Author: News Room

Investors watching the S&P 500’s plunge this week are processing a mix of signals. Will the threat of tariffs push the economy into a recession or is this simply a retrenchment from the highly valued technology companies that some analysts and investors argued were due for a pullback?There is a different stock index that is flashing a clearer warning sign.The Russell 2000 includes smaller companies that are more sensitive to the whims of the economy. These companies tend to run thinner profit margins that can be more easily eroded in a downturn, and they have fewer levers to pull than…

The impact of the tariffs would vary by car model, since some rely more on imported parts than others. But rather than vastly increasing the price of specific vehicles, the industry is likely to spread increases across all types — “like peanut butter” — to smooth out the price increases, said Tyson Jominy, vice president of data and analytics at the market research firm J.D. Power. Mr. Anderson said manufacturers would “almost certainly cut back” on models that became significantly more expensive.What if I want to buy a car this year?Much remains uncertain, including whether the delayed tariffs will actually…

The Trump family is said to be in talks to invest in Binance. The discussions revolve around the family taking a stake in the U.S. arm of the crypto exchange, which had pleaded guilty to violating anti-money-laundering laws and whose founder, Changpeng Zhao, served time in prison, according to The Wall Street Journal. (It’s unclear whether a deal would require pardoning Zhao.) The talks further underscore the ties between the Trump family and the crypto industry, which spent millions to back Trump, a connection that critics have said represents a conflict of interest.Goldman’s chief wants more clarity, tooGoldman Sachs’s annual…

By working with Russia to hold talks with Iran, China is conveying a contrast with the United States in its approach to resolving the nuclear issue, said Shen Dingli, a professor of international relations at Fudan University in Shanghai. Beijing wants to show that “while the United States irresponsibly pulls out of the Iran Nuclear Agreement, China will also hold fast to this international commitment and assume the responsibility of leadership,” Mr. Shen said.The message is also one of solidarity with Iran. “Even though the United States exerts extreme pressure, as long as Iran does not give up on its…

The Chinese government has strongly criticized a planned deal by a Hong Kong conglomerate to sell ports in Panama and elsewhere to an investment group led by an American asset manager, warning that the deal would deprive China of needed influence over key shipping routes.The criticism marks an abrupt shift in Chinese policy toward Panama and the control of seaports around the world. When President Trump raised concerns soon after taking office that China had too much power in the Panama Canal, his comments were initially ridiculed by Beijing.But Ta Kung Pao, a Hong Kong newspaper owned by the Chinese…

Dr. Mehmet Oz, the TV celebrity doctor, is expected to face a tense confirmation hearing on Friday, with Democratic senators planning to question how he would oversee Medicare and Medicaid now that Republicans and the Trump administration are weighing significant changes affecting millions of Americans.Among the possible plans being considered by Republican lawmakers and President Trump are severe reductions to health insurance coverage for low-income people and a greater shift toward private plans for older Americans.Dr. Oz, 64, a cardiothoracic surgeon who rose to fame through his successful daytime show, appears poised to secure confirmation by the full Senate.His confirmation…

French wine producers have typically had a love-love relationship with the United States, their biggest export market. But President Trump’s threat to impose 200 percent tariffs on European wine, Champagne and spirits sent shudders through grand châteaus and small vineyards across the country.“A 200 percent tax on European wines and spirits would mean an immediate halt to all shipments to the United States,” Gabriel Picard, chairman of the Federation of Wine and Spirits Exporters, told French media on Thursday. “That’s almost 4 billion euros wiped off the French trade balance, for zero gain.”The size of the tariff suggested by Mr.…

Officials in Beijing are increasingly worried that President Trump’s tariffs on Mexico may be the start of a broad campaign to force developing countries around the world to choose between trade with the United States or with China.Ever since Mr. Trump imposed extensive tariffs on goods from China during his first term, companies have been investing heavily in countries like Mexico, Vietnam and Thailand to assemble Chinese components into goods for shipment to the United States. Doing final assembly in these countries offered a back door to the U.S. market regardless of trade frictions between Washington and Beijing.China’s trade surplus…

President Trump has called the word tariff “the most beautiful word in the dictionary.” He imposed hefty tariffs during his first term and promised expansive new ones as he pursued his second. On his first day back in the White House in January, he issued an executive order directing his cabinet picks to prepare even more tariffs.In the first 50 days of his second term, those sweeping actions have upended diplomatic ties, shaken markets and confounded entire industries. But so has President Trump’s whipsawing commitment to his tariffs, which he has paused, reversed or withdrawn — at times almost as…

CrossFit, the crisis-riddled fitness company, is for sale once again.The sale comes against the backdrop of several tumultuous years for the fitness brand, after a drowning at last year’s CrossFit Games, a significant drop in registrations for its annual membership-wide competition and deepening financial concerns.The company, which has 10,000 affiliate gyms across the world, plans to “review a wide range of buyers,” according to an email sent to CrossFit gym owners this week.“This moment of transition comes with significant opportunity,” CrossFit’s chief executive, Don Faul, said in the March 12 email. “I’m excited by the potential this holds for the…