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The value of the pound sank precipitously on Friday, falling by more than 1% against the euro and the dollar after UK prime minister Boris Johnson’s warning on Thursday that a no-deal Brexit remained a “strong possibility”.
Sterling fell 1.3% against the euro to €1.089 and against the dollar to $1.3204 in early London trading.
The pound has been under continuous pressure since Wednesday, when Johnson and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen confirmed that “significant differences” were yet to be bridged after trade negotiations in Brussels.
The UK and EU are currently deadlocked over questions of their post-Brexit relationship, with main sticking points including competition rules and fishing rights in UK waters. The two sides have set a deadline of Sunday to reach an agreement and prevent a “no-deal” scenario that would likely cause economic chaos.
"We need to be very, very clear there's now a strong possibility that we will have a solution that's much more like an Australian relationship with the EU, than a Canadian relationship with the EU," Johnson said. Unlike Canada, Australia does not have a comprehensive trade deal with the EU, and most of its trade is subject to tariffs.
However, the UK as a nation conducts far more trade with the EU – around 47% of its overall trade compared with Australia’s 15%.
“With the UK now looking like it’s hurtling towards a no-deal Brexit, investors should adopt the brace position for swings in sterling and shares in domestic focused companies,” said Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Whether or not a deal is achieved, the UK’s temporary trade arrangements with the EU will expire on 31 December.
With the dust finally settling on the US presidential election, reactions from world leaders have been largely predictable. Heads of state have rushed to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden almost as soon as the vote swung his way in key states, with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French President Emmanuel Macron being among the first to call the former US Vice President on 7 November. More followed soon afterwards, seeking to reaffirm alliances and build early ties with the next head of the nation.
This has not been the case for all world leaders. China’s President Xi Jinping conspicuously refrained from congratulating President-elect Joe Biden on his election victory, apparently waiting until the confirmation of his winning Arizona on 13 November – and therefore depriving Trump of any conceivable comeback – to finally extend a hand. Xi’s reticence speaks to the Chinese government’s deep distrust of the US, and perhaps of the incoming administration more than the one outgoing.
Though the CCP has remained largely silent on Biden in official statements, it has made its opinions known elsewhere. "China should not harbour any illusions that Biden's election will ease or bring a reversal to China-US relations, nor should it weaken its belief in improving bilateral ties,” read an editorial published in the state-run tabloid Global Times on Sunday. “US competition with China and its guard against China will only intensify.”
To an observer, this hardly makes sense at first glance. In many respects, a Biden presidency is likely to prove beneficial to the Chinese government and economy. One of the main planks of the Trump administration’s foreign policy has been the imposition of tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of Chinese goods, sparking a trade war that Biden has slammed as “the wrong way” of confronting China and is likely to be rolled back during his term. The Trump administration’s severe restrictions on Chinese student visas are all but certain to be lifted as well, as are more minor swipes made by the outgoing government. Most of all, a Biden administration will not be prone to the same unpredictable outbursts as its predecessor, sometimes hailing Xi Jinping for his “hard work” and “transparency” and sometimes condemning him as “totalitarian”.
“US competition with China and its guard against China will only intensify.”
However, Biden’s administration will differ from Trump’s in one crucial respect: its willingness to embrace cooperation on the world stage – and, consequently, leave fewer openings for China’s ambitions. Though the Trump administration was characterised by an unpredictable foreign policy, this did not always manifest in the form of sanctions and tariffs; several abrupt policy shifts have had the effect of ceding leadership to China in key political and economic areas.
We have seen shades of this occurring recently in the White House’s refusal to join the 170-nation-strong COVAX alliance on the grounds that it was “influenced by the corrupt World Health Organisation and China”, leaving a leadership vacuum that China gladly filled. The administration’s earlier move to withdraw the US from the WHO and the United Nations Human Rights Council, both also pitched as repudiations of Chinese influence, gave the CCP further room to increase that same influence.
These are the splits that have had an obvious net positive effect for China and its image, but there have been other divergences from the international norm that have driven a wedge between the US and the international partners it ordinarily relies on in trade and diplomacy. A prominent example of this was the fracturing of the Iran nuclear deal, a high-profile break from diplomatic consensus that left allies scrambling to save trade agreements built up in the deal’s aftermath. Another was the Trump administration’s systematic blocking of nominees to the WTO Appellate Body, which renders it unable to form the quorum required to hear and resolve international trade disputes. While both of these departures were less concerned with rebuking China, they confounded America’s allies and eroded efforts to present a unified international front against threats like China’s growing economic dominance.
The chances of this erosion continuing under the Biden administration, which has posited the explicit aims of “working with our allies to stand up to China” and restoring the United States to a “position of global leadership”. Foreign leaders’ rush to build ties with Biden, even as Trump contends that the election is not over, illustrates even further that the old alliances are looking for a return to form. China is right to be wary; despite outside appearances, its economy is not an unstoppable machine. Even prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, its GDP growth in 2019 fell back to the lowest levels seen since the early 1990s, and the continual exodus of its young professionals is an albatross on its development.
As it moves to expand trade with other nations through agreements like the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership – a free trade pact spanning a third of the global economy, formed in the aftermath of the US withdrawal from the rival Trans-Pacific Partnership a year after Trump took office – and pledges to open its economy even further, China will thrive in the void of competition left by America. It remains to be seen how long this void will be maintained.
Gold prices reached their highest level in eight years on Wednesday, while market shares saw a dip in investor enthusiasm.
Spot gold XAU= rose by 0.6% to $1,777.53 per ounce. Earlier, it hit its highest going rate since October 2012 at $1,779.06 per ounce.
MCX Gold futures also saw a price increase, and the SPDR Gold Trust announced that its holdings had risen 0.28% to 1,169.25 tonnes on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the pan-European STOXX 600 index fell by 1.6%, indicating a potential three-week low.
Investor concerns can largely be attributed to rising COVID-19 infection rates in some areas of the world, with Latin America’s death toll recently having reached 100,000 and record single-day infection rates being recorded in some US states.
However, broad political concerns have added to anxiety. Reports that the United States is considering placing tariffs on $3.1 billion of exports from western European nations, and that the EU may bar US travellers due to surging COVID-19 case figures, have not aided market positivity.
Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, commented that “Gold is a clear winner from this pandemic,” noting that the commodity was initially sold off in March as investors rushed to acquire cash immediately.
“Since then gold has made substantial progress in tandem with risk assets since the March lows because of central bank action to keep a lid on bond yields. The combination of negative real yields and the prospect of an inflation surge due to massively increased money supply is sending prices higher,” Wilson continued.
The precise shape of the UK’s post-Brexit taxation regime is yet to be decided; however, the indications are that radical changes are unlikely. Much will depend on the terms of the UK-EU trade deal, which is due to be negotiated this year. The EU has been abundantly clear that UK alignment in terms of taxation, labour and environmental regulation is the price for EU market access.
Yet, former Chancellor, Sajid Javid, warned that "There will not be alignment, we will not be a rule taker, we will not be in the single market and we will not be in the customs union – and we will do this by the end of the year." It remains to be seen whether his successor, Rishi Sunak, will be as bold or soften in the face of the economic consequences of losing trade with the EU. Below, Miles Dean, Partner at Andersen Tax UK, offers Finance Monthly his predictions on what we are likely to see in terms of taxation as future trade deals are negotiated.
Given the scale of UK trade with the EU, it appears probable that substantial alignment will ultimately be seen as a wise trade-off in order to retain valuable market access to the EU. The EU remains the UK’s largest trading partner. 44% of all UK exports went to the EU in 2017, with 53% of all UK imports coming from the EU. The efficient operation of cross-border supply chains are vital to the UK’s automotive and aerospace industries. These largely depend on the free movement of goods across the Channel.
The Conservative Party’s clear majority in the 2019 general election makes the UK’s future tax policy somewhat more predictable. While some more excitable commentators feared that the Conservatives would slash corporation tax, deregulate and sell off the NHS, the party’s 2019 manifesto went in rather the opposite direction - deferring a scheduled cut in corporation tax to fund the NHS. Section 46 of the Finance Act, 2016 had pledged to reduce the rate of corporation tax from 19 percent to 17 percent from 1 April 2020. However, Prime Minister Johnson told the Confederation of British Industry’s annual conference on 18 November 2019 that the this planned reduction would be put on hold to fund the NHS and other “national priorities”.
44% of all UK exports went to the EU in 2017, with 53% of all UK imports coming from the EU.
To offset this disappointment to UK business, the Conservative Manifesto announced other business-friendly measures, including a review of business rates, an increase in the R&D tax credit rate from 12% to 13% and an increase in the structures and buildings allowance from 2% to 3%. Yet none of this amounts to anything resembling dramatic reform. Indeed, this cautious approach rather suggests that the government is heeding the EU’s bottom line in terms of alignment, and that it does not intend to radically alter the UK’s taxation regime.
The idea of the UK becoming a giant Singapore-style tax-haven after Brexit also appears to be on hold. Indeed, the government is even promising additional anti-tax avoidance measures and a new digital services tax, showing a commitment to maintaining and even expanding the UK’s tax base.
The new digital services tax may yet be influenced by trade negotiations – this time those with the United States, as regards a US-UK trade deal. The Government’s plans to introduce a 2% digital services tax from April 2020 would disproportionately affect US tech companies such as Google and Facebook. The US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin has warned of retaliation by new US taxes on UK car imports, saying “If people want to just arbitrarily put taxes on our digital companies we will consider arbitrarily putting taxes on car companies.” Downing Street replied in turn, saying that such tariffs would “harm consumers and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic. We feel [the digital tax] is a proportionate step to take in the absence of a global solution. We made our own decisions in relation to taxation and will continue to do so.”
