Latest news with #JohnRogers
Hindustan Times
26-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
The Fed Economist Accused of Espionage for Beijing
John Rogers was visiting Shanghai in May 2013, attending a business forum as a Federal Reserve economist, when he first received an email from an alleged Chinese intelligence agent. The man described himself as a Chinese graduate student who was interested in learning about the Fed. Rogers says he refused the man's offer to pay him. But they stayed in touch, and later, the man invited Rogers to visit China again, all expenses paid. This time, Rogers made the trip, setting off a chain of events that led to espionage charges against him in the U.S.—and exposed new details about China's alleged efforts to recruit informants inside U.S. government institutions. Prosecutors allege Rogers handed over sensitive information to Chinese operatives, who posed as students and who offered to cover travel expenses to China. Rogers met his Chinese handlers in hotel rooms and in some cases shared internal Fed reports, including information prepared for discussions by the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee, according to an indictment unsealed in January that accused Rogers of conspiring to commit economic espionage. Federal Bureau of Investigation officers arrested Rogers in January and found $50,000 in cash at his Washington-area apartment—money that his wife said belonged to her. Rogers has denied all charges against him, including that he knowingly assisted Beijing. People who know him, and his role at the Fed, say his value to China would have been limited because he wasn't privy to high-level decision-making. An attorney for Rogers said the government's indictment lacks context and relevant facts that would undercut its implication of impropriety. For example, Rogers doesn't speak Chinese, the attorney said. The indictment 'presents an overly-simplistic, one-sided, and skewed version of events,' said the lawyer, who added that Rogers's legal team would provide a detailed rebuttal in court 'where we will prove Dr. Rogers's innocence.' Prosecutors say Rogers was a logical target for Chinese espionage, with an important-sounding title at the Fed and a growing affection for China. In 2018, he married a Shanghainese woman whom he met through a Chinese matchmaking service. FBI agents would later find a note on his iPad, dated December 2018 and addressed to 'Dear Chinese People,' in which he expressed admiration for China. 'I love your kindness, your generosity, and your humbly hard working, high-achieving society,' the note said. 'I love you unconditionally, Shanghai.' Asked about Rogers's case, China's Foreign Ministry said it wasn't aware of the matter. China's main civilian intelligence agency, the Ministry of State Security, didn't respond to queries. Western officials say China has ramped up espionage activities to unprecedented levels under leader Xi Jinping, including targeting institutions such as the Fed, a linchpin of U.S. financial stability. While Chinese cyberattacks have gained more prominence recently, Beijing continues to groom traditional human sources such as informants to get information, even when they appear to offer limited insight. A 2022 report by Republican staff on a Senate committee accused China of trying to 'gain access to sensitive internal information and influence the Federal Reserve' since at least 2013, offering money and other benefits. In one case in 2019, Chinese authorities allegedly held a Fed economist in a hotel room during a trip to Shanghai and threatened to imprison him unless he agreed to provide nonpublic economic data, according to the Senate committee report. Chinese officials allegedly told him they had been monitoring his phones, including conversations about his divorce, and would publicly humiliate him if he didn't cooperate. The economist reported the incident to Fed officials after being released, the report said. China's Foreign Ministry denounced the report, calling it 'political disinformation.' In response to the report at the time, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank maintained robust information-security protocols. Those policies included reviews of foreign travel and personal contacts for staff with access to sensitive economic information, he said then. The Fed updated its policies in 2021 to prohibit gifts and compensation from entities in countries, including China, that are subject to defense export controls by the State Department. This account is based on interviews with Rogers's associates and a review of documents related to the case. With a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Virginia, Rogers joined the Federal Reserve Board as an economist in 1994. He later worked as a senior adviser researching exchange rates and interest-rate policy. On social media, Rogers aired his fondness for bands such as R.E.M. and the Cure. A lanky figure standing more than 6 feet tall, he sometimes led yoga classes for Fed colleagues. People familiar with Rogers's work said his position as senior adviser could oversell to outsiders his involvement in the Fed's sensitive policymaking discussions. While some officials with the 'senior adviser' title help Fed leaders prepare for their highly secret monetary-policy meetings, others have simply been at the Fed a long time or have specialized research backgrounds. Rogers fell into this