[Fox Business] Baltimore port closure may hit US coal export volumes

The closure of the Port of Baltimore to shipping traffic following a container ship’s collision with a bridge that collapsed into the harbor will slow U.S. exports of coal, according to a report by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) published Thursday.

The Port of Baltimore is the second-largest U.S. shipping hub for coal exports, which have been disrupted following the collapse of the city’s Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday morning. The massive container ship Dali lost power as it was transiting the channel under the bridge and struck one of its support pilings, which resulted in the bridge’s collapse.

In the wake of the accident, the Port of Baltimore has been closed indefinitely, with it unclear when the channel will be cleared, as the vessel and bridge debris remain in the channel at this time. Estimates offered by experts on a timeline for the channel to be cleared and the port reopened range from weeks to months.

“An attractive feature of the Port of Baltimore is its proximity to the northern Appalachia coal fields in western Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia,” the EIA wrote in its report.”Other nearby ports, most notably Hampton Roads, have additional capacity to export coal, although factors including coal quality, pricing, and scheduling will affect how easily companies can switch to exporting from another port.”

BALTIMORE BRIDGE COLLAPSE SHUTTERS PORT INDEFINITELY, IMPACTING SUPPLY CHAIN

Census Bureau data highlighted in the EIA report showed that the Port of Baltimore’s share of U.S. coal exports rose from between 20% and 25% from 2019 to 2022 to 28% last year. The EIA attributed that increase to growing demand for U.S. coal in Asia — though it noted that it expected growth in coal exports to slow to just 1% in 2024.

Coal exported from the Port of Baltimore has primarily been steam coal, which is mostly used to generate electrical power and for industrial heating. Steam coal accounted for 19 million short tons of coal exports from the port last year after averaging about 12 million short tons in the prior four years.

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Metallurgical coal, which is used as a raw material in steel production, has represented a significant share of exports from the Port of Baltimore — ranging from 6 million short tons to 10 million short tons from 2019 to 2023.

Most of the steam coal shipped from Baltimore goes to India, which uses the coal in its brick manufacturing industry. A portion of the coal goes to ports in the Netherlands that service several European countries, while smaller amounts go to the Dominican Republic, Canada and Egypt.

Metallurgical coal exports from Baltimore primarily go to Asian countries, with Japan receiving 28% last year, followed by South Korea and Japan. 

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The EIA noted that the Port of Baltimore only handled a limited amount of imported petroleum products, with biodiesel feedstock and other edible oils the largest, followed by fertilizers and asphalt. It also imports the most urea ammonium nitrate, a common liquid fertilizer, of all ports on the Atlantic Coast.

Other ports that can handle asphalt are Providence, Rhode Island; New York City; and Wilmington, North Carolina, while urea ammonium nitrate can go to Norfolk, Virginia, and Wilmington, according to the EIA.

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The closure of the port is also expected to decrease consumption of bunker fuel, which is commonly used to power ships.

“Since the port is a major transit point for freight and bulk vessels, we expect bunker fuel consumption to decrease,” the EIA said.

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[Fox Business] Sam Bankman-Fried’s $222M Bahamas real estate holdings to go on the market

FTX will reportedly soon put Bahamas properties tied to Sam Bankman-Fried up for sale.

The bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange could start its effort of offloading the portfolio in the Caribbean nation as soon as April, when certain pieces of real estate are expected to appear on the market, Realtor.com reported Thursday.

The number of properties that FTX is looking to sell totals roughly three dozen, according to the real estate-focused site. They reportedly have a collective value of $222 million.

FTX and its bankruptcy administrators received permission to sell them from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware about two months ago.

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The real estate, all located in the Bahamas, includes both residential and commercial assets, according to Realtor.com. In the latter category, the outlet reported that there were several offices that FTX had appraised at $25 million combined. 

As part of the effort, FTX is also looking to part ways with numerous condos and other residential real estate, including $151 million worth in the Albany Resort, according to Realtor.com.

That resort, which spans 600 acres, is where Bankman-Fried has his extremely high-end penthouse featuring a pool and bar.

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FOX Business reached out to both FTX and Bankman-Fried representatives for comment.

FTX has been undergoing bankruptcy proceedings to pay back its creditors since the cryptocurrency exchange collapsed back in November 2022. 

Bankman-Fried, who co-founded the company, separately received a 25-year prison sentence on Thursday and a mandate to pay $11 billion in forfeitures in connection to FTX’s failure.

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His sentencing came nearly five months after a jury had found him guilty of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Authorities said he had used FTX customer funds “for his personal use, to make investments and millions of dollars of political contributions to candidates from both parties, and to repay billions of dollars in loans owed by Alameda Research,” according to the DOJ.

Bankman-Fried has said he will challenge both decisions through appeals.

His cryptocurrency exchange had been the third-largest prior to its collapse.

Suzanne O’Halloran contributed to this report.

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[Fox Business] Certain fire extinguishing balls may fail to work, could lead to injury or death: regulators

Federal safety regulators are warning consumers about fire extinguishing balls still on the market that could fail to extinguish fires. 

In a Thursday warning notice, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said the Elide brand fire extinguishing balls can “fail to effectively disperse fire retardant chemicals” and thus “fail to extinguish a fire, which could lead to serious injury and death.”

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The products also don’t have a pressure gauge or pressure indicator, a locking device to reduce the risk of unintentional discharge, a self-closing valve for intermittent discharge or a nozzle to direct the discharge, the CPSC said. 

As a result, they don’t meet the requirements of UL 299 Dry Chemical Fire Extinguishers and UL 711 Rating and Fire Testing of Fire Extinguishers, both of which are voluntary safety standards, according to the agency. 

