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The Twitter approach to government efficiencyDonald Trump picked Elon Musk and the financier Vivek Ramaswamy to tackle one of his administration’s biggest priorities — reducing the size of the federal government. The two have now shed some light on what Trump has called the Department of Government Efficiency plans to do. They appear to be taking a page from Musk’s playbook for extreme cost-cutting. “We won’t just write reports or cut ribbons,” Musk and Ramaswamy wrote in an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal, addressing skepticism that their initiative, known as DOGE, can achieve. (That said, Congress created the public broadcasting organization and authorizes its budget.)

Persons: Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, ” Musk, Ramaswamy Organizations: Trump, Department of Government Efficiency, Street, Corporation for Public Broadcasting

Rowan and Warsh shake up Treasury raceFew of the unfilled positions in Donald Trump’s cabinet are as important as Treasury secretary. Allies of two candidates, Howard Lutnick, the transition co-chair, and Scott Bessent, a top economic adviser, publicly stumped for them this weekend. Musk threw his support behind Lutnick over the weekend, calling Bessent “business as usual,” an especially cutting criticism in the Trump camp. Loeb backed Bessent, arguing that choosing Lutnick might rattle investors, including in the $28 trillion market for Treasury bonds and notes. That said, Bessent is also being floated for positions such as chair of the White House’s National Economic Council.

Persons: Rowan, Warsh, Donald Trump’s, cloudier, Howard Lutnick, Scott Bessent, Marc Rowan, Kevin Warsh, Elon Musk, Dan Loeb, Musk, Bessent, Trump, Loeb Organizations: Times, Apollo Global Management, Fed, Treasury, White, Economic Council

Last year, Son — who says he uses ChatGPT every day — is said to have met with Sam Altman, the A.I. That included talks for Son to provide up to $1 billion in funding to Altman and Jony Ive, the designer behind the iPhone, to create an A.I.-powered replacement for the smartphone. Bloomberg reported that SoftBank had hoped to be part of OpenAI’s last fund-raising round, but was instead wait-listed. Son is also trying to organize the auto industry around the use of A.I. The strike poses a significant threat to the U.S. economy, with analysts estimating it could cost up to $7.5 billion a week.

Persons: SoftBank, Son —, Sam Altman, Altman, Jony, Son, Cerebras Organizations: Bloomberg, Nvidia, Gulf Coasts, International Longshoremen’s Association Locations: OpenAI’s, ramping, A.I, British, Wayve, Gulf, U.S

The most sweeping effort yet to regulate artificial intelligence, a California bill that could have informed laws around the world, is going back to the drawing board. 1047 provided necessary guardrails, and they urged California policymakers to reject intense pressure from software giants against the bill. Smaller tech companies also pushed back, worried that A.I. While governments around the world (and A.I. Act, which focuses on the riskiest use of the technology but also includes transparency requirements for the largest models.

Persons: Gavin Newsom, ” Newsom, Geoffrey Hinton, Elon Musk, Nancy Pelosi, Newsom’s, Sam Altman, OpenAI Organizations: Gov, Hollywood, Street, Google Locations: California, Silicon, S.B

Donors weigh in on the D.N.C. “I will bring together labor and workers and small-business owners and entrepreneurs and American companies to create jobs,” she told the Democratic National Convention last night. The nod to corporate America comes as Democrats try to firm up relations with big business. DealBook has been hitting the phones all week to hear what donors thought of the four-day convention. A flood of donors decided to go only after Harris became the presumptive nominee.

Persons: Kamala Harris’s, ”, DealBook, Harris, Brad Karp, Paul, Weiss, Raymond McGuire, Lazard, Blair Effron, John Rogers Jr Organizations: Democratic, Convention, Chicago, Centerview Partners, Ariel Investments Locations: America

Google faces a reckoningShares in Alphabet, Google’s parent company, were down in premarket trading on Wednesday on news that the Justice Department is said to be considering breaking up the technology giant for maintaining an illegal search monopoly. That would be a devastating blow for the company, but it could also have huge ramifications for the broader tech sector, with Apple, Amazon and Meta all facing their own antitrust battles with the government. A recap: In a ruling last week, Judge Amit Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia agreed with the government and multiple states that Google’s dominance in search was constraining competition. Google said it would appeal. Mehta has asked both parties to submit suggested remedies by Sept. 4, with a hearing set to take place two days later.

