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Democrats block stablecoin bill as they raise concerns about Trump’s crypto ventures

In Brief:
  • Senate Democrats block stablecoin regulation bill
  • Concerns include Trump-linked crypto ventures
  • Bill would create a federal framework for
  • Democrats demand tougher anti-corruption provisions

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats have blocked legislation to regulate stablecoins, a form of , after arguing that the bill needed stronger protections and airing concerns that it could help President  enrich himself.

The bill, which would regulate how stablecoin issuers operate in the U.S., had previously won some Democratic support. But it failed 49-48 on a procedural vote Thursday after Democrats said that they needed to see more changes to the legislation before they could back it.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said that Republicans would work with Democrats if they allowed the bill to move forward, but they refused. All Democrats voted not to bring it up.

The vote is a blow to one of Trump’s top legislative priorities and a setback for the cryptocurrency industry, which spent heavily in last year’s election and has been emboldened to cement its influence in politics and the mainstream financial system. The legislation would aim to create a federal framework to regulate the stablecoin industry, which is currently governed by a patchwork of existing federal and state laws.

Stablecoins are a fast-growing corner of the cryptocurrency industry that have produced enormous profits for some of the major players involved. They offer a buffer from cryptocurrency’s notorious volatility because they are pegged to real-world assets, like U.S. dollars or gold. Typically, that means a single stablecoin is worth $1, making them a much more reliable digital asset to make commercial transactions than other forms of crypto.

While some Democrats agree that regulation is needed, and several voted to move the bill out of committee, Trump’s involvement in the crypto industry has complicated the legislation’s path. Trump launched a meme coin earlier this year that has generated more than $320 million in fees for its creators, according to the blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis. And earlier this week, Trump promoted a dinner he’s set to attend on May 22 that’s open to almost anyone who buys enough of the coins.

Another Trump-family linked crypto venture called recently announced that it was issuing its own stablecoin, called . The stablecoin got a huge boost when World Liberty Financial announced last week that an investment fund in the United Arab Emirates would be using $2 billion worth of USD1 to purchase a stake in Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.

Among other proposed changes, Democrats said that elected officials and their families should be barred from owning, controlling or promoting stablecoin business ventures.

“The Senate should not pass a bill that facilitates Trump’s breathtaking corruption and lines his pockets and welcomes other elected officials to do the same,” said Massachusetts Sen. .

A former skeptic turned zealous promotor, Trump has promised to usher in a golden age for the cryptocurrency industry. His administration has already taken many early actions without Congress to boost crypto, including establishing a strategic bitcoin reserve and undoing previously enforcement actions. But Trump needs Congress to get some of his and the deep-pocketed industry’s top priorities passed, including enacting the stablecoin legislation.

The legislation could still move forward if the two parties can come to a deal. Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat who has been helping negotiate the legislation, said in a statement after the vote that he would continue to work on it.

“I remain fully committed to getting this right,” Warner said.

A group of nine Democrats, including Warner, said in a release over the weekend that they could not support the legislation until it included stronger provisions on money laundering, foreign issuers and accountability for those who violate it, among other concerns. They did not mention Trump.

“We recognize that the absence of regulation leaves consumers unprotected and vulnerable to predatory practices,” the Democrats said.

Thune, the Republican leader, questioned Democrats’ motives, speculating that they just wanted to deny Trump a bipartisan win.

“It makes you wonder if this is about the bill at all,” he said of their opposition.

‘Hands tied’: Athletes left in dark as NCAA settlement leaves murky future for nonrevenue sports

In Brief:
  • $2.8B could reshape college sports
  • Walk-on athletes face uncertainty under new rules
  • Settlement allows direct sharing
  • Some athletes may return to teams without counting on rosters

The $2.8 billion NCAA settlement awaiting final approval from a federal judge is touted as a solution for thousands of athletes to finally get the money they deserve and provide some clarity to recruiting. For some, it may have come too late.

Sophomore distance runner says he was one of five cut from ‘s cross country team after Thanksgiving break. Rimmel decided to take a leave of absence and train independently while considering his next move — something that’s proven easier said than done.

“Everyone’s got their hands tied right now, so there’s just not many opportunities for me,” Rimmel told The Associated Press. “I’ve just been having to bet on myself and trust the process. It’s just been lonely. I’ve been at home training by myself and living with my family again. Thank God for my family and all, I appreciate them. It’s still kind of lonely though, being out of the norm, not being at school and with my friends.”

