REUTERS
"Fed's Goolsbee says he sees three rate cuts this year"
Reuters
March 25, 2024
March 25 (Reuters) - Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Austan Goolsbee said on Monday that at the Federal Reserve's policy meeting last week he penciled in three rate cuts for this year.
At that meeting, the U.S. central bank kept its benchmark overnight lending rate in a target range of 5.25%-5.5%, while the median estimate for interest rate reductions that policymakers projected for the year was three.
"I was at the median for this one," Goolsbee said in an interview with Yahoo Finance, while declining to say when he thought an easing in borrowing costs might begin.
Goolsbee added that price increase readings for January and February were higher than expected with the "main puzzle" still being housing inflation.
"So we're in an uncertain state but it doesn't feel to me like we've changed fundamentally the story that we're getting back to target," Goolsbee said.
Reporting by Lindsay Dunsmuir; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/feds ... 024-03-25/
THE DAILY NEWS
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
REUTERS
"Wall Street ends lower ahead of US data; dollar pressured by yen, yuan"
By Stephen Culp
March 25, 2024
NEW YORK, March 25 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks lost ground at the start of a holiday-shortened week on Monday as investors positioned themselves ahead of inflation data.
All three major U.S. stock indexes ended the session in the red, with the blue-chip Dow suffering the largest percentage loss.
The dollar dipped as the risk of yen intervention loomed and it came under pressure from China's government-supported yuan rally.
Wall Street focused on Boeing after the planemaker said its CEO Dave Calhoun will step down by year-end after a flurry of safety concerns.
"On the heels of the best week of the year last week, stocks are taking a bit of a breather today, with the inflation data set to come out later this week," said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group in Omaha.
"The truth is many people are on spring break this week," Detrick added.
"We have a holiday right around the corner, so a light-volume consolidation after the big run we've seen is perfectly normal."
After the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision last Wednesday to leave its key policy rate unchanged, and its "dot plot" still reflecting expectations for three cuts to that rate this year, markets are looking ahead to Friday's Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report due from the Commerce Department.
The report will be released on the Good Friday holiday despite it being a market holiday.
Analysts expect the PCE data to show inflation gathered heat in February, with prices rising by 0.4% after January's 0.3% gain.
However, "core" price inflation, which strips away volatile food and energy prices, is seen cooling to 0.3% from 0.4%.
Year-on-year, headline and core PCE price indexes are expected to land at 2.5% and 2.8%, respectively, hovering within one percentage point of the Fed's average annual 2% target.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 162.26 points, or 0.41%, to 39,313.64, the S&P 500 lost 15.99 points, or 0.31%, to 5,218.19 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 44.35 points, or 0.27%, to 16,384.47.
European stocks reversed a modest sell-off to eke out nominal gains as market participants digested dovish sentiment from major central banks.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.04% and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.24%.
Emerging market stocks lost 0.25%.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed 0.07% lower, while Japan's Nikkei lost 1.16%.
The dollar dipped against a basket of world currencies and the yen was little changed after Japan's top currency diplomat warned against speculators trying to weaken the currency, while China’s yuan gained on suspected selling of dollars by state-owned banks.
"China and Japan trying to shore up their currencies is a reflection of weakness in their economies, and they’re putting a band-aid on something that requires something more significant," said Oliver Pursche, senior vice president at Wealthspire Advisors, in New York.
The dollar index rose 0.2%, with the euro up 0.3% to $1.0837.
The Japanese yen strengthened 0.02% versus the U.S. dollar at 151.46 per dollar, while Sterling was last trading at $1.2635, up 0.27% on the day.
Bitcoin surged above the $70,000 level, and was last up 11.7% at $70,958.
"The incredible demand for bitcoin continues as the new ETFs continue to see very strong flows," Detrick said.
Treasury yields edged higher after the $66 billion auction of two-year notes as markets got used to the idea of the Fed cutting interest rates three times this year.
Benchmark 10-year notes last fell 8/32 in price to yield 4.2493%, from 4.218% late on Friday.
The 30-year bond last fell 14/32 in price to yield 4.4183%, from 4.392% late on Friday.
Oil prices advanced due to supply concerns arising from Russian output cuts and geopolitical conflicts.
U.S. crude rose 1.64% to settle at $81.95 per barrel, while Brent closed at $86.75 per barrel, up 1.55% on the day.
Gold firmed ahead of key U.S. economic data this week.
Spot gold added 0.3% to $2,170.60 an ounce.
Reporting by Stephen Culp; Additional reporting by Huw Jones in London; Editing by Andrea Ricci, Barbara Lewis and Marguerita Choy
https://www.reuters.com/markets/global- ... 024-03-25/
"Wall Street ends lower ahead of US data; dollar pressured by yen, yuan"
By Stephen Culp
March 25, 2024
NEW YORK, March 25 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks lost ground at the start of a holiday-shortened week on Monday as investors positioned themselves ahead of inflation data.
All three major U.S. stock indexes ended the session in the red, with the blue-chip Dow suffering the largest percentage loss.
The dollar dipped as the risk of yen intervention loomed and it came under pressure from China's government-supported yuan rally.
Wall Street focused on Boeing after the planemaker said its CEO Dave Calhoun will step down by year-end after a flurry of safety concerns.
"On the heels of the best week of the year last week, stocks are taking a bit of a breather today, with the inflation data set to come out later this week," said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group in Omaha.
"The truth is many people are on spring break this week," Detrick added.
"We have a holiday right around the corner, so a light-volume consolidation after the big run we've seen is perfectly normal."
After the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision last Wednesday to leave its key policy rate unchanged, and its "dot plot" still reflecting expectations for three cuts to that rate this year, markets are looking ahead to Friday's Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report due from the Commerce Department.
The report will be released on the Good Friday holiday despite it being a market holiday.
Analysts expect the PCE data to show inflation gathered heat in February, with prices rising by 0.4% after January's 0.3% gain.
However, "core" price inflation, which strips away volatile food and energy prices, is seen cooling to 0.3% from 0.4%.
Year-on-year, headline and core PCE price indexes are expected to land at 2.5% and 2.8%, respectively, hovering within one percentage point of the Fed's average annual 2% target.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 162.26 points, or 0.41%, to 39,313.64, the S&P 500 lost 15.99 points, or 0.31%, to 5,218.19 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 44.35 points, or 0.27%, to 16,384.47.
European stocks reversed a modest sell-off to eke out nominal gains as market participants digested dovish sentiment from major central banks.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.04% and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.24%.
Emerging market stocks lost 0.25%.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed 0.07% lower, while Japan's Nikkei lost 1.16%.
The dollar dipped against a basket of world currencies and the yen was little changed after Japan's top currency diplomat warned against speculators trying to weaken the currency, while China’s yuan gained on suspected selling of dollars by state-owned banks.
"China and Japan trying to shore up their currencies is a reflection of weakness in their economies, and they’re putting a band-aid on something that requires something more significant," said Oliver Pursche, senior vice president at Wealthspire Advisors, in New York.
The dollar index rose 0.2%, with the euro up 0.3% to $1.0837.
The Japanese yen strengthened 0.02% versus the U.S. dollar at 151.46 per dollar, while Sterling was last trading at $1.2635, up 0.27% on the day.
Bitcoin surged above the $70,000 level, and was last up 11.7% at $70,958.
"The incredible demand for bitcoin continues as the new ETFs continue to see very strong flows," Detrick said.
Treasury yields edged higher after the $66 billion auction of two-year notes as markets got used to the idea of the Fed cutting interest rates three times this year.
Benchmark 10-year notes last fell 8/32 in price to yield 4.2493%, from 4.218% late on Friday.
