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Trump-backed bitcoin company begins trading on Nasdaq

Summary

A bitcoin treasury and mining company linked to the Trump family began trading Wednesday on the Nasdaq stock market.

American Bitcoin’s listing follows a completed merger with Gryphon Digital Mining. The company is backed by President Donald Trump’s sons, and Eric Trump.

“Our Nasdaq debut marks a historic milestone in bringing bitcoin into the core of U.S. capital markets,” Eric Trump said in a statement. He is a co-founder and chief strategy officer of American Bitcoin.

Public companies accumulating bitcoin as a corporate treasury has become a popular trend in crypto as the world’s most popular digital asset is priced near an all-time high. The parent company of Trump’s Truth Social has also moved to accumulate bitcoin.

American Bitcoin said it plans to use “self-mining operations and opportunistic bitcoin purchases” to stand out in a growing field.

Wednesday’s listing gives investors yet another chance to put money in a Trump-linked crypto project. The Trump family has made a heavy pivot from real estate into crypto in the last year with projects ranging from a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin to the president hawking his own meme coin.

On Monday, another Trump-family backed crypto project, World Liberty Financial, launched public trading of its tokens. The popularity of such projects has put the value of the Trump family’s crypto holdings at several billion dollars, at least on paper.

Democrats have blasted the president for trying to monetize his popularity with crypto investors while also pushing for pro-crypto legislation and regulations. Trump has denied any improper conflicts of interest.

US job openings slip in July, adding to evidence that the American labor market is cooling

Summary

  • U.S. employers posted 7.2M in July
  • Openings fell from 7.4M in June, below forecasts
  • shows continues cooling
  • rose in July, signaling employer caution
  • held steady at 3.2M, showing worker confidence

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers posted 7.2 million job vacancies in July as the American labor market continues to cool.

The Labor Department reported Wednesday that job openings fell from 7.4 million in June and came in modestly below what economists had forecast. Healthcare and social assistance companies cut openings by 181,000 and retailers by 110,000.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) showed that layoffs rose slightly. The number of Americans quitting their jobs — a sign of confidence in their ability to find better pay, opportunities or working conditions elsewhere — was unchanged from June at 3.2 million.

Jobs openings remain at healthy levels but have fallen steadily since peaking at a record 12.1 million in March 2022 as the U.S. economy roared back from COVID-19 lockdowns.

The U.S. job market has lost momentum this year, partly because of the lingering effects of 11 interest rate hikes by the inflation fighters at the Federal Reserve in 2022 and 2023 and partly because President Donald ‘s trade wars have created uncertainty that is paralyzing managers making hiring decisions.

On Friday, the Labor Department will put out unemployment and hiring numbers for August. They are expected to show that businesses, government agencies and nonprofits added nearly 80,000 jobs last month, according to a survey of forecasters by the data firm FactSet. That would mark a modest improvement on the disappointing 73,000 they created in July.

Worse than the lackluster July hiring figures were Labor Department revisions that slashed a stunning 258,000 jobs off May and June payrolls. A furious Trump responded to the bad numbers by firing the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the technocratic agency that compiles the statistics, and nominating a partisan idealogue to replace her.

So far this year, the economy has been generating 85,000 jobs a month, down from 168,000 last year and an average 400,000 a month during the hiring boom of 2021-2023.

In a time of uncertainty, employers are less likely to hire, but they’re not letting workers go either.

In a social media post Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, noted that jobs openings in July had come in below the number of U.S. unemployed (7.24 million) for the first time since April 2021. “This is yet another crack in the labor market that illustrates how much harder it is to get a new job right now than what we’ve seen in a long time,” she wrote.

Families of Boeing crash victims to make potential final plea for criminal prosecution

Summary

  • Federal court hearing underway in , Texas
  • Families seek prosecution in crash cases
  • Crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia killed 346 people
  • Prosecutors say Boeing misled on flight-control system
  • Judge to weigh motion to dismiss felony conspiracy charge

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Families of some of the 346 people killed in crashes of Boeing 737 Max jetliners held photos of their dead loved ones Wednesday outside a federal court in Texas, where a judge heard arguments on the U.S. government’s motion to dismiss its criminal case against the aerospace company in connection with the twin disasters.

