REUTERS
"Philly Fed manufacturing gauge charges to 2-year high"
By Reuters
April 18, 2024
April 18 (Reuters) - Manufacturing activity in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region expanded by the most in two years in April on the strength of new orders and shipments of finished goods, but renewed input cost pressures could reinforce hesitation among Federal Reserve officials to pivot toward interest rate cuts.
The Philadelphia Fed on Thursday said its monthly business conditions index rose to 15.5 from 3.2 in March, exceeding the median estimate among economists in a Reuters poll for a reading of 2.3 and overshooting even the most optimistic forecast among 34 economists surveyed.
The data buffers other recent indications of a recovery underway in a U.S. factory sector that by many measures had endured a modest downturn throughout 2023 even as the wider economy grew above its potential.
The Philly Fed's index for new orders climbed to its highest since last August and shipments activity was its most brisk since August 2022.
The prices paid index rose to its highest since December while prices received by goods producers saw a slight increase.
Both measures had trended notably lower through the second half of 2023, among the indicators that Fed officials had embraced at that time as a signal that inflation was on track to return to their 2% target.
Their increase this month echoes other recent data showing inflation this year is proving to be stubborn, prompting central bankers to back away from providing any guidance on when policy easing might begin.
Factory employment, meanwhile, continued to fall, dropping to its lowest level overall since May 2020, in keeping with other gauges showing sluggish employment in the sector.
Manufacturing job growth has been next to non-existent over the past year, with the Labor Department's measure of new factory jobs averaging just 2,000 a month in that span, among the weakest-performing industries in the private sector.
Reporting By Dan Burns; editing by Christina Fincher
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/phil ... 024-04-18/
POLITICS
Re: POLITICS
The Daily Mail
"Israel 'strikes Iran' as explosions rock hostile state"
Story by Will Potter For Dailymail.Com
19 APRIL 2024
Israel has conducted airstrikes on a target in Iran, US officials say.
An official told ABC News that strikes hit a site in Iran, however it is unclear what target was hit or the extent of the damage.
Footage shared on social media appeared to show anti-aircraft fire striking over the city of Isfahan in central Iran, which hosts one of Iran's nuclear facilities.
It comes in response to Iran launching a barrage of hundreds of drones and rockets at Israel on Saturday, which was largely thwarted by Israel and its international allies.
The Biden administration had stressed the need for de-escalation from Israel following Saturday's strikes.
Further explosions have reportedly hit Iraq and Syria.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio tweeted soon after reports of the strikes: 'Israel has the ability to conduct strikes against targets inside Iran without entering Iranian air space from aircraft over Syrian and Iraqi airspace.'
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/is ... 620a&ei=31
"Israel 'strikes Iran' as explosions rock hostile state"
Story by Will Potter For Dailymail.Com
19 APRIL 2024
Israel has conducted airstrikes on a target in Iran, US officials say.
An official told ABC News that strikes hit a site in Iran, however it is unclear what target was hit or the extent of the damage.
Footage shared on social media appeared to show anti-aircraft fire striking over the city of Isfahan in central Iran, which hosts one of Iran's nuclear facilities.
It comes in response to Iran launching a barrage of hundreds of drones and rockets at Israel on Saturday, which was largely thwarted by Israel and its international allies.
The Biden administration had stressed the need for de-escalation from Israel following Saturday's strikes.
Further explosions have reportedly hit Iraq and Syria.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio tweeted soon after reports of the strikes: 'Israel has the ability to conduct strikes against targets inside Iran without entering Iranian air space from aircraft over Syrian and Iraqi airspace.'
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/is ... 620a&ei=31
Re: POLITICS
The New York Post
"The week in whoppers: WH’s John Kirby flips reality on Iran, AG Merrick Garland goes blind to Biden’s ‘impairment’ and more"
Opinion by Post Editorial Board
19 APRIL 2024
Diary of disturbing disinformation and dangerous delusions
This claim:
“When Biden says, ‘don’t escalate’ . . . [Iran] didn’t.”
— WH National Security spokesman John Kirby, Monday
We say: What cojones!
Kirby claims Iran heeded Biden’s warning to its leaders not to “escalate” and attack Israel after it killed Oct. 7 planner Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi.
Yet in his very next sentence, Kirby himself admits, “Yes, they fired an unprecedented amount of munitions” at the Jewish state.
How is that heeding Biden’s warning?
Kirby notes the attack failed and “very little infrastructure” was damaged.
Sorry: That doesn’t mean Tehran didn’t try to inflict damage in an outrageous and dangerous escalation.
And in clear defiance of Biden.
This remark:
“The president has no [mental] impairment.”
— Attorney General Merrick Garland, Tuesday
We say: We get it.
Garland has to stand up for the guy who gave him his job, Joe Biden.
But does he really think people can’t see for themselves the prez’s obvious decline?
They see it every time he slurs words, mangles sentences, rambles on, misstates names, dates and facts, fails to recall key events and roams around looking lost.
Special counsel Robert Hur even cited the prez’s confusion as the key reason prosecuting him for his classified-docs misdeeds would likely fail.
This self-appraisal:
“I’m more about deterring a crime than reacting to crime after it’s been committed.”
— Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Tuesday
We say: Heastie admits he isn’t hot on imposing penalties on criminals after they commit a crime.
Hello?
How do you deter crime if not by making clear that perps will face penalties if they commit one?
With such perverse thinking from one of the state’s three top leaders, it’s no wonder New York is in such awful shape.
This boast:
“Gas prices remain well below the peak back in 2022 . . . The average gas price is cheaper than this time last year.”
— WH Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, Monday
We say: As a reporter noted after Jean-Pierre’s grotesque, uh, gaslighting, fuel at the pump is cheaper today (at $3.62 a gallon) than at “this time last year” ($3.65) — but by just three cents!
