COPPER TRADERS TURN TO CHINESE BUYERS OVER TARIFFS | Business Matters (July 10)

Let's talk about today's business matters. TikTok's data storage is being scrutinized again by Irish regulators. A new inquiry has been launched by Ireland's Data Protection Commission. This is in response to the short video platform disclosing in April that some data has been temporarily stored on Chinese servers. The Chinese ByteDance-owned company was just fined $620 million by the Irish commissioner in May over how it protects the information of European users. TikTok is appealing this decision. Simple grade school math is revealing that back-to-school spending is expected to dip this year. A new forecast from Deloitte found overall spending is projected to remain flat, despite higher prices across all product categories. The average amount spent per student is projected to be about $570, down about $20 from last year. Based on the report, shoppers are expected to trade down to cheaper private labels and focus on necessary categories like clothing. And the maker of Keebler Cookies is welcoming Kellogg to its family of brands. W.K. Kellogg has accepted a $3 billion offer from Italy's Ferrero. This will bring legacy brands like Nutella, Tic Tac, Frosted Flakes, and Special K under one roof. The cereal maker has been struggling with weakening consumer demand due to persistently high inflation. The deal is expected to close in the second half of the year. And in less than three weeks, a new U.S. tariff goes into effect on copper. On Truth Social, President Trump announced a 50 percent tariff on the metal, effective August 1st. He said this is in response to a, quote, robust national security assessment. Now, global copper traders are trying to offload shipments that won't reach the U.S. before the tariff deadline. They're turning to Chinese buyers in particular, since China is the world's largest copper consumer. A Singapore-based trader explained that the fee Chinese buyers pay on imported copper fell five percent today, saying that's a reflection of all the offers available right now. And TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, reported on Thursday second quarter revenue of just about 32 percent, or $32 billion, rather, and beating market forecasts. Here's more. TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, reported on Thursday second quarter revenue of $31.9 billion. That beat market forecasts as demand for the company's product leaps on surging interest in artificial intelligence applications. Revenue for April to June rose 38.6 percent from the same period a year ago. TSMC will report full second quarter earnings on July 17, including an outlook for the current quarter and full year. The company, whose customers include NVIDIA, has been a major beneficiary of advances in AI. Last week, a report in The Wall Street Journal said the Taiwanese firm said it planned to delay its chip plant project in Japan and instead prioritize operations in the United States to avoid tariffs imposed by Donald Trump. However, TSMC said in a statement that its investment plans in the U.S. would not impact its existing investment plans in other regions. Uniqlo is going up a size when it comes to the impacts of U.S. tariffs. This week, President Trump set a new August 1 deadline for reciprocal tariffs on nearly all trading partners. Uniqlo's Japan-owner Fast Retailing said higher tariffs would start impacting its U.S. operations significantly starting in the fall. The company's financial officer said it would be difficult to absorb all the costs. He added the retailer will raise prices where needed with a focus on sustaining the business and securely generating profits. The majority of Uniqlo products sold in the U.S. come from Southeast Asia and South Asia. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said his administration would impose a 50 percent tariff on all imports from Brazil starting August 1, while the Republican leader also expressed support for former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Here's more. U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Brazil will be charged with a 50 percent tariff on products sent to the U.S. starting August 1. Trump made the comments in a letter to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in which he also expressed support for the country's former President Jair Bolsonaro. Trump has been critical of the BRICS nations, of which Brazil is a key part. Earlier on Wednesday, Trump said Brazil had not treated the U.S. fairly on trade. The formula was a formula based on common sense, based on deficits, based on how we've been treated over the years. Brazil, as an example, has been not good to us, not good at all. Trump's letter said the 50 percent tariff will be separate from all sectoral tariffs. Brazil's Real tumbled over two percent against the dollar after news of Trump's letter to Lula. Brazil's government said it would meet to discuss the reaction to Trump's 50 percent tariff on Brazil following the announcement. Now, he's known as a miracle worker for wounded restaurant brands on Wall Street, but investors are unsure whether Brian Nicol can succeed for a third time with Starbucks. Here's more. Starbucks is in the middle of a turnaround strategy, and investors are waiting for the caffeine to kick in on its stock price. Shares jumped when Brian Nicol was named CEO. That's because he's earned a reputation for reviving brands like Taco Bell and Chipotle. Nicol, now nine months into his tenure, launched the Back