U.S. District Chief Judge Reed O’Connor set aside time for the relatives to speak during the hearing, which lasted about three hours. Some traveled from countries in Europe and Africa to pursue what might have been their final opportunity to demand that the company face prosecution for the crashes off the coast of Indonesia and in Ethiopia.

“My daughter died on a new airplane that was defective and that was in operation because they weren’t complying with regulations and because of fraud,” said Nadia Milleron, a Massachusetts resident whose 24-year-old daughter, Samya Stumo, was among the 157 passengers and crew members killed in the Ethiopia crash. “I don’t want any other any other family member to lose their loved ones because of this kind of fraud.”

Boeing is charged with conspiracy to defraud the government, a felony. Prosecutors alleged the company deceived Federal Aviation Administration regulators about a flight-control system that was later implicated in the fatal flights, which happened less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019.

The judge said he would issue his decision on dismissal motion at a later date.

Wednesday’s hearing in Fort Worth came more than four years after the announced it had charged Boeing and reached a $2.5 billion settlement with the aircraft maker. That deal would have protected Boeing from criminal prosecution if it strengthened its ethics and legal compliance programs, but prosecutors revived the charge last year after deciding the company had violated certain terms of the agreement.

A new deal is struck

Boeing decided to plead guilty as part of a different agreement that would have avoided a public trial, but O’Connor rejected that deal in December. The judge, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, cited concerns he had over how diversity policies both at the federal government and at Boeing could influence the selection of an independent monitor charged with overseeing the company’s promised reforms.

Prosecutors spent months renegotiating with Boeing, and in late May, the two sides struck the latest deal that takes both the criminal charge and Boeing’s guilty plea off the table. In exchange, Boeing said it would pay or invest another $1.1 billion in fines, compensation for the crash victims’ families, and internal safety and quality measures.

The Justice Department said it offered those terms in light of “significant changes” Boeing has made to its quality control and anti-fraud programs since last summer. It said the agreement also served the public interest more effectively than taking the long-running case to trial and risking a jury verdict that might spare the company further punishment.

Victims’ families are divided

Chris and Clariss Moore of Toronto, whose 24-year-old daughter, Danielle, also died when a 737 Max crashed shortly after takeoff from Ethiopia’s Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, said in a statement that the pending agreement would allow Boeing to escape justice.

“The safety of passengers will be held in the balance,” the statement said.

Nearly 100 families oppose the agreement and want the judge to appoint a special prosecutor to take over the case since the Justice Department said it would not move forward with the charge even if O’Connor refuses to dismiss it, according to court documents.

Justice Department lawyers said the families of 110 crash victims either support resolving the case before it reaches trial or do not oppose the new deal. The Justice Department has asked the judge to leave open the possibility of refiling the conspiracy charge if the company does not hold up its end of the deal over the next two years.

While federal judges typically defer to the discretion of prosecutors in such situations, court approval is not automatic.

Faulty software is at the center of the case

The yearslong case centers around a software system that Boeing developed for the 737 Max, which began flying in 2017.

In both of the deadly crashes, that software pitched the nose of the plane down repeatedly based on faulty readings from a single sensor, and pilots flying for Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines were unable to regain control. After the Ethiopia crash, the planes were grounded worldwide for 20 months.

Investigators found that Boeing did not inform key Federal Aviation Administration personnel about changes it had made to the software before regulators set pilot training requirements for the Max and certified the airliner for flight.

The initial 2021 settlement agreement was on the verge of expiring last year when a panel covering an unused emergency exit blew off a 737 Max during an Alaska Airlines flight over Oregon. No one was seriously injured, but it put Boeing’s safety record under renewed scrutiny.

UPDATES: to reflect that hearing has ended.

