Member Briefing May 27, 2025
Trump Supports Nippon Steel's Bid For US Steel, Shares Jump 21%
President Donald Trump on Friday expressed support for Nippon Steel's $14.9 billion bid for U.S. Steel, saying their "planned partnership" would create jobs and help the American economy. Shares of U.S. Steel soared 21% as investors interpreted Trump's post on Truth Social to mean Nippon Steel had received his approval for its long-planned takeover, the last major hurdle for the deal. Nippon Steel has said if the merger is approved, it would invest $14 billion into U.S. Steel's operations, including up to $4 billion in a new steel mill. The merger would create the world's third-largest steel producer by volume, following China's Baowu Steel Group and Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal, according to World Steel Association data.
U.S. Steel praised Trump's leadership. "U.S. Steel will remain American, and we will grow bigger and stronger through a partnership with Nippon Steel that brings massive investment, new technologies, and thousands of jobs," the company said in a statement. Nippon Steel also applauded Trump's decision. "The partnership is a game changer - for U.S. Steel and all of its stakeholders, including the American steel industry, and the broader American manufacturing base," the Japanese company said in a statement on Saturday.
Existing Home Sales Dip in April
Sales of previously owned homes in April declined 0.5% from March to a seasonally adjusted, annualized rate of 4 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors. That is the slowest April pace since 2009. Sales were down 2% from April of last year. Housing economists were expecting a gain of 2.7%. This count is based on closings, meaning contracts that were likely signed in February and March, before mortgage rates moved higher in April.
Inventory jumped 9% month to month and was nearly 21% higher than April of last year. There were 1.45 million homes for sale at the end of April, which at the current sales pace represents a 4.4-month supply. That is the highest level in five years, but still below the six-month supply which is considered a balanced market. One year ago, there was a 3.5-month supply. The median price of an existing home sold in April was $414,000, an increase of just 1.8% year over year. That is the highest April price on record, but the slowest appreciation since July 2023. Annual price gains had been much higher last year. Both the South and West regions saw prices fall.
Trump Gives Commencement Address at West Point, Stressing a New Era
President Trump told cadets in a commencement address at the United States Military Academy at West Point on Saturday that they were the first graduates to serve in a “golden age” of the nation that was a result of his efforts to rebuild the military and reshape American society. In his commencement address, Mr. Trump boasted about how he had “liberated our troops from divisive and demeaning political trainings.” He also trumpeted how, in his administration, appointments and promotions are not based on politics or identity.
Mr. Trump, who never served in the military, touted projects that he hoped the new officers would be excited about, including new “brand-new, beautiful planes,” and the Golden Dome missile defense shield initiative that he unveiled earlier this week. “In a few moments, you’ll become graduates of the most elite and storied military academy in human history,” Mr. Trump said. “And you will become officers in the greatest and most powerful army the world has ever known. And I know, because I rebuilt that army, and I rebuilt the military.”
Global Headlines
Middle East
- UN Says More Food Needed In Gaza As Looting Hampers Deliveries – Reuters
- U.S., Iran Meet in Rome With Nuclear Talks Under Strain - WSJ
- Iran Says It Could Survive If US Nuclear Talks End Without A Deal - Reuters
- Trump Says Iran Deal Close to Avoid "A Lot of People Dead" - Newsweek
- Spain Convenes European, Arab Nations To Ramp Up Pressure On Israel Over Gaza Campaign – France 24
- UN Says 90 Lorry Loads Of Aid Now In Gaza After Three-Day Delay At Crossing - BBC
- What We Know About The Jewish Museum Shooting That Left Two Israeli Embassy Staffers Dead - CNN
- Interactive Map- Israel’s Operation In Gaza – Institute For The Study Of War
- Map – Tracking Hamas’ Attack On Israel – Live Universal Awareness Map
Ukraine
- Russia Launches Massive Aerial Assaults on Ukraine, Defying Trump’s Peace Calls – WSJ
- 'Main Goal' Of Russian Attacks Is To 'Kill Ukrainians', Energy Minister Says – France 24
- Trump Says He’s Eyeing Russia Sanctions, Calls Putin ‘Crazy’ – Yahoo
- Everyone Is Emotional, Says Kremlin, After Trump Calls Putin 'Absolutely Crazy' - BBC
