Author: CNN

CNN
 — 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis returned to South Carolina on Wednesday to reengage with Republican voters who last saw the GOP presidential candidate in mid-July.

In the nearly three months since his last visit, DeSantis has filled his calendar with appearances all across Iowa, a strategic shift to salvage his chances in the party’s first nominating contest on January 15 and ensure his campaign will survive to South Carolina’s primary more than a month later.

The risks of a near Iowa-or-bust approach have become increasingly apparent in the Palmetto State and elsewhere.

The campaigns of South Carolina’s homegrown candidates, former Gov. Nikki Haley and Sen. Tim Scott, have matured to become formidable contenders and serious obstacles for DeSantis to overcome as he seeks to convince Republicans he is the only candidate who poses a threat to former President Donald Trump for the GOP nomination. Haley, in particular, has seen a surge of interest and is ahead of DeSantis in early surveys of South Carolina.

Meanwhile, DeSantis has seen his support fall in New Hampshire, home to the nation’s first primary and another state the Florida governor has put on the backburner as he works to shore up support in Iowa. His last visit to the Granite State was more than a month ago, and New Hampshire voters have responded by considering other alternatives to Trump.

Still, the DeSantis campaign says New Hampshire and South Carolina are a priority. The governor will return to New Hampshire in the middle of October and he will make more stops in South Carolina this month as well. Spokesman Andrew Romeo said the campaign has maintained an “aggressive schedule” and “has been building solid support and unmatched infrastructure on the ground in South Carolina.” He noted the support DeSantis has received from local officials and members of the faith community from across the state.

“We look forward to building on this grassroots momentum in the weeks and months to come,” Romeo said.

DeSantis’ political operation announced Wednesday that it had raised $15 million over the three months ended September 30, though only $5 million of that haul was available to spend during the primary, according to a senior campaign official.

DeSantis allies insist there is time to make up for lost ground. Never Back Down, a super PAC supporting him, remains active in both states and has reserved airtime in New Hampshire media markets for the fall. DeSantis’ wife, Casey, was well received when she replaced her husband in late August at a South Carolina dinner as Hurricane Idalia barreled toward Florida.

“We had a little thing called the hurricane that hit us,” DeSantis said Wednesday in Spartanburg, South Carolina. “Duty calls on that. My better half came up.”

New Hampshire House Majority Leader Jason Osborne, who is supporting DeSantis, said he was not worried about the governor’s numbers.

“He’s the only candidate with a day job and the only one who has to fundraise because he’s focused on a full, to-the-end campaign. Meanwhile, the single state-focused people aren’t doing that right now,” Osborne said.

But veteran political operatives in New Hampshire and South Carolina have warned of the potential pitfalls of neglecting their states for too long. More GOP presidential nominees have won New Hampshire than Iowa in the most recent election cycles, and 10 of the last 11 nominees finished atop South Carolina’s primary.

“All the candidates will be well advised not to take South Carolina Republicans for granted,” said Drew McKissick, chairman of the South Carolina GOP and co-chairman of the Republican National Committee. “South Carolina Republicans take their job of choosing the nominee very seriously, and the candidates should too.”

Jim Merrill, an adviser in New Hampshire to past Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Marco Rubio, said his state “demands a level of intimacy from the candidates” – something many Republicans in the state have yet to see from DeSantis.

“You gotta embrace New Hampshire and run a campaign here like you’re running for governor,” Merrill said.

DeSantis appeared prepared to commit considerable time to courting voters in South Carolina. He made a handful of early trips there, and, during his last visit, became the first candidate to file for the state’s primary. To Republicans there, he emphasized that Casey DeSantis had attended the College of Charleston and noted that his in-laws had put down roots in the state as well. He joked that he might temporarily move the family to South Carolina next year after New Hampshire votes.

“We spent a lot of time here over the years,” DeSantis said. “So I think it’s a great, great state for us.”

Those appeals, however, came just before a reckoning at DeSantis’ Tallahassee headquarters over early campaign cost overruns and messaging concerns. A week later, DeSantis slashed his staff by a third; and by the end of summer, he had replaced his campaign manager and reset his White House bid to focus on Iowa.

He has since made a half dozen trips to Iowa as he marches toward a goal of hitting all 99 counties. In another sign that the Hawkeye State is rarely far from DeSantis’ mind, he spent parts of Monday and Tuesday chatting with media there even as he made preparations to travel to South Carolina. And his campaign is also moving a third of its staff from Tallahassee, Florida, to Des Moines, Iowa, according to the senior campaign official.

