Your Pulse On America: Live And Unfiltered
Liu Miao has sold clothing on Amazon to wholesale buyers in the United States for the past five years. That trade has come to an abrupt stop. Mr. Liu owns a small factory in Guangzhou, long the center of China’s highly competitive garment industry. He and other factory managers, already dealing with tight profit margins,…
Oil prices resumed their downward slide after the OPEC Plus cartel of oil producers said over the weekend that it would pump more oil, despite concerns that President Trump’s trade war will curb demand. The U.S. benchmark oil price fell to around $56 a barrel, from $58 on Friday. For many companies, the steady decline…
The United States imposed 25 percent tariffs on imported auto parts on Saturday that could sharply raise prices for new and used vehicles as well as for repairs and insurance. The latest tariffs, which President Trump ordered in March as part of his plan to promote domestic manufacturing, come after the 25 percent levies on…
When the Covid pandemic hit, factories in China shut down and global shipping traffic slowed. Within a matter of a few weeks, products began disappearing from U.S. store shelves and American firms that depend on foreign materials were going out of business. A similar trend is beginning to play out, but this time the catalyst…
The expansion of the loophole for tariff-free shipments of goods nearly a decade ago gave rise to Temu, Shein and other low-cost online retailers offering items straight from Chinese factories at unfathomable discounts. It also unleashed something else — a cascade of billions of dollars of digital advertising that provided a windfall for Meta, Alphabet…
When Congress raised the threshold for imported goods to enter the United States tax-free to $800 from $200 nearly a decade ago, it threw open the door to the American consumer market. Chinese companies rushed in. First on platforms like eBay and Amazon, and then on apps like Shein and Temu, exporters funneled the products…
More companies are starting to warn that they will have to pass on higher costs to American consumers, raising prices for products like strollers, mattresses, power tools and cast-iron cookware as President Trump’s tariffs take hold. Some company officials said they had been left with no choice but to raise prices as they pay more…
China is the world’s second-largest economy and second-largest importer of U.S. goods. Entities in China hold at least $784 billion in U.S. federal debt. The country also controls much of the world’s rare element supply, which is vital for manufacturing technology. China could weaponize these assets if an all-out trade war breaks out, to the…
Apple reported second fiscal-quarter earnings Thursday that beat Wall Street expectations, but the company’s closely-watched Services division came up light versus estimates. Shares of the iPhone maker fell more than 2% in extended trading. Here’s how Apple did versus consensus estimates for the quarter ending in March: EPS: $1.65 vs. $1.63 estimated by LSEG …
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy speaks during an Amazon Devices launch event in New York City, Feb. 26, 2025. Brendan McDermid | Reuters Amazon reported better-than-expected results for the first quarter. The stock fell more than 4% in extended trading. Here’s how the company did, compared with estimates from analysts polled by LSEG: Earnings per share:…