Good morning. Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook signals she’s not going anywhere. Texas makes headway on a new congressional map. And India’s richest man becomes collateral damage amid trade tensions. Listen to the day’s top stories.
Gerrymandering in full swing. The Texas House approved a new congressional map, potentially adding up to five Republican seats in the 2026 midterms. Democrats aim to challenge the map in court. In California, the state’s top court declined to halt Governor Gavin Newsom’s own redistricting plan, which he’s pursuing to offset the moves in Texas and elsewhere.
Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries. Photographer: Prakash Singh/Bloomberg
India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, was beaming in photos taken just seven months ago at Trump's pre-inauguration dinner. But now, deepening trade tensions between the US and India have left him in the bitter crossfire.
And Ambani? Well, he’s made billions from oil refining giant Reliance, now the largest single buyer of Russian crude in India.
Russia isn’t worried. It expects a discount on its oil will be big enough to keep India buying. The two countries are actually aiming to increase annual trade by about 50% over the next five years to reach $100 billion—meaning the collateral damage to Ambani may get even worse.
The Big Take
Photographer: Rachel Seidu for Bloomberg Markets
Africa’s richest person has built a $20 billion oil refinery in Nigeria, bigger than any in Europe. But will Aliko Dangote help enrich impoverished Nigeria, or just himself?
Trump has said ceasefires don't matter much, but they do, Marc Champion writes. Ceasefires may save lives and facilitate aid flows, as well as signal whether warring parties are open to peace.
Trump plans to issue an executive order on flag burning, NewsNation reported, a move that aims to crack down on burning the American flag without running afoul of a 1989 Supreme Court decision that ruled doing so was protected speech.