April 12 update

Diplomats urged Iran to exercise caution after America warned that the Islamic Republic could launch a “significant attack” against Israel. Germany’s foreign minister urged her Iranian counterpart to exert “maximum restraint”; the Kremlin said it was critical for Middle Eastern countries to avoid “a complete destabilisation of the situation”. America asked other countries, including China and Turkey, to urge Iran not to attack Israel. “Whoever harms us, we will harm them,” said Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister.

Joe Biden said America’s defence commitments to Japan and the Philippines were “ironclad”, at a summit of the three countries’ leaders. Mr Biden said that an attack on Filipino ships in the South China Sea would “invoke” the America-Philippines defence treaty. China spuriously claims almost all of the sea, and regularly hassles littoral countries’ vessels there. On Wednesday America beefed up its military ties with Japan.

Truong My Lan, a property tycoon and one of Vietnam’s wealthiest people, was sentenced to death after she was found guilty of bribery, embezzlement and violating banking rules. Prosecutors said some $12.5bn was embezzled. Ms Lan had denied wrongdoing and can appeal against the sentence. The trial is part of the “blazing furnace” anti-corruption campaign launched by Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party.

Russia launched a big attack on Ukraine’s infrastructure, destroying the Trypilska electricity plant, Kyiv’s biggest power plant. Strikes also hit power plants elsewhere in Ukraine, leaving around 200,000 people in Kharkiv, the second-largest city, without electricity. Seven people were killed and many more were injured.

The European Central Bank voted to keep interest rates steady at 4%. However, it signalled that rate cuts could come soon: the central bank said it “would be appropriate” to lower rates if inflation keeps falling. This was the first time the ECB has publicly discussed cutting rates since it began tightening policy. The economy is weak: growth across the euro zone averaged 0.4% last year.

Mizuhara Ippei, a former translator for Ohtani Shohei, a Major League Baseball mega-star, was charged with bank fraud. Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles say that Mr Mizuhara stole $16m from Mr Ohtani to pay off gambling debts. The Justice Department said it had no evidence that Mr Ohtani was aware of the scheme.

Orenthal James (“O.J.”) Simpson, a former American-football player whose murder trial in 1995 gripped America, died aged 76. Mr Simpson, who was black, was acquitted of killing his ex-wife and her friend, who were both white. Some 150m people watched the verdict live on television. The result left Americans “screeching with anger or squealing with delight”, The Economist wrote at the time.

Figure of the day: $25trn, the value that climate change and the fight against it could wipe from the world’s housing by 2050. Read the full story.

In the run-up to America’s presidential election, we’ve launched The US in brief—a daily update to help you keep on top of the political stories that matter. Sign up here to receive it as a newsletter, each weekday, in your inbox.

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photo: getty images

China’s economy in the spotlight

China’s economic data were encouraging in the first two months of the year. Both inflation and exports were stronger than forecast. Indeed China’s trade surplus has fanned fears about its industrial overcapacity. On Monday Janet Yellen, America’s treasury secretary, warned during a trip to Beijing that flooding the global market with “artificially cheap Chinese products” could put the “viability” of foreign firms into question.

Can China’s upturn last? The data for March will provide some clues. Figures released this week showed that consumer prices rose by only 0.1% compared with a year earlier, suggesting the rise in inflation earlier in the year was largely a result of the Chinese new year holiday. Trade figures released on Friday are also likely to be weak in comparison with last year, when China’s ports enjoyed a post-pandemic boost. If the data are disappointing, China can at least claim that its export machine is not as scary as its critics think.

photo: ap

A row over US Steel

Kishida Fumio, Japan’s prime minister, received a pomp-filled welcome in Washington this week. Nippon Steel has faced a far frostier reception in the Capitol since the Japanese steelmaker struck a deal to buy US Steel, America’s third-largest producer of steel, for $15bn in December. On Friday US Steel’s shareholders will vote on the aquisition. They will probably approve the agreement, but staunch political opposition to the transaction could still cause it to fall apart.

Last month President Joe Biden said the steelmaker should remain domestically owned, joining Donald Trump and the union representing steelworkers in calling for the deal to be scrapped. Nippon is yet to throw in the towel, though the transaction now faces scrutiny from America’s investment-screening watchdog and antitrust authorities. Markets do not rate Nippon’s chances of success—shares in US Steel currently change hands at around a 25% discount to Nippon’s all-cash offer.

photo: getty images

Trouble on Wall Street

Three of America’s biggest lenders—Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo—will report first-quarter earnings on Friday. Investors will be watching for signs of trouble. Data released on Wednesday showed a bigger rise in the consumer price index than expected, suggesting that inflation is yet to be vanquished. Interest rates may remain higher for longer than bankers expected.

That has upsides for lenders (more interest income) but also risks. It will keep up the pressure on their borrowers, who might struggle with repayments. Commercial-property losses have piled up at smaller banks, while consumers have been falling behind on auto and credit-card loans. Bankers’ interest costs have been climbing, too, as customers take advantage of high-yield savings accounts.

Shareholders will be watching Citi especially closely, after it completed an overhaul of its business at the end of March. The bank laid off 5,000 people, including 1,500 in management roles. Its earnings should reveal the cost of the transition.

photo: alamy

Britain’s Post Office scandal

Between 1999 and 2015 almost 1,000 sub-postmasters in Britain’s Post Office were wrongfully convicted for theft and other charges owing to a faulty online payments system. For decades, the scandal was under-reported. The company insisted the system worked, while campaigners strove to prove otherwise. The arguments were technical and a little dull: neither politicians, nor the public, paid much attention.

That all changed in January, when a hit television series dramatised the affair. Politicians promised exoneration and compensation. Some suggested executives should hand bonuses back or be criminally prosecuted. Paula Vennells, the Post Office’s former chief executive, returned her CBE, a national honour. A public inquiry that will last months is now hearing from many of those involved. On Friday Alan Cook, another former executive, will face questioning. He has said he will “never forgive himself” over the scandal. It is unlikely that others will be ready to forgive either.

photo: alamy

Amy Winehouse’s immense musical legacy

In 2011 Amy Winehouse, a British singer, died, aged 27. She was a figure about whom fans knew everything and nothing. Each salacious detail of her chaotic life was exposed in the media glare. But the reality of what made her—and her music—tick was more obscure.

Alas, a film biopic, “Back To Black”, released in Britain on Friday, offers few insights. It focuses on Winehouse’s troubled marriage and her time in the public eye. The narrative of a tragic celebrity addict overshadows the impact of her work, which was not only thrilling in its own right but also defined a style of pop music. One artist after another has vied for her vacant throne as the queen of dramatic retro soul. None has yet claimed it. But the breakout success of Raye—a record winner at this year’s Brit Awards—could change that. And prove that Winehouse’s musical legacy is greater than her tabloid legend.