President Donald Trump suggested on Tuesday that he would likely extend a deadline for TikTok’s Chinese owner to divest the popular video sharing app.

Trump had signed an order in early April to keep TikTok running for another 75 days after a potential deal to sell the app to American owners was put on ice.

“Probably yeah, yeah,” he responded when asked by reporters on Air Force One whether the deadline would be extended again.

“Probably have to get China approval but I think we’ll get it. I think President Xi will ultimately approve it.”

He indicated in an interview last month with NBC that he would be open to pushing back the deadline again. If it happens, it would be third time that the deadline has been extended.

By Edward Russell
Special to The Washington Post

Travel writer Harriet Baskas faced a dilemma for her 20th wedding anniversary.

An assignment to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport would see her miss the milestone with her husband and, while they had no standing traditions at home, a couples weekend package at the new Grand Hyatt DFW was enticing.

What if, she thought, he joined her for the trip to spend time together in an unconventional date spot?

That’s exactly what they did, taking a gourmet cooking class, enjoying the restaurants and soaking in the views of one of the world’s busiest airports.

That stay kicked off a tradition that has taken Baskas and her husband to an airport hotel roughly every five years, in places including Denver, Nashville and Vancouver.

Her favorite? The Westin Denver International Airport, where they watched “Top Gun” on the plaza.

“That was just a big treat to watch an aviation-themed movie at the airport outside our hotel,” she said.

Airport hotels are no longer dominated by the staid, cheap, bed-for-a-night abodes that were standard for so many decades. New accommodations hark back to the luxury of early aviation, featuring top-notch amenities that are enjoyable for weary vacationers, road warriors and even locals.

The TWA Hotel at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport features a high-end bar where aviation-themed drinks are a must. The rooftop pool at the Grand Hyatt DFW features sweeping views of the surrounding airport. And workouts in the high-floor gym at the Denver airport Westin come with a view of the Rocky Mountains.

From early practicality to modern amenities

The idea of an airport hotel dates to the origins of air travel itself, when those who could afford to fly faced long, multi-stop trips. A New York-to-Los Angeles flight on TWA in 1936 took more than 15 hours, according to a schedule from the time. Weather and other delays were common and often could require an overnight stay en route.

The Dearborn Inn was one of those early abodes, said Ted Ryan, an archivist at Ford Motor Co. Others included the Aerodrome Hotel at Britain’s Croydon Airport and the Oakland Airport Inn in California.

The Dearborn Inn opened adjacent to the former Ford Airport in Michigan in July 1931. The stately Georgian-style building designed by Albert Kahn served as an overnight respite for fliers and crews until the airport closed in 1947.

The hotel is still operating, though, and a recently completed multimillion-dollar, two-year renovation highlighted its aviation heritage.

Julie Mendola, who oversees real estate projects for Ford and worked on the renovation, said one feature reimagines a tradition from the company’s founder.

“Previously, when individuals traveled, Henry Ford would give them a boarding pass,” Mendola said. “We took the original phone booth (that) sits just off the lobby. When you step in you can actually print, email or text yourself a digital boarding pass.”

The “boarding pass” features your photo and a vintage aviation-themed background, Mendola said.

Between the Dearborn Inn’s “Americana” luxury, as a 1937 brochure put it, and today’s posh Hyatts and Westins was a long period of basic airport accommodations that served a need and not much else.

Henry Harteveldt, a travel-industry analyst at Atmosphere Research Group, noted the introduction of jumbo jets, such as Boeing’s 747 and the McDonnell Douglas DC-10, as a turning point for airport hotels. A lot more people could afford to fly on these new planes that seated hundreds of passengers.

“That really led to a growth in the number of (hotel) properties near an airport and a variety of properties near an airport,” he said.

One important cohort was business travelers. While earlier work trips involved a stay downtown or near a factory, the advent of mass air travel meant corporate fliers could go somewhere just for a meeting at the airport. And they needed a place to stay.

The Hilton Chicago O’Hare Airport Hotel catered to these road warriors. It opened in 1973 as one of the first hotels connected to an airport terminal, and it featured rooms that Architecture Plus magazine described at the time as “a good cut above standard practice.”

The growing demand for airport hotels attracted global brands — Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott — that brought a standard look and feel to properties, Harteveldt said, contributing to the sector’s staid reputation.

Pricey convenience

Stacey Stegman, a spokesperson for Denver International Airport, said feedback on the Westin is generally positive, but it does get one frequent complaint.

“People love the convenience; they love the quality,” she said. “The only negative thing I typically hear is that it can be pricey at times.”

Travelers do have the option of cheaper hotels near the Denver airport. There are more than a dozen accommodations a little more than five miles from the terminal, with rates as low as $100 a night, Google Maps shows. But none of these offer the convenience and ease of the Westin that is steps from baggage claim.

Newer, more sophisticated airport hotels are relatively expensive and popular.

The Grand Hyatt at SFO, which opened in 2019, is full more than 80% of the time, the San Francisco International Airport spokesman Doug Yakel said. The cheapest room for a one-night stay on a recent Friday was $340, according to the hotel’s website.

And a top amenity for aviation enthusiasts? The views.

Harteveldt said the views of Los Angeles International Airport from the Hyatt Regency LAX, his favorite airport hotel, are excellent. That includes the one from the gym at the top of the hotel.

“That makes a workout more fun for an AV geek like me,” he said.

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By PAUL WISEMAN, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s trade wars are expected to slash economic growth this year in the United States and around the world, the World Bank forecast Tuesday.

Citing “a substantial rise in trade barriers’’ but without mentioning Trump by name, the 189-country lender predicted that the U.S. economy – the world’s largest – would grow half as fast (1.4%) this year as it did in 2024 (2.8%). That marked a downgrade from the 2.3% U.S. growth it had forecast back for 2025 back in January.

The bank also lopped 0.4 percentage points off its forecast for global growth this year. It now expects the world economy to expand just 2.3% in 2025, down from 2.8% in 2024.

In a forward to the latest version of the twice-yearly Global Economic Prospects report, World Bank chief economist Indermit Gill wrote that the global economy has missed its chance for the “soft landing’’ — slowing enough to tame inflation without generating serious pain — it appeared headed for just six months ago. “The world economy today is once more running into turbulence,” Gill wrote. “Without a swift course correction, the harm to living standards could be deep.’’

America’s economic prospects have been clouded by Trump’s erratic and aggressive trade policies, including 10% taxes — tariffs — on imports from almost every country in the world. These levies drive up costs in the U.S. and invite retaliation from other countries.

The Chinese economy is forecast to see growth slow from 5% in 2024 to 4.5% this year and 4% next. The world’s second-largest economy has been hobbled by the tariffs that Trump has imposed on its exports, by the collapse of its real estate market and by an aging workforce.

The World Bank expects the 20 European countries that share the euro currency to collectively grow just 0.7% this year, down from an already lackluster 0.9% in 2024. Trump’s tariffs are expected to hurt European exports. And the unpredictable way he rolls them out — announcing them, suspending them, coming up with new ones — has created uncertainty that discourages business investment.

India is once again expected to the be world’s fastest-growing major economy, expanding at a 6.3% clip this year. But that’s down from 6.5% in 2024 and from the 6.7% the bank had forecast for 2025 in January. In Japan, economic growth is expected to accelerate this year – but only from 0.2% in 2024 to a sluggish 0.7% this year, well short of the 1.2% the World Bank had forecast in January.

The World Bank seeks to reduce poverty and boost living standards by providing grants and low-rate loans to poor economies.

Another multinational organization that seeks to promote global prosperity — the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development — last week downgraded its forecast for the U.S. and global economies.

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE The Associated Press

CUPERTINO, Calif. — After stumbling out of the starting gate in Big Tech’s pivotal race to capitalize on artificial intelligence, Apple tried to regain its footing Monday during an annual developers conference that focused mostly on incremental advances and cosmetic changes in its technology.

The presummer rite, which attracted thousands of developers from nearly 60 countries to Apple’s Silicon Valley headquarters, was subdued compared with the feverish anticipation that surrounded the event in the last two years.

