Markets: Stocks are coming off their worst week since April as President Trump’s tariff threats on Europe and Apple revived trade war jitters. The president has since delayed tariff threats on the EU, giving European stocks a boost yesterday, while Wall Street had the day off for Memorial Day. No such relief appears to be coming for Apple, which has fallen 8% so far this month, and is the only Magnificent Seven member in the red for May, per FactSet.
Last week, Sam Altman stunned the tech world by teaming up with the lead designer of the iPhone to create a new device that could ultimately supplant the iPhone.
His company, OpenAI, shelled out $6.5 billion in equity to acquire io, the one-year-old design firm led by famed former Apple designer Jony Ive. It’s an ultra-expensive bet that interacting with AI is best suited for a new kind of form factor beyond the brick in your pocket.
The return of Ive, who left Apple in 2019, to designing consumer devices has sparked a rumor mill on par with NBA free agency, with experts and amateurs alike floating possible hardware schematics.
So, what could they be building?
At a meeting last week, Altman and Ive told OpenAI staff to expect an AI “companion” that could sit unobtrusively in your pocket or on your desk and be completely aware of what’s going on in your life, the Wall Street Journal reported.
What it’s not: Glasses (which have been hyped by Mark Zuckerberg) or a phone (Ive and Altman say they want people to be on screens less often).
Also what it’s not: an iPhone replacement. Altman and Ive are imagining a third device that complements your smartphone and laptop.
The timeline: Altman said he wants to ship the device by late next year.
The sales target: 100 million devices. Altman wants to ship them out “faster than any company has ever shipped 100 million of something new before,” per the WSJ.
Others have speculated on the device, too, floating ideas that range from plausible to downright goofy.
The insider tech analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said his “industry research” suggests that the device will have the compactness and elegance of the iPod Shuffle, will feature microphones and cameras but no display, and could be worn around your neck.
Big picture: Whatever Ive and Altman cook up, it’ll have to succeed where others failed. The AI hardware game has seen plenty of high-profile flops over the past few years, such as the Altman-backed Humane pin and the Rabbit R1. We’ll see whether Ive still has his fastball.—NF
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Trump pauses 50% tariffs on the EU. Two days after threatening a 50% tariff on the EU come June 1, President Trump said he’d delay the implementation to July 9 after a phone call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. On Friday, Trump sent markets tumbling with his unexpected threat to the EU, saying that trade talks were “going nowhere,” and running down grievances with the bloc’s trade practices. But after the call with von der Leyen, Trump explained, “She said we will rapidly get together and see if we can work something out.”
Chinese EV stocks tumble over “rat race” price cuts. BYD, China’s leading EV maker, fell as much as 8.3% yesterday and dragged down other automakers with it as investors sounded the alarm about an extended price war. To spur more demand, BYD last week announced discounts on 22 of its models for the Chinese market and slashed prices by up to 34%, which is expected to force smaller rivals to also cut prices to match. Chinese officials do not like the direction this is heading, with the top economic planning agency calling the price cuts a “rat race” that would hurt the entire sector.
Trump threatens to send $3 billion of Harvard’s grant money to trade schools. In the latest twist in the president’s feud with the Ivy League university over claims that the school has inadequately addressed campus antisemitism, President Trump wrote on Truth Social yesterday that he was “considering” redistributing $3 billion in grant money from Harvard to trade schools across the country. “What a great investment that would be for the USA, and so badly needed!!!” Trump’s post said. Harvard, which declined to comment on the post to news outlets, has sued the Trump administration over billions in grant money that has already been frozen, as well as a move to block it from enrolling foreign students.
Pounding Jello shots and staying up all night to crank out an essay comparing the political systems of the Baltic states may have been fun at the time, but millions of Americans are now experiencing a post-college hangover in the form of delinquent student loan debt that’s crushing their credit scores.
In the first three months of this year, ~5.6 million borrowers had their student loans marked newly delinquent.
During that period, 2.2 million delinquent student loan borrowers saw their credit scores drop 100+ points, and for 1 million, their scores dropped 150+ points, per the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. That kind of drop is what usually happens after a personal bankruptcy filing, according to the Washington Post.
Because credit scores are used to determine the terms of everything from apartment rentals to mortgages, car loans, and credit cards, it’s a major financial hit.
Recent loan history 101: The reason so many scores dropped in 2025 is that even though a pandemic-era repayment pause ended in 2023, unpaid student loans only began being reported to credit bureaus again in late 2024. This month, the Trump administration started sending them to collections.
