Biz / tech
NEW YORK (AP) – Stocks started the day lower on Wall Street as the market posted its worst weekly decline since February. Losses for several big tech companies helped drag the Nasdaq down. However, AT&T and Discovery rose sharply after the companies announced they would merge their media businesses. Steel makers were higher after the US and Europe agreed to temporarily suspend tariffs on steel imposed over a trade dispute. European markets were mostly lower and Asian markets ended up mixed.
NEW YORK (AP) – AT&T will join its massive media operations, which include CNN, HBO, TNT and TBS, and land a $ 43 billion deal with Discovery, the owner of lifestyle networks like the Food Network and HGTV. The new media company enters a streaming arena that has been inundated with new players in the past two years, including those from AT&T and Discovery, who run HBO Max and Discovery +, respectively. Industry analysts believe Monday’s deal is a signal that more mergers are imminent.
BRUSSELS (AP) – The European Union and the United States have decided to temporarily suspend action at the center of a steel tariff dispute seen as one of the major trade problems between the two sides. The EU chief of trade describes it as an effort to “restart transatlantic relations”. The problem goes back to the tariffs that then President Donald Trump put on EU steel and aluminum, and calls them a threat to US national security. This enraged European and other allies.
WASHINGTON (AP) – According to the Treasury Department, 39 million families will receive monthly child payments as of July 15. The payments are part of President Joe Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. The law extended the child tax credit by one year and allowed monthly benefits to be paid in advance. Almost 88% of children receive the benefits without their parents having to take any additional measures. Qualifying families receive a payment of up to $ 300 per month for each child under 6 years old and up to $ 250 per month for children 6-17 years of age.
MILAN (AP) – The recovering US economy is helping to accelerate the recovery in the personal luxury goods market, which could reach pre-pandemic sales levels as early as this year. A published study by management consultancy Bain & Co. states that, when combined with China’s confirmed growth path, the US could increase sales of luxury clothing, jewelry, leather goods and beauty products to as much as $ 358 billion this year. This is a pandemic slump that has seen the sector grow for six years.