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Democrats have remained relatively quiet while President Donald Trump and Republicans hammer federal district judges for churning out nationwide orders halting his administration’s actions.

But during President Joe Biden’s tenure, they decried similar wide-ranging injunctions and even sought to remedy the issue with legislation.

In 2023, Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, debuted a measure to give the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia sole jurisdiction over any cases with national implications.

‘When parties are able to choose their judges, it creates the perception that they are able to predetermine their case’s outcome, compromising the integrity of our federal justice system,’ she said in a statement at the time.

‘Activist plaintiffs should not be able to hand-pick individual judges to set nationwide policy, which is why it’s critical we address the issue of judge shopping in our federal courts. By routing cases with national implications through the D.C. District Court, which has expertise in cases challenging federal agency action, the Stop Judge Shopping Act will strengthen trust in our federal justice system and help ensure major cases are decided based on the law, not the ideological agenda of any one judge.’

The bill wouldn’t have ended nationwide injunctions as Republicans and Trump have sought, but it would give all jurisdiction on such decisions to one court, potentially reducing the probability of such orders being levied against Biden or other Democrat presidents.

The D.C. court is made up of 11 district judges appointed by former Presidents Biden and Barack Obama, and four were appointed by Trump. The court’s chief judge is Obama-appointee James Boasberg, who is at the center of a key battle with the Trump administration over deportation flights using the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 wartime immigration law.

A similar measure was proposed by then-Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., in addition to 37 other Democrats in 2024. The bill would have required cases involving broad injunctions to be randomly assigned in order to ‘promote uniformity and fairness.’

Hirono, Schumer and Whitehouse did not provide comment to Fox News Digital when asked if they still supported legislative action and if they backed any of the Republican bills.

Multiple Republicans in Congress have rolled out legislation this Congress to explicitly prevent district-level courts from issuing such wide-ranging orders, including Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, he wrote, ‘The obvious solution is to limit district courts to resolving the cases only between the parties before them.’

‘Under my bill, lower courts could no longer block legitimate executive action by issuing orders to nonparties to the lawsuit. The bill would also make TROs against the government immediately appealable, to make sure that prudence wins out over rash decisions handed down in the heat of a political moment,’ he explained.

The top judiciary Republican also pointed to past grievances Democrats have had with the practice of nationwide court orders.

‘Two-hundred forty Democratic lawmakers, including Sens. Chuck Schumer and Dick Durbin, in 2023, submitted a friend-of-the-court brief warning of the ‘perilous consequences’ resulting from a district judge’s move to block the abortion pill mifepristone,’ he recalled.

‘Justice Elena Kagan has similarly expressed dismay.’

The brief was filed to plead with the high court to overrule the nationwide injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, which suspended FDA approval of mifepristone.

‘The consequences of the Fifth Circuit’s decision could extend far beyond mifepristone, for it undermines the science-based, expert-driven process that Congress designed for determining whether drugs are safe and effective,’ the lawmakers wrote at the time. ‘By permitting the district court to disrupt FDA’s current regulation of mifepristone, the Fifth Circuit has countenanced judicial interference that erroneously substitutes the district court’s judgment for FDA’s scientific determination.

Hirono, Schumer and Whitehouse have not been publicly critical of nationwide injunctions during the new Trump administration as district judges across the country manage to halt actions.

On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the subject as Republicans push legislation to end the practice of issuing nationwide orders.

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Politics

District judges’ orders blocking Trump agenda face hearing in top Senate committee

The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing to examine the influx of nationwide orders against the Trump administration by federal district judges.

Last week, Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, revealed the details of the event, set one day after the House committee’s hearing on the same subject.

‘Since the courts and the executive branch are on an unsustainable collision course, Congress must step in and provide clarity,’ he said in a statement last week. ‘Our hearings will explore legislative solutions to bring the balance of power back in check.’

