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Intelligence for the New World Economy
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The World at a Glance
Updated 3:22pm EDT
1
US President Donald Trump reportedly berated Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu during a phone call over Israel’s recent incursion into Lebanon.
2Russia launched a barrage of strikes on Ukraine, while a growing number of analysts said Moscow was losing the war.
3Russia suspended jet fuel exports, dealing a further blow to trade in a product already hugely affected by the Iran war.
4Google parent company Alphabet plans to sell $80 billion in stock to fund its AI buildout, a rare move by the company.
5Anthropic offered the EU access to its controversial AI model Mythos, to help bolster the bloc’s cybersecurity.
6Basketball star Stephen Curry signed an endorsement deal with sportswear giant Li-Ning, underscoring the growing global appeal of Chinese brands.
Busy primary day sweeps the nation
What to watch for as voters head to the polls in California, Iowa, and New Jersey.
Manuel Orbegozo and Carlos Barria/Reuters Anthropic resists sharing financial info with lenders, sources say
Some of the lenders being pitched to buy a slice of the $4.6 billion notes that don’t have a backstop from Broadcom say they haven’t received a detailed look at the AI company’s numbers.
Courtesy of AnthropicSenegal forms new government after PM sacked
The West African nation has been engulfed in political turmoil for weeks, but the new government is an attempt to plot a path out of a daunting debt crisis.
Ousmane Sonko, when he was prime minister, sits with Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye. Ngouda Dione/Reuters.Few Americans feel ‘financially fulfilled’, poll finds
And about one-third of American adults say they are financially stressed.
Sam Mircovich/Reuters Companies and countries grapple with prospect of Hormuz toll
The CEO of Chevron said he will not consider paying a toll, but Qatar appeared to be more flexible.
Stringer/File Photo/ReutersTrump administration approves US sales for Chinese-owned Volvo
A Biden-era rule bans nearly all vehicles connected to China, while punitive tariffs have, in effect, blocked Chinese EV makers from the US market.
Thomas Peter/ReutersMainland IPOs fuel Hong Kong’s comeback
Hong Kong has overtaken Switzerland as the top hub for cross-border wealth.
Tyrone Siu/ReutersAD
Politics
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Ilia Yefimovich/Pool via ReutersSam Mircovich/Reuters
Roger Stone helped Trump choose an unorthodox new intel adviser
Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte has no experience in the field but influential allies in his corner.
Kevin Lamarque/ReutersTrump berates Netanyahu over Lebanon incursion
Trump reportedly called Netanyahu “f*cking crazy,” and told him that “everyone hates Israel” because of its aggression.
Ilia Yefimovich/Pool via ReutersFew Americans feel ‘financially fulfilled’, poll finds
And about one-third of American adults say they are financially stressed.
Sam Mircovich/Reuters Emanuel dings Democrats for missing corruption messaging ‘gem’
The party’s former House campaigns chief told Semafor he wants to see that message more actively paired with affordability.
Busy primary day sweeps the nation
What to watch for as voters head to the polls in California, Iowa, and New Jersey.
DOJ statement on Trump fund not enough to unstick funding bill
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., predicted a “robust discussion” at Tuesday’s party meeting about the bill and the fund itself.
Democrats stick with Platner while bracing for more dirt
The party is showing no signs of abandoning its scandal-plagued Maine Senate nominee.
Trump insists Iran peace talks are continuing
US President Donald Trump sought to salvage US-Iran negotiations after Tehran suggested it was suspending talks over Israel’s campaign in Lebanon.
Lawmakers push new foreign disclosure rules in defense contracting
The bipartisan bill would direct all prospective defense contractors and subcontractors to disclose information on their beneficial owners.
Justice Department tables Trump fund and unsticks immigration bill
Senate Democrats are still planning to clobber the immigration bill with amendments related to the “anti-weaponization” fund.
Democratic primaries get an even bigger AIPAC problem
The group’s toxicity within the party is now so acute that it’s tied to both the war in Iran and the backlash against “dark money.”
BusinessCourtesy of Anthropic
Anthropic resists sharing financial info with lenders, sources say
Some of the lenders being pitched to buy a slice of the $4.6 billion notes that don’t have a backstop from Broadcom say they haven’t received a detailed look at the AI company’s numbers.
Courtesy of AnthropicBerkshire to invest $10 billion in Alphabet in major AI bet
Berkshire Hathaway famously missed past tech waves, to Warren Buffett’s regret. Greg Abel is determined not to miss this one.
Anthropic needs a co-signer
Anthropic is one of the most important companies in the world, but it still needs a chaperone to enter the credit markets.
Hedging a $15,000 New York Knicks bar tab on Kalshi
The owner of a Manhattan bar bet $5,000 on Kalshi on Wednesday’s Game 1 of the NBA Finals to hedge is promise of free drinks with the Knicks win. Prediction markets are getting useful.
Short-seller Andrew Left will appeal fraud conviction
The short seller was accused of manipulating markets in media appearances and on social media.
Technology
Denis Balibouse/Reuters
Carlos Jasso/File Photo/Reuters
Microsoft’s AI chief on the greatest game of catchup ever played
Mustafa Suleyman admits the company is behind, but says the AI race has barely begun.
Denis Balibouse/ReutersAlphabet to sell $80 billion in stock to fund AI buildout
The Google parent has not offered stock for 20 years, but even Alphabet’s vast revenues are not enough to keep pace with AI construction.
Carlos Jasso/File Photo/ReutersAnthropic offers EU access to Mythos
Mythos was unveiled but not released in April after it was found to be able to detect — and exploit — security flaws in almost all systems.
Florida sues OpenAI over safety concerns
Florida became the first US state to sue OpenAI, alleging that the ChatGPT maker ignored safety concerns.
Anthropic files to go public as AI startups race to hit markets
Anthropic confidentially filed to go public, setting up a blockbuster market debut alongside other tech heavyweights.
Luma AI launching robotics lab anyone can use
Luma AI is starting a robotics lab that will allow anyone to train robots on its software, expanding beyond the startup’s video generation models.
Energy
Eli Hartman/File Photo/Reuters
Benoit Tessier/ReutersStringer/File Photo/Reuters
Why isn’t oil more expensive?
Oil prices are now hovering around $95 per barrel, 30% above pre-war levels.
Eli Hartman/File Photo/ReutersTrump administration rolls back climate disclosure rules
The move could leave big companies with a more onerous task ahead in reporting their carbon footprints to shareholders.
Benoit Tessier/ReutersCompanies and countries grapple with prospect of Hormuz toll
The CEO of Chevron said he will not consider paying a toll, but Qatar appeared to be more flexible.
Stringer/File Photo/ReutersGulf
Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters
Saudi Arabia continues expansion of Mecca with new development contracts
The contracts are part of the kingdom’s push to triple the number of pilgrims visiting during Hajj and Umrah to more than 30 million annually by 2030.
Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/ReutersBahrain presses ahead with plan to buy French aluminum smelter
The price has risen sharply since the idea was first mooted earlier in the year, and is now set at around $2.2 billion, Aluminium Bahrain said.
UAE telecom giant e& gives up plan to build a ‘super app’
The company agreed to sell 12.5% of Careem Technologies back to Uber for $100 million, reducing its majority holding.
Saudi Arabia fuels filmmaking ambition with generous production rebates
The country’s industry is facing headwinds, with producers saying collecting the rebates can be difficult.
UAE drafts first Arabic-language law
It is a significant move for a country where Emiratis make up less than 12% of the population, and where Arabic has ceded ground in daily life.
China
Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
Go Nakamura/ReutersTyrone Siu/Reuters
Gig economy spurs revival in Chinese worker’s literature
A raft of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction is emerging about, and by, working-class laborers.
Maxim Shemetov/ReutersBeijing targets cooling consumer spending
Beijing is pushing new efforts to battle the lagging consumption weighing on China’s economy.
Go Nakamura/ReutersMainland IPOs fuel Hong Kong’s comeback
Hong Kong has overtaken Switzerland as the top hub for cross-border wealth.
Tyrone Siu/ReutersAfricaOusmane Sonko, when he was prime minister, sits with Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye. Ngouda Dione/Reuters. 
Protesters hold placards during an anti-illegal-immigration march in Durban, South Africa. Thuli Dlamini/Reuters.
Senegal forms new government after PM sacked
The West African nation has been engulfed in political turmoil for weeks, but the new government is an attempt to plot a path out of a daunting debt crisis.
Ousmane Sonko, when he was prime minister, sits with Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye. Ngouda Dione/Reuters.Violence against migrants in South Africa worsens
Mozambique said five of its citizens were killed in anti-migrant attacks across the country.
Protesters hold placards during an anti-illegal-immigration march in Durban, South Africa. Thuli Dlamini/Reuters.DR Congo’s Ebola outbreak is a multifaceted crisis
The disease could have spread undetected among informal workers, who often cross the country’s porous border.
‘The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind’ gets London stage debut
The musical is an adaptation of a memoir about a young Malawian boy who builds his own windmill to generate electricity during a period of famine.
DRC adds lithium to higher-tax strategic minerals list
Niobium, tantalum, tungsten, and uranium were also added to the list of minerals in the higher 10% tax bracket.
South African households grapple with water shortages
The water crisis is likely to hand the country’s main opposition parties leverage ahead of local elections later this year.
Security
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Støre and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February. Alina Smutko/Reuters
Quetzalli Nicte-Ha/Reuters
Israeli Military/Handout via Reuters
Norway, citing ‘crazy world’, reconsiders EU membership
Norway is reconsidering joining the EU, the country’s foreign minister told the Financial Times.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Støre and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February. Alina Smutko/ReutersSheinbaum decries US ‘interference’ in Mexico’s politics
Mexico’s president delivered her harshest rebuke yet of US “interference,” following Washington’s indictment of 10 Mexican officials for alleged cartel ties.
Quetzalli Nicte-Ha/ReutersIsrael seizes Crusader castle in Lebanon
Israeli forces seized a 12th-century Crusader castle in southern Lebanon, as Israel intensifies its farthest incursion into the country in 26 years, despite a nominal ceasefire.
Israeli Military/Handout via ReutersMedia
Katie Jones/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images
New York Public Radio’s new boss reorganizes the network
In her first four months on the job, Christy Tanner has swiftly eliminated many of NYPR’s seniormost figures.
Katie Jones/Variety/Penske Media via Getty ImagesBret Baier on golfing with Trump, his 2028 predictions, and making the case for civility
Fox News’ Special Report host Bret Baier joins Mixed Signals to talk about what it’s like to sit at the center of American political media.
The ‘completely new’ ‘60 Minutes’
Nick Bilton’s hire signals that Paramount CEO David Ellison and editor-in-chief Bari Weiss’ overhaul of CBS News will be radical and total.
Paramount appears to sway DOJ staff on Warner Bros. takeover
US antitrust regulators appear to approve Paramount’s $110 billion studio deal after a two-hour meeting at the Justice Department Tuesday, people familiar with the matter said.
Thousands of journalists’ data exposed to dark web
More than half of the exposures contained personal information such as names, phone numbers, dates of birth, and addresses, per a new study from Proton.
CEO Signal
Courtesy of Cisco/Joey Pfeifer/Semafor
Courtesy of Match Group/Joey Pfeifer/Semafor
Courtesy of Becton Dickinson/Joey Pfeifer/Semafor
How Cisco’s Chuck Robbins gets his team to ‘disagree and commit’
The longstanding CEO says a bad decision that you reverse is better than a delay.
Courtesy of Cisco/Joey Pfeifer/SemaforWhy an anxious AI romantic now drives Match Group’s dating apps
CEO Spencer Rascoff uses digital “personas” to help the Tinder owner understand its users.
Courtesy of Match Group/Joey Pfeifer/SemaforHow syringe-maker BD is infusing AI into its medical devices
CEO Tom Polen is turning his 65,000 employees into lean manufacturing “problem-finders.”
Courtesy of Becton Dickinson/Joey Pfeifer/SemaforAD