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Blinken to press China over its support for Russian defense base
By Simon Lewis and Michael Martina
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. is prepared to act against Chinese companies supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine, a senior U.S. official told reporters, highlighting it as an issue Secretary of State Antony Blinken will raise on his trip to China next week.
U.S. officials have warned in increasingly stark terms about what they say is China’s assistance in retooling and resupplying Russia’s defense industrial base after early setbacks in its invasion of Ukraine, saying that continued support is a top risk to stable relations between Washington and Beijing.
Briefing reporters ahead of Blinken’s planned visit to Shanghai and Beijing from April 24-26, the senior State Department official said U.S.-China relations were “in a different place” than a year ago, when ties had sunk to a historic low point after the U.S. downed a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon.
But calmer relations did not mean the U.S. would sacrifice its capacity to strengthen alliances and defend its interests, the official said.
“We’re prepared to take steps when we believe necessary against firms that … severely undermine security in both Ukraine and Europe,” the official said when asked what leverage Washington had to convince Beijing to stop aiding the Russian war effort.
“We’ve demonstrated our willingness to do so regarding firms from a number of countries, not just China,” the official said, noting that Russia had bolstered its weapons-producing capacity with China’s help.
“We will express our intent to have China curtail that support,” the official said.
Blinken’s visit will be his first to China since June, when the United States was trying to restore high-level engagements that Beijing began curtailing after a 2022 trip by then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, the democratically governed island China claims as its territory.
The U.S. has been bracing for Taiwan’s May 20 presidential inauguration and will urge restraint by Beijing even as China’s military has ramped up activity near the island.
“You can expect that the Secretary will underscore both in private and public America’s abiding interest in maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” the official said.
Taiwan’s government rejects China’s sovereignty claims, and the U.S. is the island’s most important international backer despite maintaining only unofficial ties.
Blinken will also raise the crisis in the Middle East, China’s provocations in the South China Sea, the crisis in Myanmar and North Korea’s “threatening rhetoric and reckless actions,” the official said, downplaying the prospect of breakthroughs on any of the issues.
Senior State Department officials – including its top narcotics official Todd Robinson – will join the trip. They are expected to discuss efforts to curb the flow of deadly fentanyl chemicals from China to the U.S.
The U.S. and China launched a joint counter-narcotics working group in January. But a U.S. congressional committee said this week that China’s government was directly subsidizing production of illicit fentanyl precursors for sale abroad and fueling the U.S. opioid crisis.
The official did not answer a question on the alleged subsidies.
China says it is cracking down on fentanyl and precursor chemicals, but it also says the U.S. crisis is a problem of demand, not supply.
Critics in Washington argue the Biden administration has not put enough pressure on Beijing over fentanyl-related substances, which are the leading cause drug of overdoses in the United States.
By Dan Catchpole, Allison Lampert
(Reuters) -Boeing will lay off more than 2,200 workers in the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon, according to filings posted on Monday, as part of the debt-heavy U.S. planemaker’s plan to cut 17,000 jobs, or 10% of its global workforce.
The aerospace giant started telling affected U.S. workers on Wednesday that they will stay on Boeing (NYSE:)’s payroll until Jan. 17, to comply with federal requirements to notify employees at least 60 days prior to ending their employment.
News that Boeing would send out the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) in mid-November was widely expected. Another round is expected in December.
In October, Boeing’s new CEO Kelly Ortberg said the company does not intend to “take people off production or out of the engineering labs.” Industry watchers have been waiting for the WARNs for some indication of how the layoffs could affect workers in the company’s key manufacturing hubs.
However, several hundred engineers and production workers were among those who received pink slips last week.
The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) said 438 of the union’s members at Boeing received layoff notices last week, including 218 engineers and 220 technicians.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) District Lodge 837 in St. Louis said Boeing sent notices to 111 members, most of whom made wing components for the 777X.
Who is being laid off seems to vary between sections within Boeing, several non-union workers who received WARNs told Reuters.
One engineer in Boeing Defense, Space & Security said all but two or three members of his 12-person team were let go, while another said she was the only one of her roughly 20-person team to get a WARN. Both said they provide vital support for production and design engineers, but they are not considered to work in production.
Engineers interviewed by Reuters said cutting them means more work for those who remain. However, a Boeing retiree-turned-contractor who was also let go said, “This is probably an opportunity to look around and see who’s not doing anything, who’s dead weight. There are a lot of people like that around Boeing, who are not being productive, who are just not essential.”
The notices come as Boeing tries to restart production of its strongest-selling 737 MAX, after a weeks-long strike by more than 33,000 U.S. West Coast workers halted output of most of its commercial jets.
Boeing declined further comment on Monday.
Boeing shares were up 2.7% at $143.90 on Monday afternoon.
MUSKOGEE, Okla. – Core Scientific Inc. (NASDAQ: CORZ), a company specializing in digital infrastructure for high-performance computing and bitcoin mining, has initiated construction on a new 100-megawatt data center. The facility is set to power CoreWeave’s NVIDIA (NASDAQ:) GPUs for a confidential client and is expected to become operational in 2026.
The Muskogee data center is designed to provide around 70 megawatts of critical IT load to support the latest NVIDIA GPUs, with the remaining 30 megawatts allocated for ancillary systems. This center is part of a larger agreement with CoreWeave, involving a total of 500 megawatts of IT load contracted from Core Scientific for high-performance computing (HPC) hosting operations. The contract’s potential value stands at approximately $8.7 billion over its 12-year span, with options for two additional five-year periods.