latter category. He didn't attend Federal Open Market Committee meetings or have access to sensitive FOMC materials. Even so, alleged Chinese intelligence homed in on Rogers when he traveled to China in 2013. He went there to speak at an annual conference hosted by Shanghai's prestigious Fudan University, Rogers recalled in a podcast interview in 2024. In 2017, Rogers accepted an invitation from the Chinese man who described himself as a graduate student to visit his university, Shandong University of Economics and Finance, in the eastern city of Ji'nan, according to the indictment. Rogers asked the student to pay for flights and hotels, and the man agreed. Around that time, Rogers became acquainted with a 31-year-old Shanghainese makeup artist through a Chinese matchmaking service called Sky Love, which caters to Chinese women seeking romantic partners from abroad. After months of online conversations, Rogers wanted to meet the woman, Liu Yu, in person. He added a stop in Shanghai, where they spent about two days together, sightseeing, enjoying a hotpot meal and exchanging gifts, according to Sky Love, which detailed the romance in online posts publicizing its successes in matchmaking. Rogers then traveled to Ji'nan, where he delivered a lecture, 'Uncertainty, Currency Excess Returns and Risk Reversals,' at Shandong University. The couple wedded in Hong Kong in March 2018, and Liu gave birth to their daughter in Shanghai later that year, the company said. About two months after his wedding, Rogers reached out to the Chinese man who said he was a student and asked about an essay the man was writing, according to the indictment. The man sent Rogers questions about Fed policy, purportedly to get help for the essay. Rogers emailed two Fed colleagues asking for information he could share during a trip to China, including on the Fed's views on China's currency. One colleague emailed him two PDF documents, one of which Rogers emailed to his Chinese contact. After arriving in China, under the guise of teaching classes, Rogers met in hotel rooms with the man and another person—who U.S. prosecutors say was also an intelligence agent—and shared internal Fed information, according to the indictment. In text exchanges made public by U.S. prosecutors, Rogers said the Fed wouldn't allow him to discuss policy matters with Chinese contacts unless there was a sound academic reason for doing so. 'There has to be a lot more done to make this legitimate in the eyes of the Fed. Remember, it has to be teaching and not consulting. I am only allowed to teach,' he said in one text message in 2018. If anyone questioned the relationship, 'that would cause me a lot of trouble!' he wrote. Under U.S. law, economic espionage can be punished with up to 15 years in prison. In a February court filing, Rogers's lawyers said the text message 'demonstrates the defendant's commitment to do the teaching which he was hired to do—not to conspire with anyone.' In the second half of 2018, Rogers took a sabbatical from the Fed, spending time in Shanghai as a visiting professor at Fudan, according to his podcast interview. He continued supplying information to the Chinese persons who described themselves as students, including notes on a briefing to someone awaiting Senate confirmation as a Fed governor around two weeks before a Fed policy meeting. Attorneys for Rogers would later tell a Washington, D.C., court that the economist's communications with his Chinese contacts reflected the teacher-student relationship between them. Rogers could answer his students' questions without revealing trade secrets, the attorneys said. In 2020, Fed officials raised questions about Rogers's Chinese ties in an interview with the Fed's watchdog agency, the Office of Inspector General. 'The Chinese, they're watching everything that the U.S. does. I don't mean that in an espionage way, I'm sure they are doing espionage but I don't confront that,' Rogers said, according to a court submission from prosecutors. 'They just want to know what's… the Fed thinking.' Rogers added, 'I was offered money, they'd come out with packets of hundred-dollar bills.' But he denied sharing restricted Fed information. Prosecutors would later charge Rogers with making a false statement during this interview. Attorneys for Rogers said he lost access to most Fed documents in May 2020, around three months after the interview. He was forced out of the Fed in May 2021, according to a government filing. A Fed spokesperson, citing privacy rules, declined to comment on the case. About two months before leaving the Fed, Rogers signed a contract to teach at Fudan, according to government prosecutors. His contract offers a salary of around $150,000 for one semester of teaching per year, according to his lawyers. They said he also received a $300,000 research grant, to be disbursed over three years, from a state-run research institution. Fudan didn't respond to a request for comment. The Chinese persons describing themselves as students continued to contact Rogers. In February 2022, one messaged Rogers asking if he and his wife would be interested in traveling to the eastern city of Qingdao, and arranging a class there. 'All related expenses will be covered by us, and we can pay for the class,' the agent said. It couldn't be learned if Rogers made the trip. Write to Chun Han Wong at and Nick Timiraos at Get 360° coverage—from daily headlines to 100 year archives.
