Business Briefs – July 9, 2018

Chinese Exporters Scramble To Cope With U.S. Tariffs

BEIJING (AP) – Chinese exporters are scrambling to cope with a plunge in U.S. orders while China’s state press shrugged off the impact of Washington’s tariff hikes in a spiraling technology dispute. China’s Commerce Ministry said Monday that it would use revenue from higher tariffs on U.S. products to help companies affected by the trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies.

Twitter’s Fake Account Purge Drags Stock Lower

NEW YORK (AP) – Twitter has been purging fake and malicious accounts to help prevent the spread of fake news and to make its service more welcoming for real people. But when a Washington Post report put an actual number on it — 70 million — the company’s shares tumbled. Investors are worried that the removals could put a dent in the company’s reported user figures. Twitter’s stock closed down 5.40 percent lower at 44.14&

BMW: Tariffs Mean Higher Prices In China for U.S.-Made SUVs

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) – Automaker BMW says it will have to raise prices on the U.S.-built SUVs it sells in China due to higher tariffs. China raised the import tax on cars from the United States to 40 percent in retaliation for higher tariffs on Chinese goods imposed by President Donald Trump.

U.S. Consumer Borrowing Up $24 Billion in May

WASHINGTON (AP) – Americans increased their borrowing in May at the fastest pace since November 2016, boosted by a big increase in credit card borrowing. Consumer debt rose $24.5 billion in May after an increase of $10 billion in April, the Federal Reserve reported Monday.

Appeals Court Backs $10b Volkswagen Emissions Cheating Deal

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – A U.S. appeals court on Monday approved a $10 billion settlement between Volkswagen and car owners caught up in the company’s emissions cheating scandal.

The deal delivered “tangible, substantial benefits” and the federal judge who approved it did more than enough to ensure it was fair, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously.

The German automaker agreed to spend up to $10 billion compensating owners of roughly 475,000 Volkswagens and Audi vehicles with 2-liter diesel engines — the bulk of the vehicles caught up in the scandal.

Volkswagen acknowledged that the cars were programmed to cheat on emissions tests. Under the terms of the deal, the automaker agreed to either buy back the cars or fix them and to pay each owner thousands of dollars in additional compensation.