Good morning, I’m back to Firstft Asia. Today we cover:
Trump hints at Iran’s speech
Why Big Tech can’t agree with AGI
Chinese drone push
Zuckerberg’s Macho-Man Makeover
Donald Trump said there could be new talks with Iran in the “near future” and that he would decide whether Israel will take part in the attack on the country “in the next two weeks.”
What you need to know: Trump seemed to show that even as American military assets speeded up towards the region he was slowing down his decisions on entering the war. Yesterday, a statement from the US president said “there is a considerable potential for negotiations that may or may not be done with Iran in the near future.” White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt also confirmed that the US had opened negotiations with Tehran during the days of missile exchanges between Iran and Israel.
Gulf unrest: Arab monarchies are seeking to stay close to regional rival Tehran, as they fear that if the US strikes Iran, they will become targets of retaliation. They fear that our involvement will place Gulf states hosting American military bases on fire boundaries, and could even strangle oil and gas exports if Iran retaliates by closing the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, companies in financial centres such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi are quickly moving forward with accidental plans in preparation for the potential ripples of the war.
Follow our live blog for the latest news. Please see the details below.
Risk of Iran’s retaliation: As Trump and his advisers are considering whether to strike Iran depending on whether they join Israel, the US president will consider how Tehran will respond.
Iran’s exiled royal family: “This is the first time I’ve seen the arena even more competitively, even having opportunities for change,” Leza Pallavi told Fort.
Opinion: A weakened Tehran may accept face-saving deals and sanctions relief to avoid US attacks, Richard Haas writes.
Here are other things that keep tabs today and weekends:
Economic Data: Japan and Hong Kong reports could be CPI inflation data. South Korea reports PPI figures for the month.
Monetary Policy: The People’s Bank of China will announce the loan prime rate.
Vladimir Putin: The Russian President is scheduled to appear today at an economic conference in St. Petersburg, where he failed to attract Western companies.
Japan: IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva will begin visiting Japan on Sundays.
How well did you get with this news this week? Take the quiz.
Five more top stories
1. Last week’s fatal Air India Crush Boeing Dreamliner Jet had two recent service engines “clean history” and the airline’s Chair said. N Chandrasekaran, who is also the chairman of the carrier’s owner, Tata Group, has pushed back “speculations” about what caused the country’s worst air disaster in almost 30 years.
2. XX CEO Linda Jaccarino outlined the push to financial services of owner Elon Musk’s quest to build “all apps,” so users have said on social media platforms that they can “invest or trade immediately.” Yaccarino told FT: Read the interview.
3. Japan’s Nippon Steel says it can fund a multi-billion-dollar promised investment in US steel after buying nearly $15 billion in US rivals, which were shut down a year after political conflict. “Given the large amount of capital needed, (the salary increase) is certainly something we keep in mind,” said Mori’s vice-chairman at a press conference in Tokyo yesterday. Please read the entire story.
“Stick-Holder Capitalism”: Nippon Steel’s Takeover of US Steel is the first major cross-border agreement under Trump’s new genre of capitalism, writes Leo Lewis.
4. A former Janus Henderson analyst who used working from home as the cover of an insider trading is found guilty in one of the most well-known UK insider trading cases in recent years. Redinel Korfuzi, who earned nearly £1 million, was convicted of insider trading and money laundering along with her sister.
5. New Zealand has suspended funding for the Cook Islands over its deep ties with China with the Pacific Islands. The move presents the latest example of what analysts have called Wellington’s more assertive approach in response to the growing diplomatic and economic influence in Beijing’s region.
Big reading
©ft Montage/Dreamschtime
Artificial general information is tilted as the next big breakthrough from Silicon Valley, with supporters from OpenA to Google Deep Mind predicting that they can turbo-charge the economy, cure illness and “enhancing humanity.” But is AGI a scientific goal or is it just a marketing buzzword?
We’re reading too. . .
China’s Drones: Beijing pushed the country to produce millions of unmanned aerial vehicles. Now it hopes that a “low altitude economy” will become a driving force for growth.
FT Magazine: Mark Zuckerberg’s Macho Man transformation shocked the liberals with meta, but his closest allies say this is what he’s been around for so long.
Asia-Pacific Climate Leaders: Regional energy demand has made it difficult to address the challenges of decarbonisation. This is the company that reaches our list.
The chart of the day
Universities in China, India and Southeast Asia had a strong show in the latest QS world rankings, but the majority of British institutions have deleted the list for the second year in a row. The rankings reflect the arms race in higher education.
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Take a break from the news
“Japanese trains are so good that few people think about driving domestically,” writes David Coggins. The Japanese driving experience at Peninsula Hotel Group is trying to change that.
©James Harvey-Kelly
