Goldman CEO takes lead on Wall Street in slamming Trump travel ban

By Olivia Oran

Jan 30, 2017

Goldman Sachs Group Inc Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein became the first major Wall Street leader to speak out against President Donald Trump's order to halt arrivals from several Muslim-majority countries.

In a voicemail to employees on Sunday, Blankfein said diversity was a hallmark of Goldman's success, and if the temporary freeze became permanent, it could create "disruption" for the bank and its staff.

"This is not a policy we support, and I would note that it has already been challenged in federal court, and some of the order has been enjoined at least temporarily," Blankfein said, according to a transcript seen by Reuters.

In Silicon Valley, the heads of companies such as Apple and Facebook swiftly denounced Trump's immigration ban. But the rest of corporate America has been more circumspect in speaking out, underscoring the sensitivities around opposing policies that could provoke a backlash from the White House.

Tepid responses from many of Blankfein's peers made his comments all the more potent, especially because Goldman has gotten attention for the number of its alumni who have joined Trump's administration.

Top BlackRock Inc executives including CEO Larry Fink, sent a memo to staff on Monday saying Trump's order presented "challenges" to its goals of diversity and inclusion. BlackRock is examining the direct impact on its employees, as well as the broader implications of the order, they said.

"We, of course, all want to promote security and combat terrorism, but we believe it needs to be done with respect for due process, individual rights and the principle of inclusion," they wrote.'

Citigroup CEO Mike Corbat said in a memo to employees on Monday the bank is concerned about "the message the executive order sends" as well as the impact immigration policies might have "on our ability to serve our clients and contribute to growth."

JPMorgan Chase & Co's operating committee, which includes CEO Jamie Dimon, avoided directly criticizing the policy. In a note to staff over the weekend, the firm said it was reaching out to all employees affected and noted that the country was "strengthened by the rich diversity of the world around us."

Bank of America Corp CEO Brian Moynihan wrote in an internal memo obtained by Reuters and confirmed by a spokesman that the bank is "closely monitoring" the order and connecting with staff who may be affected and have questions.

"We depend upon the diverse sources of talent that our teammates represent," the memo stated.

Other banks, including Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo & Co, said they were reviewing the executive order and its implication on staff.

Representatives for stock exchange operators Bats Global Markets, Nasdaq Inc and New York Stock Exchange parent Intercontinental Exchange Inc all declined to comment.

The U.S. hedge fund industry was also virtually silent on the immigration restrictions. Representatives for most major firms —including Bridgewater Associates, Renaissance Technologies, Millennium Management and Two Sigma Investments — did not respond to requests for comment over the weekend.

Private equity firms, including Blackstone Group LP, whose CEO, Stephen Schwarzman, chairs Trump's advisory panel of business leaders, also would not comment on the travel ban.

People familiar with some of the banks' and firms' decisions in making public statements said a fear of riling Trump was inhibiting most CEOs' responses.

Since the election, he has taken to Twitter to excoriate certain companies, causing stock price swings. And because Wall Street is hoping for an easing of financial reform regulations, most firms want to stay in Trump's good graces, they said.

The most high-ranking Goldman executive to have joined the Trump administration is former Chief Operating Officer Gary Cohn, who left the bank in December to become head of the White House National Economic Council. Others include Treasury Secretary nominee Steven Mnuchin and Trump advisers Steve Bannon, Anthony Scaramucci and Dina Powell.

Those recruits have put the Goldman back in the spotlight as a bank that long had influence in government and public policy, from the days of the Great Depression to the 2008 financial crisis.

But after the bank was embroiled in scandals over its mortgage-market bets, it embarked on a campaign to improve its image. Blankfein has promoted its focus on philanthropy and diversity initiatives, as well as Goldman's role in job creation.

Wall Street falls the most this year as Trump honeymoon sours

By Rodrigo Campos | NEW YORK

Jan 30, 2017

Major U.S. stock indexes posted their largest drop so far in 2017 on Monday as investors worried that a curb on immigration ordered by Donald Trump was a reminder that some of the U.S. president's policies are not market-friendly.

An executive order issued by Trump on Friday banned immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, including legal residents and visa holders, and temporarily halted the entry of refugees. Over the weekend, thousands of people rallied in major U.S. cities and at airports in protest.

U.S. equities had hit a series of record highs following Trump's election in November, encouraged by his promise of tax cuts and simpler regulations.

"Investors focused on the pro-growth of (Trump's) proposals and not those detrimental to economic activity, like protectionism," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial in New York.

He said investors wore blinders to only see the market-friendly policies Trump spoke about during the campaign and the immigration ban was a reminder of actions he could take that could undermine the economy.

Technology, a sector which has openly opposed bans on immigration and hurdles to hiring foreign talent, weighed the most on the S&P 500.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 122.65 points, or 0.61 percent, to close at 19,971.13, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 13.79 points, or 0.60 percent, to 2,280.9 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 47.07 points, or 0.83 percent, to 5,613.71.

It was the largest daily percentage drop for the Dow since October, while the S&P and Nasdaq dropped the most since late December.

Earlier, Trump signed an executive order that would seek to pare back federal regulations by requiring agencies to cut two existing regulations for every new rule introduced.

In an event with small business leaders, Trump took credit for the market rally since Nov. 8:

"The stock market has gone up massively since the election. Everyone's saying 'Oh, the market will go down.' I said 'The market's not going down'."

The Russell 2000 index of small and mid-cap companies fell 1.3 percent Monday, giving back all of January's gains.

The CBOE Volatility index .VIX or Wall Street's "fear gauge" rose 1.30 points, the most for any day since Nov. 3.

Stocks fell even as U.S. consumer spending accelerated and a measure of pending home sales rose in December, pointing to sustained domestic demand that could spur economic growth in early 2017.

"Non-economic factors are starting to enter the fray to the detriment of the positive story equity market participants have been anticipating," said Washington, DC-based Wayne Wicker, chief investment officer at retirement plan manager firm ICMA-RC, which says holds about $36 billion in assets under management.

Airline stocks fell, with American Airlines (AAL.O) down 4.4 percent and United Continental (UAL.N) down 3.6 percent. At least one analyst cited worries over the travel ban to the United States.

"The concern is that (Trump's) travel ban starts to encompass more countries or that there are more stringent restrictions on travel to the U.S.," or other countries retaliate, said Stifel analyst Joseph DeNardi.

Delta (DAL.N), which suffered a systems outage that grounded about 280 flights between Sunday and Monday, fell 4.1 percent.

Also in investors' crosshairs: a Federal Reserve's policy meeting that begins Tuesday, corporate earnings from key companies such as Apple (AAPL.O) and Facebook (FB.O) and a raft of economic data including Friday's jobs report.

The S&P 500 posted five new 52-week highs and five new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 49 new highs and 42 new lows.

About 6.67 billion shares changed hands in U.S. exchanges, just above the 6.65 billion daily average over the last 20 sessions.

Basic ‘lizard brain’ psychology can explain the rise of Donald Trump

GERSH KUNTZMAN

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

January 31, 2017

On Sunday, I told you what's wrong with him. Today, we need to examine what's wrong with us.

Indeed, if almost half of America supports a President who more and more psychological experts believe has a personality disorder bordering on mental illness, there must certainly be something wrong with those supporters, too.

There is: They crave a strongman above all else — even above democracy itself.

Call it what you will — the "Authoritarian Dynamic," basic Freudianism, fear, insecurity, tribalism or even the rise of the "lizard brain" — but Donald Trump's rise follows a well-documented psychological path.

"When a population is feeling insecure, it favors authoritarian figures who promise to solve their problems and defeat their enemies," said Dr. William J. Doherty, professor of Family Social Science at University of Minnesota and author of the Citizen Therapists for Democracy manifesto, now signed by 3,800 mental health professionals.

Doherty, a student of history as well as the mind, reminds us that humanity's current organizing principle — liberal, pluralistic democracy — is largely a recent development. For most of human history, of course, civilization existed because "warriors and warrior-leaders" defeated their tribe's enemies.

"We are programmed for embracing hierarchy, starting with children clinging to parents, and the more threatened we are, the more we hope that a 'strongman' can save us," Doherty told me. "We have become so tribal that many of us would vote for the devil if he wore our colors."

That craving for a strongman kicks in when we feel insecure — so it's a self-fulfilling cycle: A would-be strongman whips up our sometimes-legitimate fears (of immigrants, of job losses, of loss of place in society, of Hillary Clinton) then rides in as the mother who will make it all better. Paging Dr. Freud!

"Brain science is important here," said Jean Fitzpatrick, a Midtown therapist. "When we feel threatened, the most primitive part of our brain, what we call our 'lizard brain,' gets activated. We're just reacting, just focused on survival. A strongman is usually an expert at talking to our lizard brain. A politician who talks in a way that sounds geekier will not connect."

That's not to say that everyone who voted for Trump has the brain of a lizard (though some of you...)! But it does connect to years of studies about why certain populations (looking at you, Nazis and Italian Fascists) turn to dictator types when times get tough.

Australian professor Karen Stenner, who specializes in authoritarianism, racism and intolerance, calls this "the Authoritarian Dynamic," and her work on the subject is considered seminal. The opening line of her book offers a chilling reminder of the divide between pluralists and closed-minded authoritarians:

"Some people will never live comfortably in a modern liberal democracy," she wrote.

Who are those people? They're anyone "inclined to believe only 'right-thinking' people should be free to air their opinions, and who tends to see others' moral choices as everybody's business," she added. "Across time and place, we find that those inclined to discriminate against other racial and ethnic groups rush to protect the 'common good' by 'stamping out' offensive ideas and 'cracking down' on misbehavior."

Intolerance — to outsiders, to gays, to free speech, to whatever — becomes particularly dangerous when society is under a perceived threat, she adds.

"The threatening conditions that activate authoritarian attitudes include, most critically, great dissension in public opinion and general loss of confidence in political leaders."

So our own fears created Trump.

Numerous studies back up the notion that fearful people are quick to abandon their stated values for the perception of safety. A 2011 study in the American Journal of Political Science confirmed that after 9/11, "those predisposed toward intolerance and aggression (became) even more intolerant and aggressive."

And a 2015 English study revealed that after the 2005 London terror bombings, "there was greater endorsement of the in-group foundation, lower endorsement of the fairness-reciprocity foundation, and stronger prejudices toward Muslims and immigrants."

Trump openly appeals to this fear. His executive order that shut down the borders explicitly cited the need "to protect the American people from terrorist attacks by foreign nationals," even though not a single attack on American soil since 1975 has come from a resident of the seven Muslim countries cited in the order.

Nonetheless, the fear of terror attacks creates the perception that we have to guard ourselves from the dangerous world outside our group, which only heightens our insecurity and feeds our fear of the outside group — a vicious cycle that can easily be exploited, psychologists say. But it isn't limited only to terror but to any perceived loss of power.

"Trump supporters perceived their perceived lower status in society as undeserved and they compared themselves with others who had undeserved higher status in the way they were treated," Dr. Norm Feather, a professor of psychology at Flinders University in Australia, told me. "The relative deprivation would generate a lot of resentment against the current system and would affect voting behavior. These people are reacting to being left out and to perceived injustice and they vote to change the system."

Does that mean there is something "wrong" with Trump supporters? No. But they are easily exploited.

"There is nothing 'wrong' with people who are driven to fear — it's human," said Tracy Morgan, a psychoanalyst and editor of the website, "New Books in Psychoanalysis."

"When frightened, we don't think," she added. "We can only act to relieve ourselves from terrible anxiety. And when we have a leader who tells us that we should be afraid of things to come, that only he can protect us from, we are easily done in. We all want to feel protected. An infant without a protector simply dies."

