Trump says decision on Iran attack will come ‘within the next two weeks’

Good morning and welcome again to FirstFT Asia. At this time we’re overlaying:

• Trump hints at Iran talks

• Why Huge Tech can’t agree on AGI

• China’s drone push

• Zuckerberg’s macho-man makeover

Donald Trump has stated there could possibly be new talks with Iran within the “close to future” and that he would resolve whether or not to hitch Israel’s assault on the nation “inside the subsequent two weeks”.

What to know: Trump appeared to sign that he was slowing down his decision about entering the war, whilst American navy belongings pace to the area. The US president’s assertion yesterday stated there was a “substantial probability of negotiations which will or could not happen with Iran within the close to future”. White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt additionally confirmed that the US had stored open its negotiations with Tehran throughout days of missile exchanges between Iran and Israel.

Gulf nervousness: Arab monarchies are seeking to stay close to their regional rival Tehran, as they concern turning into targets for retaliation if the US strikes Iran. They concern US involvement would put Gulf states that host American navy bases within the line of fireplace, and will even strangle their oil and gasoline exports if Iran retaliated by closing the Strait of Hormuz. In the meantime corporations in monetary centres comparable to Dubai and Abu Dhabi are readying contingency plans in preparation for any potential spillover of the battle.

Follow our live blog for the latest news — and see extra protection beneath:

• The dangers of Iranian retaliation: As Trump and his advisers weigh whether or not to hitch Israel in hanging Iran, the US president can even be contemplating how Tehran might respond.

• Iran’s exiled royal: “That is the primary time in all these years that we see the taking part in subject being extra even for a chance for change,” Reza Pahlavi tells the FT.

• Opinion: A weakened Tehran would possibly settle for a face-saving deal and sanctions reduction to avert a US assault, writes Richard Haass.

Right here’s what else we’re conserving tabs on at this time and over the weekend:

• Financial knowledge: Japan and Hong Kong report Might CPI inflation knowledge. South Korea experiences PPI figures for the month.

• Financial coverage: The Folks’s Financial institution of China makes its mortgage prime fee announcement.

• Vladimir Putin: The Russian president is about to seem at this time at an financial convention in St Petersburg — a gathering that has failed to attract western companies.

• Japan: IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva begins a go to to Japan on Sunday.

How properly did you retain up with the information this week? Take our quiz.

5 extra high tales

1. The Boeing Dreamliner jet in final week’s lethal Air India crash had a “clear historical past” and two not too long ago serviced engines, the airline’s chair has stated. N Chandrasekaran, who can be chair of the provider’s proprietor, Tata Group, pushed back on “speculations” about what precipitated the nation’s worst air catastrophe in nearly three a long time.

2. X chief govt Linda Yaccarino has stated that customers will “quickly” have the ability to make investments or trades on the social media platform, as she outlined a push into monetary providers in proprietor Elon Musk’s quest to construct an “every little thing app”. Yaccarino advised the FT: “You’ll have the ability to come to X and have the ability to transact your complete monetary life on the platform.” Read the interview.

3. Japan’s Nippon Metal has stated it may subject fairness to fund billions of {dollars} of promised funding in US Metal, after its practically $15bn takeover of its American rival closed following a 12 months of political wrangling. “Given the large quantity of capital required, [a capital raise is] actually one thing we’re conserving in thoughts,” stated vice chair Takahiro Mori at a press convention in Tokyo yesterday. Read the full story.

• ‘Stick-holder capitalism’: Nippon Metal’s takeover of US Metal is the primary large cross-border settlement underneath Trump’s new genre of capitalism, writes Leo Lewis.

4. A former Janus Henderson analyst who used working from residence as a canopy for insider buying and selling has been discovered responsible in some of the high-profile UK insider dealing instances lately. Redinel Korfuzi, who made profits of nearly £1mn, was convicted of insider buying and selling and cash laundering alongside his sister.

5. New Zealand has suspended funding to the Prepare dinner Islands over the Pacific archipelago’s deepening relationship with China. The transfer marked the most recent occasion of what analysts have known as Wellington’s more assertive approach to smaller Pacific island nations in response to Beijing’s rising diplomatic and financial affect within the area.

The Huge Learn

Synthetic common intelligence has been tipped as the following large breakthrough out of Silicon Valley, with proponents from OpenAI to Google DeepMind predicting it may well turbocharge the financial system, remedy ailments and “elevate humanity”. However is AGI a scientific purpose — or simply a marketing buzzword?

We’re additionally studying . . . 

• Chinese language drones: Beijing has pushed the nation to supply hundreds of thousands of unmanned plane. Now, it desires the “low-altitude economy” to grow to be a driver of development.

• FT Journal: Mark Zuckerberg’s macho-man makeover shocked liberals at Meta, however his closest allies say that is who he was all along.

• Asia-Pacific local weather leaders: The area’s demand for power has made it harder to satisfy the challenges of decarbonisation. Here are the companies that top our list.

Chart of the day 

Chinese language, Indian and south-east Asian universities had a strong showing in the latest QS world rankings, whereas the vast majority of UK establishments dropped down the checklist for a second straight 12 months. The rankings mirror a better training arms race.

Take a break from the information

“Trains in Japan are so good that few individuals take into account driving by way of the nation,” writes David Coggins. The Peninsula lodge group’s Japan Driving Expertise has set out to change that.