<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/north-carolina" target="_blank" rel="noopener">North Carolina</a> State Treasurer Dale Folwell called for the resignation of <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/blackrock" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BlackRock</a> CEO Larry Fink over his focus on the environmental, social, and governance movement, also known as <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/esg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESG</a>.
According to a letter sent on Friday and provided to The Daily Wire, the Tar Heel State’s public retirement system invests over $14 billion through the asset management company in a variety of passive and active funds. Folwell asserted that “ideological pressure” from Fink could lead to the use of ESG ratings against state and local governments, while initiatives related to <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/climate-change" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climate change</a> and other causes imply that the firm is not solely focused on maximizing profits.
“As keeper of the public purse, my duty is to manage our investments to ensure that the best interests of those that teach, protect and serve, as well as of our retirees, are always paramount,” Folwell wrote. “Unfortunately, Larry Fink’s pursuit of a political agenda has gotten in the way of BlackRock’s same fiduciary duty. A focus on ESG is not a focus on returns and potentially could force us to violate our own fiduciary duty.”
The move from the state of North Carolina occurs one month after Bluebell Capital Management, a small hedge fund based in London, <a href="https://static.foxbusiness.com/foxbusiness.com/content/uploads/2022/12/Bluebell-Partners-letter-to-BlackRock-10-November-2022.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> for the ouster of Fink, arguing that his emphasis on ESG has &#8220;alienated clients and attracted an undesired level of negative publicity.”
BlackRock has taken “voting action on climate issues” against dozens of its portfolio companies, according to an investment stewardship <a href="https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/literature/publication/our-commitment-to-sustainability-full-report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> published two years ago. Folwell noted that Fink opposed the election of two board members at ExxonMobil in 2020 because of “insignificant progress” toward implementing renewable energy projects. The move, however, preceded record demand for fossil fuels that has made the sector one of the few to produce <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/virtue-signaling-isnt-free-how-woke-investing-fell-apart-once-the-economy-got-bad" target="_blank" rel="noopener">robust stock market returns</a> over the past year.
“There is no blue money or red money at the treasurer’s office, only green,” Folwell continued. “BlackRock needs to be totally focused on returns for their clients, not on the political effort to ‘transform’ the economy to your vision of carbon zero. Fossil fuels will be the engine that drives the world’s economy for the foreseeable future. The only way that I can see BlackRock refocusing on its fiduciary duty to its clients is for a change at the top.”
Folwell is the first Republican state treasurer to call for the resignation of Fink. Officials in states such as South Carolina, Louisiana, Missouri, West Virginia, and Florida have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/florida-pulling-2-billion-from-blackrock-as-company-pushes-social-engineering-with-taxpayer-dollars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">divested billions</a> from the asset management company, as well as other firms such as Vanguard and State Street. Lawmakers in the state of Texas <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/texas-subpoenas-schedules-hearing-for-blackrock-playing-politics-using-texans-hard-earned-money" target="_blank" rel="noopener">subpoenaed</a> BlackRock this week for documents related to the firm’s support of the ESG movement; a hearing with the three companies, as well as Institutional Shareholder Services, is scheduled for December 15.
When asked why he did not move to divest funds from BlackRock alongside other states, Folwell told The Daily Wire that the ouster of Fink would allow residents to “get the value that BlackRock index firms offer” without the executive’s “misguided focus on ESG.”
Skepticism of ESG from state officials and private funds has prompted asset management companies to amend their support of the movement. Vanguard <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/vanguard-drops-out-of-climate-initiative-as-reaction-against-woke-investing-continues" target="_blank" rel="noopener">severed ties</a> with the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, under which firms commit to moving portfolio companies toward eliminating net carbon emissions by 2050, while BlackRock <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/blackrock-makes-major-change-after-backlash-against-woke-investing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that institutional clients will be able to vote their own shares rather than allow the company to act as a proxy.
Folwell, noting the existence of reforms at BlackRock permitting investors in certain pooled vehicles to “have some degree of control over their voting,” said in the letter that “the existence of the proxy voting program does not mitigate the need for a new direction at BlackRock.”

New York Times DealBook Summit Held In New York City

North Carolina State Treasurer Calls For The Resignation Of BlackRock’s Larry Fink

North Carolina State Treasurer Calls For The Resignation Of BlackRock's Larry Fink

BlackRock

Climate Change

Economy

North Carolina

U.S.

