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☆ Why Americans are obsessed with peanut butter
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Natalie Rice | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Skippy was the leading peanut butter brand in the U.S. until 1980, a title that now belongs to Jif. Pond, that became the first brand to commercially develop peanut butter in 1920, sparking the way we eat peanut butter today. "We've launched certain innovations specifically in Asian markets to help enable that type of cooking use for peanut butter. Domestically, Americans eat an average of 4.25 pounds of peanut butter per capita, a figure that increased temporarily during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the National Peanut Board. As the family came together in the middle of the day, we saw that it introduced this love and affection for peanut butter to children who will hopefully carry that love and affection for peanut butter into [their] lifetime," he added.

Persons: Skippy, Joseph Rosefield, Peter Pan, Matt Smith, Circana, Costco's Kirkland, Smucker's, Jif, Smith, Rebecca Scheidler, they've, Ryan Christofferson, Christofferson, aren't, they're, Bob Parker, It's, it's, We've, Parker, Domestically, —, Scheidler Organizations: Equity Research, Stifel Financial Corp, Hormel Foods Corp, Post, Holdings, Foods, Hormel Foods, Spam, Unilever, Peanut Board, FDA, Hormel, National Peanut Board Locations: Jif, U.S, Chicago, Smucker, Uncrustables, Longmont , Colorado, McCalla , Alabama, Mexico, Canada, China

☆ US trade group blasts Canada for refusal to extend digital services tax freeze
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, July 13 (Reuters) - The U.S.-based National Foreign Trade Council on Thursday blasted Canada for its refusal to back a global agreement to hold off on implementing digital services taxes for at least another year, and said the move could invite retaliation. NFTC President Jake Colvin said he welcomed news from the OECD that most countries with digital services taxes had agreed to extend the moratorium on implementation. He also said the move would allow countries to keep working a global tax deal in good faith. "Canada joined Belarus, Russia and a small handful of others in not joining because they seem to want to move forward quickly with their digital services tax," Colvin said. Colvin said Washington could retaliate under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement if Canada went ahead and implemented the new tax.

Persons: Jake Colvin, Colvin, We're, Chrystia Freeland, Washington, Katherine Tai, Mary Ng, Andrea Shalal, Anna Driver Organizations: Foreign Trade, OECD, Canadian Finance, U.S, . Trade, Canadian Trade, Thomson Locations: U.S, Canada, Belarus, Russia, Mexico, Pakistan, Sri Lanka

☆ Trade between the US and China is drying up. That could be bad news for American consumers.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Mexico is now the US's top trade partner. Mexico surpassed China as the US's top manufacturing trade partner in 2023. In 2001, China joined the World Trade Organization, a group that grants members preferential tariffs when trading with one another. That access opened the door to China to become a leading trade and manufacturing hub, as the Dallas Fed pointed out. Mexico, for its part, benefits from increased trade with the US — beating out China in US trade volume means it's climbing on the world stage.

Persons: Luis Torres Organizations: Service, Dallas Fed, World Trade Organization, China, U.S, Dallas Locations: China, Mexico, Wall, Silicon, Washington, Beijing

☆ Nvidia dips on report U.S. considering new A.I. chip export restrictions for China
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Shares of Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices both fell more than 2% in early trading after The Wall Street Journal reported the federal government is weighing new restrictions on exports of sophisticated chips used in artificial intelligence computing to China. The export restrictions under consideration would be imposed by the Commerce Department and would come after the U.S. government already limited the computing power of chips made for Chinese use. Nvidia responded to the earlier restrictions by building a lower-spec chip for the Chinese market. But under the new controls being considered, even that chip, the A800, would be export restricted without licensing, the Journal reported. The restrictions would also apply to companies that offer cloud-based computing solutions, the Journal reported, which have been used by some companies to skirt export controls.

