REUTERS
"Tepid US core capital goods orders point to weak business equipment spending"
By Lucia Mutikani
April 24, 2024
Summary
* Core capital goods orders increase 0.2% in March
* Nondefense capital goods jump 5.4%; shipments drop 1.5%
* Durable goods orders rise 2.6%; shipments unchanged
WASHINGTON, April 24 (Reuters) - New orders for key U.S.-manufactured capital goods increased moderately in March and data for the prior month was revised lower, suggesting that business spending on equipment likely remained weak in the first quarter.
The report from the Commerce Department on Wednesday was published ahead of the release on Thursday of the government's advance estimate of gross domestic product for the January-March quarter.
The economy is expected to have delivered another quarter of strong performance, thanks to a resilient labor market that is driving consumer spending.
"From a narrow GDP accounting perspective, there should be no material impact on estimates for tomorrow's first-quarter GDP growth," said Conrad DeQuadros, senior economic advisor at Brean Capital.
"The positive takeaway from this is that the report suggests that weakness in manufacturing does not appear to be intensifying, but neither are there signs of recovery."
Non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, rose 0.2% last month, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said.
Data for February was revised lower to show these so-called core capital goods orders advancing 0.4% instead of 0.7% as previously reported.
March's increase was in line with economists' expectations.
Core capital goods orders gained 0.6% year-on-year in March.
Business spending on equipment has struggled in the aftermath of 525 basis points worth of interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve since March 2022 to tame inflation.
Though the U.S. central bank is expected to start lowering rates this year, the timing of the first cut is uncertain as inflation remains elevated amid the economy's resilience.
The Fed has kept its policy rate in the 5.25%-5.50% range since July.
Stocks on Wall Street were trading higher.
The dollar rose against a basket of currencies.
U.S. Treasury prices fell.
WEAK SHIPMENTS
Core capital goods shipments rebounded 0.2% after falling 0.6% in February.
These shipments likely were unchanged when adjusted for inflation.
Non-defense capital goods orders surged 5.4% after rising 2.7% in February.
But shipments of these goods slumped 1.5% after increasing by a downwardly revised 2.4% in February.
Non-defense capital goods shipments, which go into the calculation of the business spending on equipment component in the gross domestic product report, were previously reported to have risen 2.6% in February.
"While underlying capital goods shipments rose last quarter, they were probably little changed in real terms and the plunge in non-defense aircraft shipments suggests that overall business equipment investment declined," said Stephen Brown, deputy chief North America economist at Capital Economics.
Economists polled by Reuters estimated that GDP increased at a 2.4% annualized rate in the first quarter.
The economy grew at a 3.4% pace in the October-December quarter.
Business spending on equipment likely contracted for a third straight quarter.
But manufacturing, which accounts for 10.4% of the economy, is stabilizing.
Orders for durable goods, items ranging from toasters to aircraft meant to last three years or more, rose 2.6% in March after a downwardly revised 0.7% advance in February.
An Institute for Supply Management survey this month showed manufacturing grew for the first time in 1-1/2 years in March.
Transportation dominated the rise in orders last month, with bookings shooting up 7.7% after rising 1.8% in February.
They were lifted by a 30.6% jump in civilian aircraft orders after increasing 15.6% in the prior month.
Boeing reported on its website that it had received 113 orders for commercial aircraft, a surge from just 15 in February.
Orders for motor vehicles and parts rose 2.1%.
Orders for computers and electronic products increased 0.8% last month, while those for electrical equipment, appliances and components gained 0.1%.
Orders for fabricated metals rose 0.2%.
But orders for primary metals fell 0.5%.
Shipments of durable goods were unchanged as were inventories.
Unfilled orders rebounded 0.4%.
"The big picture here is that investment remains weak, and this is unlikely to change dramatically while credit conditions remain restrictive, especially for smaller firms," said Oliver Allen, senior U.S. economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Andrea Ricci
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-c ... 024-04-24/
POLITICS
Re: POLITICS
REUTERS
"Solar firm SunPower to cut jobs, wind down most of residential direct sales"
By Reuters
April 24, 2024
April 24 (Reuters) - SunPower plans to reduce its workforce by about 1,000 people in the coming days and weeks and move away from most of its direct sales channel as part of a restructuring plan to lower costs, the solar firm said on Wednesday.
The development comes a day after the company disclosed it identified misstatements in its results for fiscal 2022.
SunPower said it will wind down its SunPower Residential Installation locations and close SunPower Direct sales, adding that installations would be handled by its Blue Raven Solar and independent dealers.
SunPower had acquired Blue Raven for $165 million in 2021.
The company had 586,250 residential customers as of Dec. 31, 2023.
JP Morgan analysts said in a note that the realignment would largely eliminate SunPower's direct sales channel and move the company towards third-party sales.
Companies providing solar power and storage solutions have seen rising inventory levels and metering reforms in California weigh on demand.
The metering reform lowered the tariff residential customers receive from the grid, dampening demand for solar setups.
SunPower, which had 3,800 full-time employees globally prior to the job cut announcement, expects charges of about $28 million related to severance benefits, early contract terminations and certain write-offs.
The steps are being taken to simplify the business structure, transitioning away from areas where the company has been unable to sustain profitable operations, and improving financial controls, SunPower's Principal Executive Officer Tom Werner said in a letter to employees.
Werner, who served as CEO for nearly two decades, was brought back from retirement earlier this year as executive chairman while CEO Peter Faricy left.
Its restructuring plans are likely to be completed by the second quarter.
Shares were down 1.2% in afternoon trade.
Reporting by Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Sourasis Bose and Roshia Sabu; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Shailesh Kuber
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy ... 024-04-24/
"Solar firm SunPower to cut jobs, wind down most of residential direct sales"
By Reuters
April 24, 2024
April 24 (Reuters) - SunPower plans to reduce its workforce by about 1,000 people in the coming days and weeks and move away from most of its direct sales channel as part of a restructuring plan to lower costs, the solar firm said on Wednesday.
The development comes a day after the company disclosed it identified misstatements in its results for fiscal 2022.
SunPower said it will wind down its SunPower Residential Installation locations and close SunPower Direct sales, adding that installations would be handled by its Blue Raven Solar and independent dealers.
SunPower had acquired Blue Raven for $165 million in 2021.
The company had 586,250 residential customers as of Dec. 31, 2023.
JP Morgan analysts said in a note that the realignment would largely eliminate SunPower's direct sales channel and move the company towards third-party sales.
Companies providing solar power and storage solutions have seen rising inventory levels and metering reforms in California weigh on demand.
The metering reform lowered the tariff residential customers receive from the grid, dampening demand for solar setups.
SunPower, which had 3,800 full-time employees globally prior to the job cut announcement, expects charges of about $28 million related to severance benefits, early contract terminations and certain write-offs.
The steps are being taken to simplify the business structure, transitioning away from areas where the company has been unable to sustain profitable operations, and improving financial controls, SunPower's Principal Executive Officer Tom Werner said in a letter to employees.
Werner, who served as CEO for nearly two decades, was brought back from retirement earlier this year as executive chairman while CEO Peter Faricy left.