Wokeness

Canadian celebrity investor Kevin O’Leary said that he lost his entire $15 million payout from FTX, the defunct <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/cryptocurrency">cryptocurrency</a> exchange for which he was an ambassador.
FTX filed for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/30-year-old-billionaire-loses-entire-fortune-overnight-as-his-bahamas-based-cryptocurrency-empire-implodes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bankruptcy</a> last month after users discovered that the company was likely intertwined with Alameda Research; both were controlled by now-broke former billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried and a close-knit group of amateur executives. O’Leary, known for serving as a judge on reality startup show “Shark Tank,” said that his payout earned from work to promote the defunct company is swimming with the fishes.
“Total deal was just under $15 million, all in,” O’Leary said during an <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/08/ftx-spokesman-kevin-oleary-says-he-lost-15-million-crypto-payday.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” adding that he placed $9.7 million into cryptocurrencies. “I think that’s what I lost. I don’t know. It’s all at zero.”
Mr. Wonderful also had more than $1 million in FTX equity, which is now worthless due to the bankruptcy. The remaining benefits evaporated in taxes and agent fees.
“It was not a good investment,” he admitted.
O’Leary, known for his intense skepticism of pitches presented to “Shark Tank,” lamented that he fell victim to “groupthink.” The former software entrepreneur has lauded FTX on social media and expressed confidence in the company’s legitimacy.
&#8220;To find crypto investment opportunities that met my own rigorous standards of compliance, I entered into this relationship with FTX,” he said in a <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ftx-and-kevin-oleary-announce-long-term-investment-and-spokesperson-relationship-301352189.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> announcing the brand ambassador partnership last year. “It has some of the best crypto exchange offerings I&#8217;ve seen on the market. FTX leverages best-in-class tech to provide a quality trading experience with low fees for both professional and retail investors alike, while at the same time providing the reporting platform that serves both internal and regulatory compliance requirements.&#8221;
Bankman-Fried solicited a number of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/from-brady-to-shaq-here-are-the-celebrities-who-lost-big-on-the-ftx-implosion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cultural icons</a> to participate in advertisements featuring the exchange platform. Golden State Warriors point guard Steph Curry, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and his supermodel ex-wife Gisele Bündchen, and basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal appeared in advertisements or otherwise promoted the company.
The celebrities were named in a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tom-brady-steph-curry-other-celebrities-sued-for-pushing-ponzi-scheme-ftx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a> filed in the Southern District of Florida on behalf of investor Edwin Garrison and others affected by the company’s failure. The complaint accused the icons of participating in a “fraudulent scheme” meant to deceive unsophisticated investors. The lawsuit argued that the brand ambassadors, many of whom received equity stakes in the company, failed to perform “any due diligence” before marketing FTX to the public, adding that their failure to disclose “the nature, scope, and amount of compensation they personally received” in exchange for promoting FTX represents “a violation of the anti-touting provisions of the federal securities laws.”
Bankman-Fried, the second-largest donor to the 2020 campaign of President Joe Biden and the sixth-largest <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/here-are-the-democrats-and-republicans-who-received-campaign-cash-linked-to-bankrupt-crypto-empire-ftx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">overall contributor</a> in the recent midterm elections, aggressively tried to recruit singer-songwriter Taylor Swift as a brand ambassador for his cryptocurrency empire. Reportedly a diehard fan of the pop star, Bankman-Fried neared the late stages of negotiating a $100 million sponsorship deal, according to a <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/2b0601e2-d371-404d-8531-227f11d4a83f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the Financial Times.

Collage Maker-08-Dec-2022-01.49-PM

Kevin O’Leary Says He Fell Victim To ‘Groupthink,’ Lost All Of His $15 Million Payout As FTX Ambassador

Kevin O'Leary Lost All Of His $15 Million Payout As FTX Ambassador

Cryptocurrency

Investors

Lawsuit

One of the most noteworthy geopolitical and <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">economic</a> developments in modern history has been the emergence of <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China</a> as a superpower. The miraculous rise of the once-ascendent communist nation, however, could lose tremendous momentum as the strength of its manufacturing sector rapidly dissipates.
China’s gross domestic product has expanded at an average of 9% since the country opened and reformed its economy more than four decades ago, according to <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/china/overview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the World Bank, enabling more than 800 million residents to escape poverty. Over the past two years, however, the Chinese government has been among the most zealous enforcers of COVID lockdown policies on the planet.
Quarantines mandated under the nation’s zero-COVID policy have fostered unpredictable <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/supply-chain" target="_blank" rel="noopener">supply chain</a> shocks for foreign companies in recent months, causing a push to build manufacturing and logistics capabilities elsewhere. American manufacturing orders from China have plummeted as much as 40%, according to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/04/manufacturing-orders-from-china-down-40percent-in-demand-collapse.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the CNBC Supply Chain Heat Map.
“The fall in demand is a combination of persistent COVID-19 related shutdowns in China leading to bottlenecks in the export of products out of China, lower American consumer spending on merchandise goods, and supply chains gradually moving out of or diversifying away from China,” Hudson Institute senior fellow John Lee told The Daily Wire. “The latter reason will be a major cause of lower American demand for Chinese goods in structural terms as more goods into America will come from other markets.”
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In one high-profile example, an iPhone manufacturing facility in Zhengzhou was rocked by protests over zero-COVID restrictions, severely disrupting operations and leading Apple to accelerate production shifts to economies such as India and Vietnam, according to a <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-china-factory-protests-foxconn-manufacturing-production-supply-chain-11670023099" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from The Wall Street Journal. The world’s most valuable technology company had already <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/apple-shifts-ipad-manufacturing-away-from-china-due-to-harsh-covid-lockdowns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">moved</a> some iPad production earlier this year to Vietnam, where the AirPod earbud series is manufactured, in reaction to lockdowns in Shanghai.
Lee, who formerly worked as senior national security adviser to Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, remarked that “permanent geopolitical tensions” are another factor behind the “deliberate decoupling” of manufacturing deals between the United States and China. The trend is especially apparent in the technology sector, which has been the subject of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-makes-historic-move-to-block-certain-chinese-tech-after-national-security-concerns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increased scrutiny</a> over American regulators’ unease regarding Chinese espionage and intellectual property theft.
“In most merchandise goods which are not high-tech products, the supply chains moving out of China due to firms hedging against geopolitical tensions will continue to be a cause for lower American demand of Chinese goods into the future,” Lee commented. “Hence, it is geopolitical tensions leading to lower American demand for Chinese goods rather than lower American demand being the cause of geopolitical tensions.”
Staunch geopolitical aggression will likely be a central tenet of the nation’s foreign policy in the foreseeable future. Chinese President Xi Jinping, who recently began an unprecedented third term, lauded the defeat of democratic aspirations in Hong Kong and forecasted the imminent conquest of Taiwan in a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chinas-xi-issues-dark-warning-on-taiwan-as-he-consolidates-power-over-ccp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">speech</a> at the Chinese Communist Party’s twice-per-decade meeting of senior legislators. The executive has largely staked his reputation as a leader on the zero-COVID policy over the past two years.

Made in China. Cardboard boxes with text made in China and chinese flag on the roller conveyor.

