US Inflation Hits Main Street: Tariffs and Rising Costs Drain American Small-Business Optimism (Axios)

Small-business owners were excited for Trump 2.0. Now, tariffs and inflation are causing headaches and eroding optimism.

45% of small-business owners said inflation is their biggest challenge in the Chamber's survey, conducted in October during the government shutdown. And they're raising prices just to keep up: 58% said they expect to raise prices this holiday season, but 52% also expect lower revenue.

New Poll: Majority of Americans Blame Trump for High Prices, Even His Own Voters (Politico)

Nearly half of Americans said they find groceries, utility bills, health care, housing and transportation difficult to afford, according to a Politico poll conducted last month by Public First.
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While President Trump gave himself an “A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus” grade on the economy during an interview with Politico’s Dasha Burns, the poll results underscore that voters’ financial anxieties have become deeply intertwined with their politics, shaping how they evaluate the White House’s response to rising costs.
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Half of those surveyed said they find it difficult to pay for food. And a majority, 55%, blame the Trump administration for the high prices — even as the White House emphasizes its focus on affordability and the economy ahead of the midterm.
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What really stood out: As affordability increasingly becomes a political flashpoint, with Democrats eager to seize on GOP vulnerabilities, a meaningful share of Trump’s own voters — 22 percent — blame the president for the high grocery costs.

"Fatigue": The One Word That Sums Up the Job Market in 2025 (Axios)

Farmer Fallout: Trump’s Tariffs Intensify Strain on US Farmers, Deere Warns (Financial Times)

Tractor maker Deere has warned that President Trump’s tariffs are backfiring on American farmers, prompting cash-strapped producers to delay replacing aging equipment.

Cory Reed, president of the company’s agriculture and turf division, told the Financial Times that demand for expensive farm equipment in the US is faltering as growers contend with weak crop prices, higher input costs and persistent trade uncertainty. 

The strains have pushed Deere to slash production at its flagship tractor plant in Waterloo, Iowa, with the group “building half as many tractors this year as we did two years ago”, Reed said. Reed added that the world’s biggest farming equipment maker is planning further job cuts in 2026 after several rounds of layoffs in recent years.

Rate Decision: Federal Reserve Cuts Rates With Three Dissents, Projects One Cut in 2026 (Bloomberg)
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Federal Reserve officials delivered a third consecutive interest-rate reduction, lowering the benchmark federal funds rate by a quarter point to a range of 3.5%-3.75%.

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Boosting UK Mayors

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Mike Bloomberg met with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Minister Rachel Reeves, and Minister Miatta Fahnbulleh in London to discuss Bloomberg Philanthropies' new mayoral training and leadership program that they are supporting together.

The initiative will help UK metro mayors and their Mayoral Strategic Authorities (MSAs) accelerate progress and turn newly devolved and broader powers into tangible results for residents. It builds on more than 10 years of work led by Bloomberg Philanthropies to advance mayoral leadership and local government innovation across the globe.

Under the UK's devolution agenda, mayors are being given more responsibility for shaping their economies, infrastructure, and services - a very promising development, Mike writes in his LinkedIn post. 

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Learn more about the mayoral initiative here. And read Mike's op-ed in The Telegraph below or on the Terminal here. 

Britain Needs to Supercharge the Power of Regional Mayors (The Telegraph - Opinion)

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Rachel Reeves, Mike Bloomberg, and Keir Starmer meeting at 10 Downing St in London.

What I'm Reading

Tensions Rise: US Seizes Oil Tanker Off the Coast of Venezuela (Bloomberg)

Adding pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, US forces intercepted and seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, according to people familiar with the matter, a move that marks a serious escalation of tensions between the two countries.

The US action may make it much harder for Venezuela to export its oil, as other shippers are now likely to be more reluctant to load its cargoes. Most Venezuelan oil goes to China, usually through intermediaries, at steep discounts due to the sanctions risk.

Ukraine Today: Ukrainian Allies to Meet as Kyiv Sends Draft Peace Plan to Trump (Bloomberg)
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A coalition of Ukraine’s allies will discuss a bid to move swiftly on President Trump’s peace proposal today as Kyiv’s forces carried out their first-ever attack on Russian Caspian Sea oil production.
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Leaders from more than 30 countries that are part of the so-called coalition of the willing group will hold a virtual meeting today, their second this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video address.

Allies will discuss the state of peace talks and the latest draft plan that Ukrainian officials sent to Washington overnight, people familiar with the planning said. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz are expected to brief participants on an exchange they had with Trump on Wednesday.

Canadian Higher Ed Push: Canada Launches $1.2bn Fund to Poach Academic Talent From US (Financial Times)

Canada is set to spend C$1.7bn (US$1.2bn) to attract up to 1,000 leading international and expatriate researchers, as part of a plan to strengthen its universities and attract US talent as some American academics seek jobs abroad because of pressure from the Trump administration.

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This is a Real Government Program: US to Start Accepting ‘Gold Card’ Visa Applications, Trump Says (Bloomberg)

President Trump said his administration is now accepting applications for his “Gold Card” visa program, touting the effort as critical to helping businesses hire foreign-born graduates of American universities.

