Chinese Banks, HSBC and Standard Chartered Outlook to be Shadowed by US Tariffs
Chinese lenders including Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., China Construction Bank Corp., Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. and Bank of China Ltd. will report earnings as the US-China trade war threatens to erode their margins.
China may need more stimulus measures including rate cuts as the economy faces tariff risks, which could dim margin outlook for these banks, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Francis Chan and Nicholas Ng.
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Buzz Feed
32 minutes ago
- Buzz Feed
Small American Business Owners Are Sharing How Tariffs Are Affecting Them
When tariffs on Chinese goods spiked dramatically — peaking at over 100% in some cases before recent reductions — small business owners across America found themselves facing an impossible math problem. From toy designers to computer repair shops, countless entrepreneurs discovered that products they depend on — and that simply aren't made anywhere else — suddenly became prohibitively expensive. When u/toymakerinchina, a manufacturer of indoor playground equipment, asked how US small businesses were handling these dramatic tariff increases, the responses painted a sobering picture of an economy under strain: "Honestly, they're not able to cope. I know two people in separate small businesses in this situation who were running the numbers at 104% yesterday. They're already in a place with not-high margins. They also have to get their product out to distributors and on to end consumers, and there is a markup at each step. They're trying to increase direct-to-consumer sales to get a bit more efficient, but that's really hard. It's more likely they'll go bankrupt unless things get fixed fast. There aren't any American alternatives for the imported supply, and there won't be in the future. They're doomed to fail." "I have a computer repair shop. Literally everything computer-related is made in China, with few exceptions — Taiwan and Mexico, sometimes. New computers are about to get real expensive. This will either surge my business, in which case we'll just lower our margin on parts and maintain labor cost, or people are going to pay out the nose for new computers." "I've just had to place an order for $80,000 worth of equipment to be produced. Specialized gear only made in China. The budget was around $110,000 total. Now maybe $150,000. It will hurt if this level — or worse — is in place when it's ready to be shipped. It will take about three months to fabricate it all. I don't know if I have any way to mitigate this." "Our selling prices are going way up. Our sales volume will suffer because our poorest customers won't be able to afford our product. It's an item for people with disabilities. It's sad." "My sister designs plush toys and runs her own business. She's a small operation, but it's been her full-time gig for almost 10 years. On average, her orders are around 2,000 to 5,000 toys at a time. Her latest order was flat-out cancelled by the supplier. She's completely screwed. There simply isn't a viable alternative company that isn't based in China." "The previous steel and aluminum tariffs from the pandemic were rough. This is on another level. I don't think most people understand how screwed we are. Currently, my suppliers are trying to raise prices slowly. They're playing chicken with each other. They know they can't raise everything overnight, as they're also competing with other suppliers, and they still need to move product in order to maintain cash flow. I've been hoarding lots of inventory in preparation, but how long will it take to move that product if the economy is slow due to overall inflation? Our costs are just one aspect of being in business. If our customers are squeezed from every direction by tariffs on everything, then they don't have cash to purchase things from us. Then toss in some idiotic DOGE nonsense, where you eliminate millions of people from viable employment." "I'm about to close shop after doing it as my exclusive job for 10 years. It's screwed." "I have a $48,000 order that I placed two days ago just before the latest China tariff increase. Haven't paid the deposit yet, and now reassessing the move. Considering 1) reducing the order size just to not have such a large bill come due in two to three months and start seeking other suppliers in lower-tariffed countries or the US — although I would expect that even if we found a US manufacturer, the price would work out to be the same if not higher; 2) keep the order, but start adding a tariff fee to invoices now; 3) do nothing and hope the jerk in charge changes this move before the goods hit customs. We've already negotiated a lower price with our supplier, so not much else to be done there. We just raised our prices for the first time in three years to finally pass along some of the cost increases we've incurred in that time. It looked like we'd finally improve our margins over where they've been the last few years. And now this." "My family runs a restaurant. If our prices for takeout containers and other small disposables skyrocket, we're going to put some behind a price instead of giving them out for free. Currently, a large takeout foam container is 20 cents. If it hits 40 cents or more, we will tack on a 25-to-50-cent fee depending on just how high it actually goes. Please, everyone, understand that a small mom-and-pop style restaurant only runs 3% to 6% pure profit if that — right now, we are at about 4%." "My partner had a bunch of inventory on hand pre-tariff so he's just selling that and not ordering anything for now. And he raised prices because he can. He's pointing out that price increases are due to tariffs to educate his red-leaning customers on what they voted for." "Our wholesale will probably shut down after the last of our inventory is sold. It was a good run of 10 years but the Chinese tariffs will make continuing business impossible." "I am a small business owner — I create medieval and costume artistic wigs from wig bases made in China. I will pass the tariff on to the customer as I have no other choice. The US will never make what I need, and other countries making wigs don't come even close to the quality of wigs that China makes, not to mention the trust I have with my years-long suppliers and whatnot. I have no solution because I feel like even if we find loopholes, they can be 'plugged' overnight by the Trump administration. I wish I could include the sum of what my customer pays on tariffs in my pricing separately. That's not going to happen, I know. I will have way fewer customers, lose competitiveness on international markets, and will have to start a second business on the side. I see all this as very pessimistic and feel sorry for all of us affected in the US as well as China." "We're exhausted. We're exhausted from running the numbers, coming up with a barely workable solution, only to have the goal posts moved and that solution obliterated again and again and again. My entire industry is imploding. Yesterday, my company