Bob Burgess

Who’s eating the tariffs? You, mostly.

@cnbc.com
www.cnbc.com/2025/10/16/t...

US Chamber of Commerce Sues Over Trump’s $100,000 H-1B Visa Fees The nation’s largest business lobbying group sued the Trump administration over its changes to the visa system for skilled foreign workers, teeing up a fresh battle between corporate America and the p...

"The US Chamber of Commerce said in a lawsuit Thursday that it was illegal for President Donald Trump to slap a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications because it overrides federal immigration law requirements."
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Argentines Dump the Peso, Betting US Rescue Is Doomed to Fail Argentines are convinced that even a flood of cash from the US won’t be able to stop another painful devaluation of the peso.

“Bessent’s announcements have diminishing marginal returns: each one lasts less and less,” said Ezequiel Asensio, portfolio manager at Valiant Asset Management... “The market doesn’t believe Bessent, not even with the cash he’s putting in.”

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

Food Stamp Funds to Dry Up If Shutdown Persists, USDA Warns The US Agriculture Department is warning states that funding for food stamps will run out next month if the partial government shutdown continues.

The US Agriculture Department is warning states that funding for food stamps will run out next month if the partial government shutdown continues. 

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

A trillion here, a trillion there and pretty soon you're talking real money!

*US SAW RECORD $1.22T IN DEBT-INTEREST COSTS FOR FISCAL YEAR

‘No Kings’ Rallies Are Just One Piece of the Puzzle The “No Kings” rallies scheduled for Saturday will likely rank among the largest mass demonstrations in American history. But to truly contest President Donald Trump’s assault on constitutional safegu...

"The risk for Saturday’s rallies is that even a massive turnout won’t convey the urgency of the moment because it involves something Americans have seen many times before: large numbers of people peacefully marching on a pleasant weekend afternoon."

www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

National Guard Troops Didn’t Sign Up for This “Nobody signed up for this.” That’s the reaction I keep getting from military and National Guard veterans about President Donald Trump’s deployment of troops to US cities over the objections of Democr...

“I’ve had so many conversations with current National Guard members who talk about the fact that, like, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing here anymore. You know, maybe I should leave.’” 

www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Is Private Equity Ready to Burn $50 Million on Failing Coaches? James Franklin, the long-serving head coach of Penn State’s football team, was fired on Sunday after a series of disappointing losses and seasons. As compensation for his troubles, he could receive th...

"It’s no wonder that colleges have been eyeing private equity investment since at least 2022. But private money will only bankroll the same mistakes unless athletic departments rein in eight-figure buyouts and other dysfunctional spending."

www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Why Is Pete Hegseth Afraid of the Press? Over 100 Pentagon reporters cleaned out their workspaces and turned in their press credentials this week, refusing to sign a restrictive reporting policy advanced by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. Heg...

"The Pentagon’s worrisome attempts to restrict reporters’ access are the latest evidence that oft-made promises of transparency by the Trump administration are empty. What this administration wants is an echo chamber."

www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

75% of Americans report soaring prices as Trump claims inflation ‘over’ Exclusive poll: Inflation remains a concern despite president’s pledge to reduce prices on ‘day one’

Yes, inflation from tariffs is happening.
Will inflation expectations stay low? Mebbe not
www.theguardian.com/business/202...

"Even if one believes the Supreme Court would be constitutionally correct in turning antidiscrimination law on its head, the timing couldn’t be worse for either the court or the country."

"If that is indeed what the court does, it would be one of the most blatantly activist decisions of modern times, overturning a landmark civil rights law passed by Congress and upheld repeatedly by the courts."

The Supreme Court’s ‘Colorblindness’ Would Gut the Voting Rights Act If the oral arguments are any indication, the Supreme Court may be about to achieve a remarkably bizarre outcome: using the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to overturn a key provision of...

