With a series of announcements and a campaign-style swing that is set to run past the 4th of July, President Biden is launching a new effort to sell his economic record to a country that remains wary.
The first prong came Monday morning with the unveiling of new details about how $40 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will be spent in the years ahead to connect more Americans to high-speed internet. The funds will flow into a Commerce Department program with checks set to begin flowing to states early next year.
The money represents “an unprecedented investment in broadband that is finally going to close the digital divide,” promises White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients.
Monday’s news also kicks off of what will be a three-week effort with top Biden officials fanning out to over 20 states to sell his economic record, make more announcements, and try to convince Americans that Biden’s two and a half years in office have concretely improved their lives.
The president will headline multiple events himself with the centerpiece being a stop in Illinois Wednesday where he is set to deliver an address to his economic vision — and also adopt the term ‘Bidenomics’.
President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will kick things off Monday with the formal announcement of the broadband funding during an event at the White House.
The results have been evident in in poll after poll with a Yahoo News/YouGov survey in recent days finding a 40% approval rating overall and a 36% rating on how he is handling the economy.
President Joe Biden speaks about reproductive rights at an event in Washington on Friday. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
The Democratic effort also comes as Republicans are in the midst of their own messaging campaign on the economy and have scoffed at the administration’s efforts to change American’s mind on the state of the economy. The GOP message is focused heavily on inflation, which has declined but remains a huge drag on Biden’s effort to secure a second term.
The president’s travels this week will also take him to Maryland and New York where he will be participating in official events as well as fundraising appearances to fill the coffers of his 2024 campaign.
A focus on broadband
The centering of the initial announcement on broadband continues the Biden administration’s focus on what it estimates are 8.5 million locations across America that still aren’t able to connect to high speed internet.
Biden has set a goal of connecting every American by 2030 and has put aside over $90 billion towards the effort. Of that total, $25 billion came from early 2021’s American Rescue Plan, with money headed to things like capital projects and providing emergency connectivity. The remainder — $65 billion — came from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed into law later that year.
White House aides have repeatedly compared their broadband efforts to the Rural Electrification Act of 1936. That bill was signed by then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt as part of the New Deal and helped bring electricity to rural areas of the United States.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a White House event on high-speed internet access on June 3, 2021. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The $40 billion in funding announced Monday will flow into the Commerce Department’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. The department will then distribute the funds to states who propose projects to increase accessibility. A senior administration official says the government’s first priority is to connect unserved areas followed by areas that are currently underserved with subpar speeds.
States can begin applying for the funds this month. Applications are then due by the end of the year with the first wave of money set to be distributed in early 2024. Each state is set to receive at least $100 million with higher awards likely for the states with the most unserved locations.
Another important prong of the administration’s broadband strategy is $14.2 billion that has already been rolled out for a program that gives low-income Americans a $30-a-month discount on their internet bill. The White House says 19 million households across the country are currently taking advantage of that program.
‘Rebuilding the backbone of America’
Also announced Monday morning is nearly $1.7 billion in new funding for low- to no-emission city buses that the Department of Transportation estimates will replace over 1,700 buses around the country in coming years.
“You’ll see more announcements and ribbon cuttings in cities and towns across the country” Zients said of the coming tour, which the White House has dubbed the second leg of March’s Investing in America tour.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks about summer air travel at the department’s headquarters in May. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The White House has already hinted at some of the announcements to come. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is set to be in Washington state in the coming days to announce new infrastructure funding around roads and bridges. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm is also set highlight new administration efforts around clean energy and tour the southeastern US in an electric vehicle.
Zients made sure the the overall message of the tour — and likely Biden’s re-election campaign as well — was clear in a call with reporters to announce the new funding. He says the Biden administration is doing nothing less that “rebuilding the backbone of America” with a vision that represents a “sea change” from the GOP agenda.
Ben Werschkul is Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was down more than 200 points in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the technology, base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets also fell.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 239.24 points at 22,749.04.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 312.36 points at 40,443.39. The S&P 500 index was down 80.94 points at 5,422.47, while the Nasdaq composite was down 380.17 points at 16,747.49.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.80 cents US compared with 74.00 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down US$1.07 at US$68.08 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.26 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$2.10 at US$2,541.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was down four cents at US$4.10 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in technology, financial and energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also pushed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 171.41 points at 23,298.39.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 278.37 points at 41,369.79. The S&P 500 index was up 38.17 points at 5,630.35, while the Nasdaq composite was up 177.15 points at 17,733.18.
The Canadian dollar traded for 74.19 cents US compared with 74.23 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up US$1.75 at US$76.27 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.10 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$18.70 at US$2,556.50 an ounce and the December copper contract was down less than a penny at US$4.22 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2024.
The crypto market has recently experienced a significant downturn, mirroring broader risk asset sell-offs. Over the past week, Bitcoin’s price dropped by 24%, reaching $53,000, while Ethereum plummeted nearly a third to $2,340. Major altcoins also suffered, with Cardano down 27.7%, Solana 36.2%, Dogecoin 34.6%, XRP 23.1%, Shiba Inu 30.1%, and BNB 25.7%.
The severe downturn in the crypto market appears to be part of a broader flight to safety, triggered by disappointing economic data. A worse-than-expected unemployment report on Friday marked the beginning of a technical recession, as defined by the Sahm Rule. This rule identifies a recession when the three-month average unemployment rate rises by at least half a percentage point from its lowest point in the past year.
Friday’s figures met this threshold, signaling an abrupt economic downshift. Consequently, investors sought safer assets, leading to declines in major stock indices: the S&P 500 dropped 2%, the Nasdaq 2.5%, and the Dow 1.5%. This trend continued into Monday with further sell-offs overseas.
The crypto market’s rapid decline raises questions about its role as either a speculative asset or a hedge against inflation and recession. Despite hopes that crypto could act as a risk hedge, the recent crash suggests it remains a speculative investment.
Since the downturn, the crypto market has seen its largest three-day sell-off in nearly a year, losing over $500 billion in market value. According to CoinGlass data, this bloodbath wiped out more than $1 billion in leveraged positions within the last 24 hours, including $365 million in Bitcoin and $348 million in Ether.
Khushboo Khullar of Lightning Ventures, speaking to Bloomberg, argued that the crypto sell-off is part of a broader liquidity panic as traders rush to cover margin calls. Khullar views this as a temporary sell-off, presenting a potential buying opportunity.
Josh Gilbert, an eToro market analyst, supports Khullar’s perspective, suggesting that the expected Federal Reserve rate cuts could benefit crypto assets. “Crypto assets have sold off, but many investors will see an opportunity. We see Federal Reserve rate cuts, which are now likely to come sharper than expected, as hugely positive for crypto assets,” Gilbert told Coindesk.
Despite the recent volatility, crypto continues to make strides toward mainstream acceptance. Notably, Morgan Stanley will allow its advisors to offer Bitcoin ETFs starting Wednesday. This follows more than half a year after the introduction of the first Bitcoin ETF. The investment bank will enable over 15,000 of its financial advisors to sell BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC. This move is seen as a significant step toward the “mainstreamization” of crypto, given the lengthy regulatory and company processes in major investment banks.
The recent crypto market downturn highlights its volatility and the broader economic concerns affecting all risk assets. While some analysts see the current situation as a temporary sell-off and a buying opportunity, others caution against the speculative nature of crypto. As the market evolves, its role as a mainstream alternative asset continues to grow, marked by increasing institutional acceptance and new investment opportunities.
