US says China broke free trade pledges
The United States has accused China of failing to meet its commitments to the World Trade Organization. The U.S. says it will explore new ways to combat aggressive Chinese trade practices.
In its annual report on Chinese compliance with WTO rules Wednesday, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative says China isn’t keeping the promises it made to open its markets to foreign competition when it joined the 164-country Geneva-based agency in 2001.
Among other things, the United States repeated longstanding accusations that China uses subsidies and regulations to favor its own companies at the expense of foreign competitors.
Stocks end mixed awaiting Fed action
Stocks shook off an early slump and ended mixed on Wall Street Wednesday after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting showed policymakers still leaning toward moving decisively to fight inflation.
The S&P 500 wound up with a gain of 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gave up 0.2% and weakness in some big technology companies pulled the Nasdaq down 0.1%. Small-company stocks rose. Treasury yields bounced around as traders tried to parse the latest update from the Fed. The 10-year Treasury yield wound up at 2.03%, just slightly below where it was late Tuesday. Crude oil prices rose.
Mexico’s avocados face fallout from violence
MEXICO CITY – Mexico’s avocado producers have used clever Super Bowl ads, an irresistible fruit and apparently insatiable appetite from U.S. consumers to separate their product from the conflictive landscape that produces it. At least that was the case until a threat to a U.S. agricultural inspector essentially shut down Mexico’s exports last week.
But as Mexican growers continue to suffer extortion from organized crime, and continue to chop down native pine forests to plant avocado orchards, another threat looms: campaigns for greener competition and perhaps even a boycott. Most advocates for more sustainable avocados stop short of calling for a boycott, but their patience is being tested.
DoorDash added users, surpassed sales forecast
DoorDash has posted better-than-expected sales for its fourth quarter thanks to its growing active-user base and an expansion of its delivery options.
The San Francisco-based delivery company said its revenue grew 34% to $1.3 billion in the October-December period. That surpassed Wall Street’s forecast. DoorDash said its DashPass members – who pay a monthly fee for unlimited free deliveries – swelled to 10 million during the quarter, up from 9 million at the end of the third quarter.
Total orders grew 35% to 369 million, also ahead of analysts’ expectations.
– Compiled by Dave Flessner