Key Takeaways
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as Secretary of Health and Human Services, is reportedly planning to replace all 16 members of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and intends to remove an advisory panel on cancer screening and HIV prevention drugs, citing concerns over "woke" views.
- Moody's has upgraded Turkey's credit rating to Ba3 from B1 and revised the outlook to stable from positive, reflecting a strengthening track record of effective policymaking and easing inflationary pressures.
- The U.S. House Panel has launched an inquiry into Meta (META) and Amazon (AMZN) regarding their links to China, specifically concerning potential Chinese involvement in subsea cable systems.
- The U.S. plans significant changes to its H-1B visa program, prioritizing higher-wage companies and potentially shifting from a lottery system to a wage-level-based selection, which could impact entry-level international graduates.
In a series of significant developments, policy shifts are underway in the U.S. concerning healthcare, immigration, and technology, while a major credit rating upgrade signals improving economic conditions for Turkey.
U.S. Policy Shifts in Healthcare and Immigration
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., serving as the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, is reportedly initiating substantial changes within the department. According to reports, Kennedy plans to replace all 16 members of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force due to concerns over "woke" views. Additionally, he intends to remove an advisory panel responsible for cancer screening and HIV prevention drugs. These moves follow earlier actions by Kennedy, including the decision to rescind federal recommendations for flu vaccines containing thimerosal and the firing of 17 previous members of the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
Concurrently, the U.S. is poised to implement major overhauls to its immigration policies, particularly impacting the H-1B visa program and citizenship tests. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) head has indicated that the H-1B visa program should favor high-wage companies, a shift from the current lottery system. This proposed change aims to prioritize wage levels over the random lottery, potentially making it more challenging for international graduates seeking entry-level positions in the U.S. The new rule for H-1B visas is not expected to apply for the current fiscal year (FY 2026) as the quota has already been reached. Furthermore, the U.S. also plans changes to citizenship tests, with previous administrations having revised the civics test to include more questions and topics.
Tech Giants Under Scrutiny and Geopolitical Concerns
A U.S. House Panel has initiated an inquiry into Meta (META) and Amazon (AMZN) over their potential links to China. The investigation focuses on whether subsea cable systems maintained by these companies have components produced, maintained, or repaired by entities affiliated with the People's Republic of China (PRC), such as S.B. Submarine Systems, Huawei Marine, China Telecom, or China Unicom, or the Russian Federation. This inquiry comes amid rising concerns about foreign adversarial actors compromising critical subsea infrastructure, which handles 99% of global internet traffic. A former Meta (META) executive previously testified that the company briefed China on U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) efforts to grow its business there, and allegedly ignored warnings about building a "physical pipeline" between the U.S. and China that could provide backdoor access to U.S. user data.
Turkey's Economic Outlook Improves
In international financial news, Moody's has upgraded Turkey's credit rating to Ba3 from B1, changing the outlook to stable from positive. This upgrade reflects a strengthening track record of effective policymaking by the Turkish central bank, which has led to easing inflationary pressures, reduced economic imbalances, and a gradual restoration of confidence in the Turkish lira. Moody's noted that inflation in Turkey dropped to 35% year-over-year in June 2025 from 72% in June 2024, and projects it to fall further to around 30% by the end of 2025 and approximately 20% by the end of 2026. The country's current account deficit has also narrowed sharply to 0.9% of GDP in the 12 months to March 2025, down from a peak of 5.4% of GDP in the 12 months to March 2023.
Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications.