Jobless benefits applications hold steady as labor market remains strong

The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits didn’t change last week. The Labor Department reports unemployment claims for the week ending April 13 were unchanged from the previous week’s 212,000. In total, 1.81 million Americans were collecting jobless benefits during the week that ended April sixth. It represented an increase of 2,000 from the previous week.

Amazon to keep selling cashier-less checkout system

Amazon wants other businesses to know it’s not giving up on its Just Walk Out technology. Although the company is ditching the cashier-less checkout system at its Amazon Fresh grocery stores, it plans to sell the technology to more than 120 third-party businesses this year. Just Walk Out uses cameras, artificial intelligence and sensor trackers to determine what’s taken off of shelves. They enable customers to grab what they want and leave after paying at a store’s entry gate.

Nokia sees double-digit fall in Q1 amid weak 5G demand

Wireless and fixed-network equipment maker Nokia has reported a smaller-than-expected profit and a substantial double-digit fall in sales in the first quarter. The figures were due to a market weakened by a lack of investment by clients in 5G technology. The Finnish company reported a net profit of 501 million euros for the January-to-March period, up 46% from 342 million euros a year earlier. Nokia’s CEO said the ongoing weakness in the telecom equipment market was expected, because of economic uncertainty and high financing costs.

Europe wants 2 things from China. It may not get far on either of them.

( ) -v-35- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “std.”

Europe wants two things from China. Correspondent Jeremy House tells us what they are.

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VERBATIM: First, a shift in its relatively pro-Russia position on the war in Ukraine. Second, a reduction in the trade imbalance. It’s not clear if it will get very far on either front. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz this week became the latest European leader to leave China with promises to talk, but little more. There is some reason for hope on the European side. China badly wants foreign investment to boost its sluggish economy. But that may not outweigh the larger strategic reasons China has for promoting its green energy exports and aligning itself with Russia…JH reporting.

Japan records a trade deficit for third straight fiscal year

( ) -q-22- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “in four years.”

Japan recorded a trade deficit for the third straight fiscal year as the costs of energy and other imports rose and the yen remained weak.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. The decline in the yen affected the trade balance, as it cost more in yen to import and boosted the value of exports when converted to yen.

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VERBATIM: The data showed the deficit was $38 billion for the fiscal year that ended in March. The biggest trade deficits were in the Middle East, mainly Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Australia and Indonesia. Japan had a trade surplus with the U.S. and some European countries. Annual exports to China declined for the first time in four years.

UK inflation falls to lowest level since late 2021

( ) -q-19- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “move appears clear.”

Inflation in the U.K. fell to its lowest level in two and a half years in March after a further easing in food prices.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Britain’s inflation rate is set to fall further in April, possibly to below 2%, as a result of sharply lower domestic energy bills, which economists think could prompt rate-setters to consider a cut in interest rates in the next few months.

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VERBATIM: Britain’s Office for National Statistics says consumer prices rose by 3.2% in the year to March, down from 3.4% in February. That’s the lowest level since September 2021. Inflation is still running higher than the Bank of England’s target of 2%, but the direction of the move appears clear.

Apple CEO says company will ‘look at’ manufacturing in Indonesia

( ) -q-21- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “located in Bali.”

Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company is “looking at” manufacturing in Indonesia as he met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo today (ON WEDNESDAY).

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Apple began moving some production to countries like Vietnam, and more recently India, after shutdowns to fight COVID-19 in China repeatedly disrupted the company’s shipments.

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VERBATIM: Widodo’s administration has worked for years to bring manufacturing to the country to power economic development. Meanwhile Apple has been seeking to diversify its supply chains away from China, where most of its smartphones and tablets are assembled. Cook’s visit to Indonesia came after Apple announced its fourth Apple Developer Academy in the country, to be located in Bali.

