Welcome to Markets Desk, where we break down what's moving markets and policy right now.
Congress is handing the White House a significant new trade weapon. The Senate passed the Lindsey Graham Sanctioning Russia Act by an eighty-six to eleven margin, legislation that would grant the president broad discretion to impose tariffs of up to one hundred percent on top trading partners with limited judicial oversight. Courts had previously blocked earlier tariff attempts, and this bill closes that gap considerably, with House passage expected next month.
Shifting to Omaha, Berkshire Hathaway is signaling a new era under Greg Abel. The conglomerate had accumulated nearly four hundred billion dollars in cash under Warren Buffett in his final years, but Abel is moving to deploy that capital. Investors are watching closely whether this marks a structural shift in Berkshire's famously patient capital allocation philosophy.
And in energy policy, a notable contradiction is drawing scrutiny. The Trump administration paid energy firms close to four billion dollars to cancel offshore wind contracts, even while a national energy emergency remained formally declared. The result, by the government's own numbers, is less generating capacity delivered later and at higher cost to ratepayers and taxpayers alike.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