The hearing, titled, ‘Rule by District Judges II: Exploring Legislative Solutions to the Bipartisan Problem of Universal Injunctions,’ will feature testimony from John N. Matthews Professor of Law at Notre Dame Samuel Bray, partner at Boies Schiller Flexner Jesse Panuccio, who was previously the acting associate attorney general at the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the chairman of the DOJ’s Regulatory Reform Task Force and vice chairman of the DOJ’s Task Force on Market Integrity and Consumer Fraud, as well as Agnes Williams Sesquicentennial Professor of Federal Courts at Georgetown University Law Center Stephen I. Vladeck.

After revealing details of the hearing, Grassley rolled out his own bill to tackle the issue.

‘These nationwide injunctions have become a favorite tool for those seeking to obstruct Mr. Trump’s agenda,’ he wrote in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal. ‘More than two-thirds of all universal injunctions issued over the past 25 years were levied against the first Trump administration. In the past two months alone, judges have issued at least 15 universal injunctions against the administration—surpassing the 14 President Biden faced throughout his four-year term.’

Grassley’s legislation would restrain the lower courts’ ability to issue nationwide orders, and they would no longer be able to stop ‘legitimate executive action’ by granting orders to entities or individuals who are not parties to the lawsuit.

While similar bills have been introduced by Grassley’s GOP colleagues in both the Senate and House, it is unclear whether the issue will get floor votes, as it would need to amass more than 60 votes in the upper chamber to beat the filibuster.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has not elaborated much on the issue and, when asked about it, he told reporters, ‘At the end of the day, there is a process, and there’s an appeals process. And, you know, I suspect that’s ultimately how it’s going to be ended.’

President Donald Trump has made his frustration with nationwide injunctions clear, urging action on them publicly.

‘Unlawful Nationwide Injunctions by Radical Left Judges could very well lead to the destruction of our Country!’ the president said in a recent Truth Social post. ‘These people are Lunatics, who do not care, even a little bit, about the repercussions from their very dangerous and incorrect Decisions and Rulings.’

‘If Justice Roberts and the United States Supreme Court do not fix this toxic and unprecedented situation IMMEDIATELY, our Country is in very serious trouble!’ he continued.

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Politics

Courtroom combat: Inside the federal judiciary system where Trump’s agenda is under assault

The legal resistance to President Donald Trump’s second term is in full swing with more than 120 lawsuits filed since Jan. 20 by states, advocacy groups and individuals targeting his executive orders and policy agenda.

As the lawsuits move through the judiciary, understanding the structure of the federal court system can help clarify how these challenges are likely to unfold.

Article III of the U.S. Constitution establishes the Supreme Court along with ‘inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.’ The Constitution also states that judges shall hold their offices during a period of ‘good behavior.’

The federal judiciary has three main levels: district courts (trial courts), circuit courts (the first level of appeal) and the Supreme Court (the final appellate authority). There are 94 district courts, 13 circuit courts and one Supreme Court.

To hear a case, a court must have personal jurisdiction (authority over the parties involved), subject matter jurisdiction (authority to hear the type of legal issue at hand) and proper venue (the correct geographic location for the case to be tried).

Unlike state courts, which have broad authority, federal courts are courts of ‘limited jurisdiction,’ which means they can only hear cases authorized by the Constitution or federal law. Each lawsuit filed against the Trump administration raises a federal question, giving federal courts subject-matter jurisdiction.

Each district court has at least one United States district judge appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate for a life term. Plaintiffs who lose at the district court level can appeal to a federal appellate court.

Appellate courts, also known as circuit courts, hear appeals from district courts within their geographic boundaries. Each circuit covers multiple states. For example, the Fifth Circuit includes Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

Each circuit also has multiple judges, ranging from six total judges to 29. Appeals to the circuit courts are first heard by a panel of three judges. Parties must file briefs to the court, arguing why the trial court’s decision should either be affirmed or reversed.

After briefs are filed, oral arguments are scheduled during which attorneys from both sides present their case and answer questions from a panel of judges. In some instances, the full court may hear a case in what’s called an en banc session. The Ninth Circuit, due to its size, follows a modified en banc process.

