Barron's Take

Reports of U.S.-China talks are “fake news,” Chinese officials said earlier in the day.

Large toy makers have more flexibility to navigate the higher costs. Smaller companies may not be that lucky.

Shares of banks including JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup have lately shown signs of life, but the data say that now isn’t the time to buy the rally.

Eli Lilly says a trial of the pill showed it was similarly safe to injectable weight-loss drugs.

The Tesla CEO said the U.S. couldn’t build drones without Chinese parts.

Chemicals firms Dow and LyondellBasell are the biggest dividend payers in the S&P 500. Other fat divided payouts include Pfizer, Franklin Resources, and Invesco.

Top constituents in Morningstar’s U.S. Low Volatility index such as Berkshire Hathaway, Coca-Cola, and Johnson & Johnson sport year-to-date gains.

Defense contractors Lockheed Martin and RTX caught upgrades from different analysts. Both stocks were up in early Wednesday trading.

Top Goldman executives won approval for their pay packages, but with far fewer votes than a year ago.

Starbucks and Wendy’s shares each have about 25% upside, according to Evercore’s David Palmer. Trends could bear that out.

Marlboro and Zyn parent Philip Morris pledges to continue delivering results despite an “uncertain and volatile global economic environment.”

The S&P 600 is down 12% in the past month. But now the stocks are cheap enough to pop on any positivesabout the economy.

Aerospace firm Boeing announced sales of some of its operations in digital aviation solutions. Shares aren’t higher because it was expected.

China is sending back Boeing 737 MAX jets to Seattle. There’s plenty of demand for them, but selling them to another party is a little tricky.

Tariffs are starting to hit cars that U.S. auto makers send overseas. Ford’s halted shipments include the Mustang and F-150 Raptor.

Stagflation is a fairly remote possibility, but tech, consumer staples, and healthcare do well when it happens.

The president again slammed the Federal Reserve chairman, calling him a “major loser” in a social media post.

With the buck seeing its steepest drops in 15 years, the consumer-discretionary, industrials, and financials sectors look ready to rise.

MicroStrategy, the world’s largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, snaps up 6,556 units of the digital currency.

Jitters over tariffs aren’t going away. Maybe the best thing to do is look at the past for investing advice.

Liberty Energy, which was founded by U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, told investors that falling oil prices could lower the rig count.

Chinese airlines can’t afford to pay more than twice the regular price for Boeing jets, but they also can’t simply buy them from competitor Airbus.

Auto shows are usually a fun time, but dwindling tariff-free inventory loomed. One product specialist suggests focusing on the now.

Shares of electric-vehicle maker Tesla were down 4.2% for the holiday-shortened week.

China understands that there are more weapons in a trade war besides tariffs. The White House should consider what that means for U.S. trade policy.