6 Most Important Things in Business Today

August 13, 2018 by Douglas A. McIntyre

The Turkish currency continued to falter. According to Reuters:

Turkey’s lira pulled back from an overnight record low of 7.24 to the dollar on Monday after the central bank pledged to provide liquidity and cut lira and foreign currency reserve requirements for Turkish banks.

The announcement came after Finance Minister Berat Albayrak said authorities would start implementing an economic action plan on Monday morning, following Friday’s lira crash, which has spread to global markets.

Google continues to plan a return to the Chinese market. According to The Wall Street Journal:

By working with local players, Google is building the case that it is boosting the country’s economy. “Chinese authorities want to support domestic champions as much as possible,” said Mark Natkin, managing director at Beijing-based industry researcher Marbridge Consulting.

Google’s existing relationships could also provide customers-in-waiting for additional services it sells, like cloud hosting and business apps.


A mattress e-commerce company plans to open physical stores. According to The Wall Street Journal:

Online mattress seller Casper Sleep Inc. plans to open 200 of its own stores in the next three years, expanding across North America to stave off competition from dozens of internet copycats.

Casper CEO Philip Krim said the stores will help the startup move from a brand known for its mattresses-in-a-box to a place to buy all types of sleep products. “Customers aren’t always in the market for a mattress, but everyone cares about how they sleep,” he said.

Saudi Arabia could provide money for a private buyout of Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA). According to Bloomberg:

Elon Musk’s attempt to take Tesla Inc. private will receive added scrutiny this week as the electric carmaker’s board meets with advisers to assess a proposal that’s drawn interest from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.

The Saudi Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund is working to be part of any investor pool that emerges to take Tesla private, people with knowledge of the fund’s plans told Bloomberg News on Sunday. The fund, which recently built a stake just shy of 5 percent, is exploring how it can be involved, the people said on condition of anonymity.

President Trump boasted about the effects of his battle with Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG).  According to CNBC:

President Donald Trump renewed his war of words with iconic U.S. motorcycle maker Harley Davidson on Sunday, denouncing the company’s plan to shift some production abroad and appearing to back consumers that have called for a boycott.

In a series of early morning posts on Twitter, the president said that people looking to stop buying Harleys was a “great” development, adding that other companies were moving to produce in America.

Russia says it will sell more U.S. debt as trade friction between the two nations grows. According to CNNMoney:

Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told Russian state television network Russia One on Sunday that Russia will continue decreasing holdings of Treasuries in response to sanctions.

Between March and May, Russia’s holdings plummeted by $81 billion, representing 84% of its total US debt holdings.

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