Tag: the Trump

Trump administration moves to tighten duration of visas for students and media

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The latest move would create new hurdles for international students, exchange workers, and foreign journalists who would have to apply to extend their stay in the US.

The Trump administration aims to tighten the duration of visas for students, cultural exchange visitors, and members of the media, according to a proposed government regulation issued on Wednesday, part of a broader crackdown on legal immigration.

President Donald Trump, a Republican, kicked off a wide-ranging immigration crackdown after taking office in January. The latest move would create new hurdles for international students, exchange workers, and foreign journalists who would have to apply to extend their stay in the US rather than maintain a more flexible legal status.

The proposed regulation would create a fixed time period for F visas for international students, J visas that allow visitors on cultural exchange programs to work in the US, and I visas for members of the media. Those visas are currently available for the duration of the program or US-based employment.

There were about 1.6 million international students on F visas in the US in 2024, according to US government data. The US granted visas to about 355,000 exchange visitors and 13,000 members of the media in fiscal year 2024, which began on October 1, 2023.

The student and exchange visa periods would be no longer than four years, the proposed regulation said. The visa for journalists – which currently can last years – would be up to 240 days or, in the case of Chinese nationals, 90 days. The visa holders could apply for extensions, the proposal said.

Members of the National Guard patrol the National Mall past a banner of U.S. President Donald Trump hanging on the Department of Labor building, weeks after President Trump ordered National Guard and law enforcement to patrol the nation’s capital to assist in crime prevention, in Washington, D.C. (credit: BRIAN SNYDER/REUTERS)

Trump cracks down on student visas

The Trump administration said in the proposed regulation that the change was needed to better “monitor and oversee” the visa holders while they were in the United States.

The public will have 30 days to comment on the measure, which mirrors a proposal put forward in 2020 at the end of Trump’s first term in office.

NAFSA, a non-profit organization representing international educators at more than 4,300 institutions worldwide, opposed the 2020 proposal and called on the Trump administration to scrap it. The Democratic administration of then-President Joe Biden withdrew it in 2021.

The Trump administration has increased scrutiny of legal immigration, revoking student visas and green cards of university students over their ideological views and stripping legal status from hundreds of thousands of migrants.

In an August 22 memo, US Citizenship and Immigration Services said it would resume long-dormant visits to citizenship applicants’ neighborhoods to check what it termed residency, moral character, and commitment to American ideals.

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August 27, 2025
Trump is forming a ‘National Design Studio’ to spruce up government websites

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The Trump administration is forming a “National Design Studio,” with the aim of improving government websites and the efficiency of digital services at federal agencies. Trump has already signed an executive order to create the studio. According to Reuters, the president will appoint Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia as the head of the new organization, which one of its sources described as a stripped-down version of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

DOGE, which was once led by Elon Musk, aimed to cut wasteful government spending and modernize its IT systems. It facilitated mass layoffs of hundreds of thousands of federal workers and even dismantled whole agencies. As Reuters has noted, though, its activities have greatly slowed down after Musk left the organization and his role as Trump’s advisor altogether. The White House did not respond to Reuters‘ request for comment, and it’s unclear if DOGE will continue operating once the studio has been formed.

Gebbia will be apparently be named as the studio’s the Chief Design Officer and will lead its efforts to upgrade the “usability and aesthetics” of federal digital services. The news organization says the studio will standardize design for websites meant to allow people to interact with the government and will advise agencies on how to reduce costs on duplicative designs. Based on Trump’s executive order, the studio will shut down in three years before he steps down from office. While Gebbia will be the Chief Design Officer, an administrator will run the studio and will be in charge of reporting to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.

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August 22, 2025
Why betting on the Trump trade is a real mistake

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If you’re among investors hoping for a robust return of the Trump trade, it might be wise to hold off for a while and stay disciplined.

“People are way too bullish on Trump at this point,” TastyLive founder and CEO Tom Sosnoff told Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi on his Opening Bid podcast (see the video above or listen here).

Those jumping on the Trump trade bandwagon are “making a huge mistake,” Sosnoff added. “This thing is going to go back and forth” and could be a money-losing trade, Sosnoff warned.

The Trump trade is a market phenomenon where investors bet on possible benefits (see lower taxes, fewer regulations) of a Trump presidency.

Technology and finance were two sectors that flourished during Trump’s first term, as did industrials and energy as he passed tax cuts and focused on domestic energy production.

During Trump’s term, between 2016 and 2020, the S&P 500 rose by over 50%. The tech sector rose well over 150%, and consumer discretionary rose over 103%. Individual winners were many, chief among them chip player AMD (AMD), which rose 1,000%. Apple’s (AAPL) stock advanced more than 365%.

A second Trump presidency could bring a favorable environment for industries such as clean coal, nuclear energy, fossil fuels, consumer finance, and the defense sector, according to Isaac Boltansky of BTIG. Think a broadening of the old Trump trade.