Wall Street steadies itself as Alphabet pulls tech stocks higher

Summary

  • rises 0.5%, breaking a two-day losing streak
  • jumps 7.1% after favorable antitrust ruling
  • ease, calming market inflation worries
  • Macy’s soars 19.6% on strong quarterly earnings
  • sinks 9.7% despite profit beat

NEW YORK (AP) — is steadying on Wednesday as Alphabet and other technology stocks rise.

The S&P 500 added 0.3% and was on track to break its two-day losing streak since setting its latest all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 179 points, or 0.4%, as of 12:32 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.9% higher.

Google’s parent company was one of the strongest forces lifting the market and climbed 8.7% after avoiding some of the worst-case scenarios in its antitrust case. A federal judge on Tuesday ordered a shake-up of Google’s search engine but did not force a sale of its Chrome browser.

Because Alphabet is one of Wall Street’s most valuable companies, its stock movements carry more weight on the S&P 500 and other indexes than the typical company’s.

Also helping to steady Wall Street was a calming bond market. A day earlier, rising yields for government bonds around the world raised the pressure on the stock market. Yields climbed on worries about governments’ abilities to repay their growing mountains of debt, as well as concerns that President Donald ‘s pressure on the Federal Reserve to cut short-term interest rates could lead to higher inflation in the long term.

Such worries have pushed investors to demand higher yields in order to lend money to governments worldwide. And when bonds are paying more in interest, investors are less likely to pay high prices for stocks, which are riskier investments.

On Wednesday, Treasury yields retreated following the latest report on the U.S. job market to come in weaker than expected. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.21% from 4.28% late Tuesday, for example.

The report showed that U.S. employers were advertising 7.2 million at the end of July, fewer than economists had forecast. The number bolsters the growing sense on Wall Street that the job market may be ossifying into a low-hire, low-fire state.

A weakened job market could push the Federal Reserve to cut its main interest rate for the first time this year at its next meeting, which is scheduled for later this month. That’s the widespread expectation among traders.

Lower interest rates could give the job market and overall economy a boost, along with prices for investments. The downside is that they can also push inflation higher when Trump’s tariffs may be set to raise prices for all kinds of imports.

Trading on Wall Street was mixed outside of , which benefited from the Alphabet ruling. Apple rose 3% after analysts highlighted how the ruling will still allow it to sign lucrative search deals with Google.

“This is a relief, an outcome that is much better than feared for Google and for Apple,” according to Chris Marangi, co-chief investment officer of value at Gabelli Funds.

Macy’s jumped 17.1% for one of the market’s bigger gains after the retailer reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The owner of Bloomingdale’s delivered the best growth in an important measure of sales in three years, and it also raised its forecasts for sales and profit this fiscal year.

, a bitcoin treasury and mining company linked to the Trump family, shot up 28.1% in its first day of trading on the Nasdaq after completing a with Gryphon Digital Mining. Movements for its stock were so frenetic that trading was halted several times in the day’s first hour, and it more than doubled at one point.

Campbell’s rose 4.9% after the company behind the Goldfish and V8 brands reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It also said, though, that customers are continuing to be “increasingly deliberate” and that tariffs may help drag its overall earnings lower in its upcoming fiscal year.

On the losing end of Wall Street was Dollar Tree, even though the retailer reported better profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. A chunk of its stronger-than-expected performance came because of the timing of tariffs, which could drag down its results in the current quarter.

Analysts also said expectations were high for the value retailer coming into its report. Its stock fell 7.1%, slicing into its gain for the year that came into the day at a stellar 48.6%.

In stock markets abroad, European indexes ticked higher following a weaker finish across much of Asia.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.9% amid uncertainty about the political future of Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

UPDATES: Updates trading

Mystery surrounds $1.2 billion Army contract to build huge detention tent camp in Texas desert

Summary

WASHINGTON (AP) — When President Donald Trump’s administration last month awarded a contract worth up to $1.2 billion to build and operate what it says will become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex, it didn’t turn to a large government contractor or even a firm that specializes in private prisons.

