U.S. stocks sank in another dizzying day of trading Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump promised stiff tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, worrying investors about possible retaliation by other countries. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 420.22 points, or 1.68 percent, to 24,608.98, the S&P 500 lost 36.16 points, or 1.33 percent, to 2,677.67 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 92.45 points, or 1.27 percent, to 7,180.56. Trump said his administration would impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum. The news took Wall Street by surprise and caused concerns in the markets for companies that rely on aluminum and steel. Shares of Boeing fell 3.5 percent, General Motors dipped 4 percent and Ford dropped by 3 percent. Large technology companies also suffered, including Apple and Google-parent Alphabet, which fell about 2 percent or more. But steelmakers rose, with U.S. Steel rising 5.8 percent and Nucor gaining 3.3 percent. Century Aluminum advanced 7.5 percent. If the tariffs result in higher prices on steel and aluminum, companies that rely on those products may have to pass on some of the costs to consumers. That raises the specter of creeping inflation. Concerns about trade come at an already shaky time on Wall Street. The S&P 500 and Dow fell about 4 percent in February, their worst month in two years. Fears about inflation and soaring bond yields caused a surge in volatility, including two 1,000-point plunges for the Dow. Powell’s remarks Stocks had mostly traded lower before Trump’s announcement. Federal …
Trump: US Will Impose Steel, Aluminum Tariffs Next Week
President Donald Trump announced Thursday the United States will impose steep tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Trump said tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum imports will be in effect for a long period of time. He said the measure will be signed “sometime next week.” In a Twitter post earlier Thursday, Trump said that “Our Steel and Aluminum industries (and many others) have been decimated by decades of unfair trade and bad policy with countries from around the world.” At the Thursday meeting, Trump said the NAFTA trade pact and the World Trade Organization have been disasters for the United States. He asserted “the rise of China economically was directly equal to the date of the opening of the World Trade Organization.” Trump told officials from steel and aluminum companies that the United States “hasn’t been treated fairly by other countries, but I don’t blame the other countries.” Without more details about which countries will be affected by the tariffs, it is difficult to gauge their impact. In 2017, Canada, Brazil, South Korea and Mexico accounted for nearly half of all U.S. steel imports. That year, Chinese steel accounted for less than 2 percent of overall U.S. imports. Trump emphasized his respect for Chinese President Xi Jinping, and said he told Xi when visiting China, “I don’t blame you, if you can get away with almost $500 billion a year off of our country, how can I blame you? Somebody agreed to these deals. Those …
Environmentalists in Kenya Protest China-Backed Railway Construction
Environmental activists in Kenya have pledged to take further legal action against Kenyan and Chinese corporations if contractors move forward with construction of a railway bridge across Nairobi National Park. The activists held a demonstration Thursday outside parliament. About 100 activists chanted as they marched through the streets of Nairobi Thursday to demand that phase 2 of construction of the Standard Gauge Railway be rerouted around Nairobi National Park. The park is a rare wildlife sanctuary located just minutes from the city center of one of Africa’s rapidly growing economic and technological hubs. “This is a tiny park. It’s an absolute jewel to the Nairobi citizens and all of Kenya. It is crowded with guests. Everybody who comes for safari, their first stop is Nairobi National Park before they go to the Mara and all those places, and it’s a disaster if they take it away,” said Patricia Heaths. The six-kilometer bridge planned to cross over the park is part of a much larger project – the SGR, a massive regional rail network largely funded by China. Kenya opened the Nairobi to Mombasa line last year. This second phase of the SGR in Kenya is set to connect Nairobi to Naivasha. Environmentalists say the construction would affect the ecology of the park, endangering the wildlife and their natural habitats. Paul Mark from Friends of Nairobi National Park read a petition outside parliament. “…The purpose of this letter is to remind you of the court orders in place …
US Consumer Spending Ticked Up in January as Incomes Soared
Americans lifted their spending just 0.2 percent in January, while their incomes jumped because of last year’s tax cuts. The Commerce Department said Thursday that the modest spending increase followed gains of 0.4 percent in December and 0.8 percent in November. Incomes rose 0.4 percent, boosted by $30 billion in tax cut-related bonuses the government estimates were paid out in January. After-tax income jumped 0.9 percent, the most in a year, lifted by the Trump administration’s tax cuts. With consumers holding back on spending, the savings rate rose. Savings had fallen to a 12-year low in December. The figures suggest Americans took a breather in January after shopping enthusiastically over the holidays. The healthy income gains will likely spur more spending in the coming months. Still, the slow start to the year indicates the economy may grow more slowly in the first three months of the year than it did in last year’s fourth quarter, when it expanded at a 2.5 percent annual rate. Consumers are feeling much more optimistic about the economy, which should help lift spending. Consumer confidence jumped in February to the highest level since 2000, according to the Conference Board. “With consumer confidence elevated and disposable incomes rising, we don’t expect the softness in spending to last long,” Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics, said. There were some signs of inflation pressures. A key inflation gauge that excludes the volatile food and energy categories rose 0.3 percent, the most in …