Mint
25-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
The Fed economist accused of espionage for Beijing
John Rogers was visiting Shanghai in May 2013, attending a business forum as a Federal Reserve economist, when he first received an email from an alleged Chinese intelligence agent. The man described himself as a Chinese graduate student who was interested in learning about the Fed. Rogers says he refused the man's offer to pay him. But they stayed in touch, and later, the man invited Rogers to visit China again, all expenses paid. This time, Rogers made the trip, setting off a chain of events that led to espionage charges against him in the U.S.—and exposed new details about China's alleged efforts to recruit informants inside U.S. government institutions. Prosecutors allege Rogers handed over sensitive information to Chinese operatives, who posed as students and who offered to cover travel expenses to China. Rogers met his Chinese handlers in hotel rooms and in some cases shared internal Fed reports, including information prepared for discussions by the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee, according to an indictment unsealed in January that accused Rogers of conspiring to commit economic espionage. Federal Bureau of Investigation officers arrested Rogers in January and found $50,000 in cash at his Washington-area apartment—money that his wife said belonged to her. Rogers has denied all charges against him, including that he knowingly assisted Beijing. People who know him, and his role at the Fed, say his value to China would have been limited because he wasn't privy to high-level decision-making. An attorney for Rogers said the government's indictment lacks context and relevant facts that would undercut its implication of impropriety. For example, Rogers doesn't speak Chinese, the attorney said. The indictment 'presents an overly-simplistic, one-sided, and skewed version of events," said the lawyer, who added that Rogers's legal team would provide a detailed rebuttal in court 'where we will prove Dr. Rogers's innocence." Fed Chair Jerome Powell has pointed to the central bank's security protocols in response to past concerns about alleged Chinese spying. Prosecutors say Rogers was a logical target for Chinese espionage, with an important-sounding title at the Fed and a growing affection for China. In 2018, he married a Shanghainese woman whom he met through a Chinese matchmaking service. FBI agents would later find a note on his iPad, dated December 2018 and addressed to 'Dear Chinese People," in which he expressed admiration for China. 'I love your kindness, your generosity, and your humbly hard working, high-achieving society," the note said. 'I love you unconditionally, Shanghai." Asked about Rogers's case, China's Foreign Ministry said it wasn't aware of the matter. China's main civilian intelligence agency, the Ministry of State Security, didn't respond to queries. Western officials say China has ramped up espionage activities to unprecedented levels under leader Xi Jinping, including targeting institutions such as the Fed, a linchpin of U.S. financial stability. While Chinese cyberattacks have gained more prominence recently, Beijing continues to groom traditional human sources such as informants to get information, even when they appear to offer limited insight. A 2022 report by Republican staff on a Senate committee accused China of trying to 'gain access to sensitive internal information and influence the Federal Reserve" since at least 2013, offering money and other benefits. In one case in 2019, Chinese authorities allegedly held a Fed economist in a hotel room during a trip to Shanghai and threatened to imprison him unless he agreed to provide nonpublic economic data, according to the Senate committee report. Chinese officials allegedly told him they had been monitoring his phones, including conversations about his divorce, and would publicly humiliate him if he didn't cooperate. The economist reported the incident to Fed officials after being released, the report said. China's Foreign Ministry denounced the report, calling it 'political disinformation." In response to the report at the time, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank maintained robust information-security protocols. Those policies included reviews of foreign travel and personal contacts for staff with access to sensitive economic information, he said then. The Fed updated its policies in 2021 to prohibit gifts and compensation from entities in countries, including China, that are subject to defense export controls by the State Department. This account is based on interviews with Rogers's associates