Thursday, June 5, 2025

Can you still visit the countries listed under Trump’s travel ban?

 Can you still visit the countries listed under Trump’s travel ban?

People from a dozen countries will soon be barred from entering the U.S., while those from seven others face expanded travel conditions, after President Donald Trump signed a travel ban on Wednesday.


The ban, which Trump said was brought on by national security concerns, takes effect on Monday, June 9, and is similar to an order issued during his first term. Additional countries may also be added to the list “as threats emerge around the world,” Trump said in a video posted Wednesday.

or now, however, you don’t necessarily need to reconsider any travel plans you have.

Who is impacted by Trump’s travel ban?

First, the order is focused on people entering the United States. More specifically, it fully restricts the entry of nationals from the following countries, as previously reported by The Hill:


Afghanistan

Chad

Republic of the Congo

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea

Haiti

Iran

Libya

Myanmar

Somalia

Sudan

Yemen

Nationals coming to the U.S. from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela will also face partial restrictions under Trump’s order.

Existing visa holders, lawful permanent residents of the U.S., and those “whose entry serves U.S. national interests” from those 19 countries are exempt.

Other exempt travelers include certain athletes and coaches traveling for major sporting events as determined by the U.S. secretary of state; Afghans who worked for the U.S. government or its allies in Afghanistan and are holders of Afghan Special Immigrant Visas; Iranians belonging to an ethnic or religious minority who are fleeing persecution; certain foreign national employees of the U.S. government who have served abroad for at least 15 years and their spouses and children; refugees granted asylum or admitted to the U.S. before the ban; individuals with U.S. family members who apply for visas in connection to their spouses, children or parents; diplomats and foreign government officials on official visits; those traveling to the U.N. headquarters solely for official business related to the U.N.; representatives of international organizations and NATO on official visits in the U.S.; and children adopted by U.S. citizens.

Sunday, June 1, 2025

Micro Cap Solars Nearly 80% on Major Clean Tech Acquisition

 

Micro Cap Solars Nearly 80% on Major Clean Tech Acquisition

Desk report: significant acquisition in the micro-cap space has propelled the acquiring company to become one of the most actively traded and top percentage gainers on the Nasdaq today—and with good reason. Investors appear to be responding not just to the immediate impact of the acquisition, but also to the broader implications it may have on the company's future trajectory and position within the clean energy and technology sectors.


Shares of Zeo Energy Corp. (Nasdaq: ZEO) are surging today as the leading provider of residential solar and energy efficiency solutions, and Heliogen, Inc. (OTCQX: HLGN), a developer of on-demand clean energy technologies, announced this morning the signing of a definitive merger agreement under which Zeo will acquire all outstanding equity securities of Heliogen in an all-stock transaction. Get more Link: https://www.profitableratecpm.com/fk4wwc0e?key=d48eba2276af6288b01c741241b792bb

Upon completion of the merger, Zeo intends to integrate Heliogen’s technology, brand, intellectual property, capital, and talent to launch a new division focused on long-duration energy generation and storage for commercial and industrial-scale applications, including AI and cloud computing data centers. The transaction aims to create a comprehensive clean energy platform spanning residential, commercial, and utility-scale markets, strengthened by Zeo’s internal financing resources and deep industry expertise.


The transaction between Zeo and Heliogen is expected to create operational efficiencies, strengthen Zeo’s balance sheet through added liquidity, and enhance financing capabilities via Zeo’s affiliated financing arm. The merger also positions Zeo to capitalize on growing demand for resilient, low-carbon energy infrastructure, supported by favorable market trends and tax equity opportunities. Get more Linkhttps://www.profitableratecpm.com/fk4wwc0e?key=d48eba2276af6288b01c741241b792bb

Under the Merger Agreement, Heliogen’s securityholders will receive approximately $10 million in Zeo Class A common stock, subject to adjustment based on Heliogen’s net cash at closing. The transaction, unanimously approved by both boards, is expected to close in Q3 2025, pending customary conditions and Heliogen stockholder approval, with 23% of Heliogen shareholders already committed to vote in favor; Zeo stockholder approval is not required.


