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☆ Yellen returns to China to tackle economic challenges bedeviling ties with US
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Hong Kong CNN —Janet Yellen has kicked off her second visit to China as US treasury secretary to continue efforts to further stabilize ties between the world’s two largest economies. “During prior meetings with her Chinese interlocutors, Yellen has largely avoided taking a strong stance on controversial issues,” he said. Trade tensionsBiden administration officials have suggested raising tariffs on Chinese imports to “level” the playing field for trade. Former President Donald Trump has threatened to slap 60% tariffs on imports from China if he is re-elected. The “forces” are often referred to as emerging industries such as EVs, new materials and artificial intelligence.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN — Janet Yellen, Yellen, “, ’ Yellen, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Li Qiang, Lifeng, Liu He, Pan Gongsheng, Lan Fo’an, Craig Singleton, ”, Biden, Xi’s, Donald Trump, Rick Waters, ’, Xi, Waters, don’t, ” Singleton Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, People’s Bank of China, Finance, Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Bali . Trade, Biden, Trump, Treasury Department Locations: China, Hong Kong, Georgia, United States, California, Guangzhou, Beijing, Washington, Bali ., Eurasia

☆ Americans have racked up a trillion dollars in credit card debt. That’s actually okay
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-25 | by ( Bryan Mena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Washington, DC CNN —Americans racked up a record amount of credit card debt in 2023, soaring past a trillion dollars. “Consumers still have a lot of money left over to be able to spend, so the credit card data is often misinterpreted,” Russell Price, chief economist at Ameriprise Financial, told CNN. According to a LendingTree analysis of more than 350,000 credit reports, the average unpaid credit card balance was $6,864 in the fourth quarter. Overall, US household debt (including credit card balances) rose to a new high of $17.5 trillion in the fourth quarter, up 1.2% from the prior three-month period. So, while there certainly isn’t a shortage of economic hurdles bedeviling people’s budget — and credit card debt has surged — the big picture indicates that, so far, Americans (and their economy) remain healthy.

Persons: ” Russell Price, Price, haven’t, market’s, ” Gregory Daco, ” Lara Rhame, Laura, Jensen Huang, Christine Lagarde, Virgin, Michael Barr, Raphael Bostic, Susan Collins, John Williams, Papa, Austan Goolsbee, Loretta Mester, fuboTV, Christopher Waller, Mary Daly, Adriana Kugler Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, DC CNN, Workers, New York Fed, Consumers, Ameriprise, CNN, Federal Reserve Bank of New, . New York Fed, Employers, Soaring, FS Investments, Nvidia, Huawei, AMD, Microsoft, Broadcom, US Commerce Department, Central Bank, eBay, Smucker, Urban Outfitters, Global, Board, TJX, Monster Beverage, Baidu, HP, Paramount Global, Anheuser, Busch Inbev, Dell Technologies, Papa John’s, US Labor Department, National Association of Realtors, P, China’s National Bureau, Statistics, Pearson, P Global, Institute for Supply Management, University of Michigan Locations: Washington, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, ., EY, Santa Clara, Singapore, Shenzhen, China, Beijing, CAVA

☆ China, Xi Jinping Plan to Crush Elon Musk, Tesla, and the US EV Industry
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-25 | by ( Linette Lopez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

If China EV Inc. were allowed to enter the US today or next year, the legacies would be gutted." The year Musk tittered at the idea of Chinese EVs overtaking Tesla, the country produced only 5,000 electric cars. It has more trade barrier protection from a China Auto Inc. onslaught, but it may not work forever. AdvertisementWe want to maintain an auto industry in the US — that's essential for jobs, national security, and for other sectors of the economy. Sure, Chinese EV makers are lean and mean, but they've never had to deal with international markets before.

