Business

Thursday's highly anticipated June CPI release will likely shape market sentiment regarding potential Federal Reserve rate cuts. Recent economic data, including rising unemployment, suggests both inflation and economic growth are cooling. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell acknowledged a more balanced risk outlook for inflation and recession in his testimony to Congress this week. He hinted at the possibility of rate cuts without waiting for inflation to hit the 2% target. Economists forecast a 0.1% monthly increase and a 3.1% annual increase in the consumer price index. The core consumer price index, excluding volatile food and energy prices, is forecast to rise 0.2% from May and 3.4% year-on-year. Market observers like Matt Brenner of MissionSquare Retirement believe that inflation ...

China's consumer inflation continued its downward trend in June, rising just 0.2% year-on-year, according to data released Wednesday. That was lower than analysts' expectations and adds to concerns about potential deflation in the world's second-largest economy. A Reuters poll had forecast a 0.4% rise in consumer prices in June. Meanwhile, the producer price index, which tracks factory-gate inflation, fell 0.8% from a year earlier, in line with forecasts. This subdued inflation is in stark contrast to the situation in many other countries struggling with rising prices. Weak domestic demand in China appears to be the main culprit. “The risk of deflation has not disappeared,” noted Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, who pointed to sluggish domestic consumption as a ...

This week, media and tech giants will gather in Sun Valley to discuss the future of streaming and explore potential strategic alliances. Allen & Co.’s annual conference, known as “billionaires’ summer camp,” kicks off Tuesday at a ski lodge in Idaho. Since 1983, the event has been the birthplace of major media deals and a space for industry leaders to discuss the future of their businesses and the broader economy. The guest list for Sun Valley includes media leaders like Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav; Disney’s Bob Iger and his potential successors Dana Walden, Alan Bergman, Josh D’Amaro and Hugh Johnston; as well as Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters; along with tech titans like Amazon’s Andy Jassy and Jeff Bezos; and Apple CEO Tim Cook. While these moguls are regular gu...

HBC, the parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue, has announced its acquisition of Neiman Marcus Group for $2.65 billion. The merger will unite two iconic luxury retailers under one roof. The new entity, Saks Global, will include Saks Fifth Avenue, Saks OFF 5TH, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman. Richard Baker, CEO of HBC, expressed his excitement about the merger, highlighting the benefits it envisions for customers, partners and employees. He emphasized the potential for technological advances to transform the luxury retail experience. Major leadership changes include Marc Metrick, currently CEO of Saks.com, who will become CEO of Saks Global. Ian Putnam, president and CEO of HBC Properties and Investments, will oversee Saks Global’s real estate and investment businesses, both of which wil...

At the Aspen Ideas Festival on Friday, Ford CEO Jim Farley announced that the company plans to launch a $30,000 all-electric vehicle that will be profitable in about two and a half years. Farley provided limited additional details about the vehicle, which is being developed by a specialized team within Ford. He said its main competitors will be Chinese automakers such as BYD and a planned entry-level electric car from Tesla, the leading U.S. electric vehicle maker. Farley said Ford is focusing on smaller electric vehicles rather than larger, all-electric trucks and SUVs, which have historically been the company's main profit drivers. He said larger vehicles "will never be profitable." "To get a profitable electric vehicle, automakers have to make a significant shift. The first thing we ha...

On June 21, 2024, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing celebrated its 24th listing anniversary, amid growing optimism about the future of the city’s IPO market. In an interview with CNBC, George Chan, global head of IPOs at EY, expressed confidence that the Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) market is set to see substantial improvement over the next five years, starting in the second half of this year. Chan noted that while it may take a few years to reach the peak levels seen in 2021, the trend is clearly positive. “I see light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. Over the past three years, factors such as high interest rates in the United States, increased regulatory scrutiny, slowing economic growth, and geopolitical tensions between the United States and China have dampened IPO activi...

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Tuesday expressed satisfaction with the progress made over the past year in tackling inflation, but stressed that more confidence was needed before considering a rate cut. "We've made quite a bit of progress in getting inflation back to our objective," Powell told a central bank forum in Sintra, Portugal. "The latest inflation readings, and to a lesser extent the previous one, suggest that we're returning to a disinflationary path. We want to be more confident that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2% before we begin the process of reducing or easing policy." Powell spoke alongside European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde and Brazilian central bank governor Roberto Campos Neto at an event hosted by the ECB and moderated by CNBC...

A key economic measure from the Federal Reserve revealed Friday that May's inflation rate was the lowest in three years. A report from the Commerce Department indicated that the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.1% for the month and by 2.6% year over year. This annual figure was a slight decline from the April level. Both numbers met Dow Jones expectations. May saw the lowest annual inflation rate since March 2021, marking the first time this economic cycle that inflation has fallen below the Fed’s 2% target. Including food and energy prices, headline inflation remained stable on a monthly basis and increased by 2.6 percent from a year earlier, in line with expectations. "This is further evidence that monetary policy is working and that in...

Starbucks locations across the country are rolling out new measures to streamline drink ordering and reduce wait times. The revamp comes as the coffee chain anticipates a surge in mobile app orders. At the heart of this initiative is Starbucks’ “siren craft system,” a set of procedures designed to make baristas’ jobs easier and speed up service. More than 10 percent of Starbucks’ 10,000 locations have already adopted the system, which reorganizes the production sequence for hot and cold beverages. The company aims to roll it out across North America by the end of July. Starbucks executives believe these changes are crucial, especially after a disappointing second quarter in April, when U.S. same-store sales fell 3% and foot traffic fell 7%. As a result, the company lowered its 2024 foreca...

Shares of Chinese electric car makers started the new year on a downtrend, facing stiff competition and ongoing price wars that are eroding automakers’ profitability amid weak overall market sentiment. Hong Kong-listed shares of Nio and Xpeng have fallen more than 18% and 16%, respectively, while Li Auto has fallen 12% so far this year. BYD and Zhejiang Leapmotor have fallen nearly 2.5% and 12%, respectively, in 2024. Bernstein analysts noted in a recent report on China's electric vehicle industry: "We expect competition within the domestic market to remain intense, putting pressure on pricing and profitability." Morgan Stanley also highlighted these concerns about competition in its note on Wednesday: "Investors remain cautious as the Chinese auto market has had a volatile start to the y...