Apple highlighted plans for more AI tools designed to simplify people’s lives and make its products even more intuitive. It also provided an early glimpse at the biggest redesign of its iPhone software in a decade. In doing so, Apple executives refrained from issuing bold promises of breakthroughs that punctuated recent conferences, prompting CFRA analyst Angelo Zino to deride the event as a “dud” in a research note.

More AI, but what about Siri?

In 2023, Apple unveiled a mixed-reality headset that has been little more than a niche product, and last year WWDC trumpeted its first major foray into the AI craze with an array of new features highlighted by the promise of a smarter and more versatile version of its virtual assistant, Siri — a goal that has yet to be realized.

“This work needed more time to reach our high-quality bar,” Craig Federighi, Apple’s top software executive, said Monday at the outset of the conference. The company didn’t provide a precise timetable for when Siri’s AI upgrade will be finished but indicated it won’t happen until next year at the earliest.

“The silence surrounding Siri was deafening,” said Forrester Research analyst Dipanjan Chatterjee said. “No amount of text corrections or cute emojis can fill the yawning void of an intuitive, interactive AI experience that we know Siri will be capable of when ready. We just don’t know when that will happen. The end of the Siri runway is coming up fast, and Apple needs to lift off.”

Is Apple, with its ‘liquid glass,’ still a trendsetter?

The showcase unfolded amid nagging questions about whether Apple has lost some of the mystique and innovative drive that has made it a tech trendsetter during its nearly 50-year history.

Instead of making a big splash as it did with the Vision Pro headset and its AI suite, Apple took a mostly low-key approach that emphasized its effort to spruce up the look of its software with a new design called “Liquid Glass” while also unveiling a new hub for its video games and new features like a “Workout Buddy” to help manage physical fitness.

Apple executives promised to make its software more compatible with the increasingly sophisticated computer chips that have been powering its products while also making it easier to toggle between the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

“Our product experience has become even more seamless and enjoyable,” Apple CEO Tim Cook told the crowd as the 90-minute showcase wrapped up.

IDC analyst Francisco Jeronimo said Apple seemed to be largely using Monday’s conference to demonstrate the company still has a blueprint for success in AI, even if it’s going to take longer to realize the vision that was presented a year ago.

“This year’s event was not about disruptive innovation, but rather careful calibration, platform refinement and developer enablement —positioning itself for future moves rather than unveiling game-changing technologies,” Jeronimo said.

Apple’s next operating system will be iOS 26

Besides redesigning its software. Apple will switch to a method that automakers have used to telegraph their latest car models by linking them to the year after they first arrive at dealerships. That means the next version of the iPhone operating system due out this autumn will be known as iOS 26 instead of iOS 19 — as it would be under the previous naming approach that has been used since the device’s 2007 debut.

The iOS 26 upgrade is expected to be released in September around the same time Apple traditionally rolls out the next iPhone models.

Playing catchup in AI

Apple opened the proceedings with a short video clip featuring Federighi speeding around a track in a Formula 1 race car. Although it was meant to promote the June 27 release of the Apple film, “F1” starring Brad Pitt, the segment could also be viewed as an unintentional analogy to the company’s attempt to catch up to the rest of the pack in AI technology.

While some of the new AI tricks compatible with the latest iPhones began rolling out late last year as part of free software updates, the delays in a souped-up Siri became so glaring that the chastened company stopped promoting it in its marketing campaigns earlier this year.

While Apple has been struggling to make AI that meets its standards, the gap separating it from other tech powerhouses is widening. Google keeps packing more AI into its Pixel smartphone lineup while introducing more of the technology into its search engine to dramatically change the way it works. Samsung, Apple’s biggest smartphone rival, is also leaning heavily into AI. Meanwhile, ChatGPT recently struck a deal that will bring former Apple design guru Jony Ive into the fold to work on a new device expected to compete against the iPhone.

Regulatory and trade challenges

Besides grappling with innovation challenges, Apple also faces regulatory threats that could siphon away billions of dollars in revenue that help finance its research and development. A federal judge is currently weighing whether proposed countermeasures to Google’s illegal monopoly in search should include a ban on long-running deals worth $20 billion annually to Apple while another federal judge recently banned the company from collecting commissions on in-app transactions processed outside its once-exclusive payment system.

On top of all that, Apple has been caught in the crosshairs of President Donald Trump’s trade war with China, a key manufacturing hub for the Cupertino, California, company. Cook successfully persuaded Trump to exempt the iPhone from tariffs during the president’s first administration, but he has had less success during Trump’s second term, which seems more determined to prod Apple to make its products in the U.S.

The multidimensional gauntlet facing Apple is spooking investors, causing the company’s stock price to plunge by 20% so far this year — a decline that has erased about $750 billion in shareholder wealth. After beginning the year as the most valuable company in the world, Apple now ranks third behind longtime rival Microsoft, another AI leader, and AI chipmaker Nvidia.

Apple’s shares closed down by more than 1% on Monday — an early indication the company’s latest announcements didn’t inspire investors.

By DAN FRIO, Edmunds

If you wanted a midsize truck 10 years ago, your choices included an aging Toyota Tacoma or an even older Nissan Frontier design. Today, renewed versions of the Chevrolet Colorado, Ford Ranger and Honda Ridgeline have revitalized the segment enough to have spawned a new compact pickup class, led by the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz.

They approach light-duty truck utility from different angles. Although it offers a wildly fuel-efficient hybrid engine, the Maverick, with robust towing and hauling limits, plus its bouncy ride and barren interior, is a more conventional pickup. The Santa Cruz is classier and more comfortable, more SUV than truck. It can tow more than the Ford, but it lacks the heavy hauling strength. The best one for buyers really comes down to intended use.

Power and fuel economy

Both the Maverick and Santa Cruz start with four-cylinder engines rated at 191 horsepower. Neither truck is quick, but both are capable. Importantly, the Maverick is a hybrid that delivers an impressive 38 mpg combined, and we even squeezed out a few extra mpg in our real-world testing. The Santa Cruz isn’t a hybrid but gets up to 25 mpg combined (22 city/30 highway). Adding all-wheel drive shaves the estimates for both trucks by 1 mpg.

Both models offer optional turbo engines for better performance. The Maverick can dash from 0 to 60 mph in 6.6 seconds with its 250-horsepower four-cylinder, while the Santa Cruz is nearly as swift (6.8 seconds) with its 281-horsepower engine. The turbo trucks are also more evenly matched at the pump. The turbo Maverick gets an EPA-estimated 23-25 mpg combined, which we confirmed in our real-world testing, while the Santa Cruz actually outperformed its 21-22 mpg combined EPA rating with 29 mpg in our tests.

Winner: Maverick

Towing and payload

Properly equipped, the Maverick can tow up to 4,000 pounds, plenty for a small pop-up or travel trailer, or a couple of dirt bikes with a trailer and fuel, but doing so requires the pricier turbo engine. (The hybrid is limited to 2,000 pounds.) The Santa Cruz is rated at a more robust 5,000 pounds with its turbo engine or 3,500 pounds with its base engine. One thousand pounds isn’t much when comparing big trucks, but it’s a sizable advantage for a compact pickup.

The Maverick’s 1,500-pound payload capacity — fuel, passengers and bed weight combined — edges out the Santa Cruz’s rating of 1,411 pounds, and the Ford’s slightly longer bed improves utility. The Maverick also offers a trailering package — hitch, wiring harness and trailer brake controller — from the factory. For the Santa Cruz, you’d need to source aftermarket components. Since both trucks are capable in different ways, this choice comes down to specific use cases.

Winner: tie

Off-road capability

Neither truck offers serious off-road hardware, although the Maverick comes close. Both can handle a rutted trail or fire road thanks to optional all-wheel drive, a measure of body armor, and roughly 8.5 inches of ground clearance. The Santa Cruz XRT trim includes all-terrain tires, front tow hooks and a surround-view monitor to enhance visibility, but the Maverick Tremor trim is the best choice for dirt work.

The Tremor comes with even higher ground clearance, a specially tuned suspension and locking rear differential, underbody skid plates, and modes that optimize speed and traction for different terrain. But the pricey Tremor ($42,690) isn’t the only way to go off-road. The optional FX4 package for the Maverick XLT trim offers several of the same features for less money.

