CGTN: China-U.S. trade talks in London receive positive market reception
With the first meeting of the China-U.S. economic and trade consultation mechanism set to continue in London on Tuesday, CGTN publishes an article discussing the significance of the highly anticipated talks and the global expectations surrounding them. The article also highlights China's attitude and stance on the trade talks, stressing the importance of China-U.S. cooperation in achieving mutually beneficial outcomes.
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Globe and Mail
27 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
2 Warren Buffett Stocks to Buy Hand Over Fist and 1 to Avoid
Warren Buffett's value-oriented, buy-and-hold approach isn't everyone's preferred stock-picking style. The fact is, it works. Over the course of the past three decades, Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A)(NYSE: BRK.B) has more than doubled the performance of the S&P 500, and it is still widening the gap. That's why you'd be wise to poach a few of Buffett's picks for yourself. Just remember that not every name Buffett has picked to be part of Berkshire's portfolio has panned out as initially hoped. To this end, here's a rundown of two Warren Buffett stocks to buy hand over fist sooner rather than later, and one Buffett stock you may not want to touch with a 10-foot pole. Buy American Express Through steady growth and the sheer attrition of its other stock selections, American Express (NYSE: AXP) has quietly become Berkshire Hathaway's second-biggest holding. As of the most recent look, Berkshire is sitting on 151.6 million shares of AmEx, collectively worth $45.6 billion. That's 16% of Berkshire's overall stock portfolio, and 21.6% of American Express itself. American Express is, of course, a credit card company, in the same vein as Mastercard and Visa. Except the comparison isn't a great one. Visa and Mastercard operate card-based payment networks meant to serve card issuers like banks or merchants. American Express is a payment middleman as well as the issuer. And yet, that description still doesn't do the company justice. AmEx's core business is actually managing a perks and rewards program built around a credit card platform that encourages the revenue-bearing usage of its plastic. Indeed, some cardholders will pay as much as $700 per year in exchange for hotel discounts, credit toward entertainment and ride-hailing, access to airport lounges, and more. While the upfront annual fee is steep, for more affluent spenders who don't worry too much about the economy, it's an investment that pays for itself in almost any environment. In this vein, despite the current economic headwinds, AmEx grew its top and bottom lines by 6% year over year during the first quarter of 2025. The analyst community expects both to accelerate later this year and beyond. Be warned that American Express stock isn't exactly cheap right now. Shares trade at about 20 times this year's expected earnings and a tad above the analysts' consensus price target of $294.46. Don't sweat that too much, though. As Buffett himself has often explained, "It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price." Quality usually ends up more than paying for itself. Buy Domino's Pizza Plenty of investors are still a bit surprised Berkshire Hathaway started building a position in Domino's Pizza (NASDAQ: DPZ) late last year. While not a bad company, it's not quite Warren Buffett's usual kind of pick. And perhaps someone besides Buffett made the call. Whatever the backstory is behind this trade, it's more Buffett-esque than it may seem. Chief among the qualities that the Oracle of Omaha likes to see in any investment is the durable profitability of the pizza business itself. There's not a lot of overhead involved here, since most Domino's Pizza locales are small-footprint carry-out or delivery stores that can be run with a minimal amount of staff. The ingredients needed to make a pizza are also relatively cheap, while the pizza-making process itself is relatively simple. Pizza pricing is also fairly elastic, if greater input costs force price increases. Of course, pizza is consistently marketable as well. There's good reason, however, Berkshire specifically chose Domino's. It's not only the biggest name in the business with over 21,300 stores, but it's also one of the best-run pizza chains. The company hasn't failed to turn a quarterly profit in over a couple of decades, and not counting the period after the COVID-19 pandemic's peak -- when food delivery finally slowed down -- Domino's has produced reliable profit growth too. It's clearly doing something right. Data by YCharts. Berkshire's stake in Domino's Pizza isn't huge, at least not yet. It's only got about 2.6 million shares of the pizza chain worth roughly $1.2 billion. For perspective, that's less than 1% of the value of all of Berkshire Hathaway's stock holdings combined. But the fact that Buffett and his lieutenants are interested in owning even a relatively tiny stake in Domino's still speaks volumes about what they see for its future. Avoid Kraft Heinz Kudos to Warren Buffett and his team for being patient with Berkshire's position in Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ: KHC). Its 326 million shares are currently trading down more than 70% from their 2017 peak, and are knocking on the door of 2020's multi-year low thanks to four years of subpar performance from the company itself. Berkshire isn't giving up, though, even though most other investors are. And perhaps Buffett and his team will eventually be vindicated. There's certainly no denying Kraft Heinz has some of the best brand names in the food business to work with, after all. Things have been so bad for so long here, however, that interested investors might be better served by not jumping into a name Berkshire Hathaway likely wishes it had dumped a while back. Now it can't -- at least not without facing some serious credibility fallout. Not only would an exit lock in a sizable loss, but such a sale would put the spotlight back on the fact that Buffett largely helped orchestrate the 2015 merger of Heinz and Kraft that was supposed to create an unstoppable food powerhouse. It never happened, though, proving that even the Oracle of Omaha doesn't get things right every single time. So what went wrong? At the time, the premise of a pairing made enough superficial sense. Several high-profile mergers