Pending approval, the so-called will allow schools to share revenue with athletes directly for use of their name, image and likeness (NIL). That could secure generational wealth for some but not others, and replacing scholarship caps with roster limitations is expected to leave walk-ons, partial scholarship earners, nonrevenue sport athletes and high school recruits at risk. There are deep concerns about the potential impact on sports that feed the U.S. Olympic teams.

U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken told attorneys handling the settlement to come back to her with a plan soon to protect athletes currently or recently on rosters at schools across the country, a request seen as a way to soften the blow.

That filing came late Wednesday, with attorneys saying schools must offer athletes who lost their spots a chance to play — at their old school or their new school — without counting against the for as long as they have eligibility.

There is no guarantee those athletes will win a spot on the roster and, for now, thousands of athletes like Rimmel have no idea where they might be this fall or are in jeopardy of no longer playing college sports at all. And many athletes balancing school and their sport are unaware of what’s at stake and have more questions than answers.

Belmont track and field athlete said everything she knows about the settlement is from personal research.

“My school doesn’t do a lot of education around it (the settlement). Every now and then, we’ll be told, ‘Hey, if you want to sign up to potentially get some money from this House settlement that’s happening, you can do that,’” Oostburg said. “It’s almost like the education we’re being given is optional to consume, even though it’s limited.”

Oostburg is used to taking matters into her own hands, securing over 50 NIL deals by herself. She has contacted lawyers and asked for updates on the settlement, but she’s not quite reassured. The chaotic nature of college athletics, so obvious to the public, is even worse for the athletes themselves.

“Being a college athlete, it’s so hard to stay up to date with what’s happening every day because it’s so constantly changing,” she said.

Smaller, nonrevenue-generating programs don’t often have a point person to navigate NIL deals or educate athletes. At Belmont, Oostburg said, NIL-related responsibilities are managed by an already busy compliance office.

“To take time to learn about what’s happening is just so time-consuming, especially if you’re not in that one percent or one of the football players where they have people dedicated to helping them stay up to date,” she said.

Over the next six weeks, athletes will wrap up their spring semesters and many of them have league tournaments or even NCAA championship competition ahead before what many expect will be the final summer before college sports sees some of the most dramatic changes in history.

For athletes like Rimmel, those changes are already here. On the bright side, his name was among those on an eight-page list of “designated student-athletes” released in Wednesday’s court filing, meaning he is one of many who will be able to seek a roster spot without counting against a school’s roster limit.

Some of the others cut from the Virginia Tech program have given up on their dreams of collegiate running altogether. Rimmel hasn’t given up completely; he spoke with his former coach recently, who said the Hokies’ athletics department is still trying to figure out what’s to come.

“I’m still kind of hoping I might be able to find my way back there next fall,” he said.

___

AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports

Port of Virginia CEO expects decline in Chinese imports over Trump’s trade war

SUMMARY:

  • Virginia Port Authority Executive Director and CEO Stephen A. Edwards noted there is significant uncertainty in the port industry due to recent imposed by the
  • Edwards says there will be a reduction in from China due to tariffs, but he doesn’t yet know what the numbers are.
  • The will be less impacted by on China than ports on the West Coast.
  • The port reported strong improvements in safety measures and financials since 2020.

Virginia Port Authority Executive Director and CEO Stephen A. Edwards said Thursday at this year’s State of the Port address that President ‘s tariffs are causing significant uncertainty in the port and trade sector.

Speaking in , Edwards said uncertainty over how long the president’s tariffs will remain in place is a matter that “every port, shipper, importer and exporter is wrestling with right now.”

In terms of U.S. dollars, China was the Port of Virginia’s top trade partner for imports and second for exports in 2024, behind Germany. According to the port, $9.23 billion in Chinese imports came through the Port of Virginia last year, and $2.91 billion in exports heading to China.

Trump has imposed 145% tariffs against Chinese goods, and impacts are already being felt in the United States, which relies heavily on Chinese parts and products.

Edwards told media after the address that he expects to see the impact of Chinese tariffs at the Port of Virginia this month, saying “there will be less cargo” arriving from China. However, he didn’t have percentage estimate for how significant the drop would be, saying only that it wouldn’t be as significant an impact as the West Coast.

“What we know is 20% of our freight is Chinese, and that that will have a reduction,” Edwards said. “I can’t give you the actual number today.”

