China has ordered its infrastructure companies to stop buying from Micron, the US chipmaker, shortly after US president Joe Biden called for a thaw in relations between the two countries. Chinese foreign policy analysts said the call maintained and exacerbated existing tensions. While experts do not expect the diplomatic conflict to derail high-level engagement efforts entirely, they suggest stabilisation will be held up by issues of economic coercion, national security issues related to technology and worsening tension over Taiwan, as China tries to maintain its grip on Taiwan and the US looks to support Taiwan as a sovereign nation.
China's Cyberspace Administration has banned US semiconductor company Micron in its technology battle with the United States. The state cyber agency claimed that Micron's components posed significant security risks to China's critical information infrastructure supply chain, thereby affecting national security. The US Commerce Department responded by saying that there was no basis in fact for Beijing's claim and that it would continue to try to limit industry disruptions with its allies. Micron has yet to identify the products that have been barred. China has previously blacklisted US technology companies, cut off the flow of processors and barred Americans from helping the Chinese chip industry.
JPMorgan's CEO, Jamie Dimon, will discuss the bank's future growth plans at its investor day conference on Monday. Although the bank has had a strong year, becoming one of the US's largest deposit holders with over 4,800 branches, the bank must try and maintain its momentum heading forward. Mr. Dimon is not expected to step down in the near future, but potential successors include Marianne Lake and Jennifer Piepszak. Nevertheless, shareholders may ask about Anglo-Irish investigation JPMorgan is embroiled in over its ties to Jeffrey Epstein and a failed $175m acquisition of fintech startup Frank. They could also ask about JPMorgan being barred from buying more lenders after angering Washington with its purchase of First Republic.
Beijing has reportedly launched punitive action against American chipmaker Micron over concerns regarding its products’ network security, thus denting the tech giant’s revenues by a “single-digit percentage”. This retaliation is most likely in response to the extensive chip export controls introduced by Washington last October. Foreign policy experts suggest that the use of tough rhetoric against China may hurt the possibility of cooperation with the west. The US successfully persuaded European countries to take a harder line over China, and an early test will come this week when China’s commerce minister Wang Wentao becomes the first senior official to visit Washington since 2020. Thus, global efforts are being made to build alternative chip supply chains that have the impetus of worsening relations between China and Taiwan, the country that produces more than 60% of the world’s chips and 90% of the most advanced. As the tech battle between the US and China continues, another Big Read suggests the AI revolution is transforming education, forcing schools and universities to restructure how they teach and test students.
Republican Senator Tim Scott, the only black Republican in the Senate, has announced that he is running for the party’s nomination for president in 2024. Scott’s campaign is built on his personal story of growing up in poverty, his Christian faith and conservative policies. While Scott has strong backing from allies on Capitol Hill and deep-pocketed donors similar to other Republican candidates; he is polling below 2% in the Republican electorate. Former President Donald Trump remains the odds-on favourite for the Republican nomination with backing from over half of Republican grassroots voters.
Who is Tim Scott? 5 things to know about the newest 2024 GOP presidential candidate
The Toronto Star
23-05-22 17:11
South Carolina Senator, Tim Scott, has registered a presidential exploratory committee with the Federal Election Commission in order to run in the 2024 GOP presidential primaries. Here are five key things to know about the South Carolina Republican; his faith is an integral part of his political and personal narrative, Senator Scott is the only black Republican in the Senate, Senator Scott comes into the campaign with more cash on hand than any other presidential candidate in U.S. history, Senator Scott has maintained a generally cordial relationship with Trump and is known for speaking out against the teaching of critical race theory.
