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The World
Chinese authorities have embarked on a campaign to bring foreign businesses to heel, just months after Beijing delivered an open-for-business message to global investors. In recent weeks, Chinese authorities have questioned staff at consulting firm Bain & Co.’s Shanghai office in a surprise visit, launched a cybersecurity review of imports from chip maker Micron Technology Inc., detained an employee of Japanese drugmaker Astellas Pharma Inc. and raided the Beijing office of U.S. due-diligence company Mintz Group. The government has broadened its spy law to counter perceived foreign threats, including allowing for the inspection of baggage and electronic devices of those suspected of espionage, significantly raising the risks for Western companies operating in China. (Wall Street Journal)
The Ukraine capital Kyiv was rocked by explosions early on Friday and air raid sirens and explosions were reported across the country, according to the Interfax Ukraine and reports on social media channels. There were no details on what had been struck in Kyiv or of any damage and casualties. The city's military administration said anti-aircraft units were in operation. (Reuters)
Xi's call with Zelenskyy seen as attempt to blunt European criticism: Talk came after China's envoy to France questioned sovereignty of ex-Soviet states. (Nikkei Asia Review)
Tense face-off: Philippines confronts China over sea claims. A Chinese coast guard ship blocked a Philippine patrol vessel steaming into a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, causing a frightening near-collision in the latest act of Beijing’s aggression in the strategic waterway. The high seas face-off between the larger Chinese ship and the Philippine coast guard’s BRP Malapascua near Second Thomas Shoal was among the tense moments it and another Philippine vessel encountered in a weeklong sovereignty patrol in one of the world’s most hotly contested waterways. (Associated Press)
Iran’s naval forces seized an oil tanker bound for Texas in the Gulf of Oman, a move that drew condemnation from the U.S. military at a time of heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy seized the tanker, Advantage Sweet, while it moved through international waters at 1:15 p.m. local time, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said. The U.S. Fifth Fleet, which is tasked with monitoring maritime activity in the area, is monitoring the situation, according to U.S. naval forces. (Wall Street Journal)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has suspended election campaigning after he fell ill during a live TV interview in which the broadcast was abruptly brought to a halt. After a 20-minute break, he returned to say he had "serious stomach flu" after two days of intense campaigning. Erdogan, 69, is facing his toughest election campaign so far. The main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu has been chosen to run for a group of six political parties. (BBC News)
FBI Director Christopher Wray outlined the extent of China's hacking program, saying that their hackers outnumber the FBI's cyber agents "by at least 50 to 1." To give you a sense of what we’re up against, if each one of the FBI’s cyber agents and intel analysts focused exclusively on the China threat — on nothing but China — Chinese hackers would still outnumber FBI cyber personnel by at least 50 to 1," Wray testified in a House Appropriations Committee hearing. He said that China has stolen more personal and corporate data from the U.S. than all other nations combined. "Today’s cyber threats are more pervasive, hit a wider variety of victims, and carry the potential for greater damage than ever before," Wray said. "You can take China. A key part of the Chinese government’s multi-pronged strategy to lie, to cheat and to steal their way to surpassing us as the global superpower in cyber." (Semafor)
Europe sees hottest April weather on record as Spain and Portugal swelter: Portugal, Spain and Morocco experienced their highest April temperatures on record Thursday. The temperature of 101.8 degrees in Spain set an April record high for Europe. (Washington Post)
Economy
JPMorgan employees gripe about Dimon's return-to-office edict: CEO Jamie Dimon sent a clear message to employees this month: get back to the office. It touched a nerve among his staff. The largest U.S. lender's employees inundated an internal messaging forum with criticism after its operating committee posted an edict entitled, "The importance of being together." Some staffers pushed back, calling the message "tone deaf" and "divisive." Employees, including managers, complained about a "Zoom culture" in which staffers were stuck on virtual conference calls even when present in the office. They also groused about the challenges posed by long commutes and family caretaking responsibilities. (Reuters)
Signs of a slowing job market for high earners: Companies are posting fewer job listings, especially for white-collar roles in software, human resources, and banking and finance, per new data from Indeed. Software development job listings saw the steepest drop, falling 55.4% in early April from the same time last year — that's what you'd expect as the tech sector keeps shedding workers. Listings in human resources are down 44.5%; no need to bulk up on recruiters if you're hiring fewer people. Banking and finance roles are down 41%. Insurance postings, 18.5%. (Axios)