Perhaps most concerning to DeSantis backers is that the shift toward Iowa at the expense of other early nominating states has so far not produced a noticeable spike of support for him in the Hawkeye State. DeSantis trails Trump there by some 30 points – a margin that remains virtually unchanged since he promised to visit all 99 counties. DeSantis has stopped in 58 so far.

DeSantis said Tuesday that the work he is putting into the state will pay dividends in the long run.

“We’re going to a lot of places that are more rural, that a lot, pretty much every other candidate is going to ignore,” DeSantis said. “Those are things that I think that, you know, may not necessarily wrap up, show a big difference overnight in a poll or something.”

Meanwhile, the latest CNN/University of New Hampshire poll showed he is going the wrong direction in the Granite State – a 13-point drop from the prior UNH survey in July. Trump continues to lead the pack., while DeSantis is running about even with tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, Haley and former New Jersey Gov. Christie, all of whom have spent far more time in the state lately.

The decline stems from a sharp drop-off with New Hampshire moderates; 26% backed him in July, but that fell to 6% in the most recent poll. And it comes as DeSantis has attempted to run to the right of Trump, particularly on abortion. DeSantis has forcefully defended his state’s six-week abortion ban as well as one recently signed by Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds amid criticism from Trump. He recently promised to support restricting the procedure after 15 weeks if elected president, a position that puts him at odds with many moderate Republicans in New Hampshire

South Carolina state Sen. Josh Kimbrell, whose district DeSantis will visit Wednesday, said the makeup of his state is closer to Iowa’s than New Hampshire’s. Like in Iowa, evangelical voters are an influential voice in choosing the nominee, but Kimbrell said he expected DeSantis to draw support from fiscal conservatives and those close to the military community.

“He may not win New Hampshire, but no big deal,” Kimbrell said. “He’ll come down here. I think he wins here, if he wins in Iowa, so I think he gets two out of the early three, and then I’m looking forward to Super Tuesday.”

Though South Carolina has not received the same attention from candidates as New Hampshire and Iowa, DeSantis faces a unique challenge in the home state of Haley and Scott. Both have received renewed attention from donors as the Florida governor has attempted to find his footing. Trump, meanwhile, has begun taunting Haley with a new nickname and has claimed his former United Nations ambassador doesn’t have the “talent or temperament” to be the next president – which Haley has taken as a sign that she is a growing threat to the field.

DeSantis said Friday he was “not at all” concerned with Haley’s campaign.

But Dave Wilson, a South Carolina political strategist close to the state’s evangelical community, cautioned that all 2024 contenders should be.

“Never underestimate Nikki Haley, because she has an ability to pull out a win when you least expect it,” Wilson said. “She is gaining momentum. And momentum begets momentum. And she has historically built on momentum that she gains.”

Other wild-card candidates have the potential to alter the landscape in the states that immediately follow Iowa. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu has signaled he intends to endorse in the primary, which would given him the opportunity to add an influential voice before voting begins there. Sununu has often touted the work of governors, leaving some to believe DeSantis or Haley might have an edge.

In a statement to CNN, Sununu stressed the importance of candidates making their presence felt in his state.

“Every candidate has to decide the strategy best for them, but New Hampshire will play a critical role in this nominating process as the First in the Nation presidential primary state,” Sununu said. “Granite Staters reward those who spend time here and connect with them one-by-one.”

Another unknown is how the race will change over the nearly monthlong gap between when New Hampshire is expected to hold its primary and when South Carolina Republicans vote on February 24. Haley’s or Scott’s movements will be closely watched to see how the outlook there changes if one or both drop out. Regardless, the political universe is likely to descend on the state during that period. DeSantis’ campaign has made no secret that it sees the later primary date as an advantage for him.

McKissick, the South Carolina GOP chairman, called the placement of his state’s primary on the Republican calendar the “last shot of adrenaline” before Super Tuesday.

“It’s the last stop on the one-state-at-a-time merry-go-round,” he said.

This story has been updated with additional information.

New York
CNN
 — 

The trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, a onetime crypto billionaire who stands accused of orchestrating a multibillion-dollar fraud, kicked off Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan.

The former crypto billionaire appeared in court in a suit and tie, his normally unkempt hair having recently been cut.

Judge Lewis Kaplan addressed the 31-year-old Bankman-Fried, known as SBF, before potential jurors arrived, telling the defendant that the decision to testify is “solely for you,” not his attorneys.

“They can’t make that decision for you. It’s your call… You need to understand that,” Kaplan said.

Jury selection is expected to take up most of the first day, with opening arguments to follow later in the week.

Over the next several weeks, lawyers will argue two dueling narratives about how FTX, Bankman-Fried’s now-bankrupt crypto platform, came unglued and left thousands of customers in limbo, with their deposits frozen.

