- Eurozone Inflation Expectations Jumped in March, But Pay Growth Outlook Unchanged
- The War in Iran Is Causing China to Sell So Many Solar Panels That Your Jaw Will Drop
- Iran Faces Economic Reckoning as Oil Storage Tanks Fill Up
- UAE to Leave OPEC and OPEC+ Next Month to Pursue New Strategy
- Reopening the Strait of Hormuz Will Take More Than US Power
- The Saudis Could Help End the War. Will the US Listen?
- Aramco Suspends LPG Deliveries Through May on Facility Damage
- The World Needs Natural Gas Now, but the U.S. Is Exporting All It Can
- It’s the Age of Electricity and America Isn’t Ready
- Conservatism Could Save America. The Small-C Kind
- A Government Limited by Past Debts Is the Ultimate Inheritance
- How Populist Anger Fuels US ‘Tax the Rich’ Movement
- The YIMBY Movement Needs Single Family Homes
- Graduates Reset Ambitions in Pursuit of First Jobs
- Transition to a New Fed Chair Is Unlikely to Mean Immediate Rate Cuts
- The Fed’s Rate Cuts Are On Pause. But Are They Also Off the Table?
- Private Credit’s Rude Awakening Gives Bond Funds a New Edge
- Most Prediction Market Traders Are Losing Money While Bots Rack Up Gains
- I Built an AI Trading Platform in Six Days. That’s Terrifying.
- Chip Startup Aims to Shatter AI’s Dreaded Memory Wall
- OpenAI-Linked Stocks Slump on Report It Missed Key Targets
- OpenAI Is Shedding Baggage. Now It Needs a Jury’s Help
- Is OpenAI Falling Further Behind in the A.I. Race?
- Et Tu, Brute? What Elon Musk’s Clash With Sam Altman Is Really About.
- Funds Pitching SpaceX Rush to Lure Retail Investors Before IPO
- JetBlue Quarterly Loss Widens; Airline to Deepen Cost Cuts
- Spirit Airlines’ Struggles Vivify a Signature Milton Friedman Quip
- From the UK to South Korea, Consumers Turn to EVs as Oil Prices Spike
- GM Boosts Profit Outlook as Pickups Buck Rising Gas Prices
- Corning Profit, Core Revenue Rises
- Coca-Cola Posts Best Sales Growth Since 2024 With Smaller Sizes
- Sherwin-Williams Posts Higher Profit But Warns on Weak DIY Market
Retail resurrection? Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) soars 25% after recording its first quarter of significant revenue growth in nearly five years.
Transatlantic tensions: Germany's Merz says the U.S. is being 'humiliated’ by the IRGC and he can't see 'what strategic exit the Americans are choosing' to end the Iran war.
Private credit: Despite a steep discount, less than 1% of investors in Blue Owl's frozen fund reportedly took an offer from hedge fund manager Boaz Weinstein.
Picking up steam
Friction over taxing the rich is enveloping the coasts as a way to fund social priorities and balance budgets. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is currently in a boxing match with Citadel's Ken Griffin after filming a video that spotlighted the hedge fund manager's Manhattan penthouse. The latter has since threatened a midtown project expansion that would create 15,000 jobs, while Mamdani doubled down on the "fundamentally broken" system and said it would "apply broadly without exception."
Next stop, California! A measure proposed by Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) has obtained 1.5M signatures, gaining nearly double the amount needed to put a controversial measure on the statewide ballot in November. Called the "2026 Billionaire Tax Act," the initiative would impose a one-time 5% tax on any billionaire residing in California, which would span their entire net worth, including businesses and stocks to art and collectibles. It's intended to help fund public education and state food assistance programs, as well as prevent hospital and clinic closures.
Proponents of the blanket tax argue that it would counter federal cuts enacted by the Trump administration that favor the wealthy, like California's Medi-Cal, changes to SNAP and CalFresh, and the school funding benefits that are often linked to these programs. Those who are against the measure, including California Governor Gavin Newsom, say it will drive away the wealthiest residents of California, like the leaders of Silicon Valley and Hollywood, who have supplied state coffers and driven the economy for years. There are also fears that such a precedent could eventually extend to other income levels, leading to an exodus of entrepreneurial minds to states where regulatory and tax policies are favorable to innovation.
"I fled socialism with my family in 1979 and know the devastating, oppressive society it created in the Soviet Union. I don't want California to end up in the same place," commented Google (GOOGL) co-founder Sergey Brin, who relocated from California to Nevada late last year. Others like DoorDash (DASH) CEO Tony Xu and Palantir (PLTR) co-founder Peter Thiel have likewise been vocal about their opposition, donating millions of dollars to defeat the measure. Ray Dalio says a wealth tax may spark a bubble pop
The numbers: California has more billionaires than any other state, with estimates ranging between 200 and 300. The state also features the largest top marginal income tax rate in the United States, with the highest-income residents serving as the biggest payers to state coffers—by a long shot. According to the California Department of Finance, nearly 40% of the state's personal income tax revenue, the financial backbone of its nearly $350B budget, comes from the top 1% of income earners. (5 comments)
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Today's Markets
In Asia, Japan -1%. Hong Kong -1%. China -0.2%. India -0.5%.
In Europe, at midday, London +0.5%. Paris +0.3%. Frankfurt +0.1%.
Futures at 6:30, Dow +0.3%. S&P -0.2%. Nasdaq -0.6%. Crude +3.8% to $99.98. Gold -1.4% to $4,626.30. Bitcoin -1.6% to $76,562.
Ten-year Treasury Yield -1 bp to 4.36%.