Superbly concise summaries of various, interesting Wall Street Journal articles you may have missed, provided by Zach Robinson;
China still isn’t doing fair business with us
With the 100 day anniversary coming due of the Trump Administration’s saying that it was hoping to see new access for American businesses to China’s markets, the feedback from the corporate world is that the Chinese have obeyed more the letter of the law rather than its spirit. Though there have been a few openings for U.S. financial firms such as the bond traders at J.P. Morgan,, agricultural and meat producers point to continued problems in the areas of proprietary seed approvals and beef export permissions. Also, credit card companies like Visa complain about a lack of acceptance by Chinese banks. In general the rules for okaying imports into the Asian nation haven’t been clarified. It some cases, market acceptance like for a category of beef exports has been accompanied by recently imposed red tape demanding detailed record keeping, which effectively means no trade breakthrough is achieved. The second aspect of cooperation that the President Trump’s cabinet had looked forward to was an understanding on the need for help with a hostile North Korea, and this hope has similarly not been fulfilled. So it looks like what China promises with its left hand, its right hand fudges.
Company from India investing $1 billion here
A company based in India and known for making tractors, Mahindra and Mahindra Limited, plans to invest $1.0 billion in the United States over the next five years on top of an already significant presence. Its chairman and managing director, an Indian citizen by the name of Anand Mahindra, believes the economic outlook of America is bright and that the next few years look prosperous, owing to today’s current phase of the business cycle. Mahindra and Mahindra intends to start making soon in Michigan a small utility vehicle that may be a candidate to replace the Postal Service’s fleet of mail carriers. With a design facility and factory near Detroit, the company looks forward to hiring another five thousand employees. Interestingly, Mr. Mahindra also thinks that self-driving modes of transportation will be deployed first in tractors, not automobiles; the well-known business leader is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School to boot.
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John Deere gets creative
John Deere has shifted from not only financing and leasing farm machinery to now fronting supplies like seed and fertilizer to America’s strapped agribusinesses. It’s a big change for the century old company, as it steps into the role of local banker as well as capital goods provider. With weak grain prices around the globe due to rich harvests, crop prices have fallen and with them the ability to generate working capital. It’s unclear just how successful this endeavor will be.
