Drug shortages reach record high in US

 Drug shortages reach record high in US

There are 323 drugs with active shortages in the US, surpassing the previous record high from 2014

There are more active drug shortages in the United States than ever, according to data from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and the University of Utah Drug Information Service.

FILE - In this May 25, 2017 file photo, chemotherapy drugs are administered to a patient at a hospital in Chapel Hill, N.C. A growing shortage of common cancer treatments is forcing doctors to switch medications and delaying care, prominent U.S. cancer centers say. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network said Wednesday, June 7, 2023, that nearly all the centers it surveyed in late May 2023 were dealing with shortages of the chemotherapies carboplatin and cisplatin. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Drug shortages may mean difference between life and death for some US patients, experts say

The organizations first started tracking drug shortages in 2001. Active shortages previously peaked in 2014, with 320 drugs in active shortage. Shortage levels have fluctuated in the decade since, but have been steadily trending up since 2021 — now reaching a record-high of 323 drugs in the first three months of 2024.

“It’s long past time to put an end to drug shortages,” Paul Abramowitz, chief executive officer of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, wrote in a blog post on Thursday.

“All drug classes are vulnerable to shortages,” he wrote. “Some of the most worrying shortages involve generic sterile injectable medications, including cancer chemotherapy drugs and emergency medications stored in hospital crash carts and procedural areas. Ongoing national shortages of therapies for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder also remain a serious challenge for clinicians and patients.”

Along with the 32 chemotherapy drugs that are in shortage, the five categories of drugs with the most shortages include central nervous system stimulants, antimicrobials, hormone agents and intravenous fluids.

The drug shortage database maintained by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and the University of Utah is based on voluntary reports from practitioners, patients and others that are confirmed with manufacturers. This list often includes more drugs than the number considered to be in shortage by the US Food and Drug Administration because it captures broader impacts on providers and patients.

The average drug shortage lasts about a year and a half, according to government data. More than half of the treatment shortages have persisted for more than two years, according to an analysis by health consulting firm IQVIA. And the average shortage affects at least half a million patients, many of them older adults, according to the US Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, which shared its analysis with Congress in May.

Increased demand can play a role in drug shortages, as with recent shortages of weight loss drugs. But more often, manufacturing and quality problems, such as supply chain gaps and discontinuations, are at the root.

Last week, HHS published a white paper outlining policy suggestions to help prevent drug shortages and mitigate vulnerabilities. Among the key recommendations are collaborations with manufacturers and hospitals that aim to bring transparency to the drug market and incentivize investment in resilient and diverse supply chains.

But the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists has “serious concerns” about parts of this proposal, notably the financial penalties for hospitals that lack resources to comply with the recommendations.

“We all know that managing shortages isn’t enough and is not a sustainable solution to the worsening crisis,” Abramowitz wrote. “Much work remains to be done at the federal level to fix the root causes of drug shortages.”

Bitcoin Mining Braces For A Shakeout As Halving Nears

 Bitcoin Mining Braces For A Shakeout As Halving Nears

The approaching bitcoin halving is sending some bitcoin mining companies running for cover.

Others, meanwhile, are rushing out to score good deals.

"We're really paying attention to the full spectrum right now of assets and companies that might be more on that marginal cost curve so that we can ensure we're prepared for any types of opportunities that may arise," Adam Sullivan, CEO of bitcoin mining company Core Scientific (CORZ), told Investor's Business Daily.

Most industry watchers expect the reduced reward for bitcoin mining to push some out of the business. That, in turn, could lead to a glut of specialized mining hardware. "As those marginally profitable miners start to experience cash-flow issues, it can be a great opportunity for Core Scientific to buy machines at discounted prices," said Sullivan.

Sullivan says the halving will kick off a massive equipment buying frenzy in the bitcoin mining sector, driven by a need for modernized, efficient mining hardware as the reward drops. "You're going to see an acceleration on ASIC demand, people rotating into newer generation machines," said Sullivan.

The Big Bitcoin Mining Rig Demand Blowup

ASICs, or Application-Specific Integrated Circuit processors, are the type of chips powering the most modern and specialized mining rigs. The first mining-specific ASIC rigs appeared in 2013, according to CoinDesk, and are solely designed to handle the cryptographic math needed to "mine" bitcoin. ASICs soon supplanted GPUs from Nvidia (NVDA) and AMD (AMD), which had themselves replaced microprocessors in ordinary, at-home computers. But with every new wave of technology, efficiency remained the goal: more crypto calculations with less energy.

Some of the currently top-rated mining chips and computers come from China-based players, including Bitmain, MicroBT and Cannan (CAN).

The influx of new mining hardware permits miners some flexibility in dealing with their energy costs. Industrial bitcoin mining also considers the cost of electricity in different locations throughout the U.S. "We're taking the most efficient machines and putting them to our highest uptime locations," said Sullivan. "We're then taking our least efficient machines and allocating them to our facilities where we can be much more selective about the power costs." Core Scientific says it currently operates facilities in Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, North Dakota and Texas.

Prior bitcoin halvings occurred in 2012, 2016 and 2020. Bitcoin's next halving appears set to occur later this month.

Bitcoin's halving is a function built into the cryptocurrency from the onset, laid out by reputed creator Satoshi Nakamoto in the original 2008 bitcoin white paper. Bitcoin is "mined" by verifying transactions across the bitcoin network, creating a block that's added to the chain of previous transactions. (This creates the so-called blockchain.) When other bitcoin miners agree that the block is valid, the block becomes a bitcoin that goes to the first miner. Meanwhile, the block is itself used to hash new transactions.

