Trump´s DOE Proposes Cutting Billions in Grants for GM, Ford, and Lots of Startups

Energy

Political

Summary:

The proposed cancelations, many of which have not been reported before, come on top of more than $7.5 billion in contracts the Trump administration said it would cut last week.

The Department of Energy is looking to cut billions more in federal funding, and many promising startups as well as automakers Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis could be affected by the Trump administration’s decision.

The proposed cuts would cancel more than $500 million of contracts awarded to more than a dozen startups, according to a TechCrunch analysis of a internal document that has not become public yet. All of the proposed cuts are grants that had been awarded under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The proposed cancelations, many of which have not been reported before, come on top of more than $7.5 billion in contracts the Trump administration said it would cut last week.

Startups might not be the only losers. Other companies slated to lose grants worth hundreds of millions of dollars include Daimler Trucks North America, Ford, General Motors, Harley-Davidson, Mercedes-Benz Vans, Stellantis, and Volvo Technology of America, according to the document viewed by TechCrunch. Sources confirmed with TechCrunch these are proposed cuts.

General Motors could lose at least $500 million in grant money issued from a federal Domestic Manufacturing Conversion Grant program. The money was going to be used to retool the Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant in Michigan. The automaker announced in July 2024 it planned to produce electrified vehicles, including hybrids at the plant.

Some of the awards are significant and, if cut, will undoubtedly affect the startups’ operations. Several were included in a list of proposed cuts that leaked last week, but many are new and have yet to be announced. TechCrunch has reached out to several of the companies and will update this article if they reply.

Two awards on the chopping block topped $100 million, including a $189 million award granted to materials startup Brimstone. Those funds would have helped the company build a plant to produce Portland cement, alumina, and other materials using less carbon dioxide.

The other went to Anovion, a Chicago-based startup that is working to build a factory to produce a domestic supply of synthetic graphite for lithium-ion batteries. Currently, Chinese companies dominate the graphite market.

Battery materials startup Li Industries received $55.2 million under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to recycle LFP batteries in an attempt to wrest part of that supply chain from China.

Other cement startups are on the list, too. Somerville, Massachusetts-based Sublime Systems was given an award for $86.9 million to build an ultra-low-carbon cement plant. Mountain View-based Furno, which is making a novel, modular cement kiln, would lose its $20 million grant to build a demonstration in Chicago.

Several building materials companies were also on the list. CleanFiber and Hempitecture, which make insulation for homes and commercial buildings, are at risk of losing $10 million and $8.4 million each. Skyven Technologies, which makes industrial heat pumps, and Luxwall, which makes super-insulated windows, would lose $15 million and $31 million respectively.

At least one of the proposed cancelations seemingly cuts against the administration’s goals of energy and AI dominance. TS Conductor, which could lose $28.2 million in grant money, makes advanced conductors for electric lines that promise to double or triple capacity on existing transmission lines. The technology could reduce bottlenecks on the grid and improve data centers’ likelihood of receiving power sooner.

Source: Techcrunch

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Commodity

Political

Gold pushed closer to $4,000 an ounce, extending a rally fueled by the US government shutdown and the political crisis in France.

Spot gold pushed above $3,991 an ounce on Tuesday to touch a new record high while December futures in New York, the most active contract, surpassed $4,000 for the first time.

Bullion’s rally gained new momentum after the suspension of federal operations in the US — now stretching into its second week — deprived investors of key data needed to gauge the health of the economy, while the Federal Reserve struggles to assess changing conditions. Traders are still pricing in a quarter-point cut this month, which should benefit gold as it doesn’t pay interest. Gold Closes In on $4,000 as Investors Weigh US Shutdown, France_1

Gold Closes In on $4,000 as Investors Weigh US Shutdown, France_1

In France, the resignation of Sebastien Lecornu as prime minister has thwarted attempts to rein in the largest fiscal deficit in the euro area. Along with Sanae Takaichi’s near-certain elevation as the next Japanese prime minister, the political upheaval has bolstered the dollar against the euro and the yen, the second and third most-traded currencies.

The political shakeups in France and Japan are adding to fiscal concerns and contributing to the rally in gold, Nicky Shiels, head of research and metals strategy at MKS Pamp SA, said in a note. A mix of retail demand, especially in Europe and Japan, and institutional inflows has driven the latest surge, she said.

