Romy Varghese

Trump Embarks on $104 Million Bond-Buying Spree While in Office President Donald Trump has bought hundreds of bonds since he returned to office, including those sold by US companies affected by the sweeping changes to federal policies he’s championed.

Donald Trump has been buying millions of bonds, both from municipal governments and US companies who have been rocked by his sweeping changes. Read for free here: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Tracking Every Trump Tariff and Its Economic Effect Keeping up with the latest deals, which goods are being targeted by US tariffs and what the economic impacts are

Confused about all those tariffs Trump imposed? My @bloomberg.com colleagues have compiled this very handy tracker. Check it out for free: www.bloomberg.com/graphics/tru...

"Do you always watch for the longest day of the year and then miss it? I always watch for the longest day in the year and then miss it."

Trump Says FEMA Phaseout to Begin After Hurricane Season President Donald Trump said his team will move forward with winding down much of the Federal Emergency Management Agency — but not until after a hurricane season that some projections show could be pa...

The Trump administration plans to largely eliminate FEMA later this year. When a state gets hit by disaster, "the governor should be able to handle it," Trump said [gift link]

Lutnick Says Hurricane Center’s Fully Staffed Despite Key Vacancies Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told a congressional hearing that the US National Hurricane Center was fully staffed even though key positions are going unfilled as hurricane season begins.

The National Hurricane Center has at least 4 empty positions for meteorologists, according to its website. But Commerce Sec. Howard Lutnick says it’s “fully staffed” + ready for storms. Story w/ @weathersullivan.bsky.social @alicia-diaz.bsky.social (free link) www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Elon Musk on Political Spending: ‘I Think I’ve Done Enough’ At the Qatar Economic Forum, Elon Musk and Mishal Husain talk about the Tesla backlash, AI regulation and DOGE’s success rate.

Check out the annotated interview of Elon Musk by Mishal Husain of @bloomberg.com that touches on politics and Tesla as well as fighting Putin and other gems:
www.bloomberg.com/features/202...

How about Sluttering for Jawbreaker Day?

Trump Says He's Off to Best Start as President. The Economy Says Something Else Trump’s second term begins with a decline in US GDP, while jobs and prices hold steady. On almost all fronts, the outlook is getting worse.

How did Trump do in his first 100 days? @gregorykorte.com & @mniquette.bsky.social cut through the noise and took a look at the economic data. Read for free here:
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Congress Is Prioritizing a Tax Break That Few Americans Will Claim Data shows that even in wealthy congressional districts, the average person isn’t much affected by the state and local tax deduction lawmakers are trying to boost.

Congress is intent on raising the SALT cap, which would mean trade-offs like spending cuts. But our analysis shows increasing the limit would benefit only about 10% of taxpayers who itemize. Gift link here: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

REI Says It Made a ‘Mistake’ by Endorsing Interior Secretary Doug Burgum The outdoor retailer’s CEO retracted its support in a video posted on social media.

REI's U-turn -- good one by Olivia Raimonde >

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

US Weather Agency Websites Set to Vanish With Contract Cuts The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency is poised to eliminate most websites tied to its research division under plans for the cancellation of a cloud web services contract, a move that could s...

My colleague @laurenthal.bsky.social delivers another scoop on the latest impending blow to NOAA. Read for free here:
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Local Governments Vie for Fired Federal Workers State, county and city governments are eager to hire former federal agency staffers targeted in DOGE cuts. But matching worker skills to local needs is a challenge.

"Many of the hardest-hit communities are smaller towns where the local economy depends on federal jobs...The DC area ranks just 17th in the country by share of the labor force who are federal employees." By @patrickcsisson.bsky.social
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

The Secretive Billionaire Behind America’s Most Corporate City Irvine is a seemingly normal place to live—except it’s a radical experiment in what happens when America’s richest real estate developer is virtually the only landlord in town.

Fascinating examination of Irvine via this gift link: www.bloomberg.com/features/202...

Spec Homes Sitting on the Market Pose Potential Economic Drag Builders might pull back on new housing construction as they try to clear their backlog.

My colleague Mike Sasso writes about a housing trend that has negative implications for the US economy: the waning appeal of spec homes. Gift link here: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Despite Cost-Cutting Moves, Trump Plans to Remake DC in His Style The president is promising significant renovations to remake federal buildings in his own image, even as his administration is pushing to cut costs through mass firings.

"Despite Trump’s embrace of Musk’s work to reshape the national budget, the president has continued to advocate for a certain federal aesthetic." by @kristoncapps.bsky.social Gift link here: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

DOGE Has 10 Staffers at Social Security in Hunt for Dead People Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency now has 10 staffers at the Social Security Administration as the Trump White House looks for evidence to support its claim that there could be millions ...

