Flagship

US stocks erase post-election rally

US stocks plunged Tuesday as the world confronted a new trade war, wiping out post-election gains spurred by investors’ confidence that Donald Trump’s win would juice the economy. The tumble marked a stunning reversal in Wall Street euphoria over Trump, whose tariffs against Mexico and Canada went into effect at midnight along with a hike in existing duties on China. All three nations have vowed retaliatory duties, while Trump has already threatened further hikes on Ottawa. Some analysts — many of whom are now wondering if Trump will step in to staunch the bleeding — had thought the president was bluffing about the levies, but “markets have to face reality which, chiefly, is that uncertainty will dominate for the foreseeable future,” one investor said.

Oil prices fall on OPEC moves

Oil prices tumbled after OPEC+ agreed to increase crude production for the first time since October 2022. The surprise move by the oil producers’ group led by Saudi Arabia and Russia followed calls from US President Donald Trump to lower oil prices, but the plan was “locked in well before Trump took office,” commodities analyst Amena Bakr wrote in Semafor Gulf. Still, OPEC+ is keeping an eye on Trump’s demands and his policy direction, especially his new tariffs on oil imports from Canada and Mexico. Analysts have warned the duties could tighten supply options for refiners and push US gas prices higher. “Consumers are about to get caught between tariffs, refinery bottlenecks, and seasonal price hikes,” OilPrice.com wrote.

Trump to address divided Congress

The US and Ukraine are reportedly on track to sign a minerals deal, despite last week’s Oval Office clash that upended the talks. After Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that the verbal tussle was “regrettable” and he was ready to sign a deal, US President Donald Trump said he wanted to announce the agreement during his evening address to Congress, Reuters reported. The speech will serve as “an extension — and explanation — of the rapid change he’s unleashed in just 44 days,” CNN wrote, including seismic shifts in US foreign policy that have incensed Democratic politicians. As their outrage over Trump’s criticism of Kyiv grows, the rare in-person encounter with the president “could pave the way for a charged and angry event,” The Washington Post wrote.

Vance exacerbates US-EU strain

European officials reacted with outrage after US Vice President JD Vance dismissed a peacekeeping plan for Ukraine, deepening a growing transatlantic rift. Vance said a US economic stake in Ukraine would be a better security guarantee than troops “from some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years.” The comments prompted widespread condemnation, particularly from the UK — British soldiers fought alongside America in Afghanistan and Iraq. Vance said the criticism was “absurdly dishonest,” adding that he hadn’t mentioned the UK or France. Both countries have offered to send peacekeepers to Ukraine as Europe races to replace a retreating Washington: The European Union on Tuesday announced a “ReArm Europe” plan with an additional $841 billion in defense spending.

BlackRock to buy Panama ports

Investment giant BlackRock agreed to buy two major Panama Canal ports owned by a Hong Kong-based conglomerate amid US President Donald Trump’s allegations of Chinese influence over the critical waterway. The $22.8 billion deal marks a win for Trump even as the ports’ owner, CK Hutchinson, said the sale was “purely commercial in nature and wholly unrelated to recent political news reports.” Trump has repeatedly said the US should take the canal back, citing national security concerns: The waterway is controlled by Panama, but the ports at either end are privately owned. The BlackRock deal could alleviate pressure on both Panama and Hutchison, which perhaps “could see the writing on the wall,” a Latin America expert said.

DeepSeek spurs AI uptake in China

Chinese artificial intelligence firm DeepSeek’s recent success has sparked a nationwide push to deploy its large language models. The startup’s R1 model in January shook global markets, demonstrating similar abilities to the top US models using comparatively few resources. It is also changing China’s economy: Hospitals and local governments are using DeepSeek tools, the Financial Times reported, and several oil and power companies have done likewise, Caixin wrote. Among China’s business community and on social forums, a narrative is emerging that DeepSeek is intertwined with a technological “national destiny,” ChinaTalk noted. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has long pushed for the country’s institutions to adopt cutting-edge technologies, although often with “abysmal” results, Trivium China said, but DeepSeek’s success could finally boost uptake.

