'US estimated to have borrowed $127B in January: CBO'

 The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated in a report on Monday that the federal government racked up a deficit of $127 billion last month.

The CBO estimated the federal budget deficit reached $838 billion in the last four months, which is $306 billion more than the same time frame a year before, as outlays climbed 15 percent.

The agency projected a 6 percent increase in outlays for the nation’s biggest mandatory spending programs in the four-month stretch, with Medicaid outlays rising by $17 billion, “largely because of rising costs per enrollee.”

Spending for Social Security benefits was estimated to have risen by $31 billion during the period, which the agency attributed mostly to cost-of-living adjustments and increases in the number of beneficiaries. Medicare outlays were also projected to have increased by a net $14 billion “largely because of rising costs per enrollee,” the CBO said. 

Other areas that saw big jumps in spending since October include a 43 percent increase in outlays of the Department of Homeland Security, or a $12 billion boost, as the government responded to hurricanes Helene and Milton. The CBO also estimated a 17 percent increase in spending for the Department of Veterans Affairs as “more people used veterans’ benefits and because of increased spending per person.”

The report comes as House Republicans are working to craft a major partisan package to advance key parts of President Trump’s agenda, along with potentially significant cuts to spending and an increase of the debt limit, which caps how much money the Treasury Department can owe to pay the country’s bills.

Congress last agreed to suspend the debt ceiling into January as part of a broader bipartisan agreement to prevent a national default in 2023. 

The Treasury Department began taking so-called extraordinary measures last month so the nation could continue to meet its obligations without breaching the limit. The CBO said Monday that it will later “publish its estimate of how long the government could continue to finance its operations under those measures.”

The national debt stands at more than $36 trillion. 

https://thehill.com/business/budget/5136767-cbo-federal-budget-deficit-january/

'Court blocks Trump administration from sending three migrants to Guantánamo'

 A federal court on Sunday blocked the Trump administration from sending three migrants to the detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth J. Gonzales temporarily halted the transfer of three migrants from Venezuela, saying in a filing that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was holding them in New Mexico.

The three Venezuelan migrants began challenging their detention before the presidential election. They raised the Guantánamo transfer over the weekend, in light of the Trump administration beginning to transfer Venezuelans “depicting similar characteristics.”

The judge in the case, who was appointed by former President Obama, noted that his decision “is limited in scope to these three Petitioners.”

Late last month, President Trump signed a memo to prepare a facility at Guantánamo Bay for the use of housing deported migrants. The president had previously teased his intention to do so amid a signing ceremony for a bill related to immigration.

“We have 30,000 beds in Guantánamo to detain the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people,” Trump said at an event to sign into law the Laken Riley Act.

“Some of them are so bad we don’t even trust the countries to hold them because we don’t want them coming back, so we’re going to send them out to Guantánamo,” the president continued. “This will double our capacity immediately. And tough, it’s a tough place to get out of.”

In a Monday press release, a Center for Constitutional Rights attorney said “the Trump administration is invoking the specter of Guantánamo, known around the world as a shameful symbol of torture and lawlessness, to terrorize our clients … and others like them.”

“Our clients refuse to be used as pawns in this twisted game of punishment theater,” senior staff attorney Jessica Vosburgh said.

The Center for Constitutional Rights represented the migrants.

The Hill has reached out to ICE, the White House and the Department of Justice (DOJ) for comment.

When reached for comment, The Hill was referred by the Department of Homeland Security to the Department of Justice.

https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5136240-trump-administration-migrant-transfer-blocked/

Arrowhead Pharma Fiscal Q1 Loss Widens, Revenue Declines -- Shares Down After Hours

 Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ARWR) reported its fiscal 2025 first quarter results, highlighting significant developments. The company secured a major licensing agreement with Sarepta Therapeutics, receiving $825 million upfront ($500M cash, $325M equity investment) plus $250 million over five years, with potential additional payments of $300 million and approximately $10 billion in milestones.

The FDA accepted Arrowhead's NDA for plozasiran for familial chylomicronemia syndrome treatment, with a PDUFA date of November 18, 2025. Phase 3 PALISADE study showed positive results with significant reductions in triglycerides.

