Chief-Exec.com

US and Iran exchange strikes after downing of American helicopter
The US and Iran exchanged fire early on Wednesday following the downing of an American helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz, in the biggest flare-up between the warring parties since they agreed to a fragile ceasefire two months ago. The tit-for-tat strikes marked the latest test of the truce and came hours after President Donald Trump vowed to respond to Iran’s downing of the Apache helicopter, which had been patrolling the contested waterway. US Central Command, which oversees American military operations in the Middle East, said it had “completed self-defence strikes” against Iran, hitting “air defence, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites”. “The operation was a proportional response to recent attacks on US forces and international commercial ships transiting regional waters,” it said. Centcom said two crew members had been rescued from the downed Apache and were in a stable condition. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said its naval forces responded by carrying out a drone attack against the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and firing missiles at a US air base in Jordan. It said the US strikes had hit several locations in Jask, Sirik and Qeshm islands, damaging telecommunications and water infrastructure. Financial Times, June 10

US Congress approves $70 billion bill to fund Trump’s immigration crackdown
The US Congress on Tuesday passed a $70 billion bill funding President Donald Trump's hardline immigration crackdown through the rest of his term, ending months of bitter partisan fighting over the future of deportations and border enforcement. The measure - approved roughly along party lines in the House after clearing the Senate last week - now heads to Trump's desk and gives the Republican leader a major victory on one of his signature issues ahead of November's midterm elections. The bill provides about $38 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, $26 billion for Border Patrol and another $5 billion for unforeseen costs, effectively ensuring a steady flow of money for Trump's deportation agenda through fiscal 2029. Democrats, who opposed the bill, accused Republicans of handing the administration a blank check for aggressive enforcement tactics without new limits or oversight. France 24, June 10

Only one in 10 Europeans now see US as an ally, survey suggests
European confidence in an American “security guarantee” has hit a historic low, a survey suggests, with only one in 10 people across 15 countries seeing the US as an ally and majorities in all doubting it would come to their aid if they were attacked. The survey, published on Wednesday by the European Council on Foreign Relations thinktank before critical G7 and Nato summits in France and Turkey over the coming weeks, revealed “deep European distrust in the US”, the authors said. It also showed that, while many Europeans felt relations with Washington would improve once Donald Trump leaves office, they were increasingly ready in the meantime to protect themselves against US unreliability by bolstering Europe’s defence. The US president’s Middle East aggression, threats against Greenland, vows to withdraw troops from European bases and scepticism on the future of Nato had also prompted a growing European pragmatism, the report said. The Guardian, June 10

Boots mulls £7.5bn sale and could ditch planned IPO
The private equity owners of Boots are in talks over a £7.5 billion sale of the pharmacy chain, which would mean ditching plans for a £7 billion float in London. Sycamore Partners, which acquired Boots’s parent company Walgreens Boots Alliance for $23.7 billion last year, recently entered discussions with the Canadian branch of the billionaire Weston family and separately with Sigma Healthcare, the Australian pharmacy group. It is understood a London listing is still the preferred option for Sycamore, but sources said that if a suitable price were put forward and a deal could be done “now instead of in a year’s time, then why would you not explore the option”. Talks with potential buyers including the Weston family, who own the Canadian supermarket chain Loblaws and previously ran Selfridges in the UK, began before Easter, according to the Financial Times. They have since progressed and the Westons are vying with Sigma, which is listed in Australia and has a market capitalisation of about £18 billion, for control of Boots. The Times, June 9

Thames Water to pay £749mn under creditor takeover deal
Thames Water will be on the hook to pay £749mn, including advisory fees to bankers and lawyers, if a controversial deal that would hand senior creditors control of the utility is approved. The emergency deal, which has drawn fresh scrutiny from politicians in recent weeks, would cost the UK’s largest water company £160mn in fees to senior creditors, as well as £254mn in “other costs” dominated by advisory fees to lawyers and bankers, according to a summary of terms submitted to the sector regulator by creditors. Thames Water would also pay an estimated £285mn in accrued interest owed to creditors on the day a deal was completed, according to the terms seen by the FT, on top of almost £50mn in fees owed to other creditors. Lenders, including hedge fund Elliott Management and private capital group Apollo Global Management, are locked in negotiations with the water regulator, Ofwat, as they attempt to take ownership of the UK’s largest provider, preventing it from falling into a form of temporary nationalisation. Time is running out to reach an agreement with Thames Water set to run out of money in October. Ofwat must submit any deal to a three-month public consultation, and the deal will also have to be signed off by the High Court. Creditors first went to Ofwat for approval in June 2025. Financial Times, June 10

World's largest chipmaker does not rule out price rises as costs increase
The world's largest chipmaker has told the BBC that inflation is pushing up the cost of doing business, and did not rule out price rises. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company makes the most advanced chips designed by companies such as Nvidia, AMD and Apple, so any increase in pricing could ripple through to the cost of AI infrastructure, and potentially over time, the prices customers pay for their electronic devices. However, the firm's chief financial officer, Wendell Huang, said it would not introduce sudden "fourfold, fivefold" price rises. "We reflect our value," he said, pointing to its "technology leadership" and "manufacturing excellence". In an exclusive and wide-ranging interview, Huang also denied that the AI boom was a bubble and that the firm's global expansion was due to geopolitical pressure. The global chip industry and TSMC sit at the centre of escalating US-China trade tensions, with Washington pressing leading chipmakers to expand production in the US to secure critical supply chains. Taiwan, the US ally and self-governed island that Beijing claims, produces the majority of the world's most advanced chips, the tiny processors that sit inside smartphones, laptops and AI data centres. BBC news, June 10

