US Army photo by Kevin Sterling Payne
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Hello there! The NBA Finals begin tonight. The playoffs feel incredibly less interesting now that my beloved New York Knicks are gone, but the NBA would beg to differ. Despite it being two small-market teams — the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder — NBA executives spoke to BI about why they still see the series as a big opportunity.
In today's big story, a worse-than-expected jobs report reinvigorated President Donald Trump's attacks against Fed Chair Jerome Powell to lower rates. (But one corner of the job market is doing surprisingly well.)
What's on deck
Markets: Jamie Dimon just got more backup for his critique of private credit.
Tech: What's fueling those annoying job offer scams you keep getting texted.
Business: The one person Donald Trump won't fight back against.
But first, missed expectations.
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The big story
A jolting jobs report
Brandon Bell; Kevin Dietsch/ Getty images
In the pantheon of legendary rivalries, Donald Trump vs. Jerome Powell is rising in the ranks.
Private payroll data from ADP showed 37,000 new jobs were added last month, much worse than economists' expectations of 110,000.
That was all the president needed to take another shot at one of his favorite targets, writes BI's Jennifer Sor.
"'Too Late' Powell must now LOWER THE RATE. He is unbelievable!!!" Trump posted on Truth Social.
Trump's latest attack is well-timed. We're less than two weeks away from the Fed's next decision on interest rates on June 18. His pitch is straightforward: The job market is weakening, so it's time for the Fed to step in to stimulate the economy.
But the picture of the economy doesn't end with the ADP report. The Bureau of Labor Statistics' monthly nonfarm jobs report drops Friday. The monthly inflation report isn't far behind, arriving on June 11.
Those two data points will likely hold even more weight for the Fed.
Meanwhile, Trump's onslaught of tariffs could be the real issue for the Fed. Plenty of economists have predicted the president's trade wars will increase inflation, dulling the hopes of a rate cut.
Tetra Images/ Getty Images
There's also an outside-the-box data point to judge the job market on.
At a time when the labor market is in flux, one corner is doing incredibly well: the military.
The Army has already met its annual goal of recruiting 61,000 troops, and the Navy is also in good shape, BI's Kelsey Baker and Allie Kelly write.
At first glance, that might seem like more ammo for Trump. The military has historically benefited from a weaker economy. Young job seekers see it as a safe haven, and fewer job openings and a slowing economy are certainly a factor this time.
But it's not as straightforward as economy down = military up.
Gen Z has been more interested in blue-collar work, too. The military's tuition benefits also solve the all-important issue of student debt that many young people struggle with.
There's also a growing appetite for defense in Silicon Valley. Meta announced a partnership with defense tech startup Anduril on a US military project in May. Meta's tech chief said on Wednesday it marked a "return to grace" for the industry's relationship with the military.
Overall, the data paints a complicated picture of an economy that can seem like it's on the cusp of disaster or completely fine.
3 things in markets
Getty Images
1. Investing tips for recent college grads. It's not easy to invest when you're just starting your career and not making much. BI compiled a four-step investing guide on how you can set yourself up for success.
2. Commercial real estate says RIP, Trump bump. April sales activity plunged, dashing the industry's hopes of a big rebound. According to some experts, the slowdown is a possible early sign of unintended consequences from the president's sweeping agenda.
3. One point for Jamie Dimon in the private-credit debate. The JPMorgan CEO has been a skeptic of private credit, even as his own bank allocates billions of dollars to the sector. A recent report from Moody's Analytics, a former advisor to the Treasury Department, and an SEC economist appeared to side with Dimon.
3 things in tech
Getty Images; Ava Horton/BI
1. It's not just you: Job text scams are on the rise. Fake text messages offering lucrative gigs have exploded in recent years, and it could get worse, writes BI's Emily Stewart. Unemployment is rising, and Americans are more eager to work. Plus, AI is making these scams more sophisticated. No one is immune.
2. Google's CEO is jumping on the vibe coding bandwagon. Sundar Pichai said he's casually building a web page with AI coding tools. Speaking on Wednesday at Bloomberg Tech, he said: "It feels so delightful to be a coder in this moment."
3. What would you take from your house if there were a zombie apocalypse? That's the kind of question being used to train AI voice models for Elon Musk's xAI, alongside other topics like DIY plumbing and life on Mars, documents obtained by BI show.
3 things in business
Shelby Moore for BI
1. Serve the right vibes. High-end restaurants have had to get creative in the face of rising food costs, labor shortages, and tariff threats. They're drilling down on live events, experiences, and in some cases, approachability — a vibes-based strategy to attract diners.
2. Criticize Trump; he'll roar back. Unless you're Elon Musk. The Tesla CEO recently called President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" on X a "disgusting abomination." Trump, uncharacteristically, hasn't responded. One conclusion, BI's Peter Kafka writes, is that Trump still wants Musk on his side, for now at least. Meanwhile, for those of you who aren't Musk, BI's Sarah E. Needleman shares the smart way to tell your boss they're wrong.
3. Thumbs down for David Zaslav. Shareholders rejected a proposed pay package for the Warner Bros. Discovery CEO, which included a 4% raise. WBD has seen a 60% stock decline in the last three years, and its debt rating was recently downgraded.
In other news
- Dollar Tree's decision to ditch the everything-for-$1 strategy is helping it weather the tariff storm.
- There's doom and gloom about the economy, but million-dollar Hamptons home sales are booming.
- Why OpenAI engineers are flocking to rival Anthropic.
- In their investment era: Swifties celebrate helping their idol reclaim her music.
- 10 mistakes guests should never make at weddings, according to etiquette experts.
- This CEO collected almost $165 million last year — more than the boss of Apple or Blackstone.
- Digging into my HSA accounts taught me an important, five-figure lesson in investment fees.
What's happening today
Stablecoin company Circle shares expected to commence trading on the NYSE.
The Business Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.