Winner: Maverick

Comfort, tech and value

If you expect a truck-like ride, the Maverick doesn’t disappoint. It jostles along like a basic work truck, its street-oriented Lobo trim the only exception. The Santa Cruz feels like a Mercedes by comparison, with a softer, controlled ride more typical of a crossover. The theme continues in the cabin, which feels fresher and more upmarket than the Maverick’s plastic expanse.

Both trucks come with large touchscreens — 13.2-inch in the Maverick, 12.3-inch in the Santa Cruz — underpinned by clean user interfaces and responsive software. But the Hyundai’s extra standard and optional driver aids, including adaptive cruise control, give it an edge. You can also get more optional creature comforts with the Santa Cruz, such as ventilated seats and leather upholstery. Both trucks cost nearly the same, with the Maverick starting at $29,840 (including destination) and the Santa Cruz at $30,200. The latter’s classier features give it an edge here.

Winner: Santa Cruz

Edmunds says

Get the Maverick if you need typical truck muscle or excellent fuel economy. Get the Santa Cruz if you want classier crossover comfort or need to tow heavier loads.

This story was provided to The Associated Press by the automotive website Edmunds.

Dan Frio is a contributor at Edmunds.

By Breana Noble and Owen McCarthy, The Detroit News

Consumers’ hunger for new vehicles persisted in May, but affordability concerns could cool sales in June as dealerships start running short on cars and SUVs delivered ahead of President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs.

In May, Ford’s U.S. sales increased 16% year-over-year while Hyundai’s grew 8% and Kia’s rose 5%. Subaru and Mazda Motor Corp., however, reported declines of 10% and 19%, respectively. General Motors and Stellantis will report second-quarter sales next month.

Spring typically marks a surge in vehicle sales, as tax returns hit bank accounts and the weather warms up. But consumer sentiment has plunged to some of its lowest levels in decades amid frequently changing rules on tariffs, and concerns that new vehicle prices could climb later this year. It has led some consumers to purchase vehicles sooner than they had planned.

S&P Global Mobility forecasted May sales up 2% compared to a year ago, but predicted sales were slowing to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 15.7 million vehicles, down from 17.6 million from March to April.

“Consumer confidence is down, but the sales are not,” said Stephanie Brinley, associate director of research and analysis at S&P’s AutoIntelligence. “It doesn’t usually work that way.”

With inventories down and non-tariffed models moving off lots, the “affordability bullet has not come through yet. There’s a little bit of wait-and-see for what automakers really do,” Brinley added, noting June could start revealing the direction companies choose to take.

Some have given consumers confidence that they can wait a bit. Ford, through the July 4 weekend, is offering its customers thousands of dollars per vehicle in discounts typically reserved for its employees. In early May, however, it did increase prices by up to $2,000 forf its Mexico-built vehicles because of tariffs.

Stellantis — the parent of Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram and other brands — is offering a similar employee discount program, which it has been extended through June. Volkswagen has said it will hold to its current manufacturer’s suggested retail prices through June. GM CEO Mary Barra has said the automaker doesn’t expect major price increases.

But vehicle imports are expected to slow, which will mean less availability and price increases, said Charlie Chesbrough, a senior economist at Cox Automotive Inc.

“As more tariffed products replace existing inventory over the summer,” he said, in a May forecast, “prices are expected to be pushed higher, leading to slower sales in the coming months.”

Some dealers are already noticing wariness. “I haven’t seen people this cautious since before, or during, the early stages of COVID,” said Jim Walen, the owner of Stellantis and Hyundai showrooms in Seattle.

The ports in Seattle look “empty,” he said. Layoffs by Microsoft in the state of Washington haven’t helped business either. Stellantis’ employee discount program, however, is a boon: “Anytime you can affect the transaction price, it’s a good thing.”

Meanwhile, some dealers are planning to pull back over revenue concerns, Walen said, but he’s taking a different approach: “We’re very aggressive. We stock a lot, we’re part of the community, we advertise a lot.”

While some May sales are occurring over tariff concerns, other shoppers are dropping out of the market altogether, said Ivan Drury, director of insights at auto information website Edmunds.com. It may still be too early to determine if the circumstances will affect vehicle segments as some customers hold off rather than get a vehicle without certain features.

There are also differing views on tariffs, how they work and the impact they will have, Drury added: “Not everybody’s on the same page.”

But there are trends. More consumers bought out their leases in May than in April, rather than leasing again. That could be a sign customers are seeking to limit increases to their monthly payments, but it also means they’re stepping out of the market, Drury said.

He added that while inventory is declining there’s still too much stock — more than 2.5 million vehicles are on dealer lots — to see substantial price increases.

“The last time when we had people really get hit with price increases, where it took them back, was when we were down to 1 million units,” Drury said. “And that’s where you start to see that crossover between consumers getting a deal versus consumers just dealing and saying, ‘OK, fine, I’ll pay MSRP. I’ll pay above.’”

The share of electric vehicles in the market was forecasted to continue slipping. EV’s accounted for about 7% of sales in March and April, and S&P Global Mobility predicts it would be 6.8% in May. Ford EV sales in May were down by a quarter, driven by decreases in the F-150 Lightning pickup and Transit commercial van.

Trump has pulled federal funding for EV charging infrastructure and directed his administration to reevaluate greenhouse gas tailpipe emission regulations and incentives that could be construed as an “EV mandate.” The U.S. Senate last month also removed a waiver that enabled California and a contingent of states to enforce stricter zero-emission requirements on passenger vehicle sales. The result is an uncertain policy environment around EVs.

“They’ve been trending a little bit down the whole year,” Brinley said. “It may be some people looking for an EV in January bought, expecting the incentives to go away, but they’re not afraid of that anymore.”

Rhett Ricart, who has eight new-vehicle stores for Ford and Chevrolet to Nissan and Mitsubishi in and near Columbus, Ohio, said tariffs and policy changes are on the minds of EV buyers, but he otherwise describes sales as normal.

“A possible tariff scare … doesn’t seem to exist,” Ricart said, adding about expectations that Trump or the judicial system will offer some clarity on import taxes. “For any jitteriness, we will hopefully find out if the tariffs stick soon.”

A Reddit user recently asked for advice on ways to stop thinking about money nonstop.

It’s hard, the user explained, to avoid fixating on personal finances. Comparing yourself to others can be tempting, even though doing so doesn’t feel good or productive.

Other users jumped in to offer tips, such as talking to a therapist, finding a new hobby, scaling back on social media and saving enough for a sufficient safety net.

Financial experts say focusing on your own financial plan is the best way to avoid thinking too much about what other people might be doing.

Make a plan

“Something about having a plan in place takes a lot of the stress off,” says Dwayne Reinike, a certified financial planner and founder of Valiant Financial Planning in Kirkland, Washington.

Similar to how writing down everything on your to-do list can make it easier to sleep at night, he says creating a basic financial plan allows you to relax. That plan can include a budget, retirement goals and other savings targets.

You might hear that the markets are down or concerns about a coming recession, “but it’s OK, because you have a plan,” Reinike says.

Pick one goal to focus on

Picking one goal to focus on — such as saving up for a house or setting limits for spending — can give you a greater sense of control over your financial life, says Stephanie Loeffel, a CFP and founder of Ascend Financial in the Boston area.

If you don’t have a goal to guide you, she says, then it’s easy to bounce between different ideas based on the day’s news. If interest rates fall, you might wonder if you should buy a house. If the stock market fluctuates, you may question whether it’s time to shift your retirement investments.

She recommends zeroing in on what you can control: your own spending, saving and other financial habits.

“You take the emotion out of the equation and it’s easier to not obsess about the noise around you,” Loeffel says.

Designate a specific time to focus on money

Setting aside time at least once a year to map your financial plans can ease your mind the rest of the time.

Use that time to think about what you want to achieve with your money. You can also set short-term and long-term goals, says Reinike.

“If you have your emergency fund set up and on auto-deposit, then you can go a year or so without thinking about it,” he says. (You may want to conduct quick check-ins throughout the year to check for any errors.)

Similarly, a retirement savings account with automatic deposits from your paycheck doesn’t need to be constantly monitored.

If unexpected events pop up, such as a new baby or a job loss, then you can revisit those plans and adjust. Otherwise, you can maintain your current course.

