Gold Shows Volatility Amid Escalated Trade Spat

Gold prices saw considerable movement on Friday as trade war fears hit risk assets hard. Risk sentiment waned after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to slap a 10 percent tariff on $300 billion of Chinese imports from next month.

The new tariffs announced by Trump represent the latest escalation in the trade war between the U.S. and China, which has led to increasing concerns about the outlook for the global economy and has investors looking at safe havens.

Spot gold eased from its two-week high $1,446.10 earlier in the day, slipping $2.60 or 0.18 percent to $1,442.50 per ounce. U.S. gold futures were up 1.57 percent at $1,454.85 an ounce.

That announcement on Thursday lifted the precious metal from its lowest level since July 17 at $1,405.50.

Trump also threatened to further raise tariffs if Chinese President Xi Jinping fails to move more quickly to strike a trade deal. The trade spat is only going to get worse as Beijing said it would not give an inch under pressure from Washington.

CBS, Viacom reach agreement on exec team to lead merged company

CBS Corp. CBS, -0.43% and Viacom Inc. VIAB, -0.47% have agreed on the executive team to lead a combined company if they merge, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal on Friday. Viacom CEO Bob Bakish would be CEO of the combined company, according to people familiar with the matter, the Journal reported. Acting CBS CEO Joe Ianniello would be offered a job overseeing CBS’s branded assets at the combined company under a working agreement.

Trump Announces Deal To Boost U.S. Beef Exports To EU

In an effort to help an industry hurt by his trade war with China, President Donald Trump announced an agreement Friday intended to boost beef exports to the European Union.

A statement from the U.S. Trade Representative said the agreement would nearly triple annual U.S. duty-free exports of beef to the EU from $150 million to $420 million over the next seven years.

“This is a tremendous victory for American farmers, ranchers and of course, European consumers,” Trump said during an event at the White House.

Under the agreement, the duty-free tariff rate quota will grow to 35,000 metric tons annually from the current TRQ of approximately 13,000 metric tons annually.

“American ranchers produce the best beef in the world. Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, this new agreement ensures that American ranchers can sell more of that beef to Europe,” said U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

Lighthizer signed the agreement with the Honorable Jani Raappana of Finland, representing the Presidency of the EU, and Ambassador Stavros Lambrinidis of the Delegation of the EU.

Stocks close lower on continuing trade tensions

The Dow Jones Industrial Average notched a third day of hefty losses as investors continued to weigh the implications of an escalating trade war with China. The Dow DJIA, -0.37% closed at 26,461, down about 98 points or 0.4%. The Dow was down as much as 300 points midday. The S&P 500 SPX, -0.73% finished the day at 2,932, down 22 points or 0.7%. The Nasdaq COMP, -1.32% lost 108 points – 1.3% – and closed at 8,004. The losses in the stock market came even as the Labor Department announced a solid pace of hiring in July. Dow component Exxon Mobil Corp. XOM, -0.98% weighed on that index, as shares fell 1% after the company missed Wall Street expectations.

The Big Tech Show: Privacy, please

This week, Adrian sits down with Cillian Kieran, who recently scooped €3.8m in seed funding for his privacy-focused software startup called Ethyca.

The two discuss possible solutions to today’s privacy problems.

New Brunswick man dies from injuries after losing control of his motorcycle

A New Brunswick man has died from injuries he suffered in a July motorcycle crash.

Police say the motorcyclist lost control of his vehicle while riding on Route 2 in Saint-Jacques, N.B., on July 10.

The 62-year-old from Saint-Hilaire, N.B., was taken to hospital with serious injuries following the crash.

He died Thursday.

U.S. Consumer Sentiment Shows Slight Uptick In July

After previously releasing preliminary data showing a slight improvement in U.S. consumer sentiment in the month of July, the University of Michigan released a report on Friday showing its reading on consumer sentiment was unrevised.

The report said the consumer sentiment index for July came in at 98.4, unchanged from the preliminary reading and up slightly from the final June reading of 98.2. Economists had expected the index to be unrevised.

“Consumer sentiment remained unchanged in late July from the mid-month reading, with all component questions showing only small and offsetting changes,” said Surveys of Consumers chief economist Richard Curtin.

“Economic confidence has been remarkably stable since the start of 2017, despite ongoing trade uncertainties,” he added. “The resilience displayed has been primarily due to a renewed sense of personal financial optimism.”

The report said the current economic conditions index dipped to 110.7 in July from 111.9 in June, while the index of consumer expectations inched up to 90.5 from 89.3.

On the inflation front, one-year inflation expectations edged down to 2.6 percent in July from 2.7 percent in June, although five-year inflation expectations rose to 2.5 percent from 2.3 percent.

Ed Sheeran now has the highest-grossing tour of all time

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ed Sheeran’s Divide Tour is one for the record books.

Pollstar confirms the 28-year-old British singer’s tour will set the all-time highest-grossing tour record with Friday’s show in Hannover, Germany.

Pollstar forecasts the total gross to this point of $736.7 million will top the previous record of $735.4 million set by U2 in 2011.

In a statement, Sheeran calls it “amazing.”

The Divide Tour launched on Mar. 16, 2017 and is due to end on Aug. 26. That’s 893 days compared to the 760 days U2 spent on the road.

Sheeran’s tour topped U2’s attendance record of 7.3 million on May 24 in France with a total attendance of 7,315,970.

Sheeran released his “No.6 Collaborations Project” album in July, featuring collaborations with Justin Bieber, Stormzy, Eminem, 50 Cent and Bruno Mars.