EU, China, Russia, Agree On Sidestepping Dollar To Continue Trading With Iran
Is the United States’ power to sanction countries it doesn’t like, ebbing away? Bloomberg reports that the European Union together with China and Russia have agreed on a mechanism that bypasses US sanctions against the country, allowing them to continue doing business with Iran in a “legitimate” way, meaning sidestepping use of the US dollar. 26% of Iran’s crude oil exports go to China, and 20% to the European Union. The mechanism that will be set up appears that it will use the Euro as the main trading currency. Whether this will have a material impact on the dollar we will see once full sanctions are imposed in November.
Related Tickers: (NYSEARCA:USO) (NYSEARCA:UUP) (NYSEARCA:FXE)
Qualcomm, Apple, Duke it Out Over Intel Accusations
Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) is accusing Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) of stealing secrets and handing them over to Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) so that Apple could use Intel’s chips instead of Qualcomm’s in its iPhones. In a filing seen by Reuters on Tuesday, Qualcomm accuses Apple of a “multi-year campaign of sloppy, inappropriate and deceitful conduct … for the purpose of improving lower-quality modem chipsets, including those manufactured by Intel, a competitor of Qualcomm, to render such chipsets useable in Apple devices with the ultimate goal of diverting Qualcomm’s Apple-based business to Intel.” Apple used Qualcomm chips in its iPhones up until the iPhone 7 when it switched to Intel. Qualcomm believes that it has been completely cut out of the iPhone supply chain, which has been confirmed by taking apart the most recent iPhones and confirming that no Qualcomm chips have been used. Intel is down over 2% on the news.
Navarro Slams Procter and Gamble for Telling the Truth About Tariffs
Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) is grumbling about US tariffs against China, claiming that they will force higher prices in the US and end up in job losses throughout the country. “These imports are necessary to P&G’s ability to delight consumers and meet their needs,” said P&G’s vice president of government relations and public policy, Selina Jackson. “Higher costs from tariffs may also translate into higher prices, reduce P&G sales and undermine American jobs in the P&G U.S. operations.”
In response, the Trump Administrations anti-trade mogul Peter Navarro accused Procter & Gamble of trying to make money. Something about outsourcing factory jobs to China, which is what all companies do when hiring people in the US costs more than the same labor in China. Of course, raising prices artificially in the US in order to support domestic factory jobs just sucks capital away from other sectors that would have gotten the money off the savings from the cheaper products, which is why the US economy still grows despite losing jobs in certain specific sectors. No word on whether Navarro understands this.
Goldman Sachs Wants to Look Cool to Millennials, Joins Instagram
Who’s excited about a feed of Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) selfies? Perhaps the more appropriate question is, Who wouldn’t be? The investment bank launched its Instagram account today planning to showcase research it invests in, even the personal hobbies of some of its employees. Goldman’s new CEO David Solomon does do some DJ-ing from time to time, which makes investment banking really cool, maybe, which should come in handy in the aftermath of the next bailout and financial collapse. The move follows accounts it has opened in Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat.
