Just: Elon Musk's lawyers said they would withdraw a $97.4 billion bid for Openai's control if the company halts its efforts to become a for-profit company. Details below.
Separately: You may remember that I wrote a series of columns a few years ago. Following the mass shootings, it has influenced the creation of “merchant category codes” for gun retailers, recalling that credit card companies can already better identify suspicious activities in their way money laundering and sexual traits I did it to prevent buying and selling.
Now, West Virginia Republican leader Riley Moore has introduced a bill to make credit card companies illegal for them to request “a merchant category code that distinguishes firearm retailers from general retailers.” . This means that gun retailers can hide what they sell. What do you think about what's going on?
Scramble Trump's economic plan
President Trump has inherited a strong economy in a booming workforce and stock markets. But one economic holding could tie his hands: stubbornly strong inflation.
Investors are already feeling uneasy, stock markets have plummeted temporarily, and bond markets are struggling with the worst day of the year after unexpectedly worrying in the latest consumer price index report. It raises questions about what options the White House and the Fed must manipulate if prices continue to rise.
Latest: CPI data showed headline prices running at a rate of 4.5% per year over the past three months. This is well above the central bank's 2% target.
The 10-year Treasury bond yield, which tends to support mortgage and credit card rates, has skyrocketed by almost a tenth of the point since its release. (They eased this slightly on Thursday.) Analysts warn that the bond market could serve as a brake on some of Trump's policy ideas.
Naturally, Trump denounced his predecessor, Joe Biden, of revived inflation.
But Trump must fight against a new inflation wildcard: bird flu. Wednesday's inflation report showed the disease was hitting grocery aisles violently, and it rose 15.2% in the past four weeks after selling the country's large chickens.
LPL Financial Chief Economist Jeffrey Roach wrote in a research note on Wednesday that the egg price rise “has been the biggest rise in about a decade and an annual price increase of 53%.”
Sustainable inflation could ruin Trump's economic plans, including tax cuts, immigration crackdowns and tariffs. Bill Adams, chief economist at Comerica Bank, wrote in his client notes that these policies “all ripple through the economy, so the Fed will add inflation by increasing interest rates.” Can do it,” Wednesday.
Trump's desire for low interest rates, which he again requested on Wednesday just before the CPI report, is also in conflict with most market watchers.
What does Jay Powell do? The Fed chair cited high inflation on Wednesday, saying the central bank “hopes to maintain policy restrictions for now.” Powell avoided questions from lawmakers about Trump's lower fee demands, and repeated that data will determine the Fed's next move.
The probability of additional rate reductions has dropped significantly over the past week, with futures traders on Thursday only seeing one cut this year. “The Fed should be on hold,” Aditya Bhave, an economist at the Bank of America in the US, told CNBC.
This is what's going on
The Senate is likely to confirm the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday. The selection of President Trump's health secretary, whose vaccine criticism and the vow to “become wild” to health sparked anger among public health officials and some medical leaders, has steadily sought to disgusting Republican lawmakers in recent weeks I won. The healthcare industry has not ultimately fought hard against Kennedy's nomination because the cost of speaking may be too high, Politico reports.
President Trump's move will ripple the war in Ukraine in the market. After President Trump said he spoke with President Vladimir Putin, European stocks rose in hoping to end the conflict, but oil prices fell. Other western allies in Ukraine have refused to negotiate peace without Kiev, even if analysts say President Volodimia Zelensky is facing increasingly difficult hands.
JPMorgan Chase reportedly has begun firing employees. According to Baron, the cuts come to hundreds, coming after lenders enjoyed record profits and rising stock prices over the past year. Separately, Jeff Bezos' Rocket Company Blue Origin is planning to fire workers after successful launch of the new Glen Rocket, Bloomberg reports.
$400 Million Cybertruck Questions
Elon Musk's influence in the Trump administration is under scrutiny about how much he will benefit from his government's work.
These concerns have been extended to the possibility of a $400 million government contract for Tesla, which was discussed under President Joe Biden.
Latest: Drop Site News reported Wednesday that the State Department's procurement forecast listed the $400 million contracts that are expected to be awarded the first $400 million contract to armored cybertruck. It is worth noting that the report was last revised in December.
After Jack Ewing of Drop Sites and Times reported on State Department documents on Wednesday, Tesla references have been amended to be removed. (The report now says “Armed Electric Vehicles.”
