Category: Business

(WASHINGTON) — A tariff loophole for low-cost shipments helped fuel an explosion of U.S. consumers purchasing shoes, sunglasses and a host of other items directly from sellers overseas. The Trump administration closed that exemption on Friday, bringing the era of duty-free online buying to an end.

President Donald Trump closed what’s known as the “de minimis” loophole, which allowed for duty-free import of goods valued at less than $800. Now, such imports will face tariffs based on the relevant rates for a given country of origin or product.

Peter Navarro, senior counselor to the president for trade and manufacturing, said on Thursday that the move would add up to $10 billion in tax revenue and help “save thousands of American lives by restricting the flow of narcotics and other dangerous and prohibited items.”

Analysts who spoke to ABC News predicted delays and price increases for shoppers, though the precise impact remains uncertain as retailers and customers adapt to the new tariffs.

Here’s what to know about how the closure of the de minimis loophole could impact consumers:

What is happening with the de minimis loophole?

The Trump administration on Friday closed the de minimis loophole, meaning imported packages below $800 will be subject to tariffs.

In May, the exemption expired for shipments from mainland China and Hong Kong, prompting e-commerce companies Shein and Temu to warn of price increases. The move on Friday extends the policy to imports from all other countries.

Low-cost imports brought via delivery services like FedEx and DHS will face country-specific tariff rates, which range from 10% to 50%. Tariffs targeting product types, such as steel and aluminum, may also be applied.

Packages delivered by a foreign postal service will be subject to tariffs levied under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which depend on a given country of origin.

Over the past 10 years, the number of shipments to the U.S. claiming the de minimis exemption soared 600%, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, said in January. Last fiscal year, there were more than 1.36 billion such shipments, which amounts to almost 4 million per day, CBP said.

A small loophole remains in the policy. Gifts valued at $100 or less will continue to be duty-free.

Will closure of the de minimis loophole cause shipping delays?

Yes, the closure of the de minimis loophole is expected to delay low-cost shipments from overseas, especially over the coming months as foreign sellers adjust to the rules, analysts told ABC News.

Postal service operators in more than 30 countries have limited or halted shipments to the U.S. in anticipation of the policy adjustment. The list includes significant trade partners like India, Mexico and Japan.

Under the new policy, foreign postal services are required to calculate the tariff cost prior to sending a parcel bound for the U.S., Henry Jin, a professor of supply chain management at Miami University, told ABC News.

“The administrative burden is tremendous,” Jin said.

Packages previously shipped in five to 10 days may take as long as 20 days to reach customers, Jin added.

“If you absolutely need something by a certain deadline, buy it well before,” Jin said. “Or else you will run the risk of not getting it in time.”

Will closure of the de minimis loophole raise prices?

Yes, analysts who spoke to ABC News expect closure of the loophole to raise prices.

The policy change essentially amounts to a new tariff applied to low-cost items, meaning importers will face an additional tax. Importers typically pass along a share of the tariff-related tax burden onto consumers in the form of price hikes.

In the case of imports shipped directly to customers, foreign retailers will retain a choice of whether to eat the added cost or slap it onto the bill paid by shoppers, Jin said. Suppliers may swallow some of the added cost by selling their goods at lower wholesale prices, Jin added, but such relief is likely to be minimal.

Additional compliance costs faced by retailers will also likely be passed along to consumers, analysts said.

“It will significantly raise the transportation cost on top of the cost of the tariffs, which will ultimately raise prices for consumers,” said Raymond Robertson, professor for trade, economics and public policy at Texas A&M University.

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(WASHINGTON) — Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook sued President Donald Trump on Thursday over his move to fire her, saying she should retain her position as a top policymaker at the central bank.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, describes Trump’s effort as “illegal and unprecedented,” claiming Cook’s ouster violates the independence of the Fed, a cornerstone of the nation’s economy.

Trump’s action violates Cook’s constitutional right to due process, as well as her right to notice and a hearing under the Federal Reserve Act, the lawsuit says.

Hours after Cook filed the lawsuit, a judge granted a hearing for Friday morning. The case has been assigned to Judge Jia M. Cobb, who was nominated to the court in 2021 by former President Joe Biden.

Federal law allows the president to remove a member of the Fed board “for cause,” though no president has attempted such a removal in the 112-year history of the central bank.