Its restructuring plans are likely to be completed by the second quarter.
Shares were down 1.2% in afternoon trade.
Reporting by Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Sourasis Bose and Roshia Sabu; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Shailesh Kuber
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy ... 024-04-24/
Re: POLITICS
REUTERS
"US closes $362 million loan to CelLink for vehicle wiring plant"
By Timothy Gardner
April 24, 2024
WASHINGTON, April 24 (Reuters) - The United States has closed a $362 million loan to CelLink Corp to help finance the construction of a plant in Texas to make components for electric vehicle assembly, the Department of Energy's loan programs office said on Wednesday.
WHY IT'S IMPORTANT
The financing from the government's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing loan program is for the development of lighter, more efficient flexible circuit wiring harnesses for automotive and other industries.
CelLink has developed a new method of connecting battery cells and packs, and transferring power and data across vehicle sensors, modules and electronic control units, according to the company.
Most wire harness production for the U.S. market is currently in low-cost labor countries due to the complex processes associated with traditional wire harness assembly, the Energy Department has said.
BY THE NUMBERS
Once operational, the plant is expected to produce enough wiring harnesses to support the manufacture of about 2.7 million EVs per year and more than 1,200 jobs.
KEY QUOTES
“EV sales have quadrupled since President (Joe) Biden took office, reaching historic levels just last year and projected to hit new records for 2024, underscoring why it's essential for the United States to harness manufacturing of all the key EV components," said U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Texas facility will eventually hold up to 25 manufacturing lines that will be brought online in stages over the next several years depending on demand.
The Biden administration last month slashed its target for electric vehicle adoption projecting that between 35% and 56% of all new vehicles will be electric between 2030 and 2032.
Auto workers in the political battleground state of Michigan had slammed the administration's tougher targets.
Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Kirsten Donovan
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos- ... 024-04-24/
"US closes $362 million loan to CelLink for vehicle wiring plant"
By Timothy Gardner
April 24, 2024
WASHINGTON, April 24 (Reuters) - The United States has closed a $362 million loan to CelLink Corp to help finance the construction of a plant in Texas to make components for electric vehicle assembly, the Department of Energy's loan programs office said on Wednesday.
WHY IT'S IMPORTANT
The financing from the government's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing loan program is for the development of lighter, more efficient flexible circuit wiring harnesses for automotive and other industries.
CelLink has developed a new method of connecting battery cells and packs, and transferring power and data across vehicle sensors, modules and electronic control units, according to the company.
Most wire harness production for the U.S. market is currently in low-cost labor countries due to the complex processes associated with traditional wire harness assembly, the Energy Department has said.
BY THE NUMBERS
Once operational, the plant is expected to produce enough wiring harnesses to support the manufacture of about 2.7 million EVs per year and more than 1,200 jobs.
KEY QUOTES
“EV sales have quadrupled since President (Joe) Biden took office, reaching historic levels just last year and projected to hit new records for 2024, underscoring why it's essential for the United States to harness manufacturing of all the key EV components," said U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Texas facility will eventually hold up to 25 manufacturing lines that will be brought online in stages over the next several years depending on demand.
The Biden administration last month slashed its target for electric vehicle adoption projecting that between 35% and 56% of all new vehicles will be electric between 2030 and 2032.
Auto workers in the political battleground state of Michigan had slammed the administration's tougher targets.
Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Kirsten Donovan
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos- ... 024-04-24/
Re: POLITICS
REUTERS
"US plans 12 offshore wind auctions over five years"
By Nichola Groom
April 24, 2024
April 24 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden's administration unveiled plans on Wednesday to hold up to a dozen auctions of offshore wind development rights through 2028, including four before the end of this year.
The schedule will help companies, states and others plan for projects that require massive amounts of investment and infrastructure, the Interior Department said in a statement.
Interior has held just four offshore wind auctions since Biden took office in 2021.
The last one, in the Gulf of Mexico last August, attracted lackluster industry interest.
The agency will regularly update the schedule under new regulations finalized on Wednesday.
The rules will streamline certain requirements for offshore wind development and cut industry costs by $1.9 billion over the next two decades, Interior said.
"Our offshore wind leasing schedule will provide predictability to help developers and communities plan ahead and will provide the confidence needed to continue building on the tremendous offshore wind supply chain and manufacturing investments that we've already seen," Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement.
The administration is determined to support the nascent U.S. offshore wind industry at a time when projects have been plagued by rising costs tied to inflation, interest rates and supply chain constraints.
Just this week, New York state stalled three major planned offshore wind farms.
According to Interior's schedule, this year the agency will hold lease sales for areas in the Central Atlantic, Gulf of Maine, Gulf of Mexico and Oregon.
In 2025, it will hold a single sale in the Gulf of Mexico.
In 2026, it will hold an auction in the Central Atlantic.
In 2027, two sales are scheduled - the Gulf of Mexico and New York Bight.
In 2028, Interior aims to hold four auctions - in California, an undetermined U.S. territory, the Gulf of Maine and Hawaii.
The timing of the sales is linked to the administration's five-year schedule to offer acreage to oil and gas companies for offshore development.
A provision in Biden's landmark climate change law, the Inflation Reduction Act, requires that Interior must offer at least 60 million acres (24.3 million hectares) for oil and gas leasing a year before issuing an offshore wind lease.
The U.S. last held an oil and gas auction in December of last year and will not hold another one until 2025 under a scaled back five-year drilling plan finalized last year.
In addition to establishing a leasing schedule, the offshore wind regulations finalized on Wednesday eliminate requirements for meteorological buoys, defer some survey requirements until a project is approved and allow incremental funding of decommissioning accounts over the life of a facility.
Reporting by Nichola Groom; Editing by David Gregorio and Marguerita Choy
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy ... 024-04-24/
"US plans 12 offshore wind auctions over five years"
By Nichola Groom
April 24, 2024
April 24 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden's administration unveiled plans on Wednesday to hold up to a dozen auctions of offshore wind development rights through 2028, including four before the end of this year.
The schedule will help companies, states and others plan for projects that require massive amounts of investment and infrastructure, the Interior Department said in a statement.
Interior has held just four offshore wind auctions since Biden took office in 2021.
The last one, in the Gulf of Mexico last August, attracted lackluster industry interest.
The agency will regularly update the schedule under new regulations finalized on Wednesday.
The rules will streamline certain requirements for offshore wind development and cut industry costs by $1.9 billion over the next two decades, Interior said.
"Our offshore wind leasing schedule will provide predictability to help developers and communities plan ahead and will provide the confidence needed to continue building on the tremendous offshore wind supply chain and manufacturing investments that we've already seen," Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement.
The administration is determined to support the nascent U.S. offshore wind industry at a time when projects have been plagued by rising costs tied to inflation, interest rates and supply chain constraints.
Just this week, New York state stalled three major planned offshore wind farms.
According to Interior's schedule, this year the agency will hold lease sales for areas in the Central Atlantic, Gulf of Maine, Gulf of Mexico and Oregon.
In 2025, it will hold a single sale in the Gulf of Mexico.
In 2026, it will hold an auction in the Central Atlantic.
In 2027, two sales are scheduled - the Gulf of Mexico and New York Bight.
