6 Most Important Things in Business Today

November 27, 2018 by Douglas A. McIntyre

President Trump plans to increase tariffs. According to The Wall Street Journal:

President Trump, days before a summit with China’s leader, said he expects to move ahead with boosting tariff levels on $200 billion of Chinese goods to 25%, calling it “highly unlikely” that he would accept Beijing’s request to hold off on the increase.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Trump suggested that if negotiations don’t produce a favorable outcome for the U.S., he would also put tariffs on the rest of Chinese imports that are currently not subject to duties.

“If we don’t make a deal, then I’m going to put the $267 billion additional on” at a tariff rate of either 10% or 25%, Mr. Trump said. He first threatened those duties, and the higher tariffs on the initial $200 billion in goods, in late summer.


Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) has become a major player in the ad business. According to The Wall Street Journal:

Amazon.com Inc. handles nearly half of all online sales in the U.S., giving it a popular platform and a wealth of consumer data. Now it’s on track to become the next juggernaut of online advertising, and its rise threatens to upend Silicon Valley’s ad titans and change the way business is done on Madison Avenue.

The online retailer has ascended to the No. 3 spot in the U.S. digital ad market behind the dominant players, Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Facebook Inc. Though Amazon has just 4% of the market now, the company is expanding its avenues for marketers and hiring aggressively for its ad unit.

United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) will be split into three parts. According to The Wall Street Journal:

United Technologies Corp. has decided to separate itself into three independent companies, breaking apart one of America’s last industrial conglomerates.

The company, which makes everything from Otis escalators to Pratt & Whitney jet engines, said Monday that it plans to spin off to shareholders its Otis division and Carrier building systems businesses. The Wall Street Journal had earlier reported on the plans to break apart.

The separation is expected to be completed in 2020 and leave UTC as a pure-play aerospace company, following its acquisition of airplane-parts maker Rockwell Collins Inc.  That $23 billion cash-and-stock deal closed Monday after lengthy antitrust reviews in the U.S. and China.

OPEC may cut production. According to CNBC:

An oil production cut is expected when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meets in Vienna next week amid worries over a U.S.-China trade war, a supply glut and demand slowdown, according to Johannes Benigni, chairman and founder of consultancy JBC Energy Group.

“OPEC will probably manage to stabilize the oil market by choosing the right language,” Benigni told CNBC’s Sri Jegarajah. “They will indicate a cut of between 1 million and 1.5 million, and that will do, the market probably will stabilize.”

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) car sales in China dropped 70% last month. According to CNBC:

Tesla’s vehicle sales in China sank 70 percent last month from a year ago, the country’s passenger car association told Reuters on Tuesday, underscoring how the Sino-U.S. trade war is hurting the U.S. electric carmaker.

An official from China Passenger Car Association said data from the industry body showed Tesla sold just 211 cars in the world’s largest auto market in October.

Fox will have a new streaming service. According to CNN Business:

21st Century Fox is launching a new streaming service, Fox Nation, full of conservative politics and entertainment programming, on Tuesday morning.

This is a big test of the Fox News audience and a big extension of the Fox brand. The Murdochs are trying to convince the biggest fans of Fox News, who already pay for cable every month, to pay more for extra programming on the internet.

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