China’s Xi calls for patience as Communist Party tries to reverse economic slump

( ) -q-29- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “and food supplies.”

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has called for patience in a speech as the ruling Communist Party tries to reverse a deepening economic slump.

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Out-cue: and food supplies]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.

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VERBATIM: Xi’s speech was published by Qiushi, the party’s top theoretical journal, after data showed consumer and factory activity weakened further in July despite official promises to support struggling entrepreneurs. Xi said the West’s pursuit of material wealth led to “spiritual poverty.” He called for China to “build a socialist ideology with strong cohesion” and to focus on long-term goals of improving education, health care and food supplies.

China would welcome U.S. Commerce Secretary visit after investment controls

( ) -q-20- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “of the results.”

China says it would welcome a visit by U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo following the imposition of foreign investment controls by her agency that have stung numerous Chinese companies.

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Out-cue: of the results]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order earlier this month to block and regulate U.S. high-tech investment in China, reflecting the intensifying competition between the world’s two biggest economies.

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VERBATIM: A Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesperson did not offer a date, but said the countries are in “close communication on arrangements.” Earlier reports said a visit could come as early as later this month. The spokesperson adds China is conducting a comprehensive assessment of the impact of the investment controls and would respond on the basis of the results.

Norway raises key interest rate again to fight inflation

( ) -q-20- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “back to target.”

Norway’s central bank says it’s raising its key interest rate by a quarter-percentage point to combat high inflation.

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Out-cue: back to target]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. The head of the bank says the rate would most likely be raised again next month. Central banks worldwide have been raising borrowing costs to target price spikes fueled by the economic rebound from the pandemic and then Russia’s war in Ukraine.

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VERBATIM: Norges Bank is hiking the rate to 4%, the highest level in Norway since 2008. It says inflation — which reached 5.4% in July — ”has edged down but remains high and markedly above the target” of 2%. The bank added that “a somewhat higher policy rate is needed to bring inflation back to target.”

UK inflation falls to 17-month low of 6.8%

( ) -q-22- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “energy prices surging.”

The rate of inflation in the U.K. fell sharply in July to a 17-month low largely on the back of lower energy prices.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. The decline from June’s 7.9% rate was in line with economists’ expectations. It’s unlikely to derail market expectations that the Bank of England will raise interest rates again next month, especially as wages are rising at a record high.

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VERBATIM: It’s a welcome development for hard-pressed households in struggling during the cost of living crisis. Britain’s Office for National Statistics says the annual rate of inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, was 6.8% in July. It’s lowest level since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and sent energy prices surging.

UAW to vote on strike authorization next week

About 146,000 members of the United Auto Workers union will vote next week on authorizing their leaders to call strikes against the Detroit automakers. Union President Shawn Fain told members that talks were moving slowly and have yet to address wages and other economic issues. The union’s contracts with General Motors, Ford and Stellantis expire in about a month. He urged everyone to vote yes and said the votes are a demonstration of the union’s strength. Strike authorization votes are a routine part of contract talks and are often overwhelmingly approved.

Target posts weak sales in Q2, hurt by Pride merchandise flap

( ) -q-21- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “shoppers’ cautionary spending.”

Target has reported weaker-than-expected sales for its the fiscal second quarter.

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Out-cue: shoppers’ cautionary spending]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Target cut its annual financial outlook, citing expectations that higher interest rates and still-high prices on food will strain shoppers’ budgets.

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VERBATIM: The retailer’s results were hit by headwinds including inflation and the widely publicized negative reaction by some customers to its Pride merchandise. But the Minneapolis-based chain’s quarterly profits came in above expectations. Its bottom line was helped by efforts to bring inventories in line with shoppers’ cautionary spending.

Esmark makes offer for US Steel, sets up bidding contest

( ) -q-18- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “evaluating its options.”

Industrial conglomerate Esmark says it has made an all-cash bid to buy U.S. Steel that values the iconic steelmaker at $7.8 billion.