Estimates call for April's halving to reduce mining rewards to 3.125 bitcoin per block, down from 6.25 per block. Because bitcoin mining occurs at a steady rate, halvings tend to occur roughly every four years.

"Mining companies are going to be making very large purchases to ensure the long-term stability of their business and to make sure they can survive through these difficult times of the year," said Sullivan.

Weathering Difficult Times In Bitcoin Mining

Core Scientific is no stranger to lean times in crypto. The Austin, Texas-based bitcoin miner filed for bankruptcy during the 2022 drop in crypto prices popularly called the "crypto winter." Core Scientific continued its mining operations through the bankruptcy, and emerged in January, reclaiming the ticker CORZ.

Core Scientific currently has a market cap of $555.9 million, well below its $4.3 billion market debut via special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, in 2021. The mining company's stock saw its shares spike to a year-to-date high of 4.29 in March before reversing to a low of 2.95 after the company reported its first post-bankruptcy earnings. Core Scientific is unranked in its Computer Software group, although it does hold a Composite Rating of 84, according to IBD Research.

The top publicly traded miners include Riot Platforms (RIOT) and Marathon Digital (MARA).

Core Scientific remains optimistic it can weather the halving and keep its spot as one of the largest bitcoin miners. "We know we'll have an opportunity to refresh our machines post-halving, putting us in a really strong position to continue to grow to 2025," said Sullivan. "We know what it takes from a capital allocation perspective and we know what it means to put cash on the balance sheet to be able to take advantage of bear markets versus being concerned about profitability."

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The Vatican’s new statement on trans rights undercuts its attempts at inclusion

 The Vatican’s new statement on trans rights undercuts its attempts at inclusion

Pope Francis greets bishops during the weekly general audience at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City on April 10, 2024. Massimo Valicchia/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Li Zhou is a politics reporter at Vox, where she covers Congress and elections. Previously, she was a tech policy reporter at Politico and an editorial fellow at the Atlantic.

A new Vatican document released April 8 details how the Catholic Church approaches human dignity, but it has raised concern among LGBTQ parishioners and their allies about how it describes gender-affirming surgery.

The document, entitled “Dignitas Infinita” (“Infinite Dignity”), was five years in the making and lays out the ways the Vatican believes the inherent dignity that each person possesses can be honored and protected. Though largely in line with positions the Catholic Church has expressed in the past, it’s notable for elevating some of the church’s most conservative views into doctrine — essentially, official church teachings — during a period in which the current pope has been seen as trying to steer the organization in a more progressive, inclusive direction.

Broadly, the document highlights “grave violations” of human dignity, including war, poverty, mistreatment of migrants, and abuse of women. It also lists other perceived threats, including abortion and what the Vatican describes as “gender theory” and “sex change.” In these provisions, the document criticizes gender-affirming procedures and stresses that the Vatican views gender as a clear binary between men and women.

“While Pope Francis has made greater strides in affirming LGBTQ+ Catholics than any of his predecessors, his endorsement of ‘Dignitas Infinita’ will be seen as turning the clock back by transgender individuals, both within and outside the church,” R. Andrew Chesnut, the Bishop Sullivan Chair in Catholic Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, told Vox.

The release of “Dignitas Infinita” comes amid a larger political, cultural, and social discourse about trans rights and medical care, including a recent UK report on the subject. LGBTQ Catholics and advocates fear, too, that it will worsen a climate in which some governments have enacted laws that attack trans people — including numerous GOP bans on gender-affirming care for children in the US — and be used to fuel more discrimination.

“The document should not be dismissed as simply an abstract theological conversation with few human consequences,” Francis DeBernardo, the executive director of New Way Ministries, an LGBTQ Catholic group, said in a statement. “Rather, the Vatican is again supporting and propagating ideas that lead to real physical harm to transgender, nonbinary, and other LGBTQ+ people.”

The Vatican document challenges attempts at inclusion

Under Pope Francis, the Vatican has sought to lead a more inclusive Catholic Church, including approving blessings for same-sex couples and allowing women to vote in a major bishops’ meeting for the first time.

Francis has also personally made overtures to the trans community, approving the baptizing of trans parishioners and welcoming a group of trans women to a weekly gathering. However, as “Dignitas Infinita” exemplifies, such progress toward inclusivity has been halting, with the church still declining to permit marriage for same-sex couples and barring women from becoming priests.

The document’s treatment of trans people continues this pattern by emphasizing the need to acknowledge every person’s human dignity while offering “limited dignity” to trans people, DeBernardo said.

In particular, it argues that gender-affirming procedures threaten the dignity that a person is born with at conception, claiming that such medical care interferes with “the need to respect the natural order of the human person.” The document also broadly denounces “gender theory,” which includes “argu[ing] that a person’s gender can be different from the sex that person was assigned at birth,” NPR’s Jason DeRose explains.

“That ‘Dignitas Infinita’ rebukes gender transition interventions as a rejection of God’s plan of human life implies that those individuals who have elected to transition ... have violated divine will,” said Chesnut.

Jason Steidl, a professor of religious studies at St. Johns University who specializes in Catholicism, put it more bluntly. “This is the Newsmax version of Catholic theology,” he said.

The Vatican’s statements have been widely lambasted by trans members of the Catholic Church who view them as undermining their experiences and their place in the church. “Transgender people are beloved, intentional creations of God the same as cisgender men and women are,” Michael Sennett, a trans man and practicing Catholic in Massachusetts, told the Associated Press.

