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☆ This Texas city has the lowest cost of living in the U.S.: There is 'investment in the area keeps home prices low,' expert says
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-27 | by ( Celia Fernandez | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

This month, Realtor.com released its ranking of the top 10 cities with the lowest cost of living based on the latest regional price parities data from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). The regional price parities measure the differences in price levels of goods and services across states and metropolitan areas and are shown as a percentage of the overall national price level, the BEA states. Home prices tend to be lower in the South and the Midwest," Jones says. "Markets in the South and the Midwest can expand as demand picks up, which helps keep housing costs low. The price of housing is relatively affordable because of their ability to adapt to demand."

Persons: Realtor.com, Hannah Jones, Jones Organizations: U.S . Department of Commerce's, Analysis, BEA, CNBC

☆ DOJ charges Chinese national with operating 'world's largest botnet' that stole $5.9 billion in Covid relief funds
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray said it is "likely the world's largest botnet ever." The botnet hacked into over 19 million IP addresses in nearly 200 countries, the DOJ announcement said. In particular, the botnet targeted Covid relief programs and filed an estimated 560,000 false unemployment insurance claims, stealing $5.9 billion. The DOJ partnered with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies internationally to dismantle the botnet and arrest Wang. The charges come as U.S. law enforcement agencies try to update protocols to keep up with more sophisticated cybersecurity threats.

Persons: Wang, Christopher Wray, S, Axelrod, they're, Wray Organizations: US Department of Justice, Department of Justice, DOJ, Federal Bureau of, FBI, Export Enforcement, U.S . Department of Commerce's, of Industry, Security, Treasury Department, Treasury, Code, Tulip Biz, Company, Lily Suites Company Locations: Washington , DC, U.S, China

☆ Stocks making the biggest premarket moves: Target, Apple, Tesla, Microstrategy and more
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Check out the companies making the biggest moves in premarket trading: Target — Shares of the retailer jumped nearly 8% after a stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter report. Target generated $2.98 in earnings per share on $31.92 billion of revenue. Analysts surveyed by LSEG were looking for Target to earn $2.42 per share on $31.83 billion of revenue. Stitch Fix — Shares tumbled 13.4% a day after the online personalized styling service company reported an earnings miss for its second quarter. AeroVironment — The stock rallied nearly 18% a day after the defense company exceeded estimates for its third-quarter adjusted earnings per share and revenue.

Persons: Tesla, Microstrategy, Albemarle, GitLab, —, Jesse Pound, Lisa Han Organizations: Apple, Counterpoint Research, Reuters, Police, CNBC, Bloomberg, Department of Commerce's, of Industry, Security, Paymentus Holdings Locations: China, Berlin

☆ AI lobbying spikes nearly 200% as calls for regulation surge
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The spike in AI lobbying comes amid growing calls for AI regulation and the Biden administration's push to begin codifying those rules. Until 2017, the number of organizations that reported AI lobbying stayed in the single digits, per the analysis, but the practice has grown slowly but surely in the years since, exploding in 2023. The data showed a range of industries as new entrants to AI lobbying: Chip companies like AMD and TSMC , venture firms like Andreessen Horowitz, biopharmaceutical companies like AstraZeneca, conglomerates like Disney and AI training data companies like Appen. Organizations that reported lobbying on AI issues last year also typically lobby the government on a range of other issues. In its Request for Information, the Institute specifically asked responders to weigh in on developing responsible AI standards, AI red-teaming, managing the risks of generative AI and helping to reduce the risk of "synthetic content" (i.e., misinformation and deepfakes).

Persons: OpenSecrets, Biden, ByteDance, Andreessen Horowitz, government's, — CNBC's Mary Catherine Wellons, Megan Cassella Organizations: CNBC, Spotify, Samsung, Nvidia, Big Tech, AMD, U.S . Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards, Technology, NIST Locations: U.S

☆ Treasury yields fall ahead of economic growth numbers
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

ET, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note dropped 2.3 basis points to 4.1549%, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond slid 2.7 basis points to 4.3851%. U.S. Treasury yields fell on Thursday morning as markets await a first estimate of fourth-quarter economic growth. Wall Street will be trying to ascertain what that means for American economic growth in 2024, while the Federal Reserve will be taking the figure into account as it considers its next monetary policy move. A second major data point is due Friday in the form of December's personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge. Auctions will be held Thursday for $90 billion each of 4-week and 8-week Treasury bills, along with $41 billion of 7-year notes .