This isn’t just an issue for delinquent borrowers. In February, the dip in student loan borrowers’ credit scores dragged the national average score down. Economists at Morgan Stanley estimate that the restart of student loan payments will cut the US’ GDP by a 0.1 percentage point this year.—AR
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SpaceX eyes a Mars mission. The company plans to test launch Starship for the ninth time this evening, hoping to get the megarocket ready for an uncrewed trip to Mars in 2026. The first two Starship missions this year have ended in untimely explosions, which is perhaps one of the reasons why CEO Elon Musk said this weekend he’d go “back to spending 24/7 at work and sleeping in conference/server/factory rooms” at his companies. Musk will also hold a presentation on “Making Life Multiplanetary” today at 1pm ET on X.
Nvidia headlines the final big earnings week. The days of 300% growth may be behind Nvidia, but the $3.2 trillion tech giant will try to convince investors the AI boom has room to run when it reports earnings on Wednesday. Other companies dishing on their Q1s include Salesforce—maybe we’ll learn what it does—and retailers Costco, Best Buy, and Dick’s Sporting Goods. Rounding out the economic calendar is the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the PCE Price Index, which will be released on Friday.
The spelling bee celebrates its 100th birthday. Your future bosses will compete in the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee, which kicks off today outside of Washington, DC. The spelling competition is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, having begun in 1925. But it’s not the 100th bee—the contest was canceled during WWII and Covid, so this year’s bee is the 97th. And there have been 110 winners in total because of ties (particularly when eight kids shared the title in 2019).
Everything else…
French Open tennis matches are happening all week at Roland-Garros in Paris, after the tournament honored 14-time champ Rafael Nadal in a special ceremony on Sunday.
Southwest Airlines will begin charging for checked bags on Wednesday.
Miley Cyrus drops a new album on Friday, called Something Beautiful.
PSG take on Inter Milan in soccer’s Champions League final on Saturday.
Maybe “Stitchpossible” doesn’t sing like “Barbenheimer,” but it had enough pizzazz to make history at the box office. The live-action Lilo & Stitch remake ($183 million) and Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning ($77.5 million) led the domestic box office to its biggest Memorial Day weekend ever.
For Disney, Lilo & Stitch’s dominancewas a much-needed palate cleanser after the live-action Snow White bombed earlier this year. In just four days, the mischievous blue alien earned more than Snow White did in its entire theatrical run. It was also a muscular opening for Mission: Impossible, but breaking even is a ways out since the movie was one of the most expensive to make in Hollywood history ($500 million including marketing).
Overall, the record MDW has the theater industry riding a wave of momentum heading into the crucial summer months, which typically account for 40% of yearly ticket sales.—NF
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More than 45 people were injured when a minivan plowed into the crowd at Liverpool FC’s victory parade yesterday. Police say the 53-year-old British driver who was arrested at the scene was acting alone and that the incident was not being investigated as terrorism.
A cryptocurrency investor was arrested and charged with kidnapping and torturing a man in his NYC apartment for weeks, allegedly to force him to divulge his bitcoin password.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell defended the central bank’s Covid response, government employees, and American universities in a speech at Princeton University.
Former US Rep. Charles Rangel, a Harlem Democrat who was a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, died at 94.
Phil Robertson, the patriarch of the “Duck Dynasty” family, died at 79.
British-South African athlete Lewis Pugh became the first person to swim around Martha’s Vineyard. His goal was to raise awareness for shark protection ahead of the 50th anniversary of Jaws.
Americans across the country honored fallen soldiers on Memorial Day yesterday.
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Brew Mini: A familiar design pattern takes the spotlight in today’s Mini. Play it here.
Spelling bee
With the Scripps National Spelling Bee beginning today, let’s see how you’d do up on that stage. Below are some commonly misspelled words, and you must determine whether they are spelled correctly or incorrectly.
Cemetery
Guage
Irresistable
Occurrence
Truely
Viscious
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Today’s Word of the Day is: infatuated, meaning “filled with extravagant love or admiration.” Thanks to Donna from Chicago for a suggestion we adored. Submit another Word of the Day here.
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This is a paid advertisement for RAD Intel made pursuant to Regulation A offering and involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. The valuation is set by the Company. Please read the offering circular and related risks at invest.radintel.ai.
Trump pauses 50% tariffs on the EU. Two days after threatening a 50% tariff on the EU come June 1, President Trump said he’d 
Chinese EV stocks tumble over “rat race” price cuts. BYD, China’s leading EV maker, fell as much as 8.3% yesterday and dragged down other automakers with it as investors sounded the alarm about an 
Trump threatens to send $3 billion of Harvard’s grant money to trade schools. In the latest twist in the president’s feud with the Ivy League university over claims that the school has inadequately addressed campus antisemitism, President Trump 
Kitchen hack: Save counter space with 
