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Hello, N2K’ers!

This week, our world famous News Haiku^TM competition focuses on news that Albania’s prime minister has “hired” an AI-generated “Minister” (a.k.a. a robot) to root out corruption. Send me your haiku by Thursday at noon Eastern for consideration. Now let’s talk about the news you Need2Know, eh?

—Matt Davis, Need2Know Chedditor

News You Need2Know

• Trump wants to cut quarterly financial reporting

• US and China move closer to TikTok deal

• Tesla shares surge as Elon Musk buys $1 billion

• 'Demon Slayer' smashes U.S. records for anime

• xAI lays off 500 from the data team behind Grok

• Poll of the day: End three-monthly reporting?

What’s the stock market up to, eh?

$SPX ( ▲ 0.47% ) $DJI ( ▲ 0.11% ) $NDX ( ▲ 0.94% )

Companies mentioned in today’s newsletter

xAI, $TSLA ( ▲ 3.56% ) , $ZM ( ▲ 0.77% ) , TikTok, $SONY ( ▲ 0.45% )  

Trump wants to cut quarterly financial reporting

President Trump has once again proposed reducing the frequency of financial reporting for public companies, revisiting an initiative from his first term. In a post on Truth Social, Trump suggested shifting from quarterly financial reports to semiannual reporting. “This will save money, and allow managers to focus on properly running their companies,” he said.

Quarterly reporting has been a requirement for public companies in the U.S. since 1970. However, Trump’s proposal mirrors practices in many European markets, which require only twice-yearly reporting. While the change could lower costs for companies and decrease the administrative burden, critics argue it would reduce transparency for investors and the public.

Personally I just love that $NVDA ( ▼ 0.04% ) is under mad pressure every three months to make even more money than the quarter before, but I can see why Trump has a point here. Let us know what you think in today’s poll below.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent supported the broader deregulatory push, describing it as “part of President Trump’s bold agenda to unleash American prosperity by reining in burdensome regulations.” 

Song of the day: Acopia, “Real Life”

Melancholy and seductive, this electronic pop track was recorded in an abandoned office building. “When will you realize I am obsessed with you/ Promise me you’ll always try to make it work,” go the lyrics. It’s sort of how I feel about cheese.

US and China move closer to TikTok deal

U.S. and Chinese officials have a framework agreement addressing concerns over the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok. The popular app — boasting 170 million U.S. users — has been at the center of national security debates, with Washington fearing potential access to American user data by Beijing.

The deal is set to transition TikTok to U.S.-controlled ownership. Speaking after negotiations in Madrid, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent highlighted the deal’s dual aims of safeguarding U.S. interests while maintaining key elements cherished by the Chinese side. “They’re interested in Chinese characteristics of the app, which they think are soft power. We don’t care about Chinese characteristics. We care about national security,” Bessent said.

President Trump, instrumental in brokering the agreement, expressed optimism on his Truth Social platform, writing: “A deal was also reached on a ‘certain’ company that young people in our Country very much wanted to save. They will be very happy!”

The framework agreement must still navigate hurdles, including potential congressional approval, as well as pressure from Chinese officials. A key call scheduled Friday between Trump and President Xi Jinping is expected to finalize the next steps.

Today on the ‘gram: Cook for me, clanker!

Post of the day: Restrained as always

Quote of the Day

Tesla shares surge as Elon Musk buys $1 billion

Elon Musk of $TSLA ( ▲ 3.56% ) bought $1 billion of shares in his company on Monday, reflecting his confidence in the electric vehicle giant and sparking a 7% jump in the company’s stock price during early trading. Musk’s purchase, made through a trust, amounted to 2.57 million shares and comes at a pivotal moment for Tesla.

The stock surge is a welcome turnaround for the firm, which had recently faced one of its worst sales slumps in a decade, stemming from intensifying competition, waning federal subsidies for EVs, and concerns over its product lineup. Tesla board chair Robyn Denholm lauded Musk’s contributions, saying, “He is a generational leader...There aren’t any other people out there like Elon who can actually lead the company over the next decade or so.”