In a letter posted on social media earlier this week, the president moved to fire Cook over allegations lodged by a Trump administration official, who claimed she had committed mortgage fraud. Trump pointed to a “criminal referral” from Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte. Cook has not been charged for the alleged misconduct.

In a previous statement, Cook’s attorney rebuked Trump’s social media post.

“President Trump has taken to social media to once again ‘fire by tweet’ and once again his reflex to bully is flawed and his demands lack any proper process, basis or legal authority. We will take whatever actions are needed to prevent his attempted illegal action.”

Cook has not directly addressed the substance of the allegations against her. In a statement last week, Cook said she would seek out her financial documents to answer “any legitimate questions and provide the facts.”

The move came after Trump railed for months against the Federal Reserve and its Chair Jerome Powell for declining to heed his call for lower interest rates.

In the lawsuit, Cook’s attorney rebuked the allegations as a pretext aimed at removing her for political reasons. Cook has repeatedly voted against interest rate cuts, the lawsuit notes.

“That the President says he has found (or created) some basis for removing a Governor does not magically make such a basis grounds for a ‘for cause’ removal,” the filing says. “The President had no ’cause’ to remove Governor Cook.”

“President Trump has indicated his desire to impede the independence of the Federal Reserve since he assumed office in January 2025,” the lawsuit adds.

The lawsuit names Powell and the Federal Reserve Board of Governors as co-defendants. The Federal Reserve Board, its governors and Powell are sued in their official capacities “to the extent that any individual Governor has the ability to take any action to effectuate President Trump’s purported termination of Governor Cook,” the lawsuit says.

Cook’s lawsuit urged a judge to find her attempted firing “unlawful and void,” adding that Cook seeks “immediate declaratory and injunctive relief to confirm her status as a member of the Board of Governors.”

The lawsuit also asked the judge to issue a declaration outlining the definition of “cause” — which Cook’s lawsuit says includes only “instances of inefficiency, neglect of duty, malfeasance in office, or comparable misconduct.”

In a statement to ABC News, the White House rebutted Cook’s claims, saying Trump’s move to fire Cook is permitted under federal law.

“The President exercised his lawful authority to remove a governor on the Federal Board of Governors for cause under 12 U.S.C. 242. The President determined there was cause to remove a governor who was credibly accused of lying in financial documents from a highly sensitive position overseeing financial institutions. The removal of a governor for cause improves the Federal Reserve Board’s accountability and credibility for both the markets and American people,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai said.

The Federal Reserve declined to comment. In a previous statement, the Fed affirmed the independence of the central bank and vowed to abide by a court ruling on the matter.

“The Federal Reserve will continue to carry out its duties as established by law,” the Fed said. “The Federal Reserve reaffirms its commitment to transparency, accountability, and independence in the service of American families, communities, and businesses.”

Two Fed governors appointed by Trump — Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller — already sit on the seven-member board. A third appointee — Stephen Miran, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisors — has been nominated as a replacement for Adriana Kugler, who retired this month. If Trump were to replace Cook, his appointees would make up a majority of the Fed board.

Five meetings and eight months have elapsed since the Fed last adjusted interest rates.

Last week, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank faces a “challenging situation” as a hiring slowdown coincides with tariff-driven price increases, putting pressure on both sides of the Fed’s dual mission to maximize employment and control inflation.

Powell said the Fed would “proceed carefully” but he hinted at the possibility of an interest rate cut, appearing to indicate greater concern for flagging employment growth than rising prices.

The policy shift may align the Fed with Trump’s desire for lower interest rates, though the central bank is expected to opt for a modest quarter-point reduction rather than the larger cut Trump has sought.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), a 12-member body responsible for setting interest rates, is made up of the seven members of the Fed board as well as a rotating set of five Federal Reserve bank presidents.

In February, the members of the Fed board will oversee the appointment of presidents of the Federal Reserve banks, meaning a potential Trump-appointed majority on the board could aim to install allies.

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(NEW YORK) — Chip giant Nvidia delivered more revenue than expected over a recent three-month period, the company said on Wednesday, defying concern among some prominent figures about a possible bubble in the artificial intelligence industry.