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Out-cue: evaluating its options]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Pittsburgh-based Esmark is run by James Bouchard, a former vice president in U.S. Steel’s European operations.

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VERBATIM: The bid tops an earlier offer from rival Cleveland-Cliffs. U.S. Steel said it rejected a cash and stock offer from Cleveland-Cliffs that was valued at $7.3 billion. U.S. Steel also said it had received several offers for all or parts of the company and was evaluating its options.

Japanese economic growth surges on strong exports and tourism

( ) -v-30- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “std.”

Japan’s economic growth jumped at an annual pace of 6% in the April-to-June period. Correspondent Jeremy House has more on the story.

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VERBATIM: It marks the third straight quarter of growth as exports and inbound tourism recovered. Japan’s Cabinet Office says real gross domestic product, which measures the sum value of a nation’s products and services, grew 1.5% in the fiscal first quarter for the world’s third largest economy. The annualized pace shows what the growth would have been if what was marked during the quarter had continued for a year. The rate outpaced what analysts had forecast at 3.1% growth…JH reporting.

Home Depot tops expectations again, but signs of spending pullback

( ) -q-18- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “of the year.”

Home Depot topped profit and sales expectations in its most recent quarter.

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Time: 18s
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Out-cue: of the year]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Sales continue to decline as inflation and soaring interest rates play a larger role in the spending choices made by Americans. Despite the stronger-than-expected sales figures, Home Depot stuck to previous guidance for the year, seeing sales decline between 2% and 5%, after lowering its forecast in the last quarter.

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VERBATIM: Second quarter revenue was nearly $43 billion, edging out Wall Street expectations. Yet that’s down 2% from the $43.87 billion the company reported during the same stretch last year, Meanwhile, sales have fallen 3.1% through the first half of the year.

Amazon hopes to improve its product reviews for customers through AI

( ) -q-21- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “earlier this year.”

Amazon is rolling out a generative AI feature that summarizes product reviews for customers.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. The tech giant says the feature is now available for a subset of mobile shoppers in the U.S. and it may expand it to more shoppers based on customer feedback.

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VERBATIM: The company says it will use AI to pick out common themes in reviews and summarize them in a short paragraph on the product detail page. The feature is designed to help shoppers determine at a glance what other customers said about a product before they spend more time reading through individual reviews. Amazon began testing it earlier this year.

US Steel rejects $7.3 billion offer from Cleveland-Cliffs

( ) -q-26- UNDATED (B-B-C Correspondent Jeremy House) “price of $22.72.”

United States Steel says it has rejected a $7.3 billion buyout proposal from rival Cleveland Cliffs.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.

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VERBATIM: U.S. Steel says it’s reviewing “strategic alternatives” after receiving several unsolicited offers. Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel said it rejected the offer because Cleveland-Cliffs was pushing it to accept the terms without being allowed to conduct proper due diligence. Cleveland-Cliffs said the value of the offer was $35 a share, a premium over U.S. Steel’s most recet closing stock price of $22.72.

Russia’s currency hits lowest level since beginning of Ukraine war

( ) -q-28- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “people’s real incomes.'”

The Russian ruble has reached its lowest value since the early weeks of the war in Ukraine as Western sanctions weigh on energy exports and weaken demand for the national currency.

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Time: 28s
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Out-cue: people’s real incomes]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.

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VERBATIM: The Russian currency passed 101 rubles to the dollar, continuing a more than 25% decline in its value since the beginning of the year. In an op-ed for state news agency Tass, President Vladimir Putin’s economic adviser blamed the weak ruble on “loose monetary policy.” He says a strong ruble is in the interests of the Russian economy and that a weak ruble “complicates economic restructuring and negatively affects people’s real incomes.”

Chinese tech giant Huawei reports sales, profit up despite US sanctions

( ) -q-23- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “margin was 15-percent.”

Chinese tech giant Huawei says its revenue rose 3% over a year earlier and its profit margin widened in the first half of 2023 despite sanctions that limit its access to U.S. processor chips.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Huawei struggled after then-President Donald Trump cut off access to U.S. processor chips and other technology in a feud with Beijing over technology and security.

