Newsweek (May 13)
“China’s decision to raise tariffs on U.S. goods made its impact felt on Wall Street as stock markets began the week on a downbeat note. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 index fell by more than 2 percent in early trading,” while the Nasdaq dropped even further. Market volatility “was directly linked to the escalating trade war between the U.S. and China…. The back-and-forth retaliation between the two superpowers wiped out the marginal gains stocks recorded at the end of last week.”
Tags: China, Dow Jones, Downbeat, Gains, Nasdaq, Retaliation, Stock market, Superpowers, Tariffs, Trade war, U.S., Volatility, Wall Street
Inc (May Issue)
“Images of sea creatures ensnared by plastic six-pack rings are a common source of environmental anguish. They also provided inspiration for the Mexico City-based startup E6PR,” which stands for eco six-pack ring and is made with natural fibers. “Those natural fibers not only make it compostable, but sea animals can eat it as well without suffering any ill effects. And, unlike plastic six-pack rings, which last for decades, E6PR’s naturally disintegrate.” The revolutionary product is already getting take up from “leading Mexican brewer Corona” and “craft breweries in the U.S., Australia, Poland, Scotland, and South Africa.”
Tags: Australia, Compostable, Corona, E6PR, Ensnared, Mexico, Natural fibers, Plastic, Poland, Scotland, Sea creatures, Six-pack rings, South Africa, U.S.
Wall Street Journal (May 11)
The tariff spat with China “is a political trade risk the economy hasn’t faced since the 1930s, and no one knows where it might end.” Although there “will be many economic losers,” including U.S. farmers who are getting hit hard, “the broader cost is a continuation of policy uncertainty, as CEOs and investors can’t be sure about their supply chains, their cost of goods and raw material, or how long the tariff brawl will last.” Ultimately, “the impact on GDP is hard to calculate but it’s real.”
Tags: CEOs, China, Cost of goods, Economic losers, Economy, Farmers, Investors, Supply chains, Tariff, Trade risk, U.S., Uncertainty
The Economist (May 11)
Companies are really bad at hiring. “Only a third of American companies check whether their recruitment process produces good employees” and obvious flaws in hiring practices are rampant. “Everyone should worry that companies are less rigorous about evaluating the performance of their staff than about the quality of the raw materials they put in their products.” This helps to explain why productivity has been so sluggish.
Tags: Companies, Employees, Evaluating, Flaws, Hiring, Performance, Productivity, Quality, Raw materials, Recruitment, Rigorous, Staff, U.S.
Washington Post (May 9)
“It’s anyone guess what will come of the current meetings” to resolve the U.S./China trade dispute. “What should not be in doubt, however, is that throughout the entire bargaining process with Beijing, the administration has undercut its position by attempting to wage simultaneous tariff battles with other countries.” In addition to China, Mr. Trump’s tariffs now cover…7.3 percent of imports from Canada, 2.5 percent of imports from the European Union, 9.6 percent of imports from South Korea and 3.8 percent of imports from Japan,” undercutting support from natural allies in his dispute with China.
Tags: Allies, Canada, China, EU, Imports, Japan, South Korea, Tariffs, Trade dispute, Trump, U.S., Undercut
Wall Street Journal (May 8)
“The new hard line taken by China in trade talks—surprising the White House and threatening to derail negotiations—came after Beijing interpreted recent statements and actions by President Trump as a sign the U.S. was ready to make concessions.” A resolution to the vexing trade dispute may no longer be near at hand. “A week ago, the assumption was that negotiators would be closing the deal. Now, they are trying to keep it from collapsing.”
Tags: China, Collapsing, Concessions, Derail, Hard line, Negotiations, Trade talks, Trump, U.S., White House
USA Today (May 8)
“This week about 800 former federal prosecutors (so far) have signed a letter objecting to Attorney General William Barr’s declaration that special counsel Robert Mueller’s report did not support charges that President Donald Trump obstructed justice.” In their view, the President’s conduct “would, in the case of any other person … result in multiple felony charges for obstruction of justice.”
Tags: Attorney General, Barr, Conduct, Federal prosecutors, Felony charges, Mueller, Obstruction of justice, Special counsel, Trump
Bloomberg (May 7)
“The conventional wisdom that the Fed’s next move would be down and the trade spat with China would end just got dealt a one-two punch…. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell pushed back against calls for a near-term rate cut and U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to ratchet up tariffs on imported Chinese goods.”
Tags: China, Conventional, Fed, Powell, Tariffs, Trade spat, Trump, U.S.
Forbes (May 6)
“The trade war with China has pushed worries about supply chains from the No. 19 spot in 2017 to No. 12 in 2018. Companies in North America rate it at No. 8, mostly because of the new Nafta. The sharp rise in rankings for all things trade related shows that either companies have been preparing for this moment, or are worried that they are not prepared enough.”
Financial Times (May 5)
Brexit has “exposed the internal divisions within the established political parties and unearthed a diversity of views that is struggling to be contained inside two organisations. A more diverse political landscape would, arguably, be more representative of modern Britain. But making this transition will not be a quick process. Any break-up of the old political order is likely to be long, slow and painful.”
Tags: Break-up, Brexit, Diversity, Divisions, Exposed, Order, Parties, Political landscape, Slow, Struggling, Transition, UK
