“Conscious Beauty. Clean Beauty. Green Beauty. Sustainable Packaging. Selfcare. Wellness. Health. Safety…” These are key buzzwords for today’s conscious-beauty consumer. She/he strives to protect the environment, prevent animal testing, ensure healthy ingredients, guarantee fairness in manufacturing and labor, and support noble social causes — all while looking beautiful. [Randa Fahmy | September 8, 2020 |…
By Kenneth Rapoza, CPA Industry Analyst Summary: If we experience a global pandemic like this again, we know two things to be true: we can’t get critical medical supplies from China when China and the rest of the world need them too. We can’t rely on our allies to get it to us when they…
By Kenneth Rapoza, CPA Industry Analyst Joe Biden wants a Green New Deal and that means installing around 500 million solar panels nationwide. Where will the majority of those solar panels be made? In the USA, or China? If Joe Biden wins, solar is expected to play a large role in fossil-free energy over his…
By Kenneth Rapoza, CPA Industry Analyst From H&M to Heinz, companies are now on notice if they are sourcing from Xinjiang, home of the Uyghur Muslim detention facilities Beijing refers to as re-education centers. Disney might be okay with filming Mulan in Xinjiang, home to hundreds of thousands of Uyghur Muslims held in detention facilities…
CPA’s Take: Good to see POTUS start to talk about decoupling from China. Ending federal contracts with companies who offshore is an important idea. President vows to end reliance on Beijing as he ratchets up anti-China rhetoric in re-election campaign [Brendan Greeley | September 7, 2020 | FT] Donald Trump raised the prospect of “decoupling”…
CPA’s Take: The first two people mentioned as Biden trade advisors, Jennifer Hillman and Miriam Sapiro, are pro-globalists that don’t care where things are made. WASHINGTON/WILMINGTON, Del., Sept. 8 (Reuters) – Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is tapping some of the most experienced trade professionals in Washington to help chart a new course on trade if…
CPA’s Take: This move is necessary. The Chinese Communist Party should not profit from the slave labor in the Uighur concentration camps. The potential move, which could come as soon as Tuesday, comes amid reports of the use of forced labor in Xinjiang, where China has carried out a crackdown against mostly Muslim minorities. [Ana Swanson…
It’s time to repatriate manufacturing and mining operations. For years, Wall Street enthused about the merits of shifting manufacturing out of the United States. Globalists on Wall Street advocated a simplistic worldview: It doesn’t matter where things are made, cheaper is better. But they overlooked the impact this would have on America’s economic and national…
The US economy gained nearly 1.4 million jobs in August, making it the fourth month in a row of over 1 million jobs added. The unemployment rate dropped to 8.4% as lockdown pressures are starting to wear off and the economy bounces back towards normal levels of output. The Private Sector Job Quality Index (JQI)…
By Kenneth Rapoza, CPA Industry Analyst The US needs a “whole-of-government” approach to re-shore production if Americans are ever going to produce what we consume. The trade deficit hit $63.5 billion in July, its highest monthly total since July 2008 ($67.0 million), though much of the deterioration is due to continued lockdowns and demand suppression…