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Biden’s stunning exit, one year later: The dropout heard around the country

Politics 5 Mins Read

Former President Joe Biden suspended his re-election bid one year ago Monday, in an unprecedented move that ended his more than 50-year career in politics and rocked the Democratic Party, with those on the left still reeling from the impact.

On July 21, 2024, days after President Donald Trump accepted the GOP nomination, Biden ended his re-election campaign amid mounting pressure from within his own party.

The unprecedented announcement came as an increasing number of Democrat lawmakers had started to publicly call for Biden to step aside, and the party’s leadership reportedly was engaged in efforts to convince Biden, then 81 years old, he could not win the November 2024 general election against Trump.

Doubts about Biden’s viability at the top of the Democratic Party’s 2024 ticket began seeping out into the mainstream after his halting delivery and awkward answers were placed on full display for a national audience during the June 2024 presidential debate with Trump in Atlanta.

The performance sparked widespread panic among Democrats and almost immediately spurred calls from political pundits, editorial writers and some party donors for Biden to step aside as the party’s 2024 standard-bearer.

As Biden struggled to regain his footing, an increasing number of House Democrats publicly urged the president to end his re-election bid.

Biden huddled with worried Democrats, including governors and congressional leaders, in the wake of the debate debacle and was also engaged in ‘working the phones,’ according to campaign officials. 

Biden began the week of his withdrawal in a defiant posture, telling congressional Democrats he was committed to campaigning against and beating Trump. Biden also urged lawmakers to stop focusing on the debate and end the calls for his withdrawal — pleas that he said only helped Trump. 

Biden followed that up with a call with members of the Congressional Black Caucus and also gained the support of members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. 

However, concerns mounted and intensified. Democratic lawmakers met behind closed doors hoping to come to a consensus and support the president, but some were hesitant. 

The Biden campaign met with Senate Democrats on Capitol Hill and, for days, the White House, the Biden campaign and the president himself said Biden had no intention of dropping out of the race. 

Then-White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had told reporters that the president was ‘absolutely not’ considering dropping out.

Additionally, Quentin Fulks, the principal deputy Biden campaign manager, emphasized that ‘the president is in this race to win it. He is the Democratic nominee.’

On the day after the presidential debate, Biden acknowledged at a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, ‘I know I’m not a young man, to state the obvious.’

Upon suspending his campaign, Biden quickly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to take his spot at the top of the ticket. She received the party’s presidential nominee weeks later at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Months later, Trump defeated Harris in a stunning, landslide victory, sweeping all swing states and delivering him a win in not only the Electoral College, but the popular vote as well. 

The Democratic Party is still grappling with Biden’s withdrawal a year later, looking for a new standard-bearer, while the former president and his team fall under investigation by both the executive and legislative branches. 

In May, leaked audio from Biden’s interview with former special counsel Robert Hur showed the president struggling with key memories, including when his son Beau died, when he left the vice presidency, why he had classified documents he shouldn’t have had and more. 

The audio was leaked after more than a year of congressional lawmakers demanding its release amid questions about the former president’s memory lapses and mental acuity.

Meanwhile, the White House Counsel’s Office and the Justice Department are probing Biden’s use of the autopen and whether signatures were printed at his direction or at the discretion of his senior staff. 

An autopen is a machine that physically holds a pen and features programming to imitate a person’s signature. Unlike a stamp or a digitized print of a signature, the autopen has the capability to hold various types of pens, from a ballpoint to a permanent marker, according to descriptions of autopen machines available for purchase. 

Biden used the autopen to sign a slew of documents while in office. He also used the autopen to sign final pardons, including preemptive pardons for members of his family, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Gen. Mark Milley and members and staff of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots. He only signed one pardon by hand, for his son Hunter, after vowing to the American people for months he would not do so. 

In his final weeks in office, Biden granted clemency and pardoned more than 1,500 individuals, in what the White House described at the time as the largest single-day act of clemency by a U.S. president.

Over on Capitol Hill, the House Oversight Committee is probing a cover-up of Biden’s declining mental health, subpoenaing a number of former Biden officials for testimony and the Senate Subcomittee on Investigations is requesting NARA records relating to Biden’s declining mental and physical health. 

Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report. 

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

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Politics

Tables turn as House GOP blasts Dems for suddenly demanding Epstein transparency from Trump admin

Politics 3 Mins Read

After years of Republicans leading the push for government transparency on Jeffrey Epstein, the notoriously well-connected sex offender who died in jail in 2019, Democrats are now leading the charge to release the so-called ‘Epstein files.’

‘I’m glad they’re joining the party, but they should have been a little more transparent a year ago,’ Rep. Mark Messmer, R-Ind., told Fox News Digital.

Seizing on the Republicans’ demand for transparency about Epstein during former President Joe Biden’s administration, President Donald Trump campaigned in 2024 on releasing the ‘Epstein files’ and his allegedly incriminating ‘client list.’

But Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI released a memo this week concluding that Epstein died by suicide in his cell, there is no ‘client list,’ and the supposed ‘Epstein files’ are thousands of illegal child sex abuse material and other pornography subject to court-ordered sealing.

The Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein files has created a rift among the ‘MAGA’ wing of the Republican Party, who are demanding more transparency. 

‘We should expect transparency, no matter what administration is involved, if there was or wasn’t a client list, if there was or wasn’t video. I mean, we should expect transparency and full disclosure of whatever they are covering up,’ Messmer told Fox News Digital. 

Democrats have been quick to seize on the intraparty conflict. 

‘It’s pretty rich on their part,’ Rep. David Kustoff, R-Tenn., told Fox News Digital. ‘But again, if there is no new information, then that’s fine. Just have the Department of Justice come out and explain that and answer questions. And if there is something, but it’s not relevant, well, explain that also.’

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has reiterated that ‘all credible evidence should come out’ regarding Epstein and criticized Democrats who he said are politicizing the issue.

California Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna tied a procedural vote on releasing all Epstein files to an unrelated crypto bill earlier this week, and Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, announced he would be filing a resolution on Monday to demand the Trump administration release all files related to the late pedophile’s case.

Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee, including Jamie Raskin, D-Md., Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., and progressives like Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas., are also seizing on Republican fractures over the Epstein case, demanding a public hearing on the issue. 

‘The Democrats will never give Donald Trump credit for anything,’ Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital.Where were the questions when Biden was in office?’

And Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, said Democrats’ newfound investment in transparency on Epstein ‘proves that all along it was just political.’

‘I respect a call for transparency,’ Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, added. ‘If it’s from a Democrat or a Republican, I totally respect that. I have no idea of anything on this front. And I hope to just know that people are being transparent and that things aren’t being done in any nefarious way or for any nefarious reason. I think a lot of it’s overblown.’

‘I put the Epstein matter in my don’t know, don’t care file,’ Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., told Fox News Digital.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

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Politics

5 ways your political point of view may be damaging your mental health

Politics 4 Mins Read

Recent studies confirm what many clinicians, myself included, have quietly observed for years: Liberals — especially young liberals — are reporting worse mental health than their conservative peers. Statistician Nate Silver’s Substack recently spotlighted this disparity, and while many factors are at play, one explanation remains oddly absent from the national conversation: the psychological cost of cutting people off over politics. 

In my work as a clinical psychologist, I’ve watched this pattern unfold in real time. Some clients describe rising anxiety, loneliness and a growing sense of disconnection — but they don’t initially trace it back to politics. Only after reflection do they realize: they’ve quietly (or, in some cases quite loudly and proudly) distanced themselves from family, ended friendships, or withdrawn from romantic prospects — not because of mistreatment, but because of political disagreement. 

As I was researching for my upcoming book Can I Say That? Why Free Speech Matters and How to Use It Fearlessly, I noticed a striking pattern — what I now call ‘The Five Ds’: defriending, declining to date, disinviting, decreasing contact and outright dropping someone over political views. These behaviors are often framed as moral stands. But when practiced habitually, they can degrade the very relationships we rely on for emotional well-being. Research backs this up — liberals are statistically more likely than conservatives to engage in the Five Ds over political differences. 

The cost is real. The U.S. surgeon general has declared loneliness a public health crisis, linking it to depression, anxiety and even physical health problems. Social support is a powerful protective factor — it helps regulate emotions, buffer stress and reinforce a person’s sense of meaning and connection.  

As social creatures, humans rely on relationships to regulate stress. When those bonds are cut over politics — especially through the habitual use of the Five Ds — liberals may be isolating themselves in ways that make them more vulnerable to loneliness, anxiety and diminished emotional regulation. 

Some do this in the name of safety, seeing opposing views as threatening. But this is a dangerous shift. Conflating disagreement with danger undermines mental health and shrinks our capacity for dialogue. Even The New York Times recently published an essay titled ‘Is It Time to Stop Snubbing Your Right-Wing Family?’ in which former Obama speechwriter David Litt wrestles with whether to stay in contact with his conservative brother-in-law. To his credit, Litt expresses openness to reconnecting. But his tone is hesitant, not declarative.  

The piece reads less like someone awakening to the dangers of ideological cutoffs and more like someone reluctantly conceding a grudge. That this question — whether to maintain ties with family — was posed at all in a national newspaper shows how far the goalposts have shifted. Ostracizing loved ones over votes once seemed extreme. Now it’s mainstream content. 

This mindset of seeing opposing views as intolerable, or even threatening, isn’t just common — it’s increasingly celebrated, even when it harms us. The phrase ‘words are violence’ may feel righteous, but taken literally, it breeds anxiety and isolation. When we view differing viewpoints as threats, we push people away — not because we must, but because we’ve convinced ourselves we should. The result? We’re lonelier and more brittle than ever. 

None of this is to say that all relationships must be preserved. Boundaries are important. But ideological purging — done habitually and reflexively — is something different. It’s corrosive. Ironically, conservatives — often caricatured as emotionally rigid — may be faring better precisely because they are less likely to sever ties over politics. Their emotional well-being may benefit from tolerating disagreement and maintaining bonds across divides. 

As a psychologist, I don’t believe political ideology is destiny. But relational habits shape mental health. When we cut off those closest to us, even over serious disagreement, we deprive ourselves of a key buffer against emotional distress. What’s worse, we often do so under the illusion that the cutoff is virtuous. 

The solution is not to avoid politics. It’s to resist the reflex to cut and run. That begins with a simple mindset shift: disagreement isn’t danger, and tension doesn’t always mean toxicity. We can learn to talk through our differences — even when it’s hard. 

Mental health and free speech are more connected than people realize. If we want to feel less anxious, less isolated and more connected, we need to rethink the social costs of ideological purity. The Five Ds may feel righteous in the moment — but the long-term cost to our mental health may be far too high. 

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

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Stock

Week Ahead: NIFTY Violates Short-Term Supports; Stays Tentative Devoid Of Any Major Triggers

Stock 4 Mins Read

The Nifty traded in a broadly sideways and range-bound manner throughout the previous week and ended the week with a modest decline. The Index oscillated within a narrow 276-point range, between 25144.60 on the higher end and 24918.65 on the lower end, before settling mildly lower. The India VIX declined by 3.60% over the week to 11.39, suggesting continued complacency in the markets. On a weekly basis, Nifty ended with a net loss of 181.45 points or (-0.72%).

The Nifty is presently consolidating just below a key resistance zone after attempting a breakout above a rising channel. This zone, between 25100 and 25350, has proven to be a supply area where profit-taking has emerged. While the broader trend remains intact and the Nifty is above key moving averages, it is still within a complex zone of consolidation. This pause in momentum comes after a sharp up move from the lows near 21743 in April. A strong breakout above the 25265 –25350 zone, with a closing confirmation, may resume the uptrend. Conversely, a sustained move below 24750 could trigger incremental weakness and drag the Nifty towards lower supports.

 As we head into the new week, the markets may see a cautious start amid the current range-bound setup. The immediate resistance is at 25150, followed by 25400. On the lower side, the key support zones are placed at 24750 and further near 24380.

The weekly RSI stands at 56.54 and remains neutral without showing any divergence against price. It has made a fresh 14-period low, which is bearish. The MACD remains above its signal line on the weekly chart, continuing to indicate a positive crossover. No significant candlestick formation was observed for the week.

From a pattern analysis perspective, Nifty is trading just below the upper bound of a rising channel that it had briefly broken out of. With the Index slipping below the support levels of 25000-25150, it faces resistance at this zone again, failing to follow through on the breakout. Price action is still above the 20-week and 50-week moving averages, maintaining a bullish undertone from a medium-term perspective. However, the ongoing sideways action indicates a lack of fresh directional conviction.

Given the current technical structure, it would be prudent for traders to remain selective and protect profits at higher levels. The markets are not displaying signs of aggressive strength, and unless there is a convincing move above 25350, a stock-specific approach with tight risk management is advised. Traders may avoid aggressive fresh buying until a directional move is clearly established. Cautious optimism, with a focus on stocks exhibiting stronger relative strength, is the ideal approach for the coming week.

Sector Analysis for the coming week

In our look at Relative Rotation Graphs®, we compared various sectors against the CNX500 (NIFTY 500 Index), representing over 95% of the free-float market cap of all the listed stocks. 

Relative Rotation Graphs (RRG) show that the Nifty Media and the Metal Index have rolled inside the leading quadrant. The Midcap 100, Realty, and PSU Bank Index are also inside the leading quadrant. These groups are likely to relatively outperform the broader Nifty 500 Index.

The Nifty Bank, PSE, and the Financial Services Index are inside the weakening quadrant. They may experience a decline in relative performance compared to the broader markets.

The Nifty Services Sector Index, Pharma, Consumption, and the FMCG Index continue to languish inside the lagging quadrant. Among these groups, the Pharma Index shows improvement in its relative momentum against the broader markets.

The IT Index is inside the improving quadrant; it continues to improve its relative momentum against the benchmark. The Auto Index, which is also inside the improving quadrant, is seen deteriorating in relative momentum.

Important Note: RRG charts show the relative strength and momentum of a group of stocks. In the above Chart, they show relative performance against NIFTY500 Index (Broader Markets) and should not be used directly as buy or sell signals.  

