The versatile tortilla is on a roll, breaking out of the Tex-Mex stereotype and finding its way into all sorts of meals and snacks. That said, the increasing popularity of Mexican cuisine hasn’t hurt either.
September 17, 2018With the recent federal decision to allow sports betting, states are leaping at the opportunity to seize their share of the legal take. eSports – the competitive play of video games – is set to be the next sports gambling opportunity. Are states and those in the gambling industry ready?
September 17, 2018MoviePass, a subscription-based service originally designed to allow subscribers to view unlimited movies in theaters nationwide for a single monthly rate of $9.95, sounds too good to be true. Maybe it is?
August 17, 2018Online sales of mattresses are a growing market, particularly for “bed-in-a-box” companies. Intensifying competition from formless digital stores is keeping brick-and-mortar players up at night, one might say.
August 15, 2018Faced with a changing media landscape, newspaper publishers have struggled to remain relevant over the years. As distrust in the news media grows, it seems like the worst possible time to place tariffs on the very paper used to print newspapers – newsprint – and publishers have taken it upon themselves to roll them back.
August 15, 2018The fabricated metal products industry is one of many targeted in the Trump administration’s recently imposed tariffs, and like other industries, the potential outcomes are largely unknown. Retaliatory tariffs are mounting. Will the smaller actors in the US fabricated metal products industry maximize their capabilities and expand to meet rising demand?
August 15, 2018Gas prices across the US have risen, and consumers are feeling the pain. Prices averaged $2.93 per gallon in the US during the month of July, and relief is definitely not in sight. Unfortunately, a confluence of geopolitical events and consumer habits have made petrol pumping prices pretty pear-shaped.
August 13, 2018In August 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced a plan to freeze the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. While freezing the standards would likely stall the climb in fuel efficiency among the US motor vehicle park, ultimately increasing demand for motor vehicle fuel, the sharp legal resistance to the proposed changes will tie up the rulemaking for several years, ensuring that such rules are unlikely to take effect until the legal challenges are resolved. As a result, automakers will conform to previously established 2020 targets that make automobiles more fuel efficient, likely reducing demand for motor vehicle fuel for the next 2-4 years.
August 13, 2018Price-competitive globally, US producers of PVC (polyvinyl chloride) found extensive opportunities abroad over the past decade, particularly as China and other developing countries built out their infrastructure. In 2017, China accounted for 11% of US PVC exports. As the Trump administration outlines its tariff plans, China has readied its own. Both countries have added a list of second-tier tariffs – primarily focused on chemicals – to be imposed on a case-by-case basis. Will PVC resin make the cut?
July 27, 2018Ever had an electronic piece of equipment that was awesome – until it broke? When electronics or appliances fail, most repairs must be carried out by a repair shop that has been authorized by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM), usually using OEM parts – otherwise, any warranty attached to the product will be voided. Because most customers want to preserve their warranty, OEMs possess considerable insulation from threats of competition in both the service and replacement parts markets.
July 18, 2018