Good evening, you're listening to Markets Desk.
Sam Altman took the stand in a San Francisco courtroom Tuesday in the high-stakes trial brought by Elon Musk, testifying under oath that he personally owns one third of Helion Energy, a stake now valued at one point six five billion dollars. The disclosure adds significant weight to Musk's broader legal challenge against Altman and OpenAI, and puts a hard number on what had been a quietly held position in one of the most closely watched fusion energy ventures in Silicon Valley.
Shifting to geopolitics and capital flows, Beijing's decision to block the takeover of Manus, the AI startup headquartered in Singapore, is throwing cold water on the so-called Singapore washing strategy, where Chinese companies have been routing themselves through the city-state to soften their geopolitical profile with Western partners. The move signals that Beijing is tightening its grip on where its most sensitive technology assets can land, regardless of corporate structuring.
And on the public health front, Americans aboard a cruise ship hit by an Andes virus outbreak may face quarantine through mid-June. The World Health Organization is warning of additional infections in the coming weeks, citing the virus's unusually long incubation period. Health officials are monitoring closely as the situation remains fluid and the passenger count exposed continues to be assessed.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