Organizations: Treasury, U.S, U.S . Department, Federal Reserve Locations: U.S

☆ U.S. export controls need to 'change constantly' even if it's tough for businesses, Secretary Raimondo says
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING — More controls on tech exports to China will be coming as needed, despite business concerns, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told CNBC in an exclusive interview. "We have to change constantly," Raimondo told CNBC's Morgan Brennan over the weekend on the sidelines of the Reagan National Defense Forum. They want a clear line in the sand," the commerce secretary said. "The truth of it is though, technology changes, China changes and we have to keep up with it." In October 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security announced sweeping export controls that restrict the ability of companies to sell certain advanced computing semiconductors or related manufacturing equipment to China.

Persons: Gina Raimondo, Raimondo, CNBC's Morgan Brennan, " Raimondo, it's Organizations: . Commerce, CNBC, Reagan National Defense, U.S . Department of Commerce's, of Industry, Security Locations: BEIJING, China

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsTAIPEI, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Taiwan's TSMC (2330.TW) said on Friday it expects to receive permission from the United States to supply its China plant with U.S. chipmaking tools indefinitely, in an easing of Washington's restrictions on foreign chipmakers operating in China. "We expect to receive a permanent authorization through the VEU process," TSMC said, noting that it did not previously need to apply for VEU status. Taiwan Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua said earlier on Friday that TSMC has received the waiver from the United States to supply U.S. equipment to the company's factory in China. However, the United States is continuing efforts to cut China off from top AI technology and plug gaps in export controls. The United States last year shook relations with Beijing when it unveiled new restrictions on shipments of AI chips and chipmaking tools to China, seeking to thwart its military advances.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, TSMC, Wang Mei, Biden, chipmaker, Sarah Wu, Ben Blanchard, Sonali Paul, Muralikumar Anantharaman, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, REUTERS, Rights, The U.S . Department of Commerce's, of Industry and Security, Reuters, Taiwan, Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, Apple Inc, United, TSMC's, Thomson Locations: Rights TAIPEI, United States, China, The, KS, Nanjing, Beijing, TSMC's Taipei

Reuters reviewed a confidential draft of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (ASEAN) "guide to AI ethics and governance," whose content has not previously been reported. In contrast to the EU's AI Act, the ASEAN "AI guide" asks companies to take countries' cultural differences into consideration and doesn’t prescribe unacceptable risk categories, according to the current version reviewed. With almost 700 million people and over a thousand ethnic groups and cultures, Southeast Asian countries have widely divergent rules governing censorship, misinformation, public content and hate speech that would likely affect AI regulation. The ASEAN guide advises companies to put in place an AI risk assessment structure and AI governance training, but leaves specifics to companies and local regulators. EU officials and lawmakers told Reuters that the bloc would continue to hold talks with Southeast Asian states to align over broader principles.

Persons: Stephen Braim, Alexandra van Huffelen, Fanny Potkin, Supantha Mukherjee, Panu, Sam Holmes Organizations: Reuters, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN Digital, Companies, IBM, Google, ASEAN, Technology, United States, NIST, U.S . Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards, Meta, Southeast, EU, European Commission, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, STOCKHOLM, Thailand, United, Southeast Asia, Japan, South Korea, Brussels, Singapore, Stockholm, Bangkok

☆ U.S. Commerce Secretary says she 'didn't pull any punches' during recent visit to China
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo arrives for a meeting with her Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao, at the Ministry of Commerce in Beijing, Monday, Aug. 28, 2023. U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo met with Chinese officials in a high-stakes visit to Beijing and Shanghai this week, and she said Sunday that the trip helped establish open lines of communication between the two nations. Raimondo is the fourth high-level U.S. official to visit China this summer, but she is the first U.S. Commerce secretary to travel to the country in five years — a period where the bilateral relationship has grown increasingly tense. The Commerce secretary's trip to China followed recent visits from U.S. special envoy for climate John Kerry, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Raimondo said Sunday that the export controls are about national security, not about gaining an economic advantage.

