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ECONOMY
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Inflation more urgent tariff issue right now, Fed's Kugler says
Federal Reserve Governor Adriana Kugler.
Al Drago/Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg
Federal Reserve Governor Adriana Kugler said President Donald Trump's trade policy currently has more pressing implications for inflation than for economic growth. Kugler said consumers' moves to purchase products before newly announced tariffs take effect may be offering support for economic activity in early 2025, while there are signs the changes in trade policy are already putting some upward pressure on prices. 'The takeaway is that I view, right now, inflation as being more pressing as far as the effects of tariffs that we're already seeing,' Kugler said during a question-and-answer session Monday at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 'Maybe this frontloading is going to help, at least in terms of keeping economic activity at the beginning of the year.' She made the comment in describing the tension between how the Fed would typically respond in the case of a weakening economy compared with times of accelerating inflation. Trump last week unveiled sweeping and aggressive tariffs on US trading partners, which analysts broadly estimate will both slow economic growth and cause higher inflation. 'If we tighten policy, we may weaken the economy. We ease policy, on the other hand, we may drive inflation higher,' Kugler said. 'So we have to be very careful in how we navigate this period.' — BLOOMBERG NEWS
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ENTERTAINMENT
'Minecraft' movie's $163 million debut is year's best so far
Jack Black attends the world premiere of "A Minecraft Movie" at Cineworld Leicester Square on March 30 in London, England.for Warner Bros. Pictures
A Minecraft Movie, a Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. film based on the namesake video game, opened at No. 1 in US and Canadian theaters this weekend, marking the biggest debut this year. The picture, co-produced by Legendary Entertainment, delivered weekend sales of $163 million, Warner Bros. said Monday in a statement, storming past industry tracker Box Office Pro's forecast of $85 million to $100 million. The film took in an additional $150.7 million in theaters internationally. Estimates for the movie soared last week based on advanced ticket-buying data. The live-action comedy and fantasy picture stars Jack Black and Jason Momoa as misfits pulled into a cubic world based on the game. The tally marked the largest opening weekend ever for a film based on a video game and continues a string of recent successes for such movies, including The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Sonic the Hedgehog 3. The film overcame a 49 percent critics' score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. The debut is good news for domestic theaters, which had seen ticket sales slide 11 percent before the start of the weekend. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
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AIR TRAVEL
Spirit Air's CEO steps down after emergence from bankruptcy
A Spirit Airlines aircraft prepares to depart from the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Nov. 13, 2024, in Austin, Texas.
Brandon Bell/Getty
Spirit Airlines said Chief Executive Officer Ted Christie is stepping down, less than a month after the pioneering discount carrier emerged from bankruptcy. Christie's departure from the company and the board is effective immediately, parent Spirit Aviation Holdings Inc. said Monday in a statement. Until a successor is named, the company will be led by three top executives. Matt Klein, the carrier's chief commercial officer, also is leaving. The surprise CEO change caps a rocky few years for Spirit, which nearly merged with JetBlue Airways Corp. before that deal was blocked on antitrust grounds. Spirit has struggled to keep costs manageable as an independent airline, and filed for bankruptcy late last year. The company recently engaged in unsuccessful combination talks with Frontier Group Holdings Inc. before emerging from bankruptcy last month. Christie had served as CEO since 2019, and joined the carrier in 2012 as chief financial officer. He previously worked at Frontier as chief financial officer. Spirit will be led temporarily by a newly formed office of the president that will include CFO Fred Cromer, Chief Operating Officer John Bendoraitis and General Counsel Thomas Canfield. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
INTERNATIONAL
US blocks sea salt imports from South Korean salt farm over forced labor concerns
A salt farm owner walks around his salt farm on Sinui Island, South Korea, on Feb. 19, 2014.
Ahn Young-joon/Associated Press
The United States has blocked imports of sea salt products from a major South Korean salt farm accused of using slave labor, becoming the first trade partner to take punitive action against a decadeslong problem on salt farms in remote islands off South Korea's southwest coast. US Customs and Border Protection issued a withhold release order against the Taepyung salt farm, saying information 'reasonably indicates' the use of forced labor at the company in the island county of Sinan, where most of South Korea's sea salt products are made. Under the order issued last Wednesday, Customs personnel at all US ports of entry are required to hold sea salt products sourced from the farm. Taepyung is South Korea's largest salt farm, producing about 16,000 tons of salt annually, which accounts for approximately 6 percent of the country's total output, according to government data, and is a major supplier to South Korean food companies. The farm, located on Jeungdo island in Sinan and leasing most of its salt fields to tenants, has been repeatedly accused of using forced labor, including in 2014 and 2021. South Korean officials stated that this was the first time a foreign government had suspended imports from a South Korean company due to concerns over forced labor. In a statement to The Associated Press on Monday, South Korea's Foreign Ministry said relevant government agencies, including the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, have been taking steps to address labor practices at Taepyung since 2021. While not providing direct evidence, it said it assesses that none of the salt produced there now is sourced from forced labor. The ministry said it plans to 'actively engage' in discussions with the US officials over the matter. The fisheries ministry said it plans to promptly review the necessary measures to seek the lifting of the US order. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
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TECHNOLOGY
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Microsoft workers say they've been fired after 50th anniversary protest over Israel contract
A sign is seen at the Microsoft headquarters on July 3, 2024, in Redmond, Wash.
