Economy
US Supreme Court rules Trump can’t fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled narrowly on Monday to block President Donald Trump from being able to immediately fire Federal Reserve (Fed) Governor Lisa Cook over mortgage fraud allegations, in what is seen as a blow to his expansive view of presidential powers.
In a 5-4 ruling, the court said that the president cannot remove officials at the independent Fed “for any reason or no reason.”
The U.S. central bank is a non-partisan institution that makes monetary policy for the world’s largest economy, with governors appointed by the president after a Senate confirmation process.
Trump has exerted unprecedented pressure on the Fed to lower interest rates to boost economic activity, and his attempt to fire Cook was the first time a president had tried such a move in the bank’s 111-year history.
U.S. presidents are allowed to fire Fed governors “for cause,” but the court ruled that Trump “failed to afford Cook the procedural protections to which she was entitled by statute.”
Trump has accused Cook, the first Black woman to serve on the central bank’s board of governors, of making false statements on one or more mortgage agreements, allegedly claiming two primary residences, one in Michigan and another in Georgia.
Cook denies the allegations.
During arguments, Cook’s lawyer said she had “at most” made an “inadvertent mistake” on her loan documents.
Andy Burnham, United Kingdom’s prime minister-in-waiting, vowed on Monday to deliver radical change to the nation’s politics, pledging to give away a chunk of his power by handing greater autonomy to local leaders in a “circuit-breaker” for the sclerotic British state.
In a speech at the People’s History Museum in Manchester, “one of my favorite places on earth,” Burnham offered some detail of his plans if, as expected, he becomes Britain’s seventh prime minister in a decade next month.
The former mayor of Greater Manchester also said he would move part of the prime minister’s office from London’s 10 Downing St. to northwest England as part of “the biggest rebalancing of power our country has seen.”
“Growth cannot be ordered from the top down. Instead, it can only be nurtured from the bottom up,” Burnham said in the speech aimed at bringing voters, Labour Party colleagues and financial markets up to speed with his economic vision.
Burnham is the strong favorite to replace Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who announced his resignation last week.
“If councils can’t fix potholes, what chance do they have of bringing forward major regeneration schemes to get growth going?” Burnham said. He set out a 10-year plan to get “good growth in every postcode,” in a country where wealth and power are concentrated in London and the south of England.
He said he would reverse almost two decades of low growth since the 2008 financial crisis through an approach dubbed “Manchesterism” – harnessing private and public money to invest in areas like transport, housing and infrastructure. He also pledged to create new industrial jobs and better educational opportunities, and to reform the U.K.’s inefficient and expensive privatized water and energy utilities.
During the speech in the city where he spent nine years as mayor, Burnham said a new government office in Manchester – dubbed “No. 10 North” – would oversee regional development and become “the nerve center of a rewired Britain,” tasked with equalizing living standards across the country.
Regional mayors would get more power over housing, welfare and education as part of his planned reforms.
Burnham said he would build more social housing, give local governments more control over water and other utilities and take on a cost-of-living crisis, all while sticking to the current government’s fiscal rules.
Burnham’s rousing speech was short on specifics about where the government would find more money, and he didn’t take questions from journalists.
In a pointed comment to Starmer, Burnham said he would end “the business as usual” approach to politics which he described as failing to lift the living standards of so many in the country.
He won praise for his role in revitalizing and regenerating Manchester, but he has not served in a U.K. government for almost two decades, and may struggle to replicate “Manchesterism” on a U.K.-wide scale.
‘Fundamental shift’ needed
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), a left-leaning think tank, said Burnham is right to focus on “rebalancing Britain.”
“The U.K.’s concentration of power and opportunity in Westminster has held back growth, productivity and living standards for too long,” said IPPR Executive Director Harry Quilter-Pinner. “The real test now is delivery.”
Matthew Flinders, a politics professor at the University of Sheffield, said replicating Burnham’s Manchester approach on a national level would require “a fundamental shift” in the way politics is done in Britain.
“And at the heart of that would be moving from a very traditional, elitist, centralized model of politics toward something that is in many ways far more European, far more based on power-sharing in order to develop long-term policymaking capacity,” he said.
Burnham will be aware that Starmer also announced a 10-year mission – the equivalent of two full terms in government – to transform Britain soon after he was elected in a landslide in July 2024. Starmer is leaving after two years in office marred by missteps and judgment errors that eroded his standing with his party and the public.
Burnham won a special election for a seat in Parliament on June 18 and was sworn in as a lawmaker on June 22, the same day Starmer announced that he will resign as soon as a successor is chosen.
Burnham is so far the only contender in the Labour Party leadership contest. If no one challenges him, he will become prime minister by July 20.
