Member Briefing May 21, 2026

U.N. Lowers Forecast For Global Economic Growth In 2026 Over Mideast Energy Crisis

U.N. economists said global GDP growth is now forecast at 2.5% for 2026, down from 2.7% in January. Shantanu Mukherjee, director of economic analysis in the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, said at a news conference. Global inflation is projected to rise to 3.9% this year, 0.8% higher than forecast in January, before the U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran. Iran responded by blocking the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for shipments of oil, natural gas, fertilizer and other petroleum products.

• In the United States, the economy is expected to remain “comparatively resilient” with 2% growth forecast this year, broadly similar to 2025, it said.
• By contract, Europe “is more exposed, with heavy reliance on imported energy straining households and businesses,” the economists said. Economic growth in the European Union is expected to slow from 1.5% in 2025 to 1.1% in 2026, while growth in the United Kingdom is forecast to drop further, from 1.4% last year to 0.7% this year.
• In Asia, the U.N. said China’s diversified energy mix, sizable strategic reserves and government actions are providing a buffer, so its economic growth is only expected to slow from 5% in 2025 to 4.6% this year.
• India is forecast to remain one of the fastest growing major economics, with its economy expanding by 6.4% this year, although that is lower than its 7.5% growth in 2025.
• In Africa, average growth is projected to drop only slightly, from 4.2% last year to 3.9% this year, according to the report. And in Latin America and the Caribbean, it is forecast to slow from 2.5% to 2.3% in 2026.

Read more at The NFIB

CEOs Are Getting Ruthless About Worker Performance

Before saying hello Unilever Plc Chief Executive Officer Fernando Fernandez starts every meeting by saying: ‘Volume growth, positive mix, consistent growth margin expansion for profit growth in hard currency,’” the CEO told an industry analyst in a recorded appearance last year. Fernandez acknowledged it’s a strange way to greet people, but it’s how he ensures employees understand what’s important: He wants results and he’s holding people accountable for them.

While hardly a new mantra in the business world, the approach marks a contrast from the corporate ethos of the previous decade, when labor was in short supply and leaders tried putting empathy and warmth out front while quietly wishing employees worked harder. Now, as the looming threat of artificial intelligence gives employers more leverage in an already sluggish white-collar job market, a growing chorus of CEOs in every major sector is saying the quiet part out loud, and frequently underscoring the point with layoffs. “We will be ruthless in assessing our talent, our people,” Nestlé SA’s Philipp Navratil pledged to investors and analysts soon after he became CEO last year. At Citigroup Inc., CEO Jane Fraser reminded staff that they’re judged on results, not effort. 3M Co. CEO Bill Brown routinely uses the word “relentless” when discussing his company’s culture. Leaders at companies including Novo Nordisk A/S and HSBC Holdings Plc have been similarly blunt.

Read more at Yahoo Finance

Ransomware Attacks on West Pharmaceutical and Foxconn Highlight Growing Cyber Risks to Manufacturing Sector

West Pharmaceutical Services disclosed a ransomware attack that disrupted manufacturing, shipping, and receiving operations across multiple global facilities after attackers breached its network on May 4. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said hackers stole data and encrypted systems, prompting it to proactively shut down portions of its infrastructure to contain the incident.

In a separate incident, Taiwanese company Foxconn confirmed a cyberattack affecting several North American factories after the Nitrogen ransomware group claimed it stole 8TB of data and more than 11 million files from the company. Foxconn said impacted facilities are returning to normal operations but did not confirm whether customer data was compromised. In addition to attempting to extort victims by threatening to release data stolen in an attack, Nitrogen also often deploys traditional ransomware that encrypts a target's systems. Researchers say that the group's ransomware program itself was built off of widely repurposed “Conti 2” code, but it has a problem.