Milan Vaishnav, CMT, MSTA

Consulting Technical Analyst

www.EquityResearch.asia | www.ChartWizard.ae

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Stock

The Best Five Sectors, #28

Stock 5 Mins Read

Sector Rotation Stalls, Tech Remains King

Despite a slight rise in the S&P 500 over the past week, the sector rotation landscape is presenting an intriguing picture. For the first time in recent memory, we’re seeing absolutely no changes in the composition of the sector ranking — not just in the top five, but across the board. Will this stability kick off a return to a period of more significant trends in relative strength and a return to outperformance for the portfolio?

  1. (1) Technology – (XLK)
  2. (2) Industrials – (XLI)
  3. (3) Communication Services – (XLC)
  4. (4) Financials – (XLF)
  5. (5) Materials – (XLB)
  6. (6) Utilities – (XLU)
  7. (7) Consumer Discretionary – (XLY)
  8. (8) Consumer Staples – (XLP)
  9. (9) Real-Estate – (XLRE)
  10. (10) Energy – (XLE)
  11. (11) Healthcare – (XLV)

Technology

The tech sector continues to flex its muscles, moving up on the price ratio scale while maintaining a stable momentum around 103. This sustained strength is a clear indication that tech remains the sector to beat in the current market environment.

On the daily RRG, we’re seeing a nice rotation backup for tech while inside the weakening quadrant, a sign of strength that confirms the move on the weekly RRG. The raw RS line for tech is climbing almost straight up, reflecting very strong RRG lines. There might be a slight loss of momentum, but make no mistake, tech is still the strongest player in the game.

Industrials

Industrials is currently rotating out of the leading quadrant and sits on the verge of moving into weakening. However, it’s crucial to note that it still holds the second-highest rank based on the RS ratio. This positioning suggests that the odds for a rotation back up towards the leading quadrant are still in play.

The daily RRG shows industrials confirming its strength with a move further into the leading quadrant, moving up on the RS ratio scale while keeping stable momentum.

After breaking out of overhead resistance, the price chart continues higher, and a new higher low is visible on the relative strength line. This keeps the RS ratio line at elevated levels, though the RS momentum line is still moving lower just above 100. If this RS line can maintain a series of higher highs or higher lows, I expect the RS momentum line to bottom out soon and follow the RS ratio higher.

Communication Services

The communication services sector is positioned inside the weakening quadrant on the weekly RRG but has hooked back to the left and is now even lower on the RS ratio scale. It’s moving towards the lagging corner, which is a concerning trend for its top 5 position.

On the daily RRG, communication services have moved into the lagging quadrant. It has started to slow down on the negative momentum, but we need a rotation back up on this daily RRG into the improving quadrant and back to leading to have that weekly tail curl back up to its leading quadrant as well.

The price chart shows the sector holding up after breaking higher, with a pullback now finding support at the level of old resistance, respecting the rule that old resistance is expected to work as support going forward. The problem child here is the raw RS line, which has fallen below its rising support line. This is taking its toll on the RRG lines, with both RS ratio and RS momentum rolling over and starting to move down.

Financials

Financials are inside the lagging quadrant on the weekly RRG, moving at a negative heading. This means that a significant amount of strength is needed from the daily tail to keep this sector within the top five.

On the price chart, financials are playing around with overhead resistance around 52, with a small consolidation area and a pennant-like formation suggesting more upside potential on the price chart.

However, this is not confirmed on the relative strength chart, where the RS line has broken its rising trend and is moving lower.

Materials

Materials are also inside the lagging quadrant on the weekly RRG and traveling a negative heading, like financials. Here, also, strength is needed from the daily teams to keep the sector inside the top five.

Materials are holding up on the price chart after a break that could be described as a head-and-shoulders reversal pattern. The relative strength line remains contained within the boundaries of its falling channel, but hugging the falling resistance line.

We need a break higher to turn that trend around. Only an upward breakout of that relative downtrend will turn the RRG lines around and provide a lifeline for materials to maintain its position inside the top five.

Portfolio Performance

The portfolio continues to lag the S&P 500, currently sitting around 8% behind. It seems to be stabilizing for now, but it’s not exactly what we want, of course. A drawdown of around 8-10% is not unprecedented, based on historical backtests; however, it’s somewhat disappointing that it occurs right when we begin operating in a semi-live environment.

That said, the fact that we’re now stable with no changes after a period of significant volatility over recent months could be a sign that we’re ready to enter a new period with stable relative trends that can bring the portfolio back to outperformance.

#StayAlert and have a great week. –Julius

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Investing

Tech 5: TSMC, ASML Release Latest Results, NVIDIA to Resume Sales to China

Investing 6 Mins Read

Investors honed in on tech stocks again as Q2 earnings season kicked off on Monday (July 14).

Some experts believe the rallying market is showing signs of frothiness.

Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) Chief Economist Torsten Sløk highlighted concerns about overvaluation mid-week, comparing the current tech craze to the dotcom bubble of the 1990s.