And, yes, prices have fallen since Bidenflation and Biden energy policies drove them as high as $5.01 in 2022.
But they’re still 52% more than when President Donald Trump left office ($2.39).
Compiled by The Post Editorial Board
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/ ... 620a&ei=42
"The week in whoppers: WH’s John Kirby flips reality on Iran, AG Merrick Garland goes blind to Biden’s ‘impairment’ and more"
Opinion by Post Editorial Board
19 APRIL 2024
Diary of disturbing disinformation and dangerous delusions
This claim:
“When Biden says, ‘don’t escalate’ . . . [Iran] didn’t.”
— WH National Security spokesman John Kirby, Monday
We say: What cojones!
Kirby claims Iran heeded Biden’s warning to its leaders not to “escalate” and attack Israel after it killed Oct. 7 planner Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi.
Yet in his very next sentence, Kirby himself admits, “Yes, they fired an unprecedented amount of munitions” at the Jewish state.
How is that heeding Biden’s warning?
Kirby notes the attack failed and “very little infrastructure” was damaged.
Sorry: That doesn’t mean Tehran didn’t try to inflict damage in an outrageous and dangerous escalation.
And in clear defiance of Biden.
This remark:
“The president has no [mental] impairment.”
— Attorney General Merrick Garland, Tuesday
We say: We get it.
Garland has to stand up for the guy who gave him his job, Joe Biden.
But does he really think people can’t see for themselves the prez’s obvious decline?
They see it every time he slurs words, mangles sentences, rambles on, misstates names, dates and facts, fails to recall key events and roams around looking lost.
Special counsel Robert Hur even cited the prez’s confusion as the key reason prosecuting him for his classified-docs misdeeds would likely fail.
This self-appraisal:
“I’m more about deterring a crime than reacting to crime after it’s been committed.”
— Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Tuesday
We say: Heastie admits he isn’t hot on imposing penalties on criminals after they commit a crime.
Hello?
How do you deter crime if not by making clear that perps will face penalties if they commit one?
With such perverse thinking from one of the state’s three top leaders, it’s no wonder New York is in such awful shape.
This boast:
“Gas prices remain well below the peak back in 2022 . . . The average gas price is cheaper than this time last year.”
— WH Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, Monday
We say: As a reporter noted after Jean-Pierre’s grotesque, uh, gaslighting, fuel at the pump is cheaper today (at $3.62 a gallon) than at “this time last year” ($3.65) — but by just three cents!
And, yes, prices have fallen since Bidenflation and Biden energy policies drove them as high as $5.01 in 2022.
But they’re still 52% more than when President Donald Trump left office ($2.39).
Compiled by The Post Editorial Board
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/ ... 620a&ei=42
Re: POLITICS
CNBC
"Fed’s Goolsbee says ‘more sniffing’ may be needed before rate cuts"
Kelli Grant, CFP @KELLIGRANT.MONEY
PUBLISHED FRI, APR 19 2024
KEY POINTS
* The path to 2% inflation is “more difficult” in 2024, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago president Austan Goolsbee said on Friday.
* Inflation has dropped significantly since its pandemic-era peak of 9.1%, but it remains above the Fed’s target.
* Goolsbee said the Fed needs “more sniffing” before it can start cutting interest rates.
CHICAGO — The path to 2% inflation is “more difficult” in 2024, said Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee.
“We’re going to get to 2%,” Goolsbee said Friday during a session at the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing’s annual conference.
“We said it."
"That’s our stated target.“
Inflation has come down significantly from its pandemic-era peak of 9.1%, but remains stubbornly above that stated target.
The consumer price index, a broad measure of costs for goods and services across the economy, rose 3.5% in March from a year ago.
“If you take a broad view, inflation got way above where we were comfortable with and it’s down a lot,” he said.
The first three readings for this year indicate covering the remaining distance to 2% “may not be as rapid,” he added.
That “stalling” merits further investigation on the direction of the economy before the Fed moves to cut rates, said Goolsbee, who is a nonvoting member this year of the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee.
He described himself as a “proud data dog,” and pointed to what he says is “the first rule of the kennel.”
“If you are unclear, stop walking and start sniffing,” he said.
“And with these numbers, we need to do more sniffing.”
“We want to have confidence that we are on this path to 2[%],” he said.
“That’s the thing we have got to pay attention to.”
Housing inflation is a key area to watch, Goolsbee said.
“That’s the one that has not behaved as we thought it would,” he said.
Shelter costs, which make up about one-third of the weighting in the CPI, rose 5.7% in March from a year ago.
“The market rent inflation is well down, but it hasn’t flowed through into the official measure,” he said.
“If it doesn’t — I still think it will — but if it doesn’t, I think we’re going to have a hard time."
"It’s definitely going to be more difficult to get to 2% overall if we do not see progress.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/19/feds-go ... cuts-.html
"Fed’s Goolsbee says ‘more sniffing’ may be needed before rate cuts"
Kelli Grant, CFP @KELLIGRANT.MONEY
PUBLISHED FRI, APR 19 2024
KEY POINTS
* The path to 2% inflation is “more difficult” in 2024, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago president Austan Goolsbee said on Friday.
* Inflation has dropped significantly since its pandemic-era peak of 9.1%, but it remains above the Fed’s target.
* Goolsbee said the Fed needs “more sniffing” before it can start cutting interest rates.
CHICAGO — The path to 2% inflation is “more difficult” in 2024, said Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee.
“We’re going to get to 2%,” Goolsbee said Friday during a session at the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing’s annual conference.
“We said it."
"That’s our stated target.“
Inflation has come down significantly from its pandemic-era peak of 9.1%, but remains stubbornly above that stated target.
The consumer price index, a broad measure of costs for goods and services across the economy, rose 3.5% in March from a year ago.