The U.S. economy slowed sharply from January through March, decelerating to just a 1.1% annual pace as higher interest rates hammered the housing market and businesses reduced their inventories. Thursday’s estimate from the Commerce Department showed that the nation’s gross domestic product — the broadest gauge of economic output — weakened after growing 3.2% from July through September and 2.6% from October through December. But consumer spending, which accounts for about 70% of U.S. economic activity, remained resilient, growing at a 3.7% annual pace, the fastest such rate in nearly two years. Spending on goods, in particular, was solid: It rose at its fastest pace since the second quarter of 2021. (Associated Press)
China's yuan currency is slowly but surely being adopted for more international payments, which analysts say could lay foundations for a trade system running parallel to the dominant U.S. dollar. In the past day alone, data showed that more cross-border transactions with China were settled in yuan in March than in dollars for the first time, and that Argentina said it aims to regularly pay for Chinese goods in yuan and not dollars. While the dollar dominates world trade settlements, the news comes amid a steady drumbeat of more and more bilateral deals arranging yuan payments with China -- from Chinese oil purchases in the Middle East to trade with partners from Brazil to Russia. (Reuters)
A 22-story San Francisco office tower, 80% off: Dried-up sales in the city’s financial district have made it difficult to know what buildings there will bring, but the glass-and-stone skyscraper on California Street, once home to some of the world’s most valuable commercial real estate, is expected to draw bids of about $60 million—compared with an estimated value of $300 million in 2019. The office market has been hit nationwide, but San Francisco’s blow was especially hard, for reasons including high costs, reliance on a tech industry quick to embrace hybrid work, and quality-of-life issues such as crime and homelessness. (Wall Street Journal)
Priced Out of Florida, More Retirees Are Trying This Sunbelt State on For Size: Seniors are finding that Alabama’s Baldwin County is not only more affordable, but has the same weather and same beaches that make its neighbor a popular retirement destination. (Wall Street Journal)
Technology
Amazon reported surging growth as it rebounded from stagnant sales after a postpandemic slowdown, with stronger-than-expected performances in its cloud-computing and advertising businesses that were greeted warmly by investors. Amazon’s first-quarter sales increased 9% from a year earlier to $127.4 billion, beating Wall Street projections. It posted $3.2 billion in profit for the period, almost 50% higher than analysts expected. (Wall Street Journal)
Layoffs are underway inside Amazon’s cloud computing division, which reported a 20% year-over-year increase in sales last quarter, down from 27.5% in the previous quarter, as its customers reduced their spending. (The Information)
Furious Microsoft boss says confidence in UK 'severely shaken': Microsoft's president has attacked the UK after it was blocked from buying US gaming firm Activision, saying the EU was a better place to start a business. The move was "bad for Britain" and marked Microsoft's "darkest day" in its four decades of working in the country, Brad Smith told the BBC. The regulator hit back saying it had to do what's best for people, "not merging firms with commercial interests". The UK's move means the multi-billion dollar deal cannot go ahead globally. (BBC News)
New York City’s mass-transit system is ending its real-time service alerts on Twitter for subway, train and bus riders as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority curbs its relationship with the platform owned by Elon Musk. Twitter had asked the MTA to pay $50,000 a month to continue accessing the platform’s application programming interface, or API, an infrastructure tool that allows for multiple computer programs to work together, according to an MTA official. (Bloomberg)
Dropbox to Slash 16% of Workforce: The artificial intelligence push is among the reasons for job reductions, CEO says. Meanwhile, Vice Media pares staff, ends Vice News Tonight. (Wall Street Journal)
Even though Microsoft's best-known front-facing product might be its productivity suite Office 365, half of the revenue of its past quarter was created with cloud services and properties. Out of $52.9 billion made between January and April of 2023, cloud computing was responsible for $28.5 billion. This marks the first time that cloud solutions have had such a high share of the tech company's total revenue. (Statista)
Smart Links
Goodbye to the Dried Office Mangoes: Google is clawing back its famously lavish employee perks. (The Atlantic)
A Tax Loophole Makes EV Leasing a No-Brainer in the US. (Bloomberg)
The rapid rise of generative AI threatens to upend US patent system. (Financial Times)
Security Council condemns Taliban ban on Afghan women working for UN. (Reuters)
European commercial real estate dealmaking falls to 11-year low. (Financial Times)
Live Event, 4 pm ET: A Conversation with Yoon Suk Yeol, President of the Republic of Korea. (Harvard Kennedy School)