Oil Prices Are Increasing, But Supply Is Not

Oil prices are hovering near $90 a barrel on average, its highest seen since 2014. The sudden cost increase is likely due to political tensions in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, and a supply shortage. Normally, prices this high would call for OPEC to significantly increase oil exports. However, during a meeting this morning, OPEC and...
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Bottlenecks Extend to Multiple Ports Within the U.S.

Bottlenecks along the busiest ports of the West Coast are expanding to the Eastern side of the country, including South Carolina, New York and Georgia, according to news reports.The twin ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles handle about 40% of the U.S.'s inbound containers; and after receiving record amounts of imports in 2021, delays continue to pe...
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Businesses Are Transitioning Away from Checks to Digital Payments, Report Shows

Paper checks continue to be the most popular form of business-to-business (B2B) payment. However, more companies are looking to make the transition toward digital payments than ever before, according to a recent report from the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP).Fewer paper checks are being processed today than reported in 2015, and ACH ...
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Looting of LA County Railcars Exacerbate Supply Chain Woes

Supply-chain disruptions are widespread. Railcar thefts in Los Angeles County increased by 160% over the past year and 356% from last October compared with October 2020, according to news reports."This increased criminal activity over the past 12 months accounts for approximately $5 million in claims, losses and damages to Union Pacific," wrote Adr...
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What China’s Slowing Economy Means for The Rest of The World

China's economy grew only 4% in the final quarter of 2021, the slowest pace seen since the second quarter of 2020, the New York Times reports. The stall in economic growth is likely due to a drop in property sales, slowed demand and Covid-forced shutdowns. Experts predict other economies will also lose momentum in the near future. "The snapshot of ...
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China Cuts Interest Rate for the First Time in Nearly Two Years

China's central bank cut its interest rate on 700-billion-yuan ($110.19 billion) worth of one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) loans to some financial institutions by 10 basis points from 2.95% to 2.85%, according to news reports.While prices have remained stable for China, policymakers are likely to shift their focus toward boosting growth,...
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Global Growth Expected to Slow and Hurt Developing Economies

The global economy had a strong initial rebound following the start of the pandemic. However, as the Omicron variant continues to rapidly spread, the economy is entering a slowdown phase, the World Bank reports."Global growth is expected to decelerate markedly from 5.5 percent in 2021 to 4.1 percent in 2022 and 3.2 percent in 2023 as pent-up demand...
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Nonresidential Construction Employment Expands As Construction Industry Unemployment Ticks Higher

The construction industry recovered 92.1% of the jobs lost during earlier pandemic stages and added 22,000 new jobs in December, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.Nonresidential construction employment added 27,000 jobs in December: 12,900 in nonresidential specialty trade 10,400 in heavy and civil engineering 3,700 in nonresidentia...
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Supply-Chain Woes Fading, New Indictor Shows

A new barometer from the New York Federal Reserve, called the Global Supply Chain Pressure Index (GSCPI), indicates supply-chain issues may be peaking and could start to moderate. The Fed's new gauge uses different factors to track supply-chain snags, including the Baltic Dry Index, which tracks the cost of shipping materials, and the Harper I...
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Retail Sales Grew at Rapid Pace Despite Supply Chain and Omicron

This holiday season, sales rose at the fastest pace in 17 years, according to the Business Mirror. Despite inflation, shortages and the new Covid-19 strain, US holiday sales grew 8.5%, the news outlet reported.According to Mastercard SpendingPulse, clothing sales rose 47%, jewelry 32% and electronics 16%. "I feel really good about how the seas...
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Will the Omicron Variant Dampen Economic Recovery?

Businesses and consumers are watching closely as the highly contagious Omicron variant raises new questions about economic recovery. Will the new variant force shutdowns like seen in the early days of the pandemic? Will Omicron feed the inflation fire or cool things off instead? "These mutations keep coming," Robin Brooks, chief economist at the In...
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Report Shows Steady Growth for Global Trade Finance from 2021-2026

After experiencing moderate growth from 2015-2020, the global trade finance market is projected to grow by 3.7% from 2021-2026, according to IMARC's latest report, Trade Finance Market Size: Global Industry Trends, Share, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2021-2026. This prediction may change as the pandemic continues to be tracked and evaluated as ...
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U.S. Congress Raises Debt Ceiling, Avoiding Default Until 2023

The House and Senate voted this morning to increase the federal debt ceiling by $2.5 trillion, allowing the U.S. government to avoid default until early 2023, according to government officials. The vote was made just hours before the deadline that the U.S. government risked breaching its debt limit, said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.Th...
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Bankruptcy Filings Show Declines Across All Chapters from October to November 2021

New bankruptcy filings across all chapters declined by 5.6% in November from the previous month, according to Epiq's November 2021 bankruptcy filing statistics from its AACER bankruptcy information services business.The total for new commercial filings across all chapters also decreased by 10.3% from October to November. For 2021 through November, ...
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Federal Reserve Plans to Ramp Up Fight Against Inflation

Concerns are growing over lingering inflation, prompting the Federal Reserve to consider speeding up its plan to raise interest rates. Federal Reserve officials plan to discuss stopping their bond-buying stimulus program early during a policy meeting next week, according to The Wall Street Journal. Ending the program in March instead of June would ...
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Omicron Variant Could Drive Inflation Even Higher

Stocks took a major hit yesterday as fears over the recently discovered Omicron coronavirus variant brewed. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell also shared before Senate that he no longer believes inflation is "transitory," noting new factors—like Omicron—could mean high inflation will stick around well into next year.Growing concerns abo...
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Global Standard for Classifying Goods to Change Come January

Another factor will soon further complicate the global supply chain crisis and international trade—new harmonized system numbers (known as HS codes). HS codes are the global standard for classifying goods in international trade. Starting Jan. 1, more than 350 global HS codes will be updates and roughly 1,500 U.S. tariff codes will also be chan...
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Survey Finds Suppliers May See a Rise in Pricing While Manufacturers Expect a Rise in Sales

Material suppliers are expecting costs to rise over the next year, according to Construction Products Association (CPA) recent State of Trade survey for Q3. Data shows that cost pressures are expanding from raw materials to fuel, energy, wages and salaries.This expansion is likely due to the rise in global gas, electricity and crude oil prices—alon...
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U.S. and Japan Plan to Form Trade Partnership

The U.S. and Japan set the foundation of a trade partnership today, agreeing to work toward resolving tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. U.S. Trade Representative Katharine Tai and Japan's trade and industry minister also agreed to cooperate toward a "common global-agenda" for trade, according to ABC News."This Partnership will deepen the ...
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US Inflation Hits 31-Year High in October

Container ships located at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, CA, are averaging a 17-day wait time, according to a Bloomberg report. As of November 12, 83 ships remain either at anchor or in a holding zone, compared to the previous high of 81 from earlier that week."We are trying to add capacity by searching for vacant land to store container...
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