Weekend Buzz: 23-24 May 2026

Top News

Iran Pursues Tolls for Strait of Hormuz Transit, US Says That's Unacceptable

Iran has been in discussions with Oman about a joint system of charging vessels fees to transit the Strait of Hormuz that borders both nations, the New York Times reported. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said any system of tolls is unacceptable. "There is not a country in the world that should accept that," he said. The reopening of the strait to resume shipments of oil and gas from the Persian Gulf and the future of Iran's stockpiles of enriched uranium are key sticking points in negotiating an end to a war now in its third month.

Dwindling oil stockpiles and no replenishment through the Strait of Hormuz means the global oil market is headed toward a "red zone" in July and August, the peak summer travel season, the executive director of the International Energy Agency warned. Fatih Birol said the effective closure of the waterway is taking 14 million barrels of oil from the global market every day. He said he has never seen "the dark, long shadow of geopolitics so dominant in the energy sector," which he termed worse that the oil shocks of 1973, 1979 and the 2022. Global Brent crude futures closed the trading week in New York at US$103.54 a barrel.

Iran has restarted some of its drone production during the six-week ceasefire with the US, restoring some military capabilities degraded by US-Israeli strikes faster than expected, CNN reported, citing US intelligence sources. The rebound, faster than earlier estimated, involves replacing damaged missile sites, launchers and production capacity for key weapons systems. Some US intelligence estimates predict Iran could fully reconstitute its drone attack capability in as soon as in six months.

Trump Reverses Pentagon Cancelation of Troop Deployment to Poland

NATO foreign ministers meeting in Sweden welcomed President Donald Trump's decision to reverse a Pentagon decision and send 5,000 US troops to Poland. The Department of Defense last week abruptly announced the cancellation of a deployment of 4,000 US troops to Poland, without explanation. Trump said his decision was based on his close relationship with Polish President Karol Nawrocki. NATO was stung by his earlier decision to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany after a spat with Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the war with Iran. The US has about 80,000 troops in Europe at part of NATO defense against Russia.

SpaceX Starship Successfully Launches a Month Before IPO

Elon Musk's SpaceX successfully launched its 12th Starship on an uncrewed test flight from Texas on Friday, ahead of the company's highly anticipated initial public offering next month, expected to be the largest IPO in history. The Starship V3 is designed to enable more frequent Starlink satellite launches and to send future NASA ‌missions to the moon. SpaceX has spent more than US$15 billion developing the Starship, the world's largest and most powerful rocket, as a fully reusable spacecraft. The successful test followed past launch failures and development delays.

Top Business

Lenovo Posts Best Ever Year of Earnings

Beijing-based Lenovo, the world's biggest personal-computer vendor, posted a 27 percent revenue surge to US$21.6 billion in its fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31, a quarterly high. Net income soared 479 percent to US$521 million from a year earlier. The personal computer and electronics giant said AI-related revenue, which jumped 84 percent, drove earnings. That category includes devices such as PCs and smartphones with neural processing units and servers with graphics processing units. For its full fiscal year, the company reported the "strongest year in history," with a 20 percent increase in revenue to US$83.1 billion and net income of US$1.9 billion, up 38 percent. AI-related revenue doubled, accounting for 33 percent of group revenue. Spending on research and development rose 16 percent in the fourth quarter and 9 percent for the full year. Chief Executive Yang Yuanqing said Lenovo is aiming to become a US$100 billion company within the next two years. Lenovo is listed in Hong Kong and the over-the-counter market in New York.

China Chipmaker Zhipu Announces AI Breakthrough

Beijing-based chip maker Knowledge Atlas Technology, better known as Zhipu AI, released a new AI application programming interface for its latest model that it says set a new global record for output speed among AI firms. The company's share price in Hong Kong surged 27 percent on the news. Zhipu rolled out the high-speed version of its latest coding model GLM-5.1, called GLM-5.1-highspeed," for selected business clients. The interface program has an output speed of 400 tokens per second, with the company claiming a task that normally takes three days can be completed in the time that it takes to drink a cup of coffee. The area where AI is most likely to achieve a breakthrough this year is in solving long-horizon tasks, Zhipu founder Tang Jie said earlier. Such a feat could accelerate the shift to small companies with no employees and make autonomous AI agent systems the next technological frontier.

