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Fed ‘Beige Book’ economic report cites declining growth, rising prices and slow hiring​

  • The U.S. economy has contracted over the past six weeks as hiring has slowed and consumers and businesses worried about tariff-related price increases, the Fed reported.
  • On inflation, the report described prices as rising “at a moderate pace” and “widespread reports of contacts expecting costs and prices to rise at a faster rate going forward.”
  • Regionally, Boston, New York and Philadelphia all reported declining economic activity.
  • Richmond, Atlanta and Chicago were among the districts reporting better growth.
The U.S. economy has contracted over the past six weeks as hiring has slowed and consumers and businesses worried about tariff-related price increases, according to a Federal Reserve report Wednesday.

In its periodic “Beige Book” summary of conditions, the central bank noted that “economic activity has declined slightly since the previous report” released April 23.

“All Districts reported elevated levels of economic and policy uncertainty, which have led to hesitancy and a cautious approach to business and household decisions,” the report added.

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Reuters

Analysis-US stocks heal from tariff pain but trade news to keep markets edgy​

By Lewis Krauskopf

NEW YORK (Reuters) -After months of Wall Street gyrations to the twists and turns of U.S. trade policy, signs suggest stock investors are becoming more resilient to developments and cautiously defaulting to optimism that they have weathered the worst of the tariff-related shocks.

U.S. equities have edged higher over the past two weeks as they digest a sharp rally that has brought the benchmark S&P 500 within 3% of its February record high, fueled in part by easing fears about the economic fallout from tariffs.

A case in point: stocks ended Monday's session higher even as markets had grappled with President Donald Trump's announcement of doubling steel tariffs to 50%.

Trump's stunning "Liberation Day" tariff announcement on April 2 sent stocks plunging and set off some of the most extreme market swings since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic five years ago.

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https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/com...ep-markets-edgy/ar-AA1G8vXn?ocid=BingNewsSerp
 

Wall Street Breakfast Podcast: Auto Trouble Brewing Over Rare Earth Curbs​

Summary​

  • Auto industry faces supply chain disruptions as China tightens rare earth exports, impacting critical components for both combustion and electric vehicles.
  • Kimberly-Clark is close to selling its international tissue business to Suzano for $3.5B, aiming to focus on higher-margin core segments.
  • Citigroup will cut 3,500 jobs at China tech centers as part of a global restructuring to streamline operations and reduce costs.
  • Verint Systems shares surge premarket after strong Q1 results, with a 24% year-over-year increase in AI annual recurring revenue.
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Tesla loses $152 billion in market cap after Musk-Trump spat, biggest hit ever​

  • Shares of Tesla fell 14% on Thursday as President Donald Trump threatened to pull government contracts for CEO Elon Musk’s companies.
  • The move dropped the EV maker $152 billion in value, putting it below the $1 trillion benchmark and settling Thursday at $916 billion.
  • “Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate,” Musk posted on X.
Shares of Tesla fell 14% on Thursday as President Donald Trump threatened to pull government contracts for CEO Elon Musk’s companies, escalating a war of words over the spending bill.

The move dropped the EV maker $152 billion in value, the biggest hit to its market cap ever, putting it below the $1 trillion benchmark and settling Thursday at $916 billion.

“Elon was ‘wearing thin,’ I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

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Fearnleys Week 23

www.drewry.co.uk

World Container Index - 23 Jul

23 Jul 2026: Drewry’s World Container Index (WCI) decreased 4% to $4,374 per 40ft container, due to a decline in rates on Asia–Europe and Transpacific trade routes.
www.drewry.co.uk www.drewry.co.uk

splash247.com

Historic surge on the transpacific buoys liner profits - Splash247

Drewry’s weekly World Container Index (WCI) increased 41% to $3,527 per feu yesterday, the second highest leap dollars-wise since the index was created, with the busy transpacific leading the way once again amid a brief trade detente between the world’s two largest economies, the US and China...
splash247.com splash247.com
 
CLS WMR Week 22 (registration is free)

Baltic Exchange Dry Index - Price - Chart - Historical Data - News

Baltic Dry traded flat at 2,725 Index Points on July 23, 2026. Over the past month, Baltic Dry's price has risen 3.45%, and is up 20.68% compared to the same time last year, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks the benchmark market for this commodity. Baltic...
tradingeconomics.com tradingeconomics.com
 

Long-awaited Trump-Xi call isn’t enough to resolve looming critical mineral shortage this summer​

  • A high-stakes U.S.-China call has yet to resolve a rare earth metals shortage.
  • Businesses say the shortage could halt production of cars and other industrial parts this summer.
  • Only some Chinese suppliers of U.S. companies have received six-month export licenses.
BEIJING — A high-stakes call between the U.S. and Chinese presidents on Thursday has yet to resolve a global shortage of rare earth exports that businesses say could halt production of cars and other industrial parts this summer.

Rare earths, along with a broader group of critical minerals, are used in weapons, cars and other high-tech products. China has come to dominate the mining and production of those metals, and over the last two years has gradually started to restrict international sales.