“People tend to make changes when they’re really happy or really upset, and that’s not the time to make changes. It’s the time to stick with the plan you already established,” Reinike says.

Build up savings and pay off debt

Another way to gain more control over your finances is to double down on saving money and paying off debt, Loeffel says. Many of her clients are surprised about their expenses once they start tracking them.

Monitoring your cash flow for six months is a good place to start. Then, make adjustments to eventually achieve a goal of putting around 10% into savings. That can help build up an emergency fund.

“Once you have an emergency fund, you’re not as vulnerable,” Loeffel says.

That makes it easier to worry less about negative events that can hurt your finances.

“It takes away that emotional vulnerability because you have a cushion and you have control,” she says.

Similarly, paying off debt is something you can control. You can make a plan for paying off debt — perhaps using the avalanche or snowball method — then watch your progress as the weeks tick by, Loeffel says.

The avalanche method involves paying the debt with the highest interest rate first. The snowball method refers to building momentum by paying off the smallest debt balances first.

Avoid comparisons to others

“Compare yourself to the you of yesterday, not everyone else,” suggests Reinike.

Just as in sports, you should strive for a personal best — not necessarily doing better than others.

You really can’t compare your financial situation to others based on social media. Posts don’t tell the whole story or how people are funding their lifestyle, Reinikehe adds.

“Everyone’s journey is individualized.”

Reddit is an online forum where users share their thoughts in “threads” on various topics. The popular site includes plenty of discussion on financial subjects like saving and budgeting, so we sifted through Reddit forums to get a pulse check. People post anonymously, so we cannot confirm their individual experiences or circumstances.

Kimberly Palmer writes for NerdWallet. Email: kpalmer@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @kimberlypalmer.

The article Asked on Reddit: How to Stop Obsessing About Money originally appeared on NerdWallet.

By MICHELLE L. PRICE and MARC LEVY

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — President Donald Trump is holding a rally in Pennsylvania on Friday to celebrate a details-to-come deal for Japan-based Nippon Steel to invest in U.S. Steel, which he says will keep the iconic American steelmaker under U.S.-control.

Though Trump initially vowed to block the Japanese steelmaker’s bid to buy Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel, he changed course and announced an agreement last week for what he described as “partial ownership” by Nippon. It’s not clear, though, if the deal his administration helped broker has been finalized or how ownership would be structured.

Trump stressed the deal would maintain American control of the storied company, which is seen as both a political symbol and an important matter for the country’s supply chain, industries like auto manufacturing and national security.

Trump, who has been eager to strike deals and announce new investments in the U.S. since retaking the White House, is also trying to satisfy voters, including blue-collar workers, who elected him as he called to protect U.S. manufacturing.

U.S. Steel has not publicly communicated any details of a revamped deal to investors. Nippon Steel issued a statement approving of the proposed “partnership” but also has not disclosed terms of the arrangement.

State and federal lawmakers who have been briefed on the matter describe a deal in which Nippon will buy U.S. Steel and spend billions on U.S. Steel facilities in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Alabama, Arkansas and Minnesota. The company would be overseen by an executive suite and board made up mostly of Americans and protected by the U.S. government’s veto power in the form of a “golden share.”

In the absence of clear details or affirmation from the companies involved, the United Steelworkers union, which has long opposed the deal, this week questioned whether the new arrangement makes “any meaningful change” from the initial proposal.

“Nippon has maintained consistently that it would only invest in U.S. Steel’s facilities if it owned the company outright,” the union said in a statement. “We’ve seen nothing in the reporting over the past few days suggesting that Nippon has walked back from this position.”

The White House did not offer any new details Thursday. U.S. Steel did not respond to messages seeking information. Nippon Steel also declined to comment.

No matter the terms, the issue has outsized importance for Trump, who last year repeatedly said he would block the deal and foreign ownership of U.S. Steel, as did former President Joe Biden.

Trump promised during the campaign to make the revitalization of American manufacturing a priority of his second term in office. And the fate of U.S. Steel, once the world’s largest corporation, could become a political liability in the midterm elections for his Republican Party in the swing state of Pennsylvania and other battleground states dependent on industrial manufacturing.

Trump said Sunday he wouldn’t approve the deal if U.S. Steel did not remain under U.S. control and said it will keep its headquarters in Pittsburgh.

In an interview on Fox News Channel on Wednesday, Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Dan Meuser called the arrangement “strictly an investment, a strategic partnership where it’s American-owned, American run and remains in America.”

However, Meuser said he hadn’t seen the deal and added that “it’s still being structured.”

Pennsylvania Republican Sen. David McCormick came out in favor of the plan, calling it “great” for the domestic steel industry, Pennsylvania, national security and U.S. Steel’s employees. A bipartisan group of senators, joined by then-Senate candidate McCormick, had opposed Nippon Steel’s initial proposed purchase of U.S. Steel for $14.9 billion after it was announced in late 2023.

In recent days, Trump and other American officials began touting Nippon Steel’s new commitment to invest $14 billion on top of its $14.9 billion bid, including building a new electric arc furnace steel mill somewhere in the U.S.

Pennsylvania’s other senator, Democrat John Fetterman — who lives across the street from U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson Steel Works blast furnace — didn’t explicitly endorse the new proposal. But he said he had helped jam up Nippon Steel’s original bid until “Nippon coughed up an extra $14B.”

The planned “golden share” for the U.S. amounts to three board members approved by the U.S. government, which will essentially ensure that U.S. Steel can only make decisions that’ll be in the best interests of the United States, McCormick said Tuesday on Fox News.

Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat who is seen as a potential presidential candidate, had largely refrained from publicly endorsing a deal but said at a news conference this week that he was “cautiously optimistic” about the arrangement.

In an interview published Thursday in the conservative Washington Examiner, Shapiro said: “The deal has gotten better. The prospects for the future of steelmaking have gotten better.”

Chris Kelly, the mayor of West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, where U.S. Steel’s Irvin finishing plant is located, said he was “ecstatic” about the deal, though he acknowledged some details were unknown. He said it will save thousands of jobs for his community.

“It’s like a reprieve from taking steel out of Pittsburgh,” he said.

Price reported from Washington. AP writer Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo contributed to this report.

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By Ariana Arghandewal, Bankrate.com

Credit cards are widely accepted in most parts of the world, which is great for those who want to maximize rewards on their trips abroad. Not only do many cards offer generous rewards on travel spending, but they also provide convenience and an added layer of protection in case your trip doesn’t go as planned.

Using a credit card is better than using cash in most cases. However, you may still encounter issues when attempting to use your credit card abroad, so make sure to plan accordingly.

Can I use my credit card abroad?

In most cases, yes! The country you’re visiting may have different banks, but many of the payment networks common in the U.S. are widely accepted around the globe. Some credit cards, most commonly travel credit cards, even have no foreign transaction fees and earn rewards on specific purchases worldwide, such as restaurants. This helps you save money and earn more in rewards when you travel.

However, it’s important to know that while your card can be used abroad, it doesn’t mean it will always work. If your card is worn down or tends to be a little faulty at home, it can be just as finicky outside the country. Or if your credit card issuer is unaware that you’re traveling, they may assume your identity is stolen and decline your purchases. Some payment networks are also less common abroad. Luckily, there are workarounds to a few of the most common issues you may come across.

Bankrate tip

See Bankrate’s Travel Toolkit for tips and insights to boost your savings and maximize your travel.

How to make sure your credit card works abroad

A handful of factors may prevent your credit card from working overseas. Most of them have simple solutions and require just a bit of advance planning.

—Use a widely accepted issuer. Visa and Mastercard are the most widely accepted credit card payment networks worldwide. While American Express and Discover can come in handy in many situations, you may want to bring a backup Visa or Mastercard while traveling abroad, just in case.

—Use chip and PIN cards or a digital wallet. In many countries around the world, chip and personal identification number (PIN) cards are the norm. These cards use a microchip and PIN to validate transactions, instead of a cardholder’s signature. Rather than swiping the magnetic stripe through the card reader, consumers insert the card into the machine and enter the PIN associated with the chip. If you have a card with a chip in your wallet, set a PIN so you don’t run into trouble using it abroad.

Digital wallets are also becoming the norm for storing credit cards, debit cards, and even boarding passes for your flight. They often lead to faster, more secured payments with a lower risk of being lost or stolen. So, it may be beneficial to set one up and add your card. This way, you can keep the physical card tucked away as a backup.

