SOLANA BEACH, Calif., April 5, 2022 — American Wave Machines, Inc. (AWM) – the wave technology pioneer and worldwide leader in surf pool development – and ProSlide Technology Inc. – the industry leader in water ride design, technology and manufacturing – are pleased to announce that ProSlide is now an authorized reseller addressing the water park and resort markets. ProSlide will offer AWM’s proprietary PerfectSwell® to global markets starting with upcoming projects in Asia and the Middle East.

“ProSlide continually pushes the envelope with innovations in the water park and resort spaces,” said Jenna Timinsky, Business Development Manager at AWM. “Innovation aligns perfectly with AWM and we’re excited to address their markets with such a capable partner.”

American Wave Machines’ PerfectSwell® technology can reproduce the best surf from around the world, miles from the ocean. Their patented technology has already generated close to half a million surf sessions in places like Waco, Texas, Shizunami, Japan and American Dream in New Jersey. PerfectSwell® is the only technology that creates real ocean dynamics and provides infinite wave variety that appeals to elite surfers and beginners alike.

“AWM’s proven track record of producing world-class waves combined with our advanced water ride technology offerings creates an unparalleled, turn-key development package that our clients will love,” says ProSlide’s Business Development Manager – Waves and Surf, Nicholas Yu.

About American Wave Machines

American Wave Machines, Inc. develops world class surf pools, wave systems and surf venues. AWM surf technology is protected by a patent portfolio in over 15 jurisdictions worldwide. SurfStream® venues have capacity of 100’s while PerfectSwell® surf pools are 1 acre plus with capacity in the 1,000’s. Since 2007 over 4,000,000 sessions have been enjoyed at American Wave Machines locations around the globe.

SOURCE American Wave Machines, Inc.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

SOLANA BEACH, Kalifornia, 5 kwietnia 2022 r.American Wave Machines, Inc. (AWM) – pionier w dziedzinie technologii sztucznych fal i światowy lider budowy basenów surfingowych – oraz ProSlide Technology Inc. – lider branży projektowania, technologii i budowy atrakcji wodnych – z przyjemnością ogłaszają, że ProSlide jest autoryzowanym odsprzedawcą AWM, kierującym swoją ofertę do parków wodnych i kurortów. ProSlide będzie oferować zastrzeżoną technologię AMW PerfectSwell® na rynkach globalnych, rozpoczynając od nadchodzących inwestycji w Azji i na Bliskim Wschodzie.

„ProSlide nieustannie pokonuje nowe bariery dzięki innowacjom w przestrzeniach parków wodnych i kurortów – powiedziała Jenna Timinsky, dyrektor ds. rozwoju działalności w AWM. – Innowacje doskonale pasują do AWM i cieszymy się na naszą obecność na nowych rynkach z tak kompetentnym partnerem”.

Technologia PerfectSwell® opracowana przez American Wave Machines jest w stanie odtworzyć najlepsze warunki do surfowania na całym świecie, daleko od oceanu. Ich opatentowana technologia już wygenerowała blisko pół miliona sesji surfingowych w takich miejscach jak Waco w Teksasie, Shizunami w Japonii, czy American Dream w New Jersey. PerfectSwell® jest jedyną technologią, która pozwala na odtworzenie prawdziwej dynamiki oceanu i zapewnia nieskończoną różnorodność fal, zarówno dla najlepszych zawodowych surferów jaki i dla początkujących.

„Udokumentowane osiągnięcia AWM w zakresie generowania światowej klasy fal w połączeniu z naszą ofertą zaawansowanych technologii atrakcji wodnych tworzy niezrównany pakiet inwestycji pod klucz, który pokochają nasi klienci” – powiedział Nicholas Yu, dyrektor ds. rozwoju działalności obejmującej sztuczne fale i surfowanie.

American Wave Machines

Spółka American Wave Machines, Inc buduje światowej klasy baseny surfingowe, systemy sztucznych fal i obiekty surfingowe. Technologia surfingowa AWM jest chroniona patentami w ponad 15 jurysdykcjach na całym świecie. Obiekty SurfStream® obejmują 100 miejsc, a baseny surfingowe PerfectSwell® mają powierzchnię przeszło 1 akra i mieszczą do 1000 osób. Od 2007 roku na całym świecie odbyło się ponad 4 000 000 sesji w miejscach, w których znajdują się American Wave Machines.

Fotografia – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1780173/Rob_Kelly_at_American_Dream.jpg

Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1058606/American_Wave_Machines_Logo.jpg

SOURCE American Wave Machines, Inc.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

PARSIPPANY, N.J., April 5, 2022PNY today announced it was named the 2021 NVIDIA Partner Network (NPN) Americas Distribution Partner of the Year, for being a value-added partner and trusted advisor to the channel for NVIDIA’s professional visualization products for over 20 years.

Annually, the NPN awards recognize the achievements of NPN members in accelerating AI computing solutions and driving AI adoption. This year, NVIDIA recognized the efforts of PNY’s seasoned team serving as a key collaborator to help deliver NVIDIA accelerated computing platforms and software across the media and entertainment and healthcare industries, and many other vertical markets, as well as with cloud service providers.

For over 35 years, and thanks to strong collaboration with NVIDIA, PNY has developed a diverse, solutions-rich partner ecosystem that includes professional visualization, AI, and HPC, across all strategic vertical markets. Providing designers, engineers, scientists, and visualization clients with cutting-edge NVIDIA GPU– and networking-based solutions is PNY’s core competency. PNY recognizes the needs of its clients, offering world-class technical support and an unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction. 

PNY and its partner ecosystem rely on the global NPN program, which provides the expertise required to develop, deploy, and maintain world-class NVIDIA GPU- and networking-accelerated solutions designed for today’s most demanding real-time rendering, GPU virtualization, and AI use cases.

