Media

6 Most Important Things in Business Today

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: July 20, 2018 5:11 am

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 8:44 pm

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) may have a supplier problem. According to Reuters:

Panasonic Corp said it was unable to determine how much of the cobalt used in batteries it makes for Tesla cars comes from Cuba, a country subject to U.S. sanctions, and that it had suspended relations with a Canadian supplier as a result of its concerns.

The Japanese electronics maker, the exclusive supplier of batteries to Tesla Inc, made the comments following questions from Reuters about whether the batteries contained Cuban cobalt.

Microsoft Corp.’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) cloud business boosted revenue in the most recently reported quarter. According to The Wall Street Journal:

Microsoft Corp. topped $100 billion in annual revenue for the first time as the software giant remakes itself from a legacy software provider into a power player in cloud computing.

Much of that growth has come from persuading customers who run Microsoft’s software in their own data centers to mix in cloud services, a business known as hybrid-cloud computing. Microsoft remains a distant No. 2 in the cloud business behind Amazon.com Inc., but has established itself as a viable option for companies beginning the transition.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) has a fake product problem. According to The Wall Street Journal:

Counterfeiters, though, have been able to exploit Amazon’s drive to increase the site’s selection and offer lower prices. The company has made the process to list products on its website simple—sellers can register with little more than a business name, email and address, phone number, credit card, ID and bank account—but that also has allowed impostors to create ersatz versions of hot-selling items, according to small brands and seller consultants.

North Korea’s economy has a problem. According to the Financial Times:

North Korea economy suffers sharp contraction. Analysts say data indicate harsh sanctions are having their desired effect.

More evidence about the effects of climate change was released:

Pouring through four decades of satellite data, climate scientists have concluded for the first time that humans are pushing seasonal temperatures out of balance—shifting what one researcher called the very “march of the seasons themselves.”

Ever-mindful of calculable uncertainty and climate deniers, the authors give “odds of roughly 5 in 1 million” of these changes occurring naturally, without human influence.

Tariffs could hit Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) financials. According to CNBC:

The latest round of U.S. tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods could hit the Apple Watch, health trackers, streaming music speakers and other accessories assembled in China, government rulings on tariffs show.

The rulings name Apple’s watch, several Fitbit activity trackers and connected speakers from Sonos Inc. While consumer technology’s biggest sellers such as mobile phones and laptops so far have faced little danger of import duties, the rulings show that gadget makers are unlikely to be spared altogether and may have to consider price hikes on products that millions of consumers use every day.