- Russia And Ukraine Complete Biggest Prisoner Swap Of The War - Reuters
- The Case for Seizing Russian Assets to Fund Ukraine’s Defense – Foreign Affairs
- Ukraine Warns EU Tariffs Will Hammer Economy And Dent Faith In Brussels – Politico
- Interactive Map: Assessed Control Of Terrain In Ukraine – Institute For The Study Of War
- Map – Tracking Russia’s Invasion Of Ukraine – Live Universal Awareness Map
Other Headlines
- Rival Marches Draw Thousands In Warsaw Ahead Of Presidential Vote – Reuters
- India-Pakistan Ceasefire Relief Gives Way To Doubts Over Future 'Red Lines' – Nikkei Asia
- North Korean Leader Furious Over Failed Destroyer Launch, Vows To Arrest Those Responsible – The Hill
- North Korea Using Balloons To Salvage Doomed Warship: Analyst - Newsweek
- South Korea Presidential Candidate Lee Says To Restore Hotline With North Korea - Reuters
- Venezuela's Ruling Party Wins By Landslide In Elections Boycotted By Opposition – France 24
- Trump's Harvard Foreign Student Ban Rattles Asians On Campus And Beyond – Nikkei Asia
- Long Advantageous, Harvard's China Ties Become A Political Liability - Reuters
- US Military Pullback in Africa Opens Door for China and Russia - Newsweek
Policy and Politics
‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Heads to Senate, Where New Fights Loom
The more than 1,000-page bill passed the House early Thursday morning after Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) found a recipe that satisfied just enough lawmakers, who approved the measure by just one vote after an all-night session. Now Senate Republican leader John Thune (R., S.D.) needs to line up enough support within his own narrow majority—without making changes that fracture the fragile House agreement and derail the party’s hopes to finish the bill by its July 4 target.
The House bill is a catchall container for Trump-era GOP policies. It extends expiring tax cuts, adds versions of the president’s pledges to remove taxes on tips, overtime pay and Social Security benefits, and provides new money for border security and the military. It cuts into Democratic priorities such as Medicaid, food aid and higher education. At the top of the list for some lawmakers are deeper cuts to Medicaid, the state-federal healthcare program that insures low-income Americans. Senators might also try to revise a House deal that raises the cap on the deductions for state and local taxes to $40,000 from the current $10,000. That agreement secured crucial votes from House members in high-tax states such as New York and New Jersey, but SALT has no clear champion among Senate Republicans.
DiNapoli Releases Guide to Federal Funding in New York
A new online resource released by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli details the vast array of services that federal funding supports amid the continued uncertainty in Washington over potential cuts for states, including funds for Medicaid and other health programs, education, social welfare, transportation, public protection, environment and other vital programs. DiNapoli’s guide presents federal revenues in the state budget and federal support of the state’s safety net programs. In addition, the new tool provides spending by major funding streams and functions, including grants for various Medicaid programs, clean water, and children’s health insurance programs. Insights include:
- The state received $96.7 billion in federal dollars in state fiscal year (SFY) 2025, representing more than 38% of the $249 billion in revenue received by New York in that fiscal year.
- Nearly 3 million New Yorkers rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the nation’s largest food assistance program.
- Nearly 9,000 (4.7%) members of the state’s workforce are backed by federal funding, with the share significantly higher in some agencies, such as 83% at the Department of Labor.
- Over 3.7 million New York residents received Social Security benefits in 2023.
- More than one-third of residents are on Medicaid in eight counties: Bronx, Chemung, Kings, Montgomery, Queens, Richmond, Rockland and Sullivan.
Read more at The Comptroller’s website
US Senate Votes To Strip California Of Its Ability To Phase Out Sales Of Diesel-Powered Heavy-Duty Trucks
The GOP-led Senate voted to strip California of its ability to phase out sales of diesel-powered heavy-duty trucks and cut emissions of a contributor to smog. The moves followed a 51-44 Senate vote to take away the state’s waiver to set its own emissions standards for cars, light trucks and SUVs. That nullifies a 2022 measure adopted by 11 other states to ban the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035 that has been a key driver of electric-vehicle investment. The resolution heads to President Trump for his signature.