The 30-year bond last fell 14/32 in price to yield 4.4183%, from 4.392% late on Friday.
Oil prices advanced due to supply concerns arising from Russian output cuts and geopolitical conflicts.
U.S. crude rose 1.64% to settle at $81.95 per barrel, while Brent closed at $86.75 per barrel, up 1.55% on the day.
Gold firmed ahead of key U.S. economic data this week.
Spot gold added 0.3% to $2,170.60 an ounce.
Reporting by Stephen Culp; Additional reporting by Huw Jones in London; Editing by Andrea Ricci, Barbara Lewis and Marguerita Choy
https://www.reuters.com/markets/global- ... 024-03-25/
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
REUTERS
"China blocks use of Intel and AMD chips in government computers, FT reports"
Reuters
March 24, 2024
March 24 (Reuters) - China has introduced guidelines to phase out U.S. microprocessors from Intel and AMD from government personal computers and servers, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
The procurement guidance also seeks to sideline Microsoft's Windows operating system and foreign-made database software in favour of domestic options, the report said.
Government agencies above the township level have been told to include criteria requiring "safe and reliable" processors and operating systems when making purchases, the newspaper said.
China's industry ministry in late December issued a statement with three separate lists of CPUs, operating systems and centralised database deemed "safe and reliable" for three years after the publication date, all from Chinese companies, Reuters checks showed.
The State Council Information Office, which handles media queries for the council, China's cabinet, did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment.
Intel and AMD did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment.
The U.S. has been aiming to boost domestic semiconductor output and reduce reliance on China and Taiwan with the Biden administration's 2022 CHIPS and Science Act.
It is designed to bolster U.S. semiconductors and contains financial aid for domestic production with subsidies for production of advanced chips.
Reporting by Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Schmollinger, William Mallard and Lincoln Feast.
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chi ... 024-03-24/
"China blocks use of Intel and AMD chips in government computers, FT reports"
Reuters
March 24, 2024
March 24 (Reuters) - China has introduced guidelines to phase out U.S. microprocessors from Intel and AMD from government personal computers and servers, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
The procurement guidance also seeks to sideline Microsoft's Windows operating system and foreign-made database software in favour of domestic options, the report said.
Government agencies above the township level have been told to include criteria requiring "safe and reliable" processors and operating systems when making purchases, the newspaper said.
China's industry ministry in late December issued a statement with three separate lists of CPUs, operating systems and centralised database deemed "safe and reliable" for three years after the publication date, all from Chinese companies, Reuters checks showed.
The State Council Information Office, which handles media queries for the council, China's cabinet, did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment.
Intel and AMD did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment.
The U.S. has been aiming to boost domestic semiconductor output and reduce reliance on China and Taiwan with the Biden administration's 2022 CHIPS and Science Act.
It is designed to bolster U.S. semiconductors and contains financial aid for domestic production with subsidies for production of advanced chips.
Reporting by Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Schmollinger, William Mallard and Lincoln Feast.
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chi ... 024-03-24/
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
Business Insider
"Iran-backed Houthis attacked a Chinese ship with missiles after promising to leave them alone"
Story by jepstein@businessinsider.com (Jake Epstein)
26 MARCH 2024
* The Houthis reportedly said they would avoid attacking Chinese ships off the coast of Yemen.
* But the Iran-backed rebels fired multiple missiles at a Beijing-owned tanker on Saturday.
* Last week, a US general warned lawmakers about deepening ties between Iran, China, and Russia.
The Houthis said they would refrain from attacking Chinese ships off the coast of Yemen, but this past weekend, the Iran-backed rebels did exactly what they said they wouldn't.
Early Saturday morning local time, the Houthis fired four anti-ship ballistic missiles toward the M/V Huang Pu, a Chinese-owned oil tanker, as the ship was transiting the Red Sea, according to US Central Command, or CENTCOM.
Hours later, the Houthis fired a fifth ballistic missile at the Huang Pu, which suffered "minimal damage" and a small fire but no casualties in the attack, CENTCOM said in a statement Saturday.
It noted that the ship issued a distress call but did not request assistance.
It was ultimately able to resume its journey.
"The Houthis attacked the M/V Huang despite previously stating they would not attack Chinese vessels," CENTCOM said.
For months, the Houthis have used drones and missiles to attack ships with ties to various countries in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
But the rebels recently signed an agreement with China and Russia to guarantee their vessels safe transit through the volatile region, in exchange for possible political support at the United Nations, Bloomberg reported last week.
China and Russia have strong diplomatic and economic ties with Iran, which is the Houthis' main backer.
Tehran, for example, supplies the rebels with advanced weaponry that they have used in their ongoing attacks.
A deepening partnership between China, Russia, and Iran
Gen. Michael Kurilla, the CENTCOM commander, warned US lawmakers last week that the three countries are strengthening their ties and "creating a chaotic landscape favorable for their exploitation and the spread of extremism."
China, Russia, and Iran "have deepened their partnership and collaboration as Iran seeks to strengthen its regional position, Russia leverages Iranian military support in Ukraine, and the PRC aims to exploit tensions in the region to afford them a position of advantage and diminishes US interests," Kurilla said in written testimony to the House Armed Services Committee.
The general said that it is "noteworthy" that China buys 90% of exported Iranian oil, "which they could use to influence Iranian lethal aid to the Houthis if they chose to."
"Instead, Beijing only helps Tehran evade sanctions and accelerate its destabilization of the region," Kurilla said.
"The PRC's unwillingness, or inability, to leverage its influence has contributed to Iran's disruption of the free flow of international commerce."
And Iran's unchecked malign activities put a Chinese ship at risk.
The M/V Huang Pu is Chinese owned and operated, but it was sailing under the flag of Panama when it was attacked.
Furthermore, according to maritime security agency Ambrey, the vessel's registration details were changed last month, so it's possible that the rebels confused its identity.
Meanwhile, amid the attack on the Huang Pu on Saturday, US forces engaged six Houthi drones over the southern Red Sea.
Five of the systems crashed into the water, while the sixth flew back inland into Yemen.
"It was determined these UAVs presented an imminent threat to US, coalition, and merchant vessels in the region," CENTCOM said.
"These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for US, coalition, and merchant vessels."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ir ... 9861&ei=38
"Iran-backed Houthis attacked a Chinese ship with missiles after promising to leave them alone"
Story by jepstein@businessinsider.com (Jake Epstein)
26 MARCH 2024
* The Houthis reportedly said they would avoid attacking Chinese ships off the coast of Yemen.
* But the Iran-backed rebels fired multiple missiles at a Beijing-owned tanker on Saturday.
* Last week, a US general warned lawmakers about deepening ties between Iran, China, and Russia.
The Houthis said they would refrain from attacking Chinese ships off the coast of Yemen, but this past weekend, the Iran-backed rebels did exactly what they said they wouldn't.
Early Saturday morning local time, the Houthis fired four anti-ship ballistic missiles toward the M/V Huang Pu, a Chinese-owned oil tanker, as the ship was transiting the Red Sea, according to US Central Command, or CENTCOM.
Hours later, the Houthis fired a fifth ballistic missile at the Huang Pu, which suffered "minimal damage" and a small fire but no casualties in the attack, CENTCOM said in a statement Saturday.
It noted that the ship issued a distress call but did not request assistance.
It was ultimately able to resume its journey.
"The Houthis attacked the M/V Huang despite previously stating they would not attack Chinese vessels," CENTCOM said.
For months, the Houthis have used drones and missiles to attack ships with ties to various countries in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
But the rebels recently signed an agreement with China and Russia to guarantee their vessels safe transit through the volatile region, in exchange for possible political support at the United Nations, Bloomberg reported last week.
