Wsj What's News

P.M. Edition for July 22. To keep his company competitive in a wild and costly AI battle, Elon Musk is seeking up to $12 billion for xAI as it looks to build a new data center. Plus, Republican leaders in the House have cut short this week’s session as the furor over disclosures from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation continues. “Buy now, pay later” plans become more popular among Americans, but they might hurt their chances of mortgage or credit-card approval. WSJ personal economics reporter Imani Moise discusses why banks are worried about the rise of “buy now, pay later.” Alex Ossola hosts.   Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A.M. Edition for July 22. Six months in, Stargate has so far failed to complete a single deal for a data center despite the Trump administration’s ambitions. The WSJ’s Eliot Brown says OpenAI is instead finding other partners. Plus, Chinese and European leaders are set to meet in Beijing this week, as the global economy seems to shrug off tariff uncertainties. And why more college graduates are starting their careers in America’s secondary cities. Azhar Sukri hosts. Sign up for the WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

P.M. Edition for July 21. The battle between Harvard University and the Trump administration reached a crescendo today as they met in a federal courtroom in Boston over the government’s cancellation of more than $2 billion of research funding. We hear from WSJ higher education reporter Sara Randazzo about the case, and where it goes from here. Plus, as the valuations of chip companies rise, Heard on the Street writer Asa Fitch says investors are ignoring the looming threat of tariffs on chips. And slumping U.S. EV sales mean that battery makers have capacity to spare, so they’re turning to a new market: energy-storage systems. WSJ autos reporter Chris Otts tells us what the impact of such a pivot might be. Alex Ossola hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A.M. Edition for July 21. The European Union is changing its tune as trade talks with the U.S. take a turn for the worse. WSJ editor Dan Michaels explains what this could mean for the world’s largest trading relationship. Plus, how Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been trying to convince President Trump not to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell. And why taxing the super rich can backfire on governments, as the U.K. seems to be learning to its detriment. Azhar Sukri hosts. Sign up for the WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we’re bringing you an episode of our podcast WSJ’s Take On the Week, where co-hosts Gunjan Banerji, lead writer for Live Markets, and Telis Demos, Heard on the Street’s banking and money columnist, cut through the noise and dive into markets, the economy and finance. Last Tuesday, and before the Fed entered its dark period when they don’t speak to media they spoke with Austan Goolsbee, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and voting member of the 2025 FOMC Committee, to discuss the economy, inflation, tariffs, escalating trade wars and the Federal Reserve's approach to monetary policy. Goolsbee explains how the economic conditions and the Fed’s dual mandate of stable prices and maximum employment plays into his decision making on cutting interest rates. Plus, he discusses the potential for AI to drive long-term productivity gains but cautions against the risk of an "exuberance bubble" similar to the dot-com era.Further Reading:  Latest Tariff Threats Could Delay Rate Cuts, Chicago Fed’s

Why were bank stocks down if bank earnings were strong? And how is Nvidia back in business in China? Plus, which company did MP Materials strike a deal with this week? Host Francesca Fontana discusses the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them. Sign up for the WSJ's free Markets A.M. newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

P.M. Edition for July 18. President Trump has called for the release of grand jury material related to the investigation of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The move follows the publication of an article in The Wall Street Journal about a letter bearing Trump’s name that was included in a 2003 birthday album for the disgraced financier. WSJ reporter Khadeeja Safdar, who co-authored that story, talks about the reporting that went into it. Plus, President Trump has signed into law the Genius Act, which creates ground rules for stablecoins. WSJ reporter Dylan Tokar discusses why banks are worried about the cryptocurrency. And the U.S. is set to end a decades-long practice of commenting on the fairness of foreign elections. We hear from Journal reporter Robbie Gramer about why. Alex Ossola hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter. The Journal: Trump’s Letter to Jeffrey Epstein Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A.M. Edition for July 18. The House follows the Senate in overcoming Republican opposition to pass measures rescinding public media and foreign aid funding, marking the first time a White House has accomplished clawbacks in more than a quarter-century. Plus, reporter Jenny Strasburg details how De Beers aims to revive its brand as it competes with lab-grown diamonds and a world skeptical that purity is worth the price. And reporter Austin Ramzy unpacks what the U.S. is doing to respond to China's moves to flex its military muscle far beyond its usual patch in the Pacific. Azhar Sukri hosts. Sign up for the WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

P.M. Edition for July 17. Legal experts are dubious that President Trump could remove Fed Chair Jerome Powell—though the president has said he isn’t planning to. But as WSJ chief economics correspondent Nick Timiraos points out, Trump’s advisers are seizing on a renovation of the Federal Reserve’s Washington, D.C. headquarters to undermine public trust in Powell. Plus, China has threatened to block the sale of two Panama Canal ports unless its state-owned shipping company can be a part of it. WSJ reporter Jack Pitcher discusses China’s leverage, and what the U.S. makes of it. And Republican lawmakers are making a surprising push to protect unauthorized immigrants. WSJ congressional reporter Olivia Beavers explains why. Alex Ossola hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A.M. Edition for July 17. The dollar rises on President Trump’s latest tariff threat to notify as many as 150 nations about unilateral levies. Plus, Canadian convenience store giant Alimentation Couche-Tard abandons a $47 billion bid to buy Japanese 7-Eleven operator Seven & i. And WSJ’s Eliot Brown says some Trump administration officials are holding up a landmark deal that would allow the United Arab Emirates to buy billions of dollars in Nvidia’s cutting-edge artificial-intelligence chips over national-security concerns. Azhar Sukri hosts. Sign up for the WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

