Zerohedge

Authored by Tom Mitchelhill via CoinTelegraph.com,

The launch of the highly controversial LIBRA memecoin, which Argentine President Javier Milei briefly promoted, has embroiled the crypto industry in an emerging global scandal. 

Disregarding for a moment the impact of the token’s launch on international politics — with President Milei’s own sister reportedly receiving payments from LIBRA founder Hayden Davis and Milei facing calls for impeachment — the coin has sparked major controversy involving key industry leaders in the Solana ecosystem. 

The price of SOL has also tumbled more than 17% since the launch of LIBRA on Feb. 14, falling from $204 to $169 at the time of writing, according to from Cointelegraph. 

SOL has dropped more than 17% in the last five days. Source: Cointelegraph

Meteora co-founder Ben Chow chose to resign from his role at the decentralized exchange, according to a Feb. 18 statement made on X by Jupiter’s pseudonymous founder Meow, who is also a co-founder of Meteora. 

Meow said the resignation was related to Chow’s “lack of judgement and care” relating to core aspects of Meteora’s business.

Source: Meow

Over the last three months, the Meteora platform has facilitated a series of high-profile memecoin launches for viral influencer Haliey Welch (HAWK), US President Donald Trump (TRUMP), First Lady Melania Trump (MELANIA), and most recently, Libra (LIBRA).

In the wake of these launches, several market participants have accused members of the Meteora team of insider trading and other unethical financial activity. 

DeFiTuna founder surfaces allegations against Meteora

On Feb. 18, DeFiTuna founder Moty Povolotsky — who goes by Caveman Dhirk on X — claimed that Chow had enabled a network of influencers who profited significantly from the celebrity launches, despite the threat posed to retail market participants.

Source: Moty Povolotsky

“It has been an internal secret that there is a massive spiderweb of influencers who are banking millions from the Meteora community enabled by the leadership team of Ben,” he wrote.

Moty stated that his firm had accepted an investment of $30,000 from Davis’ firm, Kelsier, on Jan. 16. However, he said that in the wake of the LIBRA launch, he “refunded Kelsier and cut all ties.”

But Meow claimed that no one from either Meteora or Jupiter had been involved in any wrongdoing regarding the launch of LIBRA or any other tokens:

“I’d like to reiterate my confidence that no one at Jupiter or Meteora committed any insider trading or financial wrongdoing, or received any tokens inappropriately.”

In an earlier Feb. 17 statement on X, Chow himself also denied any insider activity at Meteora surrounding the launch of LIBRA. 

Chow said neither he nor the Meteora team ever received or managed tokens “on the side,” nor did they have any other knowledge concerning “offchain dealings” with the tokens. 

“To maintain the high levels of confidentiality, very few people in Meteora have access to any launch information,” said Chow.

“Neither I nor the Meteora team compromised the $LIBRA launch by leaking information, nor did we purchase, receive, or manage any tokens.”

How celebrities launch memecoins on Meteora

Chow also explained the process of how celebrities and politicians go about launching a token on Meteora. 

“They typically need to hire a ‘deployer’ and/or market-maker, which is a service we do not provide,” Chow said. 

“These deployer teams are typically experts in using Meteora’s SDK or CLI and can design more sophisticated launches, as our tech allows for tons of customization. In the past, if a project did not have those resources, they would often ask me for deployer and/or market-making referrals,” he added.

He said there was nothing exclusive or unique about the relationship between Meteora and LIBRA deployer Davis.

Other industry pundits, including the pseudonymous crypto trader Curb, claimed that a Jupiter employee engaged in sniping the token’s launch. However, due to the small amounts used by the wallet address in question — ranging from $10 to $250 — it’s unlikely these were attempts at sniping and are more likely to be erratic trading behavior. 

Source: Curb

Jupiter launches investigation into LIBRA

In the wake of the LIBRA fallout, Meow announced that he would engage law firm Fenwick & West to investigate the situation and publish an independent report. 