While Burnham is considered more charismatic than the stolid Starmer, he will face many of the same political and economic challenges, including a sluggish economy, tattered public services and a cost-of-living squeeze. He will also be constrained by the platform the center-left Labour Party was elected on in 2024, with its pledges not to increase taxes on working people.
And like other NATO countries, the U.K. is under pressure to dramatically increase defense spending to counter a more aggressive Russia and less reliable United States.
The government’s long-awaited defense investment plan – which sparked the resignation of Defense Secretary John Healey on June 11 – is expected to be published before a NATO summit in Türkiye on July 7 and 8. Starmer’s successor will be expected to stick to the commitments in the plan.
“Andy Burnham’s big idea is to shuffle power between politicians,” said opposition Conservative Party Chair Kevin Hollinrake. “Not fix the welfare system. Not cut the taxes strangling working families and British business. Not fund the defense our country desperately needs.”
Borsa Istanbul Stock Exchange (BIST) announced Monday that the ban on short selling in the equity market has been lifted after temporary market restrictions introduced due to the Iran war expired.
The bourse said the measures imposed by the Capital Markets Board (SPK) in early March expired on Friday.
In a statement to the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP), BIST said it had reinstated the 5:1 order-to-trade ratio (OTR) in the equity market. The change took effect on Monday.
The Capital Markets Board had imposed a ban on short selling in Borsa Istanbul’s equity market on March 1 after Israel and the United States launched attacks on Iran, triggering sharp declines in global equity markets.
The restriction had been extended several times until June 26.
In a note published on Monday, brokerage Iş Investment said lifting the ban was a positive development demonstrating that Turkish authorities were acting in line with recommendations from MSCI, the world’s leading financial index provider.
Last week, index provider MSCI flagged recurring concerns about possible coordinated trading and distorted free-float calculations in Türkiye’s equity market, warning it may launch a consultation on the country’s index treatment if credible progress is absent by November.
South Korea on Monday unveiled a broad industrial strategy focused on semiconductors and artificial intelligence, with President Lee Jae Myung announcing more than $576 billion in chip investment aimed at cementing global leadership and rebalancing growth.
The plan, anchored by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, marks Lee’s boldest push yet to align South Korea’s AI and chip ambitions with his pledge to narrow regional disparities and revive economies beyond the Seoul metropolitan area.
Flanked by the chiefs of the world’s two biggest memory chipmakers, Lee cast the initiative as a “great leap forward,” centered on the “triple axis” of semiconductors, physical AI and data centers.
“We must secure the core elements of AI faster than any other country,” the president said in a televised address.
Samsung and SK Hynix will invest 800 trillion won ($518.30 billion) to build two new chip fabrication sites each in South Korea’s southwest region, industry minister Kim Jung-kwan said.
Lee said the country’s southwestern city of Gwangju and South Jeolla province will also invest 5 trillion-20 trillion won in the projects. A further 81 trillion won is expected for a chip packaging cluster in the Chungcheong area near Seoul.
“To meet the rapidly increasing demand for semiconductors, we need to quickly complete the production hubs that are currently under construction,” Lee said.
“At the same time, we must secure overwhelming production capacity in advance through large-scale new investments, including in the southwestern region. Existing sites centered around Yongin and Pyeongtaek have already reached their limits.”
Lee said the southwest will host major chip production clusters, drawing on abundant, underused power.
Industry experts say diversifying chip investment beyond Seoul could ease infrastructure bottlenecks, but warn that building cutting-edge fabs requires vast electricity and water, advanced logistics, deep supplier networks and highly skilled labor – elements that may not scale quickly enough in a new region to meet surging AI demand.
“To execute something of this magnitude properly requires an extraordinary amount of deliberation. I am sure there has been extensive internal review, but from the outside, it still appears to be moving too fast,” said Lee Jong-ho, a professor at Seoul National University’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
“It would be ideal if demand remained strong for the next 20 or 30 years, but no one can know that with certainty…If demand were to decline, the consequences would be severe.”
HBM chips give pole position in AI race
South Korea is emerging as a major winner from the surge in global AI investment, driven by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix’s commanding position in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips essential to advanced AI processors.
Their grip on HBM supply has made them central to the global push to develop more powerful AI systems. Both companies operate large semiconductor hubs in the Seoul metropolitan area.
Industry Minister Kim also said the country will double dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) output within five years by bringing forward construction of fabs in the Seoul metropolitan area to the mid-2030s.
DRAM is a type of memory that is used to power electronics such as laptops and smartphones and HBM is produced by stacking multiple layers of DRAM.
Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee said at the event the company had selected Gwangju as a site for its new chip cluster, while SK Hynix’s Chairman Chey Tae-won said the firm needed more time to finalize a site and secure infrastructure in the southwestern region.
“It took us nine years for us to create a cluster in Yongin. Also, a chip factory requires massive land, power, water and talent,” Chey said.