“The difference between the IT bubble in the 1990s and the AI bubble today is that the top 10 companies in the S&P 500 today are more overvalued than they were in the 1990s,” he wrote in a note on Wednesday (July 16).

Similar thoughts were expressed by Moor Insights & Strategy founder Patrick Moorhead last week.

However, Sanctuary Wealth’s chief investment strategist, Mary Ann Bartels, told CNBC’s Power Lunch team that valuations are justified by the technology that’s being unleashed. Major financial firms like Citigroup (NYSE:C), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) also said they are increasingly exploring digital asset offerings, signaling traditional finance’s growing involvement in crypto and the broader adoption of innovative technologies.

These announcements came alongside positive earnings reports and mixed inflation data that helped lift markets to renewed highs, culminating in global manufacturer 3M (NYSE:MMM) raising its full-year profit forecast on Friday.

The company is projecting a smaller tariff-related hit to its 2025 earnings.

1. TSCM, ASML release latest quarterly results

This week saw semiconductor giants Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (NYSE:TSM) and ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) report their latest quarterly earnings.

The companies received vastly different reactions from the market. Contract chipmaker TSMC saw its valuation soar on Thursday (July 17) morning after it posted record profits that exceeded expectations and raised its full-year revenue forecast by 30 percent due to demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips.

While the chipmaker addressed minor concerns about US tariffs and inventory, AI-driven growth dominated investor sentiment. Shares of TSMC opened 4.51 percent higher from Wednesday’s (July 16) closing price.

Positive sentiment spilled over into other chip stocks, with NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) also seeing gains. TSMC maintained its position to close up 5.87 percent for the week.

TSMC and ASML performance, July 15 to 18, 2025.

Chart via Google Finance.

Conversely, ASML, a lithography systems monopolist, saw its share price plunge more than 8 percent ahead of Wednesday’s open, despite solid Q2 numbers, due to a cautious outlook for late 2025 and 2026.

In a statement, the company said it cannot confirm growth in 2026 due to current macroeconomic and geopolitical developments. ASML closed the week 7.39 percent below its Monday opening price.

The divergence highlights their supply chain positions: TSMC directly benefits from the immediate AI boom, while the prospects for ASML, a step removed, remain uncertain.

2. US announces major investments in Pennsylvania

US President Donald Trump joined Pennsylvania Senator Dave McCormick (R) at the inaugural Energy and Innovation Summit at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh on Tuesday (July 15).

He announced an investment amounting to over US$90 billion in AI and energy infrastructure in the state.

The announcement from Trump covers several multibillion-dollar spending plans from the likes of Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Blackstone (NYSE:BX), Anthropic, GE Verona (NYSE:GEV) and others for power generation and grid modernization. It also includes natural gas production to help power data centers.

Additionally, the preview mentions AI training programs and apprenticeships for businesses.

“These commitments will create tens of thousands of construction jobs and thousands of permanent jobs, signaling Pennsylvania’s readiness to power the AI and energy revolution, further strengthening America’s resilience and independence,” McCormick’s office wrote in a press release.

Separately, Google and Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE:BAM) announced on Tuesday that they have entered into a framework agreement to provide up to 3,000 MW megawatts of domestically produced hydropower from Brookfield’s Holtwood and Safe Harbor hydroelectric facilities in Pennsylvania. The agreement allows for future expansion, with an initial focus on the mid-Atlantic and mid-continent electricity markets.

3. NVIDIA resumes chip sales to China

On Monday, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang said his company will resume H20 GPUs sales to China after productive meetings with government officials from the US and Beijing earlier this month.

In a press release, the company said it has been assured by the US government that licenses will be granted.

NVIDIA performance, July 15 to 18, 2025.

Chart via Google Finance.

Shares of the chipmaker opened 4.27 percent higher on Tuesday and closed the week up 4.25 percent.

4. Apple to invest in US rare earths miner

On Tuesday, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) said it will invest US$500 million in rare earths miner MP Materials (NYSE:MP) as part of an effort to strengthen the American rare earths supply chain.

MP is the only fully integrated rare earths miner operating in the US. Last week, the US Department of Defense said it would buy a direct equity stake in the company, becoming its largest shareholder.

The company’s Apple collaboration also includes plans to build out MP’s neodymium magnet manufacturing lines at its Texas factory specifically for Apple products. This expansion is slated to boost production and create jobs in advanced manufacturing and research and development, helping to meet global demand.

Apple and MP will also collaborate to establish a rare earths recycling line in Mountain Pass, California, and will develop new magnet materials and processing technologies to improve magnet performance.

“American innovation drives everything we do at Apple, and we’re proud to deepen our investment in the U.S. economy,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO.

5. OpenAI and AWS launch new AI agent features

Open AI has launched a powerful new Agent mode in ChatGPT for pro, plus and team users.

