The Rise of the Planet of the Trump

January saw Donald Trump being sworn into office as the 45th President of the United States after winning the electoral college. Things however haven't been smooth sailing for Donald.

The Lackluster Ceremony

The inauguration itself was a lack luster affair with empty stands along the Presidential Motorcade and smaller crowds at the National Mall than previous inaugurations. There were also plenty of protests around the country with hundreds being arrested on the day itself. Photo's comparing Donald's inauguration to Obama's show the stark difference in crowd size. This didn't go unnoticed by Donald who spent the first few days in charge complaining about the numbers and the media for reporting them.

World Wide Protests

The day after the inauguration there were protests around the world as people took to the streets for Women's Marches decrying Donald's previous remarks about women. The protests featured women of all ages taking a stand and celebrities from Hollywood cheering on the crowds. Donald himself tweeted about the marches saying "Why didn’t these people vote?" forgetting he lost the popular vote, another sore point which has seen him claim irregularities in the vote.

So Far, So Bad

With only a few days in charge Donald has already signed multiple executive orders doing everything from attacking Obamacare to building a wall along the US-Mexico border. Donald has also made comments about using torture along with banning refugees and travelers from 7 mainly Muslim countries sparking world wide outrage.

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The Business of Politics and Lawsuits

Another week in the world of money which saw politics and lawsuits dominate the headlines.

Politics

We start this week in the world of politics where a Brazilian judge has accepted charges filled by state prosecutors against 11 companies for allegedly forming a cartel to control construction and upkeep of the subway and train systems in Sao Paulo just weeks after a corruption scandal involving state oil giant Petrobras was revealed. In other South American news Citigroup was authorized by a US judge to process Argentine dept payments after numerous lengthy court battles while on the other side of the world in the Middle East we saw trouble as conflict in Yemen sent oil prices soaring. Europe saw protestors marching in Madrid against austerity measures called the "march for dignity" while the always complicated relationship between EU and Greece raised its head when Germany and other EU leaders set strict terms for Greek aid.

Legal

But it wasn't just bureaucracy this week as we also saw legal disputes with the Ellen Pao lawsuit taking center stage as her legal team wrapped up arguments. However, they weren't alone with Twitter also being sued for gender discrimination. The technology world also saw the Google anti competitive report leaked and news that Google had become a lobbying powerhouse with near weekly meetings at the White House. Outside of the tech world Ex-American Apparel CEO, Dov Charney, is seeking $40 million in damages after being fired last year.

Stock Markets

We end the week on Wall Street where news of Heinz and Kraft merging had mouths salivating with the prospect of a new super food company and lastly, the stuff dreams are made of, when we heard luxury car maker Porsche gave each of it's employee's a sizable bonus sharing the spoils after a successful year.

What Happened? 2013 Business News

The business world had some nervous moments with politicians getting in the way and wars at breaking point but the always innovative tech world made sure money was made.

Tech world keeps ticking

Bitcoin, the infamous decentralized virtual currency, had a bumpy year with wild swings in it's value. Unfortunately it also suffered a dramatic set back when the Chinese government banned it's use.

Twitter finally made it's debut on the stock market with it's IPO. It wasn't all smooth sailing with the stock taking a tumble after a warning it was overvalued.

Amazon had huge sales come Christmas and gained even more attention with it's crazy drone delivery plan.

Apple released the next generation of iPhones instantly invalidating all previous models having their legions of fans waiting in line to upgrade.

Government, can't live with them...

The business world held it's breath as the US edged closer to defaulting on it's obligations. Eventually the US government closed for business when Republicans refused a budget bill in an attempt to delay Obamacare resulting in nation wide shutdown.

After pumping billions into the economy during the recent recession the Fed's tapering had markets a buzz.

The earlier NSA revelations trickled down to business with telecoms giants admitting to their part in providing the government with access to phone records of millions. Even big tech companies had co-operated from Google to Yahoo and Microsoft.

Bad (for) business?

BP has been trying to cut it's losses from it's oil clean up fines requesting proof of losses which was later turned down by the courts.

Sometimes all it takes is one employee to cause headaches, case in point IAC Communications Director Justine Sacco sending a racist tweet before hoping on a plane to Africa. She was later fired.

The big banks paid for their blunders with JP Morgan paying $13billion in fines for it's toxic mortgages part.

A garment factory collapse killing 175 people in Bangladesh and a fire in a 10 story building raised questions about the west's growing desire for cheap goods.