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    Crash investigators looking at altitude, communication and staffing before helicopter collision with plane

    The NTSB is continuing its investigation into how an American Airlines regional jetliner collided midair with a Black Hawk military helicopter.
    Altitude, staffing and communication are some of the aspects that investigators will evaluate.
    The crash killed all 67 people on board the two aircraft, the worst U.S. airline crash since 2001.

    Search and rescue teams work in the aftermath of the collision of American Eagle flight 5342 and a Black Hawk helicopter that crashed into the Potomac River, with the Capitol dome in the background, as seen from Virginia, U.S., Jan. 30, 2025. 
    Carlos Barria | Reuters

    WASHINGTON — How an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with American Airlines jetliner in a deadly crash over the Potomac River on Wednesday night is still unknown, but key questions are emerging, including about the altitude of the military helicopter.
    Crash investigators recovered a flight recorder from the Sikorsky H-60 helicopter, adding to evidence they will comb through, which already includes interviews with air traffic controllers, including the one on duty at the time of the crash, and the two recorders from the airplane, National Transportation Safety Board member Todd Inman said Friday.

    Barges are en route to lift the large pieces of the CRJ-700 from the Potomac River on Saturday, Inman said at a briefing.
    All 64 people on American Flight 5342 and the three aboard the helicopter were killed in the fireball collision near the Washington, D.C.’s Reagan National Airport, marking the deadliest U.S. air crash since 2001.
    Forty-one bodies have been recovered from the crash site, Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said at a press conference Friday. Of those, 28 have been positively identified.
    “We have in aviation what’s called a ‘Swiss cheese approach,’ wherein if something fails, a backup should catch it, multiple layers of redundancy,” Inman said. “It’s been a very long time since we’ve had a major aviation incident in the United States and that’s why it’s one of the safest forms of transportation in the country.”
    The PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ-700 aircraft was flying at about 300 feet on final approach into Reagan National’s Runway 33 shortly before 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday when it collided with the Black Hawk helicopter.

    PSA Airlines is one of American’s subsidiaries that flies regional routes, flights marketed as American Eagle.

    Emergency personnel work near the site of the crash, with the U.S. Capitol in the background, after American Eagle flight 5342 collided with a Black Hawk helicopter while approaching Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and crashed in the Potomac River, U.S. January 30, 2025. 
    Nathan Howard | Reuters

    Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the helicopter was on an annual proficiency training flight.
    According to Federal Aviation Administration rules, helicopters, which regularly cross through and around Washington, between military bases, the Pentagon and other locations, must fly in the area close to the airport at a maximum of 200 feet.
    “In D.C., it’s kind of a unique environment,” Inman said at a briefing Thursday. He noted that there are helicopter zones, or tracks, in Washington. “This one was transitioning from track one to four as part of their normal procedure. If you live in D.C., you see a lot of helicopters going down into this area. So there’s a very well-defined system.”

    Read more about the American Airlines plane collision with an Army helicopter

    The FAA will restrict helicopter traffic around the Reagan National Airport area, with some exceptions for medical evacuation and law enforcement operations, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said on X Friday.
    The airspace is some of the most congested in the country and Reagan National says its main runway is the busiest in the U.S.

    AFP, Flightradar, CNBC

    While the investigation is ongoing, two out of three runways are closed at the airport because of their proximity to the crash area. Terry Liercke, vice president and airport manager, told the press Friday that he expects those closures could last for about a week.
    Officials at the airport said more than 100 flights had been canceled Friday, citing the runway closures and bad weather.
    “As you turn to align with the runway, your concentration is on the flight path to get on the runway quickly and get the airplane stopped,” said John Cox, a retired airline pilot and aviation safety consultant.
    The NTSB is leading the investigation into the collision that ended in a fireball. The agency said it is still gathering information and that it is too early to draw conclusions.
    “It’s not that we don’t have information. We do have information,” said NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy. “We have substantial amounts of information. We need to verify information. We need to take our time to make sure it is accurate.”
    The NTSB also recovered flight data and cockpit voice recorders from the passenger jet. The boxes were taken to NTSB labs for evaluation, the agency said.

