz — with Ethereum again dominating deployment.

Secondly, while critics question the value accretion of Layer 2s to ETH, the Bernstein analysts said that with networks like the Coinbase-incubated Base earning revenue of around $84 million last year, Ethereum Layer 2s are taking a growing role in institutional crypto infrastructure. With Robinhood's recent acquisition of WonderFi — which also runs an Ethereum Layer 2 — brokers may soon offer tokenized equities on their own chains, they argued. Since these Layer 2s use ETH for gas and settlement, they help drive Ethereum demand and position it as a leading platform for institutional smart contract adoption, they added.

Finally, the third driver of ETH's recent outperformance is more tactical, in the analysts' view. Over the past 12 to 18 months, crypto hedge funds have often used ETH as a delta-neutral hedge - staying long BTC and SOL while shorting ETH. But as the narrative shifts toward institutional adoption of blockchain and stablecoin payments, and beyond store of value, ETH's role as the underperformer is becoming harder to justify, they said.

As a result, the resurgence of ETH and other non-bitcoin assets is good for crypto exchanges and broker-dealers, they argued, as a broader crypto market rally reinvigorates retail traders, driving stronger volumes.

Authored by Joanthan Turley,

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is about to show the perils of circling a firing squad. In its announcement that it will nullify the election of David Hogg and another Vice Chair, the DNC reminded the public why they have left the Democratic Party. The sudden decision that there were procedural irregularities in the election (after Hogg said that he would target older Democratic incumbents) leaves the DNC looking more like the CCP. 

However, it gets worse.

Hogg caused a controversy by announcing that he will work to primary older Democratic incumbents through his group, Leaders We Deserve, to bring young candidates into the party. The leadership ordered him to retract the pledge or resign. He did neither.

Then, the DNC announced that there were “irregularities” in how he and Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta won two of the three vice chair positions.

The reason? One of the losing candidates, Kalyn Free, filed a complaint during the original election alleging that the DNC failed to follow rules on gender diversity.

If you recall, the Democratic Party was widely mocked over the difficulty of the DNC leadership to explain its convoluted rules for guaranteeing gender and racial diversity. It became a parody of itself.

This is just one of the efforts to explain the rules:

Jamie Harrison eventually had to turn it over to another DNC member who had equal difficulty explaining the gender equality rules and procedures:

HARRISON: “Because of our gender balance provisions on this next ballot, you will be able to vote for two candidates of any gender on the next ballot. OK? So on this next ballot, you will be able to vote for two candidates of any gender on the next ballot. If two candidates receive — I’m going to turn to Helen to clarify this last part.”

UNKNOWN FEMALE: “You are in this next ballot where you have two votes. As the chair has said, you may vote for two males, two females, two of any gender. OK? No, you can’t do that. Because we’ve got to balance. You could vote for one of any gender, OK? Non-binary gender. Excuse me. It is late. OK?”

After she lost, Free filed her complaint. 

It would have been an easy matter to determine if there was an invalid balloting but the DNC moved on…for months.

After Hogg refused to recant or resign, the DNC then issued this procedural excuse to negate the election.

For many, the exercise seemed yet another manipulation by the DNC after it refused to have a real debate over the nomination of Kamala Harris and simply held a coronation at the convention after she failed to secure a single primary vote. Despite spending over $1.2 billion, she lost to Trump.

DNC members rushed forward to insist that this was just a coincidence and had nothing to do with Hogg’s controversy.

However, they then contradicted that claim in comments to the media as Hogg himself said that it was about his campaign to bring in young voters.

One former official told the media, “This is not about David Hogg, despite what he’s saying. It is gender balance…. It’s in the rules that the officers need to be balanced between men and women.” 

However, the same official then added “The full DNC now gets to vote again. If they like what Hogg is doing then that’s great, and he’ll be re-elected. It was disingenuous to not reveal his intentions the first time before they voted. While it has nothing to do with him, it’s an elected position so now we’ll find out if the party supports it or not, which they very well may.”

Another former official insisted that the vote was needed because “either Hogg is wrong and misled members or they think he’s doing the right thing. Either way, it’ll be settled. And he can’t complain. A re-vote is not forcing him out, there are other ways to do that if they chose to.”

I grew up in a liberal Democratic family in Chicago and spent much of my life working for Democratic politicians. It has been astonishing to watch the current Democratic leadership destroy their own party with identity politics and radical agendas.

Yet, this takes the cake. We have not seen such a display since the arrival of the Judean People’s Front Crack Suicide Squad:

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

The U.S. Department of Defense said in a new memorandum that it is halting medical treatments and procedures for troops who identify as transgender and other personnel with gender dysphoria (GD).

“Within the direct care component, meaning at military medical treatment facilities ... Service members and all other covered beneficiaries 19 years of age or older may only receive mental health care and counseling for GD,” Dr. Stephen L. Ferrara, acting assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, said in the memo, which is dated May 9.

“Apart from consults for the diagnosis of GD and provision of mental health care and counseling ... staff will refer all other care (e.g., cross-sex hormone therapy) for GD to the private sector.”

The Pentagon did not return a request for comment by publication time.

GD refers to when a person believes they’re a gender that’s different from their sex.

President Donald Trump, after taking office in January, said in an order that “expressing a false ‘gender identity’ divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service.”

Defense officials later said that all troops with a history of GD would be discharged, with limited exceptions. That process was paused after court rulings against the policy. The Supreme Court on May 6 stayed those rulings, enabling officials to resume the process.

Officials said on May 8 that they were discharging about 1,000 troops who identify as transgender or otherwise have GD.

Ferrara said in the new memo, which was sent to the director of the Defense Health Agency and assistant secretaries at the Army, Navy, and Air Force, that he was providing fresh guidance in light of the Supreme Court ruling.

That includes emphasizing that military doctors are not to perform any surgeries that would aid in gender transition, such as breast removal.

Ferrara also said that all unscheduled, scheduled, and planned surgical procedures “associated with facilitating sex reassignment for Service members diagnosed with GD” are now canceled, as are any previously approved waivers for the surgeries. 

Ferrara said his office would accept waiver requests for care deemed medically necessary to address surgical complications.

The military is allowing troops with GD who have been receiving cross-sex hormones to keep receiving them until they are separated, if a health care provider recommends that path “in order to prevent further complications.”

The Department of Defense, though, will no longer pay for newly initiated cross-sex hormones, according to the memo, as ordered by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

Health officials are poised to make an announcement on COVID-19 vaccines, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said.

“That is something that’s being discussed right now,” Dr. Marty Makary, the commissioner, said in an interview, released on May 12, after being asked by political activist Charlie Kirk about whether COVID-19 vaccines will remain on the childhood vaccination schedule.

“I think you’re going to see some announcement on that in the coming weeks, but I know they are trying to review all of the scientific data.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services, which maintains the schedule, did not respond to a request for comment.

Makary told Kirk that there’s no evidence available at this time that supports giving healthy children additional COVID-19 vaccine doses.

“That evidence does not exist, and so we’re not going to rubberstamp things at the FDA,” he said. 

“I don’t think you’re going to see the CDC pushing COVID shots in young, healthy children.”

The FDA commissioner, who expressed concern before joining the agency about vaccinating children, noted that there is no data from randomized, controlled trials for the COVID-19 vaccines that are currently available. The regulatory agency cleared the vaccines from Moderna, Pfizer, and Novavax in 2024, pointing to animal testing and data from previous versions of the shots.

“There’s no good randomized control data that the current version, the latest formulation, of the COVID shot, is necessary for young, healthy children. Other leading countries in Europe have recommended against it,” Makary said. 

“So I think you’re going to hear something forthcoming.”

The CDC, in 2023, added the COVID-19 vaccines to the vaccination schedule, following a recommendation from its vaccine advisory panel.

The same panel said in April that it is leaning toward narrowing the current universal recommendation for COVID-19 vaccination. In the same meeting, officials noted that the United Kingdom and Australia are among the countries that do not recommend COVID-19 vaccine boosters for healthy children.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that same month that officials were considering removing the COVID-19 vaccines from the schedule. Makary has said he would support that move.

The CDC, which has an acting director at present, has not commented on the prospect of the schedule being adjusted.

The American Academy of Pediatrics is among the organizations that support the current COVID-19 vaccine recommendations. The group says on its site that the vaccines are safe and effective.

The FDA is set to meet with its vaccine advisers on May 22 to discuss selecting updates to the COVID-19 vaccines, with Novavax saying it plans to participate in the meeting. Pfizer and Moderna have not responded to queries.

Oil prices are marginally lower this morning after four straight sessions of gains driven by tariff optimism, following a bigger than expected build in crude stocks reported by API overnight.

The rise in stocks comes as OPEC+ readies to add another 411,000 barrel per day tranche of supply to the market as it unwinds 2.2-million barrels per day of voluntary production cuts. The new supply is likely to check prices as Saudi Arabia looks to regain market share and respond to a U.S. call for lower prices, even as U.S. President Donald Trump began the first presidential trip of his current term with a visit to Riyadh on Tuesday.

"While OPEC officials maintain that the US played no role in the decision to accelerate the phase -in of the voluntary barrels, the oil price environment has provided a beneficial backdrop to the Presidential visit from the Washington standpoint, Helima Croft, Head of Global Commodity Strategy and MENA Research at RBC Capital Markets, said in a note.

All eyes now on the official data for confirmation of builds...

API

• Crude +4.29mm

• Cushing -850k

• Gasoline -1.37mm

• Distillates -3.68mm

DOE

• Crude +3.45mm

• Cushing -1.07mm

• Gasoline -1.02mm

• Distillates -3.16mm

The official data echoe API's report with a sizable crude build but draws at the Cushing Hub and in products...

Source: Bloomberg

In a week when the Trump administration proposes a major bill to refill the SPR, total crude stocks rose around 4mm barrels (including 528k barrels to the SPR)...

Source: Bloomberg

US crude production rose very modestly last week but along with the rig count is basically unchanged since President Trump's election...

Source: Bloomberg

OPEC released its May Monthly Oil Market Report on Wednesday, sticking with its forecast for 2025 demand growth of 1.3-million barrels per day, higher last week's estimate from the Energy Information Administration for demand growth of one-million bpd this year. 

