Good morning! Add sequel fatigue among moviegoers to the growing list of things we can blame the Marvel Cinematic Universe for. At least, that’s according to “28 Years Later” writer Alex Garland.
In today’s big story, the Trump family’s plans for a new mobile phone company is the latest example of businesses tied to the president’s last name.
What’s on deck
Markets: How the Israel-Iran conflict could spell bad news for stocks.
Tech: Inside the billion-dollar war over ‘peace tech.’
Business: Target’s sales are struggling. BI reporters visited three stores to see what the biggest issues were.
But first, can you hear me now?
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The big story
Make Cellphones Great Again
TrumpMobile.com
The Trump family just made a call on its next big business, and it’s hoping you’ll do the same.
Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump announced plans for a Trump-branded mobile phone service and smartphone, writes BI’s Brent D. Griffiths.
Dubbed Trump Mobile, it’s a familiar business model in the world of Trump Inc. — a licensing agreement allowing for the use of the Trump name with plenty of nods to the president.
The unlimited talk, text, and data plan is called the “47 plan” and will cost $47.45 a month, an homage to Donald Trump’s run as the 47th and 45th US president. Meanwhile, the business’ smartphone, the T1 Phone, will run you $499 when it’s available in September and is gold colored (of course).
Trump Mobile’s website also touts the fact that the phone is made in America, an interesting distinction considering the questions swirling about the potential cost of a made-in-USA iPhone due to tariff concerns.
Trump-branded services and products have existed for decades, but merchandise bearing the president’s last name certainly hasn’t slowed down in recent years.
From sneakers to Bibles to cologne, Trump hasn’t been shy about lending out the family name for the right price.
Mark Humphrey/AP
There is one new twist to Trump’s long-standing love of merchandising.
Crypto has been a goldmine for the president and his family, including the sale of NFTs and memecoins.
Now, Trump’s media company is looking to dive deeper into the crypto world with the launch of a bitcoin and ether ETF, writes BI’s Jennifer Sor. Trump Media filed documents with the SEC for approval of the ETF, which will aim to be 75% bitcoin and 25% ether.
The news comes just a few weeks after the company announced plans to raise $2.5 billion to buy crypto, joining a growing number of companies holding digital assets on their balance sheets.
Launching an ETF is a bit more complicated and costly than just buying up bitcoin. One Morningstar analyst previously told BI an ETF costs around $200,000 a year to run.
Trump Media’s ETF also comes at a time when there has been an influx of famed investors and analysts, from Dan Ives to Nouriel “Dr. Doom” Roubini, pushing into the space.
Trump still has more name recognition than just about anyone. But that doesn’t guarantee success. After all, how people feel about the Trump name varies greatly.
One early data point on the potential ETF isn’t looking good. Following the announcement, Trump Media’s stock finished the day down about 4%.
3 things in markets
Mina/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images
1. How the stock market could take flak from the Israel-Iran face-off. Flaring tensions in the Middle East could drag the S&P 500 down by 20%, RBC said. The bank named three ways that could happen: risk to valuations, impact on sentiment, and inflation driven by rising oil prices.
2. Billionaire trader Paul Tudor Jones sounds the alarm on AI. Although AI has great potential, Jones recently warned that the technology could spark mass unemployment and even eradicate the human race. He also said that AI should be regulated.
3. Is the Fed moving too slow? Markets predict more than a 99% chance the Fed will keep rates steady this week, but some economists worry that waiting to cut rates might be a mistake. They pointed to weakness in the labor market and tariff uncertainty as concerns.
3 things in tech
Courtesy of Arvid Bell, Getty Images; Ava Horton/BI
1. Can AI predict — and prevent — war? The founders of the peace-tech startup Anadyr Horizon think it can, by creating AI versions of world leaders and seeing how they act in simulations. They hope Anadyr’s software will help diplomats and politicians make better decisions in crisis and stop wars before they begin.
2. Meta’s trying to fix its cringy feed. Meta AI app’s public feed was full of personal information that looked to be accidentally published, BI’s Katie Notopoulos writes. After BI’s story and other media coverage, Meta has added a new warning message.
3. This SpaceX alumni-founded startup raised $10 million in 36 hours. AndrenaM makes software that analyzes sonar data to help spot undersea targets. “Our vision is to secure the oceans,” its cofounder and former SpaceX engineer, Matej Cernosek, told BI.
3 things in business
Dominick Reuter/Business Insider
1. Is Target struggling? BI went to find out. Target has had a tough time growing sales over the last two years while competitors Walmart and Costco have reported strong gains. The general state of Target’s stores has been an issue for some analysts and customers on social media. BI recently visited three Target stores across the US: Here’s what we saw.
2. Microsoft loves the word “Copilot,” but a watchdog wants to fix that. Some customers and employees have been criticizing Microsoft’s tendency to slap “Copilot” on everything AI. Now, the Better Business Bureau’s National Advertising Division, an advertising watchdog, is weighing in — and they’re not amused.
3. Ready or not, WhatsApp ads are here. A decade after Meta purchased WhatsApp, the tech giant announced it will begin showing ads in the messaging app’s Updates tab, its own version of Instagram Stories. WhatsApp is also rolling out paid subscriptions for Channels. The moves are the most significant monetization push in WhatsApp’s history.
In other news
What’s happening today
- Federal Open Market Committee meetings begin.
- Appeals court hearing on President Trump’s deployment of troops to Los Angeles.
- Bank of Japan announces monetary policy decision.
The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Akin Oyedele, deputy editor, in New York. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.
