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1. European activists protest overtourism
While millions in the United States protested President Donald Trump's policies on Saturday, activists in Italy, Portugal and Spain took to the streets on Sunday to oppose the mass tourism on the continent. According to the New York Times, the protests looked slightly different in each country.
"In Genoa, Italy, demonstrators rolled suitcases down the city center’s narrow paved streets, as part of what they called a 'noisy stroll,'" reads the article. "In Lisbon, protesters carried a handmade effigy of the city’s patron saint from his namesake church to the site of a future five-star hotel. And on the Spanish island of Majorca, locals stopped a double-decker tourist bus on Saturday, setting off flares and hanging a banner on its side."
The protest plans originated from a series of workshops held in April in Barcelona by the Southern Europe Network Against Touristification. The activists point to quality-of-life concerns — like environmental damage and cost and scarcity of housing.
2. Markets await effect from Israel-Iran conflict
As the conflict between Israel and Iran continues for the fourth day, global markets appear calm but potentially worried about the effect on the consumer — particularly when it comes to gasoline prices, reports the NYT.
The global crude oil benchmark — Brent crude — was at $73.60 a barrel Monday morning, a 10% increase over the past five days. The highest recorded price per barrel over the weekend was $78. Analysts predict a 20-cent-per-gallon increase in gasoline prices for the U.S. consumer this summer.
“We maintain our view that this is likely to remain a short-lived conflict, as further escalation risks spiraling beyond the control of key stakeholders,” Janiv Shah, an oil markets analyst at Rystad Energy, an independent research and advisory firm, wrote in a research note on Monday.
Rystad expects Brent crude prices to remain below $80 a barrel, while Michael Hsueh, an analyst at Deutsche Bank, wrote Friday that full disruption of Iranian oil could push Brent crude above $120 a barrel.
3. Expense growth challenges revenue opportunities for hotels
Hotels in the U.S. are facing higher costs that are taking a toll on revenue growth, said Amanda Hite, president of STR, a part of CoStar Group, in a video interview at the recent NYU International Hospitality Investment Forum. While hotel demand is chugging along, "expense growth is outpacing the pace of revenue growth, and labor expenses are starting to pick back up."
"The difference now is for owners," she said. "When you look at profitability, there are more owners making less money today than they were last year at this time."
But while those pressures do and will continue to weigh on hotel owners, the overall outlook for the hospitality industry is OK because of bright spots in demand growth and higher-end hotel segments, Hite said.
4. US travel ban potentially to expand to include 36 countries
President Trump is reportedly considering expanding his previously announced travel ban to include an additional 36 countries, according to a State Department memo reviewed by The Washington Post. The addition includes 25 African nations, including Egypt and Djibouti, plus countries in the Caribbean, Central Asia and several Pacific Island nations.
A spokesperson from the State Department refused to comment on the internal deliberations or communications, and the White House did not respond to the WSJ's request for comment.
"The memo, which was signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and sent Saturday to U.S. diplomats who work with the countries, said the governments of listed nations were being given 60 days to meet new benchmarks and requirements established by the State Department," reads the article. "It set a deadline of 8 a.m. Wednesday for them to provide an initial action plan for meeting the requirements."
5. New graduates face difficult hiring trends in US
While the U.S. labor market as a whole is holding strong, new college graduates are facing tougher hiring conditions, according to the WSJ. The country's unemployment rate is at around 4%, but that figure is higher when filtered for the younger population.
According to information from the Labor Department, unemployment for new college graduates ages 20 to 24 is at 6.6% over the past 12 months ending in May — the highest level in a decade, excluding the pandemic unemployment spike. Meanwhile, people ages 35 to 44 with bachelor’s degrees had a 2.2% unemployment rate over the past 12 months, according to the article, which cites a general hiring slowdown as factor.
“Businesses are hunkering down, and that creates a challenge for young workers entering the labor market for the first time,” said Cory Stahle, economist at jobs site Indeed.