Trump Holds Talks with Syrian President: U.S. Considering Diplomatic Engagement with Damascus

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Check out today's highlights:

Trump mingles with Syria's Sharaa in Riyadh summit
White House gives Huawei the cold shoulder with AI chip warning
FT uncovers details of Elon Musk's questionable Doge shenanigans
Raise a glass to the airlines serving premium in-flight bubbly!

Never one to shy away from diplomacy, Donald Trump sat down with Syria's new President, Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Riyadh, thanks to the brokerage skills of Saudi's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. They're aiming to give the folks in Syria a fresh start with this meetup, after signing a whopping $600bn worth of defense, AI, and other agreements during their stay in the Saudi capital.

So, what's changed? Washington has decided to lift sanctions on Syria, giving Sharaa a major boost as he battles to consolidate his administration's grip on the fragmented nation. Trump himself announced that they're considering a return to working relationships with Syria's government. The news was met with cheers in Damascus and a warm welcome from the Saudi prince, who believed that it would "alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people and open a new page towards growth and prosperity."

Now let's take a quick glance at what else we've got our eye on:

Nato: Foreign ministers from the military alliance gather in Turkey to discuss Ukraine, in anticipation of tomorrow's expected Ukraine-Russia peace talks.
Germany: New chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks in the lower house of parliament about his fresh policies.
Economy: Brazil's services sector comes under scrutiny today, with the release of monthly PMS data. Argentina's National Institute of Statistics and Censuses also drops April's consumer prices data.
Fed: Federal Reserve governor Christopher Waller, vice-chair Philip Jefferson, and San Francisco Fed chair Mary Daly all appear at various events.
Corporate News: Cisco Systems could report a 10.6% increase in third-quarter revenue.
Congress: Maybe you've heard of this guy, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who recently started working in the health sector? He'll testify before Congress for the first time and face questions about his leadership and the controversial firing of numerous health agency employees, as well as a growing measles outbreak.

Don't forget to join our subscriber-exclusive webinar on May 28, where you can get a sneak peek into the hottest geopolitical rivalry: the US-China showdown! Inquire here to register and throw in your two cents.

Five more headline-stealers!

1. Leaked reports hint at Tesla's board discussing Elon Musk's bizarre pay plans, possibly resulting in a juicy stock options package for the billionaire leading the electric-vehicle maverick. Seems like some major investors are backing this job for life!

More Tesla Tidbits: Panasonic, a significant battery technology partner of Tesla, is under pressure to speed up supplies from their new Kansas plant, according to the CEO Yuki Kusumi.

2. Trump toning down his fiery campaign against Chinese technology, warning companies that using Huawei's AI chips could violate US export controls. Want to stay on the good side of the US? Better watch out for that Huawei's Ascend processing technology, buddy!

Deeper Dive: Huawei's Ascend chips are crucial to China's ambition of creating a competitive AI infrastructure. This in-depth read can fill you in on all the details.

3. Talks about sending Latin American troops to Haiti, as an international force assembled by Kenya struggles to quell rampant gang violence in Port-au-Prince, which threatens the city's last remaining government strongholds.

4. Financial troubles for Moët Hennessy: While they raked in €1bn in 2019, the champagne and cognac giant has been burning through €1.5bn in losses since then, according to internal documents. Structural issues during former CEO Philippe Schaus's leadership may have contributed to the company's woes.

**5. China's frustration with the US-UK trade deal threatened to damage the UK-China relationship. Beijing believes that the agreement is designed to exclude Chinese goods from British supply chains.

UK-US Economic Expansion: The deal is being eyed as a potential megadeal involving billions of dollars in pork, poultry, rice, and seafood markets in the UK.
China Manufacturing: Chinese manufacturers are on cloud nine, elated and shocked after China and the US agreed to a truce in their trade war.
US-China: Ports and shipping lines prepare for a volley of demand from businesses stockpiling Christmas goods as relations between the two nations remain in limbo.

We're also digging into:

Global trade: Martin Wolf discusses the challenge of turning surpluses in some countries into productive investment elsewhere in the world.
Trump's "palace-in-the-sky: Edward Luce argues that Qatar's offer of a free jumbo jet adds weight to the claim that the US is morphing into a kleptocracy under Trump.
Milk's comeback: Brooke Masters investigates the dairy industry's efforts to win customers away from plant-based milk alternatives.
🎬 Bitcoin Bet: Michael Saylor, the man behind the transformation of MicroStrategy from a lossmaking company to the world's largest corporate holder of bitcoin, shares his strategy for weathering a potential crypto crash.

Toast of the day:

HTSI drinks columnist Alice Lascelles leads us through a luxurious tasting of the best champagnes served by glamorous airlines – for those lucky enough to be upgraded to first class! Cheers!

In an unexpected move, the Federal Reserve's Christopher Waller, Philip Jefferson, and Mary Daly's appearances at various events this week have sparked a conversation about the potential impact of their monetary policies on the global economy and investment in stocks.
Amidst the ongoing tensions between the US and China, the global technology sector has been impacted, as businesses grapple with the implications of using Huawei's AI chips, which could infringe on US export control laws.
The escalating tension in global trade was evident in the recent US-UK trade deal, as China expressed frustration due to the perceived exclusion of Chinese goods from British supply chains, affecting the broader UK-China relationship.
The world of business and cryptocurrency intersects in the ongoing tale of Elon Musk, as leaked reports suggest that Tesla's board is discussing potentially controversial pay plans for the CEO, which could result in significant stock options for Musk.
The ongoing crisis in Syria has been met with controversy, as the US considers a return to working relations with Syria's government, raising questions about the future of global politics and the implications for inflation, particularly in the Middle East.

Trump Holds Talks with Syrian President: U.S. Considering Diplomatic Engagement with Damascus