Chinese Manufacturing Is Quickly Collapsing

Chinese Manufacturing Is Collapsing As Other Nations Rise In Prominence

China

Lockdowns

Supply Chain

World

Xi Jinping

<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/india" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indian</a> multinational conglomerate Tata Group plans to start production of <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/technology" target="_blank" rel="noopener">semiconductors</a> in the country within the next few years.
Multiple manufacturing economies in East Asia enforced harsh lockdown measures two years ago, creating disruptions in the worldwide semiconductor <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/supply-chain" target="_blank" rel="noopener">supply chain</a> that continue to the present day. Tata Sons Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran revealed during an <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Tech/Semiconductors/Tata-to-enter-chip-production-in-India-says-chairman?utm_campaign=IC_asia_daily_free&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=NA_newsletter&amp;utm_content=article_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with Nikkei Asia that the company would invest $90 billion in various projects over the next five years, from electric vehicles to renewable energy, as the Indian economy develops.
&#8220;We have created Tata Electronics, under which we are going to set up semiconductor assembly testing business,&#8221; Chandrasekaran told the outlet, adding that the company would “have discussions with multiple players,&#8221; a reference to partnering with existing chip manufacturers.
The company could eventually create an “upstream chip fabrication platform,” according to the executive. Launching a fabrication facility, often called a “fab” within the industry, presents more technical and financial obstacles than establishing plants devoted to assembly and testing.
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China, South Korea, and Japan maintain nearly 80% of global semiconductor manufacturing capacity, according to <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2022/04/12/ensuring-a-stronger-us-taiwan-tech-supply-chain-partnership/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the Brookings Institution, with Taiwanese companies such as TSMC producing more than 90% of cutting-edge chips smaller than 10 nanometers, the type of chips used in cell phones and computers. China, a geopolitical rival of India, has recently floated <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chinas-xi-issues-dark-warning-on-taiwan-as-he-consolidates-power-over-ccp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">invading</a> Taiwan, prompting some economies to hedge against disrupted supplies from TSMC.
India presently has no semiconductor industry apart from software design. Demand for consumer electronics, however, has been quickly growing within the developing nation, which is slated to overtake Japan and Germany as the world’s third-largest economy within the next decade, according to a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/india-will-surpass-japan-and-germany-as-the-worlds-third-largest-economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from S&amp;P Global.
India presently maintains a trade surplus with the United States and a trade deficit with China, the latter of which is seen as a vulnerability among Indian officials. The dynamic “encourages policymakers to seek alternatives, particularly in pharmaceuticals, automobiles, and electronics, where the aim is to make India a major exporter itself,” the report said.
India boasted a real gross domestic product of $3.2 trillion as of last year, according to <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?most_recent_value_desc=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the World Bank, while the United States and China are the world’s first and second largest economies, with real output of $23 trillion and $17.7 trillion, respectively. The nascent South Asian power is slated to eclipse China as the world’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/world-population-surpasses-8-billion-people-india-to-overtake-china-next-year" target="_blank" rel="noopener">most populous</a> country as soon as next year. The former nation currently maintains a fertility rate of 2.2 children per woman, while the latter has a fertility rate of 1.7 children per woman, according to <a href="https://data.oecd.org/pop/fertility-rates.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Geopolitical and supply chain tensions have caused lawmakers in the United States and Europe to enact more robust semiconductor manufacturing incentives. The CHIPS and Science Act, signed by President Joe Biden earlier this year, created $39 billion in <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/08/09/fact-sheet-chips-and-science-act-will-lower-costs-create-jobs-strengthen-supply-chains-and-counter-china/#:~:text=%20FACT%20SHEET%3A%20CHIPS%20and%20Science%20Act%20Will,for%20capital%20expenses%20for%20manufacturing%20of...%20More%20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">manufacturing incentives</a> for semiconductors, $13.2 billion for research and development and a 25% investment tax credit for computer chip production.
TSMC announced <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chipmaker-triples-investment-in-new-arizona-plant-to-40-billion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">plans</a> to more than triple its $12 billion investment into a new fabrication complex in Arizona, marking the largest foreign direct investment in the state’s history. “We are thankful for the continual collaboration that has brought us here and are pleased to work with our partners in the United States to serve as a base for semiconductor innovation,” TSMC Chairman Mark Liu said in a <a href="https://pr.tsmc.com/english/news/2977" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a>.

INDIA-ECONOMY-AUTO

Major Indian Company To Start Producing Semiconductors As Global Shortages, Threats From China Continue

India

Technology

House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Rep. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/maxine-waters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Maxine Waters</a> (D-CA) is reportedly not planning to subpoena disgraced former FTX CEO <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/sam-bankman-fried" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sam Bankman-Fried</a> to testify in front of the committee next week about the company&#8217;s rapid collapse.
CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/07/ftx-maxine-waters-doesnt-plan-to-subpoena-sam-bankman-fried-to-testify-at-hearing-on-crypto-exchanges-collapse.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, citing sources, that Waters informed members of her decision Tuesday during a private meeting with Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler.
Waters told members that she wants Bankman-Fried to testify &#8220;voluntarily&#8221; even though he has not agreed to do so, the report said.
&#8220;Your willingness to talk to the public will help the company&#8217;s customers, investors, and others,&#8221; Waters tweeted to Bankman-Fried earlier this month. &#8220;To that end, we would welcome your participation in our hearing on the 13th.&#8221;
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Bankman-Fried responded, &#8220;Once I have finished learning and reviewing what happened, I would feel like it was my duty to appear before the committee and explain.&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;m not sure that will happen by the 13th,&#8221; he added. &#8220;But when it does, I will testify.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Rep. Waters, and the House Committee on Financial Services:
Once I have finished learning and reviewing what happened, I would feel like it was my duty to appear before the committee and explain.
I&#39;m not sure that will happen by the 13th. But when it does, I will testify. <a href="https://t.co/c0P8yKlyQt">https://t.co/c0P8yKlyQt</a>
&mdash; SBF (@SBF_FTX) <a href="https://twitter.com/SBF_FTX/status/1599511560384225281?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 4, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
FTX, which is headquartered in the Bahamas, was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/30-year-old-billionaire-loses-entire-fortune-overnight-as-his-bahamas-based-cryptocurrency-empire-implodes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">launched</a> in 2019 and had accrued more than one million users by 2022. Users suddenly demanded $6 billion in withdrawals after an article published by CoinDesk revealed last month that the two arms of Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency empire, FTX and Alameda Research, had significant overlap on their balance sheets in the form of the cryptocurrency FTT, which FTX invented. Rival firm Binance, which had been planning to purchase FTX, announced that it would discharge all holdings in the coin and eventually reversed course on the acquisition.
The disheveled 30-year-old went from boasting a $15.6 billion net worth to having “no material wealth” over the span of approximately two days. Federal and state officials are now investigating whether Bankman-Fried broke laws with his actions at the company.
Bankman-Fried was the second largest donor for Democrats this last election cycle, only behind megadonor George Soros, giving at least $38 million to leftist causes, PACs, and candidates, Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/troubled-crypto-boss-sam-bankman-fried-lost-15b-week-funneled-millions-dems-far-left-causes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Politico <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/10/crypto-megadonor-sam-bankman-fried-00066062" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that Bankman-Fried was a top resource to whom Democrats went when lawmakers began looking at ways to regulate cryptocurrencies because of “his willingness to write multimillion dollar checks to boost Democrats.”
Bankman-Fried <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/24/crypto-billionaire-says-he-could-spend-a-record-breaking-1-billion-in-2024-election.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> earlier this year that he was preparing to spend between $100 million and $1 billion on the presidential election in 2024 to keep Democrats in the White House.

Maxine Waters Sam Bankman-Fried

Maxine Waters Not Planning On Subpoenaing Sam Bankman-Fried To Testify On FTX Collapse: Report

Maxine Waters

Politics

Sam Bankman-Fried

<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/vanguard" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vanguard</a> will no longer participate in the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative as lawmakers and the broader marketplace scrutinize the company’s support of the environmental, social, and governance movement, also known as <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/esg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESG</a>.
Signatories of the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative <a href="https://www.netzeroassetmanagers.org/commitment/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">promise</a> to move portfolio companies closer to eliminating net carbon emissions by 2050 or sooner. Vanguard will withdraw from the initiative to “provide the clarity our investors desire about the role of index funds and about how we think about material risks, including climate-related risks,” according to a <a href="https://corporate.vanguard.com/content/corporatesite/us/en/corp/articles/update-on-nzam-engagement.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>.
The move occurred hours after officials in the state of Texas <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/texas-subpoenas-schedules-hearing-for-blackrock-playing-politics-using-texans-hard-earned-money" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> a hearing over asset managers’ purported mismanagement of taxpayer dollars driven by ideological motives. Last week, multiple attorneys general <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/state-attorneys-general-move-to-block-vanguards-climate-crusade-from-impacting-public-power-grids" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filed motions</a> with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission seeking to prevent Vanguard from purchasing shares in publicly traded utilities out of a concern that the company’s climate efforts would raise energy prices and decrease grid reliability.
&#8220;Vanguard realized their entire business model could be at stake if they didn&#8217;t stop coordinating with other members to drive up energy costs,” Consumers’ Research Executive Director Will Hild, whose organization also filed a motion with the agency, remarked in a statement provided to The Daily Wire. “We&#8217;ve struck a serious blow to the anti-consumer ESG agenda and we are going to keep fighting until these asset managers and banks get back to fulfilling their fiduciary duties and stop playing politics with other people&#8217;s money.&#8221;
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A number of Republican state governments have recently divested from prominent asset managers over concerns that the companies’ voting priorities are driven by political ideology rather than the maximization of returns. Following divestments from South Carolina, Louisiana, Missouri, West Virginia, and Utah, the state of Florida <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/florida-pulling-2-billion-from-blackrock-as-company-pushes-social-engineering-with-taxpayer-dollars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revealed</a> plans last week to remove $2 billion from BlackRock next year.
There exists evidence of a broader market backlash against asset managers’ leverage of proxy voting to advance executives’ preferred social and political views. An <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/poll-by-two-to-one-margin-investors-reject-woke-companies-pushing-political-causes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exclusive poll</a> from The Daily Wire showed earlier this year that 64% of respondents believe “individual investors whose savings are being invested” should decide whether retirement and pension funds are allocated according to ESG standards, while 20% believe that “Wall Street asset managers” should make such decisions.
As the debate over the ESG movement continues to make headlines, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/blackrock-makes-major-change-after-backlash-against-woke-investing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> last month that institutional clients would be able to vote their own shares rather than allow the company to act as a proxy. “It’s clear there are investors who don’t want to sit on the sidelines; they have a view on corporate governance, and they want a meaningful way to express those views,” the executive said.
Despite its dissociation from the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, Vanguard affirmed that the move “will not affect our commitment to helping our investors navigate the risks that climate change can pose to their long-term returns.” The company manages $7 trillion in assets.
“Climate change, and the ongoing global response, will have far-reaching economic consequences for companies, financial markets, and investors, presenting a clear example of a material and multifaceted financial risk,” the statement continued. “Vanguard has been taking steps to understand and attend to this risk to investors’ returns, including through our engagements with portfolio companies, policymakers, and broader industry efforts.”

