U.S. businesses operating in China are confused and worried. Here’s why.

U.S. businesses operating in China are confused and worried. Here’s why.

China’s still-floundering economy is only one of a laundry list of worries for foreign businesses active in the country, yet most still plan on investing significant sums into their Chinese operations, according to two much-anticipated reports this week. Uncertainty over Chinese government policy, U.S.-China tensions, toughening local competition and pressure from the Biden administration to…

Ford attacks potential U.K. government backtracking on net-zero commitments

Ford attacks potential U.K. government backtracking on net-zero commitments

Ford Motor Co. F has publicly attacked the U.K. government after a leak it might reverse its stance on requiring all new vehicles to be electric by 2030. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak late Tuesday said he remains committed to a net-zero target by 2050 but wants to achieve it in a “better, more proportionate way.”…

Expiring national flood-insurance plan could be saved. That alone won’t fix it.

Expiring national flood-insurance plan could be saved. That alone won’t fix it.

The major federal flood-insurance program that covers millions of properties is set to expire by the end of this month. Experts expect Congress to reauthorize the program — but also question whether renewing what they call a flawed program will be enough to help homeowners. The National Flood Insurance Program, or the NFIP, needs to…

Arm’s stock soars 25% in public debut as execs sees big opportunity to drive cost savings for chip makers

Arm’s stock soars 25% in public debut as execs sees big opportunity to drive cost savings for chip makers

U.S.-listed shares of Arm Holdings PLC surged out of the gate Thursday and closed 25% above their pricing after they began trading on the Nasdaq, following a long-awaited initial public offering. Arm’s American depositary receipts ARM, +24.69% began trading Thursday just after noon Eastern, opening at $56.10 and rallying as much as 30% above their…

A Republican senator wants to limit credit-card APRs to 18%, but these credit cards are already capped that rate

A Republican senator wants to limit credit-card APRs to 18%, but these credit cards are already capped that rate

At a time when Americans are saddled with more credit-card debt and higher interest rates, a new bill is seeking to cap credit card annual percentage rates at 18%. Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, this week unveiled the Capping Credit-Card Interest Rates Act, highlighting how APRs have been climbing. “Americans are being crushed…

Georgia’s governor pauses state’s gas tax. Is that a wise decision?

Georgia’s governor pauses state’s gas tax. Is that a wise decision?

“‘While high prices continue to hit family budgets, hardworking Georgians deserve real relief and that’s why I signed an executive order today to deliver it directly to them at the pump.’” — Georgia Governor Brian Kemp That’s Gov. Brian Kemp declaring a “state of emergency” Tuesday for the Peach State and announcing a one-month halt…

SEC sues Virtu Financial, accusing it of leaving consumer data vulnerable

SEC sues Virtu Financial, accusing it of leaving consumer data vulnerable

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday said it sued financial firm Virtu Financial Inc., accusing the market maker and trading-execution company of leaving customer trading data vulnerable to misuse, misleading customers on its data protections and taking in commissions regardless. In response, Virtu Financial VIRT, +1.15% said it had been in talks to settle…

Jim Chanos says China ‘poses grave financial and geopolitical threats’ — ‘more so today than ever before’

Jim Chanos says China ‘poses grave financial and geopolitical threats’ — ‘more so today than ever before’

“‘I continue to believe thatthe Chinese economic model poses grave financial and geopolitical threats to the U.S. and itsinterests, more so today than ever before.’” — Jim Chanos That line above came Tuesday from short seller Jim Chanos, as he reiterated his longstanding concerns about China’s economy to a U.S. House committee that held a…

‘Xi Jinping is preparing for war’: China hawk in Congress pushes new investment restrictions

‘Xi Jinping is preparing for war’: China hawk in Congress pushes new investment restrictions

President Joe Biden has taken a number of steps to prevent the flow of strategic U.S. technologies to China, but some in Congress feel that he hasn’t done enough. Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher, the Republican chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, said Monday that he is not confident that the…

The likelihood of a U.S. recession is actually rising, says former Goldman Sachs chief strategist Abby Joseph Cohen

The likelihood of a U.S. recession is actually rising, says former Goldman Sachs chief strategist Abby Joseph Cohen

“‘While I don’t think recession is now the most likely scenario, I think the probability of recession has been rising in recent months.’” — Abby Joseph Cohen Those are the words of Abby Joseph Cohen, former chief U.S. strategist at Goldman Sachs GS, +1.11%, who discussed her forecasts for the U.S. economy over the next…

Musk turned off Starlink system to frustrate Ukraine attack on Russian fleet, according to Isaacson book

Musk turned off Starlink system to frustrate Ukraine attack on Russian fleet, according to Isaacson book

Elon Musk foiled a Ukrainian submarine drone attack on a Russian naval fleet last year by turning off the SpaceX Starlink satellite internet network near the Crimean coast to prevent a “mini-Pearl Harbor,” a biography of the billionaire claims. Musk said he thought the Kremlin would respond to the Ukraine attack with nuclear weapons —…

Intel likely ‘domestic winner’ for semiconductor fabs amid U.S.-China trade war

Intel likely ‘domestic winner’ for semiconductor fabs amid U.S.-China trade war

Intel Corp. shares finished lower Friday, snapping their longest winning streak in nearly three years, but at least one analyst wondered why more investors aren’t bullish on the stock given the chance a trade war between the U.S. and China could disrupt semiconductor “fab” operations in Asia, leaving Intel in a plum production position domestically….

Google, Justice Department set for antitrust showdown on Tuesday

Google, Justice Department set for antitrust showdown on Tuesday

After years of investigations, lawsuits, the threat of legislation and plenty of congressional hearings, the federal government’s case against Big Tech is ready to have its big moment in court. An antitrust clash of the titans is scheduled to start Tuesday in a federal court in the District of Columbia, where the Justice Department will…

What’s next for Russia’s designs on Africa, if Prigozhin ‘was the only one crazy enough to make it work’?

What’s next for Russia’s designs on Africa, if Prigozhin ‘was the only one crazy enough to make it work’?

“‘Africa’s all going to sh—. They wouldn’t let him do any operations anymore and nobody’s going to take them over, because you need Zhenya for that. He was the only one crazy enough to make it work.’” Those words are ascribed to a person described by the Financial Times as a longtime acquaintance of Yevgeny…

Explainer: The housing shortage and why it isn’t getting solved

Explainer: The housing shortage and why it isn’t getting solved

Is the housing shortage merely awful, or jaw-droppingly catastrophic? Depends on who you ask. The Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies estimates that there’s a deficit of 1.5 million dwellings. Realtor.com says that we’re 2.3 million units short. Zillow says it’s 4.3 million, and the National Association of Realtors (NAR) guesses we’re shy 5 million…

Biden hails August jobs report, observes that Trump left office ‘with fewer jobs than when he entered’

Biden hails August jobs report, observes that Trump left office ‘with fewer jobs than when he entered’

President Joe Biden on Friday talked up the encouraging August jobs report that came out earlier in the day and showed the addition of 187,000 positions, while also assailing his White House predecessor, Donald Trump, as the 2024 race ramps up. “We’ve created more jobs in two years than any president ever created in a…

Private equity, hedge funds sue SEC over new disclosure rules

Private equity, hedge funds sue SEC over new disclosure rules

A consortium of groups representing the private funds industry filed a lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission Friday in an attempt to block new rules that would require private equity and hedge funds to disclose quarterly performance, fees and expenses. The rules, adopted last week, would also ban so-called side letters, or agreements between…

States flex new powers to cut costs for a broad swath of prescription drugs

States flex new powers to cut costs for a broad swath of prescription drugs

As Medicare’s years-long drug-price negotiation process is being hotly debated and litigated, some states are plowing ahead with wide-ranging efforts to bring down costs for a potentially much broader set of prescription drugs.  Medicare this week announced that the first 10 drugs have been selected for negotiation of prices to take effect in 2026, advancing…

Australian regulator accuses Qantas of selling tickets for cancelled flights

Australian regulator accuses Qantas of selling tickets for cancelled flights

Qantas Airways QAN, -1.99% faces legal action by Australia’s competition regulator over allegations that the carrier sold thousands of tickets for flights it knew had been cancelled. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on Thursday said it had launched legal proceedings in the country’s Federal Court over Qantas’s behavior relating to more than 10,000 cancelled…

2 major Chinese cities ease mortgage rules in bid to reverse property slump

2 major Chinese cities ease mortgage rules in bid to reverse property slump

Two of China’s biggest and most expensive cities have relaxed regulations on home purchases, allowing more people to qualify for favorable mortgage terms for their first homes as a protracted property crisis continues to weigh on the world’s second-largest economy. The southern business hubs of Guangzhou and Shenzhen on Wednesday became the latest cities to…