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[1/8] People walk along the beach in Pacific Beach area as Tropical Storm Hilary approaches San Diego, California, U.S., August 20, 2023. Hilary made landfall on Sunday morning over the northern parts of the Baja California peninsula, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its latest advisory. It has been seven decades since the last tropical storm made landfall in California. MEXICO EVACUATIONSIn Mexico, nearly 1,900 people have been evacuated to shelters in the Baja California peninsula, according to the country's army. Around the coastal town of Mulege, on the eastern side of the Baja California peninsula, one person died after his family was swept away while crossing a stream on Saturday.

Persons: Hilary, Sandy Huffaker, Zack Taylor, Taylor, It's, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, Kristin Crowley, Drazen Jorgic, Lizbeth Diaz, Bharat Govind Gautam, Rich McKay, Brendan O'Brien, Frances Kerry, Matthew Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, MEXICO CITY, U.S, National Weather Service, Center, National Hurricane Center, NHC, Los Angeles Mayor, Los Angeles Fire Department, Schools, Mexico's Navy, San Diego International, Major League Baseball's, Dodgers, Angels, Los Angeles FC, LA Galaxy, Thomson Locations: Pacific Beach, San Diego , California, U.S, MEXICO, Baja California, Mexico, United States, College Park , Maryland, Palm Springs , California, Southern California, Southern Nevada, Miami, Los, California, Tijuana, San Diego, Mulege, Major League Baseball's Los Angeles, Mexico City, Bengaluru, Atlanta, Chicago

U.S. Dollar and Chinese Yuan banknotes are seen in this illustration picture taken June 14, 2022. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) set a much stronger-than-expected daily fixing, lifting the yuan from a 9-month low hit on Thursday. The yuan weakened against the dollar to 7.3060 in offshore trading after the PBOC set the official mid-point at 7.2006, more than 1,000 pips stronger than Reuters' estimate. China's economic troubles have deepened, with property developer China Evergrande (3333.HK) seeking Chapter 15 protection in a U.S. bankruptcy court. The Japanese yen strengthened 0.38% versus the greenback at 145.29 per dollar after reaching a nine-month low of 146.56 on Thursday.

Persons: Florence Lo, Joe Manimbo, it's, we've, Joseph Trevisani, that's, Hannah Lang, Joice Alves, Kevin Buckland, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, People's Bank of China, Reuters, China, HK, U.S, Federal, Thomson Locations: U.S, Convera, China, Washington, London, Tokyo

The U.S. dollar index was 0.097% higher on the day at 103.56, after hitting a two-month high of 103.59. The greenback has drawn support from a recent run of U.S. economic data reinforcing the view that interest rates will remain high for some time. The Australian dollar was last 0.44% lower at $0.64, having tumbled more than 0.9% to a trough of $0.6365 following the employment data release. The Norwegian crown rose from six-week lows against the dollar and the euro on Thursday after Norges Bank raised interest rates, as expected, and said it was likely to hike again in September. Against the dollar , the Norwegian crown was last up 0.22% to 10.60, having hit 10.66 earlier in the session.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Adam Button, it's, Kathy Lien, Sterling, BoE, Hannah Lang, Joice Alves, Rae Wee, Angus MacSwan, Kirsten Donovan, Alexandra Hudson, Sandra Maler Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Federal Reserve, Investors, U.S, Fed, Bank of Japan, Zealand, Norges Bank, Bank of England, Thomson Locations: Norwegian, Washington, London, Singapore

☆ New photo from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope reveals the colors of Earendel, the farthest star ever detected
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Earendel was first discovered by the Hubble Space Telescope last year. Webb is 100 times more powerful than Hubble, though, and it captured previously unseen colors of the distant star. Those colors reveal that being the farthest star we've ever detected does not make Earendel lonely — scientists believe it has a companion star beside it. Stars as massive as Earendel do typically have companions, but Hubble was unable to detect one for Earendel. Thanks to the Webb Telescope's powerful infrared vision, though, scientists believe they can see, for the first time, a "cooler, redder companion star" beside Earendel.

