Business Lookahead: The deal is on
From Trump's first Middle East trip to a flurry of U.S. data, these are the stories to watch in business and finance in the coming week.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
39 minutes ago
- The Independent
Katie Miller, Stephen Miller's wife, in a ‘tricky situation' after Musk and Trump's falling out
Katie Miller, the wife of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, recently departed from the Trump administration to work for Elon Musk, days before the spectacular falling out between President Donald Trump and the billionaire. The 33-year-old Miller was one of Musk's first hires as he established the Department of Government Efficiency and began reducing the federal workforce. She left the administration alongside him last week. Like Musk, she was designated as a 'special government employee' during her time in government, which allowed her to work for Musk and Trump, as well as in the private sector, simultaneously. Miller even helped to set up the departing press conference in the Oval Office featuring Musk and Trump, according to The Wall Street Journal. Musk and Trump's relationship fell apart in public on Thursday, with Musk unfollowing Stephen Miller on X. Friends of Miller told the paper that she was in a difficult position between Trump and Musk. 'Katie Miller was a critical reason DOGE was able to get off the ground and deliver massive cuts to waste, fraud, and abuse for the American people,' White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told the outlet. This isn't the first time that Miller has been caught in the crossfire of a Trump feud. Miller also worked for then-Vice President Mike Pence when Trump began attacking him for not aiding him in his attempt to overturn the 2020 election towards the end of his first term. However, at the time of the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, she was on maternity leave. In December last year, Miller became one of the first DOGE staffers announced by the then-president-elect. However, her work at DOGE soon became the catalyst for disagreements with the White House, where top Trump aides argued that she hadn't sufficiently convinced Musk to work alongside the administration. Top administration officials told The Journal that she often spoke on behalf of Musk, issued orders about what agencies should do, and how the government's work should be communicated. Officials were concerned about her continuing work for P2. However, she left the firm after The Journal published an article about her work there. She then also departed the White House to work for Musk, just before the blowup between the billionaire and the president. Miller has been described as having endless energy and as being fiercely protective of her husband. Current and previous co-workers told The Journal that she could go from charming to abrasive. Those who know her told the paper that she has a 'YOLO' tattoo on the inside of her lip. Miller has at times worked for clients while lobbying the government, simultaneously addressing government issues. She quickly rose through the ranks after being hired in 2015 by Republican U.S. Sen. Steve Daines of Montana. Former Daines aide Jason Thielman told The Journal that 'Everything was always at full speed, full throttle.' 'Sometimes, she just exhausted people, and they gave her what she wanted,' he added of her battles with reporters. She joined the Department of Homeland Security during Trump's first term before working for Pence. It was during her time at DHS that she met Stephen Miller. 'Every Trump White House had its divisions, but she was always willing to go to bat to protect the VP's prerogatives,' Pence's Chief of Staff Marc Short told the paper. Following the insurrection, Stephen Miller kept working for Trump, and she remained in Pence's office. While she was placed on Pence's postpresidential payroll, partly because she needed healthcare, according to Pence's advisors, his office subsequently severed connections with her after Stephen Miller began working with then-President Trump. He continued to target his former vice president. After joining the Republican consulting firm P2 Public Affairs following Trump's 2021 departure from office, she subsequently became the top point of contact between Musk and the 2024 Trump campaign. She often joined Musk at events and then began advising Robert F. Kennedy, who later became Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, now known as Secretary of Health and Human Services. Pence opposed Kennedy's appointment, and in January of this year, Miller took aim at her former boss, saying that he only had 'family values' when it was 'politically expedient' and called him a 'footnote of American history.'