Despite the Government’s declaration of independence in terms of taxation policy, this incident illustrates that any greater independence in trade and taxation policy brought by Brexit has limits. There will inevitably be trade-offs and constraints. UK decisions on taxation do not operate in isolation, but can have broader political and economic consequences. The UK exports some £8.4 billion worth of cars to the US each year. The early agreement of a UK-US trade is a priority for the government. US pressure may well yet influence the government’s digital taxation plans.
Nobody can predict the future. When it comes to Brexit, events are notoriously unpredictable. However, the actions of the UK government have been moderate – even if the rhetoric is sometimes less so. Mr Johnson came to power with the promise of keeping the credible threat of no-deal on the table, as a negotiating tactic. However, his aim was not to end up with no deal, but with a more favourable one. Having made the compromises required to achieve a withdrawal agreement, we can hope that a similarly reasonable approach will prevail in the UK-EU trade negotiations. No doubt the threat of no-deal will also remain on the table, for tactical reasons, as before. Therefore, while it is possible that the talks will collapse, resulting in a no-deal Brexit at the end of 2020, that outcome appears unlikely.
Even in a no-deal scenario, the Government’s no-deal Brexit tariff regime means that 88% of imports would not be taxed. The Confederation of British Industry estimates that 90% of the UK’s goods exports to the EU, by value, would face tariffs averaging 4.3%.
While the UK could theoretically abolish VAT after Brexit, the technical guidance for a no-deal Brexit indicated that the current VAT system would continue. Since it raises around £125 billion per annum, it is inconceivable that it will be abolished let alone restructured to any significant degree.
While the UK could theoretically abolish VAT after Brexit, the technical guidance for a no-deal Brexit indicated that the current VAT system would continue.
A no-deal Brexit would disproportionately impact sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing. Likewise many EU sectors would be badly affected. Since a deal is in the interests of both sides, it’s reasonable to hope that one will be achieved, even if it is imperfect.
The broad shape of a UK-EU agreement that would facilitate market access is already known. It will require sufficient UK alignment on key matters, including taxation. While the detail is undecided, in broad terms it means little change to the UK’s taxation regime. Perhaps, the government may seek some wriggle-room on VAT or corporation tax. Yet the fact that the government has shown no appetite for radical change in taxation is telling. Maintaining the status quo on taxation helps to keep a UK-EU trade deal within the government’s sights.
Miles Dean is Head of International Tax at Andersen Tax in the United Kingdom. He advises privately held multinational companies, entrepreneurs and high net worth individuals on a wide range of cross border tax issues.
Andersen Tax provides a wide range of UK and US tax services to private clients and businesses, helping them achieve their personal and commercial objectives in a tax efficient manner.
With its strong influence on the multilateral trading system, the US is undoubtedly amongst the most powerful countries in the world when it comes to trade. Over the course of his presidency, Trump’s “America First” policy, however, has increasingly been undermining international trade laws. Over the past few years, the US president has been fighting numerous battles with some of America’s trading partners, using tariffs for leverage in negotiations. And although it may look like he’s done a lot, has this led to any progress? Let’s take a look at the main measures that Mr Trump has taken to protect American trade over the past four years.
The US vs. China trade war
The trade war with China which President Trump announced in 2018 is the most prominent trade conflict we’ve witnessed in recent years. The US President has been accusing China of unfair trading practices and intellectual property theft for years, whilst China has long believed that the US is attempting to curb its rise as an economic powerhouse.
The dispute has seen the two countries impose tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of one another's goods and although they recently signed a preliminary deal, some of the most complex issues remain unresolved and most of the tariffs are still in place. The US will maintain levies of up to 25% of approximately $360bn worth of Chinese products, whilst China is anticipated to keep tariffs on over $100bn of US goods.
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)
Back in 2018, the US, Canada and Mexico signed a successor to The North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) which was renamed as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement or USMCA. The agreement governs over $1.1 trillion worth of trade between the three North American countries.
Renegotiating Nafta was one of Trump’s key goals for his presidency. "The terrible NAFTA will soon be gone. The USMCA will be fantastic for all!", he tweeted shortly after signing the new deal with America’s neighbouring countries.
However, despite the name change and the claims that the updated agreement would "change the trade landscape forever", a lot of the terms have remained the same. Stronger labour provisions and tougher rules on the sourcing of auto parts were some of the most notable changes, however, analysts believe that their significance remains to be seen.
What’s more, a number of the other updates were discussed during negotiations which took place before Trump took office.
Tariffs on European cheese, wine & aircraft
There hasn’t been a trade deal agreed with the Europan Union as of yet. In 2018, after the US introduced tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminium imported into the country, the two sides went through a round of tit-for-tat tariffs with the EU announcing retaliatory tariffs on US goods such as bourbon whiskey, motorcycles and orange juice. A few months later, in October, the US imposed a new round of tariffs on $7.5bn of EU goods, including French wine, Italian cheese and Scotch whisky. The US also imposed a 10% levy on EU-made airplanes which could hurt US airlines that have ordered billions of dollars of Airbus aircraft.
President Donald Trump has also repeatedly threatened to impose additional tariffs on European cars and although that hasn’t materialised yet, he has confirmed that he’s serious about it when he recently mentioned his plans again during the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Trade deals with South Korea & Japan
One of Trump’s first moves as President of the US was to withdraw the country from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) – a proposed trade agreement between 12 countries, which eventually went ahead without America. Since then, Mr Trump has claimed two bilateral agreements with South Korea and Japan. However, the changes were so limited that Congressional researchers concluded that they barely qualified as trade deals.
With Japan, the US agreed on either levy cuts or full elimination on $7bn worth of agricultural goods, which is what it would have received under the Trans-Pacific Partnership too.
The most notable win that came from the agreement with South Korea is the extension of the 25% US tariffs against South Korean light-duty trucks to 2041. Previously, it was scheduled to expire in 2021.
Tariffs on steel and aluminium from Brazil and Argentina
In December last year, Mr Trump surprisingly announced on Twitter that he’s ‘restoring’ tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from Brazil and Argentina.
The two South American nations have been exempted from higher duty on both metals, but according to President Trump, both countries had been devaluating their currencies which he believes is ‘not good’ for American farmers.
There hasn’t been much progress since the initial announcement, but Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro said he had been assured by Trump that the tariffs won’t materialise.
Trump’s escalation of the trade war is going to trigger a “chain reaction of negative events around the world,” says Nigel Green, the founder and CEO of deVere Group.
This warning comes as global markets are in turmoil as Donald Trump’s administration announced a long list of new products that tariffs on $200 billion worth of goods from China will be levied against.
Mr Green comments: “Trump’s escalation of the trade war between the world’s two largest economies is going to trigger a chain reaction of negative events around the world.
“It is going to lead to higher inflation in the U.S, as import tariffs raise the cost of imported goods while domestic producers find that they can increase their prices as foreign competition weakens. This means interest rates will be hiked and the dollar will go up.”
He explains: “China’s cheap goods have helped keep prices, and therefore US and global inflation, low.
“To counteract increasing inflation, the US Federal Reserve is even more likely to raise interest rates. A jump in rates will, of course, strengthen the dollar.
“A stronger dollar also increases stress in emerging markets, many of which have borrowed heavily in recent years in dollars and who now find interest and capital repayments on these loans have shot up in local currency terms. In addition, emerging markets are particularly vulnerable to a downturn in exports resulting from a rise in quotas and import by the US, given that exports are a key driver of growth for many under-developed countries with China the most obvious example’.
Mr Green goes on to say: “Trump’s trade war is a masterclass in self harm for the US and global economy.”
The deVere CEO stated last week that investors must now avoid complacency and ensure their portfolios are properly diversified to mitigate risks and take advantage of potential opportunities that all bouts of market volatility bring.
He said: “Investors need to brace themselves for months of heightened posturing from the different parties, which is likely to increase market turbulence.
“And as Trump potentially marches off to a trade war, a good fund manager will help investors sidestep the risks and embrace potential opportunities.”
(Source: deVere group)
In January this year, Trump slapped tariffs of up to 30% on imports. In March, he added tariffs of 25% and 10% on imported steel and aluminium respectively. China and the EU retaliated with actual or threatened tariffs on hundreds of imported US products, but Trump hit back with a threat of further taxes.
Companies and investors caught in the cross-fire between tit-for-tat trade wars are concerned because:
The Financial Times suggests that a global trade war could knock 1-3% off GDP over a few years. They also reported that whereas capital expenditure (capex) by some US companies had risen, a Credit Suisse survey suggested that many businesses remained more hesitant about investing. Some have opted to hold onto their mountains of cash because of the uncertain outlook caused by trade war and geo-political tensions.
With reduced capex comes reduced employment and reduced productivity gains. Inefficiency eats into profit margins and competitiveness, lowering company values and economic growth, which leads to less capex, and so the vicious downward spiral continues.
Some companies might manage the situation by shifting production overseas, but in the process losing exported jobs. Relocation would also consume investment and time to raise production and adjust to the new dynamic, and in the meantime, the profit margin would diminish.
A great drag on companies’ profits and a disruptive influence on supply chains, is the uncertainty that trade wars create. When will they end? Will they escalate? Which sectors will be affected and to what extent?
Chinese parts, for example, relied upon by US manufacturers, could become unavailable, or they might not. Just a month later, the US is backpedalling on its April 2018 ban on selling US company parts to Chinese company ZTE, a reversal that will cause turmoil among exporters and importers that must now reverse their plans to circumvent the ban.
Governments might retaliate to their counterparts in other ways. In 2016, China shut down Korean companies operating in China in retaliation to South Korea's actions. Hyundai and Lotte (both Korean) were denied car parts from local suppliers and 100 Lotte shops were closed. Countries have been known to expropriate foreign companies’ assets.
