<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Reuters/Kevin Lamarque</span></p><p class="caption">U.S. President Donald Trump speaks while participating in a tour of U.S.-Mexico border wall prototypes near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry in San Diego, California.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Hello! Here's everything you need to know on Tuesday, January 8.</p><p><strong>1. </strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/government-shutdown-effect-on-food-stamps-airports-tsa-rent-support-gets-worse-2019-1" data-analytics-position="1" data-analytics-module="hero_tout"><strong>Are you starting to feel the effects of the shutdown?</strong></a> Settle in, because they are going to get exponentially worse as the fight drags on.</p><p><strong>2. </strong><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/north-korean-leader-kim-jong-un-visits-china-again-summit-2019-1" data-analytics-position="23" data-analytics-module="onecolumn-post_image">North Korea's Kim Jong Un is getting some facetime in China.</a> </strong>A visit most likely spurred on by reports of an impending repeat summit with US President Donald Trump.</p><p><strong>3. </strong><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/carlos-ghosn-first-public-remarks-on-financial-misconduct-charges-2019-1" data-analytics-position="8" data-analytics-module="featured_post">"I have been wrongly accused and unfairly detained":</a> </strong>Once high-flying Nissan exec Carlos Ghosn has made a defiant first public appearance since facing financial misconduct allegations in a Tokyo court</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-organization-putin-penthouse-trump-tower-moscow-2018-11"></a><strong>4. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-claimed-past-presidents-supported-border-wall-fact-check-2019-1">Former US President Jimmy Carter handed Donald Trump a long-awaited truth bomb.</a> </strong>Carter slapped down Trump's claim that past presidents privately told him they were all for a border wall</p><p><strong>5. </strong><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/r-samsung-electronics-says-fourth-quarter-profit-likely-fell-29-percent-china-demand-weak-2019-1" data-analytics-position="3" data-analytics-module="homepage-river">Apple is not the only giant in the tech bowl to feel the fallout from China's economic hassles.</a> </strong>Korean powerhouse Samsung says weak China demand sent Q4 profit falling by about one-third.</p><p><strong> 6. </strong><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazons-alexa-interrupted-qualcomm-exec-during-ces-speech-2019-1" data-analytics-position="38" data-analytics-module="homepage-river">"That's not true":</a> </strong>Amazon's Alexa just took down a Qualcomm representative in the middle of a demo at CES.</p><p><strong>7. </strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/swiss-philanthropist-hansjoerg-wyss-spending-1-billion-on-conservation-2019-1" data-analytics-position="32" data-analytics-module="homepage-river"><strong>A Swiss philanthropist has donated $1 billion to save the Earth from environmental destruction.</strong> </a> Here's where all the money is going.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-ceo-tells-employees-self-driving-car-unit-screwed-up-2018-11"></a><strong> 8. </strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fiji-responds-to-fiji-water-girl-going-viral-at-the-golden-globes-2019-1" data-analytics-position="16" data-analytics-module="big_picture"><strong>"Fiji Water Girl" made a splash before going viral at the Golden Globes</strong>.</a> And it was no fluke, but part of a cunning marketing plan 10 years in the making.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/at-least-2-dead-in-what-may-have-been-a-car-chase-with-border-patrol-2018-11"></a><strong>9. </strong><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/soldier-76-gay-queer-overwatch-2019-1" data-analytics-position="6" data-analytics-module="homepage-river">A hero at the center of one of the hottest video games around was just revealed to be gay.</a> </strong> Naturally, the internet freaked out, but mostly in a good way.</p><p><strong>10. </strong><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-planet-found-using-data-from-nasa-kepler-telescope-2019-1" data-analytics-position="11" data-analytics-module="homepage-river">Scientists have discovered a new planet.</a> </strong>This one is twice as big as Earth, and there is conjecture that there is liquid water on its surface.</p><p><strong>And finally ...</strong></p><p><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/it-doesnt-matter-what-theyre-made-of-walls-dont-work-2019-1" data-analytics-position="9" data-analytics-module="homepage-river">It doesn't matter what they're made of, says Pamela Kyle Crossley,</a> </strong>walls are just no good.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/building-wilmington-delaware-largest-companies-ct-corporation-2017-4">This tiny building in Wilmington, Delaware is home to 300,000 businesses</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

