June 18, 2026

06 Market

Go to Article
Excerpt from thefederalist.com

The Biden administration is going after western coal producers with new rules published last week that eliminate new coal leases in the nation’s largest coal-producing region.

Last Thursday, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced the agency would halt additional leases to mine coal across the Powder River Basin, which runs through southeast Montana and northeast Wyoming and is the most productive stretch of coal reserves in the United States. The Washington Post described the administration’s move as the “biggest step yet to end coal mining.”

Larry Behrens, the spokesman for the energy nonprofit Power the Future, told The Federalist the agency’s decision illustrates a president who holds “nothing but contempt for affordable and reliable energy.”

Go to Article
Excerpt from www.rawstory.com

CHICAGO — As Democratic leaders gathered in Chicago for a Democratic National Convention walkthrough, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker let it rip on presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.

“It’s a choice between kindness and cruelty, between a president who stands up against hatred and extremism, or a candidate who promises to be a dictator and makes excuses for white supremacists who chant ‘Jews will not replace us,’” Pritzker said Wednesday at the United Center in Chicago.

Go to Article
Excerpt from www.chicagotribune.com

A judge in Springfield on Wednesday issued a temporary injunction blocking a law passed by Democrats that would have prevented Republicans from slating candidates for legislative races not filled in the March primary.

Sangamon County Judge Gail Noll issued the order pending a hearing on June 3, which had been the statutory date for filling the unfilled candidate slots on the Nov. 5 ballot.

Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the measure into law on May 3 shortly after Democratic majorities in the House and Senate passed the legislation in a two-day tour de force.

Go to Article
Excerpt from inews.co.uk

Allies of Rupert Murdoch are urging the media tycoon to stop newspapers in his media empire from backing Labour at the election.

The Sun is believed to be “inching towards” switching its support from the Conservatives to Labour, an endorsement prized by Sir Keir Starmer’s team, i has reported.

Yet while Labour has been working hard to woo News UK executives behind the scenes, relations between the Labour leader and senior executives remain frosty.

Go to Article
Excerpt from www.teslarati.com

Elon Musk’s takeover of social media platform Twitter was among the most dramatic in recent years. Upon taking control of the platform, Musk proceeded to cut the company’s workforce. He also got rid of the company’s behind-the-scenes moderators, with the Tesla CEO stating that Twitter would be focusing on using Community Notes to fight misinformation instead.

Unlike Twitter’s legacy anti-misinformation efforts, which relied on fact checkers whose identities and credentials were unknown, Community Notes, like its name suggests, is a crowdsourced system that allowed users of the social media platform to flag misleading posts and add corrective commentary. These commentaries are typically accompanied by links to scientific papers or legitimate media sources.

?u=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.sketchfab.com%2Fmodels%2Fc4739fffdaf64d438b0734170a5d5dac%2Fthumbnails%2F6ba173ff3d694883b6e5e9549b4cae75%2F058bcd2db5b04921b77673c979ff95ed.jpeg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=872201e69dd806d7ddcebb5e2d0e6c689eac5ec833acb2442249dc2c3c80d3a6&ipo=images

Go to Article
Excerpt from www.benzinga.com

Neuralink Patient Looks To Monetize Himself On Social Media, Gets Elon Musk’s Support For Streaming, Raising Money Through X

The first Neuralink patient has passed the 100-day milestone since the Elon Musk founded company’s chip was implanted in his brain.

Noland Arbaugh is now ready to begin earning money or raising money as his story grows in popularity.

What Happened: Arbaugh, who was previously the anonymous Neuralink patient, is now publicly known and has done a series of interviews with Bloomberg, “Good Morning America,” and several social media influencers.

?u=https%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fen%2Fthumb%2Fd%2Fd9%2FTGI_Fridays_logo.svg%2F1280px-TGI_Fridays_logo.svg.png&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=c9cae8c7d8478f0db80812c26114ee16bdbb8f65a62fa2084fa24938b75d57be&ipo=images

After announcements by Red Lobster they would be filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closing a significant number of stores, TGI Friday’s announced they would be closing select restaurants as well. Applebee’s kicked off the month with an announcement it would be closing 35 more locations after closing 46 in 2023.

Go to Article
Excerpt from www.westernjournal.com

When people can barely afford to eat at home, they can’t exactly go out to dinner. That’s a lesson in Bidenomics that several chains are finding out the hard way.

The latest chain casual restaurant to feel the pinch is TGI Friday’s; according to an article in the U.K.’s Daily Mail on Tuesday, the restaurant announced it had closed one restaurant in New Jersey on Sunday and was planning to close another in Buffalo, New York in June.

That would bring the total for restaurants the family dining chain has closed to 40 this year, including eight in New Jersey and six in New York.