    An NTSB investigator works on the black box of American Eagle flight 5342, which was involved in a collision with a Black Hawk helicopter, at an unknown location in this undated handout image released on January 30, 2025. 
    NTSB | Via Reuters

    President Donald Trump on Friday wrote on Truth Social that the helicopter “was flying too high, by a lot. It was far above the 200 foot limit. That’s not really too complicated to understand, is it???”
    Hegseth made a similar statement at a White House briefing Thursday.
    “Tragically, last night a mistake was made,” he said. “There was some sort of an elevation issue that we have immediately begun investigating at the DoD and Army level.”
    Both statements were unusual in the wake of a crash and the early stages of an airline accident investigation.
    The accident ends a decade-and-a-half period of air safety in the U.S., which hasn’t seen a fatal commercial crash since 2009, even though passenger traffic has increased by more than 35% to records. That crash prompted a host of stricter pilot training and rest standards.
    Shortages of air traffic controllers has been a concern for years, and a spate of close calls at U.S. airports have drawn scrutiny from lawmakers and regulators.

    (EDITORS NOTE: Image contains graphic content) In this U.S. Coast Guard handout, the Coast Guard investigates aircraft wreckage on the Potomac River on Jan. 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. 
    Petty Officer 1st Class Brandon Giles | U.S. Coast Guard | Handout | Getty Images

    Staffing at Reagan National the night of the crash wasn’t normal for the amount of traffic and time of day on the night of the crash, according to a preliminary FAA safety report on the collision, NBC News reported on Thursday.
    Citing a source, NBC said the airport tower usually has a controller who focuses on helicopter traffic, though FAA guidelines allow for that position to be combined with another controller’s position, so one controller controls both airplanes and helicopters. The FAA didn’t respond to a request for comment on the report.
    NBC News reported on Friday, citing a source familiar with the investigation that a supervisor at the Reagan National tower let a controller leave their shift early. 
    Inman said on Friday that investigators will look back at air traffic controllers’ past 72 hours or even weeks.
    “We’ll look at their training, their hiring, everything, what they probably ate that day,” he said. “But it is not one point that tells us everything. It’s layered into a lot of other information that’s very critical.”

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    Here’s how tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico may impact U.S. consumers

    President Donald Trump is imposing a 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico and a 10% tariff on China starting Saturday, the White House said.
    Tariffs will likely result in higher prices for U.S. consumers, both directly and indirectly, economists say.
    Tariffs are a tax on foreign imports that are paid by the U.S. businesses importing those products. The businesses will likely pass those costs to customers, economists said.

    President Donald Trump on Jan. 27, 2025 in Doral, Florida.
    Joe Raedle | Getty Images News | Getty Images

    President Donald Trump has repeatedly discussed imposing tariffs, both during the campaign and since taking office, and the first tranche, on goods from Canada, China and Mexico will take effect Feb. 1, the White House confirmed Friday.
    While there are still some unknowns, one thing is clear, economists said: U.S. consumers should brace for a negative financial impact.

    It’s “hard to find positives” from tariffs, said Mary Lovely, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, whose research specializes in trade with China and global supply chains.
    Trump plans to put 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, and a 10% duty on China, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said Friday.
    China, Mexico and Canada are the three largest trading partners with the U.S., as measured by imported goods. They supplied about $536 billion, $455 billion, and $437 billion of goods, respectively, to the U.S. in 2022, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

    Tariffs are a tax on foreign imports. U.S. businesses that import goods pay that tax to the federal government.
    Many businesses will funnel those extra costs to customers — either directly or indirectly — which is why tariffs generally trigger higher prices for consumers, economists said.

    “Part of these tariffs will be passed on to consumers,” Lovely said.
    Americans could also find they have fewer choices for brands and products stocked on store shelves, she said.