The Senate voted 51 to 45 to revoke a waiver for California’s Advanced Clean Trucks rule requiring the sale of a growing number of zero-emission, heavy-duty trucks each year. In a third, 49-46 vote, senators passed a resolution stopping the state from forcing manufacturers to curb nitrogen-oxide, or NOx, emissions from heavy-duty diesel engines. California already in January had dropped a request that would have allowed it to mandate the purchase of battery-electric and hydrogen fuel-cell trucks, believing the Trump administration would deny it. State officials vowed to sue the Trump administration over the vote on car emissions. The American Trucking Associations called the votes a victory for the industry.
Political Headlines
- What Happens To America’s 114 Billion Pennies Once The US Stops Making Them? – CNN
- Supreme Court Allows Trump To Remove Agency Heads Without Cause For Now – SCOTUS Blog
- Trump Administration Blocks Harvard From Enrolling Foreign Students, Threatens Broader Crackdown - Reuters
- Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump Administration’s Foreign Students Ban At Harvard – The Hill
- DNC Sets June Vote Over Redoing Election On David Hogg’s Vice Chair Role - Politico
- The Fed Economist Accused of Espionage for Beijing - WSJ
- US Senate Votes To Block California 2035 Electric Vehicle Rules - Reuters
- Lightning-Fast Deportations Emerge as Top Issue in Trump’s Standoff With Courts - WSJ
- Americans Remain Wary Of Trump’s Handling Of The Economy, New Poll Shows - Politico
- Trump Tracker: Keep Tabs On The Latest Announcements And Executive Orders - WSJ
Health and Wellness
Should Men Screen for Prostate Cancer? Biden Diagnosis Reignites Debate
For decades, doctors have wrestled with how often to screen men for the disease and when to start and stop. Some medical groups disagree in their recommendations, and guidelines have gone back and forth on whether men should be screened at all. As doctors have debated, the diagnoses of later-stage prostate cancers have been increasing, according to the American Cancer Society. Some studies suggest that the changing screening guidance could be responsible. At the heart of the debate is a simple test that looks for prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, in a man’s blood. An elevated PSA level suggests that a man could have prostate cancer but it could also indicate infection, inflammation or even recent vigorous exercise. There are also some rare, more aggressive prostate cancers that don’t secrete enough PSA to be picked up by the test.
A man’s PSA levels tend to rise with age, since the prostate continues to grow and can increase the amount of antigen it releases. For men around age 60, a normal PSA level is below 4 nanograms of antigen per milliliter of blood. If a man has an elevated PSA, it can raise an early flag for potential prostate cancer. Doctors deployed the test widely after it was introduced in the late 1980s, causing incidence of the disease in the U.S. to spike in the 1990s, as they caught cancers earlier and treated them. But the test also raised false alarms that required follow-ups and biopsies and found slower-growing, low-risk cancers that likely weren’t life-threatening, particularly among older men. Men were left with urinary incontinence or sexual dysfunction after surgery and radiation for a cancer that likely wouldn’t have harmed them.
Industry News
Trade War Updates
- Trump Delays 50% Tariffs On EU To July 9 – CNBC
- EU Sees 'New Impetus' In Trade Talks From Weekend Call With Trump – Yahoo Finance
- Tariffs Are Challenging the Cachet of Luxury Goods From Europe – WSJ
- Japan PM Ishiba Aims To Advance U.S. Tariff Talks - CNBC
- Trump's Tariff Blitz Roils Markets, Targets EU and Apple - Market Screener
- Lutnick: Current 10 Percent Tariffs Not Increasing Prices – The Hill
- Volvo Cars Cutting 3,000 Jobs To Reduce Costs – Yahoo Finance
- Subaru Weighs Options To Curtail A Potential $2.5B Tariff Hit – Automotive Dive
- ‘First Sale Rule.” Businesses Are Finding A Workaround For Tariffs. – CNBC
The 90-Day Rush to Get Goods Out of China
Sky-high tariffs pummeled U.S.-China trade and now the cease-fire is causing a snapback. Firms across the U.S. are racing to rebook canceled orders and find space on containerships to get products out of China and bring them stateside before the 90-day window closes in August. In the week beginning May 12, when the trade truce was announced, bookings for containers to the U.S. from China more than doubled compared with the week before as the tariff rollback unleashed a wave of pent-up demand. Bookings surged to the equivalent of around 2.2 million 20-foot boxes, a level not seen in more than a year, according to data from Vizion, a container-tracking software company, and data provider Dun & Bradstreet.