This substantial buy-in also coincides with Tesla’s proposal to extend Musk a $1 trillion compensation package over the next decade. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives underscored the importance of Musk’s leadership during challenging times, referring to him as a “wartime CEO” guiding Tesla through monumental opportunities in AI, robotics, and autonomous vehicles.

Shareholders will vote in November on Musk’s new compensation.

Should you check your 401(k) today?

👍️ 

Yes.

'Demon Slayer' smashes U.S. records for anime

Apparently a lot of people like anime films. I wish I could count myself among them, but to be honest even the ones everyone likes I tend to think are overworked and not as impressive as atmospheric films shot in real life. They also have a strangely adolescent quality that I find a tad demeaning. It’s like the 40-year-old friend of yours who still skateboards, you know? Like, dude…I’m judging you for enjoying cartoons.

Still, I’m wrong, evidently, because anime continues to dominate global cinema as “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Infinity Castle” earned a jaw-dropping $70 million in its opening U.S. box office weekend, setting a new record for anime films in the U.S. By contrast, “Downtown Abbey” made just $18 million last weekend, a film about the utter joy of having servants. I mean really, what hope is there for humanity?

The milestone more than doubles the previous record of $31 million, held by “Pokémon: The First Movie – Mewtwo Strikes Back” since 1999. Globally, the film has already collected an impressive $300 million, including over $200 million in Japan, where it ranks as the third-highest-grossing film of all time.

Sony-owned $SONY ( ▲ 0.45% ) Crunchyroll distributed “Infinity Castle,” marking a significant win after lukewarm performances from its other recent releases. The film even overshadowed the opening weekend box office for Sony’s biggest hit last year, the timeless (ahem) classic “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” which debuted with $56.5 million. Paul Dergarabedian, an analyst at ComScore, highlighted anime’s appeal, telling Variety, “Animated films just lend themselves visually to the big screen experience, and it’s a genre that is truly global.”

xAI lays off 500 from the data team behind Grok

Elon Musk’s AI startup, xAI, has announced sweeping layoffs, cutting 500 employees from its data annotation team, according to internal messages obtained by Business Insider. The layoffs, which represent nearly one-third of the company’s 1,500-member “annotation team,” are part of a major strategic pivot aimed at reshaping the company's priorities.

I’m sure it’s easy for the employees to stomach the layoffs given the news of Musk’s $1 billion investment in Tesla on the same day. In totally coincidental news, Musk has a huge personal security team.

In an internal email, xAI explained its decision to “accelerate the expansion and prioritization of our specialist AI tutors, while scaling back our focus on general AI tutor roles.” The email directly informed impacted employees, stating, “As part of this shift in focus, we no longer need most generalist AI tutor positions and your employment with xAI will conclude."

You can’t just write, “you’re fired?” Seriously, guys? Take a tip from the Donald!

The layoffs come as part of xAI’s efforts to hone the capabilities of its chatbot, Grok, by focusing on domain-specific expertise. Previously, Grok called itself “mechaHitler,” and spouted antisemitic rhetoric, so it does definitely need a bit of honing.

Poll of the day: End three-monthly reporting?

Poll of the day: You’re not pro a Warner Bros takeover

We asked if you think Paramount should be allowed to buy Warner Bros.

You answered:

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Sure, they're only huge media conglomerates under the would-be control of a man born in the 1990s. (67 votes)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 No. Aside from the fact that it would create an obvious monopoly, the 31-year-old son of the world's richest man shouldn't be that powerful. (490 votes)

via @beehiiv polls

*I should also apologize for and correct an error in yesterday’s poll. I wrote that Larry Ellison’s son was 31 when he is, in fact, in his early 40s. He was born in 1983. My sense is you’ll feel the same about the deal, but I did want to make sure we were accurate about his age.