Business News

Made in America, Please? China Shells Out for US Exports

Dynamic Graphics/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- In China, there is a hunger for all things American -- and U.S. businesses, small and large, are taking note.

According to the U.S.-China Business Council, the Chinese spent $104 billion in U.S. exports in the last year -- up 542 percent from 10 years ago.

In China recently, Oscar Atkinson, a CEO at Silicone Arts Labs in Memphis, Tenn., visited with potential partners in Beijing and then went to a medical trade fair in Shenzhen, shopping around his company's new skin concealer product called Dermaflage.

"The Chinese consumer is just as image-conscious as the American consumer," he said. "We could have great success if we could find the right partner [and] overcome the regulatory hurdles, which are not significant. I'm looking forward to it."

Even U.S. giants like Pringles and Coca-Cola have figured out there's money to be made across the Pacific.

In Jackson, Tenn., a Pringles chip plant changes the flavors of its chips to soft-shell crab, grilled shrimp and seaweed before shipping to the Chinese middle class. Currently, one of every three Pringles cans goes overseas.

Skippy peanut butter, which is made in Little Rock, Ark., now ships to 70 countries. And Coca-Cola has created a beverage -- which tastes like a sweet version of orange juice -- to cater to the Chinese. The oranges come from the groves of Florida but are sold 11,000 miles away in Shanghai in a drink named Pulpy.

It's not just food. Mack's, the world's largest manufacturer of moldable, silicone earplugs, now provides labels for the Chinese market.

And most of the makeup in China bears U.S. labels -- which is why Atkinson was there, traveling from city to city making his sales pitch for Dermaflage.

He said the Shenzhen trade show was packed with people and international companies.

"It's really something to behold," he told ABC News.

But other U.S. entrepreneurs like Lion Brand Yarn in New Jersey have found another way to reach the masses in China -- through Export Now, an Amazon.com-like business that helps small- and medium-size U.S. businesses sell to Chinese consumers.

"Much like customers in other parts of the world, Chinese customers are often skeptical about the quality of Chinese-made products," Export Now said. "U.S. products...are getting more and more welcome in the local market."

The company, which sells everything from flip-flops to T-shirts and skateboards, said that 370 million Chinese had logged in to shop for U.S products on its website so far and that last year the site had sold $60 billion in U.S products.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

Facebook IPO: What's the Big Deal and Who's Buying?

LOIC VENANCE/AFP/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- With Facebook set to go public Friday, some may be wondering what all the buzz is all about.

Andrew Serwer, managing editor of Fortune magazine, says the social network is more than just a fad. It's like a utility. Almost everyone uses it, and it touches everyone in terms of social networking, which is what the phenomenon is all about.

"It's hard to think of a company that has kind of burst on the scene more quickly, with more pizzazz, than Facebook," Serwer said. "I mean it's ubiquitous, it's everywhere, and so, when you have a company like that, that's going public, that's growing like crazy, that's top of mind, it's a perfect combination."

But Serwer says that if you've got high hopes of scooping up a lot of shares, forget about it. The big guys on Wall Street will be getting access to all the shares.

"Professionals -- they're getting all the shares and, to some extent, we are sharing in that because they are buying shares for pension funds and mutual funds and retirement funds. So we share in it in that way, but it's professionals, not us, who are really getting the stock," he said.

Amid all the excitement for social network's upcoming IPO, here is how you might have fared with some other IPO stocks:

Johnson & Johnson for $375 at its IPO price in 1944, your investment would be worth about $10 million (source: Johnson & Johnson).
Apple for $220 at its IPO price in 1980, your investment would be worth about $44,800.
Amazon for $180 at its IPO price in 1997, your investment would be worth about $27,240.
Google for $85 at its IPO price in 2004, your investment would be worth about $6,111.
McDonald’s for $225 during its IPO in 1965, it would now be worth about $676,000. (source: McDonald’s)
AOL for $254.50 at its (second) IPO price in 2009, it would now be worth about $270 (you made essentially no profit, taking inflation into account).
PETS.com for $1,110 at its IPO price in 2000, it would now be worth NOTHING.

Reid Says JPMorgan Should ‘Take Their Business to Las Vegas’

Alex Wong/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., suggested Tuesday that JPMorgan “take their business to Las Vegas,” after the bank’s $2 billion loss stemming from bad trades.

“Because it’s just a gamble,” the Nevada senator said Tuesday. “It’s one of the things that’s clear that they were betting like they would do at a crap table in Las Vegas. And they bet the wrong way....If they make a bad bet Uncle Sam is there. We’ve got to stop that.”

Reid said he has great respect for JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, but “this is a bad deal.”

