NAFTA and Amazon; Obamacare repeal; Brexit negotiations; Trump's stock market obsession

Profitable Moment   Amazon, again!  The Amazon effect was on full display today, after one of America's oldest and most troubled retailers, Sears, announced it would sell its Kenmore appliances on Amazon.   Those devices would come equipped with the Internet of Things to connect to Amazon's online assistant Alexa.   Sears' share price, which has truly tanked in recent years, rocketed up 20% on the prospect of the deal, a testament to the power of Amazon's ability to drive growth and sales.   This deal is not about saving Sears -- the store used to be the backbone of middle America's retailing. But for the past decade it has been shutting stores and selling its buildings as Americans bought from more fashionable stores.   When Amazon gets involved, your share price can either rise -- as it has with Sears -- or collapse as it did earlier this week with Blue Apron after Amazon revealed it is getting closer to going head to head in meal kit business.   No – this deal is about Amazon and its increasing power to influence every part of the retailing ecosystem.    -Richard.Quest@cnn.com  What's new... what's next   By Patrick Gillespie and Paul R. La Monica of CNNMoney 1. Trump playing with fire in market obsession Candidate Trump warned of a "big, fat, ugly bubble" in the market. President Trump has quickly become Wall Street's cheerleader-in-chief. It's true that stocks have soared since Trump's win, including a 10-day win streak for the Nasdaq this week. Market veterans say it's unusual to have the president talk about stocks so often. It's also risky to take such ownership. Why? Because every president since World War II has eventually encountered a market storm.  2. Trump's NAFTA could be win for Amazon President Trump has criticized Jeff Bezos, Amazon and the Washington Post, which Bezos now owns. But Trump's goals for a new NAFTA could contradict his rhetoric against Bezos. One of the administration's goals for NAFTA is to significantly raise a duty-free spending threshold for Mexican and Canadian consumers. Right now, if Mexicans spend $50 on Amazon or Canadians spend just $16, they're subject to taxes. But Trump wants to raise that mark to $800, which would be a big incentive for Mexicans and Canadians to get excited for Prime Day in the future.  3. Only the rich win if Congress repeals Obamacare Here we go again. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell this week revived the notion of simply repealing Obamacare, but delaying it from taking effect for two years while lawmakers come up with a replacement plan. Republicans in Congress had faced stiff opposition to the idea during prior attempts to repeal the health care program. Why so much opposition? The Congressional Budget Office estimates the McConnell-led bill would leave 32 million more American uninsured than compared to the current law.  4. Experts: WhatsApp is now on China's radar Unlike most Western media platforms, WhatsApp has largely managed to escape the attention of Chinese officials. No longer. Multiple users contacted by CNNMoney reported that they were unable to send images or videos on Tuesday. Cyber experts say they saw further disruptions on WhatsApp servers in China on Wednesday. WhatsApp is owned by Facebook.  5. Quick Takes: Treasury officials: Rex Tillerson's Exxon violated U.S. sanctions on Russia Thousands of Saudi women are turning to an app to claim their rights Here's how much O.J. Simpson may get from his NFL pension plan Elon Musk says he has 'verbal approval' to build New York-DC hyperloop EU to Britain: Please get your act together on Brexit ASAP Alexa, can you save Sears? Retailer will sell Kenmore appliances on Amazon 6. What's next: GE CEO's final act: Jeff Immelt's last earnings report at the helm of General Electric comes on Friday morning. Wall Street has applauded Immelt's departure because the iconic company's stock has badly lagged the market since he became boss in 2001. New CEO John Flannery is set to take over on August 1. Make this newsletter better. Please send us your feedback to CNNMoneyfeedback@turner.com Share Tweet Forward Sign up for CNN Money's morning markets newsletter: Before the Bell Sign up for CNN Money's closing markets newsletter: Markets Now Copyright © 2017 Cable News Network, LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved., All rights reserved. You're receiving this newsletter because you opted in at cnn.com or cnnmoney.com. Our mailing address is: Cable News Network, LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. One CNN Center Atlanta, GA 30303 Add us to your address book unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences