Daily Dispatches

By David Fickling
Bloomberg News
Tuesday, May 5, 2026

The fight over U.S. sanctions on China's oil refining companies is being framed as a battle over high principles. In fact, it's about raw power.

Beijing on Saturday ordered five domestic refiners to ignore U.S. restrictions announced last month over their alleged connection to trade in Iranian oil. Those clashing legal mandates potentially create a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't situation for the firms, and for any banks, insurers, chemicals groups, and shipping lines that deal with them.

By Tavares Cebola
Bloomberg News
Tuesday, May 5, 2026

Mozambique is considering converting the $1.4 billion it owes China into renminbi loans as part of a debt restructuring with its biggest bilateral creditor, in line with similar moves by other African sovereign borrowers.

"This is usually a possibility that the cooperation partner raises," the finance ministry said in response to questions at the weekend. "In this specific case, it was a valid possibility that was put on the table."

... Dispatch continues below ...

From The King Report, Burr Ridge, Illinois
Tuesday, May 5, 2026
https://thekingreport.com/

... On Friday, when confronted by a reporter about soaring energy prices, Trump said people are making a lot of money in their 401Ks and other stock market holdings. Obviously Trump is extremely, one might say overly, sensitive to the stock market.

Astute traders recognize this and wonder to what degree he and Bessant are rigging or intervening in the markets. 'Tis why dips are short-lived! ...

By Aw Cheng Wei and Joyce Z.K. Lim
The Straits Times, Singapore
Friday, May 1, 2026

CHONGQING / SHENZHEN, China -- Office executive Xu Tanji was contemplating buying a gold pendant for her mother's birthday at a neighbourhood jewellery store near her house in Chongqing when she saw news reports about counterfeit gold.

State broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) reported on April 26 that fraudsters had been mixing rhenium -- a silvery rare metal that costs a fraction of the price of gold -- with the precious metal to make fakes that are hard to detect.