CBS News reported in late April that the Port of Los Angeles, which receives roughly 40% of all imports from Asia, was beginning to see the flow of cargo slow. “Essentially all shipments out of China for major retailers and manufacturers have ceased,” Los Angeles Port Executive Director Eugene Seroka said, and Reuters reported Thursday that import cargo at the Port of Los Angeles is expected to drop 35% year-over-year this week.

The situation in Virginia is not as dire, Edwards noted. “So today, we’re in somewhat fortunate position of being the least exposed major U.S. port on trade with China. And we maintain a diverse mix of trading partners that support a strong and steady book of business.”

Nonetheless, port business is impacted by geopolitical warfare and other issues that maritime leaders have minimal control over, Edwards said. The port is in “a precarious environment; shaped by geopolitics that I can’t control, that we can’t control.” He said the unpredictability is what unsettles businesses the most.

“Uncertainty makes companies pause, reconsider supply. And yes of course, that has ripple effects on us at the Port of Virginia. But I want to look at the fine print and how policy shifts actually hit the ground — or in our case, the docks.”

Hoping for new trade agreements

Around the same time as Edwards’s speech, it was reported that Trump had reached a major trade deal with the United Kingdom, or at least a framework for negotiating a deal. While Edwards said he hadn’t had the chance to read the deal, he appreciated having some certainty regarding a trading partner, and he hopes for more security in the future.

In his address, Edwards said the port is looking forward to the Trump administration forging new trade agreements in coming months.

Still, he said if tariffs change the nation’s trading portfolio, he’s confident the Port of Virginia will excel. He said the Hampton Roads region’s deep connection to the U.S. military means that the port moves more containerized cargo on U.S. flag ships than any other port in the country, which he said sets Virginia up “as a prime hub to grow with a stronger U.S. fleet.”

He also noted the port has made investments in infrastructure and equipment. Last year, the port achieved a major milestone completing the widening of its channels up to 1,400 feet at the Norfolk International Terminal. The deepening phase is expected to be complete late this year.

In terms of financials, Edwards said that since 2020, there has been a 53% increase in operating revenues, a 39% increase in operating expenses and a 112% increase in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

Virginia launches accelerator for $250M+ economic development projects

The state is launching a program to fast-track major new projects and expansions with large capital investments.

The Made in Virginia Investment Accelerator (MVIA), announced Thursday by Gov. , will provide “concierge-style service” and coordination among state agencies to expedite companies’ relocations or growth.

To qualify, a project must be an expansion or new facility with more than $250 million in capital investment and creating more than 500 net jobs.

The MVIA’s objectives are accelerated project timelines, unified support from state agencies “from construction to full production and beyond,” access to state assets like shovel-ready sites, and industry and talent expertise from the , according to a factsheet.

Localities and partners will collaborate to identify a suitable location for a project. The program also will place qualifying projects in the Virginia Business Ready Expedited Permitting Program to speed up permitting and local approvals for and construction.

The secretary of commerce and trade’s office and are executive sponsors of the MVIA. Collaborating infrastructure-related partners include the Virginia Department of Transportation, the and Virginia Energy. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and Virginia Department of Health will provide permitting support. Virginia Works, the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development and Virginia Housing will be workforce-related partners.

Trump agrees to cut tariffs on UK autos, steel and aluminum in a planned trade deal with Britain

In Brief:
  • Trump and Starmer outline a U.S.- agreement
  • on U.K. steel and aluminum to be cut to 0%
  • U.S. to export more beef and ethanol to the UK
  • Deal signals return of U.S. trade diplomacy under Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) — President has agreed to cut tariffs on U.K. autos, steel and aluminum in a planned trade deal with Britain, which would buy more American beef and streamline its customs process for goods from the United States.

The symbolically resonant agreement announced Thursday still has yet to be finalized, but it suggested that Trump was still able to negotiate with other countries after his vast set of tariffs stoked fears around the world of an economic downturn and higher .

The announcement provided a political victory for U.K. Prime Minister and offered a degree of validation for Trump’s claims that his turbulent approach on trade may be able to rebalance the on his preferred terms.

The U.S. president talked up the agreement to reporters from the Oval Office, even as the fine print remains in flux despite his prior statements that a full agreement was signed

“The final details are being written up,” Trump told reporters. “In the coming weeks, we’ll have it all very conclusive.”

The president said that the agreement would lead to more beef and ethanol exports to the U.K., which would also streamline the processing of U.S. goods though customs. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the baseline 10% tariffs would stay in place, while U.K. officials said that Trump’s would go from 27.5% to 10% on a quota of 100,000 vehicles and the import taxes on steel and aluminum would go from 25% to zero.

