Author: News Room

President Trump’s announcement of sweeping universal and so-called reciprocal tariffs on countries around the world drew a swift rebuke on Wednesday from business groups, trade experts, Democratic lawmakers and many economists who warned that they would raise prices for American consumers and slow economic growth.“This is catastrophic for American families,” said Matt Priest, president and chief executive of the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America. “We had hoped the president would take a more targeted approach, but these broad tariffs will only drive-up costs, reduce product quality and weaken consumer confidence.”Other reactions were more muted, and some positive, saying the…

For decades, Larry Ellison reveled in being the Silicon Valley executive who really knew how to have a good time. He spent as much as $200 million building a Japanese-inspired imperial villa near Palo Alto, Calif., bought the sixth-largest Hawaiian island and dated and married and divorced with never-ending zeal.Few paid much attention to exactly what his database company, Oracle, did. Sometimes, neither did Mr. Ellison. He did not show up for his keynote talk at Oracle’s annual convention in San Francisco in 2013 because he was on his yacht trying to win the America’s Cup, which he did. A…

They are among the nation’s richest law firms, and they employ some of the most loquacious litigators. But with their industry under attack from President Trump, most of these leaders of Big Law are not speaking up to defend one of their own.For nearly three weeks, there has been a broad effort in the legal community to collect signatures from law firms for a so-called friend of the court brief supporting Perkins Coie, the first firm Mr. Trump targeted with an executive order in his retribution campaign against perceived enemies. Perkins Coie has sued, and a judge has temporarily blocked…

This is one of the most important days, in my opinion, in American history. It’s our declaration of economic independence. Jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country. China — first row, China 67 percent, that’s tariffs charged to the U.S.A., including currency manipulation and trade barriers. So 67 percent, so we’re going to be charging a discounted reciprocal tariff of 34 percent, I think. In other words, they charge us, we charge them. We charge them less. So how can anybody be upset? They will be because we never charge anybody anything. But now we’re going to…

President Trump’s announcement of sweeping tariffs on America’s trading partners has widened the rift between the United States and some of its closest allies while reconfiguring the global economic order.Mr. Trump’s plan, which he unveiled on Wednesday and is calling “reciprocal,” would impose a wave of tariffs on dozens of other countries. Among major economies hardest hit were the European Union, which will face 20 percent tariffs under the plan, and China, which will absorb an additional 34 percent on top of existing levies.“The scope and size of tariffs are both substantial and confirm the worst fears of the proponents…

Amazon has put in a last-minute bid to acquire all of TikTok, the popular video app, as it approaches an April deadline to be separated from its Chinese owner or face a ban in the United States, according to three people familiar with the bid.Various parties who have been involved in the talks do not appear to be taking Amazon’s bid seriously, the people said. The bid came via an offer letter addressed to Vice President JD Vance and Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, according to a person briefed on the matter.Amazon’s bid highlights the 11th-hour maneuvering in Washington over…

President Trump’s tariffs are likely to raise the costs of building renewable energy projects in the United States, analysts say, adding to the challenges of an already struggling industry.Generating equipment, like wind turbines, is often made with parts from many suppliers around the globe, and assembled in the United States. Tariffs are likely to increase the cost of each imported part.“A turbine consists of thousands of subcomponents,” said Endri Lico, an analyst at Wood Mackenzie, a consulting firm. Mr. Lico estimated that in 2023, the United States imported about $1.7 billion of wind-related components, mainly from Europe, Mexico, Vietnam and…

The Supreme Court handed a victory to the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday, tossing out an appeals court decision that had found the agency acted unlawfully in rejecting applications from two manufacturers of flavored liquids used in e-cigarettes with names like Jimmy the Juice Man Peachy Strawberry, Signature Series Mom’s Pistachio and Suicide Bunny Mother’s Milk and Cookies.In a unanimous decision written by Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., the justices left in place, for now, an F.D.A. order that prohibited retailers from marketing flavored tobacco products, sending the case back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth…

President Trump has accused America’s trading partners of undermining the United States for decades, saying they have engaged in unfair trade practices to steal the country’s wealth and enrich their own economies.He has set his sights on not only adversaries like China, but also traditional allies like Canada and Europe. And he has complained about a number of factors, including high tariffs that other countries charge American products, and persistent trade deficits the United States has with foreign countries. Mr. Trump has promised to correct this situation on Wednesday, when he announces expansive tariffs on foreign products that he says…

In the escalating trade war with the United States, European officials are discussing imposing barriers on imports of U.S. services with a trade weapon that could allow the bloc to place restrictions on Big Tech and Wall Street.“We have the power to push back,” Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, said this week.President Trump has already announced tariffs on aluminum, steel, cars and auto parts, moves that could seriously hobble the bloc’s shaky economy. Brussels has responded by announcing that it would reimpose levies on U.S. imports like Harley-Davidson motorcycles, whiskey and other goods, some of which were…