Silver Stumbles On (More) Margin Hikes, Export Restrictions

Tyler Durden
Wed, 12/31/2025 – 08:55

https://www.zerohedge.com/precious-metals/silver-stumbles-more-margin-hikes-export-restrictions 

President Donald Trump made a lot of tariff threats and trade promises this year. Many materialized into a barrage of new import taxes that overturned decades of U.S. economic policy — but others have yet to be fulfilled as 2025 comes to a close.

Some of Trump’s unrealized threats reflect a broader approach from a president with a track record of using sky-high levies to pressure other countries into new trade deals, one-up retaliatory measures or even punish political critics. At the same time, they arrived as growing list of tariffs did go into effect — from Trump’s punishing new taxes on imported metals, to tit-for-tat levies with top U.S. trading partners like China — plunging consumers and businesses worldwide into uncertainty.

Here’s what Trump said when announcing some of his biggest (but still unrealized) tariff threats and promises this year, and where things stand today.

External Revenue Service

In his words:

1. Trump in a Jan. 14 social media post: “For far too long, we have relied on taxing our Great People using the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) … We will begin charging those that make money off of us with Trade, and they will start paying, FINALLY, their fair share. January 20, 2025, will be the birth date of the External Revenue Service.” 2. Trump in his Jan. 20 inaugural address: “We are establishing the External Revenue Service to collect all tariffs, duties, and revenues. It will be massive amounts of money pouring into our Treasury, coming from foreign sources.”

What happened: The External Revenue Service has yet to be established as of the end of December. While administration officials continued to reiterate plans for launching the External Revenue Service during Trump’s first months back in office, the entity does not yet exist.

200% tariff on European wine, Champagne and spirits

In his words:

3. Trump in a March 13 social media post: “The European Union, one of the most hostile and abusive taxing and tariffing authorities in the World, which was formed for the sole purpose of taking advantage of the United States, has just put a nasty 50% Tariff on Whisky. If this Tariff is not removed immediately, the U.S. will shortly place a 200% Tariff on all WINES, CHAMPAGNES, & ALCOHOLIC PRODUCTS COMING OUT OF FRANCE AND OTHER E.U. REPRESENTED COUNTRIES.”

What happened: The EU’s planned levy on American whiskey — which it unveiled as part of broader retaliation in response to Trump’s new steel and aluminum tariffs — was postponed, with the latest delay reportedly running until at least February.

Trump’s 200% tariff threat on European alcohol never materialized. But spirits were not included in the EU-U.S. trade deal struck over the summer, which set a 15% rate on most European imports.

100% tariff on foreign-made films

In his words:

4. Trump in a May 4 social media post: “The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death … I am authorizing the Department of Commerce, and the United States Trade Representative, to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands.” 5. Trump in a Sept. 29 social media post: “Our movie making business has been stolen from the United States of America, by other Countries, just like stealing ‘candy from a baby’ … I will be imposing a 100% Tariff on any and all movies that are made outside of the United States.”

What happened: Despite Trump’s repeated threats, the U.S. has yet to impose a 100% tariff on foreign films. After his initial May promise to initiate the process, the White House said no final decision had been made. Also still unclear is how the U.S. would tax a movie made overseas.

Tariffs on pharmaceutical drugs

In his words:

6. Trump in a Cabinet meeting on July 8: “We’ll be announcing something very soon on pharmaceuticals. We’re going to give people about a year, a year and a half, to come in. And after that, they’re going to be tariffed … They’re going to be tariffed at a very, very high rate, like 200 percent.” 7. Trump in a Sept. 25 social media post: “Starting October 1st, 2025, we will be imposing a 100% Tariff on any branded or patented Pharmaceutical Product, unless a Company IS BUILDING their Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plant in America.”

What happened: The president did not sign an executive order imposing a 100% tariff on pharma products on Oct. 1 and, as of today, no levy has been put into place. But Trump previously suggested that steep levies on pharmaceutical drugs could arrive further down the road, telling CNBC in August that he would start by charging a “small tariff” and potentially raise the rate as high as 250%. Meanwhile, trade agreements with specific countries set their own rates or exemptions — with the U.K., for example, securing a 0% tariff on all British medicine exported to the U.S. for three years. The administration also announced deals with specific companies with promises of lower drug prices.

