Category: Semafor

Alexis’s view China’s scrapping of tariffs on imports from 53 African countries, which takes effect today, is a soft power masterstroke. On the face of it, the policy marks a major market access opportunity for the continent, and positions Beijing as a trusted ally in stark contrast to Washington, which ...

Two new trade deals that come into effect today suggest a global rebalancing of commerce away from the US in response to President Donald Trump’s protectionist policies. A free trade deal between South America’s biggest trading bloc, Mercosur, and the EU came into force, and all but one African nation ...

Eli Lilly saw first-quarter profits double as sales of its weight-loss drug soared. GLP-1 drugs have changed not just the pharmaceutical industry — although they have, briefly making Novo Nordisk Europe’s biggest company by market capitalization — but also people’s health and habits. US obesity peaked in 2022 after decades ...

An AI model outperformed physicians at diagnosing in emergency room conditions, a study showed. ER diagnoses are challenging, characterized by limited information and little time, but high-stakes outcomes: A fever could be a seasonal flu, or it could be life-threatening sepsis. The researchers tested an OpenAI model, giving it medical ...

Chinese authorities doubled down on pledges to build independent AI capabilities, with one top official saying Beijing must “withstand any containment or suppression.” The remarks, taken alongside China blocking Meta’s acquisition of the AI startup Manus, point to Beijing’s growing focus on being able to wall itself off from foreign suppliers ...

Companies are racing to take advantage of government subsidies to replace aging elevators in China. The country’s early-2000s construction boom saw millions of buildings go up; now, hundreds of thousands of elevators are reaching the end of their useful life, and Beijing is offering financial support for an upgrade program. ...

Public backlash is growing in Russia in response to Moscow’s efforts to tighten control over the internet. The government in recent months has imposed restrictions including blocking or throttling popular apps like Telegram, WhatsApp, and YouTube. More ordinary Russians are starting to speak out, in a rare chorus of dissent. ...

US GDP rose 2% in the first three months of 2026, new data showed Thursday, driven by AI investment. The expansion fell short of Wall Street’s expectations as consumers pulled back slightly on spending — a key inflation gauge rose to its highest point in nearly three years in March. ...

China’s manufacturing sector is holding up despite the Iran war, even as the country’s broader economy showed vulnerabilities. Factory activity expanded in April for a second straight month, driven by persistent demand for exports — a trend that suggests higher oil prices haven’t blunted industrial momentum. But cracks are emerging ...

US stocks on Thursday wrapped up their best month since 2020, as investors shrugged off disruptions from the Iran war and picked winners and losers in Big Tech. A day after quarterly earnings reports pointed to a surge in AI investments among the world’s largest tech firms, Meta and Microsoft’s ...