Adam Sullivan, CEO of Core Scientific, emphasized the significance of the project for Muskogee, highlighting the collaborative efforts of Port Muskogee’s team, Mayor Patrick Cale, and the state of Oklahoma. Their collective support has been instrumental in establishing Muskogee as a nexus for advanced AI technology, promising economic growth and job creation for the area.
The data center is anticipated to bring substantial economic benefits to Muskogee, with a projected $182 million net impact on the local economy. The facility is expected to support 150 jobs with average salaries surpassing $65,000. The project also promises significant tax revenue, with over $12 million projected in property and sales taxes which will contribute to community development.
Kimbra Scott, Executive Director of Port Muskogee, expressed pride in welcoming Core Scientific and CoreWeave to the community. The partnership is seen as a commitment to economic advancement, with more than $4 billion in capital investment and a considerable net benefit to the local economy over the project’s lifetime.
Core Scientific is a leader in providing dedicated facilities for digital asset mining and digital infrastructure services to third-party customers. The company currently operates eight data centers across various states and is in the process of converting some of these facilities to support AI-related workloads under the new contracts.
This news is based on a press release statement from Core Scientific Inc. and contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from projected outcomes.
In other recent news, Core Scientific has been making significant strides following its post-bankruptcy transformation. Jefferies, a global investment banking firm, has given the company a “Buy” rating, acknowledging Core Scientific’s successful pivot from mining to building artificial intelligence-focused data centers. This shift has been attributed to the company’s skilled data center development team and its strategic utilization of power resources.
In addition to Jefferies, other firms such as Canaccord Genuity and B.Riley have also given Core Scientific a “Buy” rating, reflecting confidence in the company’s future business prospects. Canaccord has even raised its price target for the company to $17.00, highlighting Core Scientific’s successful contract expansion with CoreWeave. This contract is expected to generate an 80% contribution-like margin for Core Scientific and add approximately $2.0 billion to its projected cumulative revenue over a 12-year period.
Core Scientific’s recent developments also include the mining of 345 bitcoins in September and the sale of 370 bitcoins, generating sales proceeds of approximately $22.2 million. However, the company has also announced that CFO Denise Sterling is set to step down by May 2025, and a search for her successor has been initiated. Despite this change, Core Scientific continues to progress, with analysts from Cantor Fitzgerald and H.C. Wainwright giving the company positive ratings based on its recent developments.
InvestingPro Insights
Core Scientific Inc.’s (NASDAQ: CORZ) ambitious data center project in Muskogee aligns with its recent financial performance and market position. According to InvestingPro data, the company’s market capitalization stands at $4.42 billion, reflecting investor confidence in its growth strategy.
The company’s revenue growth of 15.77% over the last twelve months as of Q3 2024 suggests a solid foundation for expansion projects like the Muskogee data center. Moreover, Core Scientific’s EBITDA growth of 200.66% over the same period indicates strong operational efficiency, which will be crucial for managing large-scale projects.
InvestingPro Tips highlight that Core Scientific operates with a moderate level of debt, which is favorable for financing major initiatives such as the new data center. Additionally, the company’s liquid assets exceed short-term obligations, providing financial flexibility to support its growth plans.
The stock has shown remarkable performance, with a 328.42% price return over the last six months and a 360.17% return over the past year. This strong market performance could potentially facilitate easier access to capital for future expansions.
It’s worth noting that InvestingPro offers 15 additional tips for Core Scientific, providing investors with a comprehensive analysis of the company’s prospects. These insights could be particularly valuable given the scale and long-term nature of the Muskogee project.
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.
LONDON (Reuters) – Ex-Barclays CEO Jes Staley gave misleading answers to Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority about his dealings with Jeffrey Epstein when it was investigating his relationship with the disgraced financier, the FCA’s lawyers alleged on Monday.
The FCA said in October 2023 that it intended to ban Staley from senior roles and fine him 1.8 million pounds ($2.27 million) in relation to a letter sent by Barclays (LON:) to the financial watchdog in 2019.
Staley said then that he was “very disappointed” with the FCA decision, which he is now challenging. His appeal is due to be heard by London’s Upper Tribunal in March next year.
The watchdog found Staley, a former JP Morgan executive, had “recklessly approved” the letter, which the FCA said contained two misleading statements, about his relationship with Epstein and their last contact.
In documents for a preliminary hearing on Monday, the FCA said that Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, who was FCA chief executive between 2016 and 2020, and Barclays chairman Nigel Higgins had both given witness statements for the case.
The FCA also argued in court on Monday that material from a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Virgin Islands against JP Morgan suggested Staley had misled the FCA in interviews and in his response to the tribunal case.
Staley’s lawyers said that the FCA is attempting to present an entirely new case and allowing the British regulator to amend its case would be unfair.
Last year, JP Morgan agreed to pay $75 million to settle the U.S. Virgin Islands’ claim that the bank aided in Epstein’s sex trafficking. It also reached a confidential settlement with Staley, who JP Morgan blamed for keeping him as a client.
Epstein killed himself in a New York jail in 2019, while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
The FCA’s lawyer Leigh-Ann Mulcahy said in court documents that, based on evidence given in the U.S. lawsuit, Staley had “dishonestly or recklessly” misled the watchdog in three interviews between 2019 and 2021.
Staley told the FCA that “I’d had zero contact, any relationship at all, with Jeffrey” while he was at Barclays, where he was chief executive from December 2015 until 2021.
Judge Tim Herrington will give his ruling on whether the FCA can amend its case at a later date.
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