and a review of documents related to the case. With a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Virginia, Rogers joined the Federal Reserve Board as an economist in 1994. He later worked as a senior adviser researching exchange rates and interest-rate policy. On social media, Rogers aired his fondness for bands such as R.E.M. and the Cure. A lanky figure standing more than 6 feet tall, he sometimes led yoga classes for Fed colleagues. People familiar with Rogers's work said his position as senior adviser could oversell to outsiders his involvement in the Fed's sensitive policymaking discussions. While some officials with the 'senior adviser" title help Fed leaders prepare for their highly secret monetary-policy meetings, others have simply been at the Fed a long time or have specialized research backgrounds. Rogers fell into this latter category. He didn't attend Federal Open Market Committee meetings or have access to sensitive FOMC materials. Even so, alleged Chinese intelligence homed in on Rogers when he traveled to China in 2013. He went there to speak at an annual conference hosted by Shanghai's prestigious Fudan University, Rogers recalled in a podcast interview in 2024. In 2017, Rogers accepted an invitation from the Chinese man who described himself as a graduate student to visit his university, Shandong University of Economics and Finance, in the eastern city of Ji'nan, according to the indictment. Rogers asked the student to pay for flights and hotels, and the man agreed. Around that time, Rogers became acquainted with a 31-year-old Shanghainese makeup artist through a Chinese matchmaking service called Sky Love, which caters to Chinese women seeking romantic partners from abroad. After months of online conversations, Rogers wanted to meet the woman, Liu Yu, in person. He added a stop in Shanghai, where they spent about two days together, sightseeing, enjoying a hotpot meal and exchanging gifts, according to Sky Love, which detailed the romance in online posts publicizing its successes in matchmaking. Rogers then traveled to Ji'nan, where he delivered a lecture, 'Uncertainty, Currency Excess Returns and Risk Reversals," at Shandong University. The couple wedded in Hong Kong in March 2018, and Liu gave birth to their daughter in Shanghai later that year, the company said. About two months after his wedding, Rogers reached out to the Chinese man who said he was a student and asked about an essay the man was writing, according to the indictment. The man sent Rogers questions about Fed policy, purportedly to get help for the essay. Rogers emailed two Fed colleagues asking for information he could share during a trip to China, including on the Fed's views on China's currency. One colleague emailed him two PDF documents, one of which Rogers emailed to his Chinese contact. After arriving in China, under the guise of teaching classes, Rogers met in hotel rooms with the man and another person—who U.S. prosecutors say was also an intelligence agent—and shared internal Fed information, according to the indictment. In text exchanges made public by U.S. prosecutors, Rogers said the Fed wouldn't allow him to discuss policy matters with Chinese contacts unless there was a sound academic reason for doing so. 'There has to be a lot more done to make this legitimate in the eyes of the Fed. Remember, it has to be teaching and not consulting. I am only allowed to teach," he said in one text message in 2018. If anyone questioned the relationship, 'that would cause me a lot of trouble!" he wrote. Under U.S. law, economic espionage can be punished with up to 15 years in prison. In a February court filing, Rogers's lawyers said the text message 'demonstrates the defendant's commitment to do the teaching which he was hired to do—not to conspire with anyone." In the second half of 2018, Rogers took a sabbatical from the Fed, spending time in Shanghai as a visiting professor at Fudan, according to his podcast interview. He continued supplying information to the Chinese persons who described themselves as students, including notes on a briefing to someone awaiting Senate confirmation as a Fed governor around two weeks before a Fed policy meeting. Attorneys for Rogers would later tell a Washington, D.C., court that the economist's communications with his Chinese contacts reflected the teacher-student relationship between them. Rogers could answer his students' questions without revealing trade secrets, the attorneys said. By 2019, Rogers had brought his new wife and daughter to live with him in Washington, according to a Sky Love post. His wife has another daughter in China and continued to spend 'significant time" there, prosecutors said. In 2020, Fed officials raised questions about Rogers's Chinese ties in an interview with the Fed's watchdog agency, the Office of Inspector General. 