Late last year, my colleague Elizabeth Stauffer reported that “ultra-conservative” candidate José Antonio Kast had won a landslide victory in Chile’s presidential election.
And by “ultra-conservative,” what is really meant is running for office by promising to take actions that normal people want and need. Kast, a Roman Catholic and lawyer, had a campaign centered on restoring order, cracking down on crime and illegal immigration, and revitalizing Chile’s market-oriented economic model through spending cuts and pro-business reforms.
How is Kast doing at this point? Less than a week after his inauguration, construction of a border wall between Chile and Peru began.
Less than a week after his inauguration, Chile’s arch-conservative president on Monday began overseeing preparations to build a border barrier — part of his flagship campaign promise to block immigrants from crossing illegally.
From Chile’s northern frontier area of Chacalluta, where legions of immigrants have slipped across the Peruvian border into one of the region’s most prosperous nations, Kast vowed to implement what he calls his “Border Shield” plan. Among other steps, it involves the construction of a physical barrier at the nation’s northern border made up of ditches and fences and patrolled by drones and the military forces.
…Kast assured the public that “for all of Chile, this is a milestone.”
“We have taken clear and concrete decisions to close our border to illegal immigration, drug trafficking and organized crime,” he said. “We want to implement this without any delay.”
Diesel fuel, the lifeblood of U.S. industry, crossed an alarming and historic benchmark Tuesday.
Amid the Iran War and the Strait of Hormuz crisis, the U.S. average retail diesel prices have crossed $5 a gallon, the highest since December 2022.
This marks only the second time diesel prices have hit the historic 5-dollar benchmark, according to Reuters. Tuesday’s new average of $5.04 is now a record high, according to analysts at GasBuddy.
Meanwhile, gas prices across the country have surged 74 cents a gallon. This reportedly marks nearly a 30% increase over the past month, the highest monthly spike since Hurricane Katrina.
“The problem is, is we’re so strained financially coming into this issue,” explained Littleton, a third-generation farmer from Gibson County in the state’s northwest.
“We have had a couple of record losses over the last couple of years, so everyone’s kind of grabbing at straws anyway, and then to have input prices increase yet again, it just really couldn’t happen at a worse time.”
Littleton, who cultivates corn, soybeans, and wheat, is one of thousands of farmers nationwide who will pay significantly more this spring for the essential nutrients their crops require.
Nitrogen-based fertilizer is particularly crucial for corn, typically the largest crop in the U.S., which feeds the nation’s livestock and is converted into fuel for most U.S. vehicles.
This action has caused a significant slowdown in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical choke point for 20 per cent of the world’s oil and natural gas.
The national average price for regular gas continues to soar, reaching $3.578 per gallon on Wednesday morning. The price point marks a 64-cent-per-gallon increase compared to a month ago, according to AAA.
The rise in gas prices over the last month is the largest single monthly increase since 2022, when fuel costs increased by 71 cents per gallon between February and March, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Between the week of February 9, 2026, and March 9, 2026, the average price for regular grade gasoline rose from $2.902 per gallon to $3.502 per gallon, according to the EIA. Moreover, gas prices today are nearly 50 cents per gallon more expensive than a year ago, according to AAA.
Oil prices retreated Tuesday, even after Secretary of Energy Chris Wright wrongly claimed in a social media post that the U.S. Navy had escorted a tanker through the Strait of Hormuz.
“The U.S. Navy has not escorted a tanker or a vessel at this time,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday.
U.S. crude oil fell 11.94% to close at $83.45 per barrel.Brent crude, the global benchmark, lost 11.28% to settle at $87.80. Prices fell more than 17% immediately after Wright’s post.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump spoke Sunday afternoon in response to escalating global tensions as the Iran war continues to escalate and spread across the region.
The two discussed “the economy, developments in the Middle East, and trade relations between the two countries,” according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.
The two also agreed to “remain in close contact.”
Also on Sunday, the Prime Minister’s Office said Carney gathered the Incident Response Group with ministers and senior officials to discuss the ongoing war in Iran and the Middle East.
President Donald Trump says a sharp increase in high oil prices is a “small price to pay” in the fight against Iran.
“Short-term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, are a very small price to pay for the U.S. and world safety and peace,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding, “ONLY FOOLS WOULD THINK DIFFERENTLY!”
Oil prices have risen to more than $100 a barrel since the United States launched its attack on Iran in conjunction with Israel, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and striking hundreds of Iran’s military targets.
Crude oil futures in London and New York soared almost 30% to nearly $120 a barrel on Monday, one of the biggest one-day jumps on record in early trading, threatening to raise costs of products from gasoline to jet fuel.
Friday’s jobs report showed 92,000 positions were lost in February, sending the stock market falling. The unemployment rate rose to 4.4%, and the labor force participation rate fell to 62.0%.
