The dozen board members of the prestigious Fulbright program that promotes international educational exchanges resigned on Wednesday because of what they said was political interference by the Trump administration in their operations, according to people familiar with the issues and a board memo obtained by The New York Times.The members are concerned that political appointees at the State Department, which manages the program, are acting illegally by canceling the awarding of Fulbright scholarships to almost 200 American professors and researchers who are prepared to go to universities and other research institutions overseas starting this summer, said the people, including Senator…
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New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a press conference at the office of the Attorney General on July 13, 2022 in New York City.Michael M. Santiago | Getty ImagesA group of 42 state attorneys general are calling on Meta to curb the rise of investment scams on Facebook that fraudulently use the images of Warren Buffett and other famous figures, New York Attorney General Letitia James said Wednesday. James said in a news release criminals are consistently evading Meta’s automated and human review systems to post fake ads that leave retail investors saddled with millions of dollars in…
Walmart (WMT) is facing headwinds with looming tariffs likely to erode profit margins amid an already overstretched valuation. The retail giant, a leader in the defensive sector, trades at a substantial premium, raising concerns about downside risk as global trade tensions mount. With technical rejection and elevated implied volatility (IV) offering attractive premiums, this set-up presents a timely opportunity for bearish exposure to capitalize on WMT’s vulnerabilities. Trade Timing The timing for adding bearish exposure to WMT is optimal, as the stock recently rejected its $100 area of resistance. This rejection, combined with negative divergence with momentum suggests buyer exhaustion.…
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Wednesday that U.S. tariff levels on Chinese imports will not change from their current levels, even as a trade deal between Washington and Beijing has yet to be finalized.Asked on CNBC’s “Money Movers” if the current U.S. tariffs on China are not going to change again, Lutnick replied, “You can definitely say that.”President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post Wednesday morning that U.S. duties on China will total 55% — but a White House official told CNBC soon after that that figure is not new. Rather, it comprises the existing 30% blanket U.S.…
Dossier from The Fulbright ProgramAbid Katib | Getty ImagesThe entire Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board resigned over what it said Wednesday was meddling by the Trump administration in the board’s authority to award scholarships.The 12-member board, in a statement, said the State Department, which runs the scholarship program, had denied Fulbright awards “to a substantial number of individuals who were selected for the 2025-2026 academic year.” “The administration is also currently subjecting an additional 1,200 foreign Fulbright recipients to an unauthorized review process and could reject more,” the board said in its statement, which was posted on Substack.”We believe these actions…
Tesla CEO Elon Musk walks to board Air Force One with U.S. President Donald Trump (not pictured) as they depart for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, New Jersey, U.S., March 22, 2025. Nathan Howard | ReutersTesla rallied for a fourth straight session as the spat between CEO Elon Musk and President Donald Trump showed further signs of a cooldown.Shares rose about 2% Wednesday and were up more than 12% this week.Tesla investors also caught a spark of hope for the company’s robotaxi strategy after Musk said the service will “tentatively” launch in Austin, Texas on June 22.…
An employee arranges gold bars at the Italpreziosi SpA precious metals refinery plant in Arezzo, Italy, on Tuesday, May 6, 2025. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesCentral banks’ growing appetite for gold meant that the precious metal was the second-largest global reserve asset in 2024, according to a European Central Bank report out Wednesday — but analysts suggest some institutions may be nearing their fill.Central banks’ gold stockpiles are close to levels last seen in the 1960s. Combined with gold’s soaring price, it is now second only to the U.S. dollar as their biggest reserve holding in value terms, the…
Coinbase could see major gains ahead, according to William Blair. The firm initiated shares of the cryptocurrency exchange with an outperform rating. While analyst Andrew Jeffrey did not give an exact price target, he said Coinbase has around 70% upside. That would put the stock at roughly $433.40 (It closed at $254.94 on Tuesday). Jeffrey said he believes the stock “should experience meaningful multiple expansion” as Coinbase diversifies its business model. Increasing regulatory clarity should also be a tailwind for the company, as President Donald Trump has thrown his support behind the industry. “We believe this time on the fringe…
GameStop ‘s share valuation is dependent on speculation in overvalued assets because the company’s turnaround strategy for its underlying video game business remains murky, according to Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter. “Despite a complete lack of a clear strategy, GameStop has consistently capitalized on the existence of ‘greater fools’ willing to pay more than twice its asset value for its shares — and so far, they’ve been correct,” Pachter said in a note out Wednesday to clients. The brick-and-mortar retailer reported a decline in first-quarter revenue on Tuesday as demand for online gaming rose. GameStop recently bought 4,710 bitcoins , worth more than half…
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms. Artificial intelligence has been an integral focus for the tech giant’s leader amid competition from players like OpenAI, Microsoft and Google.David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesMeta on Wednesday announced it’s rolling out a new AI “world model” that can better understand the 3D environment and movements of physical objects.The tech giant, which owns popular social media apps Facebook and Instagram, said its new open-source AI model V-JEPA 2 can understand, predict and plan in the physical world. Known as a world model, these systems take inspiration from the logic of the physical…
