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Matt Davis — Need2Know Chedditor

News You Need2Know

• Pentagon approaches automakers to boost weapons pr …

• Is LIV Golf dead?

• Inside Zohran Mamdani’s first 100 days

• What the heck is up with inflation? Eh?

• Inside the next wave of AI robots

• Poll of the day: It’s World-Famous-5-7-5™ time

What’s the stock market up to, eh?*

$SPX ( ▲ 0.26% ) $DJI ( ▲ 0.24% ) $NDX ( ▲ 1.59% )  

Companies mentioned in today’s newsletter

$F ( ▼ 2.12% )  $GM ( ▲ 0.35% )  $OSK ( ▲ 2.55% )  $UBER ( ▼ 1.04% )  $DASH ( ▼ 0.34% )  

Pentagon approaches automakers to boost weapons production

Is America reviving its World War II "Arsenal of Democracy"? It certainly looks that way. With military stockpiles stretched thin by ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Iran, the Pentagon is calling on Detroit's automotive giants and other major manufacturers to help boost weapons production, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Top defense officials have recently held preliminary, wide-ranging talks with executives like General Motors' $GM ( ▲ 0.35% ) Mary Barra and Ford's $F ( ▼ 2.12% ) Jim Farley, exploring how their factory floors could rapidly pivot to produce munitions, missiles, and counterdrone technology. The goal is to backstop traditional defense contractors and put the nation’s manufacturing on what Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth calls a "wartime footing".

According to a Pentagon official, the Defense Department “is committed to rapidly expanding the defense industrial base by leveraging all available commercial solutions and technologies to ensure our warfighters maintain a decisive advantage”.

Companies like Oshkosh $OSK ( ▲ 2.55% ) are proactively exploring this shift. Logan Jones, Oshkosh’s chief growth officer, shared that discussions center on “where could we bring that capacity in a way that matches our core capability.” He added, “We’ve heard it loud and clear that this is important”.

Quote of the Day

Is LIV Golf dead?

Long LIV golf? Color absolutely no one surprised. It turns out launching a sports league with bottomless cash in an effort to sports-wash your country’s reputation after some…tricky moments in the international spotlight…isn't a sustainable business model.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is reportedly on the verge of pulling its funding, putting LIV on the brink of imminent closure. Now that the Saudis are back on business terms with the U.S., and President Trump has used the phrase “things happen” to describe the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashogi, the pressure is off. Losing $600 million last year with no clear path to profitability started to look like a waste of money in that context.

Won't somebody think of the superstars? What will happen to Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, and Jon Rahm, who bravely accepted hundreds of millions of dollars to defect? Right now, over 50 players are awkwardly lingering in Mexico ahead of a tournament, waiting to see if they are suddenly unemployed. It might be slightly uncomfortable crawling back to the PGA Tour after openly badmouthing them and tearing up their contracts. Still, probably not as uncomfortable as being sawed up by a regime you’ve been critical of in the press, eh?

Inside Zohran Mamdani’s first 100 days

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani spent his first 100 days proving he can hit the ground running. According to New York Times reporter Emma Goldberg, the mayor has focused heavily on "small bore issues" like filling potholes and fixing a bump on the Williamsburg Bridge. His goal is to build New Yorkers' trust on the little things so they let him tackle bigger issues.

While he secured an early win expanding free childcare, Mamdani is facing tension with the progressive base that elected him. Goldberg notes friction over his hesitation to heavily push for taxing the rich, a cornerstone issue for his progressive organizers. Instead, Mamdani has prioritized his relationship with Governor Kathy Hochul and appointed Jesse Tisch as police commissioner, signaling a more scaled-back approach to community safety than initially anticipated.

Goldberg observes that Mamdani has shown he is "willing to be more conciliatory, more pragmatic, and less ideological than some people thought." Ultimately, as Goldberg explains, "every day we're seeing the mayor sort of do a dance, trying to balance his commitments to his base and his need to kind of get things done.”

Song of the Day: Holly Humberstone, ‘Beauty Pageant’

Holly Humberstone’s "Beauty Pageant" is the closing track of her second studio album, “Cruel World,” and widely regarded as the album's most vulnerable and theatrical moment. We could all use one of those, right?

What the heck is up with inflation? Eh?

If you've checked your grocery receipt or filled up your gas tank recently, you're probably asking: What is going on with prices?

According to Elizabeth “Buy, not” Renter at NerdWallet, "the economy is strong, but there are certainly risks that have risen over the past month with the war in Iran." While inflation was already elevated, the overseas conflict has triggered an "initial oil price shock," driving costs up even further. This shock doesn't just affect the gas pump; as Renter explains, it "bleeds into the rest of the economy," impacting agriculture, manufacturing, and the trucks that deliver our groceries. Because of this shock, consumers will likely feel the sting "for probably months to come.”

Furthermore, categories like shelter, transportation, and healthcare suffer from "sticky inflation," meaning they take a notoriously long time to drop once they’ve gone up.

So, how should everyday shoppers handle this uncertainty, apart, of course, from voting in November (for whichever party you think is best placed to respond to your concerns about inflation)?

First, don't panic. Renter points out that worrying is "not really a productive way to live your life." Instead, she advises focusing on what you can control. She recommends revisiting your household expenses and beefing up your savings, noting that "the more that you can sock away, the more secure you will feel" if the economy takes a downturn.

Evidently she hasn’t tried to book a summer trip to England to see her mother with Alzheimer’s lately. Hypothetically.

Inside the next wave of AI robots

Serve Robotics, an Uber $UBER ( ▼ 1.04% ) spin-off with 2,000 autonomous sidewalk robots, is transforming the future of delivery with its new conversational AI robot, Maggie.

As Serve CEO Ali Kashani explains, "when you bring robots into human environments like sidewalks, it's important for them to really comprehend and communicate.” Unlike controlled factory floors, public spaces require social intelligence. Kashani notes that "the people who are next to a robot may not know anything about robots... so it's really important for the robots to be able to behave in a predictable way.”

To add voice without draining limited power, Serve leverages something called “edge computing.” What does that mean? Well…Kashani stresses that "all the decision making the robot does about moving around, it's inside the robot" to prioritize safety. However, for complex AI tasks like "interpreting language and communicating, it would be ideal if we could do that off the robots on the edge." By utilizing nearby 5G data centers, Maggie gets a powerful, off-board brain that processes conversations at lightning speed.

Now in "full commercial deployment" with major partners like Uber Eats and DoorDash $DASH ( ▼ 0.34% ) , Serve is proving that the next generation of delivery will be both high-tech and highly personal. Say hello, Maggie!

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Should you check your 401(k) today?

👍️ 

Yes. Yes! Thrice YAY!

Poll of the day: It’s World-Famous-5-7-5™ time

Poll of the day:

We asked: “How should we feel about the proposed tax on vacant $5 million New York City second homes?”

You answered:

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Finally! If you leave a $5 million luxury mansion empty, you can afford to help close the city's budget deficit. (396)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ An absolute tragedy! Taxing these precious empty vacation pads will completely destroy the economy and tragically lower local property values. (36)
🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Tax the global elite! This is much better than Mayor Mamdani hitting the rest of us with huge tax hikes. (158)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ I do not own a home! I am just here enjoying watching real estate leaders dramatically cry over vacant luxury units. (77)

667 Votes via @beehiiv polls

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