Market Beats | Bumble Cuts 30% of Workforce as CEO Wolfe Herd Reshapes Strategy; BP Shares Surge on Report of Shell Takeover Talks; Trump Says US Will Meet Iran Next Week; Zohran Mamdani Wins Democratic Primary; FedEx Freight from China Plunges in May Amid Trump Tariff Clampdown

—— Bumble Cuts 30% of Workforce as CEO Wolfe Herd Reshapes Strategy; BP Shares Surge on Report of Shell Takeover Talks; Trump Says US Will Meet Iran Next Week; Zohran Mamdani Wins Democratic Primary; FedEx Freight from China Plunges in May Amid Trump Tariff Clampdown

1. Bumble Cuts 30% of Workforce as CEO Wolfe Herd Reshapes Strategy

Bumble Inc. announced plans to cut nearly one-third of its global workforce, a sweeping move that comes months after founder Whitney Wolfe Herd returned as CEO to revamp the struggling dating app.

The Austin-based firm said in a regulatory filing Wednesday it will eliminate approximately 240 positions, or around 30% of its staff. The move is expected to generate up to $40 million in annual cost savings, which Bumble said it will “reinvest the substantial majority” into strategic areas such as product and technology development.

Shares of Bumble surged 23% after the announcement as investors welcomed the aggressive cost-cutting effort.

Both Bumble and rival Match Group Inc. — which owns Tinder and Hinge — have struggled to keep pace with shifting dating habits among younger users. In response, both firms have replaced leadership teams this year in hopes of reigniting growth. Match recently laid off 13% of its workforce as part of a structural streamlining effort.

The scale of Wednesday’s cuts mirrors Bumble’s previous round of layoffs in 2024, which came shortly after former CEO Lidiane Jones took over and reshuffled the executive team.

Bumble expects to incur between $13 million and $18 million in charges tied to severance and related expenses, primarily in the third and fourth quarters.

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2. BP Shares Surge on Report of Shell Takeover Talks

BP Plc shares surged as much as 10% in New York trading after the Wall Street Journal reported that Royal Dutch Shell Plc is in early discussions to acquire the London-based oil giant.

According to people familiar with the matter, the talks are active but still preliminary, with no details yet on potential deal terms and no guarantee that an agreement will be reached.

BP has faced mounting pressure after years of underperformance and the recent involvement of activist investor Elliott Investment Management. A strategic overhaul unveiled in February by CEO Murray Auchincloss received tepid response from analysts, who questioned whether the company could meet its targets for higher oil and gas output and stronger returns.

Speculation that BP could become a takeover target has been growing. Although BP’s size and complexity make such a deal difficult, Bloomberg reported in May that Shell had explored a possible bid but was holding off until market conditions — such as BP’s share price and crude oil prices — became more favorable.

A successful acquisition would rank among the largest corporate mergers in European history and create the first European oil major capable of challenging US giants Exxon Mobil and Chevron. The combined company would have nearly 5 million barrels of daily oil-equivalent production and a dominant position in global LNG trade.

Such a transaction would come at a steep cost. Some analysts estimate that Shell would need to pay a 20% premium to BP’s current £58 billion ($79 billion) valuation. It may also trigger antitrust concerns in countries where both companies hold significant retail fuel market shares.

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3. Trump Says US Will Meet Iran Next Week

President Donald Trump said the United States would meet with Iran next week but questioned whether a diplomatic agreement is even necessary, pointing to the damage caused by recent US airstrikes on Iran’s key nuclear facilities.

“We’re going to talk to them next week,” Trump said Wednesday at a press conference during the NATO summit in The Hague. “We may sign an agreement. I don’t know, to me, I don’t think it’s necessary.”

He reiterated his claim that US bombing of the Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow nuclear sites had “obliterated” them, once again disputing an American intelligence assessment that said the strikes only delayed Iran’s nuclear program by a few months.

Trump has this week claimed credit for brokering the ceasefire between Israel and Iran, which had threatened to spiral into a broader regional war and destabilize global energy markets.

On Wednesday, he declared the conflict “effectively over” following the US-led bombing mission — though he added a caveat: “Can it start again? I guess someday it can. It could maybe start soon.”

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4. Zohran Mamdani Wins Democratic Primary

Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist, is poised to become the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City after forcing his opponent, former governor Andrew Cuomo, to concede just hours after polls closed.

Mamdani surged to commanding leads across Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan, even narrowing Cuomo’s margin in what was expected to be his stronghold—the Bronx.

“Eight months after launching this campaign with the vision of a city that every New Yorker can afford, we have won,” Mamdani told supporters at a packed bar in Long Island City early Wednesday morning.