However, after receiving backlash from legal experts on X in regard to Fenwick & West’s prior dealings with crypto firms – it is currently facing a lawsuit over claims it was directly involved in helping FTX blur its relationship with Alameda Research in 2022 – Meow said he would reevaluate his call and decide whether to engage a different law firm instead.

Since the last FOMC meeting – on Jan 29th – the market has coped admirably well with the utter avalanche of headlines spewing from Washington (and around the world). Gold has been the standout choice while stocks, bonds, oil and the dollar are all about flat…

Source: Bloomberg

The macro data has been a nightmare (for The Fed) with stagflationary impulses clear as growth surprises have been to the downside while inflation surprises have soared to the upside…

Source: Bloomberg

…which helps explain why rate-cut expectations have tumbled since the last FOMC statement…

Source: Bloomberg

Additionally, FedSpeak since the last meeting has been guardedly hawkish with Powell reiterating his ‘no rush to cut’ comments and various other Fed heads noting that the central bank is ‘in a good place’ after they removed the optimistic ‘inflation keeps trending down’ language from the prior statement.

So, bearing in mind that hot CPI and PPI (and inflation expectations from soft survey data) will not be included in these Minutes, what does The Fed want us to focus on?

Here are the initial highlights:

Fed’s on hold (confirmation)

The Fed’s 19 officials who participate in its interest-rate decisions indicated that “they would want to see further progress on inflation before making” any further cuts.

Fed blames Trump:

The minutes also cited a “high degree of uncertainty” surrounding the economy, which made it appropriate for the Fed to “take a careful approach” in considering any further changes to its key interest rate.

Fed officials said that President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs and mass deportations of migrants, as well as strong consumer spending, were factors that could push inflation higher this year.

And diving into the details:

Monetary Policy

• Some participants cited potential changes in trade and immigration policy as having potential to hinder disinflation process.

• Vast majority of participants judged risks to dual mandate objectives were roughly in balance.

• A couple of participants noted it appeared that risks to achieving inflation mandate were greater than risks to employment mandate

• Majority of participants observed that the current high degree of uncertainty made it appropriate for the Committee to take a careful approach in considering additional adjustments to the stance of monetary policy.

• Many participants noted that the Committee could hold the policy rate at a restrictive level if the economy remained strong and inflation remained elevated, while several remarked that policy could be eased if labor market conditions deteriorated, economic activity faltered, or inflation returned to 2 percent more quickly than anticipated.

Balance sheet

• Various participants noted it may be appropriate to consider pausing or slowing balance sheet runoff until resolution of debt ceiling dynamics.

• Many participants noted after conclusion of balance sheet runoff it would be appropriate to structure asset purchases to move maturity composition closer to outstanding stock of Treasury debt.

• Fed survey respondents forecast balance sheet runoff process concluding by mid-2025, slightly later than previously expected.

On financial stability risks

• Participants noted a range of factors that warranted monitoring. Several participants mentioned issues related to the banking system. A few commented that bank funding risks had lessened and that many banks had improved their ability to access the discount window; however, a couple observed that some banks had increased their reliance on reciprocal deposits, and that the stability of these deposits had not been tested in a time of stress.

• Several participants noted that some banks remained vulnerable to a rise in longer-term yields and the associated unrealized losses on bank assets.

• Several participants also mentioned potential vulnerabilities at nonbank financial institutions or nonfinancial corporations to a rise in longer-term yields or to leverage in these sectors.

• A few participants noted concerns about asset valuation pressures in equity and corporate debt markets.

• A few participants discussed vulnerabilities associated with CRE exposures, noting that risks remained, although there were some signs that the deterioration of conditions in the CRE sector was lessening.

Inflation

• A number of participants remarked that current readings of 12- month inflation were boosted by relatively high inflation readings in the first quarter of last year, and several participants noted that cumulative inflation over the past 3, 6, or 9 months showed greater progress than 12-month measures.

