—— VW Considers Making Audi Models in the US; Uber in Talks to Acquire Turkish Food Delivery App Trendyol Go; US Jobless Claims by Federal Employees Tick Up; Trump May Abandon Ukraine Peace Talks “Within Days” Without Progress; China Halts US LNG Imports for Over 10 Weeks; One in Three German Companies Mulling Job Cuts; US Mortgage Rates See Biggest Weekly Jump in a Year, Threatening Spring Home Sales
1. VW Considers Making Audi Models in the US
Harvard University is pushing back after President Donald Trump said the school should lose its tax-exempt status, and multiple media outlets reported that the IRS is considering such a move — intensifying a growing confrontation between the federal government and the nation’s wealthiest university.
“There is no legal basis to rescind Harvard’s tax-exempt status,” university spokesman Jason Newton said in a statement late Wednesday, warning that such action would “undermine Harvard’s medical research efforts and diminish its ability to provide financial aid to students.”
With a $53 billion endowment, Harvard has become the highest-profile university resisting Trump’s efforts to reshape higher education through funding pressure. The administration has already rescinded $400 million in federal grants to Columbia University and frozen dozens of research contracts at Princeton, Cornell, and Northwestern.
While Harvard’s defiance has been met with praise from Democrats and many alumni — including former President Barack Obama — the financial retaliation has been swift and severe.
A federal task force on antisemitism announced Monday night that it will freeze $2.2 billion in multiyear research funding. Federal agencies have also said they are reviewing approximately $9 billion in grants and contracts awarded to the Cambridge-based institution.
Analysts say the clash may become a landmark battle over the limits of political influence on academic institutions and the future structure of federal funding for US universities.
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2. Uber in Talks to Acquire Turkish Food Delivery App Trendyol Go
Uber Technologies Inc. is in discussions to acquire Trendyol Go, a food and grocery delivery service operated by one of Turkey’s leading e-commerce platforms, according to people familiar with the matter.
Terms of the potential deal were not disclosed, and no final agreement has been reached. The negotiations may still fall through, said the sources, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. Representatives for Uber and Trendyol Go declined to comment.
Trendyol Go is part of Trendyol Group, a major Turkish digital commerce player with operations across e-commerce, logistics, and fintech. The company is majority-owned by Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
The deal would mark another step in Uber’s strategy to expand its food delivery operations via acquisitions. The San Francisco-based firm acquired Postmates in 2020 and alcohol delivery startup Drizly in 2021.
However, Uber’s M&A efforts have faced challenges. Just last month, the company scrapped its planned acquisition of Delivery Hero’s Foodpanda business in Taiwan after failing to receive antitrust approval. Uber reportedly paid a $250 million termination fee for that deal.
Uber’s path in Turkey has also seen complications. In 2019, an Istanbul court banned its ride-hailing operations over unfair competition claims. The decision led to a rise in unregulated taxi services, prompting a policy reversal. Uber re-entered the market in 2021 by enabling traditional taxicabs on its platform.
Analysts say the proposed acquisition, if completed, could strengthen Uber’s delivery footprint in Turkey and the broader Middle East region — while highlighting an emerging pattern of Chinese-backed assets being acquired by US tech firms in global markets.
Source: Bloomberg – Uber in Talks to Buy Turkish Delivery Platform Trendyol Go
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3. US Jobless Claims by Federal Employees Tick Up
New applications for unemployment benefits filed by federal workers rose for a second consecutive week, approaching levels last seen in January, before the Trump administration began widespread layoffs across government agencies.
According to data released Thursday by the Department of Labor, there were 629 new claims filed under the Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) program in the week ending April 12, up from 542 the previous week.
Through March, civilian non-postal federal employment fell by 12,400 workers, or 0.5% — the steepest quarterly drop since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. The decline follows President Donald Trump’s sweeping federal workforce reduction, coordinated with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, which aims to cut tens of thousands of jobs.
So far, the layoffs haven’t translated into a sustained surge in unemployment filings. While claims briefly spiked in late February, they have since tracked closely with 2023 levels.
Some analysts suggest the muted impact may be temporary. Fired workers might not yet be claiming benefits due to severance pay, reemployment, or pending legal reviews of their termination. As such, filings could increase in the weeks or months ahead as the full scope of the cuts takes effect.
Source; Bloomberg – US Jobless Claims by Federal Employees Ticked Up Last Week
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4. Trump May Abandon Ukraine Peace Talks “Within Days” Without Progress
President Donald Trump is poised to abandon efforts to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine “within days” unless he sees meaningful progress, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Friday.
“We’re not going to pursue the Ukraine talks for weeks or months,” Rubio told reporters, stressing that if no breakthrough is imminent, the administration will “focus on other priorities.”
“If it’s not possible — if we’re so far apart that this is not going to happen — then I think the president is at a point where he is going to say, well, we’re done,” Rubio added.
The remarks follow a day-long meeting in Paris on Thursday hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron. The US delegation included Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff, and was joined by officials from Ukraine, the UK, and Germany.
Rubio emphasized that “we’re not going to continue to fly all over the world and do meeting after meeting after meeting if no progress is being made.” He said Trump “felt strongly” that the diplomatic process must move swiftly, with clarity emerging “in a matter of days, not weeks.”
However, Vice President JD Vance sounded a more hopeful note just hours later, saying in Rome that there had been “positive developments” in the talks within the last 24 hours.
“We do feel optimistic that we hopefully can bring this war — this very brutal war — to a close,” Vance said during a meeting with Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a vocal supporter of Ukraine.
Analysts say the split messaging underscores a strategic mix of pressure and optimism, as the US administration seeks to gauge whether meaningful diplomacy remains viable. A follow-up meeting among allies is expected next week in London.
Source: Financial Times – Trump will abandon Ukraine peace talks ‘in days’ without progress, warns Rubio
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5. China Halts US LNG Imports for Over 10 Weeks
China has completely stopped importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States for more than 10 weeks, shipping data show, highlighting how escalating trade tensions are now spilling over into energy cooperation.
The last shipment arrived in China on February 6 — a 69,000-tonne tanker from Corpus Christi, Texas, that docked in Fujian province. No US-origin LNG has been received since then.
A second US-bound tanker was diverted to Bangladesh after failing to arrive before China imposed a 15% tariff on February 10. That tariff has since risen to 49%, rendering US LNG economically unviable for Chinese buyers for the foreseeable future.
The halt echoes a similar blockade during Donald Trump’s first presidential term, when Chinese imports of US LNG were suspended for more than a year.
Energy analysts say this renewed rupture may have longer-term consequences. “There will be long-term consequences,” said Anne-Sophie Corbeau, a gas specialist at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy. “I do not think Chinese LNG importers will ever contract any new US LNG.”
The situation could push China to deepen energy ties with Russia and other suppliers, while casting doubt on the multibillion-dollar expansion of LNG export terminals currently underway in the US and Mexico.
Source: Financial Times – China stops buying liquefied gas from US
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6. One in Three German Companies Mulling Job Cuts
About one in three German companies is considering layoffs this year amid ongoing pessimism over the country’s economic outlook, according to a new report released Friday by the German Economic Institute (IW).
The Cologne-based think tank surveyed over 2,000 firms in March and April. While business sentiment has improved slightly since the end of 2024, expectations for 2025 remain grim — particularly in the manufacturing and construction sectors. “Only in the services sector did optimists once again outnumber pessimists,” the report said.
Germany’s economy contracted for a second consecutive year in 2024, battered by weak global demand for its industrial goods and lingering fallout from the energy crisis. Hopes that the new government’s fiscal stimulus would spur growth have faded rapidly in recent months, particularly after the United States imposed fresh tariffs on imported cars.
Separate levies on the European Union have been suspended for now, pending further negotiations between Washington and Brussels.
“The tariff war is placing an enormous strain on day-to-day business,” said Michael Grömling, head of macroeconomics at IW. “Donald Trump’s mood swings come at an inopportune time and are a real test for the German economy.”
Grömling urged the German government to coordinate closely with EU leaders to implement countermeasures and give businesses the predictability they need to weather the challenges ahead.
Source: Bloomberg – A Third of German Firms Plan Job Cuts in 2025, Think Tank Says
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7. US Mortgage Rates See Biggest Weekly Jump in a Year, Threatening Spring Home Sales
US mortgage rates rose for the first time in four weeks, posting the largest weekly gain since April 2024 and threatening to cool the housing market during the crucial spring buying season.
The average rate for a 30-year fixed loan climbed to 6.83% from 6.62% the previous week, Freddie Mac said in a statement Thursday.
The surge comes as global tariff tensions — particularly between the US and China — have rattled equity markets and pushed up yields on 10-year US Treasuries, which serve as a benchmark for mortgage pricing.
“When [the 10-year yield] rises, mortgage rates typically follow suit,” said Jiayi Xu, an economist at Realtor.com. “Looking forward, competing economic forces are pulling mortgage rates in opposite directions, making it increasingly difficult to predict where they’ll land.”
Demand is already showing signs of weakening. According to data from Redfin Corp., home-purchase contracts in the four weeks ending April 13 fell 0.8% from a year earlier.
“Consumers are feeling anxious about the economy and the rising cost of living, potentially leading them to adopt a ‘wait-and-see’ approach regarding significant purchases like homes,” said Kara Ng, senior economist at Zillow Home Loans.
Source: Bloomberg – US Mortgage Rates Surge by Most in a Year as Tariffs Hit Markets
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