The California-based company recorded $46.7 billion in sales over three months ending in July, which exceeded analyst expectations of $46.2 billion. The jump in revenue marked 56% growth compared to the same quarter a year earlier.

The fresh data offered the latest window into the health of the artificial intelligence (AI) industry, which in recent years has become a key engine for stock market gains and economic growth.

Nvidia, the $4 trillion company behind many of the chips fueling AI products, has expanded at a breakneck pace since an AI boom set off by the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in 2022. The California-based company saw its stock price soar nearly 700% over the ensuing two years.

Alongside continued growth, the company is weathering new challenges. President Donald Trump barred the sale of chips to China earlier this year, before revoking the ban in July. A month later, Trump struck an agreement with Nvidia allowing the company to sell chips in China if the firm hands over 15% of revenue generated by the exports to the U.S.

Speaking at the White House earlier this month, the president recounted the agreement with Nvidia.

“I said, ‘If I’m going to do that, I want you to pay us as a country something, because I’m giving you a release,'” Trump said.

In May, the company said it expected to suffer an $8 billion loss as result of restrictions imposed upon chip exports. Earnings released on Wednesday said the company did not sell any H20 chips in China over the most recent quarter, but the firm did not mention any losses related to the policy.

In recent weeks, some prominent figures have warned of an AI bubble, casting doubt on the sustainability of the sector’s gangbusters growth. Torsten Sløk, chief economist at Apollo, said last month that the AI bubble may exceed the dot-com bubble of the 1990s, suggesting that the top firms are overvalued.

In an interview earlier this month, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also said the AI industry had become a bubble.

“Are we in a phase where investors as a whole are overexcited about AI? My opinion is yes. Is AI the most important thing to happen in a very long time? My opinion is also yes,” Altman told tech publication The Verge.

Still, the AI sector remains a bright spot for the U.S. economy. AI-related spending added a 0.5 percentage point boost to annualized gross domestic product growth over the first half of 2025, Pantheon Macroeconomics found.

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(NEW YORK) — An earnings report to be released by chip giant Nvidia on Wednesday will offer a window into the health of the artificial intelligence (AI) industry, which in recent years has become a key engine for stock market gains and economic growth.

Nvidia, the $4 trillion company behind many of the chips fueling AI products, has expanded at a breakneck pace since an AI boom set off by the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in 2022. The California-based company saw its stock price soar nearly 700% over the ensuing two years.

Analysts expect Nvidia to record $46.2 billion in revenue over three months ending in June, which would amount to a 53% jump compared to a year earlier. That would mark robust growth but it would come in well below a 122% spike in revenue enjoyed in the same quarter a year ago.

Alongside continued growth, the company is weathering new challenges. President Donald Trump barred the sale of chips to China earlier this year, before revoking the ban in July. A month later, Trump struck an agreement with Nvidia allowing the company to sell chips in China if the firm hands over 15% of revenue generated by the exports to the U.S.

Speaking at the White House earlier this month, the president recounted the agreement with Nvidia.

“I said, ‘If I’m going to do that, I want you to pay us as a country something, because I’m giving you a release,'” Trump said.

In May, the company said it expected to suffer an $8 billion loss as result of restrictions imposed upon chip exports.

In recent weeks, some prominent figures have warned of an AI bubble, casting doubt on the sustainability of the sector’s gangbusters growth. Torsten Sløk, chief economist at Apollo, said last month that the AI bubble may exceed the dot-com bubble of the 1990s, suggesting that the top firms are overvalued.

In an interview earlier this month, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also said the AI industry had become a bubble.

“Are we in a phase where investors as a whole are overexcited about AI? My opinion is yes. Is AI the most important thing to happen in a very long time? My opinion is also yes,” Altman told tech publication The Verge.

Still, the AI sector remains a bright spot for the U.S. economy. AI-related spending added a 0.5 percentage point boost to annualized gross domestic product growth over the first half of 2025, Pantheon Macroeconomics found.

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(NEW YORK) — Consumer confidence worsened slightly in August, erasing some gains from the previous month and resuming a downward trend suffered at the outset of 2025, the Conference Board said on Tuesday.

The souring of shopper attitudes followed a weak jobs report and a set of sweeping new tariffs issued by President Donald Trump. A lower-than-expected inflation report this month eased some concerns about significant tariff-induced price increases, though a measure of underlying inflation ticked up.