In this photo illustration, the Vanguard Group logo is seen

Vanguard Drops Out Of Climate Initiative As Reaction Against Woke Investing Continues

Vanguard Quits Net Zero Emissions Group As Reaction Against ESG Continues

Business

Vanguard

Institutional <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/wall-street" target="_blank" rel="noopener">investors</a> are more concerned with <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/inflation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stagflation</a> than a <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/recession" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recession</a> next year, according to a <a href="https://www.im.natixis.com/us/research/institutional-investor-survey-2023-outlook" target="_blank" rel="noopener">survey</a> conducted by Natixis.
The investment bank found that 65% of institutions see stagflation, which refers to economic stagnation combined with inflationary pressures, as a more significant threat than a recession. Rising price levels are still seen as the top overall risk for the year ahead; 69% of investors identified inflation as the greatest threat to their portfolios.
“The market scenario projected for 2023 may look vastly different from what institutions have experienced in the past decade, but few anticipate it leading to significant changes in allocation strategy,” the survey analysis explained. “While there is little planned in the way of large allocation shifts, many anticipate significant adjustments within asset classes to position portfolios for the year ahead.”
Despite the risk of stagflation, recession, and other economic calamities, investors retain a remarkably bullish outlook for most asset classes. A majority believe private equity, the bond and stock markets, and private debt hold upside potential as interest rates rise, while more significant majorities are bearish on both residential and commercial real estate, as well as cryptocurrencies.
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The companies, representing more than $20 trillion in combined assets under management, believe that war poses the greatest economic threat for next year. While 57% of overall respondents listed conflict as an issue, roughly 68% of European respondents listed war as the most salient threat.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon likewise <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jpmorgan-ceo-jamie-dimon-predicts-when-americans-savings-will-run-dry" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pointed</a> to geopolitical turmoil as an important consideration for economic actors during a recent interview. Members of the G7 and the European Union <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/russia-balks-as-g7-european-union-implement-oil-price-cap" target="_blank" rel="noopener">coordinated</a> this week to limit the sale price of Russian seaborne oil exports at $60 per barrel worldwide; many European nations have witnessed soaring energy prices as a result of nixed Russian natural gas shipments.
Strife between the United States and China is also worrying investors; 65% believe Chinese geopolitical ambitions will cause a bifurcation of the global economy between the two superpowers, while 74% believe such ambitions lower the appeal of investing in the nation.
“China is chief among emerging market concerns. Two-thirds of institutions globally think emerging market investments are overly dependent on China,” the Natixis analysis continued. “In an era in which China is flexing its political influence, institutions worry about how it will impact investments.”
Beyond risks induced by international conflict, respondents identified central bank policy errors as the second-largest threat. Institutions such as the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States and the Bank of England have been reversing loose monetary policy regimes established in the wake of the lockdown-induced recession. Federal Reserve officials have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-reserve-hikes-interest-rates-three-quarters-of-a-point" target="_blank" rel="noopener">raised rates</a> by three-quarters of a percentage point on four consecutive occasions, leading to volatility in the American housing market and raising the cost of borrowing money for consumers and businesses.
Roughly 53% of investors are examining trends related to consumer spending as a primary indicator of whether economic “growth is back on track.” Dimon also predicted that savings accumulated during the recession will deplete by the middle of next year. Beyond consumer spending, 49% of investors believe that business spending tops the list of growth indicators, while 47% and 43% respectively said the same about employment and productivity.

Times Square As U.S. Stocks Climb On Earnings

Stagflation Risk More Concerning Than An Outright Recession, Investors Believe

Investors Lay Out Biggest Economic Risks For Next Year

Inflation

Recession

Stock Market

Wall Street

Lawmakers in <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/texas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Texas</a> scheduled a hearing for next week with asset management companies over alleged mismanagement of taxpayer dollars driven by ideological motives.
The Texas Senate Committee on State Affairs requested documents from <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/blackrock" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BlackRock</a>, <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/vanguard" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vanguard</a>, State Street, and Institutional Shareholder Services relevant to the firms’ promotion of the environmental, social, and governance movement, also known as <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/esg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESG</a>, four months ago. Hearings will begin on December 15 in the city of Marshall, Texas.
&#8220;The Committee needs these documents to uncover the extent to which these firms have been playing politics using Texans’ hard earned money,” State Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-TX) said in a statement provided to The Daily Wire. “Next week we will hold a hearing where each firm will appear and give account to the people of Texas.”
Officials recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/blackrock-may-have-broken-the-law-with-its-woke-investing-schemes-republicans-argue" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warned</a> BlackRock that efforts related to the company’s promotion of causes such as emissions reduction violate state laws mandating a sole focus on financial returns among all fiduciaries. Texas also announced that BlackRock and nine other firms had <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/texas-cuts-ties-with-blackrock-other-woke-firms-over-their-hatred-for-fossil-fuels" target="_blank" rel="noopener">broken</a> the law by “refusing to deal with” companies involved in the production and use of fossil fuels “without an ordinary business purpose.”
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Hughes added that some firms have produced more documents than others, noting that BlackRock in particular “has refused to provide documents it considers internal or confidential,” leading lawmakers to issue a subpoena. “We will not allow these firms to continue to use Texans’ money to force a narrow political agenda,” he continued. “They have a legal duty to put their investors’ interests first, and we intend to make sure they do.”
The subpoena, provided to The Daily Wire, emphasized BlackRock’s support of global climate initiatives such as the Net-Zero Banking Allowance and the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, which are intended to “use any part of the financial system to reduce or eliminate greenhouse gas emissions or otherwise pursue environmental goals.”
BlackRock has taken “voting action on climate issues” against dozens of its portfolio companies, according to an investment stewardship <a href="https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/literature/publication/our-commitment-to-sustainability-full-report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> published two years ago, prompting state-level officials across the country to note that such activism may work against their economies and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/state-attorneys-general-move-to-block-vanguards-climate-crusade-from-impacting-public-power-grids" target="_blank" rel="noopener">raise nationwide energy prices</a>.
A number of Republican state governments have recently pulled funds from prominent asset managers over concerns that the companies’ voting priorities constitute a drift away from the sole pursuit of maximal returns. In addition to divestments from South Carolina, Louisiana, Missouri, West Virginia, and Utah, the state of Florida <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/florida-pulling-2-billion-from-blackrock-as-company-pushes-social-engineering-with-taxpayer-dollars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> plans last week to remove $2 billion from BlackRock by the beginning of next year.
As the moves from conservative state policymakers and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/vivek-ramaswamys-strive-asset-management-to-uproot-esg-moves-at-three-major-companies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">broader concerns</a> from the marketplace make headlines, BlackRock CEO Fink recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/blackrock-makes-major-change-after-backlash-against-woke-investing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that institutional clients would be able to vote their own shares rather than allow the company to act as a proxy.
“We are witnessing a reckoning for these asset management firms that have until recently thought they could take hardworking Americans’ money and use it to drive their progressive agenda,” Consumers’ Research Executive Director Will Hild remarked in a statement provided to The Daily Wire. “This action from Texas will uncover much of what these firms have tried to hide — their agenda is driven by politics, not profits.”
At the federal level, however, the Labor Department introduced <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-barred-retirement-plans-from-mixing-wokeness-with-profits-biden-is-reversing-that-rule" target="_blank" rel="noopener">measures</a> to undo a ban on ESG investments previously instituted by former President Donald Trump. The agency published a <a href="https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/about-ebsa/our-activities/resource-center/fact-sheets/final-rule-on-prudence-and-loyalty-in-selecting-plan-investments-and-exercising-shareholder-rights" target="_blank" rel="noopener">final rule</a> last month that reflected a directive from President Joe Biden to safeguard the economy from “climate-related financial risk that may threaten the life savings and pensions of America’s workers and families.” Fiduciaries will be permitted to consider “the economic effects of climate change and other ESG considerations” as long as such factors are salient within risk-and-return analyses.

