Author: Daniel snow

Apple, Samsung smartphone growth cut due to tariffs: Analysts

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The Apple store on 5th Avenue is seen in New York on April 8, 2025. Timothy A. Clary | Afp | Getty ImagesForecasts for Apple and Samsung shipment growth this year were sharply slashed by Counterpoint Research on Wednesday amid uncertainty over U.S. tariff policy.The research outfit said it had revised down its 2025 global smartphone shipment growth forecast to 1.9% year-on-year from 4.2% previously, citing “renewed uncertainties surrounding U.S. tariffs.”U.S. President Donald Trump announced “reciprocal tariffs” on imports from countries around the world in April, but exempted smartphones and other electronics from those duties days later.Still, with tariff uncertainty looming,…

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The ECB is almost guaranteed to cut rates. What could it do next?

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A projected illumination marking the 75th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration, on the Grossmarkthalle building at the European Central Bank headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, on May 9, 2025.Alex Kraus/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesThe European Central Bank is all but guaranteed to trim its key interest rate on Thursday.Markets were last pricing in an around 99% chance of a 25-basis-point cut, according to LSEG data. That would take the deposit facility rate to 2% — half of the mid-2023 high of 4%.But Europe faces a highly uncertain economic outlook, raising the question of what the ECB could do beyond Thursday’s meeting.Inflation is…

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Trump’s tax bill could end ‘SALT’ workaround for some businesses

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Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks to the media after the House narrowly passed a bill forwarding President Donald Trump’s agenda at the Capitol on May 22, 2025.Kevin Dietsch | Getty ImagesAs Senate Republicans debate trillions of tax breaks advanced by the House, some business owners could be blocked from part of the proposed windfall, policy experts say.If enacted as written, the House GOP’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” would raise the federal deduction limit for state and local taxes, known as SALT, to $40,000. That would phase out once income exceeds $500,000.The bill would also boost a…

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Mortgage demand drops for the third straight week

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A For Sale sign sits in front of a home on May 12, 2025 in Miami, Florida. Joe Raedle | Getty ImagesMortgage rates fell slightly last week, but that did nothing to spur mortgage demand. Total mortgage application volume fell 3.9% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index.The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances, $806,500 or less, decreased to 6.92% from 6.98%, with points decreasing to 0.66 from 0.67,including the origination fee, for loans with a 20% down payment. Rates have really moved in a…

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Steph Curry’s Thirty Ink generated $174 million in 2024 revenue

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Steph Curry’s Gentleman’s Cut bourbon.Courtesy: Gentleman’s CutSteph Curry is one of the greatest basketball players ever, and judging by his company’s financials, he’s off to a pretty good start in the business world.Curry is the CEO of Thirty Ink, a house-of-brands conglomerate that owns companies including Unanimous Media, Gentleman’s Cut bourbon and Underrated Golf and Basketball. CNBC Sport profiled the company in “Curry Inc.: The Business of Stephen Curry,” a production centered on Curry’s career and business ambitions that airs Wednesday on CNBC at 9 p.m. ET/PT.Thirty Ink generated $173.5 million in revenue in 2024, the company told CNBC Sport. The…

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Social Security Fairness Act benefit increases arrive for pensioners

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A Social Security Administration (SSA) office in Washington, DC, March 26, 2025. Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty ImagesThe Social Security Administration has now processed about 91% of cases related to a new law that is prompting higher benefits and lump-sum retroactive payments for nearly 3 million people, according to a new update from the agency.The Social Security Fairness Act, which was signed into law in January, eliminated two provisions — the Windfall Elimination Provision, or WEP, and the Government Pension Offset, or GPO — that previously reduced benefits for individuals who also receive income from public pensions that did not…

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