Latest news with #BillAdams
Forbes
2 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Forbes Daily: Tariff Unease Persists Despite Slower Inflation Report
Last month's inflation reading was a victory in the long-running battle against price increases. But the celebration may not last long. The consumer price index increased 2.4% year-over-year in May, a slower pace than economists expected. Still, experts caution that President Donald Trump's tariffs may take a few months to materialize in the data. The World Bank slashed its forecast for global growth earlier this week, citing trade tensions and uncertainty. By the end of the year, inflation is expected to settle at a full percentage point higher than the May reading, according to UBS economists, complicating investors' hopes for interest rate cuts. 'Some businesses likely discounted in May to keep customers coming in the door,' Bill Adams, Chief Economist for Comerica Bank, said in emailed comments. 'But there's a limit to how long businesses will absorb higher input prices.' Firefighters work at the site where Air India flight 171 crashed in a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad. Photo by SAM PANTHAKY/AFP via Getty Images An Air India plane with 242 passengers and crew on board crashed near the Ahmedabad airport in the state of Gujarat in Western India on Thursday shortly after takeoff. Air India confirmed that the plane, which was scheduled to land at London Gatwick airport, was a Boeing 787-8, though details about the cause of the crash and number of fatalities were unknown. President Donald Trump announced a U.S. trade deal with China, including relief on restrictions China imposed amid the monthslong tariff dispute on crucial rare earth minerals and magnets. The details of the agreement were unclear, but some analysts predicted China would continue to have the upper-hand after its rare earth restrictions prompted Ford Motor and other U.S. companies to slow down production. Vance's criticism followed the May consumer price index release which revealed less inflation than economists expected. Photo byAfter May's cooler-than-expected inflation rate, the White House continued its criticism of the Federal Reserve, with Vice President JD Vance calling the central bank's lack of rate cuts 'monetary malpractice.' President Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked the historically independent Fed over interest rates, which have a direct impact on his real estate empire: A 1% decrease could theoretically save the president more than $6 million of interest expenses per year, Forbes reported in April. U.S. stock futures slumped early on Thursday after Trump said his administration will soon send letters to other countries unilaterally outlining the tariff rates that will be imposed on them. The president said the U.S. is currently negotiating with 15 counties, including Japan and South Korea, and noted that 'at a certain point, we're just going to send letters out ... saying this is the deal, you can take it or leave it.' Hyundai paid $1.1 billion to acquire a vast majority of robotics pioneer Boston Dynamics in 2021, and now the world's third-largest automaker intends to sell mass-produced humanoids controlled by AI as soon as 2028. It's part of a national robotics ambition for South Korea, which already leads the world in density of robot deployment. President Donald Trump falsely claimed that an appeals court upheld his 'Liberation Day' tariffs, praising the 'great and important win'—in reality, the court did not rule on the merits of the levies. A panel of judges decided to keep the tariffs in place while they consider their legality, which pauses a ruling by the Court of International Trade, but the same panel could ultimately still strike them down. Every member of the Fulbright Program's board resigned after accusing the Trump Administration of usurping its authority and canceling scholarships for nearly 200 U.S. professors and researchers. The board's dozen members, who were appointed by former President Joe Biden, led a range of programs that grant around 400,000 students, professors and researchers from more than 160 countries the opportunity to study, teach or conduct research abroad. Federal appeals court judges suggested they may be willing to move Trump's appeal of his 34-count criminal conviction from state to federal court, making it easier to throw out his only felony conviction. The three-judge panel argued that since the Supreme Court ruled that Trump can't be criminally charged based on 'official acts' in office after he had already been found guilty, there's a 'strong interest' in letting a federal court decide the 'weighty interests' at play in the case. Jason Schwartzman, Cory Michael Smith, Ramy Youssef and Steve Carell attend HBO's "Mountainhead" World Premiere at The Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Photo byMountainhead, a new HBO satirical movie from the British screenwriter behind Succession, follows a group of four tech bro billionaires, and Forbes looked at how they would stack up to the real-life fortunes on its Real-Time Billionaires list. The richest person in the world, according to the movie, is not Elon Musk, but Venis Parish (played by Cory Michael Smith), whose net worth of $220 billion would make him about as rich as Oracle's Larry Ellison, the No. 4 wealthiest in the world. In a Truth Social post Wednesday night, President Donald Trump announced the $5 million Gold Card visa program is now open for signups. The president's post includes a link to a form for what he refers to as 'The Trump Card,' which allows wealthy foreign nationals to register their interest in a program that intends to offer them a fast-track to U.S. citizenship. The website itself is thin on information, however, with no dates mentioned for when the card will actually be available. President Donald Trump has insisted the U.S. is being 'ripped off' by its longtime trading partners, but it's hard to make the case that globalization has been a zero-sum game. Twenty years ago, the members of Forbes' list of the world's 2,000 largest companies combined to record $21.9 trillion in annual sales, $1.3 trillion in profit, $80.7 trillion in assets and $26.6 trillion in market value. Every half decade since, all of those numbers have steadily climbed, and this year's totals amount to records of $52.9 trillion in revenue, $4.9 trillion in profit, $242.2 trillion in assets and $91.3 trillion in market cap. Much of that astounding growth, including more than doubling in revenues, has taken place in the U.S., where the S&P 500 index is up fivefold in the last two decades. But now, leaders of many of the most prominent companies in the U.S. and around the world are fretting that a trade war could stunt that growth. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon devoted the majority of his annual letter to his macroeconomic and geopolitical concerns before even beginning to discuss his own company. The firm has been the No. 1 company on the Forbes Global 2000 list for the past three years. 'America will be first—but not if it is alone,' Dimon wrote. WHY IT MATTERS 'Even though there's a lot of talk in Washington about how trade deficits are enriching other countries at the expense of the United States, it's clear our status as the center of the global economy is only getting stronger,' says Forbes staff writer Hank Tucker. 'The number of American companies on the Global 2000 has increased in the last 15 years, and China's rise has hit a wall. In that context, tariffs appear to be trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist and dragging America down along with the rest of the world.' MORE The United States' Largest Companies 2025: JPMorgan Leads The Way As U.S. Remains World's Dominant Country Costco Wholesale and Restoration Hardware are two brands known for their membership programs, and in the face of ongoing economic uncertainty, both recently increased their membership fees, while also enhancing benefits for their most loyal customers: 5%: The increase to all Costco memberships in 2024 One hour early: Costco plans to start opening its doors to Executive members earlier, giving them a less crowded shopping experience 30%: The minimum discount RH members receive on regularly priced merchandise, up from 25%, after members pay a $200 annual fee A strong cover letter can make or break your job application, but there are some common phrases you should avoid. Address the letter to someone specific, rather than using the phrase 'to whom it may concern,' and instead of 'I'm applying for this position,' try outlining specific achievements and highlighting your knowledge of the company. Avoid clichés like calling yourself a hard worker or team player—opt for concrete examples, with metrics to back them up. The Trump Organization teased a 'major announcement' to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Donald Trump's first presidential campaign launch. What did Trump do just before declaring his candidacy? A. Walk down a red carpet B. Descend a golden escalator C. Insulted then-President Barack Obama D. Hit a triple eagle on a round of golf Check your answer. Thanks for reading! This edition of Forbes Daily was edited by Sarah Whitmire and Chris Dobstaff.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Fed is 'in a bind,' wants to avoid 2022 inflation mistakes
May's Consumer Price Index (CPI) will be an important piece of inflation data to gauge the impact of President Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs from April. The report is due out Wednesday morning, June 11. Comerica Bank Chief Economist Bill Adams comments on current CPI forecasts and why he thinks the Federal Reserve is "in a bind right now" around the US central bank's dual mandate of balancing inflation and the labor market. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Morning Brief here. Investors, we've got a fresh read on the impact of President Trump's tariffs on inflation Wednesday morning with the release of the May CPI numbers. Economists expecting consumer prices, excluding volatile food and energy costs to rise three tenths of a percent during the month. So how big an impact will the month's numbers have on markets and the Federal Reserve? Joining us now on that, Bill Adams, Comerica Bank's chief economist. Bill, great to speak with you this morning. What are you anticipating for the CPI print this month? I think we'll probably see what's uh close to that uh consensus forecast. We're expecting a little bit cooler on the headline CPI because gas prices were down in May. That helps consumers. Uh but I think in the rear view six months from now, we'll see that the spring and early summer were probably as good as it got for inflation in 2025. Looking at other indicators like the PMI reports, business input costs are rising at the fastest pace since 2022. And so, probably by the end of this year, early next year, we will see CPI picking up uh to a three handle and um that's uh that's moving in the wrong direction. That's not moving closer to the Fed's target. And so, how far in advance of that do you expect the Fed to take what at that point, if we were to see a three handle on it, what might be looked at as preemptive or proactive type of action? I I think the Fed is in a buying right now. The Fed sees that the job market is operating at a slower pace. We're adding jobs slower in the first five months of of 2025 than we did in 2024, 2023. Uh but the Fed is, I think, more concerned about inflation, given that it looks like inflation expectations have risen. It looks like inflation is headed higher from business surveys. And the Fed uh had a big miss on inflation in 2022 and early 2023 and they don't want to repeat that mistake. So I think uh to the extent that the Fed surprises markets over the next couple of months, it's more likely by them uh saying that they're going to wait longer to cut interest rates rather than by making a preemptive cut. Let's talk a little bit about the tariff driven inflation because it was interesting in the New York Fed's data, we sort of saw a round trip in inflation expectations ticking up and then going back to prior levels over the month of April. What does that signal to you about how much we're going to see tariffs playing into the inflation data this month? Consumers in that New York Fed Fed survey, uh great point Madison to bring that one up. Uh consumers are a little bit more encouraged about the price outlook. But I think we see the pass through of the 90-day pause of higher tariffs on China showing up there. Uh as well as just the overall change in tone on the the tariff negotiation uh with all US trading partners. So, uh consumers are are feeling a little bit more upbeat, but still seeing higher inflation in um in the forward view. Uh consumers, you know, they like the rest of us, they don't have a crystal ball about what tariff policy is going to be. But uh the signal has been both from uh from uh the the government as well as from private businesses that uh we're likely to see somewhat higher prices over the next six months as a result of this. I don't think it's going to be uh a inflation emergency like we saw in 2022, but I think we will see inflation continuing to be a problem for American consumers. And so it sounds like consumers should just continue to expect businesses to kind of hot potato that cost that they're incurring. I think some businesses will be able to absorb those costs, but most will probably pass it on. I think uh consumers will probably over time see the the majority of those cost increases. Uh and that's going to translate into higher prices for durable goods, um but might not affect uh cost of food or cost of energy as much, which are more domestically produced. Final 30 seconds, Bill. Just wanted to get your take on whether or not you've seen taxes replace tariffs as the key policy uncertainty regarding any of the survey data you've seen. I think consumers and businesses are starting to pay more attention to the tax bill. And I think the idea of tax cuts over time is probably going to displace tariffs. I think we're early in that, but I think over the next month or two that will happen. And I think that will be a boost to consumer sentiment as it does. Bill, good to see you here today. Thanks so much for the time and insights. Thanks for having me. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Fed is 'in a bind,' wants to avoid 2022 inflation mistakes
May's Consumer Price Index (CPI) will be an important piece of inflation data to gauge the impact of President Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs from April. The report is due out Wednesday morning, June 11. Comerica Bank Chief Economist Bill Adams comments on current CPI forecasts and why he thinks the Federal Reserve is "in a bind right now" around the US central bank's dual mandate of balancing inflation and the labor market. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Morning Brief here. Sign in to access your portfolio
Globe and Mail
27-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Mercer International Inc. Releases 2024 Sustainability Report
NEW YORK, May 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mercer International Inc. ('Mercer' or the 'Company') (Nasdaq: MERC), a global forest products company, today released its 2024 Sustainability Report, Fit for Future: Transition and Transformation. The report outlines, among other things, the Company's progress towards its 2030 sustainability goals. Juan Carlos Bueno, President and CEO, stated: 'In 2024, we applied the same operational discipline to our sustainability efforts that we bring to all areas of our business. We focused on where Mercer can make the most meaningful contribution—reducing emissions at the source, improving resource efficiency, and advancing renewable bioproducts. These steps reflect our learning and commitment to a long-term, practical impact that we believe will add value to our overall business.' Bill Adams, Chief Sustainability Officer, added: 'We recognize that credibility in sustainability comes from transparency and benchmarking. In 2024, we prioritized ESG governance by securing third-party assurance of our emissions data and aligning with evolving disclosure standards. These efforts helped improve our Sustainalytics ESG risk rating and position Mercer as a reliable partner for investors, customers, and communities who increasingly expect clear and consistent sustainability performance.' 2024 Highlights Selected highlights of accomplishments include: Climate & Emissions 83% of fuel-based energy came from renewable sources, advancing toward the Company's 90% target by 2030. Completed Mercer's third climate scenario analysis, enhancing climate risk assessment and disclosure. Waste & Resource Efficiency Landfill waste totaled 16.6 kg/ADMT—a 24% improvement over the 2019 baseline—advancing toward the 30% reduction target by 2030. Water consumption at pulp mills declined 8% year-over-year due to operational efficiencies. Employee Safety The Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) improved 25%, from 3.68 to 2.76. ESG Governance & Reporting Released Mercer's first Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) aligned report on nature-related risks and dependencies. Completed a double materiality assessment designed to align with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) requirements. Recognition Received the 2024 SFI President's Award for leadership in mass timber and supply chain certification. Improved Sustainalytics ESG Risk Rating to 17.6 (low risk), down from 21.4 in 2023. Looking Ahead Mercer's 2024 Sustainability Report reflects the Company's continued commitment to measurable, science-based progress. As Mercer advances toward its 2030 goals, it remains focused on integrating sustainability into core business