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A Vietnamese property tycoon accused of embezzling $12.5 billion begins her trial 2024-03-05 05:08:28+00:00 - HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Real estate tycoon Truong My Lan faces the death penalty in a trial that began Tuesday over alleged fraud amounting to $12.5 billion — nearly 3% of the country’s 2022 GDP and Vietnam’s largest financial fraud case on record. The 66-year-old chair of the real estate company Van Thinh Phat allegedly used “thousands of ghost companies,” paid bribes to government officials and violated banking regulations, according to a government document. She is accused of illegally controlling the Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank between 2012 to 2022 and using it to embezzle $12.5 billion, the document adds. Another 85 people are being prosecuted in connection, including a former State Bank of Vietnam official accused of accepting $5.2 million in bribes. Lan was arrested in October 2022 and could get a death sentence if found guilty. She was escorted to the court by the authorities at around 7 a.m. Her husband Eric Chu Nap-kee, who works in real estate in Hong Kong, was also summoned, state media VN Express reported. VTP was among Vietnam’s richest real estate firms and its projects include luxury residential buildings, offices, hotels and shopping centers. Lan’s arrest is among the most high-profile in an ongoing anti-corruption drive in Vietnam that gained momentum since 2022. The so-called Blazing Furnace campaign has seen thousands of officials and business executives come under investigation. It reached the highest echelons of the Vietnamese government in January 2023 with the resignation of former President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and two deputy prime ministers for the “political responsibility” of corruption scandals during the pandemic. But analysts added the anti-corruption drive has also dampened Vietnam’s economic outlook and made foreign investors jittery at a time when the southeast Asian nation has been positioning itself as the ideal home for businesses looking to shift their supply chains away from China. It’s the scale of Lan’s alleged scam that has been surprising, said Linh Nguyen, the lead analyst for consultancy Control Risks. Lan is accused of disbursing $44 billion in loans to herself and her allies between 2012 to 2022, and the documents related to the case weigh 6 tons, according to VN Express. “More than 3% of the GDP is very large,” Nguyen said, adding that it also raised questions about whether other banks and businesses had “done the same (and) just haven’t been discovered.” The anti-corruption drive has also resulted in Vietnam’s bureaucracy slowing down with “public officials becoming anxious about being investigated and shirking their responsibilities,” according to a report from Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. The most glaring evidence of this has been in the slow spending rates for public investment. As of October 2023, a little over 55% of the annual budget had been spent with $10.19 billion needing to be disbursed within 35 days, state media Vietnam News reported. These are funds necessary for development projects — ranging from bridges to highways to airports — and not spending it in time results in long delays. Nguyen said that investors — especially in banking, finance and real estate — are much more cautious now. “It’s a more ‘let us wait and see’ with investors at the moment,” she said. The real estate sector in Vietnam has been hit particularly hard — an estimated 1,300 property firms withdrew from the market in 2023, developers have been offering discounts and gold as gifts to attract buyers, and despite rent for shophouses falling by a third in Ho Chi Minh City, many in the city center are still empty, according to state media. Poor global demand and slowing public investment meant that Vietnam’s economic growth slowed down to 5.05% last year, compared to 8.02% in 2022, according to government data. In November, Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Vietnam’s top politician, said that the anti-corruption fight would “continue for the long term.” Around that time, Vietnamese authorities said they were investigating two other cases linked to Lan’s real estate companies that involved laundering money overseas through real estate.
NASA had an ambitious $2 billion plan to refuel satellites in orbit using robotic arms. A decade later, it's in shambles. 2024-03-05 04:44:56+00:00 - For nearly a decade, NASA has been building a robotic arm that can refuel old satellites in space. But it killed the project on Friday amid budget issues, delays, and technical flops. In development since 2015, its budget grew to $2.05 billion by 2022, a scathing audit report said. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time. Advertisement The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is giving up its mission to refuel old satellites in orbit, putting an end to an ambitious $2 billion project plagued by delays and technical setbacks. The administration said on Friday that it's discontinuing the effort after an independent review, citing "continued technical, cost, and schedule challenges." The On-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing 1 project, or OSAM-1, aimed to build a robotic arm that could top up satellites that weren't built for refueling, thereby extending their lifespan. "Need extra gas or a tune-up for your satellite?" pitched its official webpage. Advertisement In development since 2015, it was supposed to launch in 2025, but this was delayed to 2026. The OSAM-1's refueling technique seemed almost like brute force. A concept video of the robotic arm, called the Space Infrastructure Dexterous Robot or SPIDER, shows it cutting open a fuel hatch, ripping restraints, and unscrewing a fuel cap — all while in space. The SPIDER's concept video shows it cutting away a fuel hatch and unscrewing a fuel cap. NASA The primary objective was to refuel the Landsat 7, a US satellite launched in 1999 that wasn't built to be refueled in orbit. The SPIDER could also be used to set up an antenna as a secondary function. But the space industry as a whole has been pivoting toward satellites already built with refueling capabilities, doing away with the need for such a device, NASA said. Advertisement With fears the project might become obsolete, the administration said it was met with the "lack of a committed partner." One of the contractors that worked with NASA on the project was California-based Maxar Technologies, which was to provide the spacecraft and robotic arm under contracts worth $316 million. However, an audit report in October 2023 slammed the contractor, saying its "poor performance" meant NASA had to provide unplanned manpower and engineering support to help it deliver. Staff assess parts of a test for the OSAM-1 project. NASA The spacecraft was delivered to NASA in September 2023, about two years late. Meanwhile, Maxar also struggled to keep up with deadlines for the SPIDER, and told NASA that it was no longer profiting from their contract work, the audit report said. Advertisement Maxar had "significantly underestimated the scope and complexity of the work, lacked full understanding of NASA technical requirements, and were deficient in necessary expertise" to meet NASA's standards, the report said, adding that the contractor admitted this as well. The report said Maxar's delays stemmed from "poor prioritization and staffing," and that the contractor failed to run required tests ahead of delivery. The mission's total cost, which was once estimated to be around $753 million, burgeoned to $2.05 billion by 2022 and was expected to further exceed this budget, the report said. NASA said it's working on mitigating the impact of the OSAM-1's cancellation on staff at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Advertisement The agency told CNBC that it had 450 staff and contractors working on OSAM-1, and plans on "supporting project workforce per plan through fiscal year 2024." NASA and Maxar did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent outside regular business hours by Business Insider.