and acquisitions in the early 2000s had panned out nicely, like ExxonMobil, Facebook's purchase of Instagram, and Google's 2006 acquisition of YouTube. Moreover, the food business itself is a simple one that tends to see higher margins with greater scale. There was corporate-culture friction for Kraft Heinz from the get-go, however, and perhaps worse, not enough of the right people were focusing on the actual underlying motivation for doing the deal in the first place. That motivation was slowing sales growth for the entire (and highly saturated) food production industry, which was finally allowing smaller players to chip away at the titans' dominance of the business. At the same time, consumers themselves were changing. Most of them became far more interested in more narrowly focused options and brands, making Kraft Heinz's now-bigger size even more of a liability. This would have been a tough shift for anyone to see at the time, including Warren Buffett. Yes, this stock's forward-looking dividend yield of 6% is compelling. Just keep in mind the quarterly dividend payment hasn't budged since being dialed back to $0.40 per share in 2019. It's not clear when -- or even if -- the company might be in a safe enough position to start raising it again. Should you invest $1,000 in American Express right now? Before you buy stock in American Express, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and American Express wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $649,102!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $882,344!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is996% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to174%for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025 American Express is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. James Brumley has positions in Alphabet. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Berkshire Hathaway, Domino's Pizza, Mastercard, Meta Platforms, and Visa. The Motley Fool recommends Kraft Heinz. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
CTV News
31 minutes ago
- CTV News
Coinbase adds former top Obama and Harris adviser Plouffe as it broadens its political reach
David Plouffe, right, Uber senior vice president of policy and communications, talks about the Uber expansion in Phoenix as Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey listens during a news conference announcing the opening of the new Uber offices June 11, 2015, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File) WASHINGTON — A senior adviser to Kamala Harris' 2024 presidential campaign is joining Coinbase's global advisory council, which already includes several former U.S. senators and Donald Trump's ex-campaign manager, as the cryptocurrency exchange broadens its political reach. David Plouffe, a top Democratic strategist best known as an architect of Barack Obama's successful 2008 presidential campaign, is the latest addition to the council, joining as the cryptocurrency industry plays an increasingly prominent role in shaping fast-moving legislation in Congress. The legislation aims to create a comprehensive framework for the regulation of digital assets and comes amid a shift in Washington. President Trump, a Republican, has pledged to make the U.S. the global capital of cryptocurrency, contrasting with what industry leaders viewed as a stifling regulatory approach under the previous Democratic administration. Trump and his family have also been aggressively expanding their personal business into almost every part of the cryptocurrency ecosystem, including raising billions of dollars to buy bitcoin, creating a new stablecoin and launching and promoting a Trump-themed meme coin. Chris LaCivita, the former co-campaign manager of Trump's successful 2024 presidential bid, joined Coinbase's advisory council in January. Former U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat-turned-independent from Arizona, also joined the council, which consists of a number of other high-profile figures from both major political parties. Plouffe previously served on the global advisory board for Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, before joining Harris' presidential campaign as a senior adviser in August. Faryar Shirzad, Coinbase's chief policy officer, described the role of the advisers as being a 'sound board' to discuss policy efforts and business strategy. In Congress, legislation is advancing far more quickly than usual for a new industry — a pace that some involved in shaping the bills say comes amid an all-out pressure campaign from the cryptocurrency sector. On Wednesday, a group of Democrats joined the Republican majority to advance legislation regulating stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency typically pegged to the U.S. dollar. Final passage through the Senate could come next week. Meanwhile, a more sweeping bill to implement cryptocurrency market structure has begun moving through House committees. Joey Cappelletti, The Associated Press
CTV News
31 minutes ago
- CTV News
Innovation takes a backseat at small U.S. companies as tariffs become a full-time preoccupation
Craig Simile, senior operations manager at Made Plus, prepares materials with a laser cutting machine at the company's manufacturing facility in Annapolis, Md., Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough) NEW YORK — Toy robots that teach children to code. Sneakers made in America. Mold-resistant kitchen gadgets. The three items are among new products that have gotten stuck in the pipeline due to President Donald Trump's unpredictable trade policies, according to the brand founders behind the stalled items. They say that instead of fostering U.S. innovation, Trump's tariffs are stifling it with extra costs and unexpected work. At Learning Resources in Vernon Hills, Illinois, Made Plus in Annapolis, Maryland, and Dorai Home in Salt Lake City, research and development have taken a backseat to recalculating budgets, negotiating with vendors and tracking shipments in the shifting tariff environment. 