logo
Trump executive order to expand retirement plan access to private markets

Trump executive order to expand retirement plan access to private markets

The Sun16-07-2025
U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order in the coming days designed to help make private-market investments more available to U.S. retirement plans, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The Trump order would instruct the U.S. Labor Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission to provide guidance to employers and plan administrators on including investments like private assets in 401(k) plans, according to the WSJ report.
The White House declined to comment on the report.
Bryan Corbett, president and CEO of MFA, a trade association that represents alternative asset management options such as private credit and hedge funds, hailed the expected order.
'Expanding access to alternative investments in 401(k) retirement plans will provide more Americans with the diversification and investment options needed to build wealth and save for successful retirement,' he said in a statement.
Private-market investments, often referred to as private assets, include private equity, venture capital, real estate and hedge funds. These assets are not traded on public exchanges and are typically characterized by higher risk and potentially higher returns compared to traditional public-market investments like stocks and bonds. - Reuters
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

US Senate committee backs $1 billion for Ukraine in Pentagon spending bill
US Senate committee backs $1 billion for Ukraine in Pentagon spending bill

The Star

time3 hours ago

  • The Star

US Senate committee backs $1 billion for Ukraine in Pentagon spending bill

U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) attends a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on U.S. President Donald Trump's budget request for the Department of Defense, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 11, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A powerful U.S. Senate committee approved a military spending bill on Thursday that includes about $1 billion to support Ukraine, despite President Donald Trump's administration having asked Congress to eliminate such funding in its budget request. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved $852 billion for the Department of Defense in the fiscal year ending on Sept. 30, 2026, which is $21.7 billion, or 2.6%, more than the Republican president requested earlier this year. The committee voted 26-3 to send the spending measure for a vote in the full Senate, with strong support from both Democrats and Trump's fellow Republicans. "Not only the prior administration, but this administration as well, have underestimated the level of challenge that we have," said Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who chairs the panel's defense subcommittee. The bill includes $800 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), and $225 million for the Baltic Security Initiative, much of which ends up supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia's invasion. "I would say support for Ukraine is a billion dollars," Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, the defense spending subcommittee's top Democrat, told reporters ahead of the Appropriations Committee meeting. Trump's budget request, and the defense appropriations bill passed by the House of Representatives earlier this year, did not include any funding for the USAI, which funds security intelligence, training, equipment and supplies for Ukraine. However, many Republicans in Congress, particularly in the Senate, backed support for Ukraine even before Russia launched its full-scale invasion in early 2022. And Trump himself recently has grown more frustrated with Moscow's refusal to agree to a ceasefire. He has recently announced deadlines for Russia to show progress toward ending the war or face new sanctions - despite in the past speaking about having a good relationship with Putin. Both McConnell and Coons stressed that the U.S. is learning from Ukraine while supporting its military. "Shutting off engagement with Ukraine would undermine our military's efforts to prepare for the modern battlefield," McConnell said during the committee meeting. The war in Ukraine has evolved into the most-drone intensive conflict ever, and the use of drone technology has helped Ukraine to deal with Russia's advantages in troop numbers, artillery and tanks. To become law, the appropriations bill must pass the full Senate and then be reconciled with the House of Representatives bill, which adhered to the Trump administration's $831.5 billion Pentagon spending request and did not include Ukraine aid. After that, it would be sent to the White House for Trump to sign into law or veto. (Reporting by Patricia ZengerleEditing by Frances Kerry)

Trump's MAGA base defies conservative pro-Israel doctrine
Trump's MAGA base defies conservative pro-Israel doctrine