Tesla's Berlin plant halts production after suspected arson attack at nearby substation 2024-03-05 04:37:00+00:00 - Tesla' logo is seen on the Tesla factory building in Berlin, Germany on February 22, 2024. In the southeastern outskirts of Berlin, within the Grunheide district, local residents are expressing opposition to the expansion plans of the first automobile factory of US electric car manufacturer, Tesla in Europe. A Tesla plant outside of Berlin was reportedly forced to halt production Tuesday after an electricity substation was set alight in a suspected arson attack. The Gruenheide factory, located southeast of the German capital, was left without power, as were parts of wider city, Reuters cited German newspaper Berliner Zeitung as saying. The newspaper added that bomb disposal units had been dispatched to the site. Brandenburg police told CNBC that the incident initially looked like arson and added that it is currently investigating who is responsible. Tesla was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC. Police received a call alerting them to the burning electricity pylon in the Gosen-Neu Zittau area early Tuesday, Reuters reported. It comes as Tesla's expansion plans for its Gruenheide plant have come up against fierce opposition. The U.S. carmaker aims to double its capacity to 100 gigawatt hours of battery production and 1 million cars per year. However, last month locals voted down plans to raze nearby trees to make way for the enlarged plant.
China National People’s Congress: Beijing aims for 5% growth in 2024 2024-03-05 04:19:00+00:00 - Heading into this NPC, there has been a lot of speculation about China’s next foreign minister. The country has been without one since Qin Gang was abruptly fired last year, setting off a wave of rumors about a man once regarded as part of Xi’s inner circle. Currently, Wang Yi holds down the position in addition to his job as the country’s chief diplomat. Judging by comments officials made yesterday, it is unlikely that a new foreign minister will be announced by the end of this year’s session (or any time in the near future, it seems). The front-runner is still widely believed to be Liu Jianchao, who started his career as a translator in 1987 and has worked his way up through the foreign ministry ranks, including as China’s ambassador to Indonesia and the Philippines. Already, Liu has been doing some diplomatic globetrotting even if he hasn’t been anointed yet. Qin’s "resignation" as a delegate to this year’s National People’s Congress was accepted last week, though he has not been seen in public since June. Wang will conduct the traditional foreign minister’s news conference this week.
Mark Cuban says he will vote for Joe Biden even if the president 'was being given last rites' 2024-03-05 04:13:37+00:00 - Mark Cuban says he'll vote for Joe Biden — even if the president's on his deathbed. Cuban told BI that he expects a rematch between Biden and Donald Trump in November. He said he'll be voting for Nikki Haley on Super Tuesday as a "protest vote against Trump." NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time. Advertisement Mark Cuban says he's determined to cast his vote for President Joe Biden this November — even if Biden's on his deathbed. "If they were having his last wake, and it was him versus Trump, and he was being given last rites, I would still vote for Joe Biden," Cuban told Bloomberg on Monday. The billionaire investor was speaking to Bloomberg after attending a roundtable at the White House on drug prices. Cuban is the co-founder of the low-cost online pharmacy, Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs Co. Cuban told BI via email that he fully expects a predictable rematch between Biden and former President Donald Trump this November. Advertisement "That's what the polls say. There is no reason to expect otherwise," Cuban told BI. Cuban's distaste for Trump dates back years. In 2016, Cuban said he had a "love-hate relationship" with Trump. "There's that guy who'll walk into the bar and say anything to get laid," Cuban said of Trump in an interview with Anthony Scaramucci at the SkyBridge Alternatives Conference in 2016. In November 2020, Cuban said that he didn't think Biden and Trump "were the best and brightest" presidential candidates the US has to offer. Advertisement "We are now seeing the downside of having a political duopoly," Cuban said on The Verge's "Decoder" podcast. Concerns over Biden's age have been swirling ever since he announced his reelection bid in April. In February, a special counsel report on Biden's handling of classified documents said the president was struggling with memory issues. US special counsel Robert Hur said in his report that Biden presented himself during interviews "as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory." Biden has furiously pushed back against that characterization and appears unlikely to give way to a replacement from the Democratic party's ranks. Advertisement Cuban told Bloomberg that he will be voting for former UN ambassador Nikki Haley in the Texas GOP primary on Super Tuesday, calling it a "protest vote against Trump." On Sunday, Haley managed to win her first GOP primary in Washington, DC. The victory, however, will provide Haley with little relief, given that she is trailing far behind Trump in terms of delegate count. Haley has won 43 delegates, nearly six times less than Trump's 244 delegates. Candidates need to secure 1,215 delegates in order to lock down the GOP presidential nomination. Trump and Haley will face off again on Super Tuesday, with 15 state primaries slated to take place on March 5.
