Mark Gath’s farmhouse in Luverne, Minnesota, sits 30 miles down country roads from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. From that base in the heartland, Gath, a sturdy man in boots and a blue shirt, farms more than 10,000 acres of corn and soybeans with the help of his wife, Leah, and sons Dalton and Stetson. Though his farm is larger than average, he feels squeezed by low commodity prices and the rising costs of seeds, pesticides and equipment. “Everyone is scared out here,” he says.
An avocado farmer in Santa Barbara, Calif. is struggling to find laborers amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration, according to CNN.
The Trump administration’s China tariffs spared some finished goods like smartphones and washing machines, while charges on parts and components could drive up costs in the U.S. supply chain.
The queen has backed efforts to curb the use of plastics. The Church of England has encouraged a similar push. The British government plans to legislate to require it.
Challenge: Trading partners need to trust that inventory will arrive when scheduled — particularly during item promotions. Historically, location and arrival time was obtained via driver phone calls. But these projected arrival times didn’t consider traffic and weather conditions, and they were often too optimistic.
When HP’s CEO Dion Weisler talks about the importance of diversity inclusion, he really means it. The legendary company, famous for printers and PCs, has told its vendors that it expects them to “step up” to make gender and racial diversity a priority at their companies — or else — HP (HPQ) won’t do business with them.
The International Monetary Fund is warning that U.S. President Donald Trump’s new import tariffs threaten to undermine the global trading system, prompt retaliation by other countries and damage the U.S. economy.