A circuit court’s decision is binding on all lower courts within that circuit. As such, those courts must follow that holding. Other circuits can look to that circuit’s holding as reference, but they are not bound by it.

A case can generally only be appealed once a final decision has been issued. However, some issues can be appealed before a final decision is made via what’s called an interlocutory appeal.

Parties can appeal a circuit court’s decision to the U.S. Supreme Court by filing a writ of certiorari, which is a request for the court to review the case. The Supreme Court isn’t required to take the case and denies most petitions, granting review in less than 1% of appeals. When cert is denied, the lower court’s ruling remains in place.

A circuit split is when circuits disagree on a particular legal matter. This will generally prompt the Supreme Court to grant cert in a case. If cert is granted, parties must file briefs and conduct oral arguments.

Each circuit is assigned to a specific Supreme Court justice who handles certain appeals from that region, such as emergency applications and administrative requests. For example, Chief Justice Roberts oversees the D.C. Circuit, the 4th Circuit and the Federal Circuit. The assigned justice may act alone or refer the matter to the full court at their discretion.

The Trump administration has already appealed various decisions to the Supreme Court via emergency appeals. On March 28, the administration asked the court to review a temporary restraining order that blocked the administration’s use of an 18th-century wartime law to deport Venezuelan nationals, including alleged members of the gang Tren de Aragua, from the United States.

The appeal came shortly after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued a 2-1 ruling to uphold the district court’s decision blocking the administration.

Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.

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Business

Elon Musk says backlash against his DOGE government cuts is hurting Tesla stock

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Sunday that his involvement in the Trump administration could be hurting the automaker’s stock price.

Speaking at a town hall event in Wisconsin, Musk said his role with the so-called Department of Government Efficiency — which is pushing for widespread government job cuts — is creating backlash against his electric car company and hurting the stock.

“What they’re trying to do is put massive pressure on me, and Tesla I guess, to … stop doing this,” Musk said, according to Bloomberg News. “My Tesla stock and the stock of everyone who holds Tesla has gone, went roughly in half. I mean it’s a big deal.”

Elon Musk at a Cabinet meeting at the White House on March 24.Win McNamee / Getty Images

Shares of Tesla entered Monday already down more than 34% year to date, and the stock has been cut nearly in half from its peak in December. Shares were down an additional 6% in premarket trading Monday.

Tesla’s stock is trading at a little more than half of its highest level from December.

The drop for the stock could be a “buying opportunity” for the long term, said Musk, who was in Wisconsin ahead of a state supreme court election there. Musk has campaigned for the conservative candidate and spent more than $12 million on the race, in addition to giving $1 million each to two voters at Sunday’s rally for signing a petition against “activist judges.”

The slumping stock isn’t the only sign of public anger with Musk for his political work. Protesters demonstrated at Tesla dealerships over the weekend, and there have been reports of vandalism against vehicles and dealers across the country.

Musk’s role in politics is not limited to DOGE. He publicly campaigned with Trump in 2024 and has been a regular presence at the White House since the new administration took over in January. He also regularly comments on many different political topics on X, the social media company he owns.

The CEO’s rising political profile comes amid signs that Tesla’s core business is slowing. The automaker’s vehicle deliveries declined in 2024, and preliminary data has shown that sales are down again early this year, especially in Europe. In a note to clients Sunday, investment firm Stifel trimmed its price target on the stock and lowered its sales projections for Tesla.

Musk’s political dealings may not be the only reason for Tesla’s struggles. Other U.S. auto stocks have also labored in recent weeks, partly because of threats of higher tariffs on imported goods into the U.S. and retaliation from overseas trading partners, adding uncertainty to an industry whose supply chains are tightly woven among the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

Business

Restaurant chain Hooters files for bankruptcy protection to enable founder-led buyout

Restaurant chain Hooters of America filed for bankruptcy protection in Texas on Monday, seeking to address its $376 million debt by selling all of its company-owned restaurants to a franchise group backed by the company’s founders.

