(NEW YORK) — The price of bitcoin has tumbled about 12% from a record high reached earlier this week.
After topping $108,000 for the first time on Tuesday, the world’s largest cryptocurrency dropped to a price below $93,000 in early trading on Friday. Bitcoin soon recovered some of those losses, settling around $95,000 at 9:30 a.m. ET.
The selloff rippled through the wider cryptocurrency market. Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, ticked down about 1%. Lesser-known dogecoin fell 4% and crypto-trading exchange Coinbase fell nearly 2%.
The slide for bitcoin has largely come after the Federal Reserve announced late Wednesday that it expects fewer interest rate cuts next year.
Lower interest rates typically stimulate economic activity, drive up corporate profits and lift the value of forward-looking assets like stocks and cryptocurrencies. In theory, a longer-than-expected period of high interest rates could diminish those returns.
The Fed’s forecast sent stocks falling within minutes and helped push bitcoin to its lowest level in weeks.
The recent slide for bitcoin erases some of the gains enjoyed since the election of former President Donald Trump, who is widely viewed as friendly toward cryptocurrency. Still, the price has climbed about 36% since Election Day.
Bitcoin had climbed to a new high earlier this week after Trump reaffirmed support for a U.S. bitcoin strategic reserve.
A U.S. bitcoin strategic reserve would amount to a substantial government holding of bitcoin similar to the country’s stockpile of oil or gold. Bitcoin bulls expect such a potentially large acquisition of bitcoin to drive up demand and hike the price.
Supporters of a bitcoin strategic reserve also say the asset would help diversify the nation’s financial holdings, protecting it from the possible decline in value of other assets, such as the U.S. dollar.
Since the price of bitcoin is highly volatile, a large purchase of the asset could end up threatening the nation’s financial stability rather than safeguarding it, some critics say.
The major stock indexes rebounded on Thursday, recovering some of the losses they took after the Fed’s unwelcome forecast.
TikTok said Sunday it’s “restoring service” after a ban in the United States initially began to take effect earlier in the day.
“In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service. We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive,” the company said in a statement. “It’s a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship. We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.”
In a pop-up message visible to users upon reopening the app on Sunday, TikTok again credited President-elect Donald Trump for the app’s return.
“Welcome back! Thanks for your patience and support,” the message read. “As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!”
TikTok briefly went dark between late Saturday night and early Sunday.
Last spring, Congress passed a measure with overwhelming bipartisan support granting TikTok a 270-day window to cut its ties with China-based parent company ByteDance or face a ban in the U.S. Instead of initiating a sale, however, TikTok pursued a legal challenge on First Amendment grounds that ended in failure at the Supreme Court on Friday.
The unanimous ruling from the nation’s highest court found merit in national security concerns regarding potential user data collection or content manipulation that the Chinese government might undertake.
The platform became unavailable for some users Saturday evening, with a pop-up message in the app saying, “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now.”
“A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, this means you can’t use TikTok for now,” the message went on. “We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!”
By Sunday morning, the app was unavailable in stores run by Apple, Google and Samsung.
The Biden administration said earlier this week that it would not enforce the ban on Sunday, leaving implementation of the measure to President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on Monday. Trump has vowed to reverse the ban.
In a Truth Social post on Sunday morning, Trump said he’s “asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark!” He said he would issue an executive order on Monday, his first day in office, “to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security.”
“The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order,” he added.
Trump said he wants “the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture.” He said this could be a joint venture between the current owners and new owners.
Earlier Sunday, a Biden administration official accused TikTok of trying to “blame” the situation on the Biden administration, saying “they’ve had a year to deal with it and we were clear we wouldn’t implement it on our final day.”
White House officials had stressed for days that if TikTok were to go dark on Sunday, it would not be because of U.S. enforcement — it would be TikTok’s decision, and that the administration is only kicking the issue to Trump because of the timing.
ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart and Selina Wang contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — The stock market surged on Wednesday afternoon after the Trump administration granted automakers a one-month exemption from tariffs imposed a day earlier.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed about 550 points, or 1.3%; while the S&P 500 jumped 1.25%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq increased 1.5% on Wednesday.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump had ordered the delay of auto tariffs after a request from the Big 3 U.S. automakers: Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, the parent company of Jeep and Chrysler.
“The president is giving them an exemption for one month so they’re not at an economic disadvantage,” Leavitt said during a press conference at the White House.
The tariffs are expected to pose a challenge for U.S. automakers, many of which depend on a supply chain closely intertwined with Mexico and Canada.
While easing some tariffs, Trump criticized Canada on Wednesday for what he described as failure to take the steps necessary for the United States to withdraw all of the tariffs imposed a day earlier.
Trump said he held a call with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday during which the two leaders discussed a path to U.S. withdrawal of the tariffs, Trump said, noting such an outcome would require sufficient action by Canada to address drug trafficking.
A week ago, Trump alleged that illicit drugs such as fentanyl had continued to enter the U.S. through Mexico and Canada despite agreements reached last month to address the issue.
In a post on Truth Social on Wednesday, Trump said, “nothing has convinced me” that the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. had stopped.
“[Trudeau] said that it’s gotten better, but I said, ‘That’s not good enough.’ The call ended in a ‘somewhat’ friendly manner!” Trump said.
