*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!"
In what could be the biggest deal in video games history, Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard underlines the company's aggressive push in gaming and beyond into its long-term vision of being top dog in the metaverse. Adam Hollander, former director of gamification at Microsoft and founder of Hungry Wolves NFT, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss. “Microsoft always plays chess, not checkers," he said, describing the price tag as an opportunity cost. "It's about integrating Activision Blizzard in with Azure and Windows and Xbox and Hololens and Minecraft and everything else that they're doing for the inevitable goal of being the major player in the next phase of the internet."
Telecom giants AT&T and Verizon have agreed to delay activating their 5G services around airports and runways once again. This comes after major U.S. airlines voiced their concern over the rollout of 5G technology, warning of an impending "catastrophic" aviation crisis. Peter Andersen, Chief Investment Officer, Anderson Capital Management joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Earnings season kicks into high gear this week as big players are on tap to report their Q4 numbers. Goldman Sachs, Procter & Gamble, United Airlines, and Netflix are just a few of the companies we're keeping a close eye on to give us a better idea of how they're dealing with the Omicron variant, inflation and interest rates. David Nelson, chief strategist at Belpointe, gives a preview of what to expect.
Thomas Hayes, Chairman at Great Hill Capital, joined Wake Up With Cheddar to break down what to look for on the economic front in the coming months amid an Omicron surge and planned interest rate hikes.
Mike McGlone, Senior Commodity Strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says he believes we'll eventually see Bitcoin reach the $100,000 mark despite its recent struggles, and explains why Bitcoin will be less volatile than the Nasdaq.