Shares of ZEO were last trading up 79.75% at $2.84 while shares of HLGN were down 4.36% at $2.25 in early-afternoon trading.

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Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang J


‘It Is Going to Happen’: JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon Warns of Crack in the Bond Market

 ‘It Is Going to Happen’: JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon Warns of Crack in the Bond Market

Desk report: JPMorgan Chase JPM -0.14%  CEO Jamie Dimon warned of a crack in the bond market and said the U.S. should be stockpiling military equipment instead of Bitcoin at an economic forum on Friday.


Dimon, who was interviewed on stage at the Reagan National Economic Forum in Simi Valley, Calif., prompted some market jitters during Friday’s sideways trading session.

Asked if he thought so-called “bond vigilantes” that sell U.S. Treasuries due to worries about growing deficits have returned, Dimon replied “Yeah.” The bank executive pointed to trillions of dollars in borrowing and spending in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, which he described as “huge sums of money, and we don’t really know the full effect of that.”

“You are going to see a crack in the bond market,” Dimon said. “It is going to happen. And I tell this to my regulators, some of you who are in this room, I’m telling you it’s going to happen, and you’re going to panic.” Get more Link: https://www.profitableratecpm.com/fk4wwc0e?key=d48eba2276af6288b01c741241b792bb

“I’m not gonna panic,” he added. “We’ll be fine. We’ll probably make more money, and then some of my friends will tell me ‘We like crises because it’s good for JPMorgan Chase.’ Not really.”

Government debt has been in focus after the U.S. lost its last perfect Aaa rating earlier this month when Moody’s downgraded U.S. sovereign debt to AA+. The yield on the 30-year Treasury note jumped 0.25 percentage point in May, its largest one-month gain since December, according to Dow Jones Market Data. It set a 52-week high north of 5% on May 21.

Dimon also warned of the “enemy within” in the U.S., calling for a unified front and fixes to things like permitting, regulations, immigration, taxation, schools, and healthcare, among other issues. But he argued the most important issue was maintaining military alliances and the strongest military in the world.  Get more Link: https://www.profitableratecpm.com/fk4wwc0e?key=d48eba2276af6288b01c741241b792bb

“I’m not gonna panic,” he added. “We’ll be fine. We’ll probably make more money, and t

“If we are not the preeminent military and the preeminent economy in 40 years, we will not be the reserve currency,” Dimon said. “That’s a fact. Just read history.”

He said the U.S. has to “get our act together, and we have to do it very quickly.”

He also weighed in on the Trump administration’s Bitcoin efforts to amass large quantities of the cryptocurrency and the U.S. dollar’s current status as the world’s reserve currency. Get more Link: https://www.profitableratecpm.com/fk4wwc0e?key=d48eba2276af6288b01c741241b792bb

“We shouldn’t be stockpiling Bitcoin,” Dimon said. “We should be stockpiling guns, bullets, tanks, planes, drones, you know, rare earths.”

Saturday, May 31, 2025

EU ‘prepared to impose countermeasures’ after Trump doubles steel tariffs to 50%

 EU ‘prepared to impose countermeasures’ 

after Trump doubles steel tariffs to 50%

#The European Union criticized U.S. President Donald Trump’s move to hike tariffs on steel imports, saying it “adds further uncertainty to the global economy.”

#Trump announced Friday he was doubling tariffs on steel imports to 50% from 25%.

#An EU spokesperson said it is “prepared to impose countermeasures, including in response to the latest U.S. tariff increase.”

#“If no mutually acceptable solution is reached, both existing and additional EU measures will automatically take effect on 14 July—or earlier, if circumstances require,” the spokesperson said.

international desk: The European Union on Saturday criticized President Donald Trump’s move to double tariffs on steel imports, warning that it “undermines” efforts to reach a “negotiated solution” in the ongoing trade war.

“We strongly regret the announced increase of U.S. tariffs on steel imports from 25% to 50%,” an EU spokesperson said in a statement to NBC News.