Persons: Gina Raimondo, Antony Blinken, Katherine Tai, chipmakers Organizations: Commerce, EU Trade, Technology, Nvidia, Devices, Street Journal, Commerce Department, U.S, AMD, Marvell, Broadcom, Qualcomm Locations: U.S, College Park , Maryland, China

☆ Shein and Temu are skirting tariff costs by selling their imported merchandise at super-cheap prices, US lawmakers say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Jennifer Ortakales Dawkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Shein and Temu sell products that are so cheap the companies avoid paying import tariffs. US lawmakers found that these fast-fashion companies are exempt from tariffs on products under $800. So low, in fact, that the companies don't have to pay tariffs when the products are shipped to the US. Lawmakers highlighted the Certa Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) which prohibits international imports manufactured by forced labor, particularly in the Xinjiang region of China. Temu's code of conduct prohibits suppliers from using forced labor but does not prohibit them from sourcing products based on region.

Persons: —, Temu, Shein Organizations: Service, Chinese Communist Party, Customs, Labor Locations: China, United States, Xinjiang

☆ TikTok may be preparing to sell its own products in the US as it tests the strategy in the UK, a new trademark filing suggests
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | Dan Whateley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

TikTok is testing a new shopping section in the UK version of its app called Trendy Beat. TikTok may be preparing to sell its own products in the US, per a new trademark application filed by a subsidiary of its parent company ByteDance. It filed a trademark application in the US for Trendy Beat on May 30, listing mostly apparel items such as clothing, bathing suits, and footwear as goods associated with the mark. A spokesperson for TikTok told Insider product selections for its Trendy Beat feature may be informed by popular trends on the platform like #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt. It's turned to the UK and Indonesia to test e-commerce features first.

Persons: TikTok's, Patrick Nommensen, TikTok, It's, Nommensen, Marta Biino, Emma Cosgrove Organizations: Financial Times, Beat, YouTube Locations: Indonesia, Asia

☆ Dollar buoyant; yuan wobbles after China cuts lending benchmarks
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The U.S. dollar rose broadly on Tuesday and notched a seven-month high against the yen, while the yuan slipped after China cut two benchmark lending interest rates for the first time in 10 months. The offshore yuan dipped slightly following the decision and was down more than 0.1% at 7.1734 per dollar, languishing near last week's roughly seven-month low. The yen has come under renewed pressure amid rising interest rate differentials between Japan and other developed markets globally. Sterling rose 0.05% to $1.2797, ahead of British inflation data and the Bank of England's interest rate decision later in the week. Against a basket of currencies, the U.S. dollar rose 0.03% to 102.51.

Persons: it's, Rodrigo Catril, Min Joo Kang, Sterling, BoE, NAB's Organizations: U.S, National Australia Bank, NAB, Bank of, ING, South, Reserve Bank of, New Zealand, Central Bank, Bank of England Locations: China, United States, Asia, Japan, South Korea

☆ Private equity risks gorging on its secret sauce
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Liam Proud | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Investors prefer pedestrian but steady management fees over the lumpy share of fund profit that is the industry’s special sauce. Private equity firms with a public listing funnel some of the carry to employees and some to shareholders. TPG (TPG.O) last year went public with a similar strategy of paying around two-thirds of performance-related revenue to employees. Assuming the general idea is to keep overall earnings steady, then higher fee-based income for shareholders must be matched by lower cash compensation for employees. It suggests that for KKR, TPG and the rest, there is a limit to just how much of their own secret sauce employees can eat.

Persons: Steve Schwarzman, Carlyle, Blackstone’s, Schwarzman, Henry Kravis, George Roberts, EQT, Blackstone, Harvey Schwartz, Rowe Price, Thoma Bravo, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Sharon Lam, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Blackstone, KKR, Apollo Global Management, JPMorgan, Reuters Graphics, TPG, Apollo, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Alpha, Bain Capital, Thoma, Ares Management, Thomson Locations: BlackRock

☆ Rising imports, falling exports push US trade deficit to six-month high
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Lucia Mutikani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The trade deficit jumped 23.0% to $74.6 billion, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday. The government revised the goods trade data from 2018 while the trade services figures were revised from 2017. There were also increases in imports of industrial supplies and materials, though petroleum imports fell to the lowest level since August 2021. April's drop in goods exports was led by a sharp decline in exports of industrial supplies and materials, mostly crude oil and fuel oil. Adjusted for inflation, the goods trade deficit shot up 16.5% to $95.8 billion in April.

Persons: Christopher Rupkey, Lucia Mutikani, Toby Chopra, Andrea Ricci Organizations: Commerce Department, Trade, Consumer, Federal Reserve, Thomson Locations: WASHINGTON, U.S, New York

☆ West Coast dockworkers disrupt trade for a fourth day, says maritime group
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Vanessa Yurkevich | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —For a fourth day, dockworkers at West Coast ports in the United States are disrupting international trade, according to the Pacific Maritime Association. The West Coast ports, which once handled the bulk of US trade — especially during the pandemic, have relinquished some volume to the Gulf and East Coast Ports. The West Coast ports have said they are capable and open for business. Much of the diverted cargo may never return to the West Coast,” the PMA said. “We are getting there but it’s important to understand that West Coast dockworkers kept the economy going during the pandemic and lost their lives doing so.

Persons: Biden, ”, David French, Willie Adams, “, dockworkers Organizations: CNN, Pacific Maritime Association, Port, Warehouse Union, PMA, East Coast, National Retail Administration, National Retail Federation Locations: dockworkers, West Coast, United States, Port of Long, Los Angeles, Long, Oakland, Seattle, Port, Tacoma, Gulf, East, East Coast Ports, West, California

CNN —CIA Director Bill Burns secretly traveled to China last month, a US official told CNN Friday, amid efforts by the United States to reset relations with Beijing after a year of extremely heightened tensions. The specific intelligence matter that Burns discussed in Beijing is unclear. “Our assessment at CIA is that I wouldn’t underestimate President Xi’s ambitions with regard to Taiwan,” Burns said earlier this year. National security adviser Jake Sullivan met with top Chinese official Wang Yi in Vienna for “candid” and “constructive” talks in mid-May. A US senior administration official said the meeting was an attempt to put communications back on track after the spy balloon incident.

Persons: Bill Burns, Burns “, Burns, Antony Blinken, Biden, Burns –, Xi’s, ” Burns, Defense Lloyd Austin, Li Shangfu “, Austin, of National Defense Li Shangfu, Pat Ryder, “, ”, Tan Kefei, John Aquilino, Jake Sullivan, Wang Yi, We’re, we’ve, Gina Raimondo, Katherine Tai, Wang Wentao, Wang, ” Raimondo Organizations: CNN, CIA, Financial Times, Taiwan, Defense, Pentagon, “, of National Defense, PRC, China’s Defense Ministry, Pacific Command, People’s Liberation Army, US Trade, Chinese Commerce, D.C Locations: China, United States, Beijing, Ukraine, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, Vienna, Sweden

☆ US exchanges to bust erroneous CDW Corp trades after shares briefly dive 96%
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Medha Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

They would bust all trades in the stock between 04:00 a.m. CDW Corp shares quickly recouped most of their losses and were last up 0.2% at $173.50. ET, closed at $173.25 with a market value of $23.35 billion on Wednesday. Scottsdale, Arizona-based CaliberCos jumped 44.8% to $8.65, a day after it jumped in its Nasdaq debut to notch a market value of $123.7 million. CDW Corp and CaliberCos did not immediately respond to a Reuters requests for a comment.

☆ US and Taiwan reach agreement on new trade pact in boost to economic ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Eric Cheung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The new initiative, titled the US-Taiwan Initiative of 21st Century Trade, was first unveiled in June last year. It will be the first official trade agreement between Taiwan and the United States since US President Joe Biden assumed office in 2021. “This accomplishment represents an important step forward in strengthening the US-Taiwan economic relationship,” US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in the statement. We look forward to continuing these negotiations and finalizing a robust and high-standard trade agreement that tackles pressing 21st century economic challenges,” she added. The new agreement marks the first official trade agreement since Taiwan was excluded from the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), a regional economic plan launched by Biden last year.

☆ TikTok has influenced nearly every aspect of book publishing and helped push sales to record highs. 25 insiders describe how it's changed their industry.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

The BookTok phenomenon helped send book sales to an all-time high and reignite a love for reading. From authors to stores, the book world is turning to TikTok to drive sales and build community. Still, while authors might feel pressure to try TikTok, industry experts say it's better to focus on craft than marketing. Aster is one of the hundreds of authors who are benefitting from the success of TikTok and its book-related hashtag #BookTok. But TikTok's influence on publishing has also dialed up the pressure on authors to be marketers, as well as writers.

