Here is a rundown of Cheddar News' top market stories of the day.
BITCOIN RALLIES
The price of bitcoin is back above $20,000 after months hovering around $16,000 per coin. This is still less than a third of cryptocurrency's peak of roughly $65,000 in 2021, but it does show that bitcoin has so far weathered the recent collapse of several large crypto exchanges. Crypto-related stocks were buoyed by the rally, and second-runner Ethereum is up more than 20 percent year-to-date, threatening to cross $1,500 for the first time since November.
TIKTOK'S NEW PLAN
TikTok parent company ByteDance is rolling out a $1.5 billion plan to reorganize its U.S. operations and increase transparency around its data-collecting, according to a Wall Street Journal article. The China-based company is looking to assuage federal regulators' concerns that Beijing can access U.S. TikTok users' data. Tiktok is also looking to convince the U.S. government that it can operate independently of its parent company.
EV SALES SURGE
Electric vehicle sales now make up around 10 percent of global automotive sales, according to data provided to the Wall Street Journal. However, the U.S. continues to lag behind China and Europe when it comes to EV adoption. Just 5.8 percent of U.S. auto sales were electric vehicles in 2022, which is nonetheless more than double the previous year's percentage.
CHINA'S LOW GROWTH
In the West, China has long been synonymous with growth — both economically and demographically. But two official reports out of China Tuesday show that the country's reputation for constant expansion could be coming to an end. China recorded its first population drop in more than 70 years and its second-lowest growth rate in four decades. The country's economy grew around 3 percent in 2022, which is less than half what it achieved in 2021.
Maks Chmerkovskiy and wife Peta Murgatroyd, of "Dancing With the Stars" fame, are branching out into skincare.
Donald Trump began testifying Monday morning in his civil fraud trial, producing the spectacle of a former president and the leading Republican presidential candidate defending himself against allegations that he dramatically inflated his net worth.
The trial between Google and the maker of the game Fortnite will begin Monday as a San Francisco jury will hear Epic Games' case claiming the Google Play Store takes an unfair commission on purchases made through apps.
One of the most self-made and success stories in the country, Emma Grede, has worked along with the Kardashian Jenner family on many of their best-known brands. Grede, CEO and co-founder of Good American, gave back to the next generation of business leaders as a featured speaker at the Chase for Business Make Your Move summit last week. She spoke with Cheddar News about her career, her company's fashion brand, working with the famous Kardashian-Jennifer family and balancing her own family life.
Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate run by businessman Warren Buffett, reported its operating earnings in its most recent quarter jumped more than 40% from a year ago but posted its first net quarterly loss in a year.
Elon Musk's company XaI has announced a new chatbot called Grok.
SAG-AFTRA said over the weekend that it received the studios' last best and final offer following a meeting on Saturday, with the union saying it's reviewing it and considering a response "within the context of the critical issues addressed in our proposals."
Stocks rose slightly as Wall Street looks to continue its momentum with earnings season winding down.
Tyson Foods is recalling about 30,000 of its dino-shaped chicken nuggets after some consumers reported finding small metal pieces in those nuggets.
Google on Monday will try to protect a lucrative piece of its internet empire at the same time it’s still entangled in the biggest U.S. antitrust trial in a quarter century.