“As an NVIDIA Authorized Channel partner for over 21 years, we are honored to be named the NPN Americas Distributor of the Year,” said Steven Kaner, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at PNY. “PNY is proud to collaborate with NVIDIA to deliver accelerated AI computing solutions and advance AI solutions. PNY and our partner ecosystem look forward to continued success in 2022, delivering NVIDIA’s innovative hardware and software offerings, while providing unsurpassed service and support to our customers.”

“From professional visualization to simulation and AI, accelerated computing has introduced transformative new opportunities for enterprises in every industry,” said Geoff Fancher, Vice President of Worldwide Distribution at NVIDIA. “With deep expertise in everything from customer service to engineering support, the PNY team is a key collaborator supporting the work of leading NVIDIA customers in media and entertainment, healthcare, cloud computing, and many other vertical markets.”

Throughout 2022, PNY will increasingly emphasize how the convergence of visualization, AI, and HPC – powered by NVIDIA – will transform every aspect of personal, business, government, or institutional activities for the better; all while delivering new products, programs, or services to customers through PNY’s increasingly sophisticated, NPN-enhanced ecosystem of AI-aware system builders and integrators.

For more information on PNY’s collaboration with NVIDIA, visit www.pny.com/pnypro.

About PNY Technologies
Established in 1985, PNY is a global technology leader dedicated to business and consumer electronics manufacturing. PNY has over 30 years’ experience serving B2Bs, OEMs and consumers worldwide. PNY’s product portfolio includes NVIDIA professional and consumer graphics boards, data center GPUs for AI and HPC, and networking solutions. PNY also offers innovative SSDs, memory upgrades, and flash products. Headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey (USA), PNY maintains facilities in North America, EMEA, India and Asia.

For media inquiries, please contact The Daily Caller News Foundation.

SOURCE PNY Technologies, Inc.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

ERIE, PA – Police in Erie, Pennsylvania, reported that one person was shot at Erie High School. Police did not say whether the victim was a student or faculty member or who fired the shots.

Police said the shooting victim survived and is in stable condition.

“Erie Police confirm that a single individual at Erie High School has been shot. The individual is in good condition and has been transported to the hospital. More information to follow as we receive it,” the department said. “Erie Police responded to Erie High School for an emergency. Police have secured the building. There is a high presence of police cars. Please avoid the area.”

The school was put into lockdown after the shooting.

It has since been confirmed that the victim was a student, and the shooter fled the school. The shooter was not in custody as of 11 am.

The incident happened at around 9:25 am.

The school district issued the following statement:

Attention Erie High families: There has been a shooting at Erie High. The building is on hard lockdown with a police presence on campus. We are coordinating with law enforcement and are arranging an intentional dismissal process, including parent pick-up, now. PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM THE AREA UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. More information will be coming shortly. Please stay connected to all district communication channels.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

By Leah Douglas

(Reuters) – Protecting forests, changing diets, and altering farming methods could contribute around a quarter of the greenhouse gas cuts needed to avert the worst impacts of climate change, according to the United Nations’ climate panel.

But the changes are unlikely to happen unless governments act to spur them along, the report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released on Monday found.

“We are in the early stages of climate and agriculture policy development, but we need to start with acknowledging the urgency of the challenge,” said Ben Lilliston, director of rural strategies and climate change for the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. “The IPCC warns that governments thus far have not been up to the task.”

About 22% of global greenhouse gas emissions came from agriculture, forestry, and other land use sectors in 2019, the report said, around half of which were from deforestation. Much of the rest came from the combustion of fossil fuels.

Mitigation measures in those sectors – including protecting forests from clearcutting, sequestering carbon in agricultural soils, and more sustainable diets – can provide as much as 20%-30% of the emissions reductions needed to limit global warming to 1.5 or 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Scientists say that is the threshhold at which climate change risks spinning out of control.

“Indigenous Peoples, private forest owners, local farmers and communities manage a significant share of global forests and agricultural land and play a central role in land-based mitigation options,” the report said.

While the changes required in the agriculture, forestry and other land use sectors – dubbed AFOLU by climate specialists – would not cost much to implement, there is little momentum so far to trigger them, the report said.

A lack of institutional and financial support, uncertainty over long-term tradeoffs of how land is managed, and the dispersed nature of private land holdings have hindered implementation so far, it said.

“Land provides us with so much, for example, food, nature, and our livelihoods,” said Diána Ürge-Vorsatz, vice chair of the IPCC working group that authored the report. “These competing demands have to be carefully managed.”

One major obstacle is that dictating diet is divisive.

The IPCC panel’s initial report summary included a recommendation that consumers shift to plant-based diets and reduce their intake of meat, according to a draft seen by Reuters.

But the final version of the summary included a recommendation instead for balanced diets that include sustainably produced animal products alongside plants like grains and legumes.

Asked about the changes, Joanna House, an expert on land use at the University of Bristol and an author of the report, said she could not comment on why the changes were made but said the issue of dietary changes is complex.

“If meat is produced sustainably, it can be low carbon and support soil carbon and nutrients,” she said. “If produced unsustainably, particularly in intense systems requiring large amounts of animal feed that result in deforestation, it can cause large net emissions.”

Global demand for livestock products is growing, a headwind to cutting agriculture’s emissions, the report said.

(Reporting by Leah Douglas; additional reporting by Gloria Dickie; editing by Barbara Lewis)

tagreuters.com2022binary_LYNXNPEI340QU-BASEIMAGE

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

The former U.S. Women’s National Team goalie, who is often called the “Donald Trump” of women’s soccer, was found passed out in her car, drunk, with her children in the backseat, according to police in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Solo, who is known as one of the top female soccer goalkeepers of all time, stopped playing in 2016.

Police said they found Solo passed out behind the wheel of her car in a Walmart parking lot in Winston-Salem. Her two young children were in the backseat.

Solo issued a statement after her arrest through her lawyer.

