Small Businesses vs Tariffs, Trump + Crypto, and Tinder's Big Swipe

Small businesses struck back this week–A handful of companies plus a dozen states sued to block the Trump administration’s Liberation Day tariffs. The Court of International Trade ruled that the tariffs marked a presidential overreach. The Trump administration swiftly appealed the decision and the appeals court allowed the tariffs to stay. For now.

In the third episode of Everybody’s Business from Bloomberg Businessweek, hosts Stacey Vanek Smith and Max Chafkin dive into the impact tariffs are having on small businesses, Trump’s crypto strategy, and Tinder’s new plan to arrange double dates. 

The initial court ruling on tariffs this week marks a notable pushback from states and small businesses, which have been hammered by Trump’s litany of tariffs, and typically have far less flexibility than large corporations, which can stockpile supplies, shift costs, and, in some cases,fly to Mar-a-Lago to negotiate deals in person.

Also, this week a big Bitcoin conference is going on in Las Vegas. Vice President JD Vance gave a speech to the cheering crowd, assuring them that they had a friend in the White House. Bloomberg’s stacy-marie ishmael joins the show to talk about President Trump’s crypto strategy as well as what the President’s enthusiasm and support could mean for the industry. 

Then, Max and Stacey bid farewell to the penny. The Treasury announced it will stop minting pennies–helping save the government millions. But the penny’s departure could cause prices to rise, as businesses begin rounding up to the nearest nickel. 

Finally, the underrated story of the week is Tinder’s new CEO, whose plan to save the struggling online dating company involves an increase in the use of AI and introducing a “double-date” feature, where four people all chat to arrange a date. Personally, I would swipe left on that idea. 

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