The board of retailer Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) rejected a plan by the family that runs it to take the company private. According to The Wall Street Journal:
The founding family of Nordstrom Inc. experienced their second setback in trying to take the company private on Monday, when a special committee of the board rejected their roughly $8 billion buyout offer as too low.
The buyout group, which includes private-equity firm Leonard Green & Partners, offered $50 a share, a price below the company’s latest closing price. As part of the deal, the group would also buy 21% of the family’s current stake, allowing the heirs to cash out about $550 million of their ownership in the retail chain.
A huge Chinese smartphone company may start to sell its products in the United States. According to The Wall Street Journal:
Xiaomi Corp. could sell smartphones in the U.S. as early as this year, extending the Chinese company’s Western expansion as it plans a highly anticipated initial public offering of stock.
Beijing-based Xiaomi, China’s fourth-largest smartphone vendor, has succeeded in emerging markets such as India and Southeast Asia in recent years. It also has pushed into some Western markets, including Spain, where it opened stores earlier this year.
The European Union may put tariffs on U.S. goods as the chance for a trade war grows. According to Bloomberg:
The European Union intends to target 2.8 billion euros ($3.5 billion) of U.S. goods ranging from T-shirts and whiskey to motorcycles should President Donald Trump go ahead with his plan to impose a 25 percent tariff on foreign steel.
The EU aims to apply a tit-for-tat levy on a range of consumer, agricultural and steel goods imported from the U.S., according to a list drawn up by the European Commission and obtained by Bloomberg News. The commission, the EU’s executive arm, discussed the measures with representatives of the bloc’s governments at a meeting on Monday evening in Brussels.
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) will expand the number of cities in which it delivers groceries. According to Bloomberg:
Amazon.com Inc. plans to offer grocery deliveries from Whole Foods stores in San Francisco, according to people familiar with the matter, expanding a test of the service launched in four other cities.
Workers will select groceries off the shelves from at least two San Francisco Whole Foods stores and bag them for delivery to online customers, said the people who asked not to be identified because the plans aren’t public.
Tariffs on steel could cost U.S. car companies billions of dollars. According to CNNMoney:
President Trump’s steel tariff could cost Ford and General Motors $1 billion a year.
That’s the hit each company could take if the tariff translates into a similar increase in steel prices, according to a Goldman Sachs (GS) analysis. Trump has proposed a 25% tariff on imported steel, along with a 10% tariff on aluminum.
$1 billion represents 12% of Ford’s profit last year and 7% of GM’s, the analysis said.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) may launch an inexpensive MacBook. According to the New York Post:
The next MacBook Air may come with a feature no Apple laptop has ever had before: an affordable price tag.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based tech giant is planning on releasing a new, cheaper version of its entry-level laptop, according to a Monday research note from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Prices for the MacBook Air currently start at $999, and can stretch upwards of $1,500 depending on options. The line hasn’t seen a significant processor upgrade since 2015, and is beginning to show its age.
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