Hooters, like other casual dining restaurants, has struggled in recent years due to inflation, the high costs of labor and food and declining spending by cash-strapped American consumers. The company currently directly owns and operates 151 locations, with another 154 restaurants operated by franchisees, primarily in the United States.

The privately-owned company, which shares a private equity owner with recently-bankrupt TGI Fridays, intends to sell all corporate-owned locations to a buyer group comprised of two existing Hooters franchisees, who operate 30 high-performing Hooters locations in the U.S., mainly in Florida and Illinois.

Hooters did not disclose the purchase price of the transaction, which must be approved by a U.S. bankruptcy judge before it becomes final.

Founded in 1983, Hooters became famous for its chicken wings and its servers’ uniform of orange shorts and low-cut tank tops.

The buyer group is backed by some of Hooters’ original founders, and it pledged to take Hooters “back to its roots.”

“With over 30 years of hands-on experience across the Hooters ecosystem, we have a profound understanding of our customers and what it takes to not only meet, but consistently exceed their expectations,” said Neil Kiefer, a member of the buyer group and the current CEO of the original Hooters’ location in Clearwater, Florida.

Hooters said it expects to complete the deal and emerge from bankruptcy in three to four months. The company has lined up about $35 million in financing from its existing lender group to complete the bankruptcy transaction.

Casual dining restaurants have been hammered by rising costs in 2024, with well-known chains like TGI Fridays, Red Lobster, Bucca di Beppo, and Rubio’s Coastal Grill all filing for bankruptcy last year.

Restaurant prices have risen about 30% in the last 5 years, outpacing consumer prices overall, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

Business

Meta’s head of AI research announces departure

Meta’s head of artificial intelligence research announced Tuesday that she will be leaving the company.

Joelle Pineau, the company’s vice president of AI research, announced her departure in a LinkedIn post, saying her last day at the social media company will be May 30.

Her departure comes at a challenging time for Meta. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has made AI a top priority, investing billions of dollars in an effort to become the market leader ahead of rivals like OpenAI and Google.

Zuckerberg has said that it is his goal for Meta to build an AI assistant with more than 1 billion users and artificial general intelligence, which is a term used to describe computers that can think and take actions comparable to humans.

“As the world undergoes significant change, as the race for AI accelerates, and as Meta prepares for its next chapter, it is time to create space for others to pursue the work,” Pineau wrote. “I will be cheering from the sidelines, knowing that you have all the ingredients needed to build the best AI systems in the world, and to responsibly bring them into the lives of billions of people.”

Pineau was one of Meta’s top AI researchers and led the company’s fundamental AI research unit, or FAIR, since 2023. There, she oversaw the company’s cutting-edge computer science-related studies, some of which are eventually incorporated into the company’s core apps.

She joined the company in 2017 to lead Meta’s Montreal AI research lab. Pineau is also a computer science professor at McGill University, where she is a co-director of its reasoning and learning lab.

Some of the projects Pineau helped oversee include Meta’s open-source Llama family of AI models and other technologies like the PyTorch software for AI developers.

Pineau’s departure announcement comes a few weeks ahead of Meta’s LlamaCon AI conference on April 29. There, the company is expected to detail its latest version of Llama. Meta Chief Product Officer Chris Cox, to whom Pineau reported to, said in March that Llama 4 will help power AI agents, the latest craze in generative AI. The company is also expected to announce a standalone app for its Meta AI chatbot, CNBC reported in February.

“We thank Joelle for her leadership of FAIR,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement. “She’s been an important voice for Open Source and helped push breakthroughs to advance our products and the science behind them.”

Pineau did not reveal her next role but said she “will be taking some time to observe and to reflect, before jumping into a new adventure.”

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

World

Top blue-chip crypto tokens to buy in April to 5x your money

Bitcoin and most crypto tokens crashed in March as concerns about the Federal Reserve and Donald Trump’s tariffs continued. After rising to a record high of $109,300 in March, the BTC price plunged by over 20% to $82,000.