SFB has pleaded not guilty to seven counts of fraud and conspiracy in connection with the collapse of FTX — a seismic event from which the entire crypto industry is still reeling.

SBF has maintained his innocence since his arrest last December and has sought to shift blame toward other players in his business empire, including FTX’s lawyers as well as his former business partner and on-and-off ex-girlfriend, Caroline Ellison.

Prosecutors have cast SBF as a Bernie Madoff-like mastermind who stole from FTX’s customers and lied to investors in a yearslong scheme to enrich himself and his associates with luxury real estate splurges and more than $100 million in US political donations.

Here are the key things to know about the case, and what we might see over the next several weeks at the trial.

SBF faces seven counts, including wire fraud and securities fraud.

Prosecutors alleged that SBF stole billions of dollars from FTX customer funds for his own personal use and to cover huge losses incurred by Alameda Research, a crypto hedge fund he also controlled.

They also say SBF defrauded investors in FTX by covering up the scheme.

Prosecutors opted in June to sever five other charges that were brought after Bankman-Fried’s extradition from the Bahamas, where FTX was based. A separate trial is scheduled to begin on those charges in March.

FTX marketed itself as an easy, safe portal into cryptocurrency trading. It made money by collecting fees on customers’ trades, much like a typical brokerage.

As digital asset valuations shot up in 2021, so did FTX’s profile. At its peak, the company fetched a private valuation of more than $30 billion. It plastered its name across a Miami basketball arena and won celebrity endorsements from Tom Brady and Larry David, both of whom starred in Super Bowl ads for FTX.

But crypto market turmoil took root in the spring of 2022, gutting the entire industry’s value down to $1 trillion from $3 trillion.

By November, cracks in FTX’s foundation were beginning to show, and it took just over a week for it all to come crashing down.

Investors and customers began to panic in response to a report from crypto news site Coindesk that raised serious questions about the financial links between FTX and Alameda, two ostensibly separate businesses founded by Bankman-Fried. Based on a document obtained by Coindesk, it appeared that much of Alameda’s assets consisted of FTT, a digital token created by FTX that was rapidly losing value, putting Alameda on shaky financial footing.

Customers rushed to withdraw their funds from FTX, exposing an $8 billion shortfall.

FTX filed for bankruptcy on November 11, and Bankman-Fried resigned as CEO.

He was arrested in December in the Bahamas on charges including fraud and conspiracy and extradited to the United States in January.

Since his arrest, SBF has repeatedly spoken and written about his view of the case: He was an inexperienced businessman who got out over his skis, and he never knowingly committed fraud.

His lawyers have hinted in court documents that they will invoke an “advice of counsel” defense. In other words, SBF didn’t know that his actions were illegal and he was following guidance from FTX’s lawyers.

In personal writings by Bankman-Fried published by the New York Times, he put the blame for Alameda’s losses on its CEO, Ellison, who is now 28.

Ellison, along with three other former high-level associates, has pleaded guilty in cooperation with prosecutors.

“SBF’s biggest challenge is going to be that his former colleagues are going to testify against him,” said Howard Fischer, a partner with Moses Singer and a former senior trial lawyer at the Securities and Exchange Commission. On top of that, FTX’s new management, led by a restructuring expert who oversaw the liquidation of Enron, have been openly hostile toward Bankman-Fried.

“This kind of cooperation is a godsend for the prosecution,” said Fischer.

Another issue, Fischer said, is that SBF, in his long-winded blog posts, tweet threads, TV media appearances and alleged document leaks, “has consistently failed to demonstrate an awareness of how serious his situation is.”

“Juries tend not to like know-it-alls who lack respect for the process … While a defendant in a case like this is well advised not to take the stand, it is possible that SBF’s apparently unwavering self-confidence will lead him to take that risk.”

The trial is expected to last up to six weeks.

During that time, SBF will remain in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he has been since Judge Lewis Kaplan revoked his bail on August 11 over SBF’s efforts to intimidate witnesses.

If he’s found guilty of all seven criminal counts and is given the maximum sentence, SBF would face the prospect of 110 years in prison.

New York
CNN
 — 

Corporate America is breathing a sigh of relief after lawmakers narrowly avoided a chaotic shutdown of the federal government.

Business leaders and economists had warned a shutdown would have hurt the economy by causing vast uncertainty, significant disruptions and hurting confidence.

“While brinksmanship is never the answer, we are pleased that the ‘adults’ stepped up to prevent a shutdown and the direct harm it would have caused to millions of Americans and American small businesses who would have been impacted,” the US Chamber of Commerce said in a statement this weekend.

