• Unemployment rates for recent college graduates have surged in recent data, with the rate for those holding a bachelor’s degree rising to 6.1%—and even higher for those with advanced degrees or some college but no degree—contrasting with a national rate of 4.2%. This may strengthen the argument of top CEOs like Jamie Dimon, Ted Decker, and John Furner who have urged young people and employers to prioritize job-ready skills and alternative career paths over traditional college degrees.

Graduates choose to attend college instead of heading straight into the workforce for a range of reasons, be it furthering their studies in a specific field or gaining qualifications needed for a certain role. But their motives often boil down to one thing: landing a career in the profession of their choice.

It seems that in 2025, those dreams are falling flat.

According to the most recent data published by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), the unemployment rate for college graduates with a bachelor’s degree sat at 6.1% in May—up from 4.4% just a month prior.

Likewise, the unemployment rate for those ages 20 to 24 with some college experience but no degree, as well as those of the same age demographic with a master’s degree or higher, spiked last month.

FRED reports that Gen Z with a master’s or higher now have an unemployment rate of 7.2% while those with some college experience have an unemployment rate of 9.4%.

According to analysis by the Wall Street Journal, that picture is even more dire. Citing micro data from the Labor Department, the WSJ estimates graduates have an unemployment rate of 6.6% over the past 12 months ending in May, the highest level in a decade with the exception of the pandemic spike.

This trend of increasing unemployment is at odds with the picture of the rest of the U.S., where unemployment held steady at 4.2% from April to May, elevated only a little from the rate 12 months ago.

It’s perhaps no surprise then that the graduates who do land entry-level jobs tend to stay in them, for fear of being stuck in a stagnant market. Meanwhile, grads who didn’t land a role find it difficult to get a foot onto the career ladder.

As researchers from Oxford Economics reflected in a study last month: “Those in the professional, scientific, and technical services are less likely than their peers to seek employment in a different industry, though they are more likely to accept underemployment—defined as a college graduate who is employed in a job where more than 50% of workers in the same role do not have a bachelor’s degree or higher.”

Indeed, while some young potential staffers are willing to take sideways steps in order to earn an income, the analysts suggested Gen Z grads are having a harder time than most: “The upshot is that the unemployment rate for recent college graduates will remain elevated in the near term without a surge in demand from tech companies or a mass exodus from the labor force by these individuals, both of which seem unlikely.

“While these workers only account for around 5% of the workforce, they have played an oversize role in pushing the national unemployment higher.”

Alternative routes

An argument could be made that the data suggests employers aren’t finding the skills they need in newly minted grads, despite the tens of thousands of dollars many will have forked over to achieve their degrees.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, for example, has pushed for education reform to rank colleges based on whether its students land jobs as opposed to how many of them graduate.

“If you look at kids they gotta be educated to get jobs. Too much focus in education has been on graduating college…It should be on jobs. I think the schools should be measured on, Did the kids get out and get a good job?” Dimon told Indianapolis-based WISH-TV last year.

The idea that college is the only way to land a well-paid job is also inaccurate, he added, saying 17-year-old bank tellers can take home $40,000 a year “and if you happen to have a family at 18 or whatever, you get $20,000 in medical benefit for your family. You can be a welder, you can be a coder, you could be cyber, you could be automotive—all of those jobs are $40,000 to $60,000, $70,000 a year.”

Dimon, a veteran of Wall Street, has also argued educators should focus on skills which will stand individuals in good stead for the rest of their lives such as nutrition and financial literacy.

The JPMorgan Chase boss isn’t alone. In a WSJ op-ed last year titled “Not Everyone Needs a College Degree,” the CEOs of Home Depot and Walmart U.S., Ted Decker and John Furner, wrote: “Young people have been told for decades that achieving the American dream requires a college degree…While a college degree is a worthwhile path to prosperity, it isn’t the only one.”

They added: “The American dream isn’t dead, but the path to reach it might look different for job seekers today than it did for their parents. We owe it to younger generations to open our minds to the different opportunities workers have to learn new skills and achieve their dreams.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday that they had signed a trade deal that will slash tariffs on U.K. auto and aerospace industry imports — but they are still discussing how to handle steel production.

The pair spoke to reporters at the Group of Seven summit in the Canadian Rockies, with Trump brandishing the pages of what he said was a long-awaited agreement. The rollout was anything but smooth, however, as Trump dropped the papers and at first said his administration had reached an agreement with the European Union when he meant the United Kingdom.

The president nonetheless insisted the pact is “a fair deal for both” and would “produce a lot of jobs, a lot of income.”

“We just signed it,” Trump said, “and it’s done.”

Starmer said it meant “a very good day for both our countries, a real sign of strength.”

Reaching an agreement is significant as Trump has threatened much of the world with steep import tariffs that have unsettled markets and raised the possibility of a global trade war.

He has since backed off on many of his proposed levies but also continued to suggest that administration officials were furiously negotiating new trade pacts with dozens of countries — even as few have actually materialized.

Trump said “the U.K. is very well protected,” from tariffs. “You know why? Because I like them.”

The signing of the deal at the G7 followed Trump and Starmer’s announcement in May that they’d reached a framework for a trade pact that would slash U.S. import taxes on British cars, steel and aluminum in return for greater access to the British market for U.S. products, including beef and ethanol.

But Monday’s agreement fully covers only British cars and aerospace materials, with more work to come on steel.

The British government said the new agreement removes U.S. tariffs on U.K. aerospace products, exempting Britain from a 10% levy the Trump White House has sought to impose on all other countries — a boost to British firms, including engine-maker Rolls-Royce.

It also sets the tax on British autos at 10% from the end of the month, down from the current 27.5%, up to a quota of 100,000 vehicles a year.

U.K. Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the deal protects “jobs and livelihoods in some of our most vital sectors.” Mike Hawes, chief executive of Britain’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said it was “great news for the U.K. automotive industry.”

But there was no final agreement to cut the tax on British steel to zero as originally foreseen — seen as vital to preserving the U.K.’s beleaguered steel industry. Britain’s steel output has fallen 80% since the late 1960s due to high costs and the rapid growth of cheaper Chinese production.

Monday’s agreement fleshes out the terms of the framework deal announced in May. That framework didn’t immediately take effect, leaving British businesses uncertain about whether the U.K. could be exposed to any surprise hikes from Trump.

British businesses, and the U.K. government, were then blindsided earlier this month when Trump doubled metals tariffs on countries around the world to 50%. He later clarified the level would remain at 25% for the U.K.

After the two leaders spoke, the White House released a statement seeking to clarify matters, saying that with respect to steel and aluminum, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will “determine a quota of products that can enter the United States without being subject” to previous tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.

The British government said Monday that the plan was still for “0% tariffs on core steel products as agreed.”

Trump’s executive order authorizing the deal contained several references to security of supply chains, reflecting the U.S. administration’s concerns about China. It said the U.K. “committed to working to meet American requirements on the security of the supply chains of steel and aluminum products intended for export to the United States.”

There also was no final deal on pharmaceuticals, where “work will continue,” the U.K. said.

The deal signed Monday also confirms that American farmers can export 13,000 metric tons (29 million pounds) of beef to the U.K. each year, and vice versa — though a British ban on hormone-treated beef remains in place.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

Germany’s economy will return to growth in 2025 after two years of contraction, according to analysts surveyed by Bloomberg who are a little more upbeat on the country’s near-term prospects than other forecasters.

Respondents see gross domestic product in Europe’s largest economy rising 0.2% this year — a rosier outlook than the stagnation they predicted in May’s poll. For 2026 and 2027, as sharply higher government outlays on infrastructure and defense kick in, they project expansion of 1.1% and 1.7%.

“Some measures in the new federal government’s emergency program do point in the right direction,” said Dennis Huchzermeier, senior economist at the Handelsblatt Research Institute. At the same time there are “significant burdens” such as the jump in the minimum wage and a “looming explosion” in social security contributions, he said.