☆ Taco Bell is fighting to cancel the ‘Taco Tuesday’ trademark
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Taco Bell wants to liberate the “Taco Tuesday” trademark from a smaller, rival chain. The taco chain filed a petition Tuesday (naturally) with the US Patent and Trademark office to cancel the trademark, owned by rival Taco John’s for 34 years, because Taco Bell claims the commonly used phrase “should be freely available to all who make, sell, eat and celebrate tacos.”Since Taco John’s owns the trademark, other restaurants and companies must seek permission to use “Taco Tuesday” in branding and advertising. Taco Bell added that “nobody should have exclusive rights in a common phrase.”Maggie Mettler, director of legal for Taco Bell’s parent company, Yum! And it may have a strong case, because “Taco Tuesday” has become a commonly used phrase, according to trademark attorney Josh Gerben. “Taco John’s would like to thank our worthy competitors at Taco Bell for reminding everyone that ‘Taco Tuesday’ is best celebrated at Taco John’s – the trademark owner of Taco Tuesday.”In response, Taco John’s is selling a “Taco Tuesday” deal of 2 tacos for $2 everyday until May 31.

☆ Oil prices ease in cautious trade ahead of US inflation data
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Emily Chow | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, May 9 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Tuesday, relinquishing some of the strong gains of the previous two sessions with the market cautious ahead of U.S. inflation figures for April, which will be key to the Federal Reserve's next interest rate decision. "Oil prices have rebounded somewhat in the last two sessions, so now is time for a pause ... with no real positive data coming out," said Suvro Sarkar, lead energy analyst at DBS Bank. "The market is cautious today ahead of the inflation data.... With net long positions declining sharply over the last two weeks, a lot of traders are already out of the market, so volumes are low." "If tomorrow's CPI data remains at around 5% by market consensus, and if the core CPI does not drop significantly, it will likely continue to support the rise in oil prices," said CMC Markets analyst Leon Li. While oil markets fell sharply last week, prices rose on Friday and Monday as fears of recession eased in the U.S., the world's biggest oil consumer, and some traders saw crude's three-week slide on demand worries as overdone.

TOKYO, May 9 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Tuesday, relinquishing some of the strong gains in the previous two sessions while the market remained cautious ahead of U.S. inflation figures for April, which will be key to the Federal Reserve's next interest rate decision. "Oil prices have rebounded somewhat in the last two sessions, so now is time for a pause ... with no real positive data coming out," said Suvro Sarkar, lead energy analyst at DBS Bank. "The market is cautious today ahead of the inflation data.... With net long positions declining sharply over the last two weeks, a lot of traders are already out of the market, so volumes are low." While oil markets fell sharply last week, prices rose on Friday and Monday as fears of recession eased in the U.S., the world's biggest oil consumer, and some traders saw crude's three-week slide on demand worries as overdone. "Oil prices won't be able to rise that much from here given all the growth demand fears, but expectations are high for OPEC+ to try to keep prices above the $70 a barrel level," Moya's note said.

☆ Oil prices dip in cautious trade ahead of U.S. inflation data
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Katya Golubkova | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, May 9 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell in early trade on Tuesday, paring strong gains from the previous two sessions as markets remain cautious ahead of U.S. inflation figures for April which will be key to the Federal Reserve's next interest rate decision. Markets are awaiting U.S. consumer price inflation figures for April due on Wednesday to provide some indication on the U.S. central bank's next rate decision. U.S. consumers said last month they expected slightly lower inflation in a year's time, a report showed on Monday. While oil markets fell sharply last week, prices rose on Friday and Monday as fears of recession in the U.S., the world's biggest oil consumer, eased and some traders saw crude's three-week slide on demand worries as overdone. "Oil prices won't be able to rise that much from here given all the growth demand fears, but expectations are high for OPEC+ to try to keep prices above the $70 a barrel level," Moya's note said.

☆ US trade deficit narrows sharply in March as exports rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. trade deficit narrowed sharply in March as exports increased, which could position trade to continue contributing to economic growth in the second quarter. The trade deficit contracted 9.1% to $64.2 billion, the Commerce Department said on Thursday. But consumer goods imports increased $2.4 billion, lifted by pharmaceutical preparations, other textile apparel and household goods. Adjusting for inflation, the goods trade deficit narrowed 4.4% to $99.4 billion. A smaller trade deficit was one of the contributors to the economy's 1.1% annualized growth rate in the first quarter.