Persons: Amit Mehta, Mehta Organizations: Google, Justice, Apple, U.S, District of Columbia

Starbucks makes a change at the topThis just in: Laxman Narasimhan is out as the C.E.O. of Starbucks, the company announced on Tuesday, a year and a half since he succeeded Howard Schultz at the coffee chain. Narasimhan will be replaced by Brian Niccol, a fast-food industry veteran who executed a turnaround as C.E.O. Narasimhan has also been rocked by dueling activist investor campaigns and has had to fend off criticism from Schultz. Rachel Ruggeri, the Starbucks chief financial officer, will serve as interim C.E.O.

Persons: Laxman Narasimhan, Howard Schultz, Brian Niccol, Narasimhan, Schultz, It’s, Chipotle, Mellody Hobson, Rachel Ruggeri, Niccol Organizations: Starbucks, Narasimhan Locations: U.S, China

Here’s the latest:S&P 500 futures were up slightly after fears of a slowdown in growth and hiring rocked the benchmark index last week. Investors endured both a stomach-churning rout on Monday and a bounce-back rally on Thursday. Despite that, the S&P 500 ended the week down just 0.04 percent. The big event this week is Wednesday’s inflation data. Investors are anxious after tepid jobs and manufacturing data suggested a slowdown was on the horizon.

Persons: Michelle Bowman, ” Brian Moynihan, Wall Organizations: Investors, Nvidia, Fed, Bank of America, CBS Locations: Europe, Asia

The federal court ruling that Google had abused its monopoly in online search threatens to disrupt one of the most valuable businesses in modern history, and Big Tech more broadly. Expect Google to fight back, which could drag this out for some time. What happened: Judge Amit Mehta of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia sided with the Justice Department and several states that had accused Google of illegally cementing its search dominance. In large part that was by paying billions each year to companies including Apple and Samsung to make Google the default search engine on their devices. Those agreements hurt competition, Mehta found, allowing Google to trample competitors.

Persons: Amit Mehta, Mehta Organizations: Google, Big Tech, U.S, District, Columbia, Justice Department, Apple, Samsung

Stocks, cryptocurrencies, the dollar, oil — they’re all down sharply again on Monday on concerns that the U.S. economy is slowing faster than expected. It comes after a rough week for global markets. That has reignited criticisms that the Fed is moving too slowly to cut rates as economic conditions look shakier. Mega-cap tech stocks, which have driven much of the market’s gains this past year, were especially bruised: Nvidia was down 11 percent premarket, while Apple was off 7.5 percent. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to a one-year low.

Persons: Berkshire Hathaway, Bitcoin, Brent, Goldman Sachs, Goldman Organizations: Nvidia, Apple, Berkshire, Nikkei, Bank of Japan, . Investors Locations: U.S, Japan

Slowdown fearsGlobal markets are a blur of red on Friday as investors fret that the U.S. economy is heading for a slowdown. Lackluster tech earnings are weighing on sentiment (more on that below), but the bigger worry is a softening jobs market and a spending pullback by consumers that threatens to crimp corporate profit. That shines a spotlight on Friday’s jobs report, scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, and bolsters calls on the Fed to lower interest rates at its next meeting, in September. There’s even talk that the central bank could consider a jumbo half-percentage-point rate cut to pull off its hope for a soft landing in which inflation is cooled without tipping the economy into recession.

Persons: There’s Organizations: Fed Locations: U.S

Meta’s earnings calm A.I. Shares in Meta are up more than 5 percent in premarket trading, even after the parent of Facebook and Instagram said it had increased spending on A.I. The numbers: Meta’s second-quarter profit was up 73 percent year-on-year, to $13.5 billion, while revenue jumped 22 percent, to $39.1 billion. The figure in focus was capital expenditures, with Meta spending $8.5 billion in the second quarter. (That also includes the company’s long-running, unprofitable investments in the so-called metaverse and other endeavors.)

Persons: Instagram Organizations: Meta, Facebook

Big Tech’s big spendingThe technology sector is facing another rough patch, after Microsoft reported mixed quarterly earnings and its shares tumbled. The company’s results are fueling more concern among investors about whether hefty spending on artificial intelligence will pay off, and how long that might take. But analysts say that Microsoft is on better footing than its rivals, and that investor enthusiasm for all things A.I. Microsoft missed earnings expectations for its cloud business by a hair. Shares in the tech giant were down 3 percent in premarket trading on the results, echoing a similar market reaction to Alphabet last week, when Google’s parent company disclosed the scale of its ever-growing A.I.

