Futures Rise As Oil Drops, Dragging Rates Lower

MSFT Plans First Voluntary Buyout In 51-Year History; Gates Foundation To Slash 20% Of Staff Summary:  First CNBC reports MSFT's first-ever Voluntary Buyout in 51-Year Company History, Then a report by BBG on Meta planning 10% Workforce Cut, All Within Hours To note: Reuters First reported Meta's 10% cut late last week (report)   Meta Layoffs  First, Microsoft unveiled a voluntary buyout program, a move that could incentivize thousands of employees to leave. Now, Meta Platforms has reportedly followed with plans to cut 10% of its workforce. Taken together, today's back-to-back announcements suggest that as Big Tech continues...

US Sanctions Turkish Bank Over Alleged IRGC Transfers In Latest Action Via The Cradle The US Treasury announced sanctions on Friday on a Turkey-based bank and two of its subsidiaries, accusing them of moving tens of millions of dollars on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and facilitating Tehran's movement of funds across the international banking system.  “"Financial institutions continue to find out the hard way that we are serious about Operation Economic Outcast," US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. "We know who you are, we know where...

The New Yorker Thinks Patriotism Is "Problematic" In a meandering essay name dropping every dress-to-impress academic figure from Voltaire to Alexis de Tocqueville to Howard Zinn, The New Yorker has set out on a quest to explain how the progressive left can essentially despise the country they live in the name of social justice, while also adopting the perks of "patriotism" so they can own the Chuds. The publication throws around some curious stats and asserts that patriotism is on the decline because, as they argue, patriotism today requires people to...