Germany made a good start to 2025 with stronger-than-expected growth, though that was partly down to businesses and exporters attempting to get ahead of expected US tariffs. That could yet reverse.

The Bundesbank this month predicted stagnation for the year as a whole, downgrading its December call for a 0.2% increase in GDP as firms grapple with trade uncertainty. That view is in line with many national forecasters and global institutions, including the International Monetary Fund.

In a slightly more optimistic take, though, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said Monday that the recent upward revision to first-quarter output data could push the figure for 2025 above zero.

“A slight increase in overall economic output therefore seems quite possible on average,” he said in a speech in Frankfurt.

For 2026, Germany’s Ifo Institute last week raised its growth projection by 0.7 percentage point to 1.5%, citing more fiscal spending. The IfW in Kiel expects expansion of 1.6%.

Ifo President Clemens Fuest said Friday that 2% growth – a goal Chancellor Friedrich Merz has discussed – is achievable, so long as policymakers implement reforms.

“Money alone isn’t enough,” Fuest said. “There are too many stumbling blocks. Germany needs a willingness to reform in several areas.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

With Federal Reserve officials signaling an extended hold on interest rates, investors and economists will look to Chair Jerome Powell this week for clues on what might eventually prompt the central bank to make a move, and when.

A fourth straight meeting without a cut could provoke another tirade from President Donald Trump. But policymakers have been clear: Before they can make a move they need the White House to resolve the big question marks around tariffs, immigration and taxes. Israel’s attacks on Iranian nuclear sites have also introduced another element of uncertainty for the global economy.

At the same time, the generally healthy, if slowly cooling, US economy has few expecting a rate move any time soon. Investors are betting the central bank won’t lower borrowing costs until September at the earliest, according to pricing in futures contracts.

“The safest path to take in that situation, when there is no urgency to cut rates right now, is to just sit on your hands,” said Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management.

Policymakers gather June 17-18. They’ll release a statement at 2:00 PM Washington time, and Powell is scheduled to take questions from reporters 30 minutes later.

Difficult Choices

The president’s tariffs are widely expected to raise prices and slow growth, risks that officials flagged in their last post-meeting statement. That could eventually force the Fed to make a difficult choice as the economy pulls them in opposite directions.

“I don’t think at this point there’s anything to be alarmed about,” said David Hoag, fixed income portfolio manager at Capital Group. “But the longer we have uncertainty — for the consumer, for companies in terms of planning — the more concerned I’ll get about the fundamentals of the economy deteriorating.”

So far, however, the economy isn’t flashing warning signs that would prompt the Fed to intervene.

The unemployment rate has held steady for three months even as job growth has slowed, in part because a sharp decline in immigration is also lowering the supply of workers. The longer the jobless rate remains stable, the longer the Fed can hold rates as a defense against potentially higher inflation.

Yet price data has also provided little to worry about. Underlying inflation rose by less than expected in May for the fourth straight month. Treasuries rose last week on the news, bolstered by wagers on more than one rate cut this year. The yield on two-year notes, most sensitive to the Fed’s policy, declined by more than seven basis points on the week to 3.96%.

Still, officials are likely to wait for additional months of data to understand how much of the tariffs are being passed on to consumers. Israel’s airstrikes on Iran will raise additional questions. Fed officials traditionally look through energy price moves, but an oil price shock could affect inflation expectations.

Fresh Projections

Fresh economic forecasts and rate projections this week could provide helpful guidance to how officials are thinking. They’ll be the first since Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement of sweeping tariffs on April 2.

As analysts ponder the results, the range of possibilities is unusually large. 

If officials predict that unemployment will rise this year meaningfully above the 4.4% they forecast in March, that would suggest policymakers may cut rates before the fourth quarter, said Shah.

Some Fed officials, including Governor Christopher Waller, have already signaled an openness to cutting because they believe policymakers can view the expected impact of tariffs on consumer prices as temporary — as long as inflation expectations remain anchored. That aligns with market-based measures suggesting traders also believe the tariff price bump will be short-lived.

But should officials raise their expectations for inflation, that could reduce the number of cuts they project this year to one, from the two seen in March, said Matthew Luzzetti, chief US economist for Deutsche Bank. Strategists at Barclays warned of just such a “hawkish” surprise in a note to clients.

Officials might also consider the substantial uncertainty over the final state of Trump’s policies and simply leave their projections unchanged.

“I’d be surprised if the dots move much,” said Zachary Griffiths head of investment-grade and macroeconomic strategy at CreditSights. “It’s been a roller-coaster ride” since the Fed last released projections in March. “On net, I think we’re probably in a somewhat similar situation,” he said.  

Late Support

Some economists say the timing of the Fed’s next moves will eventually come down to how long it takes for Trump’s policies to show up in the economic data — and how strongly that raises concerns about a downturn.

In a Bloomberg survey of economists conducted June 6-11, 42% of respondents predicted the Fed will hold rates steady until there’s more concrete weakness in the economy.

Julia Coronado, founder of the research firm MacroPolicy Perspectives and a former Fed economist, said she expects rate cuts beginning in October or December in response to the more notable labor-market slowdown she estimates will materialize by then.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

• The major stock indices ended Friday mostly flat despite President Donald Trump claiming China had violated a trade agreement hammered out more than two weeks ago between the People’s Republic and the U.S. 

Stock markets finished the week on an even note despite President Donald Trump calling out China on social media. The S&P 500 posted a slight dip of 0.02%, the Nasdaq dropped 0.4%, and the Dow Jones was up just 0.1%. 

On Friday morning, Trump posted on Truth Social, his own social media platform, that his administration struck a “FAST DEAL” more than two weeks ago to ratchet down a trade war between the People’s Republic and the U.S. 

He was referring to an agreement hashed out between Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese counterparts in Switzerland to institute a 90-day pause on U.S. tariffs on Chinese exports and reciprocal tariffs from China. The deal saw the U.S. agree to reduce the surcharge on Chinese products from 145% to 30%, and the People’s Republic pledging to drop its retaliatory taxes from 125% to 10%.

But Trump claimed on Friday, without providing any evidence, that China had “TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT” with the U.S. His allegation follows comments from Bessent Thursday evening on Fox News that negotiations between the two superpowers were “a bit stalled.”

Trump’s claims against China came on the heels of court rulings that found he lacked the authority to impose all of the extensive slate of tariffs he had unveiled in early April. 

On Wednesday, the Court of International Trade, the top federal legal body that oversees trade disputes in the U.S., ruled that the 47th president didn’t have the legal authority to issue the sweeping tariffs he announced on what he called “Liberation Day” on April 2.  

But, on Thursday, a federal appeals court said, without ruling on the taxes’ legal merits, that many of Trump’s tariffs could temporarily remain while litigation plays out. The next hearing on the case is on June 5.

“The President of the United States must be allowed to protect America against those that are doing it Economic and Financial harm. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump posted Thursday on Truth Social after the appeals ruling.

Despite the muddled picture on Trump’s trade war, stocks were still up since markets opened last Friday. The S&P 500 has increased about 2.2% over the past week. (They were closed for Memorial Day on Monday.) Over the weekend, the president declared, after threatening the European Union with a 50% tariff, that he would delay implementing the taxes on European exports until July 9.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

• Alfredo Linares moved to Mexico with his wife Raegan Klein due to deportation fears in the U.S.
• The couple left Los Angeles with $20,000 in debt after closing their Japanese barbecue pop-up restaurant.
• After several months of instability, the two are finally finding some footing in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco.

When Raegan Klein and Alfredo Linares married last summer, their dream felt straightforward and simple: start a Japanese barbecue pop-up restaurant in Los Angeles and live happily ever after.

But all of that changed in the fall when President Donald Trump, who had promised mass deportations on the campaign trail, won reelection.

