Sabri Ben-Achour

Correspondent & Host

Latest Stories (662)

U.S. ramps up scrutiny of Chinese companies buying American tech firms

May 6, 2021
The increased scrutiny has led to an intended chilling effect, with Chinese foreign direct investment slowing since 2016.
Buying a company is a way for foreign firms to access technology, but if the technology is sensitive, that can pose a national security threat in the view of the U.S. government.
Li xin/AFP via Getty Images

EU seeks to raise the drawbridge on companies that get foreign subsidies

May 5, 2021
It's an attempt to gain leverage over China.
European leaders are increasingly worried that China’s state-dominated economic system is threatening companies in their own countries.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Manufacturers seeking workers face competition for talent and an image problem

May 4, 2021
People have outdated ideas about manufacturing jobs and facilities, according to an executive.
Workers to fill engineering and welding jobs are in demand.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The U.S. is trying to reclaim its rare-earth mantle

Apr 30, 2021
The U.S. is in a quiet race driven by national and economic security to reestablish a domestic supply chain for rare earth elements.
The U.S. used to be a leader in mining and refining rare-earth elements into finished products. Above, a geologist points to monazite, which contains rare-earth minerals, in a South African mine.
Rodger Bosch/AFP via Getty Images

GDP grows at fastest rate since Reagan era, but there's still pain

Apr 29, 2021
Economists expect the U.S. to surpass the GDP we’d have seen if COVID-19 hadn’t happened. But many still wait for jobs to come back.
Even as the U.S.' GDP improves, it'll take a while for that to have an impact of jobseekers, if it ever does.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Shortage of semiconductors is a security risk, and what the U.S. can do about it

Apr 21, 2021
Semiconductors are in almost everything, including military equipment, and we don’t have enough of them.
Biden’s infrastructure proposal calls for $50 billion to create a technology directorate that would focus, in part, on semiconductor manufacturing.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

What part of a new house costs 4 times as much as a year ago? Lumber!

Apr 19, 2021
Demand for new U.S. homes is at a record high, and existing homes are old and need repairs.
Lumber prices had risen for a while before the pandemic spurred a renovation trend and boosted prices further.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

How will inflation move in post-COVID recovery?

Apr 16, 2021
Will we see prices rising into 2022? And would larger-than-expected spikes in inflation be noticeable to consumers?
"The overall pattern of inflation, many things will not be noticeably more expensive," says Joseph Gagnon, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
DavidLeshem via Getty Images

Can company culture survive Zoom?

Apr 14, 2021
"Culture doesn't come for free," one professor told us. "You have to keep feeding it."
Hand in Hand Soap's financial controller Arnie Cohen and his green-winged macaw Zoey make an appearance during a recent meeting.
Courtesy Hand in Hand Soap

Why there's a flood of new stock market investors

Apr 13, 2021
This explosion didn’t happen just because everyone was stuck at home. It started before the pandemic.
New retail investors could have a good shot at growing their savings if they take a long term approach.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images