A deal to bring TikTok's U.S. platform under American ownership is done and should be signed soon, with domestic control of the app's crown-jewel algorithm, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Saturday.
Why it matters: While the White House said Friday a deal was done, Chinese officials gave mixed messages, and the app's fate was left uncertain.
Soaring investment in artificial intelligence, and the infrastructure that makes it possible, is driving economic growth and a booming stock market — but not demand for human workers.
The big picture: The job market is teetering despite — and perhaps in part because of — the onset of advanced AI. A core political question for the coming years will be what, if anything, government ought to do about it.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday postponed the release of a key annual report central to future inflation data.
Why it matters: The BLS — charged with collecting critical data on employment, prices and more — did not explain the reasoning for the delay or when it might ultimately be released.
President Trump on Friday signed an executive order establishing his long-touted "Gold Card" program to sell U.S. residency — but with a lower price than first touted, and a new tax-advantaged "Platinum Card" option added.
Why it matters: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick claimed the new program would raise more than $100 billion for the Treasury.
President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke about a TikTok deal Friday, but details on the social media platform's U.S. future remain unclear.
Why it matters: It's not 100% certain what the deal under discussion entails, though reports have suggested U.S. investors would control most of a new entity with a new app.
The Trump administration warned Harvard on Friday that it would "face further enforcement action" if it refuses to turn over more information about the university's use of race in admissions.
Why it matters: The warning continues the administration's push to exert broad control over America's higher-learning institutions as Trump seeks to eradicate what he calls "anti-white racism," a reinterpretation at odds with the nation's history.
A federal judge struck President Trump's $15 billion lawsuit against the New York Times Friday after deeming the original complaint was "decidedly improper and impermissible" for being unnecessarily long.
Why it matters: The development marks an inauspicious start for the president's lawsuit against the Times.
President Trump said he and Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed in a call Friday morning to meet at the APEC summit in South Korea, which begins on Halloween.
Why it matters: This will be their first in-person meeting of Trump's second term. Trump launched a fast-escalating trade war after returning to office but the relationship has shifted onto friendlier terrain, for the time being at least.
Companies aren't adding many jobs or giving out big raises. But they are aggressively investing in what they see as an AI-powered future that promises great returns to shareholders — with financial markets cheering them on.
The big picture: That's the central reality of the U.S. economy right now. It explains some of the curious juxtapositions, including steeply negative public opinion on the economy paired with record highs in the stock market.
Less than one week in the job, new Trump-appointed Federal Reserve governor Stephen Miran is making the rounds on television to explain his rationale for a half-percentage point interest rate cut.
Miran confirmed that he was the outlier among the Fed officials with a projection of another 1.25 percentage point worth of cuts by year-end.
Why it matters: In an interview Friday morning with CNBC, Miran — who said he was sworn in just one hourbefore the Fed's two-day policy meeting began — said his decision was a result of "independent analysis," not politics.
Betting on Nvidia's chosen partners has been a winning trade: Stocks like CoreWeave, Nebius Group and, now, Intel, have soared anywhere from 47% to 370% in the past year.
Why it matters: It pays to follow the money, in this case, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's money specifically.
