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Shares of U.S. technology companies slipped on Monday after President Donald Trump unveiled steep new visa fees as part of his immigration crackdown, raising concerns over higher labor costs and tighter access to skilled workers. The Trump administration said on Friday it would ask companies to pay $100,000 per year for H-1B working visas, prompting some big tech companies and banks to warn employees to stay in the U.S. or quickly return. Analysts said the impact should be moderate, given that the fees apply only to new applications, but warned that a constrained supply of skilled workers in the U.S. may push wages higher and squeeze margins. Companies including Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet and Goldman Sachs were among those that sent urgent emails to their employees with travel advisories. Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions, JP Morgan and Intel, which rank among the biggest sponsors of H-1B visas, were down between 1.2% and 1.6% in premarket trading. “The H1B fee will constrain talent supply in the U.S., which in turn will drive up demand for locals or green card holders. IT firms will have to pay these employees more or risk losing them,” Jefferies analysts said in a note. “The talent supply crunch will drive up onsite wages, which could drag profits by 4-13%.” Indian IT workers make up the bulk of H-1B applicants, and while Indian IT companies have long benefited from U.S. work visa programs, they now face the prospect of higher costs and slower revenue growth. Indian IT stocks slid on Monday, with the tech sub-index dropping nearly 3% and dragging the broader Nifty 50 index down. “We believe this will essentially shut out new H-1B visas except in extreme cases for Indian IT companies, as USD100K increment is nearly double their median salaries and doesn’t make economic sense,” Ambit Capital analysts said. Samuel Indyk and Akash Sriram, Reuters
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E-Commerce
A summer night at Surf LodgeMontauk, New York’s famed music venue and it-girl hotspotlooked like any other in July. Hundreds of Hamptons-goers were sipping drinks and dancing at the waterfront venue to blaring DJ sets, trying to catch the perfect Instagram shot. But with Gen Z crowding the dance floor lately, the drinking scene has started to shift. Nights have been wrapping a little earlier, drinks are more slowly paced out, or even swapped out for nonalcoholic options. “Gen Z is interesting because they still celebrate and they have fun. It’s just a new balance and a new way of approaching drinking,” says Jayma Cardoso, Surf Lodge’s owner and hospitality mogul, whose other ventures include New York City’s Goldbar and the Surf Lodge winter spinoff the Snow Lodge in Aspen. With over 20 years in the business, Cardoso has seen nightlife evolve, constantly adapting and innovating to keep her venues relevant to new generations. And, despite headlines calling Gen Z the “sober generation,” new research shows they’re not ditching alcohol entirely. As a Gen Z consumer myself, I find sweeping statements on whether my generation drinks or doesn’t often oversimplified or stuck in time. In fact, our drinking habits are more nuanced. My peers often choose to drink less, not abstain entirely. And yessome even drink more than they should. A recent study from IWSR, an alcohol market data company, found that alcohol participation levels have risen among the youngest legal-drinking-age consumers, with 70% of Gen Z in the United States saying they’d consumed alcohol in the last six months, compared to just 46% in 2023. And while Gen Z’s drinking habits are finally catching up with those of previous generations, young drinkers are reshaping what drinking and socializing looks like. Moderation is in, and so are new ways of socializing “We’re not talking about a sober movement,” Cardoso says. “It’s that if they drink, they drink, but they choose wisely how to drink, and their intake of how much [of] it goes to their body.” As Gen Z drinks more consciously, nonalcoholic beverage brands are tapping into the movementappealing not just to the sober or sober-curious, but also to those looking to pace their alcohol intake. “Instead of drinking alcohol continuously, what I saw were people were switching off,” says Ben Witte, CEO and founder of zero-proof functional beverage brand Recess. He launched the brand in 2018 as an alternative to managing stress and improving mental wellness, beyond what traditional drinks like alcohol could offer. Back then, he noticed consumers having “in between drinks,” like a beer, to pace out hard liquor. Now available at various music venues and bars, including Surf Lodge, Recess serves as a zero-proof alternative to the ritual, positioning itself in the moderation market. And still, some might opt out of drinking in favor of a new buzz. “There are more options compared to other generations when they were that age. Cannabis is legal in many states across the country, so now it’s not always about just getting drunk,” says Darren Seifer, industry analyst for Circana. “There’s just a few more options that are available to Gen Zs that are chipping away at what they do when they’re out having fun.” And the roads leading toward a buzz are already paved, with cannabis entering the beverage world. While not as widely available as functional beveragesdrinks that include an added “function” such as stress relief from herbscannabis drinks are beginning to carve out a role in socializing. “If you think about the thousands of years of human history, we socialize over beverages,” Jake Bullock, cofounder and CEO of Cann, a cannabis-infused drink company, says. He initially launched his brand as an alternative to alcohol to avoid hangovers, but wanted a way to retain the buzz. “Not only are you doing the original goal of drinking less booze, but you’re now also getting another factor,” he says. “It is another experience that’s slightly changing with the way you perceive the world around you and is going to make you a little bit more social.” Money talksand so does health While Gen Z has become the poster child of moderate drinking, the trend crosses the age gap, with older generations reducing their alcohol intake as well. A recent Gallup report shows that the drinking rate in the U.S. has fallen to its lowest point in 90 years, with only 54% of adults saying they consume alcohol. And while the decision to set alcohol aside varies, both rising costs in an uncertain economic climate and a wave of health consciousness are pushing people away from the bar. “The downward trend has accelerated,” Seifer says. “A lot of it is driven by pricing. And volume-wise, it’s been down in the last few years.” In addition to pricing decisionswhere consumers are opting to spend their money elsewherethe popularity of health consciousness is also reshaping habits. “Since the [Trump] administration came in in January and we heard about ‘Make America Healthy Again,’ there’s been an uptick in people saying they’re trying to avoid artificial colors, GMOs, artificial sweeteners. So there seems to be this renewed focus on purity these days,” Seifer says. “And when you think about what’s pure, it could be inferred that alcohol might not be a pure item.” For instance, at Snow Lodge, Cardoso first introduced zero-proof cocktails due to wellness, a decision that has traveled to Surf Lodge, where consumers can now get a bucket of Recess over a bucket of beers. “[Consumers] are looking at, ‘What are my options, and where am I going to spend my hard-working money?'” Cardoso adds. “Maybe it is, ‘I’m going to dance the night away, have the time of my lifebut I’m also going to go home earlier so that I can do my wellness tomorrow.'” So whether it’s for saving money or for waking up ready to go the next morning, moderation is trendier than ever, and Gen Z is leading the way.
