Holding

• Bill Ackman's Pershing Square has executed its most significant portfolio overhaul in several years, adding six new holdings to its investment strategy. • The expansion includes high-profile additions such as Netflix and Visa, signaling a shift in the fund's sector exposure. • This reshuffle matters as it reflects a strategic pivot in Ackman's approach to growth and value, diversifying the fund's concentrated bets.

• Situational Awareness has invested $500 million in Source Foundry, a startup focused on developing advanced tools for semiconductor manufacturing. • The investment targets critical bottlenecks in the AI supply chain, specifically focusing on the development of new tools for lithography. • Sequoia partner Stephanie Zhan highlighted that constraints are becoming increasingly significant across the chain, from AI models to the machinery used to build chips.

• A Senate committee voted on Thursday to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after he invoked the Fifth Amendment over 100 times during a COVID-19 pandemic hearing. • In a separate diplomatic clash, the Trump administration revoked the visa of Brazilian ambassador Maria Luiza Viotti following Brazil's denial of visas for two U.S. diplomats. • An offshore wind company has reached a $1.2 billion settlement with the Trump administration to abandon development projects off the coasts of New York, California, and Louisiana.

Veteran US health official invoked fifth amendment right amid hostile questioning from Republicans last weekUS politics live – latest updatesA US Senate committee says it obtained a backup copy of Anthony Fauci’s iPhone as it weighed whether to hold the veteran government health official in contempt of Congress for refusing to answer Republicans’ questions amid a hostile inquisition last week.The phone was used by Fauci during his time as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, including his time fronting the first Trump administration’s response to the Covid pandemic in 2020. Continue reading...

Hearing called after the former chief medical advisor invoked the fifth and refused to answer questions at a hearing on Covid-19 Hello and welcome to our live coverage of US politics.The Senate is expected to vote today on whether to hold Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress. Continue reading...

• Two Federal Reserve officials dissented against the decision to hold interest rates steady, arguing that a rate hike was necessary to combat elevated inflation. • The internal conflict over monetary policy intensified during Kevin Warsh’s second meeting as chairman of the Federal Reserve. • These dissenting officials believe that higher rates would have placed the central bank in a stronger position to stabilize prices and manage economic volatility.

President calls for former personal defense lawyer to be ‘immediately approved’ as attorney generalDonald Trump has defended controversial plans for a $1.8bn slush fund even as they threaten to derail the nomination of his former personal lawyer Todd Blanche for US attorney general.Blanche “should be immediately approved” by the US Senate, the president declared in a post on his Truth Social platform on Friday morning, defending the payout scheme proposed by his officials in the Department of Justice as it holds up Blanche’s confirmation. Continue reading...