Linares, who had worked his way up in fine dining to become a cook in a Michelin Star restaurant, arrived in the US as a teenager at 19 with his family and has lived here illegally ever since. Klein, a US citizen, was stricken with worry that at any moment, her husband could be arrested and deported.

"I really didn't feel safe," Klein said. "Every morning I would wake up saying, 'If we don't go and something happens to him, I'll never be able to forgive myself.' "

In March, the couple moved from Culver City to Linare's birth country of Mexico in hopes of improving their chances of building a future together.

"I lived in the shadows for 20 years," Linares said. "I'm 38 years old, so I don't think I have 10 more years of living in the shadows when I'm trying to build a business and grow as a family, as an entrepreneur."

Going into debt to move to Mexico

The couple received around $10,000 in cash from their parents as a wedding gift. They had originally hoped to use the money to hire a lawyer to help Linares gain citizenship, but they wrestled with the best way to use the money to secure a future together.

"Do we really go ahead and gamble and trust this administration with this $10,000 that our parents gave us for our wedding gifts, or do we use that $10,000 to move to Mexico?" Klein said of their dilemma.

But even the wedding gift wasn't enough to help them break even and start fresh in Mexico. The pair took on debt to start their Japanese barbecue business last spring. While they tried to get it off the ground, their bills ballooned to over $20,000. They raised over $4,000 online through GoFundMe to help them with their relocation.

Since the move, they've attempted to find jobs in hospitality, but because Linares doesn't have an identification card and Klein doesn't have work authorization as a temporary resident, it's been difficult to pay the bills.

"We're not earning an income," Klein said. "We have all of that stress and try to keep our credit card in a reasonable place and keep ourselves on a budget."

Adjusting to life in a new country

The biggest hurdle for them has been navigating the deluge of paperwork and bureaucracy in a new country.

"I'm very Americanized," Linares said. "Yes, I'm Mexican, but I haven't been here for 20 years. It's totally different from the Mexico I left."

From needing a physical copy of a birth certificate to struggling to establish Linares' permanent residence, it's been hard for him to get an ID card when they were first living in Airbnbs in Mexico City.

"I need my ID, but I cannot have an ID because I don't have a home address. And I can't get a home address because I don't have a job, because I don't have an ID," Linares said of the frustrating situation.

Now they are renting an apartment in Puerto Vallarta in the state of Jalisco, where they've been finally settling in over the past three weeks.

"I feel like myself a little bit more," Klein said of the stability. "I'm realizing that this is where we live, this is our home. We're not on vacation."

Klein is now able to see past the trials of the past few months and look toward the future with more hope. They've since brought down their rescue dog Dolly Love from Los Angeles to live with them in Mexico.

"I do believe we made the right choice," Klein said. "I do believe that there's opportunity here. I do believe in my husband and his talents and his skills."

The move to Mexico has tested their relationship and challenged them in many different ways, but Linares said the core of their bond hasn't been shaken.

They keep a routine of checking in with each other over coffee every morning. "She makes things easier, and it's because of the communication that we have," Linares said of his wife.

Look, no one said building a large harvester to roam around the Moon and sift through hundreds of tons of regolith to retrieve small amounts of helium-3 would be easy. And that's to say nothing of the enormous challenge of processing and then launching any of this material from the lunar surface before finally landing it safely on Earth.

If we're being completely honest, doing all of this commercially is a pretty darn difficult row to hoe. Many commercial space experts dismiss it out of hand. So that's why it's gratifying to see that a company that is proposing to do this, Interlune, is taking some modest steps toward this goal.

Moreover, recent changes in the tides of space policy may also put some wind in the sails of Interlune and its considerable ambitions.

Read full article

Comments

• Ireland's basic income pilot program for the arts ends in August.
• For three years, 2,000 artists and creative arts workers received about $370 a week.
• Recipients said the stipend overall improved their daily lives.

For about 2,000 artists and creative arts workers in Ireland, a weekly stipend provided through a basic income program has been a lifeline for years.

Now, it's almost over.

The pilot program began in 2022 under Catherine Martin, Ireland's former minister for tourism and culture. Martin allocated about $28 million to the arts sector following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Participants were randomly chosen and given an unconditional stipend of €325, or about $370, weekly for three years. During that time, participants met periodically via Zoom to discuss how the additional income had affected their livelihoods, careers, and ability to meet basic needs.

The final session was held this month before the program's conclusion in August.

Artists and cultural workers who attended the session grappled with what their lives would look like after August, but they hoped government officials would extend the program.

"We need no further pilots. People need a UBI now to face and deal with the many social, economic, and ecological crises of our world," Reinhard Huss, the organizer of UBI Lab Leeds, which sponsored the event alongside Basic Income Ireland, UBI Lab Arts, and UBI Lab Network, told Business Insider.

New developments in AI are reshaping the job market, replacing some entry-level positions. Tech industry leaders like Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman have said implementing a universal basic income will be essential in the near future when AI supplants jobs in most industries.

A universal basic income offers an entire population recurring, unconditional payments regardless of an individual's socioeconomic status. Ireland's program, like many others in the United States, is a guaranteed basic income, which targets certain segments of the population for a set period of time.

Impact of Ireland's basic income program for artists

Jenny Dagg, a sociologist lecturing at Ireland's Maynooth University, authored a new report that provides insights into participants' reactions to the program. She gathered data from over 50 of the 2,000 recipients.

Although the report outlined nearly a dozen key impacts reported by program recipients, Dagg highlighted five major takeaways during the Zoom session.

Dagg said that recipients who received money from the program reported more stability and "significantly reduced" financial stress. It relieved their anxiety about fulfilling their basic needs.

Participating in the pilot program also allowed artists to re-prioritize how they spend their time and what they choose to focus on. "The opportunity to focus more on their specific creative interests opened new possibilities and career trajectories," the report said.

Artists said the added income allowed them to spend more time "researching, experimenting, taking risks, and failing," which has improved the quality of their work.

Artists, the report said, also felt more confident in themselves and their work during the program. "Many recipients talk of feeling empowered, of being in control of the choices within their lives, and envisioning a viable career path longer-term," the report said.

Recipients even reported better mental health, which led to improved sleep quality and lowered stress levels.

What's next for Ireland's basic income program

With the end of the program fast approaching, recipients of the weekly payment are reckoning with what how their lives might change.

"Across art forms, recipients report concerns about financial stability and sustaining the momentum of their careers when, or if, the basic income scheme ends," Dagg's report said.

This month, Basic Income Ireland called on the government to immediately implement a universal and unconditional basic income for the country. A spokesperson for the UBI Lab Network said the pilot program's success shows that basic income is a viable option. The campaign group shared a proposal for introducing a universal basic income to Ireland.

"As the pilot shows, basic income works and people need a UBI now to face and deal with the many social, economic, and ecological crises of our world. The Network will continue to help demonstrate basic income within communities and show how it is a sustainable policy," the statement said.

Patrick O'Donovan, Ireland's minister for arts and culture, said he would evaluate the data collected throughout the pilot program and create proposals for the government regarding the next steps.

"I am heartened by the responses of the Basic Income recipients in this paper," O'Donovan said in the May report. "This research will add to the evaluation being conducted by my department, which to date clearly shows that the Basic Income Pilot has been an effective support for the artists in receipt of it."

• Some Americans are traveling to Europe this summer despite their concerns about the economy.
• Travelers are budgeting, but many aren't giving up bucket-list trips abroad, a Deloitte survey found.
• Euro summer is a priority, especially for millennials and Gen Z, a travel content creator said.

The American dream may be struggling, but for many, the Euro summer dream is alive and well.

Jimin Shim, a millennial copywriter who lives in Denver, has plenty of concerns about the economy, from stock market volatility that she feels has been brought on by the current administration to a tough job market.

Still, she's vacationing in Portugal later this month, and treating her mom to the trip too.

"Traveling is very important to me. I try to do at least one international trip a year and then maybe a couple of domestic trips," she told Business Insider. "And because I know that that is a priority for me, it's something that I budget for and am saving up for all year round."

