US Jobs Soar By 172K In May, Smashing Estimates In 4 Sigma Beat; Unemployment Rate Remains At 4.3%

Trump EPA Targets Biden-Era Refrigerant Rules In Affordability Push The Trump administration plans to delay compliance with Biden-era EPA regulations targeting hydrofluorocarbons later today. These regulations apply to refrigerants used in air conditioners, refrigerators, supermarket cooling systems, refrigerated trucks, cold storage, and some industrial applications. Bloomberg reports that the EPA's 2023 Technology Transitions Rule, enacted under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, will be rolled back, with an estimated cost savings of more than $2.4 billion. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the Biden-era rules imposed costly and unrealistic requirements that exceeded the...

Blue Origin's New Glenn Rocket Explodes On Florida Launchpad Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket exploded in a massive fireball while undergoing a static-fire test on a Florida launchpad Thursday evening, dealing a major setback to the Jeff Bezos-backed firm in its efforts to challenge a dominant SpaceX.  The firm was preparing the vehicle for its fourth launch, which was slated to deploy a batch of satellites for Amazon.com Inc.’s Leo, a rival satellite network to SpaceX’s Starlink. None of the satellites were on the rocket when it exploded, a spokesperson for...

Et Tu, Indonesia! As the squeeze continues on China's energy supply (and Xi has started to lash out here and here), we suspect the next words out of the Chinese leader's mouth (if he spoke Latin) will be "...et tu, Indonesia!" As Stephen Green writes at PJMedia, it might have seemed like one of those dry, bureaucratic, almost meaningless announcements on Monday, when War Secretary Pete Hegseth posted on X that the U.S. and Indonesia "are elevating our relationship to a Major Defense Cooperation Partnership."  This arrangement “will explore mutually agreed cutting-edge...