Economics

US firms moving out of China. US Firms Move Supply Chains Out of China, Explore Options Closer to Home, with Latin and South America gaining significant traction in recent months, according to a survey by Qima.

WASHINGTON—The U.S.–China trade war and the COVID-19 pandemic have forced companies to reduce their excessive dependence on China as a single supplier.

U.S. brands have started to explore sourcing options closer to home, with Latin and South America gaining significant traction in recent months, according to a survey by Qima, a Hong Kong-based supply chain inspection company.

The survey conducted in July among more than 200 businesses around the world found that respondents are increasingly moving their sourcing away from China. Ninety-three percent of U.S. respondents reported that they had plans to further diversify their supply chains. Meanwhile, less than half of EU respondents had a similar strategy.

Continue Reading …US Firms Move Supply Chains Out of China, Explore Options Closer to Home

 S&P 500 recovers all Covid-19 losses. S&P 500 Surges to New Record High, Wiping Out All CCP Virus Losses. The benchmark S&P 500 stock index, widely viewed as a proxy for the overall U.S. equities market, surged to close at 3,389.78 points on Tuesday, setting a new all-time high record and wiping out all its COVID-19-driven losses.

After plunging dramatically in late February into a bear market that hit bottom on March 23, the S&P 500 has now completed a full V-shaped recovery, rebounding some 55 percent off the pandemic lows and solidifying its new bull market run.

Continue Reading …S&P 500 recovers all Covid-19 losses

Unemployment figures keep looking better. Weekly Jobless Claims Fall Below 1 Million; First Time Since March.

The number of Americans filing jobless claims fell below 1 million for the first time since the height of the pandemic lockdowns in March, when weekly filings surged to an all-time record high of nearly 7 million.

The number of workers filing initial unemployment claims dipped to 963,000 for the week ending Aug. 8, the Labor Department stated in a release (pdf) on Aug. 13. This is a drop of 228,000 from the previous week and the first time in over 20 weeks that this number fell below a million.

Claims peaked at a record 6.867 million in mid-March, as the pandemic-driven lockdowns delivered a historic blow to the U.S. economy. In the second quarter of this year, U.S. economic output fell at its steepest pace since the Great Depression.

Continue Reading …Unemployment figures keep looking better

Trump signs executive order to extend weekly unemployment pay. He signed a memorandum during a press conference on Saturday afternoon as the negotiations between the White House and the Democrats collapsed.

The new payment will be $400 per week. The federal government will cover 75 percent of the cost while the states will pay the rest, he said.

The president said that some governors might not be happy with the actions, suggesting that he didn’t negotiate with all governors before the announcement.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) didn’t immediately respond to an email request for comment.

Continue Reading …Trump Takes Executive Action to Provide Reduced Enhanced Unemployment Payment