Persons: Gina Raimondo, Wang Wentao, Raimondo, NBC's, John Kerry, Janet Yellen, Antony Blinken Organizations: Commerce, Ministry of Commerce, . Commerce, U.S . Commerce, China, Press, U.S, Treasury, U.S . Department of Commerce's, of Industry, Security, Sunday Locations: Beijing, Shanghai, China, U.S

Andy Wong | Afp | Getty ImagesBEIJING — U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has called on China to improve the predictability of the business environment for American companies in the country. "There's an appetite certainly for U.S. business to continue to do business in China," she said, adding however that "It's an unlevel playing field for U.S. business. Foreign companies in China have long complained about market access challenges including forced tech transfers and preferential treatment for local companies, especially state-owned enterprises. Gina Raimondo U.S. Commerce SecretaryThe updated law is of "great concern" to U.S. companies, Raimondo said. Foreign business organizations have noted improvements over the years in China's protection of intellectual property.

Persons: Gina Raimondo, China Nick Burns, Premier Li Qiang, Andy Wong, Raimondo, CNBC's Eunice Yoon, Biden, Stephen Olson Hinrich, Stephen Olson Organizations: Premier, of, People, Afp, Getty, U.S . Commerce, U.S, Trump, U.S . Department of Commerce's, of Industry, Security, Commerce, CNBC, Foundation, Biden, Boeing, Bloomberg Locations: China, Beijing, BEIJING, U.S, Shanghai, America, The U.S

☆ U.S. House committee flags MSCI, BlackRock for China investments
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A bank employee count China’s renminbi (RMB) or yuan notes next to U.S. dollar notes at a Kasikornbank in Bangkok, Thailand, January 26, 2023. BEIJING — U.S. investments in around 50 blacklisted Chinese companies have drawn the attention of the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. The committee on Tuesday announced it sent separate letters to MSCI and BlackRock asking for more information about the firms' facilitation of U.S. investments into those Chinese companies. The Chinese companies were blacklisted over claims of supporting China's military or alleged human rights abuses, the committee said. MSCI said in a statement it is reviewing the request for information, and that it doesn't "facilitate" investments in any country.

Persons: China’s renminbi, MSCI Organizations: U.S . House, Chinese Communist Party, BlackRock, U.S . Department, CNBC Locations: U.S, Bangkok, Thailand, BEIJING — U.S

☆ Sen. Tommy Tuberville voted against a bill that just gave his state $1.4 billion for rural broadband. He's celebrating it anyway.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Biden administration announced Monday that Alabama will get $1.4 billion in broadband funding. Sen. Tommy Tuberville celebrated the news, calling the funding "crucial" for rural broadband. But he voted against the 2021 infrastructure bill that established the program he's now touting. "Coach voted against the infrastructure bill because it wasted Alabamians' tax dollars. He's advocated for including expanding rural broadband as part of an upcoming farm bill, and he introduced legislation earlier this year to shield broadband grants from being taxed as income.

Persons: Sen, Tommy Tuberville, —, Republican Sen, Tuberville, I've, Terri Sewell, Terri A, Sewell, Steven Stafford, Stafford, He's Organizations: Biden, Alabama, Service, Republican, Broadband Equity, Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration, Infrastructure Law, White House, Democratic, Agriculture, Rural Development, Energy Locations: Alabama

March 7 (Reuters) - Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O), Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD.O) and other tech firms are scrambling to assess whether they must halt sales to units of China's Inspur Group Ltd after its addition to a U.S. export blacklist last week. The United States last week added Inspur to its trade blacklist for allegedly acquiring U.S.-origin items in support of the China's military modernization efforts. Executives from AMD and Nvidia were questioned about dealings with Inspur Group Co Ltd. at an investor conference on Monday. An Nvidia spokesperson declined to comment beyond her remarks. An AMD spokesperson did not return a request for additional comment on AMD Chief Technology Officer Mark Papermaster's remarks made at the same conference.