“On the advice of counsel, Hope can’t speak about this situation, but she wants everyone to know that her kids are her life,”  the statement said. “The story is more sympathetic than the initial charges suggest.”

Solo is a two-time Olympic gold medalist married to ex-NFL player Jerramy Stevens. Solo and Stevens got married the day after he was arrested for assaulting her.

In 2015, Stevens was arrested for DUI, and Solo was suspended for 30 days for showing poor judgment after arguing with arresting officers.

Solo was arrested in 2014 for two counts of assault after getting into a physical altercation with her half-sister and nephew. Those charges were eventually dropped after her victims failed to cooperate with the investigation.

In 2016, after losing to Sweeden during the Belo Horizonte quarterfinals in a shoot-out in the Rio Olympics, she called the Swedish team “A bunch of cowards.”

Swedish head coach Pia Sundhage replied,  “I don’t give a crap. I’m going to Rio; she’s going home.”

Sweden went on to win the silver medal after eliminating Team USA in the first round.

Solo was an avid supporter of Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO -It will take $15 billion in grants this year and another $10 billion annually after that to establish and maintain an adequate toolkit to respond to COVID-19 and address future pandemic threats, according to four organizations focused on global health and the economy.

The estimate is laid out in “A Global Strategy to Manage the Long-term Risks of COVID-19,” a working paper published on Tuesday by the International Monetary Fund, in partnership with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the Global Fund and Wellcome Trust.

In the paper, the four global groups said that ending the pandemic everywhere remains an urgent economic, health and moral priority for the world.

“Given the many possible scenarios for the evolution of COVID-19 (from benign to severe) and given the limited resources countries have, we need a new strategy,” Gita Gopinath, the IMF’s First Deputy Managing Director, said in a statement.

The IMF estimated the pandemic resulted in $13.8 trillion in cumulative losses as of January 2022.

Gopinath told a news briefing that the IMF expected to revise down its global growth forecast later this month to factor in the cost of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the continued pandemic.

“The cost to the economy of more general disruptions and the war in Ukraine is going to be very significant,” Gopinath said, adding that the estimated cost of the pandemic would also rise.

“Since the pandemic is not over, and we have disruptions to the supply chain that continue and other costs, including human capital, that number is only going up,” Gopinath added.

Gopinath said countries need vaccines, tests, treatments and an improved health infrastructure to tackle COVID-19 and other deadly diseases.

“These last two years have shown that remarkable progress is possible when the world comes together and supports science boldly at scale, across borders,” said Jeremy Farrar, director at the Wellcome Trust charity. “Now is not the time to ease up – the virus’s next move is anything but certain and the risk of new variants high.”

Richard Hatchett, chief executive of CEPI, said vaccines will be critical to any future response, but they must be accompanied by investments in global surveillance, research and development, manufacturing and health systems.

“This is a crisis that will continue to unfold and unspool over time if we don’t put the resources against it that it requires,” Hatchett said.

(Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago; Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal in WashingtonEditing by Chizu Nomiyama and Will Dunham)

tagreuters.com2022binary_LYNXNPEI340MZ-BASEIMAGE

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

LONDON – The United States has blocked the Russian government from paying owners of its sovereign debt from reserves held at U.S. banks, raising the spectre of default unless Russia can find other sources of cash or a workaround within 30 days.

Russia has managed to avoid defaulting on its international debt so far, despite unprecedented Western sanctions imposed after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. But the task just became a lot tougher as Washington tries to up the pressure.

WHAT DID THE U.S. TREASURY SAY?

Russia was due to pay $552.4 million on a maturing bond on Monday as well as an $84 million coupon payment on Monday on a 2042 sovereign bond.

The U.S. Treasury Department had been allowing the Russian government to use foreign currency reserves held by its central bank at U.S. financial institutions to make coupon payments on dollar-denominated sovereign debt on a “case-by-case basis.”

But, as of Monday, the U.S. Treasury said it would “not permit any dollar debt payments to be made from Russian government accounts at U.S. financial institutions.”

“Russia must choose between draining remaining valuable dollar reserves or new revenue coming in, or default,” a spokesperson added.

Roughly half of the $640 billion in Russia’s gold and foreign currency reserves has been frozen by the United States and its allies since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special military operation.”

WHAT HAS CHANGED?

The U.S. Treasury said the size of the payment due on Monday – the largest due on sovereign debt since the Feb. 24 invasion – had presented “the right opportunity to force Russia into more difficult decisions.”

However, there was no suggestion U.S. banks might be banned from acting as correspondent banks – or processing any Russian debt payments. JPMorgan Chase has been processing the recent debt coupon payments as a correspondent bank.

Russia may already have been using funds from the half of its reserves that have not been frozen by sanctions, and it could still turn to those resources to avoid default.

It also still receives billions of dollars from exporting crude and gas. Analysing tanker traffic data, the Institute of International Finance (IIF) estimates Russia’s March oil export earnings will total $12.3 billion – up sharply on March 2021.

Moscow said on Monday it expected higher oil prices will boost its April revenue from energy sales by 798.4 billion roubles ($9.6 billion).

WHAT WILL HAPPEN NOW?

The bonds have 30 day grace periods, meaning Russia still has time to pay before default is triggered.

Russia’s willingness to pay means – so far – it has swerved its first default of any kind since a 1998 financial crisis, and its first on international market debt since the 1917 Bolshevik revolution.

Russia has also been working on managing its external liabilities – last week it bought back about three-quarters of a $2 billion bond payment by paying in roubles just before it matured on Monday. The move was targeted at local rather than international owners though reduced its dollar liabilities.

But there is another deadline looming: transactions by U.S. persons and entities with Russia’s finance ministry, central bank or national wealth fund in relation to debt payments are only allowed under a temporary general licence 9A issued by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

That licence is due to expire on May 25 and the U.S. Treasury has not commented on whether it will be extended.

Russia has more payments due on May 27, and has a total of 15 international bonds outstanding with a face value of around $40 billion. Prior to the Ukraine crisis, roughly $20 billion was held by investment funds and money managers outside Russia.

