Flow battery startup plans to repurpose Idle oil storage tanks for renewable energy storage.

https://cleantechnica.com/2025/04/25/new-flow-battery-aims-energy-storage-dagger-at-the-heart-of-fossil-fuels/

I guess Chinese/American talks are going on after all as JoongAng Ilbo (Korean news service) confirmed that…a high-ranking official from the Chinese Ministry of Finance, accompanied by about ten aides, entered the U.S. Treasury Department building located next to the White House in Washington, D.C.
The exact identity of the high-ranking official leading the group of about ten aides was not confirmed, but they were all wearing ID cards required for entry to the ongoing G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors' Meeting in Washington. #China #TrumpTariffs #TradeWar #Trade #USTreasury #negotiations

Sometimes I can make an expensive hardware purchase quickly

I won’t say that I always research potential purchases to an obsessive degree, because first I’d have to fact-check that statement by researching my Web history to an obsessive degree. But I can say with reasonable certainty that I usually don’t buy anything with a four-figure price without first reading more than one review of the device in question.

Except when I don’t, which this week started with my plucking a jar of leftover bacon fat (what, you don’t have one?) out of the fridge and realizing it was not quite its usual cold self.

I grabbed our ThermoWorks remote infrared thermometer (what, you don’t have one?) and realized that our barely 10-year-old Samsung had developed a series of microclimates–warmer at the top, normally-cold temps at the bottom–that should not exist in a functioning refrigerator.

The French-door model we’d bought at the end of 2014 after extensive reading of Wirecutter and Consumer Reports review had already been aging badly, like those of other Samsung purchasers. The front-door icemaker had stopped working a couple of years ago even as the fridge had started growing icebergs at the bottom and back of its refrigerator compartment.

Instead of paying for yet another repair that would push off this decision, one longer-term risk and one short-term factor pushed me to pick a replacement.

First, Trump’s tariff schemes already look to be making a lot of household appliances more expensive. I suppose they might miraculously inspire trade deals that leave imports cheaper–but after all the opening economic chaos of this administration, why would I want to take avoidable financial chances on the tumbling Trump dice?

Second, Bosch held a sale. I’d already been thinking of that company as a possibility after months of satisfactory experience with the Bosch dishwasher and induction range we got as part of last year’s overdue kitchen renovation, and a hands-on inspection of that German firm’s latest hardware at CES 2025 gave me a little more confidence.

And that steered my choice of which fridge to get, even with inexact advice from reviewers.

Consumer Reports’ guidance was a little behind, while Wirecutter’s advice focused on fridges without in-door icemakers. And neither had reviewed the Bosch model I had in mind. But CR’s owner-satisfaction metrics revealed long-term confidence in Bosch’s work that was not matched in reader assessments of LG and Whirlpool, two other brands I’d considered.

So I went ahead with the purchase–after first chiseling away at our costs by buying some AARP-discounted Best Buy gift cards–and now I can look forward to the results being delivered and set up next weekend. I hope that they live up to my expectations, at least enough to make me not regret this post in a year or five or 10.

I also hope that our car can hold out until 2026, because after also having our house’s roof replaced, we’ve spent quite enough on household capital expenditures this year.

GERMANY
Germany Sees Zero Growth in 2025

Berlin slashes forecast: Trump’s tariffs are “hitting Germany harder” than others.
Exports to US threatened by 25% car & metal tariffs, plus 10% blanket duties.
Germany shrank 0.3% in 2023, 0.2% in 2024—now stagnating or facing mild recession.
Industry also squeezed by fierce Chinese competition and Russia’s disruptions.

The owners of a Houston toy store say the trade war between the U.S. and China is having a significant impact on their business. Two years after Misfit Toys enjoyed record sales, it's now bracing for a downturn.

https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/business/2025/04/25/519734/houston-toy-store-owners-feeling-impact-of-u-s-tariffs-on-chinese-imports/

Corporate America is sounding the alarm on tariffs - #TrumpTariffs #TradeWar #economy #RepublicansDidThis #RepublicansOwnThis https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/25/business/chipotle-pepsi-tariffs-business/index.html

US pharma tariffs would raise US drug costs by $51 billion annually, report finds - #inflation #TrumpTariffs #TradeWar #drugs #medication #PublicHealth https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-pharma-tariffs-would-raise-us-drug-costs-by-51-bln-annually-report-finds-2025-04-25/

Beijing accuses Washington of 'misleading the public' about trade talks - #China #TrumpTariffs #TradeWar #trade #TrumpLies https://www.reuters.com/world/beijing-accuses-washington-misleading-public-about-trade-talks-2025-04-25/

US consumer sentiment sees largest drop since 1990 after Trump tariff chaos https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/25/trump-tariffs-trade-war-consumer-sentiment #Trumpadministration #Economicpolicy #Globaleconomy #Trumptariffs #DonaldTrump #USpolitics #Economics #Business #Tariffs #USnews

US consumer sentiment sees largest drop since 1990 after Trump tariff chaos https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/25/trump-tariffs-trade-war-consumer-sentiment #Trumpadministration #Economicpolicy #Globaleconomy #Trumptariffs #DonaldTrump #USpolitics #Economics #Business #Tariffs #USnews

US flow battery startup aims to repurpose old oil tanks for #renewableenergy storage.

https://cleantechnica.com/2025/04/25/new-flow-battery-aims-energy-storage-dagger-at-the-heart-of-fossil-fuels/

US flow battery startup aims to repurpose old oil tanks for #renewableenergy storage.

https://cleantechnica.com/2025/04/25/new-flow-battery-aims-energy-storage-dagger-at-the-heart-of-fossil-fuels/

#recession #trump #tariffs #trumptariffs

The recession is not coming, it is already here ;

“ Southwest Airlines (LUV) CEO Bob Jordan told Bloomberg that demand has cratered in recent months, with domestic leisure travel dropping more than he’s ever seen besides the Covid-19 pandemic.”

https://qz.com/southwest-airlines-in-recession-ceo-bob-jordan-earnings-1851777818