The 10 most important things in the world right now

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Masayoshi Son, SoftBank Group Chairman and CEO.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>Japanese conglomerate and tech investor SoftBank is under scrutiny over its ties to Saudi Arabia, a major backer of its $100 billion Vision Fund.</strong></li><li><strong>That is thanks to global outcry over the status of missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who is feared dead after he was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.</strong></li><li><strong>Saudi Arabia's crown prince pledged $45 billion to SoftBank's next $100 billion Vision Fund.</strong></li><li><strong>SoftBank COO Marcelo Claure said on Tuesday the company was "anxiously" watching the Kashoggi situation.</strong></li></ul><p>Japanese conglomerate SoftBank is under intense scrutiny over its plans to raise a second $100 billion technology investment fund with $45 billion from Saudi Arabia.</p><p>SoftBank is already one of the world's biggest tech investors through its first Vision Fund, and has boasted of plans to raise multiple $100 billion funds. Its current backers including Apple, Foxconn, Qualcomm, and Saudia Arabia.</p><p>Saudi Arabia crown prince Mohammed bin Salman told Bloomberg earlier this month that the country's sovereign wealth fund would put $45 billion into the second Vision Fund.</p><p>That relationship is looking more problematic thanks to global outcry over the fate of missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2 and is now feared dead. Turkish authorities have said they have evidence the journalist was murdered.</p><p>That has prompted a rethink among businesses about their deep financial ties to Saudi Arabia.</p><p><a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-softbank-group-saudi/softbank-anxiously-monitoring-saudi-arabia-situation-executive-idUSKCN1MQ2TH">Speaking at a conference in California on Tuesday</a>, SoftBank Chief Operating Officer Marcelo Claure said the Japanese firm was "anxiously looking at what is happening" at the situation with Khashoggi.</p><p>He said: "We like most parties in the world are looking at events unfold. Based on that, we will make decisions in the future, but at this point in time like most companies that have relationships with Saudi Arabia we are watching developments and see where this goes."</p><p>Neither Claure nor the company is commenting on whether SoftBank may sever its financial ties to the Kingdom. Separately, Claure said "there is no certainty" that SoftBank would launch a second Vision Fund, though this is not thought to be directly connected to concerns over Khashoggi.</p><p>SoftBank chief executive Masayoshi Son has yet to speak out publicly about Khashoggi and, according to media reports, he is still due to attend a Saudi investor summit from which <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/businesses-cutting-ties-with-saudi-arabia-over-jamal-khashoggi-disappearance-2018-10">many investors and policymakers have distanced themselves,</a>including Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi and Richard Branson.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/marijuana-cannabis-scanning-electron-microscope-2018-9">What marijuana looks like under the microscope</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

The fate of missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi hangs over SoftBank as it looks to raise another $100 billion fund

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Damir Sagolj/Reuters</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>The US ban on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/huawei">Chinese tech giant Huawei</a> could trigger a major retaliation by Beijing.</li><li>Analysts say China could hit back at US tech giants doing business in the Asian nation, with Apple especially at risk.</li><li>One analyst believes the reaction could be so severe that the effect on some US tech companies could be 'disastrous.'</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</span></a></li></ul><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A ban on Chinese tech giant Huawei by the Trump Administration could spark a tit-for-tat with Beijing that would turn the heat up on US tech companies, with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/apple">Apple </a>vulnerable as high-profile target for retaliation, analysts said Wednesday.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One analyst thinks Beijing's reaction could be 'disastrous' for American companies.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The ban on doing business with Huawei was imposed shortly <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-national-emergency-china-huawei-2019-5">after President Trump's executive order</a> aimed at "foreign adversaries" in the technology industry. According to the US Commerce Department order, Huawei is now prohibited from buying parts and components from US companies without US government approval.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Huawei has been repeatedly accused of spying and violating US laws. Huawei has denied the accusations, while Beijing has denounced the charges as unfair.</span></p><h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Spying allegations vs Huawei</span></h2><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"This is clearly targeted at China spying via Huawei, something that has not been conclusively proven yet," analyst Tim Bajarin of Creative Strategies Inc. told Business Insider. "But it represents a ban on a Chinese product in the US that has other ramifications."</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The spying allegations "could be real," he added. But so is China's potential reaction.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"China could retaliate by banning US products from the Chinese market using the same pretense, even it may be false," he said. "A tit-for-tat fight that could be disastrous for any company that  sells a lot of goods into China, especially technology-based goods, if they get banned for any reason as part of a Chinese retaliatory move."</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">And coming on the heels of the recent tariffs that the US and China have imposed on hundreds of millions of dollars of each other's goods, a potential Chinese ban on certain US companies could cause significant problems.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said the Trump threat could just be all bluster ahead of next month's G-20 Summit in Japan.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"We think the bark is going to be worst than the bite, but this adds more noise when tech investors are already on edge," he told Business Insider. "This is a major shot across the bow. … They continue to ratchet up the heat in the kitchen especially with Huawei given the strategic importance of Huawei in China."</span></p><h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Trade war escalation</span></h2><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">China could hit back, he said, which could hurt leading tech names, including chipmakers Nvidia, Qualcomm and Intel. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a note in December following the US indictment of Huawei CFO </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Meng Wanzhou, </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon said Huawei is "overall a sizeable buyer of semiconductors." But he said the impact on major US chip-makers would be minimal.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Rasgon said the "supply chain could evolve" helping ease the impact of the Huawei ban on US chip companies.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>AP/Kin Cheung</span></p><p class="caption">Huawei Rotating Chairman Guo Ping, center, speaks in front of other executives during a press conference in Shenzhen, China's Guangdong province.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p>"If the semi companies can't sell to Huawei and thus Huawei can't sell equipment, other companies would eventually take up Huawei's slack, companies that the semis can sell to," he said. "In other words, the Chinese equipment companies would likely lose share to other non-Chinese companies providing similar products, assuming broad demand for those products remains."</p><p>But he added: "The transition would likely be messy though."</p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The worst case scenario, Bajarin said, is if China hits back at Trump and "</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">really hurts some major American company that sells a lot of products in China."</span></p><h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">A target on Apple's back</span></h2><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">It could be companies who sell PC's, Servers and telecom equipment as a start," he said. "But if it was true retaliation, it would be a major US company with a solid brand."</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ives of Wedbush thinks the </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">most vulnerable target would be Apple, perhaps the most well-known US tech brand.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"The broader worry here is: does this put more of a target on the back of Apple?" Ives said. "The poster child is Apple."</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Crawford Del Prete, president of research firm IDC, said he doesn't think a Chinese reaction would impact other areas of tech immediately.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">As for spreading to other areas, I do not see that as likely at this point," he told Business Insider.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Meanwhile, Huawei faces a tougher situation as it is barred from doing business with US firms, he added.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"For Huawei, they will need to stay focused and on message that they are not a security risk, so that they can maintain business outside of the US," he said.</span></p><p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Got a tip about Huawei, Apple or another tech company? Contact this reporter via email at bpimentel@businessinsider.com, message him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/troywolv/">@benpimentel</a>, or send him a secure message through Signal at 510.731.8429. You can also <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-tip-business-insider-securely-guide-signal-securedrop-2017-6">contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop</a>.</span></em></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/london-handbag-fire-hoses-recycled-fashion-accessories-sustainability-2019-5">This London handbag company has recycled 175 tons of fire hoses into fashion accessories</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Trump's Huawei ban could spark a tit-for-tat fight with Beijing that puts Apple in the middle of the crossfire