Trump cautioned that the agreement with its preservation of a 10% tariff was not a template for other countries pursuing possible trade deals with the U.S. He said he intends to charge higher rates on other countries as part of any agreement — a sign that the import taxes could stay in place in ways that economists warn would reduce economic growth.

“That’s a low number,” Trump said of his 10% tariff rate.

Starmer, speaking over the phone to Trump, stressed the importance of the relationship between the two countries as the anniversary of the World War II victory in Europe was being commemorated.

“To be able to announce this great deal on the same deal 80 years forward, almost at the same hour and as we were 80 years ago with the U.K. and the U.S. standing side by side, I think is incredibly important,” Starmer said.

Starmer later spoke to workers at a Jaguar Land Rover plant and touted the deal, which he said would protect thousands of auto jobs. He told the workers that “this is just the start,” saying “we are hammering out further details to reduce barriers to trade with the United States and across the world.”

The planned deal was the first outlined since Trump began his stutter-step efforts to rewire the global economy by dramatically increasing import taxes in an attempt to increase domestic manufacturing. The Republican president quickly rolled out tariffs after returning to the White House, targeting traditional allies such as the U.K. with import taxes on steel, aluminum and autos. Trump announced near universal tariffs on April 2, then partially retreated a week later and announced that his administration would seek individual agreements with various countries over the next few months.

The U.S. already runs a trade surplus with the U.K., making it a bit easier to find common ground as Trump has staked his tariffs on specifically eliminating the annual trade deficits with multiple nations he says have taken advantage of the U.S.

No new deals have been reached with America’s largest trading partners, including Canada, Mexico and China. Trump has left the highest tariffs in place on China, sparking a confrontation between the world’s two biggest economies. Washington and Beijing are sending officials to Switzerland this weekend for an initial round of trade talks.

Trump promised on Thursday that there are “many other deals, which are in serious stages of negotiation, to follow!”

Starmer, speaking at a conference in London, said “talks with the U.S. have been ongoing, and you’ll hear more from me about that later today.”

The U.S. and the U.K. have been aiming to strike a bilateral trade agreement since the British people voted in 2016 to leave the European Union, allowing the country to negotiate independently of the rest of the continent. Then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson touted a future deal with the U.S. as an incentive for .

Negotiations started in 2020, during Trump’s first term. But the talks made little progress under President Joe Biden, a Democrat and a critic of Brexit. Negotiations resumed after Trump returned to office in January and intensified in recent weeks.

A major goal of British negotiators has been to reduce or lift the import tax on U.K. cars and steel, which Trump set at 25%. The U.S. is the largest destination for British cars, accounting for more than a quarter of U.K. auto exports in 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Britain has also sought tariff exemptions for pharmaceuticals, while the U.S. wants greater access to the British market for agriculture products. Starmer’s government has said it won’t lower U.K. food standards to allow in chlorine-rinsed American chicken or hormone-treated beef.

The British government will see a deal as a vindication of Starmer’s emollient approach to Trump, which has avoided direct confrontation or criticism. Unlike the European Union, Britain did not announce retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods in response to Trump’s import taxes.

A trade deal with the United Kingdom would be symbolically important and a relief for British exporters. But an agreement would do little to address Trump’s core concern about persistent trade deficits that prompted him to impose import taxes on countries around the world.

The U.S. ran a $11.9 billion trade surplus in goods with the U.K. last year, according to the Census Bureau. The $68 billion in goods that the U.S. imported from the U.K. last year accounted for just 2% of all goods imported into the country.

The U.S. is much more important to the U.K. economy. It was Britain’s biggest trading partner last year, according to government statistics, though the bulk of Britain’s exports to the U.S. are services rather than goods.

Trump has previously said that his leverage in talks would be U.S. consumers, but he appeared to suggest that the U.K. would also start buying more American-made goods.

“I think that the United Kingdom, like every other country, they want to … go shopping in the United States of America,” he said.

A trade deal with the U.S. is one of several that Starmer’s government is seeking to strike. On Tuesday, Britain and India announced a trade agreement after three years of negotiations. The U.K. is also trying to lift some of the barriers to trade with the EU imposed when Britain left the bloc in 2020.

Roanoke’s Carilion gets state OK for kidney transplants


SUMMARY:
• received state approval to offer kidney transplants
• Transplant surgeries will take place at Memorial Hospital
• opposed the plan, citing impact on its program.
• Support for Carilion program included 1,500 letters from community members

 

Carilion Clinic has the state’s blessing to move forward with a kidney transplant program, despite public opposition from competitor UVA Health and a 2024 recommendation from the staff of the Division of (DCOPN) that the Roanoke-based health system’s application be denied.

