Latest news with #Washington-focused
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Crypto group with Trump ties finds friends in California
SACRAMENTO, California — A nonprofit with ties to Donald Trump is sponsoring state legislation from a Democrat in deep-blue California on an issue the president has embraced in his Oval Office comeback: cryptocurrency. The group, co-founded by Mandy Gunasekara, former chief of staff at the Environmental Protection Agency during Trump's first term, is backing a bill from Democratic California Assemblymember Avelino Valencia that could make it easier to pay with cryptocurrency in the Golden State. It comes as Trump's crypto ties are again in the spotlight this week at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas where members of his inner circle like JD Vance headlined, and after the industry spent millions to elect pro-crypto congressional candidates in the 2024 election. Meanwhile, Democrats in Washington remain divided on regulating crypto as they look to block the president's agenda without angering the powerful industry. Valencia's bill presents a crucial test for the nonprofit Satoshi Action Fund's state-first strategy, given it deviates from the wider industry's Washington-focused approach. 'The industry was playing a lot of defense,' Satoshi CEO Dennis Porter, a crypto advocate and former podcaster who hosted his own show about Bitcoin, told POLITICO's California Decoded newsletter. '[If] you're on defense 100 percent of the time, you'll never win a single match.' Valencia, a Southern California Democrat, said he wasn't previously aware of Satoshi's Trump connection and hasn't worked directly with Gunasekara. He added he drew up the measure independently from Satoshi, though he said the group 'proactively provided' feedback that informed his approach. 'My understanding is that the organization is nonpartisan and is made up of individuals from all political ideologies, which is one of the reasons the organization stood out,' Valencia added. Porter said he sees untapped opportunity beyond Washington. To him, statehouses like California's present a cheaper and faster option for passing pro-crypto legislation that can pave the way for the industry to advance its priorities in Congress. '[The] Civil Rights Movement or women's right to vote, or the cannabis movement — all of these things grew their momentum at the state level,' said Porter, who said he co-founded Satoshi with Gunasekara as a 501(c)(4) group in 2022. 'We set the policy blueprint for the country at the state level.' Satoshi has been a driving force behind recent pro-crypto efforts in other, mostly Republican-controlled state legislatures, backing protections for bitcoin mining and crypto payments that passed in Montana, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas. The group also proposed model legislation that would allow states to invest public pension funds in cryptocurrencies, an idea Wisconsin and Michigan investors have embraced but has been slow to gain traction in other states. California poses a tougher challenge. The state's deep-blue legislature has proven to be more crypto-skeptical: Lawmakers in 2023 passed a slate of new requirements and fees for digital asset traders. Trump's entanglements in the crypto industry are complicating the issue for Democrats. The president held a private dinner with buyers of his memecoin, $TRUMP, earlier this month. His business empire, Trump Media & Technology Group, recently announced it was raising $2.5 billion to buy bitcoin. Some Democrats are wary of supporting pro-crypto policies, as doing so could hand Trump a legislative win amid questions about potential conflicts of interest. Porter said he sees Satoshi's work and the pro-crypto policies it supports as bipartisan. He declined to disclose information about Satoshi's donors, citing privacy concerns. 'Clearly, Republicans have sort of taken a lead on this stuff, but there are a lot of Democrats who for a long time have been very supportive of the technology,' Porter said. Valencia is one of those Democrats. The Anaheim lawmaker said he's been interested in digital currency since his time as a San Jose State University student and began drawing up crypto legislation after taking over as Assembly Banking and Finance chair in late 2024. One of those ideas became the bill he's pushing with Satoshi, which would authorize California businesses to accept cryptocurrency as a valid form of payment. Local governments and other public entities wouldn't be allowed to charge extra fees for goods and services purchased with cryptocurrency. Valencia said the bill ensures 'fair treatment' for consumers paying with digital currencies without forcing businesses to accept cryptocurrencies. 'I have no doubt this is the currency and technology of the future,' he said. 'The lack of clear legal treatment leaves consumers unprotected.' A version of this story first appeared in California Decoded, POLITICO's morning newsletter for Pros about how the Golden State is shaping tech policy within its borders and beyond. Like this content? POLITICO Pro subscribers receive it daily. Learn more at
Politico
4 days ago
- Business
- Politico
Crypto group with Trump ties finds friends in California
