WASHINGTON (Reuters) — U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will skip a Group of 20 finance officials meeting in South Africa next week, sources familiar with his plans told Reuters, but will attend the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan, according to a Treasury spokesperson.
Bessent&#8217;s decision to miss the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting marks the second time this year he has opted against attending a G20 meeting in South Africa, which is serving as the group&#8217;s president this year.
A Treasury official confirmed that Michael Kaplan, acting undersecretary for international affairs, will represent the department at the July 17-18 meeting near Durban, South Africa instead of Bessent. The United States is due to head the G20 group, which it helped found in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, next year.
Bessent, a key figure in President Donald Trump&#8217;s trade negotiations, will represent the United States at the U.S. national day at the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, a Treasury spokesperson said. The national day will be marked on July 19.
It was not immediately clear if he would engage in bilateral meetings during the visit.
The White House said Bessent would lead the U.S. delegation, which will also include Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.
News of Bessent&#8217;s trip comes a day after Trump sent a letter to Japan raising tariffs on Japanese imports to 25%, starting August 1. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he would continue negotiations with the U.S. to seek a mutually beneficial deal.
Bessent skipped South Africa&#8217;s first G20 finance meeting in February to attend Trump&#8217;s first cabinet meeting in Washington. Finance ministers from China, Japan, India, and Canada also skipped the meeting in Cape Town focused on tackling global poverty, as did the European Union&#8217;s top economic official.
Bessent&#8217;s February decision came amid rising tensions between Washington and Pretoria as Trump threatened to cut off funding for South Africa, accusing President Cyril Ramaphosa&#8217;s government of confiscating land from white South Africans and turning a blind eye to the targeted killings of white farmers. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also skipped a February G20 foreign ministers meeting in South Africa.
In May, Trump declined to say whether he would attend a G20 leaders summit in South Africa in November, after blasting Ramaphosa at the White House over reports of white genocide and land seizures in Africa&#8217;s largest economy.
On Monday, Trump sent Ramaphosa a letter informing him that imports from South Africa would be subject to a 30% tariff starting next month, unless the country agrees to reduce its trade barriers to U.S. goods &#8211; one of more than a dozen countries to get similar letters.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Writing by David Lawder; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Christopher Cushing)

