*By Carlo Versano*
U.S. stocks appeared to shrug off an escalating trade war in early trading Tuesday after China said it would slap tariffs on $60 billion of American imports.
The retaliatory move came after the Trump administration said it would go forward with taxes on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports at an initial rate of 10 percent. That will increase to 25 percent next year.
Apple and other tech companies will be somewhat spared from this round. The list of Chinese products to be taxed did not include popular products like its AirPods and smart watches or other fitness trackers.
CEO Tim Cook, speaking Tuesday on ABC's [Good Morning America](https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/video/embed/57901720), struck a conciliatory tone: "Trade is one of those things where it's not a zero-sum game," he said. "I'm optimistic that the two countries will sort this out and life will go on."
The $200 billion is in addition to $50 billion imposed earlier this year, bringing the grant total of Chinese goods to be taxed to nearly half of all imports from the country. Many business leaders, from manufacturing to farming to shipping sectors, warned these tariffs would lead to higher prices for American consumers.
But China, in immediately hitting $60 billion of U.S. goods with its own levies, was tacitly admitting the country is running out of imports to tax, given the trade imbalance between the superpowers. The U.S. currently imports about $505 billion in goods from China.
President Trump showed no signs of backing off in the trade war, [tweeting](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1042033116695670786) Tuesday morning: "China has openly stated that they are actively trying to impact and change our election by attacking our farmers, ranchers and industrial workers because of their loyalty to me....There will be great and fast economic retaliation against China if our farmers, ranchers and/or industrial workers are targeted!"
Nutritional supplement beverage company Athletic Greens has achieved unicorn status. The company announced a new $115 million funding round, bringing its valuation to $1.2 billion. The company's flagship product AG1 combines 75 different vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients into one daily serving. Athletic Greens says it is poised to reach the millions of consumers who are currently driving the health and wellness market's exponential growth. Athletic Greens founder and CEO Chris Ashenden joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Is Spotify a platform for content creators, or is it a media company? The streaming giant may have to find an answer sooner rather than later amid a controversy involving its most popular podcast host, Joe Rogan. Rogan has hosted guests who have made false claims about COVID-19 vaccines, and in turn, some musicians like Neil Young and Joni Mitchell have removed their discographies from Spotify in protest. Rogan says he welcomes content advisories, and will balance out his guests going forward, but is it enough? And is Spotify liable in any way? John Freeman, Vice President of CFRA Research, joins Closing Bell to discuss Rogan's response to the controversy, whether Spotify should be considered a media company with responsibility for its content, and more.
The gaming industry has seen multiple large scales deals this month alone, including Microsoft's megadeal for Activision Blizzard. And, seemingly in response, rival Sony, picked up Bungie for $3.6 billion, a studio once owned by both Microsoft and Activision. The sector is reportedly on track to spend $150 billion on mergers and acquisitions just this year alone, a record-breaking total, according to investment firm Drake Star Partners. Michael Metzger, a partner at the firm specializing in technology, media, and communications, joined Cheddar to discuss the flurry of deals in the gaming space and what might be behind the hot M&A activity.
Ari Redbord, head of legal and government affairs and TRM Labs, joins Cheddar News to discuss why Facebook is ditching its crypto project and what that means for the space.
A virtual gathering in the online space, Decentraland, of Elvis Presley impersonators is looking to grab the Guinness World Record for most Elvis impersonators in one place after the record-keeping org recently approved the use of avatars as stand-ins for people.
Tesla reported record profits for an electric fourth quarter, but investors still have plenty of questions. The EV giant will not be releasing any new vehicles this year and provided no updates on its Cybertruck. Cheddar News was joined by Ed Butowsky, Chapwood Investments Managing Partner to go over Tesla's quarter and analyze its concerns going forward.
Julius De Kempenaer, Senior Technical Analyst at Stockcharts.com, joined Cheddar News to break down what led to Apple's massive quarter, and what the future may hold for the tech giant as competition with Microsoft ramps up.