SACRAMENTO, California — A nonprofit with ties to Donald Trump is sponsoring state legislation from a Democrat in deep-blue California on an issue the president has embraced in his Oval Office comeback: cryptocurrency. The group, co-founded by Mandy Gunasekara, former chief of staff at the Environmental Protection Agency during Trump's first term, is backing a bill from Democratic California Assemblymember Avelino Valencia that could make it easier to pay with cryptocurrency in the Golden State. It comes as Trump's crypto ties are again in the spotlight this week at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas where members of his inner circle like JD Vance headlined, and after the industry spent millions to elect pro-crypto congressional candidates in the 2024 election. Meanwhile, Democrats in Washington remain divided on regulating crypto as they look to block the president's agenda without angering the powerful industry. Valencia's bill presents a crucial test for the nonprofit Satoshi Action Fund's state-first strategy, given it deviates from the wider industry's Washington-focused approach. 'The industry was playing a lot of defense,' Satoshi CEO Dennis Porter, a crypto advocate and former podcaster who hosted his own show about Bitcoin, told POLITICO's California Decoded newsletter. '[If] you're on defense 100 percent of the time, you'll never win a single match.' Valencia, a Southern California Democrat, said he wasn't previously aware of Satoshi's Trump connection and hasn't worked directly with Gunasekara. He added he drew up the measure independently from Satoshi, though he said the group 'proactively provided' feedback that informed his approach. 'My understanding is that the organization is nonpartisan and is made up of individuals from all political ideologies, which is one of the reasons the organization stood out,' Valencia added. Porter said he sees untapped opportunity beyond Washington. To him, statehouses like California's present a cheaper and faster option for passing pro-crypto legislation that can pave the way for the industry to advance its priorities in Congress. '[The] Civil Rights Movement or women's right to vote, or the cannabis movement — all of these things grew their momentum at the state level,' said Porter, who said he co-founded Satoshi with Gunasekara as a 501(c)(4) group in 2022. 'We set the policy blueprint for the country at the state level.' Satoshi has been a driving force behind recent pro-crypto efforts in other, mostly Republican-controlled state legislatures, backing protections for bitcoin mining and crypto payments that passed in Montana, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas. The group also proposed model legislation that would allow states to invest public pension funds in cryptocurrencies, an idea Wisconsin and Michigan investors have embraced but has been slow to gain traction in other states. California poses a tougher challenge. The state's deep-blue legislature has proven to be more crypto-skeptical: Lawmakers in 2023 passed a slate of new requirements and fees for digital asset traders. Trump's entanglements in the crypto industry are complicating the issue for Democrats. The president held a private dinner with buyers of his memecoin, $TRUMP, earlier this month. His business empire, Trump Media & Technology Group, recently announced it was raising $2.5 billion to buy bitcoin. Some Democrats are wary of supporting pro-crypto policies, as doing so could hand Trump a legislative win amid questions about potential conflicts of interest. Porter said he sees Satoshi's work and the pro-crypto policies it supports as bipartisan. He declined to disclose information about Satoshi's donors, citing privacy concerns. 'Clearly, Republicans have sort of taken a lead on this stuff, but there are a lot of Democrats who for a long time have been very supportive of the technology,' Porter said. Valencia is one of those Democrats. The Anaheim lawmaker said he's been interested in digital currency since his time as a San Jose State University student and began drawing up crypto legislation after taking over as Assembly Banking and Finance chair in late 2024. One of those ideas became the bill he's pushing with Satoshi, which would authorize California businesses to accept cryptocurrency as a valid form of payment. Local governments and other public entities wouldn't be allowed to charge extra fees for goods and services purchased with cryptocurrency. Valencia said the bill ensures 'fair treatment' for consumers paying with digital currencies without forcing businesses to accept cryptocurrencies. 'I have no doubt this is the currency and technology of the future,' he said. 'The lack of clear legal treatment leaves consumers unprotected.' A version of this story first appeared in California Decoded, POLITICO's morning newsletter for Pros about how the Golden State is shaping tech policy within its borders and beyond. Like this content? POLITICO Pro subscribers receive it daily. Learn more at
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why Broadcom Stock Is Tumbling Today
