Whatever has gone wrong? After China rejoined the world economy in 1978, it became the most spectacular growth story in history. Farm reform, industrialisation and rising incomes lifted nearly 800m people out of extreme poverty. Having produced just a tenth as much as America in 1980, China’s economy is now about three-quarters the size. Yet instead of roaring back after the government abandoned its “zero-covid” policy at the end of 2022, it is lurching from one ditch to the next. The economy grew at an annualised rate of just 3.2% in the second quarter, a disappointment that looks even worse given that, by one prominent estimate, America’s may be growing at almost 6%. House prices have fallen and property developers, who tend to sell houses before they are built, have hit the wall, scaring off buyers. Consumer spending, business investment and exports have all fallen short. And whereas much of the world battles inflation that is too high, China is suffering from the opposite problem: consumer prices fell in the year to July. Some analysts warn that China may enter...Read more...
Impact of China's economic turmoil on America's economy
China's tanking economy is costing major US companies and could throw cold water on America's economic boom
China's economy has been worsening, and some American businesses are feeling the pain. Economic data released Tuesday showed the world's second-largest economy performed below analyst expectations in terms of industrial production, retail sales, and exports. China's July economic report didn't mention youth-unemployment statistics after it soared to 21.3% in the second quarter, citing economic and social changes. While Chinese manufacturing and construction are struggling to recover, some American companies with strong ties to China are also feeling the effects. Some leading chemical and manufacturing companies have reported weaker second-quarter sales, with some cutting their outlook for the second half of the year, saying conditions... Read more...
This Vietnamese automaker is worth more than Ford and GM. But it hasn’t sold many cars
Vietnamese electric vehicle company Vinfast is already more valuable than Ford (F) and GM (GM), based on its stock price, despite just entering the US market. But you may not have even heard of it. Here’s what it’s all about, and what’s been happening with it. Enthusiastic investors pushed VinFast stock up 270% on its first trading day, before falling about 19% Wednesday. Those investors currently own only 1% of the automaker, though. The sprawling Vietnamese conglomerate, VinGroup, owns the rest. But VinFast’s bold entry into the US hasn’t been smooth. For one thing, when critics got the chance to drive the company’s first US-bound product, the VF8 electric SUV, the resulting reviews weren’t what any automaker would hope for. Read more...
Why the Chinese economy hasn't recovered after COVID lockdowns
China's economic woes keep getting worse. Here's why
After three years of strict "zero-COVID" lockdowns, analysts had expected China's economy to quickly recover this year. But recent sets of data suggest otherwise. Retail sales, industrial output and investment in July all grew at a slower-than-expected pace. In the meantime, a fall in aggregate demand has put deflationary pressure on the world's second-largest economy. Read more...
Starbucks ordered to pay extra $2.7M to employee who said she was fired for being white
A New Jersey federal judge has ordered Starbucks to pay a former employee who was awarded $25.6 million in a wrongful termination suit an extra $2.7 million in damages. Shannon Phillips, a former regional director for the chain, sued the coffee giant in 2019, claiming that she was fired for being white. On Wednesday, August 17, 2023, Judge Joel Slomsky ordered Starbucks to pay Phillips $2,736,755 in back pay, front pay and tax gross, court documents show. The ruling comes after a Camden jury ordered the coffee giant to pay Phillips $25.6 million in settlement money, including punitive and compensatory damages, following a trial in June. Phillips, 52, claimed in her lawsuit that "her race was a determinative factor" in Starbucks' decision to fire her in the wake of a 2018 racial firestorm. Read more...
How the pandemic shifted America's geography of income
When millions of Americans rethought their living situations during the pandemic, their moves changed the geography of where money is made in the United States.
Why it matters: A new analysis of tax data by the Economic Innovation Group, shared first with Axios, quantifies the reasons some of America's biggest cities are struggling to rebuild their economies post-pandemic.
1- It also shows a surge in income that arrived in many rural and exurban places and in popular vacation destinations.
2- Not only did residents leave the biggest cities, but those who left disproportionately had high incomes, meaning the hit to those local economies was larger than migration numbers alone would imply. Read more...
54 million Americans have been in credit card debt for at least a year. Here are the best payoff strategies
Credit cards are one of the most expensive ways to borrow money from month to month, and yet many Americans continue to take on ever-increasing amounts of this debt. On the heels of another rate hike by the Federal Reserve, the average credit card rate is now more than 20% on average, an all-time high, making it even harder to dig out of debt. While balances are higher, more cardholders are also carrying debt from month to month, according to a new Bankrate report. Read more...