Organizations: Microsoft

How the election is dividing techThe tech world has long been divided by rivalries: Macs versus PCs, open source versus closed source. It’s a reminder, as DealBook has noted, that Silicon Valley’s libertarian wing is feeling more emboldened to flex its money and influence to buck what has become a traditionally Democratic consensus. Who’s who: Some of the most vocal Democratic donors among the tech elite are Hoffman; Vinod Khosla, the venture capitalist; Aaron Levie, the C.E.O. On the Republican side are a camp of libertarians that includes Musk and the investors Peter Thiel, David Sacks, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. Then there are those staying neutral, including Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, who are ostensibly trying to avoid antagonizing whoever wins in November.

Persons: Elon Musk, Reid Hoffman, Ryan Mac, Erin Griffith, Mike Isaac, DealBook, Who’s, Hoffman, Vinod Khosla, Aaron Levie, Roger McNamee, Peter Thiel, David Sacks, Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta Organizations: Republican

Ackman delays his big betMonday isn’t going to be the day that Bill Ackman prices the I.P.O. of his Pershing Square USA investment vehicle, as had been planned. But the long-awaited fund, whose investors will probably include many who follow Ackman’s provocations on social media, is still coming, it says. The context: Pershing Square USA is a so-called closed-end fund that’s raising money to make the sort of concentrated investments that Ackman is now known for. The fund had faced big expectations after Ackman set an initial I.P.O.

Persons: Bill Ackman, Ackman Organizations: Pershing Square USA, Pershing

A question about the future of antitrustNews that Reid Hoffman, the billionaire LinkedIn co-founder and major Democratic donor, wants Vice President Kamala Harris, if she wins in November, to replace Lina Khan as chair of the F.T.C. Senator Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont, called it “unacceptable,” and Tim Wu, the Columbia Law School professor and former Biden antitrust official, demanded that the Harris campaign return Hoffman’s donations. Khan is perhaps the most consequential regulator for business in the Biden administration, and her fate as F.T.C. chair underscores anxiety among Democrats about how Harris would approach antitrust policy should she become president. So Khan could be stripped of that role and replaced with a colleague, though that could be awkward.

Persons: Reid Hoffman, Kamala Harris, Lina Khan, Bernie Sanders, Tim Wu, Biden, Harris, Khan Organizations: LinkedIn, Democratic, Columbia Law School Locations: Vermont, United States

An “irrevocable” trust? Rupert Murdoch is showing yet again that real life can be more fascinating than fiction. It’s about control of a global media business with extraordinary political power, one that’s still trying to preserve its influence in America and elsewhere. The context: When Murdoch dies, control of the family’s companies, including the broadcaster Fox and the newspaper publisher News Corp, will be shared among his four eldest children via the trust. Under the arrangement, Prudence, Lachlan, James and Elisabeth will each get an equal say in how the businesses are run.

Persons: Rupert Murdoch, —, Jim Rutenberg, Jonathan Mahler, isn’t, Murdoch, Prudence, Lachlan, James, Elisabeth Organizations: Fox, News Corp Locations: Nevada, America

But all that attention isn’t translating into success at Musk’s core business, as Tesla reported another sharp drop in quarterly profit that has spooked investors. Shares in Tesla are down sharply premarket on the company’s results. That’s despite Tesla cutting costs and laying off more than 10 percent of its global work force. Among the troubles bedeviling the company are sluggish consumer demand and a price war with competitors that has dented profits. Tesla sold $890 million worth in the quarter, three times the figure in 2023.)

Persons: Tesla’s doldrums Elon Musk, Donald Trump —, Tesla

Why some big money is holding out for nowAfter just one full day of campaigning, Vice President Kamala Harris has a glide path to the Democratic presidential nomination. The Harris campaign also said it had raised more than $100 million between Sunday afternoon and Monday evening. But some major Democratic donors, including Mike Bloomberg and the venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, have yet to endorse her. The concern is that if they support Harris too soon, they would appear to be anointing their party’s presidential candidate, rather than her earning it through a full democratic process. And Khosla posted on X, “An open process will allow everyone a chance to make their case and express their views.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi, Harris, Mike Bloomberg, Vinod Khosla, DealBook, don’t, Khosla, ” Organizations: Democratic, Bloomberg Locations: Chicago

Follow the moneyThe shock waves from President Biden ending his re-election bid, after weeks of pressure to step aside, are still reverberating around the world. Many Democratic officials and financial backers have followed his lead and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor in the race. But the conspicuous silence of some senior party leaders and warnings from prominent donors suggest that the party’s ticket isn’t a done deal. The latest: Biden’s withdrawal opened a flood of Democratic donations, with more than $50 million pouring in on Sunday, in what one strategist said might be “the greatest fund-raising moment in Democratic Party history.”Wall Street and Hollywood donors came back in force, while stalwart Biden backers, including the tech billionaire Reid Hoffman and the hedge fund scion Alex Soros, pledged their support to Harris.

