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As top congressional Republican and Democratic leaders dig in their heelsa signal that the ongoing federal government shutdown may continue for a whilemany older Americans are wondering if they will still get their Social Security checks, and questioning how a prolonged showdown will affect their future benefits. Currently, thousands of federal employees are working without pay and President Donald Trump is threatening mass federal layoffs. During the shutdown, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is continuing to issue retirement and disability benefits, but is furloughing 12% of its staff, per USA Today. Medicare and Medicaid payments also continue for now. However, the furlough could delay the SSA’s announcement, scheduled for next week on October 15, on how much Social Security checks will increase in 2026 as a result of cost-of-living adjustments, or COLA. That increase is based on Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) inflation numbers for September, due to come out October 15. The problem is all of that bureaus 2,055 employees, except one person, have been furloughed, and according to the Labor Department’s shutdown plans, that report will likely be delayed if the lapse is prolonged, USA Today reported. Without the BLS crunching the numbers and releasing September’s inflation report, COLA can’t be calculated. Social Security checks are estimated to increase by about 2.7%, according to the Senior Citizens League (TSCL), a nonpartisan senior groupwhich, on an average retirement check of $2,007, would mean another $54 per month. The White House has said mass layoffs of federal workers will start if President Donald Trump decides negotiations are “absolutely going nowhere.” That would be a way to force the hand of congressional Democrats, by threatening American government workers’ jobs and benefits. Meanwhile, the Senate is currently battling it out to advance a bill that would fund the government to stay open through November 21.
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E-Commerce
Below, Tim Higgins shares five key insights from his new book, iWar: Fortnite, Elon Musk, Spotify, WeChat, and Laying Siege to Apples Empire. Tim is a business columnist for the Wall Street Journal, where he covers Silicon Valley and writes about the worlds most influential business leaders. He is also a frequent contributor to CNBC and has previously written for Bloomberg News. Whats the big idea? Those who operate in the digital world accessed by the iPhone have no choice but to operate by Apples rulesor do they? Objections that Apple has overstepped fair play in the app economy resulted in pushbacks, including one of the biggest antitrust battles of the last century. The highlight reel of this great corporate drama features fascinating fights between Apple and its rivals, including Spotify and Epic Games. 1. Its easier to win when you make the rules. Almost 20 years ago, Apple followed up the iPhone with the App Storea new way for software developers to sell their offerings to smartphone users. Instead of going to a physical store, software could be acquired through the internet. It was basically free for developers, unless they charged users. If so, then Apple would take as much as 30 percent. The genesis of the fee was simple enough: Apple would claim a royalty on digital goods consumed on its devices (like video games), but not goods purchased through the app and used in the real world (like sneakers). The early days were something of the Wild West as entrepreneurs rushed to see what they could sell. At first, the rules seemed simple enough: no scams, no porn, etc. As time went on, however, Apple realized policing its digital realm was going to take a lot of effort. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs wanted to ensure that Apple users were safe. Eventually, big businesses began to emerge in the App Economy. Facebook had to redo its web-based business for mobile computing. Spotify, the streaming music service, saw huge adoption. Epic Games, maker of expensive video games, started tinkering with smaller iPhone offerings. As those companies executives saw what was possible in the new iPhone world, they grew concerned about the control Apple held over it. They felt Apple was taxing them and controlling access to their users. But they had little recourse. Very quickly, the mobile computing world boiled down to basically the iPhone and smartphones running on Googles Android operating system. Apple controlled its own hardware and software, while, for the most part, Google controlled its own software and depended on phone makers, such as Samsung, to use its operating system. Google would try to match Apples ecosystem as best as it could, collecting its own 30 percent. 2. Execute, execute, execute. Apples digital world became known as a Walled Garden because its App Store was essentially the only entrance. Users digital lives grew deeply rooted in that garden. Text messages with non-Apple users would show up as green bubbles instead of blue bubbles. In the abstract, such a subtle difference might seem trivial. But with time, the blue bubbles became a status symbol, another reason to stay inside the Walled Garden. Nobody wanted to go green. Blue bubble envy was a powerful selling tool. Some inside Apple discussed offering its popular messaging system to Android users, essentially making its iMessage a rival to WhatsApp. But the idea was continually shot down. Blue bubble envy was a powerful selling tool. As one senior Apple executive argued to his colleagues in an email: In the absence of a strategy to become the primary messaging service for [the] bulk of cell phone users, I am concerned the iMessage on Android would simply serve to remove [an] obstacle to iPhone families giving their kids Android phones. Apple was creating a world where consumers wanted to live, and other companies had to operate if they wanted to reach those deep-pocketed users. 