The $10 Billion Lawsuit, the Rare Earth Panic, and the Price of Onions

21st July, 2025

Donald Trump is taking on the Wall Street Journal with a $10 billion defamation lawsuit over a bizarre Epstein-linked cartoon. Meanwhile, U.S. firms are scrambling for rare-earth magnets as China tightens the tap, and a new climate study links extreme weather to sudden food price spikes around the globe. Also on the radar: U.S. homebuilders slash prices as housing sentiment continues to sag. All this and more in today’s Read It And Eat!

Major Headlines 

• Trump sues Wall Street Journal over Epstein report, seeks $10 billion

  
  

• U.S. President Donald Trump is suing the Wall Street Journal and its parent company News Corp for a staggering $10 billion over a report linking him to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The article in question, published earlier this month, claimed Trump’s name appeared in a 2003 birthday greeting to Epstein that featured a suggestive cartoon and references to shared secrets. Trump has denied the existence of such a letter and now accuses the Journal of publishing “false, malicious, defamatory” content that damaged both his reputation and finances. Filed in Miami federal court, the lawsuit targets high-profile media figures including Rupert Murdoch, Dow Jones CEO Robert Thomson, and two WSJ reporters. In a fiery post on Truth Social, Trump warned that depositions would be coming for all involved. The lawsuit argues that the article failed to prove the greeting’s existence or source. For Trump to win, he’ll need to prove the Journal acted with “actual malice” — that they knowingly lied or showed reckless disregard for the truth. Meanwhile, News Corp is standing by its reporting and plans to fight the suit in court. Reuters

  
  

• U.S. firms scramble for rare-earth magnets as China exports surge 66%

  
  

• China’s exports of rare-earth magnets to the United States in June surged more than seven times from the prior month, as American firms clamor to get hold of the critical elements following a preliminary Sino-U.S. trade deal. In April, Beijing placed restrictions on several critical magnets, used in advanced tech such as electric vehicles, wind turbines and MRI machines, requiring firms to receive licenses for export. The move was seen as retaliation against U.S. President Donald Trump’s steep tariffs on China. Beijing has a stranglehold on the production of rare-earth magnets, with an estimated 90% of the market, as well as a similar hold on the refining of rare-earth elements, which are used to make magnets. CNBC

  
  

• Extreme weather drives food price surges across the globe

  
  

• From potatoes in Britain to onions in India, weather extremes driven by climate change are pushing short-term food price surges globally, research has found. A study led by the Barcelona Supercomputing Center directly links dozens of climate extremes to sharp food price rises, highlighting the increasing vulnerability of food systems to environmental shocks. Previous studies have examined how high temperatures, which cause waning yields and supply shortages, drive general food price inflation over the long term. However, the new research shows that specific food items also experience much steeper short-term price increases, which feed into inflation. Many of the weather events behind these price increases “were completely unprecedented from a historical perspective”, said lead author Maximilian Kotz of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center. Financial Times

  
  

• Homebuilders slash prices as demand weakens

  
  

• Builders are cutting prices at the highest rate in three years amid tepid buyer interest and stubbornly high mortgage rates. The National Association of Home Builders’ July sentiment index rose slightly to 33 — still deep in negative territory — as 38% of builders reported reducing prices. The average price cut has held steady at 5% since November.  CNBC

  
  

Minor Headlines

• Astronomer CEO resigns after VIP Coldplay concert controversy –TechCrunch 

  
  

• Amazon trims AWS team amid rising AI expenses –Bloomberg

  
  

• Microsoft drops China-based engineers from Pentagon projects – TechCrunch 

  
  

• Imax is selling out 'The Odyssey' a year in advance – MorningBrew

  
  

• Oracle's Larry Ellison overtakes Mark Zuckerberg as world's second-richest person Fox Business 

  
  

• Citigroup poaches Goldman’s Friedland for IB leadership role – Reuters

  
  

• FTC lifts bans on execs joining Chevron, Exxon boards – Reuters

  
  

• Ex-Epstein lawyer pushes for broader release of Epstein files – Reuters

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