The International Energy Agency will release its monthly outlook on Thursday.

The cartel also lowered its estimate from production growth for countries outside of OPEC+ by 100,000 bpd to 0.8-million bpd.

WTI is rallying back from overnight weakness...

Finally, the question many are asking is when will see prices at the pump lower as Refineries are expected to keep ramping up ahead of the summer, allowing nationwide crude processing rates to remain at the highest seasonal level since 2019.

...and along with those lower prices, lower inflation.

US equity futures are modestly in the green with tech/AI stocks leading and small caps lagging as equities may see some profit-taking given the relentless strength of the rally. Stocks has now erased their YTD losses, and the recovery pace of the past 6 weeks is the fastest since the 1980s. As of 8:00am ET, S&P futures are up 0.2%, near session highs after reversing earlier losses; Nasdaq futures gain 0.4% with chips higher on new deals being made by Trump in the Middle East regarding chips/AI infra build. Pre-mkt, NVDA/TSLA are higher with the rest of Mag7 mixed but Semis are higher though other Cyclicals are slightly weaker. AI theme is higher, too. The yield curve is twisting steeper as USD strength fizzles sparked by concerns Trump may turn to dollar strength next (following overnight Bloomberg report there was discussion between US and SKorea on dollar strength). Commodities are lower as Energy sells off, and gold is flat around $3220. The macro data focus is on mortgage applications (up 1.1%) and XHB is +5% over the last two days.

In premarket trading, magnificent seven stocks are mixed: Nvidia leads gainers as the semiconductor giant is on track to extend gains after a deal to supply chips to Saudi Arabian AI company Humain for a massive data center project (Nvidia +3%, Tesla +2%, Alphabet +0.6%, Meta +0.7%, Amazon +0.2%, Apple -0.3%, Microsoft -0.3%).  Super Micro Computer (SMCI) rises 14%, set to extend Tuesday’s 16% rally, after Saudi Arabia-based data center company DataVolt signs a multi-year partnership agreement with the beleaguered US company. Here are some other notable premarket movers:

• American Eagle (AEO) slumps 12% after the retailer withdrew its fiscal year 2025 guidance due to macroeconomic uncertainty.
• Aurora Innovation (AUR) plunges 18% after Uber, a leading backer, said it plans to sell $1 billion of senior notes exchangeable into shares of the self-driving technology developer.
• Cboe Global Markets Inc. (CBOE) slips 1.5% after Morgan Stanley double downgraded the stock, recommending lower defensives exposure on the back of greater than expected tariff de-escalation between China and the US.
• Dynatrace (DT) rises 3% after the analytics platform company forecast 1Q revenue that beat the average analyst estimate.
• Exelixis (EXEL) climbs 4% after the maker of cancer drug Cabometyx raised its projection for revenue this year.
• Grail Inc. (GRAL) tumbles 13% after the cancer-detection firm posted 1Q revenue that fell short of expectations.
• KKR (KKR) rises 1.8% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the private equity firm to overweight, recommending it as a way to play the anticipated capital markets recovery.
• Nu Holdings Ltd. (NU) slips 2% after the company posted 1Q results that showed higher spending to attract new clients and protect against potential bad loans.
• Septerna (SEPN) soars 62% after the biotech said it’s partnering with Novo Nordisk A/S on the development of oral pills for obesity and type-2 diabetes.

After the recent faceripping rally left the S&P 500 flat for the year, Wall Street strategists - who were skeptical stocks would rebound at all - are now skeptical about how much further stocks can run. Goldman Sachs strategist Peter Oppenheimer warned that equities remain vulnerable if deteriorating economic data reignites recession worries.

“Investors got very bearish in April, missed the market rebound and then were forced to chase it,” said Lilian Chovin, head of asset allocation at Coutts & Co. With focus shifting to the impact of tariffs, he’s using the rebound to take some profit and reduce his equities overweight.

After its recent rally, the dollar weakened 0.4% after Bloomberg reported that the US and South Korea discussed their currency policies in early May, fueling speculation President Donald Trump’s administration is open to a weaker greenback. The won jumped more than 1% and neighboring currencies, including the Japanese yen, also rose against the dollar. 

Investors took news of the talks between South Korea and the US as reason to suspect foreign governments may accept strength in their exchange rates to smooth the way to trade deals with the US. Trump and other administration officials have argued weakness in Asian currencies versus the dollar have handed an unfair advantage for regional exporters over US rivals.

In Europe, the Stoxx 600 dipped 0.2% as stocks paused for breath after the rally spurred by trade optimism. Insurance, utility and telecoms stocks outperform, while autos and consumer products lag. Among individual stocks, Burberry surges after the luxury group’s fourth-quarter retail sales beat estimates and the company announced plans to cut almost a fifth of its workforce.  Shares in tour operator TUI slide after summer bookings showed a negative inflection. Here are some of the more notable movers:

• Burberry shares rise as much as 9.9% after the British luxury group’s 4Q retail sales beat estimates, sparking hopes among analysts that the company is seeing the early signs of a turnaround.
• EON shares advance as much as 1.6% after the German utility reported strong first-quarter figures, with analysts saying consensus estimates are likely to rise after the report.
• ABN Amro shares outperform as the lender reports a 1Q profit that was bigger than expected, while strong capital fueled share buyback optimism. Lending revenue was disappointing, RBC analysts said.
• Imperial Brands shares drop as much as 8.3%. The tobacco firm’s earnings missed expectations amid declines in volumes and its CEO’s decision to retire caught investors off-guard.
• FLSmidth shares gain as much as 13% to a two-month high after posting a “whopping” 24% beat on first-quarter adjusted Ebitda, according to Jefferies.
• Compass shares fall as much 4.8% as organic growth at the catering firm is slightly below some estimates, with some concern over North America revenue. Panmure Liberum questions the current valuation.
• TUI shares slide as much as 11%, most in three months, after the tour and travel operator signaled a negative bookings inflection for the key summer season.
• Experian shares fall as much as 1.8% after the UK credit and marketing firm reported in-line earnings and offered organic revenue guidance slightly below expectations.
• Alcon shares slide as much as 9.5%, the most since March 2020, after first-quarter results from the Swiss eyecare firm missed estimates across the board.
• Alstom shares slump as much as 17% after the French transport system company’s earnings. Morgan Stanley says the quarterly print is ahead “but the softer guidance will likely be the focus.”
• InPost shares drop as much as 8.3% after the parcel locker operator guided for softer volumes in Poland in 2Q.
• Spirax shares fall as much as 5.6% after a first-quarter update from the UK engineering services firm that Morgan Stanley says contained both positives and negatives.

Earlier in the session, Asian stocks rose, on track for a fourth-straight session of gains, as Chinese tech firms climbed ahead of earnings announcements.  The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced as much as 1.1%, with Tencent and Alibaba among the biggest boosts. Chipmakers TSMC and SK Hynix also drove gains, following US peers higher after news that Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices will supply semiconductors for a large Saudi Arabian data-center project. Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan and Indonesia led gains in the region. Japanese stocks bucked the trend, with the benchmark Topix snapping a 13-day win streak, as worries about the nation’s continued lack of a tariff deal with the US and weak earnings from the auto sector drove profit-taking. Traders are looking to China’s tech earnings as another possible catalyst for stocks after this week’s US-China tariff cuts. The results could provide clues on whether the sector’s artificial intelligence-driven rally is back on track, which may offset lingering doubts over the potential for final deals between US and its trading partners.

In FX, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index is down 0.5% as the greenback falls across the board after Bloomberg reported the US and South Korea discussed their currency policies in early May and agreed to continue talks, according to a person familiar with the matter. The South Korean won rises 1.7%. The Japanese yen is the best performing G-10 currency with a 1.1% gain.

In rates, the 10-year Treasury yields are higher by 1basis point at 4.48%, reversing an earlier drop. US 2- to 10-year yields are 1bp-2bp cheaper on the day led by the 5-year, with long-end little changed, steepening 5s30s by about 1bp. UK gilts lag Treasuries slightly after an auction of 10-year debt.

In commodities, WTI drops 1% to $63 a barrel. Spot gold falls $20 to around $3,230/oz. Bitcoin falls over 1% toward $103,000.

The US economic data slate is blank; scheduled Fed speakers include Jefferson (9:10am) and Daly (5:40pm)

Market Snapshot

• S&P 500 mini +0.2% 
• Nasdaq 100 0.4% 
• Russell 2000 mini -0.1%
• Stoxx Europe 600 -0.4%
• DAX -0.6%
• CAC 40 -0.7%
• 10-year Treasury yield little changed at 4.46%
• VIX +0.1 points at 18.34
• Bloomberg Dollar Index -0.5% at 1224.7
• euro +0.7% at $1.1259
• WTI crude -0.8% at $63.18/barrel

Top Overnight News

• House Republicans may reach a SALT deduction compromise today, House Speaker Mike Johnson said. A proposal is being debated to increasing the cap to $30,000 from $10,000. BBG
• Trump’s tariff policies are projected to cut California’s tax revenue by $16 billion in the next fiscal year, Governor Gavin Newsom’s finance department said. BBG
• Qatar Airways is set to announce that it secured an agreement to purchase 150 aircraft from Boeing while President Trump is in Doha on Wednesday, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to NewsNation. The Hill
• China criticizes the US-UK trade deal, warning that Washington shouldn’t pursue agreements that isolate Beijing. FT
• Companies expected to rush inventory to the US from China ahead of the holidays to capitalize on the 90-day détente between the two countries. FT
• Japan’s PPI slowed more than expected to 0.2% in April. BBG
• Trade talks between India and the US are progressing smoothly, with the first tranche of a deal expected by fall, according to people familiar with the discussions. However, it’s unclear if India can secure an interim deal by early July, when Trump’s reciprocal tariffs are expected to kick in. BBG
• Joachim Nagel said markets were close to a meltdown after last month’s US trade announcements. The ECB’s Governing Council member said he couldn’t see how raising barriers to free trade would produce positive outcomes for the US. BBG
• The BOE’s Catherine Mann told CNBC she flipped her vote from a bumper interest-rate cut to a pause because sharp moves on markets had lowered borrowing costs and provided enough easing of financial conditions. BBG
• Fed's Goolsbee (2025 Voter) says some part of April inflation represents the lagged nature of data and the Fed is still holding its breath. It will take time for current inflation trends to show up in data. Right now is a time for the Fed to wait for more information and try get past the noise in the data. Cannot jump to conclusions about long-term trends given all the short term volatility.

