The Daily

The Second China Shock Is Here — and This Time It's High-End

China's first wave of cheap exports destroyed low-cost manufacturing jobs in the West two decades ago. The second shock is different: EV sensors, solar panels, batteries and advanced components are flooding global markets at prices European and Japanese manufacturers cannot match. A Shanghai sensor company, Mega-Senway, drove its unit price from Rmb100 to Rmb10 in five years, pushing German and Swiss incumbents out entirely. Behind the collapse: vicious domestic competition, record subsidies, deep engineering talent and an undervalued exchange rate. China's goods trade surplus surpassed $1tn in 2025 and exports grew nearly 15 % year-on-year in Q1 2026. The FT series examines Europe's "embrace or repel" dilemma and the squeeze on South-East Asia — but the core question is whether any industrial policy can match the pace of China's manufacturing machine.

Source: FT

Play-In Night One Is Done — Tonight, Warriors vs. Clippers

The 2026 SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament tipped off Tuesday night with two high-stakes games. In the East, the 10th-seeded Miami Heat traveled to Charlotte to face the 9th-seeded Hornets — a team that was among the best in the league over the final two months of the regular season. In the West, the 7th-seeded Phoenix Suns hosted the 8th-seeded Portland Trail Blazers for the right to lock in a first-round spot.

Tonight's doubleheader is even bigger. The East 9/10 game sends the Philadelphia 76ers to Orlando to face the Magic at 7:30 PM ET — loser goes home. And at 10 PM ET: Golden State Warriors at LA Clippers. The Clippers added Darius Garland at the trade deadline (for James Harden) and look more settled than they did early in the season. But Steph Curry is locked in. "We know who they are," he said after Sunday's regular-season finale. Draymond Green was blunter: "Not exciting to be in the play-in, but as a competitor, you're gonna rise to the challenge."

The actual first-round series start Saturday, April 18. The top seeds — Detroit (East 1), Boston (East 2), Oklahoma City (West 1), San Antonio (West 2) — are waiting. Everything between here and there runs through the play-in.

Hundert Quadratmeter Wiese spalten den Donaukanal

Am Donaukanal beim Schottenring hat der Schanigarten des Lokals „Otto will Meer" eine frei zugängliche Wiese verschluckt — etwa 25 mal 8 Meter, jetzt Holzdielen, Sonnenschirme, Freiluftbar. Die Grünen Leopoldstadt organisierten ein „Protestpicknick", Anrainer sind wütend. Der FALTER zeichnet den größeren Konflikt nach: Seit der Donaukanal vom finsteren No-go-Area zum Freizeitparadies wurde, ringen Gastronomen, Politik und Bürger verbissen um jeden Meter Uferfläche. Die MA 45 sieht einen vertraglichen Anspruch des Betreibers, die Opposition sieht eine überschrittene Grenze. Kommerz gegen Freiraum — und kein einfacher Kompromiss in Sicht.

Source: FALTER

OpenAI's $852 Billion Valuation Faces Its Own Investors' Doubts

OpenAI just closed the biggest private fundraise in history — $122bn from SoftBank, Amazon, Nvidia and others — but some of its own backers are questioning the $852bn price tag. Anthropic's annualised revenue surged from $9bn to $30bn in three months, driven by coding tools, and appears to have leapfrogged OpenAI's $25bn run rate (though accounting methods differ). OpenAI's new CRO, Denise Dresser, accused Anthropic of inflating revenue by ~$8bn through gross accounting on cloud-partner deals. One investor told the FT that underwriting the round required assuming an IPO valuation north of $1.2tn — a number that's harder to justify when Anthropic trades at $380bn. CFO Sarah Friar pushed back: "The suggestion that investors are not supportive defies the facts." The strategic question is whether pivoting to enterprise and code can work when ChatGPT's consumer dominance is the moat.

Source: FT

Der Irankrieg macht den gebuchten Sommerurlaub teurer — auch nachträglich

Steigende Kerosinpreise durch den Irankonflikt treiben Flugtickets und Kreuzfahrten nach oben. Aber auch bereits gebuchte Pauschalreisen sind nicht sicher: Änderungsvorbehaltsklauseln erlauben Veranstaltern Preiserhöhungen von bis zu acht Prozent, wenn Treibstoffkosten nach Vertragsabschluss steigen. Die Erhöhung muss mindestens 20 Tage vor Reisebeginn mitgeteilt werden. Liegt sie über acht Prozent, dürfen Reisende kostenlos zurücktreten — aber nur innerhalb der angegebenen Frist, sonst gilt die Erhöhung als angenommen. Gleichzeitig steigt die Nachfrage nach als sicher geltenden Zielen wie Griechenland und Spanien, was dort die Preise zusätzlich treibt. Die Reisewarnung für Golf-Transitaufenthalte besteht weiterhin.

Source: Spiegel+