Apple reportedly has a slew of new products lined up for this year. On its list is the launch of a low-cost laptop with 13-inches display with the high-resolution (“Retina”) version, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified (as mentioned in a Bloomberg report). The tech company is planning to introduce three new iPhones, Apple Watches with larger screens, and new iPad Pros later this year, other people familiar with the plans said (Bloomberg reported).Also, it will upgrade its Mac mini – for the first time in about four years, and the new version will focus on new storage and processor options. Additionally, Apple is preparing to launch macOS Mojave - a new version of its Mac operating system.

According to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, as many as 25,000 apps were deleted from the App Store. This is not the first time that the iPhone maker had to censor its offerings to comply with Chinese regulations.In 2017, it removed several apps that were allowing Chinese users to access Facebook and Google services that were otherwise restricted by Beijing.

This follows the doubling of tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminum imported into the U.S., coupled with U.S. allegations that Turkey has imposed an “unjust detention” on a pastor over his alleged links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party and the Gulenist movement. Erdogan berated the "explicit economic attack" by the U.S. against  his country, and urged the Turkish population to buy Samsung Electronics Co. or locally made Venus Vestel smartphones – versus American products such as iPhones.   

Amazon is already worth over $930 billion and needs to climb a little over 7% to hit $1 trillion. The mark does not look too far-fetched, given Amazon’s stellar performance in recent times.It posted a record $2 billion of earnings over Q2 2018 – thanks to its burgeoning cloud computing segment, rapidly growing advertising business and strong Prime subscription numbers. Analysts are reportedly betting on a 32% surge in sales for the company and a potential tripling of earnings per share for the year.

Samsung has new investment plans in four areas: Artificial Intelligence(AI), 5G, automotive electronic parts, and biopharmaceuticals. Focused on autonomous vehicle technology, the South Korean conglomerate wants to hire 1,000 AI researchers and also strengthen its presence in 5G network  – these are critical parts of its plan for investing 180 trillion won ($160 billion) over the next three years on capital expenditures and research and development.

China’s state-backed newspaper argues that Apple Inc. should share more of its profits with China. People’s Daily claims in an article that the iPhone maker substantially benefits from the supply chain and cheap labor in China, and could face "anger and nationalist sentiment" amid the ongoing trade war unless the tech firm gives out a bigger slice of its earnings to Chinese citizens. The article also states that China is the “most important” overseas market for Apple, and indicated that the tech giant could be caught in the crossfire of U.S.-China trade tensions.The article suggests that Apple should increase its payouts to Chinese people if it does not want any potential nationalist sentiment to dampen its products’ popularity in China. 

But with a new federal ruling restricting firms from fully deducting their stock-based expenses from tax calculation, Silicon Valley players could see a substantial bump in their tax liabilities. Facebook might have to pay a tax rate of 30% in Q3 - versus the standard 21% corporate tax rate - to make up for previous periods’ deductions on stock payments.Semiconductor developer Silicon Laboratories Inc. said in a recent filing that it’s the court decision’s impact “could be material” to financial statements.  

Huawei saw a 40% growth in number of phones sold compared to the same quarter last year. This has happened even as Huawei’s entry in the U.S. market remains restricted (due to official concerns that its technology could be used by the Chinese government to gather intelligence), and its proposed partnership with AT&T failed to materialize early this year.But what made up for Huawei's apparent tailwinds from the U.S. was the firm's strong sales in Asia-Pacific, the Middle- East, Europe and Africa , as suggested by data from information provider firm IHS Markit.

Three new phones are expected to be launched later this year, apparently contributing to a sanguine outlook for the firm’s sales. As for fiscal Q3, sales surged 17% to $53.3 billion.Profit was $2.34 per share, compared to analysts’ expected $2.18 a share.

After four straight quarters of record-breaking profits, Samsung took a pause from reaching new heights and saw profits level-out slightly.Generally speaking, Q2 was a sluggish quarter for smartphone demand, and Galaxy S9 sales were weaker.   

French conglomerate Vivendi wants to sell up to half of its Universal Music Group holdings. Universal, whose recording artists include Lady Gaga, Kendrick Lamar, U2 and The Rolling Stones among others, generated a +34% surge in revenues from subscription and streaming products during the first half of 2018. Vivendi acquired Universal in 2006, and music streaming turned out to be one of its most profitable operations.Universal Music Group has licensing agreements with Spotify, Tencent, YouTube, Apple, Amazon, and Facebook. A strong streaming business makes Universal Music Group an attractive bid for buyers as Vivendi gears up to sell some of its stake.  

The money from selling its Spotify shares will be distributed to music labels and artists, according to Sony. On the other hand, Sony’s acquisition of around 60% stake in EMI Music Publishing for $2.3 billion started in May.As of July, it has paid $288 million to buy the remaining 25% stake from the Estate of Michael Jackson – a deal which makes EMI a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony.  

China’s ZTE seems to have gotten off the hook of U.S. export ban. On Monday, the House and Senate announced that they have agreed to the final version of the annual defense policy bill, which did not include a provision to reinstate a U.S. export ban on ZTE.ZTE is a Chinese multinational telecommunications equipment and systems company, In a deal with ZTE earlier this month, the U.S. Commerce Department agreed to lift the ban on the firm's purchase of American components, following ZTE’s paying up $1 billion fine and depositing $400 million in an escrow account.

For the first time in history, a company is set to have a $1 trillion valuation, but the question is who will hit the milestone first -- Apple or Amazon? Apple remains the world's most valuable company, but Amazon is nipping at its heels as it reached a $900 billion valuation this week."  Amazon shares are up over 50% for the year and have soared over 100,000% since it debuted on the NASDAQ back in 1997.

Consider to BUY 3 Stocks from SOUTH KOREA on Friday, May 11, 2018.  South Korea and North Korea are expected to sign a peace agreement and investors responded buy buying the beaten down South Korean stocks traded on US markets and globally.To find out what to do with 5,000 actively traded stocks download my iPhone Stock App: iApp1.com 1.