(Reporting by Tommy Reggiori Wilkes, Karin Strohecker and Marc Jones in London, and Alexandra Alper in Washington; Editing by Mark Potter)

tagreuters.com2022binary_LYNXNPEI340R6-BASEIMAGE

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

LONDON – The global coffee market will record a 3.1 million bag deficit in the 2021/22 (October-September) season as top producer Brazil harvests a smaller, ‘off-season’ crop, the International Coffee Organisation (ICO) said in its March monthly report.

The inter-governmental body warned however, that the market balance may shift markedly due to a potential downturn in the world economy, increased production costs and reduced consumption and imports due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The ICO pegged 2021/22 global coffee production at 167.2 million 60 kg bags, down 2.1% year on year, and consumption at 170.3 million bags, up by an annual 3.3%.

It said global exports of green beans in February totalled 9.88 million bags, down from 10.24 million bags a year ago. Exports reached 47.18 million bags in the first five months of the coffee year, a 3% year-on-year decrease.

Brazil continues to face issues with availability of shipping containers, though these have improved in recent weeks, the ICO said.

(Reporting by Maytaal Angel; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

tagreuters.com2022binary_LYNXNPEI340QW-BASEIMAGE

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

(Corrects story throughout to show cancellations are new, not the suspension of operations)

(Reuters) -Home rental company Airbnb Inc said late on Monday it had cancelled all reservations in Russia and Belarus.

It said reservations starting on or after April 4 had been cancelled.

Airbnb Chief Executive Officer Brian Chesky previously announced on March 4 the company was suspending operations in Russia and Belarus.

The company had previously flagged its inability to process transactions affiliated with certain financial institutions in Russia and Belarus due to Western sanctions imposed after Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24.

(Reporting by Reuters)

tagreuters.com2022binary_LYNXNPEI3409T-BASEIMAGE

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

PARIS – French sugar and ethanol maker Tereos said on Tuesday it had appointed Ludwig de Mot as its new chief executive, succeeding Philippe de Raynal who left the company in February after just a year at the helm.

Tereos, the world’s second-largest sugar producer in volume and with large operations in Brazil, has been reshuffling its top management and reviewing its strategy since 2020 when a long-running internal feud led to the ousting of its chairman and CEO.

De Mot, a 58-year old Belgian, was previously interim manager in charge of transformation at airport services group Swissport. He also held board member and executive positions in the maintenance services, minerals production and packaging industries.

It is the first time that Tereos has appointed a non-French to lead the cooperative, the group’s spokeswoman said. De Mot will start on April 7.

“His industrial experience and expertise in transformation are assets that will enable Tereos to deploy a progress plan at its various production sites and thus accelerate its return to sustainable profitability,” Tereos said in a statement.

Gwenael Elies, the current chief financial officer who had served as acting CEO since de Raynal’s departure, was appointed head of finance, information systems, legal, tax and human resources, Tereos said.

(Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide, editing by Gus Trompiz and Susan Fenton)

tagreuters.com2022binary_LYNXNPEI340NN-BASEIMAGE

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

BRASILIA – Diogo Guillen, who was nominated to the board of Brazil’s central bank, said on Tuesday that it seems appropriate to keep the government’s current inflation targets despite recent price shocks, stressing that policymakers already forecast inflation close to target next year, on its relevant policy horizon.

Guillen, tapped to be economic policy director for the central bank, was addressing the economic affairs committee in the Senate, which must confirm his nomination. Renato Gomes, set to oversee organization of the financial system as director, told senators he saw a need for prudential regulation of crypto assets.

(Reporting by Marcela Ayres; Editing by Brad Haynes)

tagreuters.com2022binary_LYNXNPEI340QP-BASEIMAGE

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate should wrap up debate over U.S. Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson by Thursday, clearing the way for a final vote on her confirmation, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Katharine Jackson and Susan Heavey; Editing by Tim Ahmann)

tagreuters.com2022binary_LYNXNPEI340QJ-BASEIMAGE

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell today sentenced Joshua Wade McGinnis (27, Fort Myers) to 10 years in federal prison for multiple counts of distributing cocaine and possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking offense. McGinnis had pleaded guilty on December 27, 2021.

According to court documents, between February and August 2021, McGinnis distributed cocaine to an undercover DEA agent and confidential source on multiple occasions in Fort Myers. During the last transaction before his arrest, McGinnis agreed to sell the source more than a pound of cocaine for $20,000.  Fearing that he might be robbed during the transaction, McGinnis enlisted the assistance of his co-defendant, John Olvera-Salinas (20, Fort Myers). McGinnis asked Olvera-Salinas to accompany him to the transaction location and provided Olvera-Salinas with a loaded AK-47. When the two arrived at the location, they were promptly arrested by the DEA. At the time of the arrests, McGinnis possessed the cocaine and Olvera-Salinas possessed the loaded gun.

A subsequent search of McGinnis’s residence revealed a heavily fortified apartment, with security bars covering the windows and an extensive video surveillance system. The DEA agents recovered more than 14 firearms, nearly a pound of additional cocaine, 8 pounds of marijuana, approximately 3 ounces of oxycodone, and approximately one ounce of MDMA from the apartment.

Olvera-Salinas previously pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 9, 2022.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael V. Leeman.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

PITTSBURGH – A Philadelphia resident pleaded guilty in federal court to violating federal narcotics laws, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.

Cristobal Rosa-Robles, 51, pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin, before United States District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan.

In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that, on March 27, 2019, a Trooper with the Pennsylvania State Police stopped Mr. Rosa-Robles’ vehicle for traffic violations as he drove eastbound on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. After speaking with Mr. Rosa-Robles, the Trooper believed that he may be involved in drug trafficking, so the Trooper asked for his consent to search his vehicle. Mr. Rosa-Robles voluntarily consented to a search of his vehicle. The Trooper searched Mr. Rosa-Robles’ vehicle and discovered an aftermarket hidden compartment that contained approximately 400 bricks, or 20,000 dosage units, of a mixture of heroin; fentanyl; valeryl fentanyl, a fentanyl analogue; and methamphetamine.