US President Donald Trump has set the scene for gold’s surge of around 50% this year, as his aggressive moves to reshape global trade and geopolitics spurred a flight to safety and a move away from the dollar. Central banks and gold-backed exchange-traded funds have been enthusiastic buyers, while the Fed’s interest-rate cut, and the prospect of more to come, has added momentum to the rally.

Meanwhile, the People’s Bank of China extended its gold buying streak in September for an 11th consecutive month as bullion climbed to fresh records.

Reflecting the positive mood, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. — a long-standing bull on gold — raised its price forecast for December 2026 to $4,900 an ounce, up from $4,300, analysts said in a note, citing ETF inflows and central-bank buying.

“I’d suggest overweight in gold — despite its high price — as a hedge against the US dollar and preparing for more shocks to come,” said David Chao, a global market strategist at Invesco Asset Management. Allocation to gold as a percentage of investors’ portfolios is likely currently in the low single digits — but a level of around 5% is “a prudent measure to me,” he added.

Spot gold was up to $ at in New York, with prices on track for the biggest annual gain since 1979. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose . Spot silver fell while palladium rose. Platinum was little changed.

Source: Bloomberg

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Manuel

Political

Economic

Hopes for ending the government shutdown after a week of bluster in Washington could hinge on negotiations about reviving expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies.

But timing is the issue.

Republicans are dug into a position that they will only talk about this healthcare issue once Democrats vote to end the shutdown. Democrats respond that any conversation about those subsidies must take place now, saying a shutdown vote is the only mechanism they have to force Republicans to confront the issue.

Short of moderate Senate Democrats flipping to support the GOP plan, which remains a possibility, this healthcare debate is increasingly seen as the likeliest eventual avenue for negotiations that could reopen the government.

The latest hint came from the president himself on Monday, when President Trump told reporters that "we have a negotiation going on right now" around healthcare and that he would be interested in making "the right deal."

It was a claim immediately contradicted by Democrats — who noted they haven't heard anything from the White House in a week — with Trump then walking back his position a few hours later on social media.

The president's follow-up post put him back in line with the Republican stance that he is open to talks with Democrats, "but first they must allow our Government to re-open."

The question for investors and market watchers is increasingly how long it will take both parties to even come to the table.

'Insurance premiums for 2026 are going to DOUBLE'

At issue are enhanced Affordable Care Act healthcare tax credits set to expire at the end of this year. That could raise premiums for Americans covered by these plans, which are offered outside of employer-run programs.

These enhanced tax credits were first introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequently extended early in the term of former President Joe Biden to increase the financial assistance available to marketplace enrollees.

Extending these credits is just one of three Democratic asks. Others are reversing Medicaid cuts enacted by Republicans this summer, as well as limiting the president's ability to unilaterally cancel previously approved government spending.

Those two requests are steep political climbs — and amount to asking Republicans to reverse central elements of Trump's second term — but with a notable GOP openness on the tax credits issue.

A press conference with House Speaker Mike Johnson on Monday at the Capitol offered just the latest example.

Johnson said he supported talks to "adjust Obamacare so it will work for more people," but only after Democrats accede on the shutdown.

The press conference also showed how the looming deadline for these credits has created a challenge for Republicans. Johnson first called it a "December policy issue," but then, under questioning, acknowledged that notices about increased premiums could be sent out in November, making this an issue that needs to be addressed sooner.

The Democrats' response has been to say they simply don't believe Republicans will allow any conversations if the party gives up its shutdown leverage.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said over the weekend that Johnson won't allow a subsidy extension "until the American people force him to." He then added on Monday evening, "Republicans should understand that they cannot go forward unless we come to a bipartisan agreement to address the healthcare crisis."

But any future talks will need to wrestle with the divisiveness of these tax credits among Republicans, as plans emerge to incorporate a one-year extension of the credits into future shutdown negotiations.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia got plenty of notice this week when she announced she is interested in an extension, saying that without action, "my own adult children's insurance premiums for 2026 are going to DOUBLE."

But it's a fierce debate, with many Republicans showing no interest in extending any element of former President Barack Obama's signature law.

One of the loudest opponents is Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, who wrote a message to his party in a letter to the Wall Street Journal saying, "This Is No Time to Go Wobbly on ObamaCare."

How that debate is resolved remains to be seen, but for now, party positions appear set and focused on the Groundhog Day approach of voting again and again on apparently unworkable plans.

The Senate is set to hold a sixth series of votes on Tuesday — with little expectation that there will be any improvement on the record so far of zero for five.