Israel and Iran step back from further strikes after renewed clashes
Israel and Iran appeared to back away from further strikes on Monday, hours after they traded fire for the first time since the US agreed to a ceasefire with Tehran two months ago. Both countries warned that they were ready to launch retaliatory attacks if provoked. The renewed hostilities raised concerns that the Middle East could plunge back into a full-scale war. Since the US and Israel began striking Iran on February 28, the war has shaken the global economy, driven up energy prices around the world and made many basics, including food, more expensive. Officials have been unable to turn the April ceasefire into a deal to permanently end the conflict. The new attacks prompted US President Donald Trump to call for an immediate stop to fighting between Israel and Iran. France 24, June 9

Russia's fuel crisis intensifies as Ukraine steps up strikes on occupied territories
Ukraine's sustained campaign of drone attacks on Russian-occupied territories is disrupting Moscow's supply lines and intensifying a fuel crisis already triggered by long-range strikes on Russia's oil refineries. Crimea - which Russia illegally annexed in 2014 - in particular has been experiencing serious logistical difficulties and shortages. Many of the issues stem from recent Ukrainian strikes on a key motorway and bridge linking the southern Russian city of Rostov to Crimea via the occupied port city of Mariupol. The road "is basically the backbone of Russian occupation in the south", Clément Molin, an analyst at the French-based think tank Atum Mundi, told the BBC. Molin said that Ukraine had carried out 300 drone strikes on trucks, including 30 tankers, since the start of May and that the campaign had become more intense this month. The operation is having tangible effects on Crimea. The peninsula is strategically important for Moscow, as it has been used by its forces to launch drones and missiles at the rest of Ukraine. With its Mediterranean climate and long beaches, Crimea is also a popular holiday destination for Russians in the summer. BBC news, June 9

White House tells UK: Don’t ban social media for under-16s
The White House has advised the UK government not to ban social media for under-16s. The Trump administration criticised plans for Australian-style age restrictions, arguing that they could harm freedom of speech and that parents should on the whole be responsible for regulating their children’s social media use. In a submission to the government’s consultation, the US warned against “prescribed one-size-fits-all government restrictions” and “blunt regulatory instruments” to tackle online harms. A notice, published by the US embassy in London, said that the White House favoured “targeted requirements” on “pornographic and adult commercial content … rather than broad social media bans”. The US administration also raised concerns about age restrictions that would “impose disproportionate compliance burdens on American companies”. UK ministers are braced for a slew of lawsuits from technology giants over the plans. Sir Keir Starmer is expected to announce the ban next week after tens of thousands of parents wrote in favour of the decision in a government consultation that closed at the end of last month. The Times, June 9

World’s largest banks pledged $906bn to fossil fuel companies in ‘unfathomable’ increase in 2025, report finds
The world’s largest banks committed $906bn in financing to the fossil fuel industry last year, an “unfathomable” increase in investment locking in years more of coal, oil and gas production as the world continues to overheat, a new report has found. The surge in new fossil fuel lending, up $64bn or nearly 8 per cent on 2024, shows that the world’s largest 65 banks are making decisions incompatible with international agreements to restrain rising global temperatures, according to the coalition of environmental groups behind the new analysis. JPMorgan Chase is again the world’s leading financier of fossil fuels, according to the annual Banking on Climate Chaos report, after pushing $58bn to the sector last year - up 13 per cent from 2024. Bank of America committed the second largest amount to fossil fuels last year, followed by Japanese banks MUFG and Mizuho Financial. Citigroup, another US bank, rounds out the top five, with Barclays, at number eight, the highest placed British bank. The Guardian, June 9

GSK to buy US cancer biotech Nuvalent for $10.6bn
GSK has agreed to buy US cancer biotech Nuvalent for $10.6bn in the UK pharmaceutical group’s biggest acquisition for more than a decade, marking a big bet on oncology treatments by new chief executive Luke Miels. The cash deal values Nuvalent at $124 per share, a 40 per cent premium to the New York-listed company’s closing price on Monday. Including Nuvalent’s cash pile, the deal puts the biotech’s enterprise value at $9.4bn. Nuvalent owns two late-stage lung cancer drugs - known as zidesamtinib (NVL-520) and neladalkib (NVL-655) - that Miels described as “potential best-in-class assets”. The drugs “could launch this year if approved by the FDA and offer significant new treatment options to patients with two forms of non-small-cell lung cancer,” said GSK’s chief. The deal will give the FTSE 100 company new sales growth opportunities immediately and improve profit contributions from 2027, he added. Financial Times, June 9

Donald Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee blocked by judge
The Trump administration’s decision to add a $100,000 fee to H-1B visa applications for highly skilled foreign workers is unlawful, a federal judge ruled on Monday. Judge Leo Sorokin ordered Donald Trump’s proclamation sharply increasing the cost of the non-immigrant work visas must be rescinded. The Department of Justice is expected to appeal but declined to confirm whether it would pursue further legal action. Tech companies and specialist industries widely use H-1B visas, and more than 400,000 were approved last year. Before the fee increase, the government charged $215 to register for the H-1B visa lottery and $780 more for employers sponsoring visa applicants. The Trump administration imposed the six-figure fee in September in an attempt to limit US companies using foreign workers. In his proclamation, Trump cited reports that US tech companies had laid off “qualified and highly skilled” American workers and replaced them with thousands of H-1B visa holders. Financial Times, June 8