However, February job loss is due to several factors that don’t reflect the strength of the underlying small-business economy. Mainly, the worst winter storm since 1996 paralyzed the Northeast, trapping people in their homes, shutting down job sites, and closing retail doors. The storm dropped two feet of snow across New England, resulting in power outages affecting 600,000 people and a state of emergency throughout the region.
Generally, the Bureau of Labor Statistics highlights such large external events affecting job creation in a special section of the jobs report. But not this time. Any analysis of the February jobs report needs to include this angle.
Oil prices surged past $110 a barrel on Sunday evening, topping $100 for the first time in nearly four years, as the war in the Middle East entered its ninth day with no end in sight and the Strait of Hormuz remained effectively closed to tanker traffic.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, briefly topped $110 soon after markets opened Sunday evening, while West Texas Intermediate rose to $109.05. Both benchmarks were trading around $60 a barrel in early January.
President Trump on Sunday night sought to reassure Americans that oil prices would come down in short order.
“Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace. ONLY FOOLS WOULD THINK DIFFERENTLY!” Trump said on Truth Social.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration said Tuesday that Japan will finance the production of synthetic diamonds and two energy projects worth about $36 billion as the initial tranche of investments under a deal reached last year following months of tariff negotiations.
Trump’s announcement that the three projects had been selected, as part of a $550 billion package that Japan committed to in exchange for his administration reducing tariffs on Japanese cars and other goods, was confirmed hours later by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
“These projects are so large, and could not be done without one very special word, TARIFFS,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “America is building again. America is producing again. And America is WINNING again.”
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed by Republicans and signed by President Donald Trump last year, will add $4.7 trillion to deficits through 2035, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
The numbers were released Wednesday as part of the nonpartisan congressional scorekeeper’s annual budget and economic update, which includes projections for the debt, spending, inflation, and GDP.
The House of Representatives on Monday passed the Housing for the 21st Century Act, making changes to federal housing regulations, which proponents say could drive down the cost of homes.
The bill, sponsored by Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill, R-Ark., passed by a 390-9 margin. Eight Republicans and one Democrat voted against it, while 33 members did not vote.
The bill advanced out of the committee on a bipartisan basis in December 2025 and has the backing of ranking member Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif.
More winning from our historic and magnificent POTUS!
The ending of Russian oil imports would be particularly significant; yes, even huge. Trump on his phone meeting with India Prime Minister Modi: We spoke about many things, including Trade, and ending the War with Russia and Ukraine. He agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela. This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week! Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18% (Truth)
India and China reportedly began edging away from Russian energy after President Trump imposed a 25% punitive tariff on countries doing business with Moscow — a move that signaled consequences.Trump has been pressing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Russian oil since last summer, and two weeks ago he raised the stakes dramatically, threatening tariffs as high as 500%.
Modi rushed to X to celebrate the new trade agreement at an 18% reciprocal tariff rate.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands as they attend a joint press conference at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., Feb. 13, 2025.
The e-commerce giant has been cutting costs while pouring resources into building data centers to compete in the race to dominate artificial intelligence.
from www.nytimes.com
Inflation rose one-tenth of a percentage point to 2.8% for the year ending in November 2025, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday in an update to the personal consumption expenditures index, which is the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge.
Thursday’s report is the last the Fed will receive before it votes on interest rates next week.
Thursday’s report includes data for both October and November, unusually, because the government shutdown prevented the scheduled release of key economic reports.
Sales by U.S. retailers rose by much more than expected in November, signaling that the household sector remains resilient and consumer spending continues to support rapid economic growth.
Retail spending rose 0.6 percent in November, exceeding even the most optimistic estimates. Analysts surveyed by Econoday expected sales to rise by around 0.2 percent, with estimates ranging from a decline of 0.5 percent to a gain of 0.4 percent.
Since the start of the year through November, sales are up 3.7 percent compared with the first 11 months of the prior year. During that period, consumer prices rose by around 2.7 percent, implying that real sales were up by one percent.
NEW YORK — Up until this week, Wall Street has generally benefited from the Trump administration’s policies and has been supportive of the president. That relationship has suddenly soured.
When President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill into law in July, it pushed another significant round of tax cuts and also cut the budget of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, at times the banking industry’s nemesis, by nearly half. Trump’s bank regulators have also been pushing a deregulatory agenda that both banks and large corporations have embraced.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Speaker Mike Johnson voiced skepticism Tuesday on President Donald Trump’s move to temporarily cap credit card interest rates.
“I think that would probably deprive an awful lot of people of access to credit around the country,” Thune told reporters. “Credit cards would probably become debit cards.”
“That’s not something I’m out there advocating for — let’s put it that way,” he added.
Thune’s comments come after Trump posted on Truth Social that he was calling for a one-year cap of 10 percent interest on credit cards starting Jan. 20.
