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'Waste less, save more': DOGE caucus member rolls out expansive bill package ahead of Trump inauguration

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., is rolling out several new bills to help forward the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) mission once President-elect Donald Trump enters office. 

The senator's six bills would target telework for federal employees, require agency guidances to clarify they are not laws and mandate early notice ahead of new major policy proposals from federal agencies, among other measures. 

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"The American people gave Washington a mandate in Novemberβ€”waste less, save more. Today I’m introducing a first set of bills to follow through on their mandate by prioritizing streamlined regulations, rule-making, and record keeping. It’s time to put government waste in the doghouse and let DOGE get to work," Lankford said in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

DOGE was previously announced by Trump, who tapped billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the new advisory board looking to cut government waste. 

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Several of Lankford's DOGE bills focus on federal agencies and their perceived shortcomings. The "Improving Federal Financial Management Act" would address agencies' performances and evaluate how they stack up when weighed against their financial metrics. 

The "TRUE Accountability Act" would charge agencies with coming up with plans to operate internally if there is ever a crisis. 

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Additionally, Lankford is including the "ACCESS Act," which would prohibit minimum education requirements when it comes to government contractor personnel during certain federal contract discussions. 

The Oklahoma Republican's slew of bills are just the latest from senators in the GOP eager to get involved with DOGE. 

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The Senate DOGE caucus is being led by Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who has been a vocal critic of federal agencies and their telework policies in particular. 

Republicans have sought to introduce many bills ahead of Trump's inauguration with the hope of getting the process started, so that certain policies can be put in motion shortly after he takes office. 

UK markets are in turmoil as bond yields spike and the pound slides — here's why

pound coins
The pound is under pressure and yields on UK government bonds have risen sharply this month.

Matt Cardy/Getty Images

  • UK markets are a mess with yields on government bonds at historic highs and the pound tanking.
  • Worries about inflation, public finances, and sticky interest rates are behind the chaos.
  • Here's a breakdown of what's going on and what it means for Britain.

UK markets are roiling as wary investors prepare for trouble. Here's a closer look at what's happening β€” and what it means for the British people and their beleaguered economy.

Gilts and pounds

Yields on UK government bonds, or "gilts," have recently surged, while the pound has sunk against the dollar and lost ground versus the euro.

The benchmark 10-year gilt yield jumped from about 4.2% at the start of December to 4.9% on Monday, its highest level since 2008. Over the same period, the 30-year gilt yield leaped from around 4.7% to almost 5.5% for the first time since 1998.

Meanwhile, the pound weakened to a 14-month low against the dollar on Monday, with Β£1 worth $1.21 compared to $1.34 as recently as September. Sterling also revisited its November low against the euro with Β£1 worth 1.19 euros.

Prices and rates

Gilt yields have climbed and the greenback has gained against the pound because of the UK's bleak economic outlook.

Official estimates show the economy failed to grow in the third quarter of 2024. In late November, Goldman Sachs economists forecast a meager 1.2% growth rate for 2025, below the Bank of England's 1.5% estimate.

Annualized inflation spiked to a multi-decade high of more than 11% in October 2022, spurring the BoE to raise its base interest rate to 5.25% by August 2023 β€” a huge increase from virtually zero going into 2022.

Inflation has cooled significantly from its peak but accelerated to 3.5% last November, far outpacing the BoE's target rate of 2%. The central bank has trimmed its base rate to 4.75%, but signs of stubborn inflation have cut the chances of a flurry of further cuts this year.

President-elect Donald Trump's plans to impose tariffs and cut taxes once he enters office have also stoked global inflation fears, eroding hopes for rapid rate cuts in the UK and other countries.

Steeper interest rates encourage saving over spending and investing and make borrowing more expensive, which can ease upward pressure on prices but can also temper growth.

Public purse pressure

Investors are worried the UK government is overspending. It borrowed about Β£113 billion in the eight months through November 2024, raising the national debt to about Β£2.8 trillion β€” more than double the level before the financial crisis of 2008.

Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor (finance minister), has signaled she may rein in spending by making greater cuts to public services β€” but tightening the purse strings threatens to further weaken growth.

Concerns about persistent inflation, the public finances, and stagnation have hammered market sentiment toward the UK economy. Investors now demand a higher return to hold government debt, which has pushed up gilt yields.

Rachel Reeves speaking at a podium
Rachel Reeves speaking on a visit to Beijing in January 2024.

Aaron Favila/AFP/Getty Images

Flight to safety

The prospect of higher rates for longer should benefit the pound because the currency's holders can expect to earn more interest. But that effect is being outweighed by the dollar's strength, underpinned by similar concerns in the US of stubborn inflation, sticky rates, and rising Treasury yields. Investors are flocking to the greenback as a haven asset, heaping pressure on the pound.

"Bond market turbulence, fears over unsustainable debt, and a lack of investor confidence in Britain's long-term prospects are all combining to pull sterling lower," Nigel Green, CEO of deVere Group, said in a note.

"The combination of a robust dollar and a weakening pound is accelerating the capital flight from sterling. Investors are turning to safer currencies and assets, as the UK appears increasingly fragile in this turbulent environment."

Flashes of the past

The upswing in gilt yields and the pound's retreat against the dollar evoke the crisis sparked by then-Prime Minister Liz Truss and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng's mini-budget in September 2022.

The tax cut plans spooked investors with the prospect of reckless government borrowing, resurgent inflation, and interest rates staying higher for longer.

With some pension funds on the brink of collapse, the BoE stepped in to shore up markets and calm the situation. The chaos dissipated but Truss resigned a few weeks later.

This time, government officials have indicated that gilt markets are functioning normally and emergency intervention isn't warranted.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday that the government would continue to comply with its fiscal rules and reiterated his confidence in Reeves.

Britain's incoming Prime Minister Keir Starmer and leader of the Labour Party, addresses the nation after his general election victory, outside 10 Downing Street in London
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer outside 10 Downing Street in London.

Henry Nicholls/Getty Images

Budget pressure

The UK government funds itself partly by issuing gilts, so higher yields mean it has to pay more interest to bondholders. That raises its borrowing costs and eats into its tax revenue, leaving it with less money to spend on public services.

"The Chancellor already had limited wiggle room and the risk is that she may have to either cut spending or raise taxes," Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said in an emailed note.

Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, made a similar point in an emailed note: "Rachel Reeves is losing her fiscal headroom and her manoeuvre margin with every basis point rise in borrowing costs, and that muddies the UK's growth outlook."

Feeling the squeeze

Higher gilt yields mean steeper interest payments for households and businesses too, tempering the economy's growth prospects further.

Moreover, a weaker pound makes imports more expensive. That could fuel inflation, curb growth, pinch businesses that rely on foreign goods, and turn the screw on households already mired in a cost-of-living crisis.

Many consumers are struggling after sharp rises in the cost of food, fuel, housing, and other essentials since the pandemic β€” especially when they're paying more for their mortgages, credit cards, and other debts due to rate rises.

"Inflationary pressures remain persistent and elevated, while at the same time the growth backdrop, exacerbated by the recent budget, is deteriorating and straining government finances further," Mark Dowding, BlueBay chief investment officer at RBC Global Asset Management, said in an emailed note.

"Moreover, households will face rises in energy costs, water bills and council tax in April, adding to the squeeze in consumer budgets."

Savills recently estimated that nearly 700,000 UK homeowners face higher mortgage costs when their fixed-rate deals ended this year. Many hoped the BoE would steadily cut its base rate and mortgage rates would decline.

"But now, the newly elected Labour government, which promised to rescue the country, improve finances, and boost growth, faces its own reckoning," Ozkardeskaya wrote.

"To deliver on its ambitions, it needs market support β€” a resource proving elusive. Without it, borrowing costs will spiral higher, forcing tougher choices: more taxes, less spending, and weaker growth. And none of that bodes well for the pound."

Read the original article on Business Insider

A therapist has worked with clients worth at least $30 million for a decade. He shares 4 problems the ultra-rich discuss in sessions.

Illustration of a man staring at a dollar bill breaking apart
Paul Hokemeyer said there are a few common issues he sees among his ultrawealthy therapy clients.

rob dobi/Getty Images

  • Paul Hokemeyer has been a therapist to the ultra-rich for the last decade.
  • There are certain issues his clients experience because of their wealth, which he shared with Business Insider.
  • These include feeling valued only for their money and internalizing negative stereotypes.

A therapist to the ultra-rich shared what his clients talk about in sessions, from the wealthy father troubled by his children's entitlement to a man who feared leaving his home in case people asked him for money.

Paul Hokemeyer, a licensed marriage and family therapist who for 10 years has worked with clients with a net worth of at least $30 million, told Business Insider that his typical client is middle-aged and with inherited wealth. Only a handful of his clients have earned their own money because, in his experience, such people tend to feel more in control of their lives.

He previously told BI that ultra-rich people "suffer from the same mental health and relational issues as the rest of humanity."

But there are certain problems his wealthy clients talk about in therapy that are specific to their ultra-high net worth.

Feeling objectified

"The most common comments I hear from my clients are along the lines of 'people aren't interested in me, they are only interested in my money,' or 'my children are just waiting for me to die so they can get their hands on my money,'" Hokemeyer said.

"People of wealth are expected to provide. When they say no or create boundaries around what they are willing to give, they are perceived as villains," he said. The constant expectations on ultra-wealthy people can be exhausting and lead to painful, transactional relationships.

Hokemeyer gave the example of a father in his 80s whose adult children had spent their €40 million inheritances and expected him to continue to bankroll their extravagant lifestyles by taking money from their own children's inheritances. He started drinking heavily to manage the stress and the guilt he felt about his children's entitlement.

Hokemeyer helps clients address the sadness and disappointment they feel toward their relationships and create boundaries with people who rely on their financial support.

A man and woman sit far apart in a fancy apartment.
Wealth can cause problems in relationships, Hokemeyer said.

Johannes Mann/ Getty

Feeling isolated

"While providing material comfort, wealth and power elevates people into a very isolated and too frequently self-destructive sphere of existence," Hokemeyer said.

There are a tiny number of ultra-rich people in the world β€” about 627,000, BI previously reported β€” and they can feel excluded from the rest of society. Plus, dealing with constant demands from others can lead them to retreat from normal life, he said.

One of his clients with a huge fortune from manufacturing stopped going out because he felt constantly accosted by everyone, Hokemeyer said β€” even in his apartment building's elevators, where his neighbors kept asking for charity donations.

"Over time, he became severely depressed and morbidly obese. He came to see me after suffering a near-fatal heart attack and realizing he needed to make some significant changes to reconnect with other human beings," he said.

Substance abuse

Hokemeyer finds that people of wealth often suffer with substance abuse problems, because they have easy access to intoxicants and because they can use their resources to avoid negative consequences.

This means that clients tend to come to Hokemeyer for help when those consequences have become "dire," he said β€” when their health is severely compromised, they've lost a lot of money, or their spouse has left them, for example.

The path out of substance abuse can be tricky for these individuals too, because, being used to being in control, they often resist treatment.

Feeling vilified

From teachings in the New Testament and Buddhist beliefs to the popular phrase "eat the rich," Hokemeyer said that we are surrounded by images of wealth as a form of moral decay and wealthy people as selfish and corrupt.

Many of his patients internalize these negative stereotypes and feel they are bad people, he said. So he works with them to address any guilt or shame they feel about their net-worth and to develop personalized ideas of what is healthy, within the context of their wealth and social status.

Read the original article on Business Insider

SpaceX rockets returning to Earth are causing delays and disruption to flights over the Indian Ocean

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the crew of the Polaris Dawn Mission, is surrounding by a pitch-black sky and smoke.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

CHANDAN KHANNA/Getty Images

  • SpaceX rockets coming back to Earth are disrupting flights over the southern Indian Ocean
  • Qantas said flights have been delayed up to six hours, while South African Airways is also impacted.
  • Australia's flag carrier wants Elon Musk's company to have more precise plans.

A number of flights over the Indian Ocean have been forced to be delayed due to SpaceX rockets coming back to Earth.

Qantas, the Australian flag carrier, is asking Elon Musk's company to be more precise with the areas and timings for such events.

Some of its flights between Sydney and Johannesburg have faced delays of up to six hours, Qantas said.

The Sydney to Johannesburg route passes over the southern Indian Ocean, where the upper stages of several SpaceX rockets have recently splashed down.

"Over the past few weeks we've had to delay several flights between Johannesburg and Sydney due to advice received from the US Government regarding the re-entry of SpaceX rockets over an extensive area of the Southern Indian Ocean," Ben Holland, the head of Qantas' operations center, said in a statement shared with Business Insider.

The Guardian reported that South African Airways has also been impacted by SpaceX activity. South African did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Disposable rockets are causing issues

A Qantas Airways Airbus A380 takes off from Dresden Airport.
Qantas flies its Airbus A380 jets on the route from Sydney to Johannesburg.

Sebastian Kahnert/Getty Images

While the booster, or first stage, of a Falcon 9 rocket is reusable, the upper stage is disposed of in the ocean.

There have been six Falcon 9 launches so far this year, while in 2024, there were over 100 launches.

Qantas says the timings and location of the re-entries can change last minute, adding to the problem.

"While we try to make any changes to our schedule in advance, the timing of recent launches have moved around at late notice which has meant we've had to delay some flights just prior to departure," Qantas' Ben Holland added.

"Our teams notify customers of changes to their flight as soon as we know it will be impacted."

"Customers generally understand this is outside of airlines' control and that we can't fly in the area when the rocket re-entry is taking place.

Holland added that the airline is in contact with SpaceX in an attempt to find a solution that will minimize disruption for passengers.

SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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