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Good morning and welcome back to FirstFT Asia. Today we’re covering:
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Trump hints at Iran talks
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Why Big Tech cannot agree on AGI
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China’s drone push
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Zuckerberg’s macho-man makeover
Donald Trump has said there could be new talks with Iran in the “near future” and that he would decide whether to join Israel’s attack on the country “within the next two weeks”.
What to know: Trump appeared to signal that he was slowing down his decision about entering the war, even as American military assets speed to the region. The US president’s statement yesterday said there was a “substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future”. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also confirmed that the US had kept open its negotiations with Tehran during days of missile exchanges between Iran and Israel.
Gulf anxiety: Arab monarchies are seeking to stay close to their regional rival Tehran, as they fear becoming targets for retaliation if the US strikes Iran. They fear US involvement would put Gulf states that host American military bases in the line of fire, and could even strangle their oil and gas exports if Iran retaliated by closing the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile companies in financial centres such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi are readying contingency plans in preparation for any potential spillover of the war.
Follow our live blog for the latest news — and see more coverage below:
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The risks of Iranian retaliation: As Trump and his advisers weigh whether to join Israel in striking Iran, the US president will also be considering how Tehran might respond.
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Iran’s exiled royal: “This is the first time in all these years that we see the playing field being more even for an opportunity for change,” Reza Pahlavi tells the FT.
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Opinion: A weakened Tehran might accept a face-saving deal and sanctions relief to avert a US attack, writes Richard Haass.
Here’s what else we’re keeping tabs on today and over the weekend:
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Economic data: Japan and Hong Kong report May CPI inflation data. South Korea reports PPI figures for the month.
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Monetary policy: The People’s Bank of China makes its loan prime rate announcement.
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Vladimir Putin: The Russian president is set to appear today at an economic conference in St Petersburg — a gathering that has failed to attract western companies.
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Japan: IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva begins a visit to Japan on Sunday.
How well did you keep up with the news this week? Take our quiz.
Five more top stories
1. The Boeing Dreamliner jet in last week’s deadly Air India crash had a “clean history” and two recently serviced engines, the airline’s chair has said. N Chandrasekaran, who is also chair of the carrier’s owner, Tata Group, pushed back on “speculations” about what caused the country’s worst air disaster in almost three decades.
2. X chief executive Linda Yaccarino has said that users will “soon” be able to make investments or trades on the social media platform, as she outlined a push into financial services in owner Elon Musk’s quest to build an “everything app”. Yaccarino told the FT: “You’ll be able to come to X and be able to transact your whole financial life on the platform.” Read the interview.
3. Japan’s Nippon Steel has said it could issue equity to fund billions of dollars of promised investment in US Steel, after its nearly $15bn takeover of its American rival closed following a year of political wrangling. “Given the massive amount of capital required, [a capital raise is] certainly something we are keeping in mind,” said vice chair Takahiro Mori at a press conference in Tokyo yesterday. Read the full story.
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‘Stick-holder capitalism’: Nippon Steel’s takeover of US Steel is the first big 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 a cover for insider trading has been found guilty in one of the most high-profile UK insider dealing cases in recent years. Redinel Korfuzi, who made profits of nearly £1mn, was convicted of insider trading and money laundering alongside his sister.
5. New Zealand has suspended funding to the Cook Islands over the Pacific archipelago’s deepening relationship with China. The move marked the latest instance of what analysts have called Wellington’s more assertive approach to smaller Pacific island nations in response to Beijing’s growing diplomatic and economic influence in the region.
The Big Read
© FT montage/Dreamstime
Artificial general intelligence has been tipped as the next big breakthrough out of Silicon Valley, with proponents from OpenAI to Google DeepMind predicting it can turbocharge the economy, cure diseases and “elevate humanity”. But is AGI a scientific goal — or just a marketing buzzword?
We’re also reading . . .
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Chinese drones: Beijing has pushed the country to produce millions of unmanned aircraft. Now, it wants the “low-altitude economy” to become a driver of growth.
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FT Magazine: Mark Zuckerberg’s macho-man makeover shocked liberals at Meta, but his closest allies say this is who he was all along.
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Asia-Pacific climate leaders: The region’s demand for energy has made it tougher to meet the challenges of decarbonisation. Here are the companies that top our list.
Chart of the day
Chinese, Indian and south-east Asian universities had a strong showing in the latest QS world rankings, while the majority of UK institutions dropped down the list for a second straight year. The rankings reflect a higher education arms race.
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Take a break from the news
“Trains in Japan are so good that few people consider driving through the country,” writes David Coggins. The Peninsula hotel group’s Japan Driving Experience has set out to change that.
© James Harvey-Kelly