Capitalism Won the Vietnam War
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
This week will see another Liberation Day—in Vietnam. I walked along the parade route leading to the former Presidential Palace, now Reunification Palace. Artillery guns are lined up along the Saigon River to celebrate the victory on April 30, 1975—50 years ago Wednesday.
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2 hours ago
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A banana a day to keep the tariffs away? Howard Lutnick mocked during congressional hearing over plan to make more products in America
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Newsweek
3 hours ago
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Donald Trump Approval Rating Update: Support Hits Highest Level in Months
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If the president's approval rating continues to rise, it could bolster Republican momentum and complicate Democratic strategy heading into the 2026 midterms. President Donald Trump speaks during an event in the State Dining Room of the White House on June 5, 2025. President Donald Trump speaks during an event in the State Dining Room of the White House on June 5, 2025. Alex Brandon/AP What To Know Decision Desk HQ's tracker shows that following March 10, Trump's approval rating declined, while his disapproval rating grew, peaking on April 28, when 53.4 percent disapproved and 44.2 percent approved, resulting in a net approval rating of -9.2 points. Since then, his net approval rating has been gradually on the rise. The tracker reflects the general trend recently, which has shown Trump's national approval ratings ticking up marginally. It comes after a period of sagging numbers for the president following the introduction of his "Liberation Day" tariffs in April. The policy move rattled markets, prompting a sharp sell-off before an eventual recovery. But public sentiment did not rebound as quickly as the Dow. Polls throughout April showed a decline in approval ratings. However, polls now suggest that the bleeding has stopped, as economic anxiety has somewhat subsided. That includes the most recent ActiVote poll, which showed that Trump's approval rating stands at 46 percent, while 50 percent disapprove. That is up from last month, when 45 percent approved and 51 percent disapproved, and breaks a trend since January, which had seen Trump's approval ratings in the poll decline each month. The numbers from May are also significantly better than Trump's average over the 48 months of his first presidency (41 percent), surpassing Biden's average approval rating for his full term (41 percent) and his approval rating for his final year (40 percent). The ActiVote poll carries a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points. Poll Date Approve Disapprove Rasmussen June 5 50 49 Quantus Insights June 1-4 49 48 YouGov/Economist May 30-June 2 45 49 Morning Consult May 30-June 2 46 51 Trafalgar Group May 30-June 1 54 46 ActiVote May 1-31 46 50 TIPP May 28-30 43 45 John Zogby May 28-29 48 49 YouGov/Yahoo May 22-27 41 54 McLaughlin May 21-26 51 44 In the latest YouGov/Economist poll, Trump's approval rating increased by 1 point to 45 percent, while his disapproval rating decreased by 3 points to 49 percent. In the latest TIPP Insights poll, conducted between May 28 and May 30 among 1,395 adults, Trump's approval rating increased to 43 percent, up one point from 42 percent a month ago, while his disapproval rating dropped to 45 percent from 47 percent. The TIPP Insights poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points. The same trend was observed in the latest Civiqs poll, conducted from May 17 to May 20 among 1,018 registered voters. Meanwhile, in the Trafalgar Group's latest poll, conducted May 30 to June 1, 54 percent of voters approved, while 46 percent disapproved—a net approval rating of +8. That was up from a month ago, when a survey conducted by pollsters with Insider Advantage between April 30 and May 1 put Trump's approval rating at 46 percent, while 44 percent disapproved. Newsweek's poll tracker also shows Trump's approval rating trending upward, currently showing that an average of 47 percent approve of Trump's job performance, while 49 percent disapprove. A month ago, in the tracker, the president's approval rating stood at 44 percent, while his disapproval rate was firmly in the 50s. However, as some polls have shown an upward shift, others have indicated that Trump's approval ratings are trending downward. The latest YouGov/Yahoo poll, conducted from May 22 to May 27 among 1,560 adults, showed Trump's approval rating dipping 1 point to 41 percent and his disapproval rating increasing 1 point to 54 percent. And in the most recent Morning Consult survey, conducted between May 30 and June 2 among 2,205 registered voters, Trump's approval rating stood at 46 percent, down from 48 percent over the past two weeks. A slim majority (51 percent) disapprove of his job performance, which is unchanged from last week. But for the most part, Trump's approval ratings appear stable or slightly improving, while his disapproval numbers are gradually declining, suggesting that while he isn't gaining significant new support, he's also not losing ground. The latest John Zogby Strategies poll, conducted from May 28 to 29 among 1,000 likely voters, found Trump's approval steady at 58 percent, with disapproval down one point to 49 percent from the previous month. The most recent Quantus Insights poll, conducted between June 1 and 4 among 1,000 registered voters, showed that Trump's approval rating increased by 1 point to 49 percent, while his disapproval rating remained steady at 48 percent. What Happens Next Trump's approval rating is likely to continue fluctuating in the coming weeks, as key negotiations surrounding the Russia-Ukraine war and the evolving trade situation unfold.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
