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SoftBank Profit More Than Triples on OpenAI Stake Gains

A man walks past a Softbank branch in Tokyo on May 13, 2026. (Photo by Andrew CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)
A man walks past a Softbank branch in Tokyo on May 13, 2026. (Photo by Andrew CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)
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SoftBank Profit More Than Triples on OpenAI Stake Gains

A man walks past a Softbank branch in Tokyo on May 13, 2026. (Photo by Andrew CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)
A man walks past a Softbank branch in Tokyo on May 13, 2026. (Photo by Andrew CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)

Technology investor SoftBank Group reported on Wednesday that its net profit more than tripled to 1.83 trillion yen ($11.60 billion) in the January-March quarter, as it booked gains on the value of its investment in ChatGPT-maker OpenAI.

It was SoftBank's fifth consecutive quarterly profit, with the Vision Fund investing arm booking an OpenAI-driven gain of 3.1 trillion yen in the quarter, according to Reuters.

Founder and CEO Masayoshi Son is one of OpenAI's most enthusiastic backers, with the group saying its cumulative gains on the investment total $45 billion.

SoftBank has sold off stakes in holdings such as T-Mobile and Nvidia, issued bonds and taken out loans, backed by its holdings in chip designer Arm and its domestic telecommunications arm SoftBank Corp.

SoftBank arranged ⁠a bridge loan agreement totaling $40 billion in March.

On Wednesday, it said $20 billion was drawn down in April, primarily for the OpenAI investment, and $2.5 billion had already been repaid.

SoftBank had previously said it had agreed to invest a further $30 billion in OpenAI over the course of 2026, which would bring its cumulative investment to $64.6 billion for a 13% stake.

Beyond OpenAI, the group booked a 278.6 billion yen gain on its investment in chipmaker Intel, which is led by former SoftBank board member Lip-Bu Tan.

SoftBank has ⁠also sought to build a portfolio of robotics firms, looking to gain a foothold in an industry that is in its infancy but is seen by analysts and investors as having potential to drive profits into the future.

It agreed to acquire the robotics business of Swiss engineering group ABB in a $5.4 ⁠billion deal last year, and created a new subsidiary within the group to hold its robotics-related stakes.

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Business

UK Economy Shows Unexpected Growth of 0.3% in March

Union flags flutter in the breeze close to the Victoria Tower and Palace of Westminster, home to the two houses of Parliament, after the State Opening of Parliament in London on May 13, 2026. (Photo by Adrian DENNIS / AFP)
Union flags flutter in the breeze close to the Victoria Tower and Palace of Westminster, home to the two houses of Parliament, after the State Opening of Parliament in London on May 13, 2026. (Photo by Adrian DENNIS / AFP)
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UK Economy Shows Unexpected Growth of 0.3% in March

Union flags flutter in the breeze close to the Victoria Tower and Palace of Westminster, home to the two houses of Parliament, after the State Opening of Parliament in London on May 13, 2026. (Photo by Adrian DENNIS / AFP)
Union flags flutter in the breeze close to the Victoria Tower and Palace of Westminster, home to the two houses of Parliament, after the State Opening of Parliament in London on May 13, 2026. (Photo by Adrian DENNIS / AFP)

Britain's economy expanded unexpectedly in March to cap another strong first quarter, suggesting the economy was in slightly better shape as the Iran war escalated than many feared, official data showed on Thursday.

Gross domestic product increased by 0.3% month-on-month in March, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, against expectations in a Reuters poll of economists for a 0.2% contraction.

The ⁠services sector, construction ⁠output and manufacturing all grew strongly.

"Many will be unconvinced that this momentum can be sustained throughout this year," said Scott Gardner, investment strategist at J.P. Morgan Personal Investing.

"The risk is that ⁠the energy price spike following the start of the Iran conflict will persist and lead to a rebound in inflation."

Recent business surveys point to a rapid increase in cost pressures that is likely to weigh on corporate activity.

For the first quarter as a whole, the economy expanded by 0.6% - marking the third year ⁠running ⁠of conspicuously strong growth in the first quarter.

The ONS on Thursday published a blog that acknowledged there may be post-pandemic shifts in the timing of spending in the economy, and nudged down its readings for the first quarters of 2024 and 2025.

Finance minister Rachel Reeves said the data showed she had the right economic plan.

Business

Iran War and Oil Dominate BRICS Meet in India

India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (R) speaks to Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi at the opening of the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in New Delhi. Arun SANKAR / AFP
India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (R) speaks to Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi at the opening of the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in New Delhi. Arun SANKAR / AFP
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Iran War and Oil Dominate BRICS Meet in India

India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (R) speaks to Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi at the opening of the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in New Delhi. Arun SANKAR / AFP
India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (R) speaks to Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi at the opening of the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in New Delhi. Arun SANKAR / AFP

BRICS foreign ministers, including from Iran and Russia, met in New Delhi on Thursday, where India warned of "considerable flux" with conflict driving economic uncertainty and energy insecurity.

War in Iran and the related fuel crisis are dominating discussions in the two-day gathering, said AFP.

India, which holds the BRICS chair this year, was hosting the foreign ministers from the expanded bloc, which now includes Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

"We meet at a time of considerable flux in international relations," India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said, in his opening speech, before closed meetings began.

