A mix of high interest rates and inflated prices are creating a weird situation in which, despite high employment, Americans are increasingly defaulting on their auto loans. Ben Foldy reports for The Wall Street Journal: Five years ago, there were a dozen models of new cars that sold for less than $20,000. In 2023, there was only one: the spartan Mitsubishi Mirage hatchback, which accounted for about 5,300 of the 7.7 million new vehicles sold in the U.S. in the first half of the year. If you are willing to spend more than $100,000, you can choose from 32 models. For the average American, … [Read more...]
China Is Attempting to Avoid U.S. Technology Sanctions
According to the Semiconductor Industry Association, Huawei Technologies, the Chinese telecom company that has been targeted with sanctions by many Western countries, is attempting to develop "a collection of secret semiconductor-fabrication facilities across China," reports Bloomberg's Ian King and Debby Wu. They write: The leading association of global chip companies is warning that Huawei Technologies Co. is building a collection of secret semiconductor-fabrication facilities across China, a shadow manufacturing network that would let the blacklisted company skirt US sanctions and … [Read more...]
Can Vietnam Destroy China’s Monopoly on Rare Earth Metals?
China has a near monopoly on rare-earth metals production and processing. Many countries are looking for alternatives to China in their supply chains. Reuters's Francesco Guarascio and Ju-min Park report that Vietnam may be the location of new rare earth projects meant to diversify away from China. They write: HANOI/SEOUL, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Korean and Chinese magnet firms, including an Apple supplier, are set to open factories in Vietnam, according to documents and people familiar with the plans, amid a push to diversify supply chains away from China and defend against Sino-U.S. … [Read more...]
Can IKEA Survive in Downtown San Francisco?
Downtown San Francisco has turned into a "No-Go Zone" for many people, including HHS employees. Many businesses have fled as homelessness and crime spurred on by rampant drug addiction have turned the area into what could be compared to a zombie apocalypse setting. Now, IKEA is planning to put a new location there. Can it work? Trefor Moss reports in The Wall Street Journal: The San Francisco store is focused on “small-space living,” said Akalin, the store manager, meaning products such as lighting, kitchenware and storage units are given priority. There is no furniture warehouse where … [Read more...]
This Summer’s Luxury Yacht Style
In The Wall Street Journal, Rory Satran discusses this summer's luxury yacht fashions. She writes: “When a client comes to the boat, they bring their closet,” said Captain Sandy Yawn, a superyacht captain who appeared on the reality show “Below Deck Mediterranean.” “They want to shine in front of their friends.” Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez have been in prime entertaining mode this summer on Koru, their new $500 million superyacht. Sanchez has been flaunting some aggressively revealing looks to shine for friends including Oprah Winfrey. She and Bezos have been extensively photographed … [Read more...]
German Grocery Chain Aldi Buys Winn-Dixie and Harveys
Southern grocery store chains Winn-Dixie and Harveys have been purchased by Aldi, the German-owned discount grocery store from Southeastern Grocers Inc. Fox Business's Aislinn Murphy reports: Aldi plans to expand its U.S. footprint with the purchase of two grocery chains belonging to Southeastern Grocers Inc. Under an agreement between Aldi and Southeastern Grocers, Aldi will become the new owner of Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket, a pair of grocery chains with about 400 stores in several southeastern states. The two firms announced the acquisition Wednesday morning. Aldi will … [Read more...]
Miners Rebuild EV Supply Chain in Africa to Avoid China’s Dominance
China currently dominates the processing of minerals used in the production of electric vehicles, but many of the minerals themselves are mined in Africa. Now, mining companies are building alternative processing facilities in Africa to avoid shipping the materials to China. Alexandra Wexler reports in The Wall Street Journal: Pressure to create supply chains for electric-vehicle batteries that bypass China is prompting Western miners to do something they have long avoided: process their metals in Africa. China dominates both the production and processing of critical minerals such as … [Read more...]
Javier Milei: A Light in Argentina’s Darkness?
Argentina has suffered rampant inflation, bad government, and declining freedom for years. Now, according to Daniel Raisbeck at the Cato Institute, Argentinians have the opportunity to elect someone with a real plan to give them back control. Raisbeck writes: “We are all Peronists,” remarked Argentina’s corporatist strongman Juan Domingo Perón in 1972, the year before he assumed the presidency for the second time. His quip turned out to be more accurate for the 21st century than for his own times; in 1976, Perón’s second wife, Isabel, was ousted from power by a military junta that ruled until … [Read more...]
Japan’s Economy Accelerating while China’s Slows
In the second quarter, Japan's economy accelerated its growth while China's slowed. Megumi Fujikawa reports for The Wall Street Journal: Japan’s economy expanded at a much faster pace than expected in the April-June quarter thanks to robust exports, outpacing growth in the U.S. and China. Japan’s real gross domestic product increased 1.5% in the three months to June from the previous quarter, compared with 0.9% growth in the January-March period. That marked a rare case in which the world’s third-largest economy grew faster than its bigger counterparts. In China, growth slowed to 0.8% in … [Read more...]
Is the Fed Ready to Rest?
Inflation, as measured by the less-than-reliable Consumer Price Index, has slowed since earlier in the year, though it remains above the Federal Reserve's "target" level of 2%. Despite the slowdown, the most recent annual inflation number released this week was 3.2%, a slight increase from June's 3% reading. Will these lower numbers be enough to convince the Fed to stop raising rates, or will it pursue further increases in the Fed Funds Rate it has signaled earlier this year? Amara Omeokwe, Nick Timiraos and Christian Robles report for The Wall Street Journal: Price pressures continued … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 32
- 33
- 34
- 35
- 36
- …
- 105
- Next Page »