Bayer seeks lawmakers’ help to squelch weedkiller cancer claims

The maker of a popular weedkiller is turning to lawmakers in key states to try to squelch legal claims that it failed to warn about cancer risks. Bayer disputes such claims, but already has paid about $10 billion to resolve them. Thousands of similar lawsuits remain pending. Bayer has supported legislation in Idaho, Iowa and Missouri that would shield pesticide and herbicide companies from failure-to-warn claims if they use labels approved by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. But legal experts warn it could have broader consequences — extending to any product liability claim or providing immunity from lawsuits of any kind. Critics say it could spread nationwide.

China’s economy grew 5.3% in first quarter, beating expectations

( ) -q-24- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “on its growth.”

China’s economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter of the year with help from policies and stronger demand, though signs of weakness persisted.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Policymakers have unveiled a raft of fiscal and monetary policy measures meant to boost the economy and financial markets. China has set an ambitious gross domestic product growth target of about 5% for 2024.

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VERBATIM: The world’s second-largest economy expanded at a 5.3% annual pace in the January-to-March period, surpassing analysts’ forecasts of about 4.8%. Compared to the previous quarter, the economy expanded 1.6%. China’s economy has struggled to bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic, with a slowdown in demand and a property crisis weighing on its growth.

Nissan says it will make next-generation EV batteries by early 2029

( ) -v-33- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “std.”

Nissan says it expects to mass produce electric vehicles powered by advanced next-generation batteries by early 2029. Correspondent Jeremy House reports.

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VERBATIM: Japan’s legacy automakers have fallen behind newer rivals like America’s Tesla and China’s BYD in the emerging all-electric auto sector. However, Nissan sees a chance to catch up and perhaps leap ahead with a new kind of battery that promises to be more powerful, cheaper, safer and faster to charge than the lithium-ion batteries in use today. Solid-state batteries are widely seen as the next step for EVs, and leading automakers are racing to develop versions that can be mass produced…JH reporting.

Several thousand Tesla employees will soon be seeing pink slips

( ) -q-25- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “and increased productivity.”

After reporting dismal first-quarter sales, Tesla is planning to lay off about a tenth of its workforce as it tries to cut costs.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. News of the layoffs was first reported by electric vehicle website Electrek.

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VERBATIM: CEO Elon Musk detailed the plans in a memo sent to employees. The layoffs could affect about 14,000 of the 140,473 workers employed by the Austin, Texas, company at the end of last year. Musk’s memo said that as Tesla prepares for its next phase of growth, it needs to look at every aspect of the company for cost cuts and increased productivity.

The IRS is quicker to answer the phone on this Tax Day

( ) -q-20- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “in plain language.”

Today (MONDAY) is Tax Day and the IRS is promoting the customer service improvements the agency rolled out since receiving tens of billions in new funding dollars through the Inflation Reduction Act.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. The promotion also in part is meant to quickly normalize a more efficient and effective IRS before congressional Republicans threaten another round of cuts to the agency.

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VERBATIM: Agency leadership is trying to bring attention to what’s been done to repair its image as an outdated and maligned tax collector. Two improvements include cutting phone wait times and digitizing more documents. The IRS is also improving the “Where’s My Refund” tool to show more account details in plain language.

Retail sales up a strong 0.7% in March from February

Americans increased their spending pace in March at a better-than-expected pace from the previous month. The Commerce Department says retail sales rose 0.7% last month after being up a revised 0.9% in February. The numbers show how shoppers remain resilient despite inflationary pressures and other economic challenges. Sales fell a revised 1.1% in January, dragged down in part by inclement weather.

Homebuyers’ quandary: to wait or not to wait for lower mortgage rates

( ) -v-37- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “std.”

Shop for a home now or hold out for possibly lower mortgage rates? Correspondent Jeremy House has more on the story.

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VERBATIM: It’s a question confronting many home shoppers this spring homebuying season amid widespread expectations that mortgage rates could come down once the Federal Reserve begins lowering its own short-term rate. Economists generally anticipate that the average rate on a 30-year mortgage could start declining later this year after surging to a 23-year high of nearly 8% in late October. Holding out for more attractive rates could give homebuyers some financial breathing room. But there’s a potential downside to waiting: Lower rates can bring out more buyers, driving up prices…JH reporting.

US-China competition to field military drone swarms could fuel global arms race

( ) -q-20- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “dozens of drones.”