Christian Leaders Question Trump's Promise To Favor Christian Refugees

TOM GJELTEN
January 31, 2017

President Trump is promising to give priority to Christians fleeing persecution — yet some of the strongest criticism of his executive order is coming from Christian leaders themselves.

Some say the temporary ban on admitting refugees challenges the Christian ethic of welcoming the stranger. Others worry that favoring Christians over other immigrants could actually backfire.

Among the Christian groups criticizing President Trump's executive order are some who have been generally friendly to him. Eight evangelical leaders, including Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, who prayed at his inauguration, sent Trump a letter Sunday asking him to reconsider his suspension of refugee resettlement.

Another clergyman who prayed at Trump's inauguration, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, told reporters Sunday that the executive order "at first blush causes us some apprehension."

"But we're looking forward to studying it, and we look forward to hearing the experts who work for us in the next couple of days to say, 'Here's what it says. Here's the trouble it's going to cause, and here's what we need to do about it,' " he said.

Dolan is a longtime Trump friend. Other Catholic leaders were much harsher in their assessment of the executive order.

That criticism from the Christian world is notable because President Trump said he'll give special attention to Christian refugees. The executive order itself doesn't mention Christians by name, saying only that members of religious minorities will be given priority treatment.

But in an interview last week with the Christian Broadcasting Network, Trump specifically said he sees Christians as a priority because "they've been horribly treated."

"If you were a Christian in Syria, it was impossible, at least very, very tough, to get in the United States. If you were a Muslim, you could come in. But if you were a Christian, it was almost impossible," Trump said.

In fact, more than 99 percent of the Syrian refugees entering the United States in 2016 were Muslim, though refugee experts say that does not necessarily mean Christian refugees were discriminated against. Only a small percentage of the Syrians fleeing the country were Christian; they may also have been underrepresented in the refugee camps overseen by the U.N. refugee agency, which is largely responsible for determining who qualify as refugees.

The prospect of a Syrian Christian gaining admission to the United States, however, will actually be worse under Trump's executive order, at least in the short term. The directive bars all refugees from Syria, including Christians, indefinitely.

As for refugee law generally, it is not as though someone can qualify for refugee status simply by being a Christian.

"The core of being a refugee is having a reasonable fear of persecution," says Paul Rosenzweig, a law professor at George Washington University and an official in the Department of Homeland Security under President George W. Bush.

"If you cannot demonstrate that, then you're not entitled to get any status at all," he says.

It's a case-by-case determination. A Christian who wants to come to the United States but cannot demonstrate that he or she faces persecution back home will not get special treatment.

Christians have been persecuted widely in the Middle East, especially in areas under the control of ISIS. But even those organizations most supportive of beleaguered Christians have mixed feelings about prioritizing them over others facing persecution.

David Curry, president of Open Doors USA, worries that putting Christians in a favored category could actually make things worse for them.

"What I think might exacerbate the challenge is that if this is seen as a religious test to get into America, [extremists will] use that as an excuse to attack Christians even further," he says.

Curry's organization advocates giving priority simply to those people most in need of refuge, whether Christians or minority Muslims or Yazidis.

Andrew Doran, senior policy adviser for the organization In Defense of Christians, thinks the priority should be on preserving Christian communities in the Middle East; he'd like to see more of an effort to protect them where they now live.

"It's very important for these Syrians to be safe, protected, and the best way to do this is for a U.S.-led international coalition to establish protected zones," he says.

As recently as last week, President Trump was saying he'd support the establishment of safe zones in Syria. That proposal was in an earlier draft of his executive order. But it was omitted in the final version.

Starbucks Says It Will Hire 10,000 Refugees Worldwide In Next 5 Years

By Rebecca Hersher

January 30,2017

Leaders of several American companies have announced plans to hire, house or otherwise support people affected by President Trump's sweeping freeze on people seeking asylum in the U.S. or traveling from seven largely Muslim countries.

NPR's Carrie Johnson breaks down the president's executive order on immigration here.

Starbucks Chairman and CEO Howard Schultz says his company plans to hire 10,000 refugees in the next five years in the 75 countries where it does business.

