What’s going on here? PepsiCo on Thursday said it’s testing sales of its Aquafina water in aluminum cans as the company moves to reduce its use of virgin plastic, which hasn’t been recycled. Though being a relatively new trend in retail, PepsiCo isn’t the first; earlier this month, the makers of Vita Coco launched its…
Author: Finterest
Ep 36: What FedEx Isn’t…
What’s going on here? The shipping company filed against the U.S. Commerce Department, calling it a “law enforcement agency” What inspired such soul-searching? FedEx claims it shouldn’t be held liable for unknowingly shipping products that violate the Trump administration’s ban on U.S. exports to certain Chinese companies. Driving the news: some mischief, some earnings Mischief first. Though many thought this suit…
Ep 35: Take It To The Bank
What’s Going On Here? The Bank of England (BoE) followed its US counterpart in keeping the UK’s interest rates unchanged. But despite lowering its economic growth forecast, it may still increase rates later this year. What Does This Mean? The UK’s central bank now think the country’s economy won’t grow at all this quarter (compared with its 0.2% growth prediction in March). A still-uncertain Brexit…
Ep 34: Picking Up The Slack
What’s Going On Here? Slack, the American workplace messaging service, listed on the US stock market on via a direct listing – cutting out the investment banks (which normally manage the sale of new shares). Direct listings are an alternative to IPOs in which a company does not work with an investment bank to underwrite the issuing…
Ep 33: Freeze Frame
What’s Going On Here? The Federal Reserve said it would freeze the key US interest rate in place; Although it admitted that rates might ultimately trickle downward this year. What Does This Mean? There’s been much anxiety among investors about which way the US central bank would go. On the one hand, recent data has shown improving consumer spending, super-low unemployment, and American factory output picking back…
Ep 32: Cloak And Dagger
What’s Going On Here? The US reported that China’s April holdings of American government bonds were at their lowest level in two years. Investors pondered whether the decline was in retaliation to ongoing trade tariffs. What Does This Mean? China owns almost 1/3 of all US debt held outside America. (China likes Uncle Sam’s bonds: they’re low-risk since the US can always print more…
Ep 31: Ad Libra
What’s Going On Here? After six months of anticipation, Facebook finally spilled the beans on its forthcoming Libra “cryptocurrency”. What Does This Mean? Facebook (inspired by the success of Chinese giants like WeChat), wants to create a global financial network – but with its own brand-new currency. Libra is scheduled for launch in 2020 via a new subsidiary and app…
Ep 30: My Way Or The Huawei
What’s Going On Here? Chinese telecoms giant Huawei (pronounced “wah-way”) cut its revenue forecast for this year and the next. What Does This Mean? Last year, Huawei’s revenue grew 20% to $104 billion as it overtook Apple in global smartphone shipments. But the company is now expecting sales to decline to “just” $100 billion in 2019 – significantly less than the…
Ep 29: The Art of the Deal
What’s going on here? New signs emerged that the trade war is dragging down the global economy. The International Energy Agency cut its projection for energy demand this year by 100,000 barrels to 1.2 million barrels per day, citing the “worsening trade outlook” as a “common theme across all regions”; China reported the slowest growth…
Ep 28: Tyson Gets to the Alternative Meat of It
What’s going on here? The meat-based Tyson Foods joined the plant-based bandwagon. Tyson announced it’s launching a series of meat alternative products, including veggie chicken nuggets and a pea-infused burger. Butthe company isn’t going vegan. The plant-based nuggets contain eggs, and the new beef patties still have beef, just mixed with pea-protein. What’s does that mean? This is a…
with HT 