New Straits Times

time4 hours ago

  • New Straits Times

Trump's MAGA base defies conservative pro-Israel doctrine

UNCONDITIONAL support for Israel has long been an entry requirement in US Republican politics, but that orthodoxy is being challenged by Donald Trump's populist base — where invocations of the "special relationship" are falling on deaf ears. Images of starvation and suffering in Gaza have given new impetus to a debate that has been simmering in Trump's "MAGA" movement over whether US involvement in the Middle East is consistent with the president's "America First" platform. Trump's first significant break with Israel came on Monday, when he acknowledged that "real starvation" is happening in Gaza and vowed to set up food centres in the besieged enclave, which has been devastated by Israel's war with Hamas. Asked if he agreed with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's denials of the Gaza hunger crisis, Trump said: "Based on television, I would say not particularly, because those children look very hungry." It was a notable retort and prompted commentators to speculate that unwavering US support for Israel might end up as just another conservative sacred cow slayed by MAGA. Vice-President J.D. Vance went further at an event in Ohio, discussing "heartbreaking" images of "little kids who are clearly starving to death" and demanding that Israel let in more aid. Political scientist and former US diplomat Michael Montgomery thinks the tonal shift might in part be emotional — with TV images of starving children resonating more profoundly than the aftermath of air strikes. "Perhaps it is because no civilised people see starvation as a legitimate weapon of war," the University of Michigan-Dearborn professor said. Israel has always enjoyed broad bipartisan support in Congress but the rise of the isolationist MAGA movement under Trump has challenged the ideological foundations of the "special relationship." MAGA realpolitik seeks to limit US involvement in foreign wars to those that directly impact its interests, and in particular the "left behind" working class that makes up Trump's base. Pro-Trump think tank The Heritage Foundation in March called on Washington to "re-orient its relationship with Israel" from a special relationship "to an equal strategic partnership". Stronger expressions of disapproval have been subdued by a sense that they are a betrayal of Republican thinking, according to some analysts, especially after the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. But there is a new urgency in the debate in MAGA circles following dire warnings from leading NGOs and the UN World Food Programme's finding that a third of Gaza's population — of about two million — go for days without eating. One sign of the new thinking came in an X post from far-right firebrand congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has pushed to cancel US$500 million in funding for Israel's rocket defence system. Greene this week went further than any Republican lawmaker has previously in using the word "genocide" to describe Israel's conduct and slamming the "starvation of innocent people and children in Gaza". While Greene's credibility has been undermined by an extensive record of conspiratorial social media posts, there is no denying that she knows what makes the MAGA crowd tick. A new CNN poll found the share of Republicans who believe Israel's actions have been fully justified has dropped from 68 per cent in 2023 to 52 per cent. Youth seems to be the driver, according to a Pew Research poll from April, when food shortages had yet to become a humanitarian catastrophe. While Republicans over age 50 haven't changed much in their pro-Israel outlook since 2022, the survey showed that the US ally's unfavourability among younger adults has climbed from 35 per cent to 50 per cent. "It seems that for the under-30-year-old MAGA base, Israel has almost no support," former White House strategist Steve Bannon told Politico, adding that Trump's rebuke would solidify his supporters' enmity. Democratic strategist Mike Nellis described the Gaza food emergency as "one of those rare moments where the crisis has broken through the usual partisan gridlock". "You're seeing people across the political spectrum who just can't stomach it anymore," he said.

Lula's approval rises amid tariff dispute with Trump, poll shows
Lula's approval rises amid tariff dispute with Trump, poll shows

The Star

time5 hours ago

  • The Star

Lula's approval rises amid tariff dispute with Trump, poll shows

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attends a ceremony at the Planalto Palace, in Brasilia, Brazil, July 30, 2025. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Approval for Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva exceeded disapproval for the first time in nine months, a poll showed on Thursday, against a backdrop of a growing dispute with Washington. Earlier in July, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would slap 50% tariffs on Brazilian exports to fight what he has called a "witch hunt" against Lula's right-wing rival, former President Jair Bolsonaro. Those tariffs were formalized on Thursday, albeit with some key sector exemptions. The Trump administration has also imposed sanctions and visa restrictions on the judge overseeing Bolsonaro's trial on charges of plotting a coup. Lula's government has pushed back, calling Trump an unwanted "emperor" and the sanctions "unacceptable." The AtlasIntel/Bloomberg poll showed 50.2% approval of Lula's performance, up from 49.7% in the previous poll two weeks ago and marking the first time he has scored greater approval than disapproval since October. The new poll adds to evidence that Trump's tactics may be backfiring in Brazil, rallying public support behind a defiant leftist government. The proportion of respondents who consider Lula's government good or great has also improved, now at 46.6% from 43.4%, although that is still below the 48.2% who consider it bad or awful. If a replay of the 2022 presidential election in Brazil was held this week, 47.8% of those surveyed would vote for Lula and 44.2% for Bolsonaro. Despite being barred from holding public office until 2030, Bolsonaro insists he could run again, while Lula has hinted that he could run for reelection. The poll surveyed 7,334 Brazilian adults online between July 25 and July 28. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus one percentage point. (Reporting by Isabel Teles in Sao Paulo, editing by Manuela Andreoni and Rosalba O'Brien)

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store