Good morning, CFOs. Luxury titan Bernard Arnault takes on Trump’s tariffs; shakeup at the PCAOB board; plus, Elon Musk’s future is filled with robots.

President Trump’s efforts to secure a trade deal with the European Union have the help of an old, powerful friend: luxury titan Bernard Arnault.

The LVMH chief has spent recent weeks shuttling between Europe’s capitals—meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni—pressing them to agree to a deal along the lines of the one Trump reached with Japan this week. And he has spoken to the president, seeking to de-escalate tensions with Brussels.

Arnault is also hedging his bets: He plans to open another Louis Vuitton factory in Texas—a move partly credited with sparing the luxury industry from tariffs during Trump’s first term.

• S&P Hits Fourth Straight Record; Trade Talks in Spotlight
• Trump’s Tariffs Are Being Picked Up by Corporate America

📆 Earnings

• Aon
• Booz Allen Hamilton Holding
• Centene
• Charter Communications
• Phillips 66

📈 Economic Indicators

The Census Bureau releases the durable-goods report for June.

Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins said he is seeking candidates for all five positions on the board of the audit watchdog overseen by the regulator. The moves come after Atkins asked Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Chair Erica Williams to resign last week. Williams’s last day was Tuesday. The SEC on Monday named board member George Botic as acting chair. Current PCAOB board members include Christina Ho, Kara Stein and Tony Thompson. Applicants have until Aug. 25 to submit materials to be considered for the roles.

—Mark Maurer

Donning white hard hats for their tour of the Federal Reserve’s construction site on Thursday, President Trump and Fed Chair Jerome Powell almost immediately began squabbling over the cost of the central bank’s renovations of two historic buildings.

When Powell fact-checked Trump’s claim that the $2.5 billion price tag had swelled to $3.1 billion, Trump pulled a piece of paper from his suit jacket, handing it to Powell. The Fed chair put on his glasses and studied it. “You just added in a third building,” Powell said, referring to an adjacent office building the Fed finished refurbishing in 2021.

It is hardly their biggest disagreement. But it was an extraordinary moment of political theater that followed weeks of Trump steadily badgering the Fed leader over his management of interest-rate policy.

Standing a foot apart with cameras rolling, their awkward exchange continued when Trump answered a question about what it would take for him to change his tune on Powell. The president playfully smacked the Fed chair on the back. “I’d love him to lower interest rates. Other than that, what can I tell you?” Trump exclaimed to laughter that broke the tension.

• Why Does Renovating the Fed Cost $2.5 Billion? Asbestos, Height Limits, Lead

📰 Other headlines

• Exclusive: FCC Approves Paramount’s $8 Billion Merger With Skydance 
• Intel to Lay Off 15% of Workers, Cancel Billions in Projects in Bid for Rebound
• How McDonald’s Lost Its Value Edge—and Is Trying to Claw It Back
• Keurig Dr Pepper Sees Continued U.S. Beverage Strength; Warns of Tariff Hit to Coffee
• Trade Questions, Slow Leasing Hold Back Warehouse Dealmaking
• Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern Say They Are in Advanced Talks Over Railroad Merger
• Exclusive: Trump Administration Greenlights Chevron to Resume Pumping Oil in Venezuela
• UnitedHealth Confirms Civil and Criminal Justice Department Probes
• Elon Musk Tells Tesla Investors to Focus on a Future Filled With Robots
• Banks Are Getting Pickier About Whom They Want as Credit-Card Customers

🙏 Moment of Zen

• Weekend Read: The Last Living Monet
   

The Wall Street Journal's CFO Journal offers corporate leaders and professionals CFO analysis, advice and commentary to make informed decisions. We cover topics including corporate tax, accounting, regulation, capital markets, management and strategy.

Follow us on X @WSJCFO. The WSJ CFO Journal Team comprises reporters Kristin Broughton, Mark Maurer and Jennifer Williams, and Bureau Chief Walden Siew.

You can reach us by replying to any newsletter, or email Walden at walden.siew@wsj.com.