Elon Musk's DOGE has 10 staffers at Social Security trying to find dead people, our @gregorykorte.com scoops:
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

What Trump Said About the US Economy, Fact-Checked Outlining goals for his second term, the president asserted his opinion on topics such as tariffs that aren't supported by economic indicators and research.

Donald Trump said a lot in his record-setting speech to Congress last night. My colleague Mark Niquette fact-checked some of his notable quotes on the economy, inflation, tariffs and immigration. Check out his piece for free here:
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Trump Addresses a Joint Session of Congress: What to Watch The president is vowing a tariff war with allies, steep cuts to the federal workforce and a tough stance on Ukraine aid.

It's usually a fool's errand to predict what Trump will say, but my colleagues Skylar Woodhouse & Stephanie Lai have some clues as they break down what to expect from his address to Congress tonight. Gift link here:
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Corporate America’s Real Worries About Trump Are Buried in Annual Reports Companies are telling their investors how President Donald Trump’s plan to radically remake the US government poses new risks to their businesses.

Many of these disclosures are "at odds with the upbeat tone some executives take publicly when describing their work with the White House."
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Inside the LA Fire Cleanup's Rush to Remove Tons of Toxic Rubble The Trump administration is trying to complete a hazardous cleanup effort in a third of the time required for the previous, much smaller urban wildfire in the US.

"A fire-damaged battery pack can emit toxic gases or ignite days, weeks or months after a wildfire." by @toddwoody.bsky.social
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

‘You’ve Seen the Tweet, Right?’: Sheinbaum Aces Trump Playbook It took Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum a single phone call to get Donald Trump to back off — at least temporarily — from his threat of tariffs.

"It took Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum a single phone call to get Donald Trump to back off — at least temporarily — from his threat of tariffs.
Canada’s Justin Trudeau needed two."
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Greenlanders Reject Trump With 85% Majority Against Joining US
www.bloomberg.com/news/article... via @bloomberg.com By Kati Pohjanpalo and Sara Sjolin

LA’s Backyard-Home Boom Offers Wildfire-Hit Residents New Option After the fires, residents have sought out ADUs for temporary housing, with policymakers trying to fast-track even more construction.

"How the California city handles the rise in ADUs will make it a key focus for other major metropolitan areas struggling with painful housing shortages."
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Rattles H-1B Visa Workers Expecting a Baby Ajay loves living in America, and he says until recently it felt like America loved having him.

"Should recruiting become significantly more difficult, companies may opt to expand overseas to tap into talent there rather than grow domestically."
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Los Angeles Pushes to Rebuild Homes Fast, Despite Wildfire Danger Some rules have been waived to encourage the swift replacement of burned-out homes. Fire experts say it’s critical that new homes be resilient to future risk.

"The couple is eager to rebuild both their house and the lush vegetation that once defined it."
by @toddwoody.bsky.social @michellema.bsky.social & Eliyahu Kamisher
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Eight Years of Populism Hasn’t Gotten America Very Far Using employment, wealth or health as a yardstick, it’s hard to find any meaningful gains for the working class, which raises questions about the next four years.

"In an economy where only 8% of workers are employed in manufacturing, a policy that promises to restore the middle class by bringing manufacturing back home is not only unrealistic; it also rings hollow." BW piece by @sdonnan.bsky.social
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

How Immigration Affects the US Economy Do immigrants really take jobs from Americans? And does more immigration really mean lower wages? Here’s a no-nonsense guide to one of the country’s most divisive issues.

"In states with an approximately even split of Democratic and Republican voters, 85% of migrants settled in places where the economy grew from 2019 to 2022."
www.bloomberg.com/features/how...

The Hidden World of ‘Hedgehog Highways’ As urbanization fragments the animals’ habitat, homeowners across the UK are creating a network of garden pathways just for them.

"They may be covered in sharp spines, but that’s no defense against the habitat loss and fragmentation that’s primarily driving the species’ significant decline across the UK."
reasonstobecheerful.world/hedgehog-hig...

New York, San Francisco Ranked Worst for US Traffic in City Centers The global ranking of traffic data comes as NYC launches congestion pricing this week.

"People from the top 10 US cities with the longest travel times lost an average of 60.6 hours commuting over peak hours by car last year."
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Can American Drivers Learn to Love Roundabouts? They save lives, reduce traffic delays and cut emissions. Still, communities often resist them. Can cities get drivers to turn the corner on circular intersections?

"Its design forces you to contend with the fact that you’re not alone out there, and trusts that you’ll yield in return."
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...