Jeff Bezos is once again the world's richest person thanks to the Big Tech rally 2024-03-05 03:59:11+00:00 - Jeff Bezos just reclaimed his title as the world's richest person. Bezos' wealth surge is due to a rally in Big Tech shares, incuding Amazon. Tesla CEO Elon Musk now ranks second on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time. Advertisement It's been more than two years since Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was the world's richest person, but he's now back in the lead again. As of Tuesday, Bezos is the world's wealthiest man, with a net worth of $200 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Bezos reclaimed the top spot after a sustained rally in Big Tech shares on the back of the artificial intelligence boom. The last time Bezos was the world's richest person was in 2021. Amazon shares are up 17% this year to date and nearly 90% higher than a year ago. They closed 0.4% lower at $177.58 apiece on Monday. Advertisement Since Bezos owns about 9% of Amazon, the world's largest online retailer, his net worth goes up when its stock rises. The billionaire also owns space exploration company Blue Origin, which Bloomberg also uses in its calculation. Bezos, 60, unseated Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who was in the top spot for nine months. At one point, Musk was $142 billion richer than Bezos, per Bloomberg. Bezos first surpassed Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates as the world's richest person in 2017. Bezos was unseated by Musk in 2021 on the back of a Tesla share surge. Musk and Bernard Arnault, the chairman of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, are now the second and third richest people on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Their net worths currently stand at $198 billion and $197 billion, respectively. Advertisement Tesla's stock is down 24% so far this year and 3% lower than a year ago. The EV maker's shares tumbled 7% on Monday after its China sales slumped in February.
AMD reportedly hits U.S. regulatory roadblock for China-tailored chip 2024-03-05 03:55:00+00:00 - A smartphone with a displayed AMD logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken March 6, 2023. American semiconductor company Advanced Micro Devices has failed in getting a made-for-China AI chip past U.S. regulators and will need to apply for an export license, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. The report said AMD designed the chip to have lower performance than its premium products in order to comply with U.S. export restrictions. But Bloomberg reported the Commerce Department did not clear the chip for sale in China because it was still too advanced. AMD will now have to obtain a license from the department's Bureau of Industry and Security, the report said. It's not clear if the company will apply for the license. AMD and the Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security did not immediately respond to CNBC's requests for comment. While the U.S. has restricted sales of products containing the nation's most advanced semiconductor technologies to China, citing national security concerns, American companies have continued to sell mature or less advanced technologies to the massive market without licenses. AMD's products include chips that can be used to develop and train AI models - something U.S. officials have warned that Beijing could use to gain military advantages.
Administration officials watered down Kamala Harris' Gaza speech before delivery 2024-03-05 03:45:00+00:00 - WASHINGTON — Before Vice President Kamala Harris delivered pointed remarks Sunday about the need for an immediate six-week cease-fire between Israel and Hamas as part of a deal to release hostages, officials at the National Security Council toned down parts of her speech, three current U.S. officials and a former U.S. official familiar with the speech told NBC News. The original draft of Harris’ speech, when it was sent to the National Security Council for review, was harsher on Israel about the dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the need for more aid than were the remarks she ultimately delivered, according to one of the current officials and the former official. One of the U.S. officials said the initial draft specifically called out Israel more directly about the need to immediately allow additional aid trucks in. The official described Harris’ original language as strong but not controversial. The move to soften Harris’ comments highlights how reluctant the White House still is to aggressively criticize Israel in public as President Joe Biden tries to maintain some influence over the Israeli government and secure a hostage deal. The current officials said that the changes were tonal, rather than shifts in policy, and that Harris’ comments about a cease-fire — which were widely covered — reiterated Biden’s remarks two days earlier and the administration’s position on the war. Asked about reports that the speech Sunday was watered down and made to be less aggressive, Kirsten Allen, Harris’ communications director, said, “That is inaccurate.” Allen also provided NBC News with a separate statement explaining Harris’ stance on her remarks. “The Vice President felt it was important to address the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, given recent developments, and to reiterate our Administration’s call on Hamas to accept the terms of the hostage deal,” she said. As is protocol for most high-level White House principals giving speeches about foreign policy, Harris’ speech was submitted to the National Security Council and West Wing staff members for review, and a number of changes were made, said several officials, including two from Harris’ office. Edits were made up until the last minute, as is often the case with a live foreign policy issue, the officials said. The National Security Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Harris’ comments about the Middle East came at the beginning of a speech she delivered on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, to mark the 59th anniversary of Bloody Sunday — when civil rights activists, including the late Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., were beaten by law enforcement officers for demanding racial justice. Harris stressed, among other things, the need for Israel to allow aid into Gaza to help what she called “clearly a humanitarian catastrophe.” She noted that last week, the Defense Department carried out its first airdrop of humanitarian aid into Gaza and said the U.S. will continue such assistance. She also said the “Israeli government must do more to significantly increase the flow of aid.” “They must open new borders for aid,” Harris said. “They must not impose any unnecessary restrictions on the delivery of aid. They must ensure humanitarian personnel, sites and convoys are not targeted. And they must work to restore basic services and promote order in Gaza so more food, water and fuel can reach those in need.” But her comments on a cease-fire drew the most attention. “And given the immense scale of suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate cease-fire for at least six weeks as is what is currently on the table,” Harris said to loud, sustained applause. “This will get the hostages out and get a significant amount of aid in. This will allow us to build something more enduring to ensure Israel is secure and to respect the right of the Palestinian people to dignity, freedom and self-determination.” Even though Harris was restating the policy position the Biden administration has held in recent weeks, her forceful delivery went viral, with thousands of people posting her comments online and a number of media outlets writing about them. It was a notable moment for Harris, who has long been criticized for not being visible enough