Ata mārie and welcome to your Tuesday recap of international business and political news from overnight.
First up, the United Arab Emirates has responded to an Iranian drone and missile attack, with authorities in Fujairah reporting a fire at an oil facility. The drone strike injured at least three Indian nationals, while four missiles were either intercepted or crashed into the sea, Al Jazeera and the ABC reported.
Meanwhile, two missiles hit a US frigate in the Strait of Hormuz after it ignored warnings from Iran’s Navy to stop, according to state media. But the US military said no vessel was struck.
“Iran has taken some shots at unrelated Nations with respect to the Ship Movement, PROJECT FREEDOM, including a South Korean Cargo Ship. Perhaps it’s time for South Korea to come and join the mission! We’ve shot down seven small Boats or, as they like to call them, ‘fast’ Boats. It’s all they have left,” US President Donald Trump wrote online.
“Other than the South Korean Ship, there has been, at this moment, no damage going through the Strait,” Trump added.
The US earlier said it had escorted two vessels through the Strait of Hormuz under so-called Project Freedom. Iran considered that a breach of the ceasefire agreement. Trump said the US military would help ships stranded in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's military said it would attack any foreign forces if they entered the waterway.
To the markets, and Wall Street stocks fell amid the latest developments in the Middle East and oil prices climbed higher. Earlier, the Dow Jones dropped over 500 points, or 1%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were also weaker, CNBC noted.
US West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 4% to above US$106 per barrel, while Brent crude futures rose 5% to US$114.
In Europe, shares also declined on the Middle East jitters and trade tensions. European automotive shares fell after Trump said he would increase tariffs on cars and trucks from the European Union to 25%.
In business news, video game retailer GameStop has offered US$55.5 billion for e-commerce giant eBay. The cash and stock offer valued eBay at US$125 per share, US$20 above the company's value on Friday local time, the BBC reported.
GameStop chief executive Ryan Cohen said eBay could be more successful under his leadership. eBay said it would consider the proposal.
Billionaire businessman Elon Musk pushed for a potential settlement with OpenAI, just days before a trial started last week, according to a new court document. Musk sent a message to OpenAI president Greg Brockman “to gauge interest in settlement” on April 25, CNN reported.
Musk sued OpenAI and its leaders claiming they breached a charitable trust and unjustly enriched themselves by transitioning from a non-profit to its current structure.
Elon Musk.
Staying with artificial intelligence, US company Anthropic is partnering with Goldman Sachs and Blackstone to launch a US$1.5b company aimed at speeding the adoption of AI across hundreds of companies, CNBC reported.
The new entity planned to deploy Anthropic’s Claude AI model directly inside businesses, starting with companies owned by the investment firms.
“There’s a big shortage of people who know how to apply these tools into businesses and then transform them,” Marc Nachmann, Goldman’s global head of asset and wealth management, told CNBC.
Finally, the family behind South Korean firm Samsung has completed its US$8b inheritance tax bill, the largest such settlement in the country's history. Chair Lee Jae-yong and other members of the family paid the sum in six instalments over the last five years, the BBC said.
The bill is tied to the estate left by late-chair Lee Kun-hee, who died in October 2020.