In an email Wednesday, Dr. Karen Shelton, Virginia’s health commissioner, approved Carilion’s application for the program and stated that it meets a public need.

Carilion offering a kidney transplant program, she wrote, will “improve access to renal transplant services for a significant number of end-stage renal disease patients … a large portion of whom live in rural areas and face time-consuming transportation challenges on a daily basis.”

Carilion announced Thursday that it expects to begin offering the surgeries in 2026.

Dr. David Salzberg, lead surgeon for Carilion’s kidney transplant program, emphasized at a press event held Thursday that the kidney transplant program has widespread public support. More than 1,500 community members sent letters to the DCOPN in support of the health system launching a kidney transplant program and 16 localities approved resolutions supporting the application, according to Carilion.

Dr. David Salzberg, lead surgeon for Carilion Clinic's kidney transplant program speaks at Carilion's Center for Simulation, Patient Safety and Human Factors Thursday. Photo by Beth JoJack
Dr. David Salzberg, lead surgeon for Carilion Clinic’s kidney transplant program, speaks at Carilion’s Center for Simulation, Patient Safety and Human Factors Thursday. Photo by Beth JoJack

“The people of , Roanoke and the surrounding areas have stepped up,” he said. “They, more than anyone, recognize the need for … kidney transplant service in this area.”

Transplant surgeries will take place at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. The health system will have a transplant clinic in Roanoke and plans to establish another in the New River Valley. Carilion projects the capital cost for the transplant program to be $150,000.

Salzberg has worked at Carilion since 2016 and is the health system’s director of metabolic and bariatric surgery. He completed a transplant fellowship at the Medical College of Virginia in 2007.

Of the state’s six facilities where kidney transplants are performed, none are located west of Charlottesville.

For 79% of kidney transplant patients in Southwest Virginia, accessing services requires a two- to four- hour drive, according to Carilion.

However, UVA Health opened a transplant clinic in Wytheville earlier this year. The Charlottesville-based health system also offers other transplant clinics in Martinsville, Roanoke, Lynchburg, Norfolk, Newport News, Richmond, and Charlottesville. At clinics, kidney transplant patients can receive testing and consultations prior to surgery as well as post-surgery care; although, is conducted at UVA Health’s Charles O. Strickler Transplant Center in Charlottesville.

In a statement, UVA Health said Thursday that it respects the Virginia Department of Health’s “thorough review process.”

“VDH’s approval reflects Carilion Clinic’s dedication to expanding care options for patients in Southwest Virginia,” UVA Health stated. “UVA Health will continue to provide specialized transplant care close to home at nine locations throughout Virginia, including four outpatient clinics in Southwest Virginia, as part of UVA Health’s 30-year commitment to bringing specialized care to the region’s patients in their home communities.”

In a letter to the state last year, UVA Health raised several objections to Carilion’s proposal for a kidney transplant program, including a concern that it would pull patients from UVA Health’s program.

In a May 2024 analysis, DCOPN staff recommended that Shelton, deny Carilion’s request, noting that a Carilion kidney transplant program “could negatively impact existing providers of kidney transplant services.”

The analysis also pointed out that inspectors at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital in 2023 observed three surgical instrument trays that were identified as sterile and ready to use, but were “found to be contaminated with [an] unknown brownish red substance, spots, staining and a candy wrapper was found inside a sterile tray.” The staff analysis also pointed out, however, that medical regulators had notified Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital on May 8, 2024, that the facility had been found “to meet applicable Medicare conditions.”

When asked whether it’s unusual for a state health commissioner to not follow the recommendation of DCOPN staff, Salzberg said he couldn’t speak for the commissioner. “I will tell you that they have worked with us well, and we have reciprocated in kind by delivering the information that they’ve been looking for,” he said.

 

Wall Street rises with hopes for trade deals that could forestall a recession

In Brief:

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are rising Thursday after said he was set to announce an agreement on trade with the United Kingdom, the first of what Wall Street hopes will be enough to keep a recession from hitting the economy.

The S&P 500 was 0.6% higher in morning trading and on track for an 11th gain in the last 13 days. The Industrial Average was up 260 points, or 0.6%, as of 10:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the composite was 0.8% higher.

Stocks have been swinging for weeks with hopes that Trump could reach deals with other countries that would lower his , which many investors believe would cause a recession if left unchecked. Trump said Thursday that the U.K. agreement is “a full and comprehensive one.”