Scott Bessent

Scott Bessent To Skip South Africa G20 Meeting Again, Travel To Japan Instead

Donald Trump

G20 summit

Global Politics

Japan

South Africa

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way on Tuesday for President Donald Trump to resume his plans to cut the federal workforce and restructure agencies, a key promise he made on the campaign trail to hack away at the size of the federal government.
The justices lifted San Francisco-based U.S. District Judge Susan Illston&#8217;s May 22 order that had blocked large-scale federal layoffs called &#8220;reductions in force&#8221; affecting potentially hundreds of thousands of jobs, while litigation in the case proceeds.
Trump in February announced &#8220;a critical transformation of the federal bureaucracy&#8221; in an executive order directing agencies to prepare for a government overhaul aimed at significantly reducing the federal workforce and gutting offices and programs opposed by the administration.
Workforce reductions were planned at the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Health and Human Services, State, Treasury, Veterans Affairs, and more than a dozen other agencies.
The Supreme Court, in a brief unsigned order, said Trump&#8217;s administration was &#8220;likely to succeed on its argument that the executive order&#8221; and a memorandum implementing his order were lawful. The court said it was not assessing the legality of any specific plans for layoffs at federal agencies.
Liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the sole member of the nine-person court to publicly dissent from the decision. Jackson wrote that Illston&#8217;s &#8220;temporary, practical, harm-reducing preservation of the status quo was no match for this court&#8217;s demonstrated enthusiasm for greenlighting this president’s legally dubious actions in an emergency posture.&#8221;
Illston wrote in her ruling that Trump had exceeded his authority in ordering the downsizing, siding with a group of unions, non-profits, and local governments that challenged the administration.
&#8220;As history demonstrates, the president may broadly restructure federal agencies only when authorized by Congress,&#8221; Illston wrote.
The judge blocked the agencies from carrying out mass layoffs and limited their ability to cut or overhaul federal programs. Illston also ordered the reinstatement of workers who had lost their jobs, though she delayed implementing this portion of her ruling while the appeals process plays out.
Illston&#8217;s ruling was the broadest of its kind against the government overhaul being pursued by Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency, a key player in the Republican president&#8217;s drive to slash the federal workforce.
Formerly spearheaded by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, DOGE has sought to eliminate federal jobs, shrink and reshape the U.S. government, and root out wasteful spending and fraud. Musk formally ended his government work on May 30 and subsequently had a public falling out with Trump.
The Left-leaning San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 ruling on May 30, denied the administration&#8217;s request to halt the judge&#8217;s ruling.
The 9th Circuit said the administration had not shown that it would suffer an irreparable injury if the judge&#8217;s order remained in place and that the plaintiffs were likely to prevail in their lawsuit.
&#8220;The executive order at issue here far exceeds the president&#8217;s supervisory powers under the Constitution,&#8221; the 9th Circuit wrote, calling the administration&#8217;s actions &#8220;an unprecedented attempted restructuring of the federal government and its operations.&#8221;
The 9th Circuit&#8217;s ruling prompted the Justice Department&#8217;s June 2 emergency request to the Supreme Court to halt Illston&#8217;s order.
Controlling the personnel of federal agencies &#8220;lies at the heartland&#8221; of the president&#8217;s executive branch authority, the Justice Department said in its filing to the Supreme Court.
&#8220;The Constitution does not erect a presumption against presidential control of agency staffing, and the president does not need special permission from Congress to exercise core Article II powers,&#8221; the filing said, referring to the constitution&#8217;s section delineating presidential authority.
The plaintiffs urged the Supreme Court to deny the Justice Department&#8217;s request. Allowing the Trump administration to move forward with its &#8220;breakneck reorganization,&#8221; they wrote, would mean that &#8220;programs, offices and functions across the federal government will be abolished, agencies will be radically downsized from what Congress authorized, critical government services will be lost and hundreds of thousands of federal employees will lose their jobs.&#8221;
The Supreme Court in recent months has sided with Trump in some major cases that were acted upon on an emergency basis since he returned to office in January.
It cleared the way for Trump&#8217;s administration to resume deporting migrants to countries other than their own. In two cases, it let the administration end temporary legal status previously granted on humanitarian grounds to hundreds of thousands of migrants.
It also allowed Trump to implement his ban on trans-identifying people in the U.S. military, blocked a judge&#8217;s order for the administration to rehire thousands of fired employees, and twice sided with his Department of Government Efficiency.
In addition, the court curbed the power of federal judges to impose nationwide rulings impeding presidential policies.
(Reporting by John Kruzel; Additional reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham)

Trump Wins At SCOTUS Again: Court Says Admin Can Resume Mass Layoffs Of Federal Workers

Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

Federal Government

Supreme Court

Trump Administration

Two people were killed and at least 14 wounded when a Russian drone smashed into a residential high-rise in Ukraine&#8217;s Black Sea city of Odesa, authorities said on Saturday.
Three children were among the wounded in the overnight attack, with one in critical condition, said regional Governor Oleh Kiper.
Footage posted by the State Emergency Service showed firefighters battling a blaze and rushing residents down a dark stairwell in the 21-storey building.
Russia has stepped up drone and missile strikes on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks as diplomatic efforts to end the nearly three-and-a-half-year-old war have stalled.
<div id="attachment_940751" style="width: 2570px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-940751" class="size-full wp-image-940751" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/2025-06-28T074002Z_1_LYNXMPEL5R027_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-ODESA-scaled.jpeg" alt="Residents walk in front of an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine June 28, 2025." width="2560" height="1707" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/2025-06-28T074002Z_1_LYNXMPEL5R027_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-ODESA-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/2025-06-28T074002Z_1_LYNXMPEL5R027_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-ODESA-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/2025-06-28T074002Z_1_LYNXMPEL5R027_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-ODESA-864x576.jpeg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/2025-06-28T074002Z_1_LYNXMPEL5R027_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-ODESA-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/2025-06-28T074002Z_1_LYNXMPEL5R027_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-ODESA-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/2025-06-28T074002Z_1_LYNXMPEL5R027_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-ODESA-2048x1365.jpeg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/2025-06-28T074002Z_1_LYNXMPEL5R027_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-ODESA-1800x1200.jpeg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/2025-06-28T074002Z_1_LYNXMPEL5R027_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-ODESA-1200x800.jpeg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" />REUTERS/Nina Liashonok</div>
This is only the latest use of more advanced war tech. Several weeks ago, Russia launched a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/russia-launches-massive-drone-attack-on-ukraine-as-war-intensifies?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Russia+Launches+Massive+Drone+Attack+On+Ukraine+As+War+Intensifies">massive attack</a>, firing nearly 500 drones and 20 missiles into Ukraine in response to Ukraine’s major drone offensive on Russian airfields earlier this month.
According to Ukraine, slightly more than half of the drones were intercepted, as were almost all of the missiles.
“Russia is escalating the war and has no intention of stopping it. Any escalation can only be stopped by force,” said Andriy Yermak, a top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
<div id="attachment_940753" style="width: 2570px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-940753" class="size-full wp-image-940753" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/2025-06-28T074002Z_1_LYNXMPEL5R028_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-ODESA-scaled.jpeg" alt="A resident walks inside his apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine June 28, 2025." width="2560" height="1707" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/2025-06-28T074002Z_1_LYNXMPEL5R028_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-ODESA-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/2025-06-28T074002Z_1_LYNXMPEL5R028_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-ODESA-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/2025-06-28T074002Z_1_LYNXMPEL5R028_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-ODESA-864x576.jpeg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/2025-06-28T074002Z_1_LYNXMPEL5R028_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-ODESA-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/2025-06-28T074002Z_1_LYNXMPEL5R028_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-ODESA-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/2025-06-28T074002Z_1_LYNXMPEL5R028_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-ODESA-2048x1365.jpeg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/2025-06-28T074002Z_1_LYNXMPEL5R028_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-ODESA-1800x1200.jpeg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/2025-06-28T074002Z_1_LYNXMPEL5R028_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-ODESA-1200x800.jpeg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" />REUTERS/Nina Liashonok</div>
<a class="c-link" href="https://get.dailywire.com/freedom/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=freedom&amp;utm_content=freedomeditorial" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/freedom/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=freedom&amp;utm_content=freedomeditorial" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-2388">JULY 4 SALE: Get Six Months Of DW+ Free</a>
These attacks come as President Donald Trump continues his attempt to broker peace between the warring nations. The president <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-tells-russian-leader-to-stop-using-the-n-word-after-nuclear-threats">scolded</a> Russian Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev on June 23 after Medvedev discussed other nations supplying Iran with “nuclear warheads.”
“Did I hear Former President Medvedev, from Russia, casually throwing around the ‘N word’ (Nuclear!), and saying that he and other Countries would supply Nuclear Warheads to Iran? Did he really say that or, is it just a figment of my imagination?” Trump said on Truth Social.
“If he did say that, and, if confirmed, please let me know, IMMEDIATELY. The ‘N word’ should not be treated so casually,&#8221; Trump added.
(Reporting by Dan Peleschuk; Editing by William Mallard)