Steidl and others, however, see the doctrine as satisfying a more conservative arm of the Catholic Church.

The pope’s announcement in late 2023, for example, that the Vatican would support priests blessing same-sex couples in certain contexts drew ire from numerous clergymen globally. Those opposed to Francis’s more progressive actions included some in Africa, one of the places where the Catholic Church has seen high growth in recent years, who called it “contrary to the will of God.”

According to Steidl, who is also the author of LGBTQ Catholic Ministry, the provisions going after trans people in the Vatican’s document were likely an attempt to appease this segment of the church. “Cardinal Fernandez, the head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of Faith, had essentially said that they were going to be throwing traditionalists a bone,” Steidl told Vox.

The church doctrine adds to policies attacking trans people

LGBTQ advocates worry the Vatican’s document will only be further ammunition for conservatives in the political and social spheres as they advance discriminatory policies, particularly as political attacks on trans people have surged in recent years.

At least 19 GOP-led state legislatures in the US have passed laws either restricting or outright banning access to gender-affirming care, even though major physician organizations have deemed such care medically necessary. As the number of anti-trans laws has spiked, a report from the National Center for Transgender Equality has documented an increase in homicides of transgender people in the US between November 2022 and November 2023.

European countries are also taking a more restrictive approach to health care for trans people — particularly for minors. Recently, a report commissioned by the United Kingdom’s National Health Service questioned current transition practices in pediatrics and reiterated recommendations to reduce the use of puberty blockers, a treatment the NHS has already stopped offering for minors with gender dysphoria.

LGBTQ advocates are concerned that the Vatican’s document will just add to rhetoric globally that has sought to curtail trans rights.

“This document … tells trans people that they are a threat to the world, that they are a threat to order, to the systems that God has set up,” Steidl told Vox. “Unfortunately, the Vatican is contributing to these movements that seek to hurt trans people, that seek to eliminate them.”

Back Indian Railways to run Summer Special Vande Bharat Express trains in April. Check out routes, timings, and stops

Back

Indian Railways to run Summer Special Vande Bharat Express trains in April. Check out routes, timings, and stops

Indian Railway has announced the schedule and stops of summer special Vande Bharat Express trains in April 2024 it will operate for the convenience of passengers planning to visit their hometowns or tourist destinations.

A special Vande Bharat train will run from Chennai Egmore to Nagercoil on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays of this month for the convenience of passengers

Indian Railway has announced that it will run several summer special Vande Bharat Express trains in April 2024 for the convenience of passengers planning to go to their hometowns or tourist destinations. 

Releasing the schedule, the Indian Railways said the summer special Vande Bharat Express trains will be operated from Chennai Egmore to Nagercoil and on the return direction on 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27 and 28th of April. 

To cater to the increased demand during the festive season, Indian Railways operate the fully reservation-based special Vande Bharat Express trains every year. In 2023, the Indian Railways announced 283 festival special trains for Diwali and Chhath Puja, and made approximately 4,480 trips during the festival season.

To cater to the increased demand during the festive season, Indian Railways operate the fully reservation-based special Vande Bharat Express trains every year. In 2023, the Indian Railways announced 283 festival special trains for Diwali and Chhath Puja, and made approximately 4,480 trips during the festival season.

Festival special trains are operated for Diwali and Chhath Puja as well as Onam, Christmas, and New Year. There was a special Vande Bharat Express train for the convenience of passengers to and from Kerala during the Onam festival, and several Vande Bharat trains were operated during Christmas and New Year.

April 2024 Summer Special Vande Bharat Route

The Indian Railways said in a release a special train will run from Chennai Egmore to Nagercoil on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays of this month. 

Train number 06057, will depart from Chennai Egmore at 5:15 am and reach Nagercoil at 2:10 pm. In the return journey, train number 06058 will depart from Nagercoil at 2:50 pm and reach Chennai Egmore at 11:45 pm, it added.

These Vande Bharat summer special trains from Chennai Egmore to Nagercoil will have stops at Tambaram, Villupuram, Tiruchi, Dindigul, Madurai, Virudhunagar and Tirunelveli. Though it has been planned only for April as of now, the service may be extended, based on passenger demand, the statement said. 

Indian Railway has also advised the passengers to book the ticket in advance and check the official website for the updated schedule and stops of the April 2024 summer special Vande Bharat Express Trains.

 

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Amazon’s total Washington state employment declines for the first time, new numbers show

 Amazon’s total Washington state employment declines for the first time, new numbers show

    

In-depth Amazon coverage from the tech giant’s hometown, including e-commerce, AWS, Amazon Prime, Alexa, logistics, devices, and more

A logo in the lobby at Amazon’s re:Invent building in Seattle, March 2024.

Amazon’s employment in Washington state, including warehouse and corporate workers, fell by 3,000 people to 87,000 employees between early 2023 and early 2024 — its first recorded year-over-year employment decline in the state since the company was founded nearly 30 years ago in Jeff Bezos’ Bellevue garage.

The net decrease in the state comes as Amazon builds up its workforce in downtown Bellevue, but sees its overall employment decline at its main headquarters campus north of downtown Seattle. Meanwhile, the company is continuing to expand its employee base in Virginia, home to Amazon’s second headquarters.

With the decline, Washington now ranks third among U.S. states for Amazon employment, slipping behind Texas, which grew by 1,000 people to 89,000 employees. California surpassed Washington as Amazon’s largest state for employment in 2020, amid the rapid expansion of its fulfillment network.