Tariffs/Trade

• White House economic adviser Hassett said the administration has more than 20-25 deals on the table with deals close to being finalised and when President Trump returns, he will announce the next deal, according to a Fox interview.
• US-China trade ceasefire is to drive early Black Friday and Christmas stockpiling with ports and shipping companies expecting a surge in demand as retailers take advantage of lower tariffs on Chinese imports, according to the FT.
• China criticised a trade deal between the UK and US that could be used to squeeze Chinese products out of British supply chains, according to the FT.
• Mexico's Economy Minister said they hope to start the USMCA review as soon as possible to give consumers and investors clarity.

Top Overnight News

• White House economic adviser Hassett said the administration has more than 20-25 deals on the table with deals close to being finalised and when President Trump returns, he will announce the next deal, according to a Fox interview.
• US-China trade ceasefire is to drive early Black Friday and Christmas stockpiling with ports and shipping companies expecting a surge in demand as retailers take advantage of lower tariffs on Chinese imports, according to the FT.
• China criticised a trade deal between the UK and US that could be used to squeeze Chinese products out of British supply chains, according to the FT.
• Mexico's Economy Minister said they hope to start the USMCA review as soon as possible to give consumers and investors clarity.

A more detailed look at global markets courtesy of Newsquawk

APAC stocks traded somewhat mixed but with the region predominantly in the green following the momentum from the constructive performance on Wall St, where most major indices closed higher in the aftermath of the softer-than-expected US CPI data, although demand was contained overnight amid a lack of fresh major catalysts and as participants digested earnings releases. ASX 200 lacked firm direction as strength in energy and tech was counterbalanced by weakness in utilities and consumer stocks, while financials were rangebound despite Australia's largest bank CBA reporting an increase in profits. Nikkei 225 wiped out opening gains and briefly reverted to a sub-38,000 level with the list of worst performers in the index dominated by companies that had just reported earnings results. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp gained amid strength in Chinese healthcare stocks and tech names leading the upside in Hong Kong ahead of Tencent and Alibaba earnings results scheduled for today and tomorrow, respectively, while the upside in the mainland was limited amid a lack of major fresh catalysts.

Top Asian News

• South Korea is preparing support measures for small and medium-sized firms expected to be hit by tariffs, according to Reuters citing the government.
• CATL (300750 CH/3750 HK) is reportedly to set a price of HKD 263/shr for its upcoming Hong Kong listing, via Reuters citing sources; to increase the HK listing size by 17.7mln shares.
• Foxconn (2317 TW) Q1 (TWD): net 42.12bln (exp. 37.9bln); operating 46.5bln (exp. 46.3bln), revenue 1.64tln (exp. 1.65tln); expects 2025 revenue to see significant growth Y/Y (prev. exp. to grow "strongly").
• Tencent (700 HK) Q1 (CNH) Revenue 180.02bln (exp. 175.6bln), Op. Profit 57.57bln (exp. 59.2bln), Adj. Net Income 61.33bln (exp. 59.68bln).

European bourses (STOXX 600 -0.2%) opened modestly mixed and on either side of the unchanged mark; since, the risk tone has deteriorated to display a mostly negative picture in Europe. European sectors opened mixed and with no clear theme or bias, and with the breadth of the market fairly narrow. Real Estate takes the top spot, joined closely by Telecoms and then Utilities to complete the top three. Autos sit towards the foot of the pile, driven by post-earning weakness in Daimler Truck (-1.1%). US equity futures are flat/modestly lower, attempting to hold onto the gains seen yesterday, strength which was in-part spurred by the plethora of deals announced/reported on during the Saudi event. Barclays raises its 2025 year-end price target for STOXX 600 to 540 (prev. 490, currently 545.09). Barclays European Equity Strategy downgrades Consumer Staples to Underweight; upgrades Consumer Discretionary  to Market Weight (prev. Underweight). Goldman Sachs lifts its Stoxx 600 target for the next 12-months to 570 (prev. 520).

Top European News

• BoE's Mann says the UK labour market has been more resilient than expected. Worried that household inflation expectations have increased. Need to see a loss of pricing power by firms, however, goods price inflation is increasing. Trade aversion will result in lower global good prices. Firms will look for the opportunity to rebuild their margins. "Dollar is still king".
• BoE's Breeden: "A macro-prudential approach to the supervision of CCPs is essential given their central role in the financial system".
• ECB's Nagel says there is a good probability the inflation target will be maintained; current uncertainty will be the new "normal", central banks have to get used to manage it Very supportive of the new (German) fiscal debt brake, however, it is clear that Germany will need to return to fiscal rules in the future. USD is very important, but the EUR's role will become stronger as a reserve currency in the next few years.
• Hapag Lloyd (HLAG GY) CEO says they have seen an increase in orders for China-US shipments by more than 50% W/W; demand is considerably higher compared with the time before US tariffs.

FX

• DXY began the European session on a modestly weaker footing, continuing to pare back some of the US-China induced upside. As the session progressed, some hefty Dollar pressure was seen, as the risk tone deteriorated and with some traders pointing towards a technical driven move. Some focus may also be on Deputy Finance Minister Choi's meeting with Kaproth of the US Treasury on May 5th to discuss FX. DXY currently towards the lower end of a 100.28-101.02 range. Data docket ahead is thin, focus will be on commentary from Fed Vice Chair Jefferson and Fed's Daly (2027 voter) - do note that in prepared remarks from Waller, he did not comment on monetary policy.
• EUR is on a firmer footing, largely benefiting from the broader Dollar weakness, rather than any EZ-specific updates, which have been lacking in today’s session. To recap, Spanish and German Final inflation figures were unrevised. Elsewhere, ECB's Nagel said "there is a good probability the inflation target will be maintained; current uncertainty will be the new "normal", central banks have to get used to manage it" - remarks which had little impact on the pair. The Single Currency has made a fresh WTD high at 1.1264.
• JPY is the best-performing G10 currency thus far; early morning strength was thanks to the broadly softer US yield environment, and with some modest deterioration in the risk tone (leading to broader Dollar weakness) USD/JPY managed to dip back below the 147.00 mark to a fresh low at 145.76, taking out the 50 DMA at 146.18.
• GBP is modestly firmer vs the broadly weaker Dollar, but is a little weaker vs EUR. Today has seen a few appearances from BoE members; starting with arch-hawk Mann, she noted that “UK labour market has been more resilient than expected. Worried that household inflation expectations have increased”. Elsewhere, Breeden released a text publication, but that focused more on supervision matters rather than on monetary policy. There was little price action sparked by both members.
• Antipodeans are modestly firmer vs the weaker Dollar; AUD/USD currently trading at the upper-end of a 0.6464-0.65 range; NZD/USD in a 0.5931-0.5968 parameter.
• PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.1956 vs exp. 7.1813 (Prev. 7.1991)

Fixed Income

• A similar setup to Tuesday morning as USTs find themselves marginally in the green while peers across the pond are a touch in the red. USTs find themselves at the upper-end of a very thin 110-01 to 110-09 band. Fed's Waller did not comment on monetary policy in prepared remarks; next up, Jefferson and Daly.
• Bunds are in-fitting with action at this time on Tuesday, a touch softer in narrow parameters with specifics for the bloc fairly light. No move to a handful of final data points from Germany and Spain. Elsewhere, ECB's Nagel said "there is a good probability the inflation target will be maintained; current uncertainty will be the new "normal", central banks have to get used to manage it" - remarks which had little impact on the pair. Some modest upside was seen as the risk tone was hit a little in European trade and currently trades in a 129.29-59 band. Some modest upside was seen following a well received Bund auction.
• Again, echoes of the dynamic on Tuesday as Gilts find themselves the modest fixed underperformer. Specifics for the UK are a touch light, remarks from BoE’s Breeden this morning largely stayed clear of monetary policy. Before Breeden, “activist” Mann was on the wires and expressed concern that the labour market has been more resilient than forecast and that household inflation expectations have increased; overall, her commentary was hawkish and may be factoring into the bearish bias for Gilts, but nothing overly surprising from the dissenter.
• UK to sell GBP 4.25bln 4.50% 2035 Gilt: b/c 3.13x (prev. 2.85x), average yield 4.673% (prev. 4.638%) & tail 0.3bps (prev. 0.4bps).
• Germany sells EUR 1.313bln vs exp. EUR 1.5bln 1.25% 2048 Bund and EUR 0.818 vs exp. EUR 1bln 2.50% 2054 Bund.

Commodities

• The crude complex is failing to benefit from the weaker dollar, as it gives back a little of Tuesday’s strength with today’s focus on US President Trump in Riyadh, where commentary has weighed on benchmarks, currently down by around USD 0.40/bbl on the day. Crude edged lower this morning amid constructive language regarding the Middle East from the US President, who announced the lifting of sanctions on Syria, expressed interest in normalizing relations, and emphasized a vision for a peaceful and prosperous region. WTI and Brent are just above session lows, in respective USD 62.86-63.68 and 65.82-66.59/bbl ranges.
• OPEC MOMR will be released at 13:00 BST (08:00 EDT).
• Spot Gold, like Crude, is failing to benefit from the weaker dollar, which sees the Dollar index lower by 0.4%. While pressured, the benchmark is in a thin c. USD 30/oz band and one that is essentially a repeat of the confines from Tuesday.
• Copper is modestly firmer, and trading at session highs as base metals are broadly benefitting from Dollar weakness. 3M LME Copper currently in a USD 9,562.6-9,638.45/t range.
• US Private Inventory Data (bbls): Crude +4.3mln (exp. -1.1mln), Distillate -3.7mln (exp. 0.1mln), Gasoline -1.4mln (exp. -0.6mln), Cushing -0.9mln.