The consumer confidence index declined 1.3 points to 97.4 in August, the Conference Board said. The figure came in higher than economists expected. The index has hovered around the same level over the past three months.

Consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, is a key bellwether for the outlook of the nation’s economy.

The measure of consumer confidence arrived hours after Trump moved to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, alleging that she had committed mortgage fraud.

In a statement to ABC News, Cook said Trump “has no authority” to fire her. Cook said she would not resign, instead vowing to “continue to carry out my duties to help the American economy.”

The Fed is an independent agency established by Congress. Federal law allows the president to remove a member of the Fed board for “cause” — though no precedent exists for such an ouster.

Some recent indicators have suggested the onset of an economic slowdown. A report on gross domestic product late last month indicated average annualized growth of 1.2% over the first half of 2025, well below 2.5% growth last year.

A jobs report released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Aug. 1 revealed a sharp cooldown of the labor market.

Still, some facets of the economy have proven resilient. The overall inflation rate stands at 2.7%, below the 3% rate in January, before Trump took office.

The U.S. has largely averted the type of widespread job losses that often accompany a recession. Consumer spending ticked higher over the three months ending in June. Corporate earnings have remained robust.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell last week said the central bank faces a “challenging situation” as a hiring slowdown coincides with tariff-driven price increases, putting pressure on both sides of the Fed’s dual mission to maximize employment and control inflation.

Powell said the Fed would “proceed carefully” but he hinted at the possibility of an interest rate cut, saying “the shifting balance of risks may warrant adjusting our policy stance.”

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(NEW YORK) — Elon Musk-owned xAI on Monday sued tech giants Apple and OpenAI over an alleged scheme to illegally dominate the artificial intelligence industry through a collaboration that equipped iPhones with AI tools.

The exclusive agreement between the world’s largest smartphone producer and a top AI firm effectively shut other AI companies out of an opportunity to reach tens of millions of customers, according to the lawsuit filed in a Texas federal court.

“This is a tale of two monopolists joining forces to ensure their continued dominance in a world rapidly driven by the most powerful technology humanity has ever created: artificial intelligence,” the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit aims to “stop Defendants from perpetrating their anticompetitive scheme and to recover billions in damages,” according to the filing.

Last year, Apple unveiled a set of customizable tools that rely on generative AI, including a language feature that summarizes messages as well as an image generator. The product rollout marked the culmination of an agreement between Apple and OpenAI, the companies said.

The AI capability, called Apple Intelligence, amounted to the “next big step for Apple,” CEO Tim Cook said in June of 2024.

According to the lawsuit, the integration of OpenAI technology into the operating system of the iPhone left users without the ability to access AI products from other firms, such as xAI. In turn, the flood of user activity enjoyed by OpenAI gave the company valuable data with which to improve its products, the lawsuit says.

“More users beget more prompts, and more prompts offer more opportunities to train the model, whose better features then attract even more users,” the lawsuit says.

In a separate lawsuit, Musk is suing OpenAI over an alleged betrayal of the company’s founding mission in a sprint toward profits. Musk, the world’s richest person, co-founded OpenAI but left the company in 2018.

In a blog post last year, OpenAI rebutted Musk’s claims, saying the firm had realized that a for-profit entity would be necessary to acquire the resources to develop high-powered AI in accordance with its mission.

In a statement to ABC News on Monday, OpenAI rebuked Musk’s new lawsuit.

“This latest filing is consistent with Mr. Musk’s ongoing pattern of harassment,” the company said.

Apple did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

In 2023, Musk launched xAI, vowing to develop a competitor with established offerings like ChatGPT. Within months, the company launched a chatbot called Grok, which can respond to prompts from users of Musk-owned social media platform X.

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(NEW YORK) — The United States and European Union on Thursday released new details of their trade agreement, including tariff levels for consumer staples like pharmaceuticals and autos.

Prior to the agreement last month, the European Union faced the prospect of a 30% tariff rate. Instead, products from one of the largest U.S. trade partners will be slapped with a 15% tariff.

In exchange, the EU will remove tariffs on U.S. goods and European companies will aim to buy hundreds of billions of dollars in U.S. products.