Shares of Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO), a semiconductor designer, are falling Monday as investors grow increasingly concerned about President Donald Trump's tariffs and economic decisions. On Monday, Trump again called on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to lower interest rates. The Fed operates independently from the White House and the rest of the federal government, but Trump has ratcheted up his expressions of displeasure with Powell, and presidential aides are reportedly looking for ways that the administration might be able to fire Powell legally before his term as chairman is up in 2026. However, as Washington-focused news website The Hill pointed out on Friday: "A 90-year-old Supreme Court precedent likely protects Powell from being fired by the president for anything other than misconduct or severe neglect of office." Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » Investors are concerned that if the Fed were to lose its independence, it would lead to turmoil in the markets and the economy. They're also concerned about reports that the administration is still considering additional tariffs on semiconductors. As a result, Broadcom's stock was trading down by 4.4% as of 12:55 p.m. ET. Broadcom's share price is down by nearly 30% since the beginning of this year, and much of that drop came after Trump announced his tariffs. While Broadcom is based in the U.S., many of its chips are made in Taiwan by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. Trump's current tariffs don't apply to semiconductor companies, but his team is looking into how he might impose chip tariffs, and Trump said earlier this month that such tariffs were "coming soon." As investors brace for the implications, many are losing their taste for Broadcom's stock. That sentiment was made worse Monday as Trump pressured the Fed chair on social media to cut interest rates. The Fed has in recent months held its benchmark federal funds rates steady as it evaluates current inflation levels and waits to see how the trade war will impact the economy. Investors remain concerned that Trump will attempt to remove Powell. However, an attempt to fire Powell could shake the market and the economy. As Evercore ISI Vice President Krishna Guha told CNBC during an interview on Monday, "If you actually did try to remove the Federal Reserve chairman, I think you would see a severe reaction in markets with yields higher, dollars lower, and equities selling off." With so much up in the air with potential semiconductor tariffs and the economy right now, it's probably best for investors to take a wait-and-see approach. Broadcom's processors are helping to power the artificial intelligence boom, but short-term pain for the company could be ahead as its customers respond to the current uncertainties. Over the long term, Broadcom could still be a good investment, but investors who are eager to buy the stock may want to factor in the possibility that a recession or economic slowdown could result in large tech companies cutting their near-term spending on semiconductors. Before you buy stock in Broadcom, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Broadcom 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 $524,747!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $622,041!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 792% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 153% 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 April 21, 2025 Chris Neiger has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Why Broadcom Stock Is Tumbling Today was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
Reuters
10-02-2025
- Business
- Reuters
EU's Trump plan requires carrots, sticks and vibes
LONDON, Feb 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Ursula von der Leyen ought to be readying her best impression of Jean-Claude Juncker. The European Commission president's predecessor found a way to manage Donald Trump's aggressively transactional approach to global trade during the latter's first administration. In the wake of the U.S. president's antics imposing and then lifting 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico – and new threats to target steel and aluminium exports as soon as Monday – von der Leyen's toolkit needs to include carrots, sticks and vibes. Juncker's strategy back in 2018 started with sticks. Responding to Trump's U.S. steel and aluminium tariffs on national security grounds, he imposed duties, opens new tab on emblematic American goods made in Republican-leaning states, such as Harley-Davidson motorbikes, bourbon and orange juice. But faced with the risk of Trump slapping tariffs on European cars, the EU also pivoted to carrots: it pledged to buy more U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) and soybeans, opens new tab. In 2025, von der Leyen is more likely to choose carrots over sticks. Given core member states France and Germany are beset by low growth and political strife, she presides over a weaker club. As well as LNG and farm products, she can encourage member states to hike defence spending to 3% of GDP, and buy more American arms as the bloc tries to face down Russia. She could also cut tariffs, opens new tab on U.S. cars from their current 10% – which sounds doable, given other auto exporters like Japan and South Korea already enjoy zero levies. It's possible this proves enough – after all, Trump delayed Mexico tariffs for a month after President Claudia Sheinbaum signalled troop reinforcements at the U.S. border. But the U.S. trade-in-goods deficit with the EU is still 