STMicroelectronics (STM) Falls on Weak Industry Outlook
STMicroelectronics dropped its share prices by 4.91 percent on Wednesday to close at $31.77 apiece as investors unloaded positions ahead of the release of its second quarter earnings performance.
STMicroelectronics N.V. (NYSE:STM) is scheduled to announce the results of its financial and operating highlights before market open on Thursday, July 24, where analysts expect the company to report $2.77 billion in revenues and earnings per share of $0.10.
Additionally, investors remained cautious amid President Donald Trump's threat last week that he would likely impose a new round of tariffs on chips and pharmaceutical products as soon as August 1, the latest deadline for the introduction of his reciprocal levies on other countries.
Close-up of Silicon Die are being Extracted from Semiconductor Wafer and Attached to Substrate by Pick and Place Machine. Computer Chip Manufacturing at Fab. Semiconductor Packaging Process.
In other news, STMicroelectronics N.V. (NYSE:STM) earned a higher price target of $50 and 'outperform' rating from investment firm Baird amid improving gross margins, silicon carbide (SiC) revenue, and the clearer path to recovery of industries that it supplies its products.
While we acknowledge the potential of STM as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the .
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USA Today
a minute ago
- USA Today
Fed likely to stand pat on interest rates, stay coy on September cut amid Trump pressure
When the Federal Reserve feels confident it's getting closer to raising or lowering interest rates based on a clear-cut outlook for the economy and inflation, it often signals its plans at the prior meeting to avoid surprising markets. Now is probably not one of those times. At a two-day meeting that concludes Wednesday, the Fed is widely expected to hold its key interest rate steady despite President Donald Trump's monthslong campaign aimed at browbeating Fed Chair Jerome Powell and his colleagues into cutting rates. At a meeting with Powell at the Fed on Thursday, Trump said he's unlikely to try to fire the Fed chief, whose term expires in May. Two of the Fed's Republican governors, Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, have backed Trump's call for a rate cut as soon as this week's meeting and they could dissent, said JPMorgan Chase economist Michael Feroli. It would mark the first time two Fed governors have dissented since 1993, Feroli said. Will the Fed reduce interest rates again? The drama, however, will center around whether Powell or the Fed's post-meeting statement will hint at a likely rate cut in September – a move that's forecast by fed fund futures markets. Investors expect a total of two rate decreases by year's end. 'It's really going to come down to Chair Powell,' said Nationwide Chief Economist Kathy Bostjancic. 'What type of…guidance does he provide?' Yet Trump's trade war has left a haze of uncertainty over the economy since January. And while the contours of his tariffs are taking shape, many of the import fees and their effects on inflation and the economy are still playing out. 'It's a long way to September,' Morgan Stanley wrote in a note to clients. 'The Fed needs more time to determine how the economy is evolving versus its goals.' In a research note, Ryan Sweet, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, said he doesn't expect the 'central bank to tip its hand, as it will want to remain flexible because of the lingering uncertainty of where tariffs will ultimately settle, the magnitude of the boost to core goods prices, and whether tariffs are bleeding into other prices.' What happens when the Fed adjusts interest rates? The Fed chops rates to lower borrowing costs and juice a flagging economy and job market. It raises rates or keeps them higher longer to curtail inflation by cooling the economy. But economists expect Trump's levies to both reignite inflation and hamper growth as cost-burdened households reduce spending, leaving officials torn between their two mandates. Powell has said the Fed is taking a wait-and-see approach to assess which tariff-related hazard poses a bigger problem. The Fed lowered its benchmark short-term rate by a percentage point late last year after a pandemic-related inflation spike eased but has since been on hold. What are the current tariffs in the US? Some of Trump's tariff plans and their effects on prices are becoming clearer. In the spring, Trump announced a 90-day pause on high double-digit reciprocal tariffs for China and many other countries, easing recession fears and reversing a stock market sell-off. White House officials extended the reprieve to Aug. 1 to provide more time for negotiations. In recent weeks, the Trump administration has announced trade deals with the UK, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Phillipines and China, but the agreements still impose relatively high duties of 15% to 30%. Earlier this month, the president announced plans to raise the tariff rate on many Canadian imports from 25% to 35% and impose a blanket 15% to 20% duty on most other countries, up from 10%. He also threatened 30% tariffs on all imports from Mexico and the European Union, though the U.S. is still negotiating with those countries. Trump also has announced a 50% tariff on imported copper and all imports from Brazil. Already in effect: a 50% levy on metals, 25% on cars and 30% on China. How are tariffs affecting inflation? For months, the fees