That’s one of the takeaways from GeekWire’s calculations using the latest numbers from the company’s Investing in the U.S. page, where Amazon periodically updates its state-by-state employment and other economic statistics.

Amazon state-by-state direct employment as of January 2024. Click to enlarge. (GeekWire Graphic; Data Source: Amazon Investing in the U.S. webpage)

Amazon created the site to give legislators, policy makers, and others a sense for its impact in individual states. The site doesn’t include historical data, but we’ve made a habit of compiling the numbers from each update to see where the company is growing, and more recently, where it’s also shrinking.

An important note: these employment numbers do not include drivers who are employed by third-party firms to deliver packages.

More takeaways from our spreadsheet:

🔸Overall, Amazon added 22,500 employees in the U.S. between early 2023 and 2024. That marks a return to growth in the U.S. after shrinking by nearly 100,000 employees domestically the year before. But it’s still well below the rapid growth experienced by the company for much of the prior decade.

🔸California remains the company’s largest state for employment, with 153,000 workers as of January 2024, even after a decline of 9,000 employees over the course of the year. It was the second straight annual decline for the company in the state, after dropping from 170,000 to 162,000 the year before.

🔸With the emergence of the company’s first employees in Alaska, Wyoming, and Montana over the past year, the last remaining state where Amazon doesn’t have employees is Vermont, according to the stats.

🔸Amazon’s total employment worldwide declined year-over-year, from 1.541 million employees at the end of 2022 to 1.525 million at the end of 2023, according to numbers released with the company’s earnings reports.

🔸The company’s U.S. employment now represents about 67% of total global employment. That’s up year-over year, from about 65% in 2023; but down over the past four years, from about 72% in 2020.

In a statement, Amazon spokeperson Zach Goldsztejn said changes in the employee numbers reflect the needs of the company’s business, noting that the company regularly adjusts its hiring needs in the interest of serving its customers.

Amazon’s global employment has plateaued in recent years after rapid growth in the prior decade

The net decline in Washington state comes as Amazon spreads its workforce across what it calls its “Puget Sound headquarters.” Amazon has grown to 12,000 corporate and tech employees in Bellevue, where it’s developing a series of office towers. Amazon last week said it’s restarting construction of one of those new towers.

Employment at Amazon’s corporate headquarters in Seattle has declined from 60,000 employees in 2020 to 50,000 currently. The new number for Seattle proper was reported in March by the Puget Sound Business Journal.

Virginia, which includes Amazon’s “HQ2,” in Arlington, Va., simultaneously grew by 3,000 employees over the course of the year, to 39,000 employees as of January, according to the latest Amazon numbers for the state.

Here’s what the state-by-state trends look like over the past year.

 

TSMC Will Receive $6.6 Billion to Bolster U.S. Chip Manufacturing

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company plans to build an additional factory and upgrade another planned facility in Phoenix with the federal grants.

A new Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company plant under construction in Phoenix, Ariz., in December 2022.Credit...T.J. Kirkpatrick for The New York Times

The Biden administration will award up to $6.6 billion in grants to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the leading maker of the most advanced microchips, in a bid to bring some of the most cutting-edge semiconductor technology to the United States.

The funds, which come from the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, will help support the construction of TSMC’s first major U.S. hub, in Phoenix. The company has already committed to building two plants at the site and will use some of the grant money to build a third factory in Phoenix, U.S. officials said on Sunday. TSMC will also increase its total investments in the United States to more than $65 billion, up from $40 billion.

Bringing the world’s most sophisticated chip manufacturing to the United States has been a major goal for the Biden administration. TSMC announced that it would now produce two-nanometer chips at the hub, a significant step forward given that the United States currently produces none of the most advanced semiconductors.

Federal officials view the investment as vital for building up a reliable domestic supply of semiconductors, the small chips that power everything from phones and supercomputers to cars and fighter jets. Although semiconductors were invented in the United States, production has largely shifted overseas in recent decades. Only about 10 percent of the world’s chips are made in the United.

The award is the second largest by the federal government under a program intended to re-establish the United States as a leader in semiconductor manufacturing. It was unveiled a few weeks after President Biden announced that Intel, another major chipmaker, would receive $8.5 billion in grants and up to $11 billion in loans during a tour of battleground states meant to sell his economic agenda.

The CHIPS Act, which lawmakers passed in 2022, gave the Commerce Department $39 billion to distribute as subsidies to encourage companies to build and expand chip plants across the United States. The program is a major pillar of Mr. Biden’s economic policy agenda, which is centered on strengthening American manufacturing.

The Global Race for Computer Chips

🔸Making an American Microchip: Even as the Biden administration invests in bringing more of the supply chain back home, chip manufacturing will remain decidedly global. The international journey of a chip made by a U.S. manufacturer illustrates that.

A Grant for Intel: President Biden awarded $8.5 billion to the company, a major investment to bolster semiconductor production in the United States. The grant was announced as the president championed his economic policies during a tour of the Southwest.

🔸A Geopolitical Shift: As U.S. and European tech companies look to Southeast Asia to diversify from China, Malaysia is rising as a crucial link in the semiconductor supply chain.

🔸Expansion Obstacles: U.S. chip factories are facing delays, just as the Biden administration begins dispensing money to stoke production. While companies producing advanced semiconductors have requested over $70 billion in federal subsidies, twice the available funding amount.

TSMC’s award will bring the total announced grants to more than $16 billion. Three smaller companies, GlobalFoundries, Microchip Technology and BAE Systems, received the first awards.

