Notes in the Margin

CIA pal Thiel's "entrepreneurship" mostly involves lobbying for gov't contracts. And then using that money to build the surveillance state. 

Federal bureaucratic parasite Anthony Fauci said covid came from people eating bats. He was lying. New report shows covid origins in US-funded lab.

The U.S. gov has approved $17.9 bln for Israeli military operations in Gaza and elsewhere since Oct 7, substantially more than in any other year since the U.S. began granting military aid to Israel in 1959.

ECB cuts rates on weak growth, markets bet on more easing: The Fed is addicted to easy money, but the European central bank is even more addicted. 

Zillow, which is famously bullish on housing prices, is now projecting that U.S. home prices will fall 1.7% between March 2025 and March 2026. 

April 2025 Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey: "The index for new orders also fell sharply, from 8.7 in March to -34.2 this month, its lowest reading since April 2020." 

Trump demands more easy money and lower interest rates. Powell isn't dovish enough for Trump. 

Homebuyers rush to riskier loans, as tariff turmoil pushes interest rates higher: borrowers applying for adjustable-rate loans jumped to 2-year high.

According to press accounts, the Trump administration, which some right-wing libertarians have humorously described as being “antiwar,” is now contemplating dropping bombs on Mexico.

The Trump adviser who wants to rewrite the global financial system: Stephen Miran, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.