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LVMH Puts a Ring on Tiffany & Co.

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French luxury mega-conglomerate, LVMH has announced a deal to buy American luxury icon, Tiffany & Co. The deal is valued at $16 billion. The Wall Street Journal reports: LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA said Monday it had reached an agreement with Tiffany that values the U.S. company at $135 a share, a day after The Wall Street Journal reported that the companies had reached a preliminary agreement. The $16.2 billion deal gives LVMH a classic American brand that has struggled with weak demand at home and abroad. It is also a bet on China’s economy and its consumers, whose … [Read more...]

Trump Looking for “Big” Deal with China

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President Trump is looking for deeper concessions from China before he rolls back existing tariffs and cancels scheduled new tariffs. David Lawder reports for Reuters: A “phase one” trade deal between the United States and China was supposed to be a limited agreement that would allow leaders from both countries to claim an easy victory while soothing financial markets. But it may morph into something bigger if U.S. President Donald Trump agrees to Beijing’s demands to roll back existing tariffs on Chinese goods, people familiar with the talks say. China’s commerce ministry said this … [Read more...]

U.S. Consumer Shrugs Off Tariffs to Power Walmart to Five Year Growth Streak

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Sarah Nassauer reports in The Wall Street Journal that American consumers are showing no signs of being held by tariffs, as they push Walmart sales to a five-year growth streak. She writes: American consumers showed no signs of belt-tightening in sales results from Walmart Inc., offering comfort to retailers worried about fallout from the trade war and the health of the global economy as the holiday shopping season nears. Walmart said its U.S. comparable sales, those from stores and websites operating for at least 12 months, rose 3.2% in the period ended Oct. 25, marking a five-year streak … [Read more...]

Number of Underwater Car Loans Rising

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An increasing number of American car-buyers are borrowing more than the value of a vehicle they are purchasing in order to pay off loans attached to their previous vehicles. These "underwater" buyers are reminiscent of many homeowners during the collapse of the housing market who were paying on mortgages for more than their homes were worth. AnnaMaria Andriotis and Ben Eisen report in The Wall Street Journal: Some 33% of people who traded in cars to buy new ones in the first nine months of 2019 had negative equity, compared with 28% five years ago and 19% a decade ago, according to … [Read more...]

Trade Thaw? China Opens Up Soybean Purchases from the U.S.

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In what might suggest a thaw in trade relations, the Chinese government has given new waivers for tariff-free soybean purchases from the United States. Distinct Logistics reports: The Chinese government has given new waivers to several domestic state and private companies to buy U.S. soybeans without being subject to retaliatory tariffs, according to people familiar with the situation. The companies received tariff waivers for between 2 million to 3 million tons of American soy, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. Some firms have already bought at … [Read more...]

Tech Slowdown? Will Chip Sales Improve?

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Weakness is chip sales has South Korean producers worried and may portend weakness in the tech industry overall. Bloomberg's Sam Kim reports: South Korea’s flagging chip sales are set to send exports for a tenth monthly slide, dashing hopes of a near-term rebound in global tech demand. Exports during the first 20 days of September tumbled 22% from a year earlier, data from the Korea Customs Service showed Monday. Shipments to China, South Korea’s biggest trading partner, plunged 30%. Tech products showed a mixed performance -- semiconductor sales plummeted 40%, while those for mobile … [Read more...]

Chinese Millennials Spend Big on Luxury, but Americans Are too Poor to Keep Up

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Luxury goods companies have found steady demand from young Chinese consumers, flush with cash and ready to spend. Meanwhile, American Millennials can't keep up with their Chinese counterparts for a variety of reasons. Carol Ryan explains at The Wall Street Journal: Luxury brands have done a great job of attracting young Chinese shoppers. Cash-strapped U.S. millennials will be a tougher sell. Chinese spending on Gucci handbags, Burberry trench coats and the like has been surprisingly resilient despite the country’s weakening economy. That has buoyed the stock-market valuations of listed … [Read more...]