China and Russia have strong diplomatic and economic ties with Iran, which is the Houthis' main backer.
Tehran, for example, supplies the rebels with advanced weaponry that they have used in their ongoing attacks.
A deepening partnership between China, Russia, and Iran
Gen. Michael Kurilla, the CENTCOM commander, warned US lawmakers last week that the three countries are strengthening their ties and "creating a chaotic landscape favorable for their exploitation and the spread of extremism."
China, Russia, and Iran "have deepened their partnership and collaboration as Iran seeks to strengthen its regional position, Russia leverages Iranian military support in Ukraine, and the PRC aims to exploit tensions in the region to afford them a position of advantage and diminishes US interests," Kurilla said in written testimony to the House Armed Services Committee.
The general said that it is "noteworthy" that China buys 90% of exported Iranian oil, "which they could use to influence Iranian lethal aid to the Houthis if they chose to."
"Instead, Beijing only helps Tehran evade sanctions and accelerate its destabilization of the region," Kurilla said.
"The PRC's unwillingness, or inability, to leverage its influence has contributed to Iran's disruption of the free flow of international commerce."
And Iran's unchecked malign activities put a Chinese ship at risk.
The M/V Huang Pu is Chinese owned and operated, but it was sailing under the flag of Panama when it was attacked.
Furthermore, according to maritime security agency Ambrey, the vessel's registration details were changed last month, so it's possible that the rebels confused its identity.
Meanwhile, amid the attack on the Huang Pu on Saturday, US forces engaged six Houthi drones over the southern Red Sea.
Five of the systems crashed into the water, while the sixth flew back inland into Yemen.
"It was determined these UAVs presented an imminent threat to US, coalition, and merchant vessels in the region," CENTCOM said.
"These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for US, coalition, and merchant vessels."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ir ... 9861&ei=38
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
Slate
"Why Is Joe Biden’s DOJ Prosecuting a Journalist While Pretending Otherwise?"
Story by Seth Stern
26 MARCH 2024
When President Joe Biden said “journalism is not a crime” last April, federal prosecutors in Tampa, Florida, apparently took that as a challenge.
Not a crime yet.
The next month, FBI agents raided the home of journalist Tim Burke.
He is scheduled to be arraigned in the coming weeks under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) and wiretap laws for finding and disseminating unaired Fox News footage of Kanye West’s antisemitic rant to Tucker Carlson.
The indictment doesn’t accuse Burke of hacking or deceit.
Instead, its theory is that he didn’t have permission to access the video, even though it was at a public, unencrypted URL that he found using publicly posted demo credentials.
But finding things that the powerful don’t want found is essentially the definition of investigative journalism — which, as Biden said, is not criminal in this country.
A recent court filing heightens concerns about whether prosecutors hid from the judge who authorized the raid that Burke was a journalist.
By doing so, they may have avoided scrutiny of whether their investigation — and eventual indictment — of Burke complied with the First Amendment, federal law, and the Department of Justice’s own policies.
The case is reminiscent of last year’s alarming raid of the Marion County Record.
Authorities there ignored laws like the federal Privacy Protection Act of 1980, or PPA, which largely prohibits rummaging through journalists’ files.
But that was a local police department in rural Kansas.
Burke’s case involves the FBI and DOJ, who should clearly know better.
Burke’s filing says prosecutors referred to Burke as a “former journalist” in their affidavit to get their warrant.
(That document remains sealed from the public; it should be released.)
That’s a head-scratcher: After all, the whole case arises from him breaking national news.
The indictment also doesn’t say a word about Burke’s journalism.
Instead, it accuses him of “scouring” the internet for items he found “desirable.”
You might think he sought the footage for a private collection, not to inform the public that a major news network covered up a music superstar’s antisemitism.
If there’s any doubt Burke’s reporting served the public, remember that West ran for president in 2020.
Sure, his campaign was unserious, but, as it turns out, celebrities who first flirt with the presidency for attention can eventually win it.
Burke — previously most known for breaking the story of the Manti Te’o catfishing hoax — doesn’t work full time for a news outlet anymore, but that doesn’t mean he’s not a journalist.
And that’s according to the DOJ itself.
The day before indicting Burke, the DOJ released guidelines which say employment by a news outlet is just one of many factors relevant to whether someone is a journalist.
Burke easily satisfies almost all the others.
Plus, the PPA prohibits law enforcement searches of anyone “reasonably believed to have a purpose to disseminate to the public a newspaper, book, broadcast, or other similar form of public communication,” regardless of whether they’re a journalist.
The First Amendment’s press clause is obviously not limited to the establishment media, which didn’t exist at the time.
Nonetheless, by calling Burke a “former” journalist, prosecutors avoided raising red flags that might’ve held up approval of their constitutionally dubious investigation under a law that is notoriously prone to abuse.
Subjects of warrants aren’t notified of hearings, so Burke had no opportunity to correct the affidavit.
The burden was on prosecutors to be candid.
They weren’t — not at the warrant application stage or since.
Prosecutors have claimed they complied with the law and their own policies, but they’ve never explained how — by following the requisite procedures or by determining that they didn’t apply to a “former” journalist?
Did local U.S. attorneys escalate the issue to national higher-ups, as the policy requires?
The caginess can’t be pinned solely on rogue prosecutors in Florida.
Over 50 organizations alerted Attorney General Merrick Garland to their concerns last October.
They asked for answers both about prosecutors casting doubt on if Burke is a journalist and about the theory that journalists scouring obscure but publicly available websites for news can violate laws like the CFAA, which the DOJ itself admits is vague and prone to abuse.
They never got a response.
That’s a problem.
Reporters are sure to self-censor if they can’t be sure what kinds of journalists and what kinds of journalism the DOJ believes the First Amendment protects.
The same way the Espionage Act charges against Julian Assange chill national security reporting, the CFAA charges against Burke chill digital journalism.
Under both overbroad laws, the DOJ believes it can, at its whim, criminalize routine newsgathering — whether obtaining government documents from sources or scouring obscure corners of the internet — whenever prosecutors believe journalists crossed some arbitrary line.
The DOJ’s position that Burke isn’t a journalist may also enable it to take another troubling step.
The government seized Burke’s computer equipment and files, and it’s demanding Burke forfeit them permanently if convicted.
Forfeiture may be an accepted remedy in some criminal cases, but it’s quite unusual for journalistic notes and communications to be treated as contraband, especially when they include materials having nothing to do with any alleged crimes.
If the government is successful, it could not only put confidential sources in jeopardy but could effectively kill any other stories Burke had in the works.
Forfeiture is a dangerous weapon for the DOJ to attempt to add to its expanding arsenal against journalists.
Burke’s case should not be viewed in isolation.
Since Marion, we’ve seen an Alabama district attorney charge journalists with felonies for reporting on alleged misappropriation of COVID funds.
We’ve seen a disturbing increase in “prior restraints” against publication.
The City of Los Angeles even sued a journalist for printing information the city gave him.
This month we learned that San Francisco authorities sought a warrant against a local news outlet and got a gag order barring the journalists from talking about it.
In Burke’s hometown of Tampa, the fire chief recently called police on a journalist for seeking public records.
The list goes on.
And in many instances, journalists face these threats while newsrooms that in the past would have supported them are collapsing.
With all the other challenges journalists face these days, it’s an awful time for the DOJ to be testing the outer limits of badly written laws to dream up new ways to prosecute them.
If the Biden administration really believes that “journalism is not a crime,” it should be helping to solve the press’s problems, not compounding them.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/why-i ... 9861&ei=65
"Why Is Joe Biden’s DOJ Prosecuting a Journalist While Pretending Otherwise?"
