Right About Now with Ryan Alford - Business News: Tariff Tidal Wave - GPT-5 Changes the Game - Meta Recruits Top AI Talent - Prime Day Goes Bigger Than Ever - Frozen Fed Rates

Episode Date: July 11, 2025

On this episode of "Right About Now with Ryan Alford," Ryan covers five major business stories, including looming 25% tariffs on tech imports from China and South Korea, the anticipated launch of OpenAI’s GPT-5 and its impact on the AI industry, and insights from guest Matt Britton on AI-driven changes in hardware, creativity, and coding. The episode also discusses talent competition among tech giants, Amazon Prime Day’s retail shakeup, and the latest Federal Reserve rate outlook. Listeners get sharp analysis on how these trends will shape business, technology, and everyday life.TAKEAWAYSPrice increase of 25% on tech products from China and South Korea due to tariffs.Upcoming release of GPT-5 by OpenAI and its potential impact on the AI landscape.Insights on the rapid evolution of AI and hardware development.The transformation of creativity and coding skills due to AI advancements.Talent acquisition trends in the tech industry, including poaching of top engineers.Amazon Prime Day sales and retail strategies to compete with online shopping.Federal Reserve's interest rate outlook and its implications for the market.The impact of AI on everyday life and the future of robotics.The consolidation of AI tools and its effects on business operations.The importance of adapting marketing strategies to consumer behavior and scarcity.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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What's up guys? Welcome to Right About Now. So, weekly business news here on Friday, July 11, 2025. It's time for the stories that matter with the attitude to keep you locked in. I'm Ryan Allford, your host. We're going to power through five market moving stories. No filler, no waffle, just the info and business insights you need. So, let's dive in. Hate to say it, but a 25% price spike could be rumbling toward us like a freight train. It's aimed straight at America's closest tech suppliers,

cars, chips, OLED panels, anything stamped made in China or made in South Korea. What is made in South Korea? I don't know. Unless diplomats conjure a miracle by August 1st, the levy slams into the station. C-suites are eyeing the panic button. Hedge desks are dusting off their 2019 playbooks. Long dollars, short yen, extra caffeine. And yeah, the ripple reaches Main Street. That $800 HDR monitor you've been eyeing will likely hit $875 by Labor Day. Plus the nice-to-meet-ya recycling fee. A tariff is just a tax. The cash still leaves your pocket.

Do you duck until the locomotive passes or climb aboard and ride it to margin heaven while competitors drown in spreadsheets? Your call. Let's jump into some deeper waters. GPT-5, the deep end. OpenEye says, mega bottle will do everything, but make your coffee. Give it some time. It probably will. Text, voice, images, short form video, one prompt box to rule them all. Renewal contracts on countless solutions sit unsigned. These B2B buyers want to see GPT sticker price before they re-up for 12 tools that could go extinct overnight. If the rumors are right,

it could swallow 50% of your AI stack, just like the iPhone devouring cameras and MP players in one big chomp. But consolidation usually means all you can eat buffet shrinks while the bill climbs. Order wisely. Hey guys, wanna introduce you to a special segment

from an interview that's coming out in a few weeks. Matt Britton came on the show, talked all about his new book, Generation AI. I've been telling you about the AI stuff guys. It's time to pay attention. Matt was awesome. The full episode's out in a few weeks.

Wanted to share just a snippet from that interview to warm you up to what that full episode will do and to give you some insights from what he's talking about. How AI is impacting business, the real world, the way we should be thinking about things in life and in business and everything else. Super bright guy. I love Matt. Really love this interview. Just want to share just a little teaser here on our weekly business news. So AI has evolved incredibly fast. The hardware side of AI hasn't. And that's just because of

the physicality of hardware and the development cycles are longer. But what's gonna start to happen is you're gonna see a new range of hardware, whether it's toys that kids can talk to, like I'm sure you've seen the movie Ted, like kids are gonna be able to talk to their toys and they're gonna remember things about the kid and they're gonna be friends with their toys.

