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Vice President JD Vance on Sunday said there will be deeper cuts to the federal workforce the longer the government shutdown goes on, adding to the uncertainty facing hundreds of thousands who are already furloughed without pay amid the stubborn stalemate in Congress.Vance warned that as the federal shutdown entered its 12th day, the new cuts would be “painful,” even as he said the Trump administration worked to ensure that the military is paid this week and some services would be preserved for low-income Americans, including food assistance.Still, hundreds of thousands of government workers have been furloughed in recent days and, in a court filing on Friday, the Office of Management and Budget said well over 4,000 federal employees would soon be fired in conjunction with the shutdown. The effects of the shutdown also grew Sunday with the Smithsonian announcing its museums, research centers and the National Zoo are temporarily closed going forward for lack of funding.“The longer this goes on, the deeper the cuts are going to be,” Vance said on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” “To be clear, some of these cuts are going to be painful. This is not a situation that we relish. This is not something that we’re looking forward to, but the Democrats have dealt us a pretty difficult set of cards.”Labor unions have already filed a lawsuit to stop the aggressive move by President Donald Trump’s budget office, which goes far beyond what usually happens in a government shutdown, further inflaming tensions between the Republicans who control Congress and the Democratic minority.The shutdown began on Oct. 1 after Democrats rejected a short-term funding fix and demanded that the bill include an extension of federal subsidies for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. The expiration of those subsidies at the end of the year will result in monthly cost increases for millions.Trump and Republican leaders have said they are open to negotiations on the health subsidies, but insist the government must reopen first.For now, negotiations are virtually nonexistent. Dug in as ever, House leaders from both parties pointed fingers at each other in rival Sunday appearances on “Fox News Sunday.”“We have repeatedly made clear that we will sit down with anyone, anytime, anyplace,” said House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York. “Republicans control the House, the Senate and the presidency. It’s unfortunate they’ve taken a my-way-or-the-highway approach.”House Speaker Mike Johnson blamed Democrats and said they “seem not to care” about the pain the shutdown is inflicting.“They’re trying their best to distract the American people from the simple fact that they’ve chosen a partisan fight so that they can prove to their Marxist rising base in the Democratic Party that they’re willing to fight Trump and Republicans,” he said. Progressive activists, meanwhile, expressed new support for the Democratic Party’s position in the shutdown fight.Ezra Levin, co-founder of the leading progressive protest group Indivisible, said he is “feeling good about the strength of Dem position.” He pointed to fractures in the GOP, noting that Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene publicly warned last week that health care insurance premiums would skyrocket for average Americans including her own adult children if nothing is done.“Trump and GOP are rightfully taking the blame for the shutdown and for looming premium increases,” Levin said. “Their chickens are coming home to roost.”And yet the Republican administration and its congressional allies are showing no signs of caving to Democratic demands or backing away from threats to use the opportunity to pursue deeper cuts to the federal workforce.Thousands of employees at the departments of Education, Treasury, Homeland Security and Health and Human Services, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, are set to receive layoff notices, according to spokespeople for the agencies and union representatives for federal workers.“You hear a lot of Senate Democrats say, well, how can Donald Trump possibly lay off all of these federal workers?” Vance said. “Well, the Democrats have given us a choice between giving low-income women their food benefits and paying our troops on the one hand, and, on the other hand, paying federal bureaucrats.”Democrats say the firings are illegal and unnecessary.“They do not have to do this,” said Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “They do not have to punish people that shouldn’t find themselves in this position.” Steve Peoples, AP National Political Writer
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Companies operating in the rare earths and mining spaces are seeing their share prices soar this morning as President Donald Trumps latest tariff feud with China enter its second week. Heres what you need to know. Whats happened? Last week, President Trump threatened new tariffs on China as high as 100% in retaliation for the country putting export controls on products that contain rare earth elements. Rare earths are a group of elements that actually arent rare, but are hard to find and expensive to mine. The elements also happen to be essential to many industries, including technology, automotive, and defense. Rare earths are critical to these industries because the elements are used in many of the most advanced electronic products made by companies in the above industries, including smartphones, electric vehicles, and missile systems. While the United States has its own rare earth deposits and extraction capabilities, China is one of the worlds largest producers of rare earth materials, and disruption in the Chinese rare earths supply chain could have negative knock-on effects in the production of electronic equipment that U.S. companies and the military rely on. Rare earth stocks soar again After already rising on Friday in the wake of Trump’s tariff threat, the stock prices of rare earth companies and adjacent mining companies are up again in premarket trading today (Monday, October 13). Those stock price rises include the following companies, all of which are up in premarket trading on Monday morning as of the time of this writing. USA Rare Earth, Inc. (Nasdaq: USAR): up 22% Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE: UUUU): up 14% MP Materials Corp. (NYSE: MP): up 10% Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE: LAC): up 4.5% Trilogy Metals Inc. (NYSE: TMQ): up 9.7% Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE: FCX): up 3.8% Besides the ongoing threat of increased restrictions on foreign companies obtaining rare earths from China, another factor may also be contributing to the surge in share prices for rare earth companies and mining stocks today. The Financial Times has reported that the Pentagon is seeking to purchase as much as $1 billion in critical materials to stockpile, including cobalt and antimony. The Pentagon’s Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) would store the materials to give the U.S. a buffer in the event they become harder to obtain in the months ahead. Any increase in defense spending on those materials and other related materials is likely to benefit the companies that supply them or can help mine them. Trump says dont worry Trumps threat to impose a further 100% tariff on Chinese goods in retaliation for its rare earth export controls sent stock markets tumbling on Friday. In a move perhaps meant to alleviate investor fears, Trump posted what could be taken as a calming message (in Trumpian terms) on Tuesday. Dont worry about China, it will all be fine! the president posted on his Truth Social social network. Highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment. He doesnt want Depression for his country, and neither do I. The U.S.A. wants to help China, not hurt it!!! Although stock futures did rise early Monday following Trump’s post, as of the time of this writing, there are no signs that China is rethinking its latest export controls on rare earths. Indeed, reduced rare earth exports seem to have been gaining momentum in the country for a while now. As Reuters reported, Chinas rare earth exports plunged by 31% in September versus the month earlier. Is this a trend that will continue? No one knows for sure. But until China and America officially come to terms on rare earths, investors seem confident that Americas rare earth companies may benefit from the geopolitical dramaat least for now.
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E-Commerce
Hello and welcome to Modern CEO! I’m Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores inclusive approaches to leadership drawn from conversations with executives and entrepreneurs, and from the pages of Inc. and Fast Company. If you received this newsletter from a friend, you can sign up to get it yourself every Monday. When we named Tarang Amin Modern CEO of the Year in December 2024, the E.l.f. Beauty chairman and chief executive had racked up a string of notable successes. Under Amins leadership, the publicly traded cosmetics company had posted 23 consecutive quarters of net sales and market share growth. E.l.f. won plaudits for cheeky marketing efforts such as a coffin-shaped makeup kit collaboration with beverage company Liquid Death. Another initiative championed corporate board diversity via its So Many Dicks campaign, which cites research showing that men named Richard, Rick, or Dick outnumber women and diverse directors serving on public company boards. Indeed, such bold ads helped land Kory Marchisotto, E.l.f.s chief marketing officer, on Fast Companys 2024 list of CMOs of the Year as part of its Brands That Matter program. In contrast, this year has been a rockier one for Amin. In May, the company, whose E.l.f. skincare and cosmetics products sell at affordable price points, said it would raise prices on all its products by $1 to offset the impact of new tariffs. (The company has said 75% of its products are made in China.) In August, E.l.f. said it would not provide shareholders with a financial outlook for its full fiscal year ending March 31, 2026, citing the wide range of potential impacts from those tariffs. That same month, it launched a parody ad featuring comedian Matt Rife that faced social media backlash as commenters highlighted jokes Rife made about domestic violence in a Netflix special. Many CEOs might retreat from public view or tread carefully in this environment, but not Amin. Ahead of our search for the 2025 Modern CEO of the Year (more on that in a moment), Amin sat with me for a wide-ranging interview on the challenges of 2025, E.l.f.s blockbuster $1 billion acquisition of Hailey Biebers Rhode brand, and why the company is expanding its Change the Board Game effort amid attacks on diversity programs. Here are the highlights in Amins own words: Responding to tarrifs Customer feedback on higher prices: We announced [the $1-per-item price increases] to our community three months before we took prices up. . . . The response from our community actually was quite positive. They love the fact that were not trying to pull one over their eyes; that were transparent. Shareholder communications after pulling full-year guidance: We just reported our 26th consecutive quarter of net sales and market share gains. What we emphasize with our investors is that we take a very long-term view. If youre worried about short-term tariff impacts, maybe were not the stock for you. The Matt Rife controversy Acknowledging the mistake: In this onetime post, we clearly missed the mark. Were all about delighting our community. This did not delight our entire community. And for that we apologize. I personally take that seriously. Staying edgy: We clearly missed the mark on this one. Lets learn from it, but dont lose [our] mojo. Dont become scared. Dont become safe. Buying Rhode Why Rhode stood out: Ive never seen a brand that went from zero to $212 million in net sales in less than three years [by selling] direct to consumer only with just 10 products. It is just incredible in terms of success. Hailey Bieber, acqui-hire: Our approach to M&A is different than a lot of companies. We never do synergy math or try to figure out where we can save. Its all about growth for us. And so one of the prerequisites we have is we want the entire team. Our approach is, Okay, how can we help you? How can we help you accelerate what youre already doing really well? Doubling down on board diversity Change the Board Game 2.0: We announced coalition partners that want to join us [in supporting boardroom inclusivity]. Were going to continue to beat the drum, because these arent things that we do as a campaign. These are things we believe in. Who is the modern CEO of 2025? For the second year, Modern CEO is seeking to recognize an executive who embodies the leadership qualities this newsletter has sought to highlight, such as promoting innovation, nurturing talent, and fostering excellence. Please fill out this form to nominate a chief executiveor yourself. Well dedicate a column in December to the Modern CEO of the Year. Read and watch: CEOs on our radar Brian Niccols bold Starbucks redesign How the CEOs of Ohai.ai and FinMkt make innovation work for them Figma is growing fast under cofounder and CEO Dylan Field
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