'If we don't have enough cash to cover just the restocks of the things that we know we need, do we want to take a risk on this new thing when we don't know how well it will sell yet?' Dorai Home founder Kelsey O'Callaghan said. O'Callaghan started the eco-friendly home goods company with a stone bath mat and now offers about 50 kitchen and bathroom accessories, which are made in China with a non-toxic material that dries quickly. New launches are critical to increasing sales and attracting customers, she said. As Trump increased the tariff on Chinese goods to 20 per cent and as high as 145 per cent before reducing the import tax rate to 30 per cent for 90 days, Dorai Home postponed introducing new merchandise. O'Callaghan said she had to lay off the CEO as well as the head of product development, who helped the company jump on new trends. 'I haven't really put the time or the emphasis on (innovation) because I'm covering too many other people's roles,' she said. The company paused shipments from China in early April but resumed some on a staggered basis after the president's rate reduction. On Wednesday, Trump touted progress in U.S.-China trade talks. With details still sketchy and a deal not finalized, entrepreneurs interviewed by The Associated Press said they viewed the tariffs war as an ongoing threat. Tariffs and American innovation The potential stunting of innovation follows an economic slowdown during the coronavirus pandemic, when companies also had to put projects on hold. Some experts think the on-again-off again tariffs may have more enduring consequences because they rewire markets and upend business strategies. 'When executive attention shifts from innovation to regulatory compliance, the innovation pipeline suffers. Companies end up optimizing for the political landscape rather than technological advancement,' economists J. Bradford Jensen, a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, and Scott J. Wallsten, president of the Technology Policy Institute think tank, wrote in an April blog post. Trump has argued that curtailing foreign imports with tariffs would help revive the nation's diminished manufacturing base. Analysts and various trade groups have warned that fractured trade ties and supply chains may depress R&D activity of U.S. tech and health care companies that rely on international partnerships or foreign suppliers. Small companies, which often drive the innovations that create jobs and economic growth, already are under strain. With fewer people on staff and tighter budgets compared to large corporations, entrepreneurs say they are spending more time on cutting costs, suspending or arranging orders, and deciding how much of their tariff-related costs to charge customers. That means they're spending less time thinking of their next big ideas. Schylling Inc., a Massachusetts company that produces modern versions of Lava lamps, Sea-Monkeys, My Little Pony and other nostalgic toys, has its products made in China. As part of its strategy to account for tariffs, the company put a group of employees on temporary unpaid leave last month to reduce expenses. Marketing director Beth Muehlenkamp said she and other furloughed workers typically would have been planning products for the final months of 2026. But Schylling isn't focusing on designing new products given the unstable trade outlook. 'It's really hard to focus on innovation and creativity when you're consumed with this day-to-day of how we're just going to balance the books and deal with the changing rates,' Muehlenkamp said. An uneven product pipeline Even some companies that do their manufacturing in the U.S. are scaling back investments in new products. Made Plus, a Maryland company that makes athletic shoes at a small factory in the state capital, put a planned golf line on hold because two key components — a foam insole and the tread for the bottom of the shoe — currently are made in China, founder Alan Guyan said. The company customizes its shoes on demand and charges $145 to $200 a pair. The footwear is made from recycled plastic bottles with advanced knitting, 3D printing and computerized stitching techniques. It's looking into getting components from Vietnam instead of China. Embracing new technology is essential to restoring manufacturing capability in the U.S. and competing with Asia, Guyan said. But given ongoing trade frictions, he said he does not want to invest time or money evaluating the latest embroidery and knitting machines, which come from Germany, Italy, China and the U.S. 'We're just battening down the hatches a little bit and just hoping that there's enough influence in the community of footwear that it will somewhat change and get resolved and we can move forward,' he said of the tariff roller coaster. In contrast, many big companies are forging on. Google parent Alphabet confirmed late last month that it still planned to spend $75 billion on capital expenditures this year, with most of the money going toward artificial intelligence technology. What's next for R&D? Sonia Lapinsky, a managing director at consulting firm AlixPartners, has advised her clients to limit tariff discussions to a small group of executives and to keep their product creation cycles in motion. Businesses have an even greater imperative to come up with attention-grabbing innovations when consumers may be reluctant to open their wallets, she said. Yet smaller companies may struggle to wall off tariff discussions from the rest of the business. Learning Resources CEO Rick Woldenberg said that roughly 25 per cent to 30 per cent of the 350 employees at the educational toy company's headquarters, including product developers, are working at least part-time on tariff-related tasks. The company usually develops 250 different products a year and expects to get half that many off the drawing board for 2026, Woldenberg said. While exploring factories in countries besides China, he said, Learning Resources is delaying the next generation of its interactive robots that help children develop computer programming skills through games and other activities. The family-run business and Woldenberg's other toy business, hand2Mind, are locked in a legal battle with the Trump administration. The jointly owned companies filed a lawsuit accusing the president of exceeding his authority by invoking an emergency powers law to impose tariffs. A federal judge ruled in favor of the two companies last month, and the administration has appealed the decision. Woldenberg said he's ready to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. 'It's a win at the Supreme Court that we need,' he said. 'And so until then, there will be no certainty. Even then, if the government is bound and determined to keep us in an uncertain situation, they'll be able to do that.' Anne D'innocenzio, The Associated Press
