Axios

Labor Day weekend travel is expected to surpass last year's record levels, with the Transportation Security Administration preparing to screen hundreds of thousands more passengers than during the 2024 holiday.

The big picture: Domestic flight, hotel and car rental costs have dropped compared to the weekend last year.

President Trump called his comments questioning South Korea's political stability a "misunderstanding" on Monday after President Lee Jae Myung explained that a special prosecutor investigating the recent coup attempt in the country conducted a raid confined to the Korean side of a base operated jointly with the U.S.

Why it matters: The president's initial comments shocked South Korean officials ahead of the two presidents meeting and came less than a month after the countries agreed on a massive trade deal.

The NFL signaled Monday that it's concerned about wagering taking place outside of the framework of regulated sports betting via emergent prediction markets.

Why it matters: Prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket are now offering sports event contracts, enabling people to make or lose money on game outcomes, even in states where sports betting hasn't been legalized.

The unofficial start of fall arrives Tuesday, when Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Latte returns.

Why it matters: Seasonal drinks like the PSL are critical traffic drivers for Starbucks, as well as a cultural touchpoint.

A number of European and Asian postal agencies have started pausing or cutting off shipments to the U.S., citing uncertainty over the end of the so-called de minimis tariff exemption this week.

Why it matters: Small-dollar commerce — and gift-giving — could grind to a halt in the coming days, threatening the flow of hundreds of millions of packages a year.

The U.S. government is likely to take ownership stakes in more companies — just as it did with Intel — toward the goal of building a sovereign wealth fund, National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett said Monday.

Why it matters: It's a new paradigm for the U.S. government's relationship with the private sector, and raises fresh questions about how much authority the administration intends to exert over corporate America.

Keurig Dr Pepper on Monday announced an agreement to acquire Peet's Coffee parent JDE Peet's for around $18 billion in cash.

Why it matters: This reads like a megamerger, but really is prelude to a mega-split that would reshape the nonalcoholic beverage market.

Interest rate cuts could be coming as soon as September, even as inflation is percolating.

Why it matters: A combination of lower rates and inflation could be rocket fuel for cyclical corners of the stock market.

Investors are celebrating interest rate cuts that have yet to happen following Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell's Jackson Hole speech, which opens the door to a September rate reduction.

Why it matters: Wall Street may be ignoring risks associated with a quarter-point rate cut next month that could stick around to haunt investors later on.

Stephen Starr's latest restaurant Borromini opens today in Rittenhouse.

Why it matters: After years of anticipation, the $20 million trattoria overlooking the square is poised to become one of the hottest restaurants in the city.

Their words create trillion-dollar swings in markets; their actions can determine the fates of nations. But among the central bankers who gathered in Jackson Hole, Wyo., in recent days, there was a palpable sense that their moment at the helm of the world economy may have passed.

The big picture: Bedrock concepts that economists hold dear — of central bank independence, reliable data collection, and technocratic decision-making — are under threat in ways that have left the global central banking community discombobulated.