President Trump has made lowering prescription drug prices a clear priority, repeatedly arguing that Americans should not be forced to pay more for medicine than patients in other developed countries. Drugmakers have publicly welcomed that message. But their actions tell a more complicated story.
First reported by Reuters this week, pharmaceutical companies are raising list prices on more than 350 drugs for 2026. Many of the increases were small, but others were not, including sharp hikes on certain hospital-administered and specialty medicines that patients and providers rely on every day.
The U.S. labor market ended 2025 on a soft note, with job creation in December less than expected, according to a report Friday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Nonfarm payrolls rose a seasonally adjusted 50,000 for the month, lower than the downwardly revised 56,000 in November and short of the Dow Jones estimate for 73,000.
At the same time, the unemployment rate fell to 4.4%, compared to the forecast for 4.5%.
The report presented a muddy view of the labor market, with companies reporting a low level of hiring but households showing employment gains.
In addition, revisions brought totals down for the prior months. The November total saw a slight downward revision of 8,000 to the payrolls number, while October’s loss was even more than originally reported, now at 173,000 compared to the prior estimate of 105,000.
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that his administration is moving to ban major investors from buying up single-family homes in the U.S. in an attempt to lower housing prices.
Trump claimed in a Truth Social post that former President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats have caused “record high inflation,” which has caused the “American Dream” to become “increasingly out of reach for far too many people.”
— Commentary Donald J. Trump Posts From Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) January 7, 2026
“For a very long time, buying and owning a home was considered the pinnacle of the American Dream,” Trump wrote in the social media post. “I am immediately taking steps to ban large institutional investors from buying more single-family homes, and I will be calling on Congress to codify it.”
“People live in homes, not corporations,” the president emphasized.
This week, President Trump sent shockwaves through Wall Street when he announced via Truth Social his plan to ban large corporations and foreign entities from purchasing single-family homes. The proposal targets institutional investors like Blackstone and other real estate investment trusts that have been buying up American homes by the hundreds of thousands — driving up prices and locking out first-time buyers.
Political support came swiftly from both sides of the aisle. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, announced that he would introduce legislation to codify the ban, saying, “Millions of young Americans have been locked out of the American Dream.” Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.V., called it “huge,” while Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Jim Banks, R-Ind., signaled support. Even Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said she’s been advocating for years to limit Wall Street from buying up America’s homes.
The market reaction was severe. Invitation Homes tumbled 6 percent. Blackstone fell 9 percent. American Homes 4 Rent dropped 6.3 percent. And Wall Street understood completely: Trump means business. But for Main Street families, this proposal offers real hope.
The Department of Health and Human Services will be freezing funding for childcare services in five blue states, the Trump administration announced on Monday.
#BREAKING: Trump admin freezes childcare funding in New York, California, and other states.
The New York Post reported that over $10 billion in childcare funding would be paused for California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York after funds were being funneled to illegal immigrants. Further, all 50 states will be required to provide increased data before releasing funds for childcare.
HHS further announced that it would close a Biden-era loophole that allowed for payouts without verifying attendance. Under the new guidelines, states can require payouts to be granted by attendance rather than enrollment and upfront payouts are no longer required.
“Paying providers upfront based on paper enrollment instead of actual attendance invites abuse,” Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill said in a statement. “In Minnesota, we’ve seen credible and widespread allegations of fraudulent daycare providers who were not caring for children at all. The reforms we are enacting will make fraud harder to perpetrate.”
The largest gain in jobs was in the healthcare sector, with 46,000 jobs added.
The US economy added 64,000 jobs in November, beating economists’ expectations. The unemployment rate has remained little changed from September, at 4.6 percent for the year’s penultimate month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed on Tuesday. The release of November’s jobs report was delayed due to the government shutdown that went from October 1 through November 12, and the October jobs report was not released due to the shutdown.
The largest gain in jobs was in the healthcare sector, with 46,000 jobs added. Of that total, 24,000 were in ambulatory health care services, 11,000 were in hospitals, and 11,000 were in nursing and residential care facilities. Construction saw 28,000 jobs added, and 18,000 jobs were added in social assistance. Transportation and warehousing saw a decrease in 18,000 jobs. The BLS noted that the federal government went down by 6,000 jobs, with a total of federal government employment going down by 271,000 since January.
The Federal Reserve reduced its key interest rate by a quarter-point for the third time in a row Wednesday but signaled that it may leave rates unchanged in the coming months, a move that could attract ire from President Donald Trump, who has demanded steep reductions to borrowing costs.
In a statement released after a two-day meeting, the Fed’s rate-setting committee suggested further rate cuts would depend on signs that the economy is faltering. And in a set of quarterly economic projections, Fed officials signaled they expect to lower rates just once next year.
Wednesday’s cut reduced the rate to about 3.6%, the lowest it has been in nearly three years. Lower rates from the Fed can bring down borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans, and credit cards over time, though market forces can also affect those rates.