Persons: Elon Musk, Warren Buffett, Le, haven't, carmakers, Jim Farley, Tesla, Xi, Andy Wong, Xi Jinping, Li Auto, BYD, Trump, Mary Lovely, Joe Biden's, Biden, it's, Lovely, they've Organizations: Tesla, Bloomberg TV, America's, GM, Ford, Sino, EV, China EV Inc, ascendance, Chery, US, Chinese Communist Party, CCP, Companies, SAIC, Energy Department, China Auto Inc, Peterson Institute, United Auto Workers, White, Auto Locations: Chinese, China, Beijing, Japan, Europe, North America, Brussels, Washington, Hungary, Mexico, Canada, America

For years, the scrappy Iran-backed Yemeni rebels known as the Houthis did such a good job of bedeviling American partners in the Middle East that Pentagon war planners started copying some of their tactics. Noting that the Houthis had managed to weaponize commercial radar systems that are commonly available in boating stores and make them more portable, a senior U.S. commander challenged his Marines to figure out something similar. By September 2022, Marines in the Baltic Sea were adapting Houthi-inspired mobile radar systems. So senior Pentagon officials knew as soon as the Houthis started attacking ships in the Red Sea that they would be hard to tame. As the Biden administration approaches its third week of airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, the Pentagon is trying to thread an impossibly tiny needle: making a dent in the Houthis’ ability to hit commercial and Navy vessels without dragging the United States into a prolonged war.

Persons: Biden Organizations: Marines, Pentagon Locations: Iran, East, U.S, Baltic, Yemen, United States

☆ Why Chinese stocks have lost $6 trillion in 3 years: everything you need to know
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Hong Kong CNN —Chinese shares haven’t just had a bad start to 2024. The astonishing losses, reminiscent of the last Chinese stock market crash of 2015-2016, highlight a crisis of confidence among investors concerned about the country’s future. But on the same day, major state-owned banks moved to support the Chinese yuan, in order to prevent the currency from falling too fast as Chinese shares plunged, according to a Reuters report, citing unnamed sources. Topics related to the “market plunge” and “China’s stock market rescue” were trending on Weibo on Tuesday. “I’m sad about today’s stock market performance,” Hu Xijin, former editor-in-chief for state newspaper Global Times, posted on Weibo on Monday.

Persons: It’s, “, Goldman Sachs, Wall, Li Qiang, ”, Nomura, bedeviling, Beijing’s, Li, Ken Cheung, ” Hu Xijin, “ Hu Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Reuters, Bloomberg, Monday, People’s Bank of China, ”, Big Tech, Xinhua, Hong, Mizuho Bank, Global Times Locations: China, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Japan, Asia, Beijing, US, Weibo

Jesse Green’s Best Theater | Unforgettable ExperiencesJESSE GREENYear of the DramedyIf 2023 was a tragedy in the world, on New York stages it was a dramedy year, highlighted not only by serious plays with great jokes, but also by flat-out comedies with dark underpinnings. Its residents included an unemployed man in his 50s, his barely-holding-on mother, a pregnant woman, two refugees — and us. Seated adjacent to the facility’s dingy common room, we became, in the playwright’s own staging, fellow residents. But if the others eyed us like we might steal a precious sandwich, we could blithely leave when the play was over. The New York Theater Workshop audience, too, learned a great deal, as the questions bedeviling so many relationships — the complexity of consent and the meaning of control — played out before us in this perfectly timed hot-button play.

Persons: Jesse Green’s, Alexander Zeldin, ”, Henrik Ibsen, Jessica Chastain, Nora, Jamie Lloyd’s, Amy Herzog, Chastain, Liliana Padilla, —, gorgeously, Rachel Chavkin, Steph Paul Organizations: Armory, Zeldin, bros, New York Locations: New York, York City, Norway, New York City

The annual United Nations climate change conference is underway in Dubai, and swirling around the COP28 negotiations is a complex, acrimonious, international fight over money:How much capital is available to help developing countries transition to renewable energy and cope with extreme weather? And critically, what kinds of interest rates will lenders charge? And yet there is a bedeviling economic paradox inhibiting efforts to create a more sustainable world: It’s relatively easy to find financing for the dirty projects the world needs less of, but maddeningly difficult to finance the clean projects the world needs more of. In the United States, rising interest rates are leading big companies to cancel plans for huge renewable developments. But the disconnect is particularly acute in the developing world, and especially Africa, where many people have little or no access to electricity.