New York Mayor Eric Adams is facing criticism for rehousing migrants in school gyms. Commentators have said the mayor is culpable for ignoring an array of excellent volunteer groups working on the crisis, which has led to some mosques, churches and synagogues in all New York boroughs being denied access to migrants. In a final insult, the mayor was also criticized for his spokesman blaming volunteer groups for encouraging more people to arrive, an untrue comment. However, a social justice consultant and former member of the NY City Council argued that the mayor was right to ask for help and his requests for financial and strategic input were entirely reasonable. Commentators also called for ownership of mistakes made in the past, highlighting that US imperialism is a "fool’s errand" and the crisis is a national one, so it requires governmental rather than mayoral action.
Senator Tim Scott, the only Black Republican in the US Senate, has announced his bid for the Republican nomination for president. In his announcement, he criticised the Biden administration and Democrats for denigrating police and allowing crime to rise, and spoke about how the Republican Party can offer opportunities for marginalised communities. Scott will likely compete in South Carolina’s primary, but notable Republicans in his home state, such as former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, have already endorsed former President Donald Trump. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is also expected to enter the Republican presidential primary.
JPMorgan Chase is to spend $15.7bn on new initiatives, including investments in technology, marketing and hiring, according to co-head of the bank’s consumer and community division, Marianne Lake. Her unit is set to spend $7.9bn on new investments, which represents an $800m increase from 2022. The announcement comes on the back of a year in which smaller lenders have faced pressure and represents the latest example of the widening gap between small and large US banks. The wider spending will be $2bn more than the bank spent last year.
According to US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the US’s ability to satisfy all of its government obligations will run out as early as 1 June if Congress doesn't act to raise or suspend the debt limit by then. The federal government has already burned through the cash it had to cover its current slate of bills on 3 May, and the Treasury is now using various emergency measures to keep the government funded. Yellen has warned a default could be unprecedented and cause irreparable harm to the economy and the US standard of living.
Republican senator Tim Scott announced his bid for the 2024 presidential race with an optimistic message. Speaking in his hometown, North Charleston, Mr Scott said that he was the living proof that America was the land of opportunity. He criticised his opponents Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis for their suspicious approach towards those who disagree with them. Scott is polling in low single digits against Trump and DeSantis, with 49% of Republicans choosing Trump so far. However, he has a war chest of $22m, the backing of billionaire Larry Ellison and strong popularity in his home state of South Carolina.
The UK's Labour Party will use legal measures to force pension funds to invest in a proposed £50bn "future growth fund", according to Rachel Reeves, shadow chancellor. While she did not believe a mandate would be required, she said such a move was "not off the table". Reeves, who is in the US to meet business and political leaders, also wants to increase the size of UK pension funds and unite clubs to work with the government-owned British Business Bank. The shadow chancellor said Labour would create a framework to enable retirement funds to invest next to the bank in promising businesses.
Republicans pushing work requirements see an increase in employment as positive, but critics say it cuts off funds from qualified recipients of aid without necessarily increasing employment. The issue has been controversial, with some experts saying work requirements yield an increase in employment while creating victims who are unable to keep up with the complex paperwork or hours requirement may leave them in poverty. Some studies showed small to modest impacts on employment that faded out over time, with little impact on measured income and poverty status. Considering the disparities between funding and programmatic structures, target populations, and the details of the work requirements under the different programs, experts said it was irresponsible to generalize. Meanwhile, nearly 95% of beneficiaries in 2018 subjected to a new state work requirement in Arkansas “already met the state’s Medicaid work requirements or should have been eligible for an exemption,” and that the intention to report was a major cause of coverage losses, not the work requirements themselves.
The size of China's distant water fishing fleet is increasingly seen by Washington as a national security concern as tensions continue to rise between China and the US. Elizabeth Freund Larus of the Pacific Forum said the fleet was not only depleting fish stocks worldwide but that the dual use of the vessels as both commercial and military vehicles in support of China's navy, coastguard, and maritime police was adding to the fraught relations between the two superpowers. As we have previously covered, US agencies have been instructed by President Biden to combat China's illegal fishing and labour abuses in the market.
