Author: starbpo

he counts: The Federal Reserve said Thursday that industrial production dropped 0.6% in July. It had been four months since the last drop. A poll of experts by The Wall Street Journal found that the drop was bigger than the 0.1% drop that was expected. Utilization of capacity fell from 78.4 in June to 77.8 in July. The capacity-utilization rate shows how much the country’s companies, mines, and utilities can actually run. Important facts: In July, manufacturing fell 0.3% after staying the same the month before. After going up 0.3% in June, the production of cars and parts went down…

In an effort to stabilize the country’s stock markets amidst recent sharp declines, China’s securities regulator, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), announced on Sunday a complete suspension of restricted share lending starting from Monday. This move is part of policymakers’ ongoing initiatives to address the volatility in the stock markets. Additionally, the CSRC outlined plans to restrict the efficiency of certain securities lending in the securities refinancing market, with implementation scheduled from March 18, as detailed in a statement published on its official WeChat account. Moreover, both the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges declared the suspension of securities lending…

China may have trouble attracting investors again this year. ETF Action’s Mike Akins sees challenges tied to the country’s ability to generate stock market returns. “It’s kind of the old cliché. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me,” the firm’s founding partner told CNBC’s ETF Edge this week. “You’ve got this situation where China’s economy expanded. The stock market went nowhere. It’s been very volatile. There’s been periods where it’s gone way up but also come way down.” According to Atkins, emerging market ex-China products are among the largest inflows ETF Action is seeing. “You’ve…

Amidst the approval of 11 Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), Cathie Wood, CEO of Ark Invest, is once again in the spotlight for her bullish outlook on Bitcoin’s future. Wood maintains her prediction that Bitcoin could reach $1.5 million by 2030, citing the recent ETF approval as a significant factor in achieving this ambitious target. Wood argues that the institutional landscape is shifting towards Bitcoin, with the launch of multiple ETFs providing a more accessible entry point for deep-pocketed investors. The legitimization of institutional adoption, she believes, will be a pivotal catalyst for Bitcoin’s price appreciation, especially as major financial players…

The Biden administration is scoring significant antitrust victories, impacting corporate mergers in 2024. Recent federal court decisions, such as blocking JetBlue’s $3.8 billion acquisition of Spirit Airlines and Illumina’s $7.1 billion reacquisition of Grail, have executives reconsidering new deals. Ongoing antitrust reviews affect proposed mergers, from air carriers Alaska and Hawaiian to grocery chains Kroger and Albertsons. The FTC is also probing investments by Microsoft, Amazon, and Google in AI startups OpenAI and Anthropic. The “anti-merger” rhetoric from Washington is influencing corporate decisions, with regulatory scrutiny increasing and some deals facing challenges. Debbie Feinstein, head of Arnold & Palmer’s global…

In the past week, we saw more signs of a tired consumer: people were spending less at amusement parks and delaying booking vacations further in the future. There were also signs that investors were getting angry about the U.S. job market and the Federal Reserve’s response, though some played down that fit of selling stocks. This week, we’ll start to hear from some of the biggest shopping centers in the country: Home Depot Inc., a chain of home repair stores, and Walmart Inc., a big-box and online discount store. Their reports are due out on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively. Walmart’s…

You can be sure that the IRS will take a portion of your tax-advantaged retirement savings accounts. The only question is when. A unpleasant truth? Maybe. The chance to plan ahead for your retirement accounts? Of course. Experts on retirement savings say there may be better and worse times for people to pay taxes on their IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and other tax-deferred accounts, if they haven’t already. People say that finding a good time is both an art and a science that depends on the numbers and rules. But it also includes harder questions like what a person will need…

There were big groups, long lines of applause, sounds of happiness, and some unwanted Republican counterprogramming. These ideas came up a lot during Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s first big campaign swing. This past week, the new Democratic ticket went on a “get to know us” tour of five key states. They started with a loud gathering in Philadelphia on Tuesday, just a few hours after Harris named Walz as her running mate. After that, they marched through Michigan, Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, and Arizona. Tropical Storm Debby canceled stops that were supposed to…

It turns out that Barack Obama and Kamala Harris, the vice president, can agree on at least one thing. In a statement released on Saturday, Harris said she agreed with Trump’s idea to get rid of taxes on tips. Harris promised everyone at a campaign rally in Las Vegas on Saturday night, “When I am president, we will continue to fight for working families.” She said this by saying that they would raise the minimum wage and get rid of taxes on tips for service and restaurant workers. That idea hits home for service workers in Nevada in a big…

Kirsten Gillibrand chose Tim Walz to be her running mate. What does that choice say about her tax plans if she gets elected? Image: A MarketWatch picture illustration from Getty Images Tim Walz, who is governor of Minnesota, has signed off on tax cuts for low-income families while raising family and business tax bills for wealthy people. Sense a pattern? Voters who want to know where the Democrats on a new presidential ticket stand on taxes may feel like they’ve been here before. Former President Donald Trump has talked about cutting taxes for people of all income levels. On the…