February 4 Member Morning Report: Trump Quickly Ends Government Shutdown, Walmart's Market Cap Breaks Through $1 Trillion for the First Time

1. 【Trump Quickly Ends Government Shutdown】Trump signed a bill to end the partial government shutdown, with the U.S. House of Representatives passing the bill by a narrow margin of 217 to 214 votes. This move will fund several government agencies through September and provide funding to the Department of Homeland Security until February 13, allowing lawmakers to continue negotiations on restrictions targeting immigration enforcement personnel.

Comment: By signing this bill, Trump adopted a “divide and conquer” strategy, which is much more sophisticated than a full shutdown: the bill extends funding for most non-controversial government departments such as defense, education, and transportation through September (the end of the fiscal year). This effectively removes these departments from the “hostage list,” depriving Democrats of moral high ground to leverage issues like “national park closures” and “military pay delays” to sway public opinion; the only remaining funding lock is for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which is set for a very short 10-day period until February 13. This means the Trump administration intends to concentrate all political firepower, media attention, and public sentiment on the narrow and intense battleground of “immigration enforcement.” Over the next 10 days, Washington will no longer discuss the chaos caused by the government shutdown but will be forced to focus on a single issue: do you support law enforcement against illegal immigrants? This bill is not a peace agreement but a 10-day “challenge.” By signing the bill, Trump successfully simplified the complex budget issue into a binary political choice.

2. 【Walmart’s Market Cap Breaks $1 Trillion for the First Time】Walmart’s market capitalization has surpassed $1 trillion for the first time. Investors are impressed by this retail giant’s efforts in developing new technologies to compete with Amazon and other e-commerce companies. The company recently signed agreements with Alphabet and OpenAI, allowing users to purchase goods through their AI products (such as Gemini and ChatGPT) at Walmart.

3. 【Anthropic’s New Tool Causes Software Stocks to Sell Off】AI startup Anthropic launched a new automation tool on Tuesday, triggering a panic sell-off in software stocks. Thomson Reuters (TRI) plunged as much as 20.7% during trading, and LegalZoom.com (LZ) also fell more than 20%.

4. 【U.S. Moon Mission Faces Setback】NASA’s plans to return to the Moon have encountered setbacks. Due to a liquid hydrogen leak, NASA has suspended a test of the fueling system for the Artemis II mission. NASA stated that this issue will delay the original launch schedule of Artemis II, which will send four astronauts on a lunar orbit mission, by at least March.

5. 【South Korean President “Suggests” Selling Property】South Korean President Lee Jae-myung announced that the government will take all necessary measures to crack down on real estate speculation. Lee advised multiple property owners to sell their properties as soon as possible, calling it their “last chance” before the expiration of the high capital gains tax exemption policy in May.