Mining Greenland is difficult

Greenland has attracted global interest in mining for its valuable rare earth minerals, but the reality isn’t rosy. Greenland has just two active mines; because of its sparse infrastructure, tough terrain, and cold weather, logistics are complex, and investing “is not for the faint of heart,” a local mine operator told The Wall Street Journal. China has put money into some Greenland ventures, “but none have panned out, either because of stalled production or heavy financial burdens,” The New York Times wrote. China’s interest is central to US President Donald Trump’s desire to acquire the Danish territory. Climate change could accelerate that “global contest for land,” Foreign Affairs noted, as melting ice in places like Greenland makes mining for critical resources easier.

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India faces fighter jet diplomacy

India is facing a multi-billion-dollar, geopolitically sensitive decision over which advanced fighter jet to buy for its aging air force. While New Delhi’s rivals in China and Pakistan have grown their combat fleets in recent years, India’s has shrunk and the Russian fighter jets it relies upon are reaching obsolescence. Among India’s options are America’s F-35 stealth fighter, the Russian Su-57, and the French-made Rafale. Whichever it decides, the purchase will tie India into decades of maintenance and supply — and diplomacy. Eventually, New Delhi would like to build its own fighters, but slow procurement has forced it to make “stopgap foreign purchases,” the BBC reported. In turn, these purchases divert funds away from the self-sufficiency program, creating a self-reinforcing cycle.

Europe’s biggest battery comes online

Europe’s biggest battery project went into commercial operation this week in the UK, as the country tries to balance its renewable operations with demand. The project, at Blackhillock in northeast Scotland, can store enough electricity to power about 2 million homes for two hours, and is set to expand next year. That will be critical, The Times of London wrote, because Britain is rapidly expanding wind power. At peak times, surplus electricity often goes unused and turbine companies are paid not to produce electricity, while during still periods, the country relies on gas as a backup: Batteries and other storage or interconnector systems are vital to smooth out supply. The UK government plans to expand battery capacity sixfold by 2030.

Chinese architect wins Pritzker Prize

A Chinese architect whose buildings “celebrate the everyday lives of people” won the Pritzker Architecture Prize, an award considered the equivalent of a Nobel for architecture. Throughout his four-decade career, Liu Jiakun has sought to put people and communities at the forefront of his works, many of which are located in public areas within dense cities. His West Village complex in Chengdu, for example, fills an entire city block with walkways, bike paths, and office spaces arranged around an outdoor courtyard. “I always aspire to be like water,” Liu wrote in his Pritzker statement. “To permeate through a place without carrying a fixed form of my own and to seep into the local environment and the site itself.”

March 5:

• US Senate confirmation hearings begin for Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the National Institutes of Health.
• Adidas and Bayer report earnings.
• Christians mark the beginning of Lent with Ash Wednesday.

Archaeologists in Pompeii have unearthed a huge mural that sheds new light on the ancient cult of Dionysus, the god of wine, pleasure, and religious ecstasy. Discovered inside a banquet hall, the paintings depict a parade of young satyrs playing music and female cult followers known as “bacchantes” or “maenads,” as well as Dionysus’ confidante, Silenus. Dionysian rituals are believed to have involved marginalized members of Greco-Roman society, Hyperallergic wrote, including women and enslaved people who were encouraged “to transcend into a state free of inhibition and societal constraints.” The exact nature of the rites, however, are largely lost, surviving in piecemeal accounts and frescoes like these.

The company that makes Tasers is looking to arm CEOs’ security teams with its “less lethal” weapons as executives beef up protection following the murder of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO, Semafor’s Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson reported.

“Our customers are rethinking the money they’re spending on legacy programs that may be defunct or may not be working as well,” said Josh Isner, president of Axon Enterprise. “And to me, that presents an opportunity for companies like us and Palantir and Anduril.”