David Ryder/Getty
Microsoft has fired two employees who interrupted the company's 50th anniversary celebration to protest its work supplying artificial intelligence technology to the Israeli military, according to a group representing the workers. Microsoft didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. The protests began Friday when Microsoft software engineer Ibtihal Aboussad walked up to a stage where an executive was announcing new product features and a long-term vision for Microsoft's AI ambitions. 'You claim that you care about using AI for good but Microsoft sells AI weapons to the Israeli military,' Aboussad shouted at Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman. 'Fifty-thousand people have died and Microsoft powers this genocide in our region.' The protest forced Suleyman to pause his talk, which was livestreamed from Microsoft's campus in Redmond, Washington. Among the participants at the 50th anniversary of Microsoft's founding were co-founder Bill Gates and former CEO Steve Ballmer. 'Thank you for your protest, I hear you,' Suleyman said. Aboussad continued, shouting that Suleyman and 'all of Microsoft' had blood on their hands. She also threw onto the stage a keffiyeh scarf, which has become a symbol of support for Palestinian people, before being escorted out of the event. A second protester, Microsoft employee Vaniya Agrawal, interrupted a later part of the event. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Senate passes stripped-back version of ‘no-cause' eviction bill, but House likely to oppose it
Senators scaled back the bill to lessen the effect on tenants — raising the likelihood of a clash with the House. (Getty Images) The New Hampshire Senate passed a bill Thursday intended to make it easier for landlords to terminate tenancies. But before passing it, senators scaled back the bill to lessen the effect on tenants — raising the likelihood of a clash with the House. In current law, New Hampshire landlords must cite a specific reason to initiate evictions, including nonpayment of rent, failure to follow the lease, behavior affecting the health or safety of others, or a business reason by the landlord, such as a renovation. As originally passed by the House, House Bill 60 would have allowed for 'no-fault' or 'no-cause' termination of tenancies for leases six months or longer. In those cases, landlords could ask a tenant to leave at the end of the lease period with no reason given. Republicans argue allowing no-cause evictions would let landlords treat leases as fixed-length contracts with tenants, and relieve them of the burden of finding a reason if they no longer wished to rent to someone. But Democrats and legal aid organizations argue it would increase the pace of evictions and could make it easier for landlords to discriminate. On Thursday, the Senate dramatically altered the bill, keeping the 'no-fault' evictions but adding a trigger provision that prevents application of the law unless the state has had a 4% or higher rental vacancy rate for four quarters in one calendar year, as determined by the Federal Reserve. Currently, the Federal Reserve estimates New Hampshire has exactly a 4% vacancy rate, citing U.S. Census data. The Senate's version would also allow landlords to use no-cause evictions only with leases of 12 months or more. And it would exempt tenants who are subject to no-cause evictions from having those evictions added to their record for the purpose of rental applications and tenant screening reports, easing concerns from housing advocates about the effects of the original bill. Those changes earned the support of Senate Democrats; the amended bill was voted through unanimously Thursday. But before the bill can go to Gov. Kelly Ayotte's desk, it must receive final sign-off from the House, and some House Republicans have made it clear they are not happy with the Senate's changes. Rep. Joe Alexander, a Goffstown Republican and the chairman of the Housing Committee, said he will be requesting a Committee of Conference with the Senate to attempt to find a compromise when the House meets on Thursday. The Senate's version of the bill does not fit with the House's position, Alexander said in an interview. And he noted that the full House already voted down two attempted Democratic amendments to add trigger provisions. 'The House position is the lease is a contract,' Alexander said. 'And (in) every other place in contract law, when a contract ends, both parties go their separate ways unless there's conversation about renewing it. So we're just trying to bring it in line with all other contract law in the state.' Elliott Berry, a former attorney for New Hampshire Legal Assistance who has been following the bill, said even with the Senate changes, he and other housing advocates believe HB 60 could harm tenants. 'It's going to make a lot of landlords take the easy way out,' he said. 'And so tenants who for whatever reason feel any kind of antagonism towards them in general, well-based or not, they're going to be in jeopardy.'
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TSX futures lifted by gains in metal prices; eyes on US-China trade talks
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39 minutes ago
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