Authored by Jeremy Portnoy via RealClearInvestigations,

Topline: A then-employee at the City of Austin’s energy utility allegedly paid $980,000 in taxpayer funds to fictional companies with bank accounts belonging to his family members, according to a new report from the city auditor.

Key facts: Mark Ybarra was given a city credit card from 2018 to 2023 to hire repair companies for city buildings. He used it to pay 30 different vendors, but the city auditor could only verify that eight of them were real companies, according to the report. 

Ten of the companies reportedly had the same address, which the city auditor said is the home of one of Ybarra’s relatives. The businesses received $400,000 from the city. One of them had Ybarra’s email address listed as its contact information, according to the report.

The remaining $580,000 went to businesses that “appeared to be fake,” many of which were missing basic information like an address and phone number, according to the report. 

Ybarra resigned in October 2023 after Austin Energy officials asked questions about the invoices, according to the report. He was indicted for felony theft this September. 

Records obtained by Open the Books show Ybarra earned $534,797 in taxpayer-funded salary during the six years he was allegedly defrauding the city.

The city auditor claimed the alleged fraud went undetected because of Austin Energy’s “inefficient purchasing controls.” Most of his purchases were approved by former Facility Service Supervisor Sammy Ramirez, who never raised questions about the missing addresses and phone numbers on Ybarra’s invoices, according to the report.

Mark Ybarra’s wife, Ambrosia Ybarra, worked at the city’s Watershed Protection Department. She was questioned by the city auditor about her husband’s invoices but allegedly left the interview before it was over, according to the report. She resigned this November.

Ambrosia Ybarra made $70,174 in 2024. Ramirez made $87,262 in 2022, his last year of employment, but made as much as $104,698 in 2021.

Search all federal, state and local salaries and vendor spending with the world’s largest government spending database at OpenTheBooks.com. 

Summary: Austin’s scandal is yet another reminder that the government agencies spending huge amounts of money relative to the population of the areas they serve are often the ones most vulnerable to mistakes and fraud. 

The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) late last week announced that a distributor is recalling its FDA-regulated products because of the presence of bird and rodent feces at a Minneapolis facility.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in White Oak, Md., on June 5, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Minneapolis-based Gold Star Distribution Inc. said on Dec. 26 that it’s recalling all of its FDA-regulated products including over-the-counter cold and flu medications, dietary supplements, pet foods, cosmetics, medical devices, and foods that were distributed in locations primarily in Minnesota.

The reason for the action is “potential Salmonella contamination, presence of rodent and avian contamination, and insanitary conditions during the storage process,” the FDA said in a description of the recall.

According to a statement from Gold Star, people who consume or handle the products may become ill because of “adulteration from pests, including rodents, birds and insects.” The FDA found that the company facilities harbored “rodent excreta, rodent urine, and bird droppings in areas where medical devices, drugs, human food, pet food, and cosmetic products were held.”

“These conditions create a significant risk that products held at the facility may have been contaminated with filth and harmful microorganisms,” it said.

No illnesses have been reported so far, according to the FDA notice.

Health authorities say Salmonella infections may cause fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and stomach pain. Salmonella can sometimes enter the bloodstream, causing more significant illnesses such as endocarditis, arthritis, and arterial infections.

In rare cases, the bacterial infections can be fatal. Young children, older people, and individuals with compromised immune systems are particularly at risk of developing severe illness.

Officials also say that individuals who may be sick with the bacterial infection should call their health care provider right away if they have more severe symptoms, including a fever higher than 102 degrees Fahrenheit in combination with diarrhea, bloody diarrhea, or diarrhea for more than three days without signs of improvement

Other serious symptoms include excessive vomiting or signs of dehydration such as dry mouth, dry throat, less frequent urination, and feeling dizzy or lightheaded when standing. Antibiotics are often used to treat people with severe Salmonella infections, and patients with diarrhea are advised to drink more fluids.

Recall Includes Medication

The recalled products include over-the-counter cold and flu medications, according to the FDA and the company, including some Tylenol, Advil, Benadryl, DayQuil, NyQuil, Excedrin, Alka-Seltzer, and Motrin products.

A number of other products are affected by the recall. A full list of the items can be found on the FDA’s website.

People who have any questions can contact Gold Star at 612-617-9800 or report any adverse reactions to the FDA via its website.

Pending sales of existing homes in the US surged 3.3% MoM (more than the expected 0.9% MoM move) in November as a modest improvement in prices and mortgage rates encouraged buyers.

The gain was broad-based across regions and exceeded all but one estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists, but left the YoY change in sales somewhat stagnant on an NSA basis.

Signings have now increased for four straight months, matching a streak seen during the frenzied housing market of the pandemic.

“Homebuyer momentum is building,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement, citing improving affordability and more inventory choices compared to last year.

The trade association’s report on Monday showed contract signings rose in each US region last month to their highest levels of the year. The West posted the largest increase, followed by the South, the nation’s largest home-selling region.