Organizations: United Locations: United Nations, Dubai, United States, Africa

Look at economic data, and you’d think that young voters would be riding high right now. Inequality is down, wage growth is finally beating inflation, and the economy has expanded rapidly this year. On Instagram, jokes about poor housing affordability are a genre unto themselves. Social media reflects — and is potentially fueling — a deep-seated angst about the economy that is showing up in surveys of younger consumers and political polls alike. It suggests that even as the job market booms, people are focusing on long-running issues like housing affordability as they assess the economy.

Persons: Biden’s Organizations: Social

☆ Charlie Munger praises Warren Buffett’s big bets on Japan on Acquired podcast
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

“It was awfully easy money,” Charlie Munger, Buffett’s longtime lieutenant and vice chair of Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA), said in an interview with the Acquired podcast released this week. The firms backed by Berkshire — Itochu, Marubeni, Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsui & Co., and Sumitomo — are known as “sogo shosha” or general trading companies in Japan. “These trading companies were really entrenched, old companies, and they had all these cheap copper mines and rubber plantations, and so you could borrow [easily],” Munger added. Buffett’s decision to invest in Japan has buoyed optimism about prospects in the world’s third largest economy. The legendary investor has previously cheered “the future of Japan,” casting more attention to the country from other foreign backers.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN — Warren, Charlie Munger, Buffett’s, Berkshire Hathaway, Berkshire —, Munger, Warren Buffett, ”, ” Munger, “, Wang Chuanfu, Omaha ”, China’s Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Japan’s Nikkei, Berkshire, Berkshire — Itochu, Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsui & Co, Sumitomo, BYD, Hyundai, Apple Locations: Hong Kong, Japan, Berkshire, United States, “, Munger, Asia, South, TSMC, Omaha, Taiwan, China

☆ As the market enters correction territory, don't blame the American consumer
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-29 | by ( Tim Mullaney | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

Amazon.com Inc | ReutersThe initial third-quarter report on gross domestic product showed consumer spending zooming higher by 4% percent a year, after inflation, the best in almost two years. How is this possible with interest rates on everything from credit cards to cars and homes soaring? But they were below expectations at electric-vehicle leader Tesla , which blamed high interest rates, and at Ford . "And as interest rates rise, the proportion of that monthly payment that is interest increases." At American Express , which saw U.S. consumer spending rise 9%, the mild surprise was the company's disclosure that young consumers are adding Amex cards faster than any other group.

Persons: Bill Ackman, CFRA, Sam Stovall, Ryan Marshall, Wells, Jackie Benson, Tesla, Elon Musk, GM, Mary Barra, Paul Jacobson, John Lawler, Musk, Brian Moynihan, Jeremy Barnum, Sachin Mehra, Zers, Guess they're, Stovall, chargeoffs, John Greene, Morgan Stanley, Ravi Shanker, Spirit, Sundaram, Ethan Allen, they've, Marc Bitzer, Arun Sundaram, Amanda Agati, there's Organizations: Amazon.com Inc, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Coldwell, Ford, General Motors, GM, United Auto Workers, UAW, Cox Automotive, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, MasterCard, American Express, Discover Financial Services, JetBlue, Whirlpool, Amazon, PNC, Federal, Asset Management Locations: Shakopee , Minnesota, U.S, Covid, PulteGroup, Vermont

Netflix’s focus on streaming has also helped it dodge some of the other problems bedeviling its peers, including weaker-than-expected box office results for expensive blockbusters. (That was also evident in China, which some in Hollywood had hoped could make up for underperformance at home.) While the company will save on content spending in 2023, it will have to pay for American productions at some point. “This strike is not an outcome that we wanted,” Ted Sarandos, the company’s co-C.E.O., told analysts yesterday. In more strike news: Film production in Los Angeles during the second quarter fell to lows not seen since the middle of the pandemic.

Persons: Hollywood, underperformance, Disney’s Robert Iger, Ted Sarandos, Elon Musk Organizations: Netflix Locations: China, Hollywood, Los Angeles

The fresh data offer the latest evidence that the Fed’s push to control rapid price increases is beginning to work. Investors have been betting that Fed officials will leave rates unchanged at their meeting this week, breaking their long streak of increases. Even so, many investors continue to expect that Fed officials will restart rate increases in July. That “core” price index rose 5.3 percent in May compared with a year earlier. And price increases for goods excluding motor vehicles remained positive, instead of subtracting from inflation as some economists have been expecting.

