Weekend roundup

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

• 🤖 Elon Musk’s xAI raised $6 billion to take on OpenAI. The funding round was backed by investors including Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital, and values the company at $24 billion.

• 🇨🇳 China set up a $47.5 billion fund to boost its chip sector. The country’s largest-ever semiconductor fund aims to help it become self sufficient as the US seeks to restrict its growth.

• ⚽ Alibaba signed David Beckham as an AliExpress brand ambassador. The company is also sponsoring the UEFA European soccer championship amid pressure from rivals Temu and Shein.

Featured weekend story

UBS rules out an external successor to CEO Sergio Ermotti

UBS has ruled out appointing an outsider ($) to succeed CEO Sergio Ermotti. The FT reports that the bank will choose from a shortlist of three internal candidates when Ermotti steps down in about three years’ time. The candidates, who are expected to be drawn from the current executive board, could be announced as early as next year’s annual meeting.

No final decision has been made on the shortlist, but the FT says Iqbal Khan, head of UBS’s wealth management unit, is expected to be included. Other possible contenders include investment bank chief Rob Karofsky, Bea Martin, who oversees the lender’s non-core and legacy unit, and Sabine Keller-Busse, head of the Swiss business.

Ermotti returned to UBS as CEO just over a year ago after the bank rescued its rival Credit Suisse. At the time, he reportedly committed to staying for three to five years to oversee the integration of Credit Suisse and develop a growth strategy for the combined group.

What to watch this week

Asian shares climbed the most in a week on Monday, but it was a more muted picture in Europe, with US and UK markets closed for public holidays. Inflation is the theme of the week as investors look for a clue on the rate paths.

Indices at 12:00 AM (ET)

Here are your upcoming market events:

• 🇺🇸 US inflation. The Fed’s favorite inflation gauge, PCE, drops on Friday, coming as investors resign themselves to the higher-for-longer narrative.

• 🇪🇺 Euro zone inflation. The ECB has all but promised a rate cut in June, but Friday’s reading will help dictate how soon it’ll tighten after that.

• 🇨🇳 China PMIs. Investors are expecting a third month of expansion when we get May’s manufacturing figure on Friday.

Off-balance sheet items

Here’s what we’re reading this week:

• 📚️ How to cultivate taste in the age of algorithms (Behavioral Scientist). Does the human touch still triumph over computer-generated recommendations?

• 📉 Deflation never happens, except right now (Intelligencer). As prices on everyday items like furniture, fast food, and groceries begin to fall, is the long-awaited relief from inflation finally here?

• 🍿 What happened to $100 million box office openers? (The Hollywood Reporter). Studio and theater chain executives knew this year was going to be a challenge amid major tentpole delays – but May is already a historic flop.

Chart of the week

The bottom line

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