100% tariff on computer chips

In his words:

8. Trump on August 6: “We’ll be putting a tariff of approximately 100% on chips and semiconductors … But if you’re building in the United States of America, there’s no charge.”

What happened: A sweeping 100% on computer chips has yet to go into effect. When announcing his plans to impose the levy back in August, Trump was not specific about the timing. And other details have remained scarce.

$2,000 tariff dividend

In his words:

9. Trump in a Nov. 9 social media post: “People that are against Tariffs are FOOLS! … A dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone.”

What happened: Details about how, when and if a tariff dividend will reach Americans are still scarce. Budget experts have said that the math doesn’t add up. And Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested that it might not mean checks from the government. Instead, Bessent told ABC in November, the rebate might take the form of tax cuts. White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett also told CBS News that it’s up to Congress.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/31/trump-tariff-threats/ 

WASHINGTON — Fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week as layoffs remain low despite a weakening labor market.

U.S. applications for jobless claims for the week ending Dec. 27 fell by 16,000 to 199,000 from the previous week’s 215,000, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. Analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet forecast 208,000 new applications.

The weekly report was released a day early due to the New Year’s Day holiday.

Applications for unemployment aid are viewed as a proxy for layoffs and are close to a real-time indicator of the health of the job market.

The four-week average of claims, which evens out some of the week-to-week volatility, rose by 1,750 to 218,7500.

The total number of Americans filing for jobless benefits for the previous week ending Dec. 20 fell by 47,000 to 1.87 million, the government said.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/31/us-applications-jobless-benefits/ 

Initial Jobless Claims End 2025 Near Record Lows

Tyler Durden
Wed, 12/31/2025 – 08:40

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/initial-jobless-claims-end-2025-near-record-lows 

Isiah Whitlock Jr., an actor who made frequent memorable appearances on the HBO series “The Wire” and “Veep” and in five films with director Spike Lee, died Tuesday. He was 71.

Whitlock’s manager Brian Liebman told The Associated Press in an email that the actor died in New York after a short illness.

Whitlock played openly corrupt state Sen. Clay Davis on 25 episodes across the five seasons of “The Wire.”

Davis, a fan-favorite character, was known for his profane catchphrase — “sheee-it” — delivered by Whitlock in moments of triumph and blunt honesty. The actor first used the phrase in his first film with Lee, 2002’s “The 25th Hour,” when his detective character discovers a cache of drugs hidden in a couch.

“It’s a big, big, big loss,” Lee said in a phone call with the AP on Tuesday night. “I’m going to miss him for the rest of my life.”

Whitlock went on to appear in four other Lee films, including 2004’s “She Hate Me,” 2012’s “Red Hook Summer,” 2015’s “Chi-Raq,” 2018’s “BlacKkKlansman” and 2020’s “Da 5 Bloods.”

“We vibed over all those years,” Lee said. “We clicked from the jump.”

Lee said he has especially sweet memories of the extended time he spent with Whitlock shooting “Da 5 Bloods” on location in Thailand, and he fondly remembered the last time he saw Whitlock — Lee and his daughter, Satchel, sat with him at a screening of “Kiss of the Spider Woman” earlier this year.

“He was just a beautiful, beautiful soul,” Lee said. “If you were around him, he made everybody feel good in his presence. He would radiate. I would put that over his acting.”

Lee pointed to Whitlock’s comic talents both on screen and off.

“He was hilarious,” Lee said. “That was just his nature, he made people laugh. Everybody was in on the joke.”

Whitlock is the second significant star of “The Wire” to die in recent weeks after the death of actor James Ransone.

A native of South Bend, Indiana, Whitlock went to Southwest Minnesota State University, where he played football and studied theater. Injuries pushed him to study acting, and he moved to San Francisco to work in theater.