Read more at Wired

Iran and the Middle East

• Trump Says Willing To Wait For A Few Days To Get 'Right Answer' On Iran Peace Deal - Reuters
• How Iran Got to the Nuclear Threshold on the Watch of Three U.S. Presidents - WSJ
• Iran Is Consolidating Control Of Hormuz With Island Checkpoints, Diplomatic Deals – And Sometimes ‘Fees’ - Reuters
• Tankers Exit Strait of Hormuz With 6 Million Barrels Of Crude Oil - Reuters
• Iran Says 26 Vessels Have Transited The Strait Of Hormuz In The Past 24 Hours – France 24
• Inside Israel’s High-Tech Campaign to Kill or Capture Every Oct. 7 Attacker - WSJ
• How Much Do You Know About the Strait of Hormuz? – Take the Material Handling & Logistics Quiz
• Interactive Map – US and Israeli Attack in Iran – ArcGIS Story Maps
• Map – Conflicts in the Middle East – Live Universal Awareness Map

Ukraine

• The Ground Drones Rescuing Ukraine’s Wounded From the Front Lines – WSJ
• Russia Is Losing In Ukraine. Xi Has Noticed — Trump Should Too - CNN
• Russian Threats Against Baltics ‘Unacceptable’ And Danger To ‘Our Entire Union’, EU’s von der Leyen Says – The Guardian
• Putin Seeks a Boost From Xi in Beijing as War Effort Falters - WSJ
• Lithuanian Lawmakers Shelter, Vilnius Air Traffic Suspended Due To Drone Incursion - Reuters
• NATO’s Baltic Flank Rattled By Drone Incidents As VDL Blames Russia - Politico
• Interactive Map: Assessed Control Of Terrain In Ukraine – Institute For The Study Of War
• Map – Tracking Russia’s Invasion Of Ukraine – Live Universal Awareness Map

Other World Headlines

• 5 Things To Know About The Raúl Castro Indictment And The Cuba Crisis – The Hill
• Fears Surge On The Ground In Congo Over The Spread Of Rare Type Of Ebola - AP
• US Plans To Shrink Forces Available To NATO During Crises, Sources Say – Reuters
• Rutte Shrugs Off Shrinking US Military Presence In Europe As ‘Expected’ - Politico
• Indonesia Takes Control Of 'Strategic' Commodity Exports With New Body – Nikkei Asia
• Cubans Are Anxious, Desperate and Hoping for Change as the U.S. Confronts Havana - WSJ
• Record 274 Climbers Scale Mount Everest In A Single Day From Nepali Side - Reuters
• The World Has 6 Months To Avert Hormuz-Linked Food Crisis, Says UN - Politico
• Over 47,000 Samsung Electronics Workers Set To Strike As Wage Talks Break Down - CNBC
• Taiwan Leader Says ‘Foreign Forces’ Cannot Decide Island’s Future Amid China Pressure – France 24

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Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Leaders Introduce the NAM Supported BUILD America 250 Act

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) and Ranking Member Rick Larsen (D-WA) released a surface transportation reauthorization bill Sunday evening that answers manufacturers’ urgent calls for funding certainty and support for America’s roads, bridges, rail systems and more.  The NAM voiced support for the bill, with Executive Vice President Erin Streeter saying, “The highway bill released today reflects the needs of America’s manufacturers, including tremendous progress toward comprehensive permitting reform, and our industry looks forward to working with the committee to quickly advance this vital legislation.”

According to Streeter, highway congestion and port delays alone are costing manufacturers nearly $40 billion annually, and freight delays account for 65 million hours of lost efficiency each year. “The BUILD America 250 Act makes an important down payment on America’s long-term economic competitiveness through robust investment in core infrastructure, freight mobility, safety and supply chain reliability,” the NAM said. “It also represents tremendous progress toward comprehensive permitting reform. Manufacturers particularly appreciate the bill’s strong emphasis on formula-based highway and bridge investment, multimodal freight connectivity and long-term funding certainty.”

Read more at The NAM

State Lawmakers Struggle To Add $2.4 Billion To Budget For Healthcare Coverage For 450,000 New Yorkers

Thanks to federal changes implemented as part of last year’s HR1 spending bill, Essential Plan enrollees who make between 200% and 250% of the federal poverty line will lose access to low-to-zero premium insurance. The number of impacted New Yorkers was originally over a million, but the federal government approved a state waiver to amend Essential Plan coverage to stave off the worst of the cuts – at the expense of the higher-income population that gained access to the health insurance coverage after an expansion two years ago.

