Aurelia Butler

The compilation spans innovative footwear, versatile apparel, advanced tech, and unique equipment designed to cater to enthusiasts ranging from casual gym-goers to outdoor adventurers.In the footwear category, Nike (NYSE:NKE) Pegasus Plus, praised for its lightweight ZoomX foam and Flyknit upper, and New Balance’s “snoafer,” a sneaker-loafer hybrid, have caught the attention of consumers.Hoka’s winterized Kaha 2 Frost Moc GTX and Onitsuka Tiger’s revitalized Mexico 66 also highlight the trend of blending functionality with style, meeting the needs of both performance and everyday wear. Meanwhile, Altra’s minimalist Escalante 4 caters to natural runners seeking wider toe boxes and zero-drop designs.The apparel section underscores the intersection of fashion and function. Lululemon’s Lightweight Linerless Tennis Dress exemplifies the resurgence of tennis-inspired clothing, while Alo’s Glacier Puffer blends utility with vibrant styling. For men, SKIMS introduces its Classic Straight Leg Pant, marking the brand’s expansion into men’s loungewear. Emerging brands like Bandit Running and Vuori are gaining traction, with pieces such as the Wool Terry Quarter Zip Pullover and Halo Essential Wideleg sweatpants reflecting the shift towards athleisure that prioritizes comfort without sacrificing aesthetics.Fitness technology continues to evolve, with products like the Oura Ring 4 and Peloton’s Strength+ app setting benchmarks. The Oura Ring offers comprehensive biometric tracking, synthesizing sleep, activity, and readiness data. Peloton’s Strength+ extends its fitness platform into strength training, seamlessly integrating gym equipment with tailored workout programs. Balance training gains prominence with the Mobo Board, which targets stabilizer muscles and joint health, underscoring the broader shift toward holistic fitness approaches.Among equipment highlights, the Carv 2 Ski Coach (NYSE:TPR) uses AI to provide real-time feedback for skiers, while the L-TEK EX PRO 2 Dance Pad revives rhythm-based workouts. Products like the Lifepro BioRemedy Infrared Sauna Blanket offer accessible wellness solutions, promising benefits such as improved cardiovascular health and stress reduction. Similarly, Ritual’s Skin & Stress Relief Set and the hydration-focused Owala FreeSip bottle reflect a growing consumer interest in self-care and personalized health solutions.The list also hints at broader market trends, including the rise of sustainable and multifunctional products. Brands like Sporty & Rich and Johnnie-O highlight the growing appeal of preppy, versatile apparel, while the incorporation of robotics, AI, and app connectivity signals a move toward more personalized and immersive fitness experiences. More

These questions, compiled in a detailed note, explore the uncertainty and complexities of navigating policy under the Trump administration. Each question represents considerations for governance, market impact, and broader economic implications.The confirmation of Trump’s nominees is the first major hurdle. While most are expected to be confirmed, a few controversial figures face potential resistance. Nominees like RFK Jr. at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) carry specific market implications, especially concerning healthcare sector regulations.Mass deportation policies are poised to redefine immigration dynamics, but the scale and effectiveness remain uncertain. Analysts expect a marked decline in net migration but note that operational and legal constraints may temper the administration’s ambitions.Trump’s tariff agenda presents another point of contention. While threats of sweeping tariffs may serve as negotiating tools, the administration is likely to implement selective tariffs, particularly targeting China. These moves are expected to have market repercussions, especially in tariff-exposed sectors.Tax policy under the new administration will also be a focal point. Republicans aim to extend Trump-era tax cuts, but narrow congressional margins may necessitate compromises, including spending cuts in areas like healthcare and energy subsidies. A rollback of clean energy tax credits and reforms to Medicaid are among potential cost-saving measures being debated.Healthcare is a prominent theme, with the appointment of RFK Jr. raising questions about vaccine policies, drug pricing, and public health reform. Initial signs suggest a less disruptive approach than feared, with attention likely focused on institutional reforms rather than confrontational regulatory changes.The administration’s deregulatory ambitions, epitomized by the Department of Government Efficiency, face legal and procedural barriers. While certain industries, such as traditional energy and financial services, may benefit from regulatory rollback, broad-scale deregulation may be slower than anticipated due to judicial challenges.In antitrust policy, Trump’s picks for regulatory roles signal a pro-business stance. However, a populist influence, especially in sectors like Big Tech, cannot be entirely ruled out, reflecting internal divisions within the Republican agenda.The note underscores fiscal sustainability as a long-term challenge. Despite promises of economic growth and deficit reduction, analysts at Wolfe Research project deficits to remain high, with federal spending increasingly constrained by debt servicing costs.Each of these issues flag the uncertainties and challenges ahead. Wolfe Research emphasizes the need for vigilance and strategic planning as these questions evolve, noting that definitive outcomes may not emerge until later in the year. More