In a letter to current employees on Sunday, Schultz said the company would "start this effort here in the U.S. by making the initial focus of our hiring efforts on those individuals who have served with U.S. troops as interpreters and support personnel in the various countries where our military has asked for such support."

Starbucks has about 238,000 employees worldwide, 157,000 of whom work in the U.S., according to a 2015 regulatory filing.

Schultz also directly addressed the potential effects that "proposed trade sanctions, immigration restrictions and taxes" might have on the company's business in Mexico, where it says it has nearly 600 stores:

"We stand ready to help and support our Mexican customers, partners and their families as they navigate what impact proposed trade sanctions, immigration restrictions and taxes might have on their business and their trust of Americans. But we will continue to invest in this critically important market all the same."

He also reiterated the company's past assurance to employees who purchase health insurance under the Affordable Care Act that they "will always have access to health insurance through Starbucks," even if the law is repealed, as congressional Republicans and President Trump have vowed to do.

The CEO of the global home-rental company Airbnb, Brian Chesky, wrote on Facebook that the company is "providing free housing to refugees and anyone else who needs it in the event they are denied the ability to board a US-bound flight and are not in your city/country of residence."

"We have 3M homes, so we can definitely find people a place to stay," he wrote, referring to the private residences users list for rental through Airbnb.

On its website, Airbnb invited people to volunteer their homes for free to people affected by the immigration freeze. "If free housing is not available in certain markets, Airbnb will subsidize the cost of necessary listings," a spokesperson wrote in an email to NPR, pointing out that the new policy is part of an ongoing company program that connects relief workers at refugee camps in Europe with people volunteering free housing.

The ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft also reacted to the order by announcing changes to company policies.

Lyft announced it would donate $1 million over the next four years to the American Civil Liberties Union "to defend our constitution."

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick said the company was working on a plan to pay drivers "who use Uber and come from the listed countries, many of whom take long breaks to go back home to see their extended family. These drivers currently outside of the U.S. will not be able to get back into the country for 90 days."

Kalanick is one of 19 business leaders who have accepted positions on Trump's economic advisory team, as Business Insider reported.

On Sunday, Uber's operation in New York City pointed to Kalanick's announcement as evidence that the company was not on board with the immigration freeze, after its drivers seemingly undercut a protest of the policy by New York City taxi drivers.

As The Atlantic reported: "On Saturday, as demonstrators gathered at John F. Kennedy International Airport to protest President Trump's immigration ban, the New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA) released a statement condemning the administration's controversial executive order.

...

"Later, the NYTWA directed its 'largely Muslim,' 19,000 members to participate in a one-hour strike at JFK in solidarity with the protesters. With thousands demonstrating boisterously outside the airport, the taxi lines normally packed with passengers inside the terminal were cordoned off entirely. And while none of the new arrivals at JFK had any luck hailing a yellow cab, the effects of the work stoppage were minimized in part by Uber, the ride-hailing app, which continued to operate at the airport throughout the strike.

...

"Later, after the NYTWA's work stoppage ended, Uber tweeted that it had turned off surge-pricing at JFK, effectively undercutting taxi drivers as they returned to work after protesting."

Over the weekend, the CEOs of Google, Twitter, Facebook and Apple all issued statements condemning the freeze and "complaining that the order was pushed through so quickly it left great uncertainty about the status of some of their best employees," as NPR's Jim Zarroli reported.

"Apple would not exist without immigration, let alone thrive and innovate the way we would do," Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote in a message to his employees. "I've heard from many of you who are deeply concerned about the executive order issued yesterday restricting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. I share your concerns. It is not a policy we support."

NYC union workers stand with refugees, immigrants at Battery Park protest

BY GINGER ADAMS OTIS

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

January 29, 2017

Hundreds of New Yorkers poured into lower Manhattan Sunday afternoon in a show of solidarity with immigrants and refugees seeking entry into the United States - and many of the city's union workers were among them.

