Daily Buzz: 5 May 2026

Top News

Middle East Ceasefire in Peril as US Seeks to Reopen Oil Waterway

The first day of a US operation to guide ships stranded in the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz opened cracks in the fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran. Amid conflicting reports, the US claimed it had sunk six small Iranian ships that were exhibiting "aggressive behavior" in the strait and denied an Iranian report of a missile strike on a US frigate. The United Arab Emirates said incoming Iranian missiles, the first such attack in nearly four weeks, caused a fire at an oil hub. A British military monitor said two cargo vessels were ablaze off the coast of the UAE. Danish shipping giant Maersk said one of its ships did manage to transit the strait with US military protection. US President Donald Trump warned Iran will be "blown off the face of the earth." Oil prices surged on fears of the conflict escalating again. Global benchmark Brent crude futures shot up 6 percent to close in New York at US$114.44 a barrel. Trump said earlier that the US would deploy 50,000 troops to break the Iranian blockade of the strait, which has left an estimated 2,000 cargo ships stranded in the Gulf. The closure of the vital oil transit channel has sent energy prices up about 50 percent from prewar levels,

Shanghai to Erect World's Tallest Spokeless Ferris Wheel

The world's highest spokeless Ferris wheel will be the centerpiece of a 4-billion-yuan (US$585 million) Shanghai investment in five new tourism projects. The 228-meter-high Ferris wheel, called "Gate of Shanghai," will cost 2 billion yuan and will be located in the Baoshan District in the north of the city. The highest spokeless Ferris wheel in the world is currently the 220-meter-high wheel in Seoul, and the world's largest spoke-construction Ferris wheel is in the United Arab Emirates at a height of 250 meters. A second Chinese tourism major project will be the West Bund Star Dome, a venue in the Xuhui District costing 1.2 billion yuan and capable of accommodating 3,000 people at any one time. The site will host performances, digital art exhibition and an AI-based immersive interactive theatre, among other events. Plans for the projects were unveiled at the recent Shanghai Tourism Investment Promotion Conference.

Three Cruise Ship Passengers Dead from 'Rat Virus'

Three passengers on an Atlantic cruise ship died and at least three other people onboard took ill after an outbreak of hantavirus on a trip to Africa from Argentina. The MV Hondius ship is operated by Netherlands-based Oceanwide Expeditions, which said in a statement Monday that 149 people remain on board the ship, now anchored off the western African nation of Cape Verde. Hantavirus is carried by rodents and can be transmitted to humans, though the instances are rare. The disease made headlines last year as the cause of death of American classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, wife of actor Gene Hackman, who died a week later.

Top Business

Luckin Coffee Profit Drops on Outlet Expansion, Market Competition

Luckin Coffee, the biggest café chain in China, said first-quarter profit dropped 3.4 percent from a year earlier to 506 million yuan (US$73 million) despite a 32 percent surge in revenue to 9 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion) on an expansion in outlets. Operating income fell 2.6 percent to 716 million yuan, and operating margin declined to 6 percent from 8.3 percent. Same shop sales slipped 0.1 percent amid fierce competition in the food delivery sector. The company reported 2,548 net new outlets, mostly in the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, raising the total number of shops to 33,596 in the quarter. Overseas outlets totaled 177. Average monthly customer transactions were 93 million, up a quarter from last year. Luckin last month announced it is entering the bottled coffee market. With its earnings report, the company announced a share buyback program of up to US$300 million New York-listed shares.

GameStop Makes US$56 billion Offer for EBay

US video-game retailer GameStop announced a cash-and-share bid to acquire e-commerce giant eBay for US$56 billion. GameStop Chief Executive Ryan Cohen told the Wall Street Journal that he sees great potential to catapult eBay into a much bigger competitor to Amazon. GameStop has about a 5 percent stake in eBay and secured a commitment letter from TD Bank for up to US$20 billion in debt financing to make the deal possible, according to GameStop's statement. The remainder of the deal would be funded from its approximately US$9.4 billion cash reserves.

The deal is subject to approval from eBay's board of directors, regulators and shareholders from both companies.

