‘Clear and present danger’

The bipartisan Congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection turned its attention on Thursday to former Vice President Mike Pence, whose central role in preventing what the committee called an attempted coup by Donald Trump echoed across much of the day’s testimony. The hearing depicted an increasingly ominous campaign by Trump to pressure Pence to illegally block the transfer of power to Joe Biden. Evidence presented by committee members illustrated with stark detail the alleged violent intent of some Trump followers—stirred up by Trump’s speech and social media postings—and how on Jan. 6 some came within 40 feet of Pence as he fled. But just as darkly, testimony by Greg Jacob, who was Pence’s chief counsel, and J. Michael Luttig, a conservative legal icon and former federal appellate judge, focused on another man—Trump lawyer John Eastman. Eastman was one of the alleged architects of what the committee called Trump’s plan to stay in power, proposing ways in which Pence could violate the Constitution to Trump’s benefit, witnesses said. (Eastman repeatedly invoked his right against self-incrimination at his deposition.) As the hearing ended, Luttig—who called Trump a “clear and present danger” to American democracy—was asked to reflect on what lay ahead. His response: “The former president, his allies and supporters pledge that in the presidential election of 2024, if the former president or his anointed successor as the Republican Party presidential candidate were to lose that election, that they would attempt to overturn that 2024 election in the same way they attempted to overturn the 2020 election—but succeed in 2024 where they failed in 2020.” —David E. Rovella

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Stocks tumbled again just one day after the Federal Reserve’s dramatic rate increase as panicky investors resumed their search for the bottom. Homebuilders slid as mortgage rates jumped the most since 1987. In late trading, Adobe slumped after cutting its sales forecast. And the deal spread on Elon Musk’s proposed takeover of Twitter widened as the billionaire wasn’t directly asked and didn’t address the issue on whether he’s committed to buying the social-media firm during a staff meeting. Here’s your markets wrap.

It really wasn’t the best day for the world’s richest man. Musk may (or may not) want to buy Twitter for $44 billion, but in a call with employees Thursday, he probably didn’t make too many friends with his comments on potential firings. And SpaceX employees sent a letter to company executives denouncing Musk in the wake of sexual harassment allegations. As for Tesla, its stock is getting battered. And if all of that isn’t bad enough for the South African billionaire, he was just sued (along with SpaceX and Tesla) for $258 billion over claims they are part of a racketeering scheme to back the cryptocurrency Dogecoin.

Top Biden administration officials are weighing limits on exports of fuel as the White House struggles to contain gasoline prices that have topped $5 per gallon. Discussions around capping gasoline and diesel exports have picked up in recent days, as President Joe Biden intensified his criticism of soaring oil company profits.

Russia and China gave alternative accounts of President Xi Jinping’s birthday call with Vladimir Putin, as both sides seek to manage perceptions of their relationship in the wake of Moscow’s war on Ukraine.

When mortgage broker Jeff Lazerson quoted a 6% rate for a client this week, he thought it was a mistake. The last time 30-year rates were that high was late 2008, when policymakers plunged the world into an era of ultra-low rates to pull economies back from the brink. “What a shocker!’” said Lazerson, president of Mortgage Grader in Laguna Niguel, California. “My sense is we’ll see a very nasty recession.”

Homeownership has long been touted as one of the best ways to build wealth. But for many Americans, that path to financial security is moving further out of reach. There are, however, other strategies.

What’s a recession good for? According to billionaire real estate magnate Stephen Ross, it may do for employers what they haven’t been able to do for themselves: force workers back to the office. A shrinking economy and concomitant job losses will shift the leverage back to the bosses and lay low the dreaded letters WFH.

Ferrari Chief Executive Officer Benedetto Vigna recently presented his long-awaited strategy on how to electrify the brand synonymous with prancing horses. Ferrari will invest some 4.4 billion euros ($4.6 billion) to develop fully electric and plug-in hybrid models that will make up 60% of its portfolio by 2026. The company will retool its Maranello factory to produce EVs and assemble battery modules. The first fully electric Ferrari will hit showrooms in three years. The problem, however, is that the Italian company is a tad late to the party, which may present some problems.

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