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Good morning. We begin today in South Korea, where a disgraced former minister who vowed revenge against President Yeon Suk-yeol helped deliver a resounding defeat to the conservative leader in parliamentary elections.
Former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, who was convicted on corruption charges after Yoon investigated him while he was chief prosecutor, has campaigned to end Yoon's “prosecutor's dictatorship.”
Cho's newly formed Korea Reconstruction Party is expected to win between 14 and 16 seats, as voters expressed anger over the rising cost of living. Yesterday's results help the country's leftist coalition cross the 180-seat threshold, which will allow it to speed up legislation.
Zhou received a two-year prison sentence last year, which he has not yet served while he is appealing against the ruling. He was charged with corruption in connection with forging documents to help his daughter obtain a place at a top medical school. If a higher court confirms the conviction, he will face being barred from membership in the National Assembly.
Lee Sangsin, a research fellow and pollster at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said Cho Lyon's criticism struck a chord with voters dissatisfied with the president's strongman ruling style.
“[H]“He presents himself as the country’s Luke Skywalker, with Yeon cast in the role of Darth Vader — a story that many liberal Koreans find difficult to resist.” Financial Times correspondent in Seoul Christian Davies reports on the election fallout.
Here are the other things I'm monitoring today:
Economic Data: China publishes March trade data, India publishes monthly inflation data, and Singapore announces its advance estimates for first-quarter GDP.
Central Banks: The Bank of Korea holds its Monetary Policy Committee meeting and decision. Singapore also issues its monetary policy statement.
Results: BlackRock, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, State Street and Wells Fargo reported first-quarter earnings.
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Five more stories above
1. A court in Ho Chi Minh City sentenced Vietnamese real estate tycoon Truong My Lan to death on charges of embezzling more than $12 billion in the country's largest financial fraud. Lan was the most prominent businessman to face graft charges since the ruling Communist Party launched a widespread anti-corruption campaign that raised questions about political stability in one of the world's fastest-growing economies.
2. ByteDance has offered to buy shares owned by employees outside the United States for about $171 per share, in a broad extension of the buyback program it launched in the United States in March, according to internal documents seen by the Financial Times. TikTok's Beijing-based parent company is facing backlash from American employees over millions of dollars in taxes owed on company stock they couldn't sell.
US-China News: Western pharmaceutical companies are in talks with alternative suppliers in response to a US bill that seeks to restrict an important Chinese drug developer and manufacturer over national security concerns.
3. China's consumer prices rose in March from a year earlier, defying analysts' expectations and highlighting the challenges facing the world's second-largest economy as it tries to boost domestic demand. The weak CPI number comes as the Chinese economy showed mixed signs of recovery in the first quarter of the year.
4. The European Central Bank has sent a strong signal that it will consider cutting interest rates at its next meeting in June after it kept interest rates at all-time highs yesterday. While the benchmark deposit rate will remain at 4 percent, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde told reporters that a small minority of policymakers had called for an immediate cut.
5. The US Department of Justice has charged Shohei Ohtani's former translator with bank fraud, accusing him of transferring more than $16 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball star's bank account to pay off gambling debts. Ibei Mizuhara allegedly impersonated Ohtani to trick bank employees into approving bank transfers to partners in illegal gambling operations where he placed his bets.
In-depth news
Despite his dominance of Indian politics over the past decade, there is one part of India that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has so far been unable to break: the country's prosperous south. The Financial Times' Benjamin Barkin and Jyotsna Singh report from the southeastern city of Chennai, where Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party feels its best chance yet for a breakthrough in elections starting next week.
We read too. . .
Corporate Art in Japan: Japanese companies have an endless treasure trove of art. Leo Lewis writes that shareholder pressure is mounting on companies to disclose the treasures they hold.
Okos: The security agreement between Australia, the UK and the US is gaining momentum, but there is still more work to be done, the Financial Times editorial board writes.
TSMC's $65 billion US bet: The Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer's decision to bring its latest technology to America still leaves Washington unable to fully produce the most complex chips in the United States.
Today's chart
The global coal fleet grew by 2 percent last year, mainly driven by new capacity additions in China and slowing lockdowns in the European Union and the United States. A recent surge in coal power development puts China's 2025 climate goals at risk, despite the rapid spread of renewable energy in the country, analysts said.
Take a break from the news
Go behind the scenes with Wes Anderson, the American director behind Fantastic Mr Fox and The Grand Budapest Hotel. Speaking from the secret location of his latest production, Anderson tells HTSI's Jackie Daly how he builds his distinctive, colour-saturated worlds.
Additional contributions from T. Zhou and Nora Redmond
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