The Apple Card starts rolling out today - The Verge

Apple CEO Tim Cook said the Apple Card would arrive in August on the company’s last earnings call, and here it is: Apple’s new credit card, issued in partnership with Goldman Sachs, will begin a “preview rollout” today, and then become broadly available to all iPhone owners in the US later this month.

Apple says a random selection of people who signed up to be notified about the Apple Card will be invited to sign up today, although the company won’t disclose exactly how many people will be in the preview group. The signup process, which requires iOS 12.4, involves entering your address, birthday, income level, and last four digits of your Social Security number. That information is sent to Goldman Sachs, which will approve or decline your application in real time — Apple says it should take less than a minute. (There’s a TransUnion credit check involved, so if you’ve locked that info you’ll have to unlock it.)

Apple says the Apple Card is not meant to directly compete with premium cards like the Chase Sapphire or American Express Platinum cards — the goal is to be broadly accessible to every iPhone owner, so the signup requirements will not be as strict as those cards.

Once you’ve been approved, your new card will show up in your Apple Wallet immediately and be available for use — you can request Apple’s fancy titanium card for free during setup and it will arrive in the mail later. Setting that card up is neat: the envelope it’s in has an NFC tag, so you just tap the phone to it and it activates automatically, no phone call or sticker required.

I got to hold the card itself and it is very nice, although it is fairly thick and felt a little bit heavier than the typical metal credit card. You can use the card without your phone nearby like any other card, but it doesn’t support contactless payments — Apple obviously wants you to use your phone or watch for that.

Once you’re all set up, you will actually have three credit card numbers associated with your Apple Card: the number assigned to your phone, the number assigned to the physical card, and a virtual number you can access in the app for online merchants that don’t take Apple Pay. You can request a new virtual number at any time. The card itself doesn’t have a expiration date or security code, and it doesn’t have a number printed on it, but you can lock the card if you misplace it or deactivate it entirely from the Wallet app with a single tap.

The Apple Card interface in the Wallet app is extremely nice: it provides detailed information about all your purchases, using machine learning to clean up merchant names and categorize your spending over time. You can set payment schedules in a variety of ways, play with a circular slider to see exactly how much interest you’ll be charged at various, and see how much you’re spending weekly and monthly.

Compared to something like Intuit’s Mint, it’s definitely smarter and simpler, but it’s also limited to just one card, so its overall utility is a little limited if you have any other cards or payments in your life to manage.

Apple isn’t charging any late fees, annual fees, or international fees on this card, and it says that it doesn’t see any of your purchase data at all — all that transaction data cleanup and categorization happens locally on your phone. Goldman Sachs can obviously see that data since it has to approve or decline purchases, but Apple says it’s entered into a special privacy agreement with Goldman that restricts Apple Card purchase data from being used for anything other than operating the card itself — it can’t be used for advertising, sold to third parties, or anything else.

Apple’s rewards program is much simpler than any other major card: the company offers 3 percent cash back on any Apple transaction, from the Apple Store to the App Store to even iCloud storage, 2 percent on any Apple Pay transactions, and 1 percent on purchases made with the physical card or virtual card number. That cash hits your Apple Pay Cash account every day, and you can use it to pay off your balance, send it to friends, or transfer it a bank.

It’s a little skimpier than other premium card perks like access to airline lounges, concierge services, and so on, but Apple believes the simplicity and speed of just getting cash back will entice premium card customers who are frustrated with complicated points schemes to switch, while the payment and financial health features will appeal to everyone else. (Basically: people with less money.)

There has been some fierce criticism of Apple’s fairly standard APR, which starts at 12.99 percent and goes up to 24.24 percent, but Apple says its goal is to be among the lowest possible rates you can qualify for. This is impossible to know until people start signing up, but it’s fair to say that this is still a credit card, and you should definitely treat it like one, regardless of how good the software looks.

And just like any other credit card, while it’s easy to sign up for an Apple Card and easy to spend money with it, it’s not necessarily easy to get rid of it: canceling an Apple Card requires messaging or calling Goldman Sachs.

That’s actually the most interesting thing about the Apple Card, and the thing we’ll see shake out as people get them: Apple is providing a lot of the user experience of the card, but the card itself is still a credit card issued by Goldman Sachs, and when you click the support button in Apple Wallet, you’ll be chatting with Goldman Sachs reps. Apple says the two companies are working very closely together, and that Goldman Sachs employees are being trained using Apple tools and technologies, including specific language around helping people understand credit issues. Basically, Apple says this is much more than just a very nice front-end to a Goldman Sachs card — it’s a product Apple has designed like any other.

But the end of the day, Apple can’t issue a credit card without a bank, and Goldman Sachs is that bank. We’ll just have to see how the experience of the Apple Card matches up with the high expectations of Apple customers.

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2019-08-06 10:00:00Z
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Goldman Sachs no longer expects US-China trade deal before 2020 election - CNBC

U.S. President Donald Trump talks to journalists while departing the White House August 01, 2019 in Washington, DC. Trump is traveling to Cincinnati, Ohio, for a campaign rally.

Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Goldman Sachs no longer believes the world's two largest economies will be able to resolve their long-running trade dispute before the U.S. presidential election next year.

It comes shortly after the U.S. officially designated China as a "currency manipulator, " amid rapidly intensifying tensions between the two economic giants.

On Monday, the U.S. Treasury accused Beijing of deliberately influencing the exchange rate between the yuan and the U.S. dollar to gain an "unfair competitive advantage in international trade."

The announcement followed a sharp drop in the yuan against the dollar, with the Chinese currency breaching the 7-per-dollar level for the first time since 2008.

Late last week, China promised to fight back after President Donald Trump vowed to impose 10% tariffs on $300 billion worth of Chinese imports.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs, led by Chief Economist Jan Hatzius, said in a research note published late Monday that they had anticipated this move.

"News since President Trump's tariff announcement last Thursday indicates that U.S. and Chinese policymakers are taking a harder line, and we no longer expect a trade deal before the 2020 election."

'A trade deal now looks far off'

In targeting the roughly $300 billion worth of Chinese goods that had not already been targeted by American levies, the U.S. president overruled the adamant objections of nearly his entire trade team, according to a report published by The Wall Street Journal on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The U.S. is set to impose the charges against Beijing from September 1.

"While we had previously assumed that President Trump would see making a deal as more advantageous to his 2020 re-election prospects, we are now less confident that this is his view," analysts at Goldman Sachs said.

The investment bank added China's decision to suspend purchases of U.S. agricultural goods and its decision to allow the yuan to breach the psychologically-important level of 7-per-dollar "added up to a swift and meaningful response" to Trump's latest tariff threat.

Citing reports that Chinese policymakers are increasingly inclined not to make major concessions and instead are prepared to wait until after the 2020 U.S. presidential election to resolve the dispute if necessary, Goldman said "a trade deal now looks far off."

Since the trade war started last year, Washington has imposed 25% tariffs on $250 billion worth of U.S. imports from China. Beijing retaliated by slapping elevated levies on billions of dollars of American products that it buys.

In recent months, however, tensions between the two countries have extended beyond trade and into areas such as technology and security. In particular, the U.S. placed Huawei on a blacklist which made it more difficult for the Chinese tech giant to do business with American companies.

— CNBC's Yen Nee Lee contributed to this report.

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2019-08-06 08:45:22Z
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Goldman Sachs no longer expects US-China trade deal before 2020 election - CNBC

U.S. President Donald Trump talks to journalists while departing the White House August 01, 2019 in Washington, DC. Trump is traveling to Cincinnati, Ohio, for a campaign rally.

Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Goldman Sachs no longer believes the world's two largest economies will be able to resolve their long-running trade dispute before the U.S. presidential election next year.

It comes shortly after the U.S. officially designated China as a "currency manipulator, " amid rapidly intensifying tensions between the two economic giants.

On Monday, the U.S. Treasury accused Beijing of deliberately influencing the exchange rate between the yuan and the U.S. dollar to gain an "unfair competitive advantage in international trade."

The announcement followed a sharp drop in the yuan against the dollar, with the Chinese currency breaching the 7-per-dollar level for the first time since 2008.

Late last week, China promised to fight back after President Donald Trump vowed to impose 10% tariffs on $300 billion worth of Chinese imports.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs, led by Chief Economist Jan Hatzius, said in a research note published late Monday that they had anticipated this move.

"News since President Trump's tariff announcement last Thursday indicates that U.S. and Chinese policymakers are taking a harder line, and we no longer expect a trade deal before the 2020 election."

'A trade deal now looks far off'

In targeting the roughly $300 billion worth of Chinese goods that had not already been targeted by American levies, the U.S. president overruled the adamant objections of nearly his entire trade team, according to a report published by The Wall Street Journal on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The U.S. is set to impose the charges against Beijing from September 1.

"While we had previously assumed that President Trump would see making a deal as more advantageous to his 2020 re-election prospects, we are now less confident that this is his view," analysts at Goldman Sachs said.