Up until Saturday, a shutdown looked very likely. But then House Speaker Kevin McCarthy abruptly shifted course and moved to pass a bill with support from Democrats. President Joe Biden signed the bill into law with minutes to spare before the midnight Saturday into Sunday deadline, keeping the government funded through November 17.

The Chamber commended lawmakers who voted to keep the government open on a bipartisan basis and called for Congress to finish the job.

“We urge Congress to use these 45 days to complete the appropriations process, provide the urgently needed funding to support Ukraine in its war against Russian aggression, and take steps to secure the border,” the Chamber said.

Business Roundtable CEO Joshua Bolten also applauded lawmakers for keeping the government open.

“We thank members of Congress for working together to prevent a shutdown and encourage the House and Senate to pass a long-term spending measure as soon as possible,” Bolten said.

Wall Street had a more muted reaction. US stocks drifted mostly lower Monday morning as the political breakthrough was overshadowed by continued concerns about rising bond yields and the Federal Reserve’s fight against inflation.

“The surprising move over the weekend that averted a government shutdown should be a positive for the markets as it alleviates fears of dysfunction in Washington — at least temporarily,” wrote Brian Gardner, Stifel’s chief Washington policy strategist, in a note to clients on Monday.

Gardner noted that there will likely be a move to remove McCarthy as speaker and another potential budget standoff ahead of November 17.

“The era of good feelings might be short lived,” Gardner said.

CNN
 — 

A party headed by a pro-Kremlin figure came out top after securing more votes than expected in an election in Slovakia, preliminary results show, in what could pose a challenge to NATO and EU unity on Ukraine.

According to preliminary results released by Slovakia’s Statistical Office at 9 a.m. local time, Robert Fico’s populist SMER party won 22.9% of the vote.

Progressive Slovakia (PS), a liberal and pro-Ukrainian party won 17.9%.

Fico, a two-time former prime minister, now has a chance to regain the job but must first seek coalition partners as his party did not secure a big enough share of the vote to govern on its own.

Speaking after his victory, Fico said he “will do everything” in his power to kickstart Russia-Ukraine peace talks.

“More killing is not going to help anyone,” Fico said.

Negotiations are unlikely to be welcomed in Ukraine, as for now they would likely involve proposals in which territory is ceded to Russia – a non-starter for Kyiv.

The moderate-left Hlas party, led by a former SMER member and formed as an offshoot of SMER following internal disputes, came third with 14.7% of the vote, and could play kingmaker.

With seven political parties reaching the 5% threshold needed to enter the parliament, coalition negotiations will almost certainly include multiple players and could be long and messy.

While not a landslide, SMER’s result is better than expected – last opinion polls published earlier this week showed SMER and PS neck and neck.

Fico has pledged an immediate end to Slovak military support for Ukraine and promised to block Ukraine’s NATO ambitions in what would upend Slovakia’s staunch support for Ukraine.

Michal Šimečka, the leader of PS, said the result was “bad news for the country.”

“The fact of the matter is that SMER is the winner. And we of course respect that although we think it’s bad news for the country. And it will be even worse news if Mr Fico forms the government,” he said at a news conference early on Sunday.

Slovakia’s President Zuzana Čaputová said before the election that she would ask the leader of the strongest party to form the government, meaning Fico will get the first stab at forming a government.

Fico and SMER have not yet commented on the results.

Šimečka said his party will do “everything it could” to prevent Fico from governing.

“I will be in touch with other political leaders of parties that were elected to parliament — on an informal basis — to discuss ways of preventing that,” he said. “We think it will be really bad news for the country, for our democracy, for our rule of law, and for our international standing and for our finances and for our economy if Mr Fico forms the government.”

Peter Pellegrini, the leader of Hlas, said his party was “very pleased with the result.”

“The results so far show that Hlas will be a party without which it will be impossible to form any kind of normal, functioning coalition government,” he said, adding that the party will “make the right decision” to become part of a government that will lead Slovakia out of the “decay and crisis that (the country’s previous leaders) got us into.”

Hlas has been vague about its position on Ukraine in the election campaign. Pellegrini has previously suggested Slovakia “had nothing left to donate” to Kyiv, but also said that the country should continue to manufacture ammunition that is shipped to Ukraine.

Slovakia, an eastern European nation of about 5.5 million people, was going to the polls to choose its fifth prime minister in four years after seeing a series of shaky coalition governments.

A SMER-led government could have serious consequences for the region. Slovakia is a member of both NATO and the European Union, was among the handful of European countries pushing for tough EU sanctions against Russia and has donated a large amount of military equipment to Ukraine.