Cuomo, 67, addressed a somber crowd at a union hall on Manhattan’s West Side.
“Tonight was not our night,” he said. “I want to applaud the assemblyman for a really smart and good and impactful campaign. Tonight is his night. He deserved it. He won.”

According to preliminary results from the New York City Board of Elections with more than 96% of ballots counted, Mamdani received 43.5% of the vote in the first round of ranked-choice voting, while Cuomo garnered 36.4%. City Comptroller Brad Lander came in third with 11.3%.

Mamdani built a multi-ethnic coalition across brownstone Brooklyn, working-class Queens, and Upper Manhattan, surpassing 60% of the vote in large areas of the city.

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5. U.S. Rent Burden Reaches Record

Despite one of the largest surges in new apartment construction in decades, a new Harvard study finds the growing supply has done little to ease the rent burden for the most financially stretched Americans.

Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) released its annual State of the Nation’s Housing Report this week, revealing that cost burdens among U.S. renters have reached record highs — and that middle-income households are increasingly affected. According to the report, 65% of working-age renters in the U.S. cannot afford basic non-housing costs after paying their monthly rent.

“Having a job no longer guarantees financial security when it comes to housing,” said Alexander Hermann, senior research associate at JCHS. “Lower-income households continue to struggle, but the biggest increases in burden are now seen among middle-income renters.”

The outlook may worsen: President Donald Trump has proposed major cuts to housing assistance, including a 40% reduction in funding for Section 8 housing vouchers, the primary federal program for low-income renters. “This is the worst possible time to reduce support for struggling households,” Hermann warned.

The number of cost-burdened renters — defined as those spending over 30% of income on housing — reached 22.6 million in 2023, the highest on record. Among them, 12.1 million spent more than half of their income on rent. Financial instability due to housing costs is particularly high in Florida and the U.S. West.

A staggering 83% of renters earning less than $30,000 a year are burdened by rent, often left with just $250 per month after housing costs. But even higher earners aren’t spared: 45% of renters earning $45,000 to $74,999 annually are rent-burdened — double the rate in 2001.

Nationally, rents rose 32% from 2019 to 2025, according to the report.

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6. FedEx Freight from China Plunges in May Amid Trump Tariff Clampdown

FedEx’s freight volumes from China to the US “deteriorated sharply” in May following President Donald Trump’s trade war escalation, hitting demand for consumer shipments on what had been the company’s most profitable international route.

Shares in the express delivery giant — often seen as a bellwether of global economic health — dropped nearly 6% on Wednesday after FedEx warned that US-China trade would remain “pressured” through the June-to-August quarter.

“We just simply cannot predict how that is going to play out,” said Brie Carere, the company’s chief customer officer, on an earnings call with investors. She noted that the China-US trade lane accounted for 2.5% of total revenue and had been the firm’s most profitable intercontinental corridor.

Carere emphasized that the “vast majority” of the trade impact stemmed from changes to de minimis customs rules. These rules had previously exempted shipments worth $800 or less from tariffs and were heavily used by Chinese e-commerce giants Temu and Shein. The Trump administration abolished the exemption.

FedEx said it would only provide quarterly guidance going forward due to what it called an “uncertain global demand environment,” further underlining the disruptive effect of Trump’s volatile trade policies on global commerce.

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7. Tesla Rolls Out Robotaxi Service, Shares Jump Nearly 9%

Tesla Inc. shares rose sharply after the company launched its long-awaited driverless taxi service, marking a quiet but meaningful step toward what Elon Musk envisions as a transformative business model.

The first robotaxi rides began Sunday in a limited area of Tesla’s hometown, Austin, Texas. Each vehicle had a company employee in the front passenger seat to monitor for safety. Tesla selected a group of loyal retail investors and social-media influencers to test the service and live-stream their experiences.

In one video, Herbert Ong, who runs a Tesla fan account, praised the car’s acceleration and parking capabilities. Another user, @BLKMDL3, said his ride was smoother than with a human driver. Sawyer Merritt, a well-known Tesla-focused investor, called the experience “awesome.”

Tesla opted for an unusually low-key rollout with no formal launch event, relying on word of mouth and media buzz instead. This contrasted sharply with past unveilings like the 2022 “Cyber Rodeo” or last year’s invite-only prototype event in Hollywood.

While Musk has warned that autonomy may not significantly impact Tesla’s financials until at least next year, the debut of the service boosted investor optimism.

Tesla shares jumped as much as 11% on Monday—the biggest intraday gain since April 9—before settling at an 8.7% rise by early afternoon.

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