The daily business briefing: December 26, 2016
Trump promises to close his foundation, Iran claims a great deal from Boeing, and more


A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
1. Iran says it negotiated reduced price on Boeing airliners
Iran said on Sunday that it had negotiated a lower price for 80 new airliners it is buying from Boeing. The U.S. jet maker said the deal was worth $16.6 billion, but Tehran's deputy transport minister, Asghar Fakhrieh-Kashan, said Iran was paying "about 50 percent of that amount," according to a report by Iran's IRNA state news agency. The deal is the first such major purchase from an American company since the lifting of sanctions against Tehran nearly a year ago, under an agreement aiming to rein in Tehran's nuclear program. Iran also has signed a deal to buy 100 jets from Airbus, Boeing's European rival.
2. Snapchat buying Israeli augmented reality startup Cimagine
Messaging app Snapchat's parent company, Snap, has agreed to acquire the Israeli augmented reality firm Cimagine for between $30 million and $40 million, the financial daily Calcalist News reported. Cimagine says on its LinkedIn page that it works with brands such as Southern California furniture store franchise Jerome's and global beverage giant Coca Cola, using its cloud-based mobile platform to help them improve their sites and mobile apps. Snap is expected to launch a spring IPO that could raise up to $25 billion.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
3. Trump says he will shut down his charitable foundation
President-elect Donald Trump said over the Christmas weekend that he plans to shut down his charitable foundation. Trump said he had told his lawyers to get to work on closing the foundation, although he did not provide a timeline for shutting it down. As he prepares to take office in January, Trump has faced criticism over how the foundation collected and spent money. Trump said in a statement that the organization had "done enormous good works." It also has been a source of controversy, following reports that Trump used its money in some cases to pay settlements for his for-profit businesses. One of Trump's sons, Eric Trump, last week said he was suspending his charitable foundation after questions arose over whether donors would get special access to the first family.
4. Global stocks mixed in light trading
Global stocks were mixed on Monday, as Japanese shares fell in light trading and Chinese stocks recovered from early losses. Markets in the U.S. and many other countries remained closed on the day after Christmas. The Shanghai Composite Index fell by 1.1 percent, adding to a similar loss on Friday, then recovered as construction stocks gained on a government promise of $260 billion in infrastructure spending next year. Seiji Iwama, a fund manager with Daiwa SB Investments Ltd. in Tokyo, said that he expected "2016 ending with little disturbance" after months of volatility over the U.S. election and the U.K.'s vote to leave the European Union.
5. China reduces solar and wind power rates as construction costs drop
China is cutting what it pays for electricity from new solar and wind power generators to reflect their declining construction costs, the country's price regulator and economic planner said Monday. The move, which will reduce solar farm tariffs by 19 percent and those for wind farms by 15 percent, comes after average solar panel prices fell by about 30 percent this year, according to data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The World Economic Forum reported this month that solar and wind power is now the same price as power from fossil fuels, or cheaper, in more than 30 countries.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Harold Maass is a contributing editor at TheWeek.com. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 launch of the U.S. print edition. Harold has worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, Fox News, and ABC News. For several years, he wrote a daily round-up of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance. He lives in North Carolina with his wife and two sons.
-
China: a superpower’s slump
The Explainer After 40 years of explosive growth, China’s economy is now in deep distress — with no turnaround in sight
By The Week Staff Published
-
Retirees’ biggest surprise expense
Feature And more of the week's best financial insight
By The Week Staff Published
-
The United Auto Workers’ strike has put Democrats in a bind
Feature President Biden will have to pick a side in the dispute
By The Week Staff Published
-
China: a superpower’s slump
The Explainer After 40 years of explosive growth, China’s economy is now in deep distress — with no turnaround in sight
By The Week Staff Published
-
The daily business briefing: September 22, 2023
Business Briefing Rupert Murdoch steps down as Fox, News Corp. chair, Cisco to buy Splunk in $28 billion cash deal, and more
By Harold Maass Published
-
The daily business briefing: September 21, 2023
Business Briefing The Fed leaves rates unchanged, Biden cancels debts for University of Phoenix borrowers, and more
By Harold Maass Published
-
The daily business briefing: September 20, 2023
Business Briefing Disney says it will invest $60 billion in theme parks, Instacart shares rise in debut, and more
By Harold Maass Published
-
The daily business briefing: September 19, 2023
Business Briefing Instacart prices its shares at top of range in IPO, the UAW threatens to widen its strike, and more
By Harold Maass Published
-
The daily business briefing: September 18, 2023
Business Briefing UAW strike continues after union rejects latest offer, China detains some Evergrande wealth management staff, and more
By Harold Maass Published
-
The daily business briefing: September 15, 2023
Business Briefing United Auto Workers strike against Detroit's Big 3, Arm shares climb in year's biggest IPO, and more
By Harold Maass Published
-
The daily business briefing: September 14, 2023
Business Briefing Surging fuel prices increased August inflation, chipmaker Arm prices its IPO at $51 a share, and more
By Harold Maass Published