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Factbox-What Trump 2.0 could mean for trade, migrants, climate change and electric cars

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By James Oliphant

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Donald Trump’s second presidential term could have huge implications for U.S. trade policy, climate change, the war in Ukraine, electric vehicles, Americans’ taxes and illegal immigration.

While some of his campaign proposals would require congressional approval, here is a summary of the policies he has said he will pursue when he takes office in January: 

MORE TARIFFS

Trump has floated the idea of a 10% or more tariff on all goods imported into the U.S., a move he says would eliminate the trade deficit. But critics say it would lead to higher prices for American consumers and global economic instability.

He has also said he should have the authority to set higher tariffs on countries that have put tariffs on U.S. imports. He has threatened to impose a 200% tariff on some imported cars, saying he is determined in particular to keep cars from Mexico from coming into the country. 

But he has also suggested that allies such as the European Union could see higher duties on their goods.

Trump has targeted China in particular. He proposes phasing out Chinese imports of goods such as electronics, steel and pharmaceuticals over four years. He seeks to prohibit Chinese companies from owning U.S. real estate and infrastructure in the energy and tech sectors.

Trump has said “tariff” is his favorite word and views them as revenue generators that would help fill government coffers. 

MASS DEPORTATIONS

Trump has vowed to reinstate his first-term policies targeting illegal border crossings and to forge ahead with sweeping new restrictions.

He has pledged to limit access to asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border and to embark on the biggest deportation effort in American history, which would likely trigger legal challenges and opposition from Democrats in Congress.

He has said he will employ the National Guard, and, if necessary, federal troops, to achieve his objective, and he has not ruled out setting up internment camps to process people for deportation.

Trump has said he would seek to end automatic citizenship for children born to immigrants, a move that would run against the long-running interpretation of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment. 

He has also suggested he would revoke protected legal status for some populations such as Haitians or Venezuelans.

Trump says he will reinstitute the so-called “travel ban” that restricts entry into the United States of people from a list of largely Muslim-dominant countries, which sparked multiple legal battles during his first term.

Some of Trump’s earliest appointments reflected an urgency to follow through on his immigration agenda. Trump has named a “border czar,” Tom Homan, and will make Stephen Miller, the architect of his immigration plans, a White House deputy chief of staff.

DRILLING AWAY

Trump has vowed to increase U.S. production of fossil fuels by easing the permitting process for drilling on federal land and would encourage new pipelines. He has said he would reauthorize oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.

Trump has pledged to create a National Energy Council to coordinate policies to boost U.S. energy production that will be led by his pick for interior secretary, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum.

Whether the oil industry follows through and raises production at a time when oil and gas prices are relatively low remains to be seen.

Trump has said he will again pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Accords, a framework for reducing global greenhouse gas emissions, and would support increased nuclear energy production. 

He would also roll back Democratic President Joe Biden’s electric-vehicle mandates and other policies aimed at reducing auto emissions.

He has argued that the U.S. needs to be able to boost energy production to be competitive in developing artificial intelligence systems, which consume large amounts of power.

TAX RELIEF

Along with his trade and energy agendas, Trump has promised to slash federal regulations that he says limit job creation. He has pledged to keep in place a broad 2017 tax cut that he signed while in office, and his economic team has discussed a further round of individual and corporate tax cuts beyond those enacted in his first term.

Trump has pledged to reduce the corporate tax rate from 21% to 15% for companies that make their products in the U.S. 

He  has said he would seek legislation to end the taxation of tips and overtime wages to aid waiters and other service workers. He has pledged not to tax or cut Social Security benefits.

Trump also has said that as president he would pressure the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates – but would stop short of demanding it.

Most, if not all, of his tax proposals would require congressional action. Budget analysts have warned that the bevy of tax cuts would balloon the federal debt.

DOING AWAY WITH DIVERSITY PROGRAMS

Trump has pledged to require U.S. colleges and universities to “defend American tradition and Western civilization” and to purge them of diversity programs. He said he would direct the Justice Department to pursue civil rights cases against schools that engage in racial discrimination.

At K-12 schools, Trump would support programs allowing parents to use public funds for private or religious instruction.

Trump also wants to abolish the federal Department of Education, and leave states in control of schooling.

NO FEDERAL ABORTION BAN

Trump appointed three justices to the U.S. Supreme Court who were part of the majority that did away with Roe v. Wade’s constitutional protection for abortion. He likely would continue to appoint federal judges who would uphold abortion limits.

At the same time, he has said a federal abortion ban is unnecessary and that the issue should be resolved at the state level. He has argued that a six-week ban favored by some Republicans is overly harsh and that any legislation should include exceptions for rape, incest and the health of the mother. 

Trump has suggested he would not seek to limit access to the abortion drug mifepristone after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the government’s approach to regulating it. 

He supports policies that advance in vitro fertilization (IVF), birth control and prenatal care.