“This Framework Agreement will put our trade and investment relationship – one of the largest in the world – on a solid footing and will reinvigorate our economies’ reindustrialization,” the U.S. and EU said in a joint statement on Thursday.

The fresh information about product-specific levies and additional European commitments holds implications for consumers and businesses across a wide swathe of the U.S. economy.

The European Union purchased about $370 billion worth of U.S. products in 2024, while the U.S. bought about $605 billion worth of European goods, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, a government agency. The U.S. conducts a greater amount of annual trade with the EU than any individual country.

Here’s what to know about the U.S.-EU framework agreement released on Thursday:

First off, the accord officially establishes a 15% tariff rate for pharmaceuticals from the EU, a top source of U.S. drug imports. Generic pharmaceuticals will be exempt from the new agreement, meaning such drugs will face a roughly 2.5% tariff rate in place prior to the Trump administration.

The move ruled out the possibility of a higher tariff rate for pharmaceuticals, for which Trump had previously threatened levies as high as 250%. The new tariffs will take effect on Sept. 1, the joint framework said.

Still, price hikes will likely hit pharmaceuticals, Jason Miller, a professor of supply chain management at Michigan State University, previously told ABC News. Pharmaceuticals account for roughly a quarter of U.S. imports from the EU as measured by total value, Miller said.

Semiconductors will also face a 15% U.S. tariff under the terms of the agreement, putting the levy well below a 300% rate previously threatened by Trump. Alcohol products, which went unmentioned in the new framework, also appear set for a 15% tariff rate.

The new agreement also includes a mechanism that would reduce the auto tariffs faced by European carmakers. Under the plan, the U.S. will reduce the tariffs on vehicles and auto parts from 27.5% to 15%, as long as the EU puts forward legislation that will slash its industrial tariffs.

The provision made up a key priority for Brussels. More than one in five European car exports is bound for the U.S., the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said in March. The lowered auto tariff could help ease upward pressure on car prices in the U.S.

In exchange for the tariff relief, the EU said it would remove tariffs on U.S. imports and urge companies to buy hundreds of billions of dollars in U.S. goods.

The EU will eliminate tariffs on all U.S. industrial products and provide preferential market access to U.S. producers of seafood and agricultural goods, the joint U.S.-EU statement said.

European companies “intend to procure” $750 billion worth of U.S.-made energy-related goods over three years. Also, the EU “intends to purchase at least” $40 billion worth of U.S.-made artificial intelligence chips for its computing centers, the statement said.

European firms intend to invest an extra $600 billion “across strategic sectors” in the U.S over the three years, the statement said.

The new framework may not be the final say on trade between the two sides. According to the joint statement, the accord amounts to a “first step in a process that can be expanded over time.”

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(NEW YORK) — SpaceX’s Starship is about to face its 10th test flight following explosions on previous launches. 

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has promised that the world’s most powerful rocket and spacecraft will one day take humans to Mars and beyond. But leading up to its 10th launch, scheduled for Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET, Starship has yet to achieve all its mission goals. And the last three flight tests, plus a static engine test in June, ended in explosions.

“We now have serious questions whether the architecture of Starship is in fact feasible or not,” said Olivier de Weck, the Apollo Program professor of Astronautics and Engineering Systems at MIT and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets. “I’m much, much less concerned about the Super Heavy booster. But the upper stage, the Starship itself, I’m starting to have some serious doubts about whether they’ll be able to make it work. Certainly, with the payload that they have in mind.”

Starship’s 10th flight test will lift off from SpaceX’s Starbase launch site in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. The company has yet to successfully launch and land the stainless-steel spacecraft, which is being engineered to be fully reusable and would be able to carry up to 100 people to deep space destinations.

Can Musk achieve his vision?
During a presentation in May, Musk shared his vision for how Starship will eventually make humans multiplanetary, something he said is necessary to ensure the survival of humanity.

“Progress is measured by the timeline to establishing a self-sustaining civilization on Mars. That’s how we’re gauging our progress here at Starbase,” Musk said. “Rapidly reusable reliable rockets is the key.”

De Weck agrees that aiming for a human presence on Mars is a worthwhile endeavor, but he thinks it will take decades to land astronauts on the Mars surface and return them to Earth. He said while Starship’s Super Heavy booster, the first stage that lifts the spacecraft into orbit, has been “pretty successful,” he questions the design of the Starship itself, and its ability to carry humans into space safely.

