EU considers levies for big tech
In the current customs dispute with the USA, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the EU Commission, is considering possible levies on American tech companies such as Google $GOOGL (+1,52%) and Meta $META (+1,13%) . In her opinion, a levy on the advertising revenue of digital services could be a viable option if the trade dispute with the US government does not lead to a satisfactory solution. Recently, the EU decided to suspend planned counter-tariffs on US products for 90 days after the US also announced a similar pause. Jörg Kukies, the acting Federal Minister of Finance, emphasized the need to act cautiously when regulating digital companies, as there are currently no alternatives that operate on a comparable scale. Von der Leyen described the trade conflict as a turning point in relations with the US, while Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban is optimistic about a quick solution. In NASDAQ trading, Alphabet shares rose by 2.59 percent to USD 159.40, while Meta lost 0.50 percent to USD 543.57.
Gold price reaches record high of 3,263 dollars
The price of gold reached an impressive new record high of over 3,200 US dollars before the weekend, demonstrating a strong upward trend. Factors such as a weaker dollar and rising tensions in the trade conflict between the US and China have significantly fueled demand for gold. The US government has increased tariffs on Chinese imports to 145%. This has led to fears of recession and prompted many investors to flee to safe investments such as gold. In the last three trading days, the price of gold has risen by around eight percent, which represents an increase of around 18 percent since Trump took office. In addition, the weakness of the US dollar has made gold cheaper, which has further boosted demand. Commodity experts are optimistic about the further development of the gold price, while oil prices are also rising, mainly due to the consequences of the trade war and revised forecasts for oil demand.
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