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☆ Mitch McConnell says Tucker Carlson's following in the GOP is 'disturbing'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Mitch McConnell recently offered his most blunt remarks yet on former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. "At the risk of patting myself on the back, not many Republicans went after Tucker Carlson, but I did," McConnell told Bloomberg. "I think Carlson had developed a coterie of followers in the Congress as well as in the country that I found disturbing." "I do think the party of Ronald Reagan is coming back here," said McConnell. Despite McConnell's comments, Carlson continues to enjoy warm relations with many in the Republican Party.

☆ Elon Musk once praised a rocket CEO who didn't go to college for beating Jeff Bezos to orbit, new book reveals: 'Bezos has spent a shitload of money, and he hasn't made it'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A new book reveals Elon Musk once praised a rival New Zealand rocket CEO in a 2018 phone call. Musk said it was "impressive" that Rocket Lab launched a rocket into orbit before Blue Origin, per the book. Like SpaceX, Rocket Lab has been able to launch rockets into orbit — something Bezos' Blue Origin company has not yet achieved. In March, Rocket Lab launched its 35th Electron rocket just a week after launching its 34th Electron rocket. Neither Rocket Lab, Blue Origin, nor Musk responded to Insider's requests for comment.

☆ Republicans dismiss fears that their debt ceiling bill would make the housing crisis worse for 1 million families as 'scaremongering'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

House Republicans' debt ceiling bill would cut significant funding from federal housing services. HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge said the agency would suffer "the most devastating impacts in HUD's history" if the funding cuts in the bill are made law. He went on, "It's being positioned as congressional Republicans are heartless because they want to pass these spending cuts. "The House bill reduces spending to the levels we had in 2022. The last I checked, 2022 was not a horrid apocalypse sweeping across our country," Cruz told Insider on Wednesday.

☆ Opinion | Women Have Always Chosen Not to Have Kids. Get Used to It.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Peggy O Donnell Heffington | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

So when Senator Vance and the pope — among many others, of course — express concern about women today not having children, they aren’t comparing us to a past that actually existed. In ancient Rome, women used things like beeswax, olive-oil-soaked cloth or even halved lemons to block their cervices before having sex. From medieval Europe to colonial America, women would have used an array of herbs to attempt to end pregnancies. Nearly 16 percent of white women and 13 percent of Black women born in 1870 had no children; of all American women born between 1900 and 1910, 20 percent never did. Some of them, maybe even many of them, were actively avoiding having children.

☆ Trump's rape trial defense? His accuser and her friends have Trump Derangement Syndrome
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Donald Trump's lawyers have tried to undermine E. Jean Carroll, who accuses him of rape. Just moments later, Trump's lawyers rested their case as well, without presenting any evidence. Carroll and her friends, Trump's lawyers suggest, all have Trump Derangement Syndrome. According to Trump's lawyers, the whole lawsuit is a conspiracy schemed up by ardent Trump critic George Conway. AP Photo/John MinchilloTrump's attorney pointed out that Birnbach had said Trump and his allies had symptoms of Trump Derangement Syndrome.

☆ Sen. JD Vance defends Tucker Carlson over leaked 'how white men fight' text: 'He says far more controversial things publicly every single day'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Tucker Carlson bemoaned that a group of Trump supporters didn't fight like "white men," per a leaked text. "By the way, I don't think that's why he was fired," the Ohio senator added. "I don't know why that would justify somebody getting fired, especially when you're talking about a private text message." "I'm highly skeptical that text message caused them to fire Tucker Carlson. "Once a week, I worry that something terrible will happen to Tucker Carlson," said Vance.

