Highlights
Bloomberg reported what may go down as the most spectacular IT meltdown the world has ever seen, which occurred yesterday, was caused by a botched software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. The update crashed countless Microsoft Windows computer systems all over the world, idling airlines, banks, hospitals and even the London Stock Exchange. For several hours, bankers in Hong Kong, doctors in the UK, and emergency personnel in New Hampshire found themselves locked out of programs critical to keeping their operations afloat.
Parmy Olson wrote that one of the most disturbing things about Friday’s devastating global outage is how routine such ruinous events have become. This time the scale was unprecedented. That should spur Microsoft and other IT firms to do more than simply administer a band-aid. Policy makers could address the world’s over-reliance on just three cloud providers. Today’s reality is a single bug can harm millions of people at once.
Locks on the mid-Mississippi River are expected to open Sunday; the trade will focus on getting shippers caught up. Basis upriver will firm if it has not already. Ohio and Missouri River basis may weaken as Upper Mississippi opens to barge traffic. However, the bean export basis shows no signs of weakening.