156 billion euros, opens new tab, which will keep the president's hackles raised. And as Washington-focused consultants at Signum Global Advisors point out, his second administration may be more focused on using its leverage to demand a rollback of European technological and environmental regulation. If so, ambitious Brussels regulations like the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the Data Act may come into Trump's sights. These legislative forays seek to force U.S. Big Tech to open up the walled gardens of their platforms to competition. The stakes are high: Meta Platforms (META.O), opens new tab, Google owner Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab and Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab all source nearly 30% of their revenue from Europe. And there are already multiple battlegrounds. The Commission's preliminary view on Meta's 'pay or consent' advertising model, for example, is that users lack a real alternative – they have to choose between paying for an advertising-free version of Facebook or Instagram, or giving consent to have their personal data used for targeted ads. Mark Zuckerberg's $1.8 trillion company has also delayed releasing its LLaMA artificial intelligence model in the bloc, due to reservations about disclosure and transparency obligations under the EU's AI Act. Meanwhile, the DMA puts restrictions on how Apple collects and uses personal information, making it harder for the $3.4 trillion group to tailor AI features that have not received explicit user consent. With an EU decision on Meta due as early as March and similar investigations, opens new tab into Apple and Alphabet ongoing, the obvious risk is that von der Leyen buckles too easily. But there's also danger in going too hard the other way. The EU could theoretically unleash its 'anti-coercion instrument', which came into force in 2023, to dilute Big Tech's intellectual property protections, like those pertaining to software and download rights. But that would be hard to implement, and akin to 'nuking a country that attacks you with a tank,' according to Fredrik Erixon, director of the European Centre for International Political Economy. A halfway house would be for von der Leyen to exploit what room she has to manoeuvre. The EU's outstanding Big Tech cases are its first under the DMA, Erixon points out, which means there are neither established precedents nor methods for investigating the extent to which a company is in violation of a particular obligation. Exactly how the Commission deals with evidence of a breach of its rules is therefore not set in stone. That gives it some flexibility in determining whether any future fine amounts to the maximum 10% of annual revenue. For more recent pieces of legislation like the AI Act, the bloc could just push back its 2026 compliance deadline. Templates for artfully diluting cherished EU regulation do exist. Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra announced last week that the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which will slap a green tax on carbon-heavy imports into the EU starting in 2026, may only apply to the biggest 20% of companies. That still captures most of the emissions, yet strikes a deregulatory tone in keeping with the EU's new ' Competitiveness Compass, opens new tab '. Exactly how von der Leyen threads this needle on Big Tech regulation will be critical. But as Sheinbaum has shown, sometimes you don't need to shift much to make a difference. In that respect, vibes may be as important as carrots or sticks. Follow @ywchen1, opens new tab on X CONTEXT NEWS U.S. President Donald Trump said on February 9 that he would introduce new 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the U.S., on top of existing metals duties. Asked if France and the European Union would respond, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on February 10: 'Of course ... This is already what Donald Trump did in 2018, and we responded. We will again respond.' The EU trade and investment relationship with the U.S. is the biggest in the world, and both should be looking at strengthening this relationship, a European Commission spokesperson told Breakingviews on February 4 when asked about potential U.S. tariffs on European goods. 'The EU firmly believes that low tariffs drive growth and economic stability within a strong, rules-based trading system. However, the EU would respond firmly to any trading partner that unfairly or arbitrarily imposes tariffs on EU goods,' the person said. Trump, responding to a question on February 2 on whether he plans to slap tariffs on products coming from the UK, pivoted to hammering Brussels: 'It might happen with that,' he said. 'But it will definitely happen with the European Union. I can tell you that, because they've really taken advantage, you know, we have over (a) $300 billion deficit.' In 2023, the U.S. trade in goods deficit with the bloc was 156 billion euros, according to EU data. In trade in services, however, the U.S. had a surplus of 104 billion euros. The U.S. trade in goods deficit with the European Union increased by $26.9 billion to $235.6 billion in 2024, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis announced on February 5. For more insights like these, click here, opens new tab to try Breakingviews for free.