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VERBATIM: China’s first global tech brand has responded to U.S. curbs that devastated its smartphone brand by increasing emphasis on serving hospitals, electric car brands and other industrial customers. The company said first-half revenue rose 3.1% to 43.1 billion dollars. It gave no profit figure, but noted its profit margin was 15%.

UBS ends rescue packages from Swiss gov’t that paved way for Credit Suisse takeover

( ) -q-26- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “with the government.”

UBS says it has shut down rescue packages agreed with Swiss authorities that made available up to 200 billion Swiss francs to help shepherd through its takeover of ailing rival Credit Suisse and avert an international banking crisis.

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Out-cue: with the government]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.

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VERBATIM: The Zurich-based banking giant said it had moved to “voluntarily terminate” rescue programs that aimed to help mop up billions of losses and provide liquidity to the banks as they moved forward on the complex deal. UBS said it had repaid 50 billion francs in loans from the Swiss National Bank and 100 billion francs in liquidity support from the Swiss government. It also ended a 9 billion-franc “loss protection agreement” with the government.

Worldcoin scans eyeballs and offers crypto. What to know about the project from OpenAI’s CEO

( ) -q-23- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “stolen or duplicated.”

Weeks after its international launch, Worldcoin is drawing the attention of privacy regulators around the world.

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Time: 23s
Title: WORLDCOIN-house-q-FRIam
Out-cue: stolen or duplicated]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Worldcoin creates a “World ID” by capturing an image of a person’s irises. It’s a creation of Sam Altman, the CEO of ChatGPT maker OpenAI, and offers cryptocurrency worth $50 to $60 to get people to sign up.

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VERBATIM: Kenya’s government going so far as to shut down the service indefinitely. The international ID startup also is facing investigations in Europe over whether the biometric data that the company is collecting is truly secure. The goal of Worldcoin and the company backing it, Tools for Humanity, is to give people a form of identification that could never be stolen or duplicated.

US inflation rises for the first time in a year to 3.2% rate, but underlying measures remain mild

( ) -q-20- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “nearly two years.”

Inflation in the United States rose in July after 12 straight months of declines.

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Out-cue: nearly two years]

TAG: CorrespondentThe July inflation figure remained far below last year’s peak of 9.1%, though still above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.

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VERBATIM: The government reports the inflation figure showed that consumer prices increased 3.2% from a year earlier. The increase was boosted by costlier housing. But excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core inflation rose just 0.2% from June, matching the smallest monthly increase in nearly two years.

China accuses US of trying to block its development and demands that technology curbs be repealed

( ) -q-26- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “global supply chains.”

China has accused Washington of trying to block its development.

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Time: 26s
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Out-cue: global supply chains]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Biden’s order targets advanced computer chips, micro electronics, quantum information technologies and artificial intelligence. The order adds to restrictions that limit Chinese access to U.S. processor chips.

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VERBATIM: China’s criticism comes after U.S. President Joe Biden stepped up a feud over technology and security by tightening controls on U.S. investments that might help Beijing develop its military. The Foreign Ministry accused the Biden administration of pursuing “technology hegemony.” It also demanded that Washington “immediately revoke its erroneous decision.” It warned that the latest restrictions in a spreading conflict over Beijing’s industrial development would hurt global supply chains.

Egypt’s inflation reaches record high of 38.2% in July, government data shows.

( ) -q-26- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “fromeastern Europe.”

Egypt’s national statistics bureau says inflation has reached a record high in July.

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Time: 26s
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Out-cue: from eastern Europe]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. While Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries have diversified their sources of wheat, the end of a wartime deal that allows Ukraine to ship its grain to the world has helped push up prices of food commodities.

Sony’s profits drop as it warns of the impact from US movie strikes

( ) -q-21- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “and imaging solutions.”

Sony’s profits between April and June slipped 17%, as worries grew about revenue damage from a strike in the movie sector.

