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BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — An upset presidential election victory in Romania on Sunday by a pro-European Union centrist over a hard-right nationalist eased fears among many in the Balkan nation that their political future was being swept up in the tide of right-wing populism spreading across Europe.Final results from the presidential race showed Nicusor Dan winning 53.6% of the vote, ahead of the hard-right candidate George Simion, who during the campaign portrayed his movement as championing conservative values like patriotism, sovereignty and the family, and who styled himself as the Romanian analogue to U.S. President Donald Trump. Sunday’s victory for…

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the worldUS assets sold off on Monday as fiscal concerns mounted following the loss of the country’s triple-A credit rating and Donald Trump’s massive tax and budget bill clearing a hurdle in Congress. Yields on 30-year US Treasuries rose as much as 0.06 percentage points to 5 per cent on Monday during trading in Asia, their highest level since April 9, when Trump’s tariffs triggered a global sell-off of US assets.US equity futures for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq declined…

Ferozsons Laboratories Limited (FEROZ) is considering acquiring Barrett Hodgson Pakistan Pvt. Limited, a pharmaceutical company, in partnership with a consortium of prominent Pakistani business groups. The listed company shared the development in a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday. “The Board of Directors (BoD) in their emergent board meeting held on May 17, 2025 reviewed the proposal recommended by the investment committee for the potential acquisition of Barrett Hodgson Pakistan Pvt. Limited, in conjunction with a consortium comprising leading business groups of Pakistan,” read the notice. As per the notice, the BoD further authorised the Chief Executive…

This article is an on-site version of our Unhedged newsletter. Premium subscribers can sign up here to get the newsletter delivered every weekday. Standard subscribers can upgrade to Premium here, or explore all FT newslettersGood morning. Moody’s lowered the US’s credit rating to Aa1 from the top AAA on Friday. This marks the first time in history the US government doesn’t have a triple-A credit rating from any of the big three major rating agencies. So far, 10-year Treasury yields have only risen 4 basis points. Will the calm last today? Email us: robert.armstrong@ft.com, aiden.reiter@ft.com and hakyung.kim@ft.com. US and Chinese market…

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portugal’s president was due to convene the country’s political parties for consultations on Monday, after a general election delivered another minority government as well as an unprecedented showing by populist party Chega (Enough) that added momentum to Europe’s shift to the far-right.The center-right Democratic Alliance, led by the Social Democratic Party, captured 89 seats in the 230-seat National Assembly to win Sunday’s ballot. The outcome leaves it without a parliamentary majority, however, and vulnerable to opposition parties that ousted it two months ago in a confidence vote after less than a year in power.Portugal’s third general…

Rupee’s Performance Against US Dollar Since 04 March 2025 The Pakistani rupee saw marginal decline against the US dollar, depreciating 0.04% in the inter-bank market on Monday. At close, the local currency settled at 281.77, a loss of Re0.11 against the greenback. During the previous week, the rupee posted a marginal gain against the US dollar as it appreciated by Re0.05 or 0.02% in the inter-bank market. The local unit closed at 281.66, against 281.71 it had closed the week earlier against the greenback, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). Internationally, the US dollar trimmed a four-week gain…

As speculation mounts over a potential acquisition of Indonesian consumer tech giant GoTo by Singapore-based Grab, analysts warn the deal could face opposition in Indonesia over foreign ownership concerns and the regional clout of the potential owner.The reported deal would value GoTo at around US$7 billion, according to a Reuters report on May 7, citing two unnamed sources familiar with the matter. The proposal reportedly involves Grab acquiring GoTo’s international unit and most of its domestic business – excluding its finance arm.If the deal is confirmed, it could be finalised as early as the second quarter, heralding a major consolidation…

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed mixed trading on Monday, as its benchmark KSE-100 Index swayed in both directions before closing the day flat. The KSE-100 started the first session of the week positive, hitting an intra-day high of 120,285.55, followed by selling pressure that pushed the index to an intra-day low of 119,250.68. Later, buying returned in the final hours and helped the KSE-100 erase the earlier losses. At close, the benchmark index settled at 119,689.63, marginally up by 40.49 points or 0.03%. “The steady upward bias was supported by investor optimism following the release of a detailed International…

Investors faced yet another bumpy start to the trading week with US assets coming under fresh pressure, although it’s mounting concern over American debt rather than tariffs generating volatility this time.Longer-dated Treasuries dipped with US equity futures and the dollar in early Asia trading after Moody’s Ratings announced on Friday evening it was stripping the American government of its top credit rating, dropping the country to Aa1 from AAA. The company, which trailed rivals, blamed successive presidents and congressional lawmakers for a ballooning budget deficit it said showed little sign of narrowing.The downgrade risks reinforcing Wall Street’s growing worries over…

Home prices in major cities in mainland China stabilised, holding onto recent gains as lower borrowing costs and state-led measures to support developers helped inject confidence in the market.Prices of new homes in China’s four first-tier cities were unchanged in April from a month ago, following a 0.1 per cent rise in March, according to data covering 70 large and medium-sized cities published by the statistics bureau on Monday. Prices in second-tier cities were also unchanged, while those in third-tier cities slipped 0.2 per cent, it added.Beijing and Shanghai recorded a 0.1 per cent and 0.5 per cent gain, respectively,…