There is a likelihood that many crypto tokens will bounce back in April as investors buy the dip and the dust on tariffs settles. Also, there is a likelihood that the Federal Reserve will intervene this month and boost the crypto and stock market.

Top crypto tokens to buy and 10x your money

This article explains some of the best blue-chip crypto tokens to buy in April and 10x your money. These tokens, which are ranked in no particular order, have strong fundamentals and technicals. Some of those to consider are Sonic (S), JasmyCoin (JASMY), Shiba Inu (SHIB), and Pepe (PEPE).

Sonic (S)

Sonic is one of the best crypto tokens to buy and 10x your money in April. Formerly known as Fantom, has become one of the fastest-growing players in the crypto industry in terms of its ecosystem growth.

It was relaunched in January, and has grown to become the 12th biggest chain in the crypto industry with over $1 billion in assets and $500 million in stablecoin market cap. Its TVL jumped by almost 50% in the last 30 days.

The Sonic token, however, has diverged from this performance as it crashed by almost 50% from its highest point on record. This performance, therefore, will likely bounce back this month as investors price in its strong fundamentals.

Technically, the Sonic price formed a double-bottom pattern whose neckline was at $0.9840, pointing to a 93% surge from the current level.

Shiba Inu (SHIB)

Shiba Inu is one of the top crypto tokens to buy for big gains in April. It has numerous catalysts that may help it to boost its price over time. First, unlike other meme coins, Shiba Inu is a highly deflationary token because of its substantial burn rate that has reduced the number of tokens in circulation by trillions.

Second, Shiba Inu has transitioned itself from a mere meme coin into a utility token through its Shibarium layer-2 network. While its ecosystem is small, analysts anticipate that it will start to gain market share over time.

Third, Shiba Inu price has strong technicals. It has formed a double-bottom pattern on the weekly chart, and a falling wedge on the daily, pointing to a strong rebound later this year. A move to the double bottom’s neckline at $0.000033 will point to a 165% surge from the current level.

Shiba Inu price chart | Source: Tradingview

JasmyCoin (JASMY)

Jasmy, commonly known as Japan’s Bitcoin, has been in a strong downward trend in the past few months. The most bullish case for the token is that it has formed a giant falling wedge pattern, a popular bullish reversal sign.

This pattern is comprised of two falling and converging trendlines. In JASMY’s case, these two trendlines are about to converge, meaning that a strong bullish breakout is possible. In this case, a breakout to its 2024 high of $0.05935 would signal a 430% surge from the current level.

Jasmy chart by TradingView

Pepe (PEPE)

Pepe is also one of the best crypto tokens to buy and 5x your money in April. Like Shiba Inu, the token has formed a falling wedge pattern, meaning that a strong bullish breakout is possible to happen this year.

The Pepe coin has also formed a bullish reversal pattern as the Relative Strength Index (RSI) and the BBTrend indicators pointed upwards. Therefore, the token will likely keep surging as bulls target the key resistance level at $0.000017, its 50% retracent point, which is about 135% above the current level.

Pepe coin price chart | Source: TradingView

Other altcoins to buy to 5x your money

The other top altcoins to buy and 5x your money in April are the likes of XRP, Hedera Hashgraph, Chainlink, Algorand, and Polkadot.

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World

AUD/USD forecast: signal after the RBA interest rate decison

The AUD/USD exchange rate remained under pressure on Tuesday after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) delivered its second interest rate decision of the year. It was trading at 0.6245, down slightly from the year-to-date high of 0.6390. So, what’s ahead for the Aussie ahead of the US jobs numbers and Liberation Day tariffs?

RBA interest rate decision

The AUD/USD exchange rate moved sideways after the RBA concluded its two-day meeting and left interest rates unchanged.

It left the official cash rate at 4.1% as it solidified its state as the most hawkish central bank in the developed world.

Unlike other major central banks, the RBA left interest rates unchanged in 202, even as the economy slowed down and consumer inflation moved downwards.