Judge Ranjan scheduled sentencing for August 8, 2022. The law provides for a total sentence of not less than five years and up to 40 years of imprisonment, a fine not to exceed $5,000,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant. Mr. Rosa-Robles remains detained pending sentencing.

Assistant United States Attorney Mark V. Gurzo is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pennsylvania State Police conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Mr. Rosa-Robles.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

PITTSBURGH, Pa – A former Ohio resident has been sentenced in federal court to 87 months of imprisonment and five years of supervised release on his conviction of Conspiracy to Commit Hobbs Act Robbery, Hobbs Act Robbery, Conspiracy to Steal Firearms from a Licensed Firearm Dealer, Theft from a Licensed Firearms Dealer, Possession of Stolen Firearms, and Interstate Transport of Stolen Firearms, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.

United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab imposed the sentence on Reginald Patterson, age 24, formerly of Cleveland, Ohio.

According to information presented to the court, in December of 2017, Reginald Patterson, his brother, Rayshawn Patterson, and other conspirators from the Cleveland, Ohio, area conspired to travel to rural areas of Western Pennsylvania to burglarize Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) and transport the stolen firearms back to Cleveland, Ohio. On December 22, 2017, Reginald and Rayshawn Patterson traveled to Clarion County, Pennsylvania to attempt to locate and burglarize a gun store. However, the brothers and their co-conspirators were unsuccessful in doing so. Prior to returning to Cleveland, Reginald and Rayshawn Patterson and their co-conspirators observed a gas station with only one employee working late at night. The individuals then devised a plan to rob that gas station. The brothers participated in a robbery of the gas station in which the employee was threatened with violence, physically restrained, and brought to another area of the store. The conspirators netted approximately $300 dollars from the robbery before returning to Cleveland.

The next day on December 23, 2017, Reginald Patterson and co-conspirators returned to Western Pennsylvania and burglarized DSD Sports in Brookville, PA by smashing the front door and windows with a sledgehammer and other tools. Once inside the store, Reginald Patterson and co-conspirators stole approximately 16 firearms including 14 handguns and two assault rifles. The co-conspirators then transported the firearms back to Cleveland, Ohio. On December 29, 2017, Cleveland Police recovered two of the stolen handguns from DSD outside the home of the Patterson brothers. On January 10, 2017, agents from the Pittsburgh and Cleveland division of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives executed search warrants in Cleveland, Ohio, at residences connected to Reginald and Rayshawn Patterson and their co-conspirators. Agents recovered the suspected sledgehammer and other tools used in the burglary.

Assistant United States Attorneys Brendan T. Conway and Douglas Maloney prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

United States Attorney Chung commended the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Brookville Police Department, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Cleveland Police Department, and the Cuyahoga Sheriff’s Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Reginald Patterson.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

PITTSBURGH, PA – A former resident of suburban Pittsburgh pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of violating federal firearm and narcotics laws, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.

Maurice Miller, age 34, formerly of Churchill, pleaded guilty to two counts before United States District Judge Marilyn J. Horan.

In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Miller pleaded guilty to  participating in a conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl. Miller also pleaded guilty to an information charging him with possession with the intent to distribute 10 grams or more of acetyl fentanyl and being a felon in possession of firearm and ammunition. Miller was part of a drug trafficking organization who referred to themselves as Hustlas Don’t Sleep which distributed numerous types of illegal narcotics for a number of years, mainly in the eastern part of the City of Pittsburgh and in the bordering communities, including Penn Hills, Wilkinsburg, and Monroeville, among others. On November 19, 2019, federal agents arrested Miller at a home on Wesley Street in Wilkinsburg, and executed a search warrant at that residence, where agents located six firearms, numerous rounds of ammunition of various makes and models, and substantial quantities of acetyl fentanyl, a potent analogue of fentanyl.

Judge Horan scheduled sentencing for July 26, 2022, at 10:30 a.m. The law provides for a total sentence of not less than 10 years in prison, a fine of $10,000,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Pending sentencing, the court remanded Miller into the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

Assistant United States Attorney Brendan T. Conway is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

This prosecution is a result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles high-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten communities throughout the United States. OCDETF uses a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Abdul Aziz has pleaded guilty to one count of aiding in the preparation and filing of a false tax return. He faces a maximum penalty of three years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, Aziz helped to prepare numerous false and fraudulent income tax returns on behalf of clients in 2016. Those tax returns contained false information about clients’ income and their tax withholding status. The false entries in those returns related to residential mortgage loan repayments that the returns falsely represented as being held on their behalf by financial institutions and were claimed as income. As a result of those false entries, Aziz’s clients were able to claim and receive substantial refunds from the IRS which his clients were not lawfully entitled to receive. Those refunds exceeded $1,500,000.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jay L. Hoffer.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

By Simon Jessop and Ross Kerber

LONDON – The world is awash with money, yet spending nowhere near enough to prevent extreme climate change. As time runs out, urgent policy intervention is needed to make finance flow, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s latest report says.

Such policy could include ending fossil fuels subsidies, tax breaks for clean power or energy-efficient buildings, or underwriting the development of low-carbon projects and technologies.

“Climate policy and finance will be critical for driving transformative change,” said Emma Cox, global climate leader at consultants PwC.

The combined wisdom of 278 scientists and signed off by most of the world’s governments, the IPCC’s report Monday on mitigating carbon emissions has a singular message for public and private finance: dig deeper.

The report included stark findings on what’s needed to curb greenhouse gas emissions enough to keep global temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels.

Climate investment averaged across the globe would need to increase by up to six times from the roughly $640 billion spent in 2020, it said.