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He began appearing in small television guest roles on shows including “Cagney and Lacy” in the late 1980s, and he had very small roles in the 1990 films “Goodfellas” and “Gremlins 2: The New Batch.”

After “The Wire,” Whitlock moved on to another HBO show, the political satire “Veep,” where he played Secretary of Defense George Maddox for three seasons. The character ran against Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Selina Meyer in presidential primaries.

“The Wire” creator David Simon also paid tribute to Whitlock in a post on Bluesky.

“As fine an actor as he was,” Simon said, “Isiah was an even better spirit and the greatest gentleman.”

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/31/isiah-whitlock-jr-actor-dies/ 

Michael ‘Big Short’ Burry Reveals He “Is Not Short” Tesla

Tyler Durden
Wed, 12/31/2025 – 08:25

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/michael-big-short-burry-reveals-he-not-short-tesla 

Two people were displaced Tuesday night in a fire that broke out at a residence in the Chatham neighborhood on the South Side, Chicago police said.

About 11:45 p.m., Chicago police and firefighters responded to a call of a fire in the 8000 block of South Stewart Avenue and extinguished the fire where two adults were displaced, officials said. No injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/31/fire-chatham/ 

ByteDance Plans $14 Billion Nvidia H200 AI Chip Buying Spree As Computing Demand Soars

Tyler Durden
Wed, 12/31/2025 – 07:45

https://www.zerohedge.com/ai/bytedance-plans-14-billion-nvidia-h200-ai-chip-buying-spree-computing-demand-soars 

Normally, altering a driveway configuration in the front yard of a home in a residential neighborhood on the North Shore would draw scant attention and interest from the broader public.

However, when it’s one of the Chicago area’s single best-known residential properties — the iconic “Home Alone” mansion in Winnetka that was the setting for the very popular 1990 holiday classic movie with that name — returning a driveway configuration to its original layout, which was the one filmed in the movie as the McCallister family departs for O’Hare International Airport in two Airport Express vans, is more than a perfunctory matter.

Vintage Chicago Tribune: Revisiting ‘Home Alone’ sites with the film’s location manager

In January 2025, a buyer bought the “Home Alone” mansion from longtime owners Timothy and Trisha Johnson for $5.5 million.  In buying the mansion, the new owner used a Delaware limited liability company whose name, Mikallister LLC, is a clear riff on the surname of the McCallister family in the movie.” Throughout 2025, the new owners replaced the Georgian-style brick home’s water heater, installed a new backup generator and undertook a sanitary sewer replacement, according to village documents.

Because hundreds of visitors come to the mansion each day, around 2013, the Johnsons had installed a metal picket fence along the home’s front lot line, aimed at keeping onlookers on the public sidewalk, instead of on private property. Then, around 2017, the Johnsons renovated the mansion, including its interior and the rear of the home. As part of that project, they removed the well-known horseshoe-style driveway to avoid triggering a village requirement to provide on-site stormwater detention given an increase in overall impervious area on the property.

In removing the half-circle driveway, however, the owners lost what had been a grandfathered, legally non-conforming level of impervious coverage in the front yard that had exceeded the village’s code limits.

Want to drive past the ‘Home Alone’ house? Or the church? A tour of 12 filming locations around Chicago.

Now, the current owner of the home is asking Winnetka officials to re-allow the horseshoe driveway. To do so requires a front-yard impervious coverage variation, and Winnetka’s zoning board will take its first look at his proposal at a meeting on Jan. 12. In a narrative submitted to Winnetka officials, representatives of the home’s current owner, from landscape firm Midwest Arbor Corporation, noted that the property currently uses a single-lane asphalt driveway serving a rear-entry garage, and the driveway extends more than 150 feet from the street to the rear of the garage. While it’s difficult for most vehicles to turn around without opening the home’s garage doors, it’s downright impossible for delivery vehicles to do so. With onlookers gawking at the mansion at all hours of the day and night, the long driveway is a safety hazard, according to the narrative, as many vehicles must back out of the driveway into the street.

