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Good morning. Tesla has agreed to partner with Chinese search giant Baidu to deploy mapping and navigation technology in China, as Elon Musk moves closer to rolling out more advanced driver assistance features in the world’s biggest auto market.
The tie-up comes after Musk paid a surprise visit to Beijing over the weekend. Musk met China’s number-two leader, Premier Li Qiang, as Tesla contends with declining sales and data security concerns.
In a further sign of official support from the authorities in Beijing for Musk, yesterday Tesla’s electric vehicles were included on a list of more than 70 car models tested for data security compliance by a Chinese industry group.
China is Tesla’s second-biggest market after the US but it has lost ground to local rivals. Tesla’s shares, which have lost a third if their value this year, were up 6 per cent in pre-market trading. Here’s more on Musk’s mission in Beijing.
Here’s what else I’m keeping tabs on today:
Middle East: US secretary of state Antony Blinken meets Gulf state ministers on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum’s special meeting in Riyadh. Israel indicated over the weekend it would delay a long-planned assault on Rafah to secure the release of scores of hostages held in Gaza. Here’s what we know about the talks.
Pedro Sánchez: Spain’s prime minister is set to announce whether he will resign after his wife was accused of corruption. Scotland’s first minister Humza Yousaf, who is facing two votes of confidence, is also considering his position, according to people briefed on the matter.
Companies: Paramount, which is preparing to fire its chief executive Bob Bakish, reports results. Domino’s Pizza, SBA Communications and NXP Semiconductors also release earnings.
Coup trial: A trial begins today in Stuttgart, Germany, of a group accused of conspiring to overthrow the German government, install the aristocrat Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss as national leader and declare martial law.
Election: Togo holds controversial parliamentary elections that is likely to see the family of President Faure Gnassingbé extend its rule over the west African country into a seventh decade.
Five more top stories
1. The largest western banks that remain in Russia paid the Kremlin more than €800mn in taxes last year, a four-fold increase on pre-war levels. The seven top European banks by assets in Russia — Raiffeisen Bank International, UniCredit, ING, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo and OTP — reported a combined profit of more than €3bn in 2023. Read more on how western banks are helping the Kremlin maintain financial stability despite sanctions.
2. The commander of US forces in the Indo-Pacific region has accused China of pursuing a “boiling frog” strategy, in a Financial Times interview before he hands over command. “This is [China’s] pressure campaign in action. I’ve watched it increase in scope and scale, it is not slowing down,” said retiring Admiral John Aquilino. Next week he will hand over to Admiral Samuel “Pappy” Paparo. Read the full interview.
3. The Financial Times has struck a deal with OpenAI to train artificial intelligence models on the publisher’s archived content, in the latest agreement between the Microsoft-backed start-up and a global news publisher. Under the terms of the deal, the FT will license its material to the ChatGPT maker to help develop generative AI technology that can create text, images and code indistinguishable from human creations.
4. The yen strengthened sharply against the dollar earlier today in Asia, triggering speculation that Japanese authorities had intervened to support the currency after weeks of warnings. In less than an hour the yen strengthened from ¥159.5 a dollar to ¥155.2 — a very large movement for the currency. Markets in Japan were closed for the first day of the country’s Golden Week holidays, resulting in thin trading.
5. Exclusive: General Atlantic and CVC Capital Partners have paused sales of stakes in US fast-food chain operators over Gaza boycotts in Indonesia and Malaysia, where the brands are being shunned by customers over Washington’s support for Israel. The chains have been targeted by consumers in the Muslim-majority countries despite stressing their neutrality and local ownership under a franchise model. Here are the brands affected.
More VC news: General Catalyst is on the verge of raising almost $6bn to invest in technology start-ups, a signal that Silicon Valley’s biggest venture capital firms can still attract investment.
The Big Read
The energy crisis that Europeans feared two winters ago has not come to pass, thanks to a combination of unprecedented energy policy interventions, cuts in demand and good luck. But that does not mean Europe is in safe waters. The short-term response to the crisis may have created bigger problems for the bloc in the future, including a heavy reliance on historically volatile liquefied natural gas markets with implications for industrial competitiveness and the green transition.
We’re also reading . . .
America’s home insurance crisis: Rana Foroohar uses her own experience to explain the difficulties of finding affordable home insurance in the US.
Joseph Stiglitz interview: The author of Globalization and Its Discontents tells Henry Mance that ‘Trump is what neoliberalism produces’.
Bring all your selves to work: Miranda Green uses the analogy of a sports squad to explain how we must learn to manage our “internal team”.
Sudan conflict: As a brutal civil war heads into its second year, “death has become normal” for the residents of Darfur’s besieged capital, El-Fasher.
Chart of the day
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A Financial Times analysis shows that Singapore is one of the best countries for promoting women into senior financial service positions whereas Australia, the Netherlands and India lag behind. When it comes to the type of companies that are likely to advance the careers of their female staff, fintech companies perform better. Here are five charts on tackling the glass ceiling in finance.
Take a break from the news
Four times a week, Clair Heaviside leaves her Peak District home at 5.30am and runs the equivalent of a half marathon to her office in Manchester. Active commuters such as Heaviside are running, cycling and even skiing to the office for the mental and physical health benefits.
Additional contributions from Tee Zhuo and Benjamin Wilhelm
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Source: Economy - ft.com