Story by Seth Stern
26 MARCH 2024
When President Joe Biden said “journalism is not a crime” last April, federal prosecutors in Tampa, Florida, apparently took that as a challenge.
Not a crime yet.
The next month, FBI agents raided the home of journalist Tim Burke.
He is scheduled to be arraigned in the coming weeks under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) and wiretap laws for finding and disseminating unaired Fox News footage of Kanye West’s antisemitic rant to Tucker Carlson.
The indictment doesn’t accuse Burke of hacking or deceit.
Instead, its theory is that he didn’t have permission to access the video, even though it was at a public, unencrypted URL that he found using publicly posted demo credentials.
But finding things that the powerful don’t want found is essentially the definition of investigative journalism — which, as Biden said, is not criminal in this country.
A recent court filing heightens concerns about whether prosecutors hid from the judge who authorized the raid that Burke was a journalist.
By doing so, they may have avoided scrutiny of whether their investigation — and eventual indictment — of Burke complied with the First Amendment, federal law, and the Department of Justice’s own policies.
The case is reminiscent of last year’s alarming raid of the Marion County Record.
Authorities there ignored laws like the federal Privacy Protection Act of 1980, or PPA, which largely prohibits rummaging through journalists’ files.
But that was a local police department in rural Kansas.
Burke’s case involves the FBI and DOJ, who should clearly know better.
Burke’s filing says prosecutors referred to Burke as a “former journalist” in their affidavit to get their warrant.
(That document remains sealed from the public; it should be released.)
That’s a head-scratcher: After all, the whole case arises from him breaking national news.
The indictment also doesn’t say a word about Burke’s journalism.
Instead, it accuses him of “scouring” the internet for items he found “desirable.”
You might think he sought the footage for a private collection, not to inform the public that a major news network covered up a music superstar’s antisemitism.
If there’s any doubt Burke’s reporting served the public, remember that West ran for president in 2020.
Sure, his campaign was unserious, but, as it turns out, celebrities who first flirt with the presidency for attention can eventually win it.
Burke — previously most known for breaking the story of the Manti Te’o catfishing hoax — doesn’t work full time for a news outlet anymore, but that doesn’t mean he’s not a journalist.
And that’s according to the DOJ itself.
The day before indicting Burke, the DOJ released guidelines which say employment by a news outlet is just one of many factors relevant to whether someone is a journalist.
Burke easily satisfies almost all the others.
Plus, the PPA prohibits law enforcement searches of anyone “reasonably believed to have a purpose to disseminate to the public a newspaper, book, broadcast, or other similar form of public communication,” regardless of whether they’re a journalist.
The First Amendment’s press clause is obviously not limited to the establishment media, which didn’t exist at the time.
Nonetheless, by calling Burke a “former” journalist, prosecutors avoided raising red flags that might’ve held up approval of their constitutionally dubious investigation under a law that is notoriously prone to abuse.
Subjects of warrants aren’t notified of hearings, so Burke had no opportunity to correct the affidavit.
The burden was on prosecutors to be candid.
They weren’t — not at the warrant application stage or since.
Prosecutors have claimed they complied with the law and their own policies, but they’ve never explained how — by following the requisite procedures or by determining that they didn’t apply to a “former” journalist?
Did local U.S. attorneys escalate the issue to national higher-ups, as the policy requires?
The caginess can’t be pinned solely on rogue prosecutors in Florida.
Over 50 organizations alerted Attorney General Merrick Garland to their concerns last October.
They asked for answers both about prosecutors casting doubt on if Burke is a journalist and about the theory that journalists scouring obscure but publicly available websites for news can violate laws like the CFAA, which the DOJ itself admits is vague and prone to abuse.
They never got a response.
That’s a problem.
Reporters are sure to self-censor if they can’t be sure what kinds of journalists and what kinds of journalism the DOJ believes the First Amendment protects.
The same way the Espionage Act charges against Julian Assange chill national security reporting, the CFAA charges against Burke chill digital journalism.
Under both overbroad laws, the DOJ believes it can, at its whim, criminalize routine newsgathering — whether obtaining government documents from sources or scouring obscure corners of the internet — whenever prosecutors believe journalists crossed some arbitrary line.
The DOJ’s position that Burke isn’t a journalist may also enable it to take another troubling step.
The government seized Burke’s computer equipment and files, and it’s demanding Burke forfeit them permanently if convicted.
Forfeiture may be an accepted remedy in some criminal cases, but it’s quite unusual for journalistic notes and communications to be treated as contraband, especially when they include materials having nothing to do with any alleged crimes.
If the government is successful, it could not only put confidential sources in jeopardy but could effectively kill any other stories Burke had in the works.
Forfeiture is a dangerous weapon for the DOJ to attempt to add to its expanding arsenal against journalists.
Burke’s case should not be viewed in isolation.
Since Marion, we’ve seen an Alabama district attorney charge journalists with felonies for reporting on alleged misappropriation of COVID funds.
We’ve seen a disturbing increase in “prior restraints” against publication.
The City of Los Angeles even sued a journalist for printing information the city gave him.
This month we learned that San Francisco authorities sought a warrant against a local news outlet and got a gag order barring the journalists from talking about it.
In Burke’s hometown of Tampa, the fire chief recently called police on a journalist for seeking public records.
The list goes on.
And in many instances, journalists face these threats while newsrooms that in the past would have supported them are collapsing.
With all the other challenges journalists face these days, it’s an awful time for the DOJ to be testing the outer limits of badly written laws to dream up new ways to prosecute them.
If the Biden administration really believes that “journalism is not a crime,” it should be helping to solve the press’s problems, not compounding them.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/why-i ... 9861&ei=65
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
Task & Purpose
"Air Force fires commander of Holloman maintenance group"
Story by Matt White
26 MARCH 2024
The commander of the maintenance group at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, was relieved of command by the 49th Wing commander “to ensure proper command climate and appropriate leadership of our Airmen,” according to a Holloman news release quoted in local media.
Col. Danzel Albertsen had been in charge of the 49th Maintenance Group since June 2022.
He was relieved by Col. Justin Spears, commander of the 49th Wing, on March 25.
Holloman is the primary training site for F-16 and MQ-9 pilots, training more than 150 F-16 pilots and 700 MQ-9 pilots and sensor operators annually.
The wing supports 21,000 military and civilian personnel through the 635th Materiel Maintenance Group and the 704th Test Group.
Col. Justin Spears, commander of the 49th Wing, relieved Albertsen when he “determined new leadership was necessary to ensure proper command climate and appropriate leadership of our Airmen,” according to KTSM, a local news station.
The base is also one of the most remote in the continental U.S., 100 miles north of El Paso, TX and 200 miles south of Albuquerque, N.M.
It sits on the edge of the White Sands Missile Range, which also encompasses the Trinity site, where the first atomic bomb was exploded.
A "mustang" officer who rose from the enlisted ranks, Albertsen has spent nearly all of his 33-year career in Air Force maintenance positions.
At Holloman he oversaw the 49th Maintenance Group's four squadrons and 2,100 maintenance personnel.
The group was responsible for 82 F-16s, 24 MQ-9 Reaper drones and 12 Ground Control Stations, totaling $2.5 billion in total assets, according to his Air Force biography.
A native of Saint Joseph, Missouri, Albertsen enlisted in the Air Force in 1991 and spent 10 years as a maintenance crew chief, including as a flying crew chief about KC-135 tanker aircraft.
He was commissioned in 2001 through the service's Officer Training School and has commanded twice at the squadron level.
His awards and decorations include a Bronze Star and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal.