as vice president. A number of activists and faith leaders have been pushing Biden to call for a permanent cease-fire, but so far, the administration has not done so. Even as it became clear that Harris was not saying something new, her words continued to get attention. Those close to her believe her words stuck out both because of her delivery and because she delivered them while marking the anniversary of a key chapter in the Civil Rights Movement. Others said her message that emphasized what civilians in Gaza are facing was especially effective. “She did what she does best, which is to take the policy issues, break them down in a way that people can understand them and then address it with her own passion and her own sense of what’s right,” said Leah Daughtry, a Democratic political strategist with close ties to Harris’ office who is a co-founder of Black Church PAC, an organization of clergy members and Black church leaders who have been pushing for a permanent cease-fire. “It all came together in a way that we’re still talking about it.” An official in Harris’ office said she decided she wanted to talk about Gaza in her speech in Selma after Biden said Friday that the administration would back an immediate six-week cease-fire as part of a hostage deal. “We’re trying to work out a deal between Israel and Hamas,” Biden said in the Oval Office. “The hostages being returned and, and immediate cease-fire in Gaza for at least the next six weeks. And to allow the surge of aid through the entire Gaza Strip, not just the south, but the entire Gaza Strip.” On Monday, Harris’ team made sure to stress that there was no disagreement between her and Biden. After she delivered remarks at the firefighters union conference at a Washington hotel, reporters were taken to the hallway where Harris was exiting close enough to be able to ask about the reaction to her remarks. “The president and I have been aligned and consistent from the very beginning,” Harris told reporters. “Israel has the right to defend itself. Far too many Palestinian civilians, innocent civilians have been killed.” A senior Biden administration official echoed that sentiment Monday. “She’s on the same page as the president,” the person said. Still, the public took notice of Harris. Christopher Huntley, a Democratic strategist who worked as a speechwriter for Harris last year, said he thinks her speech struck a chord because of her delivery and the setting of the speech. “There was a clear choice to use the words ‘immediate cease-fire,’” he said. “It broke through because it was very clear language, it was direct, and it spoke specifically to the hearts of young, Black and brown folks and younger voters who are really, really upset about this issue.” “It was also apt that it happened at Selma, right at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where the fight for justice, equality, civil and human rights was defined in that generation," he added. "For that legacy to be the place where she addresses this made a lot of sense to folks.” Even before Harris called for a six-week cease-fire, people inside and outside the Biden administration who are critical of Biden’s handling of the war viewed Harris as wanting, but unable, to take a more forceful stance against the fighting in Gaza, a Democrat who helped elect Biden in 2020 told NBC News. The person said Harris had gone to great lengths to show up as a more empathetic voice in her outreach to Muslim and Arab Americans, as well as other Democrats, who are disturbed by the worsening situation after months of bombardments. “Her hands are tied,” the person said. “People are not attacking her because they know that this is not her policy. This is Biden’s war. This is Biden’s failure.” “I think she would have asked for a cease-fire a long time ago,” the person added.
HPE's Post-Earnings Rise Could Be Short-Lived 2024-03-05 03:24:00+00:00 - Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Inc (NYSE:HPE) is soaring today, up 9.5% at $17.04 at last look, and extending Friday's post-earnings rise. The stock slipped immediately following the company's mixed fiscal first-quarter results and a disappointing second-quarter forecast, but finished the day with a 2.2% rise. Now, the shares are holding on to a slim 0.8% year-to-date lead. For those betting on a correction, however, HPE's rally has it running into pressure on the charts. According to Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White, Hewlett-Packard stock is within one standard deviation of its 80- and 100-day moving averages. The equity has seen seven similar signals from its 80-day trendline, after which the stock was negative one month later 57% of the time, averaging a 1.3% loss. Its 100-day trendline flashed six times, and the stock was negative one month later 50% of the time, averaging a 1.7% drop. HPE March4 An unwinding of optimism in the options pits could provide tailwinds, too. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), HPE's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 9.57 ranks higher than 98% of readings from the past year. When weighing in on Hewlett-Packard stock, options look like a good way to go. The equity's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 26% ranks in the 14th percentile of its annual range, meaning options traders are pricing in low volatility expectations at the moment.
China's 5% GDP goal is 'attainable' but it won't be easy, says Hong Kong's financial secretary 2024-03-05 03:19:00+00:00 - China's GDP target of 5% for 2024 is possible, but it won't be easy to achieve, Hong Kong's financial secretary told CNBC Tuesday after Beijing set a growth target of "around 5%" for this year. At its annual parliamentary meeting which kicked off Tuesday, China also set a deficit-to-GDP ratio of 3% for the year — down from a rare upward revision to 3.8% late last year from the original 3%. "China is a huge economy, given its size, 5% is a huge amount. I think this is attainable, although it's not easy," Hong Kong's Financial Secretary Paul Chan told CNBC's Emily Chan, highlighting bright spots in China's export sector and domestic consumption. "ASEAN in particular is growing very fast, and the population is young. So this represents also a huge market for China's export," Chan said, adding that "we expect the export situation of the mainland will improve particularly into developing Asia." China's trade with its major partners fell in 2023, with annual exports dipping for the first time in seven years as demand for Chinese goods fell amid slowing global growth. The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations grouping was China's largest trading partner on a regional basis in 2023, although it reportedly logged a 4.9% decline. By country, the U.S. remained China's largest trading partner last year. "In addition, China is trying very hard to stimulate domestic consumption, this will be the major engine of growth as well," Chan said. At the start of the year, Goldman Sachs said it expects Chinese consumer activity to bounce back in 2024, led by leisure-related activities from online travel agents to Macao casinos. Last year, China's economy grew 5.2% year-on-year, in line with the official target of around 5%. Still, the overall recovery from the pandemic was much slower than many expected. Despite external uncertainties and geopolitical landscape, Chan said he expects the Hong Kong economy to "grow further" this year, on the back of a recovery in global demand as markets widely project a cut in interest rates. Domestic consumption is also a key driver for the city's growth in the short term, said the financial secretary. "Our consumption will continue to grow with the improvement in the connectivity and transport facilities with the mainland and the international," he said. Hong Kong's GDP is projected to grow 2.5% to 3.5% this year.