had little effect on inflation, but they appeared to leave a bigger imprint in June as Chinese-made products got a bit more expensive, according to the consumer price index. Apparel prices rose by 0.4%; furniture, 1%; video and audio products, 1.1%; and toys, 1.8%. Overall, an underlying inflation measure the Fed follows closely ticked up from 2.8% to 2.9%, and many economists said the tariff effects were still mild. Yet that's largely because many retailers and manufacturers stocked up on goods before the fees took effect or absorbed the costs – tactics that forecasters say have run their course. Amid the uncertainty, Powell will likely take a middle-ground approach, Morgan Stanley says. The June inflation numbers 'should provide some confirmation to the (Fed) that the tariff push to inflation has begun, but not so much that would lead Powell to downplay the possibility of rate cuts this year,' Morgan Stanley wrote. How is the current economy in the USA? The economy is sending similarly mixed signals. A key measure of retail sales increased 0.5% in June. But economist Samuel Tombs of Pantheon Macroeconomics said that's largely because of rising prices. Sales volumes appeared weak, he wrote. Morgan Stanley predicts a report Wednesday will reveal the economy grew a solid 2.2% in the April-June quarter, but it traces most of the gain to a reversal of a tariff-related import surge in the first quarter that caused the economy to shrink. (Imports are subtracted from gross domestic product because they're made in foreign countries.) How is the job market in the USA now? And wWhile employers added a sturdy 147,000 jobs in June, the private sector added just 74,000, mostly in health care. For many months, job gains have been concentrated in just a few sectors – health care, state and local governments, and leisure and hospitality. That's not a good omen for overall job growth in the months ahead, Bostjancic said. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect a report Friday to show the U.S. added just 118,000 jobs in July. With the labor market slowing, tariff tensions easing and their effects on inflation still modest, Bostjancic believes Powell could warm slightly to the idea of trimming rates in September. 'I would think he can sound a little more open to cutting rates just because of the data,' Bostjancic said. She expects the average U.S. tariff to rise from about 2% earlier this year to about 20%. That, she said, would push inflation from 2.7% to 3% by December – above the Fed's 2% goal but below the 3.4% many forecasters predicted a few months ago. At the same time, she noted that Trump's attacks on Powell and the Fed's independence have caused investors to worry officials ultimately may cut rates for political – rather than sound economic – reasons, driving inflation higher. As a result, market-based measures of inflation expectations have risen in recent weeks, a trend that could push up long-term rates and ironically undermine Trump's demands for lower borrowing costs. 'I don't think he'll send a hard signal,' Bostjancic said of Powell. 'I think he'll leave it open.'
Boston Globe
a minute ago
- Boston Globe
Tariffs threaten Asian beauty product boom in US
Asian skin care has been a booming global business for a more than a decade, with consumers in Europe, North and South America, and increasingly the Middle East, snapping up creams, serums and balms from South Korea, Japan and China. In the United States and elsewhere, Korean cosmetics, or K-beauty for short, have dominated the trend. A craze for all-in-one 'BB creams' — a combination of moisturizer, foundation and sunscreen — morphed into a fascination with 10-step rituals and ingredients like snail mucin, heartleaf and rice water. Advertisement Vehicles and electronics may be South Korea's top exports to the U.S. by value, but the country shipped more skin care and cosmetics to the U.S. than any other last year, according to data from market research company Euromonitor. France, with storied beauty brands like L'Oreal and Chanel, was second, Euromonitor said. Advertisement Statistics compiled by the U.S. International Trade Commission, an independent federal agency, show the U.S. imported $1.7 billion worth of South Korean cosmetics in 2024, a 54% increase from a year earlier. 'Korean beauty products not only add a lot of variety and choice for Americans, they really embraced them because they were offering something different for American consumers,' Mary Lovely, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said. Along with media offerings such as 'Parasite' and 'Squid Games,' and the popularity of K-pop bands like BTS, K-beauty has helped boost South Korea's profile globally, she said. 'It's all part and parcel really of the same thing,' Lovely said. 'And it can't be completely stopped by a 25% tariff, but it's hard to see how it won't influence how much is sold in the U.S. And I think what we're hearing from producers is that it also really decreases the number of products they want to offer in this market.' Senti Senti, a retailer that sells international beauty products at two New York boutiques and through an e-commerce site, saw a bit of 'panic buying' by customers when Trump first imposed punitive tariffs on goods from specific countries, manager Winnie Zhong said. The rush slowed down after the president paused the new duties for 90 days and hasn't picked up again, Zhong said, even with Trump saying on July 7 that a 25% tax on imports from Japan and South Korea would go into effect on Aug. 1. Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia subsequently reached agreements with the Trump administration that lowered the tariff rates their exported goods faced — in Japan's case, from 25% to 15% — still higher than the current baseline of 10% tariff. Advertisement But South Korea has yet to clinch an agreement, despite having a free trade agreement since 2012 that allowed cosmetics and most other consumer goods to enter the U.S. tax-free. Since the first store owned by Senti Senti opened 16 years ago, beauty products from Japan and South Korea became more of a focus and now account for 90% the stock. The business hasn't had to pass on any tariff-related costs to customers yet, but that won't be possible if the products are subject to a 25% import tax, Zhong said. 'I'm not really sure where the direction of K-beauty will go to with the tariffs in place, because one of the things with K-beauty or Asian beauty is that it's supposed to be accessible pricing,' she said. Devoted fans of Asian cosmetics will often buy direct from Asia and wait weeks for their packages to arrive because the products typically cost less than they do in American stores. Rather than stocking up on their favorite sunscreens, lip tints and toners, some shoppers are taking a pause due to the tariff uncertainty. Los Angeles resident Jen Chae, a content creator with over 1.2 million YouTube subscribers, has explored Korean and Japanese beauty products and became personally intrigued by Chinese beauty brands over the last year. When the tariffs were first announced, Chae temporarily paused ordering from sites such as a shopping platform owned by an e-commerce company based in Hong Kong. She did not know if she would have to pay customs duties on the products she bought or the ones brands sent to her as a creator. Advertisement 'I wasn't sure if those would automatically charge the entire package with a blanket tariff cost, or if it was just on certain items,' Chae said. On its website, YesStyle says it will give customers store credit to reimburse them for import charges. At Ohlolly, an online store focused on Korean products, owners Sue Greene and Herra Namhie are taking a similar pause. They purchase direct from South Korea and from licensed wholesalers in the U.S., and store their inventory in a warehouse in Ontario, California. After years of no duties, a 25% import tax would create a 'huge increase in costs to us,' Namhie said. She and Greene made two recent orders to replenish their stock when the tariffs were at 10%. But they have put further restocks on hold 'because I don't think we can handle 25%,' Namhie said. They'd have to raise prices, and then shoppers might go elsewhere. The business owners and sisters are holding out on hope the U.S. and Korea settle on a lower tariff or carve out exceptions for smaller ticket items like beauty products. But they only have two to four months of inventory in their warehouse. They say that in a month they'll have to make a decision on what products to order, what to discontinue and what prices will have to increase. Rachel Weingarten, a former makeup artist who writes a daily beauty newsletter called 'Hello Gorgeous!,' said while she's devoted to K-beauty products like lip masks and toner pads, she doesn't think stockpiling is a sound practice. 'Maybe one or two products, but natural oils, vulnerable packaging and expiration dates mean that your products could go rancid before you can get to them,' she said. Advertisement Weingarten said she'll still buy Korean products if prices go up, but that the beauty world is bigger than one country. 'I'd still indulge in my favorites, but am always looking for great products in general,' she said. Bhasin, in Menlo Park, California, plans to keep buying her face masks too, even if the price goes up, because she likes the quality of Korean masks. 'If prices will go up, I will not shift to U.S. products,' she said. 'For face masks, I feel there are not a ton of solid and reliable substitutes in the U.S.' AP audience engagement editor Karena Phan in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
San Francisco Chronicle
a minute ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Tariffs threaten Asian beauty product boom in US
NEW YORK (AP) — When Amrita Bhasin, 24, learned that products from South Korea might be subject to a new tax when they entered the United States, she decided to stock up on the sheet masks from Korean brands like U-Need and MediHeal she uses a few times a week. 'I did a recent haul to stockpile,' she said. 'I bought 50 in bulk, which should last me a few months.' South Korea is one of the countries that hopes to secure a trade deal before the Aug. 1 date President Donald Trump set for enforcing nation-specific tariffs. A not-insignificant slice of the U.S. population has skin in the game when it comes to Seoul avoiding a 25% duty on its exports. Asian skin care has been a booming global business for a more than a decade, with consumers in Europe, North and South America, and increasingly the Middle East, snapping up creams, serums and balms from South Korea, Japan and China. In the United States and elsewhere, Korean cosmetics, or K-beauty for short, have dominated the trend. A craze for all-in-one 'BB creams' — a combination of moisturizer, foundation and sunscreen — morphed into a fascination with 10-step rituals and ingredients like snail mucin, heartleaf and rice water. Vehicles and electronics may be South Korea's top exports to the U.S. by value, but the country shipped more skin care and cosmetics to the U.S. than any other last year, according to data from market research company Euromonitor. France, with storied beauty brands like L'Oreal and Chanel, was second, Euromonitor said. Statistics compiled by the U.S. International Trade Commission, an independent federal agency, show the U.S. imported $1.7 billion worth of South Korean cosmetics in 2024, a 54% increase from a year earlier. 