The deputy commander of the 49th Maintenance Group, Lt. Col. Kristen Torma, will assume command of the group immediately, the station reported.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ai ... 18da&ei=25
"Air Force fires commander of Holloman maintenance group"
Story by Matt White
26 MARCH 2024
The commander of the maintenance group at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, was relieved of command by the 49th Wing commander “to ensure proper command climate and appropriate leadership of our Airmen,” according to a Holloman news release quoted in local media.
Col. Danzel Albertsen had been in charge of the 49th Maintenance Group since June 2022.
He was relieved by Col. Justin Spears, commander of the 49th Wing, on March 25.
Holloman is the primary training site for F-16 and MQ-9 pilots, training more than 150 F-16 pilots and 700 MQ-9 pilots and sensor operators annually.
The wing supports 21,000 military and civilian personnel through the 635th Materiel Maintenance Group and the 704th Test Group.
Col. Justin Spears, commander of the 49th Wing, relieved Albertsen when he “determined new leadership was necessary to ensure proper command climate and appropriate leadership of our Airmen,” according to KTSM, a local news station.
The base is also one of the most remote in the continental U.S., 100 miles north of El Paso, TX and 200 miles south of Albuquerque, N.M.
It sits on the edge of the White Sands Missile Range, which also encompasses the Trinity site, where the first atomic bomb was exploded.
A "mustang" officer who rose from the enlisted ranks, Albertsen has spent nearly all of his 33-year career in Air Force maintenance positions.
At Holloman he oversaw the 49th Maintenance Group's four squadrons and 2,100 maintenance personnel.
The group was responsible for 82 F-16s, 24 MQ-9 Reaper drones and 12 Ground Control Stations, totaling $2.5 billion in total assets, according to his Air Force biography.
A native of Saint Joseph, Missouri, Albertsen enlisted in the Air Force in 1991 and spent 10 years as a maintenance crew chief, including as a flying crew chief about KC-135 tanker aircraft.
He was commissioned in 2001 through the service's Officer Training School and has commanded twice at the squadron level.
His awards and decorations include a Bronze Star and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal.
The deputy commander of the 49th Maintenance Group, Lt. Col. Kristen Torma, will assume command of the group immediately, the station reported.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ai ... 18da&ei=25
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
FOX News
"Biden campaign rejects notion in scathing TIME report that it's running same playbook as 2020"
Story by David Rutz
26 MARCH 2024
A recent TIME report laid out a grim picture for President Biden's re-election hopes, with allies concerned he's headed for defeat due to insufficient planning and weak support from key Democratic voting blocs, but the Biden campaign rejects the notion it's running the same playbook as 2020.
Biden is "indeed in trouble," TIME correspondent Charlotte Alter wrote in the piece published Thursday, detailing his low approval ratings, how he trails or ties former President Trump in most polling matchups, and the coalition of minority and young voters that seems to be splintering despite his opponent's own unpopularity and baggage.
"Despite an attempted insurrection, 88 felony charges, and a record that prompts former aides to warn of the dangers of reinstalling him in office, Trump has never, in three campaigns for the presidency, been in as strong a position to win the White House as he is now."
"If the election were held tomorrow, more than 30 pollsters, strategists, and campaign veterans from both parties tell TIME, Biden would likely lose," Alter wrote.
The cover of TIME going along with the piece simply says "Stuck," depicting a bicycling Biden stuck in the mud.
A former campaign and White House official told TIME that Biden's struggles boiled down to his widely reported struggles with minority voters.
Once solid voting blocs for Democrats, Hispanics and Blacks show softening support for Biden in polls that, if accurate, could be a harbinger of a bruising defeat.
"It boils down to voters of color, and those voters are pissed," the anonymous official told TIME.
"I think it’s very likely he’ll lose."
Even Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., admonished Biden to make his messaging more clear, saying right now it's too "academic."
He was also pilloried in the report by Democratic sources for being insufficiently prepared for the campaign, with less than nine months to go.
The report opened with anecdotes of former President Obama personally meeting with Biden last year to express his concerns.
Other strategists quoted in the story said Biden was clinging to an outdated form of campaigning and couldn't treat 2024 like he treated 2020.
"This is just who Joe Biden is," a former Biden strategist told Alter.
"This is how he’s always run his campaigns."
"He and his insiders know better."
"Last time, it worked, so he didn’t learn any of the lessons, and thinks he can run 2020 again."
A person close to the campaign told Fox News Digital it rejected the notion that Biden is running the same strategy as he did in 2020, referring to a recent NPR report about a new tech effort to boost its ground game and reach persuadable voters.
The campaign also touted earlier this month how his team is opening 100 field offices and hired 350 staffers in battleground states, as well as a $30 million, six-week advertising blitz in the states.
The Biden team is confident, pointing to past predictions of electoral disaster such as in 2022, when Democrats greatly outperformed expectations ahead of a predicted "red wave."
Biden was also doubted throughout the 2020 Democratic primary before emerging as a consensus candidate and staving off Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and dozens of other challengers.
The TIME report also noted Biden intends to use abortion as a wedge issue to drive up turnout and hurt Trump, and continue to tout some of his progressive accomplishments to rev up the base.
"Our biggest strength is that 80 million people sent him to the White House before," Biden deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks told TIME.
"Our challenge is winning people who have already cast a ballot for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris once."
One key ally doesn't share the Biden campaign's confidence: MSNBC host Al Sharpton.
"I tell them their confidence is misplaced," Sharpton said last week.
"I think they're absolutely too confident."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... 18da&ei=45
"Biden campaign rejects notion in scathing TIME report that it's running same playbook as 2020"
Story by David Rutz
26 MARCH 2024
A recent TIME report laid out a grim picture for President Biden's re-election hopes, with allies concerned he's headed for defeat due to insufficient planning and weak support from key Democratic voting blocs, but the Biden campaign rejects the notion it's running the same playbook as 2020.
Biden is "indeed in trouble," TIME correspondent Charlotte Alter wrote in the piece published Thursday, detailing his low approval ratings, how he trails or ties former President Trump in most polling matchups, and the coalition of minority and young voters that seems to be splintering despite his opponent's own unpopularity and baggage.
"Despite an attempted insurrection, 88 felony charges, and a record that prompts former aides to warn of the dangers of reinstalling him in office, Trump has never, in three campaigns for the presidency, been in as strong a position to win the White House as he is now."
"If the election were held tomorrow, more than 30 pollsters, strategists, and campaign veterans from both parties tell TIME, Biden would likely lose," Alter wrote.
The cover of TIME going along with the piece simply says "Stuck," depicting a bicycling Biden stuck in the mud.
A former campaign and White House official told TIME that Biden's struggles boiled down to his widely reported struggles with minority voters.
Once solid voting blocs for Democrats, Hispanics and Blacks show softening support for Biden in polls that, if accurate, could be a harbinger of a bruising defeat.
"It boils down to voters of color, and those voters are pissed," the anonymous official told TIME.
"I think it’s very likely he’ll lose."
Even Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., admonished Biden to make his messaging more clear, saying right now it's too "academic."
He was also pilloried in the report by Democratic sources for being insufficiently prepared for the campaign, with less than nine months to go.
The report opened with anecdotes of former President Obama personally meeting with Biden last year to express his concerns.
Other strategists quoted in the story said Biden was clinging to an outdated form of campaigning and couldn't treat 2024 like he treated 2020.
"This is just who Joe Biden is," a former Biden strategist told Alter.
"This is how he’s always run his campaigns."
"He and his insiders know better."
"Last time, it worked, so he didn’t learn any of the lessons, and thinks he can run 2020 again."
A person close to the campaign told Fox News Digital it rejected the notion that Biden is running the same strategy as he did in 2020, referring to a recent NPR report about a new tech effort to boost its ground game and reach persuadable voters.
