Unusual Whales

Busiest U.S. ports for Chinese freight, Los Angeles, Long Beach, see steep drop in container vessel traffic

This week, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach—America’s busiest—are beginning to feel the weight of the Trump administration’s newly imposed tariffs on foreign goods. On Monday, the impact was clear: cargo traffic was visibly reduced. Officials at both Southern California ports reported that activity

Home insurance rate changes since 2021

Utah saw the steepest surge in homeowners insurance premiums, jumping 59%—from an average of $1,126 in 2021 to $1,795 just four years later. According to Utah Insurance Commissioner Jon Pike, the main drivers are more homes being built in wildfire-prone areas and a historically underpriced insurance market

NY AG Letitia James is reportedly hunting for insider trading in Trump's inner circle

New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office is in the early stages of reviewing whether insider trading may have occurred in connection with President Trump’s recent 90-day pause on customized “reciprocal” tariffs, announced last week. The review is still preliminary and has not yet developed into a formal investigation,

34% of Americans do not have an emergency fund to cover their monthly mortgage or rent payments in the event they face a financial crisis, like losing a job

Nearly one in four Americans (24%) say they’re scrapping plans to make a major purchase—such as buying a home or a car—because of President Trump’s newly announced tariff policies, according to a new report from Redfin (www.redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. Another third

The first signs of tariffs costs being passed through to consumers are expected to show up in the May inflation report

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also expects Trump’s tariffs to contribute to rising inflation in the U.S., according to its latest outlook report. The primary reason why higher U.S. tariffs are likely to drive up prices domestically is that tariffs function as taxes on imports—whether those

Lower-income earners are decreasing in their transactions to focus on essentials

Lower-income consumers are scaling back their spending to focus on necessities, while higher-income earners continue to spend freely on discretionary items like dining and luxury travel, according to first-quarter data from U.S. credit card issuers. As uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s trade policies has unsettled markets in recent

Bessent: the US Government will never default, we will raise the debt ceiling

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reiterated on Tuesday that his department is on the “warning track” when it comes to nearing the federal debt ceiling, though he declined to provide a specific deadline. “We’ll notify Congress when we believe we’re approaching the so-called X-date,” Bessent told lawmakers during a

Germany has placed its economic growth forecast for this year at 0%

On Thursday, the German government downgraded its economic outlook for 2025, now forecasting zero growth and signaling another tough year for Europe’s largest economy. This revision follows a January projection that had anticipated a modest 0.3% increase in gross domestic product (GDP) for 2025. However, outgoing Economy Minister

Trump: Stop asking how many deals we're signing

“Everyone keeps asking, ‘When are you going to sign deals?’” Trump complained during a White House meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. “We don’t need to sign deals—they need to sign deals with us,” Trump said. “They want access to our market. We’re not trying to

The Trump administration is starting to put millions of defaulted student-loan borrowers into collections and threatening to confiscate their wages, tax refunds and federal benefits

Monday marks the conclusion of a five-year pause on federal student loan collections, as the Trump administration restarts efforts to pursue millions of borrowers who have defaulted. For many, that means wage garnishments and credit scores potentially nosediving by nearly 200 points. Collections on defaulted federal loans have been suspended

Credit Suisse has agreed to pay $511 million in fines for helping US taxpayers hide over $4 billion overseas

Credit Suisse Services AG has agreed to pay approximately $511 million to resolve a criminal investigation involving its role in helping U.S. taxpayers conceal more than $4 billion across at least 475 offshore accounts, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Monday. According to the DOJ, the conspiracy enabled "

Apollo now puts probability of a tariff driven recession now at 90%

The United States faces a 90% likelihood of falling into a recession in 2025 unless current trade strategies are revised, according to economists at Apollo. The alert comes amid ongoing trade talks with roughly 90 countries, which have stalled international commerce and could set off supply chain disruptions, spikes in