In addition to the grants, the federal government will provide up to $5 billion in loans to TSMC. The company is also expected to claim federal tax credits that could cover 25 percent of the cost of building and outfitting factories with production equipment. About $50 million of the grants will be set aside to train and develop the company’s work force, federal officials said.

Gina Raimondo, the commerce secretary, said the investment would help the United States start manufacturing the most advanced semiconductors, which are used in artificial intelligence, smartphones and the most sensitive military hardware.

“It’s a national security problem that we don’t manufacture any of the world’s most sophisticated chips in the United States,” Ms. Raimondo said on Sunday. “Now, because of this announcement, these chips will be made in the United States.”

Earlier this year, Ms. Raimondo said new investments in semiconductor companies would put the United States on track to produce roughly 20 percent of the world’s most advanced logic chips by the end of the decade.

TSMC’s investment is expected to create about 6,000 direct manufacturing jobs and more than 20,000 construction jobs, federal officials said. TSMC will have to meet certain construction and production milestones before payments are made.

The company has been counting on federal aid for years. Talks about a partly subsidized expansion in the United States began in 2019, during the Trump administration, according to company officials. TSMC first announced that it would build a new facility in Phoenix in May 2020, a project that company officials said would eventually require government subsidies to help address the higher cost of building and operating chip plants in the United States.

In December 2022, several months after the passage of the CHIPS Act, TSMC announced that it would build a second factory at the site, increasing its total investment to $40 billion from $12 billion.

But since TSMC started construction in 2021, various stumbling blocks have delayed the start of production. Last summer, TSMC pushed back initial production at its first factory to 2025 from this year, saying local workers lacked expertise in installing some sophisticated equipment. In January, the company said the second plant would not meet its original schedule of beginning manufacturing in 2026.

Production at the second facility is expected to begin in 2028, and production at the third factory is expected to start by the end of the decade, according to the Biden administration officials.

TSMC’s expansion in the United States could have an outsize impact on the global supply chain for semiconductors, the vulnerabilities of which were laid bare by crippling chip shortages during the pandemic.

TSMC, which pioneered the idea of manufacturing chips to order for others that design them, operates massive factories in Taiwan that churn out the vast majority of the small components that supply processing power to computers, phones, networking gear, appliances and military gear. America’s reliance on the company’s factories, on an island that China does not recognize as independent and claims is part of its territory, has long worried U.S. officials.

New generations of production technology are often described in terms of nanometers, or billionths of a meter, a measure of key dimensions of microscopic circuitry. In December 2022, TSMC said it would produce three-nanometer chips at its second Arizona factory. It will now also introduce the next generation of technology, at two nanometers, in the second plant, Biden administration officials announced.

Such advances determine how many transistors can be packed on each small slice of silicon, which allow chips to perform calculations more quickly and store more data. In the past decade, TSMC supplanted Intel in delivering the most sophisticated production technology, producing components that Apple designs for its latest smartphones and Nvidia develops to power artificial intelligence applications like ChatGPT.

Though the planned addition of two-nanometer technology represents a substantial advance, that does not necessarily mean that TSMC’s U.S. factories will offer the latest technology at the same time as its factories in Taiwan. The company carries out research on new technologies on the island, and adapting those processes to high-volume manufacturing is typically done first in nearby buildings to speed the transition and reduce travel time for engineers.

It remains possible that Intel, which is racing to regain its lead in manufacturing technology, will offer the most advanced production technology in the industry by 2028 at U.S. factories. The company carries out its manufacturing technology research in Oregon.

Biden administration officials are expected to award more grants in the coming months to other big chipmakers that have invested in new or expanded domestic facilities in recent years, including Micron Technology and Samsung.

BITCOIN

 

BITCOIN

‘Overheated’ Bitcoin market is cooling – Time to bet on BTC’s price again?

There is scope for fresh longs entering the market, paving way for a sustained push north on the charts…

🔸Drops in funding rates, OI indicated a shakeout of over-leveraged bullish traders

🔸Market mood changed from one of extreme greed to greed

Bitcoin [BTC] retreated from its previous all-time highs (ATH) this week, dropping by 3.23% to the $67k zone, according to CoinMarketCap. Right now, bullish market participants are eagerly awaiting a rebound to $73k – A level last hit in mid-March.

However, while the king coin languishes on the charts, some of its market indicators are still flashing green.

Funding rates normalize

According to J. A. Maartunn, a contributor at on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant, Bitcoin’s funding rates dropped sharply over the week. In fact, at press time, it was at levels which he deemed as “neutral.”

Typically, drops in funding rates indicate a shakeout of over-leveraged bullish traders. The funding rates soared when BTC hit its new ATH mid-March, a sign of an overheated market. However, with funding rates normalizing, and prices still around $67k, there is now scope for fresh longs entering the market, paving the way for a sustained push north.

The 11% decline in Open Interest (OI) in Bitcoin futures over the week, as per AMBCrypto’s analysis of Coinglass‘ data, also reflected the exit of over-leveraged long positions.

Euphoria starts to subside

The cool-off was further demonstrated by the shift in market mood from “extreme greed” to ” greed” over the week, as per the Crypto Fear and Greed Index. Typically, when the market becomes extremely greedy, it means it’s due for a correction.

Another bullish trigger for Bitcoin?

What could work in Bitcoin’s favor is that bankrupt crypto-lender Genesis finished selling more than $2 billion of its Grayscale Bitcoin ETF (GBTC) shares. Genesis was primarily driving outflows from GBTC in recent weeks, resulting in Bitcoin’s correction.

