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The Morning Ledger: U.S. Mulls Lifting China Tariffs to Advance Trade Deal |
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Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has proposed lifting some or all tariffs on China in an effort to advance trade talks, according to people close to deliberations. PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Good day. U.S. officials are debating ratcheting back tariffs on Chinese imports as a way to calm markets and give Beijing an incentive to make deeper concessions in a trade battle that has rattled global economies, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Mulling strategy: The debate is occurring as trade officials try to figure out the best way to pry concessions from China. It hasn’t yet reached President Trump, and the outcome of the discussions is difficult to forecast.
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Opposing sides: The idea of lifting some or all tariffs was proposed by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a series of strategy meetings, according to people close to internal deliberations. But Mr. Mnuchin faces resistance from U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, who is concerned that any concession could be seen as a sign of weakness, these people said.
The clock is ticking: The U.S. and China are seeking to resolve their dispute ahead of a March 1 deadline. At 12:01 a.m. the following day, tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods are scheduled to jump to 25% from the current 10%. The higher levies could batter U.S. importers and further harm an already weakening Chinese economy.
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U.S. industrial production data is due out at 9:15 a.m. EST. Economists surveyed by WSJ forecast the Federal Reserve’s measure of manufacturing, mining and utility output rose 0.2% in December, compared with a 0.6% increase in November. Capacity utilization is expected to remain unchanged at 78.5%.
The University of Michigan will release its index of consumer sentiment for January at 10 a.m. Economists predict economic optimism among Americans has slipped to 96.4, from 98.3 in December.
Kansas City Southern, Tiffany & Co. and Schlumberger Ltd. are among the companies scheduled to report earnings today.
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The Morning Ledger will not be published Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We will resume publication on Tuesday.
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ABF Stockpiles Goods, Seeks Alternative Supplies Ahead of Brexit |
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U.K. conglomerate Associated British Foods PLC is stockpiling materials and seeking alternative suppliers to prepare for a potentially disruptive Brexit, finance chief John Bason told CFO Journal’s Nina Trentmann on Thursday.
“You would want to make sure that you have several months of spare parts, packaging materials and food ingredients on hand,” Mr. Bason said. ABF imports goods worth several million pounds a month from the EU, including spare machinery parts and ingredients such as dried fruit used to make granola, he said.
The maker of Twinings tea and Ovaltine is looking for alternative suppliers for its food and bakery business to reduce exposure to the consequences of a no-deal Brexit, Mr. Bason said.
Should the U.K. leave the EU without agreeing on exit terms, the transport of goods between them could be at risk. “We want these borders to be open and free-flowing,” Mr. Bason said. “If the border was closed for a longer time period, this would be problematic.”
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The Model 3 assembly line at the Tesla factory in Fremont, Calif. PHOTO: BRIAN MOLYNEAUX FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
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Tesla Inc. is cutting its full-time workforce by 7% as part of an effort to lower costs so the auto maker can sell the Model 3 sedan at a lower price, Chief Executive Elon Musk told employees Friday.
Nissan Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said Friday that Carlos Ghosn, the former chairman of both companies, received what they described as improper payments totaling €7.8 million ($8.9 million) from a Netherlands entity owned by the two companies.
Johnson & Johnson said it has joined with Apple Inc. on a research study that will test the Apple Watch’s ability to help detect early irregular heart conditions in certain people before something life-threatening happens.
Americans are increasingly laying off the booze, prompting the world’s biggest brewers and liquor companies including Molson Coors Brewing Co., Anheuser-Busch InBev SA and Diageo PLC to push beyond their traditional fare and roll out teas, energy drinks and nonalcoholic spirits.
Netflix Inc. reported a jump in paid subscribers in the fourth quarter, exceeding its own expectations for growth by drawing in more customers in international markets even as domestic growth slowed.
U.S. drugmakers have sharply boosted prices of some older, low-cost prescription medicines amid supply shortages and recalls—in some cases, by threefold and more.
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A worker aboard an offshore oil platform in the Persian Gulf's Salman Oil Field, operated by the National Iranian Offshore Oil Co., in 2017. PHOTO: ALI MOHAMMADI/BLOOMBERG NEWS
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China’s state-run energy giant is making a new approach to clinch a $3 billion deal for more development of an Iranian oil field, seeking to take advantage of waivers allowed under U.S. sanctions as two European nations have ended crude purchases.
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A federal grand jury in Detroit on Thursday indicted four managers at Volkswagen AG's luxury Audi unit as part of the U.S. government's investigation into the German auto maker's diesel emissions cheating scandal, Reuters reports.
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PPG Industries Inc. said federal prosecutors are investigating accounting irregularities at the company, ratcheting up pressure on the paint giant that is also facing a push by an activist investor to break itself apart.
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Malaysia’s finance minister waved off an apology from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief Executive David Solomon for the role of one its then-bankers in the scandal surrounding state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd., saying it wasn’t enough.
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A rail merger between Germany's Siemens AG and France's Alstom SA that has been hanging in the balance for months appeared to be on the verge of collapse after people close to the talks said antitrust regulators and the companies behind the deal had reached an impasse in talks.
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President Trump flew aboard Marine One on Monday. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG NEWS
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The partial shutdown of the U.S. government is simultaneously hitting the economy and constricting the flow of data by which to gauge how big the hit actually is.
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A top Federal Reserve official said Thursday the outlook for the U.S. economy remains very good, although he refrained from commenting on what that might mean for the central bank’s interest-rate decisions.
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A gauge of layoffs across the U.S. fell last week, signaling the labor market remains robust despite fears of slowing economic growth and the government shutdown.
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The Trump administration on Thursday proposed changes that could raise health insurance costs for millions of Americans who get coverage on the job or receive subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.
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Dean Foods Co., a Dallas-based food and beverage company, named Jeffrey S. Dawson as chief accounting officer, effective Jan. 28. Mr. Dawson joins from Nokia Oy.
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At Nokia, Mr. Dawson served as chief accounting officer, North America. Prior to that, he worked at Black & Decker Corp., Georgia-Pacific Corp. and Velocita Corp. Mr. Dawson will receive a base salary of $350,000 a year and will be eligible for a target annual cash incentive payment of 50% of his base salary. He will also receive a one-time signing bonus of $200,000, among other compensation, Dean Foods said in a filing.
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Every weekend we select a handful of in-depth articles we think are worth a bit of your time, either because they peel back the layers on a compelling business story, or somehow make us look at business in a different light.
At a command center near the Las Vegas airport, executives from automotive supplier Aptiv PLC showed why deploying robot cars will be far more complicated than many envisioned just a few years ago, The Wall Street Journal reports.
A trade pact between the U.S. and China, if it happens, may soothe investors, and perhaps even juice economic growth—at least temporarily. But it won’t bring an end to China’s woes. While tariffs are a nuisance, the real problems run deeper, Bloomberg argues.
With tariffs firmly part of the landscape, some companies are now starting to shift their own supply chain to keep costs in check, writes Reuters. The choice is stark for most suppliers: absorb the extra cost, pass them on to customers or find ways to slash material costs.
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