United States of America eSeries: Airlines bypass Belarus ✈️

Airlines bypass Belarus ✈️

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How many days till the long weekend? OK, let's get into it.

By Allison Morrow

💵 DIGITAL DOLLAR

The Fed is getting serious about a digital US dollar.

THE NEWS

Lael Brainard, a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, laid out a case for a secure, central bank-backed digital currency that could create, among other things, a more efficient payment system.

And no, this is not a government version of bitcoin. Cryptos are digital, but a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, is fundamentally different. Unlike cryptos, which are regulated by peer-to-peer computer networks that anyone (theoretically) can access, CBDCs are still controlled by a central bank.

BREAKING IT DOWN

Brainard went through some of the key benefits in her speech Monday.

A CBDC would reduce or eliminate "frictions" in transactions – aka all the backend verifications and fees that come with, for example, transferring funds from the IRS to your checking account.
It makes sending money overseas much easier.
It's safer than cryptos. Without naming cryptocurrencies specifically, Brainard warned about "new forms of private money" that may add risks to the financial system. "In contrast, a digital dollar would be a new type of central bank money issued in digital form for use by the general public," Brainard said. By introducing "safe" central bank currency, a CBDC would reduce such risks, she said.

📈 NUMBER OF THE DAY

90%

More than a year after the pandemic began, the US economy is on the cusp of a full recovery. CNN Business' Back-to-Normal Index, developed in partnership with Moody's Analytics last year, shows the US economy is 90% of the way back to where it was before the pandemic hit. But getting that last 10% back is going to be hard, my colleague Anneken Tappe writes.

✈️ RE-ROUTING

Several international airlines are avoiding Belarusian air space after the country brazenly intercepted a commercial passenger jet and forced it to land so that authorities could arrest a journalist on board.

WHAT HAPPENED

If it were a scene in an action movie, it might strain credulity. But it actually happened: On orders from the Belarusian president, a MiG-29 fighter jet intercepted Ryanair Flight 4978 just as it was about to begin its descent to Vilnius, Lithuania, on Sunday.

The reason? One of the passengers on board was a 26-year-old Belarus journalist and opposition activist, Roman Protasevich. He was arrested shortly after the plane landed.

Ryanair's CEO called the incident a "state-sponsored hijacking."

AIRLINES STEER CLEAR

As governments around the world condemn the move, airlines and aviation authorities are concerned about safety.

The Ryanair flight was ordered to divert to Minsk by Belarusian air traffic control over a "security alert" — almost certainly a ruse by the strongman government to arrest Protasevich, one of dozens of journalists and activists campaigning in exile against President Alexander Lukashenko's 26-year rule.

🔥 QUOTE OF THE DAY

People who followed Musk blindly have lost a lot of money. They may have gotten burned and never come back.

— Alex Mashinsky, CEO and founder of crypto lending platform Celsius

The prices of bitcoin, dogecoin and other digital currencies have plunged more than 40% in recent weeks. While Elon Musk isn't the only reason for the crypto carnage, he certainly isn't helping, CNN Business' Paul R. La Monica writes.