Hi Everyone,
Even though we said in yesterday's update that we weren't going to cover the Microsoft TikTok talks, it seems things have now escalated to the point where it seems difficult to ignore, especially in light of unprecedented intervention from the president.
Shortly after we hit the send button, President Donald Trump stated that TikTok now has a deadline of September 15 to sell off all its U.S. operations to an American company, be it Microsoft, Apple, or anyone else. In addition, the president has stated that the U.S. Department of the Treasury should get a cut on whatever deal is put in place.
These statements have of course been met with fierce opposition from critics, and from China themselves, who labeled them as extortion.
Not that I'm about to take sides here, but given the way this year has been going so far, I don't think it would surprise anyone if World War III was waged over a teen dance app.
Or perhaps, as several on Twitter have suggested, we should let the armies sit this one out and just have Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping settle this with a 15-second dance off.
The messed up thing is that as detached from reality as this scenario may seem, stocks are way more far gone. Despite the massive real-world implications that pursuing this sort of policy can have down the line, investors seem just as comfortable buying today as they have for the last few months. It almost seems like nothing can interrupt the rally now.