While there's been some softening in leisure travel demand this year, data and surveys suggest Shim is one of many Americans who are weighing their international travel plans against their worries about the economy and saying, "book it."

The extent to which Americans are pulling back on international trips this summer is not fully clear. An analysis from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, found summer bookings from the US to Europe were down nearly 10% from January to May compared to last year. Meanwhile, a summer travel survey from Deloitte, released in May, found more Americans were traveling internationally this summer compared to 2024, with most headed to Europe. And a recent data analysis by Allianz Partners, a travel insurance and assistance company, found summer travel from the US to Europe would increase by 10% in 2025.

The economy isn't the only reason Americans might rethink travel to Europe this summer. The weakening US dollar doesn't go as far as it used to, and some Americans are worried about their safety or not feeling welcomed abroad due to the current administration's approach to foreign policy.

Americans are also waiting longer to book their trips, which could complicate the picture.

Still, it's clear that many Americans are traveling abroad despite the downturn in consumer sentiment.

"I think you're seeing a hesitancy," Amir Eylon, president and CEO of Longwoods International, a market research consultancy that specializes in the travel tourism industry, told BI. "I still believe a majority of American travelers who were planning to go abroad are still going to go abroad."

The enduring appeal of Euro summer

Eylon said that while there are indications of a slowdown, it does not look like a "game-changing" shift. His firm's monthly consumer sentiment survey of 1,000 travelers found the number of American travelers who said they were very likely to take an international trip in the next 12 months declined from 25% in January to 19% in May.

He noted travelers seemed to be in a "wait and see" mode this spring, echoing what other industry experts have said and previously told BI — that travelers are booking closer to travel dates, in part as they search for good deals.

Eylon said it is possible there will be an overall decline in Americans visiting Europe this year, but it's too soon to tell the full picture. He thinks those canceling or ditching trip plans will be in the minority.

"American travelers view it as a need more than a want," he said of travel, adding that many see it as a "right."

Meredith Pierce, a travel content creator based in Atlanta, said that's exactly how she and many other millennials and Gen Zers view travel, including to Europe. Pierce posts a lot of popular "Euro summer" content and sees it as a persistent and lasting travel trend, even when folks have financial concerns.

"Everyone loves the idea of sipping an Aperol spritz and looking at the Mediterranean," Pierce said, "especially if maybe you are stressed in your day-to-day life because of politics or the economy or budgets, or anything like that. A bit of escapism I think comes into play there as well."

The hesitancy fueled by economic uncertainty could also make it a bit more affordable to travel to Europe this summer. Eylon noted the slowdown in leisure travel led to some declines in airfare prices, which may have pushed some hesitant Americans to take the plunge.

When economic concerns, largely fueled by Trump's tariff policy, intensified in March and April, some airlines suspended their forecasts for the year, and flight prices declined.

Rather than get spooked by the economic uncertainty, Pierce believes plenty of people pounced. Her "Euro summer" content from last year started going viral, and she was getting flooded with DMs and questions from people who found a cheap flight to Europe and were suddenly planning their trips.

Pierce said some budget-conscious travelers are opting for more affordable and under-the-radar destinations in Europe, such as Albania or Poland, which feature similarly picturesque scenes but at a lower cost than Italy or Paris.

More frugal spending once they get to their destination

Deloitte's summer travel survey noted that many American travelers already had their big summer trips partially or even fully booked by April, when concerns around tariffs and the economy intensified. The survey also found that while consumers' sense of financial well-being was down year-over-year in April, slightly more Americans planned to take leisure vacations this summer compared to 2024.

Deloitte found travelers looking to save were cutting back on in-destination spending as well as opting for more affordable lodging and flight classes.

The survey also found that while some are being more frugal, many Americans are prioritizing bucket list trips and international travel, or trips that are otherwise special in some way.

Deloitte found 42% of air travelers were flying internationally on their longest summer trip, compared to 38% in 2024. Those traveling internationally were also more likely to increase their travel budget compared to last year.

Shim, the copywriter from Denver, also has a special reason for making her Portugal trip work this year, despite her financial concerns. Her family has been going through a tough time after her grandfather's death last year. This vacation is a way to spend quality time with and treat her mom, who has never been to Europe, and take the first trip that's just the two of them.

"I also think that sometimes in these times of uncertainty and tumultuousness and a lot of tension and division, traveling and spending quality time with family who loves you is a great way to just take care of your mental and emotional health too," she said, "which I think is also very important to do."

Do you have a story to share about your summer travel plans? Contact this reporter at [email protected].

• President Donald Trump may have other routes to impose tariffs if the court strikes down his current duties.
• A pause on Trump's use of the IEEPA to impose tariffs has been halted by an appeals court.
• International trade experts say other ways to hike tariffs may be limiting and time-consuming.

President Donald Trump has four more swings at implementing his tariffs — even if courts strike down his use of the IEEPA.

Experts in international trade told Business Insider that Trump could take four different routes to imposing trade barriers without Congress. All four are doable, though significantly more complicated, and are unlikely policies he could change at will overnight.

"Now we're over a hundred days into the tariffs, and tariffs are a very top-of-the-agenda item," Drew DeLong, lead in geopolitical dynamics practice at Kearney, a global strategy and management consulting firm, told BI.

"There are a number of motivations underneath tariffs, and whether his current tariffs stay, he will find ways to continue to amplify pressure on trading partners," DeLong added.

After small businesses sued Trump and his various trade officials over tariffs, the US Court of International Trade ruled unanimously on May 28 that he doesn't have the authority to levy sweeping tariffs using the IEEPA — a 1970s law typically used for economic sanctions during national emergencies.

The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit resumed the tariffs a day later, but their fate remains uncertain.

"That decision, if it is favorable to Trump, would still go to the Supreme Court for review," said Kent Jones, Professor Emeritus of international economics at Babson College. "Many conservative judges, even Trump appointees, have tended to view Trump's use of IEEAP as overstepping the limits of delegating tariff-making power from Congress to the President."

Here are four things the Trump administration could do next to keep trade barriers up without Congress.

Section 122

DeLong said Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, also known as the Balance of Payments Act, could be the White House's first choice if it wants to "continue the pressure immediately" on trading partners.

The act's official language allows it to be applied only if there are "large and serious United States balance-of-payments deficits," otherwise known as trade deficits.

"Section 122 is probably going to be a top pick," Robert Shapiro, an attorney of international trade at Thompson Coburn LLP, told BI. "That gives Trump some vehicle, but it's a limited 15% for 150 days, and then he has to go to Congress."

"That would open the door for Congress to pass a whole bunch of trade actions, but the administration obviously didn't want to go through that first," Shapiro added.

Section 232

Section 232 under the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 allows the White House to raise duties on imports it deems a threat to national security.

A recent probe into critical mineral imports, for example, argued that the US is overly dependent on foreign sources for materials essential to defense, infrastructure, and innovation.

DeLong said that at the moment, there are at least eight ongoing Section 232 investigations, including those involving copper, timber, and semiconductors. He said the recent June 3 tariff hike on steel and aluminum from 25% to 50% is also being done under section 232.

Jones said, however, that each section 232 tariff requires a formal investigation, and the sectors it could be applied to are limited.

"The problem with section 232 is that it requires a separate action for each industrial category of goods against which tariffs can be imposed," said Jones. "The perceived advantage of the IEEPA was that it allowed broad tariff coverage across the board to all industries."

Section 301

Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 gives the US Trade Representative — now Jamieson Greer — broad authority to investigate whether other countries are violating existing trade agreements or hurting American businesses.

DeLong said that the first Trump administration leaned heavily on the provision to impose tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods and aircraft from the European Union.

But section 301 would require a formal investigation and even a public comment period.

"The problem with sec. 301, however, is that it requires a separate determination of specific foreign unfair or discriminatory trade practices, country by country," said Jones.

