CEOs tell Trump jobs exist, skills don’t
President Donald Trump brought two dozen manufacturing CEOs to the White House on Thursday and declared their collective commitment to restoring factory jobs lost to foreign competition.
But some of the CEOs suggested there were still plenty of openings for U.S. factory jobs but too few qualified people to fill them. They urged the White House to support vocational training for the high-tech skills today’s manufacturers increasingly require – a topic Trump has seldom addressed.
“The jobs are there, but the skills are not,” one executive said during meetings with White House officials that preceded a session with the president.
Taco Bell drops popular chicken-shelled chalupa
A Taco Bell treat that has a shell made entirely of fried chicken will vanish from the fast food chain’s menu despite its popularity.
Taco Bell spokesman Rob Poetsch saID the Naked Chicken Chalupa always was planned as a limited-time offer, but it has proven to be popular and exceeded the company’s expectations. A date for the end of its run hasn’t been announced.
After two years of testing, the chalupa made its national debut on Jan. 26. The shell of the sandwich looks a lot like a taco and is made with all-white chicken. It’s packed with lettuce, tomatoes, cheddar cheese and avocado ranch sauce.
Poetsch saID Taco Bell is “confident it will be returning to the menu in the future.”
NAFTA in Trump era is focus at trade forum
EL PASO, Texas – Mexican and U.S. trade industry leaders have gathered in El Paso to discuss business in the era of U.S. President Donald Trump, who says he wants renegotiate or dismantle the North American Free Trade Act.
Many at Mexico Now’s Manufacturing Supply Chain Summit on Thursday agreed the 23-year-old NAFTA trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada will be renegotiated.
Long-term mortgages rise to 4.16 percent
Long-term U.S. mortgage rates rose slightly this week, continuing a holding pattern that has prevailed this month.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the rate on 30-year, fixed-rate loans edged up to 4.16 percent from 4.15 percent last week. The benchmark rate stood at 3.62 percent a year ago and averaged 3.65 percent through 2016, the lowest level in records dating to 1971.
The rate on 15-year mortgages rose to 3.37 percent from 3.35 percent last week.
Mortgage rates surged in the weeks following President Donald Trump’s election in November. But mortgage rates reversed course in the first week of the year, falling after nine straight weeks of increases. They have moved little in the past four weeks.