Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., rises to join House Republican members to object to confirming the Electoral College votes from Pennsylvania during a joint session of the House and Senate to confirm the Electoral College votes cast in November's election, at the Capitol, early Thursday, Jan 7, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
In the last 24 hours, business leaders from nearly every corner of the U.S. economy have roundly condemned the violence and vandalism at Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
Manufacturers, retailers, and corporate head-honchos alike have criticized President Donald Trump and certain Republicans' efforts to delay the peaceful transfer of power, which they say will only hurt the U.S. economy.
"It is not good for small businesses to have disarray, confusion, uncertainty," Frank Knapp Jr, co-chair of Small Business for America’s Future, told Cheddar. "None of that is good for business or consumer confidence, and small businesses need consumers to be confident."
Some of the most powerful business organizations in the country have echoed this sentiment, and in some cases even exceeded it, calling Wednesday's events a grave assault on democracy.
"Throughout this whole disgusting episode, Trump has been cheered on by members of his own party, adding fuel to the distrust that has inflamed violent anger," National Association of Manufacturers CEO Jay Timmons said in a statement. "This is not law and order. This is chaos."
The group has also called on Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office prior to the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.
Retail Industry Leaders Association President Brian Dodge said in a statement: "It’s time for men and women of goodwill in government to denounce the conspiracy theories and cancerous rhetoric employed by those cravenly attempting to capitalize on political chaos."
Striking a more moderate tone, the Business Roundtable called on the nation to "unite around President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris."
Even BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, who in the past has praised the president, was among those executives demanding that Congress certify the election of Joe Biden as president.
For now, these are just denunciations. But some businesses are weighing whether they should withdraw funding or support from lawmakers who, in their opinion, helped spur the violence at Capitol Hill by calling into question the democratic process.
"We have not had that conversation about individual members of Congress, but we will have to have a serious conversation about that," Knapp said. "Do we want to engage with them or not? I can't answer that question, but it is a legitimate question. It's a legitimate question to ask: should there be any repercussions for the actions of members of Congress, and does the business community have a role in that?"
Knapp added that businesses don't want to operate in a country where an authoritarian leader has arbitrary power over the political system.
"Businesses like democracy, because that is good for business, entrepreneurship."
In the short-term, the more immediate negative consequence for the small business community is that Congress is once again distracted from the coronavirus recovery.
"It takes the eye off the ball for Congress," he said. "They should be about getting the vaccine out there into arms. That is what's going to give more confidence to consumers to go out and engage in commerce with our small businesses."
A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
U.S. sports betting is booming as NFL and college football fuel massive activity. BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt breaks down trends, growth, and what’s next.
President Donald Trump says a deal struck by Netflix last week to buy Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” because of the size of the combined market share. The Republican president says he will be involved in the decision about whether federal regulators should approve the deal. Trump commented Sunday when he was asked about the deal as he walked the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors. The $72 billion deal would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.
Disney's changes to a program for disabled visitors are facing challenges in federal court and through a shareholder proposal. The Disability Access Service program, which allows disabled visitors to skip long lines, was overhauled last year. Disney now mostly limits the program to those with developmental disabilities like autism who have difficulty waiting in lines. The changes have sparked criticism from some disability advocates. A shareholder proposal submitted by disability advocates calls for an independent review of Disney's disability policies. Disney plans to block this proposal, claiming it's misleading. It's the latest struggle by Disney to accommodate disabled visitors while stopping past abuses by some theme park guests.