That’s a tiny fraction of global economic output, which totaled some $84 trillion in 2020, according to the World Bank.

In some parts of the world, such as Africa, the increase in funding would need to be much higher. Today, less than 5% of climate finance is spent in the world’s least-developed countries.

Governments would also need to move faster to implement climate policies at home and to deliver climate support to vulnerable countries.

“The relatively slow implementation of commitments by countries and stakeholders in the financial system to scale up climate finance reflects neither the urgent need for ambitious climate action, nor the economic rationale for ambitious climate action,” the report said.

WHO PAYS?

The question of who should pay for the world’s energy transition and climate adaptation has long dogged global climate negotiations, with the U.N. summit in Glasgow the most recent venue for failed promises.

Rich nations said just before the November conference that they would miss a 2020 deadline and instead only deliver a pledged $100 billion in climate finance per year by 2023.

While policy can be an effective way to drive more financing, other obstacles should also be addressed. Poor understanding of climate risk, for example, has held some financial institutions back from investing more.

Financing more renewable energy will be helped by the 85% drop in solar power costs and the 55% decrease for wind since 2010, the report said.

“What further wake-up call is required by our industry of the necessity of shifting to renewables?,” said Eoin Murray, head of investment at Federated Hermes Limited.

The profit potential from putting money into renewables rather than coal is already clear to investors, but other positive tradeoffs are less so, said Gavin Templeton, partner at advisory firm Pollination.

“There is huge appetite from private finance to do more,” but investors need more information on how the energy transition will impact each sector in every country, he said. Clearing up that grey area “can really unlock a significant amount of capital”.

(Reporting by Simon Jessop; Additional reporting by Ross Kerber in Boston; Editing by Katy Daigle and Barbara Lewis)

tagreuters.com2022binary_LYNXNPEI340PH-BASEIMAGE

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has finally come to grips with reality. Her “Defund the Police” movement didn’t work. Since 2020, Bowser has presided over skyrocketing crime, a surge in gun violence and a record rate of carjackings and armed robberies.

After being part of the movement that has turned the nation’s capital into a lawless urban disaster, Bowser said she will reverse course and start hiring more police officers in the city.

Instead of defunding the police, Bowser now realizes she was wrong and is refunding the police after slashing the department’s budget in 2020.

Bowser and Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Robert J. Contee III highlighted the Mayor’s $30 million investment in getting MPD back on the path to 4,000 sworn officers. Through investments in hiring, recruitment, and retention, the Mayor’s proposed budget will allow MPD to hire 347 officers in Fiscal Year 2023, including 258 new recruits, 42 residents graduating from the cadet program, and bringing back 47 retired law enforcement officers. The Mayor’s budget is based on the maximum amount of officers that the Chief has determined can be appropriately on-boarded in one year. Accounting for anticipated attrition, these efforts will allow for a small amount of net growth in FY23.

“This budget does what DC residents all over our city are asking me to do – get our Metropolitan Police Department fully staffed and resourced with the officers they need to keep our community safe. That means getting MPD on the path back to 4,000 sworn officers,” said Mayor Bowser. “As we get back to 4,000 officers, we’re focused on hiring DC residents to be DC police and we’re also focused on hiring more female officers. And our cadet program helps us do both. Combined with our investments in non-police prevention and intervention efforts, and combined with our investments in recreation opportunities for young people, this investment in MPD is going to help us build a safer, stronger DC.”

Bowser tried to turn the page on her past pledge to “defund” the Metro Police Department. In 2022, Bowser cut the police department’s budget by 6% in response to BLM “Defund the Police” movement.

“We fund the police at the level that we need it funded. And my [city] council has my current budget proposal in front of them to give every neighborhood in Washington, D.C., the police support that they need. And so my budget doesn’t fund it a penny more than we need and certainly not a penny less,” she said after slashing police funding in 2020 for the 2021 budget.

“Mayor Bowser’s budget makes critical investments to ensure the Metropolitan Police Department can return to a stable staffing position that supports the police work that our residents and communities want,” said Chief Contee. “However, policing is only one part of the citywide public safety plan, and her proposed budget continues important investments in violence prevention programs and alternatives to police responses.”

These investments in MPD are in addition to the $80 million of non-police violence prevention and intervention efforts included in the Mayor’s budget. These prevention and intervention investments build on the $59 million Building Blocks investment in FY22, and include programs like a new life coach program that will provide case management services to the approximately 250 individuals in the community who have been identified as being at the highest risk of being involved in gun violence.

Mayor Bowser and Chief Contee also held a ceremony to honor the principals of Dunbar High School, Eastern Senior High School, and Ballou Senior High School for their support of MPD’s Cadet Corps program. Since FY18, these three schools have graduated highest number of cadets and have supported the promotion of the program through Prospect Days and information sessions with students.

The Metropolitan Police Department Cadet Corps is a specialized program for seniors in high school to 24-year-old Washingtonians to serve part-time as uniformed, civilian employees. Members of the Cadet Corps earn a salary, starting at $35,637, while also taking college courses, and earn up to 60 tuition free credits toward a degree at the University of the District of Columbia Community College. Cadets spend part of their time working specific job assignments for MPD while also working toward their degree. The members are put on the track to enter MPD’s Police Officer Recruit Program at the Metropolitan Police Academy.

Today, Mayor Bowser also released MPD’s 2021 Annual Report. The MPD report shows that despite an unprecedented start to the year, ranging from a global pandemic to the insurrection at the US Capitol, MPD continued to move forward in implementing innovative policing techniques, outreach programs, and prevention initiatives.

In 2021, MPD established numerous critical units and community initiatives. In early 2021, Chief Contee announced the creation of the Carjacking Task Force, to address carjackings, auto thefts, and other vehicle crimes in DC, and the Community Focused Patrol Unit, established with a focus on communities experiencing higher rates of violent crime. Acknowledging the critical role that young people play in bettering the community, Chief Contee established the Youth and Family Engagement Bureau to connect and establish relationships with our youth in DC.