3. Trust no one. Apple prided itself on the idea that it didnt cut special deals with developers to be on the App Store, while Google did, in part, because it wanted to ensure that the hot new games and apps were available in its app store. It also had a disadvantage to Apples Walled Garden. In theory, a user could download software onto an Android device outside of the Google App Store. Though users rarely did because it was so complicated. Tim Sweeney, the founder of Epic Games, grew convinced that the taxes charged by Apple and Google were unfair. The success of his wildly popular video game Fortnite created an opening, he thought, to change how the app economy worked. He wanted to create his own store outside the reach of Apple and Google. To much fanfare, he attempted to do that for Android phones but eventually found too many barriers to making such a gambit work. In part, other game makers werent rushing to join him. Behind the scenes, Google was offering lucrative deals to game makers to stay in its store. It seemed that Sweeneys idea was great negotiating leverage for other game makers to get a better deal from Google. Frustrated, Sweeney concluded he needed to challenge the legality of both Apples and Googles control over the app economy, triggering costly court battles that would drag on for many years. Fortnite was also kicked out of the app stores, cut off from the app economy entirely. 4. Sail close to the wind. Many companies choose the easy way. They settle legal disputes to avoid costly litigation, reputational harm, and the unknown risks associated with public fights. Not Apple. Apple fights. A former top lawyer at Apple once talked about Apples willingness to embrace legal risk as an advantage in fighting rivals. Not Apple. Apple fights. Bruce Sewell, who was armed with an annual budget approaching $1 billion, compared his approach to sailing close to the wind. You want to get to the point where you can use risk as a competitive advantagethats the point at which law actually becomes a commercial asset to the company, he once said. During his time, Apple fought against U.S. government claims that it improperly colluded with book publishers and against European regulators unhappy with its tax deal in Ireland. Ultimately, Apple would lose both battles. But how many other fights did it avoid by scaring off others? Like Epic Games, Spotify was unhappy with the control Apple held over its streaming business, especially after Apple CEO Tim Cook launched a rival music service that was undercutting Spotifys prices. Instead of challenging Apple in U.S. court, Spotify plotted another path that took it to Europe, where its headquarters was located. It worked with European regulators to develop a case against Apples control, specifically an App Store rule that prohibited developers, such as Spotify, from directing users outside of their app to purchase services not covered by Apples fees. In Brussels, the home of the European Union, Spotify found a receptive audience, especially among officials who had battled Apple over its tax case and felt like te U.S. tech giant was overreaching. The European Commission would ultimately rule in Spotifys favor against Apple and subsequently pass new laws aimed to weakening Apples control over the App Store. 5. Losing by winning. Back in the U.S., Apple would mostly win its case against Epics Sweeney. One area that a judge found fault with Apple was its rules prohibiting developers from providing links outside of apps to alternative payment methods. Apple was ordered to stop that practice. At the time, it seemed like a small thing. But Apple didnt simply allow Epic or Spotify or anyone else to do whatever they wanted. What followed was a complicated effort to make it so burdensome for developers to link out that they would ultimately just stick with Apples own payment system and continue to pay that 30 percent commission. The issue was a matter of principle. Fuming, Sweeney sought more help from the court. That would take many more months of fighting before a judge would ultimately find that Apple had violated her order. It was a stunning rebukeone that Apple would appeal. Nevertheless, very quickly, Sweeneys Fortnite was back in the App Store. And Spotify was offering links to outside payment methods. Sweeney would say the fight would cost his company more than $1 billion in legal fees and lost revenue. But for him, the issue was a matter of principle. It was a matter of principle for Apple as well. Cook and his executives felt like they had done nothing wrong. To them, it was Sweeney, Spotify, and others who wanted special deals and didnt want to pay their fair share. In the end, the years-long fight ranks as one of the biggest antitrust battles of the past century. And threatens to remake Apples business. This article originally appeared in Next Big Idea Club magazine and is reprinted with permission.