'Korean beauty products not only add a lot of variety and choice for Americans, they really embraced them because they were offering something different for American consumers,' Mary Lovely, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said. Along with media offerings such as 'Parasite' and 'Squid Games,' and the popularity of K-pop bands like BTS, K-beauty has helped boost South Korea's profile globally, she said. 'It's all part and parcel really of the same thing,' Lovely said. 'And it can't be completely stopped by a 25% tariff, but it's hard to see how it won't influence how much is sold in the U.S. And I think what we're hearing from producers is that it also really decreases the number of products they want to offer in this market.' Senti Senti, a retailer that sells international beauty products at two New York boutiques and through an e-commerce site, saw a bit of 'panic buying' by customers when Trump first imposed punitive tariffs on goods from specific countries, manager Winnie Zhong said. The rush slowed down after the president paused the new duties for 90 days and hasn't picked up again, Zhong said, even with Trump saying on July 7 that a 25% tax on imports from Japan and South Korea would go into effect on Aug. 1. Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia subsequently reached agreements with the Trump administration that lowered the tariff rates their exported goods faced — in Japan's case, from 25% to 15% — still higher than the current baseline of 10% tariff. But South Korea has yet to clinch an agreement, despite having a free trade agreement since 2012 that allowed cosmetics and most other consumer goods to enter the U.S. tax-free. Since the first store owned by Senti Senti opened 16 years ago, beauty products from Japan and South Korea became more of a focus and now account for 90% the stock. The business hasn't had to pass on any tariff-related costs to customers yet, but that won't be possible if the products are subject to a 25% import tax, Zhong said. 'I'm not really sure where the direction of K-beauty will go to with the tariffs in place, because one of the things with K-beauty or Asian beauty is that it's supposed to be accessible pricing,' she said. Devoted fans of Asian cosmetics will often buy direct from Asia and wait weeks for their packages to arrive because the products typically cost less than they do in American stores. Rather than stocking up on their favorite sunscreens, lip tints and toners, some shoppers are taking a pause due to the tariff uncertainty. Los Angeles resident Jen Chae, a content creator with over 1.2 million YouTube subscribers, has explored Korean and Japanese beauty products and became personally intrigued by Chinese beauty brands over the last year. When the tariffs were first announced, Chae temporarily paused ordering from sites such as a shopping platform owned by an e-commerce company based in Hong Kong. She did not know if she would have to pay customs duties on the products she bought or the ones brands sent to her as a creator. 'I wasn't sure if those would automatically charge the entire package with a blanket tariff cost, or if it was just on certain items,' Chae said. On its website, YesStyle says it will give customers store credit to reimburse them for import charges. At Ohlolly, an online store focused on Korean products, owners Sue Greene and Herra Namhie are taking a similar pause. They purchase direct from South Korea and from licensed wholesalers in the U.S., and store their inventory in a warehouse in Ontario, California. After years of no duties, a 25% import tax would create a 'huge increase in costs to us,' Namhie said. She and Greene made two recent orders to replenish their stock when the tariffs were at 10%. But they have put further restocks on hold "because I don't think we can handle 25%,' Namhie said. They'd have to raise prices, and then shoppers might go elsewhere. The business owners and sisters are holding out on hope the U.S. and Korea settle on a lower tariff or carve out exceptions for smaller ticket items like beauty products. But they only have two to four months of inventory in their warehouse. They say that in a month they'll have to make a decision on what products to order, what to discontinue and what prices will have to increase. Rachel Weingarten, a former makeup artist who writes a daily beauty newsletter called 'Hello Gorgeous!,' said while she's devoted to K-beauty products like lip masks and toner pads, she doesn't think stockpiling is a sound practice. 'Maybe one or two products, but natural oils, vulnerable packaging and expiration dates mean that your products could go rancid before you can get to them,' she said. Weingarten said she'll still buy Korean products if prices go up, but that the beauty world is bigger than one country. 'I'd still indulge in my favorites, but am always looking for great products in general,' she said. Bhasin, in Menlo Park, California, plans to keep buying her face masks too, even if the price goes up, because she likes the quality of Korean masks.