But this will likely change under Fico, who has blamed “Ukrainian Nazis and fascists” for provoking Russia’s President Vladimir Putin into launching the invasion, repeating the false narrative Putin has used to justify his invasion.

While in opposition, Fico became a close ally of Hungary’s Prime Minister Victor Orban, especially when it came to criticism of the European Union. There is speculation that, if he returns to power, Fico and Orban could gang up together and create obstacles for Brussels. If Poland’s governing Law and Justice party manages to win a third term in Polish parliamentary elections next month, this bloc of EU troublemakers could become even stronger.

Meanwhile, the liberal PS party had been pushing for a completely different future for Slovakia – including a continued strong support for Kyiv and strong links with the West.

Fico previously served as Slovakia’s prime minister for more than a decade, first between 2006 and 2010 and then again from 2012 to 2018.

He was forced to resign in March 2018 after weeks of mass protests over the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová. Kuciak reported on corruption among the country’s elite, including people directly connected to Fico and his party SMER.

The campaign was marked by concerns over disinformation, with Věra Jourová, the European Commission’s top digital affairs official, saying in advance the vote would be a “test case” of how effective social media companies have been in countering Russian propaganda in Slovakia.

Polls suggest Fico’s pro-Russia sentiments are shared by many Slovaks.

According to a survey by GlobSec, a Bratislava-based security think tank, only 40% of Slovaks believed Russia was responsible for the war in Ukraine, the lowest proportion among the eight central and eastern European and Baltic states GlobSec focused on. In the Czech Republic, which used to form one country with Slovakia, 71% of people blame Russia for the war.

The same research found that 50% of Slovaks perceive the United States – the country’s long-term ally – as a security threat.

CNN
 — 

Slovaks have been voting in a knife-edge parliamentary election on Saturday that could radically reshape Slovakia’s approach to Ukraine and create deep rifts within NATO and the European Union.

The frontrunner, former Prime Minister Robert Fico, has made no secret of his affinity for the Kremlin during the election campaign. He has criticized the West for supporting Ukraine and adopted a strong anti-US message, even accusing Slovakia’s President Zuzana Čaputová of being an “American agent.” He has said that if elected, he would stop sending weapons to Ukraine and block Ukraine’s NATO ambitions.

On election day, Fico accompanied his mother to the polls in the capital, Bratislava. He told reporters that he wants to see that Slovakia “not be run by amateurs and bums without experience. So they won’t drag us into adventures, whether it’s migration or military.”

Fico’s left-wing populist SMER party has been leading for months, although opinion polls published earlier this week showed SMER neck-and-neck with the Progressive Slovakia (PS) party.

The liberal PS party, led by the EU Parliament Vice-President Michal Šimečka, is pushing for a completely different future for Slovakia – one that includes a continued strong support for Kyiv and strong links with the West.

“Whatever happens in this election, whatever government comes out of this election, we will continue to support Ukraine,” Šimečka told reporters outside a polling station.

Experts said that misinformation and Russian propaganda have become prominent during the election campaign, with social media companies criticized for not doing enough to stop it.

“Slovakia has been chosen (by Russia) as the country where there is fertile soil for success of the Russian pro-Kremlin, pro-war narratives,” Věra Jourová, the European Commission’s top digital affairs official, told a news conference Tuesday.

She said the election was a “test case” on the power of social media and misinformation. “The approach to Russian war in Ukraine is a divisive line (in the election),” she said.

While either of the two parties could end up winning the election, according to the polls, neither is likely to secure a majority that would allow them to form a government on their own.

With as many as nine parties potentially reaching the 5% threshold needed to enter the parliament, coalition negotiations will almost certainly include multiple players and could be long and messy. It is also far from certain that the leader of the biggest party will become the prime minister.

Hlas, a party that was formed as an offshoot of SMER following an internal dispute between Fico loyalists and the-then Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini, was polling third in the last and could turn out to be the kingmaker.

Pellegrini became prime minister in 2018 after Fico resigned following weeks of protests in the wake of the murder of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiance Martina Kušnírová.

But opinion polls suggest that neither Fico nor Šimečka are likely to have enough seats to form a government with just Hlas and will have to bring in more coalition parties.

Fico has also not ruled out working with Republika, an extremist far-right party which claims that the war in Ukraine is a consequence of NATO’s “expansion toward Russia” and Kyiv’s “aggression towards the Russian minority in eastern Ukraine.”

PS, meanwhile, is most likely to court the Christian democratic KDH party, the liberal Freedom and Solidarity Party or a coalition grouping formed around the center-right Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OLaNO) party. OLaNO won the last election in 2020, but its government collapsed following a series of scandals and infighting.