• Most participants commented that month-over-month inflation readings in November and December had exhibited notable progress toward the Committee’s goal of price stability, including in some key subcategories.

• Many participants, however, emphasized that additional evidence of continued disinflation would be needed to support the view that inflation was returning sustainably to 2 percent.

• Participants expected that, under appropriate monetary policy, inflation would continue to move toward 2 percent, although progress could remain uneven

• Business contacts in a number of Districts had indicated that firms would attempt to pass on to consumers higher input costs arising from potential tariffs.

• Some participants noted that some market- or survey-based measures of expected inflation had increased recently, although many participants emphasized that longer-term measures of expected inflation had remained well anchored.

• Some participants remarked that reported inflation at the beginning of the year was harder than usual to interpret because of the difficulties in fully removing seasonal effects, and a couple of participants commented that any increase in reported inflation in the first quarter due to such difficulties would imply a corresponding decrease in reported inflation in other quarters of the year.

On Policy Outlook

• In discussing risk-management considerations that could bear on the outlook for monetary policy, a majority of participants observed that the current high degree of uncertainty made it appropriate for the Committee to take a careful approach in considering additional adjustments to the stance of monetary policy.

• Factors mentioned by participants as supporting such an approach included the reduced downside risks to the outlook for the labor market and economic activity, increased upside risks to the outlook for inflation, and uncertainties concerning the neutral rate of interest, the degree of restraint from higher longer-term interest rates, or the economic effects of potential government policies.

• Many participants noted that the Committee could hold the policy rate at a restrictive level if the economy remained strong and inflation remained elevated, while several remarked that policy could be eased if labor market conditions deteriorated, economic activity faltered, or inflation returned to 2 percent more quickly than anticipated.

Read the full Fed Minutes below:

Quantum computing stocks surged in late-morning trading after Microsoft unveiled its first quantum computing chip. The rally is a welcome boost for the tech startups, which have struggled to regain upside momentum following Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s remarks in early January, which warned that quantum computers were decades away—comments that sent shares crashing. 

“Microsoft today introduced Majorana 1, the world’s first quantum chip powered by a new Topological Core architecture that it expects will realize quantum computers capable of solving meaningful, industrial-scale problems in years, not decades,” Microsoft wrote in a press release. 

It’s important to note that Microsoft stated, “Today’s announcement puts that horizon within years, not decades.” 

This contradicts Huang’s comments from Nvidia’s analyst day event, in which he said: “If you kind of said 15 years for very useful quantum computers, that would probably be on the early side. If you said 30, it’s probably on the late side.”

There seems to be a significant time gap between Microsoft’s outlook on quantum computing and that of Nvidia’s CEO.

About a week after Huang’s comments last month, MSFT published a blog declaring that 2025 is “the year to become quantum-ready.”

Jason Zander, a Microsoft executive vice president, told CNBC: “There’s a lot of speculation that we’re decades off from this,” adding, “We believe it’s more like years.”

Zander said the Microsoft quantum chip might become available through Azure Quantum cloud service by the end of the decade. 

The last month and a half has been a rollercoaster for quantum stock investors…

So, who is right on quantum chip timelines… Nvidia CEO? Or Microsoft? 

Just wait until Huang doubles down on his timeline.

In a day seeing another push higher in yields, moments ago the Treasury concluded the week’s lone coupon auction and it could have been better.

Pricing at a high yield of 4.830%, this was a 7bps drop from last month’s 4.90%, but while January’s auction stopped through the When Issued by 1.1bps, today we saw a 1.0bps tail to the 4.82% When Issued, the 5th tail in the last 6 auctions. 

The bid to cover dropped from 2.75 to 2.43, the lowest since November and below the recent average of 2.54.

The internals were also disappointing with Indirect bidders taking down 63.0%, down from 69.5% in January and below the 67.5% recent average usually awarded to foreign buyers. And with Directs awarded 19.5%, Dealers were left holding 17.5%, above the recent average of 15.6%.