However, with reprieve from Genesis’ end, GBTC outflows could slow down significantly, allowing other ETFs to offset this with high inflows, potentially leading to Bitcoin’s rise again.

U.S. and China to hold talks on 'balanced growth' amid overcapacity concerns, Yellen says PUBLISHED SAT, APR 6 2024 3:

 

U.S. and China to hold talks on 'balanced growth' amid overcapacity concerns, Yellen says

PUBLISHED SAT, APR 6 2024 3:

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen (L) shakes hands with China's Vice Premier He Lifeng in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, on April 5, 2024.

US

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Saturday that she and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng agreed to launch exchanges on "balanced" economic growth, an effort to address U.S. concerns about China's excess manufacturing capacity.
After two days of economic talks in China's southern export hub of Guangzhou, Yellen said she and He also agreed to start a forum to cooperate on anti-money laundering efforts in their respective financial systems.

The exchanges "will facilitate a discussion around macroeconomic imbalances, including their connection to overcapacity, and I intend to use the opportunity to advocate for a level playing field for American workers and firms," Yellen said in a statement released at the conclusion of the talks.

She characterised four and a half hours of discussions with He on Saturday as productive and frank.

Coming into her four-day visit to China, her top priority was to persuade Chinese officials to rein in excess production capacity for electric vehicles (EVs), solar panels and other clean energy technology that threaten competing firms in the U.S. and other countries.

The Biden administration is facing growing calls from U.S. lawmakers to increase tariffs on Chinese EVs to protect U.S. producers.

Chinese state media pushed back on her excess capacity arguments, calling them a "pretext" for protectionist U.S. policies and "fear-mongering.

No tariff threat

Yellen did not threaten to raise tariffs or impose other trade barriers if China failed to curb state support that has expanded production of EVs, solar panels and other clean energy products far beyond domestic demand, a senior U.S. Treasury official said.

"I think the Chinese realize how concerned we are about the implications of their industrial strategy, for the United States, for the potential to flood our markets with exports that make it difficult for American firms to compete," Yellen said. "And then other countries have the same concern."

She said the forum would provide a "structured" way to discuss a complicated issue but that it would take some time to resolve.

"It's going to be critical to our bilateral relationship going forward and to China's relationship with other countries that are important," she added.

She added Chinese officials were "more confident" about the world's second-biggest economy after putting in place policies to address issues in the property sector and on local government debt.

China's Xinhua news agency said in a statement that the discussions between He and Yellen were "candid, pragmatic and constructive", confirming both parties had agreed to further discuss balanced growth and financial stability.

Beijing also expressed serious concerns about U.S. economic and trade restrictions on China and made a full response to the production capacity issue during the talks, the statement said.

The U.S. Treasury official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the balanced growth forum was first proposed in February during an economic working group meeting.

Wendy Cutler, a former U.S. trade negotiator, said the forum focused on overcapacity was a positive development, but there was a danger that it could "turn into a stalling tactic" by Beijing to avoid needed actions to bring supply and demand back into balance.

Yellen also said she had warned Chinese firms faced "significant consequences" if they provided material support to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Chinese side emphasized that their policy was not to provide such support and did not want this to be a bilateral issue.

Protectionist pretext'

Xinhua criticized Yellen's stance late on Friday, saying that talking up "Chinese overcapacity" in the clean energy sector created a pretext for protectionist policies to shield U.S. companies.

In an editorial on Saturday, Xinhua said suppressing China's EV-related industries would not help the U.S. grow its own, adding that it hoped more headway could be made during Yellen's visit to break down barriers hindering mutually beneficial cooperation.

While Treasury does not expect a major shift in Chinese policy after Yellen's visit, U.S. officials believe it was important to explain the economic risks that overinvestment in some sectors and weak consumer demand present to both China and its trading partners.

Yellen said on Friday her trip was partly aimed at cementing U.S.-China ties to "withstand shocks and challenging circumstances."

Yellen will continue her discussions with Chinese officials on Monday in Beijing, where she is to meet officials including Premier Li Qiang, Finance Minister Lan Foan and People's Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng.

Trump leads Biden in six swing states amid stiff presidential battle, poll finds

 Trump leads Biden in six swing states amid stiff presidential battle, poll finds

In the poll, the negative views for Biden outweighed the positive ones by at least 16 percentage points and more than 20 points in four of the states.

According to a recent poll by the Wall Street Journal, Donald Trump has a lead over Joe Biden in six of the seven swing states. The survey, released Wednesday, found that the presumptive GOP nominee had a lead of between 2 and 8 percentage points among voters in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina.

New poll finds Trump has edge over Biden in 6 of 7 swing states

Donald Trump has an edge over Joe Biden in six of the seven swing states, new poll by WSJ finds(AFP)

The journal added that the results were similar in a “one-on-one matchup” with the US president on the ballot that included third-party and independent candidates. Meanwhile, in the seventh state, Wisconsin, where Biden was already ahead by 3 points on a multiple-candidate ballot, the two rivals were tied in a “head-to-head contest,” per Reuters.

“The Biden re-election campaign is grappling with voter concerns about the US economy despite job growth, healthy spending and better-than-expected GDP increases, an issue that has vexed economists and Democratic political strategists,” according to the outlet.

In the poll, the negative views for Biden outweighed the positive ones by at least 16 percentage points and more than 20 points in four of the states. The outlet further added, “Trump got an unfavourable job rating for his time in the White House in only one of the seven states - Arizona.”