Instead, it handed the project on a military base to Acquisition Logistics LLC, a small business that has no listed experience running a correction facility and had never won a federal contract worth more than $16 million. The company also lacks a functioning website and lists as its address a modest home in suburban Virginia owned by a 77-year-old retired Navy flight officer.

The mystery over the award only deepened last week as the new facility began to accept its first detainees. The Pentagon has refused to release the contract or explain why it selected Acquisition Logistics over a dozen other bidders to build the massive tent camp at Fort Bliss in West Texas. At least one competitor has filed a complaint.

The secretive — and brisk — contracting process is emblematic, experts said, of the government’s broader rush to fulfill the Republican president’s pledge to arrest and deport an estimated 10 million migrants living in the U.S. without permanent legal status. As part of that push, the government is turning increasingly to the military to handle tasks that had traditionally been left to civilian agencies.

A member of Congress who recently toured the camp said she was concerned that such a small and inexperienced firm had been entrusted to build and run a facility expected to house up to 5,000 migrants.

“It’s far too easy for standards to slip,” said Rep. Veronica Escobar, a Democrat whose district includes Fort Bliss. “Private facilities far too frequently operate with a profit margin in mind as opposed to a governmental facility.”

Attorney Joshua Schnell, who specializes in federal contracting law, said he was troubled that the Trump administration has provided so little information about the facility.

“The lack of transparency about this contract leads to legitimate questions about why the Army would award such a large contract to a company without a website or any other publicly available information demonstrating its ability to perform such a complicated project,” he said.

Ken A. Wagner, the president and of Acquisition Logistics, did not respond to phone messages or emails. No one answered the door at his three-bedroom house listed as his company’s headquarters. Virginia records list Wagner as an owner of the business, though it’s unclear whether he might have partners.

Army declines to release contract

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth approved using Fort Bliss for the new detention center, and the administration has hopes to build more at other bases. A spokesperson for the Army declined to discuss its deal with Acquisition Logistics or reveal details about the camp’s construction, citing the litigation over the company’s qualifications.

The Department of Homeland Security, which includes U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, declined for three weeks to answer questions about the detention camp it oversees. After this story was published Thursday, the department’s spokeswoman, Tricia McLaughlin, issued a statement that said “under President Trump’s , we are working at turbo speed on cost-effective and innovative ways to deliver on the American people’s mandate for of criminal illegal aliens.”

She said the Fort Bliss facility “will offer everything a traditional ICE detention facility offers, including access to legal representation and a law library, access to visitation, recreational space, medical treatment space and nutritionally balanced meals.”

Named Camp East Montana for the closest road, the facility is being built in the sand and scrub Chihuahuan Desert, where summertime temperatures can exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit and heat-related deaths are common. The 60-acre (24-hectare) site is near the U.S.-Mexico border and the El Paso International Airport, a key hub for deportation flights.

The camp has drawn comparisons to “Alligator Alcatraz,” a $245 million tent complex erected to hold ICE detainees in the Florida Everglades. That facility has been the subject of complaints about unsanitary conditions and lawsuits. A federal judge recently ordered that facility to be shut down.

The vast majority of the roughly 57,000 migrants detained by ICE are housed at private prisons operated by companies like Florida’s Geo Group and Tennessee-based CoreCivic. As those facilities fill up, ICE is also exploring temporary options at military bases in California, New York and Utah.

At Fort Bliss, construction began within days of the Army issuing the contract on July 18. Site work began months earlier, before Congress had passed Trump’s big tax and spending cuts bill, which includes a record $45 billion for immigration detention. The Defense Department announcement specified only that the Army was financing the initial $232 million for the first 1,000 beds at the complex.

Three white tents, each about 810 feet (250 meters) long, have been erected, according to satellite imagery examined by The Associated Press. A half dozen smaller buildings surround them.