The US administration’s decision to allow allies to train Ukrainian forces to operate F-16 fighter jets, and eventually to provide the aircraft themselves, followed months of internal debate and quiet talks with allies and does not represent an abrupt change in policy. The US administration was concerned that a move to provide F-16s to Ukraine could US-Russian tensions and that the training would be difficult and time-consuming. However, a shift in US policy became apparent after Biden’s visit to Ukraine and Poland and following discussions between senior White House National Security Council, Pentagon and State Department officials. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin heard from allied defense leaders during a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group seeking US permission to train the Ukrainians on F-16s and raised the matter during the NSC policy discussions leading to agreement that it was time to start training. State, Pentagon, and NSC officials are now developing a training plan and “when, where, and how to deliver F-16s” to Ukraine as part of the long-term security effort, US officials said.
US President Joe Biden has sounded positive about the prospects of Congress finding an agreement in time to avoid a default on America’s sovereign debt that would have catastrophic consequences. A meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy showed that Biden was “optimistic” about devising a bipartisan agreement, following an acknowledgment that the prospect of a debt default was on both sides’ minds. McGovern said a decision over spending cuts would have to be made since there are just ten days left before a default, and the House’s proposal for spending cuts would provide the “framework” for any deal.
The EU and Apple are appearing in front of the European Court of Justice today, with officials defending the revocation of Apple's license to trade in Ireland in 2016. The Commission argued the company exploited Irish corporation tax laws to avoid paying billions of euros in taxes between 2003 and 2014. In 2020, the EU General Court overturned the Commission's case, stating that the EU had failed to show Apple had gained an illegal advantage, but this case is now being appealed. The hearing is expected to last three days with a verdict in around three to six months.
Author E. Jean Carroll is amending her defamation lawsuit against former President Donald Trump to include derogatory comments he made during a CNN town hall. The proposed update to the $10m Manhattan civil court complaint was filed by Roberta Kaplan on behalf of Carroll. This comes after a jury trial in New York found Trump liable for the sexual assault and defamation of Carroll. Meanwhile, Trump's media company has filed a $3.78bn lawsuit against The Washington Post for alleged defamation regarding Truth Social, his social media platform. The suit claims that the paper had been on a "years-long crusade" to undermine Trump Media, which was founded in February 2021. In addition, a top attorney to Trump is leaving his legal defense effort and blaming the former president's top aide, Boris Epshteyn, for not being forthcoming in his work to assist lawyers with defense against an investigation into whether Trump retained classified documents illegally.
The battle for Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, which lasted for over 220 days and is possibly the longest in the war, was finally won by Russian forces but left behind nine million bottles of champagne made by Artwinery, one of eastern Europe’s major suppliers of sparkling wine. While the winery evacuated one million bottles, the rest remain in cellars 236 feet underground in gypsum mines from which the company sourced the materials it uses. The fate of the remaining stock remains uncertain, as celebrations are uneasily held due to the town’s protracted combat and ongoing conflict.
Bakhmut, an eastern Ukraine town with a population of 70,000 is now almost completely empty and Ukrainian authorities are divided over its significance. For many, the protracted and expensive defence of Bakhmut was crucial to setting up an eventual counter-offensive elsewhere. The Russian commanders see the prolonged defence as having held up the Ukrainian forces and depleted Ukrainian Western equipment.
Despite the capture of Bakhmut, the town remains a potent symbol for boosting Ukrainian morale and sending a message to the Russian military that if more fortified towns such as Slovyansk and Kramatorsk were attacked, then the Russian army would need to expend both men and materials. The Ukrainian military has claimed that the Russian forces in Bakhmut are “semi-encircled”, but this is not supported on war theatre maps.
The US has backtracked on comments made by President Joe Biden related to the lifting of sanctions on Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu, with State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller saying the US government was not considering lifting the sanctions. Speaking in Washington, Miller said Biden “made clear that we are not planning to lift any sanctions on him or on China more broadly” after China rebuffed Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's request to meet Li next month due to sanctions. However, despite tension between the two nations, the White House has started engaging with China on a range of issues.
