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Yesterday, the stock market saw a mixture of performances as investors awaited today's release of government inflation data. Boeing experienced a significant decline following news of a criminal investigation by the government into an incident where a door plug blew off one of its planes mid-flight. The company's stock has dropped by 24% since the beginning of the year.

Finance

Crypto Gets Blamed for a Currency-Crisis

Tigran Gambaryan, Binance’s head of financial-crime compliance, traveled to Nigeria's capital to address a pressing issue: The government had attributed the collapse of the currency to the actions of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange.

Leaving his family behind in Georgia, the American, a former Internal Revenue Service special agent, embarked on what he anticipated to be a brief business trip with only a small suitcase in late February.

However, he hasn't returned since.

According to the families of Gambaryan and his colleague Nadeem Anjarwalla, who is a citizen of the UK and Kenya and serves as Binance's regional manager for Africa, Nigerian authorities have detained them. The two Binance employees are currently being held in a secured residence but have not faced any formal charges. Despite being invited to Nigeria for meetings by the government, there has been no public discussion regarding their detentions.

Nigeria, boasting Africa's largest economy and a population exceeding 220 million, has weathered numerous currency crises in the past. However, this marks the first instance where cryptocurrencies have been prominently implicated.

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Economy

Inflation Picks up 3.2%, higher than expected

Last month, U.S. inflation showed a slight increase compared to expectations, but this had minimal impact on the anticipation that the Federal Reserve will likely commence rate cuts later this year.

According to the Labor Department's report on Tuesday, consumer prices in February rose by 3.2% from the previous year, slightly surpassing economists' forecast of 3.1%.

This consecutive month of stronger-than-expected inflation is expected to affirm the Federal Reserve's cautious approach towards rate reductions at their upcoming meeting next week. However, the focus remains on when to implement rate cuts rather than contemplating rate hikes. Inflation has notably receded from its 40-year highs following the fastest rate increases in four decades.

Eric Rosengren, who led the Boston Fed from 2007 to 2021, suggested that the Labor Department's report should not significantly change expectations for three rate cuts this year, as outlined by officials during their December meeting. Investors are anticipating the first rate cut to occur in June.

Politics

Biden Clinches Nomination, with Trump on Verge of GOP Nod

Following the latest round of primary voting on Tuesday, President Biden secured enough delegates to emerge as the presumptive nominee of his party, while former President Donald Trump is anticipated to soon meet the threshold, marking the definitive commencement of a contentious and expensive eight-month general election campaign.

The eventual selection of both candidates—both elderly figures whom most Americans are not enthusiastic about—has been largely anticipated for months. Biden surpassed the necessary delegates after winning the Georgia primary, as reported by the Associated Press, while Trump's achievement of the threshold was expected imminently.

Democrats conducted nominating contests in Georgia, Mississippi, and Washington state, as well as in the Northern Mariana Islands and among U.S. citizens residing abroad. Republicans held their contests in Georgia, Hawaii, Mississippi, and Washington state.

The focal point of the primaries was in Georgia, the state where the 2020 presidential race witnessed the narrowest margin between the two candidates. Observers closely monitored this primary to gauge their strengths and weaknesses among suburban, Black, Hispanic, and other crucial demographics.

With Trump poised as the presumptive nominee, he and the Republican National Committee are set to establish a joint fundraising committee, enabling the campaign to access larger contributions as the GOP aims to close the fundraising gap with Democrats. Biden and the Democratic National Committee already have a similar arrangement in place, with Democrats having already begun channeling funds to battleground states to develop campaign infrastructure.

In a statement, Biden expressed his gratitude, stating, "I am honored that the diverse coalition of voters representing the rich tapestry of the Democratic Party across the nation have once again entrusted me to lead our party—and our nation—at a time when the threat posed by Trump is more pressing than ever before."

Tech

How TikTok was Blindsided by Bill That Could Ban It

Two weeks ago, executives from TikTok’s U.S. operations traveled to the company’s international headquarters in Singapore with reassuring updates.

They informed their superiors that despite years of contentious debates about its future in the U.S., the widely-used video app wasn't facing immediate risk of being banned in its primary market, as relayed by individuals acquainted with the discussions. Encouraging indicators included the recent inclusion of President Biden’s election campaign on the app during Super Bowl Sunday.

However, upon their return to the U.S., they discovered they had misjudged the situation.

Behind closed doors in Washington, a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers and officials from the Biden administration had been quietly devising new legislation aimed at either banning TikTok outright or compelling its sale to a non-Chinese entity. This legislative effort marked the culmination of over a year's worth of attempts to rein in TikTok, spearheaded by a collective of China skeptics both in Washington and Silicon Valley. Recent anger over TikTok content related to the Israel-Hamas conflict provided additional impetus to the initiative.

When these lawmakers finally went public with their intentions last week, the widespread support for the proposed bill caught TikTok off guard.

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