Economy

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Vice President Kamala Harris will call for a federal ban on corporate price gouging on groceries in a speech laying out her economic agenda on Friday, campaign officials said late Wednesday, in an effort to blame big companies for persistently high costs of American consumer staples.The plan includes large overlaps with efforts that the Biden administration has pursued for several years to target corporate consolidation and price gouging, including attempts to stoke more competition in the meat industry and the Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit this year that seeks to block the merger of two large grocery retailers, Kroger and Albertsons.It also follows through on what people familiar with Ms. Harris’s forthcoming economic agenda said this week would be a centerpiece of her plans: an aggressive rhetorical attempt to shift the blame for high inflation onto corporate America. Polls show that argument resonates strongly with voters, including independent voters who could decide the November election.Progressive groups have urged President Biden, and now Ms. Harris, to fully embrace that argument.In a release announcing the policy, Harris campaign officials did not detail how a price-gouging ban would be enforced or what current corporate behaviors would be outlawed if it were enacted. They said Ms. Harris would work in her first 100 days to put in place a federal ban “setting clear rules of the road to make clear that big corporations can’t unfairly exploit consumers to run up excessive corporate profits on food and groceries.”The officials also said Ms. Harris would authorize the Federal Trade Commission to impose “harsh penalties” on corporations that fix prices. They said that she would direct more resources toward investigating price-gouging in the supply chain for meat and that she would push federal officials to closely scrutinize proposed grocery mergers.They also said that Ms. Harris would unveil plans on Friday related to housing costs and prescription drug prices. Many states ban price gouging, but the federal government does not.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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The People’s Bank of China’s (PBOC) delivered a series of interest rate reductions last month and the sequence of the cuts showed its framework had changed, market watchers said, shifting the short-term rate to being the main signal guiding markets.On Thursday, the PBOC said it lent 577.7 billion yuan ($80.9 billion) through seven-day reverse bond repurchase agreements at 1.7% in an open market operation, unchanged from previously.It added that the cash injection was meant to counteract factors including maturing medium-term lending facility (MLF) loans, tax payments and government bond issuance, in order to “keep banking system liquidity reasonably ample,” according to an online statement.While a batch of 401 billion yuan worth of MLF loans is set to expire on Thursday, the PBOC said it would conduct the rollover on Aug 26.In response to Reuters request for comment on whether the PBOC would shift the timing of the monthly MLF operation to 25th, the central bank said future arrangements would be “subject to the actual operation time.””The central bank has informed primary dealers of the arrangement and reminded them to utilise the seven-day reverse repo operation on Thursday to smooth the liquidity gap between MLF maturing day and rollover,” the PBOC told Reuters.”This would be consistent with the policy direction to gradually fade MLF as a guidance to market rates, so is the change of the MLF date to be after loan prime rate (LPR) decision,” said Frances Cheung, head of FX & rates strategy at OCBC Bank.”The chance remains for replacement of some or all of MLF liquidity with that released from an reserve requirement ratio (RRR) cut, later this month or in September.”China is due to release the monthly fixing of benchmark lending LPR next Tuesday.Recent economic data, including bank lending figures, showed that domestic demand was weak and more stimulus measures were needed to boost growth in the world’s second-largest economy.PBOC Governor Pan Gongsheng said in June that the central bank would revamp its monetary policy transmission channel, adding that the seven-day reverse repo basically serves the function of the main policy rate.($1 = 7.1382 Chinese yuan) More

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SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The dollar was on the back foot on Thursday, with the euro perched near an eight-month high after data showed U.S. inflation was slowing, underpinning wagers that the Federal Reserve could lower borrowing costs next month. The yen was steady at 147.26 per dollar after data showed Japan’s economy expanded by a faster-than-expected annualised 3.1% in April-June, rebounding from the previous quarter due to a solid pickup in consumption.In the U.S., data on Wednesday showed the consumer price index rose moderately, in line with expectations, and the annual increase in inflation slowed to below 3% for the first time since early 2021.The figures add to the mild increase in producer prices in July in suggesting that inflation is on a