Source: Yahoo Finance

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Central Bank

Economic

Fed officials are still split about how much to cut interest rates as the government shutdown deprives policymakers of key data, with some worried more about inflation and others more concerned about the job market.

The newest Fed governor appointed by President Trump, Stephen Miran, reiterated Tuesday that he wants to reach a so-called neutral level on interest rates much faster than his colleagues at the central bank. Neutral is a level designed to neither boost nor slow economic growth.

"I do think that the neutral rate has come down relative to a year ago," Miran said during a conversation at the Managed Funds Association Policy Outlook 2025 conference. "That makes monetary policy more restrictive than a couple quarters ago."

"Additional restrictiveness of monetary policy poses some risks going forward," he added, because "with some lags to policy you would expect the economy to weaken. So in the near term, I'm not very pessimistic at all about the economy, but I do see some risks lurking there if we don't adjust policy."

One voice arguing instead for more focus on inflation is Kansas City Fed president Jeff Schmid, who said Monday night that he thinks the current levels of interest rates are "slightly restricting" the economy, which he said is the "right place to be."

The Fed has a dual mandate to maintain price stability and maximize employment.

"With inflation still too high, monetary policy should lean against demand growth to allow the space for supply to grow and relieve price pressures in the economy," Schmid added in a speech in Kansas City.

The rate debate within the Fed has only intensified in the weeks since the last meeting, as policymakers go public with their views on the path ahead for monetary policy.

On Sept. 17, Fed policymakers offered a median estimate of two more cuts in 2025, although there was widespread divergence among the individual policymakers about those predictions. Miran openly disagreed with the quarter-point cut, saying it should have been larger.

Since that meeting, Miran has repeatedly called for deeper cuts, saying the Fed's current level poses risks to the US economy. He has penciled in five more rate cuts this year.

Miran said Tuesday he expects housing inflation to come down as falling rents are factored into measures of inflation with a lag. Housing accounts for the largest part of the Consumer Price Index, but not the Fed's most favored inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures index.

One of the other reasons Miran favors much lower interest rates is that immigration is now declining rapidly, and he expects tariffs to lower the deficit. He doesn't see tariff-induced inflation, though he admitted that it's possible we haven't yet seen those effects.

Schmid, on the other hand, worries that "aggressively boosting demand could raise the risk of an outsized increase in prices, as firms gain pricing power and increase the passthrough of tariffs to consumers."

Schmid noted that prices of durable goods, such as washing machines, refrigerators, and televisions, are increasing and that outside of the pandemic, prices of durable goods have declined consistently for the past three decades.

At the same time, Schmid pointed to increases in the prices of services — haircuts to electricity to landscaping — of 3.5% in recent months, well above the Fed's 2% target.

What also worries Schmid is that price increases are becoming more widespread. At the start of the year, 70% of consumption categories reported price increases, he said. By August, prices in almost 80% of categories were increasing.

Schmid said the Fed "must" maintain its credibility on inflation. He added that he will remain data-dependent, but with the government shutdown, he is relying on alternative private sector data on the job market and inflation, as well as data collected by the Kansas City Fed through surveys.

Miran, on the other hand, said private sector data is not a "sufficient replacement" for the government data.

"During this period of the government shutdown we are deprived of most of the data that we would need to be making monetary policy," he added.

He remains optimistic, however, that the government will reopen in time for the Fed to make its next rate decision at its meeting on Oct. 28-29.

Another Fed official, Minneapolis Fed president Neel Kashkari, sounded concerned Tuesday about both inflation and the labor market.

He said that economic data is sending stagflationary signals as the job market is slowing and inflation is sticking around 3%.

"So the big question is will tariff inflation be short-lived or sticky?" Kashkari said. "It's too soon to reach a firm conclusion."

Source: Yahoo Finance

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Stocks

Cryptocurrency

S&P Global announced plans to launch the S&P Digital Markets 50 Index, a benchmark that combines 15 cryptocurrencies with 35 publicly traded crypto-linked equities, offering a single gauge of the broader digital-asset economy.

According to the Oct. 7 announcement, S&P Dow Jones Indices developed the index in collaboration with Dinari, which will issue a token tracking the benchmark on its dShares platform, thereby expanding access for investors seeking exposure to both sides of the crypto ecosystem in a single product.

S&P said the equity portion will include companies involved in digital-asset operations, infrastructure, financial services, and blockchain applications, while the crypto portion will be drawn from the firm’s existing Broad Digital Market (BDM) family.

