The Week in Business: Trump on TV

what’s up? (May 7-13)

CNN’s Trumpcast

Until last week, former President Donald Trump He has not appeared on CNN since 2016. But in a town hall hosted by the network on Wednesday night, Mr. Trump, the Republican front-runner in the 2024 presidential campaign, continued to lie. Mention the name that confirmed the presidency. In response to questions from anchor Caitlan Collins, he repeated misinformation about Election 2020, calling writer E. He called Jean Carroll, who he accused of sexual assault and defamation, a “whack job” and dismissed Ms Collins as “ugly”. “Man,” Ms. Collins often spoke at her as she tried to correct Mr. Trump’s lies. The largely sympathetic audience cheered throughout the evening. Critics of CNN’s platform said it was remiss of Mr. Trump to give his message such a large platform, especially since it has been difficult to verify his statements in real time. CNN chairman Chris Licht defended the broadcast on Thursday, stressing that its coverage of Mr Trump “remains messy and sloppy”.

Inflation is falling.

Inflation in the United States reached a milestone: April was the 10th straight month in which the rate of inflation slowed, according to a closely watched report on Wednesday. The consumer price index rose 4.9 percent from a year earlier, beating analysts’ estimates — by a good margin. Economists in a Bloomberg survey predicted a 5 percent hike. Core inflation, which offsets volatile food and fuel costs, fell slightly. The report comes on the heels of the Federal Reserve’s 10th consecutive rate hike. The latest inflation data, along with other signs of a slowing economy, may mean May’s last hike for now.

Elon Musk’s announcement

Elon Musk tweeted to users that he should step down as CEO of the platform a long time ago. “I respect the results of this poll,” he said. The results are in: Nearly 58 percent of the 17.5 million people approve of Mr. Musk’s resignation. But it was still a surprise when Mr. Musk announced on Friday that he had chosen a successor: He said his successor would be Linda Yacarino, chairman of global advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal. Ms. Iaccarino, whom Mr. Mook recently interviewed on stage at an advertising event in Miami, will focus on business operations while continuing to work on product design and technology.

What’s next? (May 14-20)

Senate hearings on the banking crisis

Two groups that want to blame each other for recent bank failures will appear in a pair of Senate hearings this week — the heads of those banks and the federal regulators who oversee them. On Tuesday, Greg Baker, the former CEO of Silicon Valley Bank who stepped down after the bank collapsed in March, will testify before the Senate Banking Committee. Two days later, two former senior executives of the failed Signature Bank will also testify. They are expected to receive a stiff reception from lawmakers. “You must answer for the failure of the bank,” wrote the committee chairman, Mr. Baker, in a letter subpoenaing him. Regulators can also expect grilling in a separate hearing on Thursday. When regulators appeared before the committee last month, members of Congress from both parties criticized deficiencies in handling the banking crisis. Regulators have pointed the finger at banks’ mismanagement.