Ukrainian Building

Russian Drone Strike Kills 2, Wounds 14 In Ukraine’s Odesa, Authorities Say

Russia

Ukraine

Ukraine-Russia War

World

NEW YORK (Reuters) — Wall Street advanced on Tuesday as investors welcomed a fragile truce with Israel and Iran while parsing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell&#8217;s congressional <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jerome-powell-suggests-delaying-rate-cuts-beyond-july-meeting-while-fed-studies-tariff-impact">testimony</a> for clues regarding the U.S. central bank&#8217;s path forward.
All three major U.S. stock indexes were on track for their second straight session of solid gains following U.S. missile strikes on Iran&#8217;s uranium enrichment assets.
The benchmark S&amp;P 500 was less than 1% below its all-time closing high reached on February 19.
Late Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire agreement, but then on Tuesday, the president <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-holds-ceasefire-after-israel-refrains-from-major-retaliation-for-irans-strike-on-civilians">stepped in</a> to urge Israel to stand down on a retaliatory attack on Iran after Iran killed at least four people in an attack in southern Israel targeting civilians just before the ceasefire went into effect.
Still, investors viewed the ceasefire as a sign of de-escalating tensions.
&#8220;The market has learned very precisely over the last generation that any time there’s a geopolitical flare-up in the Middle East that affects U.S. financial markets, those effects will be short-lived,&#8221; said Scott Ladner, chief investment officer at Horizon in Charlotte, North Carolina.
&#8220;The ceasefire is just cementing that view,&#8221; Ladner added.
Crude prices slid on waning supply concerns related to the conflict, dragging energy shares lower.
Powell, speaking before the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, reiterated his view that rate cuts can wait until the economic effects of tariff increases are better known, adding &#8220;we are well positioned to wait to learn more about the likely course of the economy before considering any adjustments to our policy stance.&#8221;
Financial markets have been pricing in a more than 20% likelihood that the Fed will lower its key interest rate at the conclusion of its upcoming July policy meeting, and a near 70% probability that its first rate cut will land in September.
&#8220;We think September&#8217;s very likely and we think while July is not a zero probability event, it&#8217;s definitely a long shot,&#8221; Ladner said.
On the economic front, Consumer Confidence deteriorated this month, with pessimism toward the jobs market falling to its lowest level since March 2021.
The Commerce Department is expected to release its final take on first-quarter GDP on Thursday, and on Friday its closely watched Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report will shed light on inflation, consumer spending and income growth.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 513.96 points, or 1.21%, to 43,095.74, the S&amp;P 500 gained 71.64 points, or 1.19%, to 6,096.94, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 305.28 points, or 1.56%, to 19,936.25.
Among the 11 major sectors of the S&amp;P 500, Tech shares led the gainers, while energy stocks were the sole decliners.
Among megacap stocks, Tesla shares shed 2.0%.
Airline stocks gained altitude amid cooling Middle East tensions. The S&amp;P 1500 Airlines index advanced 2.3%.
But defense stocks lost ground, with Lockheed Martin and RTX Corp both off about 2.9%.
Shares of crypto companies rose after bitcoin hit a one-week high. Coinbase Global and Strategy advanced 11.7% and 3.8% respectively.
Broadcom touched a record high, after HSBC raised the semiconductor manufacturer to &#8220;buy&#8221; from &#8220;hold&#8221;. The stock was last up 3.4%.
Package delivery firm FedEx is expected to report quarterly results after the closing bell.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 3.38-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 195 new highs and 49 new lows on the NYSE.
On the Nasdaq, 3,430 stocks rose and 1,007 fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 3.41-to-1 ratio.
The S&amp;P 500 posted 18 new 52-week highs and no new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 109 new highs and 49 new lows.
(Reporting by Stephen Culp; Additional reporting by Kanchana Chakravarty in Bengaluru; Editing by David Gregorio)