P.M. Edition for July 16. In comments from the White House today, President Trump denied that he was trying to oust Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, though he raised the prospect that Powell could be removed for cause. Plus, big banks like Goldman Sachs have reported bumper earnings for the second quarter. But as Journal reporter AnnaMaria Andriotis tells us, the factors that made the quarter so strong may not continue into the next few months. And Oracle, the software company founded nearly 50 years ago, is striking big deals for artificial intelligence that’s boosting its stock price. WSJ Heard on the Street columnist Dan Gallagher joins to discuss what it would take for Oracle to become one of the biggest names in AI. Alex Ossola hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A.M. Edition for July 16. New economic data is starting to reflect the president's tariff and immigration policies, which are filtering through to price tags and weighing on the job market. Plus, President Trump is expected to sign an executive order to help make private-market investments more available to 401(k) plans. And from golf to flattering text messages, WSJ’s chief European political correspondent Bojan Pancevski explains how a charm offensive by EU leaders has helped turn President Trump against Vladimir Putin. Azhar Sukri hosts. Sign up for the WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

P.M. Edition for July 15. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has become the first head of a U.S. financial institution to publicly address the Trump administration’s broadsides against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, even as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announces that the formal search for Powell’s replacement has begun. Plus, consumer prices rose 2.7% in June from a year earlier. WSJ chief economics correspondent Nick Timiraos joins to discuss what this means for the Fed. And Apple strikes a multimillion-dollar deal with the biggest U.S. supplier of rare earth magnets. We hear from WSJ senior reporter Jon Emont about the significance of the deal. Alex Ossola hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A.M. Edition for July 15. Nvidia says it’s received assurances it can sell its H20 AI chips in China, days after CEO Jensen Huang met President Trump. Beijing bureau chief Jonathan Cheng breaks down how the announcement could tie into broader U.S.-China trade talks. Plus, bank earnings and fresh inflation data are poised to give investors dual snapshots of the state of the economy. And WSJ’s Jack Pitcher explains that while the U.S. dollar’s continued weakness is bad news for American travelers this summer, it’s not the worst thing for U.S. companies this earnings season. Luke Vargas hosts.  Sign up for the WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

P.M. Edition for July 14. Private credit may be Wall Street’s hottest trend, but JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has said that it’s a recipe for a financial crisis. So why is the bank investing $50 billion in private credit anyway? Alexander Saeedy, who covers banks and finance for the Journal, explains. Plus, businesses are looking for new ways—some legal, some not—to avoid President Trump’s tariffs. WSJ reporter Corinne Ramey joins to discuss how they’re doing it and why, for the first time, the Justice Department is cracking down on tariff cheaters. And President Trump puts pressure on Russia by threatening 100% tariffs and a deal with NATO to provide weapons to Ukraine. Alex Ossola hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 A.M. Edition for July 14. Employers are pushing for more workers to return to the office, but surveys find that many women are still remote working. WSJ reporter Te-Ping Chen explains why that has some economists concerned. Plus, the European Union and Mexico risk 30% U.S. tariffs effective August 1st, as trade talks continue. And President Trump clears the way for Ukraine to receive Patriot air-defense systems. Luke Vargas hosts.  Sign up for the WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 With President Trump eager to promote the U.S. as the “crypto capital of the world,” the industry has the wind at its back, and online brokerage Robinhood is racing to see how far a friendly regulatory environment can carry it. Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev speaks to host Luke Vargas and WSJ markets reporter Caitlin McCabe about the company’s “tokenization” of a range of assets, building out an edgier product suite and pursuing a rapid global expansion as part of its CEO’s vision of crypto serving as the rails of the global financial system. Luke Vargas hosts. Further Reading:  Robinhood Goes All In on Crypto With Major Product Push  Robinhood Launches New Tools to Woo Traders  Businesses Are Bingeing on Crypto, Dialing Up the Market’s Risks  The Big Loser From the ‘Genius Act’ Is $156 Billion Crypto Giant Tether  More Men Are Addicted to the ‘Crack Cocaine’ of the Stock Market  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why did the latest back-and-forth between President Trump and Elon Musk affect Tesla shares? And what food-industry deal news gave WK Kellogg a bump? Plus, why did a Pentagon investment lift shares of rare-earths miner MP Materials? Host Francesca Fontana discusses the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them. Sign up for the WSJ's free Markets A.M. newsletter.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

P.M. Edition for July 11. A decade after their infamous merger, Kraft Heinz is looking to split its grocery business from its faster-growing sauces and condiments business. Plus, the Trump administration turns to deregulation as a quieter way to boost economic growth. WSJ chief economics commentator Greg Ip joins to discuss how the administration is weighing costs and benefits to clear the way for innovation. And Ford Motor has recorded the most safety recalls in the first six months of 2025 than any automaker ever has in a whole calendar year. We hear from Ryan Felton, who covers automakers for the Journal, about why, and what Ford is doing about it. Alex Ossola hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A.M. Edition for July 11. The flurry of tariff announcements continue as President Trump threatens to slap 35% tariffs on imports from Canada, however WSJ finance editor Alex Frangos says markets are taking it in its stride. Plus, an initial investigation into last month’s fatal Air India crash focuses on pilot actions. And the appointment of a new CEO for Ben & Jerry’s escalates the dispute between the icecream maker and Unilever. Kate Bullivant hosts. Sign up for the WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices