The need to know
The need to know for the week starting 9th November 2024
The need to know from Reuters’ global network of journalists
Tariff turnabouts send US corporate heads spinning
Corporate chieftains know a trade war is coming, but they are unable to prepare for it.
China bans export of critical minerals to US as trade tensions escalate
China on Tuesday banned exports to the United States of the critical minerals gallium, germanium and antimony that have widespread military applications, escalating trade tensions the day after Washington's latest crackdown on China's chip sector.
Rattled by China, West scrambles to rejig critical minerals supply chains
China's trade restrictions on strategic minerals are starting to hit Western companies where it hurts.
Explainer: After China's mineral export ban, how else could it respond to U.S. chip curbs?
China has banned exports to the U.S. of some goods containing critical minerals while tightening exports on others, after U.S. curbs a day earlier on the Chinese chip industry.
VW workers step up strikes in factory shutdown standoff
Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) workers ramped up pressure on its management with further strikes at the carmaker's German sites on Monday, as a fourth round of talks was set to begin in an increasingly bitter standoff over wage cuts and plant closures.
Exclusive: As tariffs loom, Gillette-razor maker P&G sourcing more steel from India
Procter & Gamble (PG.N) has overhauled its supply chain for the tiny, extra-thin strips of stainless steel in its Gillette razors to source from India, a move expected to help protect its margins from any tariffs U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump may impose.
Amazon successfully tests using delivery drones in Italy
Amazon (AMZN.O) said on Thursday it had successfully completed an initial test of using delivery drones in Italy, the first European country where the e-commerce giant plans to introduce the service.
US Thanksgiving weekend records 197 million shoppers, retail body says
About 197 million Americans shopped over the five days from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday this year, data from the National Retail Federation showed on Tuesday.
Walmart, Amazon holiday spending rise as Target, Best Buy stumble, data shows
Walmart Inc (WMT.N), Amazon.com (AMZN.O) and fast-growing e-commerce sites Shein and PDD Holding's (PDD.O) Temu saw record-breaking sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, according to spending data, suggesting that they may finish the holiday season on a much stronger note than Target (TGT.N) and Best Buy (BBY.N), which struggled.
UK retailers report weakest sales since April, BRC survey shows
British retailers reported lacklustre sales in November, according to industry data on Tuesday affected by the timing of the Black Friday sales, although it still pointed to weakening consumer confidence.
What are the next steps for the EU-Mercosur trade deal?
The European Union and four South American countries on Friday finalized a free trade agreement that took over two decades to negotiate.
What's in the newly finalised EU-Mercosur trade accord?
The European Union and the South American bloc Mercosur of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay finalised a free trade agreement on Friday, although it faces a tough battle to secure approval by the 27 EU member states.
Freight giant CSX’s US Supreme Court appeal tests reach of antitrust law
Freight rail giant CSX has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to revive its lawsuit accusing rival Norfolk Southern of denying access to a key East Coast terminal, costing CSX hundreds of millions of dollars in lost profits.
Global companies likely to be affected by Trump's promised tariffs
President-elect Donald Trump in late November pledged tariffs on the United States' three largest trading partners - Canada, Mexico and China - detailing how he will implement campaign promises that could trigger trade wars.
Trump's trade threat runs into inconvenient dollar truth
President-elect Donald Trump's latest threat to slap huge tariffs on countries that try to move away from the "mighty U.S. dollar" inadvertently highlights the intractable contradiction at the heart of U.S. trade and economic policy.
US chips are 'no longer safe,' Chinese industry bodies say in latest trade salvo
Chinese companies should be wary of buying U.S. chips as they are "no longer safe" and buy locally instead, four of the country's top industry associations said on Tuesday in a rare coordinated response to Washington's curbs on Chinese chipmakers.
Chinese chip firms say they can withstand new US export curbs
Chinese chip companies targeted by Washington with fresh export controls have vowed to speed up supply chain localisation and said they would be able to continue production thanks to recent efforts to build equipment stockpiles.
JD Logistics takes full ownership of Kuayue-Express with $892 mln stake buy
China's JD Logistics (2618.HK) will acquire the 36.43% stake it does not already own in Kuayue-Express Group for not more than 6.48 billion yuan ($892 million) to further enhance express delivery offerings, the logistics services firm said on Friday.
Exclusive: Trump may cancel US Postal Service electric mail truck contract, sources say
Donald Trump's transition team is considering canceling the U.S. Postal Service's contracts to electrify its delivery fleet, as part of a broader suite of executive orders targeting electric vehicles, according to three sources familiar with the plans.
Roaring US solar market hit by higher import costs
The thriving U.S. solar sector is bracing itself for higher costs following pledges by President-elect Donald Trump to hike tariffs and new antidumping duties imposed by the U.S. Commerce Department on imports from Southeast Asia, where most U.S. solar developers have sourced their modules.
China automakers pivot to hybrids for Europe to counter EV tariffs
Automakers in China are ramping up exports of hybrid vehicles to Europe and planning more models for the key market, exposing the limits of the European Union's electric vehicle tariff scheme.
EU will look into extending steel import caps, says commissioner
The European Commission will look into ways to extend measures to limit steel imports as part of an overall plan to protect the sector as it decarbonises, Executive Vice-President Stephane Sejourne said on Tuesday.
China's inflation weakens as new risks cloud horizon
China's consumer inflation hit a five-month low in November as fresh food prices pulled back while factory deflation persisted, suggesting Beijing's recent efforts to shore up faltering economic demand are having only limited impact.
A sea-change for seafarers as the shipping industry gears up to decarbonise
Shipping is responsible for 3% of global emissions, and vital to the world’s economy, transporting 90% of global trade, so it is imperative that the sector decarbonises as quickly as possible.
Hapag-Lloyd expects lower profitability in fourth quarter
Hapag-Lloyd (HLAG.DE) expects lower profitability in the fourth quarter but still at a "good level", after freight rates peaked in the third quarter, Rolf Habben Jansen, the CEO of the German shipping company, said at a press conference on Monday.
Dire Russian crop health and Ukraine export risks threaten Black Sea wheat
New contract lows in Chicago wheat futures this week are hardly indicative of global supply concerns, but traders might want to eye what's happening in the Black Sea region more closely.
Chinese buyers slash Canadian canola imports on fears of anti-dumping duty
Chinese importers are scaling back purchases of Canadian canola with shipments from December likely to plunge as most buyers are reluctant to sign new deals for fear that Beijing could impose retaliatory anti-dumping duties.
China's Nov exports likely grew 8.5% as factories shift stocks overseas: Reuters poll
China's exports likely grew in November, slower than last month's bumper data but continuing an upbeat trend as Chinese exporters likely frontloaded shipments amid growing tariff risks from the incoming U.S. administration.
OECD warns of protectionism risk to global growth outlook
The world economy is set for steady growth in the next two years if resurgent protectionism does not derail a recovery in global trade, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said on Wednesday.
Temu, Shein suspend Vietnam operations amid crackdown on e-commerce platforms
Chinese online retailers Temu and Shein have suspended their operations in Vietnam as the companies work to register their e-commerce services with the Southeast Asian nation's authorities, the two companies said on Thursday.
Tariffs under first Trump term hurt US firms, NY Fed analysis says
Import tariffs during President-elect Donald Trump's first term broadly lowered stock values on the day they were unveiled, and were associated with lower future profits, sales and employment for the firms whose equity prices were hit the hardest, new analysis by Federal Reserve Bank of New York staff concluded.
Vietnam's soaring US trade surplus stokes new fears of Trump tariffs
Vietnam is vulnerable to becoming the new Trump administration's next target for tariffs as data shows its trade surplus with the United States ballooning, industry executives and analysts said.
China lifts final trade restrictions on Australian meat processors
China has lifted trade restrictions on two Australian meat processing facilities, allowing the full resumption of red meat exports to the country, the Australian government said on Tuesday.
Exclusive: TSMC in talks with Nvidia for AI chip production in Arizona, sources say
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (2330.TW) is in discussions with Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) to produce its Blackwell artificial intelligence chips at the contract manufacturer's new plant in Arizona, three sources familiar with the matter said.
India antitrust body seeks Supreme Court hearing to expedite Amazon, Flipkart cases
India's antitrust body has asked the Supreme Court to hear legal challenges to an investigation of Amazon and Walmart's Flipkart e-commerce platforms, saying those challenges, filed by Samsung, Vivo and others at Indian high courts, were aiming to scuttle the probe.
Extreme heat puts garment factory workers at risk, study shows
Workers in some of the world's biggest garment manufacturing hubs in Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Pakistan are increasingly exposed to extreme heat as climate change pushes temperatures up, a report found on Sunday, a problem multinational retailers and brands will have to help address.