The investment bank added China's decision to suspend purchases of U.S. agricultural goods and its decision to allow the yuan to breach the psychologically-important level of 7-per-dollar "added up to a swift and meaningful response" to Trump's latest tariff threat.

Citing reports that Chinese policymakers are increasingly inclined not to make major concessions and instead are prepared to wait until after the 2020 U.S. presidential election to resolve the dispute if necessary, Goldman said "a trade deal now looks far off."

Since the trade war started last year, Washington has imposed 25% tariffs on $250 billion worth of U.S. imports from China. Beijing retaliated by slapping elevated levies on billions of dollars of American products that it buys.

In recent months, however, tensions between the two countries have extended beyond trade and into areas such as technology and security. In particular, the U.S. placed Huawei on a blacklist which made it more difficult for the Chinese tech giant to do business with American companies.

— CNBC's Yen Nee Lee contributed to this report.

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2019-08-06 08:39:18Z
CAIiEGAZ33WuYSbevhlT2unsXO4qGQgEKhAIACoHCAow2Nb3CjDivdcCMIrzngY

Goldman Sachs no longer expects US-China trade deal before 2020 election - CNBC

U.S. President Donald Trump talks to journalists while departing the White House August 01, 2019 in Washington, DC. Trump is traveling to Cincinnati, Ohio, for a campaign rally.

Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Goldman Sachs no longer believes the world's two largest economies will be able to resolve their long-running trade dispute before the U.S. presidential election next year.

It comes shortly after the U.S. officially designated China as a "currency manipulator, " amid rapidly intensifying tensions between the two economic giants.

On Monday, the U.S. Treasury accused Beijing of deliberately influencing the exchange rate between the yuan and the U.S. dollar to gain an "unfair competitive advantage in international trade."

The announcement followed a sharp drop in the yuan against the dollar, with the Chinese currency breaching the 7-per-dollar level for the first time since 2008.

Late last week, China promised to fight back after President Donald Trump vowed to impose 10% tariffs on $300 billion worth of Chinese imports.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs, led by Chief Economist Jan Hatzius, said in a research note published late Monday that they had anticipated this move.

"News since President Trump's tariff announcement last Thursday indicates that U.S. and Chinese policymakers are taking a harder line, and we no longer expect a trade deal before the 2020 election."

'A trade deal now looks far off'

In targeting the roughly $300 billion worth of Chinese goods that had not already been targeted by American levies, the U.S. president overruled the adamant objections of nearly his entire trade team, according to a report published by The Wall Street Journal on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The U.S. is set to impose the charges against Beijing from September 1.

"While we had previously assumed that President Trump would see making a deal as more advantageous to his 2020 re-election prospects, we are now less confident that this is his view," analysts at Goldman Sachs said.

The investment bank added China's decision to suspend purchases of U.S. agricultural goods and its decision to allow the yuan to breach the psychologically-important level of 7-per-dollar "added up to a swift and meaningful response" to Trump's latest tariff threat.

Citing reports that Chinese policymakers are increasingly inclined not to make major concessions and instead are prepared to wait until after the 2020 U.S. presidential election to resolve the dispute if necessary, Goldman said "a trade deal now looks far off."

Since the trade war started last year, Washington has imposed 25% tariffs on $250 billion worth of U.S. imports from China. Beijing retaliated by slapping elevated levies on billions of dollars of American products that it buys.

In recent months, however, tensions between the two countries have extended beyond trade and into areas such as technology and security. In particular, the U.S. placed Huawei on a blacklist which made it more difficult for the Chinese tech giant to do business with American companies.

— CNBC's Yen Nee Lee contributed to this report.

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2019-08-06 08:38:23Z
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The US and China are dragging currencies into their escalating fight. Here's what you need to know - CNBC

U.S. President Donald Trump attends a bilateral meeting with China's President Xi Jinping during the G-20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019.

Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

For the first time in 25 years, the U.S. Treasury Department on Monday named China a currency manipulator — a move that looks set to worsen a trade war that has already dragged on the global economy.

That action from President Donald Trump's administration came after China allowed its currency, the yuan, to weaken to more than 7 per U.S. dollar — a level many analysts and investors considered important. Trump, for his part, called the slide in the Chinese yuan "a major violation."

Some analysts said Beijing's move to weaken the yuan was clearly made in retaliation to Trump's latest tariff threat. The president announced last week that Washington will slap 10% tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese goods starting Sept. 1. If that goes ahead, the U.S. will have imposed elevated tariffs on all goods it buys from China.

The U.S. and China — the world's top two economies — have over the past year been locked in a trade war that has spilled into areas such as technology and now currency. Trump's tariff threat last week came just after both sides resumed negotiations for a deal, which some experts said have become increasingly difficult to conclude.

