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Intelligence for the New World Economy
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View / France pushes for Africa strategy reset
View / Riyadh’s uneasy calm masks a shaken confidence
The World at a Glance
Updated 6:42pm EDT
1
The White House invited the CEOs of Tesla, Apple, Meta, and others for Donald Trump’s China trip, though Nvidia’s Jensen Huang is absent from the list.
2Beijing has a strong hand to play against Donald Trump in this week’s summit, analysts said, thanks to rare earths and the Iran war.
3Donald Trump said Washington’s ceasefire with Tehran is on “massive life support,” a day after he rejected Iran’s terms for ending the war.
4The AI boom is pushing East Asian stock markets to record highs even as their economies feel the pain of wartime supply disruptions.
5Spain’s foreign minister called for the creation of an EU army, part of a broader shift toward European sovereignty.
6Airlines are lowering prices for some European flights after customers hesitated to book tickets amid the Iran war.
Trump’s ballroom funding hits Republican turbulence
“The $1 billion dollars? I have questions,” said one Republican senator.
Ken Cedeno/ReutersRare earths and Iran war give China upper hand in US talks, experts say
Beijing has a strong hand to play against US President Donald Trump in this week’s summit, analysts said.
Carlos Barria/ReutersTrump invites CEOs of Tesla, Goldman, Apple, and others to China
More than a dozen CEOs, including top tech and finance leaders, were invited to join US President Donald Trump on his visit to China this week, according to a White House official.
Evelyn Hockstein/ReutersLess climate talk, more growth: US progressives take a lesson from Canada
Sen. Elissa Slotkin and Pete Buttigieg were among the American Democrats who traveled north to learn from Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Carlos Osorio/ReutersMajor opposition split sparks Nigerian election scramble
President Bola Tinubu is now seen as a favorite for January’s elections.
Lucy North/PA Images via Getty Images, Patrick Meinhardt/AFP via Getty Images, and Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images.Bessent pays Japan third visit as secretary
Officials are expected to dig into the next phase of Japan’s pledge to invest $550 billion in the US strategic industrial base.
Nathan Howard/ReutersYoung Americans pessimistic about job market, survey finds
Last year, 43% of Americans between the ages of 15 and 34 said it was a good time to find a job where they live, according to Gallup, a 12-point decline.
Shannon Stapleton/Reuters 
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PoliticsKen Cedeno/Reuters Nathan Howard/Reuters Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
Trump’s ballroom funding hits Republican turbulence
“The $1 billion dollars? I have questions,” said one Republican senator.
Ken Cedeno/ReutersBessent pays Japan third visit as secretary
Officials are expected to dig into the next phase of Japan’s pledge to invest $550 billion in the US strategic industrial base.
Nathan Howard/ReutersTrump invites CEOs of Tesla, Goldman, Apple, and others to China
More than a dozen CEOs, including top tech and finance leaders, were invited to join US President Donald Trump on his visit to China this week, according to a White House official.
Evelyn Hockstein/ReutersLess climate talk, more growth: US progressives take a lesson from Canada
Sen. Elissa Slotkin and Pete Buttigieg were among the American Democrats who traveled north to learn from Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Young Americans pessimistic about job market, survey finds
Last year, 43% of Americans between the ages of 15 and 34 said it was a good time to find a job where they live, according to Gallup, a 12-point decline.
Groups sound alarm over possible Trump housing cut
Housing lenders and state agencies are raising concerns that administration officials could soon wind down an affordable housing program.
Iran war, ballroom funding debates hang over GOP agenda
Republicans are returning to a two-week sprint to finalize their $70 billion immigration enforcement bill.
Trump and the CEOs go to China
In Washington, a carefully constructed decade of political consensus on China policy lies in ruins.
Starmer fights on after poor election showing
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday pledged to hang on after his party suffered the worst local election losses for a governing faction in decades.
Misunderstandings test US-China ties
The US and China are both heading into a landmark summit in Beijing this week with fundamental misunderstandings of the other, analysts said.