Geopolitics: Middle East

• Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said they have made it clear that no agreement will be reached with the US without concrete guarantees, according to Iran International. It was also reported that Iran is to hold talks with European parties on Friday in Istanbul, according to European and Iranian sources cited by Reuters.
• Israel's military said it identified the launch of a missile towards Israeli territory from Yemen which was intercepted.
• Jordanian army said a rocket of unknown origin landed in a desert area in the Ma'an, according to a source via X.
• US President Trump is meeting Syrian President al-Sharaa, via AP.
• US President Trump says the US wants to do a deal with Iran. Reiterates that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. Lifting sanctions on Syria. Exploring normalising relations with them. Wants a peaceful and prosperous Middle East. Special relationship with Saudi Arabia.
• Syria's President told US President Trump that they are inviting US firms to invest in Syria's oil and gas sector.

Geopolitics: Other

• Senior Russian Lawmaker says the makeup of the Russian delegation to Istanbul for the Ukraine talks will be known on Wednesday evening, via Telegram
• China's Defence Minister met with the UN Secretary General on Tuesday and said that China will put forward new peacekeeping commitments, while China will support the reform and transformation of UN peacekeeping. Furthermore, the Minister said China is always a staunch supporter and constructive force for UN peacekeeping operations, according to Xinhua.

US Event Calendar

• 7:00 am: May 9 MBA Mortgage Applications, prior 11%

Central Banks (All Times ET):

• 5:00 am: Fed’s Goolsbee Appears on NPR
• 5:15 am: Fed’s Waller Speaks on Central Bank Research
• 9:10 am: Fed’s Jefferson Speaks on Economic Outlook
• 5:40 pm: Fed’s Daly Speaks in Fireside Chat

DB's Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap

It's been another 24 hours where the Trump administration continues to hog the headlines. With the President in the Middle East, various stories on AI supported a huge tech-led rally, which helped the S&P 500 (+0.72%) move back into positive territory for the year. That got a further boost thanks to a softer-than-expected CPI print (the third in a row), and it now means the index is now up +18.1% since the low on April 8. Indeed, the last time the index surged that fast in just over a month was back in April 2020, when markets were roaring back from the initial Covid slump. In the meantime, several other post-Liberation Day moves unwound further, with the VIX closing at 18.22pts, whilst US HY spreads (-6bps) fell to 299bps.

The Nasdaq (+1.61%) and the Mag-7 (+2.24%) led the gains yesterday, elevated by Nvidia’s +5.63% rise on the news they’d help build Saudi Arabia’s AI infrastructure, as part of an Economic Partnership that President Trump struck with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman yesterday. The White House framed the deal as a $600bn investment commitment from Saudi Arabia, while Trump and MBS touted a pledge of $1trn in commercial deals. The deal includes a $142bn defense agreement between the US and Saudi as well as tech firms like Google, Oracle and AMD pledging to invest $80bn in tech across both countries. So it was another win for tech stocks which helped push the S&P 500 +0.72% higher.

Trump’s visit is the first of a four-day trip to the Middle East, as the President seeks to form a series of financial deals with Qatar and the UAE. He's clearly in a mood to do deals so watch out for more on his trip. In fact, Bloomberg reported yesterday that the administration is weighing a deal that would allow the UAE to import 500k of Nvidia’s advanced chips annually, far exceeding limits for AI chip exports set under Biden. Meanwhile on trade, NEC Director Kevin Hassett suggested that Trump will announce the next trade deal upon his return to the US, and there were more than 20-25 deals on the table.

The ongoing rally was also helped by the US April CPI report, which came out weaker than predicted, with monthly headline and core CPI each up +0.2% (vs. +0.3% expected for both). From a market point of view, the main relief was also that tariffs weren’t showing up in a major way in consumer prices, even though April included the 10% universal baseline tariffs, and much higher tariffs on China. Admittedly, there were some categories likely showing tariff-related jumps, like an +8.8% monthly rise for audio equipment, but the broad impact was muted. And in turn, the year-on-year CPI rate fell to just +2.3%, which is the weakest since February 2021. Our US economists think the April data is still too early for the Liberation Day tariffs to show up in the aggregate numbers, and they don’t expect the effects to show up in consumer prices until June.

When it comes to the Fed, markets continued to dial back their expectations for cuts this year, but that was driven by the broader risk-on tone and lower recession fears, rather than the soft inflation print. So by the close, futures were only expecting 53bps of cuts by the December meeting, which was -3.2bps lower on the day, and the fewer cuts priced for this year since February. President Trump continued to call for lower rates, saying in a post that “THE FED must lower the RATE, like Europe and China have done.” Looking forward, our US economists will be watching tomorrow’s PPI data closely for categories that feed through into core PCE, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge. They now see April core PCE tracking at +0.23% m/m, which would be consistent with the year-over-year rate remaining at 2.6%. See their full CPI reaction note here.

As investors dialled back their pricing of Fed cuts, that in turn helped to bring down front-end Treasury yields, with the 2yr yield falling -1.0bps on the day to 4.00%. By the close, the 10yr yield was also down -0.6bps to 4.47%, but the 30yr yield moved up +0.1bps to its highest closing level since January, at 4.91%. That’s still beneath the intraday peak above 5% just before the 90-day tariff extension, but still up from 4.68% at the end of April.

Back in Europe, markets posted moderate gains, with the STOXX 600 (+0.12%), DAX (+0.31%) and CAC (+0.30%) all moving higher. For the DAX it marked a new all-time high, with the index now up almost +19% YTD, so still well ahead of the S&P 500 which has only just turned positive for 2025 again. The gains came as Germany’s ZEW survey for May was stronger than expected, with the expectations component up to +25.2 (vs +11.3 expected) reaffirming a more bullish sentiment for the country’s economy. Against that backdrop, 10yr bund yields inched up +3.1bps to 2.68%, and sovereign spreads continued to tighten amidst the risk-on mood. For instance, the 10yr Italian spread over bunds tightened to just 102bps, the lowest since 2021.

Meanwhile in the UK, there were signs of an ongoing loosening in the labour market, with the unemployment rate ticking up a tenth to 4.5%, whilst wage growth in March softened to +5.5% year-on-year, the weakest since October. The news helped 2yr gilts to outperform yesterday, falling -2.0bps to 3.97%, unlike 2yr German yields which moved up +1.2bps.
In the commodity space, oil prices moved higher as Trump threatened to ramp up sanctions against Iranian oil if a nuclear deal weren’t reached, and Brent crude rose +2.57% to $66.63/bbl. The likes of gold (+0.43%) and copper (+2.25%) also advanced, in part helped a new decline in the dollar index (-0.77%), which retreated after posting its best day since Trump’s election win on Monday.

Overnight, markets have generally held on to their gains, with futures on the S&P 500 up +0.08%. Similarly in Asia, most of the major equity indices have moved higher as well, with a strong gain for the Hang Seng (+1.43%) and the KOSPI (+1.18%), alongside advances for the CSI 300 (+0.27%), the Shanghai Comp (+0.19%). The one exception to that has been Japanese equities however, with the Nikkei down -0.42%, whilst the TOPIX (-0.64%) has lost ground after advancing for 13 consecutive sessions. Otherwise this morning, data showed Japan’s PPI inflation coming in at +4.0% in April as expected, whilst Australia’s Q1 wage index was a bit stronger than anticipated, up +0.9% quarter-on-quarter (vs. +0.8% expected), and yields on 10yr Australian government bonds are up +4.1bps this morning.

To the day ahead now, data releases include Canada March building permits. For Central Bank speakers, expect Fed’s Waller, Jefferson and Daly speak, ECB’s Nagel and Holzmann speak, and BOE’s Breeden speak. Earning releases include Tencent, Cisco, Sony, and Coreweave.

Burberry's earnings report, released Wednesday, indicates modest but encouraging progress in its strategic turnaround. One Wall Street analyst remarked that the iconic British trench-coat maker is "showing signs of life," with early traction visible in brand repositioning efforts. While demand remains soft in key markets like China and the U.S., operational improvements suggest the brand may be approaching an inflection point that deserves investors' attention. 

Despite a year-over-year decline in revenue and profitability, Burberry delivered several above-consensus results, including sales that fell less than expected in the fourth quarter, while its full-year operating profit and margin beat Bloomberg Consensus estimates. Mainland China and the U.S. remain weak spots for demand. 

The results suggest the worst may be behind, and with improved execution, Burberry could be at the start of a recovery phase... 

Fourth-Quarter Results:

Retail comparable sales fell 6%, better than expectations of -7.78% (Bloomberg Consensus) 

• Asia Pacific: -9% vs. -10.5% est.
• Mainland China: -8% vs. -9.5% est.
• EMEIA (Europe, Middle East, India, Africa): -4% vs. -5.53% est.
• Americas: -4% vs. -2.76% est. (slightly worse than expected)

Full-Year Results:

Adjusted pretax loss of £37M vs. £44.8M loss expected (better than forecast).

Retail comparable sales -12%, estimate -13.1%

Revenue matched expectations at £2.46B, but fell 17% y/y.

• Retail sales: -14% y/y; slightly ahead of consensus.
• Wholesale: -37% y/y; in line with estimates.
• Licensing: +6.5% y/y; beat expectations.

Adjusted operating profit: £26M vs. £4.65M est. (significant beat, though down 94% y/y).

Adjusted operating margin: 1% vs. 0.25% est. (down from 14.1% y/y).

Adjusted EPS: loss of 14.8p vs. loss of 10.4p est.

No dividend declared (0p, as expected).

CEO Joshua Schulman, who joined the company last July, recently unveiled 'Burberry Forward' to revive the faltering brand and boost popularity for its outerwear products and expensive trench coats.

Schulman expanded his turnaround strategy today with a plan to deliver $80 million in cost savings over the next two years, driven partly by a workforce reduction of 1,700 jobs—approximately 18% of total headcount. The move comes amid a broader global slowdown in luxury demand as the company looks to streamline operations and protect margins.

In markets, Burberry shares in London jumped 15% during the cash session. For the week, up nearly 24% - and if gains hold through Friday, this could be the company's best weekly stock performance since the first week of April 2009.

Shares are trading at 2010 lows...

Analyst commentary on the earnings report was mostly positive but cautious. 