While state leaders agree that’s a huge problem that the state will need to address, the likelihood they’ll include specific measures to help people weather the storm in the late state budget seem increasingly slim. Speaking to reporters Thursday, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie acknowledged the need for the state to find a way to help those who will get kicked off the Essential Plan in July, calling the situation “heartbreaking.” But he said the state doesn’t have the money right now to do what some advocates and lawmakers are pushing for. “We’ve kind of bounced around some ideas, but no matter which iteration you try to come up with, it still requires the state to come up with billions,” Heastie said. “I’m not sure the money is there under our current tax structure. So we talk about it, we care about it, but I don’t know if we’re going to be able to solve that.”

Read more at City & State

Private Insurance Hospital Prices Soar 30% To Outpace Medicare Growth

Private insurers pay significantly more than traditional Medicare rates for hospital services, a new KFF report found. These high prices affect households through higher premiums and cost-sharing obligations, and reduced wages for those with employer-sponsored health coverage. Private insurance prices for hospital care rose by 30% from April 2019 to April 2026, compared to a 21% increase in Medicare rates. Put differently, private insurance prices grew 47% more quickly than Medicare rates over this seven-year period.

Large increases in labor and supply expenses during the pandemic likely pushed providers to negotiate for higher prices. However, contracts between hospitals and insurers are only periodically renegotiated and often last for multiple years, meaning there may be a lag before any effects of higher input costs are fully reflected in higher prices. By contrast, traditional Medicare hospital prices are updated annually by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, primarily through the Inpatient and Outpatient Prospective Payment Systems.

Read more at BenefitsPro

More Policy and Politics Headlines

• Johnson, Trump, White House Reach Compromise On Housing Bill – Politico
• Southern Sweep Reinforces Trump’s Primary Power – The Hill
• Lawmakers, Health Leaders Make Bipartisan Push To Expand Clinical Trials Access – The Hill
• Harvard Votes to Cap A’s in Effort to Curb Grade Inflation - WSJ
• What Tuesday’s Primaries Tell Us About The Future Of The Democratic Party - Politico
• Mullin Wins Some Praise For His Quieter Style At DHS – The Hill
• Rising Mortgage Rates Cause Surge In Demand For Riskier Loans - CNBC
• Two Jan. 6 Police Officers Sue to Stop Trump’s ‘Anti-Weaponization’ Fund - WSJ
• School District Budgets Gain Approval Across Region – Mid-Hudson News
• Barney Frank, A Liberal Congressman And Trailblazer For Gay Rights, Dies At 86 – AP

American In DRC Tests Positive for Virus and Deaths Rise

An American working in the DRC tested positive for Ebola, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed Monday. Though the CDC did not identify the person, the international charity Serge reported that a Christian missionary physician – Dr. Peter Stafford – had “tested positive” after “presenting symptoms consistent with the virus.” His wife, Dr. Rebekah Stafford, and another physician – both of whom were treating patients when the outbreak began – are being monitored for signs of the virus but are currently asymptomatic, the charity said. The couple’s four children are also being monitored. The CDC invoked Title 42 – a public health law that restricts entry into the US during outbreaks of communicable diseases – for at least 30 days starting Monday.

Relief officials warned that years of war and aid cuts have “deepened a humanitarian crisis of staggering scale” in the DRC, where thousands of people have been killed and many more displaced since January. Mounting hostilities have slashed access to key surveillance systems that “should have detected this outbreak weeks earlier,” according to the country director for the international NGO Oxfam. The latest outbreak is being driven by the Bundibugyo strain, one of several viruses that can cause Ebola disease, WHO said. The organizaton has called the outbreak “extraordinary” as there are currently no approved treatments or vaccines specific to the Bundibugyo virus.