Overall, this was a soft and slightly disappointing auction, if nothing too dramatic, and despite the tail and soft internals, there was barely a move in the secondary market where yields continue to trade near session highs.

 

By Newsquawk

Summary

The Minutes to the January FOMC meeting will be read to asses the range of views among the FOMC, particularly in regards to future easing, potential impact of Trump policies, and the final push for inflation. 

• Data since the FOMC has been on the hot side, but this will not be incorporated into the Minutes, so there is a possibility some expectations have shifted (Waller in January did not rule out a March cut, but this week he made the case for rates to remain steady). 
• Within the policy statement, the Fed removed language about making progress towards 2% inflation, but Powell stressed this was just a language clean up and was not meant to signal a policy shift. 
• Many Fed speakers have stated that progress to 2% has not been as fast as hoped, while looking ahead there are now upside risks to inflation with tariffs set to be implemented by US President Trump – some suggest this will be a one time increase, and we will look to see whether or not this is the general consensus on the FOMC.
• Commentary from Fed officials largely expresses uncertainty ahead and given the strength of the labor market, with inflation still above target, holding policy at the current level is the right plan of action. 

Markets are now pricing in 37bps of easing through the year-end with the first cut fully priced by September. The Fed’s dot plots (released in December, set to be updated in March), saw the median dot plot pencil in two rate cuts in 2025. Meanwhile, the median estimate of the neutral rate ticked up to 3.0%, although forecasts are wide, ranging from 2.4-3.9%.

Prior Meeting: 

At its January policy meeting, the FOMC kept rates unchanged at between 4.25-4.50%, as expected, in a unanimous decision. The statement adjusted its language, removing a reference to inflation making progress towards the 2% target while still noting inflation remains elevated; Chair Powell claims it was language clean-up, used to shorten the sentence, and was not a policy shift. The statement also described the labour market as having stabilised at a low unemployment rate, contrasting December’s assessment that conditions had eased. 

Despite this, the Fed maintained a balanced view on risks to employment and inflation and kept its data-dependent stance on future adjustments. On several occasions, Powell emphasized that the Fed is not in a rush to adjust its policy stance, even when asked about the prospects of a March rate cut. The Fed Chair noted that recent inflation readings, particularly in shelter, suggest progress, but stressed that this is not guaranteed. He acknowledged uncertainty in forecasting due to significant policy shifts but reiterated that the Fed is in a good place to monitor the economy. 

Powell confirmed that the Fed is above its long-run neutral rate estimate, and is closely monitoring reserve levels, with no immediate plan to end quantitative tightening. Powell also stated that the Fed is awaiting clarity on potential changes in fiscal and regulatory policies under President Trump.

Recent Commentary: 

In his semi-annual testimonies to Congress, Powell largely reiterated the themes he spoke about in his post-meeting press conference. However, since then, the aggregate impact of the latest US jobs data, CPI and PPI data resulted in a hawkish shift to the markets’ implied pricing for Fed rate cuts; at the time of writing, money markets are pricing in just 36bps of rate reductions in 2025, and have the first fully discounted cut pencilled in for September.

It is worth noting the Minutes are an account of the 29th January meeting, and it will not incorporate information released after that (strong jobs data, hot CPI, and PPI data). The strong data and uncertainty ahead of tariffs has largely seen the FOMC state that policy should be kept steady, and they are in no rush to cut rates further whilst they pan out uncertainties and see how the data comes in ahead.

It’s the end of an era, albeit an extremely short one. It seems only fitting that an administration focused on cutting spending an efficiency finally has told New York City – and its bottomless money pit the MTA – that enough is enough. 

New York City’s deeply unpopular congestion pricing plan is now set to be scrapped, as the Trump administration will revoke its approval Wednesday, calling the toll “backwards and unfair”, according to the New York Post. The Department of Transportation confirmed the report shortly after the Post’s scoop.