Goldman analyst Louise Singlehurst and Adrien Duverger provided clients earlier with their first take on the report:

GS View: We think performance in 2H25, and the focus on strong cost control, demonstrates the pace of execution at Burberry. Despite the tough environment, we note that inventory was -7% cFX (ahead of guidance of broadly at least flat) which we also expect reflects that Q4 trading was ahead of company expectations. The key is the additional cost savings target: we see as this as providing increased confidence for investors on the recovery in EBIT, whilst enabling Burberry to invest in the brand's re-acceleration. We note that post FY25 adjusted EBIT of £26m, Visible Alpha Consensus Data adj EBIT for FY26 is at £138m (GSE £125m). We remain Neutral.

Additional commentary from other Wall Street desks (courtesy of Bloomberg):

Deutsche Bank (buy)

• Burberry is showing further progress on its brand turnaround, says analyst Adam Cochrane; an improvement in sales will be the key factor for investors over the next 12 months
• Outerwear and scarves were better than average, while leather goods were weaker

Jefferies (underperform)

• Burberry's results suggest the brand's turnaround case is in slow-burn mode, writes analyst James Grzinic, given fourth- quarter sales momentum has not built on the third-quarter sequential improvement
• Reference to a toughening backdrop and a back-end loading to this year's delivery implies a mixed start to the new year on the sales front

Citi (buy)

• Burberry is coming "back to life," writes analyst Thomas Chauvet, with the company's robust strategic plan set to unlock value in the medium term
• Patience is needed, but the potential rewards now outweigh the risks

RBC Capital Markets (outperform)

• Burberry's results are "an encouraging first step," says analyst Piral Dadhania, with management pursuing the right strategy to reset the business
• This should, in time, support a return to positive revenue and profit growth

Bernstein (outperform)

• Burberry's earnings look like a small beat on low expectations, writes analyst Luca Solca, which the market will take as an "encouraging sign"
• However, the new Burberry is yet to appear, given the new CEO arrived just before the SS25 fashion show

. . . 

Authored by Alex O'Donnell via CoinTelgraph.com,

Emerging technologies, including quantum computing, could potentially render the cryptography securing Bitcoin and other blockchain networks ineffective, asset manager BlackRock said in a regulatory filing. 

On May 9, BlackRock updated the registration statement for its iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT). The revised version addressed potential risks to the integrity of the Bitcoin network posed by quantum computing, the filing shows.

“[I]f quantum computing technology is able to advance […] it could potentially undermine the viability of many of the cryptographic algorithms used across the world’s information technology infrastructure, including the cryptographic algorithms used for digital assets like bitcoin,” BlackRock said.

It is the first time the asset manager has explicitly flagged this risk in its IBIT disclosures. The IBIT ETF is the largest spot Bitcoin ETF, with approximately $64 billion in net assets, according to its website.

Quantum computing is an emergent field that seeks to use the principles of quantum mechanics to greatly enhance computers’ processing capabilities. 

Source: James Seyffart/Bloomberg Intelligence

Record-breaking inflows

James Seyffart, an analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence, cautioned that risk disclosures such as IBIT’s are required to highlight every possible risk to an asset, even those that are extremely unlikely. 

“They are going to highlight any potential thing that can go wrong with any product they list or underlying asset that’s being invested in,” Seyffart said in a May 9 X post. “It's completely standard. And honestly [it] makes complete sense.”

Since launching in January, Bitcoin ETFs have collectively attracted more than $41 billion in net inflows, according to data from Farside Investors. 

Bitcoin ETF inflows reached all-time highs on May 8. Source: Eric Balchunas/Bloomberg Intelligence

On May 8, Bitcoin ETF net inflows surpassed all-time highs of around $40 billion, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. 

“Lifetime net flows is #1 most imp metric to watch IMO, very hard to grow, pure truth, no bs,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas said in a May 9 X post. 

“Impressive, they were able to make it to a new high water mark so soon after the world was supposed to end.”

In February, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino predicted that quantum computing would eventually enable hackers to break into inactive Bitcoin wallets and recover the dormant coins. 

“Any Bitcoin in lost wallets, including Satoshi (if not alive), will be hacked and put back in circulation,” Ardoino said in a Feb. 8 X post.

Authored by Darlene McCormick Sanchez via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Florida officials announced that 1,800 state Highway Patrol troopers are the first in the nation to receive federal credentials under an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agreement allowing them to arrest illegal immigrants on their own.

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent and a local police officer arrest an illegal immigrant in Florida in April 2025. ICE

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a press conference on May 12 that the state’s ongoing partnership with ICE included what is known as 287(g) agreements, where state and local law enforcement partner with ICE to help arrest and deport illegal immigrants.

The Florida Highway Patrol entered into a 287(g) task force model that gives them the power to arrest foreign nationals who are in the country illegally and place detainers on them during routine policing, such as traffic stops.

In essence, it allows local law enforcement to operate as an extension of ICE under federal supervision.

DeSantis encouraged other states to support President Donald Trump’s efforts to deport illegal immigrants, noting the success of Operation Tidal Wave. The recent joint federal-state operation arrested more than 1,100 illegal immigrants.

Some of those arrested included members of gangs such as MS-13 and Tren de Aragua, both designated as terrorist organizations by the Trump administration.

Additionally, DeSantis said Florida also swore in 100 troopers as special deputy U.S. marshals, which will allow them to execute federal search warrants and remove dangerous illegal immigrants.

Dave Kerner, director of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, said during the press conference that the Florida troopers are the first fully credentialed law enforcement to be fully operational under the 287(g) task force model.

“What that means is, if you see a state trooper, he or she has federal authorities to detain, investigate, apprehend, and deport,” Kerner said. “We have troopers in all 67 counties of this great state that have that authority.”

Kerner told The Epoch Times that troopers serving as U.S. marshals will be able to go into homes to serve warrants, which isn’t part of the 287(g) agreements.

He said that the programs offer flexibility to state and local jurisdictions, allowing them to determine their level of involvement once they sign up for the agreements.

“It is, by and large, a voluntary effort,” he said. “You can decide how much you want to participate.”

Illegal immigrants from Venezuela turn themselves in to Texas state troopers after crossing the border from Mexico into Del Rio, Texas, on May 18, 2021. John Moore/Getty Images

DeSantis added that there’s a plan on the table that, if approved by the federal government, would allow military judge advocates to act as immigration judges and provide makeshift detention space and transportation for illegal immigrants.

The governor noted that the state’s experience with disaster response, such as during hurricanes, helped the state come up with the plan. He said there are 70,000 to 80,000 illegal immigrants in the state, with final deportation orders issued by a judge.

Getting rid of criminal illegal immigrants helps cut down on crime and save lives, DeSantis said.

“You’re really making a difference in your community,” he said.

Some 11 million illegal immigrants were apprehended at U.S. borders over the past four years, according to Customs and Border Protection data.

Trump campaigned on border security and illegal immigrant deportations. Upon returning to the White House, he has moved to keep that promise through a whole-of-government approach that has included designating several Mexican cartels and other transnational criminal groups as terrorist organizations. As a result, some members of the MS-13 and Tren de Aragua gangs have been deported to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, known as CECOT.

As of May 8, ICE statistics show there are 531 agreements with state and local agencies throughout the country. Another 105 applications are pending.

Although dozens of states have agreements under the 287(g) program, Florida is the first to have its law enforcement officers credentialed.

U.S. military personnel escort alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and the MS-13 gang recently deported by the U.S. government to be imprisoned in the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) prison as part of an agreement with the Salvadoran government, in San Luis Talpa, El Salvador, on March 30, 2025. Office of the President's Press Secretary/Reuters

Law enforcement nationwide has been encouraged to sign up for 287(g) agreements by the Trump administration because there are not enough federal officers to find and process millions of illegal immigrants.

Besides the task force model, the federal government created the jail enforcement model and the warrant service officer model.

The jail enforcement model allows local officers to identify and process removable noncitizens already booked into local jails. The warrant service officer model allows officers to serve and execute administrative warrants on illegal immigrants already in custody.

Florida had 266 agreements that included all 67 sheriff’s offices in the state, according to the Florida Sheriffs Association. Texas had the second-highest number of agreements at 77.

China is ramping up efforts to build a circular economy around its booming clean energy sector, as retired batteries and solar panels pile up and global trade tensions make critical minerals harder to source, according to the South China Morning Post.

“There is huge potential in the business of new-energy waste, because new energy is where China and the world are going,” said Ma Long, sales manager at a Henan Hairui Intelligent Technology subsidiary. His company already generates 70% of its business from battery and solar panel recycling equipment.

China’s rapid adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and solar power is driving this trend. After a decade of EV growth, the country is now facing a “large-scale retirement of car batteries,” with retired batteries expected to exceed 4 million tonnes annually by 2028 and generate over 280 billion yuan (US$38.5 billion) in industry output, according to state estimates. Retired photovoltaic modules are also set to surge in the next five years.

“The recycling of minerals is largely for the sake of resource security,” said Du Huanzheng, a circular economy expert at Tongji University. He noted that China’s recycling push, once focused on pollution control, is now also about boosting economic growth and cutting reliance on imported minerals amid rising tensions with the U.S. and its allies.

A Beijing-based professor of environmental economics warned that China is “facing more difficulty in buying from allies of the US, such as Australia and Canada,” while other suppliers like Congo and Chile could be pressured by U.S. trade policy. “Business with other [mineral] suppliers may also be affected,” he added.

In response, China has created the state-owned China Resources Recycling Group to build a nationwide recycling network for products from electronics to retired wind and solar equipment.

The SCMP article says that big players like CATL and BYD are leading the way in battery recycling, but smaller companies are rushing in. Yu Zhongkai, senior manager at Tianli Technology, said a quarter of his company’s business now comes from battery-recycling equipment. “But we’re still experimenting, because there are no industry-wide standards yet, and the market is still unclear,” he admitted.

China’s recycling industry remains in its infancy, though its complete industrial chain and massive market give it an edge over global competitors. Du cautioned that despite investor enthusiasm, “large-scale recycling has yet to come, and a mature recycling system has yet to be formed.”

The government is tightening regulations, with 156 companies on a white list to standardize battery recycling and prevent safety and environmental risks. In February, the State Council passed an action plan to improve car battery recycling, following a December directive mandating stronger quality assurance and product traceability.

Guangdong Brunp Recycling Technology, a CATL subsidiary, claims it can recover over 99% of key metals from retired batteries. “It ensures that the batteries go where they came from, and it improves the resilience of the new-energy industry’s supply chain,” said CEO Li Changdong.

