Hello, N2K’ers!

This week, our world-famous News Haiku™ competition theme is that the U.S. Air Force is eyeing the purchase of Tesla Cybertrucks — in order to blow them up. Send me a haiku on the subject by Thursday at noon ET right here. Winner gets glory — lots of glory, and a GIF!

Here’s Patricia Burton’s effort from yesterday:

Nice. Now let’s talk about the news you Need2Know?

—Matt Davis, Need2Know Chedditor

News You Need2Know

• Wall Street flirts with records on rate cut hopes

• Trump places Washington DC police under federal co …

• Trump extends China tariffs by 90 days

• StubHub revives plan to go public after pause

• Elon Musk is suing Apple

What’s the stock market up to, eh?

$SPX ( ▲ 0.45% ) $DJI ( ▲ 1.1% ) $NDX ( ▲ 0.48% )

Companies mentioned in today’s newsletter

StubHub, $EBAY ( ▲ 1.79% ) , $TKTMV ( 0.0% ) , $SEAT ( ▼ 1.71% ) , and SeatGeek, $AAPL ( ▲ 0.95% ) , OpenAI, X, XAI

Wall Street flirts with records on rate cut hopes

Wall Street had a great Tuesday with the S&P 500 nearing its record high after inflation data came in slightly better than economists anticipated. Major markets signaled optimism that the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates at its upcoming meeting.

The latest inflation report revealed a 2.7% rise in prices for U.S. consumers in July compared to the previous year — just below the forecasted 2.8%.

Big moves in the markets tend to occur when things are just 0.1% better or worse than everyone expected, and that’s what happened yesterday. Sure, everything is almost 3% more expensive than it was last year, but we were expecting it to be worse. That’s the sentiment. Markets are weird.

The inflation data has heightened expectations for a rate cut in September. Traders now see a 94% chance of the Fed reducing rates. Lower interest rates would make borrowing cheaper for households and businesses, boosting economic activity.

However, the decision isn’t straightforward. “Eventually, tariffs can show up in varying degrees in consumer prices,” explained Brian Jacobsen, Chief Economist at Annex Wealth Management. He added that price shifts “will confound the Fed and economic commentators for months to come.”

Song of the day: Charley Crockett, ‘Crucified Son’

A country and in some ways funky autobiographical song from Charley Crockett, “the lyrical hook was likely inspired from the experience of having his name turned to mud locally after his brother was arrested while he was a young man,” explains one reviewer. It “sounds like an Elton John (circa 1970) album cut that was left on the editing room floor,” writes a commenter on the review “which I mean as high praise.”

Trump places Washington DC police under federal control

President Donald Trump's decision to deploy the National Guard to Washington D.C. has ignited controversy, with his administration claiming a commitment to cracking down on rising crime and homelessness. They will be “getting rid of the slums,” Trump said.

Despite Trump's assertions, crime statistics in the capital paint a different picture. Local police records indicate a 7% reduction in crime and a 26% drop in violent crime year-to-date, countering the president's “crime, murder, and death” narrative.

The move has drawn criticism from city officials and residents alike. Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, refuted Trump’s claims of a crime-ridden capital.

“We are not experiencing a crime spike,” she stated, emphasizing the city’s 30-year low in violent crime. She called Trump’s move “unsettling and unprecedented.”

Meanwhile, Donald Whitehead, Executive Director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, criticized Trump's approach to homelessness, noting that displacing encampments often increases crime rather than reduces it.

A protest formed outside the White House with dissenters chanting “hands off D.C.” and advocating for home rule.

Let us know what you think of the move in today’s poll below. 👇🏻

Today on the ‘gram: This isn’t the droid you’re looking for

Post of the day: Bill keeps trolling

Quote of the Day

Trump extends China tariffs by 90 days

The U.S. and China have agreed to extend their tariff truce for an additional 90 days, easing tensions between the world’s two largest economies. The extension, announced by President Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform, averts a potential trade debacle by postponing sharp tariff hikes that were set to take effect this week.

China’s Commerce Ministry also mirrored the sentiment with its own announcement of a tariff freeze. The truce will temporarily maintain current tariffs, with U.S. duties on Chinese imports remaining at 30% and Chinese tariffs on American goods staying at 10%. However, it prevents a dramatic escalation — tariffs had been slated to rise to as much as 145% for U.S. imports and 125% for Chinese imports. This reprieve provides much-needed breathing room as U.S. retailers prepare for the critical holiday season.

The move has also brought cautious optimism to the markets. “This will undoubtedly lower anxiety on both sides as talks continue,” noted former U.S. trade official Ryan Majerus emphasizing the importance of reaching a longer-term framework, speaking to Reuters.

Former White House adviser Kelly Ann Shaw added context, observing that “it wouldn’t be a Trump-style negotiation if it didn’t go right down to the wire.” She speculated that Trump likely pushed for last-minute concessions, which underscores the delicate dynamics at play.

Should you check your 401(k) today?

👍️ 

Yesirree, Bob.

StubHub revives plan to go public after pause

StubHub, the ticketing marketplace that spun out of eBay $EBAY ( ▲ 1.79% ) in 2020, has reignited its IPO plans after a brief delay earlier this year. The company is targeting a September debut on the New York Stock Exchange under the rather amusing ticker "STUB."

StubHub had initially paused its IPO in April due to market volatility stemming from the tariffs. The company’s updated IPO prospectus, filed this week, revealed notable financial performance for the first quarter of the year. StubHub reported a 10% increase in revenue to $397.6 million and an operating income of $26.8 million.

StubHub’s path to public markets comes amid growing competition, especially from giants like Ticketmaster $TKTMV ( 0.0% ) , Vivid Seats $SEAT ( ▼ 1.71% ) , and SeatGeek. With a reported $2.08 billion in first-quarter gross merchandise sales — a 15% year-over-year increase — StubHub still faces pressure to maintain growth. The company originally sought a $16.5 billion valuation, though no pricing range was included in the latest filing.

Elon Musk is suing Apple

Elon Musk is once again at the center of controversy, this time targeting Apple $AAPL ( ▲ 0.95% ) for allegedly manipulating its App Store rankings to favor rival AI products.

Musk claims that Apple’s alleged favoritism is harming the visibility of his apps, including the Grok chatbot. “Apple is behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation,” Musk wrote, evidently ruling out the possibility that people might not want to download a chatbot with, let’s say, certain tendencies and sympathies which aren’t widely popular.

Musk further questioned why neither X nor Grok — ranked as the #1 news app globally and the #5 overall app respectively — have been featured in Apple’s “Must Have” section.

Despite Musk’s bold claims, no evidence has been presented to substantiate them. Notably, ChatGPT remains the top free iPhone app in the U.S., while Grok is ranked sixth. A surprising detail also undermines Musk’s position: China’s DeepSeek AI temporarily surpassed ChatGPT earlier this year, suggesting that Apple rankings are not entirely monopolized.

This isn’t Musk’s first clash with Apple or OpenAI. A former OpenAI co-founder, Musk has long been critical of the business. With his latest lawsuit threat, the already-tense relationship between Musk, Apple, and OpenAI is bound to heat up even further.

Poll of the Day: What do you think of the D.C. cops thing?

Poll of the Day: Great depression? Nope…

We asked: “What will happen if courts strike down Trump's tariffs?”

You answered:

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 It'll be a great day and the only depression will be the president's. (864 votes)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ I believe the president: There will be a new Great Depression. (48 votes)

912 Votes via @beehiiv polls