The Federal Highway Administration will revoke approval of New York’s controversial congestion pricing plan, according to a letter Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy will send to Gov. Hochul on Wednesday.

“New York State’s congestion pricing plan is a slap in the face to working-class Americans and small business owners. But now the toll program leaves drivers without any free highway alternative and instead takes more money from working people to pay for a transit system, not highways. It’s backwards and unfair,” Duffy said.

The Post writes that the U.S. Department of Transportation will revoke its approval of New York’s congestion pricing plan, officially rescinding the Nov. 21 agreement under the Value Pricing Pilot Program (VPPP). The plan, which imposed a $9 toll on drivers entering Manhattan below 60th Street, had made NYC the most expensive city in the U.S. to drive in.

“The pilot runs contrary to the purpose of the VPPP, which is to impose tolls for congestion reduction — not transit revenue generation,” the DOT stated, adding that the program conflicted with federal highway aid rules, which prohibit tolling on federally funded roads without congressional approval.

Duffy emphasized the program’s economic burden: “Every American should be able to access New York City regardless of their economic means. It shouldn’t be reserved for an elite few.”

In a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul, Duffy acknowledged that ending the tolls could impact transit funding but dismissed any expectation of long-term reliance on the revenue, noting that the Federal Highway Administration had only approved a pilot project.

The DOT said it will coordinate with project sponsors for an “orderly termination” of the tolls, though it remains unclear when collection will officially end.

As we noted last month, traffic had fallen about 7.5% as a result of the tolls. 

The congestion pricing program was initially set to take effect last year with a $15 charge, but New York Gov. Kathy Hochul later decided to put it on hold. Hochul eventually revived the program with a lower $9 charge.

The governor estimated that the new lower toll would save daily commuters around $1,500 per year when taking into account what they were originally on track to pay, and she promised discounts for commuters at the lower end of the income scale. For example, car owners earning less than $50,000 per year get a 50 percent discount on every toll after their 10th toll in a given month.

President Trump had previously expressed intent to end the program when he takes office.

Is Trump about to cancel Boeing’s iconic Air Force 1 contract?

According to a NYTimes report, Trump is furious about Boeing’s repeat delays in delivering two new Air Force One jets, and has “empowered Elon Musk to explore drastic options to prod Boeing to move faster, including relaxing security clearance standards for some who work on the presidential planes.”

According to the report, Trump has even discussed whether a luxury jet could be acquired and refitted during the wait. Musk, whom Trump views as an efficiency and productivity magician, has been central to the discussions — consulting with the military, the White House and Boeing, the NYT sources said.

The report goes on to note that Trump regards Boeing as “almost a lost cause”, and “often laments how far the company has fallen, wondering aloud what happened to the jet maker and why it seems incapable of building things anymore.”

The two heavily modified Boeing 747s currently used interchangeably to fly the president are more than 30 years old and require extensive servicing. And while Trump can have any airplane he wants (and does), the president still views Air Force One as a symbol of power and prestige, and he is infuriated that he begins his second term flying around in the same aging planes that once transported President George H.W. Bush.

Trump’s comments took on a more ominous tone in an interview broadcast Tuesday night on Fox News’s “Hannity” when speaking beside Musk, the president excoriated the company, saying, “I mean, they are actually in default, Boeing,” before adding: “They’ve been building this thing forever. I don’t know what’s going on.”

Trump, in a pointed demonstration about his willingness to explore other options, took time on Saturday to kick the tires on a luxury jet sitting at Palm Beach International Airport. Photographers spotted the tail number of the late model 747-8, which revealed the plane to have been owned, at least until recently, by the Qatari royal family, according to registration data.

The Air Force has already contractually committed to paying Boeing $3.5 billion of the $4.3 billion total set aside for the project. But Boeing is at least three years behind schedule and has already booked $2.4 billion in losses on the contract. 

Boeing’s contract to build the new planes was first signed in 2018, and the planes were originally expected to be delivered in 2024. But now, Boeing’s executives have indicated to the government that they might not be able to deliver the new Air Force Ones until the end of Trump’s second term. 