Setareh Ghandehari, a spokesperson for the advocacy group Detention Watch, said the use of military bases hearkens back to World War II, when Japanese Americans were imprisoned at Army camps including Fort Bliss. She said military facilities are especially prone to abuse and neglect because families and loved ones have difficulty accessing them.

“Conditions at all detention facilities are inherently awful,” Ghandehari said. “But when there’s less access and oversight, it creates the potential for even more abuse.”

Company will be responsible for security

A June 9 solicitation notice for the Fort Bliss project specified the contractor will be responsible for building and operating the detention center, including providing security and medical care. The document also requires strict secrecy, ordering the contractor inform ICE to respond to any calls from members of Congress or the news media.

The bidding was open only to small firms such as Acquisition Logistics, which receives preferential status because it’s classified as a veteran and Hispanic-owned small disadvantaged business.

Though Trump’s administration has fought to ban diversity, equity and inclusion programs, federal contracting rules include set-asides for small businesses owned by women or minorities. For a firm to compete for such contracts, at least 51% of it must be owned by people belonging to a federally designated disadvantaged racial or ethnic group.

One of the losing bidders, Texas-based Gemini Tech Services, filed a protest challenging the award and the Army’s rushed construction timeline with the U.S. Government Accountability Office, Congress’ independent oversight arm that resolves such disputes.

Gemini alleges Acquisition Logistics lacks the experience, staffing and resources to perform the work, according to a person familiar with the complaint who wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity. Acquisition Logistics’ past jobs include repairing small boats for the Air Force, providing information technology support to the Defense Department and building temporary offices to aid with immigration enforcement, federal records show.

Gemini and its lawyer didn’t respond to messages seeking comment.

A ruling by the GAO on whether to sustain, dismiss or require corrective action is not expected before November. A legal appeal is also pending with a U.S. federal court in Washington.

A judge in that case denied a motion that sought to freeze construction at the site at a sealed hearing Thursday.

Schnell, the contracting lawyer, said Acquisitions Logistics may be working with a larger company. Geo Group Inc. and CoreCivic Corp., the nation’s biggest for-profit prison operators, have expressed interest in contracting with the Pentagon to house migrants.

In an earnings call this month, Geo Group Executive George Zoley said his company had teamed up with an established Pentagon contractor. Zoley didn’t name the company, and Geo Group didn’t respond to repeated requests asking with whom it had partnered.

A spokesperson for CoreCivic said it wasn’t partnering with Acquisition Logistics or Gemini.

Virginia 500: The 2025-26 Power List

Who are Virginia’s most powerful and influential leaders in business, government, politics and education this year? Find out in the sixth annual edition of the : The 2025-26 .

Read a note from our associate publisher about how we select the Virginia 500. 

Executives are listed in alphabetical order by industry. Below you will find links to each of the 21 categories featuring the state’s top leaders this year:

TowneBank completes $203M acquisition of Old Point

Suffolk-based announced Tuesday that it has closed its $203 million acquisition of Hampton-based National Bank of Phoebus and its parent company, Old Point Financial.

The , which went into effect Monday, cements TowneBank’s position as the bank with the highest market share in . The combined company now has total assets of $19.5 billion, loans of $13.1 billion and deposits of $16.3 billion based on financial information reported as of Dec. 31, 2024.

Old Point’s 13 bank branches will now operate as “Old Point National Bank, a Division of TowneBank” until February 2026, when the core systems and operations of Old Point National Bank are scheduled to be converted into those of TowneBank. Old Point Wealth Management will continue to offer its products and services as an addition to the TowneBank family of companies.

“We are honored to welcome Old Point to the Towne family, and look forward to upholding the legacy of the Shuford family in Hampton and beyond,” TowneBank Executive G. Robert Aston Jr. said in a statement.

Due to the merger, Old Point Chairman, President and Robert F. Shuford Jr. was appointed as TowneBank’s senior executive vice president. He will now serve as chairman of the TowneBank Peninsula board of directors beginning Jan. 1, 2026.