Traders work on the floor of the NYSE in New York

Wall Street Rallies, S&P 500 Nears Record High As Middle East Tensions Cool

Economy

Iran

Israel

Middle East

Stock Market

Wall Street

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The Pentagon has successfully tested a long-range radar in Alaska that can detect missile threats from Russia or China, and could someday serve as a sensor in the Golden Dome missile defense shield.
The Long Range Discrimination Radar successfully acquired, tracked, and reported missile target data, the Pentagon said on Tuesday. These are key tasks for Golden Dome, a $175 billion program aimed at protecting the U.S. and possibly allies from ballistic missiles.
The U.S. Defense Department&#8217;s long-range radar in Central Alaska was built by Lockheed Martin as part of the existing Ground-Based Midcourse Defense missile defense system. The system is designed to increase the effectiveness of interceptors based in Alaska and California that are currently on standby to knock down incoming missiles launched by Iran or North Korea.
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency, alongside the U.S. Space Force and U.S. Northern Command, conducted the flight test at Clear Space Force Station, Alaska, on Monday.
During this test, a target developed by MDA was air-launched over the Northern Pacific Ocean and flew over 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) off the southern coast of Alaska where it was tracked by LRDR.
The Golden Dome missile defense shield aims to create a network of satellites to detect, track, and intercept incoming missiles.
Inspired by Israel&#8217;s Iron Dome, the Golden Dome program faces political scrutiny and funding uncertainty due to its projected cost. The shield is expected to be operational by January 2029, though experts question the timeline and budget feasibility.
The Golden Dome project was announced by President Donald Trump in May and is included in the &#8220;One, Big, Beautiful Bill.&#8221; Trump said the Golden Dome is a continuation of former President Ronald Reagan&#8217;s &#8220;Strategic Defense Initiative&#8221; that was launched in 1983 and sought to build a space-based missile defense system.
&#8220;Our enemies, our adversaries are going to pay a lot of attention to this,&#8221; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said last month.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="The Golden Dome Missile Defense Shield" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-xWxN_qObfI?start=56&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
(Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks about Golden Dome in the White House

U.S. Successfully Tests Radar That Could Link To Trump’s ‘Golden Dome’ To Detect Missile Threats

Alaska

Baliistic Missiles

China

Iron Dome

Pete Hegseth

(Reuters) — Tesla shares jumped 10% on Monday after the electric-vehicle maker started testing its long-awaited robotaxi service, a key step toward proving the technology that CEO Elon Musk has for years touted as a crucial driver of its lofty valuation.
The automaker deployed a small fleet of self-driving taxis in Austin, Texas, on Sunday, marking the first time its cars have carried paying passengers without human drivers. The rides were being offered for a flat fee of $4.20 in a limited zone.
The trial&#8217;s success is crucial for Tesla as Musk has pivoted the company to self-driving cars and robots, shelving plans for mass-market dominance in the EV space as Chinese competition heats up and demand slows for its aging line-up of models.
&#8220;It was a comfortable, safe, and personalized experience,&#8221; said Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives, who took multiple robotaxi rides on Sunday and has long been a Tesla bull.
&#8220;There was a moment where we drove up a narrow road going up a hill with cars parked on both sides with oncoming traffic and people opening their car doors into the road and the robotaxi masterfully maneuvered with patience and safety.&#8221;
Many social-media influencers also posted videos of their first rides on X, showing the cars navigating busy city streets by slowing down and making room for incoming traffic.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://t.co/3GbQ9sZA2O">https://t.co/3GbQ9sZA2O</a>
&mdash; Tesla (@Tesla) <a href="https://twitter.com/Tesla/status/1937076639504236728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 23, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Still, the tightly controlled trial — with about 10 vehicles and front-seat riders acting as &#8220;safety monitors&#8221; &#8211; is just the first step in what could be a years-long process of scaling up the service, according to some industry experts.
Musk said that he aims to get &#8220;hundreds of thousands, if not over a million Teslas doing self-driving in the U.S.&#8221; by the end of next year.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
ELON MUSK:“By the end of next year, we&#39;ll have hundreds of thousands, if not over a million Teslas doing self-driving in the US.” <a href="https://t.co/q4EkaxSggI">pic.twitter.com/q4EkaxSggI</a>
&mdash; Dima Zeniuk (@DimaZeniuk) <a href="https://twitter.com/DimaZeniuk/status/1936795466575810739?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Tesla, as well as rivals including Google-backed Waymo, have faced federal investigations and recalls following collisions.
Industry experts have questioned the efficacy of Tesla&#8217;s self-driving technology that depends mostly on cameras and AI, without redundant sensors such as lidar and radar, claiming fog, heavy rain and glaring sunlight can hamper safety.
The company will also have to navigate a new Texas law taking effect September 1 that requires a state permit for self-driving vehicles and reflects bipartisan calls for a cautious roll-out.
If Monday&#8217;s gains hold, Tesla — the world&#8217;s most valuable automaker — will add nearly $100 billion to its market value of about $1 trillion. The stock has declined about 12% so far this year, after the company faced criticism and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fbi-issues-warning-over-left-wing-terrorist-attacks-against-tesla">threats</a> over Musk&#8217;s role in the Trump administration and his backing of right-wing political movements in Europe.
Still, Tesla trades at nearly 149 times forward earnings estimates, far above auto rivals such as Ford Motor at 9.3 and tech giants including Microsoft at 31.6.
(Reporting by Aditya Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D&#8217;Silva)