Financial results showed revenue of $2.5 million, down from $3.55 million year-over-year. Net loss widened to $173.1 million ($1.39 per share) compared to $132.9 million ($1.24 per share) in the previous year. Total cash resources stood at $552.9 million as of December 31, 2024.

https://www.stocktitan.net/news/ARWR/arrowhead-pharmaceuticals-reports-fiscal-2025-first-quarter-xoxjru9imfmf.html

Medpace Guides For FY 2025 GAAP EPS of $11.93-$12.69 on Revenue of $2.11-$2.21 B

 vs FactSet Analyst Consensus of $12.52/Share on Revenue of $2.21 Billion

https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MEDPACE-HOLDINGS-INC-30506552/news/Medpace-Guides-For-FY-2025-GAAP-EPS-of-11-93-12-69-on-Revenue-of-2-11-2-21-Billion-vs-FactSet-A-49012272/

Boston man cleared of US charges he acted as Chinese agent

 A jury found a Boston man not guilty on Monday of U.S. charges that he acted as an unlawful agent of China's government by supplying officials information about individuals, dissidents and groups in the local Chinese community.

Litang Liang, 65, was acquitted in federal court of charges that he acted as an unregistered Chinese agent in a case brought in 2023 that U.S. authorities had portrayed as part of their commitment to counter efforts by China's government to silence its critics abroad.

Liang, a China-born U.S. citizen, had denied the charges and pleaded not guilty. His lawyer during the trial called the charges "ridiculous" and called them an effort to chill the free speech of a local community activist who advocated for the "reunification" of democratically governed Taiwan with mainland China - a view in harmony with China's leaders.

"Justice has finally arrived," Liang told reporters through a translator following the verdict.

U.S. Attorney Leah Foley's office, which prosecuted the case, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Liang had worked at a hotel and for years had been an active member in his union as well as a community organizer and activist in the Chinese-American community in Boston, according to his lawyer, Derege Demissie.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Kistner told jurors on Friday during closing arguments in the case that China's government sought out Liang because it "wanted someone already involved in the community who knew the people who were there."

Prosecutors said Liang from 2018 to 2022 provided Chinese officials with information on individuals and shared details about dissents and groups with pro-Taiwan leanings.

Prosecutors said that in 2018, after traveling to Beijing for meetings with an arm of the Chinese Communist Party, Liang founded the New England Alliance for the Peaceful Unification of China, which focused on promoting China's goals with Taiwan.

China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory. Taiwan rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims, saying only the island's people can decide their future.

Prosecutors said Liang, also at the direction of Chinese officials, in 2019 organized a counter-demonstration against pro-democracy protesters, and in 2022 provided an official with a Chinese agency tasked with investigating political dissents information on two potential local recruits.

Demissie in his closing argument to the jury countered that Liang made no secret of his activism and that his prosecution infringed Liang's right to free speech under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment.

"This case would have meant nothing if it did not involve China," Demissie said. "That's what this is about. And it had the purpose of scaring people, and it achieved that purpose."

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2025-02-10/boston-man-cleared-of-us-charges-he-acted-as-chinese-agent

Vertex forecasts upbeat 2025 revenue on cystic fibrosis treatments demand

 Vertex Pharmaceuticals forecast annual revenue largely above Wall Street estimates on Monday, banking on robust sales of its cystic fibrosis drugs and early contributions from a newly approved non-opioid painkiller.

The drugmaker is looking to its acute pain drug, Journavx, to drive growth beyond its established line of cystic fibrosis treatments. Vertex expects to begin shipping Journavx to pharmacies in the U.S. by the end of February.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in December, also approved Vertex's once-daily next-generation treatment, Alyftrek, for a rare and progressive genetic disease, expanding its market dominance in cystic fibrosis (CF) treatments.

CF is an inherited disorder caused by a lack of a specific protein that results in poor flow of salt and water flow in and out of cells in various organs.

For the fourth quarter, ended December 31, sales of company's older CF treatment Trikafta rose nearly 17% to $2.72 billion.

The company aims to launch five new treatments by 2028, which include a next-generation CF drug and a non-opioid pain management medication.

In December, Vertex entered into an agreement with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to help increase patient access to its gene therapy, Casgevy, which treats a rare blood disorder requiring regular blood transfusions.