The campaign also touted earlier this month how his team is opening 100 field offices and hired 350 staffers in battleground states, as well as a $30 million, six-week advertising blitz in the states.
The Biden team is confident, pointing to past predictions of electoral disaster such as in 2022, when Democrats greatly outperformed expectations ahead of a predicted "red wave."
Biden was also doubted throughout the 2020 Democratic primary before emerging as a consensus candidate and staving off Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and dozens of other challengers.
The TIME report also noted Biden intends to use abortion as a wedge issue to drive up turnout and hurt Trump, and continue to tout some of his progressive accomplishments to rev up the base.
"Our biggest strength is that 80 million people sent him to the White House before," Biden deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks told TIME.
"Our challenge is winning people who have already cast a ballot for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris once."
One key ally doesn't share the Biden campaign's confidence: MSNBC host Al Sharpton.
"I tell them their confidence is misplaced," Sharpton said last week.
"I think they're absolutely too confident."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... 18da&ei=45
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
USA TODAY
"'Cancel culture': Supreme Court rejects case on dust-up between Catholic student and Native American"
Story by Maureen Groppe and Andrew Wolfson, USA TODAY
26 MARCH 2024
WASHINGTON − The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear the case of a former Kentucky high school student and supporter of Donald Trump who said he'd been the victim of "cancel culture" after a video of his interaction with an elderly Native American man went viral in 2019.
That decision leaves in place a lower court's dismissal of a massive libel lawsuit filed by Nicholas Sandmann against Gannett, the parent company of USA TODAY, and other media organizations for their coverage of the incident.
Sandmann argued he was defamed by their reports on his confrontation with Native American rights activist Nathan Phillips at the Lincoln Memorial in January 2019.
Indigenous People's March and March for Life, standing nose-to-nose
A video of Sandmann, then 16 and a student at Covington Catholic in Northern Kentucky, standing nose to nose with Phillips went viral and unleashed a firestorm of internet criticism that the student’s conduct was racially motivated, which Sandmann denied.
Phillips was attending an “Indigenous People’s March” while Sandmann was walking in a “March for Life” event.
Sandmann filed lawsuits against eight media organizations, including the New York Times, ABC News, CBS News and Rolling Stone magazine, seeking a combined $1.25 billion for their coverage of the event.
A federal judge in Kentucky dismissed the suit in 2022, ruling that Phillips’ statement that Sandmann “blocked him and wouldn’t allow him to retreat” – as reported by the media – was Phillips' opinion for which they could not be sued.
The Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the judge's dismissal.
In Sandmann's unsuccessful petition to the Supreme Court, his lawyer said the case has "come to epitomize the high-water mark of the `cancel culture.'"
Sandmann, his lawyer said, was transformed “from a quiet, anonymous teenager into a national social pariah, one whose embarrassed smile in response to Phillips’ aggression became a target for anger and hatred.”
That happened because of the media’s “careless failure” to investigate Phillips’ description of the encounter, his lawyer told the court.
A teen with a 'Make America Great Again' hat becomes a conservative cause celebre
The suit became a cause celebre for conservatives and talk show hosts.
Then-President Trump defended Sandmann and his fellow student on Twitter, claiming that they had been "smeared" with false reports by the media.
In a speech at the 2020 Republican National Convention, Sandmann accused the media of trying to “cancel” him because he backed Trump.
In the 2019 video that went viral, Sandmann was shown wearing one of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign hats while smiling at Phillips, who was beating a drum and chanting.
Some social media at the time claimed the incident was racially charged on the part of the white teenager, which Sandmann and other witnesses disputed.
Sandmann sued, saying the news coverage had unfairly defamed him.
But the suit was narrowed by the judge to focus only on whether the quote attributed to Phillips was defamatory.
“The media defendants were covering a matter of great public interest, and they reported Phillips’s first-person view of what he experienced,” U.S. Senior Judge William Bertelsman wrote when dismissing the suit in 2022.
When Sandmann appealed to the Supreme Court, the media outlets waived their right to respond.
The Washington Post, NBC and CNN had previously settled with Sandmann.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/cance ... 18da&ei=64
"'Cancel culture': Supreme Court rejects case on dust-up between Catholic student and Native American"
Story by Maureen Groppe and Andrew Wolfson, USA TODAY
26 MARCH 2024
WASHINGTON − The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear the case of a former Kentucky high school student and supporter of Donald Trump who said he'd been the victim of "cancel culture" after a video of his interaction with an elderly Native American man went viral in 2019.
That decision leaves in place a lower court's dismissal of a massive libel lawsuit filed by Nicholas Sandmann against Gannett, the parent company of USA TODAY, and other media organizations for their coverage of the incident.
Sandmann argued he was defamed by their reports on his confrontation with Native American rights activist Nathan Phillips at the Lincoln Memorial in January 2019.
Indigenous People's March and March for Life, standing nose-to-nose
A video of Sandmann, then 16 and a student at Covington Catholic in Northern Kentucky, standing nose to nose with Phillips went viral and unleashed a firestorm of internet criticism that the student’s conduct was racially motivated, which Sandmann denied.
Phillips was attending an “Indigenous People’s March” while Sandmann was walking in a “March for Life” event.
Sandmann filed lawsuits against eight media organizations, including the New York Times, ABC News, CBS News and Rolling Stone magazine, seeking a combined $1.25 billion for their coverage of the event.
A federal judge in Kentucky dismissed the suit in 2022, ruling that Phillips’ statement that Sandmann “blocked him and wouldn’t allow him to retreat” – as reported by the media – was Phillips' opinion for which they could not be sued.
The Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the judge's dismissal.
In Sandmann's unsuccessful petition to the Supreme Court, his lawyer said the case has "come to epitomize the high-water mark of the `cancel culture.'"
Sandmann, his lawyer said, was transformed “from a quiet, anonymous teenager into a national social pariah, one whose embarrassed smile in response to Phillips’ aggression became a target for anger and hatred.”
That happened because of the media’s “careless failure” to investigate Phillips’ description of the encounter, his lawyer told the court.
A teen with a 'Make America Great Again' hat becomes a conservative cause celebre
The suit became a cause celebre for conservatives and talk show hosts.
Then-President Trump defended Sandmann and his fellow student on Twitter, claiming that they had been "smeared" with false reports by the media.
In a speech at the 2020 Republican National Convention, Sandmann accused the media of trying to “cancel” him because he backed Trump.
In the 2019 video that went viral, Sandmann was shown wearing one of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign hats while smiling at Phillips, who was beating a drum and chanting.
Some social media at the time claimed the incident was racially charged on the part of the white teenager, which Sandmann and other witnesses disputed.
Sandmann sued, saying the news coverage had unfairly defamed him.
But the suit was narrowed by the judge to focus only on whether the quote attributed to Phillips was defamatory.
“The media defendants were covering a matter of great public interest, and they reported Phillips’s first-person view of what he experienced,” U.S. Senior Judge William Bertelsman wrote when dismissing the suit in 2022.
When Sandmann appealed to the Supreme Court, the media outlets waived their right to respond.
The Washington Post, NBC and CNN had previously settled with Sandmann.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/cance ... 18da&ei=64
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
RIGZONE
"Oil Dips as Continued OPEC Cutbacks are Likely"
by Bloomberg | Josyana Joshua
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Oil settled little changed Tuesday, after swinging between gains and losses, with OPEC+ set to affirm its policy of production cuts amid tensions in the Middle East and Russia.
West Texas Intermediate settled above $81, while global benchmark Brent closed above $86 a barrel.
OPEC+ delegates aren’t seeing a need to change supply policy at a review meeting next week, according to several national officials, with quotas in place until June proving effective.
