Eloi Suinot

Harvard vs. Trump: tug-of-war over academic freedom

Donald Trump has announced the freezing of 2.2 billion in federal subsidies and 60 million in contracts intended for Harvard. The backdrop: his crusade against wokeness and anti-Semitism. The president is engaging in a standoff with the most prestigious American university, which he accuses of not doing enough to combat the excesses on its campus.

April 16, 2025 at 04:59 am

Zuckerberg under legal pressure

Meta is facing a major antitrust lawsuit, which began in the United States this week. In the firing line is the alleged abusive takeovers of Instagram and WhatsApp, two acquisitions which the authorities say have distorted competition. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is leading the charge, with Mark Zuckerberg's hearing scheduled for Tuesday. If the courts rule in favor of the FTC, Meta could be forced to sell these two key platforms.

April 15, 2025 at 09:37 am

Xi Jinping on a strategic tour of Southeast Asia

Xi Jinping begins a crucial diplomatic tour of Southeast Asia on Monday. Three countries are on the Chinese president's agenda: Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia. Three key partners chosen for both economic and geopolitical reasons. Three stops that mark the Chinese leader's very first visits abroad this year. None of this is a coincidence.

April 15, 2025 at 05:26 am

Goldman Sachs in the wake of its rivals

While we await tomorrow's results from Citigroup and Bank of America, Goldman Sachs offered us a glimpse of its quarterly results today, providing a solid overview of its financial health. After a 12% fall in its share price since the announcement of tariffs, the publication was eagerly awaited. The result: revenues up 15%, a share buyback program of up to $40bn and, like its competitors, record revenues from equity trading.

April 14, 2025 at 11:06 am

Panama stuck between the giants

Dug by the United States in 1914, the Panama Canal came under Panamanian control in 1999. A transition that Donald Trump likes to recall as a strategic error, especially in view of China's growing power in the region. Today, the Americans and the Chinese are the two main users of this essential waterway, which alone accounts for 5% of the world's seaborne trade, and is therefore a source of great geopolitical tension.

April 14, 2025 at 10:27 am

Are American institutions turning pro-crypto?

Donald Trump has signed a law that overturns an IRS rule and eases obligations for decentralized finance (DeFi) players, which were previously treated as traditional finance brokers. Political interest and initiatives in favor of crypto-currencies are multiplying in Washington.

April 11, 2025 at 10:28 am

Banks: A reassuring first quarter despite the tremors

The first-quarter results of major US banks JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo were eagerly awaited this Friday. In focus: their exposure to the sharp sell-offs at the end of last week and the marked slowdown in strategic activities (mergers/acquisitions, IPOs, etc.).

April 11, 2025 at 09:34 am

Prada buys Versace to challenge French luxury giants

Just yesterday, the Wall Street Journal announced that the deal was likely to fail, but today the same newspaper confirms that Prada's takeover of Versace has been completed. Transaction value: ?1.25bn. The Italian group is said to have obtained a discount of $200 million in the final days of negotiations, thus becoming the leader in Italian luxury goods. The deal is expected to be finalized in the second half of 2025.

April 11, 2025 at 03:59 am

China prepares its economic weapons

Since 2018, China has equipped itself with an arsenal of trade tools capable of hitting hard without damaging its own economy. While the trade war could return to the forefront this summer, here are the levers Beijing could activate.

April 10, 2025 at 10:34 am

Faced with Washington, Chinese exporters are looking for a way out

The trade war between the United States and the rest of the world is no longer multilateral: it is now head-on and bilateral. Some people are delighted. Chinese companies are not. Faced with yet another dramatic increase in tariffs imposed by Donald Trump, many of them are preparing to raise their prices on Amazon or leave the US market altogether.

April 10, 2025 at 09:34 am

Rates, debt, inflation: the Fed under political fire

Appointed head of the Federal Reserve in 2018 by Donald Trump, Jerome Powell is now the target of repeated attacks from the presidential camp. The Fed chairman is stalling, as tariffs could bring both more inflation and less growth. Meanwhile, the American president wants lower interest rates in order to obtain more favorable financing conditions. Indeed, 9 trillion dollars of US debt matures in 2025.

April 09, 2025 at 10:40 am