Plane tickets are getting cheaper as domestic travel demand weakens

“People aren’t eager to make vacation plans or spend their hard-earned money when things feel uncertain,” American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said during Thursday’s quarterly earnings call. That growing sense of hesitation is leaving airlines with more seats than they can sell—once again. Delta, Southwest, and United

International students are rethinking U.S. study plans amid visa policy shifts

nternational students who had planned to visit family, take vacations, or travel for research are now rethinking those plans, as the Trump administration’s tightening of immigration rules has left many feeling increasingly exposed and uncertain. Even before the recent wave of visa cancellations, some colleges were already advising international

Trump administration says it will pay immigrants in the United States illegally $1,000 to go home

In a continued push to advance its mass deportation efforts, the Trump administration announced Monday that it will offer $1,000 to undocumented immigrants who voluntarily leave the U.S. and return to their country of origin. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement that it will

The US rejects Japan full exemption from reciprocal tariffs, the US would consider lowering the 14% Japan-specific tariff

The United States has declined Japan’s request for a complete exemption from both a 10% general “reciprocal” tariff and a country-specific tariff in recent trade discussions, according to sources familiar with the talks on Monday. During a meeting in Washington last week, U.S. officials—including Treasury Secretary Scott

Saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ to ChatGPT is costing it millions of dollars

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed last week on social media that users saying "please" and "thank you" to ChatGPT has come at a surprisingly high cost to the company. Altman made the remark in response to a question on X (formerly Twitter), where a user asked

The share of credit card users making only minimum monthly payments has risen to 11.1%, the highest level in 12 years

The Philadelphia Fed's recent report, released earlier this month, caught wider attention after being spotlighted over the weekend by Torsten Sløk, chief economist at Apollo Global Management. In an analysis coauthored by Sløk, the firm warned that ongoing trade tensions—especially between the U.S. and China—could

Alcohol consumption has gone into possibly permanent decline

It’s often only in hindsight that we can say for sure whether a popular activity is on the decline. Shifts in our habits of consumption tend to be unpredictable and not always easy to read in the moment. As any seasoned hiker knows, it’s easy to mistake a

US lawmakers have urged SEC to delist Alibaba, BABA, and other Chinese companies

Two Republican lawmakers have called on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to delist a number of Chinese companies, including Alibaba Group (9988.HK), citing concerns over national security due to alleged ties to the Chinese military, the Financial Times reported on Friday. John Moolenaar, chair of the

Buffett and Berkshire now have $347.7 Billion of cash and cash equivalents as of the end of Q1 202

Berkshire Hathaway’s profits took a hit this quarter, largely due to a sharp decline in the value of its investment portfolio and $860 million in insurance-related losses tied to policies issued by Geico and its other insurers before the devastating wildfires in Southern California. The company reported net earnings

Warren Buffett has downplayed recent market volatility as 'really nothing,' saying it's part of investing

Warren Buffett reassured attendees in Omaha on Saturday that the recent turbulence in the stock market is no cause for alarm. Speaking at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholders meeting, Buffett made his stance clear: “What has happened in the last 30, 45 days… is really nothing.” He downplayed the recent

Warren Buffett says he will retire at the end of the year from Berkshire Hathaway

Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor, stunned shareholders with the unexpected news that he will step down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway at the end of this year. The 94-year-old, currently the fifth wealthiest person in the world, revealed the decision during Berkshire’s 2025 annual investor meeting on Saturday. Back

Temu halts shipping direct from China as de minimis tariff loophole is cut off

PDD Holdings Inc.’s e-commerce sensation—similar to Shein Group Ltd. in its rapid rise with low-cost products ranging from clothing to household goods—is pivoting to a “local fulfillment” strategy. According to a statement from Temu, the platform is now actively recruiting U.S.-based sellers and will focus

Gen Z and millennials are donating less to charity than Boomers

A new survey released Tuesday by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that around 75% of American adults said someone in their household donated money to a charitable organization in the past year. However, about one in four said their household gave nothing. Among those who did