The CPSC said Elide hasn’t agreed to recall the fire extinguishing balls it sells to consumers on the company’s website. It hasn’t offered a remedy either. 

Elide Fire USA told FOX Business in a statement that it strongly disagrees with the CPSC release and that its product is not meant to replace a fire extinguisher but to add as another any fire situation.

“The very nature of our company is Innovation in Fire Safety because there is never enough Fire Protection, which the Fire Ball was created for, to bring an additional line of Fire protection to any potential fire situation,” the company told FOX Business. “We have never marketed or sold it as a replacement for any existing fire product or system again but rather as an addition.” 

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Elide also argued that since it’s not a fire extinguisher, to “test it against a Fire Extinguisher Standard is not fair measure because the product was not created for that use case, and ultimately will fail.” 

The agency’s warning covers all three models that are listed on the company’s website. 

The ELB01 and ELB02-1 fire extinguishers models are made out of red plastic and weigh about 1.5 or three pounds. Meanwhile, the ELB02-2 model is made of blue plastic and weighs about 1.5 pounds. 

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All of the products have a label wrapped around the front of the product with the Elide Fire logo. 

“The Fire Ball was created to fill the grey area between fixed systems and Portable Fire Extinguishers the Ball is a proximity-based product that activates only when it comes in contact with flame,” the company said. “Placed in areas of concern it brings automatic fire protection to any potential flashpoint. Bringing an added layer of fire protection, in addition to Fire Extinguishers & Fixed systems.” 

Elide is currently working with a lab to test the ball under the use case scenarios it was created for, which is fixed or mounted in an area of concern where a fire could start. 

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[Fox Business] Final fourth quarter GDP revised upwards as consumer spending rises

The third and final estimate for real gross domestic product (GDP) in the fourth quarter of 2023 was revised upwards, showing that the U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 3.4%, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).

The reading comes just above the BEA’s second GDP estimate for the fourth quarter, which showed the economy increased at 3.2%. The change primarily reflects upward revisions to consumer spending and nonresidential fixed investment.  

Real GDP increased at an annual rate of 3.4% for the October-through-December period after rising 4.9% in the third quarter of 2023. Thursday’s final reading comes just under the BEA’s original GDP estimate for the fourth quarter, which showed the economy increased at a rate of 3.3% and beat economic forecasts that anticipated a deceleration of growth over the previous month with the expectation that the economy would expand by a 2% rate.

Economic growth is a crucial metric the Federal Reserve is monitoring as it weighs when it will begin dialing back interest rates. Fed officials have predicted at least three rate cuts this year, with interest rates expected to tick down to 4.6%, according to the central bank’s updated economic forecasts in its Summary of Economic Projections (SEP).  Market expectations are that the first rate cut will come in the summer, if not later in the year. 

If you are struggling with high inflation, you could consider taking out a personal loan to pay down debt at a lower interest rate, reducing your monthly payments. You can visit Credible to find your personalized interest rate without affecting your credit score.

SOCIAL SECURITY: COLA INCREASING BUT MEDICARE COSTS RISING TOO IN 2024

The Fed’s decision to keep interest rates higher for longer puts a strain on consumer wallets and how much they pay to borrow, according to Michele Raneri, the vice president of U.S. research and consulting at TransUnion.

According to a recent TransUnion report, credit card balances surged past the $1 trillion mark for the first time in the fourth quarter of 2023. While Americans charged on their cards, they also increased their unsecured personal loan balances in the fourth quarter. Personal origination balances topped $245 billion, compared to $222 billion the previous year.

“While inflation continues to trend towards more normal levels, today’s decision from the Fed is to hold interest rates at their current levels and that any potential decreases will take place later in 2024,” Raneri said. “This means U.S. consumers who continue to face relatively high-interest rates across a range of credit products will have to wait at least a bit longer for rate relief. When rates do begin falling, the effects throughout the credit industry will be real but will likely be slow to take root.”

Consumers can explore refinancing any high-interest debt into lower-interest credit products to reduce balances once interest rates are brought down, according to Raneri.

If you’re worried about high-interest debt, you could consider paying it off with a personal loan at a lower rate to reduce your monthly payments. Visit Credible to get your personalized rate in minutes. 

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Despite the economic challenges, consumer confidence hit a record high in March. The University of Michigan’s benchmark Consumer Sentiment Index rose 3.3% in March to a final reading of 79.4, the highest since July 2021, the University of Michigan said in a report.

The number reflects the improved consumer outlook that inflation will continue to soften and that personal finances will also be lifted as the effects of high prices and expenses on living standards ease, the report said.  

Consumers may be more optimistic, but the index remains far from its pre-pandemic highs, reflecting the long shadow of high inflation, according to Jim Baird, Plante Moran Financial Advisors’ chief investment officer.

“Consumers are far from ebullient in their assessment of the current state of the economy, their personal financial prospects, and the outlook for the economy further down the path,” Baird said. “The fact that consumer sentiment remains constrained against the backdrop of a robust labor economy, strong wage growth, and above-trend economic growth is a direct reflection of the corrosive effects of surging inflation in recent years.

“Paychecks may have experienced a nice boost in recent years, but when those additional dollars are going right back out the door to cover the rising cost of rent, food, gasoline, personal services, and a host of other expenditures, it’s no surprise that consumers aren’t more upbeat,” Baird continued.

If you are struggling to pay off debt, you could consider using a personal loan to consolidate your payments at a lower interest rate, saving you money each month. You can visit Credible to find your personalized interest rate without affecting your credit score.

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