Texas flag

Texas Subpoenas, Schedules Hearing For BlackRock: ‘Playing Politics Using Texans’ Hard Earned Money’

Texas Schedules Hearing For Asset Management Companies

Texas

<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/buzzfeed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BuzzFeed</a> plans to dismiss 12% of employees as the left-wing digital <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/media" target="_blank" rel="noopener">media</a> company braces for difficult <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">macroeconomic </a>conditions and adapts to new market trends.
The layoffs, impacting approximately 180 employees, occur as the company pivots toward “areas that will drive growth” and away from “areas with less audience engagement,” according to a <a href="https://twitter.com/sarafischer/status/1600171001123176453" target="_blank" rel="noopener">message</a> sent to employees on Tuesday by BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti and obtained by Axios media reporter Sara Fischer.
“In order for BuzzFeed to weather an economic downturn that I believe will extend well into 2023, we must adapt, invest in our strategy to serve our audience best, and readjust our cost structure,” Peretti remarked. “Our revenues are being impacted by a combination of worsening macroeconomic conditions, and the ongoing audience shift to vertical video, which is still developing from a monetization standpoint.”
Shares of BuzzFeed fell more than 6% to reach $1.07 by market close on Tuesday; the company’s stock has plummeted nearly 90% since its <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/buzzfeed-sees-disappointing-stock-market-debut" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lackluster debut</a> on the NASDAQ last year.
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BuzzFeed earned $104 million in revenue as of the third quarter of 2022, according to the company’s most recent <a href="https://investors.buzzfeed.com/static-files/a2f202c9-926e-48f6-8550-a9ce95e39bfe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">earnings report</a>, marking a 15% increase from $90 million in the third quarter of 2021. Net losses, however, increased from $4 million to $27 million over the same period.
Vertical video was recently popularized by social media platform Tiktok, which <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tiktok-was-most-visited-site-in-2021" target="_blank" rel="noopener">emerged</a> as the most visited website in the world last year, overcoming Google and other competitors. BuzzFeed has increasingly been packaging celebrity, news, and culture coverage as short-form vertical videos, according to the earnings report. Views on reels, shorts, and TikToks increased more than 60% between the second and third quarters of 2022.
“As we navigate the dual dynamics of the rapid rise of short-form vertical video and a weakening macroeconomic environment, this also means we are focused on preserving cash and leveraging our strong audience signal to direct resources toward the opportunities with the highest potential for monetization,” Peretti told investors.
The reduction in headcount follows similar moves from other media and entertainment companies. Warner Bros Television <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/entertainment-giants-and-media-companies-announce-massive-layoffs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">slashed</a> 26% of headcount across scripted, unscripted, and animation divisions last month. Gannett, a media conglomerate which owns more than 250 local news outlets, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/local-journalists-laid-off-as-media-conglomerate-suffers-heavy-losses" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> in August that executives would begin “necessary but painful reductions to staffing” while eliminating some open positions.
Peretti, who said that salaries were the largest expense at BuzzFeed, added that the reduction in payrolls will also help the firm to “consolidate and centralize” operations with Complex Networks, an entertainment company acquired by BuzzFeed last year. BuzzFeed plans to build “a more robust creator business, which requires a close conduit between content, business, and tech, and bringing additional skills and tools to the organization.”
Most of the layoffs will occur in sales, technology, and studio production, as well as BuzzFeed.com and Complex Networks, according to Fischer.
Technology companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Tesla have likewise announced <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/recession-fears-lead-big-tech-companies-to-pause-hiring-cut-jobs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hiring pauses or layoffs</a> for their corporate offices over the past several months, citing recessionary risk and broader economic uncertainty. The layoffs in the entertainment industry occur as some investors <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/meta-shares-fall-to-lowest-level-since-2016-as-company-burns-billions-on-metaverse-inflates-payrolls" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticize</a> large corporations, especially in the technology sector, for maintaining bloated payrolls.

