Content Guy’s Note: Stories in this section are, in my estimation, important and relevant to business. However, they are relegated to this slot because some MNB readers have made clear that they prefer a politics-free MNB; I can't do that because sometimes the news calls out for coverage and commentary, but at least I can make it easy for folks to skip it if they so desire.
• MarketWatch has a story about how "Walmart, Target, Amazon, Wingstop and Nike are some of the names that will benefit when consumers start receiving Child Tax Credit funds this Thursday, according to Cowen.
"The Child Tax Credit, which will be paid in monthly installments of up to $300 for children under age 6 and up to $250 for children between 6 and 17 through the end of the year, will benefit about 39 million Americans.
"Cowen’s Washington Research Group calls the program an 'underappreciated stimulus' that will boost spending across a variety of sectors and consumer companies … The launch of the program coincides with the start of back-to-school shopping and the end of other COVID-related programs."
• The New York Times reports that "Democrats have agreed to include a tax on imports from nations that lack aggressive climate change policies as part of a sweeping $3.5 trillion budget plan stocked with other provisions aimed at ratcheting down fossil fuel pollution in the United States.
"The move to tax imports was made public Wednesday, the same day that the European Union outlined its own proposal for a similar carbon border tax, a novel tool that is designed to protect domestic manufacturing while simultaneously pressuring other countries to reduce the emissions that are warming the planet.
"The two actions in concert suggest that government leaders are turning toward trade policy as a way to attack climate change."
Which suggests that imported food products from some nations will end up being more expensive for consumers. The question that shoppers will have to answer is whether they think this is a policy that is a) worthwhile, and b) effective.