☆ 33 Democrats urge ban on investor-state dispute provisions in all US trade deals
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Amanda Andrade-RhoadesWASHINGTON, May 3 (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday urged the U.S. Trade Representative and State Department to eliminate investor-state dispute settlement provisions from current and future trade deals and to intervene on behalf of Honduras against a U.S. company's nearly $11 billion claim against the country. In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Trade Representative Katherine Tai seen by Reuters, 33 lawmakers said that investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) systems in trade deals constitute a "problematic corporate handout" that violates countries' sovereignty and democracy rights. The Democrats signing the letter said the case could require impoverished Honduras to pay billions of taxpayer dollars to a company that has "weaponized" the dispute settlement provisions. The dispute settlement provisions had been a way to protect U.S. firms from abrupt changes in trading partners' government policies by providing recourse through arbitration. The letter cited Georgetown University research tallying $27.8 billion in ISDS settlement orders against Latin American governments, with Argentina, Venezuela, Peru, Mexico and Ecuador the worst hit.

☆ Stocks on edge, Aussie surges after RBA surprise
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SINGAPORE, May 2 (Reuters) - Asian shares wobbled in cautious trade on Tuesday ahead of a series of data releases and central bank meetings, which began with a surprise rate hike in Australia that boosted the local dollar. Markets were positioned for Australia's central bank to stay on hold and a 25 basis point hike sent the Aussie dollar up about 0.8% to its highest in a week at $0.6692. Three-year Aussie government bond yields also jumped, while Australian stocks (.AXJO) slipped 0.7%. "So as well as the increase today, that's supporting the Aussie dollar," he said, though he warned that could unwind as there's a "reasonable chance" the Federal Reserve takes a similar approach at its meeting on Wednesday. Two-year Treasury yields , which track short-term U.S. rate expectations were steady at 4.1451% in Asia.

☆ Stocks on edge as traders wait on central bankers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Treasury yields rose in response and expectations firmed to near certain for one final U.S. rate hike this week. JPMorgan shares rose 2.1%. The policy stands in contrast to the U.S. and Europe where central banks are deep into a hiking cycle and still going. On the monetary policy front the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is first up in a week that brings central bank meetings in the U.S., Europe and Norway. Overnight, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Treasury might run out of money to cover obligations as soon as June 1.

☆ TikTok's owner is laying the groundwork to launch a book publisher called '8th Note Press'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Dan Whateley | Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

TikTok owner ByteDance applied for a trademark for a book publishing entity called 8th Note Press. The company is also hiring staff to "discover and sign authors" and ensure "novel completion." TikTok has become a popular destination for readers to discover new books, driving up publishing sales and sparking a thriving community on the app dubbed #BookTok. Now its parent company ByteDance may be building out its own publishing arm. The company in April filed a US trademark application for a new book-publishing entity that would be called 8th Note Press.

☆ Analysis: Whether Trump or Biden, some in Europe see the US as an unreliable ally
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

But they also knew that Biden would not be able to undo all the damage done in Donald Trump’s four years. First, if Trump could happen once, there is no reason he or someone in his mold won’t happen again. Second, Biden, Europeans believe, has continued much of Trump’s foreign policy of protectionism on trade and maximum pressure on China. I am worried we are underestimating the risk of China,” says an Eastern Europe diplomat. “Europe has lots of ties to China, but it also learned recently how fast a partner can become an adversary.

CNN —President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden capped South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s official state visit with a glamorous state dinner at the White House Wednesday night to celebrate the two nations’ 70-year alliance. May we do it together for another 170 years.”But Biden wasn’t the only leader who took the mic. Following a round of musical performances, his South Korean counterpart joined him on stage to give his own – a karaoke rendition of Don McClean’s “American Pie” – which received a standing ovation from the crowd. The elaborate dinner is the result of weeks of careful diplomatic preparations, with each detail meticulously planned by a team of White House chefs, social staff, and protocol experts. U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden pose with South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon Hee in front of the Grand Staircase of the White House before an official State Dinner, in Washington, U.S. April 26, 2023.

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