Popular Alaska Peak Weighs New Rules for Climbers’ Poop
Climbers on North America’s tallest mountain may have to start packing out more of their poop after a researcher determined a glacier in which much of it has been dumped over the past decade probably is not decomposing the human waste. Michael Loso, a glacier geologist, calculates that 36,000 climbers between 1951 and 2012 deposited 152,000 to 215,000 pounds (69 to 97 metric tons) of feces onto Kahiltna Glacier, part of the most popular route to Denali’s summit. For more than a decade, the National Park Service has required that climbers keep waste off the Alaska mountain’s surface. Mountaineers captured their poop in biodegradable bags held by portable toilets and pitched it into deep crevasses on the glacier. However, Loso’s research indicates human waste never reaches the bottom of the glacier, will never be exposed to extreme temperatures and disintegrate, and likely will reappear downstream as stains on Kahiltna Glacier’s surface where melting exceeds annual snowfall. Park Service officials say the dumping of human waste that does not decompose is not a practice they want to continue in a national park and a wilderness area. “These changes are in direct response to the research,” Chris Erickson, a mountain ranger, said by phone from nearby Talkeetna. The proposed regulations would allow mountaineers to drop waste in only one crevasse at high elevation. They would have to carry out the rest. Human waste is a concern on most mountains that attract multitudes of climbers, and the issue of poop littering the routes …
НБУ підвищив облікову ставку до 17% річних
Правління Національного банку України ухвалило рішення підвищити облікову ставку з 16 до 17 відсотків річних, починаючи з 2 березня, повідомляє прес-служба НБУ. У регуляторі пояснили, що четверте поспіль підвищення облікової ставки «є доцільним з огляду на відсутність суттєвих ознак послаблення інфляційних ризиків і спрямоване на зниження споживчої інфляції до цільового рівня в середньостроковій перспективі». Згідно з повідомленням, у січні 2018 року споживча інфляція прискорилася до 14,1% у річному вимірі і перевищила прогноз Національного банку. У НБУ заявили, що вважають актуальним січневий прогноз зниження інфляції до 8,9% у 2018 році та її повернення до цільового діапазону в середині 2019 року. Водночас, на думку регулятора, залишаються актуальними інфляційні ризики, на яких наголошував Національний банк у січні при ухваленні попереднього рішення про підвищення облікової ставки. Серед них – висока вразливість економіки у зв’язку з відтермінуванням чергового траншу за програмою співпраці з Міжнародним валютним фондом, підвищені інфляційні очікування економічних агентів та суттєві темпи зростання споживчого попиту. Облікова ставка є одним із інструментів, за допомогою якого Нацбанк встановлює для комерційних банків орієнтир щодо вартості залучених і розміщених коштів. Фактично вона визначає ціну грошей. Востаннє НБУ підвищував облікову ставку у січні – до 16% річних, перед тим до 14,5% у грудні 2017 року, а ще раніше у жовтні 2017 року – з 12,5 до 13,5%. У березні 2015 року НБУ облікова ставка була на рівні 30%, згодом регулятор почав поступово знижувати облікову ставку. …
Amid NAFTA Talks, Mexico Airs Concerns Over US Steel Tariffs
Mexico’s economy minister met with top U.S. trade officials on Wednesday midway through the latest push to renegotiate the NAFTA trade deal, as concerns about steel added to trade tensions between the two countries. Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo met U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer during a hastily arranged visit to Washington as U.S., Mexican and Canadian officials held a seventh round of negotiations to rework the North American Free Trade Agreement. In a statement, Mexico’s economy ministry said Guajardo had discussed possible U.S. steel import tariffs with Ross, as well as bilateral agreements over tomatoes and sugar, which have been renegotiated periodically. Guajardo also met with Lighthizer to discuss the agenda of the ministerial meeting on March 5 at the conclusion of the latest NAFTA talks in Mexico City, his ministry said. U.S. President Donald Trump is considering imposing steel and aluminum tariffs on imports from China and elsewhere following a probe looking at whether imports of the metals threatened U.S. national security. Among the options before Trump is a tariff of at least 24 percent on steel products from all countries. However, Trump could decide to exempt some countries from any measures, including its NAFTA trading partners and has indicated he might exempt Canada. A Mexican official said the Ross meeting would address Mexican concerns over trade in steel and tomatoes, noting that Mexico would retaliate against steel tariffs. Ross has said he would not be surprised to see countries challenge any steel …
Scientists: Life Can Thrive in Most Extreme Environments
If microbes can live in the most extreme regions on Earth, scientists say it is quite possible they can live on other celestial bodies. In a recently published study, researchers from Washington State University say bacteria, found in the hyper-arid soil of Chile’s Atacama Desert, can live dormant for decades, patiently waiting for very rare rainfalls. Once the rain arrives, they quickly reanimate and produce offspring. Since Mars once had flowing water, scientists say it is possible that similar microorganisms may be waiting there for the next opportunity to continue life. But other celestial bodies within our solar system, such as Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus, have water now, so they too may harbor extraterrestrial life. Studying life around deep-sea hydrothermal vents near Japan’s island of Okinawa, microbiologists led by a team from the University of Vienna found that certain microbes thrive in conditions similar to those on Enceladus. The hardiest of the microbes were able to reproduce even in the presence of extremely unfriendly chemicals, such as ammonia and carbon monoxide. …