“Many other deals, which are in serious stages of negotiation, to follow!” he added on his Truth Social account.

It could be an encouraging start, and analysts said they’re curious to see if it will affect the 10% tariffs that Trump placed on all imports coming into the United States on “Liberation Day.” But bigger trading partners could offer bigger hurdles, including China.

The world’s second-largest economy again on Thursday called on the United States to cancel its tariffs, ahead of high-level talks between the world’s two largest economies that could take place this weekend. That followed Trump saying on Wednesday that he wouldn’t reduce his 145% tariffs on Chinese goods as a condition for negotiations.

Besides hopes for deals on trade, strong profit reports from U.S. companies have also helped to drive the S&P 500 closer to its all-time high set in February.

Axon Enterprise, the company that sells Tasers, body cameras and other public safety equipment, jumped 12.5% after joining the list. It benefited from strong growth for its software and services, and it raised its forecast for revenue over the full year.

Tapestry rose 2.7% after the company behind the Coach and Kate Spade brands also reported better profit and revenue than expected. It credited new, younger customers in North America, among other things.

Molson Coors, though, described a different landscape when it released its latest quarterly results, which fell short of analysts’ expectations. Its stock fell 4.9%.

“The global macroeconomic environment is volatile,” CEO Gavin Hattersley said. “Uncertainty around the effects of geopolitical events and global , including the impacts on economic growth, consumer confidence and expectations around inflation, and currencies has pressured the beer industry and consumption trends.”

It became the latest company to either lower or pull its financial forecasts for 2025 given the uncertainty.

Krispy Kreme tumbled 19.5% after withdrawing its forecasts for the full year. The doughnut seller said it made the move in part because of “macroeconomic softness” and because it’s pausing the rollout of sales of its doughnuts at more McDonald’s restaurants.

The has remained OK so far, with the Federal Reserve saying Wednesday that it still looks to be running at a solid rate underneath the surface. But pessimism has soured sharply among U.S. households because of tariffs, and the fear is that all the uncertainty created by them could be enough to force the economy into a recession.

A couple mixed reports on the economy Thursday did little to clear the caution. One said slightly fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week. But another one said productivity for U.S. workers slowed by more than economists expected during the first three months of the year. That could keep upward pressure on inflation, when tariffs could be set to raise prices for all kinds of imported products.

Treasury yields rose following the reports, and the 10-year yield climbed to 4.32% from 4.26% late Wednesday.

In stock markets abroad, the FTSE 100 slipped 0.3% in London after the Bank of England cut its main interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point.

Indexes were modestly higher across much of the rest of Europe and Asia.

___

AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed.

Lego to build $366M Prince George County warehouse

SUMMARY:

  • Lego is investing $366 million in a 2 million-square-foot in .

  • Project will create an estimated 305 jobs.

  • Facility complements $1 billion Lego factory under construction in .

  • Regional distribution center expected to be operational by 2027.

The will invest $366 million to build a 2 million-square-foot warehouse, expected to create 305 jobs, in Prince George County, Gov. and the Danish toymaker announced Thursday.

The warehouse and distribution center will be located at 8800 Wells Station Road in the county’s Crosspointe Business Centre, near a former Rolls-Royce facility that manufactured discs for aerospace engines. Construction on the facility will start later this year, and the company expects it to be operational in 2027, according to a Lego news release.

“The Lego Group is not just a household name; it’s a symbol of creativity, innovation and quality that resonates globally,” Youngkin said in a statement. “Three years after choosing Virginia to establish its U.S. manufacturing plant, the Lego Group’s decision to expand into Prince George County is an exciting new chapter in this partnership.”

The regional distribution center will support the $1 billion, 1.7 million-square-foot Lego facility under construction in Chesterfield County, expected to create about 1,760 jobs once fully operational. Announced in June 2022, the Danish toymaker expects to begin production at the Chesterfield facility in 2027, at least a year later than originally planned.

“The regional distribution center will bring greater flexibility to our network, ensuring we are well positioned to support long-term growth in the Americas,” Lego Chief Operations Officer Carsten Rasmussen said in a statement. “Together with our future Virginia factory, the RDC will shorten our supply chain in the region — reducing lead times for our customers as well as our environmental impact.”

The Chesterfield factory in the county’s is Lego’s first U.S. manufacturing facility and its second in North America (the first being in Monterrey, Mexico). The Prince George regional distribution center will be the second in Lego’s Americas network, joining an existing center in Fort Worth, Texas.