In early April, China announced new export controls on seven rare earth elements. Unlike other measures, Beijing did not specify whether they were a response to heightened U.S. tensions.

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Billion-dollar battery plant pauses construction amid electric vehicle and tariff uncertainty​

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A Japanese company has halted construction on a $1.6 billion factory in South Carolina to help make batteries for electric BMWs, citing “policy and market uncertainty.”

While Automotive Energy Supply Corp. didn't specify what those problems are, South Carolina's Republican governor said the company is dealing with the potential loss of federal tax breaks for electric vehicle buyers and incentives for EV businesses as well as tariff uncertainties from President Donald Trump's administration.

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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/b...riff-uncertainty/ar-AA1Ge42m?ocid=socialshare
 

Dow rises more than 400 points on solid jobs report, S&P 500 touches 6,000: Live updates​

Stocks jumped Friday after the latest nonfarm payrolls data came in better than expected, easing concern the economy faces an imminent slowdown.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average popped 443.13 points, or 1.05%, to close at 42,762.87. The blue-chip index was up more than 600 points at its highs of the session. The S&P 500 also gained 1.03% — surpassing the 6,000 level for the first time since late February — and settling at 6,000.36. The Nasdaq Composite rallied 1.20%, ending at 19,529.95.

The market’s move higher was supported by a more than 3% gain in Tesla. Shares of the electric vehicle maker weighed on the market Thursday, tumbling 14%, as CEO Elon Musk sparred with President Donald Trump on social media. Other major tech-related names such as Nvidia, Meta Platforms and Apple also ended the session higher.

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searcher

Post in thread 'Insider Trading (congress critters, military peeps, privateers)'

Relate and interesting.

The Insiders: When Markets Become the House Game: The defining features of this presidency are cruelty and chaos — but chaos with a purpose. Share prices plunge following tariff threats, only to rally when he backs down. The White House attempts to bar Harvard from enrolling international students, then gets blocked by the courts. Trump calls for Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to be fired, then insists days later he has “no intention” of terminating him. Even if most of his promises go unfulfilled, the long-term damage will be severe. (Prof Galloway)
 

Trump wants to bring manufacturing jobs back. The aviation industry can’t hire fast enough​

  • President Donald Trump has long touted the importance of manufacturing jobs in America.
  • But the U.S. aviation industry is facing a wave of retirements for aircraft technicians and other skilled aviation workers.
  • Airlines and aerospace companies are trying to get more younger people interested in the field.
LAFAYETTE, Ind. — President Donald Trump has said he wants to bolster manufacturing jobs and other technical employment in the United States. But in the aviation industry, finding skilled workers to make airplanes and engines — and maintaining those jobs for years to come — has been a struggle.

The average age of a certified aircraft mechanic in the U.S. is 54, and 40% of them are over the age of 60, according to a joint 2024 report from the Aviation Technician Education Council and consulting firm Oliver Wyman, which cites Federal Aviation Administration data. The U.S. will be short 25,000 aircraft technicians by 2028, according to the report.

“A lot of them were hired on in the ’80s and early ’90s. You just start doing some math and you start saying at some point they’re going to retire,” said American Airlines Chief Operating Officer David Seymour, who oversees the carrier’s more than 6,000 daily flights.

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Types of Scrap Yard Customers Explained [Which One Are You?]​

Jun 8, 2025

📈 Check Scrap Prices: https://iScrapApp.com/ - In this video, Tom breaks down the most common types of customers who visit scrap yards like Rockaway Recycling. From hobbyist walk-ins and homeowners to industrial scrappers and demolition contractors—discover where you fit in the scrapping world!
👉 Read more: https://iscrapapp.com/blog/types-of-s...

Types of Scrap Yard Customers Explained [Which One Are You?]

Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@iScrapApp/featured
 

One entrepreneur’s supply-chain odyssey shows just how difficult it is to quit China​

Michael Einhorn wanted to quit China. He really did. He supports the Trump agenda that champions fewer regulations, a lower tax burden for businesses, and elimination of environmental mandates that inflate energy prices. He founded Dealmed on a shoestring in 2006; today it’s one of the two biggest privately owned, non-private-equity-held manufacturers and distributors of medical supplies in the New York–New Jersey–Connecticut tristate market. And he largely buys Trump’s argument that China is cheating on trade. So when the POTUS announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs of 135%, Einhorn figured there must be some decent alternatives to source the 10,000 products including masks, gauze, testing equipment, and gowns that he sells to clinics and health care facilities all over the U.S.

And this wouldn’t even be the first time Einhorn had weaned his company off China. During COVID, when Trump’s first set of tariffs had made importing more costly, Einhorn had pieced together a patchwork of suppliers that had squeezed the Chinese share of his company’s imports down to 15%. How hard could it be to repeat that strategy again?

More:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mar...is-to-quit-china/ar-AA1GiIll?ocid=socialshare
 
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