Davis Wilson:

Amazon Is About To Make Things a Lot Harder for the Post Office

Amazon plans to dramatically pare back the parcel volume it sends through the U.S. Postal Service before the two companies' current contract lapses this fall. Amazon has long supplied more parcel volume to USPS than any other shipper, and it has already begun pulling back.

The move to cut volume by at least two thirds threatens billions in revenue for an agency that lost $9 billion last year and is on pace to run out of cash within 12 months.

Of all the parcels USPS delivered across the country last year, Amazon's alone numbered more than one billion – close to 15% of the agency's total throughput. That volume has served as a financial backstop for an institution that has been losing money for the better part of 20 years.

In recent years, USPS has poured money into its package-handling capacity, opening new sorting hubs and upgrading its equipment. The agency's newly expanded package-processing infrastructure – built on the assumption of continued high volumes – could sit largely idle if Amazon walks away.

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Enrique Abeyta:

How the Red-Hot AI Data Center Boom Is Igniting Demand for a New, Lucrative Career Path: Trade Workers

While anxiety around AI replacing white-collar jobs has reached a fever pitch, the data center boom is creating lucrative opportunities for skilled traders.

Between 2022 and 2026, demand for robotic technicians increased by 107%, according to a global analysis of 50 million job postings released by Randstad on Wednesday. For cooling – or HVAC – system engineers, the growth rate was 67%, and vacancies for industrial automation technicians grew by 51%.

Meanwhile, job listings for traditional skilled trade jobs such as construction workers and electricians increased by 27%, according to Randstad’s analysis.

Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang – a central figure behind the AI data center boom – predicted in January that “six-figure salaries” are on the horizon for the workers building AI factories.

A key factor driving these salaries higher is a shortage of trade workers, with the U.S. facing a potential shortfall of 1.9 million manufacturing workers by 2033, according to 2025 data from the National Association of Manufacturers.

Meanwhile, the U.S.-based Associated Builders and Contractors trade group estimates that nearly half a million new workers will be needed in 2027, up from the 349,000 needed in 2026.

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Greg Guenthner:

Crypto Market Structure Bill to Face Key Vote in April and Must Pass by May, Senators Say

After months of setbacks, a final plan is emerging from Senate Republicans to get a crypto market structure bill over the finish line before political momentum evaporates on Capitol Hill.

Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), the legislation’s chief champion in the Senate, said Wednesday the Senate Banking Committee will hold a rescheduled markup of the market structure bill, dubbed the Clarity Act, in “the second half of April.”

"We really are going to get it out of the Banking Committee in April,” Lummis said, during an appearance at the DC Blockchain Summit.

Shortly thereafter, speaking in a video message at the same event, Lummis’ pro-crypto Senate Banking colleague Bernie Moreno (R-OH) struck a more somber tone.

“If we don’t get the Clarity Act passed by May, digital asset legislation will not pass for the foreseeable future,” Moreno said.

The Clarity Act, if passed and signed into law, would formally legalize most crypto activity in the United States, including the initial sale of crypto tokens to U.S. residents in what were previously called ICOs. It would therefore prevent a future presidential administration from attempting to limit or ban such activity without undoing the legislation.

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