    Exemptions may ‘limit the damage’ to consumers

    There are still many question marks over the looming tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico.
    For example, it’s unclear if any imports will be exempt. Trump suggested Thursday night, for example, that Canadian oil might be exempt. The White House said the tariffs will be open for public inspection on Saturday.
    Discussions around such specifics are “ongoing,” a White House official told CNBC on Friday morning.

    “There are always exemptions and carve-outs,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s.
    Trump might try to “limit the damage to the U.S. consumer” via those exemptions, Zandi said. For example, he could choose not to impose duties on apparel from China, avocados from Mexico or cheese from Quebec, he said.

    Economic impact

    The White House said tariffs and Trump’s broader economic agenda will benefit the U.S. economy.
    White House spokesman Kush Desai said tariffs Trump imposed in his first term — along with tax cuts, deregulation and energy policy — “resulted in historic job, wage, and investment growth with no inflation,” and that in his second term Trump will use tariffs to “usher in a new era of growth and prosperity for American industry and workers.”
    Economists, however, disagree.
    More from Personal Finance:What federal workers need to consider when evaluating offer to resign2025 is a ‘renter’s market,’ housing economist saysConcert ticket prices have soared, but music fans don’t seem to care
    A 25% Canada-Mexico tariff and 10% China tariff would raise about $1.3 trillion in revenue through 2035 on a net basis, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimated. That revenue may be used to partially offset the cost of tax cuts, a package that might cost more than $5 trillion over 10 years.
    However, a 10% additional tariff on China would shrink the U.S. economy by $55 billion during the Trump administration’s second term, assuming China retaliates with its own tariffs, according to an analysis by Warwick McKibbin and Marcus Noland, economists at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
    A 25% tariff on Mexico and Canada would cause a $200 billion reduction in U.S. gross domestic product, they found.

    Meanwhile, economists expect more tariffs in the future.
    On the campaign trail, Trump floated a 10% or 20% universal tariff on all imports and a tariff of at least 60% on Chinese goods, for example.
    A 20% worldwide tariff and a 60% levy on Chinese goods would raise costs by $3,000 in 2025 for the average U.S. household, according to an October analysis by the Tax Policy Center.
    “Broad-based, universal tariffs and the damage they will do is not really a debate,” Zandi said. “They will do damage. It’s just a question of how much and to whom.”

    How tariffs may impact consumers

    Consumers could pay for tariffs both directly and indirectly, economists said.
    Tariffs on China would likely have the largest direct impact on consumers, as the bulk of what China exports to the U.S. is consumer goods such as apparel, toys and electronics, Zandi said.
    China is the “dominant supplier” of toys and sports equipment to the U.S., and provides 40% of its footwear imports and 25% of its electronics and textiles, according to a recent analysis by PIIE economists.
    Mexico and Canada tariffs would also “put upward pressure on food prices,” according to PIIE economists.
    The nations are “important sources” of vegetables, accounting for 47% of total U.S. imports, and prepared foodstuffs, 42%. Transportation equipment and machinery, electronics and fuel are other sectors that stand to be most affected, they found.
    “The U.S. imports roughly 40% of its crude oil, with Canada as the dominant supplier,” Nigel Green, CEO of deVere Group, a financial consulting firm, said in a written statement.
    “If oil is hit with tariffs, the impact could hit energy markets, pushing up costs for businesses and consumers,” Green wrote.
    However, domestic energy producers, certain U.S. manufacturers and other industries “could see short-term gains from reduced competition,” he added.
    Indirectly, U.S. producers might raise their prices because they face less foreign competition for certain goods, Lydia Cox, an assistant professor of economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said during a recent webinar.
    U.S. companies that use tariffed goods to manufacture their products might also raise prices for downstream goods, Cox said. For example, steel tariffs might lead to higher prices for cars, heavy machinery and other products that use steel.