The Boston, Massachusetts-based drugmaker developed Casgevy with Swiss-American firm CRISPR Therapeutics.

Vertex sees 2025 revenue of $11.75 billion to $12.0 billion, the midpoint of which is above analysts' average expectation of $11.84 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Revenue for the company's fourth quarter rose nearly 16% to $2.91 billion, beating analysts' estimates of $2.78 billion.

On an adjusted basis, the company reported a profit of $3.98 per share for the reported quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of a profit per share of $4.03.

https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/vertex-forecasts-upbeat-2025-revenue-211347771.html

Musk-Led Group Leads $97.4 Billion Bid For Control Of OpenAI

 Elon Musk is leading a group of investors in a $97.4 billion offer to purchase the nonprofit that controls OpenAI - the makers of ChatGPT, - and which Musk was an original investor in.

On Monday, Musk's attorney Marc Toberoff said he submitted the bid to OpenAI's board of directors in an unsolicited offer that could upend OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's plans to convert it into a for-profit company, as well as plans to spend up to $500 billion on AI infrastructure through the so-called 'Stargate' joint venture, WSJ reports.

"It’s time for OpenAI to return to the open-source, safety-focused force for good it once was," Musk said in a statement provided by Toberoff. "We will make sure that happens."

Altman and Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 as a charity. In 2019, after Musk left the company and Altman became chief executive, OpenAI created a for-profit subsidiary that has served as a vehicle for it to raise money from Microsoft and other investors. Altman is in the process of turning the subsidiary into a traditional company and spinning out the nonprofit, which would own equity in the new for-profit.

One of the thorniest questions in the conversion has been how the nonprofit will be valued. Musk’s bid sets a high bar and may mean that he, or whoever runs the nonprofit, would end up with a large and possibly controlling stake in the new OpenAI.

The bid is being backed by xAI - Musk's own artificial intelligence company, which could end up merging with OpenAI following a deal. Other investors in the potential deal include; Valor Equity Partners, Baron Capital, Atreides Management, Vy Capital and 8VC, a venture firm led by Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale. And who else? Ari Emanuel - CEO of Hollywood company Endeavor (and the brother of Democrat operative Rahm Emanuel) - who was portrayed in Entourage.

Altman responded to the offer with a "no thank you," adding "but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want."

Musk has filed several legal complaints against OpenAI, accusing the company of betraying its original mission as a nonprofit by creating the for-profit arm, as well as colluding with Microsoft, its biggest investor, to dominate AI development.

On Jan. 7, Toberoff sent a letter to the attorneys general in California, where OpenAI is based, and Delaware, where it is incorporated, asking that they open up bidding for the company to determine the fair market value of its charitable assets. Musk and other critics have said they believe OpenAI may undervalue the nonprofit when they spin it out.

OpenAI has called Musk’s legal claims baseless and overreaching and said the nonprofit will receive full value in its ownership stake of the for-profit. The company released documents in December that it said showed Musk previously supported turning OpenAI into a for-profit but walked away because he couldn’t get control of it. -WSJ

What's more, Toberoff says Musk and team is prepared to match or exceed any bids higher than their own.

"If Sam Altman and the present OpenAI Inc. Board of Directors are intent on becoming a fully for-profit corporation, it is vital that the charity be fairly compensated for what its leadership is taking away from it: control over the most transformative technology of our time," he said.

The move to buy OpenAI comes weeks after Altman appeared next to newly inaugurated President Donald Trump and other business leaders to announce a plan called "Stargate," which would invest up to $500 billion over the next four years in US data centers - a plan which Musk talked mad shit about, claiming that the project's backers didn't have the cash for, and calling Altman "a swindler."

According to the report, OpenAI was already facing several hurdles on their path to converting from a charity to a for-profit company, with rival firm Meta Platforms sending a letter to California's attorney general in December expressing opposition to the plan, and OpenAI remaining stuck in negotiations with Microsoft and other stakeholders over how much equity should be allocated to whom.

The original plan was to complete the transition by later 2026, with a $6.6 billion funding round in October which valued the company at $157 billion. Separately, the company has been in talks to raise up to $40 billion in new funding at a $300 billion valuation in a round led by Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, which would invest between $15 and $25 billion itself.

 

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/musk-led-group-leads-974-billion-bid-control-openai