Lego signed a build-to-suit lease with Crosspointe Commerce Center, a joint venture between Hillwood Investment Properties and The Silverman Group, according to a news release. A third-party logistics partner will operate the regional distribution center.

The worked with Prince George County and Virginia’s Gateway Region to secure the warehouse project for Virginia. Youngkin approved a $2.53 million grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist the county. will support Lego through its Virginia Jobs Investment Program, which provides recruitment assistance and cash grant reimbursements for associated human resources costs after a company has had new employees on the payroll for at least 90 days.

VEDP contacted the Prince George County Authority a year ago about the project, said Yoti Jabri, the county’s director of economic development and tourism.

“We’re just excited to have another international name in one of our industrial parks,” he said. “It just goes to show you the preparation we’ve taken on as a county for that site to land these type of projects here. We’re just excited and looking forward to the future.”

Lego is also eligible to receive benefits from the Economic and Infrastructure Development Zone Grant Program, an incentive program to encourage the port’s growth for companies locating new maritime-related employment centers or expanding existing centers.

Founded in 1932 by Danish carpenter Ole Kirk Christiansen, Lego reported 74.3 billion Danish Krone in 2024 revenue, equivalent to about $11.27 billion. It employs more than 31,000 people worldwide, including about 3,000 employees in the United States.

Based in Billund, Denmark, Lego has had a presence in the U.S. since the 1960s, when it entered a partnership with Samsonite to manufacture and market its bricks in the country. In 1973, the company established its American subsidiary, Lego Systems, after the license agreement with Samsonite for the U.S. market was cancelled. The toymaker is moving its U.S. headquarters from Enfield, Connecticut, where it has been since 1975, to Boston in 2026.

New Arlington hub to boost defense, energy startups

SUMMARY:

A new defense and energy innovation center is taking shape in Northern Virginia, looking to capitalize on the boom in those industries as the region also sets its sights on becoming a hub for those sectors.

Virtus Innovation Center is expected to offer space for more than 30 startups focused on and energy resilience.

Construction of the space, which could eventually incorporate more than 40,000 square feet in a complex of office towers located at 2011, 2121 and 2131 Crystal Drive in Arlington County’s National Landing development, could begin later this year, says Evan Regan-Levine, chief strategy officer for Bethesda, Maryland-based real estate developer , a partner in Virtus and the primary developer for Amazon.com’s HQ2 East Coast headquarters.

Other partners include San Francisco-based fund Energy Innovation Capital (EIC), Amazon Web Services, Virginia Tech and A&MPLIFY, the digital and AI consulting arm of New York-based professional services firm Alvarez and Marsal.

Virtus plans to operate as an and accelerator, providing startups with access to meeting, laboratory and development spaces as well as a sensitive compartmented information facility, or SCIF, for secure meetings with national security clients. They’ll also get support from partners, including connections to federal government customers, the proximity to which was a driver in locating in Northern Virginia.

In addition to the Pentagon, four of the world’s five largest defense and aerospace contractors call the region home, and Virginia Tech and George Mason University have recently opened innovation hubs to pump out a tech talent pipeline.

“There’s so much expertise and talent there,” says Andrew Lackner, a managing director with EIC. “But there’s no open innovation center. There’s not a lot of venture capital and startup activity. Therein lies the opportunity for what we’re trying to put together there for the Virtus Innovation Center.”

For now, Virtus, a nonprofit run by a board of directors, is operating in temporary space at 2231 Crystal Drive. EIC has made more than 175 investments in tech and energy companies and has a portfolio of 30 companies.

Regan-Levine says Virtus’ location is proof the region is transforming into a tech powerhouse: “It’s a venture capital fund putting their hand up saying, ‘Hey, we want to invest in the kinds of companies who are doing this work. And the best place possible to do it is this place.’”

Fed holds interest rate at 4.3% amid tariff and inflation uncertainty

SUMMARY:

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate unchanged Wednesday, brushing off President ‘s demands to lower borrowing costs, and said that the risks of higher unemployment and higher inflation have risen.

The Fed kept its rate at 4.3% for the third straight meeting, after cutting it three times in a row at the end of last year. Many economists and Wall Street investors still expect the Fed will reduce rates two or three times this year, but the sweeping tariffs imposed by Trump have injected a tremendous amount of uncertainty into the U.S. economy and the Fed’s policies.

