The U.S. and China trade wars and security bans escalated again. TikTok and its parent, ByteDance sued to block U.S. law that seeks a sale or a ban of its app. TikTok runs a highly successful, highly engaging app that is valuable. The firm called Congress enacting a law that takes away free speech from its 170 million American users.
As one of two magnificent 7 stocks trading lower YTD, Apple (AAPL) announced new iPad Air and iPad Pro models (note that Tesla is the other underperforming stock). The Air will come out with a bigger 13-inch version but will use Apple’s existing M2 chips. The 11-inch model starts at USD 599 while the 13-inch variant starts at USD 799.
Apple’s iPad Pro will have a new M4 CPU and GPU. Prices start at $999.
Apple also announced a $299 11-inch Magic Keyboard.
An inexpensive iPad is absent in the refresh. Apple is betting that its customers have higher disposable income and will not mind paying to get the incremental upgrades.
News that the NHTSA is pressuring Tesla (TSLA) to give answers about its Autopilot driver assistance systems did not hurt the stock price. The NHTSA requires Tesla to provide sufficient information by July 1, 2024. Otherwise, it must pay a fine of up to $135.8 million.
Investors should continue to be wary of buying EV stocks. Lucid (LCID) fell after posting a quarterly loss. Rivian (RIVN) reported that it lost over $100,000 per EV sold.
