Weekend Papers Summary
FINANCIAL TIMES
-A St Petersburg court has seized €463M worth of assets belonging to Italy's UniCredit, the European lender with the second-biggest exposure to Russia. This seizure marks one of the biggest moves against a western bank since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine prompted most international lenders to withdraw or wind down their businesses in Russia. The seizure was equivalent to about 4.5% of UniCredit's assets in the country, including shares in subsidiaries of UniCredit in Russia and stocks and funds it owned. The seizure follows a claim from Ruskhimalliance, a subsidiary of Gazprom, a Russian oil and gas giant, demanding UniCredit pay bank guarantees under a contract with German engineering company Linde.
-The European Central Bank (ECB) has instructed Eurozone lenders with Russian operations to expedite their withdrawal plans due to concerns about potential US sanctions. The ECB has written lenders asking for detailed exit strategies and an "action plan" for their Russian business as early as June. Last week, Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International abandoned a deal to swap assets in Russia for ones in Europe due to US intervention. The letters highlight Washington's increasing pressure over European groups supporting Russia's war in Ukraine.
-Google and OpenAI have launched multimodal AI tools that can interpret voice, video, images, and code in a single interface. Google's prototype AI assistant Astra, powered by its Gemini model, responded to voice commands using phone cameras or smart glasses. It successfully identified code sequences, suggested improvements to electrical circuit diagrams, and recognized London's King's Cross area. OpenAI's GPT4o model can perform voice translation in live conversations and interact with users using an anthropomorphized tone and voice to parse text, images, video, and code.
-Workers at a Mercedes-Benz plant in Alabama rejected joining the United Auto Workers union, a significant setback in labor's campaign to organize foreign-owned carmakers in the US south. The National Labor Relations Board reported 2,642 votes against union representation, compared to 2,045 in favor. The plant assembles luxury sport utility vehicles, including electric and ultra-luxe Maybach models. The defeat is a reversal for the UAW, which had hoped the vote would mark a wave of labor gains across the US south. The union plans to continue organizing efforts at the plant.
-Boeing investors have voted against CEO Dave Calhoun's pay package and board re-election at the company's annual meeting, marking one of the biggest revolts this year against a CEO in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Over a third of investors withheld approval in an advisory vote on executive remuneration. Calhoun is expected to receive $32.8M this year, a 45% raise, but 35% of shareholders objected. Additionally, 22% voted against keeping him as a director of the aircraft manufacturer as it struggles to address safety and quality lapses. Boeing did not immediately comment on the vote results. Boeing shares have declined 27% this year.
-Dutch Labour MP Ronald Plasterk admitted in an open letter to Telegraaf newspaper that he was wrong to discuss events involving Pieter Omtzigt, leader of the centre-right New Social Contract party. Omtzigt has agreed for the NSC to join the new government but has yet to endorse Plasterk as prime minister. This highlights tensions within the four-way coalition led by the Freedom party (PVV) of anti-Islam firebrand Geert Wilders, which took six months to form after Wilders agreed not to become prime minister.
-Taiwan's incoming president, Lai Ching-te, is set to begin his first term on Monday, facing pressure to raise social spending, address economic inequality, and meet US demands to defend against China. The US has been communicating guidelines about Lai's inaugural address with Taiwan, and is keen to ensure he adheres to the China policy line of his predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen. The US has been in contact with officials in Taiwan about Lai's inauguration speech and to underscore long-standing US policy on cross-Strait issues. The US is keen to ensure Lai adheres to the China policy line of his predecessor.
-Moderna has won a case at the European Patent Office in its dispute with Pfizer and BioNTech over its Covid-19 vaccine. The EPO's Opposition Division upheld the validity of one of two disputed patents, a boost for Moderna, which has faced setbacks in its legal battle over Pfizer and BioNTech's Comirnaty vaccine. Pfizer and BioNTech have two months to lodge an appeal, which Pfizer may do. BioNTech said the EPO decision does not change its stance that the patent is invalid and will continue to defend its innovations against patent infringement allegations.
-The first humanitarian aid to reach Gaza by sea via a US-built floating pier arrived on Friday, following a two-month work by US forces at a cost of about $320M. The new aid route has drawn criticism from aid groups, who claim it is costly and limited in capacity to help Gazans facing acute food shortages compared to more efficient land routes. The pier was designed solely for the delivery of humanitarian assistance, with over 300 pallets of food assistance delivered on Friday. A senior UN official called the project a "wasteful distraction" and noted that aid waiting outside Gaza is already available.
-Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has regained consciousness after a second surgery, but remains in a "serious" condition two days after being shot multiple times in an assassination attempt. Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kalinák said surgeons had carried out a second operation and it would take several days to determine Fico's recovery. Fico was shot while meeting supporters in Handlová, and authorities apprehended a 71-year-old suspect charged with attempted murder. Fico underwent a five-hour emergency operation at Banská Bystrica, aiming to remove dead tissue from his body.
-Nickel prices reached their highest level in nine months due to political violence in New Caledonia, a French overseas territory with significant mineral deposits. Future contracts for nickel, crucial for electric vehicle batteries and steelmaking, jumped by nearly 7% on the London Metal Exchange to $21,150 a tonne. The price surge coincided with the International Energy Agency's report predicting robust demand for nickel and other minerals critical for cleaner energy transition. Pro-independence protests in New Caledonia left at least four people dead, and French President Emmanuel Macron declared a state of emergency in the territory. Nickel prices have dropped by about 32% from $31,000 at the start of 2023 due to weaker than expected electric vehicle sales in Indonesia.
