All posts tagged: BlackRock Inc

Analysts expect ‘stabilization’ in U.S.-China ties as Trump-Xi meet

Analysts expect ‘stabilization’ in U.S.-China ties as Trump-Xi meet

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a bilateral meeting at the Great Hall of the People on May 14, 2026 in Beijing, China. Alex Wong | Getty Images News | Getty Images As the world watches U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s historic summit, analysts suggest it could mark a reset in ties between the world’s top two economies. The two leaders are expected to discuss a slew of thorny issues, including Chinese purchases of American agricultural and industrial goods, tariffs, Taiwan, and rare earths, with the backdrop of the war in Iran.  After nine turbulent years, the summit could mark a “defining test” for the world’s G2 power dynamic, said Justin Feng, Asia economist at HSBC, pointing out that the U.S., China, and European Union now account for 60% of global GDP. The summit builds on Trump and Xi’s meeting late last year in South Korea that led to a thaw in the trade war between the two countries, with Trump referring them as G2, sparking hopes …

Trade, Iran, Taiwan in focus

Trade, Iran, Taiwan in focus

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping as they hold a bilateral meeting at Gimhae International Airport, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, in Busan, South Korea, October 30, 2025. Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters President Donald Trump is set to meet face-to-face with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a high-stakes summit fraught with risk. The meetings in Beijing, set for Thursday and Friday, could be a watershed moment for the adversarial superpowers, whose fragile relationship has been snarled up by a flurry of economic and political conflicts in the past year alone. The lingering Iran war and a long-standing dispute over Taiwan are also expected to loom large over Trump and Xi’s discussions. Each of those thorny issues affects not just Washington and Beijing, but the rest of the world. “The stakes are extraordinarily high,” said Arthur Dong, a China expert and professor of strategy and economics at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. Trump is leaning into the hype. “Great things will happen for both Countries!” …

Trump invites Elon Musk, Tim Cook, Larry Fink for Xi China summit

Trump invites Elon Musk, Tim Cook, Larry Fink for Xi China summit

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump greets Elon Musk as he arrives to attend a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket on November 19, 2024 in Brownsville, Texas. Brandon Bell | Getty Images News | Getty Images President Donald Trump has invited executives from some of the biggest U.S. companies — including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Apple CEO Tim Cook, BlackRock’s CEO Larry Fink and Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg — to join his trip to China this week, according to a White House official. Also expected to join Trump’s delegation for meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping are Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman, Cargill’s Brian Sikes, Citigroup’s Jane Fraser, Coherent’s Jim Anderson, GE Aerospace’s H. Lawrence Culp Jr., Goldman Sachs’s David Solomon, Illumina’s Jacob Thaysen, Mastercard’s Michael Miebach, Meta Platforms executive Dina Powell McCormick, Micron Technology’s Sanjay Mehrotra, Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon and Visa’s Ryan McInerney, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the list has not been announced. A spokesperson for Cisco said CEO Chuck Robbins had been invited …

Markets on edge as fresh U.S.-Iran attacks dent optimism over a peace deal

Markets on edge as fresh U.S.-Iran attacks dent optimism over a peace deal

Published by Sam Flores

Veiled pro-government supporters stand in a line under a banner depicting portraits of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, as they wait to receive donated meals during a state-run religious rally in downtown Tehran, Iran, on April 29, 2026. Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images Up until the weekend, global markets had been betting on a fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran turning into a longer-term peace deal. But escalatory rhetoric, action over the Strait of Hormuz, and fresh Iranian attacks on the United Arab Emirates over the past 48 hours, have led experts to warn war could be back. Market analysts said the latest developments could mark an inflection point in the war and a critical moment for financial markets and global energy supplies, which are dwindling as the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed. “It’s an incredibly delicate moment,” Ben Powell, chief investment strategist for APAC at BlackRock, told CNBC Tuesday. “It’s very unsettling to have our first missile warnings here in Abu Dhabi for several weeks. …

Pete Hegseth’s broker attempted to make defense investments before Iran war

Pete Hegseth’s broker attempted to make defense investments before Iran war

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth holds a briefing with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine, amid the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 19, 2026. Evan Vucci | Reuters A broker for U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sought to make a large investment in major defense companies in the lead up to the Iran war, according to the Financial Times. The Pentagon has dismissed the report. The Financial Times reported Tuesday that Hegseth’s broker at banking giant Morgan Stanley contacted BlackRock in February about making a multimillion-dollar investment in its iShares Defense Industrials Active ETF. The ETF, which has about $3.1 billion in assets, counts companies such as RTX Corp, — formerly known as Raytheon — Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman among its largest holdings, Blackrock data showed. The Defense Industrials Active ETF has lost 12.4% in the past one month, about the time when the Iran war started, according to LSEG data. The FT also said that the investment discussed by Hegseth’s broker …

Panama cancels China-linked port deal, hands canal terminals to Maersk, MSC

Panama cancels China-linked port deal, hands canal terminals to Maersk, MSC

Published by Sam Flores

This aerial view shows a cargo ship sailing out of the Panama Canal on the Pacific side in Panama City on October 6, 2025. Martin Bernetti | Afp | Getty Images Panama annulled key port contracts held by a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison in its official gazette Monday, transferring interim operations of the ports to Danish shipping giants A.P. Moller-Maersk and Swiss-based Mediterranean Shipping Co. The notice formalized a Supreme Court ruling last month that the concessions for the Balboa and Cristobal terminals near the Panama Canal, which Panama Port Company (PPC), a subsidiary of CK Hutchison, had held for more than two decades, were unconstitutional. The Panamanian government on Monday formally assumed control of the port facilities, including cranes, vehicles, computer systems and software under a decree aimed at ensuring uninterrupted operations until a new concession is awarded within 18 months. Under the interim arrangement, APM Terminals, a unit of Maersk, will operate the Balboa port on the Pacific side of the canal, while MSC’s port operating subsidiary, Terminal Investment, will run …