Persons: “, ” Laura Rosner, Warburton, Airfares, Ms, Rosner, Jerome H, Powell Organizations: Federal Reserve, Fed, Mortgage, Association

☆ Inflation report Tuesday will be critical for the direction of Fed policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Inflation data from May will show that the price increases that have been bedeviling consumers for the past two years are slowing down. Those kinds of numbers could encourage policymakers that inflation is headed in the right direction, after it peaked above 9% in June 2022. "The headline number is going to feel good, it's going to be encouraging, showing inflation is moving in the right direction. More fundamentally, I think inflation is moving in the right direction." After a year of insisting inflation wouldn't last, the Fed in March 2022 began what would be a series of 10 interest rate hikes.

Persons: Dow Jones, Mark Zandi Organizations: Federal Reserve, Moody's Locations: San Francisco , California

☆ The Hot Issue Bedeviling Arizona’s New Governor: Tamales
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Jack Healy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Critics said her veto would hurt the working-class immigrants that Ms. Hobbs had championed during her campaign. “That is just absurd.”Ms. Hernandez said she felt personally connected to the issue. “She used to be the Cake Lady,” Ms. Hernandez said. We wouldn’t have been able to put food on the table. Several tamale vendors said they would gladly register with the state if they could.

☆ Why markets actually could be hoping for a recession this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Markets are not only acting unafraid of a looming recession but also may actually want one that would eradicate some of the other ills facing the U.S. economy, according to one Wall Street analysis. Wall Street economists and strategists widely expect a recession to set in later this year, the product of a number of factors. "Stocks bottom before the US economy hits its lows in any given recession because markets understand this dynamic," Colas wrote. "Markets know this history, which is why they see an upcoming recession as finally bringing the Fed around to starting the next easing cycle," Colas said. "There are other pathways to achieve those necessary goals, but none will work as quickly as an economic contraction.

The influence of Fed rate hikes "is going to hit...That is how it is designed." As of December officials expected the policy rate would rise to around 5.1% by year's end. The experience of 1970s-era central bankers informed not only the extent of the rate increases, with the policy rate rising 4.5 percentage points from near zero as of last March. None of those reforms prevented SVB from funneling its rapidly growing deposits into long-term government bonds that lost value as the Fed raised rates. The Fed has announced a review of its supervision at SVB to see if warning signs were missed.

☆ Where Paul Wick, seasoned tech stock investor, is raising his bets now
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

So when a position opened up at the Seligman Communications and Information fund, the firm's then-chief investment officer asked Wick to take it over. Today, the Columbia Seligman Technology and Information fund (CCIZX) that Wick began running on New Year's Day in 1990, has $8.5 billion in assets under management. "It's really hard to guess how will the technology industry change in five years. By now, Wick has relationships going back decades in the tech industry. As of January, the Technology and Information fund held 2.96% of its assets in Bloom, up from 2.36% in October.

"We're going to see in 2023, there is still going to be volatility around chips," Ford Chief Financial Officer John Lawler said on Thursday. By the end of 2023, almost 18 million vehicles will have been removed from production plans since the chip shortage started, according to Auto Forecast Solutions. Japan's Denso Corp (6902.T), a leading supplier to Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T), on Friday slashed its annual profit forecast and warned the chip shortage could cause auto production cuts. Toyota in November cut its vehicle production projection for the current financial year through March due to the chip shortage. The head of another auto supplier, Aptiv Plc (APTV.N), which makes advanced driver assistance systems, vehicle computers and high-voltage cabling, said the impact of the chip shortage is not evenly felt.

☆ Here's the six-word outlook for stocks in 2023: going to hell in a handbasket
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Linette Lopez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

We knew that the stock market had formed a bubble and that it was going to pop as interest rates went up. That, in turn, pushed the stock market off a cliff so steep that we still cannot see the bottom. This all goes back to the Fed's move to keep interest rates at 0% after the 2008 financial crisis. Since interest rates were so low, companies that didn't make money could just borrow to keep the lights on. In 2018, Wall Street got a preview of how ugly this bubble would look once it popped in earnest.

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