Why Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and Pepe Are Soaring Today 2024-03-05 03:04:00+00:00 - It appears reports of the death of meme tokens have been greatly exaggerated. Three of the most popular meme tokens in the market are rocketing higher today. Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE), Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB), and Pepe (CRYPTO: PEPE) are each up big. As of 12:45 p.m. ET, these three tokens have rocketed 25.7%, 47.5%, and 35%, respectively, over the past 24 hours. These moves are absolutely incredible, and invite investors to think back to the previous hype-driven crypto rallies. For those who forgot what it was like to be in the midst of a market that could do no wrong in 2021, that elusive feeling is back, and the fear-of-missing-out (FOMO) rallies are once again underway. Let's dive into what to make of the incredible moves in these popular community-focused crypto projects, and how much room they may have left to run. Keeping the rally in context While many mega-cap cryptos are now up double digits over the past week, Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and Pepe have each seen triple-digit surges over this time frame. Dogecoin has more than doubled, Shiba Inu has more than tripled, and Pepe has more than quadrupled over seven trading days (crypto markets are open seven days a week). These sorts of returns aren't really possible for most asset classes, particularly those with multibillion-dollar valuations. So, when this kind of price action takes place, it's important to keep these surges in context. Pepe (which didn't exist during the previous meme-token rally) has made new all-time highs in terms of both price and market cap today. However, Dogecoin and Shiba Inu remain more than 50% below their previous peaks. For momentum traders and speculators, this could mean that plenty more upside is possible, if this sort of buying activity continues. After all, those looking to really profit from a hype-driven mania tend to do better moving further out on the risk curve. And while such trading activity can certainly drastically increase the risk profile of one's holdings, it appears to be what many are doing right now. Story continues According to liquidation data from Coinglass, all three meme tokens have seen short liquidations outpace long liquidations by a significant margin in recent days. These liquidations of derivatives contracts suggest that traders using derivatives to short these assets are forced to close out their positions, driving the price higher as more and more traders take the long side of this bet. Where are these tokens headed from here? So long as capital continues to flow into the crypto sector, and traders continue to amplify their momentum-based positions using leverage to bet on meme tokens, it's entirely possible this rally will continue. Now, without fundamental growth factors such as greater utility, adoption, and support for these three tokens, it's unclear just how viable these rallies will be long-term. After all, most of the excitement around these tokens is a result of the strong communities supporting these tokens (both from users as well as speculators). A reversal of this momentum in a bear market environment can lead to massive losses (as we saw in recent years), so it's really buyer beware when it comes to these highly speculative and risky digital assets. That said, it's party on in the crypto sector right now. The popcorn is out, and I'll certainly be watching how these tokens continue to perform from here, but will be doing so from the comfort of the sidelines. Should you invest $1,000 in Dogecoin right now? Before you buy stock in Dogecoin, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Dogecoin wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than tripled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of February 26, 2024 Chris MacDonald has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Why Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and Pepe Are Soaring Today was originally published by The Motley Fool
CNBC Daily Open: Will the Fed not cut rates in 2024? 2024-03-05 02:30:00+00:00 - U.S. Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference at the headquarters of the Federal Reserve in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 13, 2023. This report is from today's CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here . Asia stock markets mixed Asia markets were mixed Tuesday as investors assesses China's GDP growth projections of "around 5%" for 2024. The mainland's CSI 300 index climbed while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell. Overnight, Wall Street retreated despite a rally in tech stocks tied to the artificial intelligence boom. The Dow lost about 97 points, while the S&P 500 fell 0.12%. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.41%. Bitcoin topped $68,000 and inched closer to its 2021 all-time high. China sets GDP target China set an economic growth target of "around 5%" for 2024. The goals for GDP and other economic indicators were published at the National People's Congress annual meeting. The country will also boost its defense spending by 7.2% to 1.67 trillion yuan in 2024, according to a Ministry of Finance budget report. Does Nikkei's rally have legs? Japan's Nikkei stock index has seen a record-breaking rally. This has raised doubts on whether the momentum is sustainable given the country's economic struggles. The Nikkei 225 surpassed the 40,000 mark on Monday, with some economists predicting it still has room to climb, while others expect a correction. Gold sets new record Gold rose above $2,100 to the highest level ever as traders bet the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates in the second half of the year. When rates fall, gold prices typically rise as investors seek a safe haven alternative to bonds which become less attractive as their yields decline. [PRO] Skip EV stocks While electric vehicle stocks like Tesla are investors' favorite, Freddie Lait, chief investment officer at Latitude Investment Management, told CNBC's Pro Talks, he isn't too bullish on the sector. The fund manager instead has his sights on what he calls "bigger integrated covers," and picked Ferrari as "a phenomenal business."
China raises defense budget by 7.2% as it pushes for global heft and regional tensions continue 2024-03-05 02:14:58+00:00 - BEIJING (AP) — China on Tuesday announced a 7.2% increase in its defense budget, which is already the world’s second-highest behind the United States at 1.6 trillion yuan ($222 billion), roughly mirroring last year’s rise. Tensions with the U.S., Taiwan, Japan and neighbors with competing claims to the crucial South China Sea are seen as furthering growth in high-tech military technologies from stealth fighters to aircraft carriers and a growing arsenal of nuclear weapons. The official budget figure announced Tuesday at the opening of the legislature’s annual meeting is considered only a fraction of spending by the People’s Liberation Army, the military wing of the ruling Communist Party, once spending on research and development and foreign weapons purchases are considered. “We will provide stronger financial guarantees for efforts to modernize our national defense and the armed forces on all fronts and consolidate and enhance integrated national strategies and strategic capabilities,” Premier Li Qiang told the assembly of nearly 3,000 carefully selected participants, who show overwhelming loyalty to the Communist Party and its leader, Xi Jinping. China’s defense budget has more than doubled since 2015, even as the country’s economic growth rate has slowed considerably. However, the country’s continuing ambition is to challenge the U.S. and its allies in Asia including Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Australia over territorial claims, regional leadership and a bigger say in world affairs. Its defense budget grew by double-digit percentage figures for much of the 2000s but began to slow as the formerly booming economy started to plateau. In his address, Li put the GDP growth target at 5% this year, while acknowledging it would be difficult to achieve. China’s economy is dealing with high youth unemployment and a cratering real estate market after developers who took out giant bank loans were unable to pay back their lenders or deliver units to buyers who had spent their life savings to put a roof over their heads. That hasn’t dampened Beijing’s global ambitions, however, with conquest over the self-governing island democracy of Taiwan, driving Indian forces from their disputed border, and asserting control over islands in the East China and South China Sea all on Beijing’s list of priorities. In the latest dangerous incident, Chinese coast guard ships blocked Philippine vessels off a disputed South China Sea shoal on Tuesday, causing a minor collision, the Philippine coast guard said. Philippine security officials have accused the Chinese coast guard and suspected militia ships of blocking Philippine vessels and using water cannons and a military-grade laser that temporarily blinded some Filipino crewmen in a series of high-seas hostilities last year. Those all play into China’s increasingly intensive rivalry with the U.S. in the political, economic, military and technological spheres that has led to punitive tariffs and travel bans on Chinese officials, followed by retaliation by Beijing. China’s support for Russia and refusal to condemn its invasion of Ukraine have also aggravated relations with Washington. The U.S. still leads the world in defense spending, with the Department of Defense’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2024 totaling $842 billion, roughly a 5% increase when adjusted for inflation. While the U.S. has no official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, it remains the island’s main guarantor of security and provider of advanced weaponry. The U.S. Navy announced that the guided missile destroyer USS John Finn transited the Taiwan Strait dividing the island from mainland China on Tuesday, an act China frequently protests, along with the presence of U.S. Navy ships and planes elsewhere in the South China Sea. “U.S. ships transit between the South China Sea and the East China Sea via the Taiwan Strait and have done so for many years,” the 7th Fleet said in a statement. “The transit occurred through a corridor in the Taiwan Strait that is beyond any coastal state’s territorial seas. Within this corridor all nations enjoy high-seas freedoms of navigation, overflight, and other internationally lawful uses of the sea related to these freedoms,” it said. The spokesperson for the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command, army Col. Shi Yi, accused the U.S. of “publicly hyping-up” the passage of the ship and said Chinese naval and air forces tracked and monitored its progress. “Troops in the theater are always on high alert and ready to respond to all threats and provocations,” Shi said on the Defense Ministry’s website. According to the World Bank, China’s defense spending equaled 1.6% of its GDP in 2022, the last year for which figures were available, compared to 3.5% for the United States. While the U.S. defense budget has declined to about 12% of government spending, the proportion China spends remains obscure because of the many civilian-military collaboration projects it runs, from technology to business and real estate. China also sends ships and planes near Taiwan on a daily basis in an attempt to wear down the equipment and morale of the Taiwanese armed forces and underline its threat that Taiwan must inevitably be united with the mainland, by force if necessary. ___ Bodeen reported from Taipei, Taiwan.
Satellite images show devastation of Texas wildfires 2024-03-05 01:48:00+00:00 - The Smokehouse Creek Fire became the largest in state history Thursday. The largest before had been the East Amarillo Fire of 2006, which was around 907,000 acres, according to statistics from the Texas A&M Forest Service, which is a state agency. Among the other fires currently burning is the Windy Deuce Fire in Moore County, which is around 144,000 acres, officials said. It was 55% contained Monday. The Grape Vine Creek Fire in Gray County was 34,882 acres and 60% contained. Temperatures in the region were forecast to increase this week, but then a cold front is likely to bring a chance of precipitation starting Friday, the National Weather Service in Amarillo said. The moisture in the grass has increased, the Texas A&M Forest Service said in an update Monday, meaning it will be easier to fight the fires. "Overall, burn conditions are markedly improved from yesterday’s weather and the ability to fight fire on the ground is greatly enhanced," the agency said. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has issued a disaster declaration because of the fires, and a request for aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been approved. President Joe Biden said late last week that FEMA will guarantee that Texas, as well Oklahoma, will be reimbursed for firefighting efforts. Federal help has included 500 federal personnel in Texas, including over 100 federal firefighters, “and more are on the way,” Biden said Friday in Brownsville. Aircraft and other equipment have also been sent.
SoundHound AI Investors Should Hear What the CEO Just Said 2024-03-05 01:47:00+00:00 - In this video, I will talk about some key points mentioned during SoundHound AI's (NASDAQ: SOUN) earnings call that investors should pay attention to. *Stock prices used were from the trading day of Feb. 29, 2024. The video was published on March 2, 2024. Should you invest $1,000 in SoundHound AI right now? Before you buy stock in SoundHound AI, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and SoundHound AI wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than tripled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of February 26, 2024 Neil Rozenbaum has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Neil is an affiliate of The Motley Fool and may be compensated for promoting its services. If you choose to subscribe through his link, he will earn some extra money that supports his channel. His opinions remain his own and are unaffected by The Motley Fool. SoundHound AI Investors Should Hear What the CEO Just Said was originally published by The Motley Fool
China Sets Robust Economic Growth Goal but No Big Stimulus 2024-03-05 01:15:26+00:00 - China’s top leaders set an ambitious goal for economic growth in 2024 as they tried to bolster conviction in an economy facing its biggest challenges in decades. But they announced only modest measures to stimulate growth, refraining from the kind of bold moves the business sector has been looking for to address a property crisis, a loss of confidence among Chinese households and wariness by investors. Premier Li Qiang, the country’s No. 2 official after Xi Jinping, said in his report on Tuesday to the annual session of the legislature that the government would seek economic growth of “around 5 percent.” That is the same target that China’s leadership set for last year, when official statistics ended up showing that the country’s gross domestic product grew 5.2 percent. The central government’s program for spending showed little change. The fiscal deficit was set at 3 percent of economic input — the same target as early last year. Last year’s deficit was eventually raised to 3.8 percent to accommodate more borrowing, something the government signaled could happen again in 2024.
