Good morning, happy Friday and welcome to the new month. In today’s newsletter:
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Donald Trump’s deepening political troubles
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Israel supplies the UAE with an advanced laser system
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The golden age of space exploration
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How robotaxis are set to reshape the ride-hailing market
You can listen to today’s top news stories with the FT News Briefing podcast.
Donald Trump will be hoping May is better than April. The president has seen his approval ratings sink as oil prices have surged to four-year highs and the conflict with Iran enters its third month.
Second term stalls: Trump tried to project vigour this week at the White House when he hosted the astronauts of Artemis II in the Oval Office. “We have the hottest country in the world,” he told the gathered members of the press as he praised the astronauts from the Nasa mission for their bravery.
But Trump’s attempts to project swagger 16 months after he launched his second term with a vow to deliver a “golden age” for America are increasingly falling flat.
The 79-year-old president is being weighed down by the twin problem of the unpopular war in Iran and its impact on prices in the US — a double hit to his two campaign promises of no foreign military interventions and a cure for inflation.
Haemorrhaging support: Critical parts of the president’s political coalition that drove him to victory in 2024 are disenchanted with his performance and some Republicans fear that he has become detached from the concerns of ordinary Americans.
John Curtis, a first-term Republican senator from Utah, yesterday called on lawmakers to invoke the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which requires the president to wind down any use of military forces within 60 days of troops being sent into conflict unless Congress has declared war or authorised further military action.
Recent polling has been grim for Trump. According to the RealClearPolitics national average, just 41 per cent of Americans approve of his performance in office, compared with 57 per cent who disapprove, a yawning 16-point gap that bodes poorly for Republican prospects in the midterm elections.
Political forecasters have raised their expectations that Republicans will lose control of the House of Representatives and possibly even the Senate in November.
Trump defends the war by saying that petrol prices will drop “like a rock” as soon as the conflict ends and that it is worth the disruption to prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon. Read more of our Washington Bureau Chief’s reporting from Capitol Hill. He spoke to current and former White House officials as well as political analysts and historians for this piece.
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Swamp Notes: For more insight into the administration ahead of the mid-term elections in November, sign up to our twice-weekly newsletter.
Here’s what else we’re keeping tabs on today and over the weekend:
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Earnings: Oil will once again be the focus of attention today and over the weekend, with Chevron and ExxonMobil reporting results and Opec holding its first meeting on Sunday since the UAE announced it was leaving the cartel.
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Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting: Greg Abel faces his first big test since taking over from legendary investor Warren Buffett at the top of the conglomerate. Can he woo the thousands of groupies set to descend on Omaha this weekend?
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Special edition of FirstFT: Tomorrow US Economics Editor Claire Jones will answer questions about the Federal Reserve as the US central bank reaches a pivotal moment in its history.
How well did you keep up with the news this week? Take our quiz.
Five more top stories
1. Israel sent sophisticated weapons systems — including an advanced laser — to the United Arab Emirates to help defend the Gulf monarchy from a ferocious onslaught of Iranian missiles and drones, in one of the first examples of major defence co-operation between the two states. Read the exclusive story.
2. Apple forecast better than expected growth after another quarter of strong sales driven by its “most popular” iPhone model ever. Revenues at the $4tn company for the three months to the end of March jumped 17 per cent from a year ago, and it forecast similar growth for the current quarter. Outgoing CEO Tim Cook hailed the “extraordinary demand” for the iPhone 17 family of products.
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More tech news: Huawei is set to capture the largest share of China’s AI chip market this year, as the Shenzhen-based company races to make inroads into a sector long dominated by Nvidia.
3. PwC has told US staff it will no longer cover the cost of weight-loss drugs for employees unless they have diabetes. Staff only found out about the policy change when they went to renew their annual benefits, sparking upset among those affected. PwC joins a growing list of businesses introducing curbs on access to the expensive medicines.
4. Essa Suleiman, a 45-year-old man, has been charged with attempted murder after two Jewish men were stabbed in the Golders Green area of north London on Wednesday. The UK’s terror threat level was raised to “severe” following the incident which left Shloime Rand, 34, and Moshe Shine, 76, hospitalised.
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‘Dad, is it safe for me to get the bus?’ FT reporter Robert Wright spent the day in Golders Green speaking to members of London’s Jewish community.
5. Blue Owl Capital said investors committed $9bn to its funds in the first quarter, its lowest capital haul in a year, as fatigue around private credit cooled interest for some of its flagship vehicles. But Blue Owl executives said yesterday they had not seen any meaningful increase in defaults or warning signs of financial stress, like companies drawing down credit lines.
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More on private credit: Catch up with yesterday’s Ask an Expert, in which Lex writers Sujeet Indap and John Foley answered readers’ questions in the credit market.
Today’s big read
Plato once observed that astronomy “compels the soul to look upwards and leads us from this world to another”. A European Space Agency satellite named after the Greek philosopher will launch early next year, armed with an array of 26 high-specification cameras, in search of exoplanets or worlds beyond our solar system. It is part of a historic effort to identify distant Earthlike worlds that hold lessons for our planet’s future and may even be capable of hosting life.
We’re also reading and watching . . .
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Robotaxis: This short FT video explains how automated vehicles are reshaping the ride-hailing market.
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Trump vs Kimmel: The Federal Communications Commission’s decision this week to order Disney to apply for an early licence renewal poses a test for new chief executive Josh D’Amaro.
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Big Tech: This week’s results hinted at a new, higher growth trajectory, argues Richard Waters, were it not for one inconvenient fact.
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AI: New tools encouraging deliberation could promote consensus and reduce polarisation in politics, says Gillian Tett.
Chart of the day
Intel was the best performing S&P 500 stock last month as investors piled back into US tech stocks. The benchmark index had its best month in April — rising 10 per cent — since November 2020 when the Covid-19 vaccine breakthrough was announced. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite performed even better. It surged 15 per cent, recording its best monthly performance since April 2020.
Take a break from the news . . .
HTSI colleagues have come up with 12 marvellous ways to spend it in May. What are your plans for the month ahead? Email me and whatever you are doing this weekend, have a relaxing and enjoyable time. I will be taking a break on Monday but will be back in your inboxes on Tuesday but don’t forget to look out for tomorrow’s special edition of FirstFT. My colleague Jonathan Moules will make sure you are kept up to date with the news.
