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The World
Ukraine appeared to surrender control of the Azovstal steel complex in Mariupol, allowing hundreds of its fighters to be taken by bus to Russian-controlled territory and declaring that its combat mission in the city was over. The military ordered the remaining troops who had been sheltering beneath a steel factory there to focus on efforts “to save the lives of their personnel.” President Volodymyr Zelensky said of the last soldiers who had held their positions, “We hope to save the lives of our boys.” (New York Times)
Vladimir Putin signaled Russia will tolerate Finland and Sweden joining NATO, but warned the Kremlin would respond if the alliance installed military bases or equipment in either country. The Russian president said the proposed Nato enlargement posed “no direct threat for Russia”, adding he had “no problems” with either Finland or Sweden. (Financial Times)
McDonald’s said it would quit Russia and sell its business there, ending more than three decades in the country over its invasion of Ukraine. The departure of McDonald’s from Russia is particularly notable given its arrival was emblematic of a rush among Western companies in the 1990s to enter the country, seeking to profit from its move from communism to capitalism. McDonald’s opened its first Russian location in Moscow’s Pushkin Square in 1990, when thousands of locals lined up to get their first taste of the American chain’s burgers and fries. McDonald’s said that continued ownership of its business in Russia was no longer tenable nor consistent with its values, as well as posing practical and commercial challenges. (Wall Street Journal)
Germans still back energy sanctions, despite the costs: 53% of Germans say they are worse off today than they were a year ago, up from 36% in the week of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but their resolve to sanction Russian energy is holding steady. In a May 5-10 survey, 4 in 10 Germans supported sanctions on Russian oil and gas even if they cause prices to rise, which was unchanged from a March 16-18 survey, while the share who supported sanctions without price increases was steady at 32%. (Morning Consult)
North Korea has mobilized its military to distribute COVID medications and deployed more than 10,000 health workers to help trace potential patients as it fights a sweeping coronavirus wave, state media KCNA said. (Reuters)
Citing high community transmission and rising hospitalizations from a fifth wave of coronavirus cases, New York City health officials strongly recommended that all individuals wear medical-grade masks in offices, grocery stores and other public indoor settings citywide. (New York Times)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state is likely to take over Walt Disney World’s special taxing district, removing the power the company has had to regulate much of what goes on within the 25,000 acres company founder Walt Disney purchased more than half a century ago. DeSantis didn’t give specifics but scoffed at some local government officials’ concern that taxpayers would be on the hook for the $766 million bond debt Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District owes. He said that for local governments, “it’d be a cash cow for them if they had Disney.” (Washington Post)
California’s grid isn’t ready for fully electrified homes: Silicon Valley’s electric grid was built around household energy needs from more than 50 years ago, making it incapable of supporting the region’s switch to electric dependency as a way to offset greenhouse gas emissions. (Governing)
F.D.A. and Abbott reached an agreement on baby formula to try to ease the shortage. The company said production could resume in about 2 weeks and store shelves would be restocked several weeks later. (New York Times)
New York's new congressional maps would place 5 pairs of incumbents in the same districts. The maps for New York's 26 congressional districts will play an instrumental role in whether Democrats can retain control of the House in the midterm elections. (Politico)
Economy
Research analysts at JPMorgan Chase have endorsed a clutch of Chinese internet stocks deemed “uninvestable” just two months ago in a significant shift of sentiment towards the sector. In a series of rating changes on Monday, technology analyst Alex Yao and his team upgraded seven companies to “overweight” having assigned them “underweight” ratings in March. JPMorgan also upgraded several other Chinese stocks from “underweight” to “neutral”. (Financial Times)
Thai economy back on track with 2.2% growth in Q1 as exports surge. (Nikkei Asia Review)
Bitcoin has no future as a payments network because of its inefficiency and high environmental costs, according to one of crypto’s most influential chief executives. Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the digital asset exchange FTX, said the proof of work system of validating blockchain transactions, which underpins bitcoin, was not capable of scaling up to cope with the millions of transactions that would be needed to make the cryptocurrency an effective means of payment. “The bitcoin network is not a payments network and it is not a scaling network,” said Bankman-Fried. (Financial Times)
California’s landmark requirement that corporate boards include women was ruled unconstitutional. The first-in-the-nation mandate, signed into law in 2018, was struck down by a Los Angeles state court judge Friday following a trial. The ruling was posted on the court’s website Monday. (Bloomberg)
Jeff Bezos lashed out at Joe Biden’s White House over policies he claimed risked stoking inflation, escalating a war of words over the cause of sharply rising prices that have come to dominate US politics in an election year. The Amazon founder and world’s third-richest person took aim at the Biden administration’s failed Build Back Better bill, which would have increased taxes on the wealthy and large companies to pay for spending for childcare, education and programs to curb climate change. (Financial Times)
Technology
Elon Musk stoked speculation that he could seek to renegotiate his takeover of Twitter, saying a viable deal at a lower price wouldn’t be “out of the question.” Twitter shares fell 8.2% at the close of trading in New York. The stock has been dropping on speculation that Musk could walk away from the $44 billion acquisition. That concern has grown in the past week as Musk has questioned Twitter’s publicly disclosed data on the percentage of spam and fake accounts on its social-media service. (Bloomberg)
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal is pushing back against Elon Musk’s concerns around spam and bots on the platform, saying that Musk’s suggestion to measure the problem by performing a random sampling of 100 accounts wouldn’t work. “Our actual internal estimates for the last four quarters were all well under 5 percent,” Agrawal wrote on Twitter today. His defense comes after Musk suddenly sprinkled some doubt on his $44 billion agreement to buy Twitter by tweeting that the deal was “temporarily on hold” over spam concerns. (The Verge)
Uber announced its latest slate of updates ahead of what’s expected to be a busy travel and events season. The features include: A new option that lets you book a bus or passenger van. A trip itinerary feature to help book rides throughout an extended trip, like a vacation, from one place to another. Voice ordering An electric vehicle hub for drivers. Uber has been working toward becoming a “super app” as a way to diversify its offerings, which could potentially help drive long-term profitability. For example, the company is adding trains, buses, planes and car rentals to its U.K. app this summer. (CNBC)
For tech startups, the party is over: Funding is suddenly scarce as venture capital firms grow stingy, forcing young companies to get frugal and focus on breaking even. (Wall Street Journal)
Marriott International Inc. is introducing a media network this month with Yahoo that will help advertisers target consumers, in part by using the hotel chain’s data on its guests, to bring them ads on places such as the hotel’s websites and, eventually, on the TV sets in their rooms. Marriott Media Network comes as the marketing industry is developing new ways to reach consumers amid a wave of privacy changes, including a plan by Alphabet Inc.’s Google to block third-party cookies in its Chrome browser. Brands and ad sellers are increasingly looking to use “first-party data”—information they collect themselves in the course of direct consumer interactions, instead of taking it from third parties—to target ads. (Wall Street Journal)
Apple now allows devs to auto-renew users for increased subscription prices once a year as long as the increase doesn't exceed $50 or 50% of the annual price. (MacRumors)
Smart Links
Warren Buffett buys $3bn Citigroup stake in value-hunting stocks splurge. (Financial Times)
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella tells employees that pay increases are on the way. (CNBC)
JetBlue launches hostile takeover attempt for Spirit. (Wall Street Journal)
Home buyers rushed in as mortgage rates rose, boosting housing prices across U.S. (Wall Street Journal)
Home prices could fall in some U.S. cities. Here's where and why. (NPR)
Pace of grade inflation picked up during the pandemic, study says. (Education Week)