De Weck said the company is facing challenges with convergence, an engineering concept where the goal is for all the vehicle’s systems to function correctly together.

“Convergence means that with every test, every launch you do, the prior problems that you saw on the prior launch have been addressed,” explained de Weck. “The problem that SpaceX has right now with Starship is every launch that they do, yes, they address the battles, so to speak, from the prior launch, but now the fix that they made causes new problems that didn’t show up on the prior launch.”

De Weck described the process as playing “Whac-A-Mole,” where each fix causes new problems that weren’t an issue in earlier configurations. This has been a challenge for the company in previous test flights.

Musk has acknowledged the challenges of his endeavor, writing on X that “There is a reason no fully reusable rocket has been built – it’s an insanely hard problem. Moreover, it must be rapidly & completely reusable (like an airplane). This is the only way to make life multiplanetary.”

Problems with previous test flights
In mid-June, a Starship exploded on the launch pad during a pre-flight engine test.

SpaceX determined that “the vehicle was in the process of loading cryogenic propellant for a six-engine static fire when a sudden energetic event resulted in the complete loss of Starship and damage to the immediate area surrounding the stand.” An analysis by the company found that the likely cause was the failure of a pressurized tank that stores gaseous nitrogen for the ship’s environmental control system, which triggered the explosion.

That explosion occurred less than a month after test flight nine ended prematurely when the “Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly” due to several mechanical failures minutes into the flight, according to SpaceX.

The company also lost the first stage heavy booster during the test after it appeared to explode while splashing down in the Gulf. SpaceX blames “higher than predicted forces on the booster structure” for the loss.

Test flight eight in March ended after what SpaceX described as a “hardware failure” with one of the upper-stage Raptor engines, leading to fuel igniting where it shouldn’t have. The company believes the vehicle then automatically self-destructed. Debris was spotted across South Florida and the Atlantic, prompting temporary ground stops at nearby airports.

A similar failure occurred in January 2025 during Startship’s seventh flight test when stronger-than-expected vibrations caused a propellant leak, explosion and the loss of the spacecraft.

In a post-incident report, SpaceX said it has made “hardware and operational changes” to improve the reliability of Starship and the Super Heavy booster during the next mission.

“Each launch is about learning more and more about what’s needed to make life multiplanetary and to improve Starship to the point where it can be taking ultimately hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people to Mars,” Musk said during his address in May.

Can ‘agile engineering’ solve Starship’s challenges?
SpaceX has achieved significant technical milestones with each flight test, however. The company returned the Super Heavy booster to Earth on two occasions, catching it with giant robotic “chopsticks” attached to the launch tower and reused one of them from a previous launch. Flight test nine also demonstrated the vehicle’s suborbital trajectory by reaching suborbital space before mechanical failures ended the mission. And with each subsequent mission, SpaceX makes upgrades and changes to the booster and spacecraft based on the learnings.

Despite the setbacks, the company’s test schedule has remained aggressive, with launches often just months apart. That pace is central to SpaceX’s iterative engineering process, which de Weck describes as “rapid prototyping or agile engineering.”

“We’ll find problems, we’ll test it rapidly, and we’ll fix it as we go. And we gradually approach a perfect product. That does not work as well for safety-critical systems and where the cost of failure is high,” de Weck said.

For flight ten, de Weck says the most important thing to watch is what happens after booster separation during the midstage of the mission.

“I want to see a proper ignition of those engines, the Raptor engines on the upper stage, and then a coasting phase, a cruise phase without any explosions, premature engine shutdowns, and just a relatively clean reentry,” he said.

Even with another mid-phase failure, however, de Weck doesn’t believe that SpaceX would end the program or go back to the drawing board for a new design.

“I think they’re going to keep going at least until 15, 16, 17 flights. I don’t see them abandoning anything before 20 flights,” de Weck said.

As for Musk, his vision is a day when SpaceX is manufacturing two to three Starships a day and sending Starships to the Moon and Mars on a daily, if not hourly basis.

“We could be out there among the stars making science fiction no longer fiction,” said Musk.