In 2028, Interior aims to hold four auctions - in California, an undetermined U.S. territory, the Gulf of Maine and Hawaii.
The timing of the sales is linked to the administration's five-year schedule to offer acreage to oil and gas companies for offshore development.
A provision in Biden's landmark climate change law, the Inflation Reduction Act, requires that Interior must offer at least 60 million acres (24.3 million hectares) for oil and gas leasing a year before issuing an offshore wind lease.
The U.S. last held an oil and gas auction in December of last year and will not hold another one until 2025 under a scaled back five-year drilling plan finalized last year.
In addition to establishing a leasing schedule, the offshore wind regulations finalized on Wednesday eliminate requirements for meteorological buoys, defer some survey requirements until a project is approved and allow incremental funding of decommissioning accounts over the life of a facility.
Reporting by Nichola Groom; Editing by David Gregorio and Marguerita Choy
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy ... 024-04-24/
Re: POLITICS
"New York offshore wind projects scrapped, along with promise of local jobs - GE Vernova was to build turbines at Port of Coeymans, but that is canceled for now"
By Rick Karlin, Albany, New York Times Union
April 22, 2024
COEYMANS — Just over a year ago, state and corporate executives were heralding what they said could be some 870 high-paying jobs at the Port of Coeymans that would involve assembling offshore wind turbine engines and blades built by GE Vernova and LM Wind Power.
But last week, those jobs vanished — at least for now — before they were ever created.
That’s because two major offshore wind farms that were going to use the port as a fabrication area canceled their plans.
However, executives at the Port of Coeymans say they intend to continue expanding despite the cancellation of the Attentive and Community Offshore wind projects off the coast of Long Island.
The cancellations were just the latest of several similar reversals along the East Coast over the last year that illustrate the variables and cost challenges facing the push by both New York and the Biden administration to develop coastal wind as a major energy source.
Both the 1,314-megawatt Community Offshore project proposed by RWE, as well as the 1,404-megawatt Attentive project from Rise Power and Light and the French energy giant Total were canceled last week.
The news was listed on the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s website, and was first reported by Politico.
“No final awards will be made … and NYSERDA will look to advance a future competitive solicitation,” the agency stated on its website.
The reason cited was GE Vernova’s pivot from a new 18-megawatt turbine to their existing 15.5-megawatt device.
Without the larger turbines, developers would have to build more wind towers, which would add to the cost.
The Port of Coeymans had initially been identified as the facility where GE Vernova was going to build some of their turbines and blades, as well as LM Wind Power blades.
But with the Attentive project also halted, at least in the near term the port won’t be hosting a turbine factory.
Port officials, though, stressed that work is proceeding for two other wind projects that are currently under construction off Long Island: Empire Wind from Equinor and Sunrise from Orsted, two Scandinavian companies that are major global developers of offshore wind farms.
Both the Port of Coeymans and GE Vernova said they haven’t given up on the idea of building turbines and blades in Coeymans.
“The offshore wind industry still presents a tremendous opportunity for New York state,” Carver Companies Chief Operating Officer Nick Laraway said in a statement.
The Carver Companies owns and operates the Port of Coeymans.
“The Port of Coeymans will continue supporting offshore wind projects Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind as announced by the state earlier this year,” Laraway added.
The port is handling some of the steel needed for the Sunrise project, and will supply aggregate stone for Empire Wind.
The number of people working on the steel and aggregate supplies at the Port of Coeymans wasn’t immediately available.
GE Vernova also said it remains committed to the Port of Coeymans as a site for any future construction needs.
The wind developers said their cancellation followed a change in plans by GE Vernova: The power spinoff of General Electric Co. earlier this year said it was focusing on producing more “workhorse” 15.5-megawatt turbines rather than the newer and more complex 18-MW variant.
The company said there is plenty of demand for the 15.5-megawatt models as well as the 3- and 6-megawatt turbines it builds for land-based wind farms.
The Port of Coeymans isn’t the only spot along the Hudson River in the Capital Region to be buffeted by what has become a volatile offshore wind industry.
Three and a half years ago, local politicians and business boosters cheered news that the Port of Albany, about nine miles north of Coeymans, would host a turnkey factory for the construction of the massive steel towers that support the offshore turbines to be used in Equinor’s projects.
But a year later, port officials said the costs of building the factory had grown from early estimates of $350 million to $604 million.
For now, the site is prepared and shovel-ready, but no construction has started due to a lack of funds.
Both Coeymans and Albany, though, remain prime spots for wind development, with lower costs than the New York City area and access to the Hudson River, where barges can haul items like towers and turbines to wind farm locations off the Atlantic Coast.
“The fundamentals of both Coeymans and the Port of Albany are both compelling,” remarked Fred Zalcman, director of the NY Offshore Wind Alliance, a trade group of wind developers.
“Even if this didn’t pan out, I do believe there will be other opportunities down the road,” he said.
Steve Hughes contributed to this report.
https://www.timesunion.com/business/art ... lines&utm_
By Rick Karlin, Albany, New York Times Union
April 22, 2024
COEYMANS — Just over a year ago, state and corporate executives were heralding what they said could be some 870 high-paying jobs at the Port of Coeymans that would involve assembling offshore wind turbine engines and blades built by GE Vernova and LM Wind Power.
But last week, those jobs vanished — at least for now — before they were ever created.
That’s because two major offshore wind farms that were going to use the port as a fabrication area canceled their plans.
However, executives at the Port of Coeymans say they intend to continue expanding despite the cancellation of the Attentive and Community Offshore wind projects off the coast of Long Island.
The cancellations were just the latest of several similar reversals along the East Coast over the last year that illustrate the variables and cost challenges facing the push by both New York and the Biden administration to develop coastal wind as a major energy source.
Both the 1,314-megawatt Community Offshore project proposed by RWE, as well as the 1,404-megawatt Attentive project from Rise Power and Light and the French energy giant Total were canceled last week.
The news was listed on the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s website, and was first reported by Politico.
“No final awards will be made … and NYSERDA will look to advance a future competitive solicitation,” the agency stated on its website.
The reason cited was GE Vernova’s pivot from a new 18-megawatt turbine to their existing 15.5-megawatt device.
Without the larger turbines, developers would have to build more wind towers, which would add to the cost.
The Port of Coeymans had initially been identified as the facility where GE Vernova was going to build some of their turbines and blades, as well as LM Wind Power blades.
But with the Attentive project also halted, at least in the near term the port won’t be hosting a turbine factory.
Port officials, though, stressed that work is proceeding for two other wind projects that are currently under construction off Long Island: Empire Wind from Equinor and Sunrise from Orsted, two Scandinavian companies that are major global developers of offshore wind farms.
Both the Port of Coeymans and GE Vernova said they haven’t given up on the idea of building turbines and blades in Coeymans.
“The offshore wind industry still presents a tremendous opportunity for New York state,” Carver Companies Chief Operating Officer Nick Laraway said in a statement.
The Carver Companies owns and operates the Port of Coeymans.
“The Port of Coeymans will continue supporting offshore wind projects Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind as announced by the state earlier this year,” Laraway added.