Read more at CNN

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Trade Wars

• EU Approves Trade Deal With Washington And Sets Safeguards – Le Monde
• Democrats Make Demands Of U.S. Trade Representative Ahead Of U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement Review - CNBC
• EU Leaders Hope Trump Trade Truce Will Hold - Politico
• China Signals It Would Accept Some US Tariff Increase in Talks - Bloomberg
• China-US Trade Talks Saw Washington Commit To Tariff Ceiling, Beijing Says - SCMP

DOJ Accuses Four Manufacturing Firms of Fixing Shipping Container Prices

The Justice Department indicted four shipping container manufacturers, alleging that they conspired to restrict the output and fix prices of shipping containers for at least four years. The companies—Singamas Container Holdings, based in Hong Kong, as well as China-based China International Marine Containers, Shanghai Universal Logistics Equipment, and CXIC Group Containers—supply nearly all of the world’s standard unrefrigerated shipping containers, the DOJ said.

The DOJ is alleging that discussions around the price-fixing scheme began as early as March 2019. Three of the companies agreed to limit production lines of standard dry containers, install surveillance cameras to enforce the limits, and to not build any new manufacturing facilities. Singamas joined the scheme as early as March 2020, the DOJ said. The companies would later restrict the total cargo volume of containers they produced, as well as the amount of containers they would ship to various customers, including major U.S. firms, the DOJ said.

Read more at WSJ

5 Manufacturers Announcing New US Production Facilities

Medicines company Novartis announced on April 30 plans to add a new active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) facility in Morrisville, North Carolina, as part of its previously announced $23 billion investment in U.S. manufacturing.

Earlier this month, SEG Solar announced it will increase its total annual U.S. module production capacity to approximately 6 GW with the addition of a new $200 million, 4 GW solar manufacturing facility in Houston, Texas.

Power management company Eaton announced early last month that it will open a new manufacturing facility in Bellevue, Nebraska, to support the growing needs of data centers. The 370,000-square-foot facility is expected to begin producing switchgear in the first half of 2027 and add over 200 engineering, manufacturing and production jobs.

Pharmaceutical company AbbVie announced on April 22 a $1.4 billion investment to build a manufacturing campus in Durham, North Carolina, that will support production of medicines used in immunology, neuroscience and oncology.

Whirlpool Corp. announced on April 10 it will invest more than $60 million to transform an existing building in Perrysburg, Ohio, into the company’s 11th U.S. factory. The plant, previously used for solar panel manufacturing, will create between 100 and 150 new jobs and produce appliance components and subassembly work for washers and dryers.

Read more at IndustryWeek

Nvidia, and Other Earnings of Note

Nvidia reported record sales and income Wednesday, driven by surging demand for data-center computing and the astronomical rise of artificial-intelligence agents. Sales for the April quarter reached $81.6 billion, up 85% from the year-earlier period and beating the $78.9 billion that analysts polled by FactSet had forecast by 3.4%. Net income was $58.3 billion for the quarter, more than three times the year-earlier result and 36.5% higher than the $42.9 billion analysts had predicted. The record-high sales were driven by growth in Nvidia’s data-center segment, especially the sale of computing hardware, which includes the company’s graphics processing units, or GPUs, as well as other chips that perform both general-purpose and specialized computing tasks. Nvidia also raised its guidance for the current quarter, saying it now expects sales of $91 billion and gross margins of 75%. Shares were roughly flat aftermarket trading. - WSJ

Target on Wednesday posted earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street expectations, and reported that net sales grew more than 6% year over year as the retailer tries to win back customers amid slumping sales.  Earnings per share were $1.71 vs. $1.46 expected and revenue was: $25.44 billion vs. $24.64 billion expected. Target’s same-store sales jumped 5.6%, its first positive same-store sales number in five quarters. The retailer said it saw broad-based strength across its categories, with traffic across stores and digital platforms growing 4.4% compared with the fiscal first quarter last year. Digital comparable sales increased 8.9%, growth the company attributed to same-day delivery through its membership, Target Circle 360. CNBC