“This decision adds further uncertainty to the global economy and increases costs for consumers and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic,” the spoThe spokesperson added that the EU is “prepared to impose countermeasures, including in response to the latest U.S. tariff increase.”  https://www.profitableratecpm.com/fk4wwc0e?key=d48eba2276af6288b01c741241b792bb

The United Steelworkers union (USW) also criticized Trump’s announcement and said it is a “direct attack on Canadian industries and workers.”

“Thousands of Canadian jobs are on the line and communities that rely on steel and aluminum are being put at risk,” Marty Warren, United Steelworkers National Director for Canada, said in a statement.

“Canada needs to respond immediately and decisively to defend workers.”

Trump on Friday announced that he planned on doubling tariffs on steel imports to 50% from 25%, increasing the pressure on manufacturers dependent on industrial metals for production.

The new import duties are set to go into effect June 4.

His announcement, made at a rally at U.S. Steel in Pennsylvania, came after the president signaled earlier this month that he would approve a controversial deal between Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel.

Trump highlighted an “agreement” between Nippon and U.S. Steel during the Friday rally, but said that the deal was not yet final. https://www.profitableratecpm.com/fk4wwc0e?key=d48eba2276af6288b01c741241b792bb

He said that there will be no layoffs and “no outsourcing whatsoever” due to the deal.

The EU, which said that it had paused its countermeasures against the U.S. on April 14 “to allow time and space” for negotiations, said it is prepared to instate those measures “if no mutually acceptable solution is reached.”

“The European Commission is currently finalizing consultations on expanded countermeasures,” the spokesperson said. “If no mutually acceptable solution is reached, both existing and additional EU measures will automatically take effect on 14 July — or earlier, if circumstances require.”

The Trump administration’s tariff plan hit a snag this week after the U.S. Court of International Trade halted nearly all of Trump’s country-specific tariffs on the grounds that he had exceeded his authority.

The court’s order to cancel the tariffs was swiftly paused, at least for now, by an appeals court.

Despite the pause, the ruling has thrown a wrench into the administration’s broader trade strategy, which relies on the threat of high tariffs to create leverage and force countries to renegotiate their trade deals with the U.S.kesperson continued.

Thursday, May 22, 2025

How UnitedHealthcare became the face of America’s health insurance frustrations

How UnitedHealthcare became the face of America’s health insurance frustrations

we desk : It took six months, countless hours on hold and intervention from state regulators before Sue Cover says she finally resolved an over $1,000 billing dispute with UnitedHealthcare in 2023.


Cover, 46, said she was overbilled for emergency room visits for her and her son, along with a standard ultrasound. While Cover said her family would eventually have been able to pay the sum, she said it would have been a financial strain on them. 

Cover, a San Diego benefits advocate, said she had conversations with UnitedHealthcare that “felt like a circular dance.” Cover said she picked through dense policy language and fielded frequent calls from creditors. She said the experience felt designed to exhaust patients into submission. More video Link : https://t.ly/AXT4K

“It sometimes took my entire day of just sitting on the phone, being on hold with the hospital or the insurance company,” Cover said. 

Cover’s experience is familiar to many Americans. And it embodies rising public furor toward insurers and in particular UnitedHealthcare, the largest private health insurer in the U.S., which has become the poster child for problems with the U.S. insurance industry and the nation’s sprawling health-care system. 

The company and other insurers have faced backlash from patients who say they were denied necessary care, providers who say they are buried in red tape and lawmakers who say they are alarmed by its vast influence. More video Link : https://t.ly/AXT4K

UnitedHealthcare in a statement said it is working with Cover’s provider to “understand the facts of these claims.” The company said it is “unfortunate that CNBC rushed to publish this story without allowing us and the provider adequate time to review.” CNBC provided the company several days to review Cover’s situation before publication.

Andrew Witty, CEO of UnitedHealthcare’s company, UnitedHealth Group, stepped down earlier this month for what the company called “personal reasons.” Witty had led the company through the thick of public and investor blowback. The insurer also pulled its 2025 earnings guidance this month, partly due to rising medical costs, it said.

UnitedHealth Group  is by far the biggest company in the insurance industry by market cap, worth nearly $275 billion. It controls an estimated 15% of the U.S. health insurance market, serving more than 29 million Americans, according to a 2024 report from the American Medical Association. Meanwhile, competitors Elevance Health  and CVS Health control an estimated 12% of the market each. 

