“The Trump Administration’s global economic policy, particularly its penchant for using tariffs as a bargaining chip, has had massive ramifications on the highly-globalized automotive industry. According to an analysis of the automaker financial reports by Automotive News, the Trump tariff plan has already cost automakers some $35.4 billion since the start of 2025. The news come via analysis of the latest data from car companies, which include data for the full-year costs of 2025 as well as projections for 2026 through mid-March where applicable. … that financial strain also comes at the same time as Trump’s massive rework of emissions and climate regulations, which saw automakers walk back their EV initiatives. AN reports those actions have also cost automakers around $70 billion thus far.” (03/17/26)
“Two weeks after the start of the war in Iran, the picture is coming into focus. Why would a president who promised countless times not to start new wars, particularly ‘forever wars’ in the Middle East, have leapt into this conflict? As always in the age of Trump, it’s necessary to separate the president’s motives and mindset from the old ways we used to decide questions of war and peace, tariffs, sanctions, immigration, taxes, and other matters. Before venturing into Trump’s mind, let’s consider the shape of the discussion. People who imagine that we are still operating in a normal world are making arguments in favor of military action as if we were engaged in a national debate.” (03/17/26)
“Rachel Reeves has announced that the Treasury will draw up plans to give regional leaders a share of national tax revenues as part of a radical plan to rebalance the economy of England. Setting out her intention of creating ‘investment-led growth,’ the chancellor promised ‘a genuine break with the past’ that would shift spending power away from Westminster. … Reeves set out plans to reform regulation to ‘shift the balance of power towards workers, consumers, bill-payers and renters.’ Her lecture was titled The Active and Strategic State, and restated the approach she calls ‘securonomics.'” (03/17/26)
“Bettors traded more than $529 million in forecasts of when the U.S. would next strike Iran in a market opened last year on Polymarket, the self-described world’s largest prediction market. Bets on Polymarket are made with cryptocurrency, and each trade is countered by another user, so not exactly versus ‘the house.’ By contrast, $133.8 million was bet on last month’s Super Bowl across Nevada’s 186 sportsbooks, representing a 10-year low, according to data from the Nevada Gaming Control Board. … But betting big on war is not exactly a new phenomenon and the outcomes are far from guaranteed, as America’s enemies found out the hard way 250 years ago. Over drinks at Brooke’s in London on Christmas Day, 1776, legend has it British Gen. John Burgoyne bet a colleague 50 guineas he would return by the following Christmas having squashed the American patriots’ rebellion.” (03/17/26)
“The window for Donald Trump to end the Iran war by simply declaring victory and walking away is rapidly closing. Soon he will face a stark choice: He can take greater risks in pursuit of a decisive tactical success, prepare the country for a prolonged conflict that could last for many months, or seek a negotiated settlement that involves a real compromise with Tehran.” (03/17/26)
“Senate Democrats sent over their latest proposal for immigration enforcement changes at the Department of Homeland Security as a shutdown of the vast department drags into its second month. The offer, confirmed by a White House official and two other people with knowledge of the matter, is the latest of several the two parties have traded since the funding lapse began Feb. 14. Little progress has been made since toward an agreement that would fund agencies including TSA, FEMA, ICE and the Coast Guard. Democrats have vowed to block funding until the administration agrees to immigration enforcement changes in the wake of federal agents [murdering] two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. Republicans, meanwhile, have rejected Democrats’ efforts to lop off immigration enforcement agencies and fund the rest of DHS.” (03/17/26)
“This war did not come out of nowhere. To be sure, the United States and Iran have been at odds for decades, and neither Israel nor the lobby is solely responsible for the suspicion with which each country views the other. Nonetheless, lobby groups such as AIPAC, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, the Zionist Organization of America, and United Against Nuclear Iran have worked to demonize Iran over the years, prevent U.S. companies from doing business there, and derail prior attempts by former Iranian presidents Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammed Khatami to improve relations. … by making it almost impossible for either Democratic or Republican presidents to put meaningful pressure on Israel, the lobby has enabled Netanyahu to engage in ‘reckless driving’ all over the region, whether in Israel’s sustained efforts to oppress its Palestinian subjects or in its repeated attacks on Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, Iran, and even Qatar.” (03/17/26)
“A top aide to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has resigned in protest of the Trump administration’s war in Iran. Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, posted on social media platform X that he was resigning effective Tuesday. He appears to be the first major Trump administration official to resign over the war. ‘I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,’ Kent wrote. Kent shared a letter addressed to President Trump stating that while he supports ‘the values and the foreign policies that you campaigned on in 2016, 2020’ and 2024, he disagreed with the president’s decision to launch the Iran operation.” (03/17/26)
