Trump-backed sale of Panama ports to US consortium delayed amid Beijing scrutiny
Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing's company, CK Hutchison, is delaying next week's sale of its Panama Canal port operations to a BlackRock-led consortium, amid Beijing's scrutiny of the $19 billion deal, according to multiple reports.
The deal was expected to be signed on April 2, but has been postponed due to the complexities of the transaction, a source told the South China Morning Post, which first reported the news. A Chinese market regulator said Friday it is set to vet the deal.
The deal was backed by US President Donald Trump who has complained about the presence of Chinese companies in the canal through which 40% of US container traffic passes annually. However, the deal reportedly angered Chinese leader Xi Jinping who had been planning to use the Panama ports as a bargaining chip with Washington. Beijing has told state-owned companies to hold off new collaborations with businesses linked to Li Ka-Shing.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
an hour ago
Trump signs measure blocking California's ban on new sales of gas-powered cars
WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump signed a resolution on Thursday that blocks California's first-in-the-nation rule banning the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. The state quickly announced it was challenging the move in court, with California's attorney general holding a news conference to discuss the lawsuit before Trump's signing ceremony ended at the White House. The resolution was approved by Congress last month and aims to quash the country's most aggressive attempt to phase out gas-powered cars. Trump also signed measures to overturn state policies curbing tailpipe emissions in certain vehicles and smog-forming nitrogen oxide pollution from trucks. Trump called California's regulations 'crazy' at a White House ceremony where he signed the resolutions. 'It's been a disaster for this country,' he said. It comes as the Republican president is mired in a clash with California's Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, over Trump's move to deploy troops to Los Angeles in response to immigration protests. It's the latest in an ongoing battle between the Trump administration and heavily Democratic California over issues including tariffs, the rights of LGBTQ+ youth and funding for electric vehicle chargers. The state is already involved in more than two-dozen lawsuits challenging Trump administration actions, and the state's Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the latest one at a news conference in California. Ten other states, all with Democratic attorneys general, joined the lawsuit filed Thursday. 'The federal government's actions are not only unlawful; they're irrational and wildly partisan,' Bonta said. 'They come at the direct expense of the health and the well-being of our people.' The three resolutions Trump signed will block California's rule phasing out gas-powered cars and end the sale of new ones by 2035. They will also kill rules that phase out the sale of medium- and heavy-duty diesel vehicles and cut tailpipe emissions from trucks. In his remarks at the White House, Trump expressed doubts about the performance and reliability of electric vehicles, though he had some notably positive comments about the company owned by Elon Musk, despite their fractured relationship. 'I like Tesla,' Trump said. In remarks that often meandered away from the subject at hand, Trump used the East Room ceremony to also muse on windmills, which he claimed 'are killing our country,' the prospect of getting electrocuted by an electric-powered boat if it sank and whether he'd risk a shark attack by jumping as the boat went down. 'I'll take electrocution every single day," the president said. When it comes to cars, Trump said he likes combustion engines but for those that prefer otherwise, 'If you want to buy electric, you can buy electric.' 'What this does is it gives us freedom,' said Bill Kent, the owner of Kent Kwik convenience stores. Kent, speaking at the White House, said that the California rules would have forced him to install 'infrastructure that frankly, is extremely expensive and doesn't give you any return.' The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents major car makers, applauded Trump's action. 'Everyone agreed these EV sales mandates were never achievable and wildly unrealistic,' John Bozzella, the group's president and CEO, said in a statement. Newsom, who is considered a likely 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, and California officials contend that what the federal government is doing is illegal and said the state plans to sue. Newsom said Trump's action was a continuation of his 'all-out assault' on California. 'And this time he's destroying our clean air and America's global competitiveness in the process,' Newsom said in a statement. 'We are suing to stop this latest illegal action by a President who is a wholly-owned subsidiary of big polluters.' The signings come as Trump has pledged to revive American auto manufacturing and boost oil and gas drilling. The move follows other steps the Trump administration has taken to roll back rules that aim to protect air and water and reduce emissions that cause climate change. The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday proposed repealing rules that limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants fueled by coal and natural gas. Dan Becker with the Center for Biological Diversity, said the signing of the resolutions was 'Trump's latest betrayal of democracy.' 'Signing this bill is a flagrant abuse of the law to reward Big Oil and Big Auto corporations at the expense of everyday people's health and their wallets,' Becker said in a statement. California, which has some of the nation's worst air pollution, has been able to seek waivers for decades from the EPA, allowing it to adopt stricter emissions standards than the federal government. In his first term, Trump revoked California's ability to enforce its standards, but Democratic President Joe Biden reinstated it in 2022. Trump has not yet sought to revoke it again. Republicans have long criticized those waivers and earlier this year opted to use the Congressional Review Act, a law aimed at improving congressional oversight of actions by federal agencies, to try to block the rules. That's despite a finding from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan congressional watchdog, that California's standards cannot legally be blocked using the Congressional Review Act. The Senate parliamentarian agreed with that finding. California, which makes up roughly 11% of the U.S. car market, has significant power to sway trends in the auto industry. About a dozen states signed on to adopt California's rule phasing out the sale of new gas-powered cars.
