{"id":57709,"date":"2026-01-09T22:08:36","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T02:08:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/walmart-enters-nasdaq-100-trump-details-venezuela-reconstruction-credit-cap-and-greenland-ambitions-amidst-political-and-global-turmoil\/57709\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T22:08:36","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T02:08:36","slug":"walmart-enters-nasdaq-100-trump-details-venezuela-reconstruction-credit-cap-and-greenland-ambitions-amidst-political-and-global-turmoil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/walmart-enters-nasdaq-100-trump-details-venezuela-reconstruction-credit-cap-and-greenland-ambitions-amidst-political-and-global-turmoil\/57709\/","title":{"rendered":"Walmart Enters NASDAQ-100; Trump Details Venezuela Reconstruction, Credit Cap, and Greenland Ambitions Amidst Political and Global Turmoil"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Walmart (<a href=\"\/stock\/WMT\">WMT<\/a>)<\/strong> is set to join the <strong>NASDAQ-100 Index<\/strong>, marking a significant shift in major market indices.<\/li>\n<li>President <strong>Donald Trump<\/strong> announced a <strong>$100 billion investment<\/strong> by major U.S. oil companies to rebuild <strong>Venezuela&#39;s energy sector<\/strong> following the capture of Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, while also proposing a <strong>10% cap on credit card interest rates<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>A <strong>Politico poll<\/strong> indicates former Vice President <strong>Kamala Harris<\/strong> now holds a higher favorability rating than President <strong>Trump<\/strong> and Vice President <strong>JD Vance<\/strong> combined.<\/li>\n<li>International tensions escalated with widespread internet and phone service cuts in <strong>Iran<\/strong> amid protests, resulting in at least <strong>42 deaths<\/strong> and <strong>2,000 arrests<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>A federal judge blocked the <strong>Trump administration<\/strong> from freezing <strong>$10 billion<\/strong> in social services funding to five Democratic states.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Market Movers: Walmart Joins NASDAQ-100<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Walmart (<a href=\"\/stock\/WMT\">WMT<\/a>)<\/strong> is slated to join the <strong>NASDAQ-100 Index<\/strong>, a development expected to impact major investment portfolios and index-tracking funds. This inclusion signals a notable shift in the composition of one of the market&#39;s most closely watched indices.<\/p>\n<h2>Trump&#39;s Bold Stances: Venezuela, Greenland, and Credit Reform<\/h2>\n<p>President <strong>Donald Trump<\/strong> announced a substantial <strong>$100 billion investment<\/strong> from major U.S. oil companies to reconstruct <strong>Venezuela&#39;s energy sector<\/strong> following the capture of dictator Nicol\u00e1s Maduro. Trump expressed optimism about the outcome, stating that &quot;some people would say it\u2019s a miracle&quot; and that Venezuela would be &quot;happy&quot;. American companies are anticipated to play a crucial role in rebuilding the country&#39;s infrastructure and boosting oil production.<\/p>\n<p>On the domestic front, President Trump called for a <strong>one-year cap on credit card interest rates at 10%<\/strong>, though specific details regarding the implementation of this proposal were not provided. This initiative aims to alleviate consumer financial burdens.<\/p>\n<p>The President also reiterated the U.S. intent to acquire <strong>Greenland<\/strong>, emphasizing the strategic necessity of owning the territory to prevent future occupation by <strong>Russia or China<\/strong>. Trump suggested that the acquisition could happen &quot;the nice way, or the more difficult way,&quot; despite expressing admiration for Denmark.<\/p>\n<h2>Political Landscape Shifts: Harris&#39;s Popularity and Funding Block<\/h2>\n<p>A recent <strong>Politico poll<\/strong> indicates a significant shift in political favorability, with former Vice President <strong>Kamala Harris<\/strong> now enjoying a higher approval rating than President <strong>Donald Trump<\/strong> and Vice President <strong>JD Vance<\/strong> combined. This poll suggests a changing dynamic in the U.S. political landscape.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, a federal judge blocked the <strong>Trump administration&#39;s<\/strong> effort to freeze <strong>$10 billion<\/strong> in social services funding allocated to five Democratic states. This ruling represents a setback for the administration&#39;s funding policies.<\/p>\n<h2>Global Unrest and Energy Debates<\/h2>\n<p>International concerns are mounting as <strong>Iranian protests<\/strong> calling for regime change intensified, leading to widespread internet and phone service disruptions Thursday night. At least <strong>42 people were killed<\/strong> and more than <strong>2,000 arrested<\/strong> amidst the escalating unrest.<\/p>\n<p>In Colombia, President <strong>Petro<\/strong> told the <strong>BBC<\/strong> that the <strong>United States&#39; economy<\/strong>, with <strong>70% of its energy matrix<\/strong> based on oil and coal, tends to seek wars over these resources. He suggested that aligning with the <strong>Paris Agreement<\/strong> and transitioning to clean energy would mitigate this tendency.<\/p>\n<p>Separately, in Portland, two individuals shot by a Customs and Border Patrol agent were reportedly associated with the <strong>Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua<\/strong>, according to the city\u2019s police chief. Meanwhile, <strong>Dr. Oz<\/strong> highlighted the discovery of <strong>billions in healthcare fraud<\/strong> in California and Minnesota, suggesting these figures &quot;pale in comparison&quot; to a larger, ongoing issue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Walmart (WMT) is set to join the NASDAQ-100 Index, marking a significant shift in major market indices. President [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"rank_math_schema_Article":[],"rank_math_focus_keyword":[],"rank_math_description":[],"financial_data_references":[],"stock_symbols_mentioned":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[5012],"tags":[16357,277,16358,4335,16359,4824,16360,5031,5716,6063,6069,6800,9511],"class_list":["post-57709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","tag-credit-card-interest-rates","tag-wmt","tag-kamala-harris","tag-donald-trump","tag-iran-protests","tag-geopolitics","tag-healthcare-fraud","tag-us-politics","tag-energy-sector","tag-walmart","tag-venezuela","tag-nasdaq-100","tag-greenland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57709"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57709\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}