A restored, paved half-circle driveway in the front yard — behind the existing metal fence and gates — would allow vehicles to enter and exit facing forward, representatives of the home’s current owner wrote.

“The requested variation is thus driven not by aesthetic preference or resale value, but by site-specific functional and safety requirements in the context of an internationally recognized filming location that generates sustained pedestrian activity,” according to the narrative. “This particular property is uniquely burdened by regular tourist foot traffic and frequent on-street stopping associated with its longstanding identity as the ‘Home Alone’ house.”

Lori Nieman, the real estate agent who represented the current owners in their January 2025 purchase, declined to comment.

In December, WMAQ-Channel 5 reported that the “Home Alone” mansion’s current owner was planning to restore the interior to match its appearance in the movie. There are no permits on file with the village of Winnetka for such work just yet, and a project manager quoted in that story, Scott Price, declined to provide a project timeline. However, in speaking with NBC 5, Price, who did not respond to a request for comment, did allude to upcoming improvements to the outside of the house. The possible return of the mansion’s half-circle driveway — an enduring image from the film — would seem to be a first step toward returning the mansion and its property to an earlier appearance.

Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/31/home-alone-house-winnetka-driveway/ 

Good morning, Chicago.

As Northwestern, fresh off a bowl win, wraps up its second season of playing football at a small lakefront field shared with the lacrosse and soccer teams, workers are busy building out a new $862 million football stadium in Evanston.

Beginning next season, the Wildcats, once the doormat of the Big Ten, may finally have home field advantage over their conference rivals.

After nearly a century at the concrete stadium formerly known as Dyche, and two seasons at the temporary lakefront facility, Northwestern will christen what it believes to be the most fan-friendly major college football venue in the U.S. when the new Ryan Field opens in the fall.

“It’ll be the best place to watch a football game in America,” said Pat Ryan Jr., whose family drove the project and funded the majority of the money needed to build their namesake stadium.

Read the full story from the Tribune’s Robert Channick — and get a look inside the stadium.

And here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including what to know about the newest flu variant, Brad Biggs’ weekly Bears mailbag and our picks for New Year’s Eve.

Today’s eNewspaper edition | Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson talks to reporters at City Hall after meeting with a group of aldermen to discuss the city budget, Dec. 15, 2025. Also with the mayor are Budget Director Annette Guzman, from left, Comptroller Michael Belsky and Ald. Jason Ervin, 28th. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

Sports betting lobby suing to block Chicago’s new online wagering tax

The sports betting lobby filed a lawsuit yesterday seeking to block Chicago’s new tax on online wagering set to go into effect tomorrow.

The national Sports Betting Alliance sued the city in Cook County Circuit Court, arguing the sports betting tax included in the final 2026 budget passed by City Council this month is unconstitutional. The levy will require a new license for all operators and tax online bets in the city at 10.25%.

Bruce Leon, left, greets Phil Andrew at the start of an Illinois 9th Congressional District candidate forum at Oakton College on Oct. 21, 2025, in Skokie. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

9th Congressional District candidate Bruce Leon dropping out of Democratic primary after AIPAC pressure

A candidate in the crowded Democratic primary to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky said he plans to drop out of the race following a pressure campaign from AIPAC, an influential but controversial pro-Israel lobbying organization.

The development appears to be a boon to state Sen. Laura Fine, another Democratic candidate who supports Israel and seems to have received the interest group’s tacit backing.

Leandrea Hernández, center, comforts her mother, Katrina Smith, left, as they talk about the Christmas Eve fire that destroyed their home in Zion, Dec. 27, 2025. Hernández’s son Aiden Hernández, 13, listens. (Michael Schmidt/for the Chicago Tribune)

Christmas comes late for Zion family who lost their home in a fire: ‘I don’t have the words’

Leandrea and John Hernández started gathering gifts in October. After years of small Christmases on tight budgets, the Zion couple wanted to ensure that everyone — from their four kids to extended family — would be tearing open wrapping paper on Christmas.

That moment never came. On Christmas Eve, a fire destroyed the Hernández family’s north suburban home of the past six years. They lost everything, gifts and all, leaving the family of eight to figure out what’s next while they wade through their grief.

A certified medical assistant holds a syringe for a flu vaccine at a clinic in Seattle, on Sept. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Flu is rising rapidly, driven by a new variant. Here’s what to know.

Some states are particularly hard-hit. New York’s health department said the week ending Dec. 20 marked the most flu cases the state had recorded in a single week since 2004: 71,000.

Chicago police Detective Mike Cronin talks to handcuffed suspects in the back seat of his squad car in 1989. (Michael Fryer/Chicago Tribune)

Michael Cronin, a Chicago police expert on West Side street gangs, dies at 81

Across a 35-year career with the Chicago Police Department that culminated as deputy chief of the narcotics and gang investigation section, Michael Cronin was an expert on West Side street gangs, and he cultivated informants who ultimately helped put behind bars some of the city’s most notorious criminals.

“He had a knack for talking bad guys into flipping on their fellow gang members,” said retired Chicago police Superintendent Philip Cline, now the executive director of the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation. “If Mike was after you, you better surrender because he never gave up until you were in handcuffs.”

Bears quarterback Caleb Williams warms up for a game against the Packers on Dec. 20, 2025, at Soldier Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

Chicago Bears Q&A: Will Caleb Williams reach 4,000 yards? How can the pass defense be improved?

The NFC North champion Bears close out the 2025 regular season Sunday against the Detroit Lions, needing a victory — or a Philadelphia Eagles loss — to secure the No. 2 seed in the playoffs.

Also at stake will be some individual milestones — including one never reached in the Bears’ 105-year history. The Tribune’s Brad Biggs begins his weekly Bears mailbag there.

Officials keep their eyes on the ball as it sails toward the uprights during the “Fog Bowl,” game played at Soldier Field on Dec. 31, 1988 between the Chicago Bears and the Philadelphia Eagles. (Bob Langer/Chicago Tribune)

Today in Chicago History: Bears win ‘Fog Bowl’ at Soldier Field — but did anyone really see it?

Fans at Soldier Field on Dec. 31, 1988, settled in to watch a divisional playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles in unexpected comfort. There was bright sunshine, little wind and temperatures heading for the 40s.

Until a sudden slap in the face.

Josh Giddey of the Chicago Bulls celebrates a win against the Atlanta Hawks with teammate Coby White at the United Center on Oct. 27, 2025, in Chicago. (Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images)

The Chicago Bulls believe depth is their greatest strength. But is this roster even that deep?

It’s once again time for the Bulls to employ one of the most crucial clichés in sports: Next man up.

The Bulls were forced to embrace that tenet over the last three months. Injuries defined this season before it even began. So when guards Coby White and Josh Giddey exited Monday’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves with injuries and were ruled out for today’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans — joining center Zach Collins, who is out for at least a week with a sprained toe — a sense of frustrated familiarity hung over the locker room.

A baby enjoys the Australian version of “RAIN: for babies and their carers.” (ArtPlay)

Theater’s newest audience: Babies

The doldrums of January can be tough, leaving us feeling trapped inside for weeks on end. That can be especially hard on anyone looking after an infant. A new sensory performance from Filament Theatre, called “RAIN: for babies and their carers,” provides a warm and inviting opportunity to leave the house, baby in tow.

New Year’s Eve fireworks explode over the Chicago River on Jan. 1, 2024, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

New Year’s Eve 2025: Our 20 from ‘Rockin’ downtown fireworks to the concerts and dance parties

The mainstage Chicago event for New Year’s Eve has, for the past several years, been the downtown fireworks — this year to be shared with the nation via the cameras for “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.” But there’s lots more going on tonight.

‘Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve’ will broadcast live from downtown Chicago this year
Chance the Rapper to co-host ‘New Year’s Rockin’ Eve’ celebration in Chicago
Times Square to feature patriotic ball drop for New Year’s Eve
NYE 2025: Chicago-area restaurant specials and drink packages to ring in the New Year

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/31/daywatch-inside-northwesterns-862m-ryan-field/