Media

6 Most Important Things in Business Today

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: September 12, 2018 5:10 am

Last Updated: March 13, 2020 3:27 pm

A large number of businesses will try to prevent the Trump tariffs. According to Reuters:

After months of waging a behind-the-scenes war against President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs that have escalated far beyond what business groups once imagined, more than 60 U.S. industry groups are launching a coalition on Wednesday to take the fight public.

Emergence of the group, Americans for Free Trade, comes after Trump has warmed to the use of tariffs, implementing billions of dollars worth in an effort to use them as a threat to win concessions or in the belief they will create U.S. jobs.

American oil exports are likely to rise. According to The Wall Street Journal:

U.S. oil is trading at a big discount to global crude, handing domestic producers a golden opportunity to cash in on exports, although American consumers might suffer.

U.S. oil benchmark, known as West Texas Intermediate, closed Tuesday at $69.25 a barrel. Brent, the benchmark for global crude, settled at $79.06. The gap of nearly $10 compares with a spread of less than $4 as recently as two months ago.

Car sales in China, the world’s largest market, are falling. According to The Wall Street Journal:

Chinese auto sales fell in August for the second successive month, as market saturation and weak consumer confidence combined to slow the world’s biggest car market.

Vehicle sales fell 3.8% to 2.1 million last month, the government-backed China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said on Tuesday. That followed a 4% drop in July.

A former supporter of Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) attacked the company. According to Bloomberg:

Tesla Inc.’s colorful and unpredictable leader Elon Musk needs to stop tweeting and engaging in erratic behavior to win back the confidence of investors, according to a longtime bullish analyst who just cut his rating on the carmaker.

“Elon is inseparable from Tesla and the brand,” Romit Shah, an analyst for Nomura Instinet, said on Bloomberg Television. “If he were to leave or take a lesser role, I think that it would be devastating for shareholders. What needs to happen is just a come-to-Jesus moment for Elon.”

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) may cut iPhone prices. According to CNBC:

According to a June report obtained by MacRumors and written by Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst at TF International Securities who is almost always accurate with his Apple gadget predictions, the successor to the iPhone X will start between $800 and $900 instead of $1,000. There will also be a larger version of the phone, the so-called iPhone Xs Max, that will start between $900 and $1,000. And the new entry-level model with a cheaper, 6.1-inch LCD screen, will cost between $600 and $700.

Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) will get further into the video business. According to CNBC:

Twitter said on Wednesday it struck a host of new deals with media and entertainment companies to bring “hundreds of hours” of live-streaming and video highlights onto the social media site.

The partnerships would expand the kinds of videos that are available on Twitter to audiences and advertisers in the Asia Pacific region, the company said in a statement. That includes game highlights from the UEFA Champions League, action and interviews from Formula One and live Red Carpet events and other programming.