“If you take a broad view, inflation got way above where we were comfortable with and it’s down a lot,” he said.
The first three readings for this year indicate covering the remaining distance to 2% “may not be as rapid,” he added.
That “stalling” merits further investigation on the direction of the economy before the Fed moves to cut rates, said Goolsbee, who is a nonvoting member this year of the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee.
He described himself as a “proud data dog,” and pointed to what he says is “the first rule of the kennel.”
“If you are unclear, stop walking and start sniffing,” he said.
“And with these numbers, we need to do more sniffing.”
“We want to have confidence that we are on this path to 2[%],” he said.
“That’s the thing we have got to pay attention to.”
Housing inflation is a key area to watch, Goolsbee said.
“That’s the one that has not behaved as we thought it would,” he said.
Shelter costs, which make up about one-third of the weighting in the CPI, rose 5.7% in March from a year ago.
“The market rent inflation is well down, but it hasn’t flowed through into the official measure,” he said.
“If it doesn’t — I still think it will — but if it doesn’t, I think we’re going to have a hard time."
"It’s definitely going to be more difficult to get to 2% overall if we do not see progress.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/19/feds-go ... cuts-.html
Re: POLITICS
REUTERS
"Fed policy on hold because of 'stalled' progress on inflation, Goolsbee says"
By Ann Saphir
April 19, 2024
April 19 (Reuters) - Progress on bringing down inflation has "stalled" this year, Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee said on Friday, becoming the latest U.S. central banker to drop an earlier focus on the coming need for interest rate cuts.
"Given the strength of the labor market and progress on easing inflation seen over a longer arc, I believe the Fed's current restrictive monetary policy is appropriate," Goolsbee said during an appearance before a business journalism group in Chicago.
"I think we have to recalibrate and we have to wait and see."
The belief that rates will need to stay high for longer to get price pressures moving down again is now the dominant view at the Fed.
The U.S. central bank has kept its policy rate in the 5.25%-5.50% range since last July, and just a few weeks ago most policymakers, including Goolsbee, thought at least three rate cuts this year would be appropriate.
Three months of higher-than-expected inflation data "can't be dismissed," and the Fed will need to determine if continued strong growth in the economy and job market is a sign of overheating, Goolsbee said.
Though higher productivity and labor force participation, driven partly by immigration, suggest there is "space for progress" on services inflation, he said, persistently high housing inflation remains the main threat to price stability.
"It is supposed to have been falling," he said, citing the decline in market data on new leases.
"If it doesn't, it will be hard to see a smooth path back to our 2% inflation goal."
Goolsbee notably did not rule out a fresh rate hike in the face of disappointingly sticky inflation, but he also said the Fed may need to reduce borrowing costs if inflation resumes its decline.
"We're just trying to figure out ... what is necessary, how restrictive do we need to be ... we have weeks, months to find out," he said.
"Ultimately the proper policy going forward will depend on the data."
Economists and traders now expect the Fed will hold rates steady at its next three policy meetings, with a rate cut coming at the Sept. 17-18 session.
Financial market bets against any more than one reduction in borrowing costs this year also have risen.
Reporting by Ann Saphir; Editing by Paul Simao
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/feds ... 024-04-19/
"Fed policy on hold because of 'stalled' progress on inflation, Goolsbee says"
By Ann Saphir
April 19, 2024
April 19 (Reuters) - Progress on bringing down inflation has "stalled" this year, Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee said on Friday, becoming the latest U.S. central banker to drop an earlier focus on the coming need for interest rate cuts.
"Given the strength of the labor market and progress on easing inflation seen over a longer arc, I believe the Fed's current restrictive monetary policy is appropriate," Goolsbee said during an appearance before a business journalism group in Chicago.
"I think we have to recalibrate and we have to wait and see."
The belief that rates will need to stay high for longer to get price pressures moving down again is now the dominant view at the Fed.
The U.S. central bank has kept its policy rate in the 5.25%-5.50% range since last July, and just a few weeks ago most policymakers, including Goolsbee, thought at least three rate cuts this year would be appropriate.
Three months of higher-than-expected inflation data "can't be dismissed," and the Fed will need to determine if continued strong growth in the economy and job market is a sign of overheating, Goolsbee said.
Though higher productivity and labor force participation, driven partly by immigration, suggest there is "space for progress" on services inflation, he said, persistently high housing inflation remains the main threat to price stability.
"It is supposed to have been falling," he said, citing the decline in market data on new leases.
"If it doesn't, it will be hard to see a smooth path back to our 2% inflation goal."
Goolsbee notably did not rule out a fresh rate hike in the face of disappointingly sticky inflation, but he also said the Fed may need to reduce borrowing costs if inflation resumes its decline.
"We're just trying to figure out ... what is necessary, how restrictive do we need to be ... we have weeks, months to find out," he said.
"Ultimately the proper policy going forward will depend on the data."
Economists and traders now expect the Fed will hold rates steady at its next three policy meetings, with a rate cut coming at the Sept. 17-18 session.
Financial market bets against any more than one reduction in borrowing costs this year also have risen.
Reporting by Ann Saphir; Editing by Paul Simao
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/feds ... 024-04-19/
Re: POLITICS
REUTERS
"Fed report cites inflation, US election as key financial stability risks"
By Howard Schneider and Pete Schroeder
April 19, 2024
WASHINGTON, April 19 (Reuters) - Persistent inflation and higher-for-longer interest rates were cited as key risks to financial stability in the Federal Reserve's latest survey of U.S. central bank contacts, with geopolitical troubles and the 2024 U.S. presidential election also mentioned as "a potentially significant source of shocks."
"Contacts noted several areas of uncertainty including trade policy and other foreign policy issues related to escalating geopolitical tensions," the Fed said on Friday in its semi-annual survey of 25 market participants, academics and other contacts.
