Trump fires U.S. Labour Department's statistical leader after weaker than expected jobs report
McEntarfer was nominated by former President Joe Biden to serve in the role in 2023 and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate the following year.
'We need accurate Jobs Numbers. I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY. She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified,' Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
(Reporting by Jasper Ward; Editing by Chris Reese)
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Toronto Star
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Months into his worldwide trade war, Donald Trump still appears resistant to learning how tariffs work
There have been a lot of headlines lately about how U.S. President Donald Trump is winning his trade wars, which he is, in the same way that one can score a goal in hockey by shooting the puck into one's own net. Some of Trump's latest wins have included separate deals with the United Kingdom and European Union members, in which imports from those places will be hit with a 15 per cent tariff upon arrival in the United States. Trump sees this as a win because foreign imports will be tariffed, while American goods will face no such treatment in the EU or Britain. He even explains it this way: 'They' will pay something. 'We' will pay nothing.
Globe and Mail
27 minutes ago
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The 1 Stock Warren Buffett Definitely Didn't Buy in Q2
Key Points There are lots of likely candidates that Buffett didn't buy last quarter. However, we can know for sure that Buffett didn't buy one stock in Q2. While Buffett isn't buying this stock, it could be a good pick for other investors. 10 stocks we like better than Berkshire Hathaway › Warren Buffett plans to step down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A)(NYSE: BRK.B) at the end of this year. However, that doesn't change the level of scrutiny his stock picks receive in the least. Many investors remain highly interested in knowing which stocks the "Oracle of Omaha" is buying. We won't know the stocks Buffett bought in the second quarter of 2025 for another couple of weeks or so. Berkshire typically submits the 13F regulatory filing disclosing its equity holdings for the second quarter in mid-August of each year. However, there's one stock that the legendary investor definitely didn't buy in Q2. Lots of likely candidates Before we get to that one stock, I'll readily admit there are lots of likely candidates that Buffett didn't buy last quarter. Valuation alone would disqualify a boatload of stocks. For example, Palantir Technologies sports a forward price-to-earnings ratio of around 278. The odds against Buffett buying a stock trading at such a premium are slim. I think the likelihood that Buffett initiated new positions in stocks for which he recently exited positions is also very low. Berkshire sold all of its remaining shares of Citigroup and Nu Holdings in the first quarter of 2025. It would be quite surprising if Buffett or his investment managers turned around and bought these two stocks again in Q2. Berkshire's 10Q filing for the second quarter, which was released over the weekend, also provided big hints about other stocks that Buffett probably didn't buy. For example, Berkshire recorded an impairment of $5 billion on its investment in Kraft Heinz. Could the conglomerate have put more money in a stock that has lost it so much money? It's theoretically possible, but not probable. Another likely candidate that Buffett probably didn't buy is American Express. Berkshire revealed in its latest quarterly update that it owned 151.6 million shares of the financial services giant at the end of Q2. At the end of Q1, Berkshire owned 151,610,700 shares of American Express. Maybe Buffett added a small number of AmEx shares in Q2, but I doubt it. The slam-dunk stock that Buffett didn't buy in Q2 The above list of potential stocks that Buffett didn't buy in Q2 isn't exhaustive by any means. However, there's one slam-dunk stock that Buffett didn't buy in Q2: Berkshire Hathaway itself. Berkshire's 10Q for the second quarter stated bluntly, "There were no share repurchases during the first six months of 2025." Buffett has loved stock buybacks in the past. Berkshire's buyback program allows him to authorize repurchasing shares any time he wants, as long as the company's cash, cash equivalents, and U.S. Treasury bill holdings don't fall below $30 billion. With Berkshire's cash position at $344 billion, Buffett could have bought back shares if he chose to do so. So why didn't he? Buffett is probably concerned about Berkshire's valuation. The stock repurchase program allows Buffett to initiate share buybacks when he "believes that the repurchase price is below Berkshire's intrinsic value." Even though Berkshire's share price has fallen more than 10% from its peak earlier this year, the stock still trades at 23.4 times forward earnings and is above its levels throughout most of 2024. An excise tax of 1% on stock buybacks that went into effect in 2023 probably also factors into Buffett's reluctance to repurchase shares. He even mentioned this during Berkshire's annual shareholder meeting in May 2025, stating, "If Berkshire buys Berkshire shares in repurchases, we now pay more than you will pay if you buy Berkshire shares." Buffett added that the excise tax "hurts some of our investee companies quite substantially." Is Berkshire Hathaway a good pick for other investors? As Buffett said, ordinary investors aren't affected by the excise tax. Is Berkshire Hathaway a good pick even though it's not buying back its own shares? I think so. Granted, the stock's valuation looks high at first glance. However, I don't think that's a concern for long-term investors considering Berkshire's growth prospects. Some might be worried about Buffett stepping down as CEO. He still plans to be actively involved as chairman of the board, though. Importantly, Buffett is confident in the abilities of his successor, Greg Abel, telling shareholders earlier this year that he doesn't plan on selling a single share. 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CBC