But Musk, who is known for setting aggressive deadlines at his companies, has insisted that at least one of the planes can be delivered within a year’s time.

And while there is absolutely nothing wrong with Trump’s demand to get a working plane soon – after all, it is hardly a secret that Boeing has indeed become the butt of all aerospace jokes in the past 5 years under its catastrophic DEI-empowering leadership – the NYT’s angle is, what else, that it would be catastrophic to give Musk even more independent to realign government as he sees fit, especially when a company so critical to the deep state, Boeing, is in the mdidle of it. 

Indeed, as the NYT notes, “depending on how extensive the pullback would be for lowering security requirements, the cost of speeding the production schedule for the new planes could be to compromise the president’s safety, or the nation’s security, if not managed with extreme care. Boeing executives have argued that there is a safe way to do this, by lowering the security standards for certain classes of workers who do not touch the airplanes’ most sensitive systems.”

A Boeing spokeswoman declined to answer questions, writing in a statement, “We don’t have anything to share.”

Boeing stock dumped to session lows on the report which initially made it seem like Boeing was about to lose the contract, and perhaps others, but has since rebounded as readers realized that this is just another hit piece on Elon.

By Michael Every of Rabobank

The US-Russia Ukraine War ceasefire talks in the Saudi capital yesterday are causing a chain Riyadh-tion.

Russia made no concessions at all. Indeed, NBC news cites Western intelligence and congressional sources stating that President Vladimir Putin is not interested in a peace deal and instead seeks to gain full control of Ukraine, because “He thinks he’s winning.”

By contrast, rumors are flying of what the US may have conceded: Ukraine’s NATO membership is off the table; a potential Ukrainian election may be on it; and some fear the reduction of US forces in Europe, crystalising the latter’s sudden existential concern over who now defends it. It remains to be seen what is true.

Yet as pointed out in the Grand Macro Strategy report, realist US statecraft is hardly new. For example, in WW2 President F.D. Roosevelt forced UK PM Churchill to exchange British bases for mothballed WW1-era US destroyers, made the UK pay for US goods until it couldn’t continue, then switched to Lend-Lease with terms preventing Britain from ever re-emerging as an imperial power, reinforced by the US forcing sterling to become convertible again too soon post-WW2, and making it remove its Imperial Preference tariffs.

However, there is now an echo of Nixon going to China for some, and Molotov-Ribbentrop for others. Indeed, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov underlined “high interest” in lifting US-Russia economic barriers, while Secretary of State Rubio stated peace in Ukraine would “unlock” opportunities for cooperation and “some pretty unique, potentially historic economic partnerships.” Which grand strategy logic argues will not involve Europe, not even via cheaper Russian gas, as the market –understanding only macro strategy– prices for it regardless.   

Europe is of course outraged, but both France’s Macron and Germany’s Scholz had meetings with Putin without Ukraine present as late as 2022, and Germany regularly worked round it before that. Moreover, it was Macron who told Politico in late 2023 that Europe must resist pressure to become “America’s followers” and the “great risk” Europe faces is getting “caught up in crises that are not ours.”

Regardless, as the talks ended yesterday, rumours flew that Europe would announce a €700bn aid package for Ukraine, which may occur at another emergency EU+UK summit to be held today. If so, we are talking serious money, but equally serious questions arise:

• How many years is this over? The time value of money is existential when geopolitics is this raw.
• How will the money be used? Ukraine is already producing as much war materiel as it can, and Europe has refused to shift to a war economy since February 2022.
• Is €700bn to flow to the EU to create a defence industrial base? If so, where? It needs economies of scale, but that does not allow the entire EU a windfall. And how will the EU not see higher inflation given physical constraints on its capital stock and human capital?
• Is €700bn to buy US arms and support the US defence industrial complex? The same bottleneck and inflation issues arise there, as well as EU-US trade/capital out/inflows.