While Bitcoin Hits a New Price Record, Critics Still Have These Warnings for Crypto Investors
Continued tariff uncertainty may limit just how much higher Bitcoin can soar. The Trump White House is now facing pushback on key crypto initiatives related to Bitcoin. Historically, Bitcoin has followed four-year cycles marked by periods of boom and bust. 10 stocks we like better than Bitcoin › Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) may have hit a new all-time high of $112,000 in May, but it's not out of the woods quite yet. Already, Bitcoin has retreated back down to the $105,000 level, and there are some critics warning about a further decline in price. While the long-term outlook for Bitcoin might be bullish, there could be quite a bit of uncertainty and volatility over the second half of 2025. Here are three key factors keeping the Bitcoin skeptics up at night. As long as tariffs continue to dominate the headlines, they will continue to have a direct impact on how investors view the crypto market. As a result, it's been a see-saw year for Bitcoin. After hitting an all-time high in January, Bitcoin dropped as low as $75,000 after President Donald Trump announced the new Liberation Day tariffs on April 2. Bitcoin has subsequently recovered, but every week seems to bring some new twist or turn in the tariff debate. The newest factor is the worsening state of the trade negotiations involving the U.S. and China. At one time, it looked like some kind of trade deal might be worked out by mid-summer. Now, it looks like the two sides are further apart than ever. So how will Bitcoin investors react? If they view Bitcoin as a safe haven asset, they might move even more money into Bitcoin, thereby boosting its price. However, if they view Bitcoin as a risky and volatile digital asset, then they might sell off, just as they did in April. When President Trump came into office in January, the future looked very bright indeed for Bitcoin. New crypto legislation looked like it would be ready to sign soon, and crypto enthusiasts were excited about upcoming Bitcoin initiatives from the Trump White House. However, five months into the presidency, and there's still a lot of unfinished business. Take the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, for example. Yes, Trump signed an executive order for its creation in March, but it delivered much less punch than many people expected. Most importantly, the executive order failed to outline how the government planned to buy Bitcoin in the future. As a result, investors are still waiting on some form of legislation, such as the BITCOIN Act proposed by Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), that will precisely outline a mechanism for buying more Bitcoin. On top of all that, there are now questions swirling around the Trump family's connections to Bitcoin. At the very least, there appear to be potential conflicts of interest. For example, Donald Trump's media company -- Trump Media & Technology Group -- recently divulged plans to buy $2.5 billion worth of Bitcoin. And members of the Trump family now have interests in a variety of Bitcoin-related projects. Historically, Bitcoin has followed a fairly predictable pattern of boom and bust. The four-year Bitcoin cycle starts with a period of quiet accumulation, followed by a period of rapid growth. This leads to a Bitcoin bubble filled with hype and speculation. After that comes the crash. For example, the 2020-2021 rally that saw Bitcoin hit a (then) all-time high of $69,000 was quickly followed by a disastrous market crash that saw it lose 65% of its value in 2022. And the same pattern may be happening again. If history is any guide, then the final phase of the Bitcoin cycle could be arriving soon. Thus, even if Bitcoin soars to $150,000 this year, it might have a hard time holding on to those gains heading into 2026. If you'd have waited until now to buy Bitcoin, you might be buying at or close to the top of the market. By the end of 2025, it might already be too late. The good news is that most Bitcoin investors are remarkably bullish these days. According to online prediction markets, Bitcoin only has a 22% chance of falling below the $70,000 price level, and only a 16% chance of falling below the $60,000 price level. Long gone are the days when people regularly prognosticated that Bitcoin could fall all the way to zero. That being said, investors still need to be aware of the risks of investing in Bitcoin. The price of Bitcoin never goes straight up. It is highly volatile, filled with many peaks and valleys. If you don't have firm convictions about Bitcoin, it's remarkably easy to buy high and sell low. When it comes to Bitcoin, it's best to keep a long-term perspective. Bitcoin has never been a tariff-proof, inflation-proof, or recession-proof asset. But over a long enough time horizon, it continues to be the top-performing asset in the world. The only catch is that you have to be willing to hold on to it, through good times and bad. Before you buy stock in Bitcoin, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Bitcoin wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $668,538!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $869,841!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 789% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025 Dominic Basulto has positions in Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. While Bitcoin Hits a New Price Record, Critics Still Have These Warnings for Crypto Investors was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