    Tariffs ‘create a lot of collateral damage’

    Other nations might also respond with retaliatory tariffs that start a trade war, which might cause U.S. producers to lose sales abroad, she said.
    “Unlike Canada and Mexico, for which retaliation would be inconceivable, China has retaliated in the past and would likely do so again,” PIIE economists wrote recently.
    Further, tariffs may have the unintended consequence of destroying jobs, economists said.
    Tariffs’ ability to create U.S. jobs is “vastly, vastly overstated,” said Lovely of PIIE.
    Take steel, for example. There are 80 workers in industries that use steel as an input for every one job that produces steel, Cox found in a recent paper.
    Tariffs create “a lot of collateral damage along the way,” which is why economists warn against broad-based use, Cox said. More

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    FAA to restrict helicopter traffic around D.C. airport after fatal airplane collision

    The FAA will restrict helicopter traffic around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
    American Eagle Flight 5342 was seconds away from landing at Reagan National Airport when it collided with an Army helicopter on Wednesday night.

    The air traffic control at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is pictured, in the aftermath of the collision of American Eagle flight 5342 and a Black Hawk helicopter that crashed into the Potomac River, as seen from Virginia on Jan. 30, 2025.
    Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters

    WASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration will restrict helicopter traffic around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C., after the fatal collision of Army Black Hawk helicopter with an American Airlines jetliner earlier this week, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Friday.
    “Today’s decision will immediately help secure the airspace near Reagan Airport, ensuring the safety of airplane and helicopter traffic,” Duffy said in a post on social media site X. “The American people deserve full confidence in our aviation system and today’s action is a significant step towards restoring that trust.”

    The restricted area includes Memorial Bridge to South Capitol Street Bridge, excluding the Tidal Basin; Haines Point to Wilson Bridge; and the airspace above the airport, Duffy said in the post.
    National Transportation Safety Board member Todd Inman said at a briefing Thursday afternoon that helicopters operate in zones, or tracks, in Washington. “This one was transitioning from track one to four as part of their normal procedure,” he said. “If you live in D.C., you see a lot of helicopters going down into this area. So there’s a very well-defined system.”
    American Eagle Flight 5342 was seconds away from landing at Reagan National Airport when it collided with the Army helicopter on Wednesday night. All 64 people on board the plane and all three people on the helicopter died. It was the first deadly commercial airline crash in the U.S. in more than 15 years and the deadliest since 2001.
    American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said Thursday that it was not clear “why the military aircraft came into the path” of its aircraft. On Friday, Isom thanked President Donald Trump “for his leadership on aviation safety. I applaud him, Secretary Duffy and the Administration for taking quick and decisive action today to restrict helicopter activity around DCA.”
    Investigators on Friday continued their investigation, looking at aspects such as the altitude of the aircraft, staffing and communication with air traffic controllers.

    The American Airlines plane, a regional CRJ700 that was arriving from Wichita, Kansas, was flying at about 300 feet on its final approach when it collided with the Black Hawk.
    According to FAA rules, helicopters, which routinely cross through and around Washington, between military bases, the Pentagon and other locations, must fly in the area close to the airport at a maximum of 200 feet.

    Read more about the American Airlines plane collision with an Army helicopter More

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    New York City office demand is finally back to normal

    Demand for New York City office space has finally returned to pre-pandemic levels.
    During the fourth quarter, office demand in the city jumped 25% from the year before, according to VTS.
    Nationally, demand in the fourth quarter was up 12% from the previous quarter.

    The Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building and One Vanderbilt are seen among other buildings in midtown Manhattan in New York City on Jan. 11, 2024.
    Angela Weiss | Afp | Getty Images

    Demand for New York City office space has finally returned to pre-pandemic levels, driven by an influx of new workers as well as a drive by employers to see current workers return to the office.
    During the fourth quarter, office demand in the city jumped 25% from the year before, according to VTS, which measures demand through unique new tenant tours of properties. The measure is an early indicator of new leasing.

