|
The Morning Ledger: China Retaliates With Tariffs on U.S. Imports |
|
|
| |
|
|
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang defended rules-based international trade. PHOTO: ROMAN PILIPEY/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
|
|
|
TIANJIN, China—Good day from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting of the New Champions. The Chinese government on Tuesday announced plans to impose new tariffs on $60 billion in U.S. exports, a day after the U.S. levied tariffs on $200 billion of China's imports. Beijing's retaliatory move prompted President Trump to reiterate his threat to slap tariffs on an additional $257 billion of Chinese imports.
Business leaders attending the WEF forum expressed concern about the latest escalation of the trade conflict. "This will have a negative impact on the world economy," said Takeshi Niinami, chief executive officer at Japanese whisky maker Suntory Holdings Ltd. "It will hit consumers and economic growth."
[Continues below…]
|
|
|
|
|
War of words: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang earlier on Wednesday urged trade partners to adhere to the "basic principles of multilateralism and free trade" and vowed to reduce taxes and tariffs to offset the potential impact of the new round of tariffs.
U.S. congressmen Darrell Issa (R.-Calif.) and Todd Rokita (R.-Ind.) -- also in Tianjin -- welcomed the premier's comments, but demanded concrete steps from the Chinese government. "The reality is that we need to see action," Mr. Issa said.
Crisis management: The new round of tariffs creates additional volatility and uncertainty for multinational companies like Schneider Electric SE. The French industrial firm is forecasting higher raw material prices following newly introduced import tariffs in the U.S. and China, said Alain Dedieu, senior vice president for the company's industry business, on the sidelines of the event. "There is going to be an impact," he said.
Similar comments were mirrored by executives at U.S. companies who declined to be named.
Retailers brace for higher costs: Back in the U.S., retailers are trying to speed shipments through ports and prepare for higher costs next year following the U.S. decision to impose tariffs on Chinese bicycles, handbags and other consumer goods. A buying spree by consumers and businesses looking to get ahead of the tariffs could add another distortion to a U.S. economy already revved up by a big stimulus and tax cut and facing a tight jobs market and
rising prices.
|
|
|
Robert J. Jackson Jr., a commissioner at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, will on Wednesday call for his agency to beef up its oversight of the nation’s stock exchanges to root out conflicts and curb rising fees that he says are harming investors.
Brazil’s central bank is widely expected to keep rates at the historic low of 6.5% reached in March. The rate decision will be announced at 5 p.m. ET.
Copart Inc., Hermann Miller Inc. and Red Hat Inc. are among the companies slated to report earnings today.
|
|
|
|
Investor confidence in capital markets has slipped compared to last year because of concerns over leadership in the White House and trade tensions, according to an annual survey from a nonprofit that represents public-company auditors.
Seventy-four percent of investors felt confident in U.S. capital markets, according to the 2018 Main Street Investor Survey, which was conducted by the Washington-based Center for Audit Quality. That’s down 11 percentage points from the 2017 survey, reports CFO Journal's Ezequiel Minaya.
Of those expressing confidence, 19% agreed that the economy was growing and will continue to improve, while 16% were buoyed by strong U.S. stock performance.
Among poll-takers who expressed a lack of confidence, 38% blamed a “lack of leadership in the Trump administration,” while an additional 20% indicated a “fear of trade war or uncertainty around the status of free trade agreements,” according to the survey.
|
|
|
|
Elon Musk surprised investors on Aug. 7 when he tweeted that he was considering taking Tesla private at $420 a share. PHOTO: TORU HANAI/REUTERS
|
|
|
Tesla Inc. on Tuesday said the U.S. Justice Department has opened an investigation into the company following Chief Executive Elon Musk’s surprise tweet in August that he had secured funding to possibly take the electric-car maker private.
Danske Bank A/S said it had examined more than $200 billion in transactions at a negligent branch in Estonia and concluded it suspected a “large portion” of it was money laundering, often from Russia. The CEO stepped down as a result of the year-long investigation.
Bayer AG is stepping up the legal defense of its flagship weed killer, after a verdict in a recent case alleging the chemical causes cancer sent shares down sharply and raised the prospect of costly plaintiff payouts.
WeWork Cos. agreed to sharply curtail its practice of requiring most employees to sign broad noncompete agreements, as part of a settlement with the attorneys general of New York and Illinois.
James Atchison, the former chief executive of SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. will pay more than $1 million to settle charges that he wasn’t upfront with investors about the impact that a critical documentary film would have on the theme-park operator’s business.
Intercapital Capital Markets LLC agreed Tuesday to pay $50 million to settle claims that its brokers helped manipulate a financial benchmark used to calculate a range of interest-rate products.
The £15 billion merger between supermarkets J Sainsbury PLC and Walmart Inc.'s Asda will be investigated by the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority, reports the BBC.
|
|
|
|
Jack Ma, co-founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group, said speculation that he was forced to resign came from rumors outside China. PHOTO: VALERY SHARIFULIN/TASS/PRESS POOL
|
|
|
Billionaire Jack Ma said China’s government didn’t push him to step down as head of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., blaming rumors emanating from outside China for fueling such speculation.
Ferrari NV plans to launch a series of special-edition models and a larger car to rival sport-utility vehicles as part of the Italian luxury-car maker’s drive to increase volume and double profit by 2022.
A BMW AG plant in Oxfordshire that makes Mini cars will close for at least a month after Britain leaves the European Union because of the risk of being unable to import crucial components, the Finanical Times reports.
Marsh & McLennan Cos. has agreed to a £4.3 billion ($5.66 billion) deal to buy U.K.-based Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group PLC, forming a global insurance broker with $17 billion in annual revenue.
|
|
|
|
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland left for Washington, D.C., late Tuesday for Nafta talks. PHOTO: ERIC BARADAT/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
|
|
|
-
U.S. employers are boosting benefits -- including bonuses and vacation time -- at a faster pace than salaries, a move that gives them more flexibility to dial back that compensation if the economy turns sour.
-
The Bank of Japan reiterated Wednesday that it would keep interest rates extremely low “for an extended period,” holding to forward guidance it first introduced in July.
-
Japan's trade deficit in August almost doubled from the previous month, on a surge in imports of crude oil and U.S. liquefied natural gas, data from Japan's finance ministry showed Wednesday, as reported by MarketWatch.
-
Female employees at startups typically get less than half the amount of equity of their male peers, according to a new study, highlighting one factor that has limited women’s involvement in the Silicon Valley wealth-generating machine.
|
|
|
|
|