Keep an Eye on Chinese Lockdowns

Plus: Cable’s Free Fall Continues You are receiving this limited-time email resource as a subscriber to Kiplinger's free e-newsletters. To unsubscribe at any time, simply click the link in the footer below. MARCH 28, 2022 [View in browser]( HOW TO PROTECT AND GROW YOUR BUSINESS AND INVESTMENTS NOW China today began a two-phase lockdown of Shanghai, a major finance hub with 26 million people, following COVID-related lockdowns in other parts of the country, namely Shenzhen and Dongguan provinces. The worry for U.S. investors? A growing string of lockdowns will further disrupt already garbled global supply chains. “Unfortunately, that means that not only will businesses be shut down, but so will factories (think Tesla, VW, and [Semiconductor Manufacturing International]). And this means that global supply disruptions will be, well, further disrupted,” says BMO Capital Markets Senior Economist Jennifer Lee. But Bank of America economists Ethan Harris and Aditya Bhave note this might merit caution, but not panic … at least not yet. “The good news is that Shenzhen and Dongguan opened up after 7 and 5 days of lockdowns, much sooner than we had expected (14 days). Also, there is no sign that the virus infections spiraled up within these cities, or spread to many more adjacent cities,” they say. “In our view, the impact on manufacturing activities will likely be manageable, especially if such lockdowns are short and sporadic, although the damage on services may be more long lasting.” --------------------------------------------------------------- SPONSORED CONTENT FROM COMPARECARDS [4 Cards With Massive Sign Up Bonuses Get $200 Fast]( Compare unlimited cash back credit cards from our partners offering cash rebates on every purchase, every day! [READ MORE]( --------------------------------------------------------------- The pandemic supercharged the trend of Americans cutting the cable cord. But there’s no respite now that the virus is easing. It seems nothing will stop the decline of traditional pay TV, which lost close to 5 million subscribers last year, according to Leichtman Research Group. Less than half of households will have a subscription to traditional pay TV by 2023, according to market research firm eMarketer. Between 2016 and 2021 pay TV lost 50 million adult viewers (about 26 million households). The rise in subscriptions to smaller bundles of channels delivered over the web don’t even come close to making up for pay TV losses. Overall, the trend is good news for streaming services as they try to lure new customers. But at the same time, the streaming wars are intensifying, making it harder to earn profits and retain users. Disney, for example, is turning to advertising on a new tier of Disney+, after initially going the Netflix route of forgoing ads. It’s a sign that the fat profits of traditional pay TV are hard to come by in the streaming world. Free download, [The Kiplinger Letter's Forecast](. No information required from you. SPONSORED CONTENT FROM VANGUARD PERSONAL ADVISOR [Vanguard Can Help you Keep More of Your Returns]( At Vanguard, we're invested in you. Which is precisely why we've created Vanguard Personal Advisor Services®, providing remote access to financial advisors, real-time goal tracking, and more confidence you'll meet your goals. There's never been a more perfect time to [get started](. [READ MORE]( LATEST INVESTING NEWS FROM KIPLINGER.COM [How to Educate Yourself on DeFi]( [The Deadline for Your First RMD is April 1]( [Keep Your Savings Safe]( [COVID ‘Long Haulers’ Could Find Help from Social Security]( [Sign Up for Kiplinger's Free Tax Tips E-Newsletter for Money-Saving Tax Planning and Compliance Advice]( [Kiplinger] © Future US LLC. All rights reserved. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [LinkedIn]( Unsubscribe [click here]( Future US LLC. Registered address: 10th floor, 1100 13th Street, N.W Washington, DC 20005. Further information about how we use your data can be found in our [Privacy Policy](.