Author: Daniel snow

From $450 blender to over $150 million in sales

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After years spent in kitchens across the country, Chris Kirby was burnt out. The restaurant lifestyle was demanding and all encompassing, and the 26-year-old found himself not doing much else besides working and going to the bars after a long shift. “I kept waking up in the morning like, ‘Man, life has to be about more than this,'” Kirby, now 38, tells CNBC Make It.Kirby decided that his life was in need of reinvention. He left his job, packed his bags and flew to from Austin to Maryland to move back in with his parents. He enrolled in a local community college with…

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Inside trade war’s tariff hideouts, ‘FTZs’ and bonded warehouses

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To offset the rising costs of tariffs and trade war uncertainty, companies are using U.S. Customs-sanctioned foreign trade zones (FTZs) and bonded warehouses to delay or reduce product taxes.FTZs have a long history dating back to a previous period of trade conflict, created during the Great Depression by Congress to encourage international trade and boost exports at time when the Smoot-Hawley tariffs were as high as 53%.Companies importing raw materials, semi-finished, or components from foreign countries to an FTZ or bonded warehouse are essentially in a tariff bubble, meaning when they enter the U.S. they are stored duty-free.Once inside an…

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America’s 10 weakest state economies most at risk in recession

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The odds of a recession may be falling, but states appear to be betting that corporate leaders are still nervous.An analysis of all 50 states’ economic development marketing efforts — part of CNBC’s annual America’s Top States for Business study — finds that a strong economy is the most frequently mentioned selling point to attract corporate site selectors these days. That includes factors like job growth, fiscal stability, and a wealth of other corporate headquarters. State web sites mentioned economic factors 222 times in our analysis, well ahead of the next most cited factor, infrastructure, at 203.Site selection consultant Tom…

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America’s 10 strongest state economies prepared for recession

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With the U.S. economy solid but still facing elevated risk of recession — or, as President Trump described it in May, in a “transition period” — states are pitching themselves as the most stable place for companies to locate no matter what happens to the economy.”Multiple international headquarters, hundreds of billions of committed investments across a variety of industries and the economy to handle it all,” the Indiana Economic Development Corporation promises. “Georgia job creation remains strong,” that state’s Department of Economic Development assures. “The State of Georgia is celebrating another year of sustained momentum for business recruitment and expansions.””Wisconsin is…

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Trump announces 30% tariffs on EU and Mexico

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The flags of the European Union fly in front of the European Parliament.Philipp von Ditfurth | dpa | Picture Alliance | Getty ImagesPresident Donald Trump said Saturday the U.S. will impose a 30% tariff on goods from the European Union and Mexico that will take effect on Aug. 1.Trump revealed the new rates in letters to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Mexico’s president Claudia Sheinbaum, which he posted on his social media site Truth Social.The EU was seeking at least a preliminary agreement that would spare it from becoming the latest recipient of a letter from Trump…

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