In X, Musk states: “I'm sure Tesla hasn't won $400 million, at least no one has mentioned me,” the Times notes that contracts will be split with other companies, including Armorer Armormax. . It is unclear whether the contract will move forward.
The incident underscores concerns about mask companies' relationship with the government. Entrepreneurs are leading increasingly strong cost-cutting initiatives that are significantly reducing government agencies. Some of them oversee his company. Among the latest concerns is that his efforts to Defang the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as X is trying to provide payment services.
The big question is whether these concerns could cost mask companies legally.
Speaking of the move to significantly cut Trump regulations, there are handy cheat sheets from the era on these efforts, such as the effective closure of the CFPB and retreat by the SEC and other financial authorities on climate-related issues.
Elon Musk's friends may not be there just for the sake of the opening
Elon Musk's lawyer said Thursday that if AI startups stop their efforts to become a for-profit organization, the billionaire will withdraw their $97.4 billion in purchase bids to control Openai. (That's probably because bidding complicates that broad goal.)
Speaking of the offers, its supporters include celebrities such as Baron Capital Group, Valor Management, Atlaid Management and John Lonsdale's 8VC. However, their motivation to support bidding may not be to invest in Openai.
All Musk supporters have also invested in other businesses like Tesla, SpaceX, Xai, Neuralink, and hope to have access to investments in the round.
It also helps to have mask ears, the wealthiest man in the world who has a megaphone that reaches over 200 million followers on his X platform. Not to mention his proximity to President Trump.
This is a form of soft power and access to masks, and the company has billions of investors. It is not clear whether these supporters have done due diligence to Openai's economics.
And if Musk's lawyer is taken at face value, he said that if the entrepreneur wins the business, the open will return to its roots as “an open source, a safety-focused force.” It seems commercially out of focus.
Openai's board of directors accused him of hypocrisy in court on Wednesday, questioning the rationale for Musk's bid. The motivation behind the consortium's offer could be related to Openai's challenge.
For investors, the cost of being part of a bid group is close to anything if it doesn't go anywhere, and it keeps the supporters in the good bounty of musk.
But billionaires also like to keep investors happy, so if Twitter acquisition is some example, he may find a way to reward them: after X loses value, he He has given investors in social networks starting with his own AI company Xai, 25% of new businesses.
Other Openai News: Josh Kushner outlined potential financial windfalls if employees stayed, as its Thrive Capital led the startup's latest funding round, according to information.
Humanoid Robot Maker Raises $350 Million
Humanoid robots are increasingly found in pioneers of artificial intelligence, promoted by Jensen Huang, such as Elon Musk, Nvidia.
Apptronik, a startup company that currently uses robots by companies including Mercedes-Benz to manufacture, is taking advantage of the growing interest by raising $350 million in a new funding round.
What you need to know about the round: it was led by venture capital firm B Capital – its chairman, Renaissance Technologies co-founder Howard Morgan, who joined Apptronik's board of directors, is a Texas-based investment company. Includes Capital Factory and Google. Its deep AI lab is also a tech partner for startups.
Apptronik co-founder and CEO Jeff Cardenas told Dealbook's Michael de La Merced that the company began considering a fundraising round a year ago.
This is a major step up for Apptronik, a nine-year-old startup from the University of Texas Austin University. Rather than specializing in one job like an arm, it is intended to be a general purpose automata that can handle a variety of tasks in the factory.
Apptronik has raised $65 million so far, and has raised its own funding for the first five years. “We wanted to make sure we were expanding the right thing.
Apptronik faces a steep competition. Beyond Tesla and Navidia, there is no shortage of robot-focused startups, such as diagram AI, agility robotics, and physical intelligence.
However, Cardenas pointed out that he will be discussing Mercedes' contracts with logistics company GXO, and his dozens of potential customers as signs that his business is growing.
Still, robotics needs to be pushed from more than investors. Cardenas described the global race for producing humanoid robots, which China is trying to take the lead. To maintain it, he argued, the US needs to focus on AI software innovation and manufacturing capabilities.
“There's no national robot strategy,” Cardenas said.
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Startup Humanity reportedly forecasts that it will cut cash burning this year by halving its $5.6 billion in revenue, raising up to $3.7 billion in revenue. (information)
Alibaba's stocks skyrocketed after Apple confirmed that Apple would use the company's AI on its Chinese iPhone. (CNBC)
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