However, challenges remain. Many retired batteries end up in illegal workshops, and rural households are starting to discard old solar panels directly into trash bins, warned environmental activist Chen Liwen.

For now, legal recyclers face overcapacity as waste collection lags behind, but Ma expects the situation to improve as regulations tighten and battery retirements surge.

“So, overall, this is a big track to follow in the next few decades,” he said.

Authored by Zena le Roux via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

If you’ve cut salt, eased up on caffeine, and tried to stress less, and your blood pressure still won’t budge, perhaps a golden spice in your kitchen cabinet can ease your efforts.

Curcumin is found in the root of the turmeric plant, giving it its distinctive golden hue and earthy flavor. It belongs to a group of plant-based substances called polyphenols, known for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.

These effects may help explain why curcumin—turmeric’s most active compound—is being studied for its potential to support healthy blood pressure.

A Natural Ally for Blood Pressure Control

The most convenient and widely available source of curcumin is turmeric powder, a pantry staple that adds color and flavor to a variety of dishes.

Curcumin may help lower blood pressure and improve blood vessel function by reducing the thickening and stiffness of arterial walls, a common issue in chronic hypertension.

Based mostly on animal studies, in some cases, curcumin has also reversed damage—such as thickening and scarring—to blood vessels, especially in pulmonary arterial hypertension, which causes blood vessels to narrow and blood pressure in the lungs to increase.

Curcumin may also protect the kidneys and heart, which are key to keeping blood pressure in check.

In animal studies, curcumin has also been found to relax blood vessels by increasing nitric oxide levels, which helps improve blood flow and reduce resistance in the arteries.

Get the Most Out of Turmeric

Although curcumin offers many health benefits, its bioavailability is poor, meaning the body doesn’t easily absorb it.

“After being consumed, only a small amount is absorbed through the small intestine, and much of it is quickly broken down by the liver,” Chantelle van der Merwe, a registered dietitian, explained. Very little curcumin actually makes it into the bloodstream to have an effect, she added.

To overcome this challenge, researchers have explored ways to improve curcumin’s absorption and effectiveness. One method includes adding ingredients such as black pepper, which helps slow the breakdown and enhance the absorption and retention of curcumin, according to van der Merwe.

*  *  *

Grab some potent turmeric here... 

Anti-Inflammatory packed with antioxidants. Give it a shot, we take it daily...

Piperine, the active compound in black pepper, blocks certain liver enzymes that would typically break down curcumin.

Piperine may also help by stimulating the release of digestive enzymes from the pancreas, improving overall digestion and nutrient absorption, and increasing blood supply to the digestive system, van der Merwe said.

Since curcumin is also fat-soluble, meaning it requires fat to be absorbed, eating turmeric with a fat source—such as avocado, olive oil, or coconut milk—can help the body absorb it better, van der Merwe said. Without fat, curcumin has a harder time transporting across the gut wall and into the body, limiting its effectiveness, she said.

How to Incorporate Curcumin Into Meals

Beyond how we pair turmeric to boost absorption, it’s a versatile ingredient that can be easily added to a variety of dishes and snacks.

Turmeric is traditionally used in curries and enhances the flavor of soups, marinades, and rice dishes, van der Merwe said. In baking, turmeric can add a unique twist to cookies and breads. It also blends beautifully into herbal teas, smoothies, or milk.

“My personal favorite ways to enjoy turmeric include spicy, savory muffins packed with vegetables, a soothing blend of rooibos tea with ginger and turmeric, and the classic pairing of a curry served with savory yellow rice,” van der Merwe said.

“I personally love it in my overnight oats,” Mary Curristin, nutritionist at ART Health Solutions, told The Epoch Times. Her other options include stirring it into scrambled eggs or roasted vegetables.

Remember that a small amount goes a long way—typically, one-fourth to one-half teaspoon of turmeric powder per serving delivers ample flavor and color, depending on personal taste and intensity preferences. Van der Merwe said turmeric also works well with spices such as cumin, coriander, ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom, creating aromatic and flavorful combinations in a variety of cuisines.

Golden Latte Recipe

One of the best ways to enjoy turmeric is in a cozy golden milk latte. This drink tastes great and brings those health benefits right to your cup—especially when paired with a pinch of black pepper for optimal absorption.

Ingredients

350 ml milk of choice

¼ teaspoon ground turmeric

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon raw honey or maple syrup

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Grind of black pepper

Instructions

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and whisk continuously over low heat or using a milk frother if you have one. Once heated, pour into mugs and top with a sprinkle of cinnamon before serving.

To make this golden milk latte truly your own, feel free to tweak the recipe based on your taste preferences:

• Customize the spice mix to your liking. If you’re a fan of a spicier kick, try adding extra black pepper, ginger, or even a pinch of cayenne pepper.
• For a creamier texture, use a richer milk, like full-fat coconut milk, or add a spoonful of coconut oil or ghee.

The party is over for millions of Americans who paused payments on their federal student loans over the last several years through pandemic-era forbearance programs. Many had hoped for sweeping loan forgiveness under the Biden-Harris administration, But with the federal government officially resuming collections on defaulted loans this month—for the first time in over five years—borrowers now face sliding credit scores as delinquencies soar, while in April we warned the restart could drain as much as $63 billion from the economy. 

On Tuesday, the Center for Microeconomic Data at the New York Fed released its Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit, updated through the first quarter of 2025.

Within the report is a snapshot of consumer credit profiles, including the sharp rise in delinquent student loan debt that's now piling up.

Starting with a 10,000-foot view; in the first quarter of 2025 the aggregate U.S. delinquency rate climbed to 4.3% of outstanding debt in some stage of delinquency - up from 3.6% in the fourth quarter of 2024. Total aggregate household debt increased by $167 billion in the quarter, up .9% from 4Q24, while overall, America's consumer debt balance now stands at a whopping $18.20 trillion - an increase of more than $4 trillion since 4Q19. 

Narrowing it down, while early-stage delinquency rates remained stable across most debt categories, student loans bucked the trend, posting a sharp increase as the federal government resumed credit reporting on missed payments for the first time in nearly five years.

"Transition into early delinquency held steady for nearly all debt types; the exception was for student loans, which saw a large uptick in the rate at which balances went from current to delinquent due to the resumption of reporting of delinquent student loans on credit reports after a nearly 5-year pause due to the pandemic," the quarterly report said. 

The shift comes amid the expiration of pandemic-era forbearance, exposing millions of borrowers to renewed repayment obligations. 

Last month, Education Secretary Linda McMahon told President Trump at a Cabinet meeting: 

"We're going to start getting it back," adding "For those people who have borrowed money and have not been paying -- that's just not to be punitive, there are many ways that they can go online to understand how they can get back into the right payment structure. Because when they're in default, they can't buy a house, they can't buy a car, their credit scores go down."

Also reported last month (full note available to premium subs), student-loan delinquencies have increased since the pandemic-era forbearance on repayment ended in September 2023. The Biden administration allowed a year for payments to fully ramp back up, which temporarily suppressed delinquency rates. Now, though, missed payments are crossing the 90-day threshold and showing up on borrowers' credit reports.

Transition rates into serious delinquency (90+ days past due) held steady for auto loans and credit cards, but rose for mortgages, HELOCs, and, notably, student loans, reflecting growing financial strain among consumers.

Bloomberg noted: 

Transitioning into serious delinquency (90-plus days late) for student loans rose to tie a 10-year-old record for those age 50 and older. Among that cohort, 11.23%, or around one in nine households, is now seriously delinquent on their student loan debt. Americans age 50 and older held $418.5 billion in student loan debt, split among 9.2 million borrowers. The ratios of serious delinquency for younger age groups was lower but still rose sharply. The average age of a delinquent borrower ticked up to 40.4.

The Fed's data shows that the credit hit is substantial for newly delinquent student loan borrowers. Among the 7.5% who had a relatively high credit score of at least 720 before the delinquency, their scores dropped by 177 points on average. Overall, the Fed found that 2.2 million borrowers saw their credit scores drop by at least 100 points.

Data from Bloomberg shows the student debt bubble stood at a record high of $1.63 trillion. 

New York Fed economists via Liberty Street Economics published a note with more color about the student loan turmoil unfolding, indicating "more than twenty million federal borrowers were not in repayment and five million federal borrowers had a zero dollar monthly payment," adding, "Among borrowers who were required to make payments, nearly one in four student loan borrowers (23.7 percent) were behind on their student loans in the first quarter of 2025." 

The economists noted that seven states have a conditional borrower delinquency rate over 30%: Mississippi (44.6%), Alabama (34.1%), West Virginia (34.0%), Kentucky (33.6%), Oklahoma (33.6%), Arkansas (33.5%), and Louisiana (31.8%). These states are located in the heartland and are primarily Trump states. 

The economists offered their take on the grave situation:

After a five-year hiatus, student loan delinquency has returned to the pre-pandemic "normal" with more than 10 percent of balances and roughly six million borrowers either past due or in default. The ramifications of student loan delinquency are severe.

The U.S. Department of Education, in concert with the U.S. Treasury, began collection efforts for defaulted loans in May, which includes the garnishment of wages, tax returns, and Social Security payments.

Additionally, millions of borrowers face steep declines in their credit standing which will increase borrowing costs or seriously limit their access to credit like mortgages and auto loans. It is unclear whether these penalties will spill over into payment difficulties in other credit products, but we will continue to monitor this space in the coming months.

Millennials and GenX feeling the brunt of student debt woes. 

Credit score downgrades begin... 

More:

What's critical to understand is that delinquent student loan debt continues to pile up quickly, increasingly hitting borrowers' credit reports. This growing wave of defaults could trigger a domino effect on consumer spending, potentially dragging down GDP by as much as $63 billion—a risk we warned about in our note titled The Next Economic Shock: Student Loan Default Wave = $63 Billion GDP Hit ...

.   .   .

View the full report here:

Authored by Gigi Foster via The Brownstone Institute,

[Here is the text of my TedX talk in Australia, October 2024, which the sponsor refused to post]

Every four years, when I was growing up in the US, my mother and father would go to the polling booths and cancel each other out. They’d come home and say as much, with a smirk. Then they’d clink their glasses and have “cocktail hour” together, and enjoy the end of another day of married life in each other’s arms.

