Despite President Trump's reprieve until Dec. 15 for some China tariffs, $33 billion in apparel, shoes and hats are among items subject to a 10% tariff on Chinese imports beginning Sept. 1, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Why it matters: Previous rounds of tariffs have mostly gone unnoticed by American consumers, since they mainly affected telecommunications equipment, metal alloys and mechanical devices, says the WSJ.
There was joy in toyland this week — albeit muted — after the Trump administration said it would postpone tariffs on toys made in China until after the holiday rush.
Why it matters: The industry, still recovering from the demise of Toys “R” Us, had feared a 10% tariff would force it to raise prices, hurting consumers and killing profits. But a sudden reprieve will let toy companies focus instead — for now — on big holiday trends, like unicorns, collectible dolls, scented slime and electronic finger-puppets.
Public companies are slowing their stock buybacks in 2019 from 2018's record pace, and the slowdown in the tech sector shows the trade war is beginning to hit the economy in unexpected ways.
Why it matters: "Given the state of the economy, what this really means is that companies are probably likely more concerned now than they were last year that conditions could get far worse and therefore aren’t too excited to start large buyback programs," Catalyst Funds COO Michael Schoonover tells Axios in an email.
The Atlanta Fed raised its GDPNow forecast to 2.2% for the third quarter — higher than many economists are predicting, but well below enough to bring 2019's growth to the 3%-4% President Trump has sought.
Why it matters: The bump came after U.S. retail sales surged above expectations in July and sales at retailers including Amazon and Best Buy posted their biggest increase in 4 months. A strong earnings report from Walmart also helped drive optimism that American consumers are still shopping and perhaps are confident enough to carry the economy through trade war tensions.
The FDA is trying again to add graphic warnings to cigarette packages to discourage smoking, including images of neck tumors, diseased lungs and feet with amputated toes, AP reports.
Why it matters: The labels would also be included in tobacco advertisements. While small text warnings are currently included on cigarette packages, they haven't been updated since 1984 and “go unnoticed," the FDA said.
The past decade has seen enormous growth in health care costs paid by both employees and employers, creating the context for some of today's biggest political debates as well as teeing up more problems for the future.
Yes, but: There are some signs that employers have maxed out their ability to shift costs to employees.
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