AMERICAN AIRLINES REPORTS WEAK FIRST QUARTER. The airline’s revenue for 2021’s first quarter was 62 percent lower during the first three months of 2019, year over year, the carrier reported, and carrying capacity – the number of seats available – was off 42 percent. The company expects to post a first-quarter loss of between $2.7...
Tag: apr 20 2021
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TOP TRENDS 2021: THE RISE OF CHINA
As we have forecast, the 20th century was the American century – the 21st century will be the Chinese century. The business of China is business; the business of America is war. CHINA’S SPIKES 18 PERCENT IN FIRST QUARTER. China’s economy grew by 18.3 percent in 2021’s first quarter, compared to the same period a...
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SALES OF LUXURY GOODS SOAR
LVMH Moët Hennessy Luis Vuitton, the world’s largest purveyor of luxury goods, saw its sales soar 30 percent year over year during 2021’s first quarter and 8 percent above the same period in 2019 before the COVID virus was showing its effects. The figures were adjusted for variations in currency rates. The company’s revenues have...
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EUROZONE NEEDS MORE STIMULUS SPENDING, IMF SAYS
The 19 Eurozone countries should spend an additional 3 percent of GDP over the next 12 months to spur their lagging economic recovery, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recommended in its latest Regional Economic Outlook for Europe, published on 12 April. The region’s recovery is being hobbled by slow vaccine delivery, resulting in continuing...
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PRIVATE EQUITY FIRM BUYS BEAUTYCOUNTER
The Carlyle Group, a private equity firm, has bought a majority stake in cosmetics retailer Beautycounter, the companies have announced. Beautycounter has branded itself as a leader in “clean” cosmetics, excluding more than 1,800 potentially harmful ingredients from its products. The company was founded after CEO Gregg Renfrew saw “An Inconvenient Truth,” Al Gore’s movie...
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LOW PAY TREND: DOLLAR GENERAL HIRING BOOM
In a measure of the bargain-basement economy’s growth, the Dollar General discount chain has announced it will hire 20,000 new full- and part-time workers to staff its stores and distribution centers and drive its truck fleet as the company adds 1,050 stores this year. The additions will grow its 158,000-person workforce by almost 13 percent. ...
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BLACKROCK POSTS 49% EARNINGS RISE IN FIRST QUARTER
BlackRock, the world’s largest money management firm, reported first-quarter profits of $1.2 billion, up 49 percent compared to $802 million in 2020’s first three months. The firm’s share value rose from $5.15 to $7.77 year on year. BlackRock cashed in on a surging stock market powered by rock-bottom interest rates and stimulus spending at a...
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HISTORIC LABOR SHORTAGE: 42% OF BIZ CAN’T FILL OPEN POSITIONS
Businesses are finding it challenging to fill open positions due, in part, to the federal government stimulus programs and the lack of skilled workers applying for positions, according to a report. According to ZeroHedge, there are about 100 million Americans who are not in the labor force. Of them, 94 million are not interested in...
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DOLLAR’S DECLINE IN WORLD CURRENCY RESERVES DECEPTIVE
In 2020, the proportion of dollars in nations’ foreign currency reserves dipped below 60 percent for the first time since 1995, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported. In contrast, the euro’s share of reserves rose to 21.2 percent, the IMF found, its greatest share in six years; Japan’s yen claimed 6 percent, more than it...
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HOME PRICES CLIMB, NEW STARTS REACH 14-YEAR RECORD
Housing starts in March climbed 19.4 percent from February to 1.74 million units, the highest number since 2007 and the strongest month-on-month performance since 1990, Business Insider reported. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast an average of 1.61 million starts for the month. The leap from February to March was due, in part, to February’s...