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Good morning, completely satisfied Friday and welcome again to FirstFT Asia. On in the present day’s agenda:
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A pointy escalation within the India-Pakistan dispute
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China lays out its situations for US commerce talks
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Is that this nonetheless the Asian century?
We begin with the most recent developments within the escalating dispute between India and Pakistan over an assault that killed 26 vacationers within the disputed area of Kashmir.
What occurred: Pakistan has closed its airspace to India’s airways, mentioned it could droop a 1972 peace treaty with its bigger neighbour, and warned that any diversion of shared river waters would be “considered an act of war”. New Delhi had already downgraded diplomatic relations with Islamabad and suspended its participation in an important cross-border water treaty over the assault.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday vowed to “establish, monitor and punish” the backers of the gunmen answerable for an atrocity that shocked Indians and fanned fears of a battle with Pakistan. Islamabad has denied any involvement within the assault in Pahalgam, a vacationer vacation spot within the Indian-controlled territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
What do these strikes imply? India’s suspension of participation within the Indus Waters Treaty was an unprecedented measure and might be deeply damaging to Pakistan, a rustic mired in a deep financial disaster. The treaty ensures Pakistan’s entry to the three western rivers of the Indus basin — its primary supply of water for agriculture, energy and each day life.
Michael Kugelman, a Washington-based South Asia analyst, mentioned the Indus Waters Treaty and Simla Settlement — which has ruled relations between the 2 nations because it was signed after their 1971 warfare — had served as “security nets” making certain a baseline of co-operation and communication at instances of excessive pressure between Pakistan and India. “The connection dangers coming into uncharted territory,” Kugelman mentioned. Read the full story.
Right here’s what else we’re retaining tabs on in the present day:
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Financial knowledge: Japan reviews Tokyo CPI inflation fee figures, division retailer gross sales and commerce statistics.
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Corporations: Reliance Industries, Ping An Insurance coverage and Nomura Holdings report outcomes.
How effectively did you retain up with the information this week? Take our quiz.
5 extra prime tales
1. China has advised the US to “utterly cancel all unilateral tariff measures” if Washington needs commerce talks, in a few of Beijing’s strongest comments on the deepening trade war between the world’s two financial superpowers. Beijing additionally denied President Donald Trump’s repeated feedback that the 2 sides had been holding commerce talks.
2. Robotaxi firm Pony.ai is contemplating a secondary itemizing lower than six months after its US IPO, amid mounting concern that Trump’s administration will pursue delistings of Chinese language corporations. “It’s nothing concrete but, however positively it’s one thing we’re considering,” mentioned James Peng, co-founder and chief government, in an interview with the FT at this week’s Shanghai auto show.
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Extra from the Shanghai auto present: Carmakers have been pressured to tone down their promotion of autonomous driving features in new fashions unveiled at this week’s exhibition after a security crackdown by Beijing.
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Nissan’s revenue warning: The Japanese carmaker has warned of its largest annual lack of up to ¥750bn ($5.3bn) on the again of upper than anticipated restructuring prices
3. South Korea’s economic system contracted within the first quarter, with political turmoil hitting shopper sentiment in Asia’s fourth-largest economic system whereas enterprise considerations grew over Trump’s tariffs on exports to the US. Here’s why analysts warned that South Korea is “at the beginning of an economic crisis”.
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SK Hynix earnings double: The Korean chipmaker’s quarterly working revenue has greater than doubled on sturdy gross sales of superior reminiscence chips utilized in AI merchandise, amid stockpiling ahead of looming US tariffs.
4. Alphabet shares rose after it reported first-quarter revenue had surged 46 per cent, pushed by one other good efficiency in its search enterprise and the growth in AI-related demand for cloud computing energy. The figures gave consolation to traders who’ve been watching closely for any softness in search due to the recognition of AI chatbots.
5. Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin over the most recent lethal air strikes on Ukraine, signalling frustration with Moscow even because the White Home steps up strain on Kyiv to acknowledge a de facto change in its borders. Referring to Russia’s strikes, the deadliest and largest bombardment of the Ukrainian capital in months, Trump wrote on his Reality Social platform yesterday: “Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP!”
Information in-depth
Elon Musk’s multimillion greenback foray into electoral politics seemed like one of many savviest investments of his profession following Donald Trump’s election win in November. However, by Musk’s personal admission, his allegiance to Trump has as a substitute led to damaging “blowback” for his flagship electric-car maker Tesla. “It went from a Cinderella story to Nightmare on Elm Road,” mentioned one analyst. Going through investor strain Musk this week modified course. Can he help Tesla regain its competitive edge?
We’re additionally studying . . .
Chart of the day
Trump’s commerce warfare with China has intensified the battle to manage the marketplace for crucial minerals which might be important in merchandise starting from EVs to iPhones and army {hardware} — and underscored Beijing’s dominant position in it.
Take a break from the information
With the FT and Schroders Enterprise Ebook of the Yr Award launching in the present day, Andrew Hill seems to be at how the publishing business is grappling with the debate over artificial intelligence.
Discover out extra in regards to the award here.
