Oil prices climbed above $100 a barrel Thursday for the first time since May as markets reacted to a major escalation in the war with Iran. 
Brent crude, the international benchmark, briefly traded above the $100 threshold after Iranian-backed Houthi militants attacked two oil tankers transiting the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea. The attacks heightened concerns about global oil shipments as disruptions continued in the Strait of Hormuz. Together, the two waterways handle roughly 30% of the world&#8217;s oil.
Goldman Sachs <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-could-surpass-120-per-barrel-if-disruptions-in-strait-of-hormuz-dont-ease-says-goldman-sachs-047f8f88">warned</a> Brent crude could climb as high as $120 per barrel if disruptions continue in both the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
President Donald Trump responded Thursday by <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116969243226176328">warning</a> Iran would face dire consequences if the Houthis continued targeting commercial shipping.
Trump said on social media that if the Houthis “do this again, the U.S. will hold Iran responsible, in that the Houthis are a Surrogate and/or Proxy of Iran, and major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis, themselves.” 
Reuters separately <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-flew-irgc-commanders-missile-gear-yemens-houthis-sources-say-2026-07-23/">reported</a> that Iran earlier this month flew military commanders, advisers, gold, and weapons into neighboring Yemen, citing two Iranian sources who said between 10 and 21 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders were aboard the flight &#8220;to support Houthi operations and provide training on new missile systems.&#8221;
The spike in oil prices also rattled financial markets. The Nasdaq 100 was on <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-23/us-stock-futures-drop-as-traders-focus-on-ai-spending-oil-jumps">pace</a> for its worst day in a month, while the Nasdaq Composite fell <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/live/stock-market-today-thursday-july-23-dow-sp-500-nasdaq-oil-bonds-earnings-084444369.html">2.6%</a>, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.1%, and the S&amp;P 500 lost 1.4%. 
The selloff came despite otherwise encouraging economic news, with initial jobless claims <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/policy/articles/us-weekly-jobless-claims-fall-123957463.html">falling</a> to their lowest level since 1969. 
A sustained rise in crude prices could also complicate the fight against inflation by increasing fuel and transportation costs throughout the economy.
Despite Thursday&#8217;s surge, Goldman Sachs maintained its forecast for Brent crude to average about $80 per barrel in the fourth quarter, citing stronger-than-expected production and weaker demand from China, South Korea, and the Middle East.

Gas pump

Oil Prices Surge Back Across Dire Milestone After Houthis Enter Iran War

Crude Oil

Donald Trump

Gas Prices

Goldman Sachs

Houthis

Iran

IRGC

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

Oil and Gas

Oil prices

Red Sea

Shipping

Strait of Hormuz

Goldman Sachs plans to scrap its race, sex, and other DEI factors when considering potential additions to its board of directors.
The board’s governance committee made the decision to axe DEI metrics from its list of qualifications for new board members after striking an agreement with the National Legal and Policy Center, a conservative nonprofit, according to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/finance/goldman-sachs-board-dei-57fea527?mod=hp_lead_pos2">The Wall Street Journal</a>.
The committee has four broad factors it considers when looking for new board members, one of which is a demographic profile that includes viewpoints, military service, and other markers, as well as DEI variables such as a person’s race, sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Going forward, the committee plans to strip away the DEI calculations from its rubric for board candidates.
The National Legal and Policy Center has a small ownership stake in Goldman Sachs and in September, proposed that the committee strip away the DEI component of its board member criteria. The center had requested that the bank share the proposal with shareholders ahead of its annual shareholder meeting scheduled for this spring, but Goldman Sachs struck an agreement with the center that involved pulling the proposal and the bank scrapping its DEI metrics anyway.
Goldman Sachs had last year dropped its DEI requirements for companies that wanted the bank’s help in listing for an IPO.
Goldman Sachs’ curbing of its own DEI policies comes as the Trump administration has pursued policies to push such metrics out of the federal government while wielding federal powers to push companies to distance themselves from DEI as well. President Donald Trump, on his first day of his second term, took a stand against DEI, ordering federal departments and agencies to begin cutting DEI positions in the government.
The president also directed federal agencies to look into companies with DEI policies for potential discriminatory practices. In February of last year, the president <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-targets-two-financial-firms-over-dei-and-esg-push">took</a> aim at two financial firms, Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis, that the president said were pushing racial quotas and climates activism on numerous other companies.
At the time, both firms had guidelines that had the potential to impact a wide swath of companies that encouraged them to adopt DEI criteria in promotions to their board. They also had similar guidelines directing companies to take steps to address climate change.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Goldman Sachs Will No Longer Judge Board Members By DEI Metrics

Business

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Social Issues

U.S.