—Notify your bank of your travel plans. If you’ve booked any part of your trip on your credit card, notifying your bank isn’t usually required. If you did not use your credit card for any bookings, then providing advance notice of your travel plans reduces the odds of your bank declining your transactions abroad. Knowing that you’ll be in Paris for a week, your bank is less likely to reject your purchases at patisseries. They’ll know your credit card isn’t compromised — you’re just being a tourist.

Is it worthwhile to use a credit card abroad?

Yes, using your credit card abroad provides security and convenience that cash does not. You’ll potentially earn rewards on every purchase, which you can save and redeem toward future travel experiences. The items you buy may also be covered by purchase protection, giving you extra peace of mind. More importantly, you won’t have to carry large amounts of cash and worry about the security risk it poses.

While you should bring some cash for smaller purchases or in a city where it’s the main form of payment accepted, a credit card provides stronger protection and other added benefits.

Are there fees for using a credit card abroad?

You’ll encounter two types of fees when using a credit card abroad — foreign transaction fees and merchant fees. Foreign transaction fees are around 3% and can be avoided since many travel rewards cards waive them.

Merchant fees can include surcharges or convenience fees for using your card. These fees help to offset the merchant’s processing costs and can vary from 3% to 8%. These fees help offset the costs of the added protection you receive from a credit card.

Unfortunately, there isn’t much consumers can do about these fees. You can either pay the fee, use cash or shop somewhere else to get around them. Still, there is a small way to save some money when using your card.

If a merchant asks whether you want to pay in U.S. dollars or the local currency, always opt for the local currency. Your credit card issuer is likely to give you a much better conversion rate than the local business owner will.

Also, always opt out of dynamic currency conversion, which allows cardholders to handle transactions in their home currency when shopping or taking money from an ATM. While you may be able to know the actual price of your purchase, the additional fee often makes the purchase higher than it would be otherwise.

The bottom line

What you pack in your wallet matters as much as what you put in your carry-on when you travel abroad. You’ll want to bring one or more credit cards with a widely accepted payment network. Even better, bring one that offers purchase and travel protection, generous rewards and travel perks. You may encounter a few issues when using a credit card to pay for purchases, but there are workarounds. By following safe use practices, you won’t have to carry large sums of cash or worry about your transactions getting declined.

©2025 Bankrate.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By Breana Noble, The Detroit News

Hundreds of used vehicles rolled through the auction aisles of Manheim Detroit on Thursday as dealers in person and online scrambled to make their bids to shore up inventories in anticipation of price increases.

Average used vehicle list prices are up slightly year-over-year at $25,547, according to Cox Automotive Inc., a dealer digital services provider that owns Manheim and its 79 U.S. auction sites, which handle more than 7 million vehicles per year. The increase represents a reversal as used prices had fallen over the past couple of years after hitting a peak during the pandemic. But President Donald Trump’s tariffs have spooked buyers, prompting a surge in new and used vehicle purchases with consumers hoping to get ahead of larger price increases.

“We’re trying to get caution out there, but we’re not trying to spread any kind of concern that there’s a collapse coming,” said Charlie Chesbrough, a senior economist at Cox, which is forecasting a 1% increase in used vehicle sales in 2025 compared to last year. “It’s just going to be a challenging couple of months here over the summer.”

The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index that assesses the wholesale prices of used vehicles at Manheim auctions reversed course in April after declining in February and March. It spiked 2.7% month-over-month compared to a typical monthly movement of about 0.3%, as prices rose almost 5% on average. The frenzy has slowed a bit since April with the index falling 1.1% in a mid-May report shared this week. But the index still remains 4.4% higher than it was a year ago.

It typically takes four to six weeks before changes at auction are reflected in retail transactions, Chesbrough said: “Our expectation is over the course of the summer, those prices are going to rise even more quickly.”

In Carleton on Thursday morning, auctioneers rambled 250 to 400 words per minute to secure bids within 1 minute from dealers across the country for used vehicles from automakers like Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co., rental car companies, banks and other dealers. About 72% of Manheim’s vehicle sales are done online.

Established in 1992, the 250-acre Manheim Detroit has three sales days per week for licensed dealers. Whether a company vehicle, a trade-in, a repossession or a fleet retirement, 1,800 vehicles or more hit the block each of those days. Vehicles sell anywhere from $200 to salvage dealers to $450,000 for a Lamborghini recently. Most vehicles passing through are about three years old.

“Every car will sell,” said Keith Winningham, assistant general manager at Manheim Detroit. “It may not be today. Maybe it’s next week. The market’s constantly changing.”

Manheim Detroit is unique because of the business it does with manufacturers and the Canadian dealers that sell in its auction. Despite tariffs and trade tensions between the United States and Canada, sales from Canadian dealers are up this year, said Noel Kitsch, general manager of Manheim Detroit Market Center.

Most vehicles sold in Canada are made in the United States (designated by their vehicle identification numbers beginning with a one, four or five). Those can return to the United States tariff-free, Kitsch said, while more Canadian- and Mexican-built vehicles are staying in Canada because of Trump’s 25% auto tariff.

“They started adjusting in October,” Kitsch said about the Canadian sellers. “We have not seen a decrease in Canadian vehicles. As a matter of fact, we’re up year over year in Canadian sales in the Michigan area.”

High interest rates, improved new-vehicle inventories and inflation on other goods contributed to falling used vehicle prices over the past couple of years. The spring usually sees an increase in demand with tax returns hitting consumer pockets, Chesbrough said, and prices have stayed high.

“The used vehicle market is still looking very, very strong in terms of sales out there,” he said. “But the inventory has been drawn down, and that’s creating a situation where the inventory is lean on dealer lots, and they’re going to be less likely to make a deal, because their sales have been going quite well, and their existing inventory is now worth more money, because they know the incoming replacement inventory is going to cost a little bit more.”

Days of used-vehicle supply nationwide is in the 40s, he said, which is down about 20% from recent weeks.

More than a third — 34% — of Americans plan to buy a car in the next 12 months, the highest since 2023, according to auto lender Santander Consumer USA’s Paths to Prosperity survey. Some have pulled ahead those purchases in anticipation of increased prices, said Betty Jotanovic, the lender’s president of auto relationships.

But this comes as auto loan delinquency rates have returned to pre-COVID levels. Default rates remain below the norm, but it’s an indication of consumer economic stress, Jotanovic said.

“The consumer is getting behind on their payments,” she said, “but still prioritizing the auto loan over their mortgage or credit card.”

Adding in the uncertainty around tariffs, buyers may adjust their purchases, Jotanovic said: “You’re going to see a shift where maybe your typical new buyer goes to a one- or two-year-old used car, or maybe that one- or two-year-old used buyer goes to a three- or four-year-old used vehicle.”

Fewer younger vehicles are returning to dealer lots in 2025. A sharp drop in leasing through 2022 and 2023 amid a microchip shortage and other supply-chain disruptions, Ivan Drury, director of insights for auto information website Edmunds.com Inc., wrote in a report released Thursday.

In the first three months of 2025, the average sales price of a three-year-old used vehicle surpassed $30,000 for the first time since the second quarter of 2023.

“Due to unexpected market swings,” Drury wrote, “3-year-old lease-return values are coming in higher than automakers originally forecasted — offering some drivers unexpected trade-in advantages.”

That’s incentive for vehicle sellers to send their inventory to auction, and it’s keeping the 320 Manheim Detroit employees busy. The facility has a mechanic shop, a body shop to repair dented and scratched panels, and a paint shop able to spruce up as many as 50 vehicles per day. Manheim inspects about 150 vehicles to grant AAA certification daily.

“If there’s heavy collision on a vehicle, most of those assets are going to be sold as is,” Winningham said. “Most of what we do are cosmetic repairs. If a dealer is out in the lanes, and they’re looking at the car, and the bumper is scratched, it’s got a dent in the door, he’s got to calculate in his head what he’s got to spend on that car No. 1. No. 2, he has to get it repaired. Most body shops at most dealerships are very, very busy. And for him to have to get that into a shop and get it sold takes time. Obviously when they buy a car, the whole concept is to sell it as quickly as possible.”

Ninety-five percent of auctioned vehicles here are detailed on-site. Fixed imaging tunnels leverage 44 cameras and artificial intelligence to help identify damage on the vehicles and pick the best dozen of 2,000 photos captured as the vehicle travels under 10 mph through the tunnel. The chosen images are uploaded within minutes to Manheim’s website for dealers to check out.

Vehicles on average spend less than 30 days at Manheim before heading to a buyer. If a vehicle doesn’t sell, it might go to an auction next week or at another location. Certain electric vehicles stick around longer because of lower demand and to balance out losses for the seller, Kitsch said.

Whether buying at auction or from a trade-in, dealers like Walt Tutak, general manager at Matthew Hargreaves Chevrolet in Royal Oak, have upped their supply of used vehicles. Tutak is at 200 vehicles and could increase his stock to 225, up from a typical 150, in anticipation of tariffs affecting new-vehicle inventories.

“It hasn’t affected (demand) for used cars,” Tutak said about tariffs. “But we need to pay our bills one way or another. If inventories are going to get lowered, we want to be covered selling used cars.”

Tutak isn’t the only one thinking like that, and he recognized that used car prices are going up. But he said he’s willing to compromise on margins per vehicle if he’s selling more of them, he noted, seeing it as a long-term investment in the business.

“They’re going to come back to our dealership,” he said, “and tell friends and family and come to our service department and body shop and parts department. It’s a snowball effect.”

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By GISELA SALOMON

DORAL, Fla. (AP) — As a business owner in the largest Venezuelan community in the United States, Wilmer Escaray is stressed and in shock. He is unsure what steps he needs to take after the Supreme Court allowed President Donald Trump to strip legal protections from hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan immigrants.

Escaray owns 15 restaurants and three markets, most of them in Doral, a city of 80,000 in the Miami area people known as “Little Venezuela” or “Doralzuela.” At least 70% of Escaray’s 150 employees and many of his customers are Venezuelan immigrants with Temporary Protected Status, also known as TPS.

The Supreme Court on Monday lifted a federal judge’s ruling that had paused the administration’s plans to end TPS for 350,000 Venezuelans, potentially exposing them to deportation.

Like many U.S. business owners with Venezuelan employees, Escaray lacks direction. He does not know how long his employees will have legal authorization to work or if he will be able to help them, he said.

“The impact for the business will be really hard,” said Escaray, a 37-year-old Venezuelan American who came to the U.S. to study in 2007 and opened his first restaurant six years later. “I don’t know yet what I am going to do. I have to discuss with my team, with my family to see what will be the plan.”

TPS allows people already in the U.S. to legally live and work here because their native countries are deemed unsafe for return due to natural disaster or civil strife. The Trump administration said immigrants were poorly vetted after the Biden administration dramatically expanded the designation.

Immigration attorney Evelyn Alexandra Batista said the Supreme Court did not specifically address the extension of TPS-based work permits, and some work authorizations remain in effect. She warned, though, that there is no guarantee that they will continue to remain valid because the Supreme Court can change this.

“This means that employers and employees alike should be exploring all other alternative options as TPS was never meant to be permanent,” said Batista, who has received hundreds of calls from TPS beneficiaries and companies looking for advice in the months since Trump returned to office and began his immigration crackdown.

Among the options they are exploring, she said, are visas for extraordinary abilities, investment visas, and agricultural visas.

The American Business Immigration Coalition estimates that TPS holders add $31 billion to the U.S. economy through wages and spending power. There are no specific estimates of the impact of Venezuelans, although they make up the largest percentage of TPS beneficiaries.

They work in hospitality, construction, agriculture, health care, retail, and food services.

The Trump administration recently announced a plan for steep port fees on Chinese-built vessels, which dominate global trade and are frequently in San Diego Bay.

The idea is to limit China’s dominance in the seas by making it more expensive to use their vessels and, in theory, push the nation’s importers into the arms of the comparatively small U.S. shipbuilding industry.

The new Chinese levies, which wouldn’t take effect until mid-October, could cost an importer roughly $150 a car, according to estimates from the Port of San Diego. There is concern from the shipping industry that the levies, on top of tariffs, could significantly impact global trade.

U.S. shipbuilding is practically nonexistent compared to China and others. Critics argue there is no way (at the moment) for the U.S. to catch up and the whole plan will just mean increased costs for consumers. President Donald Trump has argued it is vital for national security that America builds up its shipbuilding industry.

Question: Is the Chinese-built vessel levy proposal a good one?

Economists

Caroline Freund, UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy

NO: It will act as yet another tax on the U.S. consumer without spurring investment in shipbuilding. Shipbuilding is a huge, complex endeavor and expanding capacity would take many years. Trump’s record of on-again, off-again tariffs means that this policy is unlikely to promote any new investment, since the levy could be gone tomorrow. Moreover, China would likely retaliate with a tax on U.S.-built aircraft, hurting the U.S. aerospace industry and its workers.

David Ely, San Diego State University

NO: The U.S. cannot quickly create the capacity to produce ships at a volume sufficient to replace Chinese-built vessels that are now docking at U.S. ports.  A levy imposed now would drive up transportation costs that will be passed onto consumers. Policies to incentivize capital investment in the U.S. shipbuilding industry, and grow the workforce, should be emphasized in the near term. The levies should be delayed until the restoration of the industry is underway.

Ray Major, economist

YES: The vessel levy is another tool in the tool box that the U.S. can use to encourage China and other countries to adopt a more fair trade policy. They can easily be removed when a trade deal is in place. The levy amounts to 0.00375% of the value of a $40,000 car.

Kelly Cunningham, San Diego Institute for Economic Research

NO: Attempts at micromanaging the economy are unproductive and detrimental. Top-down manipulation of shipping production will cause unintended consequences and dysfunction. Imposing complicated rules and tariffs for shipping goods and services makes trade more expensive and lessens productivity of all. Voluntary exchanges of “free trade” benefit all participants and facilitate the specialization and division of labor. Economic development is not zero-sum where one gains at the expense of others losing. Put “free” back into free trade.

Alan Gin, University of San Diego

NO: The economic infrastructure is not here for more shipbuilding in the U.S. One problem is that not enough steel is produced in this country. Another is that labor is more expensive here, and there is less desire to work in manufacturing. Those situations could improve in the future, but it would take a long time, and the U.S. is not likely to approach China’s shipbuilding capacity. In the meantime, consumers will be hurt as prices for products carried by Chinese ships will increase.

James Hamilton, UC San Diego

NO: It would be hard to find a business or consumer in America who would not be affected through the goods they try to produce, buy or sell by this policy. Any effects on U.S. shipbuilding would be years down the road. And the very long-term investments that are required to build more ships are difficult to influence with policies that come out of nowhere and may have changed by the time these words hit print.

Norm Miller, University of San Diego

YES: Nothing says “free market economy” like a special fee slapped on vessels built somewhere else. It’s a genius idea. Why compete by building better and bigger ships or planning ahead? Who needs cheaper shipping and global trade stability anyway? After all the tariffs, consumers and businesses will barely notice the extra costs. Of course, I’m sure China will just graciously accept the new levy with no retaliatory measures that could hurt the U.S. exporters. (Sarcasm noted).

Executives

Phil Blair, Manpower

NO: All tariffs and “port fees” will clearly increase the cost of goods for Americans. Both new expenses will be passed on directly to consumers. The U.S. shipbuilding industry is so expensive compared to the rest of the world due to very high wages compared to wages paid in other countries for equal skills. That spread in wages may be acceptable to Americans to encourage well paid jobs, but consumers need to know why certain industries in the U.S. cannot compete with other countries on price.

Gary London, London Moeder Advisors

NO: I am sympathetic to measures that are designed to reduce Chinese dominance across broad sectors. However, the more realistic approach would be policies that incentivize shipbuilding elsewhere across the globe. This is not different than the other tariff-led domestic manufacturing goals. The economics of manufacturing mostly don’t work here, primarily due to the cost (and shortage) of labor. Why don’t we spread more business to other nations rather than indiscriminately slap everyone with tariffs?

