Flagship

Respite for global stocks

Stocks surged on Tuesday, in what traders called a return to normality after new US economic data allayed concerns of an impending recession. Japan’s benchmark index — which yesterday had its biggest fall since 1987 — gained 10%, while S&P 500 futures rose about 1%. A US manufacturing survey was better than expected, and Federal Reserve policymakers said inflation was slowing to the central bank’s target, bolstering investor confidence. The respite may only be temporary: An index known as Wall Street’s “fear gauge” rose the most on record yesterday, while Bloomberg reported that traders were hedging their investments against a major market crash. Still, as ING analysts put it, “At least some of the knives have stopped falling.”

VP’s VP pick due

Kamala Harris, the US vice president and Democratic candidate for the White House, is set to announce her running mate today, amid signs that momentum is shifting in her favor. Harris is likely choosing between two governors, each of whom analysts say would help deliver critical states in November’s election. A recent poll showed her tied with Republican candidate Donald Trump in battleground states, while GOP strategists voiced worry that Trump — whose criticism of Harris has veered wildly in recent days — is having a “public nervous breakdown.” The polling expert Nate Silver likened him to a poker player “coasting to lock up a big night, but then loses a big pot, goes on tilt and never regains his form.”

Israel isolated as war looms

Israel found itself increasingly isolated as diplomats moved to avoid the Gaza conflict metastasizing into a wider war with Iran. Egypt rejected an Israeli request to provide intelligence to defend against an imminently expected Iranian attack, The National reported, while the UK reportedly suspended arms export licenses to Israel while the new government in London reviewed its policies. Foreign ministers from several Islamic countries will meet in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, while US President Joe Biden spoke to the King of Jordan, all trying to reduce the chance of conflict in the region expanding after the killings of senior Hamas and Hezbollah commanders on Iranian and Lebanese soil.

Yunus proposed as Bangladesh leader

Protesters who overthrew Bangladesh’s prime minister pushed for Nobel Peace Prize-winner Muhammad Yunus to be installed as the country’s leader. His potential ascension would carry huge symbolism: Yunus was lauded worldwide for pioneering microloans to the poor, but faced corruption charges at home, allegations he insisted were politically motivated. Calls for him to step in came as an ex-premier was released from years of house arrest while the military sought to impose order in Dhaka, a day after protesters overran Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s official residence, sending her into exile. The turmoil also has global implications: Bangladesh is the world’s second-largest garment exporter but factories have been forced to cease production due to the protests.

Lesotho’s suicide crisis

Soaring unemployment rates and widespread sexual abuse have pushed suicide rates in Lesotho to the highest level in the world. According to the World Health Organization, more than 70 people per 100,000 die by suicide in the small African nation every year, almost twice the rate of Guyana, the next country on the list. A lack of state backing — the country’s only psychiatric unit hasn’t had a psychiatrist since 2017 — for the more than 86% of women who say they’ve been victims of gender violence has further aggravated the crisis. “Mental health has become a pandemic,” a local lawmaker told the BBC.

Mexican firms face security crisis

More than half of all businesses in Mexico have been hit by violent attacks, putting foreign investments at risk just as demand for nearshoring production to the country increases. According to a recent poll by a US-Mexico trade group, firms have to allocate as much as 10% of their budgets to security as extortion from criminal groups increases. Some experts say the government’s non-confrontational strategy known as “hugs, not bullets” has emboldened Mexico’s drug cartels to enter broad sectors of the economy, with several now even controlling public utilities. Meanwhile a conviction rate of below 3% for reported extortion means there’s little punishment for shakedowns. Mexican businesses are “operating with a revolver to their head,” El País said.

Honey fraud worries beekeepers

Beekeepers warned of the growing problem of honey fraud. The practice of adulterating honey, adding pollutants such as ash like drug dealers add laundry detergent to cocaine, is age-old, but new synthetic syrups are now being used that can fool authenticity tests, one beekeeper told AFP. Some producers are going out of business because adulterated honey can be sold much cheaper. A collapse of the industry could also lead to food production problems as some commercial beekeepers help the pollination of crops. The European Union introduced regulations on product labeling, but the UK has weaker rules: The EU worries that adulterated honey is being re-blended in Britain and sold on in Europe.

Aussie wine giant offloads cheap labels

Australia’s largest wine producer will abandon low-end labels to pivot upmarket. Wine sales volumes have dropped in recent years, with cheaper bottles hit particularly hard: An analyst told the Financial Times that consumers are drinking less but willing to spend more per bottle, while young people’s consumption is down overall. Treasury Wine Estates’ Blossom Hill and Wolf Blass labels — familiar to a generation of college students — now contribute less than 5% of the company’s profit, and it is offloading them without expecting “much in the way of proceeds” from the sale. The Australian wine industry has had a tough few years, as China, its biggest market, introduced tariffs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Deadpool evades Chinese censors

The US superhero film Deadpool & Wolverine surprisingly made it past Chinese censors. Any movie released in China must be shown first to state propaganda officials who determine not just whether any violence or sex is too shocking but whether films’ themes undermine state authority. The new film is somewhat bowdlerized — the Chinese-language subtitles replace references to drugs and sex toys with more family-friendly lines — but the English dialogue is untouched. The decision may reflect Beijing’s growing confidence: China used to worry about Hollywood dominating the market, but this year US movies accounted for just 15% of the total box office. One executive told The Wall Street Journal that “we’re not a threat to them anymore.”

New pole vault world record

Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis won his second successive Olympic gold medal and set a world record for a ninth time. Duplantis receives a payout every time he breaks a global record and capitalizes on his dominance by only doing so by the minimum amount possible — 1 cm (0.4 inches) each time — to ensure he gets his bonus. “Duplantis jumps higher than any human who has ever walked the earth,” The Wall Street Journal said. “So much higher, in fact, that his only serious rivals are himself and the earth’s gravitational pull.” When asked whether the bonus entered his mind before he competed, he responded: “I’d be lying if I said it didn’t.”

• Japan marks the 79th anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bombing.
• Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, and Washington hold state primary elections.
• The film It Ends with Us, starring Blake Lively, premieres in New York.

The depth in kilometers (about 1.8 miles) of the Greenland ice sheet at its thickest point. Research has found ancient fossils in the rock beneath, implying that at some point in the last million or so years, the entire vast island was free or nearly free of ice. Scientists said this is “a big warning that we could very likely lose the Greenland ice sheet” if global warming continues, which could lead to up to 7.2 meters (23.6 feet) in sea level rise and swamp many coastal cities.

Sonny’s Blues by James Baldwin. The US writer would have turned 100 at the weekend, and Literary Hub celebrated the centenary of his birth by reviving some of the many great pieces written about him over the years. Tom Jenks picked Sonny’s Blues, a short story about two brothers and their estrangement over one’s addiction. “Baldwin doesn’t judge; he observes,” writes Jenks, who says he has taught this work to aspiring writers for 35 years.

• Google search was ruled a monopoly.
• How the EU elections pushed Germany’s far right to new extremes.
• India eyes Bangladesh power vacuum.