U.S. and Chinese military planners are gearing up for a new kind of warfare.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. The world’s only AI superpowers are engaged in an arms race for swarming drones that is reminiscent of the Cold War, except drone technology will be far more difficult to contain than nuclear weapons.

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VERBATIM: It’s the kind of warfare in which squadrons of air and sea drones equipped with artificial intelligence work together like a swarm of bees to overwhelm an enemy. The planners envision a scenario in which hundreds, even thousands of the machines engage in coordinated battle. A single controller might oversee dozens of drones.

Citing TikTok and Nippon, Treasury wants to boost foreign investment review powers

U.S. Treasury wants to enhance the power of a little-known, secretive government committee to review deals made between U.S. firms and foreign investors. A new proposed rule would strengthen powers for the interagency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. It’s tasked with investigating corporate deals for national security concerns and holds power to force the company to change. This comes as high-profile deals involving foreign investment in the U.S., like Chinese firm ByteDance’s social media app TikTok, have received increased scrutiny by lawmakers and even President Biden.

Producer prices rose 2.1% from last year as inflation remains stubborn

( ) -q-24- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “gain in February.”

U.S. producer prices rose in March from a year earlier at the fastest pace in nearly a year.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. The figures offer more evidence that progress against inflation may have stalled this year and raising doubts about whether and when the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates.

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VERBATIM: The Labor Department says its producer price index — which measures inflationary pressure before it reaches consumers — rose 2.1% last month from March 2023. It’s the biggest year-over-year jump since April 2023. Compared to February, though, wholesale prices were up just 0.2%, down from a 0.6% gain in February.

China protests EU’s investigation of subsidies in green industries

( ) -q-27- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “Romania and Bulgaria.”

China has accused the European Union of protectionism and “reckless distortion” of the definition of subsidies in response to a new EU investigation into Chinese wind turbine makers.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.

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VERBATIM: The Commerce Ministry said China had made “solemn representations” on the issue in a meeting in Brussels with the EU director general for trade defense. The investigation opened by the European Union is the latest announced against Chinese companies in the past two months. The investigation is looking into whether Chinese subsidies is giving wind turbine companies an unfair advantage for projects in Spain, Greece, France, Romania and Bulgaria.

Lufthansa reaches pay deal with cabin crew union

( ) -q-27- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “to offset inflation.”

Lufthansa and a union representing cabin crew have reached a pay deal.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Some bonuses also will be increased. The union will put the deal to a ballot of its members. The pay dispute was one of several that led to strikes and caused widespread flight cancelations in recent months.

China sanctions 2 U.S. companies over ‘support for arms sales to Taiwan’

( ) -q-25- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “in the field.”

China has sanctioned two U.S. companies over what it says is their support for arms sales to Taiwan.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Taiwan is the self-governing island democracy Beijing claims as its own territory to be recovered by force if necessary.

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VERBATIM: The announcement freezes the assets of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and General Dynamics Land Systems held within China. It also bars their management from entering the country. Filings show General Dynamics operates a half-dozen Gulfstream and jet aviation services operations in China, which remains heavily reliant on foreign aerospace technology even as it attempts to build its own presence in the field.

Trump, Johnson To Hold Joint Press Conference At Mar A Lago

Senator J.D. Vance Shaping Up As Likely Trump Running Mate

McConnell Says Failure To Pass Ukraine Aid Would Be “Strategic And Moral Malpractice”

US inflation up again in March in latest sign that price pressures remain elevated

( ) -q-24- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “inflation is headed.”

Consumer price increases remained high last month, boosted by gas, rents, and car insurance.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. The March figures, the third straight month of inflation readings well above the Fed’s 2% target, threaten to torpedo the prospect of multiple interest rate cuts this year.

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VERBATIM: Prices outside the volatile food and energy categories rose 0.4% from February to March. Measured from a year earlier, those core prices were up 3.8%. The report will likely give pause to the Federal Reserve as it weighs when and by how much to cut interest rates this year. The Fed closely tracks core prices because they tend to provide a good read of where inflation is headed.