Lowe’s on Wednesday reported quarterly results that beat expectations on the top and bottom lines and reaffirmed its full-year outlook. Earnings per share were $3.03 adjusted vs. $2.97 expected and revenue was $23.08 billion vs. $22.97 billion expected. For the three-month period ended May 1, Lowe’s reported net income of $1.63 billion, down just slightly from $1.64 billion, in the year-ago period. Revenue jumped about 10% compared to the previous year. Comparable sales increased 0.6% for the quarter, driven by what Lowe’s said was its spring execution and a 15.5% growth in online sales. Strength in appliances, home services and sales to home professionals like contractors also contributed to its performance. - CNBC

TJX, the parent of T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods delivered another set of strong sales and earnings results, with profit helped by hedges against rising fuel prices. It also raised its sales and earnings guidance for the full year. While sales continued to grow--up 9% in the latest quarter, which ended May 2-- there was another silver lining for investors in the numbers. Net income rose 28.6% to $1.3 billion compared with the same period last year, partially due to fuel hedges that insulated the company from rising gas prices due to war with Iran. - WSJ

Home Depot said Tuesday its core homeowner shopper remains resilient in the face of higher gas prices and plummeting consumer confidence, leading the retailer to reaffirm its full-year guidance after beating fiscal first-quarter expectations. Earnings per share were $3.43 adjusted vs $3.41 expected and revenue was $41.77 billion vs. $41.52 billion expected. The company’s reported net income for the three-month period that ended May 3 was $3.29 billion, compared with $3.43 billion, a year earlier. Sales rose to $41.77 billion, up almost 5% from $39.86 billion a year earlier.  The company said it continues to expect fiscal 2026 sales to grow between 2.5% and 4.5%. – MarketWatch

Novelis Aluminum Plant To Resume Operations Following Fire Damage

Novelis’ largest aluminum plant will resume hot mill operations sooner than expected following two fires last fall, CEO Steven Fisher said on an earnings call Tuesday. The company has already started commissioning the Oswego, New York, location, and will have coils coming off the mill in the next few weeks to support “pent-up” demand in the automotive and beverage packing industries, Fisher said.

Novelis expects a “total negative cash flow impact” of $1.7 billion from the fires, including repair, clean-up and idle worker costs, according to an investor filing. The September and November fires primarily affected Oswego’s hot mill, finishing and motor room areas. No injuries were reported from the incidents. While Oswego’s hot mill operations have been idle over the past several months, Fisher said Novelis has focused on recovery and mitigation efforts by rerouting shipments globally and leveraging alternative sourcing to meet customer demand.

Read more at Manufacturing Dive

Stellantis, JLR Sign Mou To Explore Product Development Collaboration In US

Stellantis and Jaguar Land Rover on May 20 announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore collaboration opportunities in product and technology development in the United States. Under the non-binding agreement, the two automakers will assess potential synergies across vehicle programs and technology initiatives, leveraging each company’s complementary capabilities to create value and support long-term growth ambitions.

The move comes as global automakers increasingly look to partnerships to reduce development costs, accelerate electrification strategies, and strengthen their competitiveness in key markets such as the US. “By working with partners to explore synergies in areas such as product and technology development, we can create meaningful benefits for both sides while remaining focused on delivering the products and experiences our customers love,” said Antonio Filosa, Chief Executive Officer of Stellantis.

Read more at Bloomberg

Recruiting Firm Randstad CEO Says College Career Path ‘Over’ As Skilled Trade Get 30% Pay Bump

The days of going to college to secure a lucrative career are over, as skilled trade workers have seen a 30% wage bump in the past few years, the CEO of the world’s largest recruitment firm told CNBC. Sander van Noordende, CEO of Dutch staffing giant Randstad, recommended the skilled trades career track to young people in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Wednesday. “I would say the days of going to college and doing something in an office, they are over,” Noordende said. “You’ve got to be smarter than that. I think technology, any kind of technology, is still a good career trajectory.

Specialized skilled trade roles are now offering salaries that compete with traditional office jobs, with wage growth up 30% in the U.S. in the past four years, up 21% in the Netherlands, 18% in Germany, and 9% in the U.K, according to Randstad’s latest data shared with CNBC. Mechanics now earn an average of $79,000 in the Netherlands and $76,600 in Germany, while in the broader housing and construction sector in the U.K., average salaries reach over $78,500. Randstad’s most recent data also highlighted that entry-level workers with AI skills are commanding salaries up to 25% higher, as graduates continue to face an employment drought.

