The "now" happening.
International arrivals at U.S. airports are down 3.8% from last year, with the steepest declines between May and July, bucking the global tourism recovery. Canadian visitors have fallen most, driven by boycotts after Trump’s tariffs and threats. While some destinations like Florida saw more tourists, major cities experienced notable drops. The loss could cost the U.S. $12.5bn, though increased domestic travel has softened the impact.
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Elon Musk’s xAI and X have sued Apple and OpenAI for antitrust violations, claiming their ChatGPT integration deal creates an unfair monopoly by making ChatGPT the only AI chatbot with first-party iPhone integration. The lawsuit alleges Apple manipulated App Store rankings to disadvantage xAI’s Grok chatbot. This escalates Musk’s ongoing feud with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, his former ally. The suit echoes DOJ allegations that Apple suppresses “super apps” threatening its services business. OpenAI called it “harassment” while Apple hasn’t yet responded.
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Quote of the day.
”… that Terry Gou (Foxconn founder) ranks second only to Deng Xiaoping in transforming China into an industrial behemoth over the previous fifty years. That’s an extraordinary claim, but one backed up even by Gou’s rivals. “The reason Shenzhen is Shenzhen is Terry Gou,” says a high-ranking contract manufacturing executive. “Without his ambition, Shenzhen wouldn’t be the manufacturing power it is.” - Patrick McGee, Apple in China: The Capture of the World’s Greatest Company
Trump plans to announce semiconductor tariffs as high as 300% this week, citing national security concerns. Companies with U.S. manufacturing commitments like Apple and Nvidia may receive exemptions, while foreign chipmakers TSMC and Samsung face higher exemption hurdles despite U.S. investments. The tariffs could increase consumer prices and slow economic growth by 0.76% over ten years. Intel is among the few who stands to benefit as companies may shift to domestic foundries, recently receiving a $2 billion SoftBank investment.
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The White House is finalizing a deal to convert Intel’s $10.9 billion Chips Act subsidies into a 10% government equity stake without voting rights, marking an unprecedented arrangement to boost domestic chip manufacturing while ensuring taxpayer benefit.
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