Gulf pressured to buy drones from Powerus backed by Trump's sons, SpaceX IPO, S Korea's export record, US to block Chinese chipmaking, McCormick M&A, Sakura Internet surges, Starbucks Boyu deal

Trump requested a $1.5 trillion defense budget for fiscal year 2027. Powerus, a military drone company backed by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., is under scrutiny for putting "enormous pressure" on Gulf nations to purchase its defensive drone interceptors. US MATCH Act targets Chinese chipmaking capabilities to protect the U.S. lead in artificial intelligence. Japanese cloud and data center provider Sakura Internet surged by as much as 20%, following the announcement of a $10 billion AI investment by Microsoft. McCormick & Co. will acquire Unilever's food business, Sysco Corp. will buy Jetro Restaurant Depot. Nike’s ongoing struggles in the Chinese market. Additionally, the sources examine regulatory actions, including new American pharmaceutical tariffs. Russia's aggressive attempts to block Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) triggered a massive failure in the country's domestic payment systems. Economic data reveals a cooling labor market in the United States and a downturn for North American farmers, contrasted by record-breaking semiconductor exports from South Korea. Taken together, these stories depict a global economy increasingly defined by technological competition, nationalist trade policies, and high-stakes investments in artificial intelligence.