“We’ve identified opportunities to optimize and streamline our operations to ensure we are best positioned to meet — and exceed” a “brand promise” to close “underperforming” restaurants, said Ray Risley, TGI Friday’s U.S. president.

?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.brightwoodventures.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F02%2Fjanet-yellen.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=ceffe8aed079d6d920c1680fcb76eac886c7fa6acc4db49469dd1271f3e445fa&ipo=images

Janet Yellen, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, has let the world know the United States will not be participating in the global billionaire tax scheme cooked up by nations like Brazil and France. The global tax would be intended to redistribute wealth to poor countries, though the methodology through which that wealth would be distributed was not made clear.

Yellen said of the imitative, “We’re not supportive of a process to try to achieve that. That’s something we can’t sign on to.”

Go to Article
Excerpt from www.benzinga.com

The U.S. has taken a firm stance against a proposed global wealth tax on billionaires, as announced Monday by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

This idea, championed by Brazil, France and other nations, aims to reduce economic inequality by targeting the global billionaires.

Yellen emphasized that while the U.S. supports progressive taxation, it cannot back a worldwide initiative of this nature, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

“We’re not supportive of a process to try to achieve that. That’s something we can’t sign on to,” she said.

As the leader of the Group of 20 major economies, Brazil has urged the group to develop a unified approach to taxing extremely wealthy individuals who often relocate their funds to low-tax jurisdictions.

Go to Article
Excerpt from www.timesnownews.com

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is integrating artificial intelligence (AI) training into the onboarding process for new employees, reflecting the technology’s profound impact as envisioned by CEO Jamie Dimon. Dimon has compared AI’s transformative potential to that of the printing press and the steam engine, as per a Bloomberg report.

AI Training for New Recruits

Mary Erdoes, who oversees JPMorgan’s asset- and wealth-management division, announced during the firm’s investor day on Monday that all new employees will undergo prompt engineering training. “This year, everyone coming in here will have prompt engineering training to get them ready for the AI of the future,” Erdoes said, highlighting the bank’s commitment to preparing its workforce for the advancements in AI technology.

Go to Article
Excerpt from ca.style.yahoo.com

U.S. cell carrier Patriot Mobile experienced a data breach that included subscribers’ personal information, including full names, email addresses, home ZIP codes and account PINs, TechCrunch has learned.

Patriot Mobile, which reportedly has fewer than 100,000 subscribers, bills itself as “America’s only Christian conservative wireless provider and our mission is to passionately defend our God-given Constitutional rights and freedoms while glorifying God.”

On its website, the cell carrier displays photos of former Fox News host Glenn Beck, and former Trump administration officials Sebastian Gorka and Steve Bannon. The company has recently started to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in support of conservative and pro-Christian candidates and causes in Texas.

Go to Article
Excerpt from www.businesstoday.in

Tesla, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is eyeing Sri Lanka for implementing its Starlink internet services. This comes after Musk cancelled his visit to India and visited China and Indonesia instead. The tech billionaire recently met with Sri Lanka’s President Ranil Wickremesinghe at the 10th World Water Forum in Bali and is exploring opportunities for Starlink services.

President’s Media Division wrote on X, “During the 10th World Water Forum High-Level Meeting in Indonesia, President Ranil Wickremesinghe met with @elonmusk to discuss the implementation of @Starlink in Sri Lanka.”

Go to Article
Excerpt from uk.finance.yahoo.com

Is Citigroup discriminating against white people?

That’s the question at the heart of a racial discrimination lawsuit filed in federal court against the megabank by Florida customers who say they were charged out-of-network fees for transactions at Citi ATMs while customers of minority-owned banks were not. The plaintiffs are seeking class-action status.

Citi has “an express policy of charging customers different ATM fees based on race,” the two plaintiffs allege in the lawsuit. “Like most banks, Citi charges customers an out-of-network fee when they use Citi’sATMs to withdraw cash from a financial institution outside of Citi’s ATM network. But unlike otherbanks, Citi imposes this fee only when a customer withdraws money from a financial institution ownedby people of the wrong race.”

Citigroup said in an emailed statement that it is reviewing the complaint.

“Citi has no tolerance for discrimination in any form, and we take allegations to the contrary very seriously,” the company told USA TODAY.

Go to Article
Excerpt from www.kark.com

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin is ordering two out-of-state companies to stop advertising in the state.

Griffin said in a Tuesday release that the two companies were in violation of the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act related to abortion pill marketing and sales. Griffin’s office sent cease and desist letters to Choices Women’s Medical Center, Inc. of New York and Aid Access of the Netherlands.

Go to Article
Excerpt from www.washingtonexaminer.com

Election Day is less than six months away, and voters have a familiar choice of Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Unless it’s The Godfather Part II, sequels rarely live up to the hype. Although it may look like a 2020 repeat, the stars are competing in a different game and under different rules. This series, ‘Judgment Day: Why 2024 rematch won’t be any old sequel, investigates the key differences from 2020. Part Three is on the first presidential election post Roe v. Wade reversal.