Jeff Bezos overtakes Elon Musk as world’s richest person, as Tesla stock slides 2024-03-05 01:08:00+00:00 - Tesla Inc.’s stock sank again on Monday, costing Elon Musk his title as world’s richest person. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos replaced the Tesla chief executive atop Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index on Monday for the first time since late 2021. It was the first time Musk had lost the top spot in nine months, when LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault briefly surpassed him. According to Bloomberg’s index, Bezos’s total net worth as of Monday was $200 billion, topping Musk’s $198 billion and Arnault’s $197 billion. Musk’s fortune has declined by $31 billion year to date, according to Bloomberg, while Bezos’s has risen by $23.4 billion. Bezos reclaimed the top spot despite selling about 50 million Amazon shares, worth roughly $8 billion, last month. He still holds about a 9% stake in the tech giant. Amazon shares AMZN, -0.36% are up about 17% year to date. Tesla shares slid more than 7% on Monday after the EV maker introduced new price cuts and discounts in the U.S. and China. Much of Musk’s fortune is in Tesla stock TSLA, -7.16% , which has fallen about 24% year to date; in January, a Delaware judge voided Musk’s $56 billion compensation package.
We sued Trump in Colorado. The Supreme Court's ruling did not exonerate him. 2024-03-05 00:52:11+00:00 - Conventional wisdom regarding the Supreme Court’s decision Monday allowing Donald Trump to remain on the Colorado state primary ballot is that this is a big victory for the former president. And the decision does allow Trump’s presidential campaign to continue. But we’d argue that this perspective misses a key part of the ruling — and one that is far less positive for the GOP front-runner. We’d argue that this perspective misses a key part of the ruling — and one that is far less positive for the GOP front-runner. The Supreme Court had every opportunity to exonerate Trump for his actions during the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, and it did not. The justices did not substantively take issue at all with the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision that Trump engaged in insurrection for the purposes of the 14th Amendment. We believe he is still constitutionally disqualified from holding office under Section 3 of the amendment. What the court did do is remove one of the enforcement mechanisms. The court’s opinion overturning the Colorado high court’s decision hinged on a technical point of law. It determined that states cannot enforce disqualification under the 14th Amendment for federal officeholders absent congressional legislation authorizing them to do so. “Because the Constitution makes Congress, rather than the States, responsible for enforcing Section 3 against federal officeholders and candidates, we reverse,” concluded the justices in their unsigned “per curiam” opinion. Our organization, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), and a remarkable bipartisan team of attorneys represented the six Republican and unaffiliated voters who brought the suit. We think the court’s decision on states’ ability to enforce the Constitution is clearly wrong on the text and the history. But, particularly since the whole purpose of this litigation was to vindicate this country’s continuing status as a nation of laws, we will of course accept the court’s ruling. But we urge Americans and legal experts alike to look at the court’s decision closely. What the court did not do was overturn, or even substantively dispute, the determination that the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol was an insurrection and that Donald Trump incited that insurrection. This is not an exoneration. Let’s think about what that means. The 14th Amendment says that any officeholder who swore an oath to support the Constitution and then engaged in insurrection is disqualified from office. Every court, indeed every decision-making body, that has substantively considered whether January 6 was an insurrection and whether Donald Trump engaged in that insurrection has concluded that it was and he has. That includes the House January 6 Select Committee, the Colorado trial court, the Colorado Supreme Court, Maine’s Secretary of State and, most recently, an Illinois trial court judge. The Supreme Court did not address this key issue, and we contend that this silence is important. It is hard at this point to escape the conclusion that Trump engaged in insurrection. Nor did the court find that presidents are exempt from the Section 3 provision or accept the argument advanced by Trump’s legal team that it should adopt a Trump-only exception for presidents who never held previous office. Of course, exonerating Trump would have been more difficult than the tack the court took because it would have meant reviewing and questioning the extensive trial record in the case, but Trump’s legal team urged the court to do exactly that, and we think the court’s failure to accept that invitation is very telling. Based on the evidence we both watched live on television, relived during the House’s Jan. 6 committee hearings and litigated during the Colorado trial, Trump is constitutionally disqualified from office. That is significant. All the Supreme Court held was that the enforcement mechanism our clients pursued — going to state court to remove him from the ballot under state law — doesn’t work. Now the task is to find a different way to enforce this key constitutional provision. Let’s be clear here. We are still facing an existential threat to the continued viability of democracy in the United States. Trump tried to keep himself in power after losing an election, he has since doubled down. He has defended insurrectionists, threatened the Constitution and declared his intention to move the country in authoritarian directions. And yet institution after institution has looked the other way and failed to act. The court on Monday joined an inauspicious list of institutions that have failed to meet the moment. The court on Monday joined an inauspicious list of institutions that have failed to meet the moment, declining to directly use the tool the Constitution provides to protect our republic. But the court did not clear Trump, and the door remains open for Americans to find other ways to effectuate this safeguard. The court clearly points to Congress as the body it believes should enforce this provision. So what can Congress do? It can pass enforcement legislation. But unfortunately, the current partisanship and obstructionism of Republican representatives especially makes such legislation unlikely. If Congress does not act, then it will be up to regular Americans. It is crucial for the American people to understand that Trump did incite insurrection, that every court and decision-maker that has looked at the issue has agreed, that the Supreme Court didn’t find differently, and that Trump is therefore not allowed under the Constitution to serve as president. That’s not good news for Trump. But now the hard work begins.