The General Administration of Customs said the measures would enhance the integration of rail, air, river and sea links in China’s west, state media reported.The measures are to include enhancing international aviation hubs in cities including Chengdu, Chongqing, Kunming, Xi’an and Urumqi, while developing comprehensive bonded zones, and integrating these with ports and other transport links. A number of ports would also be built and expanded.China has long sought to bolster the economic heft of its western regions, which have markedly lagged coastal provinces. But ethnic tensions in such places a Xinjiang and hard-line security measures Beijing says are needed to safeguard national unity and border stability, have drawn criticism from some Western nations.China’s western regions comprise around two-thirds of the country’s land area and include regions such as Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, Xinjiang and Tibet.China’s Politburo last year called for a “new urbanisation” of western China to revitalise rural areas, expand poverty alleviation efforts and strengthen energy resources. Efforts have also been made to increase linkages to Europe and South Asia through trade corridors including rail freight routes. More

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$75 per monthComplete digital access to quality FT journalism with expert analysis from industry leaders. Pay a year upfront and save 20%.What’s included Global news & analysisExpert opinionFT App on Android & iOSFT Edit appFirstFT: the day’s biggest stories20+ curated newslettersFollow topics & set alerts with myFTFT Videos & Podcasts20 monthly gift articles to shareLex: FT’s flagship investment column15+ Premium newsletters by leading expertsFT Digital Edition: our digitised print edition More

(Reuters) – Millions of Americans from the Plains to the East Coast faced the threat of blizzards, heavy snow, treacherous ice and freezing rain through Monday, the National Weather Service said on Saturday.Governors in Kentucky and Virginia declared states of emergency ahead of the winter storm.”The storm is still taking shape,” meteorologist Rich Bann of the NWS’s Weather Prediction Center said Saturday evening. “But this thing has multiple hazards from heavy snows in the Plains to significant icing covering roads farther south.”He added that more than 60 million people in the U.S. were affected by winter weather warnings, watches or advisories this weekend.A swath extending eastward from Nebraska and Kansas through Ohio, Indiana, southwestern Pennsylvania and northwestern Virginia could see from 1 inch (2.54 cm) to 1 foot (30 cm) of snow. Ice could knock out power lines and cause widespread outages.A wintry mess of freezing rain and ice will hit southern Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee on Sunday, Bann said, likely making roads hazardous and downing power lines.”It’ll be nearly impossible to drive in some areas,” he said.The Kansas City International Airport in Missouri closed temporarily on Saturday afternoon due to rapid ice accumulation, officials said on social media.Bann said that the storm should move past the East Coast and into the Atlantic Ocean by late on Monday, but a new blast of Arctic air will bring frigid cold to the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. by the middle of next week. More

(Reuters) -Two Federal Reserve policymakers on Saturday said they feel the U.S. central bank’s job on taming inflation is not yet done, but also signaled they do not want to risk damaging the labor market as they try to finish that job.The remarks, from Governor Adriana Kugler and San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly, highlight the delicate balancing act facing U.S. central bankers this year as they look to slow their pace of rate-cutting. The Fed lowered short-term rates by a full percentage point last year, to a current range of 4.25%-4.50%.Inflation by the Fed’s preferred measure is well down from its mid-2022 peak of around 7%, registering 2.4% in November. Still that’s above the Fed’s 2% goal, and in December policymakers projected slower progress toward that goal than they had earlier anticipated. “We are fully aware that we are not there yet – no one is popping champagne anywhere,” Kugler said at the annual American Economic Association conference in San Francisco. “And at the same time … we want the unemployment rate to stay where it is” and not increase rapidly. In November, unemployment was 4.2%, consistent in both her and colleague Daly’s view with maximum employment, the Fed’s second goal alongside its price stability goal. “At this point, I would not want to see further slowing in the labor market — maybe gradually moving around in bumps and chunks on a given month, but certainly not additional slowing in the labor market,” said Daly, who was speaking on the same panel. The policymakers were not asked, nor did they volunteer their views, about the potential impact of incoming president Donald Trump’s economic policies, including tariffs and tax cuts, which some have speculated could fuel growth and reignite inflation.  Two Federal Reserve policymakers on Saturday said they feel the U.S. central bank’s job on taming inflation is not yet done, but also signaled they do not want to risk damaging the labor market as they try to finish that job.The remarks, from Governor Adriana Kugler and San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly, highlight the delicate balancing act facing U.S. central bankers this year as they look to slow their pace of rate-cutting. The Fed lowered short-term rates by a full percentage point last year, to a current range of 4.25%-4.50%.Inflation by the Fed’s preferred measure is well down from its mid-2022 peak of around 7%, registering 2.4% in November. Still that’s above the Fed’s 2% goal, and in December policymakers projected slower progress toward that goal than they had earlier anticipated. “We are fully aware that we are not there yet – no one is popping champagne anywhere,” Kugler said at the annual American Economic Association conference in San Francisco. “And at the same time … we want the unemployment rate to stay where it is” and not increase rapidly. In November, unemployment was 4.2%, consistent in both her and colleague Daly’s view with maximum employment, the Fed’s second goal alongside its price stability goal. “At this point, I would not want to see further slowing in the labor market — maybe gradually moving around in bumps and chunks on a given month, but certainly not additional slowing in the labor market,” said Daly, who was speaking on the same panel. The policymakers were not asked, nor did they volunteer their views, about the potential impact of incoming president Donald Trump’s economic policies, including tariffs and tax cuts, which some have speculated could fuel growth and reignite inflation.  Two Federal Reserve policymakers on Saturday said they feel the U.S. central bank’s job on taming inflation is not yet done, but also signaled they do not want to risk damaging the labor market as they try to finish that job.The remarks, from Governor Adriana Kugler and San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly, highlight the delicate balancing act facing U.S. central bankers this year as they look to slow their pace of rate-cutting. The Fed lowered short-term rates by a full percentage point last year, to a current range of 4.25%-4.50%.Inflation by the Fed’s preferred measure is well down from its mid-2022 peak of around 7%, registering 2.4% in November. Still that’s above the Fed’s 2% goal, and in December policymakers projected slower progress toward that goal than they had earlier anticipated. “We are fully aware that we are not there yet – no one is popping champagne anywhere,” Kugler said at the annual American Economic Association conference in San Francisco. “And at the same time … we want the unemployment rate to stay where it is” and not increase rapidly. In November, unemployment was 4.2%, consistent in both her and colleague Daly’s view with maximum employment, the Fed’s second goal alongside its price stability goal. “At this point, I would not want to see further slowing in the labor market — maybe gradually moving around in bumps and chunks on a given month, but certainly not additional slowing in the labor market,” said Daly, who was speaking on the same panel. The policymakers were not asked, nor did they volunteer their views, about the potential impact of incoming president Donald Trump’s economic policies, including tariffs and tax cuts, which some have speculated could fuel growth and reignite inflation.   More