Aurelia Butler

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States on Friday broadened its export curbs against Russia and Belarus, restricting access to imports of items such as fertilizer and pipe valves as it seeks to ratchet up pressure on Moscow and Minsk following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.President Joe Biden’s administration also restricted flights of American-made aircraft that are owned, controlled or leased by Belarusians from flying into Belarus “as part of the U.S. government’s response to Belarus’s actions in support of Russia’s aggressive conduct in Ukraine.”Washington has sought to deepen sanctions against Russia and ally Belarus after a withdrawal of Russian troops from northern Kiev revealed mass graves in the town of Bucha.On Wednesday, the United States targeted Russian banks and elites with a new round of sanctions, including banning Americans from investing in Russia, in response to what President Joe Biden condemned as “major war crimes” by Russian forces in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion, which began on Feb. 24, is Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War Two. Russia calls it a “special military operation” aimed at protecting civilians.The Commerce Department said it will begin requiring Russians and Belarusians to get a special license when seeking to obtain a host of goods from U.S. suppliers and pledged to deny those licenses. The goods include fertilizer, pipe valves, ball bearings and other parts, materials and chemicals.The administration said items made abroad with U.S. tools would also require a U.S. license, which the administration plans to deny.”It is evidence they are going to continue tightening export controls and targeting on an economy-wide basis those categories they have not yet done,” said Emily Kilcrease, senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security and former deputy assistant U.S. Trade Representative, noting that the Commerce Department now has further restricted Russian access to all items whose export it regulates. “That’s significant.”Actions in late February and March placed unprecedented controls on export of U.S. and foreign-made items destined for Russia or Belarus. Those measures, coordinated with over 30 other countries, restrict a broad swath of commodities, software and technology. More

US stocks fell to a weekly decline for the first time in a month on Friday, as hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials paved the way for a rapid decline in the central bank’s balance sheet and weighed on company valuations. The benchmark S&P 500 fell 0.3 per cent in New York, a weekly decline of 1.3 per cent. It ended three weeks of a recovery after the initial fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite also declined, falling 1.3 per cent for the day and 3.9 per cent for the week. The Fed revealed plans earlier this week to shrink its $9tn balance sheet by more than $1tn a year at the same time as it raises interest rates in an effort to combat soaring inflation. “While the Fed is saying that balance sheet reduction will occur ‘in the background’, that may not be the case . . . The silver lining is that the Fed may not need to hike rates as much since quantitative tightening should help to slow down the economy,” said Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist for Invesco.The pace of the Fed’s proposed balance sheet reduction weighed on longer-dated Treasury prices, which move inversely to yields, while the prospect of rising interest rates tends to impact shorter-dated yields more. As attention shifted this week from rate increases to the balance sheet it helped to push yields on longer-dated Treasuries up by more than shorter-dated yields. In turn, this has led to a widely watched recession indicator called the yield curve — which compares short- and long-dated yields — moving back into positive territory. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which influences borrowing costs worldwide, rose to 2.7 per cent on Friday, up 0.04 percentage points on the day and taking its weekly rise to more than 0.3 percentage points. The 2-year Treasury yield rose by a more meagre 0.06 percentage points for the week to 2.5 per cent. The moves follow the worst quarter of returns for the Treasury market since at least 1973, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine exacerbated coronavirus pandemic-induced inflationary pressures, clouding the economic outlook.“The themes that dominated markets in the first quarter are still in play unfortunately,” said Paul O’Connor, head of Janus Henderson’s multi-asset team in the UK.“Every now and then, you may see a small burst of enthusiasm, but this will meet strong headwinds from central bank [monetary] tightening and the war in Ukraine — and there’s been no relief from either.” Elsewhere, Europe’s benchmark Stoxx 600 share index added 1.3 per cent, boosted by bank stocks viewed as beneficiaries of rate rises. France’s CAC 40 share index gained 1.3 per cent, with some analysts cautioning that traders had not fully quantified the risks of Emmanuel Macron losing this month’s presidential election to far-right candidate Marine Le Pen. Exit polls suggest Macron’s lead over his rival is much narrower than it was five years ago.“This could be a cause for concern and it’s not really priced in at the moment,” said Antoine Lesne, head of research and strategy at State Street’s SPDR ETF business. In Asia, the Hang Seng Tech index, which tracks Hong Kong-listed technology companies, dropped sharply before closing 1.1 per cent lower.The dollar index, which charts the US currency against six others including the euro and sterling, rose nearly 0.1 per cent to its highest level since May 2020. Brent crude, the oil benchmark, rose 2.2 per cent to $102.78 a barrel. More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -An American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL) passenger who allegedly shoved a flight attendant and spit at crew members has been hit with the biggest fine ever issued by U.S. aviation regulators, and another fine topping $75,000 was issued to a Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) passenger who bit a fellow passenger after trying to hug and kiss another.Since January 2021 when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) imposed a zero-tolerance policy, the agency has proposed fines of about $7 million for disruptive passengers. Two new fines issued Friday were the highest yet.The FAA proposed a $81,950 fine for an American Airlines passenger on a July flight from Dallas, Texas to Charlotte, North Carolina, alleging the passenger “threatened to hurt the flight attendant that offered help to the passenger after she fell into the aisle. The passenger then pushed the flight attendant aside and tried to open the cabin door.”The FAA added “two flight attendants tried to restrain the passenger, but she repeatedly hit one of the flight attendants on the head. After the passenger was restrained in flex cuffs, she spit at, headbutted, bit and tried to kick the crew and other passengers.”The agency also proposed a $77,272-fine for a Delta passenger on a July Las Vegas to Atlanta flight, alleging the passenger “attempted to hug and kiss the passenger seated next to her; walked to the front of the aircraft to try to exit during flight; refused to return to her seat; and bit another passenger multiple times.”Delta said Friday it “has zero tolerance for unruly behavior at our airports and on our flights as nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people.” The FAA imposed its zero-tolerance mandate when unruly passenger incidents escalated around the time of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Incidents remained elevated after President Joe Biden’s administration imposed a mandate requiring passengers to wear masks on airplanes and in airports because of COVID-19 cases in February 2021. The FAA said neither incident that led to Friday’s fines involved passengers who objected to wearing masks.U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told ABC’s “The View” Friday that the administration’s mandate requiring masks on airplanes and in public transport will either expire or be renewed on April 18.”We all want to get to where there are fewer restrictions. We just need to get to a point where it is safe to do that,” Buttigieg said. “Air travel is a little different than a lot of other environments but we would love to get there.”Airlines and Republicans in Congress are pressing the White House to end the mask mandate and some lawmakers sent a new letter https://republicans-transportation.house.gov/uploadedfiles/2022-04-08_–_letter_to_biden_re_mask_mandate_april.pdf?utm_campaign=197014-345 on Friday to Biden.The FAA said since January 2021, there have been a record 7,060 unruly passenger incidents reported – and 70% involved masking rules – but the rate has declined 60% since its high in 2021.The FAA said in February it has referred 80 unruly airplane passengers to the FBI for potential criminal prosecution.Buttigieg said the administration and Congress are still looking at a “no-fly” list for unruly passengers. More

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The fast-spreading Omicron variant stoked U.S. interest in better masks for children to ward off COVID-19, and that is adding fuel to an effort that could set the stage for domestic oversight of their quality.Adult N95 masks are federally regulated and considered a gold standard. They were among the “better masks” U.S. health officials recommended in January to protect against Omicron. For children, no comparable U.S.