The port is handling some of the steel needed for the Sunrise project, and will supply aggregate stone for Empire Wind.
The number of people working on the steel and aggregate supplies at the Port of Coeymans wasn’t immediately available.
GE Vernova also said it remains committed to the Port of Coeymans as a site for any future construction needs.
The wind developers said their cancellation followed a change in plans by GE Vernova: The power spinoff of General Electric Co. earlier this year said it was focusing on producing more “workhorse” 15.5-megawatt turbines rather than the newer and more complex 18-MW variant.
The company said there is plenty of demand for the 15.5-megawatt models as well as the 3- and 6-megawatt turbines it builds for land-based wind farms.
The Port of Coeymans isn’t the only spot along the Hudson River in the Capital Region to be buffeted by what has become a volatile offshore wind industry.
Three and a half years ago, local politicians and business boosters cheered news that the Port of Albany, about nine miles north of Coeymans, would host a turnkey factory for the construction of the massive steel towers that support the offshore turbines to be used in Equinor’s projects.
But a year later, port officials said the costs of building the factory had grown from early estimates of $350 million to $604 million.
For now, the site is prepared and shovel-ready, but no construction has started due to a lack of funds.
Both Coeymans and Albany, though, remain prime spots for wind development, with lower costs than the New York City area and access to the Hudson River, where barges can haul items like towers and turbines to wind farm locations off the Atlantic Coast.
“The fundamentals of both Coeymans and the Port of Albany are both compelling,” remarked Fred Zalcman, director of the NY Offshore Wind Alliance, a trade group of wind developers.
“Even if this didn’t pan out, I do believe there will be other opportunities down the road,” he said.
Steve Hughes contributed to this report.
https://www.timesunion.com/business/art ... lines&utm_
Re: POLITICS
THE CAPE CHARLES MIRROR APRIL 25, 2024 AT 11:49 AM
Paul Plante says:
And hey, hey, hey, people JOBS, JOBS, JOBS and even more jobs on top of all those jobs!
SCADS of them thanks to American president and noted and well-loved world leader Joseph Robinette Biden, Junior, into whose strong and loving hands we have entrusted Joe with custodianship of the SOUL OF AMERICA, thanks to his INSANE GREEN DREAM which is going to literally coat the oceans of America, east and west, with so many windmills it won’t be funny, and America is going to get so RICH, RICH, RICH selling electric power to the rest of the world that not only will our federal deficit of $33 TRILLION be wiped out literally overnight, but all our taxes will be canceled and not only that, but the federal government will have so much extra money it won’t know what to do with, so each and every one of us will get a MILLION DOLLAR ROYALTY CHECK each year in time for BLACK FRIDAY sales, and life in America will be glorious, thanks to Joe Biden and BUILD BACK BETTER BIDENOMICS which has built the NEW AMERICAN ECONOMY from the BOTTOM UP and the MIDDLE OUT so sing hallelujah, people, and say AMEN, because as we can see in this Albany, New York Times Union article titled “New York offshore wind projects scrapped, along with promise of local jobs – GE Vernova was to build turbines at Port of Coeymans, but that is canceled for now” by Rick Karlin on April 22, 2024, the GOOD TIMES promised by Joe Biden are finally here at last:
COEYMANS — Just over a year ago, state and corporate executives were heralding what they said could be some 870 high-paying jobs at the Port of Coeymans that would involve assembling offshore wind turbine engines and blades built by GE Vernova and LM Wind Power.
But last week, those jobs vanished — at least for now — before they were ever created.
end quotes
And talk about BIDEN BOBAUNCE (ostentatious or boastful behavior, vain display, worldly vanity) and all these HIGH-PAYING GOOD UNION JOBS Joe Biden says he has “created,” there is the true Biden job creation right there in front of us, numbers on pieces of paper that mean nothing in the reality that exists outside of white house press releases – a pocketful of mumbles such are Joe Biden’s promises, which takes us back to that story, to wit:
That’s because two major offshore wind farms that were going to use the port as a fabrication area canceled their plans.
However, executives at the Port of Coeymans say they intend to continue expanding despite the cancellation of the Attentive and Community Offshore wind projects off the coast of Long Island.
The cancellations were just the latest of several similar reversals along the East Coast over the last year that illustrate the variables and cost challenges facing the push by both New York and the Biden administration to develop coastal wind as a major energy source.
Both the 1,314-megawatt Community Offshore project proposed by RWE, as well as the 1,404-megawatt Attentive project from Rise Power and Light and the French energy giant Total were canceled last week.
The news was listed on the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s website, and was first reported by Politico.
“No final awards will be made … and NYSERDA will look to advance a future competitive solicitation,” the agency stated on its website.
The reason cited was GE Vernova’s pivot from a new 18-megawatt turbine to their existing 15.5-megawatt device.
Without the larger turbines, developers would have to build more wind towers, which would add to the cost.
The Port of Coeymans had initially been identified as the facility where GE Vernova was going to build some of their turbines and blades, as well as LM Wind Power blades.
But with the Attentive project also halted, at least in the near term the port won’t be hosting a turbine factory.
Port officials, though, stressed that work is proceeding for two other wind projects that are currently under construction off Long Island: Empire Wind from Equinor and Sunrise from Orsted, two Scandinavian companies that are major global developers of offshore wind farms.
Both the Port of Coeymans and GE Vernova said they haven’t given up on the idea of building turbines and blades in Coeymans.
end quotes
For the record, the port of Coeymans, which is on the Hudson River in corrupt, backwards, Democrat-controlled New York state is about ONE HUNDRED FORTY MILES from New York City and the Atlantic Ocean.
Going back to the story of BIDEN INSANE GREEN DREAM FAILURE, it continues as follows:
“The offshore wind industry still presents a tremendous opportunity for New York state,” Carver Companies Chief Operating Officer Nick Laraway said in a statement.
The Carver Companies owns and operates the Port of Coeymans.
“The Port of Coeymans will continue supporting offshore wind projects Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind as announced by the state earlier this year,” Laraway added.
The port is handling some of the steel needed for the Sunrise project, and will supply aggregate stone for Empire Wind.
The number of people working on the steel and aggregate supplies at the Port of Coeymans wasn’t immediately available.
GE Vernova also said it remains committed to the Port of Coeymans as a site for any future construction needs.
The wind developers said their cancellation followed a change in plans by GE Vernova: The power spinoff of General Electric Co. earlier this year said it was focusing on producing more “workhorse” 15.5-megawatt turbines rather than the newer and more complex 18-MW variant.
The company said there is plenty of demand for the 15.5-megawatt models as well as the 3- and 6-megawatt turbines it builds for land-based wind farms.
The Port of Coeymans isn’t the only spot along the Hudson River in the Capital Region to be buffeted by what has become a volatile offshore wind industry.
Three and a half years ago, local politicians and business boosters cheered news that the Port of Albany, about nine miles north of Coeymans, would host a turnkey factory for the construction of the massive steel towers that support the offshore turbines to be used in Equinor’s projects.
But a year later, port officials said the costs of building the factory had grown from early estimates of $350 million to $604 million.
For now, the site is prepared and shovel-ready, but no construction has started due to a lack of funds.