decisions, building trust through transparency, and delivering long-term value for stakeholders. The full report is available at About Us Mercer International Inc. is a global forest products company with operations in Germany, the USA, and Canada. Its consolidated annual production capacity is 2.1 million tonnes of pulp, 960 million board feet of lumber, 210 thousand cubic meters of CLT, 45 thousand cubic meters of glulam, 17 million pallets, and 230,000 metric tonnes of biofuels. For more information about the company and to read the full report, please visit its website at The preceding includes forward-looking statements which involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties which may cause our actual results in future periods to differ materially from forecasted results. Words such as "expects", "anticipates", "are optimistic that", "projects", "intends", "designed", "will", "believes", "estimates", "may", "could" and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Among those factors which could cause actual results to differ materially are the following: the highly cyclical nature of our business, raw material costs, our level of indebtedness, competition, foreign exchange and interest rate fluctuations, our use of derivatives, expenditures for capital projects, environmental regulation and compliance, disruptions to our production, market conditions and other risk factors listed from time to time in our SEC reports. APPROVED BY: William D. McCartney Chairman +1 (604) 684-1099 Juan Carlos Bueno Chief Executive Officer +1 (604) 684-1099
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mercer International Inc. Releases 2024 Sustainability Report
NEW YORK, May 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mercer International Inc. ('Mercer' or the 'Company') (Nasdaq: MERC), a global forest products company, today released its 2024 Sustainability Report, Fit for Future: Transition and Transformation. The report outlines, among other things, the Company's progress towards its 2030 sustainability goals. Juan Carlos Bueno, President and CEO, stated: 'In 2024, we applied the same operational discipline to our sustainability efforts that we bring to all areas of our business. We focused on where Mercer can make the most meaningful contribution—reducing emissions at the source, improving resource efficiency, and advancing renewable bioproducts. These steps reflect our learning and commitment to a long-term, practical impact that we believe will add value to our overall business.' Bill Adams, Chief Sustainability Officer, added: 'We recognize that credibility in sustainability comes from transparency and benchmarking. In 2024, we prioritized ESG governance by securing third-party assurance of our emissions data and aligning with evolving disclosure standards. These efforts helped improve our Sustainalytics ESG risk rating and position Mercer as a reliable partner for investors, customers, and communities who increasingly expect clear and consistent sustainability performance.' 2024 Highlights Selected highlights of accomplishments include: Climate & Emissions 83% of fuel-based energy came from renewable sources, advancing toward the Company's 90% target by 2030. Completed Mercer's third climate scenario analysis, enhancing climate risk assessment and disclosure. Waste & Resource Efficiency Landfill waste totaled 16.6 kg/ADMT—a 24% improvement over the 2019 baseline—advancing toward the 30% reduction target by 2030. Water consumption at pulp mills declined 8% year-over-year due to operational efficiencies. Employee Safety The Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) improved 25%, from 3.68 to 2.76. ESG Governance & Reporting Released Mercer's first Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) aligned report on nature-related risks and dependencies. Completed a double materiality assessment designed to align with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) requirements. Recognition Received the 2024 SFI President's Award for leadership in mass timber and supply chain certification. Improved Sustainalytics ESG Risk Rating to 17.6 (low risk), down from 21.4 in 2023. Looking Ahead Mercer's 2024 Sustainability Report reflects the Company's continued commitment to measurable, science-based progress. As Mercer advances toward its 2030 goals, it remains focused on integrating sustainability into core business decisions, building trust through transparency, and delivering long-term value for stakeholders. The full report is available at About Us Mercer International Inc. is a global forest products company with operations in Germany, the USA, and Canada. Its consolidated annual production capacity is 2.1 million tonnes of pulp, 960 million board feet of lumber, 210 thousand cubic meters of CLT, 45 thousand cubic meters of glulam, 17 million pallets, and 230,000 metric tonnes of biofuels. For more information about the company and to read the full report, please visit its website at The preceding includes forward-looking statements which involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties which may cause our actual results in future periods to differ materially from forecasted results. Words such as "expects", "anticipates", "are optimistic that", "projects", "intends", "designed", "will", "believes", "estimates", "may", "could" and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Among those factors which could cause actual results to differ materially are the following: the highly cyclical nature of our business, raw material costs, our level of indebtedness, competition, foreign exchange and interest rate fluctuations, our use of derivatives, expenditures for capital projects, environmental regulation and compliance, disruptions to our production, market conditions and other risk factors listed from time to time in our SEC reports. APPROVED BY: William D. McCartney Chairman +1 (604) 684-1099 Juan Carlos Bueno Chief Executive Officer +1 (604) 684-1099