"The IEEPA, again, seemed to give the President more flexibility in declaring an emergency against all global imports into the US without the need to document specific foreign practices," Jones added.

Section 338

DeLong said Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 could theoretically allow any US president to impose up to a 50% tariff on countries that discriminate against the US. However, he said this would be a very uncommon approach that could again bring the tariff argument into uncharted territories.

"That has not been used — and I don't think I'm understating this —in decades, or ever," said DeLong of section 338. "That would be relatively new."

• Elon Musk predicted Trump's tariffs will trigger a recession later this year.
• Musk's comment comes amid a growing public fallout with the president.
• Wall Street has expressed similar concerns over Trump's tariffs.

Elon Musk predicted Donald Trump's tariffs will send the economy into recession, one of many verbal barbs the tech billionaire threw at the president on Thursday as their relationship collapsed into acrimony.

"The Trump tariffs will cause a recession in the second half of this year," Musk wrote on X while reposting another tweet that called Trump's tariffs "super stupid."

The morning began with Trump saying he was disappointed by Musk's opposition to his "One Big Beautiful Bill" during a press appearance to welcome the German Chancellor to the White House.

The feud intensified when Musk called out Trump's "ingratitude," and suggested establishing a new political party. The SpaceX cofounder also proposed decommissioning the company's Dragon spacecraft after Trump threatened to cut his government contracts, although Musk backed off that idea pretty quickly on X.

Fractures between the two emerged after Musk left his role recently at the White House. On Tuesday, Musk blasted the Republicans' tax-and-spending-cut bill, which Trump helped to shepherd through the House, calling it "pork-filled'" and a "disgusting abomination."

Musk isn't alone in criticizing the potential fiscal impact of this legislation. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated it could increase deficits by $2.4 trillion over a decade.

Other experts also agree with Musk that Trump's tariffs could have a negative impact on the US economy.

JPMorgan predicted a 60% chance of a US recession after Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on April 2. The bank adjusted the possibility down to below 50% recently after Trump paused most of his highest tariffs.

In a March interview with Fox News, Trump had also declined to rule out the possibility of a recession.

"I hate to predict things like that," said Trump.

"There is a period of transition," he added, "because what we're doing is very big. We're bringing back wealth to America. That's a big thing, and there are always periods of, it takes a little time, it takes a little time."

• The Education Department confirmed to BI that it's pausing Social Security garnishment for defaulted student loans.
• The department said it plans to resume offsets "sometime this summer."
• It is also still planning to garnish wages for defaulted borrowers this summer.

President Donald Trump is pausing one of the harshest consequences for student-loan borrowers who default on their debt.

On Monday evening, the Department of Education confirmed to Business Insider that it would be pausing Social Security garnishment for defaulted student-loan borrowers after restarting collections on May 5.

"The Department has not offset any social security benefits since restarting collections on May 5, and has put a pause on any future social security offsets," Ellen Keast, an Education Department spokesperson, told BI.

"The Trump Administration is committed to protecting social security recipients who oftentimes rely on a fixed income," Keast continued. "In the coming weeks, the Department will begin proactive outreach to recipients about affordable loan repayment options and help them back into good standing."

A notice posted to the Department of Education's debt resolution page also said that the department is "delaying offsets of these monthly benefits for a couple of months and plans to resume sometime this summer."

The notice added that the department still intends to resume wage garnishment "later this summer."

This announcement comes after a five-year pause that Trump started during the pandemic, halting negative credit reporting and collections on defaulted student loans. Linda McMahon, Trump's education secretary, said that collections would resume once again in an effort to restore accountability to the student-loan system.

"Borrowing money and failing to pay it back isn't a victimless offense. Debt doesn't go away; it gets transferred to others," McMahon wrote in a May opinion piece.

A federal borrower typically enters default after missing payments for more than 270 days. Those who are in default can rehabilitate their loans or consolidate their loans — both of which can be time-consuming — or file for bankruptcy.

Over 5 million borrowers are currently in default. The New York Federal Reserve recently found that the number of borrowers who moved into serious delinquency surged to 8.04% in the first quarter of 2024, meaning that millions more could enter default this summer.

Some student-loan borrowers previously told BI that they cannot afford to lose their Social Security income if they default on their debt.

"There will be no retirement. I'll die on the job," James Southern, a 63-year-old borrower, said. "Even if I were at my full retirement age, they'd garnish the Social Security, so I'm still going to have to work in order to survive."

Are you in default, or concerned about defaulting on your student loans? Share your story with this reporter at [email protected].

• The OECD cut its forecast for US economic growth in 2025 from 2.8% to 1.6%.
• It cited President Donald Trump's tariffs, which had pushed the US import rate to the highest level since 1938.
• Global growth is also set to slow as trade tensions disrupt investment and inflation rises, the OECD said.

The US and global economy are losing steam, and a key forecaster said President Donald Trump's trade tariffs were part of the reason.

In its latest Economic Outlook, released on Tuesday, the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development cut its forecast for US economic growth in 2025, pointing to the fallout from the administration's trade policies. The 2.8% rate it predicted in March has now been reduced to 1.6%.

The OECD warned that these tariffs, which have pushed the effective US import rate to 15.4% — the highest since 1938 — were not only affecting US growth but reverberating across the global economy too.

Global growth was now projected to slow to 2.9% in both 2025 and 2026, down from 3.3% in 2024.

The OECD said the slowdown in growth was concentrated in the US, Canada, Mexico, and China. Growth in China, the world's second-largest economy, was expected to fall to 4.7% in 2025, down from 5% last year, and come in at 4.3% in 2026.

As of May 27, a blanket 10% tariff applies to all goods imported into the US, with some limited exemptions.

Stoking inflation

A 50% tariff on imports from the European Union were paused until July 7 amid "fast-tracked" negotiations, while steep levies on imports from China have also been put on hold.

The OECD said these policies were eroding investment, disrupting supply chains, and stoking inflation — especially in the US, where price growth is now projected to approach 4% by the end of the year.

OECD secretary-general Mathias Cormann said governments needed to work to keep markets open and preserve the "economic benefits of rules-based global trade for competition, innovation, productivity, efficiency and ultimately growth."

Chief economist Álvaro Pereira added: "Lower growth and less trade will hit incomes and slow job growth."

The organization urged governments to de-escalate tensions and roll back tariffs to avoid further damage to the global economy.

In a Monday note, Deutsche Bank economists said there were global signs of a "turbulent but sustained path toward trade de-escalation. The fallout from the US 'Liberation Day' policies — from falling approval ratings to a sell-off in US government bonds — forced a rethink in Washington. While recent court rulings could pave the way for an even more benign trade regime, they also prolong uncertainty."

The bank also expected US GDP to grow by 1.6% this year and by 1.7% in 2026 on an annual average basis.

• Wells Fargo said in a report that President Donald Trump's tariffs won't bring manufacturing back.
• High labor costs and a lack of workers would make building more factories an "uphill battle."
• US manufacturing needs $2.9 trillion in investment to reach 1979 employment levels.

President Donald Trump's push to revive American manufacturing through tariffs may face some hurdles.

Despite some high-profile commitments, including Nvidia's plans for a US-based supercomputer plant and Apple's pledge to invest $500 billion domestically, a new report from Wells Fargo economists predicts that bringing back offshored manufacturing jobs will be an "uphill battle."

"An aim of tariffs is to spur a durable rebound in US manufacturing employment," Wells Fargo analysts wrote in the report. "However, a meaningful increase in factory jobs does not appear likely in the foreseeable future, in our view."

The report attributes the potentially low factory job growth to high labor costs, a lack of suitable workers to fill vacant positions, and a subdued population growth from lower fertility rates and slower immigration.

"Higher prices and policy uncertainty may weigh on firms' ability and willingness to expand payrolls," the analysts added.

The tariffs are part of Trump's broader economic agenda to revive American manufacturing as a pathway toward middle-class prosperity. The tariffs are meant to hike the costs of imports to incentivize companies to make goods domestically.

"Jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country," Trump said while announcing tariffs on April 2. "And ultimately, more production at home will mean stronger competition and lower prices for consumers."

Some tariffs imposed on April 2 have been temporarily paused or greatly reduced, including tariffs on China. The 10% across-the-board tariff remains, as do some specific tariffs on Mexico and Canada, plus 30% in duties on China. Duties at their current level are still the highest they have been since the 1940s.

"In order for manufacturing employment to return to its historic peak, we estimate at a minimum $2.9 trillion in net new capital investment is required," Wells Fargo analysts wrote. "Assuming businesses are willing and able to invest such ample sums, questions over staffing remain."

The Wall Street bank says that US manufacturing employment currently stands at 12.8 million, down from its 1979 peak of 19.5 million. To get back to that mark, the US would need to add roughly 6.7 million jobs. Wells Fargo added that the figure is nearly the same as the entire pool of unemployed Americans, which in April was 7.2 million, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

"Population aging, negative perceptions, and skill mismatches also underpin workforce concerns," Wells Fargo analysts wrote. "New jobs will require different skills than those previously lost."

In 2024, Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC said it delayed the opening of its Arizona chip factory due to a shortage of skilled workers. A report released in April 2024 by Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute also found that nearly half of the 3.8 million new manufacturing jobs anticipated by 2033 could remain unfilled due to skill gaps and other population factors.

"Tariffs must be high enough to make the cost of domestic production competitive in the US market, and they also must be kept in place long enough for producers to bring on additional workers and expand capacity," the report concluded. "If the economic or political costs are deemed too high, the current administration could quickly dial-back prevailing duties further."

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comments.

• Airbnb's CEO said he's heard from founders facing a challenging fundraising landscape amid economic uncertainty.
• Brian Chesky said that while a stable economy is needed, there's a "silver lining" to building a business in tough times.
• The Airbnb cofounder said on Michelle Obama's podcast that a tough economy bakes "discipline" into your company culture.

Brian Chesky is no stranger to starting a business in tough economic times.

Chesky cofounded Airbnb in 2007 and built the business during the 2008 financial crisis. In a recent podcast conversation with Michelle Obama and her brother, Craig Robinson, Chesky said it was challenging to get the business off the ground during a recession, even with some of the advantages and connects he and his founders had that other entrepreneurs might not have.

However, he said there was one "silver lining" to growing the business during tough times, which might resonate with founders facing today's economic uncertainty.

"A lot of great companies have been started in a recession," he said in a Wednesday episode of "IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson."

"And the one, I don't want to say it's a good thing, but what it does is it teaches you a certain type of discipline," he said. "A tough economy teaches you a discipline that gets institutionalized into your culture."

By comparison, a strong economy might give founders more cushioning to "perpetuate bad strategies and be a little less disciplined," Chesky said.

"I think the good news is a lot of great entrepreneurs are incredibly resourceful, and they will find a way to work," the Airbnb cofounder said. "But we absolutely need like a very stable economy."

Chesky said that entrepreneurs he's spoken with recently told him "a lot of fundraising, for all intents and purposes, was kind of on hold."

"A lot of limited partners and investors are just like hunkering down. And what we know about investors, they don't like uncertainty," he said.

He believes investors will "sit this one out until things stabilize."

"And if they don't stabilize, we're going to be in for a very prolonged kind of dry spell for fundraising," he said. "If you did not go to a prestigious school, if you weren't, like, purely a team of technical engineers, if you're not trying to create an AI company, you're just trying to create a business, that will be more difficult."

Airbnb isn't the only successful business to emerge from the Great Recession. Companies like Uber, WhatsApp, Venmo, and Square also started around the time of the 2008 financial crisis.

"It's always a great time to start a business — and some of the most successful businesses are started during recessions," certified financial planner Cary Carbonaro previously told BI. "Adversity is the mother of invention."

• My husband and I make good money and live on the Upper East Side but are frugal with groceries.
• We keep our weekly grocery bill under $100 a week, and that feeds us plus a Sunday dinner party.
• Our secret involves a mix of creative cooking and a little financial savvy.

When I moved from Nashville to New York, I expected new experiences. However, one thing I still can't get over is how casually people spend on food.

I noticed ordering delivery or grocery shopping daily to satisfy a craving was more common. At first, I was excited to explore the city's culinary scene and began eating out more and indulging myself.

However, I quickly grew tired of spending $14 for a tuna sandwich that I could make at home in four minutes for a fraction of the cost.

My husband and I make good money. He works on Wall Street, and I'm a food stylist, meaning I make food look beautiful for NFL campaigns, fashion editorials, and magazines like Bon Appétit.

At home, though, I cook like a freelancer on a budget.

We live on the Upper East Side, and while we could spend more money on food, we share a core value: our money should work harder than we do. So, we keep groceries simple — and cheap.

Our weekly grocery bill rarely tops $100, and that's including shopping for the dinner guests we host almost every Sunday. That $100 ends up feeding the two of us for five breakfasts and dinners, plus one dinner party for six.

Our secret? A mix of creative cooking and a little financial savvy.

Sunday supper is the key to my success

Each Sunday, I cook a meal for six and always take the time to make extra, ensuring there are leftovers. This food becomes the foundation of meals for the week.

Roasted veggies go into Monday's grain bowl. Extra herbs become a seasoning for homemade dressings.

All the meal prep I do for Sunday becomes ingredient prep for the rest of the week, saving me both time and money. No scraps or leftovers go to waste — we save everything.

On set for my job, there's a golden rule: never throw anything away. It's not just for sustainability, we might need to re-shoot a veggie sandwich eight hours later, which means rebuilding the exact same sandwich without needing to buy new ingredients.

That habit of saving partial ingredients to get the same — or sometimes better — results followed me home. Now I see leftovers as ingredients in disguise.

A few slices of cheese from Saturday's snack board top tuna toast on Wednesday. And with a quick broil, a sad tuna salad becomes a delicious tuna melt. That's $14 saved.

We used to eat out three or four times a week, but since I've stopped seeing leftovers as scraps for trash and started seeing them as opportunities, home cooking has become easier than takeout.

Now, we have to justify a date night because our fridge is full of food we want to eat.

We also save by stocking up on staples and buying in bulk

We love Japanese, Italian, and Tex-Mex cuisines, so we always have tamari, rice, tomato paste, olives, tortillas, and salsa on hand. With these ingredients, I can make something delicious from whatever's in the fridge.

Buying in bulk also helps. Our freezer is stocked with almond flour tortillas (half the price at Costco compared to the corner store). We get 10-packs of Beyond Meat patties for what two cost elsewhere. They're quick, versatile, and a lifesaver on busy nights.

A few Saturdays ago, we were short on time before heading to Yankee Stadium. In the fridge were kale stems, tired bell pepper slices, half an onion, mushrooms, and garlic. I sautéed everything with a Beyond patty and taco spices, then added tortillas, eggs, and leftover cilantro from Sunday's fried rice. In 15 minutes, we had protein-packed tacos that kept us full until we hit the concession stand.

The trick to spending less than $100 a week on groceries isn't restrictive diets or rigid meal plans. It's barely wasting a thing and using what we already have in smart, flexible ways. It's scrappy, satisfying, and surprisingly elegant.

• Unwanted subscriptions were about to get easier to cancel with the FTC's new click-to-cancel rule.
• But the commission just delayed its enforcement deadline by two more months.
• Ex-FTC commissioner Lina Khan says the move lets firms "keep trapping people" in pesky subscriptions.

It was about to get easier to get rid of that pesky subscription you've been stuck paying for until the Federal Trade Commission delayed enforcement of its new click-to-cancel rule.

Former FTC chair Lina Khan, in a Thursday post on X, said that the enforcement delay will give firms more time "to keep trapping people in subscriptions."