☆ US to help journalists globally defend against legal threats
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

UNITED NATIONS, May 2 (Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday launched a program to defend journalists around the world from legal threats aimed at silencing critical voices, a growing tactic that top U.S. aid official Samantha Power described as "lawfare." Power, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), announced the Reporters Shield program at an event to mark World Press Freedom Day at the United Nations. USAID said it plans to work with Congress to provide up to $9 million for the Reporters Shield program that will be jointly managed by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice. "To withstand lawfare journalists and media outlets need robust protection, they need training in how to avoid lawsuits altogether, they need resources to hire lawyers and cover legal fees," Power said. USAID said Reporters Shield will be a membership program and organizations will pay an annual fee based on factors like the outlet's location and how many stories they produce a year.

☆ Trump's Senate backers are fine with him skipping 2024 primary debates: 'Most of it's for entertainment anyway'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Trump is threatening to skip 2024 primary debates, and his Senate backers are just fine with that. In brief interviews with Insider at the Capitol on Tuesday, some of the 11 Republican senators who've endorsed Trump backed him up on those arguments. He famously skipped a primary debate before the 2016 Iowa caucus, allowing other candidates to criticize him without him being able to respond. Ronna McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, announced in April that the first GOP primary debate would be held in August in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. On Sunday, when asked about Trump's threat to skip the debates, she said simply that it was "his choice."

☆ The 10 Senate seats most likely to flip in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Simone Pathe | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +19 min

The GOP needs a net gain of one or two seats to flip the chamber, depending on which party wins the White House in 2024, and it’s Democrats who are defending the tougher seats. Jim Justice announcing his Senate bid in West Virginia – the seat most likely to flip party control in 2024. In a presidential year, the national environment is likely to loom large, especially with battleground states hosting key Senate races. Two businessmen with the ability to tap into or raise significant resources could be in the mix – Eric Hovde, who lost the GOP Senate nomination in 2012, and Scott Mayer. Still, unseating Cruz in a state Trump won by nearly 6 points in 2020 will be a tall order.

☆ Wall St Week Ahead Recession worries simmer beneath US stock market rally
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Lewis Krauskopf | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

NEW YORK, April 28 (Reuters) - Economically sensitive areas of the U.S. stock market are flashing warnings over growth, even as major equity indexes edge higher. Beneath the surface, however, areas of the market tied to economic sentiment such as transports, semiconductors and small-cap stocks dropped in April, while so-called defensive sectors are outperforming. “People are starting to more defensively position themselves,” said Aaron Dunn, co-head of the value equity team at Eaton Vance. "They are talking about demand being down and they are ridiculously important shipping companies,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak. Reporting by Lewis Krauskopf; Editing by Ira Iosebashvili and David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Morgan Stanley's wealth business just keeps on winning
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

It's good to be Morgan Stanley these days. Amid a difficult market for Wall Street banks — thanks in large part to non-existent deal flow — Morgan Stanley's massive wealth business has been paying off big time. But Morgan Stanley's success isn't coming in a vacuum. -Meanwhile, UBS, arguably Morgan Stanley's biggest competitor in the space, was begrudgingly saddled with Credit Suisse's carcass. With wealth advisors, a key part of hiring includes offering "bonuses" that are actually loans.

☆ These are the top Senate races to watch in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

They have reason to be hopeful: Democrats face a daunting 2024 Senate map that puts them on defense in 23 of the cycle's 34 races, including multiple seats considered ripe for GOP challenges. The grim outlook has some Senate Democrats considering retirement, even after the caucus expanded to a 51-49 majority following a better-than-expected showing in the midterms. Jim Justice, reportedly the state's richest man and one of its favored contenders for the Senate race. But the 2024 Senate race in Ohio is currently considered a toss-up, as Republicans have made significant gains in the state in the last two election cycles. Sabato's Crystal Ball and the Cook Political Report both say the Michigan Senate race leans Democratic.

When Thiel spoke at the 2016 Republican National Convention, he had more hope that the party would concentrate on economic issues, his business associate said. Four political sources also told Reuters that Thiel is taking a step back from U.S. politics. In 2012, Thiel backed libertarian lawmaker Ron Paul, and in 2016 he donated some $1.25 million to the campaign efforts of Trump, who is the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination. In the 2022 election cycle, however, Thiel emerged as a potential Republican kingmaker, contributing more than $35 million to 16 federal-level Republican candidates, according to OpenSecrets. The business associate said he was not aware of any special proviso for former employees.