Shares of Samsung and SK Hynix closed down 4.86% and 1.68%, respectively, on Monday with some analysts warning that the surge in investments could lead to a supply glut.
Lee defends plan
Opposition politicians have sharply criticized Lee’s southwest chip hub, questioning whether the proposal is politically motivated given that 85% of voters in the region backed Lee in last year’s presidential election.
The announcement comes as Lee’s approval rating has slid for six weeks to 46.5%, according to pollster Realmeter.
The president defended the proposed southwest chip hub in a series of X posts over the weekend, rejecting criticism that it favors a liberal stronghold.
In addition to chips, science minister Bae Kyung-hoon said South Korea is aiming to invest 550 trillion won in AI data centers by 2029 and more than 1,000 trillion won by 2035, while decentralizing infrastructure to support regional growth beyond the capital.
Seoul also plans a robotics and parts cluster in Saemangeum on the west coast, where Hyundai Motor has invested, to rival humanoid robotics advances in countries including China.
British American Tobacco plans to reduce its workforce by about 20% as it pushes ahead with an AI-led restructuring aimed at cutting costs and boosting profits amid regulatory pressures and product launch delays.
The company said on Monday it would cut about 5,500 jobs and move roughly 3,500 roles to third-party firms, including Accenture, affecting around 9,000 employees in total. The restructuring excludes the U.S., its biggest market.
BAT said the program was expected to deliver 600 million pounds ($793 million) in additional annualized savings by 2028, with 500 million pounds targeted by 2027.
Still, its shares were down 1.6% to 46.73 pounds at 0940 GMT, underperforming the FTSE 100, which was down 0.3%.
Scale of reductions
“These changes affect many of our colleagues and we are focused on supporting them through this transition with care and respect,” CEO Tadeu Marroco said in a statement.
He said the overhaul would make the company more agile, cost-disciplined and technology-enabled.
BAT had flagged in February that its new productivity drive could lead to job cuts, but the scale of the reductions may surprise investors, Barclays analyst Pallav Mittal said in a note.
The Lucky Strike and Dunhill cigarette maker’s sales and profit growth have been sluggish in recent years, often missing or only just meeting company targets, disappointing some investors.
Strategy shifts
BAT’s main profit engine, traditional tobacco, is in terminal decline, with the company predicting a 2.5% drop in industry sales volumes this year.
It is shifting toward smoking alternatives such as Vuse vapes and Velo nicotine pouches, but it has faced setbacks and trails key rival Philip Morris International.
U.S. regulators have taken a tough stance on approving licenses for new products such as vapes, delaying launches. BAT says this has fuelled an influx of illegal Chinese products, weighing on its sales and market share.
U.S. tobacco sales have also been hit as smokers swap to cheaper brands amid high living costs, while BAT also faces rising duties, tighter regulations and illicit trade in markets including Australia and Bangladesh.
BAT said most role changes had been confirmed with employees, with remaining consultations under way in line with local requirements.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) said Monday that it would provide Airbus with a record 3 billion euros ($3.4 billion) in financing to boost planemaker’s research and development programs.
The EU’s lending arm said the money was intended to strengthen the European aircraft manufacturer’s technological edge in the commercial aviation, defense and space sectors in the face of global competition from the likes of the United States and China.
A joint statement on Monday said Airbus had signed an initial 1 billion euro loan with the EIB as part of the financing package.
“This new financing – unprecedented in the EIB’s history – aims to provide Airbus with not only the capacity but also the flexibility needed to invest in long-term research, development and innovation across both commercial aviation and the security and defense sectors,” EIB Vice President Ambroise Fayolle told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Some of the money will also support Airbus’ efforts to reduce planet-warming emissions from its aircraft, Fayolle added.
The loan for Airbus is the latest move by Europe to shore up its technology and industrial sectors, and it follows a planned tie-up of the satellite activities of Airbus, Thales and Leonardo, which is aimed at creating a European rival to Elon Musk’s Starlink.
The EIB said its financing deal for Airbus, whose main rival is Boeing, would support Airbus’ planned investments through to 2030.
It added that the 3 billion euro package for Airbus was the largest-ever corporate loan authorized by the EIB.
“This facility reinforces the depth of our strategic partnership with the EIB, supporting the commercial and defense research that drives European industrial competitiveness,” said Airbus CFO Thomas Toepfer in a statement.
“The highly competitive terms and extended flexibility grant us the maximum optionality to manage our balance sheet, minimize the cost of carry and sustain our long-term investments in aerospace innovation,” Toepfer added.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has long spoken about succession, but a clear timeline for stepping aside has remained elusive. This time, however, sources say, the plan is real.
Dimon plans to stay as CEO for up to three more years, with insiders hoping that the bank will name his successor – Troy Rohrbaugh or Doug Petno, the bank’s newly named co-presidents – ahead of that.