Digital Media Company BuzzFeed’s New York Headquarters

Left-Wing Media Company BuzzFeed To Dismiss Large Share Of Workforce

BuzzFeed To Dismiss Large Share Of Workforce

BuzzFeed

Media

Unemployment

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jp-morgan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">JPMorgan Chase</a> CEO <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/jamie-dimon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jamie Dimon</a> compared <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/cryptocurrency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cryptocurrencies</a> to “pet rocks” on Tuesday and said that the nascent sector is the recipient of undue attention.
The executive <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIJbTsYbHME&amp;ab_channel=CNBCTelevision" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> a panel of CNBC anchors that their outlet spends too much time covering cryptocurrencies, although he acknowledged that the underlying blockchain technology likely has useful applications. &#8220;I think crypto is a complete sideshow,&#8221; Dimon said during a Tuesday interview. &#8220;Crypto tokens are like pet rocks.&#8221;
Cryptocurrency, a form of decentralized <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/what-exactly-is-bitcoin-heres-how-the-worlds-largest-cryptocurrency-actually-works" target="_blank" rel="noopener">digital money</a> that can be transferred between users’ virtual wallets, has garnered the skepticism of many regulators and investors over the past several years. Dimon also raised concerns about “terrorism financing, tax avoidance, sex trafficking,” and other ways in which digital assets enable illicit activities. “Why do we allow this stuff to take place?&#8221; he asked.
Dimon predicted that officials would “regulate the hell out of” cryptocurrencies during an <a href="https://www.axios.com/2021/10/04/jamie-dimon-china-uyghurs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with Axios last year. “If people are using it for tax avoidance and sex trafficking and ransomware, it&#8217;s going to be regulated, whether you like it or not,” he said. “So it&#8217;s not a moral statement. It&#8217;s a factual statement.&#8221;
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The recent implosion of FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange based in the Bahamas and formerly led by entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried, has indeed drawn attention from regulators. The House Financial Services Committee <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/maxine-waters-blasted-for-gentle-tweet-politely-asking-possible-financial-criminal-sam-bankman-fried-to-testify" target="_blank" rel="noopener">invited</a> the disgraced founder to testify in a hearing scheduled for next week; members of the Senate Agriculture Committee <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-commodities-regulator-tells-senators-he-met-with-sam-bankman-fried-10-times" target="_blank" rel="noopener">questioned</a> Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Rostin Behnam last week on further oversight of the industry.
FTX recently filed for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/30-year-old-billionaire-loses-entire-fortune-overnight-as-his-bahamas-based-cryptocurrency-empire-implodes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bankruptcy</a> after users discovered that trading firm Alameda Research, a company run by former Bankman-Fried love interest Caroline Ellison, had allegedly been using consumer funds from FTX to make investments. Bankman-Fried, a top <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/i-dont-even-know-how-to-code-mit-grad-and-now-broke-crypto-ceo-sam-bankman-fried-tells-niche-vlogger" target="_blank" rel="noopener">contributor</a> to Democratic and Republican campaigns, has repeatedly insisted that he did not intentionally commingle funds between the two companies.
New York Times financial columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sam-bankman-fried-denies-wrongdoing-in-ftx-implosion-during-live-streamed-new-york-times-interview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pressed</a> Bankman-Fried last week on potential wrongdoing during the outlet’s DealBook summit, noting that he received multiple letters from FTX customers who accused the near-broke former billionaire of stealing their life savings. Bankman-Fried said that he was “deeply sorry about what happened” and claimed that a “failure of oversight” on his part was responsible for the cryptocurrency empire’s implosion rather than any intention to defraud customers.
Many journalists were surprised that Bankman-Fried has been providing comments to media outlets given the ongoing bankruptcy proceedings for his company, which the attorney who once oversaw the fallout from Enron described as the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/lawyer-overseeing-ftx-fallout-never-in-my-career-have-i-seen-such-a-complete-failure" target="_blank" rel="noopener">worst case</a> of corporate failure he has ever witnessed. In one message to a Vox reporter, Bankman-Fried admitted that his persona as an “effective altruist” was largely a ruse meant to earn the trust of “woke westerners.”
Lawmakers and regulators have advanced the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act, a piece of legislation that would <a href="https://www.agriculture.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/dccpa_fact_sheet.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">eliminate</a> conflicts of interest in the cryptocurrency sector. “For years many have recognized that a patchwork of federal and state-based regulation is an unsuitable substitute for a comprehensive approach,” Behnam told the Senate Agriculture Committee. “We are here today because many Americans invested in a novel product and will likely lose money because digital asset markets lack the basic protections that we have all come to expect and have made American financial markets the envy of the world.”

Bank CEOs Testify Before Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee

‘A Complete Sideshow’: JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon Says Cryptocurrencies Are Like ‘Pet Rocks’

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon Says Cryptocurrencies Are Like 'Pet Rocks'

