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TikTok could be banned in the U.S. as soon as January, and while President-elect Donald Trump has opposed the prohibition, it’s unclear if he can stop it.
President Joe Biden signed the ban in April, requiring ByteDance—TikTok’s China-based parent company—to sell the platform by January or be banned from U.S. app stores, as lawmakers expressed national security concerns. The legislation is facing legal challenges from TikTok and ByteDance.
While Trump signed an executive order back in 2020 that would have functionally outlawed the app, that order was blocked in court, and he has changed his tune. But it may be hard for him to interfere since TikTok’s deadline to sell is one day before his inauguration.
FIRST UP
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the second consecutive time Thursday, but some economists worry about the path of interest rates heading into next year given what President-elect Donald Trump has said regarding potential policies. The central bank announced it cut the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 4.5% to 4.75%, the lowest level since March 2023, after announcing the first rate cut since March 2020 in September.
MORE: Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told reporters Thursday he would not step down from his appointed position if Donald Trump asked him to. Trump has called for the chairman’s firing on multiple occasions, though he first appointed Powell in 2017, but an unnamed senior Trump adviser told CNN that Trump will likely not try to remove Powell during the rest of his term, which ends in 2026.
The defense tech sector is a key winner with Trump’s victory, with much of the enthusiasm centering around the growing influence of Elon Musk on White House policies. With Musk’s input, Silicon Valley defense leaders believe Trump will upend and reallocate the $800 billion Department of Defense budget, though his administration may not be all upside, as Trump has repeatedly suggested ending military support for Ukraine, which could scuttle some contracting opportunities for startups, according to one venture capitalist.
WEALTH + ENTREPRENEURSHIP
The presidential election was closely watched around the world, and since Wednesday more than a dozen billionaires in countries ranging from Argentina to the U.K. took to X to congratulate Trump or react to the election results. Some, like Gautam Adani, the second-richest person in India with a $41 billion net worth, praised Trump’s “unbreakable tenacity, unshakeable grit, relentless determination and the courage to stay true to his beliefs,” while Richard Branson, the billionaire who founded the Virgin group of companies, wrote an eight-post-long thread analyzing the impact that Trump’s victory would have on the U.S. and the war in Ukraine.
TECH + INNOVATION
AI executives and investors in Silicon Valley expect the Trump Administration to make it easier to build and lucratively sell AI startup companies. Trump has vowed to immediately undo President Biden’s landmark executive order on AI, which sought to establish an initial regulatory framework for the generative AI boom. “It is critically important that the U.S. maintains its lead in developing AI with democratic values,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman posted on X.
The FBI is investigating whether China used its access to American telecommunications networks to infect the iPhones of senior staff of a U.S. presidential campaign, according to a cybersecurity expert involved in protecting the officials’ devices. American officials and experts believe China is a major cyber threat facing the U.S.
MONEY + POLITICS
Trump announced Thursday he is selecting Susie Wiles, his presidential campaign’s co-chair, as White House chief of staff, his first major administrative pick before taking office in January. Wiles, who Trump credited with being an “integral part” of his presidential campaigns, will be the first woman in U.S. history to serve as White House chief of staff.
There are still 31 uncalled House races across the country. Republicans currently lead in enough districts to hold onto their majority, potentially giving the party unified control of Congress and the White House. The AP has called 404 of 435 House races since polls closed on Tuesday, and so far, Republicans have won 210 seats to Democrats’ 194—though neither party has clinched the 218 needed to win a majority.
Trump’s foreign policy promises include reevaluating the nation’s role in NATO, ending the war in Ukraine, restoring travel bans from majority-Muslim countries, imposing new restrictions on Chinese-owned infrastructure in the U.S. and building a missile defense shield system. Trump’s first term was defined by what he called an “America First” foreign policy, which he has promised to return to in a second term, and led him to withdraw from major international agreements like the Paris Climate Agreement, UNESCO and the Iran nuclear deal.
DAILY COVER STORY
Who’s Afraid Of The Big Bad Boar?
TOPLINE When Boar’s Head recalled more than 7 million pounds of liverwurst and other deli meats four months ago due to a listeria outbreak, supermarkets and grocers around the country scrambled to remove the dangerous products from their shelves.
Yet one deli counter worker at an Ingles Market in Georgia, who spoke under the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, said he was “shocked” when a Boar’s Head representative visited his store after the outbreak that has left 10 dead and caused 59 hospitalizations, she seemed more focused on how its products were selling.
As America’s largest deli meat brand, Boar’s Head has long been the food industry’s 800-pound hog. For decades, the company has wielded its power across the country’s grocery stores. Or as one former supermarket executive puts it: “Boar’s Head has to want to sell to you.”
“They feel like it’s a privilege for the retailer to carry the brand,” the former executive adds. “They do everything they can to make sure that they are the only brand and they keep competition out.”
To get into a new grocery chain, several retailers, industry insiders and former employees say, Boar’s Head often gives an ultimatum: If a grocer wants Boar’s Head, it must get rid of the other premium brands it is already selling. That became known internally, according to several former employees, as the “80% Rule.” Meaning that 80% of the store’s deli “has got to be Boar’s Head,” says another industry insider.
Another former Boar’s Head employee described how the company’s network of hundreds of independent authorized distributors, dubbed purveyors, act with their retailers as “an aggressive bullying tactic” that typically trickled down. Says the former Boar’s Head employee, “The company would intimidate the distributor. The distributors would intimidate people. They liked that as a reputation.”
A representative for Boar’s Head denies that, saying that behavior “does not reflect our strategy, our culture or the relationships we have with the purveyors and retailers with whom we work.”
WHY IT MATTERS As Boar’s Head deals with government investigators and an onslaught of fresh lawsuits stemming from the listeria outbreak, the next months will decide a lot. Grocers say they stock what their customers want, and Boar’s Head is still preferred. But they also may take advantage of the unfolding uncertainty.
MORE Inside The Chaos At Boar’s Head
FACTS + COMMENTS
Voters across the country weighed in on state ballot measures on issues ranging from abortion to marijuana, as well as taxes. Even issues like legalizing cannabis have tax implications because they raise revenue for the states:
6.5%: The excise tax on firearms, firearm parts, and ammunition under Colorado’s Proposition KK, which is projected to pass
$20,000: The increased maximum value of tangible personal property that can be exempt from taxes under Georgia’s Referendum A, up from $7,500
$1 million: Illinois voters decided to create a 3% surtax on income over this amount, a so-called millionaire’s tax
STRATEGY + SUCCESS
More than 5 million borrowers have received student loan forgiveness under the Biden Administration’s efforts, but with Trump’s victory in the election, mass student loan forgiveness initiatives are expected to be eliminated entirely. The most at-risk programs are income-driven repayment plans like the SAVE plan, which reduces borrowers’ monthly payments. Still, other programs, like Public Service Loan Forgiveness, are more difficult to roll back because they were created by Congress, though the Trump Administration could make them more difficult for borrowers to access.
VIDEO
QUIZ
A lookalike contest for an actor went viral last month after the actor himself showed up (and didn’t win), inspiring similar competitions worldwide. Which actor was it?
A. Paul Rudd
B. Glen Powell
C. Timothée Chalamet
D. Ryan Reynolds
Check your answer.
Thanks for reading! This edition of Forbes Daily was edited by Sarah Whitmire, Chris Dobstaff and Caroline Howard.