It’s no surprise that a company with such a wide reach faces public blowback. But the personal and financial sensitivity of health care makes the venom directed at UnitedHealth unique, some experts told CNBC. More video Link : https://t.ly/AXT4K

Shares of UnitedHealth Group are down about 40% this year following a string of setbacks for the company, despite a temporary reprieve sparked in part by share purchases by company insiders. In the last month alone, UnitedHealth Group has lost nearly $300 billion of its $600 billion market cap following Witty’s exit, the company’s rough first-quarter earnings and a reported criminal probe into possible Medicare fraud. More video Link : https://t.ly/AXT4K

In a statement about the investigation, UnitedHealth Group said, “We stand by the integrity of our Medicare Advantage program.”

Over the years, UnitedHealthcare and other insurers have also faced numerous patient and shareholder lawsuits and several other government investigations. More video Link : https://t.ly/AXT4K

UnitedHealth Group is also contending with the fallout from a February 2024 ransomware attack on Change Healthcare, a subsidiary that processes a significant portion of the country’s medical claims.

More recently, UnitedHealthcare became a symbol for outrage toward insurers following the fatal shooting of its CEO, Brian Thompson, in December. Thompson’s death reignited calls to reform what many advocates and lawmakers say is an opaque industry that puts profits above patients.

The problems go deeper than UnitedHealth Group: Insurers are just one piece of what some experts call a broken U.S. health-care system, where many stakeholders, including drugmakers and pharmacy benefit managers, are trying to balance patient care with making money. Still, experts emphasized that insurers’ cost-cutting tactics — from denying claims to charging higher premiums — can delay or block crucial treatment, leave patients with unexpected bills, they say, or in some cases, even mean the difference between life and death. More video Link : https://t.ly/AXT4K

In a statement, UnitedHealthcare said it is ″unfortunate that CNBC appears to be drawing broad conclusions based on a small number of anecdotes.”

Dow closes down 800 points as bond sell-off rattles markets

 

Dow closes down 800 points as bond sell-off rattles markets

WE desk: Stocks closed down significantly on Wednesday as bond yields spiked amid deficit concerns centered on a tax cut measure under consideration in the U.S. House as part of a megabill supporting President Donald Trump's second-term agenda.

 The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 817 points, or 1.9%, while the S&P 500 declined 1.6%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 1.4%. More video Link : https://t.ly/AXT4K


The sell-off on Wall Street coincided with a surge in bond yields, which in turn raised the cost of U.S. borrowing and stoked investor fears about the wider impact across the economy. The 10-year Treasury yield jumped from 4.48% to 4.58%, reaching its highest level since February. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office on Tuesday found the tax policies backed by Trump would add $3.8 trillion to the national debt. More video Link : https://t.ly/AXT4K

In addition to extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts, the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" contains changes to Medicaid and immigration policy, among other measures. Republican members of the House are aiming to pass the bill by Memorial Day. The bond sell-off arrives at a moment of heightened volatility in Treasury markets. Long-term bond yields soared last month in the immediate aftermath of Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs. More video Link : https://t.ly/AXT4K

A U.S. credit downgrade at Moody's last week further roiled debt markets. More video Link : https://t.ly/AXT4K

Bond yields rise as bond prices fall. When a sell-off hits and demand for bonds dries up, it sends bond prices lower. In turn, bond yields move higher. The yield for long-term Treasury bonds helps set interest rates for a host of consumer loans, including mortgages and credit cards. When interest rates rise, businesses also face higher borrowing costs, making it less likely that firms would move forward with an office expansion or round of hiring, analysts previously told ABC News. In turn, such conditions risk an economic slowdown.

Senate clears way to block clean air standards in California, including vehicle emission rules

Senate clears way to block clean air standards in California, including vehicle emission rules

Desk Story : WASHINGTON -- Senate Republicans on Wednesday voted to establish a new precedent that will allow them to roll back vehicle emission standards in California, including a rule phasing out the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035

The winding series of Senate procedural votes that went late into the evening could have profound implications for California’s longstanding efforts to reduce air pollution. It also established a new, narrow exception to the Senate filibuster even as Republicans have insisted that they won’t try to change Senate rules. https://t.ly/AXT4K

Democrats strongly objected to the move, delaying the votes for hours as Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., cleared the way procedurally for Republicans to bring up three House-passed resolutions that would block the rules. The Senate could pass the resolutions later this week.

