Government

Colombia submits to Trump’s demands after tariff threats

When in doubt, impose tariffs. After Colombia’s president refused to comply with President Trump’s deportation of the nation’s migrants, Trump threatened to bombard the country with steep tariffs and other sanctions.

Hours later, Petro walked back his statements and even sent his presidential plane to come get them, narrowly avoiding a costly trade war between the two countries.

How did this begin?

Colombian President Gustavo Petro prevented the landing of two US military aircraft carrying deported migrants in Colombia over the weekend, sparking Trump to announce a 25% tariff on all goods entering the US from Colombia.

• If Petro continued to refuse to repatriate the migrants, the tariffs were to be increased to 50% in the following week.

After leaving San Diego, the jets allegedly had permission to land, but that permission was withdrawn during its flight. According to Petro, the deportees need to be handled with "dignity and respect" prior to their return.

Crisis averted

The US and Colombia exchange around $54 billion worth of products and services a year, making Colombia one of the US's biggest trading partners in Latin America. The US is also Colombia's largest market, accounting for over one-third of its total exports.

• The South American country makes up over 20% of the US’s total coffee imports, with other main exports being flowers, petroleum, gold, and bananas.

Late Sunday, the White House announced that the situation was averted, stating, “The Government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trump’s terms,” and that the proposed economic sanctions would be revoked as long as Colombia stays firm on its decision.

Looking ahead: The ordeal shows Trump isn’t afraid to use economic punishment as a bargaining tool, and comes days before Trump’s proposed tariffs on China, Mexico, and Canada are expected to go into effect on February 1st.

Housing

US home sales fall to their lowest point in 30 years

It seems every month homeownership appears to become less and less accessible. For the second time in three decades, sales of previously owned US homes dropped to a nearly 30-year low last year as a shortage of available properties, record prices, and high mortgage rates discouraged homebuying.

Bad prospects

Homeownership has been steadily declining in the US as several key factors turn prospective homeowners, many of whom are looking for their first house, away from the market.

• Roughly 4.06 million pre-owned homes were sold last year.

  • This is a sharp drop from more than 5 million sales in 2022 and a 0.7% dip from last year.

The main reason behind the slump? Rising interest rates, which surpassed 7%, and climbing home insurance premiums were major factors for those wanting to buy a home. On top of prospective buyers not wanting to enter the market, current owners want to stay put:

• Many existing homeowners secured mortgages at lower rates (below 4%) and don’t want to sell due to the high cost of borrowing.

High demand, higher prices

The median listing price climbed to an unprecedented $407,500 last year, a near 5% uptick from 2023. According to analysts, this was largely attributed to a shortage of open houses, rising construction costs, and high demand.

• However, a construction boom helped free up inventory, with 1.63 million homes built last year.

  • This marked a 12.4% boost from 2023, according to US Census data.

• According to the National Association of Homebuilders, new builds represented 30% of total home purchases in 2024.

That being said: Experts expect mortgage rates to stay high through the next couple of years, and while sales did pick up late last year, it’s not expected to be a trend through 2025.

Food

The bird flu has people scrambling to buy eggs

Can someone tell the chickens to stop sneezing on their kids? I need a protein-filled breakfast. A rise in bird flu cases across the nation has caused a severe egg shortage and shoppers are feeling the impact through expensive eggs and empty store shelves.

It’s running rampant

While the price of eggs, among many common goods, has largely gone up due to inflation, many aren’t looking at the bird flu as a major factor. Since avian influenza, a subset of the H5N1 virus, made its way to the US in 2022, it has killed over 136 million birds.

Unfortunately, it’s only getting worse:

• Approximately 13 million poultry animals at US farms have contracted the disease in the past month alone.

• To halt the spread of the flu, farmers have killed 30 million chickens in the last quarter.

  • That’s equivalent to ~10% of the roughly 318 million hens in the US.

Karyn Rispoli, an egg managing editor at Expana, told the NYT, “This is the most devastating wave of the bird flu outbreak we’ve seen since it began to spread”, and since farmers have had to cull so many hens, it will take months to get back to the same population levels.

• According to Rispoli, some orders for newborn chicks placed now are unlikely to be fulfilled until the middle of next year.

As poultry producers struggle to contain the illness, it’s caused a massive distribution disruption, leading grocery stores to have very few eggs. What little they do have, will be marked up exponentially.