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E-Commerce
The plan started coming together inside a luxury box at MetLife Stadium.As the Premier League’s Chelsea was on its way to a shutout victory at the Club World Cup final in July, President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino were deep in discussion at the New Jersey sports complex outside New York City on another matter: where the draw for next year’s World Cup would be held.The high-drama spectacle decides which teams will face each other in the group stage of soccer’s most prestigious tournament, along with the schedule for competition. It was widely expected to unfold in Las Vegas, home to the 1994 draw when the U.S. last hosted the World Cup and a natural backdrop for glitz. But since at least March, officials had privately discussed bringing the draw to Washington, home to a showman president who regularly hugs the spotlight associated with sports.So during that July match in the stadium that will also host the final game of next year’s World Cup, Trump and Infantino agreed to get going on holding the draw in the U.S. capital namely, the Kennedy Center, another institution that Trump reshaped to his liking.“During that Club World Cup final, there was a real seriousness to well, look, if we’re going to do this, we’ve got to do it now,” Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House FIFA task force, told The Associated Press. “That’s when talks heated up between the president and Mr. Infantino in terms of getting this done.”The collaboration over the draw, slated for Dec. 5, illustrates the bond that has formed between Trump and Infantino, described by the U.S. president as “probably the most respected man in sports.” The relationship will come into even sharper focus as the World Cup approaches, jointly hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada.Tickets are now open to fans as major questions hang over the tournament, including how welcome visitors from some countries will be in the U.S. amid its immigration crackdown. Even as the White House pledges openness, Trump has added another uncertainty by suggesting he could move games from cities he thinks are unsafe. Trump and Infantino develop a deep alliance Despite his affinity for sports, Trump is known more for his ties to golf and football than soccer. But his awareness of the sport was spurred in part by his youngest son, Barron, who is such a soccer fan that he had a net in the first lady’s garden during Trump’s first term.Trump’s interest only grew when the U.S. won World Cup hosting rights in 2018. Nothing excites Trump like hosting a major event, and Giuliani recalled that, at the time, the president and his aides were almost wistful that he wouldn’t be in the White House when the tournament arrived, assuming he would be well into a post-presidency following an immediate second term.Shortly after the U.S. was awarded the tournament, Trump hosted Infantino at the White House. Infantino, who was also serving his first term as FIFA president, made an impression by handing Trump red and yellow penalty cards, joking they could be used on the press.The relationship flourished in 2020 as both men plotted their futures.During a dinner that January at the global economic summit in Davos, near FIFA’s home in Zurich, Infantino called the U.S. president “my great friend.” Trump, always appreciative of a compliment, responded by inviting Infantino to a White House signing event for the Abraham Accords, which sought to normalize diplomatic relations between Israel and several Arab countries.The ceremony happened as Infantino was aligning FIFA’s sporting and commercial ties with Saudi Arabia and its Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. It followed a pattern of Infantino, much like Trump, cozying up to autocratic leaders.Infantino appeared to relish public meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin before, during and after that country hosted the 2018 World Cup. Visiting Putin at the Kremlin with a group of soccer greats during the tournament, Infantino said he felt “like a child in a toy shop” in Russia. He collected the Russian Order of Friendship from Putin the following year.Infantino would later relocate to Doha ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, emerging as a strong defender of the tiny Gulf state that was fiercely criticized for its treatment of the hundreds of thousands of migrant workers needed to build essential stadiums, transport projects and hotels. Infantino’s connections to Biden were far more limited As the connection between Trump and Infantino deepened, Joe Biden dashed Trump’s hopes of staying in the White House. For the next four years, Infantino’s ties to Washington were far more limited. The two leaders had a brief meeting on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, in November 2022, a fleeting moment FIFA captured with one photo on its website.Second gentleman Douglas Emhoff also met with Infantino when he traveled for the Women’s World Cup in July 2023.Preparations for the World Cup under Biden were under the radar by design, according to one senior official