Kathryn Ruemmler, former President Barack Obama’s longest-serving White House counsel, announced Thursday she will leave her position of chief legal officer at Goldman Sachs after newly released emails revealed her friendly exchanges with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. 
The emails, released by the Justice Department, show Ruemmler referring to Epstein as “Uncle Jeffrey,” asking about a possible day trip to his private Caribbean island, and wishing him happy birthday. Ruemmler has denied any wrongdoing and has claimed that her relationship with Epstein was strictly professional. 
“I made the determination that the media attention on me, relating to my prior work as a defense attorney, was becoming a distraction,” Ruemmler <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/c9c4ea8a-f806-4a04-b409-a8ec03c00b15">told</a> the Financial Times on Thursday, explaining her decision to leave Goldman Sachs. She is set to officially leave the firm on June 30. 
Ruemmler joined the firm a few years after serving in the Obama White House, where she advised the president on legal matters involving domestic policy, foreign affairs, and national security. She served as White House counsel from June 2011 to June 2014. 
A spokeswoman for Ruemmler <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/02/12/business/top-goldman-sachs-lawyer-kathy-ruemmler-to-resign-over-epstein-links/">told</a> the New York Post that she “has done nothing wrong and has nothing to hide. Nothing in the record suggests otherwise.”
A review of the Epstein files revealed numerous emails between Ruemmler and Epstein in the years after his 2008 conviction for solicitation of prostitution and solicitation of a minor. 
In one email from January 4, 2019, Ruemmler <a href="https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02605815.pdf">wrote</a>, “Am totally tricked out by Uncle Jeffrey today! Jeffrey boots, handbag, and w=tch!”
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1043495" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-13-at-6.54.27-AM.png" alt="" width="2046" height="663" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-13-at-6.54.27-AM.png 2046w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-13-at-6.54.27-AM-300x97.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-13-at-6.54.27-AM-1024x332.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-13-at-6.54.27-AM-768x249.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-13-at-6.54.27-AM-1536x498.png 1536w" sizes=" (max-width: 2046px) 100vw, 2046px" />
When asked if Epstein had given her the gifts, Reummler spokeswoman Jami Schlicher told The Daily Wire that &#8220;it has been well reported that Epstein&#8217;s MO was to provide unsolicited gifts and do unsolicited favors for people.&#8221;
In another <a href="https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA02064816.pdf">email</a> from December 2015, Ruemmler told Epstein’s assistant that he was like an older brother to her. 
“Well, I adore him. It&#8217;s like having another older brother!” she said.
Other emails show her wishing Epstein a happy birthday and expressing gratitude for his friendship.
“Happy Birthday! I hope you enjoy the day with your one true love,” she wrote Epstein on January 20, 2015. 
Another <a href="https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02475866.pdf">email</a> was sent while she was traveling to Megève, a ski resort in France. 
“In the Swiss Air first class lounge drinking good red wine (only one glass!)= and am grateful for your friendship. Will=send reports from Megeve. Xo,” she wrote on December 31, 2015. 
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1043583" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-13-at-9.27.28-AM.png" alt="" width="1938" height="573" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-13-at-9.27.28-AM.png 1938w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-13-at-9.27.28-AM-300x89.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-13-at-9.27.28-AM-1024x303.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-13-at-9.27.28-AM-768x227.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-13-at-9.27.28-AM-1536x454.png 1536w" sizes=" (max-width: 1938px) 100vw, 1938px" /></div>
In a January 17, 2017 email, Ruemmler <a href="https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02385988.pdf">asked</a> whether she could visit Little Saint James, a private island owned by Epstein, where accusers say he sex trafficked women and underage girls.
“Our flight Sunday back to NY is from St Luci=. Can we take a day trip to the island on Sat or is it too far?” she wrote after Epstein offered to fly her there. 
Schlicher said the island trip never happened, and characterized Ruemmler&#8217;s relationship with Epstein as professional.
&#8220;Ms. Ruemmler has been clear and consistent from the outset: she knew him through her work as a criminal defense attorney, shared a client with him, received referrals from him, and was friendly in that professional context,&#8221; she told The Daily Wire. &#8220;At times, Epstein sought informal advice, and she provided feedback based on her understanding at the time, without any formal involvement. Ms. Ruemmler has deep sympathy for those harmed by Epstein and if she knew then what she knows now, she never would have dealt with him at all.&#8221;
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon has publicly stood by Ruemmler amid the controversy. 
“Throughout her tenure, Kathy has been an extraordinary general counsel, and we are grateful for her contributions and sound advice on a wide range of consequential legal matters for the firm,” he said. “As one of the most accomplished professionals in her field, Kathy has also been a mentor and friend to many of our people, and she will be missed.”