'The Chinese, they're watching everything that the U.S. does. I don't mean that in an espionage way, I'm sure they are doing espionage but I don't confront that," Rogers said, according to a court submission from prosecutors. 'They just want to know what's… the Fed thinking." Rogers added, 'I was offered money, they'd come out with packets of hundred-dollar bills." But he denied sharing restricted Fed information. Prosecutors would later charge Rogers with making a false statement during this interview. Attorneys for Rogers said he lost access to most Fed documents in May 2020, around three months after the interview. He was forced out of the Fed in May 2021, according to a government filing. A Fed spokesperson, citing privacy rules, declined to comment on the case. About two months before leaving the Fed, Rogers signed a contract to teach at Fudan, according to government prosecutors. His contract offers a salary of around $150,000 for one semester of teaching per year, according to his lawyers. They said he also received a $300,000 research grant, to be disbursed over three years, from a state-run research institution. Fudan didn't respond to a request for comment. The Chinese persons describing themselves as students continued to contact Rogers. In February 2022, one messaged Rogers asking if he and his wife would be interested in traveling to the eastern city of Qingdao, and arranging a class there. 'All related expenses will be covered by us, and we can pay for the class," the agent said. It couldn't be learned if Rogers made the trip. Write to Chun Han Wong at and Nick Timiraos at
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
John Rogers' Strategic Moves: A Closer Look at Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd
John Rogers (Trades, Portfolio) recently submitted the 13F filing for the first quarter of 2025, providing insights into his investment moves during this period. John Rogers (Trades, Portfolio) founded Ariel Investment, LLC in 1983. Rogers manages Ariel's small and mid-cap institutional portfolios as well as the Ariel Fund (ARGFX) and Ariel Appreciation Fund (CAAPX). He is also a long-term Forbes columnist writing a column called "Patient Investor." Rogers has concentrated his investment selection on small and medium-sized companies whose share prices are undervalued. He believes that patience, independent thinking, and a long-term outlook are essential to achieving good returns. His fund seeks to purchase companies whose characteristics include high barriers to entry, sustainable competitive advantages, and predictable fundamentals that allow for double-digit cash earnings growth. Rogers purchases companies when they are trading at a low valuation relative to potential earnings (p/e less than 13x forward cash earnings) and/or a low valuation relative to intrinsic worth (40% discount to private market value). Warning! GuruFocus has detected 6 Warning Sign with UBER. John Rogers (Trades, Portfolio) added a total of 5 stocks, among them: The most significant addition was Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp (NYSE:AQN), with 6,952,341 shares, accounting for 0.42% of the portfolio and a total value of $35.73 million. The second largest addition to the portfolio was Owens-Corning Inc (NYSE:OC), consisting of 112,578 shares, representing approximately 0.19% of the portfolio, with a total value of $16.08 million. The third largest addition was Vanguard Total World Stock ETF (VT), with 74,824 shares, accounting for 0.1% of the portfolio and a total value of $8.68 million. John Rogers (Trades, Portfolio) also increased stakes in a total of 48 stocks, among them: The most notable increase was Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NYSE:NCLH), with an additional 5,077,531 shares, bringing the total to 9,081,170 shares. This adjustment represents a significant 126.82% increase in share count, a 1.13% impact on the current portfolio, with a total value of $172.18 million. The second largest increase was OneSpaWorld Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:OSW), with an additional 2,932,284 shares, bringing the total to 10,713,305. This adjustment represents a significant 37.69% increase in share count, with a total value of $179.88 million. John Rogers (Trades, Portfolio) completely exited 9 of the holdings in the first quarter of 2025, as detailed below: Royal Caribbean Group (NYSE:RCL): John Rogers (Trades, Portfolio) sold all 457,908 shares, resulting in a -1.13% impact on the portfolio. DaVita