Ohio allows businesses to pay taxes in bitcoin, but how many will choose to do so?

This past week, State Treasurer Josh Mandel partnered with Bitpay to make Ohio the first state to accept cryptocurrency for business taxes. Treasurer Mandel told CNBC the move was designed “to plant the flag in Ohio as a national and international leader in blockchain technology,” adding that it increases “options and ease” for taxpayers and […]

Microsoft surpasses Apple as largest market cap company in the world

Big changes are coming to tech stocks, as Microsoft has recently surpassed Apple as the largest company in the world at (as of this writing) 851 billion dollars in market cap versus 847 billion for Apple, but it could be that Apple’s troubles keep piling up while Microsoft has minimal geopolitical risk compared to other […]

Retaliatory tariffs almost completely dry up US soybean exports in the China

After President Trump enacted tariffs against their goods, the Chinese government responded with $34 billion in retaliatory tariffs. Among the US goods hit by these tariffs were soybeans, which before the tariffs enjoyed a lucrative export trade in China. The market after the tariffs, however, has been a different story. Before the tariffs, in the […]

Investors check out of Marriott stock after apocalyptic data breach

Marriott International Inc. is the latest major corporation to suffer a massive data breach and exposing customers to potential hacking dangers. According to a report from Reuters, it was the hotel company’s booking database system for its Starwood line of properties. The data breach may have exposed financial information of more than 300 million customers. […]

French fuel tax sparks violent protests

This past Saturday, massive crowds descended on the Champs Elysees in Paris to protest high fuel prices in France and President Emmanuel Macron’s fuel tax. The protesters were stopped by police before they could reach the Elysee Palace. The protesters, angry with the high price of fuel in the French Republic and agitating against the […]

Quarterly GDP growth tops 3% for third time in the past two years

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), first estimates of GDP growth for the third quarter show the economy growing at a 3.5% annualized rate. This is down from 4.2% growth in the second quarter. The largest driver of growth was consumer spending, followed by business investment and government spending. The latter two measures […]

Alibaba’s founder Jack Ma comes out as a communist party member

Chinese billionaire and founder of the mega e-commerce site Alibaba, Jack Ma, has been identified as a member of China’s communist party. According to a report from Agence France Presse (AFP), Ma — who is not only the wealthiest man in China, but also one of the richest in the world — was “outed” as […]

General Motors announces massive restructuring, plant closures and layoffs

American automotive giant General Motors (GM) announced on Monday that the company plans to execute a drastic reorganization which includes cutting the number of salaried employees by 15 percent, closing manufacturing plants in three US states, and discontinuing several poor-selling models. According to a report from Reuters, factories in “Ohio, Michigan, and Maryland,” will cease […]