27 minutes ago
- CBC
'That's a lot of bottles!': Uncorking the value of American booze pulled from NSLC shelves
The NSLC's decision to pull American alcohol from its shelves means it has to warehouse almost 600,000 units of booze as part of the province's response to the ongoing trade war with the United States. As of March 6, between the more than 400 American products in stores and warehouses and orders in transit, there were 587,153 units of product that was property of the NSLC, according to documentation obtained by CBC News through a freedom of information request. "That's a lot of bottles!" Dave DiPersio, the NSLC's senior vice-president of corporate affairs, wrote in an email to other company officials that same day. The NSLC removed American booze from its shelves in early March after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian goods. A previous plan from a month earlier to pull U.S. alcohol was paused after Trump initially did not go ahead with implementing tariffs. The last order the NSLC placed for American alcohol was on Jan. 2, 2025. How much is the booze worth? The product being warehoused includes things that range in size from a 50-millilitre mini bottle of hard liquor to a three-litre bottle of wine. The retail value was $14,896,652. Citing security reasons, the NSLC declined to say where the American alcohol is being stored and wouldn't allow CBC to view it. None of the products pulled was cannabis as the NSLC doesn't carry any American-grown cannabis. The documents reveal some surprising details about just what constitutes an American product. "There are significant beer brands which customers may perceive as American (e.g. Bud, Bud Light & Coors) which are produced in Canada and are not included in the list of products that were removed," a Feb. 3 company document prepared for the finance minister noted. For example, the Oland Brewery on Halifax's Agricola Street is part of the global beer company Anheuser-Busch InBev. Beers such as Budweiser and Bud Light are brewed there. Where is Southern Comfort from? And while Southern Comfort might conjure up visions of the Big Easy as it's "The spirit of New Orleans" — according to its label — details like that had it initially categorized as American and thus removed from the shelves. However, Southern Comfort is produced and bottled in Montreal, and is now back on the shelves. It was a similar story for Goldschläger, the cinnamon schnapps that includes gold flakes. It was also initially pulled off the shelves. "Bottled by Sazerac Distilleries of Canada for Sazerac company. Louisville, KY, USA," the back label of the product shows. For rum manufacturer Bacardi, it didn't want to be labelled as an American product "as our rums are a product of Puerto Rico," the company's regional director for Atlantic Canada wrote in a Feb. 26 email to some NSLC officials. Puerto Rico is an unincorporated U.S. territory, so Bacardi's products remain available for sale through the NSLC. The removal of American booze isn't the first time the NSLC has stopped selling a country's products. In 2022, it removed Russian vodka because of the country's invasion of Ukraine. That ban remains in place. American sales For the fiscal year from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024 — which would also be the most current fiscal year for which American products were available for the entire year — sales of U.S. products totalled roughly $18 million out of the $753 million in beverage alcohol sales. Data provided by the NSLC shows that almost half of American sales were on products from California, mostly wine. Adding Kentucky and Tennessee into the mix, the three states accounted for around 85 per cent of sales. As for how long the NSLC will keep American booze off its shelves, the company plans to do so until otherwise directed by the province. The decision to pull American products has been good news for Nova Scotian alcohol producers. From March 4 to July 11, sales of Nova Scotia wine increased 14.5 per cent and Nova Scotia spirit products increased 26.7 per cent, compared to the same time last year. Canadian wine sales were up 12.9 per cent, while Canadian whisky sales increased by 9.2 per cent during the same time period. "I think overall shoppers have been responding and looking for more local products and Canadian products," said NSLC spokesperson Terah McKinnon. "Overall, we do receive some questions [about American alcohol], but I think the numbers are showing in our sales to say they are exploring products closer to home." Compass Distillers makes a range of spirits including gin and rum, many sold through the NSLC. President Graham Collins said that while Compass products like gin haven't seen an uptick in NSLC sales because most competitors are European-based, they've seen a bump in rum sales. "The bigger difference from an NSLC perspective is simply that the NSLC and people in general are reminding us all that buying local, buying Canadian is a better strategy," said Collins. "And so I think people are a little more focused in that respect." Compass distills alcohol from its home on Agricola Street, which also includes a bar. Collins said the company's customer base has long prioritized buying local. "I think the current political climate helps encourage that behaviour in a widespread manner," he said. Private wine and specialty stores For people shopping at the private wine and specialty stores in the province, they'll notice a lack of American products today. Although private, these businesses must order products through the NSLC to get them on their shelves. The lack of American products is a simple matter of logistics. "The NSLC will no longer purchase U.S. products on your behalf," the NSLC wrote in a document addressed to private wine and specialty stores. The same order applies to bars and restaurants as well.