☆ The fundamental factors fueling the European rally this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Kevin Schmidt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Favorable climate conditions and a decrease in the cost of natural gas are fueling a European market rally, a stark contrast to energy crisis fears of last year. "Which could arguably be a tail wind for the European consumer to help spend on those luxury goods." European luxury stocks are among the breakout stars in 2023, with Rolls Royce up 58% and Hermes and LVMH jumping 34% and 33%, respectively. Bartolini said that the energy crisis concerns that were once weighing down on sentiment have come and gone, reinvigorating optimism into the European market. "Because there are more things pointing up than there are more things pointing down for the European markets."

☆ Europe is the place to invest so far in 2023. Here's why
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Bob Pisani | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. stocks are off to a good start in 2023, with the S & P 500 up 7%, but Europe is just killing it. All the major European ETFs are up 15%-20% for the year and were at new highs last week. From makeup to sneakers to steel to pharmaceuticals and software to cars for the masses, Europe is outperforming. European stocks this year L'Oreal up 38% Adidas up 33% Thyssenkrup up 32% Bayer up 30% SAP up 29% Stellantis up 25% There's are several other reasons Europe is outperforming. That is historically a very low P/E ratio for Europe, in the 4th percentile (low) relative to the STOXX Europe 600 over the last 15 years.

☆ 14 big moments in the history of Elon Musk's SpaceX — from nearly going bankrupt in 2008 to the fiery Starship explosion
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Grace Kay | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Elon Musk was inspired to start building his own rockets in 2001 after a Russian rocket designer spat on his shoes. Elon Musk at his desk in 2004. At the time, Musk was visiting Russia in order to negotiate a deal to buy space rockets for a future mission to Mars. SpaceX cofounder Jim Cantrell also recalled the incident in a Channel 4 documentary that aired in May and in a biography on Musk by Ashlee Vance, "Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future." Sources: Insider, "Escaping Gravity: My Quest to Transform NASA and Launch a New Space Age," "Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future."

☆ Big bank earnings season is over. Here's how our stocks stack up against peers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Big bank earnings are behind us. Investment banks Goldman Sachs (GS) and Club holding Morgan Stanley (MS) are the two pure-play investment banks we care about. Third place was tight, but the combination of better earnings growth and a significantly better ROTCE made Bank of America (BAC) the better performer. Sizing up bank valuations Morgan Stanley is currently trading at a premium at 13.7 times forward earnings, compared to 10.3 for GS. Morgan Stanley Chairman and Chief Executive James Gorman speaks during the Institute of International Finance Annual Meeting in Washington, October 10, 2014.

☆ RESTRICT Act explained: proposed TikTok ban is 'a PATRIOT Act for the digital age,' some lawmakers say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

The RESTRICT Act, a bill that could ban TikTok nationwide, was introduced in the Senate last month. GOP Senator JD Vance of Ohio called the bill proposal "a PATRIOT Act for the digital age." But the RESTRICT Act — touted as a way ban TikTok nationwide — would do far more than prevent users from accessing an app known for its viral dance routines and conspiracy theory videos. "This will directly improve our national security as well as safeguard Americans' personal information and our nation's vital intellectual property." Even those who support a TikTok ban, such as Senator JD Vance of Ohio, don't see the RESTRICT Act as an appropriate solution.

☆ Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Rep. Jim Jordan Reach Deal in Dispute Over Former Trump Prosecutor
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Corinne Ramey | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Alvin Bragg, Manhattan district attorney, had filed a lawsuit seeking to block a subpoena issued to a former prosecutor. Photo: Stephanie Keith/Bloomberg NewsManhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R., Ohio) on Friday agreed to an arrangement in which a former Trump prosecutor will testify before a House committee, ending litigation over the matter. Under the settlement, the deposition of former prosecutor Mark Pomerantz , who worked on the probe of Donald Trump for Mr. Bragg’s predecessor, Cyrus Vance Jr ., will go forward on May 12, according to a spokesman for Mr. Jordan. “We look forward to his appearance,” the spokesman said.