These are huge issues of economic statecraft and Grand Macro Strategy for Europe (and the US). However, clearly the EU can back Ukraine fully if it chooses to: it will just have to reorder its political-economy, military, and financial markets to do so. 

Indeed, the Financial Times op-ed page today is literally begging Europe to do exactly that. Yet that’s as Mario Draghi was recently berating:

“You say no to public debt. You say no to the single market. You say no to creating a capital markets union. You can’t say no to everything. Otherwise, you have also told me to be consistent, that you are not able to deliver on the fundamental values for which this European Union’s been created. So, when you ask me what is better, what is best to do now, I say I have no idea. But do something.”

Mario Draghi barrels into European politicians and leaders for their inaction:

“You say no to public debt. You say no to the single market. You say no to create a capital market union. You can’t say no to everything…You ask me what’s best to do…I don’t know, but do something” pic.twitter.com/CcbVeen7ZD

— Julien Hoez (@JulienHoez) February 18, 2025

Others may: Turkey, NATO’s second-largest military force even if not invited to Monday’s EU summit, has announced it also supports Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Will it act on that with Europe? If so, how? And what’s the quid pro quo, if any?

Muddying the waters further, President Trump has reiterated he will impose 25% (or higher) tariffs on autos and chips from as soon as 2 April – the former hitting Germany in particular. The market is again taking the view that a week is a long time in politics, and April is a lifetime away. It is – things could be far worse by then.

Meanwhile, a US federal judge has given DOGE the greenlight to continue digging into the government’s systems and books – though how much money is actually being saved remains to be seen: one figure is just $50bn, which is a rounding error in the larger scheme of things.

Japan’s 10-year bond yield just hit 1.44%, their highest since 2010. Another rate hike or two and we are back at the pre-GFC levels, and then perhaps even at the first post-bubble phase of around 2%. What kind of chain Riyadh-tion might we see there if this continues?

Regardless, both the RBA and the RBNZ just cut interest rates. The former took its overnight cash rate down 25bps to 4.10% and sounded hawkish while the latter cut by 50bps to 3.75% and signalled more easing to come despite inflation expected to reaccelerate to 2.7% later in 2025. Like the BOE, the Kiwi message seems to be that a weaker economy will shake out high inflation eventually, “because markets.” Unless, of course, it doesn’t, “because emerging markets.”

And geopolitics: don’t think if Europe is being told to spend 5% of GDP on defence that Australia, and even New Zealand, won’t be told to do their bit to contribute towards the US defense of the Indo-Pacific too.

President Donald Trump ordered the Department of Justice to fire all US attorneys left over from the Biden administration.

According to a Wednesday post on Truth Social, Trump said the agency had been “politicized like never before,” adding “Therefore, I have instructed the termination of ALL remaining ‘Biden Era’ U.S. Attorneys. We must ‘clean house’ IMMEDIATELY, and restore confidence.”

“America’s Golden Age must have a fair Justice System – THAT BEGINS TODAY!”

Firing US attorneys from previous administrations is standard practice when a new administration takes office, though Reuters noted that incoming administrations typically request resignations vs. issuing termination letters. That said, while career DOJ officials typically keep their jobs across administrations, dozens of employees in cities such as Washington DC and New York have either resigned or been fired since Trump was elected.

The move comes after Trump fired several career prosecutors involved in cases against him – including those who worked on special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation over Trump’s handling of classified documents. Smith himself resigned before Trump took office.

On Monday several Biden-appointed US attorneys announced their resignations.

In an email to Biden’s remaining US attorneys last week, the White House said “At the direction of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as U.S. Attorney is terminated, effective immediately,” Reuters reported.

During the 2024 election, Trump accused the Biden administration of weaponizing the DOJ against him to knock him out of the race, and promised to restore the agency.

“We’re going through this weaponization of our government to try and knock out somebody’s political opponent,” Trump said last March, calling the cases against him the “Biden trials.”

Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Modernity.news,

The Delta Airlines flight that flipped over and crashed at Pearson Airport was operated by Endeavor Air, a company that has relentlessly pushed DEI initiatives and bragged about having “unmanned” all-female flights that contained no male staff.

Passengers were left dangling upside down when the plane flipped over while landing, with fuel running down the windows as flames began to consume the jet before being extinguished.

It’s a minor miracle that no one died, with 19 of the 21 passengers taken to hospital now discharged.

𝗣𝗶𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗘𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗿

That Endeavor flight doing a flip-a-doodle-doo in Toronto yesterday appears to have been a too-hard landing that collapsed the starboard side landing gear, whereafter the starboard wing tore off and everything went tits up.

Incredible that no one died. So… pic.twitter.com/B1NIgOhSxh

— GuardAmerican🐸 (@GuardAmerican) February 18, 2025

Respondents to the shocking incident noted how Endeavor Air, the Delta subsidiary that operated the flight, was obsessed with DEI initiatives, and produced a feminist girlboss video promoting its all-female flights with a rap song featuring the lyrics “bad girls do it well.”

Other videos linked to the company show other female Endeavor Air flight crew and stewardesses performing choreographed dance routines celebrating the total absence of men.

The plane that crashed in Toronto was a Delta flight operated by Endeavor Air, a small airline obsessed with all-female “unmanned” flights pic.twitter.com/pYMS3kdpQy

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) February 19, 2025

“Buckle up ladies and gentlemen, your flight is unmanned today. #girlpower,” proclaimed a tweet posted by the company.

Buckle up ladies and gentlemen, your flight is unmanned today. #girlpower

📸: Caitlyn M., FO, CRJ-900 pic.twitter.com/vL7ec2P3fX

— Endeavor Air (@EndeavorAir) June 6, 2022

Buckle up, indeed.

Another tweet asserted, “Who run the world? Girls,” before featuring a quote by Capt. Pamela Nucifore, Mgr, Flight Standards which made clear that passengers are informed about the fact that no men are on the flight crew before take off.

Who run the world? Girls.

“When I have an ‘unmanned’ crew, I note it in my welcome announcement. Some parents even ask to take a photo to show their daughters. I’m so glad to show the next generation of girls what they can achieve.” – Capt. Pamela Nucifore, Mgr, Flight Standards pic.twitter.com/WMjyG7JlV2

— Endeavor Air (@EndeavorAir) March 30, 2021

“When I have an ‘unmanned’ crew, I note it in my welcome announcement. Some parents even ask to take a photo to show their daughters. I’m so glad to show the next generation of girls what they can achieve,” said Nucifore.

“We’re committed to delivering more “unmanned” flights like these. As a proud partner of @WomenInAviation, we can inspire more girls to explore #AviationCareers,” boasted another tweet.

We’re committed to delivering more “unmanned” flights like these. As a proud partner of @WomenInAviation, we can inspire more girls to explore #AviationCareers. #IFlyEDV #STEM pic.twitter.com/DyvrTRG1s0

— Endeavor Air (@EndeavorAir) November 28, 2017

Many have blamed pilot error as the cause of the crash.

“A key detail from the Delta crash was that video footage did not show the usual “flare” maneuver typically performed by pilots before landing,” reports the Express Tribune.

“This maneuver involves pulling the nose of the plane up just before touchdown to expose the wings to more air resistance, which slows the aircraft down and helps with a smoother landing. The lack of this flare led some aviation experts to speculate about potential issues with the pilot’s actions during the landing attempt.”

The Endeavor Air website was also full of DEI virtue-signaling.

Why am I not surprised that Endeavor, the company operating Delta Flight 4819, has a website packed to the gills with DEI signaling. pic.twitter.com/oJ1VUrnlsV

— Feathers McGraw (@rotatingconcept) February 18, 2025

With this much DEI, it’s a shock that someone didn’t actually DIE.

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