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Hi ZipLawyer! Here's all the news you need to know from this past week and how they impact law firms.

Coming up:

• ⚖️ Regulatory: , EU-China EV tariff talks, Indonsia says invest or leave, Vodafone-Three Merger
• 💸 Business: Anglo exits coal, Stellantis and Boeing strikes
• 🤖 Technology: UK regulates AI, Air Fryers are listening, TSMC stops AI chips for China
• 🔋 Energy: Trump’s fossil fuel push, Anglo’s Coal Cash-Out, delays for UK green projects
• 🏠 Real Estate: Record UK house prices, new rail plans, China's $1.4 trillion lifeline

Memo

• 🇺🇸 Trump Time: Trump won the US election. After his win, the dollar surged, and stocks jumped for Trump-favoured companies. Tesla and banks gained; Bitcoin hit $75,000. Then, Trump started building his team by picking Susie Wiles, one of the top architects of his political campaign, as his White House chief of staff. She’ll be the first woman to hold the position.
• ✈️ Boeing Strike Ends: Boeing's eight-week west-coast strike ended with a new contract, including a 38% pay raise over four years. The strike cost the company roughly $100 million daily in revenue. Boeing recently raised $21 billion in equity markets.
• 🍏 Apple's AI Focus: Apple’s annual report suggests AI-driven products may be less profitable than iPhones, amid rumors of an EU fine for App Store restrictions. This would be the first tech fine under the EU’s new Digital Markets Act.
• 💸 Buffett’s Cash Pile: Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway reduced its Apple holdings to $70 billion, down from $178 billion in 2023. The company’s cash pile now stands at a record-breaking $325 billion after additional stock sales.
• 📉 OPEC+ Delays Output: OPEC+ postponed a planned production increase to stabilize falling oil prices amid weak global demand, especially in China. Prices rose briefly on the announcement but soon dropped again.

Regulatory & Competition

• EV Tariffs in Limbo: The EU and China are negotiating over tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs) amid EU concerns about unfair subsidies giving Chinese EVs a competitive edge in Europe. The EU wants agreements with individual carmakers to address pricing and subsidy issues, while China is pushing for a single, unified deal—creating a complex standoff. Both sides are exploring “price undertakings,” where China could agree to minimum export prices to avoid EU tariffs. Finding a compromise remains tricky.
• Indonesia Says ‘Invest or Exit!’ Prabowo Subianto’s administration has banned Apple’s iPhone 16 and Google’s Pixel, telling tech giants to build locally or be benched. The strict policy is meant to boost local production, but it’s raising eyebrows. With more investment-friendly neighbours like Vietnam and Malaysia, critics argue Indonesia’s limited manufacturing makes it tough to meet the requirements—risking more “see ya” than “sign me up” from foreign investors.
• Vodafone-Three Merger in Sight: Vodafone and Three’s £16.5bn merger inches closer as the CMA signals approval if certain promises are kept. They’ve pledged an £11bn 5G overhaul and will keep some data plans and tariffs frozen for three years, overseen by CMA and Ofcom. Public feedback is still welcome on these conditions, with a final decision on the UK’s biggest mobile shake-up expected by 7 December.

How does this impact Law Firms?