downward trend, although traders are now anticipating the Fed to be not as aggressive on rate cuts as they had hoped. Josh Chastant, portfolio manager for public markets at GuideStone Funds, said both the U.S. CPI and PPI data pointed to a 25 basis point (bps) cut by the Fed in September. “A lot will depend on the tone of the minutes and post-meeting press conference, but markets could be mildly disappointed if we only get a 25bps reduction,” he said.Markets are now pricing in 64% chance of a 25 bps cut next month and a 36% chance of a 50 bps reduction, the CME FedWatch tool showed. Traders were evenly split at the start of the week between the two cut options following last week’s sell-off.Markets anticipate 100 bps of cuts this year from the Fed.”The blinding green light for rate cuts remains firmly switched on, and the Fed is getting the disinflationary evidence it needs to gain confidence to follow through on that,” said Kyle Chapman, FX markets analyst at Ballinger Group. “A 50bps cut is a desperate move and would be more dependent on a growth scare.”The euro was steady at $1.10110 in early trading, hovering close to $1.10475, the highest since early January it touched on Wednesday. The single currency is up 0.86% for the week, set for its strongest weekly performance in over a month.Sterling was little changed at $1.2826 after dipping on Wednesday as a softer-than-expected reading on British consumer price inflation supported expectations of further interest rate cuts from the Bank of England this year.The dollar index, which measures the U.S. unit versus six rivals, was last at 102.6, not far from the eight-month low of 102.15 it touched last week. The index is on course for its fourth straight week in the red, a run it last had in March-April 2023.The investor focus will now be on the U.S. retail sales data due later on Thursday.Elsewhere, the yen inched away from the seven-month high of 141.675 touched during last week’s market mayhem. Investors are still digesting Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s decision to step down next month, although analysts said the news has had limited impact on markets. The New Zealand dollar was last little changed at $0.5997 having dropped more than 1% in the previous session after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand reduced the cash rate by a quarter point, its first easing since early 2020.The Australian dollar was steady at $0.6595 ahead of labour data that could influence interest rate expectations.A lower unemployment rate could lead markets to wind back pricing for an interest rate cut from Australia’s central bank this year and support the Aussie dollar, according to Kristina Clifton, senior economist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia (OTC:CMWAY). More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris’s economic agenda will focus on lowering the cost of groceries, housing and healthcare, bolstering the child tax credit and drawing a contrast with Republican Donald Trump on tariffs and taxes, aides and advisers said.Harris, the U.S. vice president, plans to lay out some details of her economic plan in a speech in North Carolina on Friday that will touch on lowering costs and “price gouging,” a sign of how important consumer prices are to voters in the Nov. 5 election. Inflation fell to below 3% for the first time in nearly 3 1/2 years in July, the Labor Department said on Wednesday, but high prices of groceries and consumer goods remain well above their pre-pandemic levels. The economy remains a top concern for U.S. voters, who generally see Republicans as better economic stewards. Harris’ economic platform closely mirrors that of President Joe Biden and aims to appeal to the middle class. Her campaign will pay special attention to what plays well with voters in battleground states, with less than 90 days from the presidential election, advisers said.”Same values, different vision,” said one aide, describing how Harris’ economic agenda will be different from Biden’s. “She’s not moving far away from him on substance, she will highlight the ones that matter most to her.”The Harris campaign declined to comment. The Trump campaign has been mulling new tax cuts for middle class households, and Trump proposed eliminating taxes on tipped wages — something Harris did as well in Las Vegas last week. Harris cares a lot about “pocketbook issues for working families, in particular those with small kids,” one Harris adviser told Reuters. She was a champion of the child tax credit, which reduces the tax burden for lower-income families. “She’s going to embrace that,” the adviser said.Progressive economic ideas often poll well with voters, but they have proven tough to pass into law. Most of Harris’ and Trump’s economic priorities need to go through Congress. A child tax credit bill passed the House but stalled in the Senate this year. Not all elements of Harris’ economic agenda will make it to the Friday speech, a draft of which is still in the works. Her campaign wants to avoid dividing voters and attracting attacks from business groups over granular details, and will be “strategically ambiguous” in areas like energy. Harris no longer supports measures from her short-lived 2020 presidential bid such as a fracking