-regulated mask exists, and some concerned parents turned to kid-sized masks made to South Korea’s KF94 or China’s KN95 standards instead. While many U.S. states and schools have since stopped requiring mask-wearing for COVID, disease experts say children will still need high-quality masks for everything from current and future pandemics to seasonal flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) that can cause serious illness and death. “Every year there are opportunities for masks to make a difference – whether it’s in the classroom or in the daycare,” said Dr. Steven Krug, an emergency room physician and chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Council on Children and Disasters.U.S. e-commerce sites are crowded with sellers offering children’s KF94 or KN95 masks. Most sites do not authenticate those products, and U.S. health agencies do not approve them – creating fertile ground for fraudsters.Dr. Jennifer Nayak, a University of Rochester Medical Center infectious disease specialist, told Reuters that mask shopping for her three kids on Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) and other sites spurred questions, including: “Is it real vs. counterfeit? Is it going to fit?”South Korea is considered a leader for children’s masks because it tightly enforces its KF94 standard. Its health ministry says the only genuine KF94s are made in South Korea. Behealthyusa.net, the direct seller of made-in-South Korea BOTN KF94s in the United States, told Reuters its site sold out of many small-sized KF94 masks during the original Omicron surge.Los Angeles-based importer Tony Chen, father of 8- and 11-year-olds, started bringing in kid-sized, made-in-South Korea KF94 masks when parents struggled to find authentic masks at affordable prices.Parents with ties to South Korea pointed Chen to reputable children’s KF94 mask sellers there, he said. He flies masks duty-free to the United States under direct-to-consumer shipping rules that lower his cost to 47 cents to $1 each, vs. $1 to $3 on e-commerce sites.”I’m just hoping I break even,” said Chen, who has imported about 9,000 children’s KF94s for dozens of families since Jan. 1 and plans to keep going as long as needed. A handful of other groups also are doing leg work for parents.Project N95 – which vets mask sellers all the way back to the factory – runs a website that offers a variety of masks for children – including KF94s from South Korea, KN95s from China, and specialty products made by legitimate N95 manufacturers in the United States.”We do often run out,” Project N95 Executive Director Anne Miller said. Factories produce fewer masks for children than adults, and demand for children’s sizes is increasing up to 15% per week, Miller said.LONG ROAD TO OVERSIGHT The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) certifies N95 masks and inspects the facilities that make them. A move is afoot to establish a U.S. standard for high-filtration children’s masks, which could set the stage for domestic oversight. Texas mask-maker Aegle and the University of Maryland’s Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices are designing children’s masks that filter like N95s but are optimized for kids’ smaller faces and lungs. Aegle Chief Executive Andy Moy aims to start clinical trials at Washington’s Children’s National Hospital in April.The standard would define mask materials, measurements and filtration qualities. After that, a standards body or government agency would need to support and adopt it. A federal agency would be needed to enforce the standard, Moy said.”Only then will parents have the assurance they need,” Moy said.American Mask Manufacturer’s Association (AMMA) founder Lloyd Armbrust said success would require ongoing commitment and political pressure.”These problems are totally solvable, but people have to care long enough,” Armbrust said. (This story corrects China’s mask standard in paragraph 2) More

(Reuters) – Palladium rose 11% on Friday on renewed supply concerns after trading in the metal from Russian refineries was suspended in London over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Palladium, used by automakers in catalytic converters to curb emissions, rose 7.8% to hit its highest since March 25 following the announcement by the London Platinum and Palladium Market, a trade association that accredits refineries. (Full Story) “Around 40% of primary palladium supply stems from Russia, for the remainder of the year around 1.8 million ounces of primary production may be at risk … the suspension could exacerbate the undersupply,” said Standard Chartered (OTC:SCBFF) analyst Suki Cooper. Palladium XPD= rose to $2,408.50 as of 1:54 p.m. ET (1754 GMT), en route to its first weekly gain in five. The metal surged to an all-time high of $3,440.76 on March 7 on concerns over supply from top producer Russia. “Ultimately, the market is worried that we’re going to have an even more scarce market than before,” said Bart Melek, head of commodity strategies at TD Securities. Spot gold XAU= rose 0.5% to $1,941.94 per ounce and was up 0.9% for the week, while U.S. gold futures GCv1 rose 0.4% to $1,945.6. (Full Story) Gold’s rise came despite solid gains in the U.S. dollar, a rival safe-haven asset. A stronger dollar generally erodes gold’s appeal for overseas buyers. USD/ US/ (Full Story) The uncertainty over what the Federal Reserve is going to do after raising rates is driving flows into gold, said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA. Fears of a recession, growth concerns along with inflationary pressures are also causing people to hedge through gold, Moya added. While gold is considered a refuge asset during global conflicts and rising inflation, higher U.S. interest rates increase the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding bullion. Silver XAG= rose 0.9% to $24.78 per ounce, up 0.6% for the week, while platinum XPT= gained 1.4% to $975.91 but was down for a fifth consecutive week. More