Beijing, for its part, looks like it has "given up on the trade negotiation," David Cui, head of China equity strategy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, told CNBC's "Street Signs" on Tuesday.

He explained that Beijing letting the Chinese yuan slide past 7 is "a big event" which adds to signs of "a protracted conflict" between the two countries.

On Monday, the Chinese central bank officially denied that it's decision to allow the yuan to weaken is meant as a response to American tariffs.

The number 7

China has maintained a tighter grip on the yuan compared to the way other major economies manage their currencies.

In recent years, Chinese authorities have loosened some controls on the currency, although the central bank — the People's Bank of China — only allows the yuan to move 2% in either direction of a "midpoint" that it decides daily. The PBOC is also known for its willingness to intervene in the foreign exchange market to buy or sell yuan to keep it within a desired range.

The Chinese authorities have not let the currency weaken past the 7 yuan-per-dollar threshold since the global financial crisis. In fact, they have in previous years — such as in 2016 — burned a substantial portion of their foreign reserves to defend the currency from breaching that mark.

It's for that reason that currency experts have long viewed that mark as a psychological important level. Breaching 7 yuan per dollar is a crucial development partly because investors don't know how much more weakness the PBOC is willing to tolerate, so they could sell their investments in China to curb losses — and thereby trigger significant capital outflows from the country.

One day after the Chinese yuan went past that important mark, the PBOC on Tuesday set a midpoint that would allow the currency to weaken to 7.1 against the U.S. dollar.

'Currency manipulator'

The U.S. has for years accused Beijing of artificially keeping the yuan weak in order to make Chinese exports cheaper. The administration of President Bill Clinton named China a "currency manipulator" in 1994.

But China has avoided that label ever since, although it had consistently featured in the "watch list" of the U.S. Treasury's semi-annual review of currency practices by America's trading partners. The watch list features countries that have been deemed to warrant close monitoring because they may be manipulating their respective currencies.

In the latest American review in May, China met only one of the three currency manipulation criteria under the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015: Its "extremely large, persistent, and growing" bilateral goods trade surplus with the U.S.

But the U.S. on Monday slapped the label on China under an older law — the Omnibus Foreign Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988. That offers "greater subjectivity" in naming a country a currency manipulator, said Khoon Goh, head of Asia research at Australian bank ANZ.

Under the 1988 act, the U.S. will have to negotiate with China or take its case to the International Monetary Fund. Potential penalties by the U.S. include:

• Banning the Overseas Private Investment Corporation — an American government agency that invests in developing countries — from financing China.
• Excluding China from U.S. government procurement contracts.

China is not a major recipient of government contracts or OPIC financing, so the currency manipulator label is mostly symbolic without "major consequences on its own," Goldman Sachs analysts said in a Tuesday report.

Trade war escalation

Still, the move by the U.S. Treasury marked further escalation in tensions between Washington and Beijing, according to analysts from Citi Research.

The analysts wrote in a Tuesday note they expect the U.S. to raise the tariff rate on the just-announced $300 billion tranche from 10% to 25% "as soon as next month." That's on top of the 25% tariffs already on $250 billion of U.S. imports from China — to which Beijing had retaliated with elevated levies on billions of American products that it buys.

China imports a smaller amount of goods from the U.S. compared to what it exports, so the Asian country has limited products on which it can slap additional tariffs. Some experts have suggested that China could dump its massive holdings of U.S. Treasurys, but such a move could harm Beijing too.

"The upshot is that China has few good options with which to directly hit back at the US. As such, policymakers are likely to focus on broader measures to offset the drag from tariffs," Julian Evans-Pritchard, senior China economist at consultancy Capital Economics, wrote in a Monday note.

Allowing the yuan to depreciate is one such measure. A weaker yuan makes Chinese goods relatively cheaper to buyers outside the country, so that could offset the additional levies that American importers must pay as a result of Trump's tariffs. Such a move also makes the U.S. dollar stronger in relative terms — which the American president has said he dislikes.

—Reuters contributed to this report.

Correction: The story has been updated to reflect the correct time frame since the U.S. named China a currency manipulator. 

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2019-08-06 07:42:31Z
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High-end retailer Barneys files for bankruptcy - CNN

The New York-based retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection early Tuesday morning. It said in a statement that it had also secured $75 million from affiliates of Hilco Global and the Gordon Brothers Group to help meet its financial commitments.

"Like many in our industry, Barneys New York's financial position has been dramatically impacted by the challenging retail environment and rent structures that are excessively high relative to market demand," Barneys CEO Daniella Vitale said in a statement.

