The week in business: Trump on TV
What is? (May 7-13)
Trump cast from CNN
Until last week, former President Donald J. Trump had not appeared on CNN since 2016. But at a town hall hosted by the network Wednesday night, Mr. Trump, the Republican frontrunner in the 2024 presidential campaign, resumed the lies and swear words that marked his presidency. He answered questions from anchor Kaitlan Collins, repeated misinformation about the 2020 election, called writer E. Jean Carroll, who won a lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault and defamation, a “crazy job” and mocked Ms. Collins as an “annoying person.” When Ms. Collins tried to correct Mr. Trump’s lies, he often talked over her. The mostly sympathetic audience cheered him on all evening. Critics at the CNN forum said it was reckless to give Trump such a large platform for his message, especially since it proved difficult to fact-check his statements in real time. CNN chairman Chris Licht defended the broadcast on Thursday, saying it underlined that beating Trump “would still be messy and tricky.”
Inflation is slowing
A closely monitored report on Wednesday showed that inflation in the United States had reached a remarkable milestone: April marked the 10th consecutive month in which the pace of price increases slowed. The consumer price index rose 4.9 percent from a year earlier, beating analysts’ expectations – in a good way. Economists in a Bloomberg survey had predicted a 5 percent increase. Core inflation, which removes volatile food and fuel costs, also fell slightly. The report comes on the heels of the Federal Reserve’s 10th straight hike in its benchmark interest rate. The latest inflation data, along with other signs of a slowdown in the economy, could make May the last for now.
Announcement from Elon Musk
Elon Musk long ago asked users on Twitter if he should step down as CEO of the platform. “I will abide by the results of this poll,” he said. The results came in: Nearly 58 percent of the 17.5 million people who voted agreed that Mr. Musk should leave his post. But it was somewhat surprising when Mr. Musk announced Friday that he had chosen his replacement: He said his successor would be Linda Yaccarino, the president of global advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal. Mr. Musk said that Ms. Yaccarino, who recently interviewed him onstage at an advertising event in Miami, would focus on business while he continued to work on product design and technology.
What’s next? (May 14-20)
Senate hearings on the banking crisis
Two groups that have sought to blame each other for the recent bank failures will appear at a pair of Senate hearings this week — the heads of those banks and the federal regulators that oversee them. On Tuesday, Greg Becker, the former CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, who resigned after the bank’s March collapse, will testify before the Senate Banking Committee. Two former Signature Bank executives, who failed two days later, will also testify. They are expected to receive a harsh reception from lawmakers. In a letter summoning Mr. Becker to appear, the committee chairman wrote: “You must answer for the bank’s demise.” Regulators can also expect a chuckle at a separate hearing on Thursday. When regulators appeared before the committee last month, members of Congress on both sides of the aisle criticized failings in banking crisis oversight. Regulators also pointed the finger at banks’ mismanagement.