Economy & Markets

Hang Lung Tones Down Ultra-Luxury in New Hangzhou Project

Hong Kong-based Hang Lung Properties unveiled a 16-billion-yuan (US$2.2 billion) flagship Hangzhou development with a lighter accent on ultra-luxury in a pivot toward changing lifestyle trends on the Chinese mainland, the South China Morning Post reported. Westlake 66 spans about 390,000 square meters, with a shopping mall, office towers and a Mandarin Oriental hotel. The project tilts away from the super-luxury amenities of similar projects in other major Chinese cities toward what the company calls "accessible luxury" more in tune with consumer trends. The shift comes as the commercial property market on the mainland is slowly recovering from a slump in demand and rental fees. The project is Hong Kong-based Hang Lung's 11th on the mainland.

Asia Tech Stocks Rally, US Stocks Plummet

Stock markets in Asia rose on Monday, hours before renewed tensions in the Iran war sent US markets lower and oil prices higher. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong surged 1.2 percent on Monday. Chinese tech giant Xiaomi soared nearly 7 percent after April auto deliveries topped 30,000, Alibaba rose over 4 percent, and AI startups Zhipu and Minimax ended higher in low double-digits. South Korea's Kospi index rose 5 percent to a record, with chipmaker SK Hynix soaring12.5 percent. Japan's Nikkei added 0.4 percent. Chinese mainland markets were closed for a holiday. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Average lost 1 percent and the broader S&P 500 index dropped 0.4 percent as the tentative ceasefire between the US and Iran teetered on the brink of collapse.

Linkerbot Seeks to Double Valuation

Chinese startup Linkerbot, a global leader in dexterous hands for humanoid robots, is aiming to lift its valuation to US$6 billion valuation in its next financing round, Reuters reported, citing the Beijing-based company. The company said it completed a fundraiser last week that put its value at US$3. Backers of the company include Alibaba's Ant Group and venture capital and private equity firm HongShan Group. Linkerbot currently holds about 80 percent of the global market in "high-degree-of-freedom" robotic hands, and said it plans to double production soon to 10,000 units. Chief Executive Alex Zhou told Reuters, "We aren't just making hands. Our goal is to replicate the entire library of human dexterous skills."

Corporate

Cosco Shipping Orders 12 Container Vessels in US$2.2 Billion Deal

Chinese container giant Cosco Shipping Holdings announced a US$2.2 billion order for a dozen liquefied natural gas container vessels to secure stable and reliable long-term capacity, Yicai reported. CSSC Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding will build the 12 ships for Cosco Shipping subsidiary Orient Overseas International. Deliveries are scheduled from 2028-30. The order will upgrade Cosco Shipping's container fleet structure, raising capacity per vessel and cutting transportation costs. The ships will be dual-fuel, reducing the company's carbon footprint.

COSCO Shipping first-half profit halved to 5.9 billion (US$864 million) from a year earlier on a decline in global freight rates, with operating revenue falling 11 percent to 51.8 billion yuan. The company was operating a fleet of 598 container ships in the quarter.

L'Oreal China Cites Sales Growth, Firm Chinese Mainland Footprint

L'Oréal China has said single-digit growth in first quarter sales helped anchor the French cosmetics firm's leading position in the mainland market and it will continue to invest in the country, Yicai reported. The Shanghai-based company didn't reveal specific numbers, though its Paris-based parent reported global sales in the first three months rose 3.6 percent to 12 billion euros (US$14.2 billion). L'Oréal China's Luxe division had a 30 percent share of the premium mainland beauty market, while the cosmetics division achieved 19 percent growth. Vincent Boinay, president of L'Oréal North Asia and China chief executive, said the mainland consumer market is gradually recovering, with some segments outperforming results two years ago.

Vanke to Sell Pig-Farming Unit

China Vanke, once one of China's largest property developers, plans to sell its 100 percent stake in pig farming company Huanshan Group for 3.3 billion yuan (US$483 million) as it seeks to cope with a debt load that threatens to drive it into default. The company has been negotiating with foreign and domestic creditors for repayment delays as maturing debt comes due. The company has outstanding liabilities estimated at 873 billion yuan.