Business Wire
an hour ago
- Business Wire
Rosen Law Firm Encourages GeneDx Holdings Corp. Investors to Inquire About Securities Class Action Investigation
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Why: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, announces an investigation of potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of GeneDx Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: WGS) resulting from allegations that GeneDx may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public. So What: If you purchased GeneDx securities you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. The Rosen Law Firm is preparing a class action seeking recovery of investor losses. What to do next: To join the prospective class action, go to or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email case@ for information on the class action. What is this about: On February 5, 2025, Grizzly Research published a report entitled 'Insiders Attest that GeneDx (Nasdaq: WGS) Is Actively Committing Widespread Fraud.' This report stated that Grizzly believed that GeneDx's 'growth is largely an illusion, driven by fraudulent schemes and illegal tactics deliberately aimed at exploiting Medicaid and Medicare systems to artificially inflate revenue.' On this news, GeneDx stock fell 6.7% on February 5, 2025. Why Rosen Law: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company at the time. At the time, Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone, the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by Law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: on Twitter: or on Facebook: Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
CNBC
an hour ago
- CNBC
BlackRock outlines vision for the future, and Oracle gives a lift to the AI trade
Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street. Market update: Wall Street overcame a weaker open to trade higher by Thursday afternoon. The S & P 500 is looking to get back to its winning ways after a three-session winning streak was snapped a day earlier. New data helped by showing the economy is holding up well. Wholesale prices for May rose less than expected, while jobless claims for the week ended June 7 were unchanged. However, a lack of news on President Donald Trump's tariff policies, especially an update on its deal with China, seem to be keeping a lid on stocks. AI trade: Most of our stocks linked to the AI infrastructure trade are higher Thursday, and Oracle — and its strong quarterly results fueled by its cloud-computing segment — is likely to thank for that. Broadcom and Nvidia , which design the data center chips that fuel AI applications, are up roughly 0.8% and 1.1%, respectively. Eaton , which makes electrical equipment and power systems that help run data centers, is up about 1.5%. GE Vernova , whose gas and wind turbines help generate the electricity that feeds data centers, was up fractionally. But keep in mind that GE Vernova, in particular, has been red hot lately, so it's not surprising to see a more modest move there. Blackrock updates: BlackRock hosted its 2025 investor day on Thursday. The focus of the day was on 2030 financial targets, including a reiteration of its 5% or greater organic base fee growth, and an adjusted operating margin goal of 45% or higher. The muted reaction in the stock may speak to investors hoping for more than a simple reiteration of the 5% or greater fee growth target. And while management did seem to emphasize the "or greater" part of the target, some on Wall Street were already expecting that emphasis, at a minimum. BlackRock is also looking to grow revenue at a 10% annual rate, achieve sales of more than $35 billion by 2030 (up from $20 billion in 2024), resulting in adjusted operating income of $15 billion (up from $8 billion in 2024). Of course, a major driver of this growth will be private markets and technology segment growth, which the firm is looking to more than double to 30% of revenue by 2030 from 15% in 2024. Driving the private markets growth is a goal of raising $400 billion in gross assets by 2030. The Club's Morgan Chittum this week wrote about BlackRock's strategic move into private markets, and how its smallest deal of 2024 may end up being its most consequential. Up next: Software giant Adobe and RH , the luxury home furnishings seller, are set to report after the bell Thursday. Another thing on our radar after the close is an interview on CNBC with Advanced Micro Devices CEO Lisa Su. Fresh off the chipmaker's "Advancing AI" event, we look forward to her thoughts on demand for AI processors generally and insights into the company's strategy for competing against Nvidia and Broadcom. The calendar is pretty light Friday on economic data, though we'll get the University of Michigan's latest consumer sentiment survey at 10 a.m. ET. (See here for a full list of the stocks in Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