The rally drew federal, state and city lawmakers - including Mayor de Blasio, who addressed the crowd in Battery Park City with the outline of the Statue of Liberty behind him - who in speech after speech blasted President Trump for his travel ban on Muslim refugees.

The diverse crowd chanted pro-immigration and civil rights slogans in response as organizers lined people up to being the short walk to 26 Federal Plaza - site of the city's immigration office.

Some marchers left messages at the grave site of American statesman Alexander Hamilton - who was born in Nevis, the British West Indies in 1757 - inside Trinity Church at Wall St.

"New York is for Everyone," said one sign, decorated with hearts and placed in the wrought-iron gate guarding Hamilton's grave.

Powerhouse progressive union 32BJ SEIU, whose members acted as marshals as well as participants, sent a large contingent in a show of force for the march it had helped organize.

Also present were members from the New York Taxi Alliance, whose yellow cab drivers had shut down fares to and from John F. Kennedy Airport Saturday night in act of support for the protesters who flooded the airport as Trump's ban was enacted.

Also present, however, were some members from the city's construction trades unions, as well as members of Teamsters Joint Council 16, which represents about 120,000 members in city locals.

"The union is supporting the march and will be there," said spokesman Alex Moore.

Historically, many of the more conservative building trades have not turned out in large numbers for rallies or protests around social justice issues - but another trade unionist at the march Sunday said that may all change now that President Trump is attacking immigration.

"Our union and many other trade and constructions unions were founded by immigrants who couldn't get any other jobs - they weren't welcome in other trades," said Mike McGuire, political director for Mason Tenders District Council 9, which represents several laborers groups around the city and Long Island.

"Immigration has always been an issue we have cared about, since we were founded in 1904, and it still is - many of the city's construction workers are immigrants and our attitude has always been that it's better to welcome them in than try to keep people out," McGuire said.

While trades and construction unions haven't always seen eye to eye with social justice groups and progressive labor organizations around the city - one famous example came when big box store Wal-Mart tried to move into Manhattan - there is common interest in wanting to protect civil liberties and basic American rights, McGuire said.

He's also wary of President Trump's divide-and-conquer tactics, which were on display last week when he met at the White House with leaders of construction, carpenters, plumbers and sheet metal unions.

Those who sat down with Trump were North America's Building Trades Unions President Sean McGarvey, Laborers' International Union of North America President Terry O'Sullivan, SMART sheet metal workers' union President Joseph Sellers, United Brotherhood of Carpenters President Doug McCarron and Mark McManus, president of the United Association that represents plumbers, pipefitters, welders and others, according to Reuters.

The meeting - which also included several local labor officials - came on the heels of a meeting between President Trump and 12 CEOs of major U.S. companies. The topic was the revitalization of the U.S. manufacturing economy.

Trump also met in early January with Teamsters President Jim Hoffa and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. The labor leaders sat down with Trump privately in separate meetings in New York.

Trump has since given his approval to two controversial oil pipelines that were blocked under former President Obama.

The Keystone XL pipeline is now back in play, as is the pipeline in the Dakotas that's has been the focus of major protests by Native Americans.

The resurgence of those sensitive projects could become a wedge that helps further splinter the country's union movement, McGuire noted.

"When it comes to comparing social justice activism to trade unionists, we're just more pragmatic," said McGuire, noting that it was all about "jobs, jobs, jobs."

That said, he added, most of the construction and trade unions nationally have traditionally gotten their work through large-scale government investment in the country's infrastructure - meaning bridge and highway repair.

"As the Tea Partiers started stepping in and blocking that funding, those projects dried up and we saw a switch to pipeline projects. We'd much rather have our work be in American infrastructure, and we're pushing to get it there," McGuire said.

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Where was TWU Local 100? Stirring sugar in their coffees, under the blanket snoring! If TWU Local 100 respected their Muslims members would have marched, but it is a clear message from TWU Local 100 to their Muslims members get lost,  we will take your dues only.

Even their useless Muslim executive board (station agent) Tareque Ahmed was having a good time.

Bless the hearts of “Powerhouse progressive union 32BJ SEIU”