Sounds crazy, but they will. And you're gonna have robotics in the household. And at first, robotics are going to mow your lawn and maybe cook for you. But over time, it's going to take your kids to school. And if you think about it, autonomous vehicles, robotaxes are basically that, but they're just going to be a robot inside that's going to hold your kids hand and walk them to school. We are going in that direction. Robotics are going to be taking over society in three to five years as soon as the hardware cycle catches up with the incredible software cycle of AI.

What was the art that it took to make a hit a top hit on radio now you know the algorithm and everything else they can formulate what they think your human ears want to hear? Well, I mean, yeah, there's auto tune. You know, you look at the Beatles and it was four guys with real instruments playing with very little, you know, electronic manipulation. And now that's not the case anymore. You don't know is that really how their voice sounds, right? Or is it auto tuned? Is that really drums? Is that really how their voice sounds, right? Or is it auto-tuned? Is that really drums? Is that really a guitar? That music is a great analogy for kind of the synthetic nature of AI. And the reality is people are okay with it. And you don't see rock bands in the top 100

of hits anymore. Sure, there's country music. But even that, you know, has a kind of niche audience. A lot of the mainstream top 100 is electronically created music. But when you talk about math or calculus or these trigonometry, these advanced theories of mathematics, these are things that humans just aren't going to have to do anymore. I would actually put coding in that territory. If you look at open coding jobs in the United States, it's dropped like a stone. Companies are not hiring engineers anymore

because AI knows how to code quicker, better, faster than humans. And if it's not 100% there today, I promise you it'll be there a year from now. Coding is really not a skill humans arguably were ever supposed to learn because it's not human language, it's computer language. And now AI is going to be able to, based on any prompt, create any

technology-driven product, software-driven product, you want just to a simple prompt. So that's a perfect example of something that people probably won't have to learn for much longer because basically it's all going to be done for you. So I would put math in that same category. Let's hit the next story in our news sprint. If you hear the metallic clanking, that's golden handcuffs snapping shut. Meta just swiped Apple's model ops wizard, model ops wizard. I've always wanted to be one. The wizard of Oz. No, the wizard to model ops. They're going to have something ominously titled

super intelligence. Translation, Mark Zuckerberg stole the other guy's rocket fuel and probably the blueprint. When top talent gets scooped up, the motor around your product line could drain faster than a kiddie pool in July. The next popular Instagram filter might just predict your pose before you strike it while silently tracking your heart rate. Delightfully personal or creepily clairvoyant, you decide. Either way, update those retention packages now.

Your smartest engineer is eyeing an electric scooter headed south on highway 101. Next stop, the retail rumble. Amazon looked at its 72 hour prime day and said, hold by drone. This year it's a 96 hour deal fest. Just coming to an end here as we record this for straight days of lightning offers streamlining tie-ins and wearing out the add to cart button.

Analysts project nearly 24, but, but, but, but billion in us sales alone. Brick and board arrivals aren't sleeping. They're planning curbside flash drops, pop-up TikTok live streams, and limited edition collabs all built for instant FOMO. But shoppers are overdosed on discounts. 1 million push alerts have become white noise fast. The winners will be the ones who lean into scarcity. Only three left will beat free shipping every single time. If your promo

calendar still says site-wide 20% off, grab a Sharpie and rethink. And for our final store today, Federal Reserve rates. Futures now give July a slim 4.7 chance of a cut. The lowest odds, it's 2020s, nobody's touch anything era. They've locked floating rate debt today and loan spreads tightened 20 basis points in two weeks. Adjustable rate mortgages will likely stay spicy, but refinance apps will remain on hold until those odds are back above 20%. Moral of the story, if your CFO is snoozing, the next interest invoice will deliver a rude awakening. And look, we need more money in the market. This sucks. So what did we learn

today? Tariffs are still taxes. GPT-5 may streamline your AI buffet, but convenience isn't cheap. Talent moves faster than capital. Guard your brain trust. Big time. Scarcity still sells better than blanket discounts and the Fed lower for longer has left the chat. We need those rates lower. We got to get there. And that's what we got today.

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