Business

Judge grants preliminary injunction in CFPB case. The judiciary branch has to step in and prevent the government from disbanding an agency created to protect consumers. Such a wild time! For businesses, it’s a nightmare to function in this environment. There is no indication as to which direction the executive branch is heading towards.

After U.S. failure, Vietnam’s EV leader turns to markets dominated by Tesla and BYD. “On its home turf in Vietnam, VinFast has proved nearly unstoppable. In September 2024, it became the country’s top-selling car brand. It dominates domestic EV sales thanks to a near monopoly over charging infrastructure, leaving little room for Chinese giant BYD. Of the 97,399 vehicles VinFast sold last year, around 90% were absorbed domestically. But a sizable chunk of its sales were made to Vuong’s Xanh SM, Vietnam’s largest e-taxi service.” Vuong is the owner of VinGroup, which is the parent company of VinFast.

Amazon’s AI assistant Alexa+ launches with some missing features. Investors and curious consumers should take these product launches with a big bucket of salt. Apple and now Amazon advertised something that would not be available anytime soon.

Trump tariffs sow fears of trade wars, recession and a $2,300 iPhone. Trump consistently showed that he believed in tariffs. It’s also a convenient tool for him because he doesn’t necessarily need Congress’ approval which doesn’t matter much as he has the whole party under his thumb. What makes this round of tariffs scary is that he shows no signs of backing off. He doesn’t have to deal with tariffs. All of us do.

How Airbnb Measures Listing Lifetime Value. If more companies publish content like this, business students will learn how businesses actually work and learn more from the Internet than from any MBA

Other Stuff I Find Interesting

Can Barcelona Solve One of the Toughest Housing Crises in Europe? Barcelona is one of the most popular destinations in Europe. Hundreds of thousands of tourists visit the city each year. Because of this influx of visitors, there is a tremendous demand for short-term rentals. Naturally, savvy investors will want to get whatever assets they can lay their hands on and monetize the hell out of them. As a consequence, resident citizens have less access to affordable housing. Putting a cap on tourism may help solve this issue, but will deprive the city of valuable revenue and jobs.

Utah becomes first US state to ban fluoride in its water. The move is inspired by the current Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy, the man who is infamous for controversial views on health-related matters. Experts say that the current low-dose fluoride in community water in the US serves as passive prevention of cavities and helps boos dental health of Americans. The recommended dose of 0.7 parts per million is already lower than the dose that some people around the world naturally consume.

Cuts to science research funding cut American lives short − federal support is essential for medical breakthroughs. There is no life without good health and despite all of our technological advances, we still know so little about our body and all the diseases. We need more research and studies, not less. Whatever funds are given to scientific research should not matter much in the budget of the US government. I’d rather see my tax money dedicated to cancer prevention than to produce more fighter jets or war ships.

Why Are Credit Card Rates So High? In case you don’t know about credit cards and how they are priced.

Where EV batteries go to die – and be reborn. “Wickham explains that Altilium takes this approach because manufacturers are constantly changing the chemical makeup of batteries. “Battery chemistry is moving fast,” he says. Wickham argues that battery companies will increasingly rely on nickel, compared to other metals, because it stores more energy for a given volume. (Some emerging battery designs, however, are moving away from nickel because of its high price tag.). If recycling takes off, the benefits could be significant. According to a 2024 IEA report, greater recycling of critical minerals could reduce the need for new mining by as much as 40% by mid-century. “

Beneath Greenland’s ice lies a climate solution — and a new geopolitical battleground. “As a result, all eyes are turning toward Greenland’s rich deposits of rare earths. The island contains 18 percent of the global reserves for neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium, according to the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre. Even a decade ago, scientists reported that the island could meet a quarter of the global demand for rare earths.“

Stats

The Clearing House’s ACH rail processed $56.4 trillion worth of transactions in 2024, which was about 50% of all US ACH commercial transaction volume

The nation’s unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2 percent in March 2025

“Lesotho, which makes denim that goes into American-branded jeans, was hit with a 50 percent tariff”.