Odds and Ends — 3 April 2025

28 days ago

Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, Business, AI, and Debt:

Nothing to see here. Move along folks: Climate crisis on track to destroy capitalism, warns top insurer

Action urgently needed to save the conditions under which markets – and civilisation itself – can operate, says senior Allianz figure

Trump 'Liberation Day' tariffs create chaos in markets, recession concerns

Lawmakers Press SEC for Details on Trump’s Crypto Connections

Um, sure. Good luck with that: AI-Infused Blockchain Ambient to 'Replace Bitcoin,' Says Co-Founder

Coronavirus News, Analysis, and Opinion:

FDA Misses Deadline for Covid-19 Vaccine Decision

Agency sits on decision to grant full approval for Novavax’s shot, days after top vaccine regulator pushed out

Politics:

Hungary Says It Will Withdraw From I.C.C.

The announcement came hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel arrived in the country for a visit despite facing an international arrest warrant.

Survivor challenges Israeli account of attack on Gaza paramedics

Fiscal Breakdown Ahead

Amid all the blaring headlines coming out of Washington, here’s a piece of news that is getting far too little attention: The U.S. is on course for fiscal breakdown. That’s the unambiguous message from the Congressional Budget Office’s newly updated long-term projections. Unless Congress changes course, there’ll be a reckoning, and it will be grim…
The federal government is currently spending roughly $7 trillion and collecting only $5 trillion in taxes annually. The resulting deficit is a little over 6% of gross domestic product, a disturbingly high number for an economy around full employment.

https://twitter.com/saintjavelin/status/1907416693032333342

Man Arrested Four Times Since Trump Freed Him

Jonathan Braun has repeatedly been in legal trouble since President Trump commuted his federal prison sentence more than four years ago as part of a rushed, last-minute process of granting clemency to allies and well-connected special pleaders before leaving office.
On Saturday, Mr. Braun, a major player in the predatory lending business, was arrested on Long Island on charges of assaulting an acquaintance and his 3-year-old child, according to court documents. It was the fourth time he has been arrested since Mr. Trump freed him.

———— Smoot-Hawley 2.0 ————

Trump Unveils Sweeping Tariffs on All Imports

A 10 percent tariff will apply to all countries, but key trading partners like China, Japan and Europe will face rates two and three times as high.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

The plan represents a fundamental rethinking of U.S. trade policy on a scale not seen since the post-World War II era, when the U.S. and other nations in 1947 signed the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, a treaty aimed at lowering tariffs and trade barriers between nations. Trump and his team have said that U.S. trading partners have taken advantage of that system, despite the U.S.'s leading role in establishing it, and that their actions seek to ensure fair treatment for American companies and goods.

https://twitter.com/EamonJavers/status/1907540655871521264

Trump preps major tariff hike as businesses, Wall Street brace for impact

The president’s latest trade initiative represents a breathtaking political gamble. After returning to the White House on a wave of public anger over inflation, Trump is now asking voters to put up with a renewed period of rising prices in return for the distant promise of rebuilding domestic manufacturing.

https://twitter.com/HighyieldHarry/status/1907539055169908994

Trump Tariffs to Impose Oil-Shock Type Economic Hit

Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said the Trump administration’s looming tariff hikes are set to impose an oil crisis-like shock to the economy that shrinks its productive capacity — boosting both prices and unemployment.
Said Summers: “This is the kind of thing you discuss in the way we would usually discuss an oil-price spike or earthquake or a drought, as a supply shock. The question is mostly how much damage is going to be done.”

Trump Goes Crazy on Trade

“Liberation Day” is even worse than expected
…he’s gone full-on crazy. It’s not just that he appears to be imposing much higher tariffs than almost anyone expected. He’s also making false claims about our trading partners — not sure in this case whether they’re lies, because he may be truly ignorant — that will both enrage them and make it very hard to back down…
If you had any hopes that Trump would step back from the brink, this announcement, between the very high tariff rates and the complete falsehoods about what other countries do, should kill them.

https://twitter.com/RpsAgainstTrump/status/1907546451422437514

https://twitter.com/EpsilonTheory/status/1907556358624522595

National security adviser Mike Waltz’s team regularly set up chats on Signal to coordinate official work on issues including Ukraine, China, Gaza, Middle East policy, Africa and Europe, according to four people who have been personally added to Signal chats.
Two of the people said they were in or have direct knowledge of at least 20 such chats. All four said they saw instances of sensitive information being discussed.
It’s a more extensive use of the app than previously reported and sheds new light on how commonly the Trump administration’s national security team relies on Signal, a publicly available messaging app, to conduct its work.