Biden eases solar tariffs to boost U.S. production
President Joe Biden ordered emergency measures Monday to increase U.S. manufacturing of solar panels and declared a two-year tariff exemption on panels from Southeast Asia as he attempted to jump-start an industry key to his climate change-fighting goals.
His invoking of the Defense Production Act and other executive actions comes amid complaints by industry groups that the solar sector is being slowed by supply chain problems due to an ongoing Commerce Department inquiry into possible trade violations involving Chinese products.
The Commerce Department announced in March that it was scrutinizing imports of solar panels from Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia, concerned that products from those countries are skirting U.S. anti-dumping rules that limit imports from China.
Solar energy companies gained ground in morning trading Monday on Wall Street.
White House officials said Biden's actions aim to increase domestic production of solar panel parts, building installation materials, high-efficiency heat pumps and other components like cells used for clean-energy generated fuels. They called the tariff suspension affecting imports from Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia a bridge measure while other efforts increase domestic solar power production — even as the administration remains supportive of U.S. trade laws and the Commerce Department investigation.
Scores of newer tech IPOs losing steam in bear market
The bear market has not been kind to the scores of technology companies that went public in the U.S. during the pandemic when issuers rushed to market while demand was hot and valuations soaring.
More than 80% of tech-related initial public offerings since March 2020 are trading below their listing price, according to data compiled by Bloomberg that looked at IPOs of at least $500 million.
The losers include some of the most-anticipated IPOs of the past couple of years, such as online brokerage firm Robinhood Markets in Menlo Park, electric-vehicle maker Rivian Automotive in Rivian, dating service Bumble and language learning app Duolingo.
The performance reflects investors' sudden loss of appetite for the riskiest stocks, triggered by the Federal Reserve's efforts to control inflation by raising interest rates. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index has slumped nearly 24% since its November record, while the broader S&P 500 has fallen by half that in the same period.
“There will be a time when speculation comes back into fashion, but right now you have to hunker down and realize that things change and that you can't use the same strategy all the time,” said Mark Grant, chief global strategist at Colliers Securities.
U.S. jobless claims rise during Memorial Day holiday week
Applications for U.S. state unemployment insurance rose by the most in nearly a year during the week that included the Memorial Day holiday.
Initial unemployment claims climbed broadly across states by 27,000 to 229,000 in the week ended June 4, Labor Department data showed Thursday.
The figure topped all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists. On an unadjusted basis, claims rose by about 1,000.
Continuing claims for state benefits held at 1.3 million in the week ended May 28.
The jobless claims data, which can be choppy from week to week, tend to be especially volatile around holidays. The four-week moving average, which smooths out such swings, rose by 8,000 to 215,000. It's been creeping higher.