>>17148998

Fed Downgrades U.S. Economy as Growth Slows in Beige Book Report

The economy in many parts of the U.S. has slowed in recent weeks, a report from the Federal Reserve showed Wednesday.

The majority of the Fed’s 12 districts reported “slight or modest” growth, the central bank said in its Beige Book. Four reported “moderate growth.”

That’s a downgrade from the prior report issued in April when the Fed said it saw moderate growth throughout the country.

“Four districts explicitly noted that the pace of growth had slowed since the prior period,” the Fed said.

The Beige Book is a report based on anecdotal information collected by the Fed’s 12 regional banks. It is compiled by the Philadelphia Fed and published eight times a year, typically a couple of weeks before the Federal Open Market Committee meets to set monetary policy. The FOMC’s next meeting is scheduled to begin June 14 and conclude on June 15.

The June report noted that manufacturing growth continued in most districts. Retail contacts mentioned some softening as consumers balked at higher prices. The Fed said residential real estate contacts observed weakness due to high prices and rising mortgage rates.

Many businesses continue to report difficulties finding workers as their greatest challenge. Supply chain disruptions was the second biggest challenge.

Eight Fed Districts say that expectations for future growth have diminished and contacts in three districts—Boston, Philadelphia, and Dallas—said they are worried about a recession. China’s Covid lockdowns were mentioned by contacts in the Boston, Cleveland, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, and Kansas City districts.

Inflationary pressures are described as “strong” or “robust” by most districts, especially for input prices. Two districts noted that rapid inflation was a continuation of the pre-existing trend while three—Philadelphia, Boston, Richmond—said that price increases had moderated. About half of the districts reported that businesses maintain pricing power, passing on costs to clients and customers. More than half, however, cited customer pushback against the inflated prices, either with smaller order volumes or switching to less expensive brands.

A Missouri manufacturer noted that industry attitudes toward price increases have shifted, with sales staff and customers “numb” to continued increases. Some businesses in the St. Louis District said they have started to warn customers of price increases several months in advance.

https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2022/06/01/fed-downgrades-u-s-economy-as-growth-slows-in-beige-book-report/

>>17148998

Chinese military secrets leaked on a video game forum

It’s not the first time that War Thunder fans have leaked military secrets

By Charlie Hall@Charlie_L_Hall Jun 2, 2022, 4:24pm EDT

A fan of the video game War Thunder, the free-to-play vehicle combat simulator, has leaked classified Chinese military documents on the game’s online forum. According to defense analysts, while the details of the anti-tank weapon in question were previously known, this is the first time that authenticating documentation has been seen outside of China. How do we know the documents are authentic? Well, they’re pictured next to the weapon itself.

The weapon in question is the DTC10-125, an anti-tank round fielded by the modern-day Chinese military. Also known as a kinetic energy penetrator, its job is to punch through metal and breach the internal compartments of a tank and knock it out of action. As such, its capabilities are a closely guarded secret. Or at least they were until someone on the War Thunder forums got into an argument and needed to prove a point.

The information was quickly removed from the forums, but it is still available online. Polygon has viewed the original image and can confirm it’s quite a comprehensive photo, and includes an annotated diagram of the munition itself as well as its casing, called a sabot.

UK Defense Journal, a volunteer organization that covers issues related to militaries around the world, reports that while the specifications of the DTC10-125 were previously revealed online in multiple locations, this leak appears to confirm them with official government documentation. They also claim that the photo includes a close-up image of the weapon, lending additional credence to its authenticity.

This is not the first time that classified information on modern-day weapons systems was leaked on the War Thunder forums. In July 2021, details of the United Kingdom’s Challenger 2 main battle tank were leaked, and then in December particulars of the French Leclerc main battle tank also ended up online.

War Thunder is not the only simulation game to suffer from these types of incidents. In 2019 an employee of flight simulation developer Eagle Dynamics was indicted on charges of conspiracy and smuggling for allegedly attempting to have someone inside the United States purchase manuals for the F-16 on eBay and then send them overseas for analysis.

https://www.polygon.com/23152203/war-thunder-chinese-tank-weapon-leak-classified-military-secrets-forum