China's Nov car sales rise fastest since January, subsidised trade-ins gain steam
China's car sales grew 16.6% in November from a year earlier, its fastest pace since January, as government-subsidised auto trade-ins gather steam near the end of the year.
Alphabet's Waymo to expand ride-hailing services to Miami
Alphabet's Waymo (GOOGL.O) said on Thursday it will expand its autonomous ride-hailing services to Miami, Florida, adding another city to its operations as it seeks to gain an edge in an increasingly competitive market.
India probe clears DHL, FedEx, UPS of price collusion allegations, document shows
An Indian antitrust investigation has concluded there was no price collusion between the domestic units of delivery companies DHL (DHL.UL), United Parcel Service (UPS.N) and FedEx (FDX.N), according to three sources and a document seen by Reuters.
China's Xinjiang Cotton Association calls on international brands to restore cotton use
China's Xinjiang Cotton Association said that international brands should give "full respect and trust" to Xinjiang cotton, following an executive's comment last week that clothing company Uniqlo does not take supply from the region.
Indonesia expects $1 billion investment commitment from Apple in a week
Indonesia is expecting to get a $1 billion investment commitment from tech firm Apple Inc (AAPL.O) in a week, its investment minister said on Tuesday, after the government banned iPhone 16 sales for failing to meet local content rules.
Malaysia says any U.S. tariffs on BRICS nations could impact semiconductor supply
Malaysia said on Thursday any attempt by the incoming Trump administration to impose tariffs on BRICS countries for trying to create a new currency or use alternatives to the dollar could cause global semiconductor supply chain disruptions.
UK electric vehicle sales surge 58% YOY in Nov, industry data shows
New battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales in UK rose 58% in November, marking the eleventh straight month of growth, industry data showed, driven by deep discounts to meet government-mandated levels.
Jet engine maker Safran disappoints with cautious forecasts
French jet engine maker Safran (SAF.PA) gave a weaker than expected outlook for the next four years on Thursday, sending shares 6% lower as it shifts towards more normal growth after a strong post-pandemic recovery in air travel.
Exclusive: Northvolt seeks to sell electric industrial battery business by year-end
Northvolt has held talks with a big industrial company on selling the business that makes electric battery packs for heavy industry, as a lack of funds forces it to try to divest one of its few profitable operations by the year-end, an internal memo shows.
VinFast to build second production plant in Vietnam
Vietnamese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer VinFast on Sunday announced a plan to build its second domestic production plant that will double its output capacity, saying it is needed to meet increased demand for its small and mid-sized models.
FAA administrator says Boeing still not producing MAX planes after strike
The head of the Federal Aviation Administration said on Thursday that Boeing (BA.N) has not yet resumed producing 737 MAX airplanes following a machinists strike, but plans to begin later this month.
Stellantis, Zeta Energy agree to jointly develop lithium-sulfur EV batteries
Stellantis (STLAM.MI) has signed an agreement with U.S.-based Zeta Energy to develop cheap lithium-sulfur batteries for electric vehicles, with an aim to use them by 2030, the two companies said on Thursday.
Euro zone business activity declines sharply in November, PMI shows
Business activity across the euro zone fell sharply last month as the bloc's dominant services sector joined the manufacturing sector in contracting, according to a survey which showed a broadbased decline.
German industrial output unexpectedly falls in October
German industrial production unexpectedly fell in October, owing mainly to declines in energy production and in the automotive industry, the federal statistics office said on Friday.
Crew of cargo ship rescued in Red Sea, EU naval force says
The crew of Panama-flagged cargo ship MV ISA STAR have been rescued in the Red Sea after sending a distress signal, the EU's Aspides naval mission said.
US spending on TikTok Shop gains as TikTok faces threat of ban
U.S. TikTok users spent heavily to buy merchandise from a range of vendors on the e-commerce platform TikTok Shop so far this holiday shopping season, according to TikTok estimates and a Reuters analysis of spending patterns measured by data from Facteus.
US trade deficit shrinks on decline in imports
The U.S. trade deficit contracted sharply in October as imports declined by the most since late 2022, potentially positioning trade to contribute to economic growth in the fourth quarter.
Ukraine introduces minimum export prices for major agricultural goods
Ukraine has introduced a new system for exporting key agrarian goods, including grains, which implies a ban on shipping consignments of goods at prices below those set by the agriculture ministry.
Canada's trade deficit narrows in October, surplus with the U.S. shrinks
Canada recorded in October a bigger-than-expected trade deficit with the world and its surplus with top trading partner the United States fell to its lowest this year, data showed on Thursday.