Among the foreign ministers attending were Iran's Abbas Araghchi and Russia's Sergei Lavrov.

"Ongoing conflicts, economic uncertainties, and challenges in trade, technology, and climate are shaping the global landscape," Jaishankar added.

"There is a growing expectation, particularly from emerging markets and developing countries, that BRICS will play a constructive and stabilizing role."

Disruptions around Gulf shipping routes and the Strait of Hormuz continue to drive volatility in oil and gas markets, increasing pressure on energy-importing economies, including India.

"Development issues remain central," Jaishankar added. "Many countries continue to face challenges on energy, food, fertilizer and health security, as well as also access to finance."

- 'Volatile global environment' -

The conflict involving Iran has added strain to India's economy, heavily reliant on Middle Eastern energy supplies and fertilizer imports, and has cast uncertainty over New Delhi's growth outlook.

India, the world's third-largest oil buyer, normally sources about half of its crude through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway that has been repeatedly blocked since war began.

Ship tracking and import data show that India has partially plugged the gap by turning to old allies, expanding promising ties and reviving suppliers it had not tapped in years.

The biggest backstop has been Russian crude -- a fuel source New Delhi spent much of the past year trying to pivot away from under stiff US tariffs.

Jaishankar met with Lavrov on Wednesday evening.

"Our political cooperation is even more valuable in an uncertain and volatile global environment," Jaishankar said in remarks at the meeting, adding that discussions included "trade and investment, energy and connectivity".

BRICS was created in 2009 as a forum for major emerging economies seeking greater influence in institutions dominated by Western powers.

The grouping, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has since expanded, as members sought to boost the bloc's global political and economic influence.

It now includes Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi was not attending -- with US President Donald Trump in Beijing on Thursday.

India will hold a leaders' summit later this year, and the foreign ministers will also meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the foreign ministry said.

With deep divisions among some members, including over the Middle East war and criticism of Western powers, it was not clear whether a joint statement would be released at the meeting's end.

"We will let you know as things progress," India's foreign ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal told reporters.

Business

Convoys of Desert Trucks Become Escape Valve for the Global Economy

A worker from the Transport General Authority checking trucks (TGA)
A worker from the Transport General Authority checking trucks (TGA)
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Convoys of Desert Trucks Become Escape Valve for the Global Economy

A worker from the Transport General Authority checking trucks (TGA)
A worker from the Transport General Authority checking trucks (TGA)

Convoys of heavy-duty trucks barreling across the Arabian desert have become an escape valve for the global economy, according to a Wall Street Journal report published on Wednesday.

In a mechanized revival of the caravans of goods-laden camels that once sustained Arabian commerce, highways, railroads and ports in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman have been transformed into an emergency logistics lifeline, circumventing the Strait of Hormuz waterway, WSJ said.

It said after the US and Israel attacked Iran, Bob Wilt, CEO of Saudi Arabian state-controlled mining company Maaden, dispatched executives to Red Sea ports and, within two weeks, lined up rail and truck operators to move fertilizer from the Gulf to Red Sea ports.

The key ingredient: Lots of trucks, mostly running around the clock, with two drivers each.
“Six hundred became 1,600, became 2,000; now we’ve got 3,500 trucks running from the Gulf to the Red Sea,” Wilt told WSJ.

Maryland-born Wilt said Maaden will have caught up on its export backlog by the end of May.

“Whether I truly believed we could do it or not, I don’t know,” he said. The drive is making a meaningful dent in a fertilizer shortage that is threatening the global food supply.

The trucking routes are part of a broader redrawing of the regional logistics map, reorienting trade away from the Arabian Gulf and providing governments and companies with critical contingencies.

Shipping companies including MSC and Maersk are trucking goods across the Arabian Peninsula.

Also, supermarket chain Spinneys sent trucks loaded with British foods—including potato chips, porridge oats and children’s snacks—on a 16-day journey from Kent in the UK through Western Europe and then Egypt and Saudi Arabia to Dubai.

The trucking convoys are the latest example of ways the global economy has shown surprising resilience in the face of war-related shocks.

While the region’s most important exports—oil and natural gas—have fallen sharply, a substantial amount continues to ship to global markets through backup routes.

Saudi Aramco has leaned heavily on its East-West pipeline to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, while the UAE has pushed more crude through Fujairah.

Both countries are exploring ways to expand the capacity of these oil links. Other proposals include building new rail lines and expanding port infrastructure around the region, according to the WSJ report.

Meanwhile, the smaller port of Khor Fakkan has become an unexpected lifeline for the Emirates.

Now it has become a gateway port, with incoming containers leaving the port by truck, passing through gates and customs and reaching warehouses, factories or shops.

Weekly container traffic at the port exploded from 2,000 to 50,000 since the start of the conflict.

For Maaden’s Wilt, the crisis has been a test of whether the company can deliver on a global stage.

Saudi Arabia has directed Maaden to expand production of phosphates, gold and aluminum, with plans to invest $110 billion over the next decade.

It also plays a large role in making Saudi Arabia the world’s third-largest exporter of phosphate, which is mined, processed into granules and shipped—in normal times—through the strait.

“We’ve demonstrated our capabilities,” Wilt said. “Let’s harden this and always have a route to the Red Sea.”