Axios

Car shoppers might be feeling more pessimistic about the economy, but they're still pulling the trigger on used vehicle purchases.

Why it matters: Investors and policy makers are still trying to get a handle on how tariffs are impacting consumer behavior.

Farmers may be able to keep employing undocumented workers without fear of raids, under a system where they would assume "responsibility" for them, President Trump indicated on Friday.

Why it matters: The administration has changed its position repeatedly in recent days on whether farm workers were subject to more aggressive immigration crackdowns or not.

Americans are embracing the life of silver "stacker" — someone who hoards the metal as an investment.

📈 State of play: Silver prices have soared in 2025 to their highest level in more than a decade.

• 🍴As a result, people are "flocking to coin shops, metals dealers and jewelers to cash in coins, silverware and bars," while others are buying it up and socking it away, WSJ reported.

Zoom in: "Andrei Hnedchyk, owner of Honest Coin Shop in Union City, N.J., said traffic is up about 20%, mainly from silver 'stackers,' or people who are hoarding the precious metal to hedge against economic uncertainty," WSJ reported.

It's been nearly three months since fashion-tech company CaaStle told investors that they'd been defrauded of more than half a billion dollars, and that law enforcement was investigating.

• There hasn't yet been an arrest made nor a charge filed.
• For context, Sam Bankman-Fried was cuffed just one month after FTX went bust, and the preceding narrative was that authorities were dragging their heels.

Circle Internet, the only publicly traded stablecoin issuer in the U.S., extended its extraordinary post-IPO run Friday after securing its first analyst buy rating.

Why it matters: The bullish outlook for stablecoins continues to grow, fueled by the U.S. Senate's recent passage of legislation that would establish a clear regulatory framework for domestic issuers.

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a request by two small toy companies to expedite a tariff lawsuit against the Trump administration.

Why it matters: The rejection means the dispute over the legality of Trump's tariffs will proceed through a federal appellate court in Washington, as was already planned.

The Supreme Court ruled Friday that fuel producers have standing to challenge EPA approval of California vehicle emissions and electric vehicle policies.

Why it matters: The 7-2 decision enables more lines of attack against California officials, who are already battling GOP and Trump 2.0 efforts to thwart rules that go beyond federal standards.

The Trump administration has a new favorite talking point on the economy: That blue-collar wages are rising the most, in inflation-adjusted terms, at the start of a presidential administration in modern history.

The big picture: The data reflect solid wage growth paired with low inflation through the first five months of 2025.

President Trump on Thursday said American employees have too many holidays off work in his latest criticism of U.S. commemorations.

Why it matters: The U.S. is among the least generous of its global counterparts for paid time off policies.

Meta is in advanced talks to hire Daniel Gross and Nat Friedman as part of its new AI lab, per multiple reports. It also would take a stake in the pair's venture capital firm, NFDG.

Why it matters: This would be the second time this month that Meta has poached the top exec of an AI decacorn, as Gross currently serves as CEO of Safe Superintelligence.

The Trump administration has a new favorite talking point on the economy: That blue-collar wages are rising the most, in inflation-adjusted terms, at the start of a presidential administration in modern history.

The big picture: The data reflect solid wage growth paired with low inflation through the first five months of 2025.

• Fears of a tariff-driven inflation surge cutting into rank-and-file workers paychecks have not materialized thus far.
• But this measure has also shown numerous runs of stronger real wage gains in recent decades, just not at the start of a presidential term. Indeed, there was a stretch of stronger real wage gains by this measure just last year.

Federal Reserve governor Christopher Waller told CNBC this morning that the central bank should cut rates "as early as July."

Why it matters: Waller is the most influential Fed official yet to advocate for cuts that financial markets largely expect to come in the fall, if not later.

• His comments come as Trump calls on the Fed to cut rates to help lower borrowing costs for the federal government, a new twist to his long-running pressure campaign.

What they're saying: "I think we're in a good spot right now for talking about bringing the rate down," Waller said.

• "We can start the process of bringing rates down and then if there's some big shock, due to maybe the Middle East conflict, we can pause," he added.

Silicon Valley is pushing senators to follow the House's lead in reviving a favorable tax benefit that disappeared several years ago.

Why it matters: This could change the math for a slew of startups, and even Big Tech companies.

Chief executives are giving employees an AI fright — warning them the new technology could make many workers obsolete, while at the same time urging them to start using it right away.

Why it matters: That's a scary and mixed message, and fear is generally considered to have a bad track record as a management technique. At the extremes, managers could actually wind up inhibiting workers from adapting to AI.