Trump hands shippers Red Sea dilemma

The US wants to produce more minerals like rare earths and apply tariffs on Chinese imports. Hiking production in the $325 bln market makes sense but opening new mines will take decades. In the meantime, Washington will have to scramble for limited supplies from other countries.

The Sage of Omaha is preparing to step down, handing the reins of Berkshire Hathaway over to Greg Abel. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists debate the challenge of putting an enviable cash pile to work in the shadow of an investing legend’s track record.

The Chinese group is offering to take $6 bln Zeekr private less than a year after the unit’s New York IPO. Geely is reorganising its sprawling auto businesses to find synergies. But the price of its buyout is opportunistic and leverages US-China financial decoupling fears.

The $300 bln Alibaba and rivals are battling it out in food delivery, putting a spotlight on the sector's riders. They are part of a cohort of 200 mln on-demand workers - a quarter of the Chinese workforce. As tariffs hit manufacturing, the gig economy can help lift consumption.

The $170 bln entertainment giant unveiled strong results as it eyes an Abu Dhabi outpost for its money-printing theme parks. CEO Bob Iger’s kingdom is as strong as any in old media, but rising competition and trade war woes loom over a quest to close a valuation gap with Netflix.

Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft are due to spend a combined $320 bln on physical assets this year. For now, there’s enough to fund AI-related projects while also returning cash to shareholders. The danger is that so much investment leads to less profitable business models.

New Delhi hit sites in Pakistan and Pakistani Kashmir hours after inking a UK trade deal. Skirmishes between the nuclear-armed neighbours aren't new, but the rich world's stake in South Asia's stability is rapidly rising: the risk of escalating conflict is getting hard to ignore.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has inked a trade pact with New Delhi, a sign the UK can strike deals quickly outside the EU. Yet some terms look skewed to India’s benefit, and the economic gains are slight. Its main appeal is to show trade upheaval has not left Britain friendless.

The country's top three regulators unveiled rate cuts, liquidity injections and other steps in a rare meeting but held off on major spending. It shows Beijing is biding its time ahead of US trade talks. Yet the reluctance also stems from limited room to expand the fiscal deficit.

The $300 bln owner of ChatGPT diluted plans to become a for-profit company and is leaving the nonprofit arm in control. Who sits on that board will indicate boss Sam Altman’s clout, and if Microsoft and SoftBank get big stakes and little say. The risk is a big clash to come.