Trump rejects Iran’s latest peace offer
Donald Trump rejected Iran’s response to Washington’s latest peace proposal, prolonging the countries’ uneasy stalemate in the Strait of Hormuz.
Business
Kim Soo-hyeon/Reuters
Demand for AI chips powers Asian stocks
The AI boom is pushing East Asian stock markets to record highs.
Kim Soo-hyeon/ReutersAirlines lower some fares amid falling demand
Fears of a jet fuel shortage — and subsequent flight cuts and airfare hikes — have led many consumers to hold off on booking trips.
Trump invites CEOs of Tesla, Goldman, Apple, and others to China
More than a dozen CEOs, including top tech and finance leaders, were invited to join US President Donald Trump on his visit to China this week, according to a White House official.
US hiring beats expectations despite Iran war
The US added 115,000 jobs in April.
Reckitt’s Kris Licht on moving at ‘China speed’
The CEO behind Lysol and Durex ‘pivoted hard’ for a new era of TikTok-driven commerce.
Technology
Danielle Villasana/Reuters
Project Colossus in Memphis in 2024. Karen Pulfer Focht/File Photo/Reuters.
Google spots AI-assisted ‘zero-day’ cyberattack
Google said it identified a cyberattack that relied on AI to detect a previously unknown bug.
Danielle Villasana/ReutersAnthropic-SpaceX compute deal shows how tokens are taking over the economy
The deal is a monumental example of the new form of commercialism that has taken over the AI era.
Project Colossus in Memphis in 2024. Karen Pulfer Focht/File Photo/Reuters.Developers worry about job loss at Anthropic’s conference
The recent spate of tech layoffs tied to AI improvements instilled more fear than enthusiasm in attendees.
These tomatoes thrive on crypto and Claude
“Claude is completely in charge of a living organism,” Martin DeVido said on the sidelines of an Anthropic event in San Francisco.
Activists target massive SpaceX IPO
Documents show SpaceX is looking to limit investors’ ability to challenge company management.
Anthropic’s tie up with Elon Musk paves way for space data centers
The partnership hands a big win to OpenAI’s biggest competitor at the peak of Musk’s public feud with OpenAI.
Energy
Andrew Wong ASW/TW/Reuters
Chalinee Thirasupa/Reuters
Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA/WANA/Reuters
Trees counter half of the world’s urban heating, study finds
The cooling effect of trees, however, is concentrated precisely where it’s less needed.
Andrew Wong ASW/TW/ReutersRare Earth Americas bets on Trump-backed mining boom
Rare Earth Americas listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the first rare earths mining venture to go public in the US since 2010 via a traditional listing.
Chalinee Thirasupa/ReutersOil drops on renewed hopes for US-Iran talks
US gasoline prices continued to rise, however, with Donald Trump running out of moves to lower them.
Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA/WANA/ReutersGulf
cnsphoto via Reuters
US war on Iran elevates China’s role in the Gulf
Gulf states won’t weaken ties with Washington, but Beijing’s role in investment, trade, and security arrangements are poised to grow.
cnsphoto via ReutersTrump says Iran truce is on ‘life support’
Oil prices ticked back up on Monday as the standoff between the US and Iran deepened.
Trump’s favorite tenor secures another Saudi-backed gig
Andrea Bocelli appeared alongside the Saudi National Orchestra and Choir at the Temple of Venus and Roma in the Italian capital.
Kuwait targets gold and property fraud
Out of 930 violations recorded last year, 544 were by jewelry companies and the rest by real estate brokers.
PepsiCo eyes local production boost in Abu Dhabi
PepsiCo franchisee Abu Dhabi Refreshment Company is spending $82 million on a new production facility in the UAE capital.
Chinacnsphoto via Reuters Carlos Barria/Reuters 
Go Nakamura/Reuters
US war on Iran elevates China’s role in the Gulf
Gulf states won’t weaken ties with Washington, but Beijing’s role in investment, trade, and security arrangements are poised to grow.
cnsphoto via ReutersRare earths and Iran war give China upper hand in US talks, experts say
Beijing has a strong hand to play against US President Donald Trump in this week’s summit, analysts said.
