Category: Commerce Department

Israeli-Owned Spyware Firms Blacklisted by US Commerce Department Over National Security Risks

The U.S. Commerce Department has placed two European-based Israeli-owned spyware companies on its trade blacklist, citing national security concerns. Intellexa S.A. in Greece and its entity Intellexa Limited in Ireland, and Cytrox AD in North Macedonia, along with its entity Cytrox Holdings Crt in Hungary, were added to the technology export blacklist, the Commerce Department…


US Exploring Rules to Regulate AI Tools Like ChatGPT

The Biden administration is soliciting public input on measures to regulate artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT as questions mount about the fast-moving technology’s impact on national security and education. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), a Commerce Department agency that advises the White House on telecommunications and information policy, said it will spend…


‘Warning Sign’: Experts React to 1.4 Percent Drop in US GDP

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust traded higher by 2.1 percent on Thursday after the Commerce Department said U.S. GDP declined 1.4 percent in the first quarter. What Happened U.S. GDP declined 1.4 percent in the first quarter, falling well short of consensus economist estimates of 1 percent growth. Investors initially reacted positively to the…


US Consumer Mood Brightens in Early April, Survey Shows

U.S. consumer sentiment rebounded unexpectedly in early April from a decade low with the strong job market lifting the outlook for wage growth and a fall in gasoline prices from the previous month’s record high helping to cap expectations for a further acceleration in inflation, a survey showed on Thursday. The University of Michigan’s Consumer…


US Construction Spending Surges in January on Homebuilding

WASHINGTON—U.S. construction spending surged in January, boosted by strong outlays on single-family homebuilding and private nonresidential structures. The Commerce Department said on Tuesday that construction spending increased 1.3 percent. Data for December was revised higher to show construction outlays rising 0.8 percent instead of 0.2 percent as previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast…


US New Homes Sales Rise 0.4 Percent in October as Prices Climb

WASHINGTON—U.S. sales of new homes edged up 0.4 percent last month, coming in below expectations as housing prices continued to climb. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that sales of new single-family homes rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 745,000 last month from 742,000 in September. Economists had expected October’s new home sales to…


US Blacklists a Dozen More Chinese Entities Over Military Links

The U.S. Commerce Department has added a dozen Chinese companies to a trade blacklist, citing national security concerns and some of the firms’ involvement in aiding the Chinese military’s quantum computing efforts. The list on Nov. 24 covers 27 new entities from four countries, including China, Japan, Pakistan, and Singapore, with several China and Pakistan-based…


US New Home Sales Rebound Modestly in July; Prices Surge

WASHINGTON—Sales of new U.S. single-family homes increased in July after three straight monthly declines, but housing market momentum is slowing as surging housing prices amid tight supply sideline potential buyers from the market. The report from the Commerce Department on Tuesday showed builders were increasingly pre-selling homes, with about 75 percent of the houses sold…


Commerce Department’s Security Unit Went ‘Rogue’ With Probes, Committed ‘Gross Abuses of Power’: Senate Report

A Senate report on a security unit within the Commerce Department alleged that poor management and weak oversight drove the unit to morph into a “rogue, unaccountable police force” and what whistleblowers described as a “gestapo.” The report (pdf), released by Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), the top Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee, accused the Investigations…


US Durable Goods Orders Rise 2.3 Percent in May

WASHINGTON—Orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods rose for the 12th time in the last 13 months in May, pulled up by surge in demand for civilian aircraft. The Commerce Department said Thursday that orders for durable goods—meant to last at least three years—climbed 2.3 percent in May, reversing a 0.8 percent drop in…