| 
Good evening, Tech giant Apple has appointed Moradabad-born Sabih Khan as its next Chief Operating Officer. Khan, a veteran of thirty years at Apple, will succeed the retiring COO, Jeff Williams, later this month, the iPhone maker announced in a press release on Tuesday. Khan joined Apple’s procurement group in 1995 from GE and has been “one of the central architects of Apple’s supply chain,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said. He took over as Apple’s Senior Vice President of Operations in 2019, reporting to Williams, the man he will replace. Williams has been a key leader at Apple, overseeing the launch of the Apple Watch and leading its design team, among other responsibilities. He will continue in his current roles until he retires later this year. In other Apple news, the Financial Times reported that, following the commercial success of Brad Pitt-starrer “F1: The Movie”, the company is set to compete with Disney-owned ESPN for the acquisition of US streaming rights for Formula One. On that note, let’s dive in 👇🏽
📝 The Debrief
Copper and pharma are now on Donald Trump’s tariff radar
In the US, there’s a culinary tradition known as Taco Tuesday, which dates back to the 1960s. People prefer eating tacos or Tex-Mex dishes, with restaurants offering discounted rates for the same. Cut to July 2025, and we had a slightly different take on it, with US President Donald Trump chickening out again or TACO-ing (a day before the July 9 deadline), pushing the “reciprocal” tariffs date to August 1. However, he used the occasion to ring in fresh uncertainty, announcing fresh tariffs on copper products sent into the US, while also threatening to impose 200% tariffs on pharmaceutical manufacturers. These are ominous signs, given copper’s status as a bellwether for the overall health of the global economy. Fresh trouble: Trump’s rationale behind these industrial commodity tariffs (copper, steel and aluminium) is to drive more smelting and processing within US shores. The 50% tariff on copper and copper products, however, raises new concerns for India, which exported copper worth $2.1 billion worldwide in 2024-25, according to trade data. The US accounted for 17% of that number, making it India’s third-largest copper export market, behind Saudi Arabia (26%) and China (18%). However, with copper’s extensive use across key sectors such as infrastructure, energy, and manufacturing, India’s domestic industry could absorb any squeeze in US demand due to the tariffs. The US consumed about Tough pill: It is pharmaceuticals, however, where India could feel the pinch. The US is India’s largest overseas market for pharmaceuticals, with drug exports to the US reaching $9.8 billion in FY25, a 21% increase from the previous year ($8.1 billion). These exports now account for 40% of India’s total pharma exports. Notably, a majority of these exports consist of low-cost, generic drugs, which are integral to the American healthcare system. Trump, however, chose to defer these 200% tariffs on pharma products by at least a year, or “a year and a half” to take effect. “We’ll give them a certain period of time to get their act together,” he said. These tariffs, in particular, threaten to disrupt the global pharmaceutical supply chain and could significantly impact demand, particularly in countries like India.
✍️ From our newsroom
The fisherman and the marlin: This is quite the story by my colleague Nikhila Henry. Yerraya C wasn’t Santiago (from Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea), but he knew the sea like the back of his hand. At 28, the burly fisherman from Pudimadaka had been venturing out to sea since he was seven. On July 3, he met his catch—a 200-kg black marlin that was caught in the net. While others urged caution, Yerraya insisted they could reel it in. But as he fought the fish, his legs got tangled, and he was dragged into the water. His brother and fellow fishermen tried to save him. One swam after him for 30 minutes, but it was too late. Six days later, there’s no trace of Yerraya. Marlin attacks aren’t rare along Andhra’s coast. In 2022, one even impaled a fisherman. But for villagers, Yerraya’s story hits harder. He loved boxing, worshipped Pawan Kalyan, and once dreamed of guarding the star. That dream, like Yerraya, is now lost to the sea.
🔎 Need to know Eyeing more: Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta has acquired a nearly 3% stake in global eyewear giant EssilorLuxottica, looking to build a 5% stake over time. Meta reportedly paid 3 billion euros ($3.52 billion) for the stake. Staying on: Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will spend a few more days at the International Space Station before commencing a return journey to Earth, which is scheduled to begin on July 14. Shukla and his colleagues on the Axiom-4 mission have been at the ISS for two weeks now. Back to office: Former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will join Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs as a senior advisor. This marks Sunak’s return to a familiar setting, having worked as an analyst in the 2000s before quitting finance for politics. Sunak is a Tory MP from Richmond and Northallerton.
🎙️Expresso Playlist
In today’s Playlist, I’ll recommend an episode from REDACTED, a Wondery podcast, that explores the Ghost Army, which the US deployed to trick Hitler’s forces about the size and location of the Allied forces’ troops. It’s pretty fascinating.
✋🏽 One last thing
I began today’s edition with Apple. And I’ll leave you with some more. This excellent collection of legendary Apple print ads, spanning from 1981 to 1994, is well worth your time. There are some phenomenal copies there.
Until tomorrow, Venkat Ananth |
No comments:
Post a Comment