Weekend roundup

Here’s what you missed while you were living your best life:

• 🛢️ Oil climbed amid Middle East uncertainty. Iran’s president was killed in a helicopter crash and the Saudi king is being treated for lung inflammation.

• 🇨🇳 China retaliated against the US and EU with anti-dumping probe. Beijing launched an anti-dumping probe into chemical imports, hinting at tit-for-tat action against trade barriers imposed by the US last week.

• 🧬 AstraZeneca announced a $1.5 billion cancer drug plant in Singapore. The facility is set to be the operational from 2029 and will make antibodies that bind to tumours and release cell-killing chemicals.

Featured weekend story

SpaceX launches Starlink in Indonesia

Elon Musk launched SpaceX’s satellite internet service for Indonesia’s health sector on Sunday, in a bid to improve access in remote parts of the country. Musk arrived in Bali by private jet before attending the launch ceremony at a community health center.

Indonesia is the world’s biggest archipelago with more than 17,000 islands. It faces a large connectivity divide where millions of people living in rural areas have limited or no internet access.

Musk brushed off questions about whether he also planned to invest in Indonesia’s electric vehicle industry. The government has been trying to lure Tesla to build manufacturing plants for years, as it seeks to tap into its rich nickel resources. Musk will meet with Indonesian President Joko Widodo today.

What to watch this week

Copper and gold hit record highs as investors bet that rate cuts are round the corner. It comes after the Dow closed above 40,000 for the first time on Friday.

Indices at 12:00 AM (ET)

Here are your upcoming market events:

• 🏛️ Fed minutes. The FOMC publishes the account of its last meeting on Wednesday. Several Fed officials are also due to speak during the week.

• 🤖 Nvidia earnings. The semiconductor company is expected to report a massive jump in revenue and profit on Wednesday. Shares are already up more than 90% this year after tripling in 2023.

• 🔧 PMI data. The US, China, euro zone, and UK are all to release May readings that should reinforce a brighter global economic outlook.

Off-balance sheet items

Here’s what we’re reading this week:

• 🔥 Millennials have a fresh take on the FIRE movement (Business Insider). It’s not about retiring and taking it easy.

• 👴 Philosophers are studying Reddit’s “Am I the Asshole?” (Vox). They’re trying to understand how normal people think about morality.

• 🍽️ Restaurant Groups Are the New Chains (Eater). When one business owns and operates multiple restaurants in a single market, who’s to say that’s not a chain?

Chart of the week

The bottom line

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