Business

Business News at a Glance

With Cryptocurrencies in Free Fall, One Big Firm Doubles Down

Posted Updated

By
, New York Times

With Cryptocurrencies in Free Fall, One Big Firm Doubles Down

Even with the cryptocurrency markets in an extended slump, the most prominent venture capital firm in the sector is doubling down. Andreessen Horowitz said Monday that it was creating a $300 million fund focused exclusively on projects inspired by the original virtual currency, bitcoin. The new fund — A16z Crypto — is being created at a difficult moment for the digital token markets. The price of bitcoin has fallen more than two-thirds since December. Many smaller tokens have fallen much more as regulators have said many cryptocurrency projects that raised money last year had most likely done so illegally.

Harley-Davidson Shows Why Corporations Cannot Keep Silent in Trade Wars

Harley-Davidson on Monday announced it is planning to shift some production out of the U.S. to lessen the cost of tariffs the European Union imposed in response to those by the Trump administration. The move reveals the uncomfortable choices companies face as trade tensions escalate. Large companies have mostly left it to trade groups to speak out against President Donald Trump’s trade policies. But when financial pain threatens to become consequential, companies are forced to enter the fight. Harley-Davidson’s announcement may make it more likely that Trump imposes tariffs on European cars, but that may invite more retaliation.

Stock Markets Slip on Trade Policy Fears

For months, financial markets shrugged off the rising tension and the imposition of tit-for-tat tariffs between the Trump administration and the United States’ most important trading partners. But more recently, that apathy has been replaced by what looks like mounting alarm about the prospect of a global race to erect trade barriers. On Monday, the S&P 500 fell sharply, ending the day down 1.4 percent, at 2,717.07, apparently spooked by signs that the trade war could hurt U.S. companies. That decline was matched by similar ones in other benchmark indexes like the Dow Jones industrial average, which dropped 1.3 percent.

Supreme Court Sides With American Express on Merchant Fees

American Express did not violate the antitrust laws by insisting in its contracts with merchants that they do nothing to encourage patrons to use other cards, the Supreme Court ruled Monday. The decision has implications not only for what one brief called “an astronomical number of retail transactions” but also for other kinds of markets, notably ones on the internet, in which services link consumers and businesses. Such “two-sided platforms,” the court said, require special and seemingly more forgiving antitrust scrutiny. The vote was 5-4, with the court’s more conservative members in the majority.

Orlando Pulls the Plug on Its Amazon Facial Recognition Program

Amid a growing outcry about privacy concerns by civil liberties groups, officials in Orlando, Florida, said Monday that the city’s Police Department was, for now, ending a pilot program to use Amazon Rekognition facial technology. The Orlando Police Department and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon were among the first to try the program. But it thrust Amazon into the center of a heated debate around the role of facial recognition in law enforcement. In a joint statement, the city and the Police Department said the pilot program ended last week when the contract with Amazon expired.

The New Tax Form Is Postcard-Size, but More Complicated Than Ever

The Trump administration’s new “postcard” tax form will save a little time for some taxpayers but could add more paperwork for millions of others. A draft of the new version of the standard 1040 income tax form, obtained by The New York Times, shows the administration succeeded in shrinking the form. It eliminates more than half the 78 line items from the previous form. But it omits a variety of popular deductions, including those for student loan interest and teaching supplies, forcing taxpayers to search for them — and tally them up — on one of six accompanying worksheets.

Sean Spicer Is Testing Out a New Job: TV Talk Show Host

Sean Spicer, arguably the world’s most famous White House press secretary, is developing a talk show with the tentative title of “Sean Spicer’s Common Ground,” in which the former spokesman for President Donald Trump interviews notable people in an informal setting. No network is attached to the project, but the pilot episode, to be filmed in July, is backed by heavy hitters in the realm of unscripted television. Debmar-Mercury, the syndicator of daytime series including “The Wendy Williams Show” and “Family Feud,” is co-producing with Pilgrim Media Group, which has developed basic-cable staples like “American Chopper.”

Copyright 2024 New York Times News Service. All rights reserved.