US declines labeling China a currency manipulator
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The U.S. declined to label China a currency manipulator in a new Treasury report, but accuses Beijing of standing out among America's major trading partners for lacking transparency. Treasury's semi-annual report to Congress comes as the Trump administration seeks to strike a trade deal with China, averting a trade war that has been brewing between the two nations.
A Treasury official told reporters previewing the report that the U.S. could in the future find evidence that China is manipulating its currency and will make a determination in the fall whether China has been manipulating the renminbi, also known as RMB. The U.S. labeled China a currency manipulator in 2019.
Investors dump Tesla on bet Trump may lash out
Shares of Elon Musk's electric vehicle maker fell sharply Thursday as investors fear his dispute with President Donald Trump could end up hurting the company. Tesla closed down more than 14% as a disagreement over the U.S. president's budget bill turned nasty.
After Musk said that Trump wouldn't haven't gotten elected without his help, Trump implied that he may turn the federal government against his his companies, including Tesla and SpaceX. The drop on Thursday wiped out more than $150 billion from Tesla's market value, partially reversing a big runup in the eight weeks since Musk confirmed that Tesla would be testing an autonomous, driverless "robotaxi" service in Austin, Texas.
Procter & Gamble to cut up to 7,000 jobs
Procter & Gamble will cut up to 7,000 jobs, or approximately 6% of its global workforce, over the next two years as the maker of Tide detergent and Pampers diapers implements a restructuring program amid an environment dealing with trade wars and customers anxious about the economy.
The job cuts, announced at the Deutsche Bank Consumer Conference in Paris on Thursday, make up about 15% of its current nonmanufacturing workforce, said Chief Financial Officer Andre Schulten. The cuts are part of a broader restructuring program. Procter & Gamble will also end sales of some of its products in certain markets. Procter & Gamble said it will provide more details about that in July.
Plan to gut Job Corps centers questioned
Members of Congress and a federal judge are questioning the Trump administration's plan to shut down Job Corps centers nationwide. Job Corps is a residential career training program for low-income youth that was established more than 50 years ago.
The Department of Labor last week announced a nationwide "pause of operations" for dozens of residential Job Corps campuses run by private contractors. The department cited an internal review that concluded the program was costly and had a low success rate. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Labor Department from terminating jobs, removing students or eliminating the Job Corps program without congressional approval.
NTSB finds fuel leak, improperly installed parts
The National Transportation Safety Board found a fuel leak and several improperly installed parts inside the engine of an American Airlines plane that caught fire after the plane landed in Denver in March. The preliminary findings released Thursday don't identify the cause of the fire, and the NTSB is expected to complete its investigation sometime next year.
Former NTSB and FAA investigator Jeff Guzzetti says the problems investigators found in the engine suggest improper maintenance led to the fuel leak.