Mom was a lifelong Democrat and Dad a lifelong Republican. Back then, people firmly positioned on opposing sides of politics could talk to one another – and even, apparently, marry each other and produce kids! Do you think that is common today? The “cancellation” my parents joked about 30 years ago has, today, become no laughing matter.

Diversity is one of humanity’s greatest gifts. Despite outward appearances, the person right next to us typically does NOT share exactly the same beliefs, perspectives, or assumptions that we hold. Look at that person now, being aware of this reality. Shock horror! You are not sitting next to a mental clone of yourself! Well, thank god for that, some of you may be saying. How boring would the world be if no one we met could teach us anything new?

I have grown all my life, as have you, by being exposed to new and different ideas, methods, and mindsets. At a societal level, all growth in quality of life ultimately comes from innovation. Innovation in turn can be seen as the manifested potential of diversity: the discovery of an idea or an approach that’s different from what is circulating in the mainstream. This is one of the crowning lessons of my home discipline of economics.

Yet individual and societal access to the potent and progressive power of diversity of thought was acutely damaged during the Covid era. 

This damage was done by the mainstreaming – by politicians, bureaucracies, large companies, the media, whole professions, academic disciplines, and even families – of a single accepted view on many Covid topics. On the subjects of lockdowns, masks, and vaccines, it was made very clear by those in authority that one way was correct, and alternatives were wrong. Not only were other views wrong, but anyone who challenged the mainstream view on lockdowns, masking, or especially mass Covid vaccination was labelled as a danger to public health, a tinfoil-hat wearing conspiracy theorist wedded to wacko, fringe ideas. Probably a prepper. Or a cooker. Maybe a “religious nut-job.” Almost surely a “far-right” adherent, and probably racist to boot.

In short, there was denigration, gaslighting, and suppression of dissenting (that is, diverse) voices on those topics, with this suppression of a core societal strength done in the name of preserving the health and strength of society.

That sounds ironic, but actually it’s a well-worn playbook from history.

This is the same trick that has been pulled in other historical tragedies, from the Cultural Revolution to the rise of the Third Reich. 

In the case of the Cultural Revolution, Chinese citizens were urged by those in authority to “smash the four olds” – referring to old habits, old customs, old culture, and old ideas – and instead to “cultivate the four new,” which allegedly would rejuvenate the great nation of China by accelerating the “proletariat revolution” after the tragic failure of the Great Leap Forward that left tens of millions dead or starving. The Great Leap itself was the ideological progeny of the Chinese authorities, rather than a grassroots movement – and naturally those authorities never directly admitted its failure. 

During the Cultural Revolution, Chinese citizens – weakened by the tragedy of the Great Leap – dutifully sacrificed what they and their ancestors had previously been taught for centuries to revere. Ancient temples were destroyed, shopkeepers and others associated with “old ideas” like capitalism were denigrated and abused, and even elderly people were assaulted and killed, just for being old. 

Such actions ran strongly against traditional Chinese values, so performing such actions and aiding and abetting those who performed them was a significant sacrifice in terms of morality, and even personal identity, for many Chinese people. Individuals who did not conform with the mainstream line were socially excluded or punished in other ways. Of course, the result of the Cultural Revolution was not a successful, nationally rejuvenating revolution, but even more death and destruction.  

In the case of the rise of the Third Reich, those in authority preyed upon the economic and moral suffering of the German people after the Great War. As National Socialism rose to prominence in Germany, Jewish people, those with sympathies for communism, and others were demonised as “enemies of the state.” 

The sacrifice eventually asked of the suffering German citizens, allegedly in order to strengthen the “fatherland” that they loved, was essentially to dehumanise other human beings. The Biblical phrase “He who is not with us is against us” was used to implicitly encourage the quashing of dissident views and those who held them. 

This nudge to see dissenters as dangerous was coupled with heavy censorship, such as book-burning and criminalising the act of listening to foreign radio stations, and the creation and promotion of state propaganda that mainstreamed the accepted viewpoint, including through films like Triumph of the Will. Of course, the result of the Nazis’ reign was not a strengthening of Germany but rather total defeat, moral bankruptcy, and international humiliation.

In both of these tragic historical cases and in the more recent tragic case of Covid policy, the pattern is this: People in authority assert that the many sacrifices they are proposing are necessary to preserve and enhance the nation, simultaneously quashing any alternative views. Those who object are denigrated and despised as not caring about the nation, or about whoever or whatever is supposedly receiving the benefits of the sacrifice. 

Think about how this pattern played out in the Covid era. 

Do you remember calling anyone a ‘granny killer’ in the Covid era – or being called one yourself? I do. From March 2020 onwards, I advocated against lockdowns, seeing how costly they were to health and wealth, and seeing no scientific evidence of their medical efficacy. 

But for years, I was insulted and denigrated in mainstream circles by those following the standard Covid policy lines. I was called a granny-killer and a “neoliberal Trumpkinaut death cult warrior.” I received death threats and, worse, people made memes about me. (I don’t really know what this one means, but the Harry Potter fans in the audience might.) 

I was defamed on Twitter even though I’ve never had a Twitter account. I was smeared as being anti-health and anti-“saving lives,” and these smears were used in attempts to get me to shut up about the costs of the lockdown policy that was being promoted in the mainstream as the ONLY way to preserve health and save lives. 

Well, I didn’t shut up, and four years on after the start of the madness, hundreds of books, academic papers, and tragic personal stories now confirm I was right: the Covid lockdowns didn’t save lives, but were instead a massive human sacrifice induced by fear, politics, and money. The lockdowns did not lead to victory over Covid, but rather to a weakened nation with more debt, less societal strength and cohesion, and less health than before Covid. I’ve written here in detail about the massive damage inflicted on Australia, and particularly Australian youth, by Covid lockdowns. 

The well-worn playbook is as follows: when populations are weakened, such as by severe economic distress or a great fear of some external threat, the people in charge advocate for policies that happen to be good for them politically and turn out also to be destructive to society (something often admitted in history books only much later), while wrapping their policies at the time in the “red threads” of altruism, pro-sociality, strengthening the nation, or preserving health, as a sales pitch to the weakened population. The implicit message is “If you really love something, you should be willing to sacrifice for it, and this is the sacrifice that is now required.” 

Why does this work? For two reasons: fear and love.

First, it works because fear makes us forget about everything except the feared object, weakening our ability to reason and think for ourselves, making us easy targets.

Second, it works because our love for things outside ourselves – including our country, our parents, our children, and our gods – is a powerful motivator of our thoughts and our actions, and so we are vulnerable to being manipulated by it.

Understanding love is crucial in explaining human behaviour, which is why I co-wrote a book about it over a decade ago. Love is the most important thing in the world: it is the building block of societies, and the ultimate source of joy and meaning. If we are not careful, we can be manipulated by our loves when we are fooled into believing that some sacrifice is needed in order to preserve the welfare of something we love. If we can be convinced of that, then we will often willingly make the sacrifice.

People’s fear, combined with their pro-social connection to one another and to their society, was used during the Covid era as it has been at so many other points in history to manipulate them into supporting policies that actually, in the long run, harmed that society. When told that we had to lock down, mask up, pull our children out of schools, and mass-vaccinate against Covid, many Australians willingly went along with these enormous sacrifices, because of their fear and their love. 

That is a testament not only to the power of fear, but to how much we love each other. Yet tragically, our loves – including our children, our parents, and the nation of Australia – were greatly harmed by these policies. If you’re interested in exploring this topic further, I have co-authored this book with Paul Frijters and Michael Baker, The Great Covid Panic: What happened, why, and what to do next, published in 2021.

My loving advice to you today – the one thing I want you to take away from my talk – is to be alert to those in authority who would manipulate you by exploiting your loves. This manipulation usually starts with an implicit request that you sacrifice some moral principle, some right, or some assumption that you previously took for granted as patently obvious, with that sacrifice supposedly going to benefit something that is universally loved. 

That universally-loved beneficiary might be planet Earth – in the case of green energy subsidies, the “net-zero transition,” and the sacrifice of ignoring the fact that cheap, dense fuels are critical to human thriving and a key ingredient in lifting people out of poverty. It might be people’s desire to find the truth – in the case of internet censorship and denigrating some views as “misinformation” or “disinformation,” thereby ironically sacrificing the right to decide for yourself what is true. It might even be women as a group – in the case of the #metoo movement and the sacrifice of denigrating half the human race as dangerous sex predators whose “toxic masculinity” threatens women.

In all such cases, ask yourself: Is the proposed sacrifice truly going to help the alleged and universally loved recipient? Would people in power directly benefit in some way from this sacrifice, politically or monetarily? Am I being manipulated by my loves into being just another nodding head, helping those in positions of authority to weaken my society?

The most powerful antidote to this clear and present danger is the seeking out, preservation, and uplifting of diversity of thought. Allowing dissent holds the power to reveal false promises for what they are.

How can you personally promote diversity of thought, and nurture an environment in which open dissent is possible?

You can promote and celebrate forums where people are allowed and encouraged to think, discuss, critically analyse, and ponder aloud together, respectfully, confidently, and joyfully, becoming closer to one another as they do, sharing their common humanity without the crutch of also sharing beliefs and perspectives.

You can support alternative schools of thought, like this one called Academia Libera Mentis that has just started up in Belgium. 

You can be part of Big Dialogues about contemporary social, economic, and political issues, dialogues that help us rebuild a society capable of discussing meaningful ideas with one another, across aisles of perspective, belief, experience, and mindset. 

You can join a grassroots movement focused on restoring the respect that used to be embedded in Western culture for individual freedom – including expressive and academic freedom – and the scientific method, using which people have horse-raced competing ideas since the Enlightenment.

Initiatives like these help restore our societies by honouring our deep and powerful diversity. They help to fend off and thwart the constant manipulation attempts of elites hungry for power, while building respect and nurturing progress for all. They help us build robust red threads – bonds of love for one another based not on conformity with “right-think,” but on the joy of discovering who others truly are, and expanding ourselves by contemplating and revelling in their differentness.

What will always win in the end is love, joy, confidence, tolerance, and an unshakeable belief in the infinite potential of every unique individual in the human species. But these precious things will only win in our lifetimes if we live and breathe that love, joy, confidence, tolerance, and belief, while purposefully rejecting the attempts of the powerful to manipulate and divide us by destroying our diversity. This is what eternal vigilance looks like.

