Good morning. Trump says he isn’t looking to give Jerome Powell the boot—at least not yet. New World is prepping to ditch its flagship 11 Skies airport mall. And startup GABA Labs is brewing up a booze-free buzz. Listen to the day’s top stories.
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Jerome Powell’s position as Federal Reserve Chair is safe—for now. Donald Trump denied reports that he plans to remove Powell, after he floated the idea in a leaked meeting with congressional Republicans. Still, the president’s remarks—along with fresh invective against the Fed chair—left the door open to a possible ouster. The burst of renewed speculation sparked a short-lived market tempest with US stocks rebounding from earlier losses and the dollar trimming its decline.
Deals on deals. Bahrain’s crown prince pledged $17 billion in US investments. “These aren’t fake deals,” Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa said in DC. Gulf Air is considering buying about a dozen or more Boeing 787s, people familiar said. On China, the president is said to be softening his tone in hopes of securing a summit with Xi Jinping and a trade pact. As for India, officials in New Delhi said they were seeking a more favorable tariff than the 19% levy imposed on Indonesia.
Tesla is looking for an edge. Elon Musk’s automaker is getting ready to launch a longer, six-seat version of its Model Y SUV in China. On the broader EV front, the Asian nation pledged to rein in “irrational competition,” signaling growing concerns among policymakers that ongoing price wars may undermine economic growth.
AI moves. Scale AI laid off 200 full-time employees—about 14% of its global workforce—and severed ties with 500 contractors worldwide. The cuts come shortly after Meta invested $14.3 billion in the startup and hired away its CEO. Its competitor, Musk’s xAI, is in talks with two potential partners, including Humain, to lease data center capacity in Saudi Arabia, where power is cheap and capital is abundant, people familiar said.
Money-making records. Goldman Sachs’ stock traders posted the largest revenue haul in Wall Street history, joining peers in reaping the benefits of tariff-fueled volatile trading. Bank of America and Morgan Stanley’s equities trading also beat. All-in-all, JPMorgan may be the biggest winner—having surpassed the combined market value of its three largest rivals.
Deep Dive: A Whole New New World
Photographer: Lam Yik/Bloomberg
New World Development is fighting to keep its head above water as it looks to sell its flagship 11 Skies airport mall in Hong Kong, according to people familiar. The property has been evaluated at a price range of HK$15 billion ($1.9 billion) to HK$17 billion, one of the people said—a potential loss on the HK$20 billion it invested in what was once billed as the city-state’s largest shopping mall.
Touted as a game-changer, the development quickly becomea drag on New World, hampered by sluggish tenant sign-ups and weak foot traffic—fueled in part by uncertainty around airlines’ willingness to shift flights to Hong Kong’s second airport terminal next to the complex.
Once a symbol of Hong Kong’s property boom, the developerhas been fighting for months to shore up its balance sheet by accelerating asset sales—including in mainland China. Now, New World is gearing up to sell its China properties piecemeal—including landmarks like its K11 buildings in Hangzhou, Shenzhen and Shanghai.
Manus AI is doing everything it can to sever ties to China: It’s a trap, Catherine Thorbecke writes. Trying to shed its origins won’t guarantee success overseas.