It can autonomously complete tasks across the web, and also includes productivity tools.

The new feature enables AI agents that can help automate workflow by creating and editing spreadsheets and presentations, generating reports, analyzing data and managing calendars on users’ desktops; agents can also browse websites and fill out forms with user approval. The company has plans to add e-commerce checkouts.

Aside from that, the Financial Times reported this week that OpenAI plans to take a cut of online shopping purchases made within its chatbot as a way to generate revenue from people using AI for shopping inspiration.

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) also made major announcements around AI agents this week. At its Amazon Web Services (AWS) Summit in New York, the company launched Bedrock AgentCore, a suite of enterprise-grade services that will allow developers to build, deploy and run scalable agents. AWS also introduced AI Agents & Tools, a new category on AWS Marketplace. It features pre-built agents from partners like Anthropic, IBM (NYSE:IBM) and Stripe.

Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

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Politics

‘Get a job’: Medicaid work requirements included in Trump’s megabill sparks partisan debate on Capitol Hill

Politics 4 Mins Read

Democrats have railed against potential Medicaid cuts since President Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election. Now that his ‘big, beautiful bill’ has passed through Congress, they are making Medicaid a top talking point ahead of competitive midterm elections expected in 2026. 

Republicans, meanwhile, are doubling down on Medicaid reform included in Trump’s megabill, which also includes sweeping legislation on taxes, immigration and energy. 

‘My policy is if you’re an able-bodied worker, get a damn job,’ Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital. ‘If you want government benefits, go to work and get a job.’

A provision in the megabill requires able-bodied, childless adults between the ages of 18 and 64 to work at least 80 hours a month to be eligible to receive Medicaid benefits. Individuals can also meet the requirement by ​​participating in community service, going to school or engaging in a work program.

Fox News Digital asked lawmakers on Capitol Hill if taxpayers should have to pay for Medicaid bills for able-bodied workers who are under 65 and unemployed. 

Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine, said in both Arkansas and Georgia, where work requirements have already been imposed, it ended up costing taxpayers more money to administer the work requirements. 

‘We’re talking about a very small population, and in the two cases where they tried it, it ended up, number one, disqualifying people who met all the requirements but gave up on the paperwork. These aren’t people that are used to filling out a lot of paperwork every month. And it also cost the state a lot to administer,’ King said. 

The New England Journal of Medicine found that Arkansas’ Medicaid work requirement from 2018 to 2019 ‘found no evidence of increased employment … and a significant loss of Medicaid coverage among low-income adults.’

Similarly, the Georgia Budget & Policy Institute (GBPI) reported that 80% of the $58 million spent in the first year of Georgia’s Pathways to Coverage program went toward administrative costs. 

But Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., emphasized that Republicans ‘want these programs to be around for the people who need them.’ She said Medicaid reform is about ‘strengthening and preserving these programs at the rate that they’re growing.’

‘These programs were intended to be safety nets, not hammocks that people stay in, and the success of these programs should be measured by how many people we get off of them,’ Britt said. 

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., agreed, telling Fox News Digital, ‘What you don’t want is for somebody to become dependent. I’d tell people: safety nets should bounce you to your feet. They shouldn’t be like flypaper in which you stick and can never get off.’

‘We’re not saying, ‘Hey, we’re not throwing you out.’ All right, but you gotta go get a job. You either get a job, or actually you can even volunteer, all right? And that will satisfy the requirements for work,’ Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., explained. 

But Democrats who spoke to Fox News Digital continued to push back against the work requirements included in the ‘big, beautiful bill.’ 

‘I think people [who] are able to work, trust me, they’d rather work than to get the piddling dollars that they get from Medicaid. It’s insulting to suggest that a person would rather sit at home rather than work and get this meager amount of money. All of this has just been totally expanded to fit a narrative that allows them to cut into those people who really deserve Medicaid,’ Rep. Troy Carter, D-La., said. 

And Rep. Lateefah Simon, D-Calif., said, ‘We need to be able to have an infrastructure in this country that supports the elderly and the sick and the widows and the child. This bill, it violates all those basic principles.’

Fox News’ Peter Pinedo contributed to this report. 

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

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Business

Musk’s brain implant company filed as a ‘disadvantaged business’

Business 2 Mins Read

Elon Musk’s health tech company Neuralink labeled itself a “small disadvantaged business” in a federal filing with the U.S. Small Business Administration, shortly before a financing round valued the company at $9 billion.

Neuralink is developing a brain-computer interface (BCI) system, with an initial aim to help people with severe paralysis regain some independence. BCI technology broadly can translate a person’s brain signals into commands that allow them to manipulate external technologies just by thinking.

Neuralink’s filing, dated April 24, would have reached the SBA at a time when Musk was leading the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency. At DOGE, Musk worked to slash the size of federal agencies.