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Time: 21s
Title: SONY-PROFITS-house-q-WEDam
Out-cue: and imaging solutions]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Sony’s revenue in movies will suffer because of the strikes by the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild, or SAG-AFTRA. Release dates of movies and deliveries of TV series are being delayed.

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VERBATIM: The Japanese electronics and entertainment company says its fiscal profit in the first quarter totaled $1.5 billion, down from more than 1.8-billion dollars a year ago. Quarterly sales are up 33%. Sales grew in games and network services, the music business, financial services and imaging solutions.

Profit at Japan’s Honda doubles on healthy global auto and motorcycle sales

( ) -q-16- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “where production recovered.”

Honda says its April-to-June profit more than doubled on healthy sales of its motorcycles and cars.

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Time: 16s
Title: HONDA-PROFIT-house-q-WEDam
Out-cue: where production recovered]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Automakers around the world were slammed by supply shortages because of production delays related to social restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. But such restrictions have eased. Honda stuck to its full year projection of an 800 billion yen, or $5.6 billion, profit.

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VERBATIM: The Japanese company also received a perk from favorable exchange rates. Honda’s profit totaled $2.5 billion, up from one billion dollars. Quarterly sales jumped 21%. Profitability improved, especially in North America, where production recovered.

Zoom, which thrived on the remote work revolution, wants workers back in the office part-time

( ) -q-24- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “effective for Zoom.'”

Zoom is joining a growing return-to-office trend.

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Time: 24s
Title: ZOOM-WORKERS-house-q-WEDam
Out-cue: effective for Zoom]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.

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VERBATIM: Zoom became a symbol of remote work during the pandemic. However, the company is now asking employees who live within a 50-mile radius of its offices to work onsite two days a week. The company said it’s decided that “a structured hybrid approach – meaning employees that live near an office need to be onsite two days a week to interact with their teams – is most effective for Zoom.”

Beyond Meat revenue plummets in the second quarter due to flagging US demand

( ) -q-23- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “and overly processed.”

Beyond Meat said its revenue plunged 30.5% in the second quarter as consumer demand for its plant-based meat substitute fell despite price cuts.

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Time: 23s
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Out-cue: and overly processed]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Brown said Beyond Meat hopes to change that perception with a new ad campaign that launched last week.

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VERBATIM: The El Segundo, California-based company lowered its full-year revenue forecast as a result. For the April-to-June period, Beyond Meat reported revenue of $102.1 million, which was lower than Wall Street forecast. Beyond Meat President and CEO Ethan Brown said the company is struggling to appeal to new customers because of perceptions that its products are unhealthy and overly processed.

Japan’s tech investor SoftBank trims losses and promises offensive turnaround

( ) -q-22- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “of $18.6 billion.”

Japanese technology company SoftBank Group continued to rack up losses for the fiscal first quarter as technology investments soured amid a market downturn.

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Out-cue: of 18.6 billion dollars]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Softbank’s Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto struck an upbeat tone on Tuesday, stressing that the environment for technology issues was improving.

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VERBATIM: The April-to-June red ink, at $3.4 billion, was smaller than a year ago. Losses came from what SoftBank calls its Vision Funds. SoftBank Vision Fund 1 marked a $12.4 billion gain since its inception, while SoftBank Vision Fund 2, set up after the first fund, was still performing at a loss of $18.6 billion.

UPS lowers 2023 revenue expectations, citing tentative labor deal

( ) -q-21- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “and households nationwide.”

Revenue declined at UPS in the second quarter.

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Time: 21s
Title: UPS-REVENUES-house-q-TUEam
Out-cue: and households nationwide]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. UPS earned $2.08 billion and posted revenue of $22.06 billion.

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VERBATIM: The package delivery company also lowered its full-year revenue expectations by $4 billion, primarily due to a tentative labor contract reached late last month with its 340,000 unionized workers. UPS reached a tentative deal with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The agreement potentially averted a strike that threatened to disrupt package deliveries for millions of businesses and households nationwide.