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☆ With TV prices down 17%, Black Friday shoppers may find ‘excellent deals’
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Why TV prices are falling amid broader inflationAverage TV prices fell by almost 17% in October 2022 compared with the same month in 2021, according to the consumer price index. They're an outlier at a time when stubbornly high inflation led prices to climb steeply for a broad basket of consumer products. Manufacturers had cranked up production to historic highs to meet consumer demand — and retailers now have a glut of TVs, Kowalski said. Black Friday and Cyber Monday TV dealsRetailers have long used TV deals to draw in shoppers on Black Friday — the Friday after Thanksgiving and the traditional start to the holiday shopping season. watch nowSome Black Friday deals from retailers such as Best Buy have been jaw-dropping, especially for some well-known brands, said Julie Ramhold, consumer analyst with DealNews.

LONDON, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Container freight volumes at the largest U.S. ports were down 3.8% in September compared with the same month a year earlier, confirming the slackening of merchandise trade and downturn in the business cycle. The ports of New York-New Jersey, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Savannah, Houston, Norfolk, Charleston, Seattle and Oakland account for the overwhelming majority of container ocean freight into and out of the United States. Chartbook: U.S. container tradeFreight is reflecting a significant slowdown in consumer spending on merchandise over the last 12-15 months as economies have re-opened after the pandemic and spending has rotated to travel and other services. As the global manufacturing sector contracts, freight volumes are likely to shrink further, which will eventually relieve some of the pressure on diesel fuel supplies. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)’s authoritative Business Cycle Dating Committee itself uses a two-part classification – “expansion” and “contraction”. Growth in business activity tends to accelerate and decelerate; outright declines in the level of activity are relatively rare. UNDECLARED RECESSIONSThe NBER’s Business Cycle Dating Committee formally declared only six recessions between 1980 and the end of 2020. They were periods of little or no growth in an otherwise uninterrupted business cycle expansion and tend to be forgotten. Mid-cycle slowdowns also reset the economy by easing capacity constraints and relieving upward pressure on prices and wages.

☆ U.S. awards $2.8 billion for EV battery, grid projects
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Biden administration will announce on Wednesday it is awarding $2.8 billion in grants for projects to boost U.S. manufacturing of electric vehicle batteries and domestic mineral production, a White House official told Reuters. REUTERS/Kevin LamarqueThe White House is also launching an effort, dubbed the American Battery Material Initiative, to strengthen critical mineral supply chains as automakers race to expand U.S. electric vehicle and battery production. The projects include “retrofitted, and expanded commercial-scale domestic facilities to produce battery materials, processing, cell components, and battery recycling and demonstrations,” the White House official said. Legislation Biden signed in August sets new strict battery component and sourcing requirements for $7,500 consumer EV tax credits. The White House said in a fact sheet the United States and allies do not produce enough of the critical minerals and materials used in EV batteries.

☆ Russian Nationals Arrested Over Alleged Scheme to Evade U.S. Sanctions
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Richard Vanderford | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

Two Russian nationals were arrested for allegedly using their Germany-based company as a front to move black market oil and sensitive equipment with military uses in defiance of U.S. sanctions. Three other Russian nationals and two Venezuelans were also charged in what prosecutors described as a global scheme to evade U.S. sanctions and export controls. The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday unveiled sanctions against Mr. Orekhov, NDA and Opus Energy Trading LLC, another Orekhov-linked company. The alleged oil buyers included a Russian aluminum company controlled by a sanctioned oligarch and a Chinese energy conglomerate, neither of which were named by prosecutors. Some of the same electronic components obtained through the scheme were found in Russian weapons platforms seized in Ukraine, prosecutors said.

LONDON, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Global freight volumes have begun to fall as overall consumer and business spending slows and the composition rotates from merchandise back to services after the pandemic. Chartbook: Global freight and manufacturing activityMANUFACTURING STALLSThe slowdown will gradually unblock supply chains and ease some of the intense upward pressure on merchandise prices that has occurred since mid-2020. The World Trade Organization forecasts merchandise trade will increase by just 1.0% in 2023 after rising 3.5% in 2022 (“Trade growth to slow sharply in 2023”, WTO, Oct. 5). The forecast growth in world merchandise trade volumes next year would be among the slowest rates in the last 40 years. The slowdown in industrial output and freight has already been underway for at least the last 3-6 months in most countries.