Throughout the past year, Mayor Bowser and MPD have placed emphasis on partnering with our local and federal partners to improve our intelligence sharing. One example of this was the creation of the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network Investigations Unit, a federal partnership with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the United States Attorney’s Office in DC. This intelligence-led group supports the investigations and prosecutions of non-fatal shootings, homicides, and violent gun offenders in the city.

Additionally, in 2021, Chief Contee created the “Strengthening Community Connections” initiative, which tasked each bureau with developing relationships with our community members and the diverse communities they serve. The department’s outreach led to the need for an open-dialogue with our youth, thus establishing MPD’s first “Youth Summit,” which gave the department first-hand knowledge on how our DC youth believe MPD can be more effective in addressing all disparities and inequities within our community.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

By Paul Sandle

LONDON – Thousands of holidaymakers have seen their Easter getaways disrupted or cancelled because airlines and airports do not have enough staff to meet the recovery in demand as pandemic restrictions are eased in Europe.

High rates of COVID-19 in Britain have caused staff absences for airlines and airports that were already struggling to recruit after workers deserted the industry during the pandemic.

Low-cost carrier easyJet was one of the worst affected, saying it cancelled around 60 UK flights on Tuesday and expected to pull a similar number in the coming days. It cancelled more than 200 at the weekend and another 62 on Monday.

Paul Charles, head of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said it could take at least two or three months to get through a nasty cocktail of staff shortages, COVID illness and a backlog in approving security passes for airport and airline workers.

“It’s ironic that the very desire to get people booking again, post-pandemic, is causing more difficult transport issues than those created by COVID itself,” he said.

EasyJet said it was rostering additional standby crew, but it had cancelled some flights on routes where it runs frequent services so passengers had options to rebook.

British Airways (BA) cancelled 662 flights in the week to Sunday, aviation analytics firm Cirium said, though that includes long-haul flights suspended due to sanctions and restrictions, such as on Russia and COVID-affected parts of Asia respectively. BA declined to provide a figure for cancellations.

The carrier was also hit by another IT failure on Wednesday. The number of flights cancelled due to staff sickness in recent days was in the single digits, a spokesperson said on Tuesday.

But delays in government-required checks for new staff were hampering the ramp up of flights into summer, he said, and it had already trimmed its planned increase in services by about 20 flights a day until the end of May.

ON THE GROUND

Staff shortages are a problem on the ground as well as in the air.

Queues at Manchester Airport, Britain’s third busiest after London’s Heathrow and Gatwick, snaked out of one terminal on Tuesday, and passengers complained of hours waiting at the baggage carousel.

The airport has apologised for the disruption.

“As we continue to recover from the pandemic and passenger numbers grow, security queues may be longer than usual at times,” it said on Twitter.

Britain’s Airport Operators Association said its members were increasing staff as quickly as possible.

But a combination of a tight labour market, delays in the security checks for new and returning staff as well as COVID-related absences could put some airports under strain.

“This may mean longer queues at peak travel times,” it said.

Dublin Airport warned passengers that lengthy queues were likely for weeks as it rebuilds its operation and recruits and trains new security staff. Ryanair, Europe’s largest low-cost carrier whose passenger numbers topped pre-pandemic levels last month, has called on the Irish government to use the army to deal with the delays, fearing the impact on the key Easter holiday period.

Germany’s biggest airport operator Fraport also warned passengers of Easter delays.

The group, which runs facilities in nine countries and the main airport in Frankfurt, aims to hire 1,000 worker this year and recruited about 300 in January-March, a spokesperson said.

(Reporting by Paul Sandle in London, Padraic Halpin in Dublin and Zuzanna Szymanska in Berlin; Editing by Mark Potter)

tagreuters.com2022binary_LYNXNPEI340P9-BASEIMAGE

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

(Reuters) – Emerging markets suffered their first portfolio outflows in a year in March, driven by investors ditching Chinese assets and growing anxiety over recent geopolitical events, a report by the Institute of International Finance (IIF) showed on Tuesday.

Foreign net portfolio outflows for emerging markets came to $9.8 billion in March, IIF data showed, following a $13.3 billion inflow in February. Developing stocks lost $6.7 billion, while bonds saw $3.1 billion depart.

IIF considered China outflows of $11.2 billion in bonds and $6.3 billion in stocks an “unprecedented dynamic that suggests a market rotation” away from assets of the world’s second-largest economy. This is the first time China assets have seen outflows in equities since September 2020.

“While it is premature to draw any definitive conclusions, the timing of China outflows suggests foreign investors may be reevaluating their exposure and a rotation in preferences could start to take form,” said Jonathan Fortun, an IIF economist, in the statement.

“Overall, the first quarter of the year has seen investors being more selective,” he added, as “higher risk sensitivity” mounts due to tighter monetary conditions and rising inflation.

Emerging markets ex-China saw net inflows of $8.2 billion coming to debt and a marginal outflow of less than $400 million in equities. The March report didn’t include specific figures for Russia.

Regionally, Latin America saw a net inflow of $10.8 billion compared with $7.7 billion in February and a $5.7 billion outflow in March 2021. Data shows this is the biggest inflow for the region since July.

“Moving forward we see greater volatility on flows dynamics, as some countries have bottomed up and could potentially benefit from higher commodity prices but may also be greatly exposed to risk factors.”

(Reporting by Jorgelina do Rosario; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

tagreuters.com2022binary_LYNXNPEI340P4-BASEIMAGE

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

WATERBURY, CT – The Waterbury Police Department reported seven police officers were injured and eight police cars were damaged while 25-year-old fugitive Hannah Casperson tried to evade arrest.

Casperson was wanted for being the getaway driver in a string of car break-ins around Waterbury.

Officers approached Casperson in her Hummer but she immediately put the car into gear and drove through a police cruiser while at least one officer had his gun drawn and pointed at her.

