U.S. Department of Commerce Outlines $1.6 Billion in Proposed Funding to Support Multiple Projects in Texas and Utah to Increase Production of Chips Vital for U.S. Economic and National Security Today, the Biden-Harris Administration announced that the U.S. Department of Commerce and Texas Instruments (TI) have signed a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms (PMT) to provide up to $1.6 billion in proposed direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act to strengthen domestic supply chain resilience, advance our national security,...

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By Shafik Hebous, Nate Vernon-Lin | Crypto mining and data centers now account for 2 percent of global electricity use and nearly 1 percent of global emissions, and their footprint is growing. What do crypto assets and artificial intelligence have in common? Both are power hungry. Because of the electricity used by high-powered equipment to “mine” crypto assets, one Bitcoin transaction requires roughly the same amount of electricity as the average person in Ghana or Pakistan consumes in three years. ChatGPT queries require 10...

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Blog post by Evangelos Charalambakis, Omiros Kouvavas and Pedro Neves | How quickly do consumers react to rate hikes? The answer depends in part on how much they know about financial matters. This ECB Blog post shows that the better informed they are, the quicker their reaction. When central banks raise interest rates they aim to dampen demand in the economy, which ultimately helps keep inflation at bay. Consumers are key for that. They make decisions every day: how much...

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Two years ago today, President Biden signed the historic and bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act into law investing nearly $53 billion in funding to bring semiconductor supply chains back to the U.S, create jobs, support American innovation, and protect our national security. To date, the Commerce Department has announced over $30 billion in proposed CHIPS private sector investments spanning 23 projects in 15 states. These projects include 16 new semiconductor manufacturing facilities and are expected to create over 115,000 manufacturing and construction...

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NEW YORK—The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Center for Microeconomic Data today released the July 2024 Survey of Consumer Expectations, which shows that inflation expectations were stable at the short- and longer-term horizons, but fell sharply at the medium-term horizon to a new series low. Labor market expectations were mixed, with respondents expecting lower earnings growth and a lower likelihood of finding a new job within three months if they were laid off. Delinquency expectations continued their upward trend...

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On 1 August 2024, the European Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) enters into force. The Act aims to foster responsible artificial intelligence development and deployment in the EU. Proposed by the Commission in April 2021 and agreed by the European Parliament and the Council in December 2023, the AI Act addresses potential risks to citizens’ health, safety, and fundamental rights. It provides developers and deployers with clear requirements and obligations regarding specific uses of AI while reducing administrative and financial burdens for businesses. The AI Act introduces a uniform framework across...

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Blog post by Stefan Gebauer, Thomas McGregor and Julian Schumacher | Central banks choose their words very carefully. And rightly so – policy makers’ wording can move markets and, eventually, the economy. This ECB Blog post shows how unexpected changes in communication influence growth and inflation. Central banks need to communicate clearly. This helps the public understand the rationale behind monetary policy decisions and shape market expectations. Their statements sometimes provide explicit forward guidance on the future direction of monetary...

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