Go to Article
Excerpt from omaha.com

A new petition seeking to recognize fertilized eggs, embryos and fetuses as people and grant them the same rights as those who have been born will begin circulating in Nebraska.

Choose Life Now, an anti-abortion organization, filed language with Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen on May 2 seeking to recognize “the personhood of unborn children” in the state constitution.

“A preborn child at every stage of development is a person,” the language of the proposed amendment reads. “Wherever under Nebraska law the term ‘person’ is used or implied, it shall include a child.”

Go to Article
Excerpt from www.newsweek.com

A Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Minnesota faced resurfaced allegations on Monday of paying women to have an abortion.

The Minnesota GOP on Saturday announced its endorsement of Royce White, a former NBA player, to run against Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar. White attended the GOP convention at Saint Paul RiverCentre and was introduced at the event with a video by former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon, a supporter of White.

Danny Abbas—@dabbs346, a Senate research director at American Bridge 21st Century, a Democratic PAC, according to his profile on X, formerly Twitter—brought up the accusation against White in a Monday post.

Go to Article
Excerpt from theindependent.com

Since the court’s 2022 ruling, most Republican-controlled states have new abortion restrictions in effect, including 14 that ban it at every stage of pregnancy. Most Democratic-led states have laws or executive orders to protect access.

Go to Article
Excerpt from www.news-shield.com

(The Center Square) — Wisconsin’s Republican U.S. Senator is urging Republicans in the state to settle the abortion question amongst themselves.

Ron Johnson told the crowd at the Republican Party of Wisconsin convention over the weekend that Republicans will continue to lose elections until they come-up with an answer for abortion.

Go to Article
Excerpt from www.reuters.com

May 21 (Reuters) – A conservative shareholder withdrew a resolution filed for a vote at Tuesday’s annual meeting of JPMorgan, according to the investor’s representative, who said the move reflects changes the Wall Street bank has made to take more account of diverse viewpoints.
JPMorgan’s (JPM.N), opens new tab meeting was to include Proposal 11, a call for the bank to report on how the bank’s policies impact employees “based on their religion (including religious views) or political views.”
Jerry Bowyer, a fund consultant who represents David Bahnsen, the head of the family trust that filed the resolution, said it was withdrawn in light of several steps the bank has taken that show it pulling back from political tests for customers.
One factor, Bowyer said, was the bank’s decision to drop a requirement that merchants using its WePay service not accept payments tied to risks like allegations of racism or sexual harassment.

Go to Article
Excerpt from www.msn.com

Apple is granting massive discounts on select iPhones in China, as reported by CNBC. With this, Apple CEO Tim Cook hopes to score in the intense competition with local brands such as Huawei. According to the report, Apple is offering select iPhone models with high discounts on Chinese e-commerce platforms such as JD.com and Alibaba’s Tmall.

Currently, the iPhone 15 Pro Max with 256-gigabyte storage is available for 7949 yuan (around 1250 dollars). The regular price is 9999 yuan, approximately 1572 dollars. Thus, Chinese consumers can save a good 20 percent compared to the regular price.

The high discounts are linked to the declining iPhone sales, as market expert Le Xuan Cheiw explained in the report. Apple suffered sales declines of 25 percent in China in the first three months of this year compared to the previous year. In the process, the market share fell from 20 to 15 percent. Apple CEO Tim Cook intends to curb the sales slump with the discount campaign.

Go to Article
Excerpt from www.oann.com

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has stressed the need for the United States and Europe to respond to China’s industrial strategy to keep competition alive.

Yellen hosted a roundtable with financial executives at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management on Tuesday. During it, she addressed global macro-economic trends and financial sector risks.

She sounded the alarm about competition from China. Yellen warned that if countries do not respond to China’s industrial policy, businesses in countries around the world could be at risk.

“And industrial overcapacity not only poses a threat to firms in the U.S. and Europe, it could also prevent countries around the world, including emerging markets, from building the industries that could power their growth,” she stated.

Go to Article
Excerpt from www.theglobeandmail.com

A group of state financial officers and other public and labour leaders called on Tuesday for major asset managers to vote against top Exxon XOM-N directors, citing the U.S. oil company’s continuing lawsuit against climate activists.

The group including New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and the state treasurers of Connecticut, Nevada and other states called for votes against Exxon CEO and chair Darren Woods and the company’s lead independent director Joseph Hooley, saying in a statement Exxon’s suit would “undermine shareholder rights.”

The group named BlackRock, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs among the managers whose support it sought. A JPMorgan representative said the firm would not comment on individual votes. A Goldman Sachs representative declined to comment. BlackRock did not immediately comment.