China's Big 3 Airlines Facing 2026 Losses, Bank Analysts Predict

China's biggest airlines, Air China, China Eastern and China Southern Airlines, are forecast to show a combined loss of 22 billion yuan (US$3.2 billion) this year after turning to first-quarter profits, according to an analysis from HSBC. The bank said the airlines are suffering a double whammy from a high-speed rail system attracting more budget-conscious consumers and the soaring cost of jet fuel because of the Iran war. DBS Bank pointed out that Chinese carriers, unlike global counterparts, aren't prone to hedging fuel costs. China Eastern was the only one of trio that did what the bank called even "thin" hedging last year. Goldman Sach said domestic passenger flights in the week ending May 14 had cancellation rates as high as 30 percent. To cope with rising fuel prices, Chinese airlines in April started raising fuel surcharges, baggage fees and airfares, but analysts said the measures taken so far won't completely offset higher fuel costs. HBSC estimates that for every 10 percent increase in jet fuel prices, the three carriers' losses will widen 38 percent this year.

SMIC Given Greenlight for US$6 Billion Takeover

Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC), China's largest wafer foundry, has cleared the final regulatory hurdle for its US$6 billion acquisition of the remaining 49 percent stake it doesn't already own in its Beijing-based foundry unit, paving the way for what could become the largest merger and restructuring deal on Shanghai's STAR market. Chinese securities regulators approved SMIC's plan to issue 547.2 million Class A-shares to five shareholders of Semiconductor Manufacturing North China (Beijing) Corp, the South China Morning Post reported. The transaction values the 49 percent stake at 40.6 billion yuan (US$6 billion).

Economy & Markets

China Brokerages Face Penalties for Illegal Cross-border Business

In a Chinese crackdown on unauthorized online cross-border securities trading, Futu brokerage faces a 1.85-billion-yuan (US$256 million) penalty for operating without domestic licenses, and Tiger Brokers was fined 308.1 million yuan and stripped of 103.1 million yuan in illicit gains. The CEOs of both firms were also individually fined 1.25 million yuan. A third brokerage, Longbridge, has potential penalties pending. Clients of the brokerages are barred from purchasing further securities and will be permitted to selling existing holdings or withdraw funds from their accounts over a two-year transition period. All legitimate avenues for investing overseas, like Stock Connect, remain open.

US Consumer Sentiment Falls to Record Low

US consumer sentiment fell to a record low this month, as price shocks from the Iran war hit household budgets, according to the widely watched survey from the University of Michigan. The sentiment index dropped for the third consecutive month, falling to 44.2. "The cost of living continues to be a first-order concern, with 57 percent of consumers mentioning that high prices were eroding their personal finances," said Joanne Hsu, director of survey. Gasoline prices, a sensitive price point with consumers, are nearing all-time highs as the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil transit route in the Gulf, remains effectively closed.

China Mandates Tighter Electric-Car Safety Inspections

China's industry ministry has ordered comprehensive safety checks for new energy vehicles, targeting batteries, driver-assistance systems and fire risks. Automakers must develop corrective plans if a car model has three or more fires and must report serious accidents within 12 hours. Concealing incidents runs the risk of suspended product approvals. The tightened scrutiny follows the rapid expansion of the electric car market. China had 44 million new energy vehicles on the road at the end of 2025, accounting for 12 percent of total vehicle ownership. There were 2.75 million recalls last year.

Warsh Officially Installed as Chairman of US Federal Reserve

Kevin Warsh was sworn in as the new chairman of the Federal Reserve, replacing Jerome Powell, who will remain on the board of governors. Warsh was hand-picked by US President Donald Trump after a long-running battle with Powell over what he called Fed foot-dragging on lowering interest rates. However, expectations that rates will drop under Warsh's watch have been dimmed by the inflationary effects of the war against Iran.

UN Lowers Global Growth Forecast on Middle East War

The UN has lowered its forecast for global economic growth to 2.5 percent from 2.7 percent in January, citing the inflationary effects of the Middle East conflict and disrupted supply chains. The revised forecast projects China's growth will moderate to 4.6 percent, US growth will come in at 2 percent, and EU growth will slow to 1.1 percent.

