Aurelia Butler

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday it has seized over $1.4 billion in COVID-19 relief funds that criminals had stolen, and charged over 3,000 defendants with crimes in federal districts across the country.The Justice Department disclosed the results of a nationwide enforcement action to combat coronavirus fraud, including federal criminal charges against 371 defendants for offenses related to over $836 million in alleged COVID fraud.”This latest action, involving over 300 defendants and over $830 million in alleged COVID-19 fraud, should send a clear message: the COVID-19 public health emergency may have ended, but the Justice Department’s work to identify and prosecute those who stole pandemic relief funds is far from over,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.A total of 119 defendants pleaded guilty or were convicted at trial during the sweep, according to the Justice Department.The United States is probing many fraud cases pegged to U.S. government assistance programs. In May 2021, Garland launched a COVID fraud enforcement task force.Last year, the U.S. Justice Department tapped federal prosecutor Kevin Chambers to lead its efforts to investigate alleged fraud schemes targeting pandemic assistance programs.Over $200 billion from the U.S. government’s COVID-19 relief programs were potentially stolen, a federal watchdog said in late June, adding that the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) had weakened its controls in a rush to disburse the funds.In September 2022, the inspector general for the U.S. Labor Department said fraudsters likely stole $45.6 billion from the United States’ unemployment insurance program during the coronavirus outbreak by applying tactics like using Social Security numbers of deceased individuals.Earlier this year, a separate watchdog report said the U.S. government likely awarded about $5.4 billion in COVID-19 aid to people with questionable Social Security numbers. More

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The dollar nursed a sharp pullback against Asian currencies on Thursday, after softer-than-expected global economic data muddied the interest rate outlook and pushed down U.S. yields ahead of the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole symposium.The Australian dollar, which has been taking a battering for a few months on signs of China’s slowdown and resilience in the U.S., jumped 0.9% overnight after U.S. manufacturing and services PMIs missed expectations.”Weaker than expected … data led markets to scale back their expectations for U.S. policy,” said Commonwealth Bank of Australia (OTC:CMWAY) currency strategist Carol Kong, with jobless claims the next focus ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s Friday speech.The New Zealand dollar also leapt overnight, as did the yen, which crossed below 145 to the dollar for the first time in more than a week tracking a sharp move lower in U.S. Treasury yields.Further moves for the major pairs were only slight in Asia morning trade, leaving the Aussie at $0.6479, the kiwi at $0.5976 and the yen firming slightly to 144.64 per dollar. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies remains higher for the month, but dipped about 0.2% overnight. PMI data was soft globally, which tempered gains for the euro and sent sterling on a wide-ranging round trip before it steadied around $1.2717.The euro held at $1.0865 in early Asia trade.Europe’s contraction in manufacturing output extended and services activity fell into decline, overnight surveys showed. British factory output slumped, leaving the economy on course for recession. U.S. business activity growth was its weakest since February as the economy seems to be starting to stall.Ten-year U.S. yields tumbled 13 basis points (bps) to 4.198%, their sharpest one-day slide in more than three months, which has taken some of the heat out of recent rises.”The dollar’s correlation with rate differentials has been very strong in recent weeks,” said Standard Chartered (OTC:SCBFF)’s head of G10 FX research, Steve Englander.”However, concerns on global and China growth may be high enough for any slippage in yields that pushes the dollar lower to be seen as a buy-USD, sell-bonds opportunity,” he said.”Our baseline remains that the USD is vulnerable on a medium-term horizon, but in the short term, it is unclear how big a shift in the Fed outlook is needed to reverse current market trends.”China’s yuan, which has been supported by state-bank buying in recent sessions, was steady at 7.2864 in thin offshore trade. More

