Good morning. Here's what happened overnight and what you need to know today.
1.
Car meet: Tesla boss Elon Musk made a surprise visit to China to meet with senior trade officials in Beijing on Sunday, as the carmaker faces challenges in the world's largest automotive market. Musk's visit comes amid slowing sales growth for Tesla's electric vehicles in China, intensifying competition from domestic rivals like BYD, and data security concerns raised by Chinese authorities. Despite Tesla's early success in China, facilitated by its Shanghai Gigafactory, the company has been losing market share to competitors with more aggressive release schedules for new models. Musk's meeting comes as he steps up efforts to push Tesla's Full Self-Driving software, with anonymous sources telling the Wall Street Journal he is attempting to persuade Chinese regulators to permit the company's autonomous driving features. (Financial Times)(Wall Street Journal)
2.
Rate rebuff: The debate within the US Federal Reserve is shifting from how much to cut interest rates in 2024 to whether to cut them at all, as recent inflation data shows it remains persistently high. While the Fed is widely expected to hold rates steady at this week's meeting, the focus will be on any pivot in tone in the post-meeting statement and Chair Jerome Powell acknowledging the lack of inflation progress. While some officials have suggested delaying rate cuts, others have floated the possibility of no cuts at all in 2024 or even hiking rates further if inflation worsens. Powell faces the challenge of maintaining unity among policymakers who hold different views, while also navigating the political scrutiny that could arise from any rate cuts closer to this year's presidential election. (Bloomberg)