Austin Neudecker, Weave Growth

NO: A levy on Chinese-built vessels will raise costs for U.S. importers and consumers without offering any strategic benefit. China dominates shipbuilding due to infrastructure that our domestic producers abandoned decades ago. Rebuilding a competitive ship industry would take years, require major government subsidies and yield higher-cost products. Punitive fees will not change these fundamentals, they will further disrupt trade and shift demand to other low-cost countries, not revive U.S. shipbuilding.

Jamie Moraga, Franklin Revere

YES: If it’s being used as a negotiation tactic in the trade war. If not, while national security, stability, and local shipbuilding growth are important, adding levies to tariffs this year may not be wise. A measured approach is needed — too much too soon risks U.S. supply chain disruptions, higher costs, job losses, and higher prices. Rebuilding U.S. shipbuilding requires significant time and investment. Implemented too soon, new levies could do more harm than good without strong domestic infrastructure.

Chris Van Gorder, Scripps Health

NO: Like many of President Trump’s ideas, it could be very good as a long-term strategy, but not good as a short-term economic decision. It would take many years to build up our own ship construction capabilities and in the meantime, prices consumers pay now will be increased. Let’s develop a long-term strategic plan, not a short-term reaction that will not benefit the average person or business.

Bob Rauch, R.A. Rauch & Associates

YES: The levy aims to revive U.S. merchant shipbuilding, which has declined in recent decades. With China controlling more than 50% of global shipbuilding, the policy could encourage diversification and counter market abuses. While industry stakeholders worry about costs and trade disruptions, fees apply only to Chinese-linked or Chinese-built vessels. The long-term impact remains uncertain, but the policy signals a strategic shift toward reducing reliance on Chinese-built ships.

Have an idea for an Econometer question? Email me at phillip.molnar@sduniontribune.com. Follow me on Threads: @phillip020

By PAUL WISEMAN, CHRISTOPHER RUGABER and ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, Associated Press Business Writers

WASHINGTON (AP) — For months, American consumers and businesses have been hearing that President Trump’s massive import taxes – tariffs – would drive up prices and hurt the U.S. economy. But the latest economic reports don’t match the doom and gloom: Inflation actually eased last month, and hiring was solid in April.

For now, the disconnect has businesses and consumers struggling to reconcile what they were told to expect, what the numbers say and what they are seeing on the ground. Trump and his supporters are quick to point out that the trade wars of his first term didn’t translate into higher overall inflation across the economy.

So is it time to breathe easy?

Not yet, economists say. Trump’s tariffs are still huge – the highest since the Great Depression of the 1930s. They’re unpredictable: The president frequently announces tariffs only to suspend them days later and to conjure up new ones. And they are still working their way through the system.

“We had a good jobs report. We had a cool inflation report, and that’s great,” said Ernie Tedeschi, director of economics at Yale University’s Budget Lab. “But that should not give us comfort about what next month will be, particularly on inflation.’’

Walmart, for example, warned its customers last week that prices will be going up for everything from clothing to car seats. Prices for some items like bananas have already increased.

True, the truce with China last Monday dramatically reduced the risks to the U.S. economy, and U.S. and global stock markets rallied last week in relief. The United States dropped the import tax that Trump angrily imposed on China – America’s third-biggest source of imports – from an eye-watering 145% to 30%; Beijing cut its retaliatory tariffs from 125% to 10%. Economists at JPMorgan Chase, who had forecast last month that the China tariffs made a recession likely, don’t expect one now.

Trump’s tariffs are the highest since the Great Depression

But even with the lower levies on China, the Yale Budget Lab reported that the cost of Trump’s trade war will be high. Climbing prices will reduce the purchasing power of the average household by $2,800. Shoe prices will rise 15% and clothing 14%. The tariffs will shave 0.7 percentage points off U.S. economic growth this year and increase the unemployment rate — now a low 4.2% — by nearly 0.4 percentage points.

Trump has plastered 10% taxes on imports from almost every country on earth. He’s also imposed 25% duties on cars, aluminum, steel, and many imports from Canada and Mexico.

The Yale Budget Lab estimates that Trump policies will push the average U.S. tariff rate to 17.8%, highest since 1934 and up from around 2.5% when Trump took office. (Other economists put his tariff rate at 14% to 15%.) During Trump’s first term, the average tariff rose just 1 percentage point despite all the headlines generated by trade policies. Now, according to the budget lab, they are rising 15 percentage points.

And the tariffs have only begun to bite. In April, the import tax revenues collected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection came to a tariff rate of just 4.5%, a fraction of what’s coming, Tedeschi said. That’s partly because of delays in rolling out the tariffs, including technical glitches that prevented customs agents from collecting them for a couple of weeks.

The full impact has also been delayed because companies beat the clock by bringing in foreign goods before Trump’s tariffs took effect. Retailers and importers had also largely halted shipments of shoes, clothes, toys, and other items due to new tariffs, but many are resuming imports from China.

Tedeschi, who was chief economist at President Joe Biden’s Council of Economic Advisers, also notes that it just takes time for tariffs to translate into higher prices. During Trump’s first term, his January 2018 levies on foreign washing machines didn’t yield more expensive appliances until April that year. Still, a Federal Reserve study this month found that duties Trump imposed in 2018 and 2019 meant higher prices as soon as two months later, suggesting consumers could start paying more in June.

Consumers are less willing to accept higher prices

Things have changed from the first time Trump was in the White House, when companies essentially passed along the entire cost of his tariffs. Now American consumers, still scarred by the burst of inflation that followed the COVID-19 pandemic, may be more reluctant to accept higher prices.

“Consumers weren’t inflation exhausted in 2018 the way that they are now,’’ Tedeschi said. Surveys by Federal Reserve banks in Atlanta and Dallas have found that most companies would eat at least some of the tariff costs this time around. And one reason that the Labor Department’s producer price index fell in April was that retailers and wholesalers reported lower profit margins, a sign that they may have been absorbing some of the tariff cost.

Trump, who has long insisted that foreign countries and not U.S. companies or consumers pay his tariffs, on Saturday lashed out at Walmart for saying it would raise prices. On social media, he demanded that the giant retailer “ EAT THE TARIFFS, and do not charge valued customers anything. I’ll be watching, and so will your customers!!!’’

The economic damage doesn’t just come from the cost of tariffs, but from the erratic way the president imposes them. For instance, the 145% China tariffs were just suspended for 90 days. Likewise, Trump has paused high taxes he slapped last month on imports from countries with which the United States runs trade deficits. Could those levies come back?

Consumers are clearly fearful that the duties will boost prices, as consumer confidence surveys have plummeted since Trump began ramping up his tariff threats in February. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index has fallen for five straight months to its lowest level since the depths of the pandemic in May 2020.

Costlier coffee and Christmas wreathes are coming

Snowy Owl Coffee Roasters in Sandwich, Massachusetts, which imports beans from Brazil, Nicaragua, Burundi and other countries, is only now planning to raise its prices this week to cover the cost of the 10% tariffs. It plans to add 25 cents to 35 cents to the price for each cup.

“Tariffs are increasing costs and they’re adding to a lot of uncertainty around the potential for a downturn,” said Shayna Ferullo, 44, co-owner of Snowy Owl. “We are looking closely at the year ahead with the goal of consolidating and operating really, really tightly.”

Ferullo will also have to pay much more than she budgeted to renovate her shop in Brewster, Massachusetts — one of her three retail locations — because the contractor has raised his estimate, partly due to tariffs on building supplies. She has already elected to not fill one job after an employee left and is looking at ways automation could help reduce her labor costs, though she hasn’t laid off any of her 35 employees.

Jared Hendricks, CEO of Village Lighting Co., last month halted shipments of supplies he gets from China – holiday storage bags, wreathes, holiday lights and garlands. Now that the U.S. and China have reached a truce, he’s trying to get the products to the United States in time for the holidays.

He estimates that it will take 10 to 20 days from China to the West Coast ports via ship and another 20 days to 40 days for the goods to go through U.S. Customs, then travel via Union Pacific Railways to his company in Utah. Given all the expected delays, Hendricks said he’s worried that his holiday décor won’t arrive by Sept. 1 when it should start appearing in stores.

Meanwhile, he’s figuring out how to foot a $1 million bill for the tariffs. He’s hoping he can cover the cost by raising prices 10% to 15%.

In the meantime, he’s trying to secure a loan against his house to pay for the levies.