PS said in its manifesto that Ukraine deserves all the “humanitarian, financial, diplomatic and military help it needs to succeed against the Russian aggression.”

Fico is a proven vote winner, a populist with a strong voter base. He has won parliamentary elections three times in the past, including in 2012 when he secured an absolute majority – the first and only time any party has managed that since the 1989 revolution.

His potential return to power could have serious consequences for the region. Slovakia is a member of both NATO and the European Union and has been one of Kyiv’s staunchest allies. It was among the handful of European countries pushing for tough EU sanctions against Russia and has donated a large amount of military equipment to Ukraine.

But this would likely change under Fico, who has blamed “Ukrainian Nazis and fascists” for provoking Russia’s President Vladimir Putin into launching the invasion, repeating the false narrative Putin has used to justify his invasion.

Fico has called on the Slovak government to stop supplying weapons to Kyiv, and said that if he were to become prime minister, Slovakia would “not send another round of ammunition.” He is also opposed to Ukraine joining NATO.

While in opposition, Fico has also become a close ally of Hungary’s Prime Minister Victor Orban, especially when it comes to criticism of the European Union. If Fico wins, he and Orban could gang up together and create obstacles for Brussels. If Poland’s governing Law and Justice party manages to win a third term in Polish parliamentary elections next month, this bloc of EU troublemakers could become even stronger.

Minneapolis
CNN
 — 

Higher gas prices heated up overall inflation last month, but the Federal Reserve got some welcome news: Its preferred inflation gauge cooled to its lowest level in two years.

The core Personal Consumption Expenditures index, a closely watched inflation measure that excludes gas and food prices, rose 3.9% for the 12 months ended in August. It’s the lowest annual increase that index has seen in two years and is a positive step toward the Fed’s target of 2% inflation, according to Commerce Department data released Friday.

On a monthly basis, core PCE grew 0.1%, its slowest month-on-month increase since a 0.3% decline in April 2020.

“In terms of inflation, it’s an all-around positive report for those hoping for progress on the Fed’s fight to get back to 2%,” Andrew Patterson, a senior economist with Vanguard, told CNN.

Since March 2022, the US central bank has hiked the federal funds rate to its highest level in decades in an effort to bring down the highest inflation seen in 40-plus years.

The overall PCE index, which includes the more volatile food and energy categories, increased 0.4% from July and 3.5% annually. That’s an acceleration from the respective 0.2% and 3.4% rates seen in July. However, it also was largely expected: Gas prices heated up last month as well. Energy goods and services prices shot up by 6.1% in August from July, according to the report.

Economists estimated that the headline PCE index would rise 0.5% monthly and 3.5% annually, according to Refinitiv.

The rising cost of energy may continue to put upward pressure on inflation. Earlier this month, oil prices surged further after Saudi Arabia and Russia announced plans to extend production cuts.

“Energy prices eventually bleed through into all other costs,” Patterson said. “This certainly is a concern on the part of the Fed. We don’t want to see persistent $90 [a barrel] oil prices.”

The Commerce Department’s latest Personal Income and Outlays report also showed that consumers pulled back their spending in August, rising 0.4% versus the upwardly revised 0.9% increase in July. Incomes ramped up by 0.4%.

The personal saving rate, which is savings as a percentage of disposable income, declined for the third consecutive month and fell to 3.9% from an upwardly revised 4.1% in July. As such, savings are now at their lowest level since December of last year.

Americans’ financial reserves are falling at a time when headwinds are picking up speed.

Credit card debt is mounting in a historically high interest rate environment, delinquencies are growing, the labor market is cooling and wage growth is moderating.

“All these things are coalescing into what we think will be a material slowing in consumer spending,” Dana Peterson, chief economist for the Conference Board, told CNN in an interview. Earlier this week, the Conference Board reported that consumer confidence fell to its lowest level in four months.

And, in a matter of days, student loan payments will be resuming after years of forbearance.

“That’s going to impact folks who tend to be 45 and under, and that’s your peak earning and peak spending years,” she said. “So all of a sudden, if you have these payments coming back, that takes away whatever discretionary income you might have. It also delays lifecycle-type milestones like being able to buy a home or buy a car or save for retirement.”

She added: “All of these things, slowly but surely, are eroding the strength that we saw in consumer spending over the past year.”

The Commerce Department’s monthly Personal Income and Outlays reports are typically closely watched as they provide a comprehensive account of pricing, income and spending data.

However, Friday’s report could carry additional significance. If the US government does indeed shut down starting October 1, the Commerce Department’s report could be the last major piece of federal economic data released until an agreement is reached on funding.

