🏦 🇻🇦📈 Vatican Bank Launches Stock Indexes Based on Catholic Values

The Vatican Bank has launched two equity indexes that choose stocks on the basis of Catholic principles.

The Morningstar IOR Eurozone Catholic Principles Index and the Morningstar IOR US Catholic Principles Index “are designed to serve as a reference for Catholic investments worldwide,” the Institute for the Works of Religion, as the bank is formally known, said in a statement seen by Bloomberg. Both comprise 50 medium- and large-cap companies, including Big Tech and financial stocks.

The launch of the IOR’s first indexes comes at a tough time for investment products that take environmental, social and governance factors into account. Funds with ESG investment goals saw $84 billion in outflows last year, the first time the global market for such products was hit by net redemptions, according to a report by Morningstar Inc. last week.

The IOR’s benchmarks face established competition for Catholic investors. A Global X exchange-traded fund with more than $1 billion of assets tracks the S&P 500 Catholic Values Index, which was launched in 2015 and excludes stocks that aren’t aligned with guidelines from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. The top constituents include Nvidia Corp. and Apple Inc. The ETF rose 16% last year, roughly inline with the S&P 500.

According to fact sheets from Morningstar, the top constituents in their new US index are Meta Platforms Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., while the top weightings in the Eurozone gauge are ASML Holding NV and Deutsche Telekom AG.

The IOR, which provides traditional banking services and oversees investments for institutions tied to the church, has been striving for years to rid itself of a reputation for mismanagement stemming from a series of financial scandals. Pope Leo XIV has taken steps to limit the role of the IOR, including approving rules last October that would distribute responsibility for investing the Vatican’s funds among various institutions.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-10/vatican-bank-launches-stock-indexes-based-on-catholic-values

📎 Bloomberg

🇺🇸🇨🇦🇲🇽⚡️ — President Trump is privately musing about withdrawing from the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), according to Bloomberg.

➡️ Trump has asked aides why he shouldn't withdraw from the agreement, though he hasn’t made any final decision.

✈️ 🇺🇸 🪖 All flights at El Paso airport in Texas halted for 10 days for 'security reasons,' FAA says

The notice covers the airspace over El Paso and the neighboring community of Santa Teresa, New Mexico.

All flights to and from El Paso International Airport in Texas have been halted for “special security reasons,” the Federal Aviation Administration said early Wednesday.

“No pilots may operate an aircraft in the areas covered by this NOTAM,” the FAA said, using the abbreviation for Notice to Airmen. It listed the reason as “temporary flight restrictions for Special Security Reasons.”

The restriction for the airspace over El Paso and the neighboring community of Santa Teresa, New Mexico came in at 6:30 a.m. UTC, or coordinated universal time (11:30 p.m. ET). It will end at the same time on Feb. 21.

It did not elaborate on why the restrictions had been put in place for El Paso, which borders Mexico and is the the 23rd-most populous city in the nation according to the 2020 census.

✏️ But the NOTAM said the airspace was classified as national defense airspace. Deadly force could be used on an aircraft if it is determined that it “poses and imminent security threat,” it said, adding that pilots “may be intercepted, detained and interviewed” by law enforcement and security personnel.

The exclusion does not affect Juárez and Mexican airspace.

The airport, which handled 3.49 million passengers in the first 11 months of 2025, confirmed the development in a travel advisory issued on social media, saying that all flights “including commercial, cargo and general aviation” were grounded.

“What’s especially troubling is that there appears to have been no advance notice to local government, airport leadership, or even local Air Traffic Control or local military leadership,” he added.

The NOTAM also seemed to take airport staff by surprise.

Shortly before it came into effect, a conversation between an air traffic controller at El Paso International and someone aboard a Southwest Airlines flight suggested the airport had only been notified in the past hour.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/flights-el-paso-airport-texas-halted-10-days-security-reasons-faa-rcna258497

‼️💸🇪🇺🤝💰 Ethereum is being considered as a potential blockchain to launch the Euro stablecoin.

Governments aren’t asking if public blockchains work anymore.

They’re asking which one is good enough.

That’s a major shift.

https://x.com/MerlijnTrader/status/2021494415445963018

Follow @FelipeChannel

🇺🇸⚔️🇲🇽 The flight shutdown in El Paso is reportedly due to U.S. military counterdrone technologies aimed at Mexican cartels - AP.

CNN reports the operations were carried out from Fort Bliss.

📎 https://apnews.com/live/faa-el-paso-texas-air-space-closed-updates

🔗 OSINT Technical

🇺🇸 The Federal Aviation Administration announced the lifting of the temporary airspace closure over El Paso, Texas.

🔗 FAA

🇺🇸🐄🌾 U.S. Farm Bankruptcies Increased 46% in 2025

The American Farm Bureau Federation’s Samantha Ayoub reported that “the U.S. Courts report that 315 farm bankruptcies were filed in calendar year 2025, up 46% from 2024. While still down from recent highs, this is the second year in a row of increased filings.”

“The most recent farm income forecast confirmed that the farm economy has faced extreme financial pressure, with little relief in sight. Significant losses are expected across crop sectors for another year, and many livestock sectors are also tightening margins,” Ayoub reported. “The Midwest and Southeast each filed 121 and 105 Chapter 12 cases, respectively, far outpacing any other regions. This is a 70% increase in filings for the Midwest, and a 69% increase in the Southeast.”

🔗 https://www.agriculture.com/partners-u-s-farm-bankruptcies-increased-46-in-2025-11903416

🇺🇸❌🇲🇽🇨🇦 Trump Privately Weighs Quitting USMCA Trade Pact He Negotiated

The president has asked aides why he shouldn’t withdraw from the agreement, which he signed during his first term, though he has stopped short of flatly signaling that he will do so, according to the people who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions.

A White House official, asked about the discussions, described Trump as the ultimate decision-maker and someone always seeking a better deal for the American people. Discussion about potential action amounted to baseless speculation before an announcement from the president, the official said.

The US-Mexico-Canada Agreement is set for a mandatory review before a possible extension on July 1, a process that was once expected to be routine but has transformed into a contentious negotiation. Trump has demanded additional trade concessions from Ottawa and Mexico City and pressured them to address unrelated issues, including migration, drug trafficking and defense.

Greer will recommend renewal if a resolution incorporating input from industry stakeholders can be achieved, the official said, noting stronger rules of origin for key industrial goods, enhanced collaboration on critical minerals, worker protections and dumping all as areas of possible concern.

If the countries agree to a renewal, the accord would remain in force for another 16 years. But if that doesn’t happen, it could trigger annual reviews for a decade until the deal’s expiration in 2036. Any country could announce their intent to withdraw with six-months notice.

Such a move would shake the foundations of one of the largest trading relationships in the world — the pact covers roughly $2 trillion in goods and services — and even the threat of a US departure would stoke uncertainty for investors and world leaders.

US business groups and lawmakers would almost certainly rebel. The prospect of higher tariffs would also threaten to exacerbate affordability concerns heading into November’s midterm elections, in which Trump’s Republicans already face an uphill battle to keep control of Congress.

🔗 https://archive.ph/fPglb