MixCollage-13-Feb-2026-07-23-AM-8066

SEE IT: ‘Uncle Jeffrey,’ Birthday Wishes And ‘Xo’ Emails Rock Obama-Era Insider

Barack Obama

Department of Justice

Jeffrey Epstein

Bank of America, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase have just abandoned the Net Zero Banking Alliance. While it seems to be yet another dire omen for so-called environment, social and corporate governance (ESG) investing, it would be premature for people on the Right to imagine that the Left’s lock on the finance industry is ending.
ESG investing is notionally the idea that investors should consider the eponymous non-financial factors of ESG in making finance and investment decisions. The biggest part of “ESG” investing is the “E” (environment) and the biggest part of the “E” is climate and the dubious goal of “net zero emissions,” which I have previously written about <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-quiet-refutation-of-net-zero-climate-change-emissions-energy-global-warming-sec-goals-clean-power-11672262963?mod=opinion_lead_pos8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> and <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/net-zero-never-mind-environment-electrical-grid-carbon-emissions-climate-change-southern-co-energy-information-administration-db856556?mod=opinion_lead_pos10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
The phenomenon of ESG investing started out in the 1960s as “socially responsible investing” (SRI) investing, was rebranded as “corporate social responsibility” investing in the late 1990s and then rebranded again as ESG investing in the 2010s.
SRI/CSR/ESG investing was invented by the Left as a means of using stock ownership for political purposes. The practice started with labor unions in the 1960s. After the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, a cadre of Left-wing activists got together to figure out how to use investment as a means of advancing the rest of the Left’s agenda.
In “Biz-War and the Out of Power Elite,&#8221; author Jarol B. Manheim writes, “22 young and wealthy individuals who shared a common concern about the conservative turn the country had taken … hit upon the idea to pool their [financial] resources and direct them at what they saw as socially and politically desirable programs&#8230;” aimed at corporations. Though it took time, this program succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. Meanwhile, the Right was largely asleep.
While Nobel laureate Milton Friedman prominently pushed back against SRI investing in his 1970 New York Times magazine article entitled, “The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits,” there was no organized follow-up until 2005. At that point, a friend of mine and I launched a publicly traded mutual fund called the Free Enterprise Action Fund to push back against the success the Left was having in foisting its CSR agenda on publicly-traded companies.
While our fund had <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB114411692660116163" target="_blank" rel="noopener">success</a>, we didn’t have the resources to survive the catastrophic market conditions of the housing bubble collapse. The deep-pocketed Left, though, easily survived the tough market conditions and emerged on the other side with near total control of the finance industry with its rebranded and steroidal ESG investing strategy. Virtually all large banks and Wall Street firms joined one or more of the Net Zero Bank Alliance, Net Zero Asset Managers, Net Zero Insurance Alliance, Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), Climate Act 100+ and other similar groups.
But this success bred arrogance on the Left and awoke conservatives to a degree that the Free Enterprise Action Fund could only have dreamed about in the 2000s. By 2020, the ESG empire and its anti-fossil fuel, anti-conservative, DEI and other “woke” policies and practices had sufficiently alarmed red state politicians into pushback. State investigations, hearings and laws reining in ubiquitous ESG actors and activities popped up. Congress got involved. Then, ESG investing began to reveal itself as <a href="https://x.com/JunkScience/status/1866505394635645146" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a poor investment strategy.</a>
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Perhaps most importantly, though, it had become increasingly clear that the ESG actors were illegally colluding as a cartel, possibly running afoul of anti-trust laws. While the ESG actors could possibly organize themselves into pushback against red states, the post-2024-election prospect of facing a federal government entirely controlled by Republicans would be too daunting. So, amid the holiday distractions, Bank of America, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase all dropped out of the Net Zero Banking Alliance.
But those concerned about ESG would be wise not to declare victory and move on. The Left has acquired immense influence and power over the financial industry and has no intention of surrendering it. ESG may be dead as brand, but not as a strategy. The Left has been invested in SRI/CSR/ESG for a long time and for the long-term. While they will likely head underground for a few years, they will certainly be plotting a comeback that may start as soon as the 2026 elections.
* * *
Steve Milloy is a senior legal fellow with the Energy and Environment Legal Institute.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

NYSE Opens For Last Day Of Trading In 2024

As Banks Flee ESG, Conservatives Should Remain Vigilant

Bank of America

Banking

Citigroup

finance

JP Morgan

Opinion

Social Justice

Woke Culture

A non-profit group that has allegedly regularly taken part in pro-Hamas protests and encouraged its members to &#8220;support our students so that the encampments can go for as long as they can” has received more than $12 million from the investment firm Goldman Sachs&#8217; charitable arm.
The People’s Forum, which calls itself “a movement incubator for working class and marginalized communities,” has “been a mainstay at anti-Israel protests since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on the Jewish state,” The Washington Free Beacon <a href="https://freebeacon.com/campus/anti-israel-group-encouraged-columbia-protesters-to-recreate-the-summer-of-2020-hours-before-students-stormed-a-building/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, noting that the group “organized a Times Square protest where attendees celebrated Hamas and waved posters with anti-Semitic slogans and imagery” the day after the horrific Hamas massacre of more than 1200 people in Israel on October 7.
On Monday, the group, which included more than 100 “masked and keffiyeh-clad activists,” according to the Beacon, waited until demonstrators at Columbia University could arrive. Once they arrived, People’s Forum executive director Manolo De Los Santos lauded them for “decid[ing] that resistance is more important than negotiations” and lashed out at “Zionist” Columbia administrators who &#8220;want to be more like their masters in Israel,” the Free Beacon, which viewed the meeting on Zoom, reported.
The Free Beacon surmised that the source of the funding from Goldman Sachs “is likely Neville Roy Singham, a communist who has ‘long admired Maoism,’ lives in China, and is married to Jodie Evans, the leader of the hard-left group Code Pink. Singham “reportedly helps finance the Chinese Communist Party’s ‘propaganda worldwide,’ according to the New York Times,” the Free Beacon added.
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The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/05/world/europe/neville-roy-singham-china-propaganda.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> in August 2023 that a group called No Cold War is “part of a lavishly funded influence campaign that defends China and pushes its propaganda. At the center is a charismatic American millionaire, Neville Roy Singham, who is known as a socialist benefactor of far-left causes. What is less known, and is hidden amid a tangle of nonprofit groups and shell companies, is that Mr. Singham works closely with the Chinese government media machine and is financing its propaganda worldwide.”
“As with any donor advised fund, the prior donation was made with the client’s money, at the client’s direction,” a Goldman Sachs spokesman advised the Free Beacon, adding, “This was not firm money.”
“The IRS’s charity guidelines state that groups may lose their charity status if they engage in ‘planned activities that violate laws’ or ‘induce the commission of crime,’” the Free Beacon pointed out.

May Day rally turned into pro-Palestinian demonstration in New York

Non-Profit Group Supporting Pro-Hamas Movement Got Over $12 Million From Goldman Sachs’ Charity Arm: Report

China

Communist China

Global Politics

Hamas

Israel

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/goldman-sachs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Goldman Sachs</a> has reportedly distributed <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/gender-pronouns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pronoun</a> guides to help staffers become “inclusive” allies even as the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/banks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">financial</a> sector faces a crisis.
The rainbow-colored pamphlet entitled “Bring Your Authentic Self,” which was <a href="https://twitter.com/StanfordReview/status/1645561878192717825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1645561881934069760%7Ctwgr%5Eb18f7038bf7557cd1eb46ca47f9b52caf09e150f%7Ctwcon%5Es2_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nationalreview.com%2Fnews%2Fze-zir-goldman-sachs-encourages-employees-to-use-gender-neutral-pronouns%2F" target="_blank" rel="noopener">obtained</a> by campus conservative outlet The Stanford Review and <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/04/13/goldman-sachs-hands-out-pronoun-pamphlets-as-it-fights-sex-harassment-suits/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confirmed</a> by The New York Post, informs employees at the investment bank that “a gender-neutral or gender-inclusive pronoun is a pronoun that does not associate a gender with the individual who is being discussed.”
Beyond the customary “he, him, his, himself” and “she, her, hers, herself,” staffers were told they could use “they, them, their, themself” or “ze, zir, zir, zirself” as gender-neutral alternatives.
The pamphlet included example sentences using the gender-neutral pronouns, such as “ze went to the store” or “the apple was zirs.” Goldman Sachs recommends using an individual’s name instead of pronouns for another gender-neutral alternative.
Employees were also told to “proactively share your pronouns to foster an environment of respect and awareness,” as well as “practice using gender-neutral pronouns on your own time” and make a “concerted effort” to develop comfort with the phrases.
The promotion of LGBTQ ideology at Goldman Sachs occurs as banks experience significant credit crunches caused by Federal Reserve efforts to increase target interest rates, a phenomenon which devalues long-term government securities and corporate bonds. Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank collapsed last month amid a rush from depositors to withdraw their account balances, prompting the Federal Reserve to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/business-moguls-warn-banking-crunch-is-far-from-over" target="_blank" rel="noopener">predict</a> that a mild recession would impact the United States in the second half of this year.
Goldman Sachs has nevertheless issued a number of nods toward the LGBTQ movement in recent years. The company previously recognized “International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia and Transphobia,” also known as “IDAHOBIT,” to raise <a href="https://www.goldmansachs.com/careers/blog/posts/promoting-lgbtq-inclusivity-today-and-every-day.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">awareness</a> of purported LGBTQ discrimination and featured a number of stories from employees who claimed homosexual or transgender identity.
The company has also <a href="https://www.goldmansachs.com/careers/blog/posts/reflecting-on-pride-month-2021.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hosted</a> various events for “Pride Month,” such as discussions with prominent activists and a month-long “Proudly Resilient Summit” which fundraised for more than three dozen LGBTQ nonprofits. Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon “shared his perspectives on advancing inclusion and diversity at the firm and within the communities we serve.”
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Staff members interviewed by The New York Post asserted that the gestures toward inclusivity at Goldman Sachs could not overshadow the investment bank’s notoriously competitive culture. “There is no ‘authentic self’ at Goldman Sachs. It’s your Goldman self,” one worker said. “You will be forever judged by what you wear, how you act, how you present yourself and how you play the Goldman game.”
A spokeswoman for Goldman Sachs informed The New York Post that the pamphlets have existed since 2019. She insisted that “Goldman Sachs has a long and strong record of promoting and advancing women at all levels of the bank” despite a pending lawsuit against the firm over discrimination and bias against female employees with respect to pay and promotions.
Other financial behemoths likewise promote diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts: asset management firm Vanguard hosted a training last year asking white men to accept “uncomfortable” criticism about their biases, as shown in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/diversity-training-at-vanguard-tells-white-men-to-accept-uncomfortable-criticism-floats-holding-them-accountable" target="_blank" rel="noopener">footage</a> obtained by The Daily Wire.
Credit Suisse, which was recently acquired by competitor UBS after years of lackluster risk management and the volatile conditions in the banking sector, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mx-pips-bunce-gender-fluid-executive-at-credit-suisse-pushed-for-lgbtq-visibility-as-bank-imploded" target="_blank" rel="noopener">employs</a> an individual named “Mx. Pips Bunce” as the firm’s head of global markets core engineering integration components. The executive’s LinkedIn <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/pips-bunce-4795121/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">account</a> lists “she, her, they” pronouns; half of the profile picture featured on the account shows Bunce in a suit and tie, while the other half shows Bunce wearing makeup, a blonde wig, a red dress, and what appear to be fake breasts.

The Dow Jones Industrials Lost 2.5% Following Poor Economic Reports

Goldman Sachs Distributes Pronoun Guides Amid Banking Crisis: Report

Goldman Sachs Distributes Pronoun Guides

Banks

Economy

Gender Pronouns

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/goldman-sachs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Goldman Sachs</a> recently informed its clients that it expects home values to tank in four major markets across the U.S. amid worsening economic conditions.
The investment bank predicts that San Jose, California; San Diego, California; Austin, Texas; and Phoenix, Arizona; could see a crash on the level of the 2008 housing crash.
Fox News <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/goldman-sachs-says-4-us-cities-will-suffer-2008-crash-home-values" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that the market crashes in those cities could be worse than 25%.
&#8220;Our 2023 revised forecast primarily reflects our view that interest rates will remain at elevated levels longer than currently priced in, with 10-year Treasury yields peaking in 2023 Q3,&#8221; Goldman Sachs said in a report. &#8220;As a result, we are raising our forecast for the 30-year fixed mortgage rate to 6.5% for year-end 2023 (representing a 30 bp increase from our prior expectation).&#8221;
&#8220;This [national] decline should be small enough as to avoid broad mortgage credit stress, with a sharp increase in foreclosures nationwide seeming unlikely,&#8221; the report added. &#8220;That said, overheated housing markets in the Southwest and Pacific coast, such as San Jose MSA, Austin MSA, Phoenix MSA, and San Diego MSA will likely grapple with peak-to-trough declines of over 25%, presenting localized risk of higher delinquencies for mortgages originated in 2022 or late 2021.&#8221;
Goldman Sachs said that home prices are also expected to take a small hit in New York City and Chicago. Baltimore and Miami were expected to see small gains.
The report added, &#8220;Assuming the economy remains on the path to a soft landing, avoiding a recession, and the 30-year fixed mortgage rate falls back to 6.15% by year-end 2024, home price growth will likely shift from depreciation to below-trend appreciation in 2024.&#8221;

City

Top Investment Bank Projects 4 U.S. Cities Will Suffer A 2008-Level Crash In Home Value

Housing

Phoenix

Two of the major players in the financial industry warned that the U.S. is on the verge of a recession and that the Federal Reserve might well raise the interest rate from its current 3-3.25% all the way to 4.5-4.75%.
David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs, and Jamie Dimon, the chairman and chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11359191/Goldman-Sachs-JPMorgan-CEOs-predict-Fed-raise-rates-4-75-expect-recession.html">spoke</a> on Tuesday at a conference in Saudi Arabia.
“If they don&#8217;t see real changes — labor is still very, very tight, they are obviously just playing with the demand side by tightening — but if they don&#8217;t see real changes in behavior, my guess is they will go further,” Solomon said of the Fed. “And I think generally when you find yourself in an economic scenario like this where inflation is embedded, it is very hard to get out of it without a real economic slowdown. The U.S. is most likely going to have a recession.”
“American consumers, eventually the excess money they have is running out,” Dimon predicted. “That will probably happen sometime mid-year next year, and then we will know more about what is going on with oil and gas prices and that kind of thing, so we will find out. &#8230; there is a lot of stuff on the horizon which is bad, and could — not necessarily, but could — put the United States in a recession.”
In early September Fed Chair Jerome Powell declared, “We’ve got a dual mandate—maximum employment and price stability—and it comes down to: Is nominal income [GDP] targeting the best way to promote that? We don’t think it is; I don’t think it is.”
“The basic idea behind nominal income targeting is that the central bank would establish a target growth rate for nominal income in the economy (as measured by, for example, nominal GDP),” Joshua Hendrickson of George Mason University stated.   “When nominal income is below its target, the central bank would engage in expansionary monetary policy by increasing the money supply.”
“Powell is concerned that estimates of the trend growth of output are ‘highly uncertain’ and that a decline in trend growth would require higher inflation,” James A. Dorn of the Cato Institute <a href="https://www.cato.org/blog/case-nominal-gdp-targeting-reply-fed-chair-powell">explained</a>. “Thus, under a nominal gross domestic product (NGDP) target, he thinks there would be communication issues’ as well as ‘big chances of policy error because we just don’t know any of the starred variables’ (e.g., the equilibrium values of real output, employment, and interest rates).”
Clive Crook of Bloomberg opined, “The Fed can’t control how much growth in NGDP is from higher real output and how much is from higher prices, the quantities it cares about. Using NGDP as an intermediate target to guide monetary policy recognizes this,” Dorn noted.

