Israeli Embassy Attack, Harvard Under Pressure
312: Friday News Round Up
Happy Friday savages.
Quick one today to cap off the week.
Predictably we got another small tariff curve ball as the week wraps up as Trump turned his attention back to the European Union. Par for the course now and at least on the crypto front I was looking forward to a small cool off before we prepare to go higher. Over $300M got wiped out in 24 hours from leveraged lunatics trying to game the market.
So now we start fresh again.
Should be seen as an opportunity for those of us who are bullish or want to get some additional exposure (and at the time of typing this it appears the dip is already being bought).
Markets
On Friday morning, Trump announced that the U.S. will impose a 50% tariff on all imports from the European Union starting June 1. He blamed the move on failed trade negotiations and what he described as unfair practices by the EU, including high VATs and barriers that hurt American businesses.
Markets reacted quickly — U.S. futures dipped and European stocks sold off. In response, the EU is already preparing retaliatory tariffs on over $100 billion worth of U.S. goods. The announcement marks a sharp escalation in U.S.-EU trade tensions and could have major ripple effects across global markets in the coming days.
Ongoing retirement-driven asset sales from U.S. pension funds and falling foreign demand are creating headwinds for equity valuations
Rising Japanese bond yields are raising alarms that the yen carry trade could reverse again, a move that would likely drain capital from U.S. and global equities
Johnson Matthey is offloading its Catalyst Technologies unit to Honeywell for £1.8B in post-downturn restructuring, returning about £1.4B to shareholders
Morgan Stanley turned more optimistic on U.S. stocks as of late, forecasting that the S&P 500 could hit 6,500 by mid-2026 thanks to easing dollar pressure and AI tailwinds
India’s equity markets are heating up with a fresh wave of new IPOs, signaling rising investor appetite and renewed growth momentum in country — a new US and India trade deal could reportedly be announced within 7-10 days (Watcherguru)
April home sales dropped to the slowest pace for that month since 2009 (CNBC/Unusual Whales)
Markets are chopping today as Trump’s aggressive new tariff push reignited the tiring trade war fears.
He announced a 50% tariff on all EU imports and a separate 25% tariff specifically targeting Apple’s foreign-manufactured products, which spooked tech investors. Apple AAPL 0.00%↑ dropped nearly 4% on the news, as traders reassessed the risks to its global supply chain and overseas production.
Meanwhile, Nvidia and Tesla also pulled back in sympathy, while Intuit popped over 8% after delivering strong earnings and boosting its full-year forecast. Nuclear energy names saw strength as reports surfaced of new executive orders designed to accelerate domestic development.
If nuclear is positioned as complementary (which is often the case) it should be positive for renewables in the medium term. Nuclear is seen as a baseload partner to wind/solar, especially as grids decarbonize.
If nuclear is positioned as competitive it could be a short-term headwind for renewables.
Crypto
Crypto continues to dominate markets — with Bitcoin steady above $109,000.
Yesterday’s crypto post for paid subs (below) was timely — not only has the BTC pump continued but the bullish news keeps pouring in despite volatility.
JPMorgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and other major US banks are said to be exploring the creation of a joint crypto stablecoin
Meme coin MOG was leading 24-hour gains among the top 20 4chan/alt-themed memecoins, PEPE was also looking strong until tariff curve ball
US Bitcoin ETFs saw $1.5B in 2-day inflows the past 48 hours, putting May on track to potentially break monthly records as institutional and corporate demand for crypto surges. Metaplanet is now the #1 most traded stock in Japan. (Cointelegraph)
This weekend’s price action will be important to watch. Ideally we see a good rebound but it’s also possible with some lower volume that we get another small shakeout. It’s been a mixed week for equities - if crypto rips this weekend it wouldn’t surprise me if we see some solid gains from tech early week.
Before the tariff dump — some of these memes and alts (PEPE, MOG, LINK, AAVE, etc.) we’re looking particularly strong, Solana looks good too. Potentially a sign of things to come.
