The U.S. and China meet in MadridU.S. and Chinese negotiators are in Spain for
a second day of talks today. Officials are tackling a wide array of topics, including TikTok’s future status in the U.S and a possible meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this year. Late on Sunday, Trump told reporters that TikTok’s fate in the U.S. was “
up to China.”
China’s economy shows strainRetail sales and industrial output in China last month
missed expectations. Retail sales grew by 3.4%, while industrial output rose by 5.2%. China is struggling with sluggish domestic demand, while officials are targeting industrial overcapacity and aggressive price wars.
The U.K. and U.S. go nuclearThe U.K. and U.S. will work together to boost nuclear power, aiming to speed up new projects and investments, including a possible dozen new modular reactors in northeast England. Prime Minister Keir Starmer
said the agreement would lead to “a golden age of nuclear that will drive down household bills in the long run.” Trump travels to the U.K. for
a state visit on Tuesday.
Trump deals with Hyundai falloutIn a Sunday social media post, Trump said he doesn’t want to “
frighten off” investors following an ICE raid on a Hyundai factory earlier this month. The arrests of hundreds of Korean workers sparked outrage in South Korea, and is leading businesses to consider scaling back their U.S. investments. Trade negotiations between South Korea and the U.S. are ongoing as the East Asian country tries to ward off a 25% tariff on its goods.
Fed to meet on Tuesday and WednesdayThe Fed
meets on Tuesday and Wednesday with markets pricing in a 96.4% chance of a quarter-point rate cut announcement and 3.6% odds for a half-point cut, per data from the CME Group. On Monday, Senate Republicans will try to confirm White House economic adviser Stephen Miran as a Fed governor. It’s unclear if current Fed Governor Lisa Cook, whom President Donald Trump is attempting to fire, will participate in the meeting.
OpenAI could be closer to an IPOLast week, OpenAI and Microsoft, one of the company’s largest investors,
signed a preliminary agreement that allows OpenAI to restructure into a public benefit corporation and could lead to a potential IPO. Regulators from both California and Delaware are looking into the potential restructuring, however, and OpenAI board chairman Bret Taylor has maintained that OpenAI’s nonprofit would continue to control the startup.
Utah Gov. attacks social media and the internetUtah Governor Spencer Cox
attacked social media, the internet, and massive tech companies for contributing to American polarization during a weekend appearance on NBC’s
Meet the Press with Kristen Welker following the assassination of Charlie Kirk last week. Governor Cox, who has gone after large social media companies before, noted that “the most powerful companies in the history of the world have figured out how to hack our brains, get us addicted to outrage.”
