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1. New tariffs aimed at furniture, big trucks and pharma
U.S. President Donald Trump plans to enact new tariffs starting Oct. 1 that will target pharmaceutical companies, heavy trucks and furniture, the Wall Street Journal reports. The amounts are 100% on pharmaceutical products unless the company is building a plant in the U.S.; 25% on imported heavy trucks; 50% on kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities and similar products; and 30% on upholstered furniture.
“The reason for this is the large-scale 'FLOODING' of these products into the United States by other outside countries,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “It is a very unfair practice, but we must protect, for national security and other reasons, our manufacturing process.”
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in November whether the Trump administration has the authority to implement these global tariffs. Lower courts have struck down these tariffs, but their decisions have been stayed pending the Supreme Court decision.
2. US economy grew more in spring than estimated
The U.S. Department of Commerce reported gross domestic product grew by a 3.8% seasonally and inflation-adjusted annual rate during the second quarter, up from the first estimate of 3% in July and 3.3% update later on, according to the Wall Street Journal. Consumers spent more than thought on services, namely restaurants, healthcare, insurance and transportation.
Retail sales increased in July and August while hiring over the summer slowed, the newspaper reports. Inflation also remains above the Federal Reserve's target of 2%.
“Looking ahead, headwinds are building,” said Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon. Businesses are contending with the new tariffs this year, and unless something changes with the momentum of the labor market, he said consumers will likely pull back on their spending.
3. Hotel Heron honors history of Alexandria, Virginia
Hotel Heron opened in June 2024 in Alexandria, Virginia, after being acquired and renovated by Aparium Hotel Group, which wanted to highlight the history of the city and connect it with the community, reports CoStar News Hotels' Natalie Harms.
"This is a special neighborhood. I grew up here in the North Virginia area, and I always looked at Old Town as this really creative and artsy place, and it continues to be that even today," said Harry Francis, Hotel Heron's director of lifestyle. "But I'd like to say that we're actually turning into Newtown, because lots of people have been moving into this area from D.C. and coming here, so it's really changed a lot. I tell people that we're becoming Newtown or the new Old Town, but it's beautiful to see."
4. Chatham Lodging Trust refinances credit facility
Hotel real estate investment trust Chatham Lodging Trust has entered into a new credit agreement that increases the capacity of its senior unsecured revolving loan from $260 million to $300 million and its senior unsecured term loan from $140 million to $200 million, according to a news release. The $500 million credit facility can be increased to $650 million.
The new credit facility will mature in September 2029 with the option to extend it by 12 months. It bears interest pursuant to a leveraged-based pricing grid over the applicable adjusted term SOFR ranging from 1.5% to 2.25% for the revolving loan and 1.45% to 2.2% for the term loan.
5. Bots target brands in culture wars
Bot networks are increasingly targeting major brands in coordinated efforts thanks to the evolution of generative AI tools, the Wall Street Journal reports. Many of those behind these campaigns try to make them look like grassroots efforts over divisive issues.
For example, the recent outrage over Cracker Barrel Old Country Store's new logo has signs of a botnet campaign. PeakMetrics, in coordination with the U.S. Air Force to find sources of foreign misinformation, found "a disproportionate share" of social media posts was from bots on X, the newspaper reports. Bots or likely bots were responsible for 44.5% of X posts mentioning Cracker Barrel within the first 24 hours after the new logo came out.