The Houthis renewed threats against Saudi Arabia if it supported US strikes.
The technical backdrop helped keep oil range-bound Tuesday, with crude’s moving averages yet to form a golden cross, a bullish pattern.
That’s when an asset’s 50-day moving average exceeds the corresponding 200-day figure.
Its last formation for the generic contract in August preceded WTI surging by more than $10 a barrel to above $90.
Signs of a shift in monetary policy have also aided sentiment.
The Federal Reserve has signaled a willingness to cut interest rates later this year, buoying appetite for risk assets, including oil.
Crude has risen about 14% this quarter, breaking out of a tight range that held for the first two months of the year.
Attacks by Ukraine on Russian refineries have aided gains, together with signs of strength in some product markets including gasoline.
The positive overall market outlook has spurred hedge funds to increase their bullish bets on Brent.
Prices:
WTI for May delivery dipped 0.4% to settle at $81.62 a barrel.
Brent for May settlement fell 0.6% to $86.25 a barrel.
https://www.rigzone.com/news/wire/oil_d ... 9-article/
"Oil Dips as Continued OPEC Cutbacks are Likely"
by Bloomberg | Josyana Joshua
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Oil settled little changed Tuesday, after swinging between gains and losses, with OPEC+ set to affirm its policy of production cuts amid tensions in the Middle East and Russia.
West Texas Intermediate settled above $81, while global benchmark Brent closed above $86 a barrel.
OPEC+ delegates aren’t seeing a need to change supply policy at a review meeting next week, according to several national officials, with quotas in place until June proving effective.
The Houthis renewed threats against Saudi Arabia if it supported US strikes.
The technical backdrop helped keep oil range-bound Tuesday, with crude’s moving averages yet to form a golden cross, a bullish pattern.
That’s when an asset’s 50-day moving average exceeds the corresponding 200-day figure.
Its last formation for the generic contract in August preceded WTI surging by more than $10 a barrel to above $90.
Signs of a shift in monetary policy have also aided sentiment.
The Federal Reserve has signaled a willingness to cut interest rates later this year, buoying appetite for risk assets, including oil.
Crude has risen about 14% this quarter, breaking out of a tight range that held for the first two months of the year.
Attacks by Ukraine on Russian refineries have aided gains, together with signs of strength in some product markets including gasoline.
The positive overall market outlook has spurred hedge funds to increase their bullish bets on Brent.
Prices:
WTI for May delivery dipped 0.4% to settle at $81.62 a barrel.
Brent for May settlement fell 0.6% to $86.25 a barrel.
https://www.rigzone.com/news/wire/oil_d ... 9-article/
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
CNBC
"Logistics companies scramble after bridge collapse closes Port of Baltimore until further notice"
Lori Ann LaRocco @LORIANNLAROCCO
PUBLISHED TUE, MAR 26 2024
KEY POINTS
* Logistics providers are urgently working to update clients on the status of their imports and exports after the Port of Baltimore was shut down.
* The city’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed early Tuesday after the 10,000 container-capacity vessel Dali collided with a bridge pillar. Rescue efforts are underway.
* “There will be dozens of diversions in the next week and hundreds in the coming months as long as Baltimore is shut down,” said Richard Meade, editor-in-chief of the shipping journal Lloyd’s List.
Logistics companies up and down the East Coast were urgently relaying messages back and forth to clients Tuesday on the status of their imports and exports after the Port of Baltimore was shut down in response to the collapse of the city’s Francis Scott Key Bridge.
A massive rescue effort was underway Tuesday morning.
“Our first priority is engaging clients to make plans for containers that were originally routed to Baltimore that will be discharged at other ports on the Eastern Seaboard,” explained Paul Brashier, vice president of drayage and intermodal for ITS Logistics.
“These diverted volumes will impact the ports of New York/New Jersey, Norfolk and the Southeast and we have to prepare trucking and transload capacity to get that freight to its intended network,” Brashier said.
The 10,000 container-capacity vessel Dali was on its way out of the Port of Baltimore in the early hours Tuesday, heading to Colombo, Sri Lanka, when it collided with a bridge pillar.
At the time of the collision, the vessel had two pilots from the Port of Baltimore on board.
“The immediate impact is with the cargo on board and its accessibility."
"Other planned shipments through Baltimore will likely be rerouted, potentially increasing cargo flow to New York, Norfolk, and nearby ports,” said Goetz Alebrand, senior vice president and head of ocean freight for the Americas at DHL Global Forwarding.
“Bulk and car carriers reliant on Baltimore must assess operations in the event of a prolonged closure.”
More than 52 million tons of foreign cargo, worth some $80 billion were transported out of the port last year, according to Maryland Gov. Wes Moore.
The 11th largest port in the nation, Baltimore served an average of 207 calls a month last year, according to the shipping journal Lloyd’s List.
Top port for auto shipping
The Port of Baltimore is the top American port for the import and export of autos and light trucks, as well as wheeled farm vehicles and construction machinery.
Last year, the port handled 847,158 cars and light trucks, according to data from the port.
It was the 13th consecutive year that Baltimore led all U.S. ports in the import of cars and light trucks.
Other top imports include sugar and gypsum.
Breaking out the trade, $23 billion of the port’s total $55.2 billion of imports in 2023 were autos and light trucks.
Around $4.8 billion of the port’s exports were motor vehicles.
“As Baltimore is less container-centric primarily a roll-on/roll-off port, this disruption should create possible flatbed and auto volumes out of other ports on the East Coast,” said D’Andrae Larry, head of intermodal for Uber Freight.
Following the collapse, said Larry, the bridge and port will likely be out of service for months forcing shipments to divert first to ports in New York and New Jersey, followed by Norfolk, Virginia.
Other ports would be Georgia and South Carolina.
“Customers will be looking for solutions for their freight that typically goes through Maryland, the mid-Atlantic, the upper Midwest and New England,” he said.
”There are less intermodal options around Baltimore, but shippers can now turn to intermodal for inland moves as an alternative.”
Diversion of trade traffic
Retailers like Home Depot, Bob’s Furniture, IKEA, and Amazon are just some of the companies that use the port to import goods.
Other top imports include sugar and gypsum.
“This will have an impact for trade all along the East Coast and it will continue until we know how quickly” the port can reopen, said Richard Meade, editor-in-chief of the shipping journal Lloyd’s List.
Vessels were already being diverted to New York and down to Virginia on Tuesday, said Meade.
“There will be dozens of diversions in the next week and hundreds in the coming months as long as Baltimore is shut down.”
Matt Castle, VP for Global Forwarding at C.H. Robinson, explained to CNBC that there should be minimal delays for trucks coming into the port area from the north.
“But for trucks coming into the area from the south, they’ll have to take the I-95 or I-895 tunnels or navigate around the harbor."
"That puts them closer to metro Baltimore and adds potentially an hour to their trips.”
“It will be expensive, but it is not a supply chain story like the EverGiven (which was stuck in the Suez Canal) because ocean carriers will find alternative routes,” said Meade.
“Logistically, ocean carriers and trucking have the ability to be pretty adapt and agile.”
The Dali was chartered by Maersk, which issued a customer advisory Tuesday.
“It will not be possible to reach the Helen Delich Bentley port of Baltimore for the time being."
"In line with this, we are omitting Baltimore on all our services for the foreseeable future, until it is deemed safe for passage through this area,” the company said.
“For cargo already on water, we will omit the port, and will discharge cargo set for Baltimore, in nearby ports."
"Please note that for cargo set to discharge in Baltimore, delays may occur, as they will need to discharge in other ports,” the Maersk advisory said.
Energy delays
There could also be disruptions to coal supplies, as well as to gasoline availability in the Baltimore area, since some ethanol comes in by barge and rail.