Read more at CNBC

SpaceX Selects Goldman Sachs to Lead IPO That is Likely to Eclipse Every Other Blockbuster Offering

SpaceX is looking to raise as much as $80 billion or more in its initial public offering, making it the biggest ever in terms of funds raised. The company had $16 billion in revenue last year and expanded into artificial intelligence earlier this year by acquiring Musk’s xAI. Its dominant space technologies, growth and ties to AI help explain why its debut is expected to rival those of some state-run companies and tech giants. SpaceX, which is getting set to publicly disclose its IPO prospectus, has picked Goldman Sachs to lead what’s likely to be a record offering, according to people familiar with the matter.

If its market value at offering reaches $1.71 trillion, that would top the previous record for valuation of a newly public company, set in 2019 by the Saudi Arabian Oil Co., known as Aramco. SpaceX also stands out for how long it has stayed private. It is controlled by billionaire CEO Elon Musk and was started in 2002. That is before Meta Platforms (in 2004), then named Facebook, and Uber Technologies (in 2009) were founded, and they both have been public for years.

Read more at CNBC

Goodyear Aims To Lay Off 1,700 As It Shutters Longtime Fayetteville Factory

American tiremaker Goodyear Tire & Rubber plans to shut its long-running Fayetteville plant and eliminate approximately 1,700 jobs in what would be one of the biggest factory closures by employment loss in recent North Carolina history. Goodyear announced this week it is talking with the local workers’ union to end site operations by December 2027. “The tire industry is changing fast, and Goodyear must change with it,” company spokesperson Kylie Ulanski said Thursday in an emailed statement to The News & Observer. “As the only remaining U.S.-based tire manufacturer, we are committed to U.S. manufacturing in today’s evolving market.”

Ulanski said Goodyear took “extensive efforts” to keep its Fayetteville plant going. “This difficult action is necessary to strengthen Goodyear’s ability to compete in today’s marketplace and support the long-term health of the business,” she wrote. Goodyear is among the top private employers in Fayetteville, the Cumberland County city of 209,000 that is home to Fort Bragg. The company opened a local tire factory through its subsidiary, Kelly-Springfield Tire Company, in 1969. Today this facility spans more than 2 million square feet north of downtown Fayetteville, about 65 miles south of Raleigh.

Read More at The Raleigh News & Observer

American Resources Completes Pivots From Coal To Rare Earth Supply Chain

American Resources Corp said on Wednesday it has completed a multi-year transformation away from metallurgical coal into a rare earth and critical mineral supply chain platform. As part of the restructuring, American Resources has separated its legacy coal operations and its affiliated refining entity, ReElement Technologies Corporation, into standalone companies no longer consolidated within its financial statements. The company said the move simplifies its corporate structure and improves financial transparency.

CEO Mark Jensen said the company is now focused on sourcing and securing ownership positions in high-quality critical mineral feedstock across conventional, unconventional and recycled sources, targeting both domestic and allied international demand. “By leveraging best-in-class technologies and maintaining a disciplined, low-cost operating model, we are building a scalable business designed to support the production of rare earth and critical minerals for commercial and defense applications while delivering long-term, sustainable value for our shareholders,” Jensen added. “Our platform offers a derisked diverse strategy to sourcing of critical and rare earths, not relying on one mine or one region to solve the problem.”

Read more at Yahoo Finance

Daily Market Update May 20, 2026

The June ’26 natural gas contract is trading down $0.06 at $3.05. The July ‘26 crude oil contract is down $2.25 at $101.90.

Read more at NRG

Learn more about the Council of Industry Energy Buying Group

Quote of the Day

"I've always thought that the most powerful weapon in the world was the bomb and that's why I gave it to my people, but I've come to the conclusion that the most powerful weapon in the world is not the bomb but it's the truth."

Andrei Sakharov - Russian Nuclear Physicist and Soviet Dissident who developed the Soviet's first hydrogen bomb. He was born on this day in 1921.

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