President Claudia Sheinbaum announced plans to eliminate cash payments at every gas station and toll booth by the end of 2026, making digital payments mandatory through models developed with banks to digitize the Mexican economy and strengthen accessible digital methods. The policy aims to advance digitalization across more areas of the economy. On the same day, Russia activated an expanded cryptocurrency settlement network targeting multiple African nations to bypass Western banking channels for commodity and energy trade. We can perhaps clearly see now that we're rapidly moving towards a cashless society. It is more important than ever that digital currencies and payments are treated seriously and regulated such that we don't hand over all autonomy regarding commerce to governments.

The Democratic Republic of Congo confirmed it will receive third-country nationals deported from the United States under a new bilateral agreement with the Trump administration, with deportees expected to begin arriving in April under a temporary arrangement fully funded by the US at no cost to Congo. The deal reflects Congo’s commitment to human dignity and international solidarity and ties into broader US efforts on Congo-Rwanda peace and critical minerals cooperation. The African Union and migration champion states simultaneously issued a joint statement calling for coordinated continental approaches to returns of migrants and ensuring there is adequate labor mobility.

President Trump issued expletive-laden threats on social media, vowing to target Iranian power plants, bridges, and other infrastructure if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened by his deadline, warning that Iran would be “living in Hell” if they could not come to an agreement. He indicated a deal might still be possible amid the escalation. This comes as Israel reported only limited success in fully disarming Hezbollah despite ongoing operations and recent strikes, risking immediate global oil-supply shocks and energy-price volatility. Perhaps this is a classic lesson in underestimating one's opponents and we could all benefit from reflecting on the lessons in the Art of War.

The White House released its FY2027 budget proposal calling for a 10% cut to non-defense discretionary spending totaling $73 billion while seeking a massive increase in defense outlays. It proposes tiered military pay raises but stays silent on or proposes a freeze for the civilian federal workforce. The plan emphasizes constraining non-defense spending and reforming government. Last week we noted that the treasury had deemed the country insolvent so it is truly necessary that leaders go about cutting spending to try to impose a reality check regarding government spending.

A federal judge upheld the dismissal of subpoenas targeting Federal Reserve officials in Trump-era litigation, rejecting the DOJ’s motion to reconsider and finding the subpoenas appeared pretextual to pressure Chair Jerome Powell. At the same time, the Supreme Court is preparing to hear arguments on presidential authority to remove Fed governors. The DOJ has simultaneously escalated its criminal investigation into Powell and senior officials over past monetary-policy decisions and related matters. There's been an ongoing war between the administration and the federal bank and I'm instinctively not on the side of the federal bankers. It will be interesting to see nonetheless how the court understands the relationship between the executive branch and the federal reserve.

The USDA and Department of the Interior signed a Memorandum of Understanding to boost support for American ranchers by streamlining grazing on public lands, cutting red tape, and increasing coordination between agencies managing federal rangelands. The actions aim to increase domestic beef supply and lower retail prices for consumers amid high costs. This interagency package reflects broader policy efforts to address inflation through agricultural supply-side measures. Ranchers ought to have access to federal lands to raise and care for cattle so it's good to see a coordinated effort to make sure that's possible. Hopefully, this can have positive impacts for smaller scale ranchers who take on ethical ranching practices.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the City Council clashed over the proposed $127 billion budget, with Council Speaker Julie Menin proposing a plan to close a $6 billion deficit without tax hikes, service cuts, or using reserves, which Mamdani called unrealistic. Mamdani’s earlier proposal included tax increases on millionaires and corporations. The standoff highlights deep fiscal and political divides in addressing structural deficits and spending priorities in the nation’s largest city. Well Mamdani is clearly correct to say it's absurd to think the budget can be closed without cuts or increased taxes, and clearly he is an advocate for increasing the tax burden for wealthier residents.

The Delaware House advanced Bill 315, which prohibits payment card networks from charging interchange or swipe fees on gratuities in credit card transactions, ensuring tips go fully to service workers. This pits restaurants and small businesses against banks and payment networks over consumer-protection and payment-system impacts. The legislation is part of broader banking modernization measures under consideration. Here I'm going to go ahead and side with the restaurant workers over the banks and say the banks need not get a piece of this transaction. As we talked about earlier the world's payment system is undergoing a transition and hopefully soon we won't need to give banks a piece of every transaction.

Delaware lawmakers introduced Senate Bill 16 and Senate Bill 19 defining digital assets and virtual currency as personal property, updating banking codes, and establishing a licensing framework for payment stablecoin issuers and digital asset service providers with reserve requirements and AML obligations. The package modernizes fiduciary rules, aligns with federal standards, and supports interstate trust operations in a state heavily tied to financial services. It includes consumer protections to position Delaware in financial innovation. The changing of the payment and currency system seems to be the dominant theme of the day and every level of government is having to wrestle with how they'll manage it going forward.

Chelsea city leaders proposed revisions to inclusionary zoning, raising the threshold for requirements and reducing fees-in-lieu from $400,000 to $200,000 per unit, to attract more mixed-use development and increase property tax revenue. This addresses a multimillion-dollar school budget shortfall exacerbated by a drop of about 350 students in enrollment that impacts state aid. The changes raise legal and policy tensions with housing advocates concerned about affordable units and potential displacement.