BANGKOK (Reuters) – On the campaign trail, Thailand’s new prime minister promised to kick-start the pandemic-hit economy, bolster household incomes, support small businesses and bridge gnawing inequality in the country of 71 million people.Now, after three months of post-election paralysis, Srettha Thavisin has to walk the talk – swiftly.The real estate tycoon won parliamentary support on Tuesday to take the reins of Southeast Asia’s second largest economy at the head of an unlikely coalition.A day before Srettha’s confirmation in parliament, Thailand reported its economy grew just 1.8% in the April-June period from a year earlier, significantly below the 3.1% expansion forecast by economists.”The picture is not all wine and roses,” Thailand’s central bank chief Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput said in recorded remarks played on Wednesday. “There are some soft spots. Exports have come in weaker than expected due, in significant part, to China’s slowdown. Total spending from tourism has also come in a bit softer due to fewer Chinese tourists than expected.”Besides the shadow cast by a slowing China, Thailand’s largest trading partner, high household debt and rising interest rates have weighed on domestic consumption.Tourism, a major driver of the Thai economy, has managed a robust recovery, although arrivals and tourist spending are still below pre-pandemic levels, data shows.After months of a caretaker administration and political limbo following a May general election, a new government should help calm the market, one of Asia’s worst performers, analysts said.Thailand’s main stock index rose 0.2% on Wednesday but the baht eased 0.2% against the dollar, following Tuesday’s rallies.”We can expect to see a short-term sugar high,” said Kobsidthi Silpachai, head of capital markets research of Kasikornbank. “After the dust settles, new risk factors will be in the spotlight, such as the formation of a cabinet. The private sector and investors will then decide their vote of approval.”$96 BLN BUDGETIn this first address since winning office, Srettha on Wednesday vowed to provide solutions to fix Thailand’s economy, among other measures, and manage the budget transparently.”Thailand is at an important juncture,” he said, “I am confident that the next four years will be four years of change.” Deftly putting together a 3.35 trillion baht ($95.96 billion) budget for the 2024 fiscal year will be a key task for Srettha, a political novice who Pheu Thai introduced to voters as an experienced hand to steer a flagging economy.The process was put on hold by the outgoing administration for the new government to decide on, slowing down new investment projects. The government planning agency said the budget will be likely ready in April 2024, well after the start of the new fiscal year in October.”Arguably, one of the most pressing issues facing the new government would be the passage of the FY24 budget,” Goldman Sachs said in a note. “Without a new budget, government spending will be very restricted.”Ahead of the general election, Srettha and his populist Pheu Thai party laid out pledges that included targeting economic growth of 5% every year, a handout scheme worth 560 billion baht ($16.04 billion), raise daily minimum wages and triple farmers income.The party, which finished second in the May poll, also promised to reduce urban rail fares, energy, electricity and gas costs, besides providing one-year debt moratorium for smaller businesses hit by COVID-19.But its ability to execute will depend on the military backers that Pheu Thai has allied with to be able to form a government.”Going forward, we will have to wait and see which economic policies will be announced; how can they be done and how quickly?” said Poon Panichpibool, a markets strategist at Krung Thai Bank. In his first 100 days in power, Srettha, who has yet to announce his economic team, must focus on reducing living expenses and private sector costs, including fuel, said the Thai Chamber of Commerce.Other priorities should include supporting the tourism industry during the year-end high season and accelerating budget disbursements, it advised.”Currently, the economy is worrying,” said Sanan Angubolkul, the chamber’s chairman.($1 = 34.91 baht) More

(Reuters) -The executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday approved the disbursement of $7.5 billion for Argentina after completing the fifth and sixth reviews of their $44 billion program, the IMF said.Various economic targets included in the program were eased, as in the fourth review, and waivers for non-observance were also in place, the IMF said.Total disbursements under the arrangement are now about $36 billion, the fund said. Most of the cash is being used to pay back the fund for another program. IMF staff and Argentina had reached an agreement late in July, which had eased economic targets partly because a devastating drought has created a challenging environment for the grains exporter.”The Executive Board assessed that key program targets were missed through end-June 2023 on account of the historic drought along with policy slippages, requiring the approval of waivers of nonobservance,” the IMF said in a statement.The reserve accumulation target and the primary fiscal balance and monetary financing of the deficit targets were also modified, the fund said, without providing details on the new targets.Argentine Economy Minister Sergio Massa said in a press conference later on Wednesday that the new targets will be made public by the IMF on Friday.Argentina’s net foreign exchange reserves were in the red ahead of the disbursement and the South American country agreed a $775 million loan with Qatar plus a $1 billion bridge loan from regional development bank CAF and $1.7 billion from a swap with China to make a payment to the IMF earlier this month.Argentina plans to tap the disbursement to repay China part of that money.The next program review is scheduled for November, after the Oct. 22 first round presidential election vote. The disbursement is key for the center-left government coalition and its candidate, Massa, who said the new cash “guarantees a stability framework through the end of November.”PESO PEGGEDArgentina, the largest debtor with the IMF after years of economic crisis, has seen locals lose faith in their currency as inflation hit triple-digits and almost four-in-10 people are below the poverty line.The government last week pegged the official peso to 350 per dollar in an 18% devaluation, and raised the benchmark interest rate by 21 percentage points to 118%, politically costly moves amid a presidential campaign. The government said the IMF wanted a “100%” devaluation.The peso hit last week a record low of 785 per dollar in parallel exchanges, more than double the official rate, and closed Wednesday at 725 per dollar. More

