President Trump’s promise to hit the United States’ trading partners with tit-for-tat tariffs — including penalties for taxes that he claims the European Union unfairly imposes on American imports — could hardly come at a worse time for the continent. Mr. Trump on Thursday signed a memo directing his teams to prepare by April “reciprocal” … Read more
President Trump has long argued that a law barring companies from bribing officials of foreign governments stifles deal-making abroad and puts American companies at a disadvantage. But when he effectively put the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act out of commission this week, the order did not elicit the cheers from corporate America that you might have … Read more
Medicare can cover most of your health care needs when you turn 65, but it doesn’t pay for everything. And one of the most significant financial challenges to watch out for are the out-of-pocket costs you can face aside from monthly premiums — including deductibles and other types of cost sharing. Just how much you’ll … Read more
It is an axiom heard countless times in business school lecture halls and on corporate earnings calls: Uncertainty is bad for business. The U.S. economy is about to test that proposition like never before. The first weeks of the second Trump administration have been a dizzying whirlwind of economic policy moves: A spending freeze was … Read more
Last week, an aide for Vice President JD Vance reached out to the billionaire Frank McCourt. The topic at hand was Mr. McCourt’s $20 billion long-shot offer to buy TikTok, the Chinese-owned video app. Mr. Vance’s aide wanted details about the bid, which was one of several public overtures for the app, according to two … Read more
A Senate committee is investigating whether a prominent cryptocurrency investor violated federal tax law to save hundreds of millions of dollars after he moved to Puerto Rico, a popular offshore tax haven, according to a letter reviewed by The New York Times. Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, sent the letter on Jan. 9 to … Read more
Some people binge-watched shows during the Covid pandemic. Others picked up pickleball. But according to federal prosecutors, one Las Vegas woman prepared and filed false tax returns for her business and others at a busy average rate of nearly 80 per month. Over a 16-month period beginning in June 2022, the Justice Department said Friday, … Read more
OpenAI’s board of directors on Friday rejected a $97.4 billion bid by Elon Musk and a consortium of investors to gain control of the artificial intelligence company, deepening a feud between Mr. Musk and OpenAI’s chief executive, Sam Altman. In a statement, Bret Taylor, the chairman of the OpenAI board, said, “OpenAI is not for … Read more
The Energy Department began laying off staff as the Trump administration accelerated sweeping cuts across the government, according to three people familiar with the matter. Around 1,000 federal workers, all probationary employees, were told they were losing their jobs on Thursday, according to one of the people. More than 300 of those workers were employed … Read more
President Trump on Thursday ordered his advisers to determine new tariff rates on America’s trading partners, a move that he said would “correct longstanding imbalances in international trade.” As part of his plan, Mr. Trump has taken aim at the value-added tax, a system used widely in Europe and elsewhere to tax the consumption of … Read more