Both Coeymans and Albany, though, remain prime spots for wind development, with lower costs than the New York City area and access to the Hudson River, where barges can haul items like towers and turbines to wind farm locations off the Atlantic Coast.
“The fundamentals of both Coeymans and the Port of Albany are both compelling,” remarked Fred Zalcman, director of the NY Offshore Wind Alliance, a trade group of wind developers.
“Even if this didn’t pan out, I do believe there will be other opportunities down the road,” he said.
end quotes
And that is the news, people, stay tuned, more is yet to come!
http://www.capecharlesmirror.com/paul-p ... ent-921277
Paul Plante says:
And hey, hey, hey, people JOBS, JOBS, JOBS and even more jobs on top of all those jobs!
SCADS of them thanks to American president and noted and well-loved world leader Joseph Robinette Biden, Junior, into whose strong and loving hands we have entrusted Joe with custodianship of the SOUL OF AMERICA, thanks to his INSANE GREEN DREAM which is going to literally coat the oceans of America, east and west, with so many windmills it won’t be funny, and America is going to get so RICH, RICH, RICH selling electric power to the rest of the world that not only will our federal deficit of $33 TRILLION be wiped out literally overnight, but all our taxes will be canceled and not only that, but the federal government will have so much extra money it won’t know what to do with, so each and every one of us will get a MILLION DOLLAR ROYALTY CHECK each year in time for BLACK FRIDAY sales, and life in America will be glorious, thanks to Joe Biden and BUILD BACK BETTER BIDENOMICS which has built the NEW AMERICAN ECONOMY from the BOTTOM UP and the MIDDLE OUT so sing hallelujah, people, and say AMEN, because as we can see in this Albany, New York Times Union article titled “New York offshore wind projects scrapped, along with promise of local jobs – GE Vernova was to build turbines at Port of Coeymans, but that is canceled for now” by Rick Karlin on April 22, 2024, the GOOD TIMES promised by Joe Biden are finally here at last:
COEYMANS — Just over a year ago, state and corporate executives were heralding what they said could be some 870 high-paying jobs at the Port of Coeymans that would involve assembling offshore wind turbine engines and blades built by GE Vernova and LM Wind Power.
But last week, those jobs vanished — at least for now — before they were ever created.
end quotes
And talk about BIDEN BOBAUNCE (ostentatious or boastful behavior, vain display, worldly vanity) and all these HIGH-PAYING GOOD UNION JOBS Joe Biden says he has “created,” there is the true Biden job creation right there in front of us, numbers on pieces of paper that mean nothing in the reality that exists outside of white house press releases – a pocketful of mumbles such are Joe Biden’s promises, which takes us back to that story, to wit:
That’s because two major offshore wind farms that were going to use the port as a fabrication area canceled their plans.
However, executives at the Port of Coeymans say they intend to continue expanding despite the cancellation of the Attentive and Community Offshore wind projects off the coast of Long Island.
The cancellations were just the latest of several similar reversals along the East Coast over the last year that illustrate the variables and cost challenges facing the push by both New York and the Biden administration to develop coastal wind as a major energy source.
Both the 1,314-megawatt Community Offshore project proposed by RWE, as well as the 1,404-megawatt Attentive project from Rise Power and Light and the French energy giant Total were canceled last week.
The news was listed on the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s website, and was first reported by Politico.
“No final awards will be made … and NYSERDA will look to advance a future competitive solicitation,” the agency stated on its website.
The reason cited was GE Vernova’s pivot from a new 18-megawatt turbine to their existing 15.5-megawatt device.
Without the larger turbines, developers would have to build more wind towers, which would add to the cost.
The Port of Coeymans had initially been identified as the facility where GE Vernova was going to build some of their turbines and blades, as well as LM Wind Power blades.
But with the Attentive project also halted, at least in the near term the port won’t be hosting a turbine factory.
Port officials, though, stressed that work is proceeding for two other wind projects that are currently under construction off Long Island: Empire Wind from Equinor and Sunrise from Orsted, two Scandinavian companies that are major global developers of offshore wind farms.
Both the Port of Coeymans and GE Vernova said they haven’t given up on the idea of building turbines and blades in Coeymans.
end quotes
For the record, the port of Coeymans, which is on the Hudson River in corrupt, backwards, Democrat-controlled New York state is about ONE HUNDRED FORTY MILES from New York City and the Atlantic Ocean.
Going back to the story of BIDEN INSANE GREEN DREAM FAILURE, it continues as follows:
“The offshore wind industry still presents a tremendous opportunity for New York state,” Carver Companies Chief Operating Officer Nick Laraway said in a statement.
The Carver Companies owns and operates the Port of Coeymans.
“The Port of Coeymans will continue supporting offshore wind projects Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind as announced by the state earlier this year,” Laraway added.
The port is handling some of the steel needed for the Sunrise project, and will supply aggregate stone for Empire Wind.
The number of people working on the steel and aggregate supplies at the Port of Coeymans wasn’t immediately available.
GE Vernova also said it remains committed to the Port of Coeymans as a site for any future construction needs.
The wind developers said their cancellation followed a change in plans by GE Vernova: The power spinoff of General Electric Co. earlier this year said it was focusing on producing more “workhorse” 15.5-megawatt turbines rather than the newer and more complex 18-MW variant.
The company said there is plenty of demand for the 15.5-megawatt models as well as the 3- and 6-megawatt turbines it builds for land-based wind farms.
The Port of Coeymans isn’t the only spot along the Hudson River in the Capital Region to be buffeted by what has become a volatile offshore wind industry.
Three and a half years ago, local politicians and business boosters cheered news that the Port of Albany, about nine miles north of Coeymans, would host a turnkey factory for the construction of the massive steel towers that support the offshore turbines to be used in Equinor’s projects.
But a year later, port officials said the costs of building the factory had grown from early estimates of $350 million to $604 million.
For now, the site is prepared and shovel-ready, but no construction has started due to a lack of funds.
Both Coeymans and Albany, though, remain prime spots for wind development, with lower costs than the New York City area and access to the Hudson River, where barges can haul items like towers and turbines to wind farm locations off the Atlantic Coast.
“The fundamentals of both Coeymans and the Port of Albany are both compelling,” remarked Fred Zalcman, director of the NY Offshore Wind Alliance, a trade group of wind developers.
“Even if this didn’t pan out, I do believe there will be other opportunities down the road,” he said.
end quotes
And that is the news, people, stay tuned, more is yet to come!
http://www.capecharlesmirror.com/paul-p ... ent-921277
Re: POLITICS
Al Jazeera
"Yemen’s Houthis launch attacks on US, Israeli vessels as warships defend"
25 APRIL 2024
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi armed group says it attacked US and Israeli vessels, with a Western coalition of warships defending amid the continuing fallout from the war on Gaza.
Yahya Saree, the group’s military spokesman, said in a video address late on Wednesday that the Houthis hit the Maersk Yorktown cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden.
The US military confirmed that the Houthis launched an antiship ballistic missile from their territory towards the vessel, which it identified as a “US-flagged, owned, and operated vessel with 18 US and four Greek crew members”.
“There were no injuries or damage reported by US, coalition, or commercial ships,” the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.
The Greek Ministry of National Defence said on Thursday that one of the country’s military ships serving in the European Union’s naval mission to counter the Houthis in the Red Sea intercepted two drones launched towards a commercial ship from Yemen.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) had earlier confirmed an incident some 72 nautical miles (133km) southeast of the port of Djibouti in the Gulf of Aden.
Saree said the group targeted the Israeli ship MSC Veracruz in the Indian Ocean and launched projectiles at a US warship.
The US military said within two hours of the attack on the Maersk Yorktown, its forces “successfully engaged and destroyed” four drones over Yemen.
“These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for US, coalition, and merchant vessels,” it said.
The Houthis, who support the Palestinian armed group Hamas, have been launching attacks on vessels in waters near their shores since November in a stated claim to stop Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.
The group gradually expanded its attacks from Israeli-linked ships to US and UK-owned commercial vessels and warships as Washington mobilised a maritime coalition to defend against the attacks, and along with the British military targeted Yemeni soil with numerous air raids.
According to the US Maritime Administration, in addition to seizing a commercial vessel in November and sinking a UK-owned ship in March, the Houthis have launched more than 50 attacks on shipping since November.
The Houthi strikes have reduced in frequency in recent months as the group appears to have exhausted its stockpiles of missiles and drones after dozens of attacks while suffering from US and UK air raids.
The previous attacks claimed by the group came on April 10, when it said it hit three US and Israeli-linked ships, along with a US warship.
The Houthi attacks have forced many vessels to opt against passing through the Red Sea to use the Suez Canal, instead going around Southern Africa, which makes their journeys weeks longer and more expensive.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ye ... 0009&ei=20
"Yemen’s Houthis launch attacks on US, Israeli vessels as warships defend"
25 APRIL 2024
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi armed group says it attacked US and Israeli vessels, with a Western coalition of warships defending amid the continuing fallout from the war on Gaza.
Yahya Saree, the group’s military spokesman, said in a video address late on Wednesday that the Houthis hit the Maersk Yorktown cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden.
The US military confirmed that the Houthis launched an antiship ballistic missile from their territory towards the vessel, which it identified as a “US-flagged, owned, and operated vessel with 18 US and four Greek crew members”.
“There were no injuries or damage reported by US, coalition, or commercial ships,” the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.
The Greek Ministry of National Defence said on Thursday that one of the country’s military ships serving in the European Union’s naval mission to counter the Houthis in the Red Sea intercepted two drones launched towards a commercial ship from Yemen.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) had earlier confirmed an incident some 72 nautical miles (133km) southeast of the port of Djibouti in the Gulf of Aden.
Saree said the group targeted the Israeli ship MSC Veracruz in the Indian Ocean and launched projectiles at a US warship.
The US military said within two hours of the attack on the Maersk Yorktown, its forces “successfully engaged and destroyed” four drones over Yemen.
“These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for US, coalition, and merchant vessels,” it said.
The Houthis, who support the Palestinian armed group Hamas, have been launching attacks on vessels in waters near their shores since November in a stated claim to stop Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.
The group gradually expanded its attacks from Israeli-linked ships to US and UK-owned commercial vessels and warships as Washington mobilised a maritime coalition to defend against the attacks, and along with the British military targeted Yemeni soil with numerous air raids.
According to the US Maritime Administration, in addition to seizing a commercial vessel in November and sinking a UK-owned ship in March, the Houthis have launched more than 50 attacks on shipping since November.
The Houthi strikes have reduced in frequency in recent months as the group appears to have exhausted its stockpiles of missiles and drones after dozens of attacks while suffering from US and UK air raids.
The previous attacks claimed by the group came on April 10, when it said it hit three US and Israeli-linked ships, along with a US warship.
The Houthi attacks have forced many vessels to opt against passing through the Red Sea to use the Suez Canal, instead going around Southern Africa, which makes their journeys weeks longer and more expensive.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ye ... 0009&ei=20
Re: POLITICS
FOX News
"New poll shows Biden’s 2024 lead vanishing with Trump on trial"
Story by Brandon Gillespie
25 APRIL 2024
A new Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday shows President Biden's slight lead over former President Trump vanishing despite Trump's ongoing criminal trial in New York City.
Trump's trial, related to the 34 counts of falsifying business records he's charged with, began last week with jury selection and moved into opening arguments this week.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The poll also found the presidential race to be in a dead heat with Biden and Trump tied at 46% support.
The two remain tied at 37% with the inclusion of independent presidential candidates Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (16%) and Dr. Cornel West (3%) and the Green Party's Jill Stein (3%).
Those numbers mark a significant closing of the gap for Trump, who trailed Biden 48%-45% in Quinnipiac's March poll.
However, with the inclusion of Kennedy, West and Stein, Trump held a one-point lead over Biden 39%-38%.
Biden's job approval remained dismally low at 35% support, down from 37% in March, while 61% said they disapprove of his job performance, up from 59%.
Regarding the charges Trump faces in his ongoing New York trial, a plurality of 46% said they believe the former president did something illegal, while 45% said he didn't.
However, 27% believe he did something unethical but not illegal, and 18% believe he did nothing wrong.
If Trump were to be convicted on the charges, 21% said they would be less likely to vote for him, 62% said it would not affect their vote and 15% said they would be more likely to vote for him.
Trump has argued the trial is pure politics, a "political persecution," and he maintains his innocence.
The former president, the first ever to be a defendant in a criminal trial, vowed to "tell the truth" if he takes the stand.
He has also argued the trial is unfairly keeping him from the campaign trail, giving Biden an advantage.
Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... 0009&ei=39
"New poll shows Biden’s 2024 lead vanishing with Trump on trial"
Story by Brandon Gillespie
25 APRIL 2024
A new Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday shows President Biden's slight lead over former President Trump vanishing despite Trump's ongoing criminal trial in New York City.
Trump's trial, related to the 34 counts of falsifying business records he's charged with, began last week with jury selection and moved into opening arguments this week.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The poll also found the presidential race to be in a dead heat with Biden and Trump tied at 46% support.
The two remain tied at 37% with the inclusion of independent presidential candidates Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (16%) and Dr. Cornel West (3%) and the Green Party's Jill Stein (3%).
Those numbers mark a significant closing of the gap for Trump, who trailed Biden 48%-45% in Quinnipiac's March poll.
However, with the inclusion of Kennedy, West and Stein, Trump held a one-point lead over Biden 39%-38%.
Biden's job approval remained dismally low at 35% support, down from 37% in March, while 61% said they disapprove of his job performance, up from 59%.
Regarding the charges Trump faces in his ongoing New York trial, a plurality of 46% said they believe the former president did something illegal, while 45% said he didn't.
However, 27% believe he did something unethical but not illegal, and 18% believe he did nothing wrong.
If Trump were to be convicted on the charges, 21% said they would be less likely to vote for him, 62% said it would not affect their vote and 15% said they would be more likely to vote for him.
Trump has argued the trial is pure politics, a "political persecution," and he maintains his innocence.
The former president, the first ever to be a defendant in a criminal trial, vowed to "tell the truth" if he takes the stand.