for that administration who requested anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. Even though the administration had its own World Cup 2026 task force, Biden aides were aware of sensitivities surrounding large gatherings so soon after the COVID-19 pandemic.The Biden White House was also careful not to overtly promote a relationship with FIFA, which had sidelined the U.S. Soccer Federation in its traditional role in coordinating a home World Cup. Instead, it negotiates individually with each of the 11 U.S. host cities on security, ticketing and other matters.Infantino visited the White House while Biden was president at least once, meeting for about an hour in 2024 with then-national security adviser Jake Sullivan, an avid soccer fan. Biden officials emphasized to Infantino that they wanted to ensure the host cities ultimately benefited from holding World Cup matches and that the U.S.’s human rights values would be respected. Trump’s return sets stage for a ‘MAGA’ World Cup Trump’s disappointment about missing out on the World Cup would prove to be unfounded after he was elected to a second, nonconsecutive term last year.Since that victory, Infantino’s embrace of Trump has been gushing. He promptly congratulated him the day after Election Day, was at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s South Florida club, during the presidential transition and had a prime seat at his January inauguration. Trump called Infantino a “winner” in a video played at the Miami draw for the Club World Cup in December, which was attended by daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner.Meanwhile, FIFA has set up shop at Trump Tower in Manhattan, where Infantino worked last month as world leaders gathered nearby for the annual United Nations General Assembly. Infantino and Trump met again last week in New York, along with first lady Melania Trump, according to the FIFA president’s Instagram account.Infantino has teased the idea of Trump doing the draw himself, which Giuliani called the “MAGA-FIFA World Cup draw.”“Just like a great opera, there will be high drama,” Giuliani said.Infantino has had more public appearances with Trump than with any soccer officials from the sport’s heartlands of Europe and South America, according to the FIFA leader’s schedule and social media posts. He was late for his own FIFA Congress in Paraguay in Ma because he was with Trump and the Saudi crown prince in the Middle East, a move seen as disrespectful of his own voters and criticized by Europe’s soccer federations.During Infantino’s most recent appearance at Trump’s side in the Oval Office on Aug. 22, he took even some fellow soccer officials by surprise when he gifted a gold replica World Cup trophy to the U.S. president, saying it was “for winners only.”That handover was unexpected, according to one senior soccer official who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive dynamics. Even though it was a replica, the moment was still seen as a snub of World Cup tradition because Trump has held onto a trophy that is supposed to belong to the sport as a whole, not an individual person.A White House official said the trophy remains in the White House’s possession.No such offer was publicly extended by FIFA to Mexico’s President Claudia Scheinbaum or Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney. Infantino has not met with Carney this year and met Sheinbaum for the first time on Aug. 29.The episode is a reminder of how Infantino can shift with the moment. The man who remarked in Qatar on the eve of the World Cup in November 2022 that “today, I feel (like) a migrant worker” comments interpreted as solidarity with migrants was laughing along with Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem earlier this year as they bantered about migrants being unable to scale the repainted wall on the U.S. southern border.Infantino has framed his close relationship with Trump as “crucial” to the success of the World Cup, a massive operation that relies on expansive cooperation with federal, state and local governments. Trump’s suggestion that he could move the host cities was a reminder that Infantino is working with a famously impulsive president whose whims could expose FIFA to logistical havoc and legal jeopardy if he followed through.Even without those threats, those involved with World Cup planning said the tournament’s stakes are high because it’s the first in a series of global sporting events hosted by the U.S., including the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.“This needs to go well in order to show the world that if you want to have the best sports and entertainment events, you want to have them in the United States,” said Alex Lasry, CEO of the New York/New Jersey host committee. “I don’t think it’s unusual for a White House to be coordinating and be involved, and I don’t think it’s unusual for the heads of state and for the president to be excited and to be talking about a mega event coming here.” Dunbar reported from Geneva. Seung Min Kim and Graham Dunbar, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
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