Initial methodology details published by financial media indicated the index will cap individual constituents at 5% and apply minimum market-cap thresholds, about $100 million for equities and $300 million for cryptocurrencies, with quarterly rebalancing under S&P’s governance framework.

The launch adds to S&P’s expanding suite of digital-asset benchmarks alongside its crypto and DeFi indices, part of a broader push by major providers to supply rules-based tools for institutions as tokenized markets mature.

Dinari, which develops tokenized U.S. equities and has advanced regulatory approvals this year, said the product demonstrates how blockchain can modernize established benchmarks by making them more accessible and globally relevant.

The move comes amid renewed interest in diversified crypto exposure and follows competing efforts by other index providers to track the “crypto economy,” though most alternatives to date focus solely on tokens or on blockchain-related equities rather than both.

Source: Cryptoslate

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Manuel

Economic

Political

President Donald Trump said he expects the US and Canada can “get there” on a resolution to their dispute over sectoral tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos.

Trump made the remarks in an Oval Office meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday, where the president described the disagreements between the countries as “natural conflicts” because they’re competing for the same business.

“That’s why I keep mentioning one way to solve that problem is a very easy way,” Trump said, an apparent reference to his suggestion that Canada should be the 51st US state, an idea that is widely opposed by Canadians.

“He wants to make cars, we want to make cars, and we’re in competition. And the advantage we have is we have this massive market,” Trump said as he sat next to Carney.

The meeting marks Carney’s second visit to the White House since becoming prime minister earlier this year — with a trading relationship worth $900 billion on the line. The former central banker won an election in April on a promise to negotiate a new trade and security deal with the US, but Trump has only hiked tariffs since then.

Carney told Trump that Canada is the US’s largest foreign investor, and suggested the pace of investment may accelerate — “probably $1 trillion in the next five years, if we get the agreement we expect to get. “

“There are areas where we compete, and it’s in those areas where we have to come to an agreement that works,” Carney said. “But there are more areas where we are stronger together, and that’s what we’re focused on.”

US tariffs on steel, aluminum, autos and lumber are battering key Canadian industries. And on Aug. 1, Trump raised levies on goods that don’t comply with the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement to 35% from 25%. The trade war has caused job losses and put a chill on business investment, pushing Canada’s economy to contract in the second quarter.

Canada is the largest foreign buyer of US-made vehicles, and exports most of its own automotive production to the US market.

Carney offered an olive branch to Trump in August when he announced the lifting of most of Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on imports from the US. Carney’s predecessor, Justin Trudeau, imposed counter-tariffs on about C$60 billion ($43 billion) of US products. Canada’s new policy on counter-tariffs is to apply them to areas where US tariffs are in place, such as steel and aluminum.

“We’re working on formulas and I think we’ll get there,” Trump said of the trade discussions.

Carney’s top negotiators, including his cabinet minister responsible for US trade, Dominic LeBlanc, and Canada’s ambassador to the US, Kirsten Hillman, are still pushing for a near-term deal that would see some sectoral tariffs lowered or dropped.

But Carney has begun to signal a shift in focus somewhat to the 2026 review of the North American free trade deal Trump signed in his first term.

Carney traveled to Mexico last month and pledged deeper cooperation with President Claudia Sheinbaum ahead of the review process. His officials have tried to pitch the US on the importance of fortified North American supply chains, especially in Canada’s wealth of critical minerals, as a counter to China’s dominance.

He has also attempted to address long-standing US complaints about Canada’s low military spending, agreeing to meet the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s target of spending 2% of gross domestic product on defense this year and pledging to ramp up to 5% by 2035. Trump said he expected the two leaders would discuss the US’s proposed Golden Dome missile defense system during Tuesday’s meeting.

Source: Bloomberg

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Kevin Du

Central Bank

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari on Tuesday cautioned that any drastic cuts to interest rates would risk stoking inflation.

“You would expect to see the economy have a burst of high inflation,” Kashkari said Tuesday during a panel discussion on artificial intelligence and the economy hosted by the Minnesota Star Tribune. “Basically, if you try to drive the economy faster than its potential to grow and its potential to produce prices, you end up just going up across the economy.”

The Minneapolis Fed chief, who doesn’t vote on monetary policy this year but participates in the Federal Open Market Committee’s deliberations, cautioned that current economic data is showing some signs of stagflation given growth is slowing and inflation remains persistent.

“Some of the data that we’re looking at is sending some stagflationary signals,” he said.