 |
|
|
|||||
Global shares rallied on Wednesday, with Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index gaining 3.5% after Japan and the U.S. announced a deal on President Donald Trump’s tariffs.France’s CAC 40 added 1.4% in early trading to 7,854.75, while Germany’s DAX gained 0.9% to 24,260.62. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.6% to 9,075.46. The future for the S&P 500 gained 0.4% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.5%.The tariff agreement as announced calls for a 15% U.S. import duty on goods from Japan, apart from certain products such as steel and aluminum that are subject to much higher tariffs. That’s down from the 25% Trump had said would kick in on Aug. 1 if a deal was not reached.“This Deal will create Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs There has never been anything like it,” Trump posted on Truth Social, noting that Japan was also investing “at my direction” $550 billion into the U.S. He said Japan would “open” its economy to American autos and rice.Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 surged as much as 3.7%, closing at 41,171.32.Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.6% to 25,538.07, while the Shanghai Composite index was little changed, gaining less than 0.1% to 3,582.30.Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.7% to 8,737.20 and the Kospi in South Korea edged 0.4% higher to 3,183.77.“President Trump has signed two trade deals this week with the Philippines and Japan which is likely to keep market sentiment propped up despite deals with the likes of the EU and South Korea remaining elusive, for now at least,” Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at Kohle Capital Markets, said in a report.There was a chorus of no comments from the Japanese automakers, despite the latest announcement, including Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co and Nissan Motor Corp.Japanese companies tend to be cautious about their public reactions, and some business officials have privately remarked in off-record comments that they hesitate to say anything because Trump keeps changing his mind.The Japan Automobile Manufacturers’ Association also said it had no comment, noting there was no official statement yet. Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba welcomed the agreement as beneficial to both sides.Toyota stock jumped 14% in Tokyo trading, while Honda was up more than 11% and Nissan added 8%. In other sectors, Nippon Steel, which is acquiring U.S. Steel, rose 2.7% while video game maker and significant exporter Nintendo Co. added 0.7%. Sony Group surged 4.3%.But Takeshi Niinami, chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives, which groups about 1,600 top executives, issued a note of caution about the nation having to be resilient and pushing free trade, while welcoming the tariff deal.“I hope this U.S.-Japan tariff deal can work as a starting point to further strengthen U.S.-Japan relations,” he said.He noted the U.S. policy of putting America first was unlikely to change, and that meant Japan, too, must make policy adjustments, such as making an aggressive push in artificial intelligence.Trump has also said that he reached a trade agreement with the Philippines following a meeting Tuesday at the White House, that will see the U.S. slightly drop its tariff rate for the Philippines without paying import taxes for what it sells there.On Tuesday, the S&P 500 added 0.1% to Monday’s all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%, while the Nasdaq slipped 0.4%.Also early Wednesday, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 23 cents to $65.08 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard fell 21 cents to $68.38 a barrel.The U.S. dollar fell to 146.38 Japanese yen from 146.64 yen. The euro cost $1.1736, down from $1.1754. Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Writer
Category:
E-Commerce
A Trenta Starbucks is no longer cutting it. The latest coffee trend has people ordering their iced lattes by the bucket. Earlier this year, independent coffee shops started going viral on TikTok for serving 34-ounce iced lattes in plastic buckets. POV: You live in the same era as coffee buckets, one coffee shop posted on TikTok. Ok well see you soon I guess, one person commented. Id be on the toilet for days, another wrote. @wickedsoutherncoffee Not a want. A need. #CoffeeTok #fyp #salemct #coffeeshop #connecticut original sound – Country Night While its unclear where the trend originated, coffee shops in Colorado, Ohio, Massachusetts, and Connecticut have since begun offering their own versions of the quadruple-shot beverage. The New York Times spoke to Dulce Vida, a Mexican-inspired coffee shop in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where a La Cubeta, priced at $14 with add-ons, now accounts for more than 30% of orders since it debuted last month. @michelletaylor887 Giant coffee BUCKET! #coffeeshop @Common Grounds #CapCut original sound – ShellRNTaylor TJ’s Burritos, a Connecticut-based casual coffeehouse and Mexican restaurant, started serving coffee by the bucket in late May; it sold out during the first weekend. Now TJs Burritos sells at least 1,000 buckets per week (sometimes 200 buckets per day!), owner Tricia Martin told CT Insider. Alaina Roberto, owner of Monroe’s Last Drop Coffee Shop, dropped her version of the viral coffee bucket in late June. “It seems like it’s a thing right now,” Roberto told CT Insider. “It’s a bucket summer. Of course, like everything else, coffee trends come and go. Earlier this year, cloud coffee (a twist on an Americano made with coconut water) had its viral moment. Then who could forget the dalgona coffee trend that had TikTok in a choke hold back in 2020. While the novelty of drinking your morning cup of coffee from a plastic bucket is likely driving the trend, Snaxshots Andrea Hernández suggests it may be reflective of a broader shift in attitudes toward caffeine. Were kind of experiencing that sort of backlash from what we were trying to do, like, less caffeine, more mindfulness, more meditation, less palpitations, she told The Times. Rather than paying attention to wellness gurus who claim coffee first thing in the morning disrupts cortisol levels, or giving in to Big Matcha, the pendulum has swung back to mainlining caffeine by the bucketload. Also, considering a regular-size oat cap is pushing $10 with tip, $12 for 34 ounces of latte is arguably a great deal.