FILE PHOTO: Tesla robotaxis launch in Austin, Texas

Tesla Shares Soar After First Robotaxis Hit The Road

Austin

Auto Companies

Elon Musk

Technology

Tesla

Texas

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The Federal Reserve should consider cutting interest rates at its next meeting given recent tame inflation data and the fact that any price shock from import tariffs will be short-lived, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said on Friday.
Waller&#8217;s dovish outlook for monetary policy comes as President Donald Trump is approaching the selection of a replacement for Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whose term ends next year. Trump has been aggressively pushing the Fed to cut rates amid a flurry of insults directed at Powell. Waller is widely considered to be in the mix for a potential Powell successor, and his current monetary policy inclinations favoring lower rates might boost his prospects to become the next Fed chair.
&#8220;Any tariff inflation &#8230; I don&#8217;t think is going to be that big and we should just look through it in terms of setting policy,&#8221; Waller said on CNBC&#8217;s &#8220;Squawk Box.&#8221; &#8220;The data the last few months has been showing that trend inflation is looking pretty good &#8230; We could do this as early as July.&#8221;
Waller&#8217;s remarks on monetary policy were the first public comments by a central banker in the wake of this week&#8217;s Federal Open Market Committee policy meeting, which left the central bank&#8217;s interest rate target range set between 4.25% and 4.5%. In forecasts released at the meeting officials stuck with expectations they&#8217;ll be able to cut rates twice this year.
Trump blasted Powell before the Fed meeting, saying, “We have a stupid person, frankly, at the Fed. I guess he’s a political guy, I don’t know. He’s a political guy who’s not a smart person.”
As for when those cuts might take place, the Fed offered little guidance. Speaking after the FOMC meeting, Powell cautioned there&#8217;s considerable uncertainty around the outlook amid the big changes in trade policy being pushed through by the Trump administration. He also warned that the tariff policy pursued by the president is almost certain to push up inflation, but it&#8217;s unclear by how much and for how long, and because of that, it&#8217;s hard to say what monetary policy needs to do right now.
&#8220;For the time being we are well positioned to wait to learn more about the likely course of the economy before considering any adjustments to our policy stance,&#8221; Powell told reporters.
The challenging nature of the economic outlook got a fresh update on Friday with data from the Philadelphia Fed, which showed factories in the bank&#8217;s district saw contracting activity for a third straight month amid a particularly weak turn for hiring within the sector.
Waller&#8217;s openness to cutting interest rates starting at the July 29-30 FOMC meeting leaves him well apart from most of his colleagues based on their public comments. Waller has argued for some time that textbook understandings of tariff impacts all point to a one-time hit the Fed can look through, and he doubts the president&#8217;s import tax surge will create more persistent price gains.
Waller, in making the case for cuts, noted that the inflation trends have already been cooling and monetary policy is well above the level deemed to be neutral in its impact on the economy. What&#8217;s more, he said he&#8217;s seeing signs of incipient weakness in the labor market, citing challenges by new college graduates to find work. Waller noted that cutting rates sooner rather than later might be good for hiring.
&#8220;I&#8217;m all in favor of saying maybe we should start thinking about cutting the policy rate at the next meeting, because we don&#8217;t want to wait till the job market tanks before we start cutting the policy rate,&#8221; Waller said.
(Reporting by Howard Schneider and Michael S. Derby; Editing by Aidan Lewis and Andrea Ricci)

Donald Trump/Jerome Powell

Fed Reserve Gov Says Rate Cuts Should Be Considered As Trump Ramps Up Pressure On Powell

Federal Reserve

Interest Rates

Jerome Powell

U.S.

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