Yahoo Finance's Dani Romero joins the Live show to discuss the decline of ocean freight rates amid the easing of supply chain pressures.

AKIKO FUJITA: Well, one of the economic indicators we're watching closely for potential slowdown is the cost of shipping. Despite soaring during the pandemic, we've seen a recent downtrend with S&P Global Market Intelligence saying the second quarter was likely the peak for 2022.

That's ahead of what's meant to be one of the busiest seasons. Let's bring in "Yahoo Finance's" Dani Romero here with me at the desk. They have come down significantly in terms of the rates. What's the big driver?

DANI ROMERO: So industry analysts have told me that peak season was actually during the summertime-- springtime, excuse me. And that's all a result because we saw retailers like Walmart really pull forward their inventory as a way to cushion themselves against the supply chain snarls that they dealt with during the pandemic. And as a result, ocean shipping rates have fallen.

According to Freightos Baltic Index, the cost to ship a 40-foot container from China to the US West Coast is about $4,000. That is a drop about 72% from mid-January. But it's still elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels and volume is still triple than what it was before the pandemic. But again, analysts and many shipping companies are expecting that these ocean shipping rates are going to continue to drop for the rest of the year and into 2023.

AKIKO FUJITA: Really quickly. When you think about why rates got so high, a lot of this just stemmed from the early days of the pandemic, port shutdowns that were happening in China. A lot of products not getting out. We're starting to hear about additional shutdowns over in China, not on the level that we saw at the height of the pandemic, but what's the knock on effect we're likely to see from that?

DANI ROMERO: And you do bring up a really good point. And just to put it in perspective, China controls about 54% of container ship capacity currently on order. So yes, the disruption in China, due to their zero COVID policy, does hinder economic-- global economic activity, as well as the global supply chain efficiencies. But again, supply chain pressures have eased.

And not only that, but a lot of these global shipping companies, they had a profitable year. And so they're going to be adding a new fleet into the water. So we have that as well. So yes, it is something that analysts are keeping a close eye on. But given the environment and how retailers have accommodated this year for their inventory, I mean, we are going to be getting our Christmas gifts, Akiko.

AKIKO FUJITA: That's a relief to a lot of retailers. Thanks so much for that, Dani.

Today Jeep took the next step into its electric future, one the automaker hopes its die-hard, off-roading fans will want to embrace.

What to watch in markets on Thursday, September 8, 2022.

Kim Kardashian's move into private equity could cause major disruptions to the long-established industry.

AT&T income-hungry shareholders should have seen it coming. In April last year, a month before announcing the spinoff of its media division to shareholders in the form of shares of a 71% stake in the newly created Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Executive Officer John Stankey assured investors that “our deliberate capital-allocation plan allowed us to invest and sustain our dividend at current levels, which we believe is attractive.” AT&T’s eventual failure to raise the dividend in 2021 broke a 34-year streak and saw it booted out of the vaunted S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index.

GM's latest bid to ramp up U.S. EV sales and surpass rival Tesla is a $30,000 all-electric SUV aimed squarely at the mass market. The 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV, which will come in LT and RS models and has an estimated range of 300 miles, will test GM's ability to make an affordable EV that appeals to a broad swath of U.S. consumers. The 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV is scheduled to go on sale next year.

Queen Elizabeth II, Great Britain's longest-reigning monarch, died Thursday at age 96.

Vale and Zim Integrated Shipping Services sport ultra-high dividend yields and compelling long-term valuations.

There's a growing chance inflation could drop by enough during the next two months to allow Democrats to prevail in the midterm elections.

U.S. stocks extended a broad-based rebound Friday, with Wall Street on pace to snap a three-week losing streak.

These strategies can help you reduce your health care costs.

In an effort to streamline the regulation that governs how retirement accounts can be used, the IRS has proposed a change for 403(b) plans - a type of workplace retirement plan use mostly by public and non-profit employees. Employer-sponsored plans … Continue reading → The post The IRS Is Changing How Your Beneficiaries Receive Your Retirement Funds appeared first on SmartAsset Blog.

(Bloomberg) -- Three months after the Federal Reserve stopped reinvesting all of the maturing Treasury securities in its portfolio -- allowing $30 billion a month to run off -- its holdings of the debt ought to be lower by $90 billion.Most Read from BloombergCharles Becomes King as the Face of a Nation ChangesDouble Rainbow Appears Over Buckingham Palace as Crowd Gathers to Mourn QueenUkraine Army’s Breakthrough in North Threatens Russian GripQueen Elizabeth’s Doctors Are Concerned for Her Healt

The S&P 500 is on again, off again all year. But investors clearly have a "buy list" of stocks they want to own when the rally looks real.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler discusses the outlook for the agency's oversight of the crypto industry and the potential hurdles ahead.

Even though battery costs are rising, auto companies are rolling out more affordable electric vehicles that should widen their appeal to a larger group of buyers.

Federal Reserve Governor Chris Waller says he supports a “significant” increase in the central bank’s interest rate at the next policy meeting.

A strong bearish trend defined the markets in the first half of the year; since then, the key point has been volatility. Stocks hit a bottom back in June, when the S&P 500 dropped into the 3,600s. That has proven to be a support level in the last two months, and at least one strategist believes that the market won’t be testing those lows again this year. JPMorgan's Jason Hunter believes that inflation may have peaked, and that the upcoming CPI report will provide additional evidence of that. “We

By 2040, General Motors plans on going completely carbon neutral.

East West Bancorp and Cincinnati Financial are part of Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day article.

GameStop sells video games (software), hardware and accessories (consoles and related items), and collectibles. Anyone with a decent internet connection can download the latest games from their living room via each console's digital marketplace.