    “New York City’s shift back to in-office work reflects the city’s unique cultural and economic dynamics, especially in the finance and tech sectors,” said Nick Romito, CEO of VTS, in a news release.
    SL Green Realty Corp., a real estate investment trust, or REIT, concentrated in Manhattan office and retail, released earnings last week, and while it missed revenue expectations, analysts pointed to further tightening in the office market as leasing demand accelerates.
    On a call with analysts, SL Green Realty CEO Marc Holliday noted that the city’s Office of Management and Budget is forecasting about 38,000 new office-using jobs in 2025, mostly stemming from finance, business services and information technology.
    “That translates into millions and millions of square feet of new absorption for each one of those bodies, and those are not work-from-home bodies for the most part,” said Holliday. “Combine that with the fact that on-site attendance is rising every month as companies are calling people back to the office four and five days a week. We expect to see very strong demand for office space throughout 2025,” Holliday added.
    Holliday also noted SL Green ended the year at 92.5% occupancy, and is projecting more than 93% leased occupancy over the coming year.

    Tech giant IBM recently signed a 92,663-square-foot expansion lease with SL Green at One Madison Avenue, increasing IBM’s total footprint at the property to more than 362,000 square feet.
    “The expansion of IBM’s flagship office at One Madison Avenue reaffirms a long-standing commitment to advance the technology sector in New York City and New York State, with a vibrant and collaborative workspace designed to bring employees, clients and partners together from around the world,” said Joanne Wright, IBM senior vice president for transformation and operations, in a release.
    New York is the clear winner in the office recovery, but VTS notes other improving markets. San Francisco saw a 32% annual growth rate in demand, a faster growth rate than New York’s, though it was starting at a much weaker position. Seattle and Chicago saw growth rates of around 15% each as employers in those cities increasingly embrace hybrid work models that require consistent in-office presence.
    “The data shows that while some markets, like New York City, are rapidly returning to traditional office settings, the national picture reflects slow but steady progress,” said Ryan Masiello, chief strategy officer of VTS.
    Nationally, demand in the fourth quarter was up 12% from the previous quarter. Historically, demand declines from the third quarter to the fourth quarter.
    “This growth is notable — not only for defying seasonal expectations, but for emerging in the midst of a cooling labor market. Businesses appear more willing to invest in office space despite economic uncertainty, signaling a shift in confidence and long-term planning,” Masiello said.

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    Here’s what Trump’s tariff threats look like on the ground in China

    President Donald Trump is threatening to impose 10% tariffs on Chinese goods on Saturday, and manufacturers in China are figuring out how to cope.
    The duties could not only hurt Chinese exporters but also may raise costs for U.S. consumers.
    Some business owners who spoke to CNBC said they are considering moving manufacturing to different countries, passing on higher costs to U.S. consumers or leaving the U.S. market altogether.

    As President Donald Trump threatens to impose his first tranche of tariffs on the world Saturday, Chinese manufacturers are bracing for impact.
    Though Trump is proposing his biggest initial swing at Canada and Mexico with a proposed 25% tariff, the U.S. president still has China on his radar. After a report that the administration could delay at least some of the duties until March 1, the White House said Friday that Trump will follow through on plans to slap 10% tariffs on imports from China on Saturday. On the campaign trail, he threatened tariffs on Chinese-made goods of 60% or more.

    Trump has contended tariffs boost U.S. manufacturing and job growth, and early in his second term has used the threats to gain leverage in policy negotiations. Even so, if Trump imposes the levies, they could raise prices for U.S. consumers on everything from furniture to electronics.
    In China, new duties could damage exporters who rely on the U.S. market. On a recent trip to the manufacturing belt of Guangdong province, CNBC found factory owners preparing for the tariff threat. Here are three main takeaways:

    Tariff threat already raising prices for U.S. consumers 

    Hoping to beat Trump’s tariffs, furniture seller Harry Li is doubling the number of products he ships to the U.S. and stockpiling them in warehouses there.
    He expects the strategy will force him to raise prices as much as 10% — no matter what Trump’s tariffs turn out to be. 
    He sells four out of five of his tables and other large furnishings to American consumers.