STV News
an hour ago
- STV News
Donald Trump and Elon Musk urged by Republicans to end feud
Republicans fearful about potential consequences of a prolonged feud between US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk are urging the pair to call a truce. At a minimum, the explosion of animosity between the two powerful men could complicate the path forward for Republicans' massive tax and border spending legislation that has been promoted by Trump but criticised by Mr Musk. US vice president JD Vance said Musk was making a 'huge mistake' going after Trump. In an interview released on Friday after the very public blow up between the world's richest man and arguably the world's most powerful, also tried to downplay Musk's blistering attacks as those of an 'emotional guy' who became frustrated. PA Media The feud could hinder the progress of a key piece of legislation for the Trump administration (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File). 'I hope that eventually Elon comes back into the fold. Maybe that's not possible now because he's gone so nuclear,' Vance said. Vance's comments come as other Republicans in recent days have urged the two men, who months ago were close allies spending significant time together, to patch up their differences. 'I hope it doesn't distract us from getting the job done that we need to,' said representative Dan Newhouse, a Republican from Washington state. 'I think that it will boil over and they'll mend fences.' As of Friday afternoon, Musk was holding his fire, posting about his various companies on social media rather than attacking the president. Trump departed the White House for his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, without stopping to talk to reporters who shouted questions about his battle with Musk. 'I hope that both of them come back together because when the two of them are working together, we'll get a lot more done for America than when they're at cross purposes,' senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, told Fox News host Sean Hannity. Senator Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah, sounded almost pained on social media as Trump and Musk volleyed insults at each other, sharing a photo composite of the two men and writing, 'But … I really like both of them.' 'Who else really wants @elonmusk and @realDonaldTrump to reconcile?' Lee posted, later adding: 'Repost if you agree that the world is a better place with the Trump-Musk bromance fully intact.' So far, the feud between Trump and Musk is probably best described as a moving target, with plenty of opportunities for escalation or detente. One person familiar with the president's thinking said Mr Musk wants to speak with Trump, but that the president does not want to do it – or at least do it on Friday. In a series of conversations with television news presenters on Friday morning, Trump showed no interest in burying the hatchet. Asked on ABC News about reports of a potential call between him and Musk, the president responded: 'You mean the man who has lost his mind?' Trump added in the ABC interview that he was 'not particularly' interested in talking to Musk at the moment. Still, others remained hopeful that it all would blow over. 'I grew up playing hockey and there wasn't a single day that we played hockey or basketball or football or baseball, whatever we were playing, where we didn't fight. And then we'd fight, then we'd become friends again,' Hannity said on his show on Thursday night. Acknowledging that it 'got personal very quick,' Hannity nonetheless added that the rift was 'just a major policy difference'. House of Representatives speaker Mike Johnson projected confidence that the dispute would not affect prospects for the tax and border bill. PA Media House speaker Mike Johnson is confident the tax and border bill will pass (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite). 'Members are not shaken at all,' the Republican said. 'We're going to pass this legislation on our deadline.' He added that he hopes Musk and Trump reconcile, saying 'I believe in redemption' and 'it's good for the party and the country if all that's worked out.' But he also had something of a warning for the billionaire entrepreneur. 'I'll tell you what, do not doubt and do not second-guess and don't ever challenge the president of the United States, Donald Trump,' Johnson said. 'He is the leader of the party. He's the most consequential political figure of this generation and probably the modern era.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
The silent bloodbath that's tearing through the middle-class and rapidly flipping the US economy on its head
Elon Musk and hundreds of other tech mavens wrote an open letter two years ago about how AI was coming to 'automate away all the jobs' and upend society. It looks like we should have listened to them. Layoffs are sweeping America, nixing hundreds of thousands of jobs at Microsoft, Walmart, and other titans. The newly jobless speak of a 'bloodbath' on the scale of the pandemic. This time, it's not blue-collar and factory workers getting whacked — it's college graduates with white-collar jobs in tech, finance, law, and consulting. Entry-level jobs are vanishing the fastest — stoking fears of recession and a generation of disillusioned graduates left stranded with CVs no one wants. College grads are now much more likely to be unemployed than others, official data show. Chatbots have already taken over data entry and customer service jobs. Next-generation 'agentic' AI can solve problems, adapt, and work independently. These 'smartbots' are already spotting market trends, running logistics operations, writing legal contracts, and diagnosing patients. The markets have seen the future: AI investment funds are growing by as much as 60 percent a year. 'The AI layoffs have begun, and they're not stopping,' says tech entrepreneur Alex Finn. Luddites who don't embrace the tech 'will be completely irrelevant in the next five years,' he posted on X. Procter & Gamble, which makes diapers, laundry detergent, and other household items, this week said it would cut 7,000 jobs, or about 15 percent of non-manufacturing roles. Its two-year restructuring plan involves shedding managers who can be automated away. Microsoft last month announced a cull of 6,000 staff — about 3 percent of its workforce — targeting managerial flab, after a smaller round of performance-related cuts in January. LA-based tech entrepreneur Jason Shafton said the software giant's layoffs spotlight a trend 'redefining' the job market. 