At issue are the three California rules — phasing out gas-powered cars, cutting tailpipe emissions from medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and curbing smog-forming nitrogen oxide pollution from trucks.

Republicans say the phase out of gas-powered cars, along with the other rules, is costly for consumers and manufacturers, puts pressure on the nation’s energy grid and has become a de facto nationwide electric vehicle mandate. Democrats charge that Republicans are acting at the behest of the oil and gas industry and say that California should be able to set its own standards after obtaining waivers from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Thune said this week that the waivers “go far beyond the scope Congress contemplated in the Clean Air Act” and said they “endanger consumers, our economy and our nation’s energy supply.”

Also at issue is the Senate as an institution, and longstanding filibuster rules that both parties have rolled back over the last two decades. While the Republicans’ effort is narrow, it is one of several increasingly partisan efforts to push legislation through the Senate on party-line votes.

Through the series of votes Wednesday, Republicans set precedent for the Senate to reject the state EPA waivers with a simple majority vote. They made that move even after the Senate parliamentarian agreed with the Government Accountability Office that California’s policies are not subject to the Congressional Review Act, a law that allows Congress to reject federal regulations under certain circumstances.

“Republicans tonight cross a point of no return for the Senate, expanding what this chamber can do at a majority threshold,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor as he moved to delay the votes. He called the Republicans “fair-weather institutionalists.” https://www.profitableratecpm.com/fk4wwc0e?key=d48eba2276af6288b01c741241b792bb

Both parties have made major moves to roll back the filibuster — which requires a 60-vote threshold — in recent years.

Democrats voted in 2013, under President Barack Obama, to lower the vote threshold to a simple majority for all presidential nominees, with the exception of the Supreme Court. In 2017, during President Donald Trump’s first term, Republicans rolled back the remaining filibuster rules to confirm Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, a rule that Democrats maintained in confirming Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson in 2022. That same year, Democrats unsuccessfully attempted to roll back the legislative filibuster but were thwarted by some in their own party who opposed the move.

Republicans have argued this week that they are simply reinforcing Senate rules, and federal laws, that are already in place.

“We are not talking about doing anything to erode the institutional character of the Senate; in fact, we are talking about preserving the Senate’s prerogatives," Thune said.

The votes to roll back California standards come after years of Republican efforts to block them. The Trump administration in 2019 revoked California’s ability to enforce its own emissions standards, but President Joe Biden later restored the state’s authority.

Republicans have argued that the rules effectively dictate standards for the whole country, imposing what would eventually be a nationwide electric vehicle mandate. Around a dozen states have already followed California’s lead. ttps://www.profitableratecpm.com/fk4wwc0e?key=d48eba2276af6288b01c741241b792bb

California for decades has been given the authority to adopt vehicle emissions standards that are stricter than the federal government’s. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, announced plans in 2020 to ban the sale of all new gas-powered vehicles within 15 years as part of an aggressive effort to lower emissions from the transportation sector. Plug-in hybrids and used gas cars could still be sold.

The Biden administration approved the state’s waiver to implement the standards in December, a month before Trump returned to office. The California rules are stricter than a Biden-era rule that tightens emissions standards but does not require sales of electric vehicles.

Biden’s EPA said in announcing the decision that opponents of the California waivers did not meet their legal burden to show how either the EV rule or a separate measure on heavy-duty vehicles was inconsistent with the Clean Air Act.

Newsom has evoked Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, who signed landmark environmental laws, as he has fought congressional Republicans and the Trump administration on the issue.

“The United States Senate has a choice: cede American car-industry dominance to China and clog the lungs of our children, or follow decades of precedent and uphold the clean air policies that Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon fought so hard for,” he said this week.

Can you still visit the countries listed under Trump’s travel ban?

 Can you still visit the countries listed under Trump’s travel ban? People from a dozen countries will soon be barred from entering the U.S....