Inc (NYSE:DVA): John Rogers (Trades, Portfolio) liquidated all 235,058 shares, causing a -0.38% impact on the portfolio. John Rogers (Trades, Portfolio) also reduced positions in 49 stocks. The most significant changes include: Reduced Check Point Software Technologies Ltd (NASDAQ:CHKP) by 459,120 shares, resulting in a -40.4% decrease in shares and a -0.91% impact on the portfolio. The stock traded at an average price of $211.9 during the quarter and has returned -2.70% over the past 3 months and 15.75% year-to-date. Reduced The Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) by 108,472 shares, resulting in a -92.33% reduction in shares and a -0.66% impact on the portfolio. The stock traded at an average price of $601.74 during the quarter and has returned -6.30% over the past 3 months and 8.09% year-to-date. At the first quarter of 2025, John Rogers (Trades, Portfolio)'s portfolio included 106 stocks, with top holdings including 3.16% in Mattel Inc (NASDAQ:MAT), 3.02% in Jones Lang LaSalle Inc (NYSE:JLL), 2.99% in Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp (NYSE:MSGE), 2.86% in Lazard Inc (NYSE:LAZ), and 2.85% in First American Financial Corp (NYSE:FAF). The holdings are mainly concentrated in 11 industries: Financial Services, Consumer Cyclical, Industrials, Healthcare, Communication Services, Technology, Consumer Defensive, Real Estate, Energy, Basic Materials, and Utilities. This article, generated by GuruFocus, is designed to provide general insights and is not tailored financial advice. Our commentary is rooted in historical data and analyst projections, utilizing an impartial methodology, and is not intended to serve as specific investment guidance. It does not formulate a recommendation to purchase or divest any stock and does not consider individual investment objectives or financial circumstances. Our objective is to deliver long-term, fundamental data-driven analysis. Be aware that our analysis might not incorporate the most recent, price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative information. GuruFocus holds no position in the stocks mentioned herein. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Fox News
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
How Covid Gaslit America
Ben breaks down the decline in faith in institutions, in the country, and in one another, particularly among young, Democrat voters. He's then joined by Cygnal Pollster John Rogers to discuss the rise in friendship fall-outs after the 2024 election. Author David Zweig joins to discuss the poor decisions made by American schools during the Covid pandemic and the consequences of those mistakes as detailed in his book, An Abundance of Caution. Later, Ben reacts to Taylor Swift's involvement in Blake Lively's legal battle with Justin Baldoni. Follow Ben on X: @bdomenech Email us at bigbenshow@ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Stowe Community Church celebrates return of historic spire
STOWE, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) – Last October, the iconic Stowe Community Church lost its iconic spire for the first time ever. This week, it will be complete once more. The spire, which was taken down on October 22 for necessary repairs, will be reinstalled atop the church's steeple at 11:30 a.m. Friday. The ceremony will be followed by words of reflection from Lieutenant Governor John Rogers, Vermont state representative Jed Lipsky, and local community members including Chuck and Jann Perkins, who donated $500,000 towards the reconstruction. Music will be provided by jazz ensemble 'In the Pocket' beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the church's sanctuary. The church describes the event as 'celebration of heritage, craftsmanship, faith, and the unwavering support of a community that treasures its history while looking toward the future.' Scenic Smugglers Notch reopened for the 2025 season Stowe Community Church, built in 1863 at a cost of $12,000, is a popular tourist attraction in the Lamoille County resort town, and includes the tallest steeple in Vermont. Unusually for its time, the church has existed as a non-denominational Christian church since 1920, when the existing Congregationalist, Methodist, and Universalist churches recognized the need for a community effort. The 161-year-old church spire was removed in October due to mounting needs for repairs. Pastor Dan Haugh witnessed the event, describing it as 'almost like it was coming down from heaven. Your eyes are gazing all the way up and you see this massive spire descending down— it was just a great sense of excitement and enthusiasm.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