“The legal close of our merger marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Old Point and TowneBank,” Shuford said in a statement. “This partnership brings together two institutions deeply committed to serving our communities, employees and shareholders. We look forward to building a stronger future together.”

In August, TowneBank announced that it had signed an agreement to acquire North Carolina-based Dogwood State Bank for approximately $475 million. The transaction is expected to close in early 2026, pending regulatory approval and the approval of Dogwood’s shareholders.

Founded in 1999, TowneBank has more than 50 locations across Central and Eastern Virginia and North Carolina. It had total assets of $18.26 billion as of June 30.

Trump administration withdraws $39.27M for Norfolk offshore wind project

SUMMARY:

  • The administration has cut $39.27 million in funding for a offshore wind project
  • The U.S. Department of Transportation canceled a total of $679 million for 12 offshore wind projects nationwide
  • Virginia lawmakers blasted the cuts as harmful to jobs and shipbuilding
  • White House sought to cancel $20 million for a Portsmouth Marine Terminal project, but the project was already finished

The last week withdrew $39.27 million in federal funding that had previously been awarded for an offshore wind logistics port in Norfolk and attempted to terminate $20 million for a project that had already been completed in Portsmouth.

The Norfolk Offshore Wind Logistics Port, part of the 111-acre Fairwinds Landing project at Lambert’s Point Docks, is the project losing nearly $40 million that was awarded in 2023 under the Biden administration.

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced on Aug. 29 that Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy withdrew or terminated a total of $679 million in funding for 12 offshore wind projects across the country. The department stated that the action is intended to “ensure federal dollars are prioritized towards restoring America’s maritime dominance and preventing waste.”

The department stated that it identified 12 projects that were not aligned with the current administration’s priorities. The Trump administration has repeatedly criticized and targeted renewable energy projects, instead prioritizing fossil fuels and “traditional forms of energy.”

“Wasteful, wind projects are using resources that could otherwise go towards revitalizing America’s maritime industry,” said Duffy in a statement. “Joe Biden and [former Secretary of Transportation] Pete Buttigieg bent over backwards to use transportation dollars for their Green New Scam agenda while ignoring the dire needs of our shipbuilding industry. Thanks to President Trump, we are prioritizing real infrastructure improvements over fantasy wind projects that cost much and offer little.”

The announcement said the Trump administration has refocused DOT and its Maritime Administration (MARAD) on rebuilding America’s shipbuilding capacity. The DOT says that, where possible, funding from the 12 projects will be recompeted to address port upgrades and other core infrastructure needs of the United States.

Norfolk loses money

The announced in November 2023 that it had received $39.27 million to assist in transforming the marine terminal at Fairwinds Landing into an offshore wind logistics facility.

Fairwinds Landing is designed to be a maritime operations and logistics hub supporting the offshore wind, defense and transportation industries in . Fairlead, along with real estate development company The Miller Group and Balicore Construction, formed Fairwinds Landing LLC to work on the project.

The $39.27 million in federal funding was awarded through the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) in response to a joint application submitted by the Norfolk EDA and Fairwinds Landing LLC.

Hampton Roads officials, along with executives from Fairwinds Landing LLC, Energy and other partners, broke ground in June 2023 on Fairwinds Landing, a maritime and offshore wind hub being built in Norfolk. Photo courtesy City of Norfolk

The EDA announced in 2023 that the funding would help finance the renovation of the aging waterfront infrastructure at Fairwinds Landing. The renovation project was meant to enhance port capabilities for offshore wind operations and maintenance activities, heavy lift operations and cable loading operations.

When it first announced the award, the EDA said the PIDP funding “will be a catalyst for generating hundreds of new jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in future capital investments at Fairwinds Landing.”

It is unclear how far along the renovation project got before the federal government withdrew the funding. Fairwinds Landing officials did not immediately return requests for comment.

EDA spokesperson Mia Wilson was unable to confirm by press time how far along the Norfolk project had progressed. However, she forwarded a statement from Mike Hopkins, managing director with Fairwinds Landing, saying that Fairwinds Landing will request that MARAD reconsider its withdrawal of the Fairwinds project from the port infrastructure program.

“Our revised project, which we recently submitted to MARAD in response to their request, will help restore America’s maritime dominance and focuses on rebuilding America’s shipbuilding and maritime industrial base in line with MARAD’s current priorities,” Hopkins said. “We look forward to working with MARAD to utilize the PIDP funds at Fairwinds to address critical port upgrades that support its goals.”

U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, both Democrats, and U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Newport News, released a joint statement slamming the withdrawal of funding for the logistics facility.

“The withdrawal of federal funding for the Fairwinds Landing facility is further evidence of this administration’s across-the-board, reckless approach to governing,” the statement said. “If the administration took the time to learn about the project, it would realize that it is about investing in maritime supply chains and port infrastructure to support not only clean energy but also shipbuilding and ship repair. Stopping this project makes no sense, hurts our economy, and is completely counterproductive to the administration’s so-called efforts to ‘restore America’s maritime dominance.’”

The three elected officials said they will work with colleagues in Congress, state officials and regional partners to urge the administration to reverse its decision.

Portsmouth finished project before it was too late

The administration also sought to terminate a $20 million PIDP grant for the Portsmouth Marine Terminal offshore wind development project. The money, first announced in January 2022, was for improvements upgrading Portsmouth Marine Terminal into a staging area to support ‘s (CVOW) project, which is about 60% complete.

However, spokesperson Joseph Harris noted the money had already been spent, the project is already completed and said the port is “in good shape.”

“The Port of Virginia has completed the improvements being made at Portsmouth Marine Terminal and as a result, the deep-water terminal is fully-functional,” Harris said in a statement. “The federal government’s Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) grant was integral to the success of this project because funds from that program helped offset the costs of some of the improvements. The project was delivered on-time and on-budget, thus the port has no unobligated federal funds.”

The $20 million was a small component of a larger $223 million redevelopment project that involved upgrading 72 acres of Portsmouth Marine Terminal and 1,500 feet of wharf that now serves as an offshore wind staging port. New York-based construction company Skanska announced in March that it completed the project.

Dominion Energy will use the terminal staging port for its $10.9 billion CVOW project. Once operational, CVOW will consist of 176 wind turbines generating up to 9.5 million megawatt-hours per year, or enough energy to power up to 660,000 homes.

According to Skanska, the Portsmouth terminal serves as a collection and storage site for wind turbine components, which are then transferred to installation vessels.
Virginia Port Authority and Executive Director Stephen Edwards previously said that Skanska delivered the project on time and on budget.

Dominion Energy did not immediately return requests for comment on how the withdrawal of funds for the Norfolk logistics project or the attempted termination of the Portsmouth project may impact the CVOW project and its operations. Last week, Dominion said the CVOW project is still on track for completion in late 2026, but the Trump administration has suspended work on a nearly complete $4 billion wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island and Connecticut, raising concerns for the Virginia wind farm.

Former Smithfield Foods CEO and chairman dies at 86

SUMMARY:

  • Joseph W. Luter III, former , died at 86 on Aug. 28
  • Based in Virginia, Foods is nation’s largest pork producer
  • His legacy includes the Luter School of Business at Christopher Newport University and community projects

Former Smithfield Foods and CEO Joseph Williamson Luter III passed away last week at the age of 86.

According to his , he died peacefully Aug. 28 at his home in Palm Beach, Florida.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our former chairman and CEO, Joe Luter III,” Smithfield Foods President and CEO Shane Smith said in a statement. “While his passing is a tremendous loss, we celebrate the remarkable life of a great leader and pioneer who did so much to build the company his father and grandfather founded into the industry leader we are today.”

Founded in 1936 by Luter’s father and grandfather, Smithfield Foods is the nation’s largest pork producer. Headquartered in Smithfield, the company provides packaged meats and fresh pork products throughout the U.S. and various countries worldwide. The company says the vast majority of its products are consumed in the U.S. and it employs about 33,000 people nationwide.