Americans, economists, the markets and, especially, the Fed will be practically flying blind at a critical juncture for the economy.

If a shutdown occurs, the first federal reports to be waylaid will include key labor market data, specifically the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey report for August that’s due out Tuesday, and the September jobs report scheduled for Friday. Under the Department of Labor’s contingency plan, all 2,350 employees of the Bureau of Labor Statistics will be furloughed.

So, depending on the length of a shutdown, that could spill over and affect other BLS reports such as the Consumer Price Index, the Producer Price Index, Real Earnings, and US Import and Export Price Indexes, according to the plan. If CPI is delayed, that would affect the Social Security Administration’s planned 2024 Cost of Living Adjustment, Labor Department officials noted.

Other federal data at risk for delays could include key housing and auto sales data, Census Bureau data, PCE and GDP reports, among others.

“We’ve been saying for some time that we’re going to get a better understanding of the real trends in inflation and the labor market in the fall and winter of this year that could have very real implications for our views on policy and the Fed’s actual policy actions,” Vanguard’s Patterson said.

“Unfortunately, if we don’t have that data, or it’s delayed, that’s going to have implications for interpretation of the direction of the economy.”

CNN
 — 

Four army officers were arrested in Burkina Faso, a military prosecutor said, a day after the country’s ruling military junta announced it had thwarted a coup attempt.

Two other officers were “on the run,” according to a statement from the public prosecutor’s office at the military court in Ouagadougou, the capital city.

Burkina Faso’s military junta said in an earlier statement that intelligence and security services had foiled a “proven coup attempt” on Wednesday.

“A number of officers and other alleged actors involved in this destabilization attempt have been arrested, while others are being actively sought,” the statement said.

Junta leader Captain Ibrahim Traore later said on X, previously known as Twitter, that he was “committed to the liberation” of the country.

“I assure you of my determination to bring the Transition to a successful conclusion, despite adversity and the various manoeuvres designed to halt our inexorable march towards sovereignty,” his post added.

Traore seized power in the West African nation in a coup on September 30 last year in a day marked by gunfire and confusion in Ouagadougou. The coup was the second in eight months – with the leaders of both vowing to restore security after years of violence in the country.

Earlier this month, Burkina Faso’s military leaders signed a mutual defense pact with the juntas in Mali and Niger.

The tri-border region has become the epicenter of the violence that began in neighboring Mali in 2012 but has since spread across the arid expanse of the Sahel region south of the Sahara Desert.

London
CNN
 — 

Shares of UBS plunged Wednesday following a Bloomberg report that the Swiss bank faces a widening probe by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) over suspected compliance failures that allowed Russian clients to evade sanctions.

The Swiss Stock Exchange said it had temporarily stopped trade in the stock, which had fallen as much as 8% before it was suspended. Trading resumed later and shares closed 2.9% lower.

Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported that what began as a probe into several banks turned into a full-scale investigation focusing on Credit Suisse, which was bought by UBS earlier this year in an emergency rescue deal.

UBS has seen its shares gain 30% since the takeover was announced on March 19.

But news of the probe could renew investor concerns about the lender’s exposure to Credit Suisse’s legal woes and compliance failures, which ultimately played a key role in destroying clients’ confidence in the bank.

The DOJ has briefed lawyers for UBS (UBS), which absorbed its smaller rival in June, about Credit Suisse’s alleged involvement in sanctions violations, according to Bloomberg. Authorities are also looking into possible compliance failures at UBS.

UBS declined to comment. CNN has contacted the DOJ.

In its latest earnings statement in August, UBS said Credit Suisse offices in various locations, including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France and Belgium, had been contacted by regulatory and law enforcement authorities seeking information in relation to investigations into cross-border private banking services.

JPMorgan analysts said the Bloomberg report of the DOJ probe was a “headwind” for UBS.

“We have not seen a mention of [a] Russia related DOJ probe in the latest [quarterly] report of UBS Group and hence it is likely not covered by existing balance sheet provisions of $4.7 billion at the end of June,” they said in a note on Wednesday.

But they estimate that UBS has built up a much bigger buffer of nearly $10 billion in total to absorb litigation related expenses.

In bailing out Credit Suisse, UBS has taken on a bank in terrible shape.

Swiss taxpayers were originally on the hook for potential losses resulting from the deal, but UBS said last month that it would no longer need a government guarantee of 9 billion francs ($10.3 billion) for future potential losses arising from Credit Suisse assets.

The move suggested the assets are not as toxic as UBS feared.

Still, the parlous state of Credit Suisse presents an enormous challenge to UBS as it executes a first-of-its-kind merger of two global banks with combined assets of nearly $1.7 trillion.

