U.S. business activity slowed for a second straight month in September, and though firms complained about tariffs increasing costs they were not raising prices for their goods and services, which bodes well for the inflation outlook. The survey from S&P Global on Tuesday suggested that businesses were absorbing most of the import duties and supported … Read More
US stocks are trading at record levels with earnings season right around the corner, and improving expectations for Corporate America’s profit growth indicate that the rally can keep going. Among the companies in the S&P 500 Index that provided guidance for their third-quarter results, more than 22% were expecting to beat analysts’ expectations — the … Read More
Apple CEO Tim Cook said price hikes on the newest iPhone models aren’t tied to President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff plans. “There’s no increase for tariffs in the prices to be totally clear,” Cook told CNBC’s Jim Cramer from Apple’s Fifth Avenue store location in New York City, as the latest iPhone model launched in … Read More
For the second time in less than two months, the CEO of a publicly traded company admitted that tariff cost burdens will not be passed down fully, if at all, to consumers. With one CEO saying tariffs were too low. Ethan Allen CEO Farooq Kathwari told Bloomberg on Sept. 8 that domestic production protects them … Read More
Mexico has announced 50 percent trade tariffs against China. This measure is neither cosmetic nor merely commercial. Rather, it marks an unprecedented shift and grants a commercial and political victory to President Trump’s America First policy. The U.S. is not losing allies — it is renewing, regaining and reinforcing its political and economic alliances in … Read More
Japan’s exports fell in August for the fourth consecutive month as higher US tariffs continued to hit commerce, especially from carmakers, even after a July trade deal. Overall, cross-border shipments edged down 0.1%, which was better than a 2.0% drop estimated by analysts. Asia and Europe helped cushion a US decline. But the damage of … Read More
U.S. factory production unexpectedly increased in August amid a rebound in the output of motor vehicles and some nondurable goods, though tariffs continued to cast a shadow over the manufacturing sector. Manufacturing output rose 0.2% last month after a downwardly revised 0.1% fall in July, the Federal Reserve said on Tuesday. Economists polled by Reuters … Read More
New Delhi argues it has the right to shield its own agricultural sector—which employs some 500 million people—from competition with heavily subsidized foreign agriculture. “They sell to us, they take advantage of us. They block us from their economy. We are wide open for them to come in and take advantage of us,” Lutnick said. … Read More
In the long run, while U.S. protectionism will likely retreat from current levels, free trade probably isn’t coming back, says National Bank Financial Inc. (NBF) — highlighting the need for Canada to rethink its industrial policy. In a new report, economists at NBF make the case that future U.S. governments will likely scale back the … Read More
Mexico plans to place a 50% tariff on cars from China and other Asian countries, taking a leaf out of US President Trump’s trade playbook. The measure was proposed to congress as part of a wider draft bill, Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Wednesday. The bill seeks to place higher tariffs on more than … Read More