The RBA delivered its first interest rate cut in the last meeting, moving it from 4.35% to 4.1%. In its Tuesday’s meeting, officials decided to leave interest rates unchanged at 4.1%, noting that it wanted to see more evidence that inflation was moving downwards. The statement added:

“The assessment is that monetary policy remains restrictive. The continued decline in underlying inflation is welcome, but there are risks on both sides and the Board is cautious about the outlook.”

Recent economic numbers have painted a mixed picture about the Australian economy. The labor market remains tight, with the unemployment rate moving at 4.1%, while inflation has moved inside the RBA’s target range of between 2% and 3%.

Consumer spending has ticked up as inflation retreated. While these are important developments, the RBA is concerned that long-term inflation expectations are still high.

Trump Liberation Day tariffs

The next key catalyst for the AUD/USD pair will be the upcoming Liberation Day tariffs by Donald Trump.

These tariffs will greatly impact most economies, especially those with a large trade surplus with the United States.

On the positive side, Australia runs a trade deficit with the US, meaning that the Trump administration may not target it.

However, the administration will target countries like China that do a lot of business with Australia. These tariffs, could, in theory, affect companies’ prices of top commodities like iron ore as steel demand falls.

US NFP data ahead

The next key catalyst for the AUD/USD pair will be the upcoming nonfarm payrolls (NFP) data on Friday. This is important data that measures the health of the US economy.

Economists expect that these numbers will show that the headline the economy created over 140k jobs, while the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.1%.

While important, these numbers will likely have a limited impact on the Federal Reserve, which is focusing more on inflation instead of the labor market.

The US will release some flash jobs numbers before Friday’s NFP figure. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will publish the latest JOLTS job openings repair on Tuesday, while ADP will release the private payrolls data.

AUD/USD technical analysis

AUDUSD chart | Source: TradingView

The four-hour chart shows that the AUD/USD exchange rate has come under pressure in the past few months. It has dropped from a high of 0.6390 in April to the current 0.6255.

The pair formed a double-top pattern at 0.6390, and whose neckline was at 0.6188. A double-top is one of the most bearish signs in the market.

The AUD/USD pair has also moved below the 50-period moving average, a sign that bears are in control.

Therefore, the outlook is bearish, with the next point to watch being at 0.6188, the neckline of this pattern, which is 1.10% below the current level.

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World

JEPI and JEPQ ETFs: Scorecard as S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 crashed in Q1?

US stocks were tested in the first quarter as the fear and greed index plunged to the extreme fear zone of 18. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index crashed into a correction, falling by over 13% from its highest point this year. It dropped to its lowest point since September last year.

Similarly, the S&P 500 and Dow Jones indices also neared their correction phase. This article explains why these US indices crashed, and whether the boomer candy ETFs like the JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPQ) and JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPI) did better these indices.

Why the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indices crashed in Q1

There are two main reasons why the top indices like the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 indices dropped in the first quarter even as most of them published strong financial results.

The first main reason is that there are concerns about the Liberation Day tariffs by Donald Trump. A president who was expected to be pro-markets became a nightmare as he implemented sweeping tariffs on most American imports.

He added tariffs on Chinese goods on top of those he added in his first term. Most importantly, in a Black Swan Event, Trump added tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods, two of the biggest trading partners.

Trump also added tariffs on steel and aluminum, and will now execute reciprocal tariffs on imported goods from other countries. His goal is to reduce the giant trade surplus in the US, raise money for his large tax cuts, and boost manufacturing in the country.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indices also crashed because of the rising risks that the artificial intelligence (AI) theme that has defined the market in the past few years is fading. This explains why most AI stocks like NVIDIA, SoundHound, and AMD crashed.

How JEPI and JEPQ ETFs work

The JEPI and JEPQ ETFs were created to give investors an exposure to American equities and provide them with consistent monthly income.

These funds aim to generate returns in three main ways. First, they first invest in a group of companies. In JEPQ’s case, it invests in companies in the Nasdaq 100 index, while in JEPI’s case, it invests in a group of companies that are part of the S&P 500 index.

Investing in these companies helps it to benefit from their uptrend over time. At the same time, the funds generates dividends from the companies.