Our refresher on security was well timed as well — on May 22, the Sui blockchain was hit with a major exploit targeting its largest decentralized exchange, Cetus, resulting in over $220 million in losses. The attacker used fake tokens to manipulate price oracles, allowing them to drain real assets from liquidity pools.
Sui validators responded quickly and managed to freeze about $162 million of the stolen funds — a controversial move that’s sparked fresh debate around what decentralization actually means as well as the bounds of on-chain governance.
Cetus has offered a $6 million bounty to the hacker in hopes of recovering the remaining funds. The hack triggered sharp price drops across Sui-based tokens and reignited concerns about smart contract vulnerabilities in the DeFi space.
Additionally — an American tourist in London was drugged by a fake Uber driver and robbed of $123,000 in Bitcoin stored on his phone (Cointelegraph).
A good reminder that:
a.) anything can happen in crypto
b.) everyone should take security seriously in crypto and employ cold storage for at least a portion of their assets
A bunch of you ordered the Trezor Safe 5 this week in the discord — I got my second and set it up last night. Super easy to do and the color touch screen it has is pretty nice. Don’t kick the can on getting this type of stuff set up.
Additionally — make sure you check out the Tesla Giveaway and deal we have with with Gemini.
You can get free crypto HERE just for opening an account and trading.
Gemini is giving away TWO Cybertrucks to celebrate their Bitcoin Credit CardTM launch
Every $50 you spend on their Credit Card = 1 entry
Every $50 you trade on Gemini Exchange = 1 entry
Global News
On May 21, 2025, two staff members affiliated with the Israeli Embassy were shot and killed outside a Jewish museum in Washington, D.C. The victims, a 30-year-old Israeli man and a 26-year-old American woman, had just attended a diplomatic event and were reportedly planning to get engaged.
The shooter Elias Rodriguez, a 31-year-old scumbag from Chicago, opened fire with a 9mm handgun and shouted pro-Palestinian slogans during his arrest. He was taken into custody at the scene and now faces multiple murder charges, including the targeted killing of foreign officials.
Rodriguez had a long history of support for BLM, Palestine, a a slew of leftist racial causes. Color me shocked.
Authorities are treating the incident as both a hate crime and an act of political violence. In the wake of the shooting, security has been ramped up at Israeli diplomatic sites and Jewish institutions across the globe, as tensions continue to rise amid the broader backdrop of the conflict in Gaza.
This is yet another example of the far left extremism that is spreading inside Western countries (I talked about this a few weeks ago). From the Trump attempts, to the United Healthcare debacle, to this, people are becoming more and more comfortable using violence to try and perpetuate political end goals.
The Trump administration made headlines this week by revoking Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students, impacting nearly 7,000 foreign enrollees. DHS, led by Secretary Kristi Noem, cited concerns over campus antisemitism, security risks, and alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party as justification for the move.
Harvard immediately pushed back, calling the decision retaliatory and legally baseless, and filed a lawsuit arguing it violates constitutional protections and endangers academic freedom. The move is part of a broader crackdown on elite institutions by the Trump White House, which has floated cutting federal funding and revisiting tax exemptions for schools that have been captured by political ideology or foreign influence.
The ban has sparked outrage across higher education and international diplomacy circles (i.e. globalists) — and may become a defining legal fight in the culture war over academia.
See you guys next week for another episode of Risk On — and some geopolitical/market specific guides. Likely going to drop a piece on South Africa so everyone can actually understand what is going on over there.
Enjoy the weekend and Memorial Day.
Andy
Gemini Crypto - Get Free Bitcoin
Gemini - Crypto Credit Card (Cybertruck giveaway)
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Disclaimer - I am a former trader, enterprise sales rep, and current entrepreneur with a monkey brain. Nothing I say should be considered formal financial advice or life advice, these are my opinions - always do your own research and diligence before
Both left and right support the mass murdering of children in Gaza
You’ve been bemoaning “attacks on free speech” for years now, but when the government targets an educational institution for reprisal based on the speech of its students, it’s okay because they’re “globalists.”