Japan's Inflation Softens, Casting Doubt on Rate Hike

Japan's inflation rate in April fell to 1.4 percent from 1.5 percent a month earlier, and core inflation, which excludes food fresh food prices, eased to a lower-than-expected 1.9 percent from 2.4 percent. Energy prices rose 2.9 percent, with government fuel subsidies blunting higher oil prices resulting from the war in Iran. The Bank of Japan last month raised its outlook for core inflation to 2.8 percent, citing those costs. Friday's data cast doubt on whether the central bank will lift interest rates from near zero, as earlier expected.

Deep Dive

The 'Intelligent Employee' Has Arrived. Are Companies Ready?

For decades, the standard playbook for corporate growth was unyielding: Scale up headcount, deepen specialization and multiply layers of management. But as we navigate 2026, an inflection point is underway.

Corporate

Hengli Braves US Sanctions, Calling Allegations False

Hengli Group, which operates one of China's largest private refineries, is closing its main offshore unit, a Singapore trading arm, this month after landing on a US sanctions list several weeks ago, accused of buying sanctioned oil from Iran, an allegation the company denies. Its petroleum arm, which runs a refinery in Dalian with 400,000 barrels-a-day capacity, has suffered some withdrawals of orders, and a 2024 agreement for Saudi Aramco to take a 10 percent stake in Hengli has been cast in doubt, Reuters reported, citing traders. It's the largest Chinese refiner ever placed on the US blacklist, which is aimed at starving Iran's oil revenues. China has defended Hengli, invoking for the first time a 2021 law to stop companies complying with foreign sanctions.

Dingdong Posts Net Profit in Q1 Amid Sale of China Business

US-listed Chinese e-grocery platform Dingdong, which agreed in February to sell its China business to Meituan, posted net profit of 165 million yuan (US$24 million) for the first quarter of 2026, a 20 percent surge from a year earlier. It was the ninth consecutive month of profitability. Revenue rose 7.5 percent to 5.9 billion yuan. Sales from the China business increased by 6 percent to 5.8 million yuan on higher-priced orders and frequency of orders. Dingdong retains its overseas operations, which posted a net loss of 71.4 million yuan.

Robotics Sector Buoyed by State Grid Purchase Plans

The planned purchase of 8,500 AI robots this year by China's state power grid has sparked optimism from robotics firms struggling to make a profit. The grid purchase plans are valued at an estimated 6.8 billion yuan (US$1 billion). Hangzhou-based Shenhao Technology is among those hoping to benefit. The company said it could break even in 2026 after four years of losses. Many smaller robotics firms remain unprofitable amid high development costs and market competition.

Amlogic Partners with Google for Home Gemini AI Integration

Chinese chipmaker Amlogic has been named an official system integrator for the Google Home Gemini project. The move deepens a decade-long partnership where Amlogic has supplied chip solutions for Google's smart home ecosystem. The new collaboration focuses on enabling hardware manufacturers to rapidly launch smart home products adapted to Google's Gemini AI assistant.

Xiaomi Unveils New YU7 Models

Electric carmaker Xiaomi expanded its YU7 SUV lineup with the unveiling of the YU7 GT and YU7 Standard. The high-performance GT model has a starting price of 389,900 yuan (US$57,310), and the standard model starts at 233,500 yuan.

JD Launches New Retail Complex Format

E-commerce giant JD.com announced the launch of JD Space, which will open commercial complexes from September, starting with the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Suqian in Jiangsu Province. The complexes will operate retail formats ranging across beauty, wine, home products, sports and gaming.

Walmart Quarterly Revenue Rises, in Part on China Sales

Walmart International said net sales rose 18 percent from a year earlier to US$35.1 billion in the quarter ended April 30, aided by growth in China. Operating income increased 24 percent to US$1.6 billion, and e-commerce sales rose 7 percent. Walmart operates 342 hypermarts and 63 Sam's Clubs in China. It didn't break out China earnings data.

Putailai New Energy to Spend US$823 Million on Expanded Capacity

Shanghai-based Putailai New Energy Technology, the world's biggest supplier of coated film for lithium battery separators, said it plans to spend 5.6 billion yuan (US$823 million) to increase its capacity to make separator film to meet rising demand. The company will build 16 production lines for the film in the southwestern city of Qionglai, with annual production capacity of 7.2 billion square meters.