In the aftermath of the 2007 global financial crisis, investors stood on the sidelines for years with their pockets full of cash until asset prices and markets stabilised from the shock. The same hesitation could occur during trade wars and other geopolitical crises.
Higher funding costs
We have already seen some shareholders switching out of volatile equity investments into safer havens such as government bonds. That is likely to raise yields for borrowers, especially for high-yield borrowers, increasing interest payments and lowering corporate profits.
Investors’ flight to safety could significantly impact exchange rates as they dump risky currencies (such as those of some emerging market countries) and buy safer ones (such as USD), causing currency losses for companies that have not hedged their currency risks. Conversely, companies with a depreciating currency could benefit – for example, from the increase in value of overseas earnings that are reported in the depreciating currency. Those gains could be offset more or less, by higher import costs.
The IMF reckons that (without trade retaliation) the USD could appreciate by 5%. Appreciation of the USD could accelerate, causing further rises in costs of USD-denominated commodities, such as oil.
Higher oil prices would adversely affect heavy users of energy, such as aviation, motoring, and manufacturing sectors. For example, American Airlines’ share price went down 6% after it expected $2.3 billion in additional fuel costs.
Winners and losers are expected from conflicts, such as trade wars, but sometimes the outcome can be unexpected.
American company Metal Box International was going to shut down after its sales had been decimated by cheap imports, but Trump’s protectionist trade policies changed its mind.
Metal Box, and other US manufacturers of products slapped with US import duties, should have seen its market sales rise as it filled the market gap created by reduced imports.
Anti-subsidy and anti-dumping duties imposed by the US on Chinese imports did result in a pick-up in Metal Box’s sales, but it was short-lived, because, according to the company, consumers and retailers feared trade war disruption so they stocked up pre-emptively. The company increased its capex in anticipation of higher sales volumes, but the machinery now sits idle.
The company’s hopes for business success were set back further by tariffs imposed by Trump on imported steel, because the company will now probably have higher costs of steel raw material.
Stagflation and GDP
Moody’s notes that workers employed by US business sectors that use steel far outnumber those employed in its manufacture, by around 5:1. That is also the ratio of job losses: gains predicted by Trade Partnership as a consequence of US tariffs.
“Protectionist trade policies, including tariffs on raw-material imports, could exacerbate these inflationary pressures [caused by global economic growth], running the risk of tighter margins and possible supply-chain disruptions in the manufacturing sector,” said Moody’s. Inflation could necessitate faster monetary policy tightening, i.e., more interest rate hikes. That would raise companies’ costs, denting their profits.
Sustained high interest rates and inflation could stymie global economic growth and create stagflation. A March survey by BoAML found that 90% of investment managers thought protectionism would cause either inflation or stagflation, and protectionism was investors’ primary fear.
Whereas some steel users will have the ability to pass on rising metal costs (either contractually, or through their brute forces of negotiating or price-setting), smaller companies will have to absorb higher input costs to maintain market share. For the former, profit margins will be protected, for the latter, they will contract.
Where investors are concerned, borrowers also need to be concerned, because the fortunes of both are intertwined. When investors become risk-averse and hoard cash, borrowers lose access to capital or pay a higher cost. Reduced profits ultimately hurt workers’ incomes, the economy’s GDP, and investors’ return on investment.
Unchecked, stagflation could deteriorate into recession, leading to job losses, reduced investment and further corporate financial distress. With many companies and individuals already highly geared with debt, a recession or stagflation that reduces income and the ability to service debt interest obligations, could trigger a wave of personal bankruptcies or corporate insolvencies, reducing GDP further and leading potentially to recession.
Companies might have to lay off employees to remain profitable or in business. Where last-in-first-out stock valuation accounting policies are used, profits will be quickly dented, reflecting higher stock costs. Cashflow will fall because of more expensive stock, or else companies will try to stretch their trade creditors’ goodwill even farther. Companies that can control their working capital interactions are more likely to survive than those with poor credit, stock, and trade creditor management practices.
Companies’ trade credit insurance premia might increase, or be stopped of their financial position deteriorates. Credit insurance providers stopped providing credit protection to Woolworths’ suppliers, meaning it had to pay in cash, exacerbating the strain of its debt pile and leading to its administration. Without credit insurance, factoring of invoices, and conventional credit from suppliers, Toys R Us had to buy its games and toys as they were delivered. Without cash, a company’s shelves soon begin to empty, payments become overdue, staff are not paid, and operations grind to a halt, i.e., bankruptcy or insolvency ensues.
Companies that have low gearing or operate in strong cashflow sectors such as fast-moving consumer groups, might withstand a cash crisis by raising additional debt, but companies already creaking under a mountain of debt and/or debtors, are more likely to break under the strain, and relatively sooner.
Almost 2/3 of aluminium and 1/3 of steel are imported by the US. Caterpillar and Boeing were caught in the firing line between the US and its trading partners because of their heavy and critical reliance on metals, and their international operations. Investors realised the negative implications so both companies’ shares dumped, sending their prices down more than 5%.
Winners and losers
Shareholders in US steel makers made a mint from US tariffs, US Steel and AK Steel, for example, rose 6% and 10% respectively. In the longer-term, US steelmakers could lose out from trade wars, however, for example, if manufacturers relocate, cut back on domestic production volumes, or use alternatives materials.
Other winners in the latest trade spat are companies that are more inward-looking or resilient to tit-for-tat retaliation, such as healthcare and BioTech. For example, shareholders in Johnson & Johnson, Merck, and Pfizer were some of the biggest winners in March. Other defensive regions and sectors include: Australia, Brazil, parts of Europe and Japan, and sectors such as telecoms, utilities, insurance, and retail. Countries whose GDP depends heavily on exports to the US, such as Mexico and Canada, are likely to suffer most from US protectionism.
Companies are in the cross-fire between trading countries, so they need to, above all, pay close attention to their cash flow and their survival over the longer term, even at the expense of near-term profit and revenues. They also need to monitor a changing geopolitical landscape and adapt accordingly. At such times, a company is likely to soon find out how committed banks and other investors really are to the company’s survival.
Last week, stock markets fell globally in the wake of US President Trump's latest tariffs threats to China. Donald Trump threatened to put tariffs on an extra $200bn (£141bn) of Chinese goods, further fueling the prospects and worries of a trade war.
This week Finance Monthly set out to hear Your Thoughts on the potential for an international trade war, gaging the opinions of experts and professionals around the world.
We asked them: What do you think about this? How will this change things internationally? What might be the short-term reactions and impacts? What about the long term? How will you be affected? How will small businesses be affected? Who will benefit from what's to come? Is this a good strategy? What are the political and social repercussions?
Miles Eakers, Chief Market Analyst, Centtrip:
Investors are right to be concerned as Wall Street futures dropped by almost 2% following Trump’s threats to impose more tariffs. Any retaliation by Beijing is likely to fuel the escalating trade war with Washington, which will in turn have a negative impact on equities and increase risk aversion.
Investors are not the only ones troubled by the current situation. The world’s largest superpowers’ shift towards protectionism has global ramifications. International companies may grow less competitive due to tariffs and the cost of raw materials purchased overseas could rise by 10–20%. It’s highly possible that any further action from the US or China could put an end to the current 10-year bull market run.
Kasim Zafar, Portfolio Manager, EQ Investors:
An all-out trade war is unlikely and we believe this will be avoided in favour of mutually agreeable changes on both sides.
The world last entered trade wars on this scale early during the Great Depression. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff was entered into US law in June 1930, about 8 months after the “great crash”. There are mixed opinions on whether the tariffs added to the economic depression or only slowed down the ensuing recovery. But it is generally agreed the tariffs themselves were not the main cause of the Great Depression
Today there are few, if any, of the conditions that presaged the Great Depression. But the world is a different place today compared to the 1930’s. The most significant difference is the interconnected nature of global supply chains that have been built by companies in the post-War era. Abrupt changes along the supply chain in terms of physical supply or associated cost will have immediate impacts on the total costs of production. Companies are not charities, so if the cost of production goes up, so too will product prices on the shelf.
The impacts will differ between companies and across nations dependent upon:
The UK runs a goods deficit of over £130 billion per annum of which about 10% is with the US directly. So for the average UK consumer, the direct implication of US originated tariffs on items we buy is fairly limited in scope. The impact of tariffs on things we sell is limited also with only about 10% of UK exports heading for the US directly. The bigger risk we face is the secondary impacts from companies and countries that are impacted to a higher degree:
Carlo Alberto De Casa, Chief Analyst, ActivTrades:
The trade war escalation is unsurprisingly scaring the markets. The main reason for this is actually the belief that this is only the beginning of the escalation, as China has already clarified that it will reply to US tariffs with its own. Of course, this could have many impacts. In the short term, US companies which are importing will have to pay more, while advantages for US producers will be positive, even if that’s a much smaller proportion overall. But what is scaring markets is definitely the long-term scenario, that the trade war will grow to affect more economical sectors.
This won’t only affect the big companies, it could also have a serious impact on smaller ones and retail consumers. A typical example to explain this is something like the beer can, the cost of which will rise due to the aluminum tariffs. The implications can be far wider than what you might originally think.
It is difficult to say whether this is a good strategy; we can surely affirm that this is a risky strategy as you can’t completely predict or control the effects it will have, especially in the long term. The ball is now firmly in the court of those who trade with America.
There’s little certainty that this will help drive the US economy. If this is the effect wanted by Donald Trump, then you have to consider that the tariffs which will be decided by other countries are what will drive the results. It could at best create jobs in one sector, but the additional jobs generated will likely result in a loss in other sectors. Overall, it’s hard to see this policy accomplishing its goals.
Bodhi Ganguli, Chief Economist, Dun & Bradstreet:
Rising protectionist measures from the US government are creating significant uncertainty for global businesses and adding to cross-border risks. After some optimism that the US hardline stance on tariffs was softening a bit, new announcements from the administration have re-ignited fears that the ongoing skirmishes could blow up into a full-fledged trade war, particularly between the US and China. The latest announcement came from President Trump on 22nd June when he threatened to impose new tariffs of 20% on auto imports from the EU unless the EU removed tariffs on US goods. It should be noted that, some of these EU tariffs on US exports went into effect earlier the same day; these were retaliatory tariffs in response to US tariffs already implemented on steel and aluminum (most trading partners were exempted, except the EU, Canada and Mexico). Equity prices of major European automakers dropped immediately following the announcement, highlighting the intricacies of global supply chains and their dependence on smooth trade flows between nations. In fact, all major global stock markets have seen episodes of selloffs in the past few weeks in reaction to worries that trade restrictions are rising.
The latest round of proposed US barriers to free trade have come with a pronounced inclination by the US to move away from traditional norms of multilateralism based on the WTO principles, including measures specifically directed at longtime allies like the EU and Canada. This has the potential to spill over into other areas of geopolitical risk, and pose added headwinds to the global economy. While the extent of the EU retaliation is modest so far, other countries are stepping up or planning ‘tit-for-tat’ tariffs against the US. India just hiked tariffs on a selection of US goods, while similar Canadian tariffs are scheduled to come into effect on 1st July. Of course, the biggest risk of disruption comes from the US-China spat; earlier the same week, China threatened to hit back with a combination of quantitative and qualitative measures after President Trump ordered his team to identify USD200b in Chinese imports for additional tariffs of 10% with provision for another USD200b after that if China retaliates. The global economy is still expanding; although divergences in policy are signaling desynchronization in the near term, it can still withstand some fluctuations in equity indexes. But the bigger underlying risk is that if the trade rhetoric does not die down, or if it becomes a significant headwind, stock markets will face sustained downward trends as investor confidence is impaired, eventually leading to a spillover into the real economy.
We would also love to hear more of Your Thoughts on this, so feel free to comment below and tell us what you think!
US President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were all jokes and smiles for the media as they met at the Group of Seven leaders summit in Quebec on Friday, but neither budged on the serious trade dispute between them.
With the ongoing spat between the United States and China, which seems to be only getting uglier, Katina Hristova explores the history of trade wars and the lessons that they teach us.
Trade wars date back to, well, the beginning or international trade. From British King William of Orange putting steep tariffs on French wine in 1689 to encourage the British to drink their own alcohol, through to the Boston Tea Party protest when the Sons of Liberty organisation protested the Tea Act of May 10 1773, which allowed the British East India company to sell tea from China in American colonies without paying any taxes – 17th and 18th century saw their fair share of trade related arguments on an international level.
Boston Tea Party/Credit:Wikimedia Commons
Trade wars were by no means rare in the late 19th century. One of the most infamous examples of a trade conflict that closely relates to Donald Trump’s sense of self-defeating protectionism is the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act (formally United States Tariff Act of 1930) which raised the US already high tariffs and along with similar measures around the globe helped torpedo world trade and, as economists argue, exacerbated the Great Depression. As a response to US’ protectionism, nations across the globe began striking each other with an-eye-for-an-eye tariffs – countries in Europe put taxes on American goods, which, understandably, slowed trade between the US and Europe. As we all know, the Depression had an impact on virtually every country in the world – resulting in drastic declines in output, widespread unemployment and acute deflation. Even though most countries began to recover between 1932 and 1933, the world was hit by World War II shortly after that. In 1947, once the war was over, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) was established - in an attempt to regulate international trade, strengthen economic development and hopefully, avoid a second global trade war after the one from the 1930s.
Schoolchildren line up for free issue of soup and a slice of bread in the Depression/Credit:Flickr
Another more recent analogy from the past that could be applied to the current conflict between two of world’s leading economies, is the so-called ‘Chicken War’ of 1963. The duel between the US and the Common Market began when European countries, feeling endangered by US’ new methods of factory farming, imposed tariffs on US chicken imports. For American poultry farmers, the Common Market tariffs virtually meant that they will lose their rich export market in West Germany and other European regions. Their retaliation? Tariffs targeting European potato farmers, Volkswagen campers and French cognac. 55 years later, as the Financial Times reports, the ‘chicken tax’ on light trucks is still in place, predominantly paid by Asian manufacturers, and has resulted in enduring distortions.
President Trump may claim that ‘trade wars are good’ and that ‘winning them is easy’, but history seems to indicate otherwise. In fact, a closer look at previous examples of trade conflicts seems to suggest that there are very few winners in this kind of fight.
For now, all we can do is wait and see if Trump’s extreme protectionism and China’s responses to it will destroy the post-World War II trading system and result in a global trade war; hoping that it won’t.
There has been a lot of recent news regarding trade tariffs, as America and China impose a number of greater tariffs on a wide range of each other’s goods. Is this all political showboating though, or do they actually have an impact?
Trade tariffs were introduced to increase the ease and competition, while decreasing the costs of shipping goods abroad. This has been a great source of growth for international business and globalisation, yet there are concerns that it isn’t always beneficial to everyone involved.
The Role of Trade Tariffs
According to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), trade tariffs are customs duties or taxes on merchandise imports. This provides an advantage to locally produced goods over those which are imported therefore, while those sourced from abroad help raise greater revenues for governments. Countries can set their own trade tariffs and change these when desired, though this can result in tense political situations when tariffs are called into question.
Trade tariffs are used to protect developing economies and their growing industries, while they can be used by advance nations too. These are a few common roles for trade tariffs:
There are many examples throughout history where trade tariffs have been used in many such ways, and they’re still being implemented as political weapons today. That alone suggests that they do work.
In the simplest terms, trade tariffs increase the price of imported goods. It means that domestic companies don’t need to increase their prices to compete, though this does allow some businesses that wouldn’t exist in a more competitive market to continue running. Without trade tariffs it would be something of a free border for goods, that could see high levels of unemployment in some countries with low production levels.
Trade tariffs can also be used to help limit volume too, by raising them to tempt consumers to stick with domestic goods and slow down the amount being exported if businesses are priced out. The higher the tariffs the less likely businesses in overseas countries are likely to export.
Benefits of tariffs can help governments raise revenues, especially in times of need, while for domestic companies they benefit from less competition. When tariffs are levied many domestic businesses can really benefit in these times. However, for consumers and businesses that rely on importing certain materials or goods, such as steel for production, the price can become inflated due to tariffs. There are constant shifts in benefits, with consumer consumption often lowered with higher tariffs for the short term, for example.
America’s Trade War
The changing global economy means that businesses need to implement key strategies to deal with such shifts, as explained by RSM. A great example of how the global economy is changing is with a step towards deglobalisation, best demonstrated by President Trump’s ideas of protecting and improving US manufacturing by adapting tariffs and effectively starting a trade war with China.
This started in early March 2018 when the USA imposed a 25 per cent tariff on the imports of steel entering the country. Such a move was designed to protect the US steel industry but has impacted upon the stock market and China, along with over 1,000 more tariffs, which is the USA’s biggest trade partner.
However, history has shown that trade wars for the USA aren’t always successful, with one in the 1930s excelling the Great Depression to increase unemployment levels to 25 per cent of the country. Whether this latest attempt works or not remains to be seen. Either way, businesses need to employ flexible strategies to prepare for many of the globalisation issues which could affect or destabilise the world’s economy in the future.
“Strong global market sentiment for risky assets, a weakened dollar and geopolitical turmoil in the Middle East underline the need for a long-term multi-asset portfolio”, asserts a leading global analyst at one of the world’s largest international advisory organisations.
deVere Group’s International Investment Strategist Tom Elliot, is weighing in after the IMF upgraded its estimate of global GDP growth this year to 3.9%.
Mr Elliot comments: “We have seen an unusually strong start to the year for risk assets, as global investors appear confident that a period of non-inflationary, globally synchronised economic growth is underway.
“Equities and non-core bond markets have benefited from strong inflows in recent weeks, with a slow creep upwards in core government bond yields doing little to deter enthusiasm for risk.
“The MSCI World index of developed market shares is up 7.0% since the start of January, and up 5.5% in local currency terms. The Japanese economy grew at an annual rate of 1.4% in the third quarter 2017, despite a shrinking population. And the MSCI Emerging Market index is up 9.9% since January.
Mr Elliot details three major theories that are on offer for these developments: “Firstly, the ECB and the Bank of Japan look likely to end their quantitative easing programs earlier than had been anticipated, so bringing forward the date when those central banks might also start to raise interest rates.
“Secondly, Trump’s tax cuts announced in December are worth an estimated $1.5tr over the next five years, at a time when the labour market is already tight. This raises fears of wage inflation pushing up CPI inflation.
“And thirdly, a suspicion by many FX traders that the Trump administration wants a weaker dollar as a deliberate tool for narrowing the trade deficit, to be used alongside more overtly protectionist policies. Trump denied this while in Davos on Thursday, calling for a strong dollar… ‘ultimately’.”
Mr Elliot underlines how Sterling’s strength has contributed to a return on the MSCI U.K. index of -0.2%, as dollar-earning FTSE100 heavyweights have come under pressure, and to a return on the MSCI World index in sterling terms of just 2.0%.
He goes on to say that Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ policy poses only a modest attack on free trade, and that it should be contextualised.
Mr Elliot states: “Bush raised tariffs on European steel imports early in his first term, and massively expanded agricultural subsidies. The sky did not fall down. We must hope that Trump’s attacks on free trade remain relatively specific and do not become broad in scope.” At the same time, Central bank policy errors remain “a key risk to capital markets”, asserts Elliot.
He says: “Anything that produces a sudden rise in core government bond yields, or cash rates, are a threat to stock markets and high yield bonds.”
“Meanwhile, geopolitical turmoil in the Middle East should be observed closely”, says deVere’s top analyst.
Mr Elliot comments: “The Middle East is developing new themes that one needs to keep an eye on, partly because of the ongoing risk of a regional clash, but also due to the young populations who are less conservative and less inclined to tolerate the status quo.”
He concludes: “As such, I strongly advise a multi-asset portfolio for the long term to offset financial volatility, centred around 60% global equities and 40% global bonds.
“Such funds predicated on this principle are available in spades and differ according to the level of risk for suitable investors, who more often than not, value certain returns over high-risk gambles.”
(Source: deVere Group)


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Covid-19 was not an omen of misfortune for Amazon, unlike many other companies.
Its share price has actually risen since March, reaching a record high last week.
It turns out that online retailing isn’t a bad place to be when all the stores are closed. Jeff Bezos’ cloak as the richest man on the planet looks safe for now.
But all over the world, governments look to Amazon and ask if the tech giant is – well – too big.
Do you wrongly use your dominant position?
The EU now appears set to blame Amazon for anti-competitive behavior. This could cost Amazon a lot of money and could alter the shopping experience it offers customers.
What is the EU doing?
At the heart of the EU’s concerns is Amazon’s dual role.
He runs an online store and also sells his products on that platform. The criticism is that it is both the player and the referee.
Speaking to the BBC last year, the executor of the European competition Margrethe Vestager said: “We never accept in a football game that a team was judging the game.”
What could Amazon be accused of?
Much of the EU’s concern is believed to focus on the data Amazon has access to and how it uses it. It can display sensitive commercial information on third-party products, such as volume and price.
The big question is: is the company using that data to give its Amazon products an unfair advantage?
For example, the Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon had access to third-party vendor data to develop its products.
In other words, Amazon understands what sells well on its platform and can simply replicate what sells best.
There are also other accusations.
If you buy a product on Amazon, you will get other similar products that will be suggested to you in a pop-up called “Buy Box”.
If you are interested in selling products, having your product in the Amazon Buy Box is – to put it simply – a good thing.
But does Amazon unfairly promote its products at third party expenses? The EU is sniffing in this area.
What does Amazon say?
The general defense is that there are many companies that act both as a shop and as a supplier. Tesco and Sainsbury’s both sell their labeled products in their stores, for example.
They also argue that – far from being anti-competitive – private label products are good for customers and offer more choice.
Amazon told BBC: “We strictly prohibit our employees from using vendor-specific non-public data to determine which private label products to launch.”
The company also wanted to point out that it already publishes data on how well some products sell online (just go to the “Movers and Shakers” section of the website).
How will it affect you?
Amazon critics believe this is a time that will set the boundaries of what is legally acceptable on the online market.
But it’s still not entirely clear – even if Amazon were to be fined – how this would affect Amazon’s business mode or online shopping more generally.
Augustin Reyna, of the European Consumer Organization, told the BBC: “The question is more, in the medium to long term, if Amazon were allowed to continue with these practices, consolidating its position on the market, it would be able to limit the choice and increase the prices “.
A debit card could be published as soon as this week.
However, the European Commission has tight lips: currently it will only say that the investigation is “ongoing”.
In theory, Amazon could be fined 10% of its global revenue if found guilty of violating competition law – around £ 15 billion ($ 19 billion).
Even for Amazon it would be an attractive sum.
But don’t expect it to happen overnight. It is unlikely that we will have a judgment until next year soon. And even if Amazon is fined, it can – and almost certainly would – appeal.
Can Amazon Relax?
Well no. Other countries have become interested in the EU’s muscular approach to large technologies.
In 2017, for example, the EU fined Google £ 2.1 billion for allegedly burying Google searches for rivals.
Rather than falling in love, seduced even by tech titans, the EU has clearly been unimpressed by some of their behavior.
And this is being canceled. Over the weekend, officials in California and Washington were also reportedly reviewing Amazon’s business practices with respect to third-party vendors.
A number of other anti-competitive investigations are also ongoing in the United States looking at Amazon and other major tech companies, such as Facebook and Google.

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The End Brooklyn, a coffee shop in New York City, says it made a unicorn coffee concoction first, and Starbucks’ bright pink-and-blue drink has caused customers of the Brooklyn shop to think it was the knockoff.
Now The End Brooklyn, a coffee shop in New York City, is claiming that Starbucks’ insanely popular, bright pink-and-blue drink has overshadowed The End’s own Unicorn Latte to such an extent that it’s caused what may be “irreparable” damage.
The End and its owner, Montauk Juice Factory, filed a lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of New York, claiming that Starbucks’ Unicorn Frappuccino infringed on The End’s Unicorn Latte creation.
The Brooklyn coffee house says it began selling its Unicorn Latte, a blue-and-pink drink made with ingredients including cold-pressed ginger, lemon juice, dates, blue-green algae and vanilla bean but with no coffee or milk, in December. It applied to register the name with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in January.
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“In addition to having a highly similar name, Starbucks’ Unicorn Frappuccino shares visual similarities to the Unicorn Latte in that both were brightly colored and featured the colors pink and blue prominently,” the lawsuit claims.
After Starbucks released its Unicorn Frappuccino for a limited run from April 19 to 23, customers began assuming The End’s product was a knockoff, and it was reduced to an “also ran” on social media and online publications, the lawsuit says.
Josh Schiller of the Boies Schiller Flexner law firm in New York said the lawsuit was filed to “protect a local business from having its valuable intellectual property taken by a global corporation.”
Starbucks said it believes the lawsuit has no merit.
“The Starbucks Unicorn Frappuccino blended beverage was inspired by the fun, spirited and colorful unicorn-themed food and drinks that have been trending in social media,” Starbucks said in a statement.
Owners of The End are asking the court to, among other things, order Starbucks to turn over all its profits from sales of the Unicorn Frappuccino, and to bar the coffee giant from ever using the “Unicorn Frappuccino” name again.


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National Latino Events in 2010-11
National Hispanic Medical Association's 15th Annual Conference
Washington, DC March 17-20, 2011
NACCS XXXVIII (National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies): Sites for Education for Social Justice
March 30-April 2, 2011
Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities’ 16th Annual National Capitol Forum on Hispanic Higher Education
The Westin Hotel City Center Washington, DC April 4-5, 2011
2011 Call for Papers
JOINT NATIONAL CONFERENCES
National Association of Hispanic and Latino Studies Conference Papers must be submitted by April 29, 2011 Conference will be held September 29-October 1, 2011
Town & Country Hotel San Diego, California For more infromation visit http://www.naaas.org/western%20regional%20cfp.pdf
NY Education Commissioner Pushes for DREAM Act
October 15th, 2011 By Pat Young
The New York Board of Regents is expected to begin a push for passage of the DREAM Act next week according to the New York Times:
When they vote on their legislative agenda on Tuesday, New York State’s top education officials will focus for the first time on the contentious topic of illegal immigration.
The agenda, proposed by the state education commissioner, John B. King Jr., to the Board of Regents, has as a top priority a proposal to push Congress to pass legislation that would provide a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants who go to college. Included in that legislation, known as the Dream Act, is a provision that would give students who are in the country illegally access to tuition assistance at city and state universities. The agenda is expected to be approved. Read more...
Dilcia Granville First Dominican Inventor By Jose Acosta
New York- Dominican businesswoman Dilcia Granville became the first Dominican to the patent inventor and market the product American Dip & See, the only portable indicator of sugar in the drink.
The idea came about when her friend who has diabetes fell into a coma for three months, after drinking a drink in a restaurant which she was told had no sugar.
Her friend told Granville: Can you believe in this market so big of the United States, there is no portable instrument to measure how much sugar is in a drink that someone is going to drink?
"I began to question, I could not believe that there was no portable instrument that measures the sugar to help diabetics and people with obesity problems, but after investigating I found out that it was true," said Granville.
While Granville has a doctorate in philosophy and science is not her field, her preparation led her to study and investigate how to invent Dip & See, until she discovered that it was not so complicating and made it.
The Dominican inventor said that in the United States there are more than 10 million people with diabetes and more than 57 million unaware that they have it, and among them are many who suffer from critical diabetes and therefore need to avoid sugar consumption .
"In the market there are many drinks that people typically do not know that had sugar added to them," said Granville. "With this product, people can know whether a drink contains sugar before you they drink it," she said.
Once she invented the product, Granville revealed that the most difficult was to open her business. I felt lonely. When I went to the chambers of commerce, I was with established entrepreneurs who were looking to expand their businesses, not start them, "said Granville." I was looking for information on how to copyright my product, register the mark and establish myself as a businesswoman. "
The inventor said she got her answers by visiting the internet, visiting sites of the whole world. "Everything is very complicated. I think there should be an agency dedicated to helping Latina women with a talent for invention. So I created the Dominican Women's Council to provide advice and help women start a business," said Granville. "The aid is widely dispersed, there is a hotline," she added. The Dominican entrepreneur said she invented Dip & See in 2007, and last week the retail chain Walmart contacted her to see if they put her invention on the market "I'm ready for it, I'm very happy. It is hard work and you must call on many doors to get it. I am very proud to be the first inventor Dominican and hope that women with talent for inventing draw their ideas and launched to implement them, "said Granville.
