Plus, Trump says an Iran war deal is close.

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Daily Briefing

Daily Briefing

By Kate Turton

Hello. Elon Musk becomes the world's first trillionaire as SpaceX demolishes IPO records.

Elsewhere, Trump says an Iran war deal is close and celebrated artist David Hockney dies at 88.

Plus, scientists unlock the secret behind the Venus flytrap's snap.

Today's Top News

 

Elon Musk attends the US-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington, D.C. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo

SpaceX IPO

  • Few business leaders have been as deeply embedded in popular culture as Elon Musk, the ambitious entrepreneur who has become a central figure in internet culture and amassed a fortune that has made him the world's first trillionaire. 
  • As SpaceX debuts on public markets, Musk is dictating terms at every stage of the initial public offering process. Here's how Musk's tactics left investors clamoring for SpaceX stock and ignoring risks.

In other news

  • Hopes grew for peace between Iran and the United States after President Donald Trump said a deal could be signed as soon as this weekend, even as Tehran said it had not made a final decision on a pact. Parisa Hafezi tells the Reuters World News podcast that key sticking points remain.
  • Trump's run of high-profile sporting events begins this week in Washington, with the Ultimate Fighting Championship set to stage a slate of mixed martial arts bouts on the White House lawn.
  • About half of evangelical Christians - a core component of Trump's political base - believe his administration's approach to the Iran war and immigration enforcement is not in line with their understanding of Christianity, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
  • Ukraine will seek an additional $20 billion in military funding from its allies at a meeting next week to cement what it sees ‌as its current battlefield advantage over Russia, a Ukrainian defense source said.
  • There are many "blind spots" in the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a World Health Organization expert ‌said, suggesting the spread of the deadly disease may be much wider than official estimates.
  • The artist David Hockney, whose brightly colored renditions of California would go on to make him one of the most celebrated artists of the 20th ‌and 21st centuries, has died aged 88.
 

Business & Markets

 

A Volkswagen car delivery tower at the German carmaker's plant in Wolfsburg, Germany. Photo taken through glass. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo

  • Automakers Volkswagen, Stellantis and Renault, which account for ‌about 60% of Europe's car output, are urging the EU to adopt a simple "Made in Europe" rule and stronger incentives to boost local production.
  • India has barred commercial consumers from buying gasoline and diesel from retail fuel stations and imposed limits on daily diesel purchases to prevent local shortages, ‌amid disruptions to global supply chains due to the war in the Middle East.
  • US banking regulators are stepping up scrutiny of how lenders deploy artificial intelligence as the developing technology sweeps through the industry, pressing firms on everything from data access and governance controls to risks posed by third-party vendors, according to people familiar with the situation.
  • Canadian legislation to regulate AI chatbots, introduced this week after national outrage over a school shooting that left nine people dead, has raised doubts among academics and legal experts who warn that loopholes and its lengthy time frame may ‌undermine the effort.
  • Canada will invest more than C$1 billion to promote competition among grocers and food processors, Prime Minister Mark Carney ‌said, adding that efforts to combat high food inflation would also enhance national security.
 

The Week Ahead

    • On Sunday, Swiss voters will decide on a proposal to cap the population.
    • On Monday, leaders including Donald Trump will attend the G7 meeting in Evian-les-Bains, France.
    • On Tuesday, the inaugural Reuters NEXT Europe brings together global leaders at the intersection of policy, markets and industry. View the live broadcast of the World Stage here and read full coverage here.
    • It's a big week for interest rates with Kevin Warsh overseeing his first Federal Reserve meeting as Chair while the Bank of Japan and Bank of England also meet.
    • Here's all you need to know about the coming week in financial markets.
 

Trump's allies have another way to pay 'weaponization' victims

 

Trump speaks during the signing ceremony for an executive order on mail ballots, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C. REUTERS/Evan Vucci 

While the Justice Department has said it has abandoned plans for Trump's proposed $1.8 billion "weaponization" fund, some of his allies are shifting focus to a different way to make payouts to his supporters, including those who took part in the January 6, 2021, riot on the US Capitol.

The most viable path, according to Trump allies and legal experts, may involve compensating these loyalists under a 1946 law called the Federal Tort Claims Act. That measure lets people file administrative claims - and subsequent lawsuits - against the US government for alleged wrongdoing, which can then be settled out of court.