Top Reasons To Attend The American Boating Congress

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FEATURED INDUSTRY NEWS Top Reasons To Attend The American Boating Congress The recreational boating industry is hosting its annual advocacy event, the American Boating Congress (ABC) in Washington, D.C. from May 8–10, 2024 with today being the last day for the early bird registration discount. Influential leaders from all segments of the recreational boating and fishing industry are invited to gather in our nation’s capital and advocate as one voice on pressing matters for our industry. Read More LEADING ECONOMIC AND POLICY NEWS US Transportation Secretary, Maryland Politicians Call For More Federal Funding To Reopen Port Of Baltimore As efforts continue to clear the debris from the collapse of the Key Bridge in Baltimore, the Washington Post reports, “Federal, state and city officials from Maryland sought to maintain a sharp sense of urgency Sunday as they took to morning newscasts to pressure Congress to approve relief funds to reopen the port and rebuild the collapsed bridge, arguing that the ripple effects will hurt people and businesses across the country.”         The New York Times reports Transportation Secretary Buttigieg “and Maryland Democrats on Sunday urged Congress to authorize additional federal dollars needed to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore after it collapsed last week.”         Similarly, Politico reports Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) warned the collapse “will reverberate across the country.” Reuters reports Moore added, “The reason that we need people to move in a bipartisan basis ... is not because we need you to do Maryland a favor. We need to make sure that we’re actually moving quickly to get the American economy going again, because the Port of Baltimore is instrumental in our larger economic growth.” The Hill reports Moore said, “The port handles more cars and more farm equipment … than any other port inside of this country, and at least 8,000 workers on the docks have jobs that have been directly affected by this collapse.”         USA Today reports Tom Perez, “senior adviser and assistant to President Joe Biden, said Sunday that the president’s plans to visit the area were still being worked out. He called the salvage operation a ‘Herculean undertaking’ vital to minimizing the national supply-chain disruption caused by the collapse.” On MSNBC’s The Weekend, Perez said, “The Port of Baltimore will be back. The president has said this. We’re going to move heaven and earth to make sure we rebuild the bridge, we clear out the debris as soon as possible, so that we can minimize these disruptions.”         The Hill reports Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) on Sunday “called for the government to ‘come together’ to support the Francis Scott Key Bridge salvage project” and “urged the Biden administration against ‘playing politics’ with relief.” On Fox News Sunday, Scott said, “I know that it’s going to take a lot of work. But this should be an issue that we all come together [on]. Unfortunately, the Biden administration’s played politics.” Scott elaborated, “I still have Florida farmers from a year and a half ago that still aren’t getting relief. So the federal government is a partner, the federal government needs to be a partner. But we need to stop playing politics, and that’s exactly what the Biden administration has done.”         Crews Remove Section Of Bridge, Working Toward Opening Temporary Channel CNN reports that crews “are working to remove the first portion of Baltimore bridge wreckage – the starting point in a complicated, extensive cleanup process that could help open up a temporary channel to get more vessels into the water around the collapse site, officials said. ... ‘At this time, pieces of the bridge trusses have started being cut and removed,’ US Coast Guard spokesperson Petty Officer Kimberly Reaves said Sunday. ‘The top part of a northern section of the bridge has been removed.’”         The AP reports, “Each part of the bridge removed from the water will be lifted onto a barge and floated downstream to the Tradepoint Atlantic logistics center, where it will be inspected, Coast Guard Rear Adm. Shannon Gilreath said. Everything the salvage crews do affects what happens next and ultimately how long it will take to remove all the debris and reopen the ship channel and the blocked Port of Baltimore, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said.”         Locally, the Washington Post reports, “the people and businesses who depend on the port for their living are in limbo. The docks will soon be clear of cargo, and no more will be arriving anytime soon. Logistics and freight companies as well as retail businesses are bracing for a lengthy interruption in port operations that could exact a steep financial toll. ... This temporary cargo halt could become one of the greatest blows to Baltimore’s maritime prosperity since the city emerged as a commercial gateway with the tobacco trade in the 1600s.”         More broadly, Bloomberg reports that US East Coast ports “are modifying their operations to absorb cargo diverted from Baltimore harbor.” The “fallout” from the collapse “is expected to be largely contained as neighboring facilities with spare capacity tweak their schedules. Snarls, delays and added costs are more likely to appear outside ports as tens of thousands of shipments require longer routes on already-crowded roadways and rail lines.”         In other coverage, the Wall Street Journal looks at the sharp increase in size of merchant ships since the bridge was constructed. Federal Reserve Chairman Says Fed Will Wait To See More Good Inflation Readings Before Cutting Rates The New York Times reported that Fed Chairman Jerome Powell on Friday said “that resilient economic growth is giving the central bank the flexibility to be patient before cutting interest rates.” Powell said, “We can, and we will be, careful about this decision – because we can be.” He added, “The economy is strong: We see very strong growth.”         The AP reported that Powell “reiterated a message he has sounded in recent weeks: While the Fed expects to cut interest rates this year, it won’t be ready to do so until it sees ‘more good inflation readings’’ and is more confident that annual price increases are falling toward its 2% target.” Powell, spoke “at a conference at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco,” and “said he still expected ‘inflation to come down on a sometimes bumpy path to 2%.’”         Reuters reported that Powell said that the PCE index released Friday is “along the lines of what we would like to see.” A separate Reuters article noted that Powell “says the central bank is not growing more tolerant of higher inflation even though the latest policymaker projections raised the inflation outlook for the year without triggering a tougher monetary-policy response.” PCE Index Shows Inflation Slowing But Remains Above Fed Target The AP reported that the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, “a measure of inflation that is closely tracked by the Federal Reserve slipped last month in a sign that price pressures continue to ease.” Specifically, “prices rose 0.3% from January to February, decelerating from a 0.4% increase the previous month in a potentially encouraging trend,” though “prices rose 2.5% in February,” compared to the year before, up “from a 2.4% year-over-year gain in January.” Much of the gain was due to “a sizable jump in energy prices.” The AP adds, “Inflation remains stubbornly above the Fed’s 2% annual target.”         The New York Times reported that the results were “in line with economists’ expectations, as price increases hovered above the central bank’s target even after months of cooling.” The Times says the “details underscored that inflation continues to moderate, even if the process is bumpy.” The Wall Street Journal provides similar coverage. Stock Market Has Strong First Quarter With S&P 500 Up Over 10 Percent The New York Times reports, “It’s been a blistering start to the year for the stock market,” as the S&P 500 is up over ten percent, with “22 record highs” and “roughly 40 percent of the stocks in the index are trading above where they were 12 months ago.” The Times says there is “widespread optimism” that the Fed can “bring inflation down to its target of 2 percent without inflicting too much damage on the economy.” States Divided On Efforts To Change Child Labor Laws The Washington Post reported that “dozens of states are ramping up efforts to update child labor laws,” with both efforts to weaken and bolster them. The push comes “as employers — particularly in restaurants and other service-providing industries — have grappled with labor shortages since the beginning of the pandemic, and hired more teenagers whose wages are typically lower than adults.” The tight labor market has also caused a “spike in child labor violations,” particularly with “migrant children arriving from Latin America.” The Post goes on to detail state-level changes across the US, noting the push to loosen laws is “supported by restaurant associations, liquor associations, and home builders associations.” Previous Top Stories  • Discover Boating And Progressive Insurance® To Launch New Safe Boating Video Series  • Consumer Sentiment Index Rises To Highest Level Since July 2021

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