Most consumers are familiar with the unwanted subscription rigamarole: It's painlessly simple to sign up online for a streaming service, gym, or other subscription, but when the time comes to stop monthly payments and unsubscribe, there's no way to do it digitally, and you're forced into the dreaded routine of navigating call center chatbots that only seem to operate during the middle of your workday.

The FTC's click-to-cancel rule was supposed to go into effect in its entirety this week, ending the nightmarish cycle and making it just as easy for consumers to cancel their subscriptions as it was to start them. But on Friday, the commission's leaders voted to extend its enforcement deadline by two more months.

"Having conducted a fresh assessment of the burdens that forcing compliance by this date would impose, the Commission has determined that the original deferral period insufficiently accounted for the complexity of compliance," read a statement from Chairman Andrew Ferguson, co-signed by commissioners Melissa Holyoak and Mark Meador, about the decision.

After the FTC approved the click-to-cancel rule, also known as the Negative Option Rule, in November 2024, businesses had more than six months to comply before enforcement was scheduled to begin.

The rule's requirement to remove statements that misrepresent the nature of a subscription took effect on January 14. Its enforcement provisions — requiring clear disclosures, user consent, and easy cancellation policies —  were set to take effect on May 14. However, the FTC's latest decision pushes the enforcement deadline back by 60 days, to July 14.

"We object to the delay," former FTC commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Slaughter said in a joint statement posted to social media on Tuesday. "And were we allowed to exercise our duties as commissioners, we would have voted 'no.'"

Bedoya and Slaughter were the only two Democrats serving as FTC commissioners until March 18, when President Donald Trump fired them. The pair, whose terminations indicated their service at the FTC was "inconsistent" with Trump's policy priorities, have filed suit against the administration, alleging their firings violate a 1935 Supreme Court precedent that the president cannot fire FTC commissioners without cause, CNN reported.

Even if Bedoya and Slaughter had remained at the FTC, the conservative majority at the commission would be able to pass rules via a 3-2 vote. The decision to delay the click-to-cancel enforcement received a 3-0 vote, with all three Republican commissioners voting in favor of the deadline extension.

"The companies create these traps," Bedoya and Slaughter's statement continued. "They're the ones who made it so hard to get out. They didn't have to wait to make it easier to unsubscribe. But they did — they waited until the FTC told them to stop. Then, they still got six months to get their houses in order. Why do they get another two months to comply?"

Representatives for the FTC did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

• Republicans are trying to pass Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" in the coming weeks.
• It includes new tax cuts, changes to Medicaid, saving accounts for kids, and other provisions.
• Here's what you should know about the centerpiece of Trump's legislative agenda.

For months, President Donald Trump has pursued his sweeping agenda through executive actions. Now comes the hard part.

Republicans on Capitol Hill are finally putting pen to paper on what Trump has called the "One Big Beautiful Bill," a sweeping fiscal package that will serve as the centerpiece of the president's legislative agenda.

The bill includes GOP priorities like no taxes on tips or overtime, cuts to Medicaid, "MAGA accounts" for children and several other provisions.

It will take weeks for lawmakers in the House and Senate to work out the final details, and it's likely that some changes will be made along the way. Republicans hope to send the bill to Trump's desk by July 4.

Here's what you should know about what's in the "One Big Beautiful Bill."

The bill includes cuts to Medicaid, and millions could lose health coverage

As part of the plan approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, states would implement work requirements in 2029 for childless adults on Medicaid who do not have a disability, mandating they work for 80 hours a month.

A component of the plan would increase the price of doctors' visits, mandating beneficiaries making above the federal poverty limit to pay co-payments of up to $35. States would also be required to stop taxing hospitals and nursing homes in order to secure more federal funding.

Medicaid recipients in some states would have more paperwork to regularly confirm their residency status and income. And the plan would lower federal funding for some recipients in states that fund medical coverage for undocumented immigrants.

The Congress Budget Office estimated the legislation would save about $912 billion over the next decade in federal spending, about $715 billion of which would derive from Medicaid and Affordable Care Act cuts. The CBO said about 8.6 million people could lose their insurance coverage.

The plan came short of expectations among some ultraconservatives who wanted more Medicaid cuts at the federal level. Some GOP leaders wanted per-capita caps for those in Medicaid expansion states and a lower across-the-board rate at which the federal government supplements each state's funding for Medicaid programs.

Democrats have strongly opposed the bill, emphasizing that millions of Americans will potentially have their lives uprooted by Medicaid cuts.

No tax on tips or overtime, making Trump's 2017 tax cuts permanent, and more

Some of Trump's flashiest campaign promises were to remove taxes on tips, overtime, and Social Security. This bill largely gets those done, but only for the next four years — lawmakers will have to decide whether to renew the cuts in 2029.

The bill would allow workers in an "occupation that traditionally and customarily receives tips" to claim a tax deduction for the sum of all tips that they received in the previous year. It would also do the same for overtime wages. Neither deduction is available to anyone who is a "highly compensated employee."

To help accomplish Trump's "no taxes on Social Security" pledge, Republicans created a new $4,000 tax deduction for seniors making less than $75,000 per year. There's also a provision in the bill to fulfill Trump's promise of no taxes on car loan interest.

There's also an extension of the child tax credit, which is currently $2,000 but was set to decrease to $1,000 after this year. The bill would increase the credit to $2,500 through 2028, then it would drop to $2,000 permanently after that.

If you're thinking of buying an electric vehicle, you might want to do so before the end of the year. The bill would eliminate existing tax credits for new and used EVs, and it would impose an annual registration fee of $250 for EV owners.

The bill also makes permanent a slew of tax cuts that Trump and Republicans enacted in 2017. The average American won't feel much of a difference, since they've probably gotten used to the existing tax rates and brackets that have existed since 2018. But it's the most consequential part of the bill from a budgetary perspective, adding trillions to the deficit over the next several years.

MAGA savings accounts

The bill establishes "Money account for growth and advancement" accounts, or MAGA accounts, for children. The idea was originally proposed by Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.

The federal government would pay $1,000 to babies born from 2024 through 2028. After the cutoff, parents will still be able to put $5,000 per year into each account.

Cruz's proposal is similar to previous Democratic-led efforts for "baby bonds," but the biggest difference is that there is no income cutoff. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, a Democrat, envisioned a program primarily targeted at low-income families.

A repeal of Biden's student loan forgiveness plans

If enacted, the reconciliation bill would mean major changes for student-loan borrowers. The legislation proposes terminating all existing income-driven student-loan repayment plans, including Biden's SAVE income-driven repayment plan, which would have shortened the timeline for debt relief and provided cheaper monthly payments. While SAVE is currently paused due to litigation, Trump and Republican lawmakers have said they would not carry out the plan if it survives in court.

Under the bill, borrowers would have two repayment plan options: one, called the Repayment Assistance Plan, would allow for loan forgiveness after 360 qualifying payments, and the other option would be a standard repayment plan with a fixed monthly payment over a fixed time period set by the servicer.

Payments made under the Repayment Assistance Plan would be calculated based on the borrower's income and would count toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

A 10-year ban on state-level AI laws

House lawmakers handed a major win to Big Techby including a 10-year federal preemption on all state artificial intelligence laws in the larger bill. Congress has talked about a federal AI policy, but no serious legislative proposals have emerged.

In the meantime, states have tried to fill to void. Major tech companies have long fought state-level AI regulations. Last year, California lawmakers passed the nation's most sweeping AI legislation only for Gov. Gavin Newsom to veto it.

Meta, OpenAI, and Anthropic lobbied against California's bill. Meta recently wrote to the White House that state laws "could impede innovation and investment."

The issue isn't going away. In the 2024 legislative session, lawmakers in at least 45 states introduced AI-related bills, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Unlike most of the other provisions on this list, the AI regulation ban faces major hurdles to making it into law. Republicans must adhere to strict parliamentary rules to pass Trump's bill without facing a Democratic filibuster in the Senate. One rule is that all provisions must be primarily fiscal in nature, and many expect that the AI provision will fail that test.

