- President Donald Trump didn’t mince words about Iran’s counteroffer yesterday,
telling reporters that Tehran’s proposal to end the war was “garbage” and that
the ceasefire was “on life support.” Oil prices spiked yesterday following
Trump’s comments. Prices continued to rise overnight, with Brent crude futures
now sitting above $107 while West Texas Intermediate futures rose back above
$100 per barrel. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were still both able to hit
new all-time highs yesterday. The former also closed above 7,400 for the first
time.
- Trump will head to China this week to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Trump invited executives from a swath of major companies to join the delegation
to China, a White House official said. The group includes Tesla’s Elon Musk,
Apple’s Tim Cook, Meta’s Dina Powell McCormick and Micron’s Sanjay Mehrotra.
Outside of tech, Citigroup’s Jane Fraser, Boeing’s Kelly Ortberg and Goldman
Sachs’ David Solomon are also on the list. Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins was invited
but cannot attend due to the company’s earnings, according to a spokesperson.
Several companies with interests in China including Nvidia, Disney and General
Motors also didn’t have representation on the White House’s list.
- General Motors is slashing hundreds of salaried information technology
employees in a bid to cut costs. GM said in a statement that it is
“transforming” its IT arm to “better position the company for the future.” The
Detroit-based automaker is still hiring IT workers despite the reductions.
Trump and congressional Republicans are proposing a suspension of the federal
gas tax as fuel prices surge ahead of the midterm elections.
