June 4 2025
Automakers face Chinese magnet stranglehold; Record retirement savings; Musk assails GOP bill; AI as a tool; New SK leader sworn in;
China's Magnet Stranglehold Pushes U.S. Automakers to Consider Moving Production
Workers Stash Record Share of Income for Retirement
Former White House Czar Musk Assails GOP Bill, Urges Voters to "Fire All Politicians Who Betrayed"
Bosses Tout AI as a 'Tool,' But Employees Fear a Replacement
South Korea's New Leader Takes Office, Balancing Outreach to North with U.S., China Ties
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1. China's Magnet Stranglehold Pushes U.S. Automakers to Consider Moving Production
Four major automakers are racing to find workarounds to China’s stranglehold on rare-earth magnets, which they fear could force them to shut down some car production within weeks. Several traditional and electric-vehicle makers—and their suppliers—are considering shifting some auto-parts manufacturing to China to avoid looming factory shutdowns, people familiar with the situation said. Ideas under review include producing electric motors in Chinese factories or shipping made-in-America motors to China to have magnets installed. Moving production to China as a way to get around the export controls on rare-earth magnets could work because the restrictions only cover magnets, not finished parts, the people said. If automakers end up shifting some production to China, it would amount to a remarkable outcome from a trade war initiated by President Trump with the intention of bringing manufacturing back to the U.S.
WSJ
2. Workers Stash Record Share of Income for Retirement
Workers are putting away a record share of their income for retirement. The average savings rate in 401(k) plans rose to a record high 14.3% of income in the first three months of this year, according to a Fidelity Investments analysis of the millions of accounts it manages. That is just a shade below the 15% annual savings rate financial advisers often recommend over a four-decade career. Savings rates are increasing even though account balances fell in volatile markets earlier this year. Most are staying the course, said Mike Shamrell, vice president at Fidelity Investments, which released the data Wednesday.
WSJ
3. Former White House Czar Musk Assails GOP Bill, Urges Voters to "Fire All Politicians Who Betrayed"
WASHINGTON—Former White House cost-cutting czar Elon Musk called President Trump’s “big, beautiful” tax and spending package a “disgusting abomination,” stepping up his criticism just as the Senate is trying to quickly pass the measure and get it signed into law by July 4. Musk’s comments are his latest sharp words about the package, which includes tax cuts as well as reductions to spending on Medicaid and food assistance. Last month, he gave new fuel to GOP critics of the Republicans’ multitrillion-dollar agenda, saying that the current measure failed to reduce the federal deficit. “Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it,” said Musk, in comments on his X social-media platform. Musk, who left the administration last week, called the package a “massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill.” He issued a warning on the midterm elections: “In November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people.”
WSJ
Editors note: only speculation, but this could be coordinated with Trump. Musk gets to play bad cop to Trumps good cop.
4. Bosses Tout AI as a 'Tool,' But Employees Fear a Replacement
SAN FRANCISCO — Luis von Ahn hoped to send a clear message to his 900 employees at Duolingo: Artificial intelligence is now a priority at the language-learning app. The company would stop using contractors for work AI could handle. It’ll seek AI skills in hiring. AI would be part of performance reviews, and it’ll only hire people when things can’t be automated. The details, outlined in a memo in April and posted on professional networking site LinkedIn, drew outrage. Some cringed at AI translations suggesting that learning languages need human context. Many users threatened to quit Duolingo. Others blasted the company for choosing AI over its workers. The backlash got so loud that three weeks later, von Ahn posted an update. “To be clear: I do not see AI as replacing what our employees do (we are in fact continuing to hire at the same speed as before),” von Ahn wrote in the update on LinkedIn. “I see it as a tool to accelerate what we do, at the same or better level of quality. And the sooner we learn how to use it, and use it responsibly, the better off we will be in the long run.”
Washington Post
5. South Korea's New Leader Takes Office, Balancing Outreach to North with U.S., China Ties
Within hours of being elected South Korea’s president, Lee Jae-myung began work on Wednesday by calling for dialogue with its arch enemy, North Korea, to bring peace to the Korean Peninsula, while stressing South Korea’s commitment to its security alliance with the United States. In his nationally televised inauguration speech at the rotunda lobby hall of the National Assembly, Mr. Lee reaffirmed diplomatic cooperation with the Trump administration, with whom he must work with to negotiate over tariffs and maintain its security alliance, and pledged to solidify trilateral cooperation with the United States and Japan. But Mr. Lee shied away from commenting directly on how he would tackle the thorny diplomatic challenges he faces as president, such as the growing rivalry between the United States, South Korea’s only military ally, and China, its largest trading partner. Unlike his campaign-trail speeches, where Mr. Lee called for improving ties with China, his swearing-in address did not mention it by name , reflecting the delicate diplomatic negotiations his government will face in the coming months. Mr. Lee wants to mend his country’s strained relations with China to help spur economic growth. But Washington is asking Seoul to play a bigger role in containing China.
NYT
June 4, 1989: Chinese crackdown on protests leads to Tiananmen Square Massacre
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Sources
- https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/car-companies-production-rare-earth-shortage-aaf87ad2?mod=hp_lead_pos1
- https://www.wsj.com/personal-finance/retirement/401k-savings-retirement-goals-d3e54a08?mod=hp_lead_pos9
- https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/elon-musk-trump-republican-tax-spending-bill-b4dd9a3b?mod=hp_lead_pos5
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/06/03/ai-workplace-duolingo-shopify-employees/
- https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/04/world/asia/south-korea-president-north-china.html