Broken Yolk

Rispoli told Axios that egg prices are continuing to break record highs each day, with some grocery stores putting limits on how many eggs customers can buy in one visit and others not even being able to keep shelves stocked.

• The average price of eggs has unexpectedly increased to $6.72 in areas of the Midwest, the South, and New York City.

  • In November, the average price of a dozen large eggs in the US was $3.65.

• According to the most recent Consumer Price Index data, egg prices increased by about 37% between December 2023 and December 2024, while overall food inflation only grew by 2.5% in the same time frame.

In an attempt to keep prices low for consumers, some retailers like Aldi have tried to act as a “shock absorber”, according to the chain’s CEO, Jason Hart. But high demand isn’t making it easy and prices are only expected to climb in the coming months.

Looking ahead: Moderna has received around $590 million from the Department of Health and Human Services to expedite avian flu vaccine studies, and the American Egg Board told Axios it wants to work with the Trump administration to help find solutions.

Grab Bag

President Yoon indicted in a first for South Korea

South Korea is really on a run with its presidents lately. Yoon Suk Yeol, the impeached president of South Korea, was charged with insurrection on Sunday after briefly imposing martial law last month. It's the first time in the country's history a sitting president has faced criminal charges.

Why was he ousted?

On December 3, Yoon imposed martial law and sent heavily armed military forces to Seoul, claiming that he needed to protect the country from "antistate" North Korean sympathizers.

It was the first time martial law had been declared in South Korea since 1979, and the National Assembly invalidated the declaration just six hours later. Yoon formally withdrew the order early the following day.

• The declaration prompted riots across the country and resulted in unprecedented political unrest.

• On December 14, Parliament impeached Yoon and he was arrested nearly a month later on January 15.

What now? Yoon is set to stand trial with his top military officers and his former defense minister, who are accused of aiding the attempt at seizing total control. According to Yoon, the imposition of martial law was a preemptive warning meant to ease political tensions.

Looking ahead: Yoon could be sentenced to life in jail or the death penalty if found guilty, though South Korea hasn't carried out executions in many years. The Constitutional Court is also considering whether to officially oust Yoon from office or restore his authority. See the next steps here.

You can Venmo this airline for your plane ticket

But, much like your friends, they won’t reimburse you for the wings you bought at the bar. In an airline first, JetBlue is now accepting Venmo payments as a way for passengers to pay for their plane tickets.

Venmo Visionaries

The New York-based airline now allows US customers to purchase those coveted aisle seats (or window seats if you’re short) using a Venmo balance, linked bank account, or Venmo debit/credit card by scanning a QR code at checkout on the JetBlue website.

The launch is part of a larger strategy by the low-cost airline to enhance its offerings and draw in the 90 million Venmo users in the US, who are most notably young people.

• In September, JetBlue also updated its mobile app with fresh features, including a countdown to boarding and gate information.

With this move, Venmo is trying to further integrate itself into consumers’ traveling plans and, according to John Anderson, the senior vice president at PayPal, help “manage travel costs” through Groups, a feature that allows spenders to divide ongoing payments with peers.

Don’t call it a comeback: Recent years proved difficult for JetBlue, which reported an adjusted net loss of $54 million in the third quarter of 2024. Additionally, earlier this month, the US Department of Transportation fined the airline $2 million for "operating multiple chronically delayed flights," a first for the federal agency.

Fast Facts

Sith Sea Bug: Scientists identified a new giant deep sea bug in the South China Sea that they’re calling Bathynomus vaderi since its head somewhat looks like Darth Vader's helmet. I wish I was kidding.

Energy Earner: China’s “artificial sun”, more boringly called the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), has almost tripled its maximum runtime since 2023. The fusion reactor is meant to replicate the sun’s energy output, and once it’s stable enough, could lend an unlimited amount of clean energy.

Retail Racks: In an effort to increase retention rates, Walmart is increasing the compensation of certain regional store managers to over $600,000, which includes bonuses and stock awards.

Shaggy Sheets: How often should you wash your bed sheets and towels? A microbiologist says probably more often than you think.

AI Assistant: OpenAI's new digital assistant can book a flight, make reservations for restaurants and travel experiences, and even arrange a tour for you. However, it can't obsessively compare the prices of fish and chips at an English bar like I can.