Stitch Fix and ThredUp shares fall, as both companies navigate ambitious transitions 2024-03-05 00:46:00+00:00 - With clothing demand still muted, online styling service Stitch Fix Inc. on Monday said it was trying to become a more “fun” destination for customers, while online second-hand shop ThredUp Inc. has been trying to make a bigger push into consignment sales. But both companies said those ambitions would take time to realize, and their forecasts for the months ahead disappointed investors, in one way or another. In the process, Stitch Fix shares SFIX, +2.18% tumbled 14.7% after hours on Monday, while ThredUp’s stock TDUP, +11.85% slid 8.5%. For the past two years, higher prices for essentials like groceries and gasoline have dampened spending on less essential things, like clothing, and many retailers have cut prices on apparel in an effort to attract customers. Stitch Fix has dealt with falling sales, and recently ended operations in the U.K. Last year, it laid off employees, and it has shaken up leadership. The company on Monday reported fiscal second-quarter results that were worse than expected. And it said it expected fiscal third-quarter sales of between $300 million and $310 million, below FactSet forecasts for $322 million. For the full year, set to wrap up around the end of July, the company said it expected sales of $1.29 billion to $1.32 billion, down from prior expectations of $1.3 billion to $1.37 billion and below analysts’ estimates for $1.35 billion. Chief Executive Matt Baer, during Stitch Fix’s earnings conference call, said that in the months ahead, the company wants to create a more “fun and visual” experience that would be more interactive. He added that it would take other steps to deepen relationships between customers looking to try out new styles and the Stitch Fix stylists who help them do that. “Our stylists play a critical part in our value proposition, and our clients have told us they want to get to know the stylists behind their Fixes,” Baer said, referring to the personalized clothing shipments its customers receive from stylists. But he added: “While some of these initiatives will begin to roll out in the coming months, it will take time to accomplish our ambitious plan to significantly evolve the Stitch Fix client experience.” ThredUp, meanwhile, said it expected first-quarter sales of $79 million to $81 million, just below Wall Street’s forecasts for $81.2 million. For the full year, the company’s sales outlook was $340 million to $350 million, in line with analysts’ forecasts for $345 million. The company over the years has tried to attract younger customers. It has shifted largely to consignment sales, in which the person selling their clothing can get a payout after the sale. That shift began in 2019 in an attempt to boost margins. But the company on Monday said its efforts to transition its business in Europe, as well as its business that resells clothing from bigger brands, to a consignment model would weigh on sales growth in the near term. “While the transition of these businesses to consignment should be a tailwind to gross margins over time, we expect it to mute revenue growth simply due to the accounting treatment,” Chief Financial Officer Sean Sobers said on the company’s earnings call. “As a reminder,” he said, “consignment payouts reduce net revenue. We expect consignment revenue will be an increasingly larger part of our business throughout 2024.” Both companies on Monday stressed their usage of technology, which they said made the shopping experience better. ThredUp recently introduced AI-backed search capabilities. Stitch Fix’s Baer said the company’s approach helps ease consumers’ frustrations of trying to buy clothing in stores — a process he said was often ”cumbersome” — as well as the sometimes ”overwhelming” experience of trying to buy them online. “At Stitch Fix, on day zero, we know our clients better than many retailers can aspire to know their customers over the course of their relationship,” he said.
Fox News broadcasts Sen. Roger Marshall’s anti-Asian conspiracy theory 2024-03-05 00:32:51+00:00 - As we head into this year's elections, Fox News is again pushing anti-immigrant bigotry, no matter how contrived the story sounds. This time, the target is Asian Americans. On Sunday, Republican Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas went on the network to spread a conspiracy theory that massage parlors owned by Chinese Americans are part of a decadeslong scheme by China’s government — and the Triads, a Chinese gang — to infiltrate and influence the U.S. Marshall's broad conspiracy theory centered on the assertion that an “explosion of massage parlors” and other Chinese American-led businesses in Kansas and other parts of the U.S. is part of “the next chapter” in deceased dictator Mao Zedong’s supposed mission to wield nefarious influence over U.S. politics. The rant was steeped in stereotypes. He claimed the Triads deploy “Harvard-trained” lawyers and accountants backed by China’s government to make the parlors look legitimate and launder money for what Marshall alleges are really hubs for human and drug trafficking. He repeated claims that China is helping Latin American drug smugglers bring fentanyl across the border. And he claimed that China is sending women to work in U.S. massage parlors who’ve been sold “into sex slavery for the rest of their lives.” As in many of these conspiracy theories, there are some facts buried beneath the wild-eyed claims. There have been massage parlors linked to prostitution, but you'd have to go back at least 15 years to find a big federal bust in Kansas. But to jump from there to a vast conspiracy involving the Chinese government, Chairman Mao and fentanyl without any evidence is irresponsible and illogical. Asked by anchor Maria Bartiromo toward the end of the interview if the FBI and CIA were aware of these claims, Marshall said he had "no idea" and that he was getting his information only from "my sheriff's officers" and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. It's bad enough that this kind of speculative nonsense is coming from a U.S. senator, but allowing him to spread it on cable TV with little pushback from the hosts is even worse. Unfortunately, it's par for the course at Fox News lately. Late last week, Manhattan prosecutors cleared a migrant man who’d been accused of attacking a New York City cop of wrongdoing after it was revealed the man wasn’t even at the scene of the attack when it occurred. Fox News gave the initial allegations breathless coverage and appears to have quietly parked a reference to the charges’ being dropped on its website. Similarly, Fox host Sean Hannity had to issue a correction in February after airing a segment in which he showed the conservative group the Guardian Angels attacking a man falsely accused of being a migrant and shoplifting. Inspired by Fox News’ anti-immigrant coverage, I had “The Birth of a Nation” on the brain over the weekend. For the unaware, that’s director D.W. Griffith’s racist film from 1915, designed to stoke resentment of free Black people — with several highly dramatized scenes. As Stanford professor Allyson Hobbs wrote for The New Yorker back in 2015, many viewers of the film saw the dramatic scenes as “facsimiles” of the racist version of American history they held as truth. Hobbs said: When the film was released, many members of the audience believed Griffith when he claimed that these scenes were “historical facsimiles” that represented the actual truth. To these viewers, who had been worked up into “a perfect frenzy,” as gossip columnist Dorothy Dix wrote, the film provided a way of understanding what happened when enslaved people were freed and foisted into positions far above their station. Griffith’s birth of a nation does not occur as the war-weary North and South struggle to rebuild the country after the war. Instead, the birth itself occurs once the bright promises of racial reconciliation and Reconstruction were scuttled. “The Birth of a Nation” became part of the edifice of the Jim Crow regime of legalized segregation that would last for the next forty years. With its anti-immigrant coverage, Fox News is heading down a similar path. It is working its audience into that “perfect frenzy” Dorothy Dix wrote about — no matter the veracity of its stories — with hopes that it will pay off politically for the conservative movement.