Via OpenTheBooks.substack.com,

As Elon Musk steps back, Congress, agencies and We the People need to step up...

When Elon Musk announced on a less-than-stellar Tesla earnings call that “starting probably next month, May, my time allocation to DOGE will drop significantly,” DOGE critics rejoiced.

Yet, as Teddy Roosevelt so aptly said, it’s not the critic who counts, but the person who enters the arena.

President Trump praised Musk at his cabinet meeting marking his first 100 days and said Musk “opened up a lot of eyes as to what could be done.” 

Trump signaled DOGE’s first act was coming to a close, and its second act was about to begin.

At Open the Books, we’re committed to transparency and helping taxpayers understand what DOGE has uncovered. Taxpayers deserve to know what cuts have been made and what remains to be done. Critics have raised concerns in both good and bad faith, in my view, and we’re committed to a reality-based conversation about the data and results.

I’m appreciative of Musk’s effort because I know first-hand what it’s like to be demonized for trying to downsize the modern administrative state. As the long-time Communications Director and co-author for the late U.S. Representative and Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK), I spent nearly 15 years in constant combat with people who treated commonsense restraint as a crime against humanity.

Coburn, a practicing physician and citizen legislator, believed in radical concepts like reading bills before you voted on them and paying for bills that spent new money by spending less money elsewhere. He believed the Senate, the world’s greatest deliberative body, needed more debate not less. Instead of bending the knee to Senate norms like passing “non-controversial” bills by unanimous consent, Coburn would hold bills until savings could be discovered or at least debated. Some of his colleagues derided his desire for open debate as “obstructionism” and called him “Dr. No.”

In 2008, Coburn’s commitment to deliberation and spending offsets pushed then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) over the edge. Reid bundled 36 of Coburn’s “holds” on bills ranging from the “Captive Primate Safety Act” to the “Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act” into one package called the “Advancing America’s Priorities Act.”

During one demagogic tirade, Reid declared, “You go home and tell people in a wheelchair you voted against moving forward on something that could get them out of their wheelchair.”

In Reid’s view, wanting basic research to be fiscally sustainable and financed by cuts to lower-priority items meant you were pro-paralysis. Today, it’s DOGE’s turn to endure the ire and moral condescension of scorned spenders. If DOGE’s critics in Congress hated government waste half as much as they hate Musk our debt and deficits would have been erased long ago.

To his credit, Musk often said DOGE would make mistakes but would try to correct them as quickly as possible. His admission of fallibility was refreshing and rare in politics and could have been taken as an invitation for collaboration. Sadly, partisan tribalism blinded Musk’s critics from seeing openings to find common ground.

DOGE’s second act can succeed by focusing on two key priorities that build on lessons learned in a rapid-fire first hundred days.

First, enact real-time transparency by creating “America’s Checkbook.” The most important achievement of DOGE’s first act was arguably gaining access to the Treasury Payment system, which is the administrative state’s Holy of Holies. Opening the payment temple to all taxpayers and letting them see federal expenditures in real-time would lock in a permanent and revolutionary win. Doing so would also remove much of the uncertainty on which DOGE’s critics rely – and stoke. And why not? Ordinary Americans have the same right to see America’s bank account as they do their own. After all, it’s their money.

Our founders understood that transparency was a powerful, relentless, and subversive force for freedom. Transparency cuts through government like water cuts through stone. When its steady flow finds cracks, it can wash away mighty walls of opposition. That’s why they wrote transparency into Article I of the Constitution. Their language demanding a “regular accounting” of expenditures precedes the Bill of Rights, the First Amendment and freedom of speech. They understood that in the public square transparency is like oxygen. We can’t speak if we can’t breathe.

If Madison and our framers had access to today’s technology, they would demand real-time transparency. Fortunately, the framework for real-time transparency already exists. In 2006, Coburn teamed up with an ambitious young Senator from Illinois named Barack Obama to put all federal spending online for the first time. Our dream was to create an ecosystem of organizations and citizen activists who would crowdsource oversight and put permanent downward pressure on spending.

The Coburn-Obama bill created USASpending.gov, a platform to search past federal spending. It helped enable organizations like Open the Books, which I run, to exist along with thousands of other individual accounts on platforms like X. DOGE should urgently close the gap, and lag time, between what they can see on the Treasury Payment System and what is visible to everyone else on USASpending.gov. Leaving this gap open asks taxpayers to take DOGE’s word for it. “Trust us, we’re with the government” isn’t a winning strategy whether you’re wearing a blue jersey or red jersey. In DOGE’s defense, the lack of clarity in accounting isn’t easy to correct if it’s at the source of spending. Taxpayers and Congress need much greater clarity and insight into the nature of the problem that only transparency can correct.

DOGE’s second act also should feature much closer collaboration with legislators who have the authority to enact smart and durable cuts. We already have a permanent standing deficit reduction commission. It’s called Congress. What DOGE can do is deliver its findings to Congress, and the American people, with the same level of clarity, transparency and rigor as a prosecutor would make a case in court. Then, members of Congress will have the support they need to achieve durable savings with the force of law. Cancelling contracts and Executive Orders are reversible actions. Congress has the power to make DOGE’s actions and recommendations much harder to reverse.

DOGE has a window of opportunity to work with allies in Congress who are willing to do the work necessary to achieve savings. I recently testified before the House DOGE Subcommittee during their hearing on the federal real estate portfolio. My testimony focused on a “broken windows” argument that spending less lavishly to decorate and redecorate the administrative state’s mostly vacant buildings can usher in greater savings. When DOGE, Congress and outside groups focus on commonsense savings targets the wisdom of crowds – democracy – can prevail over the bureaucracy.

Real spending cuts are achievable in Washington. Between 2011-2013, Coburn and Tea Party-era members helped achieve the first two-year spending reductions since the end of the Korean War and saved taxpayers $150 billion; we enacted a ban on earmarks that saved about $140 billion; and we leveraged debt limit negotiations to force the Government Accountability Office to publish an annual report on duplicative programs. GAO claims those have resulted in $667 billion in savings. That comes to $957 billion saved. Had we had someone of Musk’s stature in our corner we could have accomplished so much more.

As Musk transitions away from a day-to-day role, he can still invest the currency of his celebrity in serious reform efforts and challenge the country to dream big. Rather than scaling back the scope of what DOGE can accomplish and settling for $160 billion in savings, he should go back to the much more ambitious target of more than $2 trillion in savings.

This is a realistic and necessary target. President Reagan’s Grace Commission found that one in three tax dollars is wasted. In today’s budget numbers, one-third of $6.75 trillion (last year’s spending total) is $2.25 trillion. DOGE is right to investigate fraud, and their work on that front can lead to enormous savings, but hitting this larger $2 trillion target will require Congress and the administration to reimagine how mandatory programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security can better serve lower and middle-income Americans. Musk can challenge the bipartisan surrender caucus that would rather see these 90 and 60-year-old programs collapse than be renovated. When members pledge to “not touch” entitlements they are protecting themselves, not seniors or poor people. Not touching these programs guarantees their demise, American decline and weakness, and unimaginable economic suffering.

Today’s political conditions are much more favorable for fiscal reform than during the Reagan years and Tea Party era when we still made gains. In the past, demagogic attacks about hurting poor people and “keeping people in wheelchairs,” as Reid claimed, had more potency. With today’s political realignment, the GOP is now the working-class party.

Now is the time to be bold. This is a 1989 moment for America – a chance to tear down the bureaucratic wall that has separated We the People from their government for 100 years.

DOGE may be the most unifying Trump administration initiative. People hope Trump’s tariff gambit works, but they know DOGE, which is a movement more than a rebranded department, can deliver lasting change. Politicians define themselves by the hills they die on and DOGE is the high ground.

DOGE is popular because it’s rooted not just in common sense but American constitutional first principles. As Thomas Jefferson said, “The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground.”

As the president said, eyes have been opened. Now it’s time to look, learn and act.

Every dollar saved in Washington is a dream realized somewhere in America. DOGE’s second act can be a time to dream new dreams and deliver real growth and opportunity.

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

A small nodule was found in former President Joe Biden’s prostate during an exam, a spokesperson told news outlets on May 13.

“In a routine physical exam, a small nodule was found in the prostate, which necessitated further evaluation,” the Biden spokesperson said.

It’s not clear whether the additional evaluation has already taken place and, if it has, what it showed.

A nodule could indicate the presence of prostate cancer.

Out of every 100 men in America, about 13 will suffer from prostate cancer during their lifetime, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Early treatment can eliminate the cancer, which is fatal in a minority of cases.

The most common risk factor is age. Biden is 82.

Biden wrote in an Aug. 20, 2024, proclamation during National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month that “we mourn all the courageous men we have tragically lost too soon to prostate cancer” and “we honor the extraordinary resilience of those currently living with and surviving this disease.”

Biden left office in January after a single term. He initially launched a reelection bid, but later dropped out under pressure from some fellow Democrats due to his advanced age. President Donald Trump, 78, beat former Vice President Kamala Harris, 60, in the 2024 election.

Dr. Kevin O‘Connor, Biden’s physician, reported in 2023 that Biden had a cancerous lesion removed from his chest. The area around the biopsy site was treated, O’Connor said, and no further treatment was required.

“The site of the biopsy has healed nicely and the President will continue dermatologic surveillance as part of his ongoing comprehensive healthcare,” he wrote at the time.

O'Connor also said in 2019 that Biden had a polyp removed from his colon, describing the polyp as “potentially pre-cancerous.”

One of Biden’s sons, Beau, died in 2015 from brain cancer.

Ahead of the election in 2024, O'Connor said that an examination showed that Biden was healthy and active.

Biden “remains fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency, to include those as Chief Executive, Head of State and Commander in Chief,” O'Connor wrote in a summary of the exam.

In his first interview since Trump was sworn in, Biden said recently that he did not have any cognitive issues and that he understands the concerns about his age.

“I get it,” Biden said. “I understand the concern. I really do. But the point of the matter is that I would offer specific evidence, if we had time, [of] exactly what I got done when I supposedly lost my cognitive capability.”