☆ US approved 192 licenses for exports to blacklisted Chinese firms early 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Karen Freifeld | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 3 (Reuters) - The Biden administration approved 192 licenses worth over $23 billion to ship U.S. goods and technology to Chinese companies on a U.S. trade blacklist in the first quarter of last year, according to a document released by a U.S. congressional committee on Friday. The 192 licenses granted were out of 242 license applications decided between January and March 2022, a chart showed, and 115 of those approved contained controlled technology. Nineteen, or 8 percent of the total number of applications, were denied, and 31 were returned without action. "This critical U.S. technology is going to the Chinese Communist Party's surveillance and military efforts," he said. BIS also noted that licenses for some well-known Chinese companies are reviewed under policies set by the Trump administration that do not carry presumptions of denial.

☆ Investing in Space: Sizing up
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter offers a view into the business of space exploration and privatization, delivered straight to your inbox. Measuring the size of the space economy, whether globally or just for the U.S., is an important part of understanding the scale of the industry and its influence on our lives. But a new space survey is underway, by none other than the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). While BEA did a pilot study on space previously, the more robust study will be an annually refreshed estimate on the sector. It also plans to expand the analysis to breakdowns of each state, to show where space dollars are getting spent across the U.S.

Industry sources say that the measure was a surprise and that it is unclear how it would be applied to companies, each of which will have to negotiate separate agreements with the U.S. government. Share repurchases have helped keep investors happy during tumultuous market conditions in the chip industry, which have swung from shortage to glut in two years. “I believe this is going to cause heartburn for companies," a second chip industry executive told Reuters, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. “It’s pretty odd for a foreign company to accept this kind of meddling in its business," said a third chip industry source. A more onerous issue is that building new chip plants will probably get more expensive in the U.S., where costs are already higher than industry centers such as Taiwan and Singapore.

☆ Treasury Secretary Yellen and China's Liu He talk U.S. tech policy at their first in-person meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He held their first in-person meeting in Zurich on Jan. 18, 2023. BEIJING — Chinese Vice Premier Liu He discussed U.S. economic and tech policy toward China in a meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday, according to a Ministry of Commerce readout. China "hopes the U.S. side pays attention to the policies' impact on both sides," the readout said, according to a CNBC translation. The meeting in Zurich was the first time Yellen and Liu met in person, after three years of Covid-related restrictions on travel. While Beijing retaliated with tariffs of its own, its most substantive response to U.S. tech bans has been filing a dispute with the World Trade Organization in December.

☆ A globally critical chip firm is driving a wedge between the U.S. and Netherlands over China tech policy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The U.S. has been putting pressure on the Netherlands to block exports to China of high-tech semiconductor equipment. The Netherlands is home to ASML, one of the most important companies in the global semiconductor supply chain. Instead, it makes and sells $200 million extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines to semiconductor manufacturers like Taiwan's TSMC. ASML has not been able to ship an EUV machine to China since 2019 due to various Dutch export restrictions, according to a company spokesperson. According to a Reuters report from 2020, the Dutch government withdrew ASML's license to export its EUV machines to China after extensive lobbying from the U.S. government.

☆ Chinese chip stocks tumble after U.S. calls for new curbs on high-end tech
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Future Publishing | Future Publishing | Getty ImagesBEIJING — Chinese chip stocks fell Monday after the U.S. announced new export controls aimed at limiting Beijing's ability to produce advanced military systems. The rules, effective this month, expand on prior U.S. attempts to crimp Chinese companies' access to key tech. Chinese chips stocks tumbleChina's largest chipmaker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, traded 3% lower Monday afternoon in Hong Kong, amid a broader market sell-off. "It will not only harm Chinese companies' legitimate rights and interests, but also hurt the interests of U.S. The U.S. government previously put Chinese companies Huawei and SMIC on a blacklist that requires suppliers to obtain a license before selling to them.

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