Persons: James Webb, Earendel, Coe, Welch, NASA’s, Webb, Hubble, Webb's Organizations: Service, James Webb Space, Hubble, NASA, ESA, CSA, Johns Hopkins University, Space Flight, University of Maryland, College Locations: Wall, Silicon, Earendel

Aug 8 (Reuters) - State banks that are a member of the U.S. Federal Reserve system should obtain a written supervisory nonobjection from the Fed before issuing, holding or transacting in dollar tokens used to facilitate payments, such as stablecoins, the central bank said in a new supervisory letter Tuesday. The Fed also said it is creating a new supervisory program to oversee the activities of the banks it supervises related to cryptocurrency, blockchain technology and tech-driven nonbank partnerships, with the aim of complementing its existing supervisory process and strengthening the oversight of tech-driven activities. Prior attempts by major mainstream companies to launch stablecoins have met fierce opposition from financial regulators and policymakers. For banks to receive a written nonobjection to be able to engage with stabelcoins, banks should demonstrate appropriate risk management, including having systems in place to identify and monitor any potential risks, including cybersecurity and illicit finance threats, according to the Fed. After receiving a written nonobjection, state member banks engaging in dollar token-related activities will continue to be subject to supervisory review as well as heightened monitoring of those activities, the Fed said.

Persons: Hannah Lang, Chris Reese, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: U.S . Federal, Federal Reserve, PayPal, ., Fed, Thomson Locations: Washington

July 28 (Reuters) - U.S. banks should incorporate the Federal Reserve's emergency lending facility known as the "discount window" as part of their contingency funding plans, federal banking regulators said in updated guidance on Friday. The discount window, a key Fed facility long associated with providing emergency loans to banks, is "an important tool" banks can use to manage liquidity risk, bank regulators including the Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp said in an updated interagency policy statement. The bank runs earlier this year that forced regulators to shut down Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in mid-March "underscored the importance of liquidity risk management and contingency funding planning," the agencies said. The updated guidance comes after Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan said in May that banks should be prepared to borrow regularly from the Fed's discount window, particularly after the March bank failures demonstrated the importance of effective liquidity risk management. The bank regulators also said that financial institutions should establish and maintain operational readiness to use the discount window, including conducting periodic small value transactions.

Persons: Lorie Logan, Hannah Lang, Dan Burns, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, Bank, Signature Bank, Dallas, Thomson Locations: Washington

July 28 (Reuters) - U.S. banks should incorporate the Federal Reserve's emergency lending facility known as the "discount window" as part of their contingency funding plans, federal banking regulators said in updated guidance on Friday. The discount window is "an important tool" banks can use to manage liquidity risk, bank regulators including the Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp said in an updated interagency policy statement. Bank runs in mid-March that forced regulators to shut down Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank "underscored the importance of liquidity risk management and contingency funding planning," the agencies said. "Banks are now working to see that they are ready to use the discount window, and we are strongly encouraging them to do that," he said. Reuters GraphicsThe guidance also said financial institutions should establish and maintain operational readiness to use the discount window, including conducting periodic small value transactions.

Persons: Lorie Logan, Jerome Powell, Banks, Hannah Lang, Dan Burns, Marguerita Choy, Richard Chang Organizations: Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, Bank, Signature, Dallas, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Washington

The crypto industry has been in the regulatory crosshairs since investors were burned last year by sudden collapses of Celsius Network, Voyager Digital, FTX and other companies. A handful of Democrats, including Reps. Jim Himes and Ritchie Torres, joined committee Republicans in voting for the bill. The bill has galvanized many in the crypto industry, who say that with Democrats' support, the bill could have a shot in the Senate. But some Democrats, including Representative Maxine Waters, the top Democrat on the Financial Services committee, fiercely oppose the bill. "This bill heeds the calls from the crypto industry while disregarding the views of the administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission and consumer and investor advocates," she said.

Persons: Jim Himes, Ritchie Torres, Patrick McHenry, we've, Kristin Smith, Miller Whitehouse, Levine, Maxine Waters, Waters, Sherrod Brown, Hannah Lang, Matthew Lewis, Mark Porter, Diane Craft Organizations: Capitol, Voyager, House Financial, Trading, Securities, Exchange, Republicans, Agriculture, Financial Services, Blockchain Association, DeFi, Securities and Exchange Commission, Democratic, Banking, SEC, Politico, Thomson Locations: Singapore, Australia, United States, McHenry, Washington