    “I have to ship them in advance and take on more risk,” he said at his Foshan factory. 
    His company Tianyiled plans to keep the extra inventory in the U.S. until Trump’s tariff plan for China becomes clearer.

    Chinese factories adopt coping strategies

    In addition to stockpiling, Li is considering other ways to avoid the border taxes.
    “One thing we can do is to pick those products not on the tariff list and export them to the U.S. instead,” he said. 
    In the nearby industrial city of Guangzhou, water purifier maker Zheng Yu is scouring the globe to find a new production base to supply the U.S. outside of China.
    He plans to set up assembly lines in a third country, buying some equipment and components from China while hiring locally for certain jobs. 
    Zheng’s company Tesran is considering Vietnam, Malaysia, and Mexico as manufacturing bases, but is leaning toward Dubai even though costs will be 30% higher than in China.
    “The domestic market is too competitive. We have been wanting to jump out of it for some time,” he said. “Trump’s tariffs gave us the final push.”
    The Tesran founder is also already in touch with his U.S. clients to discuss splitting the tariffs. He is hoping his partners will take on at least half of the cost.

    Chinese factories have a breaking point – which could lead to less choice for U.S. shoppers

    All the businesses CNBC spoke to had a breaking point at which it would no longer make sense to sell to the U.S. The tariff thresholds ranged from 20 to 60%, and depended on the industry and the size of a company’s margins.
    Water purifier maker Zheng said another wild card is whether President Trump unleashes proposed universal tariffs that, in his case, would raise costs for Dubai. 
    “Then the U.S. is out,” he said.
    Across Guangzhou, Leng Rong, who makes skin care products, is worried he might have to stop exporting to the U.S. completely.
    His goods got hit with tariffs north of 20% during Trump’s first term and it caused big losses for his company, Keni.
    With his thin margins, Leng is hoping he can pass the cost of any tariff to his customers.
    “In the past, we all felt the U.S. market was the greatest market that everyone wanted to sell to. But with all the uncertainties and unfriendly decisions, the U.S. is less attractive now,” Leng said at his Guangzhou factory. “It’s a real pity.” More

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    Shein ramps up charm offensive as London IPO nears

    Shein is looking to convince U.K. lawmakers that it takes product safety seriously after it clashed with members of Parliament over its supply chain and recalled a dangerous hair dryer.
    The China-founded company said it had conducted more than 2 million product safety tests last year and terminated third-party sellers on its marketplace who did not comply with standards.
    It’s unclear if those tests were for products Shein sold, which would be standard practice, or if they were for items sold by third-party sellers, which would make it an outlier in the industry.

    A shopper carries a bag with promotional merchandise while visiting fashion retailer Shein’s Christmas bus tour, in Manchester, Britain, December 13, 2024. 
    Temilade Adelaja | Reuters

    Shein is ramping up its charm offensive again as the fast-fashion giant eyes a public listing in London as soon as this year. 
    The retailer issued a press release on Friday detailing the steps it’s taking to keep the items it sells safe. The announcement came about a week after its first product safety recall in the U.S. since 2021. 

    Shein said it conducted more than 2 million product safety tests last year using industry-leading labs such as Bureau Veritas and Intertek, adding that its vendors are required to submit documentation for items like toys, baby products, medical devices and electronics. 
    Shein made the announcement, which included details on its sustainability initiatives and a new nonprofit foundation it set up, as the company looks to win over lawmakers in the U.K. and ease concerns that it’s selling unsafe products that are made with forced labor. 
    Last week, Shein recalled more than 300 hair dryer brushes because they posed an electrocution or shock hazard to consumers. The Teckwe Hair Dryer Brush appeared to be a so-called dupe of a similar product sold by Dyson. No injuries were reported and Shein is offering a refund to impacted customers. 
    A spokesperson for Shein told CNBC the company conducted safety tests on products it sells itself and did “risk-based, randomized testing” on items sold by third-party vendors on its marketplace before their listing.
    Product safety testing is common for items that a retailer sells, even if they’re online only, because they could be held liable for defects under consumer protection laws in the U.S. On the other hand, a retailer’s liability is less clear for third-party sellers on an online marketplace, which makes product testing prior to an item’s listing unusual.