Persons: Biden, Kamala Harris, Reid Hoffman, Alex Soros, Harris Organizations: Democratic, Democratic Party

“This outage is historic in scale,” Mikko Hypponen, a research specialist at the software company WithSecure and a cybercrime adviser to Europol, told DealBook. It issued a software update that is causing Microsoft systems, including its Azure cloud service, to crash or not function properly. Long queues of airline passengers could be seen at airports around the world, with some resorting to manual check-in. In France, the television networks TF1 and Canal+ told the public on X that they could not go on the air on Friday morning. The incident points to how reliant the global economy is on a handful of major tech companies to run vital infrastructure.

Persons: ” Mikko Hypponen, Europol, DealBook, George Kurtz, CrowdStrike, ” Organizations: Microsoft, United, Delta, Airlines, Air France, KLM, Japan Airlines, TF1, Sky Locations: Europe, Asia, France

How Musk could influence Trump’s policiesElon Musk has given Donald Trump his endorsement, and perhaps soon, millions of dollars to help his re-election campaign. A big question now is what Musk would most likely push for if the former president prevails in November. DealBook spoke with Musk watchers to figure out how the Tesla and SpaceX chief could influence a potential second Trump administration. The short of it: Much of the policies he wants would benefit his companies, but some would just line up with his ideology. The Wall Street Journal reported in May that Trumpdiscussed offering Musk an advisory role if he is re-elected.

Persons: Elon Musk, Donald Trump, DealBook, Trump Organizations: SpaceX, Trump, PAC, Street

Trumponomics and the FedOne of the hot debates on Wall Street this election cycle is how Donald Trump would deal with the Fed if he is re-elected and, in particular, if he would fire or demote Jay Powell as chair, The Times’s Jeanna Smialek writes for DealBook. In an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek conducted before last weekend’s assassination attempt, Trump said that he did not plan to fire Powell, allowing him to serve out his term. Trump appointed Powell, but turned on him over interest rate policy. The former president was displeased when the central banker refused to cut rates to bolster economic growth. President Biden reappointed Powell to a new four-year term that started in 2022.

Persons: Donald Trump, Jay Powell, Smialek, Trump, Powell, it’s, Biden Organizations: Bloomberg Businessweek, Trump

Vance as his running mate and a possible successor to lead the “Make America Great Again” movement. The 39-year-old served in Iraq and later went to Yale Law School, where he met his wife, Usha Vance. (She resigned from her role as a trial lawyer at Munger Tolles & Olson after Vance joined the ticket.) Vance rose to national prominence after publishing the best-selling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy.” He worked at Mithril Capital Management, a venture capital firm co-founded by Peter Thiel, and Steve Case’s Revolution. Vance is close to the libertarian wing of the tech industry.

Persons: Donald Trump, Vance, He’s, ”, he’s, Usha Vance, Olson, Peter Thiel, Steve Case’s, Thiel, Eric Schmidt, Marc Andreessen, David Sacks Organizations: Trump, Yale Law School, Mithril Capital Management, Ohio Senate, Republican National Convention Locations: Iraq, Munger, Silicon, Ohio

The attempted assassination of Donald Trump has reverberated around the world. The question for business and policy leaders, beyond the immediate implications for the election, is how to halt the increasing political violence in this nation. America’s economy and innovation may be the envy of the world, but our politics and polarized culture are not. Business leaders and donors are not doing enough to tamp it down; most won’t speak out, afraid of potential blowback, giving outsize influence to a handful of voices on social media. A shooting changes the electionTwenty-four hours after surviving an assassination attempt, Donald Trump arrived in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention, while President Biden and political and business leaders continue to denounce the incident.

Persons: Andrew, Donald Trump, Biden Organizations: Business, Republican National Convention Locations: American, Milwaukee

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