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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday he would push a new requirement that the Federal Reserve‘s regional bank presidents live in their districts for at least three years before taking office, a move that could give the White House more power over the independent agency. In comments at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit, Bessent said that there is a disconnect with the framing of the Federal Reserve and added that, unless someone has lived in their district for three years, we’re going to veto them. Bessent has stepped up his criticism of the Fed’s 12 regional bank presidents in recent weeks after several of them made clear in a series of speeches that they opposed cutting the Fed’s key rate at its next meeting in December. President Donald Trump has sharply criticized the Fed for not lowering its short-term interest rate more quickly. When the Fed reduces its rate it can over time lower borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans, and credit cards. The prospect of the administration vetoing regional bank presidents would represent another effort by the administration to exert more control over the Fed, an institution that has traditionally been independent from day-to-day politics. The Federal Reserve seeks to keep prices in check and support hiring by setting a short-term interest rate that influences borrowing costs across the economy. It has a complicated structure that includes a seven-member board of governors based in Washington as well as 12 regional banks that cover specific districts across the United States. The seven governors and the president of the New York Fed vote on every interest-rate decision, while four of the remaining 11 presidents vote on a rotating basis. But all the presidents participate in meetings of the Fed’s interest-rate setting committee. Bessent argued last month in an interview on CNBC that the reason for the regional Fed banks was to bring the perspective of their districts to the Fed’s interest rate decisions and break the New York hold on the setting of interest rates. But now, he said last month, three, maybe four of the Fed presidents were appointed from outside their districts, with some living in New York. Im not sure thats the way the Federal Reserve was designed, he said in the interview. Christopher Rugaber, AP economics writer
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E-Commerce
As the “fourth wave” of coffee begins to take shape, companies that are embracing modernand, increasingly, automatedcoffee making are working to balance their tech with the craft of brewing. Terra Kaffe is one of them. The companyknown for its pricey, hypermodern automatic espresso machine TK-02revealed its first brand expansion with the August launch of Demi, a miniature version of its flagship product. Now, it’s launching a slate of accessories to complement its machines and to move the brand out of startup mode and help establish itself as a serious competitor in the world of coffee gadgets. [Photo: Terra Kaffe] The accessories, which will be rolling out into early 2026, include a countertop milk frother with a matcha setting, a line of double-walled conical glassware, tumblers for taking your coffee on the go, a quick-brewing cold brew maker, an ice cube tray, and a drip coffee potall of which are meticulously designed in the brand’s signature modern style to integrate seamlessly into the entire Terra Kaffe ecosystem. The accessories give existing Terra Kaffe owners a way to enhance their experience with the machine while providing newcomers a wider entry point into the brand. We’ve evolved into the next stage in this company’s life cycle. Now were a true lifestyle brand offering a myriad of options to serve all coffee lovers, Terra Kaffe founder and CEO Sahand Dilmaghani says. Every product has a foundation of seamlessness in the experience, elevating the way you go about your morning ritual. [Photo: Terra Kaffe] Creating an Ecosystem When Terra Kaffe released Demi, the compact machine delivered on size for those with minimal counter space, as well as cost, coming in at $795, less than half the price of the TK-02. But the machines smaller profile requires a trade-offnot being able to produce a milk-based drink (the TK-02 can produce lattes, cappuccinos and flat whites). Thats why the company saw an opportunity for its standalone Aero milk frother. The stainless steel Aero enables users to do one thing better than even the TK-02: make matcha. Its spinning technology whisks the matcha if you pour in the powder and place it under the machines spout for hot water. A built-in setting automatically stops whisking at the ideal time. (If youre old-school, you can still whisk your matcha with a bamboo whisk, then add milk from the Aero, which has a built-in temperature setting for the beverage.) [Photo: Terra Kaffe] Everything is complementary, Dilmaghani says. Were creating things to constantly improve the whole experience and tie a bow around it.’ With the new accessories line, the company was also able to broaden the scope of its machines beyond making single-serve drinksand do it in style. For Terra Kaffe users serving a crowd, it added a Drip Coffee Carafe, and while the Demi can brew a pot out of the box, the company is pushing a new setting that will enable the TK-02 to do so as part of the machines first major software update. [Photo: Terra Kaffe] While the TK-02 has an option that creates coffee optimized for iced coffee, it does not have an option to dispense the coffee cold, creating an opportunity for the Ripple ice tray, which makes four ice pucks that fit into the new line of tumblers. In early 2026, Terra Kaffe will roll out a way to make cold coffee quickly with a cold brew maker that it says will cut the roughly 18- to 24-hour process into minutes, and could be a way into the Terra Kaffe ecosystem for people who prefer cold drinks. The product uses a rotating force to rotate water through the coffee bed quicker. There’s no pressure associated with it, so it’s the same brewing methodology, Dilmaghani explains. But the technology we’re building actually accelerates the cold brew extraction process. [Photo: Terra Kaffe] Form and function A child of two architects, Dilmaghani says he places design on an equal pedestal as functionality, and time spent living in Berlin brought German design inspiration to his work. He channelled all of those inspirations for his coffee brand. Terra Kaffes brand identity and design language have a consistent throughline of geometric modernity, pulling from Bauhausian design principles, he says. Every single millimeter of the products are intentionally designed. The dials, the proportion to the base, how you engage with itthose are the details people subconsciously enjoy even if they don’t consciously acknowledge. With its name that means “earth” and its water droplet logo, Terra Kaffe is working to evoke nature with its products as it expands. The TK-01 is only available in black and white, while the Demi is sold in brownish Dune, Slate grey, Forest green, and Cloud blue earth tones. The ice trays are also available in Dune and Cloud, its Aeris tumblersavailable in three sizesrange from grey Smoke to amber Mairgold and burnt orange Sienna [Photo: Terra Kaffe] Minimalism doesnt mean plain, Dilmaghani says. Everything that you engage with stems from a place of evoking a certain feeling. That’s why, for us, everything goes back to precision, modernity and warmth. Despite releasing nearly two dozen products of different sizes and colors just this year, Terra Kaffe has more significant plans in the next year and beyond to mark its rising dominance in the home coffee tech space. We make sure that every touchpoint you engage with is inviting, Dilmaghani says. The expansion of the peripheral products continues that thread.
Category:
E-Commerce
One of the worlds biggest AI startups might be eyeing a massive IPO. According to a new report in the Financial Times, Anthropic has tapped the Palo Alto-based law firm Wilson Sonsini to help the company go public as soon as early next year. The law firm has a deep well of experience shepherding major tech IPOs and has worked with Google, LinkedIn, Lyft, and Square on their public offerings. In the lead-up to a potential IPO, the Financial Times reports that the company is drumming up a private round of funding that would peg its value at over $300 billion. According to the report, the company is also discussing its plans with large investment banks, but those talks are in their early stages. Anthropic might be trying to outmaneuver its rival OpenAI, which is reportedly considering an IPO in the second half of 2026, by going public first and could be valued at as much as a once-unthinkable $1 trillion. OpenAI recently pivoted away from its roots as a nonprofit to restructure itself as a public benefit corporation in a move that set the stage for a potential future IPO. Though the for-profit part of OpenAI will continue to operate under a nonprofit parent company, the change ushers in a new era for the business of AI one likely to be more focused on juicing revenue, attracting investment and pleasing shareholders. Anthropic sets itself apart Anthropic, which was founded by a group of OpenAI executives who split off in 2021, is backed by billions in investment from Amazon and Google. Unlike its prominent Microsoft-backed rival, Anthropic focuses on business applications for its AI tools rather than racing to capture a broad swath of the consumer market with generative AI multimedia. We are interested in our consumer users to the degree they are doing work, solving problems in their life, Anthropic design chief Joel Lewenstein told Fast Company in an October interview. Because were not interested in passive consumption and image generation and video generation, we just sort of have ruled those out from a mission perspective. The company is known for a more conservative approach to AI development that takes the technologys many risks and safety concerns into account an approach that could benefit its long term trajectory. Our interests are in making things that are beneficial while minimizing the risks of those same products because everything has a double-edged sword, Lewenstein told Fast Company. We see helping people grow and expand and create and solve problems as being the right risk-reward tradeoff.
Category:
E-Commerce
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