Media

6 Most Important Things in Business Today

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: July 25, 2018 5:17 am

Last Updated: March 13, 2020 3:31 pm

President Trump wants to help farmers whose finances have or will be hurt by tariffs. According to Reuters:

The Trump administration on Tuesday said it will use a Great Depression-era program to pay up to $12 billion to help U.S. farmers weather a growing trade war with China, the European Union and others that the president began.

It is a clear signal the U.S. President Donald Trump is determined to stick with tariffs as his weapon of choice in the conflict.

Friction between the United States and China could hurt Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) sales. According to The Wall Street Journal:

The phrase on the back of iPhones—“Designed by Apple in California. Assembled in China”—highlights a key reason for the company’s remarkable success but also shows how exposed it is to the escalating U.S.-China trade fight.

By assembling its phones in China, Apple Inc. AAPL 0.73% tapped into China’s vast workforce and formidable manufacturing capabilities. But it also made Apple’s most-profitable product a Chinese export—one that could be subject to tariffs in the trade dispute.

On top of that, China is by far Apple’s most important market outside the U.S., leaving it exposed if Beijing decides to retaliate by squeezing its sales.

President Trump went after the European Union on trade issues, again. According to Bloomberg:

President Donald Trump said that the U.S. and the European Union should drop all tariffs, barriers and subsidies, just hours before the bloc’s trade chiefs present him with proposals going a long way toward that outcome in a crunch meeting at the White House.

“I have an idea for them. Both the U.S. and the E.U. drop all Tariffs, Barriers and Subsidies!” Trump said in a Tuesday night tweet. “That would finally be called Free Market and Fair Trade! Hope they do it, we are ready – but they won’t!”

One person won the $522 million lottery. According to CNBC:

The fifth largest jackpot in Mega Millions history was won in California on Tuesday night.

A single ticket sold in California matched all six numbers drawn on Tuesday night, giving the winner an estimated prize of $522 million, of which $308.1 million is cash.

Bitcoin prices jumped again. According to CNBC:

Bitcoin has recovered somewhat in the past few days, but its value is still almost $200 billion less than when it hit its record high in December 2017.

The flagship cryptocurrency is trading just above $8,400 on Wednesday, according to CoinDesk, but that’s still some 58 percent off the $19,783.21 record from December. Market capitalization or value is down by almost $200 billion since then.

China is taking measures to help its economy in the face of a trade war. According to CNNMoney:

China is looking for new ways to pump up its slowing economy as a trade war with the United States escalates.

Beijing has announced a range of measures including tax cuts, infrastructure spending and new loans to business as its tries to reinvigorate economic growth, which has begun to slow in recent months.