Executives, logistics specialists and analysts are cautious about how big the rebound will get. They say there is still too much uncertainty over tariff policy and the health of the U.S.’s consumer-driven economy to fuel a splurge in new orders. Nonetheless, many Chinese manufacturers are welcoming any bump in activity after the high tariffs froze orders and halted production. Lisa Wang, a salesperson at a textile manufacturer in China’s Zhejiang province, said the 90-day tariff pause has been a huge help to her company. The company has been able to ship out about a dozen containers of previously delayed orders, mostly mattress protectors and pillows. Clients are also placing some new orders.
Cutting Tool Orders Stable, Face Tariff Uncertainty
U.S. manufacturers ordered $207.1 million worth of cutting tools during March, 4.3% more than during February but -4.2% less than the total for March 2024. The total value of cutting tool shipments for the year to date (January-March 2025) stands at $605.6 million, which is -5.9% less than the Q1 total for 2024. AMT’s Cutting Tool Product Group Jack Burley described the March data as a reflection of the moment when the U.S. announced a variety of tariffs on imported materials and products. “Despite the uncertainty from Washington, it was still business as usual for most companies,” he said.
“However, most tooling manufacturers are either dealing with increased tariffs for products sourced abroad or increased costs for raw materials like tungsten carbide, or both,” Burley continued. “These increased costs for perishable tools are already getting passed on, resulting in a hit to the operating mar-gins for manufacturers.” One cutting tool supplier maintained an optimistic view. “Despite the improvement, year-over-year sales remained below 2024 levels for the third consecutive month. Although this data precedes the ‘Liberation Day’ tariff announcements, I’ve anecdotally heard optimism that the current volatility will be short-lived, and modest growth will return in the second half of the year,” said Bret Tayne, president of Everede Tool Co.
Read more at American Machinist
Nvidia To Launch Cheaper, Weaker Blackwell AI Chip For China After US Export Curbs, Sources Say
Nvidia will launch a new artificial intelligence chipset for China at a significantly lower price than its recently restricted H20 model and plans to start mass production as early as June, sources familiar with the matter said. The GPU or graphics processing unit will be part of Nvidia's latest generation Blackwell-architecture AI processors and is expected to be priced between $6,500 and $8,000, well below the $10,000-$12,000 the H20 sold for, according to two of the sources.
The lower price reflects its weaker specifications and simpler manufacturing requirements. It will be based on Nvidia's RTX Pro 6000D, a server-class graphics processor, and will use conventional GDDR7 memory instead of more advanced high bandwidth memory (HBM), the two sources said. They added it would not use Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co's advanced Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology. China remains a huge market for Nvidia, accounting for 13% of its sales in the past financial year. Nvidia's new GPU, despite its much weaker computing power compared to the H20, is expected to keep the company competitive despite the loss of substantial market share thus far due to export restrictions.
Ford Poured Billions Into Two EV Battery Plants. It’s Only Using Part of One.
Ford Motor is pulling back more on its electric vehicle ambitions, letting rival Nissan use part of its flagship U.S. battery plant, according to people familiar with the plan. Ford made a big bet on electric vehicles in 2021, announcing two new battery plants in Kentucky as part of a bigger $7 billion investment. The plants are a joint venture with Korean battery maker SK On. Today, one of the Kentucky factories is sitting unused, and only part of the other factory is producing batteries for Ford. The active plant will now also make Nissan batteries, according to the people.
The plan marks the latest retrenchment by the U.S. auto giant, which bet aggressively on EV demand that hasn’t materialized. The dual pressures of weak EV demand and higher costs are forcing hard choices from carmakers, who warn they face multibillion-dollar profit hits from tariff-related expenses. The plan marks the latest retrenchment by the U.S. auto giant, which bet aggressively on EV demand that hasn’t materialized. The dual pressures of weak EV demand and higher costs are forcing hard choices from carmakers, who warn they face multibillion-dollar profit hits from tariff-related expenses. For Nissan, the chance to make batteries in the U.S. offers a quick way to help reduce some exposure to tariffs on imported vehicles and parts.