"They also noted policy uncertainty associated with the U.S. elections in November," when the Democratic incumbent Joe Biden faces Republican former President Donald Trump.
The survey results were included as part of the Fed's latest Financial Stability Report, which looks at issues like leverage and risk-taking throughout the economy to try to identify potential trouble spots.
The report was released more than two years after the Fed launched the most aggressive interest rate hiking cycle since the 1980s in a bid to slow a surge in inflation, a move that was broadly predicted to tip the economy into recession and aggravate stresses in the financial sector.
But the latest report, much like those preceding it through the Fed's battle with inflation, shows little evidence of widespread risks to the financial system despite borrowing costs remaining at their highest levels in a quarter of a century.
But that overall impression of resilience also suggests potential problems for Fed officials who feel the economy needs to slow in order for inflation to sustainably return to the central bank's 2% target.
The strength of household and business balance sheets, the stability of the banks, and the lack of imminent bubbles or other threats suggest that a slowdown won't come through financial or credit channels that have typically been an important part of monetary policy transmission.
Contacts were interviewed through March, when Fed officials began to have doubts about an ongoing drop in inflation and noted that rate cuts might not come as fast as expected.
While that added to uncertainty about monetary policy, which along with inflation was the most cited risk, the level of "policy uncertainty" flowing from the escalation of violence in Israel and throughout the Middle East, the ongoing war in Ukraine, and the state of U.S. politics, was the second-most cited threat to the financial system.
Across what has become the Fed's standard framework for assessing financial vulnerabilities, however, the system was characterized as in largely steady shape despite high policy interest rates and the ongoing inflation fight.
There were some areas of concern, including declining values for commercial real estate and rising leverage among some of the bigger hedge funds.
Asset values, including stocks and real estate, were high.
But private debt as a share of national economic output declined, businesses maintained a "robust" capacity to service debt, and household debt was "modest."
"The banking system remained sound and resilient," with strong capital and liquidity levels, the Fed said in the report.
Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Paul Simao
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/fed- ... 024-04-19/
"Fed report cites inflation, US election as key financial stability risks"
By Howard Schneider and Pete Schroeder
April 19, 2024
WASHINGTON, April 19 (Reuters) - Persistent inflation and higher-for-longer interest rates were cited as key risks to financial stability in the Federal Reserve's latest survey of U.S. central bank contacts, with geopolitical troubles and the 2024 U.S. presidential election also mentioned as "a potentially significant source of shocks."
"Contacts noted several areas of uncertainty including trade policy and other foreign policy issues related to escalating geopolitical tensions," the Fed said on Friday in its semi-annual survey of 25 market participants, academics and other contacts.
"They also noted policy uncertainty associated with the U.S. elections in November," when the Democratic incumbent Joe Biden faces Republican former President Donald Trump.
The survey results were included as part of the Fed's latest Financial Stability Report, which looks at issues like leverage and risk-taking throughout the economy to try to identify potential trouble spots.
The report was released more than two years after the Fed launched the most aggressive interest rate hiking cycle since the 1980s in a bid to slow a surge in inflation, a move that was broadly predicted to tip the economy into recession and aggravate stresses in the financial sector.
But the latest report, much like those preceding it through the Fed's battle with inflation, shows little evidence of widespread risks to the financial system despite borrowing costs remaining at their highest levels in a quarter of a century.
But that overall impression of resilience also suggests potential problems for Fed officials who feel the economy needs to slow in order for inflation to sustainably return to the central bank's 2% target.
The strength of household and business balance sheets, the stability of the banks, and the lack of imminent bubbles or other threats suggest that a slowdown won't come through financial or credit channels that have typically been an important part of monetary policy transmission.
Contacts were interviewed through March, when Fed officials began to have doubts about an ongoing drop in inflation and noted that rate cuts might not come as fast as expected.
While that added to uncertainty about monetary policy, which along with inflation was the most cited risk, the level of "policy uncertainty" flowing from the escalation of violence in Israel and throughout the Middle East, the ongoing war in Ukraine, and the state of U.S. politics, was the second-most cited threat to the financial system.
Across what has become the Fed's standard framework for assessing financial vulnerabilities, however, the system was characterized as in largely steady shape despite high policy interest rates and the ongoing inflation fight.
There were some areas of concern, including declining values for commercial real estate and rising leverage among some of the bigger hedge funds.
Asset values, including stocks and real estate, were high.
But private debt as a share of national economic output declined, businesses maintained a "robust" capacity to service debt, and household debt was "modest."
"The banking system remained sound and resilient," with strong capital and liquidity levels, the Fed said in the report.
Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Paul Simao
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/fed- ... 024-04-19/
Re: POLITICS
REUTERS
"TSMC's shares slide nearly 7% in Taipei on global chip outlook concerns"
By Reuters
April 19, 2024
TAIPEI, April 19 (Reuters) - TSMC's Taipei-listed shares tumbled 6.7% on Friday following the company's first-quarter earnings report in which it dialed back its expectations for chip sector growth and did not revise up its capital spending plans, contrary to expectations.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the world's largest contract chipmaker, forecast second-quarter sales may rise as much as 30% as it rides a wave of demand chips used in artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
Its first-quarter profit also beat estimates.
But it left its capital spending plans for this year unchanged at between $28 billion and $32 billion and reiterated it expected 2024 revenue to rise in the low- to mid-20% range in U.S. dollar terms.
It lowered its outlook for the global semiconductor industry excluding memory to a growth rate of around 10% from a previous forecast of more than 10%.
TSMC, a major supplier to Apple and Nvidia, also downgraded its growth forecast for the global foundry sector to a mid-to-high teens percentage gain from a previous projection of around 20%.
Allen Huang, vice president of Mega International Investment in Taipei, said the market was reacting to the revised outlook for the semiconductor industry, adding that TSMC had been expected to increase capital expenditure this year for high-end packaging.