Jamie Dimon

JP Morgan

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jp-morgan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">JPMorgan Chase</a> CEO <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jamie-dimon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jamie Dimon</a> predicted that robust consumer spending may run dry toward the middle of next year.
During a Tuesday <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40Md3SQ6ZGs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with CNBC, the seasoned executive commented on a variety of market phenomena and noted that the United States <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">economy</a> is currently the strongest in the world. “If you look in the short run, the consumer is spending 10% more than last year and 40% more than pre-COVID,” he said. “That’s a tremendous sum of money, and they have a trillion and a half dollars in their checking accounts more than pre-COVID.”
Households have indeed been spending beyond their means as nominal wages rise more slowly than price levels. The total amount of consumer loans has increased by $300 billion since the beginning of last year, according to <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CONSUMER" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the Federal Reserve. Meanwhile, the personal savings rate has dropped from 20% to nearly 2% over the same period, according to <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PSAVERT" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, marking a significant decline from typical rates witnessed before the lockdown-induced recession.
Consumers are therefore limited in their capacity to maintain current spending levels. “Inflation is eroding everything … and that trillion and a half dollars will run out sometime mid-year next year,” Dimon continued. “When you’re looking out forward, those things may very well derail the economy and cause a mild or hard recession that people worry about.”
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Dimon, widely regarded as one of the most powerful business leaders on Wall Street, made headlines earlier this year for admonishing fellow bankers to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-banker-brace-yourself-for-looming-economic-hurricane" target="_blank" rel="noopener">brace themselves</a> for a looming economic “hurricane,” revealing that his financial institution took measures to be “very conservative” with its balance sheet.
Dimon also pointed to geopolitical turmoil such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine as an important consideration for economic actors. Members of the G7 and the European Union <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/russia-balks-as-g7-european-union-implement-oil-price-cap" target="_blank" rel="noopener">moved</a> to cap the price of Russian seaborne oil exports this week at $60 per barrel worldwide; many European nations have witnessed soaring energy prices as a result of nixed Russian natural gas shipments.
“You have this economy, but then you have oil, food, fertilizer, war, humanitarian crisis. We have not had a war in Europe like this since 1945,” Dimon remarked. “A lot of emerging market economies, that a lot of people don’t focus on, are going to pay a heavy price for the strong dollar, higher rates, and higher oil prices.”
Various protest movements have spread through the developing world as businesses and consumers grow increasingly constrained by rising fuel and energy costs. Farmers in nations such as Greece, Peru, and Sri Lanka launched <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/experts-warn-of-impending-global-food-shortage-that-could-lead-to-social-unrest-riots" target="_blank" rel="noopener">demonstrations</a> in cities as a result of high fertilizer prices, leading the government of the latter nation to flee abroad.
Dimon also cited the rollback of loose monetary policy from the Federal Reserve as a significant phenomenon. He predicted that the central bank would spend “three to six months” holding rates at 5% before continuing efforts to battle inflation.
Recent employment data showing <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/unemployment-down-robust-labor-market-as-holidays-approach-jobs-report-shows" target="_blank" rel="noopener">high demand</a> among businesses recruiting new workers will likely lead monetary policymakers to continue hiking interest rates. Some analysts have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-agrees-with-a-furious-jeremy-siegel-that-fed-actions-which-blew-up-the-stock-market-make-absolutely-no-sense" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticized</a> the Federal Reserve for causing undue harm through their zeal to manage inflation soon after a prolonged increase in the money supply.

Key Speakers At IIF Annual Membership Meeting

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon Predicts When Americans’ Savings Will Run Dry

JPMorgan Chase CEO Makes A Number Of Predictions About The Economy

Ukraine-Russia War

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/g7">G7</a> countries, the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/european-union" target="_blank" rel="noopener">European Union</a>, and Australia committed on Friday to implementing a global $60 per barrel <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">price</a> cap on seaborne crude <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/oil-and-gas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">oil</a> from Russia beginning on Monday.
Members of the G7, which include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-and-other-world-leaders-want-a-global-price-cap-on-russian-oil" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> the proposed move earlier this year. A <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1141" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> from the U.S. Treasury Department announced that the initiative will “maintain the supply of Russian oil to the global market” while reducing revenues for the nation, which is currently invading <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ukraine-russia-war" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ukraine</a>.
“This price cap will benefit directly emerging and developing economies, and it will be adjustable over time so that we can react to market developments,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a recent <a href="https://twitter.com/vonderleyen/status/1598734779750309888?s=20&amp;t=sjSZByyC-DfPC6LRlzeg1Q" target="_blank" rel="noopener">speech</a>.
The price cap will only allow the maritime services industry, which includes sectors such as insurance and trade finance, to provide their services for Russian oil sold below $60 per barrel. Brent crude oil, the leading global price benchmark for crude oil drilled in the Atlantic Ocean, is approximately $83 per barrel as of Monday.
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The Treasury Department argued that the level of the price cap is “high enough to maintain a clear economic incentive for Russia to continue selling oil on global markets,” as Russia has “historically accepted” the rate. In order to spurn the price cap, Russia would have to rely upon service providers outside of the G7, which are more expensive and less reliable.
Russian officials, however, balked at the proposal. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the nation “won’t accept the price cap” in a <a href="https://tass.com/russia/1545269" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> provided to government-run news outlet TASS. Mikhail Ulyanov, the nation’s ambassador to international organizations in Vienna, <a href="https://twitter.com/Amb_Ulyanov/status/1599025369272979456">said</a> that Europe will live without Russian oil “starting from this year,” predicting that the European Union would accuse Russia of “using oil as a weapon.”
European officials have indeed argued that Russia is responsible for a precipitous rise in energy prices. The country paused natural gas shipments through Nord Stream 1 before the entire pipeline system was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nord-stream-pipelines-see-unprecedented-damage-after-cia-warned-german-government-of-sabotage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">destroyed</a> by an unknown actor. Some commentators have noted that a rapid transition away from fossil fuels among European Union nations, which adopted the official <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/clima/eu-action/climate-strategies-targets/2050-long-term-strategy_en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">policy</a> of becoming “a climate-neutral society” by 2050 in accordance with the European Green Deal, has contributed to unreliable energy supplies.
“Russia keeps on actively manipulating our energy market,” von der Leyen <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/european-union-social-market-economy-might-redistribute-fossil-fuel-profits" target="_blank" rel="noopener">remarked</a> in September, noting that natural gas prices have recently increased more than tenfold. “But Europeans are also coping courageously with this.”
Multiple European countries are <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/switzerland-may-jail-people-who-turn-heat-above-66-degrees-this-winter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">imposing regulations</a> for thermostat and appliance usage; von der Leyen suggested that European Union member states reap windfall profits from fossil fuel producers. “In our social market economy, profits are good,” she continued. “But in these times it is wrong to receive extraordinary record profits benefitting from war and on the back of consumers. In these times, profits must be shared and channeled to those who need it the most.”
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/we-face-a-difficult-six-months-nato-chief-urges-europe-to-support-ukraine-through-russian-energy-blackmail" target="_blank" rel="noopener">characterized</a> Russian restrictions on fuel exports as “blackmail.” The former prime minister of Norway suggested that achieving victory for Ukraine would help Europe to “break free” from Russian energy.

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