But Representative Patrick McHenry, the chair of the committee, said on Thursday at the outset of a hearing that he had not reached a deal with Representative Maxine Waters, the committee's top Democrat. "We had high hopes 48 hours ago that we were going to come to a conclusion and then the White House reviewed where we were and disagreed," said McHenry. The stalemate comes just a day after the committee advanced a bipartisan bill that aims to develop a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and clarify when a token is a security or a commodity. A handful of House Democrats, including Jim Himes and Ritchie Torres, joined committee Republicans in voting for that bill, which is also being considered by the House Agriculture Committee on Thursday. Reporting by Hannah Lang in Washington; Editing by Bill BerkrotOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Patrick McHenry, Maxine Waters, McHenry, Jim Himes, Ritchie Torres, Hannah Lang, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Republican, Democrat, U.S . House Financial, ., U.S . Federal, White House, Democrats, Republicans, House, Thomson Locations: Washington

The crypto industry has been in the regulatory crosshairs since investors were burned last year by sudden collapses of Celsius Network, Voyager Digital, FTX and other companies. The markups - where legislation is debated and brought to a vote, paving the way for a full vote by the House of Representatives - are the first time crypto regulatory bills will be put to a vote in Congress, a victory for crypto lobbyists that have pushed lawmakers to provide regulatory clarity for the industry. His committee is expected to consider that bill during a markup on Wednesday, while the House Agriculture Committee will consider the same bill on Thursday. The bill has galvanized many in the crypto industry, who say that with Democrats' support, the bill could have a shot in the Senate. That effort escalated last month when the SEC sued crypto exchanges Coinbase (COIN.O) and Binance for failing to register some crypto tokens.

Persons: we've, Kristin Smith, Sherrod Brown, Patrick McHenry, McHenry, Miller Whitehouse, Levine, Maxine Waters, Waters, Hannah Lang, Matthew Lewis, Mark Porter Organizations: Capitol, Voyager, Financial, U.S ., Representatives, Blockchain Association, Democratic, Banking, Trading, Securities, Exchange, DeFi, SEC, Financial Services, Securities and Exchange Commission, Politico, Thomson Locations: Singapore, Australia, United States, McHenry, Washington

The crypto industry has been in the regulatory crosshairs since investors were burned last year by sudden collapses of Celsius Network, Voyager Digital, FTX and other companies. Still, it remains to be seen if the bills will garner any Democratic support, a factor seen by many as crucial to the bills' ultimate chances of becoming law. His committee is expected to consider that bill during a markup on Wednesday, while the House Agriculture Committee will consider the same bill on Thursday. The bill has galvanized many in the crypto industry, who say that with Democrats' support, the bill could have a shot in the Senate. That effort escalated last month when the SEC sued crypto exchanges Coinbase (COIN.O) and Binance for failing to register some crypto tokens.

Persons: we've, Kristin Smith, Sherrod Brown, Patrick McHenry, Miller Whitehouse, Levine, Maxine Waters, Waters, McHenry, Hannah Lang, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Capitol, Voyager, Financial, U.S ., Representatives, Blockchain Association, Democratic, Banking, Trading, Securities, Exchange, DeFi, SEC, Financial Services, Politico, Thomson Locations: Washington

☆ Why Gen Z, Millennials, Boomers, and Gen X Fight: Generational Conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Kelli María Korducki | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

Gen Z is soft, millennials are embarrassing, boomers are evil, and no one has thought about Gen X in years. But late this spring, Pew announced it would no longer use generational labels such as millennial and Gen Z in its research. By and large, Cohen shares Duffy's view that generational labels make it tough for both experts and laypeople to distinguish between generational traits and universal, or multifactorial, occurrences. To its credit, Pew has been transparent in acknowledging how the use of generational labels may have tilted its analyses. Pew "does believe generational research can be a useful tool in the right context," Parker told me.

Persons: Gen X, Pew, Kim Parker, Parker, Obama, Millennials, boomers, Gen Zers, Xers, —, Karl Mannheim, Louis Menand, Menand, Andrew M, Lindner, Sophia Stelboum, Azizul Hakim, William Strauss, Neil Howe, Strauss, Howe's, Baby Boomer, Portia, Zers, Gen Xers, Philip N, Cohen, it's, Bobby Duffy, Duffy, Stelboum, Hakim, Michael Dimock, Kelli María Korducki Organizations: Pew Research Center, Pew, Skidmore College, University of Maryland, College, Washington, King's College London Locations: Mannheim, New York City

The service will compete with private sector real-time payments systems, including The Clearing House's RTP network, and was initially opposed by big banks who said it was redundant. Unlike peer-to-peer payments services like Venmo or PayPal, which act as intermediaries between banks, payments made via FedNow will settle directly in central bank accounts. The Fed also operates a real-time payments system called FedWire, but that's reserved for large-scale, mostly corporate payments and is only operational during business hours. While the new FedNow system is for everyone, it's likely to benefit consumers and small businesses the most, analysts have said. But Fed officials have downplayed those concerns, arguing that banks have tools available to mitigate a wave of outflows.

