New FTC chair Andrew Ferguson previews Trump admin's plans for the agency
President Donald Trump's administration is taking shape and Andrew Ferguson, the new chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), previewed the administration's plans for the agency in his first interview since entering the role. Ferguson spoke with FOX Business' Edward Lawrence and said that he thinks the Trump administration is going to take an aggressive approach to enforcing antitrust laws that are designed to counter monopolistic, anti-competitive conduct in business. "What I think companies can expect over the next couple of years is vigorous antitrust enforcement. If we think that you have violated the law, which is what we're going to follow – the law, not my preferences, the law – then we're going to enforce it," Ferguson said.
Commerce secretary shares Trump's 'goal' to abolish the IRS
More details have emerged from the Trump administration about alleged plans to get rid of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and utilize tariffs so the "whole economy explodes." "His goal is to abolish the Internal Revenue Service and let all the outsiders pay," Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Wednesday on "Jesse Watters Primetime." "As the president said, reciprocal tariffs, either you bring yours down or we're going to bring ours up. If we go to their level, it will earn us $700 billion a year to be equal to everybody else," he expanded Thursday on "America’s Newsroom." "And there goes our deficit. And interest rates come smashing down, and the whole economy explodes higher."
Brazil gets greenlight to join OPEC+ months ahead of hosting UN’s annual climate summit
Brazil’s government on Tuesday gave the nation the OK to join the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+), highlighting the South American country’s growing status as a major oil exporter. The decision, approved by the National Energy Council, comes nine months ahead of the United Nations' 30th annual Climate Change Conference, or COP30, which will convene in Belém, Brazil. OPEC+ officially invited Brazil to join the organization in late 2023. Leaders from Saudi Arabia, OPEC+’s largest producer, met with Brazilian officials throughout 2024, culminating in Tuesday’s announcement.
As 2025 kicks in, so are layoffs: these are some companies cutting jobs
This year only has just over one-and-a-half months in the books so far, but multiple companies have already announced layoffs. Headcount reductions in early 2025 are taking place at companies in a broad range of sectors, impacting thousands of employees.
Fed minutes show tariffs factored into concerns about higher inflation
Federal Reserve policymakers noted the potential impact of trade policy shifts such as higher tariffs contributing to concerns about high inflation in the minutes from their most recent meeting. The minutes released on Wednesday from the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) meeting in January showed that policymakers "generally pointed to upside risks in the inflation outlook." "In particular, participants cited the possible effects of potential changes in trade and immigration policy, the potential for geopolitical developments to disrupt supply chains, or stronger-than-expected household spending," the Fed minutes said. The Fed said that while it still sees inflation decreasing towards the centr
Trump's Treasury secretary serves reality check to Dems worried that DOGE will expose fraud
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent provided some sense of relief for Americans and politicians worried over the Department of Government Efficiency’s access to federal agency data, giving a reality check to those DOGE alarmists. "The American taxpayers don't have to be concerned about any of this," Bessent said Tuesday on "Special Report with Bret Baier." "I think it's unfortunate that [Democrats are] trying to... lampoon what Elon Musk and the DOGE team is doing." "I think it's very unf
Musk weighs a 'DOGE dividend' to send Americans checks using saved funds
Although DOGE has set a high-end goal of $2 trillion in savings, Musk has suggested that $1 trillion in savings would be a success and explained that goal in an appearance with President Donald Trump on Fox News' "Hannity" on Tuesday night. "The overall goal is to try to get a trillion dollars out of the deficit," Musk said. "If the deficit is not brought under control, America will go bankrupt." "This is a very important thing for people to understand. A country is no different from an individual, in that if an individual overspends, an individual can go bankrupt. And so can a country," he said. "And the massive waste, fraud and abuse that has been going on, which is leading to a $2 trillion a year deficit."
DOGE looks at making cuts at the Department of Defense
Bryan Clark, a senior fellow and director of the Center for Defense Concepts and Technology at the Hudson Institute, told FOX Business that centralizing innovation units within the DoD may be a starting point for DOGE. Clark noted that the DoD has created "innovation cells" across the department that aim to help accelerate the integration of new technologies into the agency and the military, in part by engaging tech companies
LARRY KUDLOW: Elon Musk and DOGE are finding fraud — everywhere
After just a few weeks, the evidence is mounting and the numbers are growing larger. Let me start with Mr. Musk's Social Security database discovery, posted to his profile on X, that 20.7 million beneficiaries are allegedly over the age of 100 — including 3.9 million in the 130-to-139 age range. More than 3.5 million in the 140-to-149 range. And over 1.3 million in the 150-to-159 range. Seriously, does anybody believe these people are still alive? The former Director of the Social Security Administration tried desperately to keep DOGE out of Social Security. No wonder, if much of it is a scam. Just how much? Well, Robert Sterling — a Marine Corps veteran, former M&A specialist at Koch Industries, and current managing partner at EV Partners — calculates that roughly $522 billion, which is one third of all spending on Social Security each year, could potentially be fraudulent.
Musk's DOGE launches agency accounts to solicit cost savings tips from the public
Elon Musk's Department of Government of Efficiency (DOGE) on Monday launched new social media accounts for a slate of federal agencies to make it easier for the public to provide tips about waste, fraud and abuse. David Sacks, who is serving as the Trump White House's artificial intelligence and crypto czar, wrote in a post on X, "There are now @DOGE accounts for every department, exposing the waste, fraud and abuse. Awesome." DOGE accounts were created on X for more than two dozen agencies. Those accounts are listed as affiliates to the main DOGE account. The posts said that "DOGE is seeking help from the public!" and instructed the public to "DM this account with insights on finding and fixing waste, fraud and abuse relating to the agency.