NEWSLETTER
Thursday / September 29Sep 29
Thursday / September 15
California vs Amazon
California filed a lawsuit against Amazon on Wednesday, alleging that the company violated antitrust law by blocking price competition and pushing up prices for consumers.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Amazon's rules bar merchants from selling products at lower prices on their own websites or at the stores of Amazon's rivals.
"Through its actions, the everything store has effectively set a price floor, costing Californians more for pretty much everything," Bonta said. The lawsuit was filed in San Francisco Superior Court.
Amazon said in response to the filing that consumers could see higher prices if the lawsuit succeeds. Washington, D.C., filed a similar lawsuit against Amazon in May 2021. Amazon won the dismissal of suit earlier this year. The California lawsuit is based on different laws.
Taiwan Act
The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday approved legislation that would significantly enhance U.S. military support for Taiwan, including provisions for billions of dollars in additional security assistance.
The Committee backed the Taiwan Policy Act of 2022 in a 17-5 vote.
The would designate Taiwan a "major non-NATO ally," a status for the closest US military partners outside of the trans-Atlantic alliance. And in a reflection of changing dynamics since the landmark 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, the bill says the United States will provide weapons "conducive to deterring acts of aggression" by China rather than simply "defensive" weapons.
In addition to the $4.5 billion in funding to Taiwan, the act would authorize $2 billion in loan guarantees for Taiwan to buy US weapons.
The committee's approval paves the way for a vote in the full Senate, but there has been no word on when that might take place. To become law, it must also pass the House of Representatives and be signed by President Joe Biden, whose administration has expressed concerns about portions of the legislation.
US PPI
US producer prices fell for a second month in August as fuel costs continued to retreat.
The producer price index for final demand decreased 0.1% from a month earlier and increased 8.7% from a year ago, Labor Department data showed Wednesday. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the so-called core PPI climbed a larger-than-forecast 0.4% in August and was up 7.3% from a year earlier.
US braces for rail strike
US cities are bracing for travel disruptions as a looming strike against freight railroads threatens passenger service from Washington to Chicago and Los Angeles.
Thousands of Americans will have to find alternative means of transportation if the strike goes ahead, with commuter lines to Washington, D.C., and Chicago warning that trains on some routes will grind to a halt. Amtrak canceled all long-distance trains starting Thursday.
President Joe Biden is racing to avoid a strike, but freight railroads and unions have just until Friday to resolve a labor dispute that could cost the world’s biggest economy $2 billion a day.
Wall Street
The Nasdaq rose 0.74% to 11,719.68 on Wednesday. The S&P 500 added 0.34% to close at 3,946.01. The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 30.12 points, or 0.10%, to 31,135.09 after being down more than 200 points at session lows.
Moderna was one of the top performers in the Nasdaq, jumping more than 6%. Tesla rose 3.6%, and Apple tacked on 1%.
The modest gains followed a massive sell-off for stocks on Tuesday.
US-Japan defense meeting
Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada met in Washington with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin Wednesday to discuss the allies' deterrence strategy, including the potential for Japan to deploy missiles.
In his opening remarks at the 95-minute meeting, Austin said China's "coercive actions in the Taiwan Strait and in the waters surrounding Japan" were "provocative, destabilizing and unprecedented."
"We're going to discuss ways to further strengthen our defense cooperation, including our joint efforts to modernize a U.S.-Japan alliance and bolster integrated deterrence," Austin said.
Hamada said Japan would examine "all options, including the so-called counterstrike capabilities," referring to the ability to strike enemy bases in response to an attack. Austin expressed strong support, according to the Japanese side.
Japan and the U.S. plan to hold a "two plus two" meeting of top defense and diplomatic officials in 2023, the Japanese side said.
Wednesday's meeting came as both the U.S. and Japan update their defense planning. Washington is working on its National Defense Strategy, while Japan is crafting its first American-style NDS.
California filed a lawsuit against Amazon on Wednesday, alleging that the company violated antitrust law by blocking price competition and pushing up prices for consumers.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Amazon's rules bar merchants from selling products at lower prices on their own websites or at the stores of Amazon's rivals.
"Through its actions, the everything store has effectively set a price floor, costing Californians more for pretty much everything," Bonta said. The lawsuit was filed in San Francisco Superior Court.
Amazon said in response to the filing that consumers could see higher prices if the lawsuit succeeds. Washington, D.C., filed a similar lawsuit against Amazon in May 2021. Amazon won the dismissal of suit earlier this year. The California lawsuit is based on different laws.
Taiwan Act
The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday approved legislation that would significantly enhance U.S. military support for Taiwan, including provisions for billions of dollars in additional security assistance.
The Committee backed the Taiwan Policy Act of 2022 in a 17-5 vote.
The would designate Taiwan a "major non-NATO ally," a status for the closest US military partners outside of the trans-Atlantic alliance. And in a reflection of changing dynamics since the landmark 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, the bill says the United States will provide weapons "conducive to deterring acts of aggression" by China rather than simply "defensive" weapons.
In addition to the $4.5 billion in funding to Taiwan, the act would authorize $2 billion in loan guarantees for Taiwan to buy US weapons.
The committee's approval paves the way for a vote in the full Senate, but there has been no word on when that might take place. To become law, it must also pass the House of Representatives and be signed by President Joe Biden, whose administration has expressed concerns about portions of the legislation.
US PPI
US producer prices fell for a second month in August as fuel costs continued to retreat.
The producer price index for final demand decreased 0.1% from a month earlier and increased 8.7% from a year ago, Labor Department data showed Wednesday. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the so-called core PPI climbed a larger-than-forecast 0.4% in August and was up 7.3% from a year earlier.
US braces for rail strike
US cities are bracing for travel disruptions as a looming strike against freight railroads threatens passenger service from Washington to Chicago and Los Angeles.
Thousands of Americans will have to find alternative means of transportation if the strike goes ahead, with commuter lines to Washington, D.C., and Chicago warning that trains on some routes will grind to a halt. Amtrak canceled all long-distance trains starting Thursday.
President Joe Biden is racing to avoid a strike, but freight railroads and unions have just until Friday to resolve a labor dispute that could cost the world’s biggest economy $2 billion a day.
Wall Street
The Nasdaq rose 0.74% to 11,719.68 on Wednesday. The S&P 500 added 0.34% to close at 3,946.01. The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 30.12 points, or 0.10%, to 31,135.09 after being down more than 200 points at session lows.
Moderna was one of the top performers in the Nasdaq, jumping more than 6%. Tesla rose 3.6%, and Apple tacked on 1%.
The modest gains followed a massive sell-off for stocks on Tuesday.
US-Japan defense meeting
Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada met in Washington with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin Wednesday to discuss the allies' deterrence strategy, including the potential for Japan to deploy missiles.
In his opening remarks at the 95-minute meeting, Austin said China's "coercive actions in the Taiwan Strait and in the waters surrounding Japan" were "provocative, destabilizing and unprecedented."
"We're going to discuss ways to further strengthen our defense cooperation, including our joint efforts to modernize a U.S.-Japan alliance and bolster integrated deterrence," Austin said.
Hamada said Japan would examine "all options, including the so-called counterstrike capabilities," referring to the ability to strike enemy bases in response to an attack. Austin expressed strong support, according to the Japanese side.
Japan and the U.S. plan to hold a "two plus two" meeting of top defense and diplomatic officials in 2023, the Japanese side said.
Wednesday's meeting came as both the U.S. and Japan update their defense planning. Washington is working on its National Defense Strategy, while Japan is crafting its first American-style NDS.