"If capital expenditure was only maintained at the previous level, it means that profit is not as expected," he said.
Another Taiwan fund manager, who asked not to be identified, said given TSMC's recent stock rally investors had high expectations heading into first-quarter earnings.
"Its capex has not been so aggressive, and the percentage of advanced process technologies revenue compared to overall revenue is still pretty low," the manager said.
TSMC's poor share price performance dragged on the broader Taipei market which closed down 3.8%, losing 774 points - the most it has lost in a single day.
Sentiment was also hit by a rise in tensions between Israel and Iran.
TSMC has other challenges, too.
Speaking on Friday after being given an honour for his services to Taiwan, TSMC's retired and much revered founder Morris Chang said the company's current leadership needed "great wisdom" to navigate challenges to "dying" globalisation given how the firm had benefited so much from free trade.
"TSMC also faces resources challenges: land, water, power, talent, which need continued support from the government and all others," he said at the presidential office in Taipei, referring to limitations Taiwan's tech industry has long worried about.
Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee; Additional reporting by Faith Hung, Roger Tung and Jeanny Kao; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Edwina Gibbs
https://www.reuters.com/technology/tsmc ... 024-04-19/
"TSMC's shares slide nearly 7% in Taipei on global chip outlook concerns"
By Reuters
April 19, 2024
TAIPEI, April 19 (Reuters) - TSMC's Taipei-listed shares tumbled 6.7% on Friday following the company's first-quarter earnings report in which it dialed back its expectations for chip sector growth and did not revise up its capital spending plans, contrary to expectations.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the world's largest contract chipmaker, forecast second-quarter sales may rise as much as 30% as it rides a wave of demand chips used in artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
Its first-quarter profit also beat estimates.
But it left its capital spending plans for this year unchanged at between $28 billion and $32 billion and reiterated it expected 2024 revenue to rise in the low- to mid-20% range in U.S. dollar terms.
It lowered its outlook for the global semiconductor industry excluding memory to a growth rate of around 10% from a previous forecast of more than 10%.
TSMC, a major supplier to Apple and Nvidia, also downgraded its growth forecast for the global foundry sector to a mid-to-high teens percentage gain from a previous projection of around 20%.
Allen Huang, vice president of Mega International Investment in Taipei, said the market was reacting to the revised outlook for the semiconductor industry, adding that TSMC had been expected to increase capital expenditure this year for high-end packaging.
"If capital expenditure was only maintained at the previous level, it means that profit is not as expected," he said.
Another Taiwan fund manager, who asked not to be identified, said given TSMC's recent stock rally investors had high expectations heading into first-quarter earnings.
"Its capex has not been so aggressive, and the percentage of advanced process technologies revenue compared to overall revenue is still pretty low," the manager said.
TSMC's poor share price performance dragged on the broader Taipei market which closed down 3.8%, losing 774 points - the most it has lost in a single day.
Sentiment was also hit by a rise in tensions between Israel and Iran.
TSMC has other challenges, too.
Speaking on Friday after being given an honour for his services to Taiwan, TSMC's retired and much revered founder Morris Chang said the company's current leadership needed "great wisdom" to navigate challenges to "dying" globalisation given how the firm had benefited so much from free trade.
"TSMC also faces resources challenges: land, water, power, talent, which need continued support from the government and all others," he said at the presidential office in Taipei, referring to limitations Taiwan's tech industry has long worried about.
Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee; Additional reporting by Faith Hung, Roger Tung and Jeanny Kao; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Edwina Gibbs
https://www.reuters.com/technology/tsmc ... 024-04-19/
Re: POLITICS
REUTERS
"Micron set to get $6.1 bln in chip grants from US"
By Reuters
April 18, 2024
April 18 (Reuters) - Memory chip maker Micron Technology is set to receive $6.1 billion in grants from the U.S. Commerce Department to help pay for domestic chip factory projects, Democratic U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Thursday.
The award, which is not yet finalized, will fund chipmaking facilities in New York and Idaho from the CHIPS & Science law, the New York senator said in a statement.
“This monumental and historic federal investment will power and propel Micron to bring its transformative $100+ billion four-fab project in central New York to life, creating an estimated 50,000 jobs,” he said.
Micron plans to build a complex of chip plants in New York over the next 20 years, the senator added.
The news caps off a string of Chips Act grants announced by the Biden administration in recent weeks as the United States seeks to reduce reliance on China and Taiwan and supercharge its own lagging chip production.
The U.S. share of global semiconductor manufacturing capacity has fallen from 37% in 1990 to 12% in 2020, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).
Lawmakers have warned that U.S. dependence on chips manufactured in Taiwan by the world's top contract chip manufacturer, is risky because China claims the self-governed island as its territory and has reserved the right to use force to retake it.
Intel won $8.5 billion in grants last month while Taiwan's TSMC clinched $6.6 billion in April to build out its American production.
Samsung followed this week with a $6.4 billion award to boost production in Texas.
The historic Chips Act allocates $52.6 billion to support the sector.
The Commerce Department is dedicating $28 billion for government subsidies for advanced chips manufacturing - although it has more than $70 billion in requests - and also has $75 billion in lending authority.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement that the largest private investment in American history is on its way to Central New York.
Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh, additional reporting by Angela Christy; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Subhranshu Sahu and Chizu Nomiyama
https://www.reuters.com/technology/micr ... 024-04-17/
"Micron set to get $6.1 bln in chip grants from US"
By Reuters
April 18, 2024
April 18 (Reuters) - Memory chip maker Micron Technology is set to receive $6.1 billion in grants from the U.S. Commerce Department to help pay for domestic chip factory projects, Democratic U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Thursday.