The incident took place at 8:45 am on Sunday in the area of Rutledge and East Main Street. She then fled west on I-84.

During her attempt to elude police, she crashed into a total of 8 police vehicles. The chase ended in Monroe when she lost control of the Hummer on Wheeler Road, striking a telephone pole.

She was arrested and transported to the hospital.

Police issued the following statement:

On 4-3-22 at 8:43 AM, WPD received information of the location of a vehicle and female suspect wanted in connection with recent criminal activity. Officers responded to the area of Rutledge ST and East Main ST and located a white Hummer with a female occupant, identified as “Hannah Casperson” (25 Years Old).

Officers attempted to make contact with Casperson who was in the driver’s seat of the vehicle as she then accelerated her vehicle colliding with the police cruiser before fleeing the area and striking another police cruiser at Brass Mill Drive and East Main before entering onto interstate 1-84 westbound.

Casperson later lost control of the vehicle and struck a telephone pole in the area of Wheeler Rd and Monroe Turnpike (Route 111) in Monroe, CT. WPD officers took Casperson into police custody at this location and she was transported by ambulance to ST. Vincent’s Hospital in Bridgeport. Casperson has multiple outstanding warrants and additional charges pending. This incident is an active investigation which involves multiple agencies.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

By Julie Gordon

OTTAWA -Canada’s exports rose 2.8% in February to a record high, driven mostly by energy products, while imports climbed 3.9% from the previous month, data from Statistics Canada showed on Tuesday, with economists anticipating more gains for exports ahead.

The country’s trade surplus with the world narrowed to C$2.66 billion ($2.14 billion), below analyst forecasts of C$2.9 billion. But exports came in above expectations at C$58.75 billion, with imports at C$56.08 billion.

Statscan also said border blockades in February by anti-vaccine mandate protesters had little impact on overall trade activity, with most road shipments rerouted.

“Canada’s trade balance narrowed slightly in February as imports recovered from the previous month’s weakness. However, the bigger story is the recent string of surpluses supported by strength in energy prices,” Shelly Kaushik, an economist at BMO Economics, said in a note.

“Looking ahead, a further surge in commodity prices will continue to buoy exports in March.”

Energy exports rose 7.8% to a record high, making up more than two-thirds of the total increase, while exports of non-energy products were up 1.2%. In volume terms, exports were up 0.6%.

“Exports of crude oil contributed the most to the growth in February 2022, largely due to higher prices,” Statscan said.

Oil prices were climbing even before Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 and have since surged. Canada is the world’s fourth-largest producer of oil.

The crisis also has pushed up imports, with Canada’s imports of fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals hitting a record high. Statscan pointed to lower production in China and quotas on fertilizer exports from Russia as contributing factors.

“These events create uncertainty about the availability and the cost of these products, resulting in atypical movements for Canadian fertilizer imports,” it said.

With imports expected to drop back in March and commodity exports to benefit from rising prices, the surplus is likely to widen in coming months, analysts said.

“By our estimates, the terms of trade is now the most favorable on record and points to an improvement in the goods trade surplus to as high as C$6.0 billion,” Stephen Brown, senior Canada economist at Capital Economics, said in a note.

“It remains to be seen how much of that extra income will find its way into the rest of the economy,” he added.

The Canadian dollar was trading 0.6% higher at 1.2410 to the greenback, or 80.58 U.S. cents.

(Reporting by Julie Gordon in Ottawa; additional reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto; editing by Paul Simao and Jonathan Oatis)

tagreuters.com2022binary_LYNXNPEI340N8-BASEIMAGE

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

WASHINGTON – U.S. services industry activity picked up in March, boosted by the rolling back of pandemic restrictions, but businesses continued to face higher costs as supply strains persisted.

The Institute for Supply Management said on Tuesday its non-manufacturing activity index rebounded to a reading of 58.3 last month from a one-year low of 56.5 in February. That ended three straight months of declines in the index and also signaled a shift in spending back to services from goods.

COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted across the country following a massive decline in coronavirus infections, unleashing pent-up demand for services like airline travel and dining out. The government reported last week that consumer spending on services increased by the most in seven months in February, while goods outlays declined.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the non-manufacturing index rising to 58.4. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the services sector, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity.

The ISM’s measure of new orders received by services businesses rebounded to a reading of 60.1 from a 12-month low of 56.1 in February.

Its services industry employment gauge jumped to 54.0 after dropping to a 1-1/2-year low of 48.5 February, which also was the first contraction in the sub-index since January 2021.

The strong demand for labor was confirmed by March’s employment report on Friday, which showed nonfarm payrolls increased by 431,000 jobs last month.

Despite the increase in hiring, services industries made little headway in reducing the backlog of unfinished work, indicating that shortages remained binding.

Russia’s war against Ukraine is worsening global supply constraints. Prices for commodities like oil and wheat have surged since the Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.

The ISM survey’s measure of order backlogs at services businesses edged up to 64.5 last month after surging to 64.2 in February. Its gauge of supplier deliveries slipped to a still-high reading of 63.4 from 66.2 in February. A reading above 50 indicates slower deliveries.

That meant services inflation pushed higher. The survey’s measure of prices paid by services industries increased to 83.8 from 83.1 in February, indicating that inflation could remain uncomfortably high and elicit an aggressive response from the Federal Reserve.

The U.S. central bank last month raised its policy interest rate by 25 basis points, the first hike in more than three years. Policymakers have been ratcheting up their hawkish rhetoric, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell saying the U.S. central bank must move “expeditiously” to hike rates and possibly “more aggressively” to keep high inflation from becoming entrenched.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

tagreuters.com2022binary_LYNXNPEI340P2-BASEIMAGE

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

You can't access this website

Shore News Network provides free news to users. No paywalls. No subscriptions. Please support us by disabling ad blocker or using a different browser and trying again.