In this Aug. 12, 2002 file photo, attorney Mark Pomerantz arrives at Federal Court in New York. A federal appeals court on Thursday temporarily blocked a House Judiciary Committee subpoena for testimony from a former Manhattan prosecutor who was involved in a criminal investigation of ex-President Donald Trump. In response to the subpoena to Pomerantz, Bragg sued the Judiciary Committee to try to block the former prosecutor from testifying. U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil, a Trump nominee, on Wednesday denied Bragg's effort to invalidate the subpoena for Pomerantz. "The subpoena was issued with a 'valid legislative purpose' in connection with the 'broad' and 'indispensable' congressional power to 'conduct investigations,'" Vyskocil wrote in federal court in Manhattan.

Gorman has transformed the Wall Street powerhouse into a more diversified firm that is less reliant on its traditional strengths -- trading and investment banking -- since taking the helm in 2010. He was also the key architect behind Morgan Stanley's purchase of Smith Barney, a brokerage and investment adviser that became a cornerstone of the bank's wealth management arm. Morgan Stanley's profit beat expectations as rising revenue from wealth management in the first quarter offset declines in investment banking and trading. Wealth management accounted for 45% of firm's revenue, the results showed. Despite strains at some U.S. banks, Gorman said the industry is not in a banking crisis, nor was it facing problems comparable to the mortgage crash in 2008.

☆ Morgan Stanley delivered a solid quarter, despite gathering macroeconomic clouds
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Club holding Morgan Stanley (MS) reported better-than-expected first-quarter results on Wednesday, even as the stock came under pressure due to rising expenses. Morgan Stanley stock initially tumbled nearly 4%, before reversing some of those losses to rise just under 1% in afternoon trading Wednesday, to about $90.50 a share. Bottom line An increase in provisions for credit losses and higher-than-expected compensation expenses weighed on shares early in Wednesday's session — but Morgan Stanley, nonetheless, reported a solid first quarter. Despite a difficult operating environment, Morgan Stanley remains a best-in-class investment bank. The Morgan Stanley headquarters building is seen on January 17, 2023 in New York City.

☆ Montana lawmakers pass bill to ban TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Montana legislators approved a bill on Friday that would ban TikTok from being offered in the state in a 54-43 vote. Beyond Montana, federal lawmakers have for months been pushing an act that would ban TikTok across the country if ByteDance won't sell its stake in the viral video app. The Montana bill cited likely Chinese surveillance and the potential theft of state intellectual property as some of the impetus behind the ban. TikTok said it opposes the bill, adding that there's no clear path for the Montana government to enforce it or punish violators. "We will continue to fight for TikTok users and creators in Montana whose livelihoods and First Amendment rights are threatened by this egregious government overreach."

☆ Montana's legislature has passed a statewide ban on TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The bill bans TikTok on nearly all personal devices and also bars app stores from offering TikTok. The bill is pending a signature from Montana's governor, Greg Gianforte, but would go into effect in 2024. On Friday, Montana legislators voted in favor of a bill to ban TikTok within state lines. The bill is now pending approval from Montana's governor Greg Gianforte. Other groups like the American Civil Liberties Union are also protesting Montana's bill.

☆ Here are all of the Republican elected officials backing Trump's 2024 campaign
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Bryan Metzger | Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Michael Burgess — the Texas congressman endorsed Trump in March after being named to the former president's campaign's Texas leadership team. Eli Crane — the Arizona freshman tweeted his support for Trump's 2024 bid the night of his announcement. Barry Moore — the Alabama congressman endorsed Trump in a radio interview in December, citing the former president's "experience level." 3 House Republican endorsed Trump days before his widely expected 2024 announcement in November. Roger Williams — the Texas congressman endorsed Trump in March after being named to the former president's campaign's Texas leadership team.

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