November’s surge dragged the Pending Home Sales Index to its highest since Feb 2023…

Bloomberg reports that the recent data point to the gradual improvement many economists see for the housing market into 2026.

Mortgage rates that were close to 7% in May have since settled in the 6.3% to 6.4% range, and home prices are growing at a much slower rate compared to last year.

That’s helped fuel small gains in contract closings in recent months. However, economists and industry experts have widely different expectations for next year.

In a recent survey of nine market analysts, estimates for the home resale market ranged from 1.7% to 14% sales growth, with the rosiest projection coming from NAR’s Yun.

Pending-homes sales tend to be a leading indicator for previously owned homes, as houses typically go under contract a month or two before they’re sold.
 

There were no substantial breakthroughs in the latest Trump-Zelensky talks on Ukraine peace at Mar-a-Lago resort on Sunday, and fresh reporting on Monday reveals why.

A major point of disagreement remains security guarantees. Ukraine has been pushing maximalist demands for something akin to NATO Article 5 protections. It would be like getting all the benefits of being in NATO but without being a formal member of the Western military alliance.

The Ukrainian side has revealed that President Trump had offered security guarantees for 15 years following a peaceful settlement, but Zelensky considered this much too short to protect from future potential Russian aggression.

But in classic Zelensky fashion, he wants way more than this. Also, maximalist demands are something that European leaders have backed him on all along – and they may have even put him up to. According to The Wall Street Journal:

Kyiv had asked for security guarantees to last up to 50 years after the end of the conflict during weekend discussions. In the documents currently being discussed, the U.S. offered a 15-year guarantee with the possibility of extension, Zelensky said in audio messages to journalists on Monday.

That’s half a century! Would Congress and the American public sign off on this? Congressional hawks like Lindsey Graham surely would, but others might not want to be hitched to the Ukraine wagon for yet decades more to come.

50 years? What’s he been smoking…

“We have been at war for almost 15 years, and therefore we would very much like the guarantees to be longer,” Zelensky has disclosed that he told Trump. “And I told him that we would very much like to consider the possibility of 30, 40, 50 years, and that this would then be a historic decision by President Trump.”

As for Trump, he has said he “would think about it” and further that “There will be a security agreement, it’ll be a strong agreement and the European nations are very much involved.”

But alas there’s been no agreement.

Last week we detailed that Zelensky actually wants to keep the contents of any US-Ukraine security deal a secret. He ultimately would like to bypass the American public and thus potential criticism by keeping the future deal’s contents from public knowledge.

“There is a separate document between us and the United States – bilateral security guarantees,” the Ukrainian leader wrote on X a week ago. “This is what we see: they must be reviewed by the U.S. Congress, with certain details and annexes remaining classified.“

The American people might have something to say about that, especially on a ‘classified’ backroom deal which could drag future generations into war with nuclear-armed Russia.

Authored by Autumn Spredemann via The Epoch Times,

As artificial intelligence (AI) investment ramps up, some analysts are now drawing comparisons to the early “dot com” days of the internet and the market crash that followed.

It’s a deja vu moment for Wall Street: A revolutionary technology captures the imagination while capital floods in and valuations begin to put a high price on promises of a future that hasn’t arrived.

Now, as AI spending accelerates and a handful of mega companies dominate returns, financial industry insiders are asking whether the AI boom has crossed the line into market bubble territory—when the price of an asset exceeds its actual value.

Industries that have the most to gain—and lose—are reporting record earnings on AI. The top five companies on the S&P 500 are tech giants that are heavily invested in AI. Moreover, in the fourth quarter of 2024, 241 companies on the S&P 500 cited AI as part of their earnings—the highest number in a 10-year period, according to FactSet.

Investment experts say this is a potential problem: How much of these reported returns belong to AI and how much is bundled in with other earnings?

“Right now, stories about the future promise of AI are pushing stock prices higher. When those stories turn into earnings disappointments, prices will fall,” Paul Walker, author and owner of Fil Financial Corporation, told The Epoch Times.

“What most investors don’t realize is just how concentrated the market has become. The so-called magnificent seven have driven roughly 60 percent or more of recent gains in the S&P 500 and Russell 1000,” he said.

“In other words, people are far less diversified than they think. When those stocks stumble, panic spreads quickly, as investors dump index funds that are loaded with the same tech giants.”

The “magnificent seven” companies include Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla.

Some analysts believe the AI bubble will continue growing in 2026. Investing.com reported Capital Economics analyst Jonas Goltermann’s theory that the environment surrounding AI “now has many of the hallmarks of a bubble,” and includes “hyperbolic beliefs about AI’s potential within the industry and among investors.”

A recent J.P. Morgan analysis noted the majority of market bubbles follow a pattern and often begin with an “investor thesis” that the world is undergoing major changes.

“Believers build capacity to meet future demand. The bubble begins to form in part because credit is widely available. Decaying underwriting standards and increasing leverage cause a disconnect between economic fundamentals and market valuations. More and more investors join the crowd—until fundamentals finally prevail and the bubble bursts,” the analysis stated.

