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By JOSH BOAK

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump singled out Brazil for import taxes of 50% on Wednesday for its treatment of its former president, Jair Bolsonaro, showing that personal grudges rather than simple economics are a driving force in the U.S. leader’s use of tariffs.

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Trump avoided his standard form letter with Brazil, specifically tying his tariffs to the trial of Bolsonaro, who is charged with trying to overturn his 2022 election loss. Trump has described Bolsonaro as a friend and hosted the former Brazilian president at his Mar-a-Lago resort when both were in power in 2020. read more

By PAUL WISEMAN, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and his advisers promised a lightning round of global trade negotiations with dozens of countries back in April.

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro predicted “90 deals in 90 days.’’ Administration officials declared that other countries were desperate to make concessions to avoid the massive import taxes – tariffs — that Trump was threatening to plaster on their products starting July 9.

But the 90 days have come and gone. And the tally of trade deals stands at two – one with the United Kingdom and one with Vietnam. Trump has also announced the framework for a deal with China, the details of which remain fuzzy.

Trump has now extended the deadline for negotiations to Aug. 1 and tinkered with his threatened tariffs, leaving the global trading system pretty much where it stood three months ago — in a state of limbo as businesses delay decisions on investments, contracts and hiring because they don’t know what the rules will be. read more

By Queenie Wong, Los Angeles Times

Tech companies that are cutting jobs and leaning more on artificial intelligence are also disrupting themselves.

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  Customers seeking deals gave Amazon’s Prime Day and competing sales a solid start

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Amazon’s Chief Executive Andy Jassy said last month that he expects the e-commerce giant will shrink its workforce as employees “get efficiency gains from using AI extensively.”

At Salesforce, a software company that helps businesses manage customer relationships, Chief Executive Marc Benioff said last week that AI is already doing 30% to 50% of the company’s work.

Other tech leaders have chimed in before. Earlier this year, Anthropic, an AI startup, flashed a big warning: AI could wipe out more than half of all entry-level white-collar jobs in the next one to five years. read more

By JOSH BOAK

WASHINGTON (AP) — When President Donald Trump last rolled out tariffs this high, financial markets quaked, consumer confidence crashed and his popularity plunged.

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Only three months later, he’s betting this time is different.

In his new round of tariffs being announced this week, Trump is essentially tethering the entire world economy to his instinctual belief that import taxes will deliver factory jobs and stronger growth in the U.S., rather than the inflation and slowdown predicted by many economists. read more

By Lauren Schwahn, NerdWallet

Amazon’s well-known Prime Day sale is back this summer, running July 8-11. As I look back on my previous years covering and shopping the deals, I’ve noticed a pattern:

There’s a lot of hype leading up to the sale, but I’m left feeling a bit dissatisfied when it’s over.

The problem isn’t always the deals themselves, but how I shop. I’ve let temptation and the fear of missing out get the better of me. And I know I’m not the only one.

So, I asked a couple of my fellow personal finance writers to join me in sharing our biggest Prime Day blunders.

What is your biggest Prime Day regret?

Cordless LED table lamp

Amanda Barroso: “It was cute for about an hour, then it lost its charge. The lamp was not on my list, but I had seen a lot of people in my social media feeds linking to similar products. I wish I returned it but I waited too late and missed the return window. So, now it’s sitting in a donate pile waiting to go to my local thrift store.”

Unplanned items

Lauren Schwahn: “Last year, I had my eye on a Yoto Mini audio player for my son’s upcoming birthday. I snagged a starter pack bundle for $63.99 (a $16 discount) on Prime Day. But I got caught up in browsing other deals. I added on $8 hair clips and a $17 pajama set that I didn’t really need. Spending an extra $25 wasn’t the worst-case scenario, but I could have put that money to better use elsewhere — especially considering one of the clips broke in my thick hair after maybe three uses.” read more