ban, or Medicare for All, advisers said. She will push plans to cut costs of rental housing and homeownership, including funding more affordable housing and building climate resistant communities. “She does have a focus on housing because we know and she knows very, very clearly that housing is a crisis in this country,” said Marcia Fudge, a Harris adviser and the former secretary of Housing and Urban Development under Biden.Harris will also draw contrasts with Trump on tax policy and tariffs, and maintain Biden’s promise not to raise taxes on people who make $400,000 or less a year, advisers said. Trump slashed the corporate tax rate to 21% from 35% and implemented other tax breaks that are set to expire next year. Trump has promised to make the tax cuts permanent and suggested new across-the-board tariffs on imports, an idea Harris rejects. Trump’s campaign on Wednesday tied Harris to Biden’s economic record. “America cannot afford another four years of Kamala’s failed economic policies. President Trump has a proven track record of making this country prosperous and affordable, and Americans can trust him to put more money back in their pockets again,” Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said. More

TOKYO (Reuters) – More Japanese companies believe a Kamala Harris presidency in the U.S. would be better for their businesses than a second Donald Trump administration, a Reuters survey showed on Thursday, reflecting the respondents concerns about protectionism and policy unpredictability. The outcome of November’s U.S. presidential election is being closely watched by countries around the world. But Japan is a close ally of Washington, with tens of thousands of U.S. troops stationed there, and its businesses would feel the impact of a renewed U.S.-China trade war since both are among its top trading partners.Some 43% of Japanese firms said they preferred Harris in light of their corporate strategies and business plans while 8% picked Trump.A total of 46% said either candidate would be fine, with the remaining 3% saying they preferred neither. “There is a possibility that trade war, economic friction and security threats will be brought about under another Trump administration, forcing us to change our business strategy,” a manager at a ceramics manufacturer wrote in the survey.Japan’s relations with the Trump administration were at times strained by his demands for more payments towards military assistance and by trade tensions.With Harris, “we can expect current policies to be maintained by and large. That would give us better visibility into the future,” an official at a chemicals firm said.Asked what change will likely be necessary under a Trump administration, 34% said their foreign exchange strategy would need to be reviewed, while 28% said their supply chains would be realigned and 21% said they would reduce their China operations.Trump has floated the idea of a 10% universal tariff on U.S. imports, which could disrupt international markets, and a tariff of at least 50% on Chinese goods.Nikkei Research reached out to 506 companies from July 31 to Aug. 9 on behalf of Reuters for the survey, with 243 firms responding. CHINA SLOWDOWN Regardless of who wins the U.S. election, 13% of Japanese companies are considering reducing operations in China, while 3% are looking into expanding their businesses, with 47% planning to maintain their current exposure, the survey showed. Among those thinking about paring down operations in China, 35% said they saw no prospects for economic recovery, 29% cited tough price competition and another 29% pointed to economic security risks as reasons to cut back.China’s economy grew much slower than expected in the second quarter and its exports rose at their slowest pace in three months in July, adding to concerns about the outlook for its vast manufacturing sector. Major Japanese companies that have announced cutbacks in their China operations in recent months include Honda (NYSE:HMC) Motor and Nippon Steel.The survey also showed 24% of respondents saw recent rounds of intervention in the foreign exchange market by Japanese authorities as appropriate, compared with 9% that found the moves inappropriate and 64% that believed they were unavoidable. The yen kept falling earlier this year despite intervention in April and May, touching a 38-year low of 161.96 to the dollar on July 3. Japanese authorities are suspected to have stepped in again in mid-July to put a floor under the yen.”The extreme weakness in the yen had to be corrected. It just couldn’t be helped,” an official at an electronics company said. Asked if the Bank of Japan should raise interest rates to shore up the yen, 51% said such a step was allowed only when exchange rates fluctuated excessively, while 22% said they didn’t support a monetary policy change aimed at affecting the foreign exchange market. On expectations for the yen, 32% saw it trading in a range of 145 to 150 yen to the dollar at the end of the year, while 25% predicted the Japanese currency to be firmer at 140 to 145 yen, while 22% saw it trading between 150 to 155 yen.During the period of the survey, the yen was volatile and touched its strongest level since the start of the year before reversing course. It has since continued to weaken. More