Additionally, the poll results also saw that most of the viewers saw Trump as a better fit for the presidential role in lieu of having better mental and physical health. In contrast to the 28 percent favourable votes for Biden, Trump acquired 48 percent.

The outlet further added that “the survey of 4,200 votes - 600 in each of the seven states - was conducted March 17th-24th and had a margin of error of plus or minus 1.5 percentage points for the full sample and 4 points for results in individual states.”

Netanyahu says aid workers’ killing tragic, ‘happens in wartime’: 10 points

 Netanyahu says aid workers’ killing tragic, ‘happens in wartime’: 10 points

The seven workers killed in the strike were citizens from Australia, Britain, Poland, a Palestinians and a dual citizen of the United States and Canada.

People inspect the site where World Central Kitchen workers were killed in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip,

In Short

🔸Seven killed in Israeli strike at food charity in Gaza

🔸Israeli PM laments killings, but says it 'happens in war'

🔸Countries, including Poland, Spain, the UK, react strongly

Seven people working for the World Central Kitchen aid group in Gaza were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Tuesday. Three of them were British nationals, one Australian, one from Poland, one Palestinian and one dual citizen of the United States and Canada.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lamented the killing of the NGO workers calling the incident "tragic and unintended". However, he also said this "happens in wartime".

 

Two 100-foot asteroids set to pass Earth today; NASA reveals how close these scary space rocks will come

NASA tracks as many as 4 approaching asteroids, including two 100-foot space rocks. These two asteroids will approach Earth today.

The US space agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, better known through its abbreviation NASA, has revealed that as many as four asteroids are silently making their way towards Earth. Each one varies in size. While asteroids are definitely something to be scared of as they have impacted Earth on many occasions in its long history leading to global scale destruction, none of these have any chance of impacting our planet. The reason behind it is that NASA’s scientists are constantly tracking their movements and this has revealed they will get very close to Earth, but they pose no danger. Their close encounter with Earth is imminent though and as many as two asteroids are 100-foot monsters and they will approach today.

NASA keeps watch as four asteroids, including two 100-foot space rocks, approach Earth today. (Representative image)(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The first is Asteroid 2024 FR3. It is approximately the size of an airplane. This is a 78-foot asteroid and despite its large size, it is set to maintain a safe distance of 824,000 miles from Earth.

The second is the plane-sized Asteroid 2024 FG3. This is a 100-foot asteroid and it will pass Earth at a safe distance of 1,940,000 miles.

The third is Asteroid 2024 FN3 and it too will pass Earth today. This is also a 100-foot asteroid that is well on its way to Earth in its long journey. This asteroid will get as close as 4,220,000 miles to Earth.

The fourth is Asteroid 2024 FL3. It too is a 100-foot monster in size, but it will make its closest approach on April 3, 2024. Traveling at a distance of 2,030,000 miles from Earth, it marks the end of this series of encounters.

The important thing to note here is that the Universe is huge and many of these space rocks, which tumble out of the asteroid belt due to some reason or the other, get extremely close to Earth. NASA and other global space agencies track these asteroids to ensure that none of them are heading for a potential calamitous crash against the Earth.

While none of these asteroids posed an immediate threat, their close brushes are a scary reminder of the dangers ever-present in space that have to be closely monitored because of the potential dangers.

Byju's layoffs: Company starts job cuts via calls, lets go staff without notice period

 Byju's layoffs: Company starts job cuts via calls, lets go staff without notice period

Byju's layoffs: The company is also not asking employees to serve a notice period, the report claimed.

Byju's layoffs: Edtech company Byju's initiated layoffs on phone calls and is letting go employees without putting them on a performance improvement plan (PIP), Moneycontrol reported citing people in the know. The company is also not asking employees to serve a notice period, the report claimed.

Byju's layoffs: How many employees could be affected?

Byju's layoffs: The company is also not asking employees to serve a notice period, the report claimed.

Byju's new round of layoffs may impact anywhere between 100 to 500 employees, the report claimed. The sector most affected could be the sales function of the company.

In the past two years, Byju's has sacked at least over 10,000 employees as the company grapples with dwindling funds and legal showdowns with investors and stakeholders. Currently, nearly 14,000 employees are on the payroll of Byju's India entity.

Byju's spokesperson told Moneycontrol, “We are in the final stages of a business restructuring exercise announced in October 2023 to simplify operating structures, reduce the cost base, and better cash flow management. We are going through an extraordinary situation in the company because of the ongoing litigation, where every employee and the ecosystem itself is going through tremendous stress given the present circumstances.”

In the current wave of layoffs, Byju's is following phone calls with emails that read, “This is to confirm that your last working day with Think and Learn Pvt Ltd will be March 31, 2024. Your full and final settlement will be done as per the exit policy. Please hand over all the assets and proprietary information of the Company that are in your possession to enable processing your full and final settlement. In case of any queries on exit formalities, please contact separations@byjus.com.

Mars exploration: NASA's Curiosity searches for new clues about ancient water

 Mars exploration: NASA's Curiosity searches for new clues about ancient water

A recent study by an international team has suggested that Mars might have retained more water for a longer period than previously thought.

The presence of water on Mars—Earth’s neighbour —is not an alien concept. Astronomers over decades have talked about the presence of water on the Red Planet without evidence. However, a recent study by an international team has suggested that the fourth planet of the solar system from the Sun might have retained more water for a longer period than previously thought.

As the Curiosity rover of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has begun exploring a new region of Mars i.e Gediz Vallis channel—appears to have been carved by an ancient river—it could reveal more about when liquid water disappeared once and for all from the Red Planet’s surface.

The rover team is focusing on the Gediz Vallis channel and searching on for evidence that would confirm how the channel was carved into the underlying bedrock. The formation’s sides are steep enough that the team doesn’t think the channel was made by wind.

The rover’s journey through this region aims to find out the process of the Gediz Vallis channel formation—whether the debris flows (rapid, wet landslides) or a river carrying rocks and sediment could have formed the bedrock. Scientists are also eager to find out whether the debris was transported by water or dry avalanches.

Since 2014, Curiosity has been ascending the foothills of Mount Sharp above the floor of Gale Crater to explore the evaluation of the Mars climate change. The study of layers in the lower part of Mount Sharp formed over millions of years may provide scientists a clue as to how the presence of both water and the chemical ingredients required for life changed over time. These layers present a chronological record of Mars’ environmental changes, crucial for understanding its potential for past life.

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“If the channel or the debris pile were formed by liquid water, that’s really interesting. It would mean that fairly late in the story of Mount Sharp – after a long dry period – water came back, and in a big way," said Curiosity’s project scientist, Ashwin Vasavada of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

Last year, Curiosity made a challenging ascent to study the ridge, which drapes across the slopes of Mount Sharp and seems to grow out of the end of the channel, suggesting both are part of one geologic system.

This Curiosity exploration contributes to a growing body of evidence suggesting Mars experienced water in phases, with periods of aridity interspersed with significant watery intervals. Discoveries like mud cracks, remnants of shallow lakes, and evidence of the complexity of Mars's hydrological past, Massive debris flows underscore the complexity of Mars’ hydrological past.

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Pluto declared ‘official state planet’ of this US state

2 min read

01 Apr 2024, 03:16 PM IST

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Written By Deepak Upadhyay

Arizona—a southwestern US state—has recently declared Pluto as its ‘official state planet’ despite the ‘dwarf planet’ being stripped of its official status as a planet in 2006 by the International Astronomical Union

This Pluto image was taken in July 2015, when NASA's New Horizons spacecraft was 476,000 miles (768,000 kilometers) from the surface

Arizona--a southwestern US state—has recently declared Pluto as its ‘official state planet’ despite the ‘dwarf planet’ being stripped of its official status as a planet in 2006 by the International Astronomical Union

Last Friday (i.e. March 29), Arizona governor Katie Hobbs signed a legislation declaring the ‘dwarf planet’ as the ‘official state planet’ of the US state, reported The Arizona Daily Star. When quizzed on whether the Pluto is a full-fledged planet? The Arizona governor dodged the question saying “I am proud of Arizona’s pioneering work in space discovery."

It is important to note that Pluto was discovered by American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff of Arizona in 1930. Pluto happens to be the only planet to be discovered in the US.

“The whole story of Clyde is just amazing, just sitting there under the telescope’’ looking for planets by taking photos over a period of time," said Arizona state Republican Justin Wilmeth (R-Phoenix), who praised the Pluto legislation.

Senator Sally Ann Gonzales (D-Tucson)--one among the five senators who voted against the legislation--said, “Scientifically, they took it out of being a planet." Gonzales added that lawmakers must take scientific information into account, “something that we as a Legislature, as a body, sometimes omit.’’

What is the status of Pluto?

In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) voted to remove Pluto from the group of planets, claiming that the icy object at the edge of the solar system failed to meet the full and proper definition of planets. The IAU reclassified Pluto as a “dwarf planet."

According to NASA, “Pluto is a dwarf planet located in a distant region of our solar system beyond Neptune known as the Kuiper Belt. It was long considered our ninth planet, but the International Astronomical Union reclassified Pluto as a dwarf planet in 2006."

“It was named by 11-year-old Venetia Burney of Oxford, England," the US space agency added.

Pluto is classified as a dwarf planet because, “while it is large enough to have become spherical, it is not big enough to exert its orbital dominance and clear the neighbourhood surrounding its orbit," ass per Encyclopedia Britannica.

The website noted that Pluto’s “demolition" felt like a “break from tradition" to many across the globe. It added that the step was, however, “a positive step forward into a new light, new knowledge, and changing perspectives of the universe."

NASA further said, “When Pluto was reclassified in 2006 from a planet to a dwarf planet, there was widespread outrage on behalf of the demoted planet. As the textbooks were updated, the internet spawned memes with Pluto going through a range of emotions, from anger to loneliness. But since the release of New Horizons images showing a very prominent heart-shaped feature on the surface, the sad Pluto meme has given way to a very content, loving Pluto that would like to once again be visited by a spacecraft."

“The Disney cartoon character Pluto, Mickey's faithful dog, made his debut in 1930, the same year Clyde Tombaugh, an astronomer at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, discovered the dwarf planet. There is speculation that Walt Disney named the animated dog after the recently discovered planet to capitalize on its popularity, but other accounts are less certain of a direct link," the US space agency added.

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Earthquake of magnitude 6.1 strikes Japan; no tsunami warning issued

 Earthquake of magnitude 6.1 strikes Japan; no tsunami warning issued

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.1 hit Iwate and Aomori prefectures in northern Japan on Tuesday.

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.1 hit Iwate and Aomori prefectures in northern Japan on Tuesday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The epicenter was northern coastal part of Iwate Prefecture(Rep image)

The epicenter was northern coastal part of Iwate Prefecture, the agency said, adding that a tsunami warning had not been issued.

There were no reports of immediate damage.