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Good morning. We have the latest on BHP’s proposed takeover of Anglo American today.
London-listed Anglo’s key South African shareholders are open to the takeover offer, despite government concerns that the Australian miner’s £30bn-plus proposal is bad for Africa’s most industrialised economy.
The investors, which collectively hold more than 15 per cent of Anglo, told the Financial Times that BHP would need to sweeten its offer, but they were not opposed in principle to the proposed acquisition.
Their openness comes despite comments from mining minister Gwede Mantashe saying he was personally “negative” on the deal, which would spin off two South African subsidiaries.
Anglo has been woven into South Africa’s economy over its 107-year history, and a takeover is a sensitive matter for the ruling African National Congress in an election year. The local competition regulator has warned that it will have the final say. Here’s what individual investors have said about the potential deal.
And here’s what I’m keeping tabs on today and over the weekend:
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Central banks: The European Central Bank publishes minutes from its latest monetary policy meeting today, after the Bank of England kept borrowing costs unchanged yesterday but hinted at summer rate cuts.
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Economic data: The UK releases its preliminary first-quarter GDP estimate today and the University of Michigan has its US consumer sentiment survey. China reports April inflation data tomorrow.
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Elections: Iran holds its parliamentary run-off vote today. Lithuanians choose their next president on Sunday, and Catalonia holds parliamentary polls.
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Awards: The Eurovision Song Contest’s final round takes place in the Swedish city of Malmö tomorrow, overshadowed by protests over Israel’s participation. The Bafta TV Awards will be held at London’s Royal Festival Hall on Sunday.
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Espionage: Two men in the UK charged with spying for China, Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry, will appear at the Old Bailey today.
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. Mubadala Capital’s $3bn bid for Fortress Investment Group has cleared a significant regulatory hurdle after the parties agreed to important concessions. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States had approved Fortress’s sale of a majority equity interest to Mubadala, the investment arm of Abu Dhabi’s almost $300bn-in-assets sovereign wealth fund, three people briefed on the matter said. Read the full story.
3. Exclusive: Protests should be banned near UK defence and energy sites, a government-commissioned review into tackling political violence and disruption will say. Former Labour MP John Woodcock will recommend a “protective buffer zone” for such facilities following an increase in activity by pro-Palestinian and environmental campaigners. Here are more details from the review.
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.
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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. 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 campaign and legal bills. The Florida lawmaker was swarmed by donors at a Republican event at Mar-a-Lago last week, said people who attended. Here’s more on the senator Trump once dubbed “Little Marco”.
As the race for the White House heats up, sign up for our US Election Countdown newsletter to get the latest updates and insights from Washington reporter Steff Chávez
The Big Read
![A silhouetted figure stands in front of a huge map of the Americas covered in outlines of blue aircraft of various sizes](https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2Fb227a3d9-9cb8-4110-97b8-eeeb61b2d51c.jpg?source=next-article&fit=scale-down&quality=highest&width=700&dpr=1)
In July 2022, an unusual item was found in a passenger’s luggage at Vnukovo airport: an “air data inertial reference unit”. The $40,000, 11kg piece of equipment was destined for S7, Russia’s second-largest airline, and was just one of several reported that year in customs forms at Moscow airports. The luggage trade is a striking example of the unorthodox supply routes that Russian airlines, hit by sanctions since the invasion of Ukraine, have been forced to rely on to smuggle components vital to keeping their planes in the air.
We’re also reading . . .
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Milken conference: The packed finance event attended by the likes of Elon Musk and Goldman Sachs chief David Solomon featured more Middle Eastern investors and warier views on China.
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Carlos Torres: The chair of BBVA, Spain’s third-biggest lender, has turned hostile in his €12bn second attempt to buy TSB owner Sabadell.
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NHS: Experts are divided on whether the shift towards private care is good or bad for Britain’s public health service in the long term.
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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.
Chart of the day
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, writes chief data reporter John Burn-Murdoch.
![Chart showing that US broadcasters cover high gas prices but not low ones, and cable channels — especially Fox News — dedicate huge amounts of airtime to the topic](https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd6c748xw2pzm8.cloudfront.net%2Fprod%2Fcc75e1a0-0e1e-11ef-aa9d-751c38f37164-standard.png?source=next-article&fit=scale-down&quality=highest&width=700&dpr=1)
Take a break from the news
From a spectacular staging of Hayao Miyazaki’s animated classic Spirited Away to Ian McKellen’s magnificent Falstaff in Player Kings, here are six theatre shows not to miss if you’re in London this week.
![A man with a large belly slumps in a chair with a glass in his hands as people tend to him in concern](https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2F287071e5-0d49-4158-8fe8-90285e5da9c7.jpg?source=next-article&fit=scale-down&quality=highest&width=700&dpr=1)
Additional contributions from Benjamin Wilhelm and Gordon Smith
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