6 Most Important Things in Business Today

By Douglas A. McIntyre Updated Jan 12, 12:15AM EST · Published May 1, 4:44AM EDT

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6 Most Important Things in Business Today — © courtesy of United Parcel Service Inc.

President Trump put off the date for making steel tariff decisions for Canada, the European Union and Mexico. According to Reuters:

U.S. President Donald Trump has postponed the imposition of steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada, the European Union and Mexico until June 1, and has reached agreements for permanent exemptions for Argentina, Australia and Brazil, the White House said on Monday.

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) bought a plane parts company. According to The Wall Street Journal:

Boeing Co. on Tuesday said it would buy plane-parts specialist KLX Inc. for $3.2 billion, boosting the aerospace giant’s push for a bigger slice of the lucrative aircraft-servicing business.

The world’s No. 1 plane maker said it would pay $63 a share for KLX and take on about $1 billion in net debt. The Wall Street Journal previously reported Boeing was close to clinching the deal amid competition, including from at least one private-equity firm, after KLX said in December it had initiated a sales process.

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Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) signed deals to allow more video content on its social media service. According to Bloomberg:

Twitter Inc. inked more than 30 deals with publishers including Walt Disney Co. and NBCUniversal to beef up its video offerings with more news, entertainment and sports.

NBCUniversal, part of Comcast Corp., agreed to distribute live video and clips on Twitter through its media properties, including NBC News, MSNBC and E! News. Viacom Inc. is creating new show formats including “BET Breaks” that focuses on the African American perspective on pop culture and another named “Comedy Central’s Creator’s Room,” a satirical take on trending news in pop culture.

Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) quarterly earnings report will show whether it will distribute cash to shareholders. According to CNBC:

There’s a lot riding on Apple earnings Tuesday, including the potential for it to jump-start the tech sector — and possibly the market — if it issues a strong report with good guidance.

Apple stock traded up more than 1.8 percent Monday to $165.26 per share, ahead of its Tuesday afternoon earnings and amid chatter that it could announce a big stock buyback.

Apple stock is the largest by market cap, at $838.5 billion, and its decline has been felt. It was off 1.5 percent in April, but it has declined 9.9 percent from its March high, amid worries that iPhone sales will be soft.

Gasoline prices have surged. According to 24/7 Wall St.:

The average U.S. price for a gallon of regular gasoline rose by five cents again last week to start the new week at $2.81, according to the latest data from GasBuddy. Month over month, the price is up nearly 15 cents a gallon, and it is nearly 45 cents a gallon higher year over year. Last month the national average was $2.659, while the year-ago average was $2.360.

Apple might make a bid for publisher Conde Nast. According to The Guardian:

Rumors have even circulated that Apple is looking to buy parts or all of the troubled magazine publisher Condé Nast, a move that would further its push, initiated with the Apple Watch, to become a luxury fashion accessory, lifestyle and content brand.

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About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.