Apple announces upgrades to its artificial intelligence (AI) system, “Apple Intelligence,” during the annual Apple event at the company’s corporate headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., on June 9, 2025. Apple is among the top five companies on the S&P 500 that are heavily invested in AI. Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images

Living in a Bubble

Comparisons have been made between the current level of AI investment and the conditions leading up to the dot com bust of 2000.

According to a December GIS report, Oracle’s stock price soared 36 percent in September, despite the tech giant’s reported earnings falling below expectations. The stock price shot up after Oracle announced it expected AI-driven cloud revenue to hit $144 billion by 2030. It was the biggest single-day stock increase since 1992, which added an estimated $250 billion to the company’s market share.

In the late 1990s, speculation and heavy funding of internet startup companies or dot coms pushed NASDAQ’s Composite Index from 751 in January of 1995 to more than 5,048 by March of 2000. However, with many companies failing to deliver on their promised returns, the market plummeted by more than 75 percent between March 2000 and October 2002. More than $5 trillion in market value was lost during that time.

“Are we in a phase where investors as a whole are overexcited about AI? My opinion is yes,” Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, told The Verge in August. “When bubbles happen, smart people get overexcited about a kernel of truth.”

Dan Buckley, chief analyst for DayTrading.com, said the current situation “doesn’t quite feel like 1999 yet, but it’s similar to 1998.”

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during the OpenAI DevDay event in San Francisco on Nov. 6, 2023. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

“The real bubble typically forms after the technology proves that it matters, not before, as that’s what gets most investors off the sidelines,” he told The Epoch Times.

Buckley believes AI has “crossed that line,” making the current market phase more dangerous.

“Pricing can become even more stretched, and monetary and fiscal policy can become even more supportive of AI buildout. Governments are also getting involved, as they’re less sensitive to financial returns and see AI as a source of geopolitical power,” he said.

The amount of money corporations have spent hitching their wagon to AI futures is significant. Major “hyperscaler” tech companies spent $106 billion in capital expenditures in the third quarter of 2025 alone, according to a Dec. 18 report from Goldman Sachs.

Overall, large tech companies have spent an estimated $364 billion on AI this year, according to JDP Global.

Goldman Sachs observed that investors are becoming more cautious about where they’re putting their money.

“The past few months have seen the stock prices of AI hyperscalers diverge: Investors have rotated away from AI infrastructure companies where operating earnings growth is under pressure and where capex is being funded via debt,” the analysis said.

Goldman Sachs also said investors are opting for companies that demonstrate clear evidentiary links between their AI expenditures and revenues.

“There are some key similarities between AI and [the] dot com craze, both on the side of investors and corporations,” Pedro Silva, principal partner at Apex Investment Group, told The Epoch Times.

A billboard advertises an artificial intelligence company in San Francisco on Sept. 16, 2025. Billboards advertising AI companies are appearing throughout the city and along Interstate 80. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

“From the investor side, people want to get in on AI just because they hear it on the news daily,” Silva said. “There is no real scrutiny of the valuations or possible future headwinds; if it says AI and it’s grown substantially, investors want to participate.”

He said it’s similar from the corporate perspective. “Companies have to spend on AI, regardless of whether they see an immediate or obvious return on investment,” Silva said.

“To not invest in AI as the leader of an organization seems like a dereliction of duty, but the application of the new technology is not always clear.”

Thinking Ahead

Buckley believes most of the reported return on investment with AI is based on vision versus cash flow.

“The productivity gains are genuine, even exceptional, in areas like coding, but the investment is ahead of the evidence,” he said. “There has generally been little hard disclosure on how much AI is monetized directly versus bundled into existing products or simply a matter of future promises.”

He noted that any market devaluations related to AI and how it impacts individuals largely depend on how their income and savings are linked to technology.

The tech sector alone now comprises 34 percent of the S&P 500, according to The Motley Fool. For the average American investor with a diversified portfolio, that means roughly one-third of their investment could be affected, for better or worse.

“This [AI] buildout is based on the belief that ‘scale equals control.’ A break in that narrative is what’s likely to bust spending rather than traditional cyclical pressures like declining margins, falling stock prices, or rising interest rates,” Buckley said.

“While a pullback in the AI space would reflect on [and] be felt on client statements, the bigger concern would be if it is perceived as a broader economic downturn,” he said.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York City on Nov. 19, 2025. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Silva warned that investors could misread a shrinkage of AI investment as something bigger and make hasty decisions.

Silva emphasized that the top five tech giants are not synonymous with the U.S. economy, but their oversized representation in S&P returns could give that impression, triggering a broader equity selloff.

Walker pointed out that, over longer periods, the stock market has still shown steady growth—even amid big changes. He stressed the importance of the bigger picture, because today’s market leaders can become “tomorrow’s case studies.”

“Instead of trying to predict crashes or pick the next AI winner, investors should build a risk-based portfolio and rebalance it,” Walker said. “If your plan calls for 40 percent stocks, market drops mean you buy more, not panic. When markets boom, you buy less. Discipline beats prediction every time.”