Carlos Barria/ReutersChina’s exports rebound ahead of Trump-Xi summit
China’s exports rebounded in April as overseas buyers rushed to stockpile goods in the second month of the Iran war.
Go Nakamura/ReutersAfrica
Kenyan President William Ruto and French President Emmanuel Macron /Monicah Mwangi/Reuters
Esa Alexander/Reuters
Why Macron is pushing France for an Africa strategy reset
French President Emmanuel Macron and tens of other heads of state are gathering for the Africa Forward Summit in Kenya.
Kenyan President William Ruto and French President Emmanuel Macron /Monicah Mwangi/ReutersClinical trials are neglecting Africa, study finds
Only 3.9% of clinical trials are conducted exclusively in Africa, according to a study of five major medical journals.
Esa Alexander/ReutersKenya leads calls for rethinking how to price risk in Africa
African policymakers have long argued that global credit rating agencies overstate the continent’s risk.
South African firm scoops equity assets worth $120 million
Africa’s secondaries market is gradually taking off.
Major opposition split sparks Nigerian election scramble
President Bola Tinubu is now seen as a favorite for January’s elections.
Africa’s latest ‘first super app’ is about narrative, not strategy
A 19-year old Thiel fellow has raised millions from US investors to back a Lagos delivery startup, exposing tensions in African tech over credibility versus execution.
Security
Ints Kalnins/Reuters
Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool via Reuters
Stringer/Reuters
Spain calls for creation of EU army amid US unreliability
The call is part of a broader shift toward European sovereignty.
Ints Kalnins/ReutersPutin says Ukraine war is ‘coming to an end’
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he believes the Ukraine war is “coming to an end,” hours after vowing victory over Kyiv at a pared-down Victory Day parade devoid of its usual military hardware display.
Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool via ReutersTrump rejects Iran’s latest peace offer
Donald Trump rejected Iran’s response to Washington’s latest peace proposal, prolonging the countries’ uneasy stalemate in the Strait of Hormuz.
Stringer/ReutersMedia
Brendan McDermid/Reuters
Weiss deputy says CBS owners are ‘independent of the news operation’
“The convention in American journalism is that the owners are independent of the news operation, and that’s the case at CBS,” Charles Forelle told Semafor.
Brendan McDermid/Reuters Behind the Pulitzer Board’s Epstein reporting plaudits
The Miami Herald episode shows how the prize is struggling to keep up with both public sentiment and shifting media consumption.
With ‘Morning Joe’ and ‘Squawk Box,’ Versant looks to market its influential audience at the upfronts
Versant’s decision to pair the two shows for advertisers suggests that its most valuable properties don’t have to be the ones with the largest reach.
Old news: Why a former New York Times editor blocked Epstein Pulitzer
“Not the best entry,” Joe Sexton told Semafor, referencing Miami Herald investigative reporter Julie Brown’s 2018 series that effectively reopened the Epstein investigation.
Dispatch exec departs amid uncertainty
Mike Rothman’s exit comes as The Dispatch has explored a potential sale.
CEO Signal
Reckitt Benckiser/Handout via Reuters 
Courtesy of Government of Dubai/Joey Pfeifer/Semafor
Reckitt’s Kris Licht on moving at ‘China speed’
The CEO behind Lysol and Durex ‘pivoted hard’ for a new era of TikTok-driven commerce.
Reckitt Benckiser/Handout via Reuters Dan Schulman’s plan to get Verizon back in the fight
“If somebody’s going to punch me, I’m going to punch back,” Verizon CEO Dan Schulman says in this episode of The CEO Signal.
How Dubai’s Hadi Badri builds confidence in a crisis
The Dubai Economic Development Corp. CEO says data, proactive engagement, and long-term goals can turn the Iran conflict into a “speed bump.”
Courtesy of Government of Dubai/Joey Pfeifer/SemaforAD