Persons: JPMorgan Chase, FedNow, Anu Somani, it's, ”, Carl Slabicki, Lance Noggle, Hannah Lang, Michelle Price, Andrea Ricci Organizations: U.S . Federal, European Union, JPMorgan, Bank of New York Mellon, US Bancorp, RTP, U.S . Bank, PayPal, Fed, Mellon’s Treasury Services, “, Independent Community Bankers of, Thomson Locations: United Kingdom, India, Brazil, FedNow, Independent Community Bankers of America, Silicon, Washington

July 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has accepted applications to create spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds from six firms including BlackRock (BLK.N) for review, the first step in the agency's process for deciding whether or not to approve the latest round of proposals. The SEC also formally acknowledged applications from Bitwise, VanEck, WisdomTree (WT.N), Fidelity and Invesco (IVZ.N) for similar spot bitcoin ETFs, with those proposals appearing on the Federal Register Tuesday and Wednesday. The SEC has previously rejected dozens of spot bitcoin ETF applications, saying the proposals did not meet anti-fraud and investor protection standards. The first bitcoin futures ETF was approved in October 2021, helping send the volatile bitcoin to an all-time high of $69,000 in November 2021. Spot ETFs directly track the price of the cryptocurrency, while futures-based ETFs follow the price of bitcoin futures contracts.

Persons: Hannah Lang, Andrea Ricci Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, BlackRock, Fidelity, Federal Register, Nasdaq, Coinbase, CBOE Global, Thomson Locations: U.S, Washington

They are a key source of financing for some fintech lenders, which have fewer funding options than banks. As the end of pandemic stimulus and rising inflation led delinquency rates to normalize, investors shunned the fintech ABS market late last year. Fintechs like Upstart (UPST.O), Affirm (AFRM.O) and OneMain Financial (OMF.N) say they are boosting credit quality, in another example of how lenders have been pulling back amid uncertainty over the economic outlook. Still, analysts say it is a sign the fintech ABS market is recovering. For fintech loans to borrowers with weighted average credit scores between 660 and 710, annualized net losses rose by 1.88% month-over-month to 16.61%.

Persons: Sanjay Datta, Datta, Max Levchin, Doug Schulman, OneMain, Finsight, Robert Wildhack, Kroll, Hannah Lang, Matt Tracy, Josie Kao Organizations: Wall Street, OneMain, AAA, Autonomous Research, Kroll Bond Rating Agency, Thomson Locations: Washington

It has been a heat wave that has given pause to many Phoenix residents, even to summer-tested veterans like Shields, who says he's been avoiding news reports about it. REUTERS/Liliana Salgado/File PhotoDespite the trend toward more very hot days, Phoenix residents have tended to shrug off the heat, he said. Phoenix is getting some of the worst of it, as the air mass is centered right over the Southwest. "This is not your typical summer heat." Asphalt temperatures can reach 160 degrees F (71 C) in the summer, the Arizona Humane Society wrote on its blog.

Persons: Michael Shields, Shields, he's, David Hondula, Adam Waltz, Waltz, Liliana Salgado, Zack Taylor, Taylor, Phoenix, It's, Emily Luberto, Cooper Burton, Sharon Bernstein, Rachel Nostrant, Rich McKay, Aurora Ellis, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: National Weather Service, Phoenix, Phoenix Parks, REUTERS, Center, Northern Arizona University, Arizona Humane Society, Thomson Locations: Phoenix, Arizona, Maricopa, Piestewa, Phoenix , Arizona, U.S, Oregon, West Coast, Texas, Alabama, College Park , Maryland, Vegas, Mesa, Flagstaff

It has been a heat wave that has given pause to many Phoenix residents, even to summer-tested veterans like Shields, who says he's been avoiding news reports about it. By 2050, they estimated, Phoenix residents are expected to see an average of 44 days per year over that temperature. REUTERS/Liliana SalgadoDespite the trend toward more very hot days, Phoenix residents have tended to shrug off the heat, he said. "This is not your typical summer heat." Asphalt temperatures can reach 160 degrees F (71 C) in the summer, the Arizona Humane Society wrote on its blog.

