Finance Digest: Trump's Tariffs Fail Judicial Review
A weekly column recapping and previewing the top financial news
Every week, Micah Briggs (UATX ‘29) will bring you a quick breakdown of the biggest financial stories from the past week, along with a preview at what to watch out for in the week ahead. The goal is to give you a clear vision of where the markets and financial world stand.
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more each week!
Events from Last Week
Trump Tariffs Overturned
On Friday, the Supreme Court found President Trump’s global tariffs unconstitutional in a 6-3 ruling. Trump argued that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act gave him the right to impose tariffs, which legally are considered a tax and must be imposed by Congress. Trump called the decision terrible and imposed another 10% tariff on Canada and Mexico that night, using a different legal justification. The Supreme Court did not rule on whether the government would have to refund the tariffs collected under the unconstitutional regulations. Read more here.
Amazon Becomes World’s Largest Company
Amazon overtook Walmart as the largest US company by revenue last week. Amazon sold $716 billion worth of products last year, barely edging Walmart’s $713 billion. As both companies look to take advantage of new technologies in recent years, Walmart has found success in their rebrand as a technology-first company; their stock has grown over 20% the past year and they re-listed on the tech-heavy NASDAQ instead of the NYSE last December. Read more here.
Him’s and Her's Acquires Eucalyptus
Him’s and Her’s, a major U.S. tele-health company, acquired Australian tele-health company Eucalyptus last week for $1.15 billion dollars, in an effort to strengthen their global sales. Founded in 2018, Him’s and Hers began by discretely shipping medication like balding treatments and ED pills to men, and birth control and hair regrowth pills to women. They have since grown through GLP-1 medication sales over the past couple years, producing their own generics to undercut competitors. Read more here.
Beef Prices Soar
Beef prices are up 17% from a year ago and don’t seem to be falling in the near future. Ranchers began shrinking their herd sizes during the pandemic due to financial concerns; now, the US cattle population has hit a 75-year low. The aging rancher population, as well as concerns about market flooding, suggest it is unlikely for this population to rebound in the near future. President Trump has tried to alleviate prices by increasing imports from Argentina, and dropping some tariffs on beef from Brazil, but prices are expected to remain high for a while. Read more here.
This Coming Week
The European Central Bank will release inflation data this Wednesday, a key sign of the EU’s economy health.
President Trump will give his State of the Union address to both houses of Congress on Tuesday and give some details on his plans for the economy in the coming months.
Nvidia, the largest company in the world and the major producer of AI training hardware, has their earnings call on Wednesday.