    Shein’s decision to conduct product safety tests on items sold by third-party sellers makes it stand out in an industry that has been rife with safety concerns. Typically, online marketplaces just require sellers to conduct their own testing and provide documentation to support it.
    Shein added in its press release that it terminated more than 260 sellers on its marketplace over the last year for not meeting compliance requirements. 

    Shein faces U.K. scrutiny

    Shein’s campaign to show it takes product safety and sustainability seriously comes as it prepares to go public in the U.K. — and follows a similar charm offensive in the U.S. before its doomed initial public offering bid there.
    Earlier this month, U.K. lawmakers criticized attorneys for Shein when they appeared before a British parliamentary hearing and evaded questions about the company’s supply chain and whether it sells products made with cotton from China, The Associated Press reported. 
    Shein’s general counsel in Europe, Yinan Zhu, repeatedly declined to say whether the company’s products contain cotton from Xinjiang and whether the company prohibits suppliers from sourcing raw materials in the region, which has become notorious for its Uyghur detention camps. 
    When asked whether the company believes there is forced labor in Xinjiang, Zhu said it wasn’t the company’s place to have a “geopolitical debate” and repeated a line Shein often uses when grilled on its supply chain, “We comply with the laws and regulations in the countries that we operate in.”
    Committee Chairman Liam Byrne said Zhu’s refusal to answer questions left lawmakers “horrified” and gave them “zero confidence” in the integrity of Shein’s supply chain.  
    “The reluctance to answer basic questions has frankly bordered on contempt,” Byrne said.
    Throughout 2023, when Shein was still hoping for a U.S. IPO, it commonly spoke publicly about its cotton supply chain and the tests it had conducted to ensure it wasn’t sourcing from banned regions. It even told CNBC it had stopped sourcing cotton from China altogether. 
    Shein did not make similar statements in the parliamentary hearing.

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    WNBA files trademark application to bring back ‘Detroit Shock’ as city submits expansion bid

    The WNBA has filed a trademark application for the name “Detroit Shock.”
    The filing comes amid reports that Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores submitted a bid for a WNBA expansion team.
    At least 10 cities have shown interest in launching a new professional women’s basketball team.

    The Renaissance Center (complex of skyscrapers with the Chrevrolet sign) by the Detroit River.
    Roberto Machado Noa | Lightrocket | Getty Images

    As cities across the country vie for the next Women’s National Basketball Association team, the league quietly filed a trademark application this week for the name “Detroit Shock.”
    The filing, dated Thursday, notes the intended use is for a basketball team, merchandise, jerseys and in-arena signage that could appear on TV or radio broadcasts. It could offer clues into the league’s ultimate decision for the location of a new franchise.

    On Friday, Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores submitted a bid for the Motor City to host a new team. The ownership group would be led by Gores and also includes Detroit Lions principal owner and chair Sheila Ford Hamp; former Detroit Pistons stars Grant Hill and Chris Webber; General Motors CEO Mary Barra; and Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff.
    “Detroit is a sports town that loves its teams deeply and consistently shows up with unwavering passion,” Gores said in a statement.
    The WNBA and Detroit Pistons did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the trademark application.
    The new trademark application by the WNBA is the only submission from the professional women’s basketball league since early December, according to Josh Gerben, a trademark attorney at Gerben IP, who is not involved with the specific filing.
    Unlike other professional sports leagues where individual teams own their own trademark filings, the WNBA holds the rights to all names and logos for the league’s franchises, according to Gerben.

