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Cotton Oct 21 (CT=F)
| Pre. Settlement | N/A |
| Settlement date | 2021-10-07 |
| Open | 87.67 |
| Bid | 87.69 |
| Last price | 87.53 |
| Day's range | 87.67 - 87.80 |
| Volume | 5 |
| Ask | 88.04 |
- CoinDesk
Ohio urges judges to keep Census Bureau on data deadline
Ohio's solicitor general on Wednesday urged a panel of appellate judges to hold the U.S. Census Bureau's feet to the fire by issuing an order that would require the statistical agency to release data used for redrawing congressional and legislative districts by mid-August. Solicitor General Benjamin Flowers told three federal judges on an appellate court in Cincinnati that an order was needed, given past deadlines the Census Bureau has blown in releasing data from the 2020 census. The bureau has cited the pandemic and anomalies that needed fixing as reasons for its deadline delays. “It's good they are planning to get it by August 16, but as we have seen over the past year, sometimes their plans don't come to fruition, and so a court order requiring that it be done by then is what we are ultimately looking for," Flowers said during a virtual court hearing. But an attorney representing the Commerce Department, which oversees the Census Bureau, said an order wasn't necessary. A better idea would be to send the case back to a lower court where the Census Bureau could provide regular status updates on its progress toward meeting the Aug. 16 goal of releasing the redistricting data, Department of Justice attorney Mark Stern said. “The Census Bureau obviously understands the importance of getting this to the states, and it's working to do that," Stern said. Referring to Ohio, Stern said, “Our views are starting to look very similar in that we both want to get that gold standard to Ohio and other states." Ohio sued the Commerce Secretary earlier this year after the Census Bureau said it would be unable to meet a legal deadline to release the redistricting data to the states by March 31 because of delays caused by the pandemic. The bureau said the data would be available in an older format in August and in a more user-friendly format by the end of September. A federal judge dismissed Ohio's case and the state appealed, saying the delay threatened its ability to meet redistricting deadlines approved by voters and set in its state constitution. Ohio’s constitution requires, for the first time, an independent commission to finish redrawing legislative districts by Sept. 1. It sets a Sept. 30 deadline for the state’s General Assembly to complete a new map of congressional districts. “We didn’t bring this lawsuit to try to bully the Census. We brought this lawsuit because we really need the data for the redistricting process to go smoothly," Flowers told the judges Wednesday. The redistricting data includes counts of population by race, Hispanic origin, voting age and housing occupancy status at geographic levels as small as neighborhoods. The data are used for drawing voting districts for Congress and state legislatures. Unlike past decades when the data were released to states on a flow basis, the 2020 redistricting data will be made available to the states all at once, according to the Census Bureau. A similar lawsuit was filed by the state of Alabama, with the added twist that the Cotton State's case also challenges the Census Bureau's use of a statistical method to protect people's privacy, claiming it will result in inaccurate numbers. Oral arguments were made last week in Alabama, and a panel of three federal judges could rule at any time. The Ohio appellate judges did not say when they would rule. Last month, the Census Bureau released the first data from the 2020 census — state population counts used to determine how any congressional seats and Electoral College votes each state gets. The once-a-decade count of every U.S. resident also helps determine $1.5 trillion in federal spending each year. ___ Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MikeSchneiderAP. Mike Schneider, The Associated Press
- Reuters
Pakistan lifts ban on cotton, sugar imports from arch-rival India as prices rise
Pakistan lifted a nearly two-year ban on sugar and cotton imports from arch-rival India on Wednesday, the finance minister said, a step towards reviving suspended trade between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. Pakistan's Economic Coordination Council (ECC), a top decision-making body, allowed the private sector to import 0.5 million tonnes of white sugar as Islamabad tries to keep soaring domestic prices in check. Pakistan Finance Minister Hammad Azhar announced the decision after the ECC concluded, confirming what sources had said earlier, adding it will also import cotton and cotton yarns from India.
- The Telegraph
Grain trading giant Louis-Dreyfus sells stake to Abu Dhabi
One of the world’s leading commodity traders, Louis-Dreyfus Company (LDC), has opened up to outside ownership for the first time in almost 170 years. The trader has sold a 45pc stake to ADQ, the Abu Dhabi state-owned holding company and also agreed a long-term supply agreement for the UAE. Owner Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, who also chairs LDC’s supervisory board, said the partnership marked a “milestone" in the firm's strategy. She has been seeking new investment after tightening her control in December 2018 when she bought out family members, borrowing about $1bn (£755m) from Credit Suisse to do so, pledged against her stake. Micheal Gelchie, LDC chief executive, said the firm and ADQ had a “shared ambition” to invest in innovation and technology that could “transform food and agricultural production”. LDC is one of the ABCD quartet of leading commodity traders, alongside Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge and Cargill. Founded as a grain trader in 1851 by Leopold Louis-Dreyfus, it produces, stores and ships about 80m tonnes of cotton, rice, sugar, grain and other agricultural products a year, with 2019 sales of $33.6bn and profit of $230m. Leopold’s great grandson, Robert Louis-Dreyfus, took over in 2006, three years before his death from leukaemia, when he put his wife Margarita in charge of the trust that held his 61pc stake. Commodities traders have been trying to diversify in recent years amid rising competition and trade wars. LDC has invested in partnerships with Leong Hup International, the poultry business based in Malaysia, and Luckin Coffee, the Chinese coffee chain. The terms of its deal with ADQ were not disclosed. LDC said at least $800m from the sale would be invested to support its long-term plans. H.E. Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, chief executive of ADQ, said: "We share LDC’s vision for future growth of the business, and look forward to partnering with LDC’s existing shareholders and management team to capitalize on the sector’s emerging opportunities."