To learn more about the Granville’s invention visit the website: http://dipandsee.com
To View the article visit: http://www.impre.com/eldiariony/noticias/comunidad/2010/12/3/dilcia-granville--primera-inve-225826-1.html#commentsBlock


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Thanks to Netflix, Christmas is coming early this year! The streaming service’s new original holiday flick Christmas Chronicles 2 officially premiered on Wednesday, November 25. To celebrate its release, Darby Camp and Jahzir Bruno caught up with J-14 exclusively and recounted their funniest memories from working alongside film legends Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn. But that’s not all! The young stars also shared their favorite holiday movies to watch during Christmastime. Be sure to watch the video above!
Love J-14? Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for fun, exclusive videos with your favorite stars.


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Black celebrities are continuing to grace of the covers of magazines. We saw how Black girl magic took over in 2018, well, in 2019 these publishers are keeping the same energy.
The men in entertainment are getting some well-deserved love, too. Frank Ocean covered GQ's January issue and Travis Scott expanded his fashion palate wearing Saint Laurent on the February cover of L'Uomo Vogue. Talk about iconic!
After months of watching magazine covers, last year was a record-breaking year for diversity, particularly in fashion.
According to Fashionista, diversity was up this year 17 percent from 2017 — a record-breaking jump since the industry site began keeping track five years ago. Fashionista counted the domestic newsstand editions of nine print magazines and found that in total, 62 out of the 128 covers counted starred Black or brown women (including those who identify as mixed race and of Latin or Hispanic descent). Talk about sprinkling our magic!
Michelle Obama took our breathe away covering Elle’s December issue to debut her highly anticipated book. Cardi B graced the cover of Entertainment Weekly as "Entertainer of the Year." Serena Williams was named GQ’s “Woman of the Year,” and we can’t forget about Rihanna and Beyoncé’s iconic Vogue covers.
Of course much of this increase is due to the ceiling-shattering number of Black women who covered the highly anticipated September issues: 54.5 percent of September’s covers starred people of color, a 32.3 percent increase from the year before.
We were celebrating a couple of months ago when these queens covered the September issues, but little did we know, we would continue to get the love that’s long overdue and very well deserved.
Having Black women on these covers isn't only special, but it’s monumental in 2018.
InStyle magazine is leading the pack of diversity with 75 percent of their covers featuring people of color this year. Although Rihanna and Beyoncé broke the internet with their Vogue covers, Vogue didn't improve on diversifying their covers at all besides hiring Tyler Mitchell as their first Black cover photographer.
So this is just a reminder that Black entertainers shouldn’t go unrecognized.
Take a look at all the magic below:
Billy Porter looks stunning on the cover of Allure's The Art of Beauty issue. The iconic actor, singer, and style idol opened up about being unapolgetically himself.
John Legend and Chrissy Teigen appear on the December cover of Vanity Fair. They pose with their beautiful babies, Miles, 17-months and Luna, age 3. The couple discusses politics and raising their family in the cover story. Chrissy is styled to perfection in a floral, ruffle sleeve Marc Jacobs dress, while John is casual in Dior. They are such a gorgeous family. Can we say #familygoals!?
Oprah stuns on the November cover of People magazine where she shares the 5 moments that changed her life. She graced the pages in a black gown with her perfectly tamed natural coils. Her hair is goals!
Rihanna graces another Vogue magazine cover wearing a sheer look from her name's sake FENTY line. The superstar turned mogul opens up about turning down the opportunity to perform at the Superbowl, and what she has planned for her FENTY line in the future. The issue will hit stands on Friday, October 10.
Lena, Melina, and Jodie are the ladies behind the thought-provoking upcoming film, 'Queen and Slim.' They graced Elle magazines Women In Hollywood stunning in different hues of blue. Styled by Shiona Turini, this trio is a force to be reckoned with!
J. Cole opened up to GQ magazine about music and life as a father. He was styled like we've never seen him before, in 10 different designer outfits, and was even featured a lynx in the spread. To read the full article, check out GQ. The April issue is on newsstands now.
(Photo: Mark Seliger for Vanity Fair)
TRENDING IN STYLE
For the past 10 years, Yusef has been dictating all of the beauty trends we emulate via his most famous client, none other than Rihanna. He started out his career as a performer, but he ended up behind the scenes. In Hairstory, he details his rise in the industry from aspiring singer to creative directing the hair for Fenty x Puma.


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Congresswoman hails step toward nationwide legal weed
Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury hosted a virtual town hall meeting on April 5 that hailed the success of the House of Representatives in passing a law that would make cannabis legal for adult recreational use across the United States.
The MORE Act was passed by Congress on April 1. MORE stands for Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement.
"It really lays the groundwork for decriminalizing and legalizing cannabis to bring the federal government more in line with New Mexico and other states that have legalized cannabis," she said.
As adult-use cannabis sales get underway in New Mexico, retailers are reporting millions of dollars spent on the substance in just a few days.
While 18 states and the District of Columbia have legalized adult-use recreational weed, it's still illegal on a federal level.
This patchwork can lead to problems like the risk of Customs and Border Protection officials detaining people and confiscating product in New Mexico. Or issues for cannabis producers banking in traditional banks.
Congresswoman Stansbury said the federal legislation was unlikely to pass the Senate, but that it could still be a step toward broad legalization.
"Part of the point is to go through the process to continue to elevate these issues and put them at the forefront of the American agenda," she said. "Less than 10% of Americans believe that marijuana or cannabis should be completely illegal, less than 10% of the population. Over 60% of Americans believe that it should be legal for both medical and recreational use."
Callers in to the virtual town hall had concerns about whether more young people would consume cannabis, and whether the medical supply would be protected.


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Wholesale price inflation was 0.16% in October.
“As expected, a further spike in the inflation for primary food articles to a 71 month high 11.1%, drove up the WPI inflation in November 2019, arresting the downtrend seen in the previous two months,” said Aditi Nayar, principal economist at ICRA.
Inflation in onions rose a whopping 172.3% last month while that in vegetables was up 45.32%.
Inflation in manufactured products remained unchanged at -0.84 % during the month under review while that in fuel and power was -7.32%.
Official data released last week showed retail inflation rising to over a 3-year high of 5.54% in November due to costlier food products like vegetables, pulses and protein-rich items.
As per Nayar, the primary food inflation is likely to track a volatile trend, remaining elevated in December before correcting rapidly in the next quarter as vegetable prices normalise.
“Overall, we expect the WPI inflation to average 1.5% in FY20,” she said.
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Launched earlier this year, the limited edition of 5,000 individually numbered boxes of Cohiba Robustos Reserva Cosecha 2014 cigars have caused a stir worldwide. Baroque Access finds out why you should add a box of Cohiba cigars to your Festive season stash
The leaves used to create the limited edition Cohiba Robustos Reserva Cosecha 2014 Cuban cigars take 3 years to age. And the unique cigars, which come in a limited edition of just 5,000 boxes of 20 units each, which were released earlier in 2018 at the XX Habanos Festival, have a long half-a-century history behind them. The Cohiba brand is famous for its smooth, quality cigars. Fidel Castro’s preferred brand, the cigars have been around since 1966, and are considered the best in Havana.
Habanero doesn’t launch a new cigar lightly – the Reserva Cosecha 2014 cigars represent the brand’s excellence in the world of tobacco. They have been enthusiastically received by cigar lovers – and no wonder. The tobacco leaves used to create these exceptional cigars are from the best plantations in Cuba, in SanJuan y Martínez and San Luis in the Vuelta Abajo area of Pinar del Río.
The cigars are not only aged for 3 years; in addition, 2 of the 3 types of tobacco leaves undergo additional fermentation, and it is this special treatment that gives the cigars their unmistakable, signature aroma and flavor. Of course, there’s more. They are hand made from start to finish.
The first Habanos Gran Reserva were revealed in 2009. The brand, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2016, has launched even more spectacular products including the Cohiba50 Aniversario cabinet humidor, of which only 50 pieces were made, and the special edition Cohiba Majestuosos 1966. Another limited edition, the Cohiba Talisman, was revealed in 2017.
The brand’s fame has increased exponentially; it now boasts an almost irrational popularity, where people are prepared to pay ridiculously high prices to purchase these indulgent products. Whilst they have always had a certain cachet, Cohiba cigars were initially created for diplomatic gifts. They were only considered prestigious by the rest of the world when they became available to the public in 1982.
So what makes them so special? According to aficionados, the flavors are rich, yet subtle at the same time – one of the reasons the latest selection of limited editions has found fame all the way around the world including in China. The price literally changes on a daily basis, depending on demand. Cohiba cigars range from $443 per cigar right up to $6 326 each for limited edition anniversary products.
Sadly, word has it that the Limited Edition Cohiba Robustos Reserva Cosecha 2014 cigars are sold out, due to high demand. But there are plenty of other stunning Cohiba cigars to celebrate Christmas with.


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Hertz to sell 20,000 EVs in shift back to gas-powered cars
The sales of 20,000 EVs began last month and will continue over the course of 2024, the rental giant said Thursday in a regulatory filing. Hertz expects to record a non-cash charge in its fourth-quarter results of US$245 million related to incremental net depreciation expense.
“The company expects to reinvest a portion of the proceeds from the sale of EVs into the purchase of internal combustion engine vehicles to meet customer demand,” Hertz said. “The company expects this action to better balance supply against expected demand of EVs.”
In October, Hertz chief executive Stephen Scherr said the company would scale back on EVs, which had made up 11 per cent of its total fleet. Teslas represented 80 per cent of that. He said EVs come with higher repair costs compared to the rest of its cars, which has hurt its bottom line. “EV’s will be slower than our prior expectations,” he said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call.
Hertz’s shares fell 4.3 per cent to US$8.95 as of 10:01 a.m. in New York.
Richard Clough, Bloomberg
Bitcoin pushes past US$49,000 as trading of U.S. spot ETFs begins
Bitcoin pushed past US$49,000 for the first time since December 2021 with trading commencing on the first U.S. exchange-traded funds that invest directly in the biggest cryptocurrency.
The token’s price advanced as much as 6.7 per cent to $49,021, the highest since December 2021, buoyed by the approval of 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission after markets closed on Wednesday.
“A much wider audience of investors can now buy into Bitcoin in an easy and reliable way,” said Michael Safai, founding partner at Dexterity Capital.
“The ETF is effectively a watershed moment for financial advisers who now must have an opinion on this asset-class,” said Sui Chung, chief executive of data provider CF Benchmarks, which supplies indexes for several of the approved ETFs. “They might still not recommend it to their clients, but the fact it’s now available through a regulated product means they must at least have a viewpoint. This could open the door to a much more steady flow of interest and flows into the asset-class.”
Oil climbs as tanker seizure by Iran adds fuel to Middle East volatility
Oil climbed after Iran seized a tanker in the Gulf of Oman, the latest in a run of incidents involving merchant shipping that could threaten key shipping lanes.
Global benchmark Brent advanced above US$78 a barrel on Thursday. Iran said it seized an oil tanker near the Gulf of Oman that was at the centre of a contentious sanctions dispute between the Persian Gulf state and the United States. It adds a fresh dose of volatility to a region in which the U.S. and allies are weighing options for retaliating against Yemen-based Houthi militants for attacks on Red Sea shipping.
“The more widespread the retaliation against the Houthis, the more likely the Houthis are to escalate their attacks against civilian ships in the Red Sea, against coalition warships and even potentially against targets in Yemen and the Gulf Cooperation Council,” Ryan Bohl, a Middle East analyst at risk intelligence consultancy RANE Network, said on Bloomberg Television.
Markets open: Stocks drop on U.S. inflation miss
Wall Street was down after a report showed U.S. inflation came in warmer than expected.
The S&P 500 fell 0.06 per cent early Thursday, after initially touching the record high it reached two years ago in initial trading. The Dow was down 0.31 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite was down 0.19 per cent.
In Canada, the S&P/TSX composite index was down 0.21 per cent with almost all the sectors registering losses.
Stocks roared higher late last year on expectations that cooling inflation would prompt the United States Federal Reserve to cut rates sharply. Altogether the report will likely cause traders to push back forecasts for the timing of the first cut to rates, analysts said.
The Associated Press
U.S. inflation comes in higher than expected in December
Thursday’s report from the Labor Department showed that overall prices rose 0.3 per cent from November and 3.4 per cent from 12 months earlier. Those gains exceeded the previous 0.1 per cent monthly rise and the 3.1 per cent annual inflation in November.
Excluding volatile food and energy costs, so-called core prices rose just 0.3 per cent month over month, unchanged from November’s increase. Core prices were up 3.9 per cent from a year earlier, down a tick from November’s four per cent year-over year gain. Economists pay particular attention to core prices because, by excluding costs that typically jump around from month to month, they are seen as a better guide to the likely path of inflation.
Overall inflation has cooled more or less steadily since hitting a four-decade high of 9.1 per cent in mid-2022. Still, the persistence of still-elevated inflation helps explain why, despite steady economic growth, low unemployment and healthy hiring, polls show many Americans are dissatisfied with the economy — a likely key issue in the 2024 elections.
The Federal Reserve, which began aggressively raising interest rates in March 2022 to try to slow the pace of price increases, wants to reduce year-over-year inflation to its two per cent target level.
The Associated Press
Aritizia sales rise unexpectedly on new styles, higher markdowns
Aritzia Inc. reported an unexpected increase in sales for the third quarter as new inventory and higher markdowns drew in customers.
The Vancouver-based retailer’s revenue came in at $653.5 million, beating the average analyst estimate of $621.9 million. Sales rose 4.6 per cent from a year earlier, while analysts expected a decline.
Adjusted earnings came in at 47 cents per share compared with the average estimate of 41 cents.
“Although the consumer environment remains mixed, we generated sales growth across all of our geographies and channels, as clients responded well to our new styles and outerwear offering,” chief executive Jennifer Wong said in a statement after market close Jan. 10.
Management also said it expects to introduce new styles for the spring, which could further draw in customers and boost sales. The retailer also expects its inventory issues to improve by then.
Aritzia shares lost almost half their value over 2023 after the hype surrounding the company at the time failed to translate into financial success. Much of the hope for growth rests on its long-term plan to expand in the United States.
For the current quarter, the company sees sales of $670 million to $690 million, compared with the estimate of $677.6 million. Gilbert said seasonal contribution from the brand’s famous Super Puff jacket gives it a “strong franchise.”
Lara Sanli, Bloomberg
Stock markets before the opening bell
United States equity futures and European stocks ticked higher as investors prepared for inflation data that will help clarify the path for U.S. Federal Reserve policy.
Contracts for the S&P 500 pointed to small gains after the gauge wiped out all losses from the start of the year and closed just short of an all-time high set two years ago. Cryptocurrency stocks extended an advance in premarket trading after regulators approved exchange-traded funds that invest directly in bitcoin.
The U.S. inflation report is top of mind for traders Thursday. More evidence of cooling price pressures will support optimism around expectations for Fed interest rate cuts, but a hot reading could spur volatility. Economists tracked by Bloomberg expect year-over-year core inflation to fall to 3.8 per cent in the December data from four per cent in the prior month.
In Canada, the S&P/TSX composite index closed up up 18.44 points at 20,989.42 on Wednesday.
What to watch today
The Economic Club of Canada hosts their annual Economic Outlook Breakfast with chief economists from Toronto-Dominion Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia, Bank of Montreal, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Royal Bank of Canada.
The United States consumer price index for December will be released this morning.
Recommended from Editorial
Need a refresher on yesterday’s top headlines? Get caught up here.
Additional reporting by The Canadian Press, Associated Press and Bloomberg


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The competition just got a whole lot tougher for Humana in the bargain basement Medicare drug plan category.
As of Oct. 1, Medicare Advantage and Part D plans could start marketing their new offerings for 2012. Perhaps the most talked-about products will be prescription drug plans that have preferred pharmacy networks to encourage generic drug utilization, which will become more prevalent next year.
In 2011, Humana attracted more than 1 million members to its Humana Walmart-Preferred Rx Medicare prescription drug plan. The unique plan made waves across the industry because it offered the lowest monthly premium nationwide and had a preferred pharmacy network through Walmart, which allowed Humana to offer preferred generic drugs for a $2 copay after the plan deductible of $310 was met. Unlike in 2011, Humana will have plenty of competition from carriers that are offering similar plans that encourage generic drug usage in 2012.
For instance, Aetna, which had CMS marketing sanctions lifted earlier this year, may lure away thousands of Humana members next year because of its new Aetna CVS/pharmacy PDP plan. The new plan has a $320 deductible, the standard deductible for next year; however, that only applies to branded drugs. Members who go to a preferred CVS pharmacy will be able to receive a month's supply of a preferred tier 1 generic drug for a $3 copay and a non-preferred tier 2 generic drug for a $10 copay. The plan also offers preferred brand tier 3 drugs at a preferred pharmacy for a $29 copay. However, a member who takes a non-preferred brand tier 4 drug will be slapped with a whopping 41 percent coinsurance, while tier 5 drugs will be covered under a 25 percent coinsurance.
Although Humana's Walmart-Preferred Rx PDP still offers the lowest monthly premium in 2012, $15.10, it may not be enough to persuade members to stay since the plan's deductible will still apply to generic drugs. Aetna's new plan will cost members $26 per month, but, for high utilizers of generic drugs, the plan may be more attractive since they may never have to pay toward the deductible before drug coverage begins.
Another product that could be a thorn in Humana's side is Coventry's First Health Value Plus PDP plan. In 2011, Coventry lost hundreds of thousands of PDP members because CMS did not approve a low-cost PDP offering and regulators required Coventry to discontinue some PDP plans that were too similar. However, with the First Health Value Plus plan, Coventry will likely regain much of its lost membership.
The First Health Value Plus PDP has no annual deductible and a preferred pharmacy network through Target, Walgreens and Walmart. The plan has an average monthly premium of $25.60, which is comparable to Aetna's. If a member goes to a preferred pharmacy he or she will be able to receive tier 1 generic drugs at no cost. However, for branded drugs, the member will be hit with a 25 percent coinsurance for tier 2 drugs, a 39 percent coinsurance for tier 3 drugs and a 33 percent coinsurance for tier 4 drugs.
When January 2012 rolls around, it should be interesting to see who will be the best at attracting members to low-cost PDP plans. By offering more competitive Part D plans, carriers hope to attract a membership segment that is healthier, uses fewer drugs and mainly relies on generic drugs.


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The world wakes up to Japanese whiskey – exports up 18x in value in the past decade
Japanese whiskey has been gaining popularity in recent years. Today, many whiskey connoisseurs place famous Japanese whiskies like Suntory, Yamazaki, Hakushu, Hibiki and Nikka in the same regard as they do some of the most celebrated Scottish single malts. However, it isn’t just whiskey specialists demanding Japanese whiskey – general consumers are pushing the demand for the spirit too.
As a result, the value of Japanese whiskey has skyrocketed over the past decade. In 2012, the export value of whiskey produced domestically in Japan was 2.48 billion Yen (19 million USD). By 2021, that value had increased to 46 billion Yen (351 million USD). Clearly, the taste for Japanese whiskey has gone global. What makes Japanese whisky so special, and why are consumers worldwide willing to pay the highest prices to get it?