Mars Opens $450M Ohio Pet Food Facility
Snack and candy maker Mars opened last week a $450 million Royal Canin manufacturing facility in Lewisburg, Ohio, the company’s largest pet food investment for the pet food brand to date. The dry pet food factory spans 450,000 square feet, making it the company’s largest dry pet food facility, according to the press release. The plant will create up to 270 jobs over the next five years, and produce enough Royal Canin brand dry food to feed 4 million pets annually, Mars said.
The new plant is located on the same property as Royal Canin’s Pet Health Nutrition Center, its global research and development hub. The facility is “highly automated,” Turner said, enabling Royal Canin to make products with the “right nutrition” for cats and dogs. Mars announced last year that it plans to spend over $1 billion on its petcare business, which will focus on various technologies such as artificial intelligence for product development, as well as hiring and upskilling data-focused workers, Fortune reported.
Read more at Manufacturing Dive
FAA Clears SpaceX To Launch Its 9th Starship Super Heavy Rocket
A return to flight for SpaceX’s Starship program could be a just a holiday weekend away, after the Federal Aviation Administration gave the company the go ahead. In a statement published on Thursday, May 22, the regulator said that SpaceX “implemented all corrective actions” in response to the mishap seen during Flight 8 in March. Similarly to Flight 7 back in January, the Ship upper stage failed to complete its first burn following stage separation and broke up over The Turks and Caicos Islands.
Starship Flight 9 will be SpaceX’s third attempt to demonstrate the full capabilities of its Starship Block 2 design on a complete flight profile. The lion’s share of mission objectives for the upper stage, tail number S35, are the same as the previous two missions and are set to occur at roughly the same times in the mission profile. Those include the intent to deploy eight Starlink simulators (similar in size to the Version 3 Starlink satellites), relight one of the Raptor engines in space and demonstrate a suite of heat shield tile experiments to better protect future versions of Starship from the rigors of atmospheric reentry and eventually, a return-to-launch site attempt.
BMW Hits Milestone Of 7M BMWs Built In The US
BMW’s sole U.S. manufacturing plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, has assembled its seven millionth BMW, the automaker said in a press release April 30. The company celebrated the milestone at the plant with the assembly of a bespoke BMW — a metallic green Alpina XB7, featuring special design modifications and a 4.4-liter B-Turbo V8 engine that produces 631 horsepower. Per the release, the company will keep the commemorative car as part of its historic collection.
The Spartanburg facility, known as BMW Manufacturing, is the largest BMW plant in the world. More than 11,000 workers are employed at the plant, which assembles the BMW X series for domestic and international markets. Almost half of the BMWs sold in the U.S. originate from the Spartanburg plant. The company is investing more than $1.7 billion into its U.S. operations to begin BMW EV production in South Carolina. According to the company, $1 billion of this investment was targeted to outfit the Spartanburg plant to assemble EVs, while $700 million is for a new EV battery plant in nearby Woodruff, South Carolina. The Spartanburg plant’s first fully EV model is slated for production in 2026.
The Andromeda Strain? New Bacteria Found On Chinese Space Station.
A previously unknown strain of bacteria is living on Chain’s Tiangong space station, according to a study published this week. The new microorganisms were discovered on swabs taken from the station. The news immediately brought the novel (and movie) The Andromeda Strain into my brain, which is about a disease that makes it to Earth from space by way of a government satellite. Luckily, Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, says that any microorganisms found in space aren’t likely to cause a new pandemic. “It's important to remember that the vast, vast majority of bacterial organisms are not going to cause any harm,” he said.
One thing to consider about these types of microbes, he said, is that their ability to adapt to one extreme environment does not mean they will thrive in another environment that it's not adapted to.” And to determine whether such an organism might pose a disease risk, it's important to consider whether they can survive in human bodies. If they can, do they even cause any harm? Odds are, they don’t, he said. “Most bacteria that live on or in us aren’t harmful,” he said.