(Reuters) -Nvidia far exceeded expectations with its quarterly revenue forecast on Wednesday as an artificial-intelligence boom fueled demand for its chips and said it would buy back $25 billion in stock, sending its shares soaring after hours. Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA)’s forecast beat expectations by billions of dollars, demonstrating that a boom in generative AI technologies that can read and write in human-like ways – and powered almost exclusively by Nvidia’s chips – shows no signs of slowing down.Nvidia’s additional $25 billion in share repurchases announced on Wednesday come as shares have already tripled this year, making the company the first ever trillion-dollar chip business as investors bet Nvidia will be the key beneficiary of the AI boom.Analysts have estimated that demand for Nvidia’s prized AI chips is exceeding supply by at least 50%, adding that the imbalance will stay in place for the next several quarters.”Companies worldwide are transitioning from general-purpose to accelerated computing and generative AI,” Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s chief executive, said in a statement.Shares of Santa-Clara, California-based Nvidia rose 9.6% in trading after the bell, hitting an all-time high.But it was the company’s entire AI systems, not just its chips, that were the largest contributor to the quarter’s growth, according to its executives. Although known for its graphics processing units (GPUs), Nvidia produces whole AI machines with memory chips from other suppliers and tens of thousands of other parts.Nvidia’s report lifted the shares of other Big Tech stocks and AI-related companies, with Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) jumping 1.9%, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) up 2.1% and Palantir Technologies (NYSE:PLTR) surging 4.6% in extended trading on Wednesday.The results were a “‘drop the mic’ moment in our opinion that will have a ripple impact for the tech space for the rest of the year,” said Daniel Ives, analyst at Wedbush Securities. From AI startups to major cloud services providers like Microsoft, all are looking to get their hands on more Nvidia chips. Demand from China is also in overdrive, as companies there are placing rush orders to stockpile chips before any further U.S. export curbs come into action.Should the U.S. place additional export restrictions on AI chip sales to China, it would have no immediate impact on the company’s results, finance chief Colette Kress told analysts on a conference call. Such controls would “result in a permanent loss of an opportunity for the U.S. industry to compete and lead in one of the world’s largest markets.” The company forecast third-quarter revenue of about $16 billion, plus or minus 2%. Analysts polled by Refinitiv on average were expecting $12.61 billion. Adjusted revenue in the second quarter was $13.51 billion, compared with estimates of $11.22 billion.Revenue at the company’s data center business rose 141% to $10.32 billion in the quarter ended July 30, beating analyst estimates of $7.69 billion by more than $2 billion, according to Refinitiv data.”Its Q2 results underscore its dominant position in harnessing the AI momentum,” said Insider Intelligence senior analyst Jacob Bourne. “Yet as global appetite for Nvidia’s chips intensifies, navigating supply chain hurdles to boost production is essential.” To that end, Nvidia is spending big to secure supply. The company reported a 53% jump to $11.15 billion of inventory commitments from the previous quarter, largely because of the long-term supply needs for its data center chips.Analysts expect revenue from Nvidia’s data center segment to expand to as much as $40 billion for its fiscal 2025, according to Refinitiv estimates, driven by Nvidia’s edge in AI chips and other related technologies such as the software to put those chips to work to power products like ChatGPT.While rival Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD)’ key AI chip is expected to pry away some market share from Nvidia next year, Nvidia’s software has a years’ long lead over its CUDA competitor called ROCm, analysts believe.Sales of chips destined for personal computers and data centers have been weak in recent months, which has hurt the chip industry. But AI is a bright spot, with cloud computing businesses and startups alike buying up AI-related chips from Nvidia and others such as Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) and Marvell (NASDAQ:MRVL) Technology.Analysts expect AI spending to continue growing at the expense of other traditional server equipment.Revenue at Nvidia’s gaming segment rose to $2.49 billion, above analyst estimates of $2.4 billion, according to Refinitiv data. Excluding items, the company earned $2.70 per share in the second quarter, compared with estimates of $2.09, according to Refinitiv data.For the current third quarter, Nvidia expects adjusted gross margin to be 72.5%, plus or minus 50 basis points. Analysts on average forecast gross margin to be 70.4%, according to Refinitiv data. More