Business Briefs – May 23, 2019

China Has More Weapons in US Tariff War — But Do They Work?

BEIJING (AP) – China has an array of options for retaliating for Washington’s latest tariff hike in the two countries’ escalating trade battle. Beijing could limit exports of rare earths or disrupt operations of American companies in China. But those steps all carry economic and political costs. And there is no guarantee they would work.

FAA Meets With International Regulators Over Boeing 737 Max

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) – U.S. aviation regulators are meeting with counterparts from more than 30 countries to discuss how they’ll determine when the troubled Boeing 737 Max can resume flying. The plane has been grounded since the second of two crashes that together killed 346 people. Among those attending the meeting in Texas are aviation officials from Indonesia and Ethiopia, where the crashes occurred.

Dressbarn Expects to Have All Its Stores Shut in Early 2020

NEW YORK (AP) – Dressbarn says it expects to have all its 650 stores closed in the first half of 2020. The women’s clothing chain had announced it was shutting all its stores earlier this week but did not give a timeline for the closures. On Thursday, Dressbarn’s parent company Ascena Retail Group said in a regulatory filing that the closures would be completed in the first half of next year. The company also says that it couldn’t yet determine how much the closures would cost.

Number of U.S. Homes on the Market Rose in 1q as Sales Slowed

WASHINGTON (AP) – Homebuyers in some of the biggest U.S. cities are seeing a pickup in the number of homes for sale, especially in the most affordable segment of the market. The inventory of homes in the bottom third of the market by price rose 3.5% in the first quarter, the most in at least six years. Still, the rise in home listings in many metropolitan areas is mainly due to properties sitting on the market longer at prices fewer people can afford.