Since September, nearly all fentanyl seized by the U.S. came through the Southern border with Mexico, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, or CBP, a federal agency. Less than 1% of fentanyl was seized at the Northern border with Canada, CBP found.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sharply criticized the tariffs on Tuesday, calling them a “dumb” policy that does not “make sense.”
The reason for the tariffs is based on a false allegation about Canada as a major source of drugs entering the U.S., Trudeau added.
Persistent tensions between the U.S. and Canada emerged after China issued a warning on Tuesday night that it stands ready for any “type of war” with the United States in the aftermath of tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.
The U.S. slapped 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, as well as 10% tariffs on imports from China. The fresh round of duties on Chinese goods doubled an initial set of tariffs placed on China last month.
A spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry said the tariffs would not lead to a resolution of U.S. concerns about fentanyl originating in China.
“If the U.S. truly wants to solve the fentanyl issue, then the right thing to do is to consult with China on the basis of equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit to address each other’s concerns,” Chinese spokesperson Lin Jian said at a press conference late Tuesday.
“If the U.S. has other agenda in mind and if war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight till the end,” the spokesperson added.
The comments came soon after the Trump administration imposed 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, as well as 10% tariffs on imports from China. The fresh round of duties on Chinese goods doubled an initial set of tariffs placed on China last month.
Within minutes of the new U.S. tariffs taking effect, China unveiled on Tuesday its initial response by placing additional 10% to 15% tariffs on imported U.S. goods, like chicken, wheat, soybeans and beef.
“The retaliatory tariffs that China is imposing is very specific and directly targeted at American farmers, who are mostly in red states and mostly voted for Trump,” Neil Thomas, a fellow for Chinese politics at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis, told ABC News.
“So China is trying to create pain where it matters for Trump, and it’s hoping to get Trump to the negotiating table and offer relief for this group of Trump supporters,” Thomas added.
The recent duties will be placed on top of similar tariffs imposed by China during the first Trump administration’s trade war in 2018. Some of those tariffs are already at 25%, though Beijing issued some waivers as a result of the 2020 “phase one” trade deal.
The new Chinese tariffs are set to come into effect for goods shipped out March 10.
In a series of social media posts last month, Trump said he would place tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China for hosting the manufacture and transport of illicit drugs that end up in the U.S.
During an address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, Trump also sharply criticized tariffs imposed by the Chinese government on U.S. goods.
“President Trump continues to demonstrate his commitment to ensuring U.S. trade policy serves the national interest,” the White House said in a statement on Tuesday.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Tuesday afternoon that Trump may soon offer Canada and Mexico a pathway to relief from tariffs placed on some goods covered by North America’s free trade agreement.
Lutnick did not mention a potential compromise with China.
ABC News’ Selina Wang, Kevin Shalvey, Karson Yiu and Ellie Kaufman contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Online holiday shopping soared to a fresh record high in 2024, driven by an array of e-commerce discounts and adoption of AI-fueled shopping assistants, according to data released on Tuesday by Adobe.
E-commerce sales topped $240 billion in November and December, climbing nearly 9% when compared with the gift-buying season a year prior, data showed.
The data indicated that three product categories accounted for more than half of the online holiday spending: electronics, apparel and home goods.
Spending on cosmetics totaled nearly $8 billion, jumping more than 12% compared to a year prior. That marked the largest year-over-year spending increase for any product category, the data showed.
Discounts helped drive strong sales for some high-priced items, Adobe said, pointing to a 20% jump in units sold for expensive goods.
The fresh data indicated a spike in use of shopping assistants powered by generative AI, suggesting the technology has seeped into the retail sector’s busiest time of the year.
Traffic to retail sites from generative AI-powered chatbots skyrocketed 1,300% over November and December when compared to the same period a year prior, the data showed.
The share of consumers arriving via AI shopping assistants remains modest, however, Adobe said. Shoppers arrived at retail sites via links shared by the chatbots.
“The 2024 holiday season showed that e-commerce is being reshaped by a consumer who now prefers to transact on smaller screens and lean on generative AI-powered services to shop more efficiently,” Vivek Pandya, a lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, said in a statement.
The e-commerce data comes weeks after initial indicators pointed to a robust holiday shopping season.
Overall holiday spending surged in 2024, blowing past expectations and outpacing customer purchases over the gift-buying season last year, according to data released by Mastercard SpendingPulse last month.
The end-of-year flex of consumer strength marks the latest indication of resilient U.S. buying power, which has kept the economy humming despite a prolonged stretch of high interest rates.
Gross domestic product grew at a solid 2.8% annualized rate over three months ending in September, the most recent quarter for which data is available.
The labor market has slowed but proven sturdy. The unemployment rate stands at 4.2%, a historically low figure.
Consumer spending accounts for nearly three-quarters of U.S. economic activity.
The increase in holiday spending coincided with an initial bout of relief for borrowers, as the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a total of one percentage point over the final few months of the year.
However, interest rates still stand at a historically high level of between 4.25% and 4.5%.
Lower interest rates typically stimulate economic activity by making it easier for consumers and businesses to borrow, which in turn fuels investment and spending. But interest rate cuts usually influence the economy after a lag of several months, meaning the recent lowering of rates likely had little impact on holiday spending.
