Today’s edition of quick hits.
* A closely watched case: “A U.S. judge has agreed to temporarily block implementation of President Donald Trump’s executive order to strip security clearances and take other actions against prominent law firm Perkins Coie over its policies promoting workforce diversity and its work for his 2016 election rival Hillary Clinton. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell at a hearing in Washington on Wednesday said she would grant Perkins Coie’s request for a temporary restraining order against Trump’s order.”
* Encouraging inflation news: “Price growth cooled more than expected in February, a welcome sign for markets that have been spooked by the specter of persistent inflation, though evolving U.S. trade policies complicate the outlook. The consumer price index rose 2.8% in February from the year before, less than forecast and slower than the 3% annual rate in January, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday.”
* The first good day on Wall Street in a while: “The Nasdaq Composite rose on Wednesday after a soft inflation report eased concerns about the economy and as investors snapped up beaten-up technology shares. The tech-heavy benchmark added 1.22% and closed at 17,648.45, while the S&P 500 gained 0.49% to end at 5,599.30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 82.55 points, or 0.2%, to settle at 41,350.93.”
* Tariffs: “The first shots of President Donald Trump’s global trade war have been fired. Canada on Wednesday announced new retaliatory trade duties on some $21 billion worth of U.S. goods, a response to Trump implementing universal steel and aluminum tariffs.”
* Not the outcome the White House was hoping for: “A party that has sharply criticized President Donald Trump’s threat to take over Greenland secured a surprise election victory Tuesday in the Danish territory, but it may have to govern with a partner with a far warmer view of the U.S. president.”
* Another closely watched case: “A federal judge in Maryland suggested Wednesday that he might direct that thousands of fired federal workers get their jobs back, at least temporarily, after hearing arguments that their layoffs were unlawful.”
* I miss the days in which the U.S. was invited to gatherings like these: “More than 30 army chiefs among Washington’s closest allies met in Paris on Tuesday without their U.S. counterparts, seeking to take on more responsibility over the Ukraine war given President Donald Trump’s unpredictability and rapprochement with Moscow. The closed-door gathering of 34 army chiefs, including NATO alliance and EU members as well as Japan and Australia, was a rare — and possibly unprecedented — convening without the U.S.”
* A mixed bag: “A U.S. district judge has ruled that the Trump administration must quickly pay nearly $2 billion in foreign assistance owed to its humanitarian partners around the world, saying the administration probably violated the Constitution by blocking money allocated by Congress. U.S. District Judge Amir H. Ali gave the Trump administration until Friday to provide a status report on payment of thousands of invoices owed to relief groups for work performed before Feb. 13.”
* There was no need for Keith Self to act in such a needlessly classless way: “A House Republican abruptly ended a congressional hearing he was chairing Tuesday after his Democratic colleague called him out for misgendering Rep. Sarah McBride, the first openly transgender lawmaker in Congress. The confrontation occurred during a House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe hearing, when Rep. Keith Self of Texas called on the Delaware Democrat to speak and introduced her as ‘Mr. McBride.’”
See you tomorrow.