Jerome Powell

Major Financiers Warn Fed May Spike Interest Rates

Federal Reserve

Interest Rates

Elon Musk slammed Twitter on Thursday afternoon amid reports that it may block his attempt to buy the company after he offered to purchase the company outright for more than $43 billion.
Twitter&#8217;s board of &#8220;directors are weighing whether to move ahead with the poison pill — formally called a shareholder rights plan — that would limit the ability of a single shareholder, like Mr. Musk, to acquire a critical mass of shares in the open market and force the company into a sale,&#8221; The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/04/14/business/elon-musk-twitter">reported</a>. The poison pill tactic of warding off unwanted hostile takeovers &#8220;essentially lets the company flood the market with new shares or allow existing shareholders other than the potential acquirer to buy shares at a discount,&#8221; which &#8220;dilutes the bidder’s stake and makes buying shares more expensive.&#8221;
Musk said during an interview on Thursday that he wanted to buy Twitter because his “strong intuitive sense is that having a public platform that is maximally trusted and broadly inclusive is extremely important to the future of civilization.”
“I don’t care about the economics at all,” Musk added.
Musk then took to Twitter to conduct a poll, asking if taking the company private at $54.20 per share should be up to the shareholders and not the board, to which 84% of more than 1.3 million respondents answered, &#8220;yes.&#8221;
Musk then responded to a question from Nick Short, Communications Director for the Claremont Institute, who asked on Twitter, &#8220;If the board of directors at @Twitter reject the offer made by @elonmusk , then wouldn’t the board be acting in direct opposition to the financial interests of their shareholders?&#8221;
&#8220;Absolutely,&#8221; Musk responded. &#8220;It would be utterly indefensible not to put this offer to a shareholder vote. They own the company, not the board of directors.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Absolutely. It would be utterly indefensible not to put this offer to a shareholder vote. They own the company, not the board of directors.
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1514686582745284651?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Musk then responded to a comment from entrepreneur Cameron Winklevoss about Twitter potentially using a poison pill to block Musk from taking over the company.
&#8220;Twitter is considering a poison pill to thwart @elonmusk &#8216;s offer,&#8221; Winklevoss wrote. &#8220;They would rather self-immolate than give up their censorship programs. This shows you how deeply committed they are to Orwellian control of the narratives and global discourse. Scary.&#8221;
&#8220;If the current Twitter board takes actions contrary to shareholder interests, they would be breaching their fiduciary duty,&#8221; Musk responded. &#8220;The liability they would thereby assume would be titanic in scale.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
If the current Twitter board takes actions contrary to shareholder interests, they would be breaching their fiduciary duty. 
The liability they would thereby assume would be titanic in scale.
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1514718700674306052?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Musk also posted a screenshot of Goldman Sachs&#8217; Equity Research rating for Twitter, which stated that the company was a &#8220;Sell&#8221; stock as it was falling behind performance forecasts.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
🤔 <a href="https://t.co/PfqYpLiuVd">pic.twitter.com/PfqYpLiuVd</a>
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1514726980909948928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Related:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-no-longer-twitters-largest-shareholder-after-another-buyer-ups-its-stake-in-the-company">Elon Musk No Longer Twitter’s Largest Shareholder After Another Buyer Ups Its Stake In The Company</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/saudi-prince-rejects-elon-musk-offer-to-buy-twitter-musk-grills-him-in-tweet">Saudi Prince Rejects Elon Musk Offer To Buy Twitter; Musk Grills Him In Tweet</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-another-buyer-working-on-possible-bid-to-buy-twitter-as-musk-tries-to-take-over-report">Another Buyer Working On ‘Possible Bid’ To Buy Twitter As Musk Tries To Take Over</a></li>
</ul>

In this photo illustration, the official profile of Elon

Musk Blasts Twitter Amid Reports They May Reject His Offer, Posts Goldman Sachs’ Rating For Company

