Axios

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang heaped praise on Hyundai's robotics and said the two companies will broaden their partnership — a significant endorsement from the AI kingmaker in a rapidly emerging space.

Why it matters: Hyundai's Boston Dynamics division is racing with the world's leading robotics companies — including Tesla — to deliver groundbreaking humanoids.

OpenAI said Monday it has confidentially filed draft IPO paperwork, giving itself the option to tap public markets — even as the company says its focus remains on building new AI products rather than preparing for a listing.

Why it matters: The race is on between Anthropic and OpenAI to go public and tap investors for tens of billions of dollars.

A $100,000 fee that President Trump imposed on employers for H-1B visa petitions is unlawful, a federal judge ruled Monday.

Why it matters: The ruling, which the White House vowed to appeal, blocks a major Trump immigration policy change and concludes that the administration imposed what amounted to a tax without congressional authorization.

Consumers weren't bracing for a worsening inflation flare-up in May, a relief that higher prices aren't becoming embedded in household expectations.

• The bad news: Even amid resilient hiring, Americans are less confident about jobs and their own finances.

Driving the news: The New York Fed's Survey of Consumer Expectations showed year-ahead inflation expectations fell a tick, to 3.5% in May. Three-year expectations held at 3.1%, while five-year expectations remained at 3%.

• Beneath the surface, households reported greater concern about layoffs and worsening financial conditions.

Why it matters: Households are not building permanently higher inflation into their outlook, even with prices for food, rent and medical care still expected to rise sharply.

• But worker sentiment is deteriorating, in step with employee confidence falling to a record low.

Zoom in: Consumers' perceived probability of losing a job rose in May, while the perceived probability of finding a new job after a layoff fell to its lowest level since December 2025.

• The perceived probability of missing a minimum debt payment over the next three months jumped to 12.6%, while the share of households saying they are worse off financially than a year ago rose to its highest level since January 2023.

The other side: Expected quits rose to the highest since early 2023, suggesting that workers still see some job opportunity.

What to watch: The survey was fielded through May, before conflict reescalated in the Middle East.

Six months ago, Federal Reserve officials were deeply divided over whether to cut interest rates for a third consecutive meeting. The rate cutters won the day, but the data since then has pointed toward that having been a mistake.

Why it matters: With the first policy decision of the Kevin Warsh Fed on tap next week, an uncomfortable backdrop is the mounting evidence that the central bank overshot in its easing campaign last year.

• Job growth has surged since then, and inflation has exceeded projections — even when the energy shock from the Iran war is excluded.

Morgan & Morgan, the country's largest personal injury law firm, may seek to raise more than $1 billion via a minority investment, per multiple reports.

Why it matters: This could supercharge the regulatory debate over MSOs, a structure that law firms use to sidestep rules against non-lawyers owning their own practices.

Bending Spoons, an Italian holding company that buys and seeks to revitalize legacy tech brands, on Monday filed for a U.S. IPO that could fetch around a $20 billion valuation.

Why it matters: This would be a return to the public markets for AOL, Eventbrite, and Vimeo, all now owned by Bending Spoons.

Stocks rallied like gangbusters in May, so it's perhaps not surprising that retail investors were net buyers of stocks for the month, new data from Charles Schwab shared exclusively with Axios shows. Yet investors also showed some caginess.

Why it matters: Investors remain bullish amid an AI-fueled rally that has lifted the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes to new highs, even as they may be seeking to limit their risk.

We'll find out this week if Elon Musk still has the magic touch to abracadabra the biggest IPO ever.

Why it matters: A successful trading debut for Musk's SpaceX would confirm his knack for using sci-fi-worthy pronouncements, outlandish personal behavior — and actual innovations — to grab investor attention and turn it into cash for his companies.

The job market is holding up way better than expected, and when that became clear on Friday with the release of the May employment report, the major stock indexes fell.

Why it matters: It was just the latest reminder that the stock market is not the economy.

Millions of working Americans struggle to read at a functional level — and artificial intelligence may be helping hide it.

Why it matters: Low literacy is quietly becoming a major economic drag, even as AI tools allow workers to complete tasks they may not fully understand.

Children's wellbeing declined nationally from 2019 to 2024, with kids in 29 states faring worse than before the COVID pandemic, according to a new report.

Why it matters: Children's wellbeing affects future workforce participation and economic growth, and researchers warn rising costs and safety-net reductions could further strain families.

The Israeli Air Force conducted strikes on military targets in central and western Iran on Monday morning local time, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

Why it matters: The strikes, in retaliation for an Iranian missile attack against Israel, mark a new phase in a growing escalation that started on Sunday morning. This is the first time Israel has struck Iran since the April 8 ceasefire.