The award, which is not yet finalized, will fund chipmaking facilities in New York and Idaho from the CHIPS & Science law, the New York senator said in a statement.
“This monumental and historic federal investment will power and propel Micron to bring its transformative $100+ billion four-fab project in central New York to life, creating an estimated 50,000 jobs,” he said.
Micron plans to build a complex of chip plants in New York over the next 20 years, the senator added.
The news caps off a string of Chips Act grants announced by the Biden administration in recent weeks as the United States seeks to reduce reliance on China and Taiwan and supercharge its own lagging chip production.
The U.S. share of global semiconductor manufacturing capacity has fallen from 37% in 1990 to 12% in 2020, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).
Lawmakers have warned that U.S. dependence on chips manufactured in Taiwan by the world's top contract chip manufacturer, is risky because China claims the self-governed island as its territory and has reserved the right to use force to retake it.
Intel won $8.5 billion in grants last month while Taiwan's TSMC clinched $6.6 billion in April to build out its American production.
Samsung followed this week with a $6.4 billion award to boost production in Texas.
The historic Chips Act allocates $52.6 billion to support the sector.
The Commerce Department is dedicating $28 billion for government subsidies for advanced chips manufacturing - although it has more than $70 billion in requests - and also has $75 billion in lending authority.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement that the largest private investment in American history is on its way to Central New York.
Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh, additional reporting by Angela Christy; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Subhranshu Sahu and Chizu Nomiyama
https://www.reuters.com/technology/micr ... 024-04-17/
Re: POLITICS
THE CAPE CHARLES MIRROR APRIL 19, 2024 AT 8:18 PM
Paul Plante says:
And hey, hey hey, people, JOBS JOBS JOBS!
Millions and gazillions of them, all high-paying union manufacturing jobs thanks to BUILD BACK BETTER BIDE-O-NOMICS, Joe Biden’s ultra-new, ultra-chic economic plan that is building a new American economy to replace the other American economy with this one being built from the bottom up and the middle out, so that everybody who isn’t yet in the middle class, the class everybody knows really built America, and the class to be in, can get into the middle class and be just like everybody else in the middle class with the Escalade in the driveway for her, the Corvette and super-loaded fwd pick-up for he, and the McMansion on its own eighth-acre, all thanks to Joe Biden and BIDE-O-NOMICS!
Joe Biden is good!
Joe Biden is great!
Joe Biden is going to give us all chocolate cake!
But if that is the case, where are all these JOBS, JOBS, JOBS?
Consider a Reuters article titled “Smaller US manufacturers warm to Biden’s big industrial plan, survey shows” by Timothy Aeppel on April 16, 2024, where we had as follows:
April 16 (Reuters) – America’s small and mid-sized manufacturers may be warming up to the Biden administration’s push for an aggressive industrial policy.
Biden’s industrial policy, headlined by legislation passed in 2022 that sparked a surge of factory construction, is aimed at boosting semiconductors, electric vehicles and green technologies, as well as other sectors.
The efforts so far have not produced many manufacturing jobs.
end quotes
I love that last sentence because it tells the ******* truth about BIDE-O-NOMICS, as opposed to the BULL**** Joe Biden and his crowd keep spewing, which thought takes us back to that story, to wit:
And so, as the presidential campaign shifts into higher gear ahead of November’s election, Biden is touring factories to tout his accomplishments, especially to voters in battleground states.
end quote
And here I am, helping Joe “tout” his accomplishments by pointing out he doesn’t have any to tout which takes us back to that story about BIDEN TRICKLE-DOWN BIDE-O-NOMICS, to wit:
“This is the first time in a long time that we’ve had a deliberate industrial strategy being pushed by the executive branch – that’s unique,” said Randy Altschuler, chief executive of Xometry.
Altschuler said federal investments have yet to filter down to smaller producers, with many of the most high-profile projects favoring giants like Intel and Samsung, which are both planning new semiconductor plants.
“You’re going to see a bigger benefit (for smaller companies) further down the road,” said Altschuler, as those projects create demand for the underlying pipeline of goods and services needed to complete and supply those factories.
end quotes
Yes, people, Joe Biden is using taxpayer dollars to reward the richest corporations in the world and the richest people in the US in his own version of TOP-DOWN, TRICKLE-DOWN economics, which takes us back for more on Joe Biden’s CENTRALLY-PLANNED ECONOMY where it is Joe Biden who gets to pick who the winners and losers are going to be, to wit:
Altschuler, who ran for Congress in New York in 2010 and lost and remains a registered Republican, said the political divide over industrial policy – which was once opposed by many Republicans as picking winners and losers – has narrowed sharply in recent years.
end quotes
Which brings us to another Reuters article titled “Philly Fed manufacturing gauge charges to 2-year high” on April 18, 2024, where we have more reality about JOBS, JOBS, JOBS, to wit:
Factory employment, meanwhile, continued to fall, dropping to its lowest level overall since May 2020, in keeping with other gauges showing sluggish employment in the sector.
Manufacturing job growth has been next to non-existent over the past year, with the Labor Department’s measure of new factory jobs averaging just 2,000 a month in that span, among the weakest-performing industries in the private sector.
end quotes
That’s what Joe’s government is saying, while this is what Joe himself was spinning in Joe’s so-called State of the Union Address on 7 March 2024, to wit:
Folks, I inherited an economy that was on the brink.
Now, our economy is literally the envy of the world.
Fifteen million new jobs in just three years.
A record.
A record.
end quotes
Yeah, right, Joe, so other than on paper, where are they actually?
http://www.capecharlesmirror.com/paul-p ... ent-919498
Paul Plante says:
And hey, hey hey, people, JOBS JOBS JOBS!
Millions and gazillions of them, all high-paying union manufacturing jobs thanks to BUILD BACK BETTER BIDE-O-NOMICS, Joe Biden’s ultra-new, ultra-chic economic plan that is building a new American economy to replace the other American economy with this one being built from the bottom up and the middle out, so that everybody who isn’t yet in the middle class, the class everybody knows really built America, and the class to be in, can get into the middle class and be just like everybody else in the middle class with the Escalade in the driveway for her, the Corvette and super-loaded fwd pick-up for he, and the McMansion on its own eighth-acre, all thanks to Joe Biden and BIDE-O-NOMICS!
Joe Biden is good!
Joe Biden is great!
Joe Biden is going to give us all chocolate cake!
But if that is the case, where are all these JOBS, JOBS, JOBS?
Consider a Reuters article titled “Smaller US manufacturers warm to Biden’s big industrial plan, survey shows” by Timothy Aeppel on April 16, 2024, where we had as follows:
April 16 (Reuters) – America’s small and mid-sized manufacturers may be warming up to the Biden administration’s push for an aggressive industrial policy.
Biden’s industrial policy, headlined by legislation passed in 2022 that sparked a surge of factory construction, is aimed at boosting semiconductors, electric vehicles and green technologies, as well as other sectors.
The efforts so far have not produced many manufacturing jobs.
end quotes
I love that last sentence because it tells the ******* truth about BIDE-O-NOMICS, as opposed to the BULL**** Joe Biden and his crowd keep spewing, which thought takes us back to that story, to wit:
And so, as the presidential campaign shifts into higher gear ahead of November’s election, Biden is touring factories to tout his accomplishments, especially to voters in battleground states.
end quote
And here I am, helping Joe “tout” his accomplishments by pointing out he doesn’t have any to tout which takes us back to that story about BIDEN TRICKLE-DOWN BIDE-O-NOMICS, to wit:
“This is the first time in a long time that we’ve had a deliberate industrial strategy being pushed by the executive branch – that’s unique,” said Randy Altschuler, chief executive of Xometry.
Altschuler said federal investments have yet to filter down to smaller producers, with many of the most high-profile projects favoring giants like Intel and Samsung, which are both planning new semiconductor plants.
“You’re going to see a bigger benefit (for smaller companies) further down the road,” said Altschuler, as those projects create demand for the underlying pipeline of goods and services needed to complete and supply those factories.
end quotes
Yes, people, Joe Biden is using taxpayer dollars to reward the richest corporations in the world and the richest people in the US in his own version of TOP-DOWN, TRICKLE-DOWN economics, which takes us back for more on Joe Biden’s CENTRALLY-PLANNED ECONOMY where it is Joe Biden who gets to pick who the winners and losers are going to be, to wit:
Altschuler, who ran for Congress in New York in 2010 and lost and remains a registered Republican, said the political divide over industrial policy – which was once opposed by many Republicans as picking winners and losers – has narrowed sharply in recent years.
end quotes
Which brings us to another Reuters article titled “Philly Fed manufacturing gauge charges to 2-year high” on April 18, 2024, where we have more reality about JOBS, JOBS, JOBS, to wit:
Factory employment, meanwhile, continued to fall, dropping to its lowest level overall since May 2020, in keeping with other gauges showing sluggish employment in the sector.
Manufacturing job growth has been next to non-existent over the past year, with the Labor Department’s measure of new factory jobs averaging just 2,000 a month in that span, among the weakest-performing industries in the private sector.
end quotes
That’s what Joe’s government is saying, while this is what Joe himself was spinning in Joe’s so-called State of the Union Address on 7 March 2024, to wit:
Folks, I inherited an economy that was on the brink.
Now, our economy is literally the envy of the world.
Fifteen million new jobs in just three years.
A record.
A record.
end quotes
Yeah, right, Joe, so other than on paper, where are they actually?
http://www.capecharlesmirror.com/paul-p ... ent-919498
Re: POLITICS
REUTERS
"Dubai faces massive clean up after deluge swamps glitzy desert city"
By Reuters
April 19, 2024
Summary
* Vehicles submerged in water on roads abandoned
* Flooded roads bring Dubai to near standstill
* Airport operations remain disrupted
DUBAI, April 18 (Reuters) - Dubai, a city in the desert proud of its modern gloss, faced the towering task on Thursday of clearing its waterclogged roads and drying out flooded homes two days after a record storm saw a year's rain fall in a day.
Dubai International Airport, a major travel hub, struggled to clear a backlog of flights and many roads were still flooded in the aftermath of Tuesday's deluge.
The rains were the heaviest experienced by the United Arab Emirates in the 75 years that records have been kept.
They brought much of the country to a standstill and caused significant damage.
Flooding trapped residents in traffic, offices and homes.
Many reported leaks at their homes, while footage circulated on social media showed malls overrun with water pouring from roofs.
In Dubai, the UAE's most populous emirate, traffic remained disrupted even as public transportation services resumed.
Street closures, detours and partially submerged roads caused heavy congestion, with some cars driving towards oncoming traffic in effort to avoid flooded areas.
A highway through Dubai was reduced to a single lane in one direction, while the main road that connects Dubai with the capital Abu Dhabi was partially closed in both directions.
"This was like nothing else."
"It was like an alien invasion," Jonathan Richards, a Dubai resident from Britain told Reuters.
"I woke up the other morning to people in kayaks with pet dogs, pet cats, suitcases all outside my house."
Another resident, Rinku Makhecha, said the rain swamped her freshly renovated house she moved into two weeks ago.
"My entire living room is just like ... all my furniture is floating right now," she said.
Vehicles, including buses, were abandoned on streets and some could be seen submerged in water.
In Abu Dhabi, some supermarkets and restaurants faced product shortages, unable to receive deliveries from Dubai.
Dubai airport had yet to resume normal operation after the storm flooded taxiways, forcing flight diversions, delays and cancellations.