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Oliver Contreras/Getty; Greg Baker/Getty; Shayanne Gal/Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>China will hit the US with "major retaliative measures" at any moment, in reaction to the blacklisting of Huawei, a Chinese state media editor has warned.</li><li>Hu Xijin, editor of the Global Times, <a href="https://twitter.com/HuXijin_GT/status/1134354675640094720">tweeted on Friday</a>: "China will take major retaliative measures against the US placing Huawei and other Chinese companies on Entity List."</li><li>Companies on The Entity List need a license to trade in the US: a big problem for Huawei, as 25% of their suppliers are US-based companies. Huawei was added on May 16.</li><li>In response China is expected to restrict the US' access to "rare-earth" metals, which are essential to the US' manufacturing sector.</li><li>The US government claims Huawei was sectioned as it's not free from state interference, and could be used to compromise US national security. </li><li>The clash over Huawei is part of the ongoing US-China trade war, comprised of tit-for-tax tariff hikes on US and Chinese imports since March 2018.</li><li>On Friday, China's Ministry of Commerce told state media it's setting up an "unreliable entities list" which will "target foreign firms that cut supplies to China," <a href="https://twitter.com/Rover829/status/1134392370110164993">Reuters reported.</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></li></ul><p>China is preparing to deploy "major retaliative measures" over the US' decision to blacklist Huawei, according to the editor of one of the country's state media outlets.</p><p>Hu Xijin, editor of the tabloid newspaper Global Times, <a href="https://twitter.com/HuXijin_GT/status/1134354675640094720">wrote on Twitter</a>: "China will take major retaliative measures against the US placing Huawei and other Chinese companies on Entity List."</p><p>"This move indicates Beijing will not wait passively and more countermeasures will follow."</p><p>On Friday, China's Ministry of Commerce said it will set up an "unreliable entities list" which will "target foreign firms that cut supplies to China," <a href="https://twitter.com/Rover829/status/1134392370110164993">Reuters reported.</a></p><p>The US <a href="https://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/all-articles/17-regulations/1555-addition-of-certain-entities-to-the-entity-list-final-rule-effective-may-16-2019">added Huawei to The Entity List</a> - a list of companies US businesses need a licence to trade with - on May 16, saying it is "involved in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States." </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>WANG ZHAO/AFP/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Huawei's Chief Legal Officer Song Liuping speaks during a press conference in Shenzhen, China's Guangdong province on March 7, 2019.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>140 other Chinese companies were also added to the list. China claims Huawei is independent of the government.</p><p><span>The blacklisting is a big problem for Huawei, as the US is home to </span><a href="https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2143569/huawei-better-shape-withstand-us-pressure-thanks-industrys">25% of their suppliers</a><span>, including Qualcomm and Micron Technology, who make computer chips.</span></p><p>In retaliation, China is expected to restrict the export of rare earth materials to the US. On Tuesday, Hu tweeted: "China is seriously considering restricting rare earth exports to the US."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Fred Dufour/Pool; Alex Wong/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Chinese President Xi Jinping; US President Donald Trump.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Business Insider's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-rare-earth-hint-trade-war-2019-5?r=US&amp;IR=T">Alex Ma previously reported</a> how China holds 90% of the world's rare earth materials, 17 elements on the periodic table, and one of the most important Chinese exports to the US.</p><p><em><strong>Read more:</strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trade-war-xi-jinping-rare-earth-factory-hint-cripple-us-tech-military-2019-5?"><span> </span>Xi Jinping may have shown how he plans to cripple US tech and defense giants in the trade war with a visit to a Chinese magnet factory</a></em></p><p>They are found in products from batteries to smartphones, electric cars, and fighter jets. The minerals are used in tiny amounts but can be crucial to the manufacturing process.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>U.S. Department of Agriculture / Peggy Greb</span></p><p class="caption">Rare Earths, clockwise from top center: praseodymium, cerium, lanthanum, neodymium, samarium and gadolinium.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Rumours China would restrict US access to rare earths in response to the Huawei ban circulated after Chinese President Xi Jinping made <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trade-war-xi-jinping-rare-earth-factory-hint-cripple-us-tech-military-2019-5">a highly-publicized visit to a rare earth factory</a> in eastern China.</p><p><em><strong>Read more:</strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trade-war-us-importers-paying-china-tariffs-imf-contradicts-trump-2019-5"><span> </span>US companies pay 'almost entirely' for tariffs on Chinese products, new IMF study shows - blowing a massive hole in Trump's favorite justification for the trade war</a></em></p><p>The decision to block Huawei <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/huawei-ban-trade-war-tech-cold-war-2019-5?r=US&amp;IR=T">was another rung on the long ladder of US decisions which have transformed trade negotiations</a> into a tech Cold War. </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais</span></p><p class="caption">In this December 2018, photo, Donald Trump, second from right, meets with China's President Xi Jinping, second from left, during their bilateral meeting at the G20 Summit, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>China and the US abandoned attempts to secure a trade deal in May this year, but have been exchanging tit-for-tat tariffs since March 2018.</p><p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/huawei-ban-trade-war-tech-cold-war-2019-5?r=US&amp;IR=T">Trump's Huawei ban escalates the US-China trade war into a tech Cold War</a></em></p><p>On May 10, 2019 Trump signaled the end of formal negotiations hiking tariffs on $200 billion worth of  Chinese imports by 15%. They went from 10% to 25%.</p><p><span>Three days later China raised tariffs on $60 billion of American goods, starting June 1. </span></p><p>On Thursday, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-accuses-us-of-economic-terrorism-in-trade-war-2019-5?r=US&amp;IR=T">China's vice foreign minister Zhang Hanhui accused the US</a> of engaging in "naked economic terrorism" and said China was "not afraid."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fox-news-opinion-programs-white-supremacist-rhetoric-great-replacement-2019-5">Fox News pundits are using white supremacist language tied to 'The Great Replacement' conspiracy theory</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

You Searched For "qualcomm tech summit" and got 5 results

The 10 most important things in the world right now

Christian Edwards,Christian E…

The fate of missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi hangs over SoftBank as it looks to raise another $100 billion fund

Shona Ghosh

Trump's Huawei ban could spark a tit-for-tat fight with Beijing that puts Apple in the middle of the crossfire

Benjamin Pimentel

China is reportedly on the brink of 'major retaliative measures' against the US as the trade war escalates further

Bill Bostock,Bill Bostock

Wall Street's star dealmaker Ken Moelis on what's driving today's M&A, hiring millennials, and what he really meant to say about Donald Trump

Matt Turner