Rohrbaugh, who has been tasked with running JPMorgan’s massive consumer business, is seen as having the lead internally, according to the views of two senior executives at the firm. They added that Rohrbaugh’s promotion to the other side of the bank from the commercial and investment banking business suggests he’s the frontrunner to take over the top job from Dimon.
And when the time comes, Dimon would become executive chair, a separate source familiar with the matter told Reuters, echoing what Dimon has said publicly and speaking on condition of anonymity because the discussions are private.
The succession, if it were to come to pass, would end one of the longest-standing questions on Wall Street: Who will replace the statesman banker who has built JPMorgan into the biggest and one of the most profitable U.S. banks.
Shareholders are prepared for Dimon to finally hand over, but want it to be done as smoothly as possible.
“My only request of the firm is that it is very clearly laid out and handled seamlessly,” said Walter Todd, chief investment officer, Greenwood Capital in South Carolina, which owns JPM shares, describing Dimon’s succession as “inevitable.”
Timeline mapped out
Dimon himself has been vocal about succession, both publicly and in private.
In a social meeting weeks ago at the bank’s new headquarters in Manhattan, Dimon, unprompted, told a senior Wall Street executive about the “deep bench” of talent JPMorgan has to succeed him, a second source said. JPMorgan declined comment on the conversations.
Dimon is expected to stay in charge for up to three more years before transitioning to executive chair, but a successor could be named earlier, within two to two-and-a-half years, one of the sources said. Every board meeting is devoting a significant amount of time to the succession question, the source said. After handing over the reins, Dimon will likely stay as executive chair for a couple of years, the source said.
Previously, Dimon had given varying timelines. He said in 2024 he envisioned an exit in less than five years, a similar message to that given in 2018. Earlier this year, he said he wanted to stay on at least five more years, in a comment his spokespeople said at the time was a joke. In February, he said he would remain for a few years as CEO.
Spokespeople for Rohrbaugh and Petno declined to comment.
Risks of waiting
Even a two-to-three year timeline carries risks.
The two executives stressed that a wait of up to three years could raise the risk of the bank losing potential successors, with one saying it would likely be a concern for the board.
While JPMorgan awarded four of its top executives, including Petno and Rohrbaugh, multimillion-dollar retention pay packages, the bank’s board would likely not want to lose them or any other potential successors during the unofficial waiting period, one of the executives said.
Numerous senior executives, including Matt Zames, Charlie Scharf and Bill Demchak, left the firm during Dimon’s tenure to take senior roles elsewhere.
They did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.
If Rohrbaugh or Petno quickly impress, the bank could move more swiftly, the two executives said. One of the executives said that the view within the bank was that Rohrbaugh has the lead, with an impressive track record having come up through the ranks as a trader, although a separate source said that Petno should not be written off given his track record of bringing in large deals.
On the betting platform Kalshi, Rohrbaugh has pulled ahead at 45%, with Petno at 34%.
For Rohrbaugh, who built his reputation on trading floors, taking the CEO role would mean a big shift to the bank’s sprawling suite of branches, credit cards and mortgages, a division that accounted for nearly 39% of its total revenue in the first quarter. The 56-year-old began his career as a foreign-exchange trader and joined JPMorgan in 2005.
Petno, 61, meanwhile, takes sole charge of the commercial and investment bank after a 35-year career at JPMorgan. He is a seasoned banker who spent more than two decades in investment banking and led JPMorgan’s Global Natural Resources Group. The division encompasses global banking, markets, payments and securities services, placing him at the helm of some of the lender’s most profitable businesses.
If the bank proceeds with an accelerated timeline, it would mirror a similar move at rival Morgan Stanley, where Ted Pick was chosen to succeed longtime CEO James Gorman more than two years after being appointed co-president.
Still, shareholders are more than happy to see Dimon stick around. Eric Kuby, chief investment officer, North Star Investment Management Corp., which owns JPMorgan shares, said the shares “command a premium multiple” compared to other major bank stocks partly due to the Dimon factor.
“The market is well aware of his intentions to not run JPMorgan for very much longer,” Kuby said. “But we think he does a great job, so the longer he is steering the ship, the better.”
Turkish, German leaders discuss ties, NATO, Ukraine in phone call
Last Minute | Remarkable ‘NATO’ message from President Erdoğan: Türkiye is one of the countries that best reads the spirit of the new era!
UK’s PM-in-waiting pledges ‘circuit breaker’ to transform UK economy
Turkish, German leaders discuss ties, NATO, Ukraine in phone call
Last Minute | Remarkable ‘NATO’ message from President Erdoğan: Türkiye is one of the countries that best reads the spirit of the new era!
UK’s PM-in-waiting pledges ‘circuit breaker’ to transform UK economy
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