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Good morning. The US Senate has approved a $95bn bill delivering security aid to Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific region with overwhelming bipartisan support, in a boost to President Joe Biden’s top foreign policy priorities.
The final passage of the legislation in Congress ended a political logjam that had lasted for months and paved the way for Washington to quickly dispatch new weapons to Ukraine as it battles Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Biden said he would sign the bill into law later today and that aid could start flowing to Ukraine as soon as this week. “Congress has passed my legislation to strengthen our national security and send a message to the world about the power of American leadership: we stand resolutely for democracy and freedom, and against tyranny and oppression.”
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the US Senate shortly after the vote, which he said “reinforces America’s role as a beacon of democracy and leader of the free world”.
The bill won support from 79 senators, with 18 voting against.
Here’s what else I’m keeping tabs on today:
Companies: Boeing is expected to report a first-quarter loss later today amid ongoing concerns about safety standards at the aircraft maker. Meta, General Dynamics, AT&T, Hilton, Biogen, Hasbro, Chipotle, Ford, Whirlpool and Wyndham Hotels also report earnings.
Economic data: Orders for long-lasting goods like washing machines and aircraft are forecast to have increased 2.5 per cent in March after rising 1.3 per cent in February.
Antony Blinken: The US secretary of state arrives in China for a three-day visit. Here’s what to expect from the visit. In other diplomacy, Britain’s Rishi Sunak meets German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for the first time.
Five more top stories
1. Brussels has raided a Chinese security equipment supplier, deploying new anti-foreign subsidy powers in a move that will further inflame tensions between Brussels and Beijing ahead of a planned visit by President Xi Jinping to Europe. The China Chamber of Commerce to the EU decried what it called a “dawn raid” on the offices in Poland and the Netherlands. Here’s what we know about the raids so far.
2. Tesla has pledged to bring forward the launch of “more affordable” models of its electric vehicles, helping its stock recover some of its recent losses despite reporting a 9 per cent decline in first-quarter revenue. Chief executive Elon Musk said the company would provide more details in August, alongside a “robotaxis” announcement. Tesla shares, which have fallen 40 per cent this year, rose more than 12 per cent in after-hours trading. Read more on the carmaker’s plans and market reaction.
3. Jamie Dimon said the US economy was “booming” but warned that he was “on the cautious side” of there being a soft landing. In a wide-ranging interview yesterday at the Economic Club of New York, the JPMorgan Chase chief executive said the state of the US economy was “unbelievable”. He also expressed surprise that the oil price was not higher given events in the Middle East. Read more on his comments, including what he said about becoming president.
4. The US Federal Trade Commission has voted to ban non-compete agreements, taking aim at contracts that limit employees’ freedom to quit for a new job at a different employer. The regulator’s commissioners voted 3-2 yesterday to implement the far-reaching measure first proposed in January 2023 in a bid to avoid wage suppression and protect innovation. The move has sparked immediate legal pushback.
5. Rishi Sunak yesterday pledged to increase UK defence spending to 2.5 per cent of gross domestic spending by the end of the decade and put the industry on a “war footing”. “As Churchill said, in 1934: ‘To urge the preparation of defence is not to assert the imminence of war. On the contrary, if war were imminent, preparations for defence would be too late’,” Sunak said at a joint press conference in Warsaw, Poland, with Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg. The UK prime minister also appointed a general as his new national security adviser.
The Big Read
To most of the world, Nelson Mandela remains a moral giant. But some young South Africans born after the end of apartheid in 1990 want answers over what went wrong in a country where every second youth is unemployed, crime is rife and inequality along racial lines remains blatant. The fact that some people are questioning Mandela’s legacy underscores the deep disillusion many citizens feel about the state of their country.
We’re also reading . . .
US shale: The non-reaction of the oil market to recent events in the Middle East has been notable. The calm owes much to the shale fields of North Dakota and West Texas which have left global markets awash with American oil.
UK elections: Summer or autumn? Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his advisers are trying to figure out the best time to hold a poll.
French business: Rodolphe Saadé, head of shipping group CMA CGM, has been on a €35bn deal spree that has thrust him and his family’s company into the spotlight.
Chart of the day
Huge bets by Chinese speculators on rising gold prices have helped supercharge the precious metal’s rally to an all-time high this month as Asian traders begin to eclipse their western counterparts in their influence on the bullion market. “Chinese speculators have really grabbed gold by the throat,” said one observer.
Take a break from the news
Walton Ford is our finest living painter of animals, writes Ariella Budick. He finds inspiration in naturalists’ accounts, legends and fairy tales rather than in zoos or safaris. A mini-retrospective at New York’s Morgan Library ranges over a vast terrain of mythology, melancholy and virtuosity.
Additional contributions from Irwin Cruz and Benjamin Wilhelm
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Source: Economy - ft.com