laid off the entire team except for the founder, who is still trying to pivot and find yet another workable solution in hopes he can bring us all back before we find other, more permanent placements." "I have a couple retail stores, and I've received calls from multiple wholesale companies saying many items will get 20% to 50% price increases. This was before China's retaliatory tariff increase. I just won't stock any items that have increased by 50%, other than extreme cases. Any items that I continue to stock will get price increases slower than how much they got increased by tariffs. It's so that customers won't notice the sudden sharp increase in price and leave my business with a sour taste. I will eventually increase it to match the same profit margin in the end, but I will do it slowly, even if it eats away my profit in the short term, to stay competitive. If this tariff war continues, I would assume many retail stores in my industry, maybe even I, won't be able to stay afloat and will go out of business. My hope is that I can outlast the competition while this tariff craze is going on. I just hope I don't have to let go of my employees." "The tariffs pose a huge threat to my business. I have an art business in the US, and I print my artwork on various art and stationery products. All of my stationery is manufactured in either Canada or China. I also print on various specialty papers that are only manufactured outside of the US. I have done some preparation by buying a year's worth of supplies to continue printing some of my own products, but I will have to discontinue many of my items for the foreseeable future. I am a small business and can't afford to buy products at such high markups. If these tariffs last long, I will be forced to close my business. I am already preparing by looking for a part-time job to supplement the loss of income this will be for me. Plus, my customer base is not wealthy people. Even if I had the savings to afford 104% tariffs, my customers would not." "Many of my materials are imported because US manufacturers charge almost 90% more for a similar sheet of material. So now my competitors and I will have to pay more for the product. Then we will mark it up the same percentage. $50 with a 100% markup meant I sold it for $100, and the company earned $50. Now it's $75 per sheet, and I mark it up to $150, and the company makes $75. We're more profitable. Sure, we may lose a few sales here or there because people can no longer afford to buy a sign for their business or housing development, but during COVID when scarcity drove prices up, we never ended up in a worse position, so I doubt we will here since people need our products, just as I'm sure people need your products." Are you a small business owner dealing with the impact of tariffs, or do you have thoughts on how these policies are affecting the economy? Whether you've witnessed these challenges firsthand, have ideas for solutions, or simply want to share your perspective on what this means for American businesses, drop your thoughts in the comments — or anonymous form — below. Note: Responses have been edited for length/clarity.
Associated Press
33 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Australia's defense minister downplays concerns over Pentagon review of multi-billion submarine deal
BANGKOK (AP) — Australia's defense minister dismissed concerns Thursday that a deal between the U.S., Australia and Britain to provide his country with nuclear-powered submarines could be in jeopardy, following a report that the Pentagon had ordered a review. Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles told Sky News Australia that he had known about the review of the deal 'for some time,' saying that it was a 'very natural step for the incoming administration to take.' He noted that the UK's government also reviewed the deal, the centerpiece of a three-way alliance known as AUKUS after it was elected, and that his own government had looked at it as part of its own review of Australia's entire defense posture. 'I think an incoming government having a look at this is something that they have a perfect right to do and we welcome it and we'll work with it,' he said. The deal, worth more than $200 billion, was signed between the three countries in 2021 under then President Joe Biden, designed to provide Australia, one of Washington's staunchest allies in the region, with greater maritime capabilities to counter China's increasingly strong navy. The deal also involves the U.S. selling several of its Virginia-class submarines to Australia to bridge the gap as the new submarines are being jointly built. In January, Australia made the first of six $500 million payments to the U.S. under the AUKUS deal, meant to bolster American submarine manufacturing. Marles met with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on the sidelines of a defense conference in Singapore less than two weeks ago, and told reporters afterward that he had come away with 'a sense of confidence about the way in which AUKUS is proceeding.' 'AUKUS is on track and we are meeting all the timelines that are associated with it,' he said. 'We are very optimistic.' Hegseth's address to the defense forum made multiple mentions of cooperation with Australia but no reference to AUKUS, however, though he did later mention the deal when he was taking questions. Hegseth did urge allies in the Indo-Pacific to increase their defense spending, and underscored the need for a 'strong, resolute and capable network of allies and partners' as the U.S. seeks to counter China.
Forbes
34 minutes ago
- Forbes
U.S. Futures Drop As Trump Says He'll Set Unilateral Tariffs In 2 Weeks
U.S. stock futures slumped early on Thursday—with the Dow index dropping by more than 200 points—after President Donald Trump said his administration will soon send letters to other countries unilaterally outlining the tariff rates that will be imposed on them. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media during a guided tour of the John F. Kennedy Center ... More for the Performing Arts. While attending a show at the Kennedy Center on Wednesday evening, Trump was asked about extending the ongoing 90-day tariff pause—which will expire on July 9—and said: 'I would, but I don't think we're going to have that necessity.' The president said the U.S. was negotiating with 15 countries, including Japan and South Korea. Trump then noted that the U.S. has around '150 plus' trading partners and 'at a certain point, we're just going to send letters out…saying this is the deal, you can take it or leave it.' 'We're going to be sending letters out in about a week and a half, two weeks, to countries, telling them what the deal is,' he added. The president touted the proposed agreement with China as a 'great deal,' adding, 'We're very happy with it, we have everything we need.' U.S. stock futures slumped in premarket trading early Thursday, with the benchmark S&P 500 slipping by 0.4% to 6,004 points. The Dow Futures index was the worst hit, dropping by 0.5% to 42,684 points, while the tech-focused Nasdaq Futures fell 0.4% to 21,799 points.
