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  barrons.cmail19.com What Amazon’s Union Vote Means for Inflation 10-12 minutes A unionization battle is raging in Alabama between Amazon.com and the RWDSU, short for Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. It’s a tiny fight. Amazon employs about 1.3 million people, and the unionization vote was open to about 5,800 workers. With just 0.2% of the total Amazon workforce turning in votes, the impact on the e-commerce Goliath looks insignificant. But a successful unionization effort could have far-reaching implications. The results should be known on Thursday or Friday. An RWDSU success would be one small sign that some power is shifting from capital to labor, or in less professorial terms, from bosses to the workers. That could push pay higher. Inflation fears don’t need more stoking. The possibility of higher inflation , spurred by higher growth, has been a stock market story for weeks and one bi

By Gulveen Aulakh 3-4 minutes - Source: The Economic Times With the rising number of writ petitions, public interest litigation and appeals regarding transitional credit, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs ( CBIC ) has issued standard statements which can be used by field formations as counter responses from the government’s side in legal cases. The set of statements will reduce duplication of work at the headquarters while giving a go-to guide for field formations to file counter responses in courts, the Board’s policy wing has told field formations in an internal communication last week, adding that only matters that are not covered in the statements be brought to the policy wing’s notice. “It is also reiterated that references should not be made to Policy Wing in routine manner seeking para-wise comments on writ petitions, PILs, appeals as such and only a self-contained reference may be made pointing out th

1minute - Source: CNBC Standard Chartered headquarters and a HSBC building are pictured on March 16, 2020 in Hong Kong. Zhang Wei | China News Service via Getty Images Hong Kong had no plans to change its currency’s peg to the U.S. dollar and the Asian financial hub has not seen any “obvious” capital outflows after Washington moved to strip the city of its special status in U.S. law, the city’s finance secretary said. Paul Chan said on Monday that authorities were confident in defending the Hong Kong dollar  exchange rate, with foreign exchange reserves twice the size of the entire monetary base and liquidity in the banking system “very healthy and strong”. Chan added capital will continue to flow freely in and out of Hong Kong.

Yen Nee Lee 4-6 minutes - Source: CNBC China’s President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump attend a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Nov. 9, 2017. Nicolas Asfouri | AFP | Getty Images The coronavirus pandemic will cause China’s purchases of U.S. goods this year to fall way short of what was agreed to in the “phase one” trade deal, according to a forecast by think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies. The American think tank projected that exports of U.S. goods to China could come in at only $60 billion for all of 2020 — much lower than the $186.6 billion needed to meet requirements in the agreement that both countries signed in January. That forecast was “admittedly” a “worst-case scenario” because Chinese purchases of U.S. goods could rise later in the year as the economy recovers, but any increases still “will not change the overall picture, just the details,” Scot

Fred Imbert 4-5 minutes Source: CNBC Grocery clerk James Delarosa takes inventory of the salad dressing and condiments aisle at a Publix Super Markets Inc. grocery store in Knoxville, Tennessee. Luke Sharrett | Bloomberg | Getty Images U.S. consumer prices were unchanged in September and underlying inflation retreated, supporting expectations the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in October for the third time this year amid risks to the economy from trade tensions. The Labor Department said on Thursday the flat consumer price index last month was the weakest reading since January and came as increases in the cost of food and rents were offset by decreases in the prices of energy and used cars and trucks. The CPI edged up 0.1% in August. In the 12 months through September, the CPI increased 1.7% after advancing by the same margin in August. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the CPI nudging up 0.1% in Septembe

2-3 minutes - BEA State personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased 5.1 percent in 2018, an acceleration from the 4.4 percent increase in 2017 (table 1), according to statistics released today by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The percent change in PCE across all states ranged from 7.3 percent in Utah to 3.6 percent in West Virginia. PCE by state highlights Expenditures on health care, and on housing and utilities increased 4.9 and 4.6 percent, respectively (table 2), and were the leading contributors to growth nationally (table 3). Expenditures on housing and utilities, other nondurable goods, and health care increased 5.2, 10.6, and 5.0 percent, respectively in Utah, the fastest growing state, and were the leading contributors to growth. Expenditures on health care, and housing and utilities were the leading contributors to the increase in PCE in Idaho, Was

Fred Imbert 3 minutes - Source: CNBC The number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits rose marginally last week, suggesting the labor market remains strong even as employers are becoming more cautious about hiring workers. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 219,000 for the week ended Sept. 28, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Data for the prior week was revised to show 2,000 more applications received than previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims would increase to 215,000 in the latest week. The Labor Department said no states were estimated last week. Some of the increase in claims could be the result of an ongoing strike by workers at General Motors . While striking workers are not eligible for unemployment benefits, the work stoppage has affected production, impacting non-striking employees at suppliers. Though layoffs re

8-10 minutes Caterpillar, which sells heavy machinery to China, said it expected a lower profit in 2019 because of trade tensions, which have weakened the Chinese economy. CreditChina Stringer Network/Reuters Image Caterpillar, which sells heavy machinery to China, said it expected a lower profit in 2019 because of trade tensions, which have weakened the Chinese economy. CreditCreditChina Stringer Network/Reuters WASHINGTON — President Trump this week will turn his attention from a fight with congressional Democrats to an even more formidable negotiating challenge, one with potentially higher stakes: China. Trade talks with Beijing begin on Wednesday in Washington, kicking off a monthlong sprint of negotiations between the two nations that could prove more difficult than Mr. Trump’s unsuccessful attempt to secure money from Congress for a border wall. The negotiations come at a critical moment for Mr. Trump’s economic agenda and the global econ

By Jeff Stein and Jeff Stein Reporter for Wonkblog  7-9 minutes. Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren is considering a new tax on the wealthiest American households. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti) Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) will propose a new annual “wealth tax” on Americans with more than $50 million in assets, according to an economist advising her on the plan, as Democratic leaders vie for increasingly aggressive solutions to the nation’s soaring wealth inequality. Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, two left-leaning economists at the University of California, Berkeley, have been advising Warren on a proposal to levy a 2 percent wealth tax on Americans with assets above $50 million, as well as a 3 percent wealth tax on those who have more than $1 billion, according to Saez. Christopher Ingraham for the Washington Post The wealth tax would raise $2.75 trillion over a ten-year period from about 75,000 families, or less than 0

4-5 minutes © Reuters. Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Monday, January 14: 1. China's Exports Shrink Most in Two Years China's exports the most in two years in December, while imports also contracted, pointing to further weakness in the world's second-largest economy and deteriorating global demand. China's December exports unexpectedly fell from a year earlier, with demand in most of its major markets weakening. Imports also saw a shock drop, falling in their biggest decline since July 2016. The disappointing numbers reinforced fears U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods were starting to take a heavy toll on China's cooling economy. Adding to policymakers' worries, data also showed China posted its biggest trade surplus with the United States on record in 2018, which could prompt President Donald Trump to turn up the heat on Beijing in their bitter t