Category: demand

Nordstrom Lowers Annual Forecast as Inflation Hits Demand

Nordstrom Inc. cuts its annual revenue and profit forecasts on Tuesday, a sign that decades-high inflation was squeezing consumer spending on its high-end clothing and footwear. Runaway inflation has prompted consumers to shift spending away from clothing and other discretionary items to groceries, hitting sales at apparel retailers and driving up inventories. That has led…


Soaring Inflation Mostly Caused by Stimulus-Fueled Demand: Study

The pandemic-era inflationary wave that has swelled into a persistent cost-of-living crisis for many Americans was driven mostly by a stimulus-fueled demand surge, though supply-side bottlenecks made the problem worse, a team of economists said in a recent study. Julian di Giovanni, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and co-author of…


Australian Wagyu Beef Production Sees Demand Outpace Supply

Australian Wagyu beef producers have seen almost a three-fold increase in demand over the past year as local and international popularity for the beef delicacy continues to grow. Managing director of Irongate Wagyu, Peter Gilmore, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that interest in his Western Australia-based company’s carcasses and genetics has tripled over the…


Consumer Belt Tightening Hobbles Demand for Solder Metal Tin

LONDON—Recession worries and consumer belt-tightening have hit demand for electronic goods, which is feeding through to weaker consumption of soldering metal tin, but output cuts mean the market is likely to be balanced this year. Expectations of large deficits had pushed tin up to a record $51,000 a ton in March, but since then COVID-19…


New Vehicle Supply to Australia Cannot Keep up With Demand

Australia’s peak body for the automotive industry has released new vehicle sales figures for June 2022, which, at 99,974 vehicles sold, show a 9.7 percent decline compared with June 2021. Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) chief executive Tony Weber said in a release on Tuesday that a combination of disrupted manufacturing due to the…


Record Number of Travelers to Hit US Roads for July 4 Weekend: AAA

A record 42 million people around the United States are expected to hit the road for trips over the July 4 Independence Day weekend, AAA said Tuesday, absorbing historically high fuel costs to crowd the highways. The average U.S. retail price of gasoline recently broke through $5 per gallon for the first time in history….


Oil Prices Climb on Supply and Demand Fundamentals

LONDON—Oil prices rose on Tuesday on high summer fuel demand while supplies remain tight because of sanctions on Russian oil after its invasion of Ukraine. Brent crude rose $1.61, or 1.4 percent, to $115.74 a barrel by 0825 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for July, which expires later on Tuesday, rose $2.29, or…


Cybersecurity in a Digital World and the War for Talent

Sophisticated cyberwarfare and rising geopolitical tensions mean that cybersecurity threats are evolving at an even faster pace, impacting entire businesses, their operations and their hard-won reputations. Major microchip and electronic powerhouses were recently hit by cyber-attacks, where parts of their businesses were completely compromised, taken offline for a few days and employee accounts exposed. Some…


Demand Shock Behind Global Bottlenecks Should Ease in Months: WTO

BRUSSELS—Global trade bottlenecks are more the result of demand spikes than supply chain snags, with pressure likely to ease in the coming months, the World Trade Organization’s chief economist said on Monday. The WTO had thought in October that demand for goods would slow early in 2022. However, that was before the Omicron variant of…


3M Sees Earnings Hit From Waning Mask Demand

Industrial giant 3M Co. on Monday forecast a slower pace of sales growth in 2022 and a 45 cent hit to its per-share earnings, as demand for its masks wanes due to the global vaccination drive against COVID-19. The company is expecting total sales growth in the range of 1 percent to 4 percent for…