American consumers are confident. Low unemployment is putting money in their pockets, and they are spending strongly. Retailers are feeling the strength, with sales climbing. The Wall Street Journal reports: Buoyed by rising wages and employment as well as tax cuts, Americans are spending more on products as diverse as jeans, handbags and wall paint. That has translated to rising sales at not just Walmart and Nordstrom, but also Home Depot Inc. HD 0.72% and Coach ownerTapestry Inc. TPR -1.33% “Customers tell us that they feel better about the current health of the U.S. economy as well as … [Read more...]
Australia’s Bad Drought Puts Farmers at Risk
Rob Taylor reports in The Wall Street Journal that the long dry spell in Australia is putting farmers at risk of going completely out of business. He writes: A severe drought has gripped an area of Australia more than twice the size of Texas, turning normally fertile crop areas into dust bowls, draining water reserves and leaving wine-producing regions parched. Hungry kangaroos are turning up in cities. Millions of dollars of farm equipment is idle across vast expanses of agricultural land in the continent’s east, and farmers are wondering if they should bother planting summer … [Read more...]
Where Brick and Mortar Retail is Actually Having Success
Brick and mortar retailers have been in taking it in the neck for a few years now, but one area where it still pays to have a physical location is selling building supplies. Kimberly Chin reports in The Wall Street Journal that Home Depot has raised it earnings and sales targets for 2018. She writes: Home Depot Inc. HD -0.54% raised its earnings and sales targets for the year as it continued to benefit from robust home-improvement activity and a strong U.S. economy in the latest quarter. The Atlanta company on Tuesday said it is targeting sales growth of about 7% and comparable-store sales … [Read more...]
Pipeline Delays force Oil by Rail in Canada
Delays in building new pipelines from Canada's oil sands fields have generated record shipments of oil-by-rail in May in Canada. The Edmonton Sun reports: New data from the National Energy Board shows Canadian oil companies shipped an average of 198,788 barrels of oil per day on railway cars in May, the latest month for which data is available, marking a record high and a 42 per cent increase over the 130,916 bpd shipped on rail in the same month a year earlier. Over the same period, Canadian oil production is expected to have risen to 4.5 million bpd, from 3.9 million bpd according to an NEB … [Read more...]
Why Does Healthcare in America Cost so Much?
In a piece for The Wall Street Journal, Joseph Walker attempts to understand why Americans pay so much for healthcare by examining a number of charts. The short version of his conclusion is that Americans aren't buying much more healthcare than other OECD consumers, but they are paying more for what they get. He writes: The U.S. spends more per capita on health care than any other developed nation. It will soon spend close to 20% of its GDP on health—significantly more than the percentage spent by major Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development nations. What is driving costs so … [Read more...]
Business Boom Driving PC Sales
PC sales are the strongest in six years, as the booming economy pushes up demand for computers. Maria Armental reports for The Wall Street Journal: Personal-computer shipments in the second quarter had the strongest showing in six years, driven by stronger demand from business customers, according to preliminary data from two research firms. Based on Gartner Inc. IT 0.47% data, it was the first year-to-year increase since the first quarter of 2012. According to International Data Corp. data, it was the strongest rate of growth since that quarter. While both firms track sell-in … [Read more...]
Are Americans Finally Ready to Buy Groceries Online?
Since the early days of the dotcom era, companies have been attempting to crack the code on a way to sell groceries online for home delivery. Many companies have tried and failed, but a new breed of startup, along with a new internet savvy group of young shoppers may be ready to break the cycle. FreshDirect, along with Amazon, Kroger, Walmart, and other companies are using new technologies to make groceries ordered online work for American consumers. Jennifer Smith at The Wall Street Journal reports on FreshDirect: FreshDirect launched its online-only service in 2002 in New York. Its green … [Read more...]
Will Metals Tariffs Change Anything?
According to Kim Mackrael of The Wall Street Journal, tight trade links make it unlikely that tariffs will change business behavior in metal-intensive industries. She writes: Lakeshore, ONTARIO—Across the border from the U.S. auto capital of Detroit, a Canadian company here buys aluminum made at smelters in Quebec using bauxite from Africa or Brazil that Ford Motor Co. puts in America’s best-selling pickup, the F-150. The tightly woven production chain illustrates the U.S. dependence on aluminum from Canada that many say is unlikely to change despite recent metals tariffs the Trump … [Read more...]
Big Jet Producers Struggle to Keep Up
As the number of passengers on flights increases each year, airlines are desperate to acquire more planes. Boeing and Airbus have thick order backlogs, but are having trouble delivering their jets to customers because of an engine shortage, and production delays. Robert Wall and Doug Cameron report for The Wall Street Journal: Boeing Co. BA 1.49% and Airbus SE, swamped with orders for new jets, are struggling to deliver them all on time—in some cases angering customers and delaying payments. Airbus has missed a number of delivery deadlines, forcing airline customers to find alternatives, … [Read more...]
Small Towns Welcome Big Tech
The people of Nampa, Idaho are hoping an Amazon distribution center rumored to be coming to town becomes a reality. The boost in jobs such a facility brings is very attractive to cities like Nampa, home to a little over 80,000 souls. The Idaho Press reports that distribution centers of size rumored to be coming to Nampa normally create 700 to 900 jobs, a nice boost. While the city is welcoming of new business it also has concerns. The editors of the Press write: The benefits are many. The developer last week said the center could employ as many as 2,000 people. We’re a little skeptical of … [Read more...]
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