☆ The sun’s activity is peaking sooner than expected
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Every 11 years or so, the sun experiences periods of low and high solar activity, which is associated with the amount of sunspots on its surface. Over the course of a solar cycle, the sun will transition from a calm to an intense and active period. During the peak of activity, called solar maximum, the sun’s magnetic poles flip. A solar activity spikeThe current solar cycle, known as Solar Cycle 25, has been full of activity, more so than expected. The solar storms generated by the sun can affect electric power grids, GPS and aviation, and satellites in low-Earth orbit.

Persons: ”, Mark Miesch, “, Alex Young, ” Miesch, Scott McIntosh, Robert Leamon, Leamon, Miesch, Young, auroras, Bill Murtagh, ” Murtagh, NASA’s Parker, “ We’ve Organizations: CNN, National Oceanic, Prediction, NASA's Solar Dynamics, NASA, SpaceX, Heliophysics, Goddard Space Flight, GPS, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Goddard Planetary Heliophysics, University of Maryland, College Park, American University, Dynamics, Geological Survey, Probe Locations: Boulder , Colorado, Greenbelt , Maryland, Baltimore County, New Mexico , Missouri, North Carolina, California, United States, England, United Kingdom, Alaska, Canada, Iceland, Norway, Scandinavia, Michigan, Upper Midwest, Pacific, Quebec

Coinbase (COIN.O) and Binance.US, two of the largest crypto exchanges by market share among those operating in America, have lost ground this year. Bitstamp's global market share among exchanges operating in the U.S. has risen to about 9%. Coinbase and LMAX declined to comment on the data, while Binance.US - the American affiliate of the world's largest crypto exchange - didn't respond to a request for comment. It may not be that simple for hungry challengers to grab market share, according to market players. In years gone by, crypto exchanges could swiftly gobble up business by offering access to a swathe of coins.

Persons: Sam Bankman, FTX, Ravi Doshi, Guy Hirsch, Bobby Zagotta, Wade Guenther, Doshi, Hannah Lang, Michelle Price Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, LMAX, Genesis, Bitstamp, Reuters Graphics, Wilshire, Thomson, Reuters Locations: United States, America, Binance.US, U.S, Bitstamp USA, solana, Washington

The lending unit of crypto firm Genesis filed for bankruptcy in January after the collapse of key counterparties including FTX caused it to freeze customer redemptions in November. Its largest creditor is Gemini, founded by billionaire identical twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss who are also former U.S. Olympic rowers. A bankruptcy court appointed a mediator in April to help Genesis, DCG and its creditors agree on a restructuring plan, but the parties have yet to reach a deal despite several extensions. Under the offer, DCG would retain the proceeds from the sale of Genesis' lending unit. If Silbert and DCG do not agree, Gemini will sue Silbert and DCG, and file a motion to place DCG in default and demand immediate debt repayments, Winklevoss said.

Persons: Cameron, Tyler Winklevoss, Gemini, Barry Silbert, Cameron Winklevoss, Winklevoss, DCG, Mark Zuckerberg, Silbert, ” Winklevoss, Hannah Lang, Dietrich Knauth, Michelle Price, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Digital Currency Group, Gemini, U.S, Olympic, Reuters, Genesis, Meta, Facebook, Thomson Locations: Connecticut, Washington

☆ Nvidia dips on report U.S. considering new A.I. chip export restrictions for China
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Shares of Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices both fell more than 2% in early trading after The Wall Street Journal reported the federal government is weighing new restrictions on exports of sophisticated chips used in artificial intelligence computing to China. The export restrictions under consideration would be imposed by the Commerce Department and would come after the U.S. government already limited the computing power of chips made for Chinese use. Nvidia responded to the earlier restrictions by building a lower-spec chip for the Chinese market. But under the new controls being considered, even that chip, the A800, would be export restricted without licensing, the Journal reported. The restrictions would also apply to companies that offer cloud-based computing solutions, the Journal reported, which have been used by some companies to skirt export controls.