to Starbucks initiative. It emphasizes a simplified menu, baked goods, handwritten messages on cups and speedier service. A Taco Bell franchisee says this follows the same playbook Nicol used for the Mexican inspired fast food chain. But he also says it takes money, discipline and a willingness to deal with opposition, like from the baristas union, which has criticized some policies and protested a new dress code. Meanwhile, sales continue to slide. For the fifth straight quarter, global same store sales fell, and Starbucks shares have been stagnant since Nicol's appointment. Some stock analysts have even gone from giving Starbucks a buy recommendation when Nicol started to a hold or even a sell right now. From why Bitcoin has climbed even higher to how Russian businesses are getting around cross-border sanctions, here are the crypto stories from the week. From Bitcoin reaching fresh heights to Russia's cross-border tactics, this is Crypto Weekly. Bitcoin climbed to an all-time high near $112,000 late on Wednesday. The rise was driven by investors buying in as their risk appetite rose. Bitcoin has risen 18% since the beginning of the year. CoreWeave will buy crypto miner Core Scientific in an all-stock deal valued at about $9 billion, it said on Monday. It comes as AI infrastructure firms race to secure the energy and data center capacity needed to power surging demand. Bitcoin miners, energy-intensive sites and power contracts built during the crypto boom have emerged as prime targets for AI companies, expanding their computing infrastructure. Dubai's Emirates has signed a preliminary deal with Crypto.com, which will allow its customers to make payments through the crypto trading platform's payment service. The partnership is expected to come into effect next year. The airline says it aims to tap into the younger tech-savvy customer segments who prefer digital currencies. Russian companies are successfully using netting, gold and cryptocurrency to facilitate international payments. That's what the head of Russia's financial watchdog told President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. Netting involves banks managing export and import payments through verified agents, with transactions centrally balanced to ensure counterparties receive their funds. Americans could see the start of the toys going up in prices this fall. That's according to Hasbro CEO Chris Cox. He says Hasbro's main international suppliers are China and Vietnam. The U.S. has implemented steep tariffs on both countries. Cox says Hasbro hasn't raised prices yet, but that could be coming in August through October. Hasbro manufactures toys like Play-Doh, Transformers, Candyland and Dungeons & Dragons. About half of the company's products are already made in the U.S. Tesla reached out to Arizona late last month with its application to operate its robo-taxi service within the Phoenix metro area. The state's transportation department said a decision is expected by the end of this month. It also said Tesla has applied to test and operate both with and without a driver. Japan's Seven&I Holdings said on Thursday that operating profit rose 9.7 percent in the March to May quarter, feeding analysts' estimates. The boost came from stronger performance at its overseas convenience stores. Here's more. Japan's Seven&I Holdings had a positive update for investors Thursday as it beat analysts' projections. The 7-Eleven owner said operating profit rose 9.7 percent in the March to May quarter to more than $445 million. The firm was boosted by stronger performance at its overseas convenience stores, although profit fell at its domestic convenience stores business. While overall net profit was boosted by the sale of store assets by retailer Ito Yukado. Seven&I has been under pressure to improve its business performance, that as it faces a $47 billion takeover proposal from Canada's Alimentation Couchetard. Seven&I previously announced a share buyback. It's also selling off non-core assets and plans to list its North American convenience store business. Company shares closed down 1.6 percent ahead of its earnings and have fallen 13 percent year to date. Looking ahead, the retailer held its earnings forecast. A McDonald's customer favorite is returning to the menu today in an effort to boost declining sales. The snack wrap was mostly discontinued in 2016. However, it remained a fan favorite with thousands of people calling for its return. The relaunched version features McDonald's new crispy chicken strips, lettuce, and cheese on a tortilla with ranch dressing or spicy pepper sauce. The snack wrap goes for $2.99 and is now a permanent menu item. The fast food giant has posted back-to-back quarters of falling U.S. sales amid lower spending and economic uncertainty from low- and middle-income customers. U.S. stock markets rose today with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hitting record highs. Optimism was driven by strong earnings guidance from Delta Airlines, which lifted airline stocks broadly and by positive jobless claims data signaling a stable labor market. NVIDIA's $4 trillion valuation milestone also contributed to market gains. Investors appeared less concerned about inflation or economic fallout, suggesting they've grown desensitized potentially to tariff or at least until real economic damage is seen. Federal Reserve minutes showed policymakers expect rate cuts later this year, believing the impact of inflation from tariffs will likely be modest. And that's it on today's business matters.