U.S. seeks more chipmakers
A $52B government infusion hopes to bolster semiconductor technology
On State of the Union night, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo strode down the aisle and found her seat in front of Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.
McConnell, not known to waste words, complimented Raimondo on a recent writeup about her efforts to restore the U.S. as the world leader in advanced computer chips.
Factories, autos, appliances, electronics, toys, toothbrushes and weapons systems all depend on semiconductors and the need for global supremacy in this small sector of the world economy is a rare area where Republicans and Democrats share the same vision.
“Nice George Will article,” McConnell said, referring to the conservative columnist's comments on Raimondo.
“Thank you. I'm going to implement that and I'm going to do it responsibly,” Raimondo said of the $52 billion that lawmakers last year approved for research and the construction of semiconductor factories. She stressed to the Kentucky senator that national security was at stake.
“That's why I voted for it,” McConnell said.
After a slew of chip companies announced new U.S. factories, Raimondo
is in the process of delivering on the government's promised financial commitment. Starting next week, the application process will begin for semiconductor firms seeking to qualify for $39 billion in government backing to help fund their expansion.
Chips are integrated circuits that are embedded in a semiconductor, a material — notably silicon — that can manage the flow of electric current. The terms “chip” and “semiconductor” are often used interchangeably.
In a Thursday speech at Georgetown University, the commerce secretary called for the development of two major semiconductor clusters inside the U.S. featuring a network of factories, research laboratories and other infrastructure. But fulfilling that vision means training tens of thousands of workers and figuring out scientific breakthroughs to lower the cost of producing advanced chips.
“There have been times in history,” Raimondo said in an interview, “where a president used the pursuit of a goal, a technological goal, like putting a man on the moon, like leading the world in nuclear technology, to catalyze the whole country to do their part in achieving that goal.”
To succeed, she said, the U.S. needs a whole-of-society effort. It's the kind of mobilization akin to World War II or the space race that grandparents talk about to younger generations, a make-or-break moment for the nation with the world's largest economy and military.
“We need to mobilize America,” Raimondo said.
The administration expects the $39 billion for factories will generate 10 times that, at a minimum, in private-sector investment. The potential benefits come from the spillover effects of computer chip production jobs that typically pay more than $100,000, leading to additional economic activity and business formation.
The Biden administration needs to get universities to double the number of electrical engineers they're pumping over the next 10 years, Raimondo said. Community colleges and high schools need to do more to partner with companies to ensure that the next generation of workers have the training to segue into these jobs.
The new law also contains $11 billion to fund a research partnership between universities, companies and national laboratories — all with the mission of increasing a chip's processing power and lowering the cost of semiconductors so that there are buyers in a global market.
Cosori air fryer recalled because of threat of fire
An Anaheim company is recalling 2 million air fryers sold across the United States after numerous reports of the devices overheating, catching fire, melting, and in some cases, burning their owners.
Atekcity Corp., the company behind the Cosori air fryer, has logged 205 such reports with at least 10 people hurt in air fryer meltdowns. Those users apparently suffered “superficial burn injuries,” the company said.
The air fryers, which were made in China, were sold at most major retailers from June 2018 through December for $70 to $130, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said.
The CPSC is recommending that owners stop using the air fryers and get a replacement from the company by registering their request at recall.cosori. com.
Owners who do register for a replacement air fryer will have to provide contact information and submit photos of the recalled unit with the cord cut off.
No receipt is needed to receive a replacement, the CPSC said in a statement.
The recall involves Cosori air fryers with these model numbers: CP158AF, CP158-AF-R19, CP158AF-RXW, CP158-AF-RXR, CAF-P581-BUSR, CAF-P581AUSR, CAF-P581-RUSR, CP137-AF, CP137-AF-RXB, CP137-AF-RXR, CP137-AFRXW, CS158-AF, CS158-AFRXB, CS158-AF-R19, CAFP581S-BUSR, CAF-P581SRUSR, CAF-P581S-AUSR, CO137-AF, CO158-AF, CO158-AF-RXB, CP258-AF. The model number can be found on a label on the bottom of each unit or the user manual that came with the fryer.
Economy growth revised downward
The U.S. economy expanded at a 2.7% annual rate from October through December, a solid showing despite rising interest rates and elevated inflation, the government said Thursday in a downgrade from its initial estimate.
The government had previously estimated that the economy grew at a 2.9% annual rate last quarter.
The Commerce Department's revised estimate of the fourth quarter's gross domestic product — the economy's total output of goods and services — marked a deceleration from the 3.2% growth rate from July through September.
Thursday's report revised down the government's estimate of consumer spending growth in the October-December quarter, from a 2.1% rate to 1.4%. That was the weakest such showing since the first quarter of last year.
Business spending also slowed in the fourth quarter, suggesting that the economy lost momentum at the end of 2022.
More recent data, though, shows that the economy has since rebounded.
Markets rise, breaking 4-day losing streak
Stocks climbed Thursday after a see-saw day on Wall Street to break out of their longest losing streak since December.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which helps set rates for mortgages and other important loans, dipped to 3.88% from
3.93% late Wednesday.
On the losing end of
Wall Street was Moderna, whose shares slid 6.7% after it reported its fourthquarter profit tumbled 70% as COVID-19 vaccine sales fell and the drugmaker caught up on a royalty payment.
Domino's Pizza dropped 11.7% despite reporting stronger profit than expected. Its revenue fell short of forecasts, and it lowered the top and bottom ends of its forecasted range for global sales growth in the next two to three years.
Lordstown Motors tumbled 11.4% to $1.09 after it said it's temporarily halting production and deliveries of its Endurance electric pickup due to performance and quality issues with certain components.