Loading summary
Telus Demos
So good, so good, so good.
Nordstrom Rack Announcer
New markdowns up to 70% off are at Nordstrom Rack stores. Now Stock up and save big on shoes, tops, dresses, accessories and more must haves for summer. Join the NordicLub to unlock exclusive discounts. Shop new arrivals first and more. Plus, buy online and pick up at your favorite rack store for free. Great brands, great prices. That's why you rack.
Alex Osola
AI stocks bounce back after last week's sell off. Plus, a judge strikes down President Trump's $100,000 fee for H1B visas and driverless trucks are here and they're ready to bring you chips and drinks. It's Monday, June 8th. I'm Alex Osola for the Wall Street Journal. This is the PM Edition of what's news. The top headlines and business stories that move the first up today, the stock market. Tech stocks made up some ground after big declines last week. The Nasdaq ended up 0.9%, an index tracking chip. Stocks climbed 5.6%. Here's a little historical nugget showing that this is a typical pattern. Dow Jones market data shows that on average, the Nasdaq gains half a percent the day after, a drop of 4% or more. And the Nasdaq sank 4.2% on Friday. Meanwhile, the S&P edged up 0.3% and the Dow slipped. In other markets, news Go Knicks. As we've discussed on the show and you might have seen pretty much anywhere else, the New York Knicks are in the NBA Finals with a current 2 to 0 series lead. And the only people more excited than fans are investors. Few professional sports teams are part of a publicly traded company, but the Knicks are. And shares of their parent company, Madison Square Garden Sports, have more than doubled over the past year. The stock hit a record high of more than $390 a share last week. There could be a number of reasons for this, but some think Knicks fans are treating MSG Sports like a meme stock and pushing up the price. Today, shares slipped by less than 1%. And on the topic of the Knicks, President Trump plans to attend Game three of the finals tonight, and New York City is bracing for extra heavy security. In a press conference today, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said that there's a wide security perimeter around Madison Square Garden, one of the busiest parts of Manhatt, starting this afternoon.
Telus Demos
So the message is simple. Celebrate the Knicks, but avoid the MSG area tonight. If you do not have tickets for the game or some other valid reason to be there tonight, thank you and go Knicks.
Alex Osola
The president won't be the only politician at MSG tonight. New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani said he will also be there. He bought a standing room only ticket for nearly 1,000 bucks. Today at Apple's developers conference, WWDC, the company showed it's going all in on AI. It demonstrated a new version of its Siri chatbot technology it developed with Google. Siri is more conversational now, and Apple executives showed Siri AI buying concert tickets, creating plans for events, and identifying and interacting with objects and photos. Apple is adding more generative AI features across its products. The most powerful models will be limited to its most advanced devices, and some functions will require a subscription or come with a limit on how much you can use it each day. But Apple didn't unveil any shocking or unexpected features today, and its Shares closed down 1.9% after the presentation. It was also Tim Cook's final time emceeing the event as Apple's CEO.
Telus Demos
On a personal note, some of the greatest highlights of my time as CEO have been events like this.
Alex Osola
Cook is set to step down as CEO on September 1st. He will remain Apple's chairman. Imagine seeing a 26,000 pound box truck on the road. Its steering wheel is turning, but there's no one behind it. I'm getting on an autonomous truck now. That's Journal reporter Esther Fung, who was in Phoenix this past weekend to check out One of the 35 driverless trucks PepsiCo is operating in Arizona. This makes Pepsi the first major US Consumer goods company to say they're actually using autonomous trucks at a large scale on public roads. No one ever driver's seat Esther said that in her test run, the steering wheel rotated itself as the truck turned and the truck never went over the speed limit. A Pepsi executive told Esther that the driverless trucks are more reliable than human drivers and that they arrive on time 99% of the time after you factor out variables like weather and traffic. Pepsi employs thousands of drivers in the US some represented by unions that have strongly opposed the rollout of autonomous trucks. Pepsi anticipates retraining and redeploying some drivers to other types of work, but also hiring fewer drivers in general. Coming up, Trump moves to contain the violence between Iran and Israel and why people working on Wall street may be leaving their fanciest watches at home. That's after the break.
Red Bull Announcer
Ready to soundtrack your summer with Red Bull Summer All Day Play? You choose a playlist that fits your summer vibe the best. Are you a festival fanatic? A deep end dj? A Road Dog or a trail mixer. Just add a song to your chosen playlist and put your summer on track. Red Bull Summer All Day Play Red Bull gives you wings. Visit red bull.com brightsummarahead to learn more. See you this summer.
Alex Osola
Today, a federal judge invalidated the Trump administration's new $100,000 fee for H1B visas. The H1B program is a main pathway for foreign professionals to enter the US and it's frequently used by the biggest tech companies. Foreign students hoping to remain in the country also rely on it. The judge said officials overreached and declared the fee unlawful. He sided with a coalition of states that challenged the policy, who argued that it hurt their ability to staff colleges and public health care systems. Typically, Congress sets visa fees, or proposed fees go through a formal regulatory process. It had previously cost $215 to enter an applicant into the lottery for an H1B and about 5,000 to file a visa application. A White House spokeswoman indicated that the administration plans to appeal. In the Middle East, Israel and Iran have stopped their exchange of fire after President Trump intervened. The Journal has learned that he had a call with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this morning and asked for Israel to end the attacks on Iran. Trump also posted on social media that Israel and Iran must, quote, immediately stop shooting. Trump wants to contain the fighting to keep it from disrupting work on a peace deal that he's trying to do with Iran. Both Iran and Israel later said that they had ended their attacks, and both also kept open the possibility of more. In a televised address today, Netanyahu said that Israel had a right to defend itself by Mama, He said that Israel agreed to refrain from further strikes unless Iran launch new assaults on Israel. Meanwhile, Iran said that forceful measures would follow if hostile actions continue. In the Philippines, a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake today off the coast of the country's southern island of Mindanao killed at least 35 people and injured more than 140. Tremors collapsed buildings and ripped through roads as children across the country were getting ready for their first day of school. Some schools evacuated and classes were suspended in affected areas. And in Europe, Germany has pulled out of a project to develop a stealth fighter jet with France and Spain. The project had been stalled because of a spat between Airbus and Dassault Aviation over which should take the lead in the jet's development. The lack of progress on the jet has become a symbol for the hurdles Europe faces in rebuilding its militaries. The Journal has learned that Germany's withdrawal caught French officials by surprise. The office of President Emmanuel Macron didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. But the French and German defense ministries will meet in July to develop a roadmap for future defense cooperation. The World cup kicks off this week across 16 North American cities, but US hotels are already in last place. Real estate research firm COSTAR has data showing that hotels in Vancouver and Guadalajara are the most booked, with occupancy rates of 48%. Toronto, Mexico City and Monterey, which is in northeastern Mexico, are also more than 40% booked. San Francisco is the only US city to crack that threshold. Kate King covers real estate for the Journal, and she says price has everything to do with it.
Kate King
It is very expensive to travel to the US Hotels are very expensive. We know the costs have been very high to get from your hotel to the stadium where games are being played, depending on the city. So this is certainly all part of the equation. And also traveler concerns that they may encounter problems getting through customs when they get to the US or just other geopolitical concerns likely dissuaded some foreign visitors from traveling to the US for the World Cup.
Alex Osola
Kate says the businesses and cities that had been hoping for a big economic boost from the World cup may end up seeing something a little more modest.
Kate King
Hotels that normally would be counting on a convention during this time of year. The convention stayed away because they knew the World cup would be held in the city this summer. And so that has maybe depressed the occupancy a little bit at these hotels. Although I will say that the rates that hotels are getting from the World cup matches do seem to be a bit higher. So what they lose in occupancy, they might be picking up a bit in rate gains. So it kind of stands to reason that there won't therefore be this huge swell in business for the surrounding restaurant restaurants and bars. Although of course, some of these businesses are organizing World cup watch parties and other events tied to the World Cup.
Alex Osola
Unwritten rules govern all kinds of offices, but there's nowhere they carry more weight than on Wall Street. Bankers have to thread the needle between looking the part and not standing out, and most of them only learn where the line is when they step over it. WSJ careers reporter Ray Smith spoke to former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein and a bunch of other current and former bankers about Wall street style.
Ray Smith
Basically, you want to look well dressed, but you don't want to look conspicuous. I talked with several Wall street bros, if you will, on and off the record about this. If you're meeting with clients. You don't want a client to think, are they paying you too much because you're showing up with a Patek Philippe or a Rolex watch? And so even former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein told me that he preferred to wear a swatch. A stylist who works with professional men, both entry level and senior, told me she tries to keep their suit details really sub, like button cuffs and notch lapels rather than peak lapels and French cuffs, for example. You want to keep it under the radar. You just want to blend in. You don't want to have, as Blankfein told me, someone commenting on your clothes or what you're wearing, whether it's good or bad.
Alex Osola
And that's what's news for this Monday afternoon. Today's show is produced by Danny Lewis with supervising producer Tali Arbel. I'm Alex Osoleff for the Wall Street Journal. We'll be back with a new show tomorrow morning. Thanks for listening.
Telus Demos
Hey, this is Telus Demos and I'm Miriam Gottfried. We're reporters at the Wall Street Journal and The hosts of WSJ's take on the Week. It's a weekly show that gives listeners a leg up in the world of markets and investing. From the Fed's moves to market bubbles, we dive into the biggest deals, key players and business. If you're looking for more news and tools that you can use to help navigate the markets, consider becoming a subscriber to the Wall street journal. Visit subscribe.WSJ.com takeontheweek. To subscribe now.
This episode dives into the latest developments in business, technology, geopolitics, and culture. The headline segment focuses on PepsiCo’s pioneering use of autonomous trucks, making it the first major U.S. consumer goods company to deploy driverless delivery vehicles at scale. The episode also covers market rebounds, new AI features from Apple, global headlines including a major earthquake, and a lighthearted look at Wall Street’s “unwritten dress code.”
Telus Demos on MSG Security:
“Celebrate the Knicks, but avoid the MSG area tonight. If you do not have tickets... thank you and go Knicks.” (02:25)
Tim Cook’s Farewell at WWDC:
“Some of the greatest highlights of my time as CEO have been events like this.” (03:35)
Esther Fung on Driverless Trucks:
“The steering wheel rotated itself as the truck turned and the truck never went over the speed limit.” (03:41)
Kate King on World Cup Hotel Bookings:
“Hotels in Vancouver and Guadalajara are the most booked... It is very expensive to travel to the US... Costs have been very high to get from your hotel to the stadium.” (08:48)
Ray Smith on Wall Street Style:
“Basically, you want to look well dressed, but you don't want to look conspicuous... Even former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein told me that he preferred to wear a swatch.” (10:30)
The episode maintains a brisk, journalistic tone—fact-driven, concise, but engaging—blending breaking news with deeper insights and a touch of cultural observation.
Useful For:
Anyone interested in technology adoption (like autonomous vehicles), market and business news, global events, or workplace culture. The driverless truck segment is especially relevant for those following automation, logistics, or labor trends.