The third area where the JEPI and JEPQ ETFs make money is from the options market. This is where the fund sells call options on an index and makes a premium from it. In JEPI’s case, it writes call options from the S&P 500 index, while JEPQ writes calls for the Nasdaq 100 indices.

The main disadvantage of these ETFs is that their gains are usually capped when the respective index hits its strike price.

JEPI and JEPQ ETFs scorecard for Q1

Data shows that these two ETFs did better than their respective ETFs in the first quarter as the call option trade continued to generate strong returns during the quarter. The JEPQ ETF had a total return of minus 6.6%, while the Invesco QQQ dropped by 8.15%. Similarly, the JEPI ETF rose by 0.43%, while the VOO ETF crashed by 4.29%.

Therefore, this performance means that these funds will likely continue doing well over time. As such, if you are long the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 index, it makes sense to invest in these funds to generate a reliable monthly return. JEPQ has a dividend yield of 10.9%, while JEPI has a yield of 7.5%.

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World

Top 3 reasons to buy the SCHD ETF in April

The Schwab US Dividend Equity (SCHD) ETF has remained in a tight range this year as investors rotated from growth stocks to value ones as risks rose. The SCHD ETF was trading at $28 on Monday, a few points above the year-to-date low of $26.6. This article explains the top three reasons to buy this blue-chip dividend ETF.

SCHD ETF stock has strong technicals

The first reason to buy the SCHD ETF is that it has strong technicals that point to more upside in the coming months.

The daily chart below shows that the fund has formed two trendlines. Its lower line connects the lowest swings since April 2024. It has always bounced back whenever it dropped to that support level.

The upper side connects the highest swing since May 2022. When these two lines are connected, they point to a rising broadening wedge, also known as a megaphone pattern.

This pattern often leads to a strong bullish breakout over time. In this case, a bullish breakout to its all-time high of $29.18, would imply a 4.50% above the current level.

The SCHD ETF has also remained above the 50-day and 100-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMA). That is a sign that bulls remain in control for now and that its bullish trend will continue to accelerate. A drop below the support at $27 will invalidate the bullish view.

SCHD ETF stock by TradingView

Rotation from growth to value

The other main reason to buy the SCHD ETF is that there will be a rotation from growth to value this year, potentially because of the hefty tech valuations. SCHD has a cheap price-to-earnings ratio of 17, much lower than the S&P 500 index average estimate of 21.

The fund is also much cheaper than the Invesco QQQ ETF average of 32. Therefore, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index will continue doing well over time, there is a likelihood that investors will move to the SCHD as they hunt for bargains.

A likely reason for this is that there are fears that the artificial intelligence (AI) bubble is about to burst. This explains why most AI stocks, including NVIDIA have plunged in the past few months. In a note to Bloomberg, a top analyst at Boston Partners said:

“The questions about AI are coming at a time when there’s increased uncertainty overall, and at a time when they were priced for perfection, or close to it. That makes them an extremely obvious place for investors who are broadly nervous to take profits.”

Read more: SCHD ETF: brace for big changes on this blue-chip fund next week

Less exposure to tariffs

The other main reason why the SCHD ETF makes sense is that companies in the fund are mostly in the defensive industries. Financials account for 18% of all the companies in the SCHD ETF. The others are in the healthcare, consumer staples, industrials, and energy.

Most of these firms will not be affected by tariffs. For example, ConocoPhilips, the biggest SCHD stock will keep doing well as demand for energy will continue rising over time. The same is true with Chevron, the second-biggest company in the fund.

Verizon, the third-biggest firm in the SCHD ETF will also not be affected since American customers will continue buying their mobile and cable. Other top companies in the fund are Coca-Cola, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Altria, AbbVie, PepsiCo, Amgen, and Merck & Co. Therefore, these stocks will likely continue thriving even when tariffs keep rising.

Additionally, the SCHD ETF has a long track record of dividend growth. Its 10-year compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) is 11.30%, higher than the median estimate of 5.93%.

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