“Gasoline shipped from Gulf Coast refineries by pipeline is blended with 10% ethanol which is delivered into the Baltimore area via train and barge,” said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates.
“The oil industry will have to find alternate supply routes for those barge deliveries which in the short term can be met by trucking it in from Philadelphia.”
Lipow said jet fuel and diesel fuel supplies would likely be unaffected.
But the diversions will all create additional costs in both shipping and trucking once the rerouting is done.
Rail giant CSX, which moves much of the coal that arrives in containers at the Port of Baltimore, said Tuesday that customers should expect potential delays from the collapse.
In a statement, the company said it has “the capacity to dispatch additional trains to CSX-served coal terminals, in Baltimore before reaching its space limits.”
But CSX cautioned that, “all international intermodal shipments destined for Baltimore have been temporarily suspended."
"Containers originating from other locations and destined for Baltimore are on hold until further notice."
"Domestic intermodal traffic on CSX destined for local Baltimore remains unaffected.”
Impact on exporters
If exporters choose not to wait until the waterway reopens, they could face increased trucking and rail rates if volumes are rerouted by truck or rail to alternate ports like Norfolk, or New York/New Jersey, said Judah Levine, head of research for Freightos.
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/26/logisti ... imore.html
"Logistics companies scramble after bridge collapse closes Port of Baltimore until further notice"
Lori Ann LaRocco @LORIANNLAROCCO
PUBLISHED TUE, MAR 26 2024
KEY POINTS
* Logistics providers are urgently working to update clients on the status of their imports and exports after the Port of Baltimore was shut down.
* The city’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed early Tuesday after the 10,000 container-capacity vessel Dali collided with a bridge pillar. Rescue efforts are underway.
* “There will be dozens of diversions in the next week and hundreds in the coming months as long as Baltimore is shut down,” said Richard Meade, editor-in-chief of the shipping journal Lloyd’s List.
Logistics companies up and down the East Coast were urgently relaying messages back and forth to clients Tuesday on the status of their imports and exports after the Port of Baltimore was shut down in response to the collapse of the city’s Francis Scott Key Bridge.
A massive rescue effort was underway Tuesday morning.
“Our first priority is engaging clients to make plans for containers that were originally routed to Baltimore that will be discharged at other ports on the Eastern Seaboard,” explained Paul Brashier, vice president of drayage and intermodal for ITS Logistics.
“These diverted volumes will impact the ports of New York/New Jersey, Norfolk and the Southeast and we have to prepare trucking and transload capacity to get that freight to its intended network,” Brashier said.
The 10,000 container-capacity vessel Dali was on its way out of the Port of Baltimore in the early hours Tuesday, heading to Colombo, Sri Lanka, when it collided with a bridge pillar.
At the time of the collision, the vessel had two pilots from the Port of Baltimore on board.
“The immediate impact is with the cargo on board and its accessibility."
"Other planned shipments through Baltimore will likely be rerouted, potentially increasing cargo flow to New York, Norfolk, and nearby ports,” said Goetz Alebrand, senior vice president and head of ocean freight for the Americas at DHL Global Forwarding.
“Bulk and car carriers reliant on Baltimore must assess operations in the event of a prolonged closure.”
More than 52 million tons of foreign cargo, worth some $80 billion were transported out of the port last year, according to Maryland Gov. Wes Moore.
The 11th largest port in the nation, Baltimore served an average of 207 calls a month last year, according to the shipping journal Lloyd’s List.
Top port for auto shipping
The Port of Baltimore is the top American port for the import and export of autos and light trucks, as well as wheeled farm vehicles and construction machinery.
Last year, the port handled 847,158 cars and light trucks, according to data from the port.
It was the 13th consecutive year that Baltimore led all U.S. ports in the import of cars and light trucks.
Other top imports include sugar and gypsum.
Breaking out the trade, $23 billion of the port’s total $55.2 billion of imports in 2023 were autos and light trucks.
Around $4.8 billion of the port’s exports were motor vehicles.
“As Baltimore is less container-centric primarily a roll-on/roll-off port, this disruption should create possible flatbed and auto volumes out of other ports on the East Coast,” said D’Andrae Larry, head of intermodal for Uber Freight.
Following the collapse, said Larry, the bridge and port will likely be out of service for months forcing shipments to divert first to ports in New York and New Jersey, followed by Norfolk, Virginia.
Other ports would be Georgia and South Carolina.
“Customers will be looking for solutions for their freight that typically goes through Maryland, the mid-Atlantic, the upper Midwest and New England,” he said.
”There are less intermodal options around Baltimore, but shippers can now turn to intermodal for inland moves as an alternative.”
Diversion of trade traffic
Retailers like Home Depot, Bob’s Furniture, IKEA, and Amazon are just some of the companies that use the port to import goods.
Other top imports include sugar and gypsum.
“This will have an impact for trade all along the East Coast and it will continue until we know how quickly” the port can reopen, said Richard Meade, editor-in-chief of the shipping journal Lloyd’s List.
Vessels were already being diverted to New York and down to Virginia on Tuesday, said Meade.
“There will be dozens of diversions in the next week and hundreds in the coming months as long as Baltimore is shut down.”
Matt Castle, VP for Global Forwarding at C.H. Robinson, explained to CNBC that there should be minimal delays for trucks coming into the port area from the north.
“But for trucks coming into the area from the south, they’ll have to take the I-95 or I-895 tunnels or navigate around the harbor."
"That puts them closer to metro Baltimore and adds potentially an hour to their trips.”
“It will be expensive, but it is not a supply chain story like the EverGiven (which was stuck in the Suez Canal) because ocean carriers will find alternative routes,” said Meade.
“Logistically, ocean carriers and trucking have the ability to be pretty adapt and agile.”
The Dali was chartered by Maersk, which issued a customer advisory Tuesday.
“It will not be possible to reach the Helen Delich Bentley port of Baltimore for the time being."
"In line with this, we are omitting Baltimore on all our services for the foreseeable future, until it is deemed safe for passage through this area,” the company said.
“For cargo already on water, we will omit the port, and will discharge cargo set for Baltimore, in nearby ports."
"Please note that for cargo set to discharge in Baltimore, delays may occur, as they will need to discharge in other ports,” the Maersk advisory said.
Energy delays
There could also be disruptions to coal supplies, as well as to gasoline availability in the Baltimore area, since some ethanol comes in by barge and rail.
“Gasoline shipped from Gulf Coast refineries by pipeline is blended with 10% ethanol which is delivered into the Baltimore area via train and barge,” said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates.
“The oil industry will have to find alternate supply routes for those barge deliveries which in the short term can be met by trucking it in from Philadelphia.”
Lipow said jet fuel and diesel fuel supplies would likely be unaffected.
But the diversions will all create additional costs in both shipping and trucking once the rerouting is done.
Rail giant CSX, which moves much of the coal that arrives in containers at the Port of Baltimore, said Tuesday that customers should expect potential delays from the collapse.
In a statement, the company said it has “the capacity to dispatch additional trains to CSX-served coal terminals, in Baltimore before reaching its space limits.”
But CSX cautioned that, “all international intermodal shipments destined for Baltimore have been temporarily suspended."
"Containers originating from other locations and destined for Baltimore are on hold until further notice."
"Domestic intermodal traffic on CSX destined for local Baltimore remains unaffected.”
Impact on exporters
If exporters choose not to wait until the waterway reopens, they could face increased trucking and rail rates if volumes are rerouted by truck or rail to alternate ports like Norfolk, or New York/New Jersey, said Judah Levine, head of research for Freightos.
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/26/logisti ... imore.html