A debt ceiling hike, the end of IRS Direct file, money for a border wall, and more

Avoiding default: Republicans would raise the debt limit by $4 trillion, staving off a potential default that could come later this summer. One way or another, Congress will have to address the debt issue soon. The federal government is expected to exhaust its borrowing ability sometime in August.

Billions for missile defense: Trump wants the US to have a futuristic missile defense system inspired by Israel's vaunted "Iron Dome" air defenses, but the US shield would include space-based components and focus on longer-range missile threats rather than the smaller weapons Israel faces. House Republicans have allocated roughly $25 billion for overall missile defense, most of which will go to the "Golden Dome" project.

700 more miles of Trump's border wall: Republicans proposed spending roughly $47 billion on border barriers, which will cover 701 miles of "primary wall," 900 miles of river barriers, and 629 miles of secondary barriers. Trump repeatedly fought in his first term to build a massive border wall between the US and Mexico but struggled to get funding through Congress.

A big tax increase on large university endowments: Republicans would significantly increase Trump's 2017 groundbreaking tax on colleges and universities with large endowments. Under the bill, the tax rate would be tied to the size of their endowment, adjusted by student enrollment.At the low end, the rate would remain at 1.4%. At the highest level, universities would pay 21% tax if they have an endowment of $2 million or more per student.

IRS direct file: The big beautiful bill would officially kill off the IRS's Direct File program, a Biden-era initiative that has long been a subject of Republican ire. In April, a Treasury Department official told BI that it was a failed and disappointing program. The new legislation would instead allocate funding towards studying a public-private partnership to provide free filing for a majority of taxpayers.

• Hedra, a generative AI platform, creates images, video, and audio, with a focus on characters.
• Hedra raised $32 million in Series A funding led by Andreessen Horowitz's Infrastructure fund.
• Read the pitch deck the startup used to raise its latest funding.

A video of a baby interviewing a dog on a podcast went viral last month.

No, it wasn't real. It was an AI-generated video created by comedian Jon Lajoie, who used Hedra, an AI video generation platform, to make the animation.

Hedra's platform allows users to generate images, video, and audio with its web-based content creation studio.

"Our model and technology focuses on the most controllable, compelling characters, whether that's a hyperrealistic human or an animated character or even an animal," Hedra's CEO, Michael Lingelbach, told Business Insider.

On Thursday, Hedra announced that it raised a $32 million Series A fundraising round led by Andreessen Horowitz's Infrastructure fund. The round included returning investors such as A16z Speedrun, Abstract, and Index Ventures.

Since its launch in 2024, the AI video startup has rapidly raised capital. In August, it announced a $10 million seed investment round. In March, Amazon's Alexa Fund announced that it invested in the startup and several other AI companies. Hedra said it has raised a total of $44 million but has not disclosed a valuation.

Competition in the generative AI is hot, with buzzy companies like Captions, HeyGen, Synthesia, and Runway building tech around video and avatars (Hedra specified that it is not an avatar company).

"We're not trying to compete with Google Veo, we're not trying to compete with Sora," Lingelbach said. "We're focusing really firmly on building the best character models, and that's something that with this additional capital we can make another step function in doing."

Hedra's Character-3 "omnimodal" model combines images, text, and audio to generate video. Creating a character with Hedra begins by uploading an image and then uploading audio that they've either already recorded (like a podcast) or generated using text-to-speech models like ElevenLabs.

"Both voice and video are seeing rapid evolution right now," Lingelbach said. "We took a big leap forward on naturalness of expression with our current model."

Hedra's platform is also users to integrate outside models like ElevenLabs, Google Veo, and Flux "all in one workflow," Lingelbach said.

Expanding beyond the creator economy

Hedra's core user base has been professional creators and marketers, Lingelbach said.

"We're already seeing a massive influx of AI-generated content," Lingelbach said. "My Instagram and TikTok feed are filled with various memes and also more serious content now that's AI-generated."

From comedy skits to faceless creator content to … talking babies, Hedra's already seen a wide range of use cases. Podcast content, particularly, has been a popular application of Hedra's tech.

"It's not really something that we anticipated initially, but it definitely has been driving a lot of our usage," he said.

In addition to the viral trend of AI baby-hosted podcasts that people have been creating using Hedra, others have used Hedra to create Studio Ghibli-style videos of the classic podcast interview clip.

With its recent raise, Hedra plans to expand into more enterprise marketing applications, expand its team, and open an office in New York City.

Read the pitch deck Hedra used to raise its Series A:

Note: Some slides have been redacted in order to share the deck publicly.

Hedra is focused on storytelling and characters.

Here's what the slide says:

Every good story is crafted around characters.
But until now, creating compelling characters has been the most challenging part of content creation.

The deck explains Hedra's 'omnimodal foundation model' that lets people quickly generate digital characters.

Here's what the slide says:

At Hedra, we've built the world's best character performance model that uniquely combines video, voice, motion, and emotion in a way never before possible.

• Hedra's Character-3 model is the world's first omnimodal foundation model in production.
• The only model that supports human, animated, and animal characters. And it works with any angle or framing.
• Built to prioritize efficiently scaling unified models
• The entire model was developed with a budget of under $2 million

Hedra's customers range from everyday consumers to creators and marketers.

Here's what the slide says:

We've seen three key customer segments rely on Hedra for their various character performance needs.

Consumers

Consumers love the fun content they can create on Hedra — ranging from memes to music videos to short films.

Prosumers

Prosumers are using Hedra for use cases such as video podcasts, social media, and developing IP.

Marketing Teams

Marketing teams are using Hedra to create UGC, product tutorials, and other content to drive sales conversions.

Hedra has plans to expand into more enterprise offerings.

Here's what the slide says:

And we've already gotten heavy inbound interest from businesses for professional use and have signed notable early enterprise customers.

Upcoming Enterprise Features:

• Teams management
• IP Guards
• Enterprise-level security

The deck highlights Hedra's research team and its proprietary tech.

Here's what the slide says:

Hedra is poised to be the first company to shatter the "uncanny valley."

• We have a best-in-class research team that enables us to train proprietary omnimodal models that no competitor can develop
• We're a product focused company that builds foundation models for real world applications, listens to our users, and ships frequently.
• We're a capital efficient team that built Character-3 on under $2M in capital and a small research team.

Then the deck introduces the team.

Here's what the slide says:

We've assembled the best team to own this category — marrying deep research with AI-Native product design.

Key Leadership Team:

Michael Lingelbach: Founder / CEO

• Stanford PhD student of Fei-Fei Li and Jiajun Wu. Senior author of 3 real-time diffusion papers. Recipient of prestigious Stanford Graduate Fellowship.

Hongwei Yi: Head of Research

• Former PhD Student of Michael Black, principal researcher behind first audio to video diffusion model to hit the market in the US.

Wei Li: Research Lead

• Core contributor to Google Bard/Gemini, PaLM-2 and T5, with 8+ years experience at Google Brain/Deepmind.

Jason Wilson: Head of Engineering

• Previously led engineering at Nava Benefits (Thrive-backed Series B startup) and engineering manager at Descartes Labs.

Alan Guo: Chief of Staff

• MBA from Harvard Business School. Previously worked in growth & strategy at Disney, Jubilee Media, and Firework.

Ramin Keene: Principal Engineer

• Former CTO at StockX and two-time founder.

Hedra concludes its deck by saying 'we're just getting started.'

Here's what the slide says:

We're on a mission to build the world's best end-to-end storytelling platform. And we're just getting started.

• We've already built the world's leading character performance model on just a $2M budget.
• Prosumers, consumers, and enterprise marketers love and depend on us for their content.
• We're now working on even larger feature releases that will reinvent creation workflows.

It ends with a thank you slide.

This includes contact information for its CEO.