A PUSH TO END WARS

Trump has been critical of U.S. support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, and has said he could end the war in 24 hours if elected – although he has not said how he would achieve this. 

He has suggested Ukraine may have to yield some of its territory if a peace deal is to be struck, an idea Ukraine has consistently rejected.

Trump’s pick for his national security adviser, U.S. Representative Michael Waltz, was critical of the Biden administration’s decision in November to allow Ukraine to use U.S.-provided missiles to strike within Russian territory.

Trump has also said that under his presidency the U.S. would fundamentally rethink “NATO’s purpose and NATO’s mission.”

Trump named U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, a China hawk, as his secretary of state, charged with carrying out his foreign policy goals.

Trump has backed Israel in its fight against Hamas in Gaza but has urged it to wrap up its offensive. He can be expected to continue the Biden administration’s policy of arming Israel. At the same time, Trump is likely to push for historic normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, an effort he made during his 2017-2021 presidency and which Biden has also pursued.

Trump has said if he becomes president, he will “stop the suffering and destruction in Lebanon,” but has not said how he will achieve that.

He has suggested building an “iron dome” – a massive missile-defense shield similar to Israel’s – over the entire continental United States.

Trump has also floated sending armed forces into Mexico to battle drug cartels and using the U.S. Navy to form a blockade of that country to stop the smuggling of fentanyl and its precursors.

His transition team has been drawing up lists of potential high-ranking U.S. military officers to fire as part of a purge of the Pentagon of those believed to be “disloyal” to Trump.

INVESTIGATING ENEMIES, AIDING ALLIES

Trump has pledged at times to use federal law enforcement agencies to investigate his political foes, including election officials, lawyers and party donors. 

Trump tapped former U.S. congressman Matt Gaetz as his attorney general. Gaetz has suggested he is sympathetic to Trump’s revenge agenda.

Along that line, Trump has said he will consider appointing a special prosecutor to probe Biden, though he has not specified the grounds for such an investigation. 

And he has said he would consider firing a U.S. attorney who did not follow his directives – which would constitute a break with the longstanding U.S. policy of an independent federal law enforcement apparatus.

Trump has said he will consider pardoning all of those who have been convicted of crimes in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

In addition to criminal investigations, he has suggested using the government’s regulatory powers to punish those he views as critics, such as television networks.

PURGING THE FEDERAL BUREAUCRACY

Trump would seek to decimate what he terms the “deep state” – career federal employees he says are clandestinely pursuing their own agendas – through an executive order that would reclassify thousands of workers to enable them to be fired. That would likely be challenged in court. 

© Reuters. Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump takes the stage following early results from the 2024 U.S. presidential election in Palm Beach County Convention Center, in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., November 6, 2024. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare     TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

He has said he will set up an independent government efficiency panel headed by billionaire supporter Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to root out waste in the federal government. The government already has watchdogs such as the Office of Management and Budget, and investigators general at federal agencies.

Trump would crack down on federal whistleblowers, who are typically shielded by law, and would institute an independent body to “monitor” U.S. intelligence agencies.

Stock Markets

US stocks slightly lower after Christmas holiday

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Investing.com– U.S. stocks were slightly lower on Thursday, though trading volumes were thin a day after the Christmas holiday.  

At of 12:58 ET (17:58 GMT), the  fell 0.10%, the was down 0.1%, while the declined 0.01% or 6 points.

Jobless claims in U.S. dip to one-month low

The weekly U.S. jobless claims data released before the market opened on Thursday and saw a one-month low dip. 

The Labor Department reported a decrease of 1,000 in initial applications for state unemployment benefits, bringing the seasonally adjusted figure to 219,000 for the week that ended on December 21. This figure is lower than the 224,000 claims that economists had predicted for the same week.

Meanwhile, the number of individuals receiving benefits after their first week of aid, which serves as an indication of hiring, increased by 46,000. This brought the seasonally adjusted total to 1.910 million for the week that ended on December 14, the highest since November 2021. Economists had previously anticipated the number of these continued claims to be 1.880 million. 

“We do not think that this week’s data will move the needle for any of them, but more prints in line with the tone of this week’s data may motivate the doves on the Committee to speak up,” Jefferies said in a recent note.

Tech stocks flat despite Apple upgrade   

The major tech giants were mostly down after the markets opened, with Apple marginally higher despite an upgrade from tech-bull Wedbush. 

Apple Inc (NASDAQ:) gained 0.2% affter Wedbush raised its price target on Apple to $325 from $300 banking on transformative AI-driven iPhone upgrade cycle poised to fuel growth into 2025. 

“We believe Apple is heading into a multi-year AI driven iPhone upgrade cycle that is still being underestimated by the Street,” Wedbush said in a recent note.

Crypto-related stocks slip as bitcoin skids, but KULR Technology surges on BTC purchase 

Crypto-related stocks including MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:), Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:), and Riot Platforms (NASDAQ:) followed bitcoin lower as the most valuable cryptocurrency fell more than 2%. 

