Good morning. The Federal Reserve deals out a 25 basis-point rate cut. South Korean engineers take time off after an ICE raid on a Hyundai-SK battery plant. And double-breasted suits are making their way back into the zeitgeist. Listen to the day’s top stories.
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The Federal Reserve slashed rates by a quarter percentage point and penciled in two more reductions this year following months of intense pressure from the White House to slash borrowing costs. Fed chief Jerome Powell cited growing signs of weakness in the labor market, saying revised job numbers mean it is no longer “very solid.” Newly sworn-in governor Stephen Miran voted against the decision, favoring a half-point move instead. The dollar sprang back from a slump during Powell’s comments while the S&P 500 slid.
China has its sights set on Nvidia. The country’s cyberspace watchdog has instructed companies including Alibaba to terminate orders for the semiconductor giant’s RTX Pro 6000D. US House Speaker Mike Johnson called the move a “counterproductive development,” while CEO Jensen Huang said he’s “disappointed.”
The man behind the chip giant was also one of 160 guests—alongside Apple’s Tim Cook and media tycoon Rupert Murdoch—to join Donald Trump and King Charles III at an elaborate state dinner at Windsor Castle that capped the first day of the US president’s visit to the UK. American and British officials have said they expect to roll out economic deals worth billions of dollars to coincide with the trip, with AI data centers and nuclear plants to help power them key on the agenda.
Automotive news: General Motors is in preliminary talks to renew its longtime joint venture with China’s SAIC Motor, signaling the US automaker’s budding optimism about its business in the world’s largest auto market after years of decline. Tesla, meanwhile, is working on a redesign of its vehicle door handles, which have drawn scrutiny over safety issues.
Reddit is in early talks to strike its next content-sharing agreement with Google now that its data plays a prominent role in search results and generative AI training. More than a year after its first data-sharing deal with Google—worth a reported $60 million—the social platform is said to be negotiating for deeper integration with Google’s AI products.
Deep Dive: Battery Plant Raid Fallout
The Hyundai-SK battery plant near Cartersville, Georgia. Photographer: Mike Stewart/AP Photo
Forced “vacation.” Woowon Technology President Ken Shim says he’s had to provide paid time off to ease the stress of South Korean engineers installing equipment at a cell plant being built by Hyundai Motor and Korea’s SK On in Georgia.
The move comes as a massive immigration roundup at the plant earlier this month continues to reverberate across the region with workers staying home and delays mounting.
Korea-US trade talks have remained in a deadlock as the situation stoked tensions between the two nations, fueling debate in Seoul over whether the outlay is even worth pursuing.
John Lee’s policy address shows Hong Kong is serious about becoming a world-class marketplace for digital assets, Andy Mukherjee writes. It’s also the direction in which Beijing appears to want the city to move.
