The powerhouse CEOs of the midwest

The second thing I noticed when we co-hosted a Fortune CEO Initiative dinner at Taylor’s home last week was the nature of the companies and business leaders represented around the table. During a conversation focused on optimism, growth, innovation, and community, I learned that each of them had a compelling story, too, often stretching back generations. 

There was Kyle Chapman, for instance, a third-generation leader at industrial conglomerate Barry-Wehmiller Group, and Todd Schnuck, who leads the Schnuck Markets grocery chain founded by his grandmother Anna in 1939. Taylor herself is a third-generation CEO of the car-rental giant that her grandfather Jack started in 1957, which she transformed into a $35 billion powerhouse.  

St. Louis is a place where roots run deep, and it’s a region on the rise. The city has the nation’s highest rate of per capita personal income growth and is one of Zillow’s Top 10 hottest housing markets.

It’s also home to some powerhouse companies. We were joined by the CEOs of Centene, Hunter Engineering Company, Clayco, Nestlé Purina PetCare, and MTM Inc. The chancellor of Washington University joined us, as did out-of-town CEOs from Qualtrics, ONEOK and Alto Ingredients.

In Taylor’s view, many of the business leaders at her home and in St. Louis “want nothing more than to see this community continue to grow and thrive.” I believe her. My heart goes out to the people of that city right now as they recover from a devastating tornado that struck the region a few days after our event.

We’re hosting these in-home dinners around the country—and soon, the world—as part of the Fortune CEO Initiative. Reach out to sarah.worob@fortune.com if you are interested in joining us.

More news below. 

Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady, diane.brady@fortune.com, Linkedin

TOP NEWS

Biden diagnosed with prostate cancer

The office of Joe Biden announced on Sunday that the former president has been diagnosed with an “aggressive form” of prostate cancer, though the statement noted that the cancer “appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management.”

Bessent calls tariff uncertainty “strategic”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the Trump Administration’s unclear direction with tariffs as a “strategic uncertainty” during an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union. “If we were to give too much certainty to the other countries, then they would play us in the negotiations,” Bessent said. 

Trump DEI deadline looms

In January, President Trump declared that U.S. agencies would spend the next 120 days identifying the nine companies with the “most egregious and discriminatory DEI practitioners” in the U.S. With that deadline looming, legal experts describe how they believe these penalties will play out.

U.K. and EU agree to a reset

Britain and the multinational club it belonged to until Brexit have agreed to reset relations, the Financial Timesreports. Late-night talks before a Monday summit in London removed stumbling blocks, officials told the FT. The U.K. will open its seas to European fishing boats for 12 years, while the EU will cut red tape for British farming and fisheries exports.

Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' takes a step

In a rare Sunday night vote, the House Budget Committee approved President Trump's "big, beautiful bill", sending it to the House floor. But the fighting's not over yet. Four conservative GOP members voted "present" to allow it to pass—and in the final version, they want more cuts, and faster, to cut its deficit impact.

U.S. debt yields jump

Moody's downgrade of U.S. debt from its triple-A credit rating sent yields on 30-year treasuries over 5%—and yields on 10-years over 4.5%. That key Sunday night congressional vote that saved Trump's "big, beautiful bill"—which should adds trillions to the deficit—didn't help.

China's economy takes a trade war hit

Economic data out of Beijing suggest trade tensions with the U.S. are taking their toll, the WSJ reports. Industrial production grew at a slower rate in April than in March, as Trump tariff uncertainty hit China's factories. Retail sales also slowed their growth.

The center holds

Centrist candidates won much-watched national races in Romania, Poland and Portugal, as European MAGA parties had to put their dreams on hold, for now. However, Poland's presidential race will go to a runoff, and Portugal's center-right will have to run a minority government, so Europe's far-right is far from written off. 

The markets

• The S&P 500 closed up 0.7% at 5,958.38 Friday ... U.S. futures contracts were moving down sharply pre-opening bell, including a drop of 1.2% in S&P futures and 1.6% for the Nasdaq... Japan and Europe are broadly down this morning ... Tesla, Nvidia and Palantir were all down over 3% in premarket trading, though Novavax jumped more than 16% on news that the FDA had approved its COVID jab, albeit with restrictions.

From the analysts

• Wedbush on Trump v Apple: “India and China Will be the iPhone Production Hubs for iPhone 17… Not the U.S. … We fully expect more pressure from the Trump Administration on Apple to build iPhone production in the U.S. … but as we have discussed this would result in an iPhone price point that is a non-starter for Cupertino and translate into iPhone prices of ~$3,500 if it was made in the U.S. and this would take many years,” per Daniel Ives et al.

• HSBC on the July 9 tariff hurdle: “With mainland China securing reprieve from reciprocal tariffs until August 12, focus now turns to other Asian markets where their own ‘pause’ ends on July 9 … U.S. corporate sales in Asia ex-China are some USD1.8trn, after all, more than twice as high as their sales in China,” per Frederic Neumann and Justin Feng.

• JPMorgan on Uber: “The Waymo partnership in Austin is performing better than internal expectations in terms of vehicle uptime, overall utilization, and consumer experience given high opt-in rates. Uber continues to partner with AV players who pass their safety bar, and expects more announcements around newer partnerships & markets, both in the US & Int’l,” Doug Anmuth and Neeraj Kookada.

AROUND THE WATERCOOLER

Study looking at AI chatbots in 7,000 workplaces finds ‘no significant impact on earnings or recorded hours in any occupation’ by Irina Ivanova

Here’s how the singer Jewel and the Kroger supermarket giant got entangled in a legal battle over a wellness festival gone wrong by Lila MacLellan

AI chips are the new ‘coin of the realm’ as they grease the wheels of geopolitical negotiations, BofA says by Jason Ma

The secret to Warren Buffett’s stock-picking success: He knew how to change his mind by Geoff Colvin

The Trump Organization has been approved for a $1.5 billion golf resort in Vietnam by Paolo Confino

This edition of CEO Daily was curated by Joey Abrams and Ian Mount.