'If AI saves each person 10 percent of their time (and let's be real, it's probably more), what does that mean for a company of 200,000?' he wrote. Retail titan Walmart, America's biggest private employer, is slashing 1,500 tech, sales, and advertising jobs in a streamlining effort. Citigroup, cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, Disney, online education firm Chegg, Amazon, and Warner Bros. Discovery have culled dozens or even hundreds of their workers in recent weeks. Musk himself led a federal sacking spree during his 130-day stint at the Department of Government Efficiency, which ended on May 30. Federal agencies lost some 135,000 to firings and voluntary resignation under his watch, and 150,000 more roles are set to be mothballed. Memes like this being shared on social media reveal how badly white-collar jobs have been hit Employers had already announced 220,000 job cuts by the end of February, the highest layoff rate seen since 2009. In announcing cuts, executives often talk about restructuring and tough economic headwinds. Many are spooked by US President Donald Trump's on-and-off tariffs, which sent stock markets into free-fall and prompted CEOs to second-guess their long-term plans. Others say something deeper is happening, as companies embrace the next-generation models of chatbots and AI. Robots and machines have for decades usurped factory workers. AI chatbots have more recently replaced routine, repetitive, data entry and customer service roles. A new and more sophisticated technology — called Agentic AI — now operates more independently: perceiving the environment, setting goals, making plans, and executing them. AI-powered software now writes reports, analyses spreadsheets, creates legal contracts, designs logos, and even drafts press releases, all in seconds. Banks are axing graduate recruitment schemes. Law firms are replacing paralegals with AI-driven tools. Even tech startups, the birthplace of innovation, are swapping junior developers for code-writing bots. Managers increasingly seek to become 'AI first' and test whether tasks can be done by AI before hiring a human. That's now company policy at Shopify. It's how fintech firm Klarna shrank its headcount by 40 percent, CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski told CNBC last month. Experienced workers are encouraged to automate tasks and get more work done; recent graduates are struggling to get their foot in the door. From a distance, the job market looks relatively buoyant, with unemployment holding steady at 4.2 percent for the third consecutive month, the Labor Department reported on Friday. But it's unusually high — close to 6 percent — among recent graduates. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York recently said job prospects for these workers had 'deteriorated noticeably.' That spells trouble not just for young workers, but for the long-term health of businesses — and the economy. Economists warn of an AI-induced downturn, as millions lose jobs, spending plummets, and social unrest festers. It's been dubbed an industrial revolution for the modern era, but one that's measured in years, not decades. Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, one of the world's most powerful AI firms, says we're at the start of a storm. AI could wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs — and spike unemployment to 10-20 percent in the next one to five years, he told Axios. Lawmakers have their heads in the sand and must stop 'sugar-coating' the grim reality of the late 2020s, Amodei said. 'Most of them are unaware that this is about to happen,' he said. Sacked workers have taken to social media to vent their frustrations about the new tech crunch 'It sounds crazy, and people just don't believe it.' Young people who've been culled are taking to social media to vent their anger as the door to a middle-class lifestyle closes on them. Patrick Lyons calls it 'jarring and unexpected' how he lost his Austin-based program managing job in an 'emotionless business decision' by Microsoft. 'There's nothing the 6,000 of us could have done to prevent this,' he posted. A young woman coder, known by her TikTok handle dotisinfluencing, posts a daily video diary about the 'f*****g massacre' of layoffs at her tech company as 'AI is taking over,' she says. Her job search is going badly — one recruiter appeared more interested in taking her out for drinks than offering a paycheck, she said. 'I feel like s**t,' she added. Ben Wolfson, a young Meta software engineer, says entry-level software jobs dried up in 2023. 'Big tech doesn't want you, bro,' he says. Critics say universities are churning out graduates into a market that simply doesn't need them. A growing number of young professionals say they feel betrayed — promised opportunity, but handed a future of 'AI-enhanced' redundancy. Others are eyeing an opportunity for a payout to try something different. Donald King posted a recording of the meeting in which he was unceremoniously laid off from his data science job at consulting firm PwC. 'RIP my AI factory job,' he said. 'I built the thing that destroyed me.' He now posts from Porto, in Portugal — a popular spot for digital nomads — where he's founded a marketing startup. Industry insiders say it won't be long before another generation of AI arrives to automate new sectors. As AI improves, the difference between 'safe' and 'automatable' work gets blurrier by the day. Human workers are advised to stay one step ahead and build AI into their own jobs to increase productivity. Optimists point to such careers as radiology — where humans initially looked set to be outmoded by machines that could speedily read medical scans and pinpoint tumors. But the layoffs didn't happen. The technology has been adopted — but radiologists adapted, using AI to sharpen images and automate some tasks, and boost productivity. Some radiology units even expanded their increasingly efficient human workforce. Others say AI is a scapegoat for 2025's job cuts — that executives are downsizing for economic reasons, and blaming technology so as not to panic shareholders. But for those who have lost their jobs, the future looks bleak.
