Good morning.
Marco Rubio has emerged as a favourite of donors to become Donald Trump’s running mate, as the former president looks for candidates who can widen his appeal and help fund his White House campaign and legal bills.
The Florida senator was swarmed by donors at a Republican event at Mar-a-Lago last week, said people who attended.
“Marco, by far, was the one who had the most attention,” said a Republican strategist who attended the fundraiser. “Rubio was mobbed from start to finish,” said another person.
Although politicians close to Trump have advocated for a so-called “Maga” candidate — such as JD Vance — to be Trump’s running mate, donors say the former president needs to find a candidate who would appeal to voters beyond his base.
Rubio, a Cuban-American, and Tim Scott, the sole Black Republican in the US Senate, have close ties to conservative megadonors and appeal to key ethnic groups.
Deep-pocketed potential running mates, including North Dakota’s governor Doug Burgum, the libertarian entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and investor Rick Scott, would bring their own money to the ticket. Read more on the race to be Trump’s running mate.
Sign up for our US Election Countdown newsletter to get the latest updates and insights on the campaign from Washington reporter Steff Chávez.
And here’s what I’m keeping tabs on today and over the weekend:
-
Federal Reserve: Fed governor Michelle Bowman will deliver a speech about financial stability risks before the Texas Bankers Association Annual Convention. Chicago Fed president Austan Goolsbee will participate in a question-and-answer session at the Economic Club of Minnesota.
-
Economic data: The University of Michigan releases its US consumer sentiment survey and Canada updates on the unemployment rate and new hiring. Tomorrow China reports April inflation data.
-
Elections: Iran holds its parliamentary run-off vote today. Lithuanians choose their next president on Sunday, and Catalonia holds parliamentary polls.
-
Eurovision Song Contest: The annual song contest has been overshadowed this year by protests over Israel’s participation. The winner will be announced tomorrow night in the Swedish city of Malmö.
How well did you keep up with the news this week? Take our quiz.
Five more top stories
1. Exclusive: Calpers is considering a vote against ExxonMobil chief Darren Woods’ re-election to the company board as shareholder discontent brews over a lawsuit it filed against two climate-focused investors. The US’s biggest public pension plan said it was “deeply concerned” about the case, warning it appeared to be an effort to silence critical shareholders.
2. The UK economy exited last year’s technical recession with faster than expected growth of 0.6 per cent for the first quarter of 2024. The quarter-on-quarter growth figure was the fastest since 2021 and boosted by car manufacturing and broad-based growth in services. The news will be welcomed by prime minister Rishi Sunak who made economic growth on of his key pledges to the British public. Here’s more on the UK’s exit from recession.
3. Anglo American’s key South African shareholders, which collectively hold more than 15 per cent of the mining company’s shares, have told the Financial Times that they are open to a takeover offer from BHP. The shareholders said BHP would have to sweeten its offer in order to gain their backing but in principle they were not opposed. Their openness to a BHP takeover contrasts with comments from South Africa’s mining minister who said his personal feelings towards a deal were “negative”. Here’s the latest on the biggest proposed takeover in the mining sector for years.
4. Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that Israel will “stand alone” in a defiant message after Joe Biden warned that the US would not supply weapons for a potential invasion of Rafah in Gaza. As negotiations for a hostage deal and ceasefire appeared to falter, the Israeli prime minister’s senior officials attacked the US president’s stance as the rift deepened between Israel and its most important ally.
-
Campus protests: In an FT op-ed, Columbia University president Minouche Shafik reflects on how to move on from the turmoil that has engulfed her institution and others across the world.
5. Apple has apologised for an advert showing musical instruments, artistic tools and games being crushed by a giant hydraulic press that left it facing accusations of cultural insensitivity. The one-minute video was launched by Apple chief executive Tim Cook to support its new iPads. Read more on the campaign which uses the soundtrack Sonny and Cher’s 1971 hit All I Ever Need Is You.
Today’s big read
Hotels were heaving in Beverly Hills this week for the annual Milken Institute conference — the largest it has been since the return to in-person events after the pandemic. Delegates queued to see former US president Bill Clinton, Argentine President Javier Milei and hedge fund tycoon Ken Griffin. But the big business was done behind closed doors in hotel suites and in the homes of local tycoons. “There’s money everywhere,” said one investor in attendance. Here are the main takeaways from the investment jamboree.
We’re also reading . . .
-
AI and the economy: There is much disagreement around how much artificial intelligence will affect growth, writes Soumaya Keynes, with the core debate concerning its scope, scale and speed.
-
John Burn-Murdoch: Are modern media incentives distorting our sense of the economy? A new study adds to evidence that competition for eyeballs may be warping our sense of the world.
-
Japan: A wave of activism is coming from a quarter Japanese companies did not expect, writes Asia Business Editor Leo Lewis.
Chart of the day
Before the Ukraine war, Boeing and Airbus planes comprised more than 70 per cent of Russia’s fleet of aircraft in service. Since the full scale invasion Russian airlines, such as S7, have been forced to resort to unorthodox supply routes to smuggle vital components into the country and keep their planes in the air. Using Russian customs data and commercial sources the FT has been able to analyse the flow of aircraft parts into Russia.
Take a break from the news
The first time Lydia Bulas chased a private jet down the runway at Florida’s Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport, it was May of 1983 and America was losing the war on drugs. This is the untold story of the greatest anti-money laundering operation in American history.
Additional contributions from Tee Zhuo and Benjamin Wilhelm