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(NEW YORK) — Target CEO Brian Cornell will step down early next year after more than a decade at the helm of the $107 billion retail giant, the company said on Wednesday.

In recent years, Target has suffered sluggish sales as the company weathered consumer boycotts over its Pride collection and a rollback of its diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

Michael Fiddelke, who currently serves as chief operating officer, will assume the role of CEO on Feb. 1. Cornell will become executive chair of the company’s board of directors.

“With the board’s unanimous decision to appoint Michael Fiddelke as Target’s next CEO, I want to express my full confidence in his leadership and focus on driving improved results and sustainable growth,” Cornell said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Michael brings a deep understanding of our business and a genuine commitment to accelerating our progress,” Cornell added.

The announcement came as the company reported slow sales over a three-month period ending in August. Sales dropped slightly compared to the same period a year earlier, though revenue picked up from the previous quarter. Net income, meanwhile, plunged 21%, the company said.

In a statement, Cornell acknowledged a “challenging retail environment,” but he touted “encouraging signs of recovery, including improved traffic and sales trends.”

“As we enter the critical back-to-school and holiday seasons, our team remains focused on consistent execution and building momentum as we look ahead to the new year,” Cornell said.

Shares of Target fell nearly 8% in early trading on Wednesday.

The retail giant, which operates nearly 2,000 stores, has struggled to grow sales and outperform competitors in the aftermath of a pandemic-era shopping boom.

Speaking on an earnings call on Wednesday, Chief Commercial Officer Rick Gomez said the company is negotiating prices with suppliers and other partners in an effort to stave off tariff-related price increases.

“What we’ve said, and continues to be our position, is that we’ll take price as a last resort, but our commitment is to offer everyday good value and to have competitive pricing as we think about going forward,” Gomez said.

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(NEW YORK) — Consumer sentiment worsened in August, snapping two consecutive months of improved attitudes among shoppers as President Donald Trump imposed sweeping new tariffs on nearly 70 countries. The fresh reading fell short of economists’ expectations.

The dampening of shopper attitudes returns the measure to a months-long downturn that took hold after Trump took office, University of Michigan Survey data on Friday showed. At its low point, consumer sentiment fell close to its worst level since a bout of inflation three years ago. The measure remains below where it stood in December, before Trump took office.

Year-ahead inflation expectations rose from 4.5% last month to 4.9% this month, the data showed. The outcome anticipated by respondents would put inflation well above its current level of 2.7%. The heightened inflation expectation occurred across people of all political affiliations, the survey said.

The report arrived days after an inflation reading came in lower than economists had expected, offering a respite for consumers wary of significant tariff-induced price hikes.

Consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, is a key bellwether for the outlook of the nation’s economy.

Some recent indicators have suggested the onset of an economic slowdown. A report on gross domestic product late last month indicated average annualized growth of 1.2% over the first half of 2025, well below 2.8% growth last year.

A jobs report released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Aug. 1 revealed a sharp cooldown of the labor market. Hours later, Trump fired BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, accusing her without evidence of “faked” statistics.

McEntarfer, a Biden appointee who was confirmed by the Senate in 2024, had served in the federal government for two decades prior to her firing.

“It has been the honor of my life to serve as Commissioner of BLS alongside the many dedicated civil servants tasked with measuring a vast and dynamic economy,” McEntarfer said in a social media post after her dismissal. “It is vital and important work and I thank them for their service to this nation.”

William Beach, a former commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, who was appointed by Trump, condemned the firing of McEntarfer.

“The totally groundless firing of Dr. Erika McEntarfer, my successor as Commissioner of Labor Statistics at BLS, sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the statistical mission of the Bureau,” Beach posted on X.

Still, some facets of the economy have proven resilient. The U.S. has largely averted the type of widespread job losses that often accompany a recession. Consumer spending ticked higher over three months ending in June. Corporate earnings have remained robust.

The Federal Reserve opted to hold interest rates steady at a meeting in July as the central bank voiced concern about a possible rekindling of inflation as Trump’s tariffs take hold.

Speaking at a press conference in Washington, D.C., last month, Powell said tariffs would likely “push up prices and weigh on economic activity” over the course of this year. But, he added, the effects would depend on the “ultimate level” of tariffs, which have frequently fluctuated.

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