Persons: Gina Raimondo, Antony Blinken, Katherine Tai, chipmakers Organizations: Commerce, EU Trade, Technology, Nvidia, Devices, Street Journal, Commerce Department, U.S, AMD, Marvell, Broadcom, Qualcomm Locations: U.S, College Park , Maryland, China

June 26 (Reuters) - Certain banks working with FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried's trading firm Alameda Research raised questions about the firm's wire activity as early as 2020, according to a report released by FTX on Monday. Federal prosecutors have alleged that Bankman-Fried stole billions of dollars in customer funds to plug losses at Alameda. He has previously said that when FTX did not have a bank account, some customers wired money to Alameda and were credited on FTX. In 2020, certain banks working with Alameda pressed the firm on its wire transfers, according to the report. One bank representative wrote to Alameda about references to FTX in the company's wire activity and asked whether the account was being used to settle trades on FTX.

Persons: Sam Bankman, FTX, Fried, Hannah Lang, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Alameda Research, Federal, Alameda, Thomson Locations: Alameda, FTX, An Alameda, Washington

But certainly, we have all sorts of new questions that Putin is going to have to address in the weeks and months ahead," Blinken told NBC's "Meet the Press" program. Blinken described the turmoil as an "internal matter" for Putin. "It may be that Putin didn't want to debase himself to the level of negotiating directly with Prigozhin," Blinken said. "To the extent that the Russians are distracted and divided it may make their prosecution of aggression against Ukraine more difficult," Blinken told ABC. Senator Ben Cardin said the weekend turmoil in Russia does not ease Washington's need to continue aiding Ukraine as it launches its long-awaited counteroffensive against Russia.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Antony Blinken, Blinken, Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, NBC's, Prigozhin, Alexander Lukashenko, debase, Mikhail Klimentyev, Mike Turner, Turner, Philip Breedlove, Breedlove, Ben Cardin, Cardin, Don Bacon, he's, Bacon, David Morgan, Hannah Lang, Tyler Clifford, Scott Malone, Chizu Nomiyama, Mark Porter, Chris Reese Organizations: U.S . Congress, Russian, Press, REUTERS Forces, ABC, of, CBS, U.S . Air Force, . European Command, U.S, Democrat, Senate Foreign Relations, Fox News, Republican, House Armed Services Committee, NBC, Thomson Locations: U.S, Russia, Poland, Baltic, Ukraine, Russian, Kremlin, Russia's, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania

Blinken said tensions that sparked the action had been growing for months and added that the threat of internal turmoil could affect Moscow's military capabilities in Ukraine. Blinken described the turmoil as an "internal matter" for Putin. "It may be that Putin didn't want to debase himself to the level of negotiating directly with Prigozhin," Blinken said. "To the extent that the Russians are distracted and divided it may make their prosecution of aggression against Ukraine more difficult," Blinken told ABC. Senator Ben Cardin said the weekend turmoil in Russia does not ease Washington's need to continue aiding Ukraine as it launches its long-awaited counteroffensive against Russia.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Antony Blinken, Blinken, Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, NBC's, Prigozhin, Alexander Lukashenko, debase, Mike Turner, Turner, Ben Cardin, Cardin, Don Bacon, he's, Bacon, David Morgan, Hannah Lang, Tyler Clifford, Scott Malone, Chizu Nomiyama, Mark Porter Organizations: U.S . Congress, Russian, Press, Forces, ABC, of, CBS, Democrat, Senate Foreign Relations, Fox News, Republican, U.S . Air Force, House Armed Services Committee, NBC, Thomson Locations: U.S, Russia, Poland, Baltic, Ukraine, Russian, Russia's, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania

June 8 (Reuters) - The chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday strongly rebutted criticism that the agency is trying to crush the crypto industry, and said many companies in the space had made a "calculated economic decision" to flout its rules. That means most crypto exchanges have to comply with the securities laws too, he added. "They may have made a calculated economic decision to take the risk of enforcement as the cost of doing business." The crypto industry has attacked Gensler in recent days after the SEC sued two of the world's largest crypto exchanges, Coinbase (COIN.O) and Binance, for allegedly breaking securities laws by failing to register their operations with the agency. The SEC alleged Coinbase traded at least 13 crypto assets that are securities, while it accused Binance of offering 12 cryptocurrency coins without registering them.

Persons: Piper Sandler, Gary Gensler, Gensler, Brian Armstrong, Binance, Changpeng Zhao, Binance.US, Coinbase, Heath Tarbert, John McCrank, Hannah Lang, Susan Heavey, Manya, Michelle Price, Chizu Nomiyama, Matthew Lewis Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Twitter, Coinbase, Department of Justice, U.S, Reuters, Futures Trading Commission, Manya Saini, Thomson Locations: New York, Washington, Gensler, Bengaluru

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