    The Detroit Shock logo on a T-shirt.
    Courtesy: Detroit Shock

    “Circumstantial evidence would be that [Detroit’s] is a winning bid and they’re very much planning on getting this going to have filed that trademark application,” Gerben told CNBC.
    However, Gerben said the filing could also be a way for the league to protect itself against “squatters” or others trying to use the name.
    Another trademark application was filed for the “Detroit Shock” by an individual named Ryan Reed in July 2023, but that trademark has yet to be approved. A person with the same name, purportedly based in Detroit, identifies as the founder of a women’s basketball league on LinkedIn.
    The Detroit Shock were a WNBA team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, from 1998 to 2009. The team won three WNBA Championships in 2003, 2006 and 2008. In 2009, the franchise moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where they played until 2015. Today, they play in Arlington, Texas, as the Dallas Wings.
    WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said at the WNBA Finals in October that at least 10 cities had expressed interest in launching an expansion team.
    “We’re not in a huge rush. We’d like to bring it in ’27 or no later than ’28,” Engelbert said at the time in regard to adding a 16th team.
    Cleveland, Kansas City, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Houston, Austin, Nashville and Milwaukee are among the locations seeking to bring women’s professional basketball to their cities.

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    Commerzbank posts 20% hike in annual profit and launches new share buyback as it wards off UniCredit

    Commerzbank bank said it achieved a 20% increase in net profit to 2.68 billion euros ($2.78 billion) in 2024. This compares with a $2.47 billion net profit forecast for the period, according to a consensus estimate cited by Reuters.
    The group will deliver its annual strategy update and outlook on Feb. 13.
    “We have exceeded our capital return promise to our shareholders,” said Commerzbank CEO Bettina Orlopp in a statement accompanying the results.

    A “mild recession” is on the cards, according to Commerzbank CEO Manfred Knof.
    Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Getty Images

    Commerzbank on Friday unexpectedly released quarterly results, touting “record” annual profit and announcing a new share buyback scheme.
    The bank said it achieved a 20% increase in net profit to 2.68 billion euros ($2.78 billion) in 2024. This compares with a $2.47 billion net profit forecast for the period, according to a consensus estimate cited by Reuters.

    The group laid out intentions to repurchase 400 million euros of shares and proposed to lift its dividend payout to 0.65 euros per share, compared with 0.35 euros per share in the previous year.
    Shares in the lender ended the day 1.7% higher.
    Other annual highlights included net income of 8.33 billion euros in 2024, versus 8.37 billion euros in the previous year, with the bank noting it benefitted from foreign exchange valuation effects in the fourth quarter. Its return on tangible equity — a measure of profit performance — picked up to 9.2% in 2024 from 7.7% in 2023, exceeding the group’s target of hitting at least 8%.
    The group had originally listed plans to publish its fourth-quarter and annual earnings on Feb. 13, when it also intends to deliver its annual strategy update and outlook. The early release falls in step with German legal requirements when the amount of capital return significantly surpasses the expectations of capital markets.
    The results come as Commerzbank has been making a case to stand alone, after a surprise stake build from Italy’s second-largest lender UniCredit stoked market speculation of interest in a potential takeover. UniCredit now owns a direct 9.5% stake and a 18.5% stake via derivatives in Commerzbank, after first building its stake in September, then subsequently increasing its position.

    The move has been met with resistance from the German government, whose Finance Minister Jörg Kukies criticized UniCredit’s “very aggressive, very opaque” bid in a CNBC interview last week.
    “We have exceeded our capital return promise to our shareholders,” said Commerzbank CEO Bettina Orlopp in a statement accompanying the results, citing cost management and growth initiatives as driving the profit increase.
    “Thanks to increasing profitability and new growth initiatives, we will further enhance capital return in the coming years. Commerzbank is and remains an attractive investment,” she noted.
    Since its September overture, UniCredit has also launched a takeover bid for domestic Italian peer Banco BPM, raising questions on whether it will press ahead with a domestic or German venture. More