The Trump administration is threatening to slap import taxes on $2.4bn worth of French goods, including cheese, champagne, make-up and handbags.

The planned tariffs come in response to a new French digital services tax that would affect companies including Google, Amazon and Facebook.

France, along with several other European countries, wants to limit the tech giants’ ability to avoid taxes.

But trade officials in Washington say US firms are being unfairly targeted.

French minister Bruno Le Maire called the US threat to impose tariffs in response to the tax “unacceptable” and suggested France would be prepared to retaliate.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50636521

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. shoppers made more purchases online on Black Friday than in the mall – hurting traffic and sales at brick-and-mortar stores, according to data that offered a glimpse into what is still one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

For the first time in several years, however, store traffic on Thanksgiving evening grew – indicating a shift in when consumers are leaving their homes to shop. It is also a sign of how Thursday evening store openings have continued to hurt what has traditionally been a day that kicked off the U.S. holiday season.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-holidayshopping-sales/black-friday-shoppers-stay-away-from-stores-make-7-billion-plus-splurge-online-idUSKBN1Y40NZ

Secondary ticketing firm Viagogo has announced a $4bn (£3.1bn) deal to buy its rival StubHub, in a move it said would create more choice for customers.

Viagogo is buying its rival from eBay, which bought StubHub in 2007 for $310m.

It means Viagogo’s boss Eric Baker will be reunited with StubHub, which he co-founded but left before the eBay sale.

The deal comes after the UK’s competition authority suspended legal action against Viagogo after it made changes to the way it operates.

In September, Viagogo amended the way it presents information to customers which the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said meant the website was now “worlds apart” from the one that prompted the legal action.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50549048

“We were hoping to have deal done by the end of the year. I still think that’s possible,” Robert O’Brien said during a security conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Saturday.

“At the same time, we’re not going to turn a blind eye to what’s happening in Hong Kong or what’s happening in the South China Sea, or other areas of the world where we’re concerned about China’s activity.”

O’Brien, Donald Trump’s fourth security advisor, said it “would be a good sign” if Sunday’s local elections in Hong Kong passed without clashes between pro-democracy protesters and police. 

Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/us-warns-chinese-aggression-hong-kong-derail-trade-talks-nsa-2019-11

Economic growth in China is slowing down amid an ongoing trade war with the U.S. — but Swiss wealth management giant UBS is not budging from its “overweight” position in Chinese stocks.

Chinese gross domestic product grew 6% year-over-year in the third quarter, the weakest pace in at least 27.5 years. UBS forecast that growth in the world’s second-largest economy will end this year at 6.1% before slowing even more in the coming years to 5.7% in 2020 and 5.6% in 2021.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/21/investing-ubs-is-overweight-stocks-in-china-despite-slowing-growth.html

Discussions, articles, and reports about the AI opportunity across the financial services industry continue to proliferate amid considerable hype around the technology, and for good reason: The aggregate potential cost savings for banks from AI applications is estimated at $447 billion by 2023, with the front and middle office accounting for $416 billion of that total, per Autonomous Next research seen by Business Insider Intelligence.

Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-in-banking-report

LOS ANGELES—Ford Motor Co. is counting on the Mustang name—a badge long worn by its powerful, muscle car—to spark the auto maker’s transition to an electric future.

Ford is expanding the Mustang nameplate beyond its traditional two-door sports car for the first time in the vehicle’s 55-year history, a bid to keep the famed insignia relevant at a time when interest in performance vehicles in the U.S. is waning.

Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/fords-big-bet-new-electric-suv-to-wear-mustang-logo-11574079935?mod=e2tw

Disney’s share price soared as customers signed up in their millions – but as costs rise, it will be a struggle for all players to survive in the crowded streaming universe

Disney’s eagerly anticipated entry into the streaming wars last week proved that the days of Netflix’s virtual global monopoly are well and truly over. Backed by a stellar library of content, from the Marvel and Pixar films to the $100m live-action Star Wars series The Mandalorian, Disney+ attracted 10 million customers on day one.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/nov/17/disney-netflix-launch-tv-streaming-battle-star-wars

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. producer prices increased by the most in six months in October, lifted by gains in the costs of goods and services, further bolstering the Federal Reserve’s stance that it will probably not cut interest rates again in the near term.

The report from the Labor Department on Thursday showed healthcare costs accelerated last month, with the cost of outpatient care at hospitals posting its largest rise since 2009. The jump in healthcare prices mirrored gains reported in October’s consumer price index report on Wednesday. Still, underlying producer inflation remained muted last month.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy/u-s-producer-prices-rise-solidly-healthcare-costs-increasing-idUSKBN1XO20U

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IT’S NOT WHAT YOU SAY, IT’S HOW YOU SAY IT.

Believe me?

O.K., I’m sorry, that was a cheap trick. But new research suggests that when we’re trying to seem persuasive, the volume of our words — when vocalized, of course — can have an outsize impact.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/10/smarter-living/how-to-sound-more-confident-persuasive.html