The US May Have Shot Down a Small Hobby Balloon With a Sidewinder Missile

Beta: A Powerful But Faulty Tool For Managing Risk Authored by Michael Lebowitz via RealInvestmentAdvice.com, When investors want to reduce risk, one commonly used tool is beta. For instance, an investor may sell higher-beta stocks and replace them with lower-beta ones to cushion against an expected market decline. Such a strategy is intuitive and widely used; however, it can be greatly flawed. We recently received a question from a client about how we use beta to manage our portfolios. Given recent volatility and declining prices, the timing could not be better to...

The Iranian Regime's Crypto Shadow Arsenal Authored by Tamuz Itai via The Epoch Times, In 2025, Iran’s crypto ecosystem swelled to more than $7.78 billion, according to Chainalysis, marking a notable acceleration from prior years amid economic collapse and geopolitical turmoil. For ordinary Iranians—roughly one in six of the population—crypto served as a vital lifeline. Facing relentless rial depreciation (down nearly 90 percent since 2018), chronic inflation of 40 to 50 percent, and frequent power blackouts or internet shutdowns during protests, citizens turned to Bitcoin and stablecoins like U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins (USDT)...

Climate Organization Behind Anti-ICE Protests Is Leading May 1 School Walkout Plan, Parent Group Reports Authored by Aaron Gifford via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), One of the main organizations behind the recent protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations is encouraging children to walk out of class en masse next month to help promote its agenda, which includes achieving what it said are “Eco-socialism, [a] multi-racial democracy, and Green New Deal legislation,” according to a April 8 report by representatives of parent group Defending Education. Organized by the Sunrise Movement,...