Elon Musk

Social Media

Social Media Bias

Stock Market

Twitter

In a first move for a major Wall Street player, Goldman Sachs <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-10/goldman-sachs-to-exit-russia-in-wall-street-s-first-pullout">announced</a> it will be closing its operations in Russia. 
The company reportedly said Thursday, “Goldman Sachs is winding down its business in Russia in compliance with regulatory and licensing requirements,” adding, “We are focused on supporting our clients across the globe in managing or closing out pre-existing obligations in the market and ensuring the well-being of our people.”
According to Bloomberg, “While Goldman is exiting Russia, the firm is still trading corporate debt tied to the country without the bank itself making wagers on price movements, a representative said.”
“In our role as market-maker standing between buyers and sellers, we are helping our clients reduce their risk in Russian securities which trade in the secondary market, not seeking to speculate,” Goldman Sachs reportedly said in the statement.
The move might not be a huge financial change for the bank, although the pressure it could put on other banks to follow suit could make an impact. 
According to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/russia-ukraine-latest-news-2022-03-09/card/goldman-sachs-exiting-russia-hd7STlME1PSTo4fa68Md">The Wall Street Journal</a>, last month, Goldman Sachs Group “said it had only about $1 billion [in] total exposures to Russia as of the end of the year, with about $650 million in outstanding credits and $415 million in markets. That makes it a relatively small market for the bank, which has $1.46 trillion in assets.”
Citigroup <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-09/citi-assessing-its-russia-operations-following-ukraine-invasion">commented</a> on its businesses dealings in Russia on Wednesday.
Edward Skyler, executive vice president of global public affairs, <a href="https://blog.citigroup.com/2022/03/statement-from-edward-skyler-on-citis-operations-in-ukraine-and-russia/">said</a> in a statement, “We are continuing our previously announced efforts to exit our consumer banking business in Russia. As we work toward that exit, we are operating that business on a more limited basis given current circumstances and obligations.”
&#8220;We are also supporting our corporate clients in Russia, including many American and European multi-national corporations who we are helping as they suspend or unwind their business. With the Russian economy in the process of being disconnected from the global financial system as a consequence of the invasion, we continue to assess our operations in the country,” Skyler added.
According to Bloomberg, “The company is continuing its previously announced efforts to exit the consumer business in Russia, Skyler said. The bank has seen efforts to sell that business stall following the Ukraine invasion, with one problem being that potential suitors including Russian firms such as VTB Bank PJSC are now subject to sanctions imposed by the U.S. government.”
Citigroup has also assisted some of its 200 employees in Ukraine look for protection in Poland. It also gave Ukrainian employees advances on wages. “The company is the only U.S. bank with operations in Ukraine, where it’s had a presence for more than two decades,” Bloomberg reported.
“Our top priority remains the safety of our colleagues and their families,” Skyler noted. “We are proud of the members of the Citi family who have kept our bank operating despite the catastrophe unfolding around them.”
JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co., which is the largest U.S. bank in assets, joined Goldman on Thursday.
&#8220;JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co. is actively unwinding its Russia business,&#8221; per <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-10/jpmorgan-says-it-s-actively-unwinding-its-russia-business">Bloomberg</a>.
“Current activities are limited, including helping global clients address and close out pre-existing obligations; managing their Russian-related risk; acting as a custodian to our clients; and taking care of our employees,” JPMorgan <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-10/jpmorgan-says-it-s-actively-unwinding-its-russia-business">said</a> in a statement.
Companies have also recently announced their withdrawal from Russia over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine. 
On Tuesday, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pepsico-coca-cola-join-companies-in-suspending-operations-in-russia">joined</a> other companies in announcing they would be suspending business in Russia. McDonald’s also announced it would be temporarily shutting down 850 of its locations in Russia, pointing to “the needless human suffering unfolding in Ukraine.”
Yum Brands announced it would be suspending its development of restaurants and investment in the country. “The KFC owner has more than 1,000 restaurants in Russia that account for roughly 2% of its systemwide sales,” CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/08/mcdonalds-will-temporarily-close-850-restaurants-in-russia-nearly-2-weeks-after-putin-invaded-ukraine.html">noted</a>.   
Starbucks also has around 130 locations throughout Russia and Ukraine that are wholly owned and operated by a licensed partner. On Tuesday, Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2022/letter-to-partners-from-kevin-johnson-on-ukraine/">wrote</a> that the company continues “to watch the tragic events unfold and, today, we have decided to suspend all business activity in Russia, including shipment of all Starbucks products.”