Dubai Airports Chief Operating Officer Majed Al Joker told Al Arabiya TV he expected Dubai International Airport to reach 60-70% capacity by the end of Thursday and full operational capacity within 24 hours.
The airport struggled to get food to stranded passengers with nearby roads flooded and overcrowding limited access to those who had confirmed bookings.
RETURNING SUPPLIES
The storm, which hit neighbouring Oman on Sunday, pounded the UAE on Tuesday, with 20 reported dead in Oman and one in the UAE.
While some roadways into hard-hit communities remain flooded, delivery services across Dubai, whose residents are used to ordering everything at the click of a mouse, slowly began returning to the streets.
Rains are rare in the UAE and elsewhere on the Arabian Peninsula, which is typically known for its dry desert climate.
Summer air temperatures can soar above 50 degrees Celsius.
Following Tuesday's events, questions were raised whether cloud seeding, a process that the UAE frequently conducts, could have caused the heavy rains.
But climate experts blame global warming for such extreme weather events.
Researchers anticipate that climate change will lead to heightened temperatures, increased humidity and a greater risk of flooding in parts of the Gulf region.
Countries like the UAE where there is a lack of drainage infrastructure to cope with heavy rains can suffer the most.
A UAE government agency that oversees cloud seeding - a process of manipulating clouds to increase rainfall - denied conducting any such operations before the storm.
President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said in a statement he had ordered authorities to assess the damage and provide support to families impacted by the storm.
Dubai's Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum said on X that the safety of citizens, residents and visitors was the utmost priority.
"At a meeting with government officials in Dubai, we set directives to prepare comprehensive plans in response to natural crises' such as the unexpected current weather conditions," he said.
Reporting by Alexander Cornwell, Federico Maccioni, Yousef Saba, Abir Ahmar and Amr Alfiky; Editing by Maha El Dahan, Tom Hogue, Angus MacSwan, Tomasz Janowski and David Evans
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-ea ... 1e2c1e3a35
"Dubai faces massive clean up after deluge swamps glitzy desert city"
By Reuters
April 19, 2024
Summary
* Vehicles submerged in water on roads abandoned
* Flooded roads bring Dubai to near standstill
* Airport operations remain disrupted
DUBAI, April 18 (Reuters) - Dubai, a city in the desert proud of its modern gloss, faced the towering task on Thursday of clearing its waterclogged roads and drying out flooded homes two days after a record storm saw a year's rain fall in a day.
Dubai International Airport, a major travel hub, struggled to clear a backlog of flights and many roads were still flooded in the aftermath of Tuesday's deluge.
The rains were the heaviest experienced by the United Arab Emirates in the 75 years that records have been kept.
They brought much of the country to a standstill and caused significant damage.
Flooding trapped residents in traffic, offices and homes.
Many reported leaks at their homes, while footage circulated on social media showed malls overrun with water pouring from roofs.
In Dubai, the UAE's most populous emirate, traffic remained disrupted even as public transportation services resumed.
Street closures, detours and partially submerged roads caused heavy congestion, with some cars driving towards oncoming traffic in effort to avoid flooded areas.
A highway through Dubai was reduced to a single lane in one direction, while the main road that connects Dubai with the capital Abu Dhabi was partially closed in both directions.
"This was like nothing else."
"It was like an alien invasion," Jonathan Richards, a Dubai resident from Britain told Reuters.
"I woke up the other morning to people in kayaks with pet dogs, pet cats, suitcases all outside my house."
Another resident, Rinku Makhecha, said the rain swamped her freshly renovated house she moved into two weeks ago.
"My entire living room is just like ... all my furniture is floating right now," she said.
Vehicles, including buses, were abandoned on streets and some could be seen submerged in water.
In Abu Dhabi, some supermarkets and restaurants faced product shortages, unable to receive deliveries from Dubai.
Dubai airport had yet to resume normal operation after the storm flooded taxiways, forcing flight diversions, delays and cancellations.
Dubai Airports Chief Operating Officer Majed Al Joker told Al Arabiya TV he expected Dubai International Airport to reach 60-70% capacity by the end of Thursday and full operational capacity within 24 hours.
The airport struggled to get food to stranded passengers with nearby roads flooded and overcrowding limited access to those who had confirmed bookings.
RETURNING SUPPLIES
The storm, which hit neighbouring Oman on Sunday, pounded the UAE on Tuesday, with 20 reported dead in Oman and one in the UAE.
While some roadways into hard-hit communities remain flooded, delivery services across Dubai, whose residents are used to ordering everything at the click of a mouse, slowly began returning to the streets.
Rains are rare in the UAE and elsewhere on the Arabian Peninsula, which is typically known for its dry desert climate.
Summer air temperatures can soar above 50 degrees Celsius.
Following Tuesday's events, questions were raised whether cloud seeding, a process that the UAE frequently conducts, could have caused the heavy rains.
But climate experts blame global warming for such extreme weather events.
Researchers anticipate that climate change will lead to heightened temperatures, increased humidity and a greater risk of flooding in parts of the Gulf region.
Countries like the UAE where there is a lack of drainage infrastructure to cope with heavy rains can suffer the most.
A UAE government agency that oversees cloud seeding - a process of manipulating clouds to increase rainfall - denied conducting any such operations before the storm.
President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said in a statement he had ordered authorities to assess the damage and provide support to families impacted by the storm.
Dubai's Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum said on X that the safety of citizens, residents and visitors was the utmost priority.
"At a meeting with government officials in Dubai, we set directives to prepare comprehensive plans in response to natural crises' such as the unexpected current weather conditions," he said.
Reporting by Alexander Cornwell, Federico Maccioni, Yousef Saba, Abir Ahmar and Amr Alfiky; Editing by Maha El Dahan, Tom Hogue, Angus MacSwan, Tomasz Janowski and David Evans
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-ea ... 1e2c1e3a35