The majority leader is expected to force a vote, perhaps as early as this week, on two nominees to the Federal Reserve Board, a move influenced in part by the trading loss at JPMorgan.

“It’s important that we have a fully functioning Fed,” Reid said, “The Fed, who's responsible for drawing up those rules, should have been done a long time ago.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Tuesday that it is his impression that there is “bipartisan support” for both nominees in the Senate despite Sen. David Vitter’s, R-La., objection to a full vote in the Senate.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

Third Straight Day of Losses for the Dow

Hemera/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- Stocks ended Tuesday's session with a drop and some of the biggest losses in months, with the Dow closing down 63 points and the Nasdaq and S&P giving up nine points and eight points, respectively.

The continued losses can likely be attributed to the ongoing financial and political troubles in Greece. Nearly $900 million was withdrawn from local banks in Greece Monday, according to remarks by President Karolos Papoulias to other leaders released Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reports. The heavy withdrawls only increase concerns about Greece's potential departure from the euro zone.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department says retail sales rose one-tenth of a percent in April, after stronger gains in the two preceding months. Consumer prices were flat as cheaper gas offset modest increases for food, clothing and housing.

A drop in gas prices won't be enough to get many more of us on the road this summer. A survey by Triple A predicts only a small uptick in travelers.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

'Sudden Acceleration' Hyundai Crash Caught on Camera?

ABC News(WASHINGTON) -- Korean officials are now investigating whether dashboard camera video that shows an elderly Korean couple speeding through crowded city streets and then plowing into another vehicle at 80 mph is evidence of sudden, uncontrolled acceleration by the vehicle.

Footage of the May 6 crash, in which 17 people were injured, was posted on an Internet forum by the couple's son, who told Korean media he didn't think that the police or the auto manufacturer would believe that the crash was caused by sudden, unexplained acceleration.

The son, who would only give his family name, Kwon, to Korean media, said his father, the driver, suffered fractured ribs and fingers, and his mother needed an operation to stop internal bleeding.

The incident, which occurred in heavy traffic in Daegu, one of South Korea's largest cities, was captured by a camera mounted on the Sonata's dashboard and facing forward. In the 29-second clip, the car accelerates quickly from a complete standstill. The driver weaves in and out of traffic, trying to avoid impact as his wife blurts, "Oh my God, what is going on?" The driver then slams into the back of a stopped car at 129 kilometers per hour.

On Monday, the Korean government said it planned to investigate the incident, and that it is also investigating several other incidents of alleged sudden acceleration.

In a statement to ABC News, Hyundai Motors said, "The Vehicle is being inspected by the Korean National Forensic Service. There is no time estimate for the conclusion of the investigation."

On May 5, Hyundai announced that all its cars are now manufactured with brake override systems, which are designed to stop sudden acceleration incidents. According to Korean media reports the vehicle from the Daegu crash was a 2009 Sonata.

ABC News has reported extensively on alleged sudden acceleration incidents in Toyotas. Toyota recalled millions of vehicles to address sticking accelerator pedals or misplaced floor mats. In all other cases, Toyota attributed complaints of sudden acceleration to "driver error," saying its research has shown the driver mistakenly pressed the gas pedal instead of the brake.

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JPMorgan Shareholders Approve Pay Packages After $2B Trading Loss

Peter Foley/Bloomberg via Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Despite the bank's $2 billion trading loss, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon still has the support of the company's stockholders. At the company's annual meeting Tuesday, shareholders voted to approve his multi-million pay package.

Shareholders voted 91.5 percent in the "say on pay" vote for JP Morgan's compensation for its executives. They voted 41 percent in favor of an independent chairman, or splitting the role of chairman of the board and chief executive officer, both held by Dimon presently.

The company awarded Dimon, 56, $23 million last year, one of the few CEOs of U.S. banks who did not take a pay cut.

Dimon repeated his comments of contrition, revealing no new details about the massive loss and saying the bank agrees "with the intent of the Volcker Rule," the pending regulation limiting proprietary trading.

"We are not against new regulations," Dimon said.

Dimon said that he has discussed his opinions about financial regulation in previous letters from the chairman. He said the bank has supported 70 to 80 percent of the Dodd-Frank Act and, "I never denied we need good regulation."

"We believe in good, simple and strong regulation," Dimon said in response to one shareholder who asked if the company was resisting new legislation, adding and it is "not a matter of more or less" regulation.

The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the Justice Department has opened an inquiry into the $2 billion trading loss.

One shareholder asked Dimon why the company would not initiate further principal reduction for underwater homeowners if the loss was not significant to the company's bottom line. But officials did not respond.

"You purchased bad loans at a discount...Pass that discount onto clients," she said. "We're talking about real people not just dollar signs and investors - real investors on the streets."

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio