Federal ‘uncertainty’ delays start of $1.3B Microporous project in Pittsylvania
Construction on Microporous’ $1.3 billion lithium-ion battery separator plant at the Southern Virginia Megasite at Berry Hill will be delayed from April until June or July, following uncertainty regarding its federal funding, according to a Pittsylvania County official. Matt Rowe, Pittsylvania’s economic development director, said Thursday he feels that the Tennessee company’s $1[...]
Mitre-backed cybersecurity program gets last minute save
Federal contractor Mitre, which has dual headquarters in McLean and Massachusetts, expected Wednesday to lose the federal funding needed to operate and maintain its nearly 26-year-old Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) program, but a last-minute reprieve from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has prevented that from happening. Established in September 1999, the CV[...]
Supreme Court blocks order requiring Trump administration to reinstate thousands of federal workers
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday blocked an order for the Trump administration to return to work thousands of federal employees who were let go in mass firings aimed at dramatically downsizing the federal government. The justices acted in the administration’s emergency appeal of a ruling by a federal judge in California ordering that 16,000 probationary employees [&hellip[...]
Trump says high tariffs may have prevented the Great Depression. History says different
WASHINGTON (AP) — In the early days of the Great Depression, Rep. Willis Hawley, a Republican from Oregon, and Utah Republican Sen. Reed Smoot thought they had landed on a way to protect American farmers and manufacturers from foreign competition: tariffs. President Herbert Hoover signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act in 1930, even as many economists […]
Wall Street points to gains as global markets rebound on tariff roller coaster
World shares and U.S. futures advanced Tuesday, led by gains in Tokyo where the Nikkei 225 shot up just over 6% as markets settled after the shocks from President Donald Trump ‘s tariff hikes. Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reported Tuesday that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent would lead trade negotiations with the country, which as been buffeted by […]
China says it will ‘fight to the end’ after Trump threatens to impose still more tariffs
BEIJING (AP) — China said Tuesday it would “fight to the end” and take countermeasures against the United States to safeguard its own interests after President Donald Trump threatened an additional 50% tariff on Chinese imports. The Commerce Ministry said the U.S.‘s imposition of “so-called ‘reciprocal tariffs’” on China is “completely groundless and is a typical unilateral[...]
In conservative Alabama, Republicans are cheering for Trump – with some quiet concerns and caveats
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — On a day when stock markets around the world dropped precipitously, Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wahl led a celebration of the president whose global tariffs sparked the selloff. With no mention of the Wall Street rollercoaster and global economic uncertainty, Wahl declared his state GOP’s “Trump Victory Dinner” — and the broader […]
As markets implode, US trading partners puzzle over whether there’s room for negotiations
BRUSSELS (AP) — America’s trading partners wrestled with responses to U.S. President Donald Trump‘s blast of tariff hikes and some planned to send negotiators to Washington, while the head of the European Union’s executive commission offered mutual reduction of tariffs – while warning that retaliation was an option too. “We stand ready to negotiate with the United [&h[...]
Panic Monday: World stock markets plunge again as Trump doubles down on tariffs
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Global stock markets extended a severe plunge Monday, fueled by fears that U.S. tariffs would lead to a global economic slowdown. European and Asian shares saw dramatic losses, the leading U.S. index flirted with bear market territory in pre-market trading, and oil prices sagged. The massive sell-off in riskier assets at the start […]
5 Virginia companies among 27 firms targeted by China for further trade constraints
BANGKOK (AP) — China announced Friday that it will impose a 34% tariff on imports of all U.S. products beginning April 10, part of a flurry of retaliatory measures following U.S. President Donald Trump‘s “Liberation Day” slate of double-digit tariffs. The new tariff matches the rate of the U.S. “reciprocal” tariff of 34% on Chinese […]
Warner worried about Microporous $100M grant
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, Virginia’s senior Democratic senator, is worried about the possibility of the Trump administration clawing back a $100 million federal grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to Microporous, the Tennessee company planning to invest $1.3 billion to build a lithium-ion battery separator facility at the Southern Virginia Megasite at […]
China retaliates as Trump’s tariffs affect world markets
BANGKOK (AP) — Countries and industries were scrambling Friday to respond as President Donald Trump‘s latest tariffs hikes upend global trade and world markets. China responded to the 34% tariffs imposed by the U.S. on imports from China by announcing it will impose a 34% tariff on imports of all U.S. products beginning April 10. […]