Fully integrating the businesses will take three to four years, according to UBS chairman Colm Kelleher, who has warned of “huge” risks in merging the lenders.

New York
CNN
 — 

Men, apparently, can’t stop thinking about the Roman Empire. Panera Bread fans can’t stop thinking about their broccoli cheddar soup.

Now, the two are coming together with the chain selling a “Roman Empire” menu, which is a cheeky response to the viral TikTok trend. Although the menu items wouldn’t likely be found in any Roman-era restaurant, they are a collection of Panera’s iconic foods that it says fans can’t stop thinking about, including macaroni and cheese, cinnamon crunch bagel and, of course, a Caesar salad.

For those unfamiliar, the “Roman Empire” trend originated a few weeks ago on social media in which women ask their husbands or boyfriends how often they thought about the legendary era, with a surprising number of them claiming to think about the ancient time period daily to multiple times a week. Panera thinks the foods on this menu are its most memorable.

Panera is just one of several chain restaurants that have been quick to capitalize on TikTok trends to drive sales and publicity. “Panera gets it … there are always things that you can’t stop thinking about,” the chain said as it announced the online-only menu available beginning Tuesday.

Many of the eight items on the special menu have been staples since its inception in 1987, just slightly younger than the Roman Empire itself. It’s an easy way for chains to garner buzz and (often, younger) customers without introducing a new menu item.

In July, Popeyes sold a “girl dinner” menu, which consisted of a variety of sides that makes a meal. The #girldinner phenomenon, which blew up on TikTok, was originally posted by user Olivia Maher and featured a spread of grapes, cornichons, bread and cheese, not Cajun rice.

Last year, the Cheesecake Factory sold a version of its Caesar salad that switched out grilled chicken for fried chicken with caramelized onions, thus giving the TikTok-famous “Louisiana Chicken Caesar Salad” a spot on its menus for a few months.

Also in 2022, McDonald’s briefly sold four menu “hacks” of its sandwiches that were trending on TikTok. One example was the “Land, Air and Sea” sandwich that combined a Big Mac, chicken and a Filet-o-Fish on one bun.

In 2020, Dunkin’ partnered with TikTok star Charli D’Amelio for an iced coffee drink called “The Charli” in 2020. That gambit paid off: When the Charli promotion launched, Dunkin’ hit a record for daily active app users.

London
CNN
 — 

London’s Metropolitan Police said it has launched an investigation into allegations of “non-recent” sexual offenses in the United Kingdom, after a joint investigation by British media outlets revealed the comedian Russell Brand was accused of rape and sexual assault.

“Following an investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches and The Sunday Times, the Met has received a number of allegations of sexual offences in London,” the force said in a statement Monday.

“We have also received a number of allegations of sexual offences committed elsewhere in the country and will investigate these. The offences are all non-recent,” it added.

Brand has publicly denied the allegations and accused the UK government of trying to censor him.

Detectives from the Met’s Central Specialist Crime Command, led by Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, will carry out the investigation, according to the Met’s statement.

“We continue to encourage anyone who believes they may have been a victim of a sexual offence, no matter how long ago it was, to contact us,” it said.

“We understand it can feel like a difficult step to take and I want to reassure that we have a team of specialist officers available to advise and support.”

Brand became famous as a comedian and actor, but in recent years has built a YouTube channel which has been accused of promoting conspiracy theories including Covid denialism.

Since the allegations broke YouTube has demonetized Brand’s channel and his live tour has been postponed.

The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches published an investigation in which four women alleged Brand of sexually assaulting them in separate instances between 2006 and 2013. One of the women said she was 16 and Brand was 31 at the time of the alleged assault in London.

The women chose not to be identified by name in the report, according to The Times. CNN has not been able to independently verify their claims.

At least two of the alleged assaults took place in Los Angeles. One woman was treated at a rape treatment center the same day as the alleged assault, according to the report.

Police were contacted by the center, the story stated, but the woman chose not to file a report because she “didn’t think my words would mean anything up against his,” according to notes from the rape center the woman shared with The Times.

Downing Street described the allegations made in the documentary as “very serious and concerning.”

“The Met Police has asked anyone who believes they have been a victim of sexual assault to come forward to speak to officers,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s official spokesman said in a statement after the documentary aired.

The Met announced last week that they were investigating an allegation of sexual assault in 2003.

Without naming Brand, a Met spokesperson said: “We are aware of reporting by The Sunday Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches about allegations of sexual offenses.

“On Sunday, 17 September, the Met received a report of a sexual assault which was alleged to have taken place in Soho in central London in 2003. Officers are in contact with the woman and will be providing her with support.”