The Gold Card program, first announced in September, is an effort to encourage the world’s wealthy to emigrate to the US by offering them residency permits for a hefty price tag. 

Individuals would pay $1 million and businesses $2 million to obtain US residency through the Gold Card. Applicants would also have to pay a $15,000 processing and vetting fee. A “Platinum Card” would also be available for $5 million, which would allow recipients to “spend up to 270 days in the United States without being subject to US taxes on non-US income.” The latter card was listed as “coming soon” on a government website as of Wednesday.

The gold card: 

Enforcement Expansion: US Buys Own Boeing 737 Fleet to Speed Trump’s Deportation Push (Bloomberg)

The US government will buy six Boeing Co. 737 jets to carry out deportation flights, expanding the administration’s efforts to ramp up the removals of people living in the country without legal status.

Ruling in California: Trump Cannot Deploy National Guard in Los Angeles, Judge Says (Bloomberg)
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A federal judge said the Trump administration cannot deploy the California National Guard in Los Angeles and must relinquish control of the troops to Governor Gavin Newsom, the latest setback in the administration’s bid to use soldiers to respond to civilian protests.

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State Warning: New York Warns 950,000 People They May Lose Health Coverage Under Trump Cuts (Bloomberg)

Netflix vs Paramount: Warner Bros. Merger Fight Draws Fire Across US Political Divide (Bloomberg)

The debate over which company will end up owning Warner Bros. — Netflix Inc. or Paramount Skydance Corp. — is carving up the country along political lines.

In Republican circles, it’s become fashionable to root against Netflix. Paramount is run by David Ellison, who has close ties to the White House and whose bid for Warner Bros. is backed by Jared Kushner, son-in-law of President Trump. Some prominent Democrats, on the other hand, are voicing objections to the Paramount bid, crying foul over the $24 billion coming from Middle East sources.

President Trump added drama on Wednesday when he said that any deal for Warner Bros. should include the sale of its CNN cable news network.

Media News: Tony Dokoupil Is Named Anchor of ‘CBS Evening News’ (New York Times)

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CBS News named Tony Dokoupil, one of the hosts of its morning show, as the next anchor of the “CBS Evening News.” His appointment is the first significant shake-up at the broadcast news division under its new editor in chief, Bari Weiss.

🌟 Bloomberg Employee Reminder: As the year draws to a close, this is a reminder that Bloomberg LP will match your donations up to $5,000 through Dec. 12 to our non-profit partners, doubling your impact. Even small acts of kindness can make a big difference. The deadline is Monday, Dec. 12, so be sure to donate and apply for company match by that date. Visit BOB or click here for more details on matching gifts, volunteering, payroll giving, and dollars for hours giving.

Music Assistant: Spotify Test Will Let Users ‘Power’ the Algorithm and Generate Customized Playlists (Bloomberg)

Spotify Technology SA will begin testing a new feature that allows users to type an idea for a playlist into the app and receive a unique set of songs based on their historical taste and behavior.

On Stage in NYC: Rediscover Holiday Magic in Manhattan Theater as Christmas Classics Return (New York Times)

Holiday classics like “A Christmas Carol,” “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “Amahl and the Night Visitors” — all getting outings on Manhattan stages this season — are durable by nature. As with any beloved work of art, their meaning can alter for individuals over time, and deepen with repetition. They can also land differently depending on who’s interpreting them, and how.

Currently running a stone’s throw from Wall Street at the Perelman Performing Arts Center, where the ensemble of actors plays some of the music on handbells, the Jack Thorne adaptation is a distinctive take on Dickens’s original. Yet the retelling, conceived and directed by Matthew Warchus, is in keeping with Dickens’s social message that hardhearted greed is bad, and kindly selflessness is the way to go.

Buy tickets to the performance here, running through Jan. 4, and learn more about PAC-NYC here. 
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Best of Late Night

On Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Health Secretary RFK Jr.'s press event where they promoted their idea to develop fitness stations at American airports:

“Everyone at the airport is already exhausted from traveling, all right? We can’t even walk to the gate. They had to invent floors that walk for us.”
-- Ronny Chieng

“Also, this is the same guy who wants us to dress up when we fly. So what, now I’m doing pull-ups in a tuxedo before I jump on a 12-hour flight to Hawaii?” 
-- Ronny Chieng

“They also want playgrounds for kids and more recreation areas for layovers, which yeah, OK, that’s one idea. Or, and hear me out, maybe just try to have the planes leave on time so we don’t need to come up with fun ways to hang out at the airport all day.”
-- Jimmy Kimmel

“Remember when Elon came in and chainsawed all the air traffic controllers? How about we hire some more of those instead of the playgrounds? Then maybe we won’t need Pilates outside Chili’s To-Go.”
-- Jimmy Kimmel

And from The Daily Show: Desi Lydic and Troy Iwata recap the FIFA World Cup Draw and Peace Prize Ceremony, the biggest award show you’ve never heard of, where the balls were mingled, the Village People performed the “YMCA,” and Trump received a trophy, medal, and certificate before jetting over to the Kennedy Center Honors to make KISS’s big night all about himself. Click the photo to watch. 

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