THE NEW YORK TIMES
-Former President Donald Trump and President Biden have been working to revive American factories by increasing the cost of buying Chinese goods. They have taxed imports in both legacy industries like clothes and appliances and newer ones like solar panels. Biden's decision to increase tariffs reflects the end of a decades-long era of trade with China, favoring lower-cost products over concentrated manufacturing jobs. A single tariff rate on Chinese electric vehicles represents this closure.
-The Pentagon is aiming to increase its space warfare capabilities due to China and Russia's rapid advances in space-based operations. This move is seen as a significant shift in military operations as space becomes a battleground. The Pentagon is now seeking to acquire new ground and space-based tools to defend its satellite network from attack and disrupt or disable enemy spacecraft in orbit. This strategy differs from previous military programs in space by expanding offensive capabilities, unlike the Strategic Defense Initiative proposal in the 1980s, which focused on using satellites to protect the US from nuclear missile strikes.
-A protest group occupied a building in Chicago to protest the University of Chicago's ties to Israel. Video showed protesters climbing through windows to leave, while others remained outside. The protesters attempted to block the entrance, damaged property, and ignored law enforcement orders. The university held a board meeting in the building, including its founder, David Axelrod, who was a senior adviser to President Barack Obama.
-Dmitri A. Medvedev, a former Russian president, compared the assassination of Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico to the young man who ignited World War I. He suggested Europe was on the brink of war, with the European Union of 27 members, including Slovakia, aiming to make war impossible on a long-ravaged continent. The association between the assassination of Fico and the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in 1914 was a wild association, as the Europe of empires and Auschwitz is long gone. However, with elections to the European Parliament just three weeks away, ominous indications of brewing violence continue.
-A 71-year-old former coal mine worker, onetime stone mason, and lifelong malcontent, has been charged with opening fire at point-blank range on Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Juraj C., (widely reported to be one Juraj Chintula) a retired coal miner, is believed to be responsible for the shooting. The incident, the worst attack on a European leader in decades, sent shock waves across Europe. Slovakia's prosecutor has placed an embargo on information relating to the case and banned the police from disclosing the man's name. However, the prosecutor's office has reportedly identified the man as Juraj C., the name widely reported by Slovakian news media. It is unclear if the suspect has a lawyer.
-The US military has built a temporary pier to send humanitarian aid into Gaza, marking the first sea-bound aid shipment in two months. However, the new aid shipments are far short of what humanitarian groups say is needed to address the high levels of hunger and deprivation in the enclave. The US military has anchored the floating pier and causeway to the beach in Gaza, a key step in completing a maritime corridor announced by the Pentagon in March. The war-torn territory of 2.2M civilians is increasingly reliant on aid due to Israeli bombardment, strict inspections, and restrictions on crossing points.
-Houston experienced a severe storm on Thursday, causing widespread damage to the city. The Astros continued playing baseball despite rain and wind, while many people were unaware of the storm. By Friday, the city was littered with debris, including decades-old oak and pecan trees, fences, and roadways. Stop signs and highway billboards buckled, and local lawyers' signs were flattened into empty lots. The storm was as strong as some hurricanes that have hit the city in recent years.
-Republican vice-presidential contenders and party officials were confronted with testimony accusing Trump of writing checks for bogus legal expenses to hide hush-money payments to a porn star. Despite this, none of the conservatives in the courtroom flinched or raised an eyebrow, including Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota and Representative Byron Donalds of Florida, who are under consideration for Trump's running mate. Their stoic, protective presence underscores the biggest political quandary facing ambitious Republicans: how to fiercely defend Trump without stealing his spotlight.
-A state ethics panel dismissed a complaint against a New York judge over the criminal trial of Donald Trump, warning him about small donations he made to Democrats, including the Biden campaign. The judge, Juan M. Merchan, donated $35 to these groups in 2020, including a $15 donation for the Biden campaign and $10 to "Stop Republicans." Political contributions are prohibited under state judicial ethics rules. A caution was issued, which can be considered in future cases reviewed by the state's Commission on Judicial Conduct.
THE NEW YORK POST
-Former President Donald Trump is set to hold a campaign rally in the South Bronx next week, marking his first major gathering of supporters in his native state since his first White House bid. The rally, scheduled for May 23 in Crotona Park, will feature Trump discussing the Empire State's economy, crime rate, and migrant crisis. The event follows a record-breaking event at the Jersey Shore. Team Trump criticized Biden's failed policies, stating that New Yorkers have suffered greatly.
-IRS whistleblowers have requested a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Hunter Biden, who sued the IRS over alleged leaks of his tax information. Biden, 54, claimed the whistleblowers violated his privacy rights and attempted to embarrass him. The IRS, not Shapley and Ziegler, is the only defendant in the lawsuit, and they fear conflicts of interest may result in the IRS failing to defend their protected disclosures.
-OpenAI has eliminated its "Superalignment" team, which was created to create safety measures for advanced general intelligence systems, less than a year after its formation. The team was tasked with preventing the disempowerment of humanity or even human extinction. The departure of executives Ilya Sutskever and Jan Leike came just days after the team's dissolution, highlighting the company's focus on product development over safety.