China tariffs are no longer 145%, but for small businesses in the crossfire, ‘it’s still awful’
CNN
President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a steep tax on most goods that come into America has tested the mettle of small business owners whose companies are reliant on global trade.
President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a steep tax on most goods that come into America has tested the mettle of small business owners whose companies are reliant on global trade. And the fits and starts that have come along with Trump’s tariff program are not just testing these business owners’ patience, they’re also threatening their very operations. The latest, and perhaps biggest, curveball came last week when the US and China agreed to sharply lower their respective tariff rates for 90 days. The de-escalation brought the US tariffs on Chinese goods down to 30% from 145%. Markets cheered the news, and recession forecasts lessened in intensity. And that surely meant that small business owners who faced steep tariff bills — including Busy Baby founder Beth Fynbo Benike, whose next shipment of baby products was going to come with an additional $230,000 price tag — should be super grateful, right? Fynbo Benike answered that question with some seething sarcasm and a dose of realism.
Oil prices edged lower on Friday after a tumultuous day that saw the international benchmark surge above $119 a barrel as the Middle East conflict deepened energy supply fears.
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The war in Iran is driving up the cost of buying a home in America.
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Oil and natural gas prices spiked Thursday, as Iran ramped up strikes on energy infrastructure across the Middle East and attacked one of the world’s most important liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities in Qatar.
In normal times, the Federal Reserve would more or less ignore an oil price shock like the one we’re in now.
Property brokerage Compass on Wednesday dropped its lawsuit against Zillow, ending a legal clash over how home listings can be marketed online.
Fed officials didn’t make any rate moves at their March meeting and released an updated forecast for the path of the American economy as the war in Iran stretches on.
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Oil prices held steady Wednesday after Iraq clinched a deal to resume some crude exports via Turkey. It’s not a ton of oil, but it’s what amounts for good news these days as the Strait of Hormuz remains largely blocked.
The US-Israeli war with Iran, now stretching into its third week, is dashing hopes that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates at all this year.