Pictured here is a BYD factory producing new energy-powered trucks in Huai’an, China, on February 21, 2024. Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images BEIJING — China reported data Friday that pointed to slower growth on the consumer side while industrial activity remained robust. Retail sales rose by 2.3% in April from a year ago, the National Bureau of Statistics said. That was less than the 3.8% increase forecast by a Reuters poll, and slower than the 3.1% pace reported in March. Industrial production rose by 6.7% in April from a year ago, beating expectations for 5.5% growth. That was also…
Author: insighter
Ex-White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang were guests at the Fortune Future of Finance conference on Thursday. The subject of the 2024 election came up. When asked about the impact that a return of former President Donald Trump would have on the business landscape if he were reelected, Scaramucci was blunt: “terrible.” “He would be terrible for the economy and terrible for business,” said the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge Capital. The economy has been predictable, and favorable for businesses, because of constitutional separation of powers, Scaramucci explained. Trump wants to obliterate those…
Higher-income consumers may be creating a frothy situation at Walmart. Even though affluent shoppers helped drive the retailer’s latest beat on quarterly results, former Walmart U.S. CEO Bill Simon warns they’ll be hard to keep. “The Walmart experience is better than it used to be, but it’s still not a premium experience. Walmart is built on convenience, cost and assortment. Not on service,” he told CNBC’s “Fast Money” on Thursday. “As the economic challenges abate … service will become more important than convenience and price. And, we’ll see a shift back of some of the consumers. That’s the bubble.” His…
Commercial real estate loans, also referred to as commercial mortgages, are small-business loans that are used to acquire commercial properties like office buildings, restaurants, storefronts or warehouses. They are available through traditional lenders like banks or credit unions, online lenders, SBA lenders and community development financial institutions (CDFIs). We’ll start with a brief questionnaire to better understand the unique needs of your business. Once we uncover your personalized matches, our team will consult you on the process moving forward. What is a commercial real estate loan? A commercial real estate loan is a type of commercial loan used to purchase,…
Gone are the days when wine tasting was confined to local wineries or national borders. Today’s consumers crave authentic wine experiences in the land where it’s cultivated. In Europe, where the wine economy is predominantly export-driven, tasting rooms tend to be family-operated. That means there may be just one person serving visitors, and appointments are often hard to schedule. The United States, Australia and South Africa take a more open-door approach, with wineries built to accommodate tourism and walk-in visitors. No matter where your wine travels lead you, consider these questions before heading out: What kind of wine do you…
Chris So | Toronto Star | Getty Images Shares of Canada Goose surged 16% on Thursday after the company reported earnings for the fiscal fourth quarter and announced it was expecting year-over-year sales growth for fiscal year 2025. Here’s how the company did: Earnings per share: 5 Canadian cents, which may not compare with estimates of 7 Canadian cents Revenue: CA$358 million (US$263 million), which may not compare with the CA$315.5 million (US$232 million) expected by LSEG. Revenue increased 22% from the same period a year ago. Neil Bowden, Canada Goose’s chief financial officer, said on an earnings call with…
Biden Administration extends deadline for borrowers with non-federally held FFEL loans to consolidate until June 30, 2024, to benefit from the adjustment. This extension gives borrowers an extra 3 months to quality The Department of Education has already approved $49.2 billion in forgiveness for over 996,000 borrowers for IDR waiver forgiveness. The Biden Administration announced that they are extending the deadline for borrowers with older FFEL loans to consolidate in order to qualify for potential loan forgiveness. Originally, borrowers had until April 30, 2024, to consolidate their non-federally held FFEL loans. However, the administration has extended this deadline to June…
OpenAI unveiled a partnership with Reddit Inc. that will bring the social network’s content to chatbot ChatGPT and other products, and allow Reddit to add new artificial intelligence features to its online communities. Reddit shares jumped 11% in late trading following the announcement. The agreement “will enable OpenAI’s AI tools to better understand and showcase Reddit content, especially on recent topics,” the companies said Thursday in a joint statement. Reddit will also offer its users new AI-based tools built on OpenAI’s models, and OpenAI will become a Reddit advertising partner. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Reddit last week released new policies governing…
A Boeing 737 MAX-10 lands over the Spirit AeroSystems logo during a flying display at the 54th International Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport near Paris, France, on June 22, 2023. Benoit Tessier | Reuters Aerospace supplier Spirit AeroSystems on Thursday said it will lay off some of its workers because of slower delivery rates on commercial aircraft as it struggles with a slowdown at its biggest commercial airplane customer, Boeing. Spirit AeroSystems told staff in a memo, reported earlier by Wichita-based KSN, that it would cut about 400 to 450 hourly employees. “We are committed to implementing this…
When a credit card payment due date is approaching and there’s not enough money, your next move could be critical to your finances. From refreshing your budget to evaluating debt payment options, creating a plan as early as possible could keep costs manageable and credit scores from plummeting. Here are a few steps that can potentially keep the situation from spiraling. Review your budget Create a realistic budget, which will require knowing all of your expenses. Review debit and credit card statements for purchases like unused subscriptions. Also, explore which expenses can be swapped for cheaper alternatives. If there’s no…
The Dow Jones Industrial Average topped the 40,000 level for the first time Thursday, as U.S. stocks drifted around their records set a day before. The Dow was up 69 points, or 0.2%, at 39,967, in afternoon trading. It topped 40,000 earlier in trading, making its last leap of 10,000 points in about three and a half years, as the U.S. economy and corporate profits crawled out of the crash caused COVID-19. They’ve continued to hold up so far despite the worst inflation in decades, the punishing effects of high interest rates and worries about a recession that seemed inevitable…
Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange. Brendan McDermid | Reuters The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a milestone Thursday that seemed unfathomable a year ago. The 30-stock benchmark broke above 40,000 for the first time. The move comes as investors cheer the prospects of artificial intelligence boosting corporate profits and the Federal Reserve possibly cutting rates later this year as inflation eases further from its pandemic highs. It’s been a long and winding road for the Dow to climb to these levels. Here’s a look at the Dow’s trajectory over the past 20,000 points. The…