KULR Technology jumped 30% after the space technology company bought about 217 bitcoin and detailed plans to allocate up to 90% of its excess cash to bitcoin.

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Lichen China Limited announces $2.8 million share sale

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XIAMEN, China – Lichen China Limited (NASDAQ:LICN), a company specializing in financial and taxation services, has announced a definitive agreement with several investors for a registered direct offering. The offering involves the sale of 20 million Class A ordinary shares, or pre-funded warrants as an alternative, at a price of $0.14 per share. This transaction is expected to yield approximately $2.8 million in gross proceeds for the company. The offering comes as the company maintains strong financial fundamentals, with InvestingPro data showing an impressive gross profit margin of 61% and a healthy current ratio of 17.55x.

The closing of the sale is anticipated on or about December 27, 2024, pending the fulfillment of customary conditions. Univest Securities, LLC is the sole placement agent for the offering, which is being conducted under an effective shelf registration statement previously filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and declared effective on March 1, 2024.

Investors can access the final prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus, detailing the offering’s terms, on the SEC’s website once filed. The offering is only valid in jurisdictions where it is lawful, and the securities cannot be sold in any jurisdiction where such an offer, solicitation, or sale would be illegal prior to registration or qualification under the applicable securities laws.

Lichen China, with over 18 years of experience, has established a reputation for providing professional and high-quality financial and taxation solutions in China. The company also offers education support services and software and maintenance services under the “Lichen” brand. Despite the stock’s significant decline of 89% year-to-date, InvestingPro analysis indicates the company is currently undervalued, with robust revenue growth of 25% in the last twelve months. Get access to 16 additional ProTips and comprehensive financial analysis with an InvestingPro subscription.

The company’s press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. While Lichen China believes the expectations reflected in these statements are reasonable, they caution that actual results may differ materially. Trading at a P/E ratio of 6.4x and with a market capitalization of $8.17 million, investors are encouraged to review factors that may affect the company’s future results in its registration statement and other SEC filings.

This news article is based on a press release statement from Lichen China Limited.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

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2024 Year-End NAIC Designations  for STACR REMIC Trust, STACR Trust, and STACR Debt Notes

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MCLEAN, Va., Dec. 26, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Freddie Mac (OTCQB: OTC:) today published on its website the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) 2024 filing year designations for certain STACR REMIC Trust, STACR Trust, and STACR Debt Notes (collectively, STACR Notes).

Overall, of the 209 reviewed STACR Notes, all have achieved NAIC 1 Designation including all A1, M1 and M2 Notes offered through 2024 STACR transactions. In addition, 10 of the 2024 NAIC 1 Designations are upgrades from their 2023 NAIC 2 Designations. The below table details the upgrades:

CUSIPDeal Name2023 Year-End NAIC Designation2023 Year-End NAIC Designation Modifier2024 Year-End NAIC Designation2024 Year-End NAIC Designation Modifier
35564KB57STACR 2022-HQA2 M2B2B1E
35564KB65STACR 2022-HQA2 M22A1D
35564KE62STACR 2022-HQA3 M2B2C1F
35564KE70STACR 2022-HQA3 M22B1E
35564KP60STACR 2023-DNA1 M2B2C1E
35564KP94STACR 2023-DNA1 M22A1E
35564KT82STACR 2023-DNA2 M2B2C1E
35564KU31STACR 2023-DNA2 M22A1E
35564KY29STACR 2023-HQA1 M2B2B1E
35564KY37STACR 2023-HQA1 M22A1E

About Freddie Mac Single-Family Credit Risk Transfer

Freddie Mac’s Investment & Capital Markets Credit Risk Transfer (CRT) programs transfer credit risk away from U.S. taxpayers to global private capital via securities and (re)insurance policies, providing stability, liquidity and affordability to the U.S. housing market. The GSE Single-Family CRT market was founded when Freddie Mac issued the first STACR ® (Structured Agency Credit Risk) notes in July 2013. In November 2013, ACIS ® (Agency Credit Insurance Structure ®) was introduced. Today, the industry-leading and award-winning programs attract institutional investors and (re)insurance companies worldwide. For specific STACR and ACIS transaction data, visit Clarity Data Intelligence ®.

About Freddie Mac
Freddie Mac’s mission is to make home possible for families across the nation. We promote liquidity, stability, affordability and equity in the housing market throughout all economic cycles. Since 1970, we have helped tens of millions of families buy, rent or keep their home. Learn More: Website | Consumers | LinkedIn | Facebook| X | Instagram | YouTube

MEDIA CONTACT:
Fred Solomon
703-903-3861
Frederick_Solomon@FreddieMac.com

INVESTOR CONTACT:
Christian Valencia
571-382-4236

Source: Freddie Mac

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