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E-Commerce
In August, select shrimp products were pulled off the shelves across the country over fears of contamination with cesium-137 (Cs-137), a radioactive isotope. Then, in early September, more shrimp products were recalled over the same fears. Now, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is notifying the public about yet another round of shrimp recalls due to radioactive fears. Heres what you need to know. Whats happened? The FDA has issued another recall notice, expanding the list of products that could be contaminated with Cs-137. This recall is being carried out by Aqua Star (USA) Corp. of Seattle. As with previous recalls, these shrimp were processed by an Indonesian company whose containers tested positive for Cs-137. Cs-137 is a radioactive isotope that is widely found in trace amounts throughout the environment, due to widespread testing of nuclear weapons in the 1950s and 1960s. However, though these trace amounts usually dont pose a threat, if a person ingests a larger amount of Cs-137, usually through food, then the isotope can cause serious adverse health consequences. In all, the FDA has issued six recall notices related to potentially contaminated shrimp over the last five weeks. Thankfully, the latest notice states that no illnesses linked to the recalled products have been reported. Updated recalled product list The items being recalled in this latest round include three products: Kroger Raw Colossal EZ Peel Shrimp net weight 2 pounds with the following UPC, lot codes, and dates: UPC 20011110643906, lot code 10662 5085 10, Best If Used By: March 26, 2027 UPC 20011110643906, lot code 10662 5097 11, Best If Used By: April 7, 2027 UPC 20011110643906, lot code 10662 5106 11, Best If Used By: April 16, 2027 UPC 20011110643906, lot code 10662 5107 10, Best If Used By: April 17, 2027 UPC 20011110643906, lot code 10662 5111 11, Best If Used By: April 21, 2027 UPC 20011110643906, lot code 10662 5112 10, Best If Used By: April 22, 2027 UPC 20011110643906, lot code 10662 5113 10, Best If Used By: April 23, 2027 UPC 20011110643906, lot code 10662 5113 11, Best If Used By: April 23, 2027 UPC 20011110643906, lot code 10662 5114 10, Best If Used By: April 24, 2027 UPC 20011110643906, lot code 10662 5114 11, Best If Used By: April 24, 2027 Kroger Mercado Cooked Medium Peeled Tail-Off Shrimp, net weight 2 pounds with the following UPC, lot codes, and dates: UPC 011110626196, lot code 10662 5112 11, Best Before: October 22, 2027 UPC 011110626196, lot code 10662 5113 10, Best Before: October 23, 2027 Aqua Star Raw Peeled Tail-On Shrimp Skewers; net weight 1.25 pounds with the following UPC, lot codes, and dates: UPC 731149390010, lot code 10662 5127 10, Best If Used By: November 7, 2027 UPC 731149390010, lot code 10662 5128 11, Best If Used By: November 8, 2027 UPC 731149390010, lot code 10662 5133 11, Best If Used By: November 13, 2027 UPC 731149390010, lot code 10662 5135 10, Best If Used By: November 15, 2027 In total, the notice says that approximately 49,920 bags of the Kroger Raw Colossal EZ Peel Shrimp are being recalled, as well as approximately 18,000 bags of the Kroger Mercado Cooked Medium Peeled Tail-Off Shrimp, and approximately 17,264 bags of the Aqua Star Raw Peeled Tail-On Shrimp Skewers. Where were the recalled products sold? The recalled products were sold between June 12 and September 17, according to the notice. They were sold in numerous stores, including: Bakers City Market Dillons Food 4 Less Foods Co. Fred Meyer Frys Gerbes Jay C King Soopers Kroger Marianos Metro Market Pay Less Super Markets Pick ‘n Save Ralphs Smiths QFC The recalled products were sold in the following states: Alaska Alabama Arkansas Arizona California Colorado Georgia Idaho Illinois Indiana Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Michigan Missouri Mississippi Montana Nebraska New Mexico Nevada Ohio Oregon South Carolina Tennessee Texas Utah Virginia Washington Wisconsin West Virginia Wyoming What if I have the recalled shrimp? If you have the recalled shrimp products, you should not consume them, according to the notice. Instead, you should dispose of them or return them to their place of purchase. You can read the full recall notice on the FDA’s website here.
Category:
E-Commerce
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