“We are moving forward,’’ he said, “but at great cost, personal risk, and weariness.”

D’Innocenzio reported from New York.

Motorists in Michigan preparing to travel during Memorial Day Weekend are hoping gas prices continue to decrease.

This weekend motorists were paying an average of $3.06 per gallon, which was 6 cents less than this time last month.

“Michigan drivers are seeing lower prices at the pump this week,” said Adrienne Woodland, spokesperson, AAA-The Auto Club Group in Monday’s report. “If demand stays low, alongside increasing gasoline stocks, motorists could continue to see gas prices decline.”

This price is 6 cents less than this time last month and 59 cents less than this time last year.

Across the state motorists were paying an average of $45 for a full 15-gallon tank of gasoline; a discount of about $12 from 2024’s highest price last July.

According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gasoline demand decreased from 9.09 million barrels of oil per day to 8.71. Total domestic gasoline supply slightly increased from 225.5 million barrels to 225.7. Gasoline production decreased last week, averaging 9.7 million barrels per day.

At the close of Wednesday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell $1.02 to settle at $58.07 a barrel. The EIA reports that crude oil inventories decreased by 2 million barrels from the previous week. At 438.4 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 7% below the five-year average for this time of year.

A weekly comparison of prices showed Metro Detroit’s average daily gas price decreased. Metro Detroit’s current average is $3.09 per gallon, about 8 cents less than last week’s average and 51 cents less than this same time last year.

AAA report on state and metro gas averaged showed:

• Most expensive gas price averages:  Ann Arbor ($3.11), Marquette ($3.10), Metro Detroit ($3.09)• Least expensive gas price averages: Traverse City ($2.94), Jackson ($2.95), Flint ($2.98)

Find local gas prices

According to AAA’s report, daily national, state, and metro gas price averages can be found at Gasprices.aaa.com Motorists can find the lowest gas prices on their smartphone or tablet with the free AAA Mobile app. The app can also be used to map a route, find discounts, book a hotel and access AAA roadside assistance.

Tips to save on gas

• Limit driving time by combining errands.• Use the apps and shop around for best gas prices in your community before you venture onto the roads.• Some retailers charge more per gallon when using a credit card, so consider paying cash. .• Remove excess weight in your vehicle.• Keep to the speed limit. Aggressive acceleration and speeding reduces fuel economy.• Find a savings program. AAA Members who enroll in Shell’s Fuel Rewards program can save 5 cents per gallon when they fill up at Shell.

For more information visit acg.aaa.com/.

By AMANDA SEITZ, SEUNG MIN KIM and WILL WEISSERT, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said he will set a 30-day deadline for drugmakers to lower the cost of prescription drugs in a sweeping executive order that he will sign on Monday.

The order calls on the health department, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to broker new price tags for drugs, according to a White House official who briefed the press on the executive order ahead of its signing.

If a deal is not reached, a new rule will kick in that will tie the price of what the U.S. pays for medications to lower prices paid by other countries.

Trump teased the executive order in a social media post on Sunday evening.

“I will be instituting a MOST FAVORED NATION’S POLICY whereby the United States will pay the same price as the Nation that pays the lowest price anywhere in the World,” the Republican president posted, pledging to sign the order on Monday morning at the White House.

The federal government spends hundreds of billions of dollars on prescription drugs, injectables, transfusions and other medications every year through Medicare, which covers nearly 70 million older Americans.

The nation’s leading pharmaceutical lobby on Sunday pushed back, calling it a “bad deal” for American patients. Drugmakers have long argued that any threats to their profits could impact the research they do to develop new drugs.

“Importing foreign prices will cut billions of dollars from Medicare with no guarantee that it helps patients or improves their access to medicines,” Stephen J. Ubl, the president and CEO of PhRMA, said in a statement. “It jeopardizes the hundreds of billions our member companies are planning to invest in America, making us more reliant on China for innovative medicines.”

Trump’s so-called “most favored nation” approach to Medicare drug pricing has been controversial since he first tried to implement it during his first term. He signed a similar executive order in the final weeks of his presidency, which called for the U.S. to only pay a lower price that other countries pay for drugs administered in a doctor’s office.

But even that more narrow executive order faced hurdles, with a court order that blocked the rule from going into effect under President Joe Biden’s administration. The pharmaceutical industry argued that Trump’s 2020 attempt would give foreign governments the “upper hand” in deciding the value of medicines in the U.S.

Trump has played up the announcement, saying it will save taxpayers big money.

“Our Country will finally be treated fairly, and our citizens Healthcare Costs will be reduced by numbers never even thought of before,” Trump added.

He has touted immediate savings, but the health department is limited in its control of drug pricing. It has the most authority around the drug prices it pays for Medicare and Medicaid, which covers roughly 80 million poor and disabled Americans. The price that millions of Americans covered by private insurance pay for drugs is harder for the agency to manipulate.

Trump boasted in his post that the plan will save “TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS.”

The executive order will also encourage the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to examine enforcement action the agencies can take around the pricing of drugs.

The U.S. routinely outspends other nations on drug prices, compared with other large and wealthy countries, a problem that has long drawn the ire of both major political parties, but a lasting fix has never cleared Congress.

Trump came into his first term accusing pharmaceutical companies of “getting away with murder” and complaining that other countries whose governments set drug prices were taking advantage of Americans.

On Sunday, Trump took aim at the industry again, writing that the “Pharmaceutical/Drug Companies would say, for years, that it was Research and Development Costs, and that all of these costs were, and would be, for no reason whatsoever, borne by the ‘suckers’ of America, ALONE.”

Referring to drug companies’ powerful lobbying efforts, he said that campaign contributions “can do wonders, but not with me, and not with the Republican Party.”

“We are going to do the right thing,” he wrote.

Pontiac’s former building official, Bruce Eck, has sued the city for wrongful discharge. He was fired in March after a dispute with his supervisor. The lawsuit asks for a jury trial and seeks a minimum award of $25,000.

“Due to our policy, we don’t comment on pending litigation,” said Pontiac spokeswoman Paula Bridges.

Eck’s attorneys, Deborah Gordon and Morry Hutton, said Eck was scapegoated by the city in the wake of three abandoned children’s rescue from an unregistered rental home on Lydia Lane in Pontiac’s Stonegate Pointe neighborhood.

“It’s unfortunate that the city of Pontiac has now lost an invaluable public servant and extremely experienced building officials with excellent credentials,” Gordon said. “He was fired because he refused to go along with what he believed to be an illegal directive.”

City records show an April 2020 blight ticket for Lydia Lane and an unregistered rental complaint. Inspectors visited the home four times in 2020 without resolving the rental complaint. Inspectors returned in February 2022 and April 2022. The owner had not registered the rental. No progress check was scheduled or made, which could have saved the children earlier, Eck told The Oakland Press in March.

The children were rescued in February after a maintenance worker went to see if the occupants had moved after not paying rent for several months. The children’s mother is in Oakland County Jail, facing multiple charges.

Eck was hired in November 2023 and had been archiving old and expired records in the city database that tracks taxes, assessments, code enforcement visits and tickets as well as construction permits. He and his deputy, Dennis Szymanski, deleted 7,000 long-expired permits from the city’s database.

Eck wanted to create reports on active issues so they could be tracked and addressed.

But his boss, Community Development Director Rachel Loughrin, told him to reactivate the old permits and require inspections. Eck asked a city attorney for a legal opinion on the order.

On March 3, Loughrin claimed in a disciplinary action form that Eck pursued personal legal advice from the city attorney. Eck said he made the request in his official capacity. He refused to sign the document and was fired.

Eck, a certified building official, building plan reviewer, and building inspector, worked as West Bloomfield Township’s building director for 19 years and Dearborn’s safety official for a decade. He is a board member for the Southeast Michigan Building Officials and Inspectors Association, which sets professional standards for and trains building officials and code inspectors. He told The Oakland Press he has never been fired or disciplined in his career.

Gordon and Hutton said they don’t believe Loughrin knew the proper way to address the invalid permits.

Defendants in the lawsuit include the city and Loughrin, in her personal and official capacities. They have 28 days to respond to the lawsuit, which was assigned to Sixth Circuit Court Judge Nanci Grant.