It is unusual for the Fed to say that the risk of both higher prices and more unemployment have increased. But economists say that is the threat created by Trump’s sweeping tariffs. The import taxes could both lift inflation by making imported parts and finished goods more expensive, while also raising unemployment by causing companies to cut jobs as their costs rise.

As a result, the tariffs have put the Fed in a difficult spot. The Fed’s goals are to keep prices stable and maximize employment. Typically, when inflation rises, the Fed raises rates to slow borrowing and spending and cool inflation, while if layoffs rise, it would reduce rates to spur more spending and growth.

Fed Chair and other Fed officials have signaled that they want to see how the duties — including 145% on all from China — impact consumer prices and the economy.

The central bank’s caution could lead to more conflict between the Fed and the . On Sunday, Trump again urged the Fed to cut rates in a television interview and said Powell “just doesn’t like me because I think he’s a total stiff.” With inflation not far from the Fed’s 2% target for now, Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent argue that the Fed could reduce its rate. The Fed pushed it higher in 2022 and 2023 to fight inflation.

If the Fed were to cut, it could lower other borrowing costs, such as for mortgages, auto loans, and credit cards, though that is not guaranteed.

Trump also said he wouldn’t fire Powell because the chair’s term ends next May and he will be able to appoint a new chair then. Yet if the economy stumbles in the coming months, Trump could renew his threats to remove Powell.

A big issue facing the Fed is how tariffs will impact inflation. Nearly all economists and Fed officials expect the import taxes will lift prices, but it’s not clear by how much or for how long. Tariffs typically cause a one-time increase in prices, but not necessarily ongoing inflation. Yet if Trump announces further tariffs — as he has threatened to do on pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and copper — or if Americans worry that inflation will get worse, that could send prices higher in a more persistent way.

Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Nationwide, said this could keep the Fed on the sidelines until September.

“It’s hard for them to cut sooner because they’ve got to weigh, what’s the inflation impact?” Bostjancic said. “Is this going to be somewhat persistent and add to inflation expectations?”

Economists and the Fed are closely watching inflation expectations, which are essentially a measure of how much consumers are concerned that inflation will worsen. Higher inflation expectations can be self-fulfilling, because it Americans think prices will rise, they can take steps that push up costs, such as asking for higher wages.

For now, the is mostly in solid shape, and inflation has cooled considerably from its peak in 2022. Consumers are spending at a healthy pace, though some of that may reflect buying things like cars ahead of tariffs. Businesses are still adding workers at a steady pace, and unemployment is low.

Still, there are signs inflation will worsen in the coming months. Surveys of both manufacturing and services firms show that they are seeing higher prices from their suppliers. And a survey by the Federal Reserve’s Dallas branch found that nearly 55% of manufacturing firms expect to pass on the impact of tariff increases to their customers.

“The bottom line is that inflation will be rising significantly over the next six months,” Torsten Slok, chief economist at the Apollo Group, said in an email.

Yet the tariffs could also weigh heavily on the economy, particularly because of the uncertainty they have created. Huge tariffs on about 60 other nations, announced April 2, were then postponed until July 9, but could be reimposed. Business surveys show that firms are postponing investment decisions until they have greater clarity.

Ryan Sweet, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, said the uncertainty surrounding trade policy gives him “night terrors.”

“The economics of uncertainty are absolutely suffocating,” Sweet said. “Businesses that don’t know the rules of the road, their knee-jerk reaction is to sit on their hands. And that’s what they’re doing.”

But if the uncertainty delays hiring, slows the economy and pushes up the unemployment rate, the Fed could quickly shift toward interest rate cuts. A sharp economic slowdown could eventually cool inflation by itself, economists say.

“If you felt like the economy was really slowing down, then I think that would probably take precedence (over inflation), because usually the way the committee thinks is that will also drag inflation somewhat with it,” said Jim Bullard, former president of the Federal Reserve’s St. Louis branch, and currently dean of Purdue University’s business school.

In March, the Fed signaled that it could cut rates twice this year. But since then, the Trump administration imposed duties that Powell said last month were larger and broader than the Fed expected.

The duties, Powell acknowledged, could both slow growth and lift prices, which puts the Fed in a tough spot. It would usually cut rates to boost growth and hiring, while it would raise them to cool spending and inflation.

The Fed could reduce rates preemptively to help forestall a slowdown. But with such large tariffs in place, Powell has signaled that the Fed wants to see how they affect inflation before making any moves.

“Without price stability, we cannot achieve the long periods of strong labor market conditions that benefit all Americans,” Powell said.