On the flip side, a Democratic victory looks to favor green energy, global trade, and the defense sector, among others.

“All else being equal, the US economy has continued to grow no matter who controls the White House,” wrote Boltansky in a note to clients.

MIDDLETOWN, OHIO – JULY 23: A campaign sign hangs in the window of the Butler County Republican Party headquarters on July 23, 2024 in Middletown, Ohio. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) (Scott Olson via Getty Images)

Political headlines have flown fast and furious over the past two weeks, with an assassination attempt, returning COVID-19 reports, President Joe Biden’s decision to not seek reelection, and Kamala Harris’ rise.

In the wake of the assassination attempt, private prison and gun stocks went up, while Trump Media and Technology (DJT) enjoyed a bounce as well.

The Trump trade in full effect.

If buzz and headlines make investors dizzy, it’s understandable. Still, “it’s not so much about the news,” said Sosnoff, a former CBOE floor trader and founder of trading platform Thinkorswim. “It’s about how the markets are reacting to whatever’s happening.”

Instead of trading “the political house of cards,” he said, “I would just trade as you would normally trade.”

Three times each week, Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi fields insight-filled, market-focused conversations and chats with the biggest names in business on Opening Bid. Find more episodes on our video hub. Watch on your preferred streaming service. Or listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

In the below Opening Bid episode, long-time NYSE floor trader Peter Tuchman shares his top advice to his fellow trading community. One reminder: trading isn’t a game.

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July 24, 2024
Global Markets Ramp Up the ‘Trump Trade’ After Rally Attack

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(Bloomberg) — As world financial markets started to reopen after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, one thing seemed likely: The Trump trade will get even more momentum.

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The series of wagers — based on anticipation that the Republican’s return to the White House would usher in tax cuts, higher tariffs and looser regulations — had already been gaining ground since President Joe Biden’s poor performance in last month’s debate imperiled his re-election campaign.

But the trades were expected to take deeper hold, with Trump galvanizing supporters and drawing sympathy by exhibiting defiant resilience after being shot in the ear on stage at a Pennsylvania rally.

The dollar — which would gain if loose fiscal policy kept bond yields elevated — started to move higher against most peers early in Asia trading. Bitcoin rose above $60,000, potentially reflecting Trump’s crypto-friendly stance.

“For us, the news does reinforce that Trump’s the frontrunner,” said Mark McCormick, global head of foreign-exchange and emerging-market strategy at Toronto Dominion Bank. “We remain US dollar bulls for the second half and early 2025.”

The specter of political violence in the US may cause investors to push into haven assets, potentially overshadowing some of the positioning that has already been going on around the presidential campaign.

Treasuries tend to rally when investors seek temporary safety, so that may distort the Trump trade in the bond market, which hinges on wagering that the yield curve will steepen as long-term bonds underperform on anticipation that Trump’s fiscal and trade policies will fan inflation pressures. Moreover, some investors may want to book early gains or be wary of getting deeper into an already crowded position.

“Political risk is binary and hard to hedge, and uncertainty was high as it is with the close nature of the race,” said Priya Misra, a portfolio manager at JPMorgan Investment Management.

“This adds to volatility. I think it further increases the chance of a Republican sweep,” she said, adding that “could put steepening pressure on the curve.”

Equity investors are preparing for at least a near-term jump in volatility when S&P 500 futures start trading at 6 p.m. in New York.

While traders generally don’t expect Trump’s assassination attempt to derail the stock-market trajectory in the long run, a pick-up in near-term price swings is likely. The market has already been contending with speculation that valuations have become too stretched, given the boom in artificial-intelligence stocks and the risks posed by elevated interest rates and political uncertainty.

But investors have also been anticipating that bank, health-care and oil-industry stocks would benefit from a Trump victory.

“The unprecedented nature of the attack will boost volatility,” said David Mazza, CEO at Roundhill Investments, predicting investors could seek temporary safety in defensive stocks like mega-cap companies. He said it “also adds support for stocks that do well in a steepening yield curve, especially financials.”

The early reaction echoes what was seen after the first presidential debate in late June, when Biden’s weak performance was seen as fueling Trump’s election odds.

The dollar advanced during that event, and investors soon began embracing a wager that involves buying shorter-maturity notes and selling longer-term ones — known as a steepener trade. That trade has been paying off, with the 30-year Treasury yields jumping to nearly 5 basis points below 2-year ones from around 37 basis points below ahead of the debate.

“If the market sense that Trump’s chances to win are higher than they were on Friday – then we would expect the back end of the bond market to sell off in the manner we saw in the immediate aftermath of the debate,” Michael Purves, CEO and founder of Tallbacken Capital Advisors, wrote in an email.

While bond traders have been pricing in at least two interest-rate reductions in 2024, a major boost in Trump’s election odds could push the Federal Reserve toward staying on hold for longer, according to Purves.

“Trump’s stated policies are (at least now) more inflationary than Biden’s,” he wrote, “and we think the Fed will want to accumulate as much dry power as possible.”

–With assistance from Liz Capo McCormick, Isabelle Lee, Sid Verma, Edward Dufner, Esha Dey and Michael G. Wilson.

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July 14, 2024
These investors think Trump’s new public company will flop

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Former President Donald Trump has clearly scored a financial win with his media startup, Trump Media & Technology Group. Once the firm goes public, likely this week, Trump’s ownership stake could fetch more than $3 billion.

But many investors seem to think the Trump venture will flop. The Trump startup will go public via a merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC), a special-purpose vehicle that’s been trading since 2021. After revealing its plan to merge with Trump’s startup, DWAC’s stock soared from its opening price of $10 to a high of $98 in 2022.

The stock has since fallen back to around $50, and there’s a lot of negative sentiment not yet priced into the stock. “There is huuuuge conviction (Trump pun intended) that there will be a significant decline in the stock price in the short term,” Ihor Dusaniwsky, managing director at S3 Partners, said in an email.

The short interest in DWAC stock — bets that the price will fall rather than rise — is about 11% of outstanding shares, according to S3. That’s high, but not unprecedented: Average short interest in public companies is in the 3% to 4% range, though short interest can reach 40% or more if traders think a stock is doomed.

But there are very few DWAC shares available to execute short trades, which makes it extremely costly to bet against the stock. That means elevated short interest is a strong indicator of negative views of the company’s prospects. “There is very little stock available to support new short sales,” Dusaniwsky said. “But short sellers are staying in this trade even while paying over 200 times the average stock borrow rate for a US short trade.”

DWAC has basically become a meme stock, a kind of viral sensation that attracts investor interest beyond what the company’s fundamentals would ordinarily suggest. That obviously stems from Trump’s notoriety and the fervent belief some supporters have in his “make America great again” crusade.

Many buyers pushing up DWAC’s price have been individual investors expressing loyalty to Trump himself. But there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence that other buyers are betting on a bubble and hoping to sell before it pops.

“DWAC is dropping to $2.50 after the merger,” one investor posted on Reddit’s meme stock channel, WallStreetBets. Another suggested anybody holding the stock for the long haul is a “MAGA bagholder” who will basically end up putting money into Trump’s pocket.

Short sellers betting against DWAC have lost money so far this year, since the stock has risen in anticipation of the finalization of the merger and Trump’s reemergence on public markets. But there are several reasons to think the Trump company will struggle, and shareholders will suffer, once the company is fully public.

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Former President Donald Trump’s social media platform Truth Social is expected to go public tomorrow on the NASDAQ market, trading under the ticker symbol DJT. (Scott Olson via Getty Images)

First, the Trump company’s main business, the Truth Social networking app, is a money-losing niche player that has no obvious advantage against competitors such as X and Facebook other than the divisive appeal of Trump himself. The company has little revenue and has lost millions since its 2022 launch.

Another risk is Trump’s own financial stake in the company, which will trade under the ticker DJT — the same symbol as a Trump casino company that went bankrupt in 2004. Trump will own at least 55% of the combined company, worth at least $3.3 billion at current valuations. But Trump could have a strong incentive to sell shares to pay legal fees associated with four criminal cases he’s battling and two civil cases where he’s been assessed more than $500 million in penalties and fees.

Trump has to wait six months before selling any shares in the public company, according to the terms of the merger. But that would still allow him to sell shares by October. The company board could also waive that rule, which seems plausible given that it’s composed of Trump cronies plus his son, Donald Jr.

If Trump sells shares in his own company or investors even think he’s likely to sell shares, that would put downward pressure on the stock price, as normally happens when any insider sells. If Trump dumped a lot of shares to raise money quickly, shares could plummet in value.

The stock price already swings on news related to Trump’s personal finances. On March 25, a New York court lowered the amount of money Trump must post while appealing a civil conviction for business fraud from $464 million to $175 million. DWAC shares jumped nearly 20% on the news, since it suggested Trump might be less likely to sell his own company’s shares to raise money. For a publicly traded stock, that’s extraordinary sensitivity to one person’s financial disposition and it could easily go the other way if or when Trump suffers reverses.

A third risk is that Trump, likely to be the Republican presidential candidate in 2024, loses in November to incumbent President Joe Biden. A second loss to Biden would leave little political future for the 77-year-old Trump, except as a kind of Republican Party boss emeritus. Instead of being the “in” place for Trump supporters to converse, Truth Social would become a remnant of the Trump movement. One thing Trump’s company is, for sure, is a unique way to monetize your political beliefs about the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.

Rick Newman is a senior columnist for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter at @rickjnewman.

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March 25, 2024