25604821-E570-41AD-8F86-B4F4DDA62639_1_201_a

Goldman Sachs To Leave Russia

Russia

Oil prices will hit $100 per barrel in 2022, according to Goldman Sachs.
In a recent note, the investment bank pointed to &#8220;robust fundamentals&#8221; in the oil market and a &#8220;surprisingly large&#8221; oil supply deficit, according to a report from <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/18/energy/oil-prices/index.html">CNN Business</a>. Nevertheless, Goldman Sachs pointed to a long-term “reluctance to invest in oil during the energy transition.”
Between November 2020 and November 2021, the average cost of gas <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/drilling-ceo-price-of-gas-headed-higher-under-biden">increased</a> from $2.01 to $3.40 per gallon in the United States. However, President Joe Biden’s allies have been emphasizing the smallest available signs of momentary cost decreases. 
For instance, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrats-celebrate-gas-prices-declining-by-two-cents-in-two-weeks">shared</a> a graph on Twitter boasting about a two-cent decline in gas prices, while CNN host Don Lemon recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/don-lemon-praises-slightly-lower-gas-prices-amid-bidens-push-for-better-press">celebrated</a> the fact that gas prices fell by roughly $0.09 from the previous month.
“A big economic relief for millions of Americans who have been dealing with soaring energy prices,” Lemon said on his program. “Cost at the pump, finally easing up. With the national average for a gallon of regular falling to $3.35. The lowest since October. Just look at that.”
At one point, the Biden administration attempted to address high gas prices by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bidens-tapping-of-petroleum-reserves-will-provide-just-over-2-5-days-worth-of-oil">tapping</a> 50 million barrels of oil from the United States Strategic Petroleum Reserve. According to the United States Energy Information Administration, however, the United States consumed roughly 18 million barrels of petroleum per day in 2020 — meaning that the release only amounted to 2.5 days’ worth of consumption.
Meanwhile, BlackRock chief executive Larry Fink called on policymakers to &#8220;create a green economy that is fair and just” by fostering access to renewable energy sources, as highlighted by CNN Business. He said that any plan only designed to cut the supply of fossil fuels instead of increasing demand for green energy &#8220;will drive up energy prices for those who can least afford it, resulting in greater polarization around climate change and eroding progress.”
Despite BlackRock’s advice, a surprising new <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-blasts-californias-bizarre-new-solar-tax-proposal-tells-people-to-complain-to-gavin-newsom">proposal</a> from California — which has a reputation for favoring renewable energy — seeks to increase fees for residential solar energy consumption. The California Public Utilities Commission’s suggested policy would “evolve decarbonization incentive efforts to meet the state’s groundbreaking clean energy goals” by creating a “grid participation charge” of $8 per kilowatt for residential solar panel users. 
Tesla CEO Elon Musk called the move “bizarre” and encouraged people to send complaints to Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) through a website set up by the automaker. Among other actions, Tesla recommended that citizens call Newsom’s office, provide verbal comment at upcoming CPUC meetings, and “tweet at” Newsom using the hashtag “#SaveSolar.”
California is also weighing a constitutional amendment that would <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/california-could-double-its-taxes-to-start-massive-new-social-program">start</a> a universal, single-payer healthcare system. The net effect would be to “increase taxes by $12,250 per household, roughly doubling the state’s already high tax collections,” according to the Tax Foundation. The top marginal rate for wages would rise to 18.05% — far higher than the nation’s median top marginal tax rate of 5.3%.

President Biden Delivers Remarks On Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill

Oil Prices Expected To Soar In 2022

Gasoline

Goldman Sachs lowered its 2022 economic growth outlook from 4.2% to 3.8% due to uncertainty surrounding the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
&#8220;While many questions remain unanswered, we now think a moderate downside scenario where the virus spreads more quickly but immunity against severe disease is only slightly weakened is most likely,&#8221; said Goldman Sachs economist Joseph Briggs in an investor’s note, according to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/goldman-sachs-cuts-us-gdp-growth-forecast-2022-over-omicron-fears-2021-12-04/">Reuters</a>. Briggs also warned that labor shortages could worsen if employees refuse to work over virus fears; meanwhile, lockdowns in foreign countries could worsen supply chain bottlenecks.
In remarks to Congress, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell likewise <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/in-remarks-to-congress-powell-says-omicron-complicates-inflation-forecasts">said</a> that the Omicron variant strain will cause uncertainty about economic growth and inflation in the coming months.
“The recent rise in COVID-19 cases and the emergence of the Omicron variant pose downside risks to employment and economic activity and increased uncertainty for inflation,” he explained. “Greater concerns about the virus could reduce people’s willingness to work in person, which would slow progress in the labor market and intensify supply-chain disruptions.”
Some American officials have already laid the foundation for additional COVID-19 lockdown measures. For instance, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ny-gov-hochul-declares-disaster-emergency-as-omicron-coronavirus-variant-takes-focus">signed</a> an executive order declaring a disaster emergency in New York — giving her the power to postpone elective surgeries, among other actions.
“We continue to see warning signs of spikes in COVID this winter, and while the new Omicron variant has yet to be detected in New York State, it’s coming,” she argued. “Through this action, we will also be able to acquire critical supplies more quickly to combat the pandemic.”
During an interview with ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos, Dr. Anthony Fauci <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/prepare-for-the-worst-fauci-says-travel-bans-wont-stop-omicron-too-early-to-say-if-more-lockdowns-are-coming">warned</a> that Americans should “prepare for the worst.”
“We’re seeing these travel bans. Are they going to make any difference?” Stephanopoulos asked.
“You know, it will slow things down, George,” Fauci replied, adding that travel bans are not likely to stop the highly transmissible virus from traveling across borders. “No way that’s going to happen. What you can do is you can delay it enough to get us better prepared. That’s the thing that people need to understand. If you’re going to do the travel ban the way we’ve done now and that we’re implementing right now, utilize the time that you’re buying to fill in the gaps.”
Stephanopoulos asked for Fauci’s advice with respect to travel outside of the United States. 
“Right now people should be prudent,” Fauci replied, noting that any travel during a pandemic posed a risk. “The best way to protect yourself, if you’re going to travel, have to travel, or want to travel, is to get vaccinated and to be prudent when you travel about wearing masks in indoor settings such as if you go to the airport, which is one of the most congregate settings you can imagine. Make sure you wear a mask. Above all vaccination will be the most important way to prevent you from being at such a high risk.”
When asked about the potential return of lockdowns, Fauci said: “I don’t know, George. It’s really too early to say.”

Goldman Sachs Lowers 2022 GDP Growth Projections Due To Omicron Variant

Anthony Fauci

Omicron Variant

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