He has also argued the trial is unfairly keeping him from the campaign trail, giving Biden an advantage.
Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... 0009&ei=39
Re: POLITICS
Business Insider
"The US secretly slipped ATACMS to Ukraine with more to come, putting high-value Russian targets in danger"
Story by jepstein@businessinsider.com (Jake Epstein)
25 APRIL 2024
* US lawmakers have finally cleared the way for Ukraine to receive additional security assistance.
* Officials say as part of the influx in weaponry, Ukraine will receive a fresh batch of ATACMS.
* Kyiv used these long-range missiles to batter Russian helicopters in multiple strikes last year.
The US is slated to send Ukraine more of the powerful long-range tactical ballistic missiles that Kyiv's forces have used to devastate Russian airfields in strikes deep behind the front lines.
President Joe Biden on Wednesday cleared the last obstacle for Ukraine to receive additional aid, including MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, also known as ATACMS, as part of a crucial influx of military aid to the country.
Ukraine secretly received a shipment of ATACMS earlier this year and recently used them in long-range strikes, according to multiple reports, and US lawmakers have suggested that more of the deadly missiles could be on their way to Kyiv within a matter of days.
Ukraine has previously demonstrated it could effectively target Russia's high-value assets in the rear with ATACMS, which experts say presents a significant dilemma for Moscow.
More such missiles could allow Kyiv to continue this trend.
"This is going to cause the Russians to change a lot of their strategy and tactics," Dan Rice, a former US Army artillery officer, told Business Insider.
Throughout the war, Ukraine has routinely pressed Washington to provide ATACMS so it could hit high-value Russian targets deep behind enemy lines.
After secretly obtaining a small number of the missiles from the US, Kyiv eventually debuted them last fall by striking two Russian airfields in occupied areas of eastern Ukraine.
Kyiv used the M39 ATACMS variant in those attacks.
A highly lethal cluster missile with a range of around 100 miles, the M39 is packed with 950 anti-personnel and anti-materiel M74 bomblets, which are released mid-flight and dispersed over a large area, giving the weapon the ability to cause significant damage.
The two strikes destroyed more than a dozen Russian helicopters, assets critical to Moscow's operations, as well as an air-defense missile launcher, vehicles, and ammunition depots, according to Western intelligence.
After the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remarked that ATACMS had "proven themselves."
Since last fall, there has not been any public confirmation from Kyiv or Washington of additional Ukrainian strikes involving the missiles.
But on Wednesday, The New York Times and Reuters reported that the Biden administration had secretly shipped long-range ATACMS variants to Ukraine earlier this month as part of a $300 million security assistance package announced in March.
Kyiv then immediately used the missiles to strike a Russian military airfield in the occupied Crimean peninsula last week, US officials told the outlets.
Over the weekend, House lawmakers passed legislation that requires the transfer of additional ATACMS to Ukraine as part of a crucial $61 billion aid package for the war-torn country that has spent months in limbo.
With this legislation having finally cleared its toughest hurdle, Sen. Mark Werner, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday that he hoped ATACMS would be in transit by the end of this week.
And after speaking with Biden on Monday, Zelenskyy said, with regards to an agreement on ATACMS, that "all the details have been finalized."
It is unclear exactly which ATACMS variants Ukraine will receive going forward.
Beyond the 100-mile-range M39, the US has two other versions that can both travel up to 190 miles; one ATACMS variant scatters some 300 little bomblets, while the other has a unitary warhead.
Ukraine has repeatedly pressed Washington for the longest-range versions of the missile, which were reportedly used in last week's strikes in Crimea.
It's unclear if Kyiv used the cluster missile variant or the one with a unitary warhead in the attack to hammer Russian air-defense systems and radar stations.
All of the ATACMS can be fired from Ukraine's existing inventory of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, and M270 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, but different ATACMS variants could be used to go after different targets, said Rice, who previously served as a special advisor to Ukrainian military leadership.
The cluster variants, which are known as area weapons, can be used to target large troop concentrations — exposed or in trenches — while also destroying fuel, ammunition, and armored vehicles kept in the immediate vicinity.
The unitary warheads, on the other hand, can be used to go after targets like bridges, command and control facilities, supply depots, or well-protected bunkers because they release one large explosion instead of dispersing submunitions over a broader area.
"Having the combination just makes these HIMARS launchers more lethal [and] puts more pressure on the Russians in all of the areas within 300 kilometers of the front lines," Rice, a longtime advocate for sending various cluster munitions to Ukraine and now the President of American University Kyiv, said.
Regardless of the variant, the arrival of additional ATACMS will likely compel Moscow to change its strategy and tactics.
Experts previously assessed that Russia's military leadership will have to balance how to protect and relocate vulnerable assets that are within range of the missiles without actually reducing their combat value.
Rice said the anticipated arrival of more ATACMS could force the Russians to push its supply depots, command and control nodes, and attack helicopters even farther from the front lines.
By doing this, he added, Ukraine is going to make it "very difficult" for Moscow to wage war against Kyiv's forces.
The passage of additional funding for Ukraine this week comes at a critical time for Kyiv's forces, who have been facing an increasingly grim outlook on the battlefield as they run low on much-needed artillery ammunition and air-defense munitions.
Russia, meanwhile, has made notable advances over the past few months.
US, Ukrainian, and Western officials, as well as war experts, have warned that without additional security assistance from Washington, Kyiv may continue to lose ground.
Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters at a Tuesday briefing that with the passage of the Ukraine aid package, the US can at last "surge life-saving security assistance" to Kyiv "as quickly as possible."
"Much more to follow in the days ahead," he added, "but needless to say we understand the importance and the urgency and are doing everything we can to be poised to respond quickly."
After Biden signed the legislation into law on Wednesday, the Pentagon immediately announced a $1 billion security assistance package for Ukraine.
While the statement did not specifically mention ATACMS, it said the package contains "additional ammunition" for the HIMARS, which could include ATACMS.
This massive military aid package also includes air-defense interceptors, artillery ammunition, armored vehicles, anti-tank weapons, and other lethal equipment.
If Russian President Vladimir Putin "triumphs in Ukraine, the next move of Russian forces could very well be a direct attack on a NATO ally," Biden said on Wednesday.
"That's why we're supporting — and surging support now to — Ukraine, to stop Putin from drawing the United States into war in Europe and in the future."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/th ... 0009&ei=57
"The US secretly slipped ATACMS to Ukraine with more to come, putting high-value Russian targets in danger"
Story by jepstein@businessinsider.com (Jake Epstein)
25 APRIL 2024
* US lawmakers have finally cleared the way for Ukraine to receive additional security assistance.
* Officials say as part of the influx in weaponry, Ukraine will receive a fresh batch of ATACMS.
* Kyiv used these long-range missiles to batter Russian helicopters in multiple strikes last year.
The US is slated to send Ukraine more of the powerful long-range tactical ballistic missiles that Kyiv's forces have used to devastate Russian airfields in strikes deep behind the front lines.
President Joe Biden on Wednesday cleared the last obstacle for Ukraine to receive additional aid, including MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, also known as ATACMS, as part of a crucial influx of military aid to the country.