NOAH FELDMAN:
"...the Supreme Court may be about to achieve a remarkably bizarre outcome: using the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to overturn a key provision of the Voting Rights Act — a law explicitly designed to achieve racial equality in voting."
www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

The S&P 500 Pop Is Back From the Dead Americans place a premium on elite and exclusive institutions. Many of us want to get into top-tier universities, pledge storied fraternities and, upon graduation, attain membership at Soho House. And...

MUST READ:

"The resurrection bears the fingerprints of a newly influential group of retail traders who are changing the role of individual investors and making markets more unpredictable."

www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Exclusive | Trump Invites Ballroom Donors to Glitzy White House Dinner The dinner is set to include representatives from Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Alphabet’s Google, Amazon and Palantir Technologies.

"Every company that is invited to that dinner that either doesn't show or doesn't give knows now they will be out of favor with the Trump administration," said Claire Finkelstein, a University of Pennsylvania law.
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

"The proposals...would transform a decades-old program aimed at helping the world’s most desperate people into one that conforms to Mr. Trump’s vision of immigration — which is to help mostly white people who say they are being persecuted while keeping the vast majority of other people out."

Trump Considers Overhaul of Refugee System That Would Favor White People

"The proposals would transform a program aimed at helping the most vulnerable people in the world into one that gives preference to mostly white people who say they are being persecuted."

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...

A chart of battery electric vehicle adoption rate by country. Norway: 81.9% Hong Kong: 72.6% Myanmar: 55.8% Denmark: 55% Albania: 41% Sweden: 34.9% Malta: 34.4% Mainland China: 33.3% Netherlands: 31.5% USA: 7.5% Source: S&P Global Mobility, Axios

We are not serious people

“It’s really ready, fire, aim on most of these programs,” Judge Susan Illston of the US District Court for the Northern District of California said at a hearing in San Francisco Wednesday. “It’s a human cost that cannot be tolerated.”

*JUDGE BLOCKS FEDERAL FIRINGS DURING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN FOR NOW

Trump Administration Authorizes Covert C.I.A. Action in Venezuela

"The new authority would allow the C.I.A. to carry out lethal operations in Venezuela and conduct a range of operations in the Caribbean."

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...

*VOUGHT: LOOKING TO SHUT DOWN CFPB IN NEXT 2-3 MONTHS

Translation: when it comes to protection from financial fraud and scams, you're on your own America

*VOUGHT: LAYOFF WILL PROBABLY BE HIGHER THAN 10,000

Strategic metals - particularly rare earths - stand out as an unusual area of shared interest between the US and Brazil

my new column for @opinion.bloomberg.com 🎁🧵https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2025-10-15/brazil-can-help-beat-china-at-its-rare-earths-game

The US only did $16.3 billion of trade with Argentina in all of 2024

Argentine Bonds Jump on News US Lining Up $40 Billion in Aid Argentina’s sovereign bonds jumped Wednesday after media outlets reported that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent outlined financial aid that would total $40 billion to Javier Milei’s government.

The US bailout of Argentina has now double to $40 BILLION???

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

The Canadians Are Angry. Other Tourists Might Be, Too. Early in President Donald Trump’s first term, there was much talk about whether his xenophobic utterances and immigration restrictions would decimate tourism to the US. In the end, they really didn’t.

"The number of international visitors to the US this January through July is down 1.6 million, or 4%, from the same period in 2024, and the US Travel Association is projecting a decline of more than 6% for the full year."

www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Contra Bessent, the US doesn't need to own miners to encourage mining. Indeed, these particular 'Trump Stakes' look counterproductive
@opinion.bloomberg.com
www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Brazil Can Help Beat China at Its Rare-Earths Game In 1967, a helicopter from United States Steel Corp. carrying a team of geologists made an accidental discovery after landing in a remote corner of the Amazon rainforest: a giant iron-ore deposit that...

A US-Brazil partnership on critical minerals could bridge a political divide and counter China’s dominance in a vital industry, says @jpspinetto.bsky.social www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

As the chart shows, the federal budget deficit shrank to 5.45% of GDP in mid-2024. It is now 6.24%