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South Carolina, a state that turned out heavily in support of Donald Trump for president, could be one of the states hardest hit by a potential trade war with Mexico and Canada if the new president succeeds in a push to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement as he’s said he would, experts say.

Trump’s tough talk on trade ramped up during his transition period and escalated during his first week in office with his administration floating a proposal Thursday to place a 20 percent tax on Mexican goods entering the United States, which administration officials later said was only one option.

A move like that would almost certainly draw tariffs on U.S. goods shipped to Mexico in retribution, said Scott Baier, interim chair of Clemson University’s economics department and an adviser on international trade issues under President George W. Bush.

And that would damage one of South Carolina’s burgeoning sectors – exports to Mexico and Canada, which had grown 83 percent in the last 10 years to nearly $6.2 billion in 2015, equal to one-fifth of all of the state’s exported goods, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

That makes South Carolina one of the states most susceptible to a trade war due to its reliance on international trade following a resurgence of manufacturing in recent years, according to a CNBC report that cited the state as among the top 10 states that would be hurt by a North American trade war.

“Potential trade conflicts that the Trump administration is

Article source: http://www.thestate.com/news/politics-government/politics-columns-blogs/the-buzz/article129535319.html

On Wednesday, Boeing (NYSE: BA) reported solid earnings for the final quarter of 2016. Just as importantly, the company offered a relatively favorable outlook for 2017, punctuated by its guidance that free cash flow will rise by roughly $550 million year over year, reaching nearly $8.5 billion.

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After the earnings release, Boeing executives spent some time discussing the company’s results and outlook with analysts and the media. Here are five key points that they emphasized.

Expecting a soft landing for aircraft orders

For 2017 we expect our new order intake to be approximately the same as what we captured in 2016.
— Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenberg

Boeing has experienced a fairly sharp decline in its annual order intake over the past few years. Between 2012 and 2014, Boeing received 3,990 net commercial airplane orders: an average of 1,330 per year. By contrast, net orders plunged to 768 in 2015 and 668 in 2016. Some analysts expect another big decline in orders this year.

Aircraft order activity has cooled off since 2014. Image source: Boeing.

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However, Muilenberg expects order activity to remain stable relative to 2016. Aircraft deliveries will continue to outpace orders, but not by an alarming amount.

Article source: http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/01/28/5-things-boeing-co-management-wants-to-know.html

AVOCA, Ind. (AP) – For most folks, when a lawn and garden power tool breaks, it either winds up in the parts graveyard, the recycling center or salvage yard. There’s not much else that can be done. Right?

Not so, says Fred Baker, who lives on Graves Addition Road north of Avoca. He has found a unique way of disposing of dead chainsaws. He decorates his property with them.

The Lawrence County native retired a few years ago after 30 years as a Teamster truck driver in the Indianapolis area. Although working in Indianapolis, he maintained his home in Lawrence County. He has lived in the same place since 1971.

Baker started decorating his property with old chainsaws a few years ago.

“I’ve always had a fascination with them,” he said. “I cut my own wood and tinkered with the saws when they weren’t working. I needed something to go in the corner of the yard. I liked the idea of collecting chainsaws.”

What he did in the corner of his yard is build a totem pole of chainsaws. The pole is surrounded by several chainsaws stuck, blade first, into the ground, forming a fence around the pole.

“I pick them up at flea markets and yard sales,” he said. “A lot of them came from my friends at DD; Saw Shop in Salem.”

Baker said a lot of people stop by and take pictures.

“It’s really pretty in the summer,” he said. “We have a lot of flowers around the place. I take care of the roses

Article source: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jan/29/lawrence-county-man-gets-crafty-with-chainsaws-cre/