Publications

The Wall Street Journal reports that OPEC has tentatively agreed to boost production by 600,000 barrels per day. The production boost comes as recent production outages in Venezuela and Libya have driven oil prices above $75 a barrel. WSJ

The New York Times reports that the European Union has placed retaliatory tariffs on $3.2 billion of U.S. goods. The tariffs, which come after recent U.S. tariffs on European steel and aluminum, apply to goods such as bourbon, motorcycles, and orange juice. NYT

The Financial Times reports that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross blamed speculators for the recent sharp rise in domestic steel prices. Ross said that “intermediaries” are stockpiling steel and intentionally constricting supply and driving prices up, and that the Commerce Department would investigate these practices. FT

According to the Wall Street Journal, Germany’s largest automakers support the abolition of all import tariffs between the E.U. and U.S. The move is seen as a way to avoid an all-out trade war between the two trading partners and comes after the E.U. retaliated against U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum. WSJ

Stephen Wilmot of the Wall Street Journal writes that while China cannot match the scale of the latest potential U.S. tariffs, China can retaliate against the U.S. in other ways. Wilmot writes that China could target specific industries with non-tariff barriers such as heightened regulations, or could block key U.S. companies from completing acquisitions of foreign firms. WSJ

According to the Wall Street Journal, President Trump’s newest round of tariffs on $200 billion of goods from China would likely hit consumers directly. Consumer products such as cell phones, computers, and apparel are the top three imports from China and would likely face duties if the U.S. moves ahead with this next round of tariffs. WSJ

The Financial Times reports that rising interest rates may mark the end of the current era in which companies with weak balance sheets have been outperforming their peers with stronger balance sheets. Analysts have found that shares of well-capitalized firms have outperformed shares of highly-leveraged firms, likely because of the costs associated with servicing debt in a rising interest rate environment. FT

According to the Wall Street Journal, companies across the U.S. are reexamining and reorganizing supply chains as shipping costs skyrocket. Some firms have established their own trucking fleets, eliminated delivery redundancies, and built new distribution centers to offset rising shipping costs. WSJ

The Wall Street Journal reports that shortly after President Trump approved tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese imports, Beijing stated intentions to retaliate in kind. Though Beijing didn’t immediately specify which American goods would be targeted, a list released by China’s Commerce Ministry when the tariffs were first discussed included U.S. soybeans, sorghum, and aircraft. WSJ

According to the Wall Street Journal, the share of workers’ pay going to bonuses reached a new high this year, reflecting a shift in how employers offer compensation boosts. Private-sector bonuses not directly tied to a worker’s output climbed to the highest share of employer pay and benefit costs since 2008, suggesting that employers are offering bonuses in lieu of longer-term wage increases as a way to keep a lid on base pay. WSJ