Fixed supply and strong demand pushing prices skyward
So, what’s driving this meteoric price hike? Of course, Japanese whiskey is renowned for its exceptional quality and unique taste, but other forces are at play. Ultimately, Japanese whiskey prices are increasing because demand is outstripping supply. As more and more consumers are exposed to Japanese whiskey worldwide, demand for this unique spirit is increasing.
However, creating such an exquisite beverage requires time. Lots of it. Distillers must complete the maturation process so, as a result, there is a fixed supply. Instead of pushing out inferior products, Japanese whiskey producers are distilling more and allowing time to age these bottles to perfection. Consequently, export prices are rising as supplies dwindle. This means Japanese whiskey drinkers can still enjoy their favorite spirit at home with stable domestic prices, while keen foreign connoisseurs are still willing to pay top dollar to enjoy the spirit outside of Japan.
The world’s most expensive whiskey? Yamazaki 55
Japanese whisky may have knocked scotch off the top spot, with one particular Japanese brand emerging as the most expensive whiskey in the world. While some specific, embellished bottles, such as a hand-painted bottle of The Macallan 1926 60-year-old, have sold for more, many experts believe the Yamazaki 55 is the world’s most expensive standard retail brand.
To date, the most expensive bottle of Suntory’s single malt Yamazaki 55 sold for a staggering 795,000 USD, even though the recommended retail price was 60,000 USD. Today, you can expect to pay between 699,000 and 999,999 USD for this extra special spirit.


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Social networking technology is increasingly becoming part of New Zealanders’ lives, fuelling concerns about the implications such technology is having on user privacy on the internet. Social networking applications that have been developed for mobile phones have added to this list of concerns. As social networking is being integrated across a number of platforms, it is becoming more difficult for users to have complete control over their personal information despite their best efforts via privacy settings.
Recently, Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff issued a public opinion survey that shows about four out of five New Zealanders aged 18-30 now use social networking sites such as Facebook. The survey also revealed high levels of concern amongst New Zealanders about privacy and risks to their personal information over the internet. These concerns are not without foundation.
As well as general internet-related privacy issues, social networking sites raise issues in respect of third party use of personal information. For example, third party application developers have designed gaming applications that are accessible and played through the social networking platform. One concern is the ability of third party application developers to access without notice the personal information of those who use the applications. Even so, third parties can gain access to users’ personal information by a number of other ways including with authorisation of non-transparent privacy policies and through the unauthorised use of information posted by user’s friends. All of this information can be used to create profiles of users for a wide variety of purposes including targeted marketing by businesses and identity theft. Although most social networking sites provide privacy friendly settings, these are often not the default settings and certain information can still be left unprotected such as through linking to photos and information. Yet, the majority of respondents in the survey were under the impression that these sites are mainly private spaces and would be concerned if businesses/third parties they did not know would be able to get hold of their personal information.
The iPhone application “Foursquare” provides a good example of the lack of privacy security surrounding social networking sites. Foursquare is a location-based social networking application for mobiles. The GPS allows you to find your friends, search venues and add friends in the near vicinity and you can then post “shouts” to those friends based on where you are and what you are doing. It also offers a gaming element whereby you earn points with every “check-in” and you are rewarded amongst other things, for the number and creativity of check-ins. The application allows for users to have complete control over what friends they connect with and who can and cannot see their updates. Despite these efforts to protect users’ personal information, the risk comes from integrating with less secure social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. It allows for Foursquare users to post their check-ins/updates on Facebook and Twitter so that their location can be seen by an audience much larger than just their Foursquare friends. A Dutch website, PleaseRobMe.com, was launched to collate Foursquare data posted on Twitter accounts and to show who is and is not currently in their home. Although the idea behind the site was not to encourage burglary, it has succeeded in showing just how hard it is to keep track of your personal information and the potential social networking offers for profiling individuals by piecing together information available on the internet.
Aside from these risks, the internet and social networking offers huge potential for businesses to be seen and heard. For example, businesses in America have been capitalising on the Foursquare iPhone application by using it to advertise discounts/offers, promote their venues and reward customer loyalty. However, New Zealand businesses looking to offer social networking services should be vigilant about how they treat people’s personal information, including:
- keeping users well informed about the use of their information by the social network;
- keeping users well informed about the privacy and security risks;
- offering guidance on how users should handle their own information and information of other people on the social networking site;
- offering privacy-friendly default settings;
- allowing users control over their profile data, as well as secondary uses of their profile and traffic data.
New innovations in respect of social networking means privacy issues are not likely to fade into the background anytime soon. Generally, businesses seeking to capitalise on social networking should seek advice on how to comply with New Zealand’s privacy standards and codes.


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Facebook’s Instant Articles – a need for speed
Facebook has teamed up with key publishers to launch Instant Articles, a new feature that makes reading news articles faster on the Facebook app.
Facebook announced the news in a blog post saying “people share a lot of articles on Facebook, particularly on our mobile app but these stories take an average of eight seconds to load, by far the slowest single content type on Facebook.”
“Instant Articles makes the reading experience as much as ten times faster than standard mobile web articles.”
As a sweetener, Facebook says publishers will be able to sell ads in their articles and pocket the revenue.
Aside from faster load times, Instant Articles provides a suite of interactive features including the ability to zoom and explore high-resolution photos by tilting the phone.
Users can also view auto-play videos, interactive maps, listen to audio clips, and comment on articles.
While Twitter has traditionally dominated breaking news, Instant Articles is a clear sign of Facebook’s intention to take back that space.
It will be interesting to watch and see how publishers react to being beholden to Facebook for distribution of their Instant Articles. After all it is still rented space.
Whatever the fallout – here is another storytelling option for us all to create and enjoy!


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22nd September 2017
Across China: Smartphone app opens the world for the visually impaired
Editor: Zhou Xin
After a long day at work, Yang Haitao pulls out his smartphone, opens the WeChat social networking app, and asks one of his friends where they should meet for dinner.
While this seems normal for many people, it’s significant for Yang, who is blind and previously couldn’t use a smartphone.
Yang, 35, is a chiropractor at the Gansu Provincial Hospital Rehabilitation Center. Born blind, he missed out on many basic aspects of life growing up.
“I can’t cook and I get anxious when cab drivers drop me at a place I’m unfamiliar with, so in the past I often didn’t do anything after work,” he said. “But now I have my smartphone.”
Yang’s Huawei smartphone is filled with apps for map navigation, online shopping, music, car hailing, and food delivery services, similar to those of any smartphone owner.
“My life now is much more convenient and colorful,” he said.
Yang uses an app called “Protection and Ease,” that reads aloud text on the smartphone screen. It’s the brainchild of a team led by another blind man, Cao Jun.


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The Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) featured CenterPoint’s Senior Vice President of Development, Brian McKiernan, in an article in Intermodal Insights.
Read what Brian said about the long-term logistical advantages and cost savings CenterPoint Intermodal Centers offer users in the feature story “Intermodal Growth Opportunities Beckon in Current, New Markets.”
Intermodal continues to have a wide variety of growth opportunities, both by actively pursuing new markets and adding new business on existing routes.
In interviews with Intermodal Insights and on an IANA webinar, experts expressed optimism that annual traffic volume growth is expected to return this year, continuing the second-half surge in 2020.
the IANA “Inside the Numbers” webinar, TTX noted it is expecting 7.3% growth in international containers, and 4.7% more domestic shipments to create an overall increase of about 6%, in an environment where economic conditions improve, COVID impacts are reduced and eventually eliminated.
In addition, experts speaking on the webinar cited longstanding advantages arising from restrictions on the truck driver supply that will help intermodal. Intermodal’s environmental advantages offer tantalizing opportunities, too. “This is THE Time to chase the sustainability benefit,” said Libby Ogard, president of Prime Focus LLC.
“Railroads could take more advantage of this aspect. I expect we will see the Biden Administration focus on the environment. This is the opening the railroads need to take share from trucks.”
Officials at BNSF Railway, Union Pacific and Kansas City Southern are optimistic about growth prospects for both existing and new markets. The upbeat industry outlook is tinged with realism based on experience.
Inland Ports, Other Opportunities
Brian McKiernan, senior vice president of development for CenterPoint’s central region, said closely linking intermodal and distribution facilities such as those the company operates in northern Illinois create an attractive combination.
“We are seeing industrial development and intermodal as an exciting place to be,” he said, as shippers increasingly see intermodal as a stable and growing business that supports their supply chain needs.
“Primarily, we are an industrial real estate company,” he said. “We want our properties to have a long-term logistical advantage.” South Carolina Ports Authority’s inland facility at Greer is one place where CenterPoint’s distribution capabilities work successfully with intermodal service, he said.
There also are other inland port opportunities, with enough demand for imports and/or exports, anchored by one of two BCOs, he added, citing Nevada, Arizona and Gulf Coast locations.
“In places like New Jersey and Los Angeles, warehouse space is becoming more and more critical,” McKiernan said. “It is difficult to build because of population density, permitting and the expensive cost to operate there. If you have scale and can get closer to where goods are distributed, there is a cost advantage.”
Read the full article.
About CenterPoint Properties
CenterPoint is an industrial real estate company made up of dedicated thinkers, innovators and leaders with the creativity and know-how to tackle the industry’s toughest challenges. And it’s those kinds of problems — the delicate, the complex, the seemingly impossible — that we relish most. Because with an agile team, substantial access to capital and industry-leading expertise, those are exactly the kinds of problems we’re built to solve. For more information on CenterPoint Properties, follow us on LinkedIn. For all media inquiries, including requests for interviews with CenterPoint executives, please contact email@example.com or 630.586.8285.