Virginia Living reports that Luter’s father, Joseph Luter Jr., died in 1962 when he was a student at Wake Forest University. A few years after that, Luter became company president.

He told Virginia Living that when he took over, the company (then known as Smithfield Packing) was killing 3,000 hogs a day, and when he left in January of 1970, after selling the business in July of 1969, it was killing 5,000. The number of employees also jumped from 800 to 1,400 in that timeframe.

Luter ultimately returned to the company as CEO in 1975 when it was on the verge of bankruptcy and led efforts to revitalize and expand the company.

“Over the next 32 years, Joe transformed the company through bold and aggressive expansion and dealmaking into a $13 billion global food company with operations throughout Europe and North America,” his obituary reads. “Smithfield became the world’s largest pork processor and pig producer through his visionary strategies of vertical integration. Under Joe’s , Smithfield revolutionized how meat is raised, processed, and marketed worldwide.”

Luter remained CEO until he retired from the role in 2006 and remained chairman until 2013, when the company was purchased by WH Group (then known as Shuanghui Group).

In 2008, Christopher Newport University established the Joseph W. Luter III School of Business in honor of Luter. The school, which Smithfield Foods helped finance through a $5 million gift, offers a curriculum in business administration with concentrations in accounting, finance, management and marketing.

Luter also funded several projects in his father’s honor, including a dormitory at Wake Forest University and a sports complex in Smithfield.

“Joe Luter III left a lasting legacy on Smithfield Foods and our entire industry,” Smith said. “He was the driving force behind so many critical chapters in our company’s history, leading a decades-long period of revitalization and rapid growth and building on our uniquely American heritage through strategic acquisitions to forge Smithfield into a global food company. He was a true visionary, and we are grateful for the legacy he leaves behind.”

Luter is survived by his wife of 25 years, Karin Fyrwald Luter; his sister, Suzanne Stockman Anderson; his four children and six grandchildren.

Activist investor takes a $4 billion stake in PepsiCo, seeing a path to revive sales

Summary

Activist investor Elliott Investment Management is taking a $4 billion stake in PepsiCo, saying there’s an opportunity to revive the snack and drinks company.

Years of double-digit price increases from PepsiCo and changing customer preferences has weakened demand for its drinks and snacks, the company said in February. In July PepsiCo said that it is trying to combat perceptions that its products are too expensive by expanding distribution of value brands like Chester’s and Santitas.

Stubborn inflation has had an impact on consumer behavior and many people have cut back on the discretionary purchases that they make.

PepsiCo lowered its full-year earnings expectations in April, citing increased costs from tariffs and a pullback in consumer spending. The company reaffirmed that guidance three months later. Its tariff costs have risen since then. In June, the hiked the tariff on imported aluminum from 25% to 50%.

In a letter to PepsiCo’s board, Elliott said that the company is being hurt by a lack of strategic clarity, decelerating growth and eroding profitability in its North American food and beverage businesses. But the firm still believes in PepsiCo’s potential, particularly noting its growing international business.

“While unfortunate, this disappointing trajectory has created a historic opportunity: With the right mindset and an appropriately ambitious turnaround plan, PepsiCo today represents a rare chance to revitalize a leading global enterprise and unlock significant shareholder value,” Elliott said.

Shares of PepsiCo climbed 2% Tuesday. The stock is down nearly 10% over the past 12 months, according to FactSet, but it is up almost 12% over the past month as Elliott has purchased shares.

Elliott said that it wants to work with PepsiCo’s board and management on ways to improve performance.

“Elliott’s goals at PepsiCo are straightforward: help the company sharpen focus, drive innovation, become more efficient and unlock the value that its leading brands, unmatched scale and world-class employees deserve,” it said. “The path back to winning is clear and achievable.”

PepsiCo will review Elliott’s recommendations.

“PepsiCo maintains an active and productive dialogue with our shareholders and values constructive input on delivering long-term shareholder value,” it said in a statement Tuesday.