Powell asks for renovations review

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has asked an inspector general to review the cost of the central bank’s building renovations that White House officials have attacked as “ostentatious.”

A spokesperson for the inspector general, an independent watchdog, confirmed the request and declined further comment.

The Fed has been renovating two of its office buildings in Washington for several years at a current cost estimate of about $2.5 billion, $700 million more than originally expected. The project was first approved by the Fed’s governing board in 2017. Trump administration officials have seized on the expense and some alleged amenities in the remodeled buildings to extend their criticism of Powell, whom the president has attacked for not reducing the Fed’s short-term rate.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly demanded Powell cut the short-term interest rate that the central bank controls, in part because the president believes it will lower the government’s borrowing costs.

Trump in April threatened to fire Powell, though he later backed off those threats after stock prices fell in response. The Supreme Court has since signaled that the president doesn’t have the authority to remove the Fed chair over a disagreement about interest rates.

Starbucks: some HQ staff must relocate

Starbucks is requiring some remote workers to return to its headquarters and increasing the number of days that corporate employees are required to work in an office.

In a letter to employees posted on Monday, Starbucks Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol said corporate employees would need to be in the office four days a week starting in early October instead of three days a week. The Seattle-based company said that all corporate “people leaders” must be based in either Seattle or Toronto within 12 months. That is a change from February, when it required vice presidents to relocate to Seattle or Toronto.

Starbucks said individual employees working under those leaders would not be asked to relocate. But the company said all hiring for future roles and lateral moves will require employees to be based in Seattle or Toronto.

Vietnam to ban some hanoi motorcycles

Vietnam will ban fossil-fuel motorcycles and mopeds in the heart of the capital, Hanoi, starting July 2026, as part of a nationwide effort to curb air pollution, state media reported.

The local government has been tasked with phasing out the two-wheelers by the deadline.

Like the rest of Vietnam, motorcycles are the main mode of transport for most of Hanoi’s 8 million residents. The city has nearly 7 million motorcycles and just over a million cars. But as incomes rise and more people switch to private vehicles, air pollution from traffic has become a growing concern.

Vietnam also wants to switch from fossil-fuel to electric vehicles to cut pollution and tackle climate change. Local EV maker VinFast is leading the shift by holding nearly a fifth of the market share, according to the European Chamber of Commerce.

Compiled from Associated Press and Bloomberg reports.