Category:
E-Commerce
Over the past several days, the share prices of three companies have surged 25% or more in a single trading session. Those companies are Krispy Kreme, GoPro, and Kohls. Yet none of these firms have made any major announcements of late that support such lofty rises in their stock prices. So why are their share prices skyrocketing? It looks like meme stock mania is back. What is a meme stock? The term meme stock first gained popularity during the early pandemic years. During the 2020-2021 period, many people were confined indoors due to lockdowns or a general fear of going out, so they turned to the internet to pass the time, often taking on new digital hobbies or joining new communities. For many, a new hobby emerged: online investing. As a result, many of these new investors turned to social media for advice on which stocks to buy. Perhaps the most popular social media community for stock advice was the Reddit forum r/wallstreetbets, and it is in this community where many consider meme stock mania to have originated. A meme stock is generally defined as a stock that is promoted by members of an online community, such as the one found in the r/wallstreetbets subreddit. Proponents of a meme stock buy shares of a stock at a low priceoften in struggling companies with some brand name awarenessand then promote it, attempting to build hype and a positive narrative about the stock, as noted by Investopedia. The goal is to get in on the meme stock while the price is low, see the value surge as more people who are afraid of missing out on a 10x or 100x bagger buy into the stock, and then often to get out of the stock before the hype collapses and the shares crash again. As Reuters points out, meme stocks are often heavily shorted. The rise in share prices for these stocks force investors who had bet against the stock to sell their shares to limit their losses. In the early pandemic years, two of the most popular meme stocks were the struggling video game retailer GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) and movie theater chain AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AMC). But now, as of this week, theres a new trio of meme stocks sending a frenzy through online trading communities. Krispy Kreme Probably the most well-known meme stock among the new trio is Krispy Kreme (Nasdaq: DNUT), the donut company that loves giving away tasty treats. Over the past day or so, people have been talking up DNUT stock on social media, and as a result, Krispy Kreme shares have surged. Yesterday, Krispy Kremes stock price jumped a staggering 26% in a single trading session. DNUT stock went up 87 cents per share to close at $4.13. And today the stock is surging again in premarket trading, as of the time of this writing. DNUT shares are currently up another 25%. GoPro Another moderately well-known brand name is also the newest meme stock. GoPro, Inc. (Nasdaq: GPRO), maker of the tiny portable cameras that are popular with extreme sports enthusiasts, saw its shares blast off yesterday. In Tuesdays trading session, GPRO shares leaped an asounting 41%. The companys stock price went up 39 cents per share to $1.37 by market close. And today, GPRO stock is trending even higher. As of the time of this writing, in premarket trading, GoPro shares are up another 56% to $2.14 per share. Kohls The third meme stock in this latest trinity is Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE: KSS). The clothing retailers shares jumped a massive 37% yesterday in a single trading session. During the period, KSS shares climbed $3.92 to $14.34. The volatility led to trading being temporarily halted, as CNBC reported. But as of premarket trading this morning, KSS shares arent having continued gains. The stock is currently trading flat in premarket, according to data from Yahoo Finance. Fast Company reached out to Krispy Kreme, GoPro, and Kohl’s for comment. A cautionary tale Its hard not to see single-day gains of 25% to 50% in a stock and not feel the urge to buy in. However, most financial advisors would advise against buying into a meme stock as they are considered a relatively high-risk investment. Thats because meme stocks see their prices surge due to the hype online communities build up around that stock, not due to any firm fundamentals of the company itself. This online hype often leads many to buy into the stock, causing its price to surge. But if the fundamentals of a company do not support the stocks price, the stock will most likely crash, and investors who got in at the wrong time could see their entire investment washed away. Take one of the most popular meme stocks in history, for example. People went crazy for AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AMC) in December 2020. That month, the stock was trading for around a low of $20, according to Yahoo Finance data. But then meme mania bit, and by June 2021, AMC shares were over $566 each. Yet by the next month, AMC shares had declined to $370 apiece, and by December 2021, they were in the low $40s. As of yesterdays close, AMC shares are worth $3.50 each. The lesson here is that meme stocks can surge in price rapidly, but they can fall just as rapidly, too.
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||