The bankruptcy filing will allow the company "to conduct a sale process, review our current leases and optimize our operations," she added.

The company said it will continue to operate five flagship locations in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston, as well as Barneys.com and BarneysWarehouse.com. However, it said it is shutting down stores in Chicago, Las Vegas and Seattle.

The company is also shutting down five "concept stores" and seven of its nine Barneys Warehouse stores.

The move was not unexpected. Reuters reported last month that filing for bankruptcy protection could help alleviate the pressure of expensive leases.

The company traces its history to 1923, according to its website, when Barney Pressman pawned his wife's engagement ring. The company indicated he used the funds to open a discount clothing store.

Barneys has several locations in the United States, but its headquarters and flagship store line the area around New York's Fifth Avenue, which for months has been emptied of prominent luxury retailers as they flee high rents and shifting consumer tastes.

Barneys is just the latest traditional retailer to file for bankruptcy protection. Charlotte Russe filed for Chapter 11 in February. And in October, Sears — which was drowning in debt — filed for bankruptcy after 132 years.

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2019-08-06 07:15:00Z
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Barneys Files for Bankruptcy, Plans to Close Most Stores - The Wall Street Journal

Barneys New York plans to close several stores across the U.S. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

By

Soma Biswas and

Soma Biswas
The Wall Street Journal
• Biography
• @SomaBisWSJ
• soma.biswas@wsj.com

Juliet Chung

Juliet Chung
The Wall Street Journal
• Biography
• Juliet.Chung@wsj.com

Updated Aug. 6, 2019 3:05 am ET

Barneys New York Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection with plans to close most of its stores and a $75 million financing package that would give the luxury retailer time to find a buyer.

The restructuring plan, filed early Tuesday morning, has Barneys, which operates 13 department stores and 9 warehouse stores, shutting down stores in Chicago, Las Vegas and Seattle. The retailer will continue to run seven stores, including its flagship Manhattan store, the company said.

Barneys Chief Executive Daniella Vitale said Barneys had been hurt by a broader downturn in retail as well as “excessively high” rent. Bankruptcy protection “will provide the company the necessary tools to conduct a sale process, review our current leases and optimize our operations,” she said.

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday the company was close to filing for bankruptcy and near a financing deal with Gordon Brothers and Hilco Global, firms specialized in selling assets for distressed companies. The loan was expected to fund the company’s stay in bankruptcy for 60 days while it attempted to clinch a deal with a buyer, according to people familiar with the matter. If Barneys cannot reach a deal, it would liquidate, they said.

Barneys is much smaller than rivals Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus, which each operate about 40 department stores. Barneys was carrying approximately $200 million in debt, the people said.

The chapter 11 filing in the Southern District of New York indicates the company has more than $100 million in assets and more than $100 million in debts. The creditors include fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga and Gucci.

The retailer, controlled by the New York hedge fund Perry Capital, struggled to navigate the rise of e-commerce as well as a steep rent hike for its flagship store in Manhattan. The rent nearly doubled this year to $27.9 million from $16.2 million. Barneys fought the rent increase but lost during an arbitration proceeding earlier this year, prompting the retailer to hire restructuring advisers.

Barneys’ existing lenders Wells Fargo & Co. and TPG Sixth Street Partners, a credit investor partly owned by private-equity firm TPG, allowed the company to take the junior loan from Gordon and Hilco.

A number of potential buyers have expressed interest in the iconic chain but need time to complete their due diligence, some of the people said.

In recent months the company hired restructuring advisers and lawyers M-III Partners LP, Houlihan Lokey Inc. and Kirkland & Ellis to negotiate a restructuring and prepare a bankruptcy filing.

A bankruptcy filing would mark the second trip through bankruptcy court for the retailer, which filed for protection from creditors in 1996. It avoided another bankruptcy in 2012 when Perry Capital, one of its lenders at the time, took majority ownership of the company in an out-of-court deal.

Barneys’ travails come as traditional retailers are struggling with the shift to online shopping and facing off against a host of technology-driven startups like Net-a-Porter, an online fashion seller, and The RealReal Inc., which lets consumers buy or sell secondhand luxury goods.

Department stores, in particular, have struggled to bring shoppers into their cavernous locations. Chains from Macy’s Inc. to J.C. Penney Co. have closed hundreds of stores, and others, including Sears and Bon-Ton Stores, have resorted to bankruptcy filings.

—Andrew Scurria contributed to this article.

Write to Soma Biswas at soma.biswas@wsj.com and Juliet Chung at juliet.chung@wsj.com

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2019-08-06 07:05:00Z
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