MuskWatch first reported on the details of Neuralink’s April filing.

According to the SBA’s website, a designation of SDB means a company is at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more “disadvantaged” persons who must be “socially disadvantaged and economically disadvantaged.” An SDB designation can also help a business “gain preferential access to federal procurement opportunities,” the SBA website says.

The Department of Justice has previously fined companies for making false claims about their SDB status.

Musk, the world’s wealthiest person, is CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, in addition to his other businesses like artificial intelligence startup xAI and tunneling venture The Boring Company. In 2022, Musk led the $44 billion purchase of Twitter, which he later named X before merging it with xAI.

Jared Birchall, a Neuralink executive, was listed as the contact person on the filing from April. Birchall, who also manages Musk’s money as head of his family office, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Neuralink, which incorporated in Nevada, closed a $650 million funding round in early June at a $9 billion valuation. ARK Invest, Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, Sequoia Capital and Thrive Capital were among the investors. Neuralink said the fresh capital would help the company bring its technology to more patients and develop new devices that “deepen the connection between biological and artificial intelligence.”

Under Musk’s leadership at DOGE, the initiative took aim at government agencies that emphasized diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). In February, for example, DOGE and Musk boasted of nixing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of funding for the Department of Education that would have gone towards DEI-related training grants.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

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Three Stocks in Focus: One Old Favorite, One Mag Name, and a Dow Comeback Story

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This week, let’s dive into three interesting stocks: a well-known Dow stalwart, a tech giant in a tug of war, and a former Dow member showing signs of revival. Whether you’re looking for opportunity, caution, or something worth watching, there’s a little something here for every thoughtful investor.

Sherwin-Williams (SHW): Painting a Better Picture?

Sherwin-Williams, Co. (SHW) comes into earnings flat year-to-date, and is hoping that a solid quarterly result can turn the price around. This Dow stock, and the second biggest member of the Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLB), has traded higher after three of its last four results and has an average expected move of +/- 3.6% when it reports.

FIGURE 1. DAILY CHART OF SHERWIN-WILLIAMS. The uptrend needs to hold to maintain the uptrend.Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

From a technical perspective, there are some bright spots. The reality, however, is that the stock has a lot of work to do to be considered healthy again. And from a risk/reward metric, this recent uptrend from the lows needs to hold. Otherwise, look for a retest of the $310 level on a dip.

The good, the bad, and the ugly:

Shares continue to make higher lows, which is a bullish sign

There’s bullish divergence in its Relative Strength Index (RSI) — it’s going higher while the stock stalls

The MACD gave us a short-lived buy signal and has now turned negative

Trading below both key moving averages

There’s major resistance at the $360 level

This is one to put on your watchlist, with definitive risk/reward levels to monitor. To jump in ahead of earnings seems more of a crapshoot, so reacting to price action may be the best play. Patience may be your best friend.

Alphabet (GOOGL): A Mag Stock or Just Mag History?

Alphabet, one of the “Magnificent 7” stocks, has had a rough ride lately. The company has been facing continual headwinds due to antitrust and litigation risk, AI competition disrupting search, and a massive CapEx spend.

Shares have been stuck in neutral for the last year. They are lower by -2.5% year-to-date and 11% off all-time highs. If the company can address these concerns and focus on the positives of its YouTube and Waymo divisions, it could be back on the upswing.

FIGURE 2. DAILY CHART OF GOOGL STOCK. It’s in the middle of a rebound and could be at an interesting pivot point.Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

Technically, I will keep this five-year daily chart as simple as possible. It’s intriguing, to say the least.

GOOGL was dangerously close to breaking down in early April, but quickly regained its key support level. Now it finds itself in the middle of a nice rebound and at an interesting pivot point. The bull case is more concrete at these levels, but I’m sure the bears are looking at a potential head-and-shoulders topping formation in the works as well.

As we examine, watch the 50 and 200-day moving averages closely. They are at a key consolidation area and need to act as support in a small downturn. If not, then back to the major support area we go, and a potential head-and-shoulders top is in play. 

The good news is that overall momentum continues to favor the upside. We have a good support area at the averages (your risk) and then a potential run to $200 easily if we get a nice pop on earnings. If so, this could be the fourth of the “Magnificent 7” stocks trading at all-time highs.

Intel (INTC): A Blast From the Past, Showing Signs of Life?

Remember Intel? It once dominated the landscape during the dot-com era, was a proud member of the Dow, and now is just a struggling former tech giant trying to stay relevant in a challenging environment. We are not claiming they are back by any stretch, but maybe the worst is over for now, as new management and constructive price action have set up a “deja vu” trade that hearkens back to early 2023.

FIGURE 3. WEEKLY CHART OF INTC STOCK. The stock is above its 50-week moving average, there’s a bullish divergence in the RSI and MACD, and the bottom base was tested several times.

Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

Technically, we highlight price action daily over a five-year weekly period. The risk/reward set-up seems quite favorable at current levels and also looks eerily similar to its last rebound.

Here’s the current scenario that also occurred in 2022/2023.

Bottom/base that was tested multiple times and held

Bullish divergence in both key momentum indicators – RSI and MACD

Price followed and broke above the 50-week moving average

Price was over 40% below its 200-week moving average — something to reverse

In 2023, shares rallied back. Will this situation resolve similarly?

The risk to the downside seems worth the possible reward up to the moving average. Whether or not the stock has turned it around completely is a different story, but for now, the tide seems to be shifting. 

The Bottom Line

These three stocks offer a mix of opportunity and caution. Be sure to add these stock to your ChartLists and watch the action unfold as the companies report earnings.

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July Strength, Late-Summer Caution: 3 Charts to Watch

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Even with a few short-lived roller coaster rides, the stock market had a strong week. Though there was some selling on Friday, the S&P 500 ($SPX) and Nasdaq Composite ($COMPQ) closed up over the week as a whole, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) closed lower by 0.07%.

Earnings season has started on a positive note, with big banks and Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) reporting better-than-expected earnings. Inflation remains relatively tame and the labor market remains resilient. This has helped fuel the stock market’s higher trajectory, with sectors such as Technology, Industrials, and Financials showing strong upward moves.  Even small-caps are hanging in there, although they have pulled back a bit.

This price action supports broad participation in the market. The S&P 500 Equal-Weighted Index ($SPXEW) is also holding strong, trading above its 20-day exponential moving average. This tells us that participation isn’t limited to a handful of giants.

A Look Under the Hood

Overall growth still takes center stage and, so far, July is following its seasonality pattern. The seasonality chart below shows that in the last 10 years, the return in July was positive every year, with an average gain of 3.30%.

FIGURE 1. SEASONALITY CHART OF THE S&P 500. July is a strong month for the index, but August, September, and October paint a different picture.Image source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

Switching to a same-scale line chart (with a few years removed for clarity) you can see that even in 2020 and 2022, when the S&P 500 was in negative territory, July was still a strong month.

FIGURE 2. SAME-SCALE SEASONALITY CHART FOR S&P 500 FROM 2016 TO 2025. July is a strong month for stocks, although some years the latter part of the month has seen a decline.Image source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

Seasonality shifts notably as we move into late summer and early fall. That doesn’t guarantee a weak August, but it does argue for staying alert. It’s like driving into a stretch of winding road. You don’t slam the brakes, you just keep both hands on the wheel.

How to Track the Overall Market’s Performance

For a bird’s-eye view, the StockCharts Market Summary is your go-to page, but, after drilling down, one chart I often visit in my Market Analysis ChartList is the 3-year weekly chart of the S&P 500, with its Bullish Percent Index (BPI) and the percentage of S&P 500 stocks trading above their 200-day moving average.

FIGURE 3. WEEKLY CHART OF S&P  500 WITH MARKET BREADTH INDICATORS. From a weekly perspective, the S&P 500 is still trending higher. Breadth indicators support the bullish move.Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

The trend is still higher, although the range between the open and close is relatively narrow. The BPI is above 50 but is flattening out, and the percentage of stocks trading above their 200-day moving average is also declining. Neither breadth indicator suggests we’ll see a massive selloff in the coming days.

The Cboe Volatility Index ($VIX) is low, and investor sentiment leans bullish (you can confirm this in the Sentiment panel of the Market Summary page).

Will Growth Lead For the Rest of the Year?

There are lots of variables that can change from now to the end of the year, from government policy to geopolitical tensions. These changes will be reflected in the market breadth and sentiment charts.

Tip: StockCharts members can download the Market Summary ChartPack to include the charts from the page in their ChartLists. You need to keep an eye on these charts for leading signals of change in the market’s price action.

End-of-Week Wrap-Up

Stock Market Weekly Performance

  • Dow Jones Industrial Average: 44,342.19 (-0.07%)
  • S&P 500: 6,296.79 (+0.59%)
  • Nasdaq Composite: 20,895 (+1.51%)
  • $VIX: 16.41 (+0.06%)
  • Best performing sector for the week: Technology
  • Worst performing sector for the week: Energy
  • Top 5 Large Cap SCTR stocks:  AST Spacemobile, Inc.(ASTS); Nuscale Power Corp. (SMR); Robinhood Markets Inc. (HOOD); Avis Budget Group (CAR); Symbiotic, Inc. (SYM)

On the Radar Next Week

  • June Home Sales
  • June Durable Goods Orders
  • Several Fed speeches
  • Earnings from Alphabet, Inc. (GOOGL), Tesla, Inc. (TSLA), AT&T Inc. (T), Intel Corp. (INTC), International Business Machines (IBM), and many more.

Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.

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