Ukraine secretly received a shipment of ATACMS earlier this year and recently used them in long-range strikes, according to multiple reports, and US lawmakers have suggested that more of the deadly missiles could be on their way to Kyiv within a matter of days.
Ukraine has previously demonstrated it could effectively target Russia's high-value assets in the rear with ATACMS, which experts say presents a significant dilemma for Moscow.
More such missiles could allow Kyiv to continue this trend.
"This is going to cause the Russians to change a lot of their strategy and tactics," Dan Rice, a former US Army artillery officer, told Business Insider.
Throughout the war, Ukraine has routinely pressed Washington to provide ATACMS so it could hit high-value Russian targets deep behind enemy lines.
After secretly obtaining a small number of the missiles from the US, Kyiv eventually debuted them last fall by striking two Russian airfields in occupied areas of eastern Ukraine.
Kyiv used the M39 ATACMS variant in those attacks.
A highly lethal cluster missile with a range of around 100 miles, the M39 is packed with 950 anti-personnel and anti-materiel M74 bomblets, which are released mid-flight and dispersed over a large area, giving the weapon the ability to cause significant damage.
The two strikes destroyed more than a dozen Russian helicopters, assets critical to Moscow's operations, as well as an air-defense missile launcher, vehicles, and ammunition depots, according to Western intelligence.
After the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remarked that ATACMS had "proven themselves."
Since last fall, there has not been any public confirmation from Kyiv or Washington of additional Ukrainian strikes involving the missiles.
But on Wednesday, The New York Times and Reuters reported that the Biden administration had secretly shipped long-range ATACMS variants to Ukraine earlier this month as part of a $300 million security assistance package announced in March.
Kyiv then immediately used the missiles to strike a Russian military airfield in the occupied Crimean peninsula last week, US officials told the outlets.
Over the weekend, House lawmakers passed legislation that requires the transfer of additional ATACMS to Ukraine as part of a crucial $61 billion aid package for the war-torn country that has spent months in limbo.
With this legislation having finally cleared its toughest hurdle, Sen. Mark Werner, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday that he hoped ATACMS would be in transit by the end of this week.
And after speaking with Biden on Monday, Zelenskyy said, with regards to an agreement on ATACMS, that "all the details have been finalized."
It is unclear exactly which ATACMS variants Ukraine will receive going forward.
Beyond the 100-mile-range M39, the US has two other versions that can both travel up to 190 miles; one ATACMS variant scatters some 300 little bomblets, while the other has a unitary warhead.
Ukraine has repeatedly pressed Washington for the longest-range versions of the missile, which were reportedly used in last week's strikes in Crimea.
It's unclear if Kyiv used the cluster missile variant or the one with a unitary warhead in the attack to hammer Russian air-defense systems and radar stations.
All of the ATACMS can be fired from Ukraine's existing inventory of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, and M270 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, but different ATACMS variants could be used to go after different targets, said Rice, who previously served as a special advisor to Ukrainian military leadership.
The cluster variants, which are known as area weapons, can be used to target large troop concentrations — exposed or in trenches — while also destroying fuel, ammunition, and armored vehicles kept in the immediate vicinity.
The unitary warheads, on the other hand, can be used to go after targets like bridges, command and control facilities, supply depots, or well-protected bunkers because they release one large explosion instead of dispersing submunitions over a broader area.
"Having the combination just makes these HIMARS launchers more lethal [and] puts more pressure on the Russians in all of the areas within 300 kilometers of the front lines," Rice, a longtime advocate for sending various cluster munitions to Ukraine and now the President of American University Kyiv, said.
Regardless of the variant, the arrival of additional ATACMS will likely compel Moscow to change its strategy and tactics.
Experts previously assessed that Russia's military leadership will have to balance how to protect and relocate vulnerable assets that are within range of the missiles without actually reducing their combat value.
Rice said the anticipated arrival of more ATACMS could force the Russians to push its supply depots, command and control nodes, and attack helicopters even farther from the front lines.
By doing this, he added, Ukraine is going to make it "very difficult" for Moscow to wage war against Kyiv's forces.
The passage of additional funding for Ukraine this week comes at a critical time for Kyiv's forces, who have been facing an increasingly grim outlook on the battlefield as they run low on much-needed artillery ammunition and air-defense munitions.
Russia, meanwhile, has made notable advances over the past few months.
US, Ukrainian, and Western officials, as well as war experts, have warned that without additional security assistance from Washington, Kyiv may continue to lose ground.
Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters at a Tuesday briefing that with the passage of the Ukraine aid package, the US can at last "surge life-saving security assistance" to Kyiv "as quickly as possible."
"Much more to follow in the days ahead," he added, "but needless to say we understand the importance and the urgency and are doing everything we can to be poised to respond quickly."
After Biden signed the legislation into law on Wednesday, the Pentagon immediately announced a $1 billion security assistance package for Ukraine.
While the statement did not specifically mention ATACMS, it said the package contains "additional ammunition" for the HIMARS, which could include ATACMS.
This massive military aid package also includes air-defense interceptors, artillery ammunition, armored vehicles, anti-tank weapons, and other lethal equipment.
If Russian President Vladimir Putin "triumphs in Ukraine, the next move of Russian forces could very well be a direct attack on a NATO ally," Biden said on Wednesday.
"That's why we're supporting — and surging support now to — Ukraine, to stop Putin from drawing the United States into war in Europe and in the future."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/th ... 0009&ei=57
Re: POLITICS
REUTERS
"US weekly jobless claims unexpectedly fall"
By Reuters
April 25, 2024
WASHINGTON, April 25 (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, pointing to still tight labor market conditions.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 207,000 for the week ended April 20, the Labor Department said on Thursday.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 215,000 claims in the latest week.
Claims have been bouncing around in a 194,000-225,000 range this year.
Companies are hoarding workers after experiencing difficulties finding labor during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, and are enjoying higher profit gains because of strong pricing power.
Low layoffs are keeping wage growth elevated, sustaining consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of economic activity.
The number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid, a proxy for hiring, declined 15,000 to 1.781 million during the week ending April 13, the claims report showed.
The so-called continuing claims data covered the period during which the government surveyed households for April's unemployment rate.
Continuing claims fell between the March and April survey periods.
The unemployment rate slipped to 3.8% in March from 3.9% in February.
Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-w ... 024-04-25/
"US weekly jobless claims unexpectedly fall"
By Reuters
April 25, 2024
WASHINGTON, April 25 (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, pointing to still tight labor market conditions.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 207,000 for the week ended April 20, the Labor Department said on Thursday.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 215,000 claims in the latest week.
Claims have been bouncing around in a 194,000-225,000 range this year.
Companies are hoarding workers after experiencing difficulties finding labor during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, and are enjoying higher profit gains because of strong pricing power.
Low layoffs are keeping wage growth elevated, sustaining consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of economic activity.
The number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid, a proxy for hiring, declined 15,000 to 1.781 million during the week ending April 13, the claims report showed.
The so-called continuing claims data covered the period during which the government surveyed households for April's unemployment rate.
Continuing claims fell between the March and April survey periods.
The unemployment rate slipped to 3.8% in March from 3.9% in February.
Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-w ... 024-04-25/