Some of the electronics obtained through the scheme have been found in Russian weapons platforms seized in Ukraine, prosecutors said. They used a German company to ship the military technologies, as well as Venezuelan oil, to Russian purchasers, prosecutors said. The U.S.-origin technologies can be used in fighter aircraft, ballistic and hypersonic missile systems, smart munitions, and other military applications, Treasury said. After the initial round of U.S. sanctions on PDVSA, Russia's Rosneft emerged as a key intermediary for Venezuelan crude. After Washington sanctioned Rosneft subsidiaries over their dealings with PDVSA, dozens of firms with no track record of oil trading have been intermediating in sales of Venezuelan oil to Chinese buyers.

☆ Ukraine curbs power usage after Russian attacks destroy some energy plants
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Three energy facilities were destroyed by the enemy today," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his Wednesday night video address. Ukraine had so far shot down a total of 233 Iranian-made drones used by Russia, including 21 on Wednesday, Zelenskiy said. Ukraine accuses Russia of using Iran-made Shahed-136 "kamikaze drones", which fly to their target and detonate. KHERSON BATTLE LOOMSIn Kherson, the only regional capital Russian forces have captured since their invasion eight months ago, the Russian-appointed administration prepared an evacuation. Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded an all-Russia war effort and declared martial law on Wednesday in areas of Ukraine occupied by his forces.

☆ What Does Liability Insurance Cover?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +10 min

Personal liability insuranceIf you own a home or drive a car, you already have some liability insurance. Professional liability insuranceProfessional liability insurance covers small businesses or individuals who offer advice or services, such as accountants, financial advisors, doctors and lawyers. 3. Business liability insuranceThere are several forms of business liability insurance. Homeowners liability insuranceA standard homeowners or renters policy provides at least $100,000 worth of liability insurance. Business and professional liability insuranceCoverage needs for business or professional liability insurance vary based on the size, location and structure of your company, among other things.

☆ White House taps Commerce official to run 'Made in America' office
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Oct 12 (Reuters) - The White House said Wednesday it is tapping a Commerce Department official to run an office aimed at spurring the U.S. government's purchase of more American products and services. Livia Shmavonian is taking the helm of the White House Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) "Made in America" office created by President Joe Biden last year. Shmavonian was at the Commerce Department's International Trade Administration and previously staff director for a Senate Finance trade subcommittee. She is replacing Celeste Drake, a former trade official at the AFL-CIO, who has moved to a new White House job. The order sought to make "Buy America" waivers more transparent.

☆ Strong Dollar Pressures U.S. Manufacturing Rebound
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Bob Tita | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The strengthening U.S. dollar threatens to undermine a rebound in American manufacturing, handing foreign producers an advantage in selling into the U.S., executives and economists said. The U.S. dollar’s surging value relative to the euro, the Japanese yen, the British pound and other currencies is making foreign-made goods cheaper to import, while exports of U.S.-made goods grow more expensive for foreign buyers. For U.S. manufacturers operating overseas factories, their sales in foreign currencies are worth less in dollars now because of the unfavorable exchange rates caused by the strengthening dollar.

☆ Shares of First Solar have nearly doubled in 3 months, but Evercore ISI says there's more upside
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Pippa Stevens | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. panel manufacturer First Solar is uniquely positioned to benefit from the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act, Evercore ISI said as it upgraded the stock to an outperform rating. Shares of First Solar have gained nearly 80% since July 27 when Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V, said they reached an agreement on a climate package. The firm added that given First Solar's domestic footprint the company could benefit from trade restrictions on Chinese solar modules. Evercore is not the only Wall Street firm to note the benefits for First Solar from the IRA. Shares of First Solar dipped more than 2% Thursday.

☆ Chip-Making Push Expected to Boost U.S. Innovation
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Angus Loten | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. efforts to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing will have a beneficial impact on homegrown innovation, in part by ensuring tech startups have the resources they need to scale emerging technologies, industry experts said. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | CIO Journal The Morning Download delivers daily insights and news on business technology from the CIO Journal team. PREVIEWMs. Levine, speaking Tuesday at The Wall Street Journal’s CIO Network online summit, said a robust domestic semiconductor industry can help unlock downstream innovation. The bipartisan Chips and Science Act, which Congress approved in July, goes a long way to boost innovation, Ms. Levine said. But in a capital-intensive industry like semiconductor fabs, where other countries have long supported private manufacturers, “it’s problematic that the U.S. isn’t involved,” Mr. Burns said.

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