Bloomberg (October 22)
“Six months into Donald Trump’s trade war, the resilience of Chinese exports is proving just how essential many of its products remain even after US levies of 55%.” The weaknesses of Trump’s tariffs are becoming clear. They “appear somewhat limited in their ability to control what American firms import, as China’s sway over sectors such as rare earths and electronics makes its products hard to dislodge.” On top of that, loopholes play a factor. “American importers are able to pay a lower levy by declaring the customs value of goods based on their first sale in a third country, and then raising the price when the items reach a US port. Transhipping via Mexico or Vietnam means some firms are likely not paying the full tax.”
Tags: China, Customs value, Dislodge, Electronics, Essential, Exports, Importers, Loopholes, Mexico, Price, Products, Rare earths, Resilience, Tariffs, Trade war, Transhipping, Trump, U.S., Vietnam
Fortune (October 21)
“GDP estimates that show steady growth in the American economy may prove to be overly optimistic, Goldman Sachs warned, as a vacuum of data during the government shutdown may result in employment figures ultimately dragging down the optimistic outlook.”
Tags: Data, Economy, Employment figures, Estimates, GDP, Goldman Sachs, Government shutdown, Optimistic, Outlook, Steady growth, U.S., Vacuum, Warned
New York Times (October 16)
China is trying “to beat U.S. at its own game” by imposing rare earth restrictions. “Beijing’s latest effort to weaponize global supply chains is modeled on the American technology controls that it has long criticized.” This new thrust was in some way catalyzed by “Mr. Trump’s aggressive actions — including new fees for Chinese-owned ships that dock at U.S. ports.” Some analysts believe that “with its dominance over the production of these rare earth minerals and its control of other strategic industries, China may have an even greater ability than the United States to weaponize supply chains.”
Tags: Aggressive actions, Analysts, Beat, China, Dominance, Fees, Imposing, Ports, Rare earth, Restrictions, Ships, Supply chains, Technology controls, Trump, U.S., Weaponize
Axios (October 15)
“More people are concerned than excited about the rise of AI in daily life, with Americans topping the global worry list, per a new global report from Pew Research Center.” Some countries, like South Korea and India were relatively excited about AI with less than 20% of respondents saying they were “more concerned than excited.” In contrast, the majority of U.S. respondents were more concerned about Ai than excited, a level of anxiety only matched by Italy. This “public concern over AI could shape how quickly the tools are adopted, and could upend workplaces if employees aren’t comfortable with the changes.”
Tags: Anxiety, Aopted, Concerned, Daily life, Employees, Excited, India, Italy, Pew, Respondents, Rise of AI, South Korea, U.S., Workplaces, Worry
Cox Automotive (October 13)
“In September, the average transaction price (ATP) of a new vehicle in the U.S. was above $50,000 for the first time, according to new estimates released today by Kelley Blue Book. New-vehicle prices have risen steadily for more than a year, with the pace of the increases accelerating in recent months. Despite higher prices, retail sales continue to maintain a healthy pace.”
Tags: Accelerating, ATP, Estimates, Increases, Kelley Blue Book, Pace, Retail sales, Risen steadily, September, Transaction price, U.S., Vehicle
Bloomberg (October 10)
“Betting against the dollar has been the dominant trade this year in the $9.6 trillion-a-day foreign exchange market, but the wager is starting to stumble. The world’s primary reserve currency is around a two-month high even as the US government shutdown drags on, and traders in Asia and Europe say hedge funds are adding options bets that the rebound versus most major peers will extend into year-end.”
Tags: $9.6 trillion, Asia, Dollar, Dominant, Forex, Government, Hedge funds, Market, Options bets, Rebound, Reserve currency, Shutdown, Stumble, Trade, Traders, Two-month high, U.S.
Barron’s (October 8)
“The near-simultaneous collapse of two companies tied to the U.S. auto industry is shedding new light on a fast-growing part of the financial ecosystem little known outside Wall Street.” Non-depository financial institutions (NDFIs) “now account for some 33% of all commercial and industrial loans originated by large banks” and, at the end of the month, stood at $1.7 trillion (up over 400% since 2015). “These hard-to-track loans fall outside systems that regulators can track to assess where risk is concentrating.”
Tags: $1.7 trillion, Auto industry, Banks, Collapse, Commercial, Concentrating, Fast-growing, Financial ecosystem, Industrial, Loans originated, NDFIs, Regulators, Risk, U.S., Wall Street
The Economist (October 2)
Donald Trump has remade, rather than destroyed, American financial diplomacy. He has refashioned it “in his image. It is now nakedly self-interested. Money flows to ideological allies, to leaders who control something he covets and to countries he hopes to lure away from China. In the long run, spending on these goals may outpace what was once allocated to poverty alleviation.”
Tags: China, Control, Covets, Destroyed, Financial diplomacy, Ideological allies, Leaders, Lure, Money, Outpace, Poverty alleviation, Remade, Self-interested, Spending, Trump, U.S.
Bloomberg (October 2)
“The European Union plans to hike tariffs on steel imports to 50% and cut by nearly a half the volume of steel that’s allowed in before that higher rate is imposed.” In recent years, “European steel imports have risen as production has fallen.” This move is designed to “align the bloc’s rate with the US, which has sought to push back against overcapacity from China.”
Tags: Align, EU, Imports, Overcapacity, Production, Steel, Tariffs, U.S.
Washington Post (October 1)
The U.S. “federal government shut down at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, after Democrats in Congress failed to reach a deal with Republicans and President Donald Trump to extend funding for federal agencies.” While many “crucial government functions” will cease, “federal work vital to national security will continue, though employees…will go unpaid.” This marks the first shut down “since January 2019, and the fourth of Trump’s two terms.”
Tags: 2019, Congress, Democrats, Employees, Federal government, Functions, Funding, National security, Republicans, Shut down, Trump, U.S., Unpaid
