Month: April 2025

Soldiers Deny Former Defense Minister’s Claim That Israel Faked Gaza Tunnel Photo To Delay Hostage Deal

The Israeli government deliberately misrepresented the nature of a tunnel in Gaza’s Philadelphi Corridor to derail a hostage deal with Hamas, according to a former Israeli defense minister in an interview aired by an Israeli public television network. While two soldiers who claim to have seen the tunnel say he’s wrong, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have not yet  issued a public denial.   

The alleged deception happened last August, amid massive protests by Israeli citizens pressing the Israeli government to make a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas. At the time, the status of the Philadelphi Corridor — a 100-meter-wide strip running 14 miles along Gaza’s border with Egypt — was a major obstruction to a hostage deal. (The corridor is a geopolitically important buffer zone that figures in security agreements between Israel and Egypt.) Hamas was demanding a withdrawal of IDF forces from the strip as a condition of a hostage release, while Netanyahu insisted the IDF would continue operating in it.
Last August, the Israeli Defense Forces distributed this photo and claimed it depicted a Hamas smuggling tunnel along Gaza’s Egyptian border (IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)

It was against that backdrop that the IDF released a photo that was supposed to show a Hamas tunnel in the Philadelphi Corridor used to smuggle weapons from Egypt. Israeli-government-sympathetic news outlets and pro-Israel organizations inside the United States seized upon the narrative to defend Netanyahu’s deal-precluding insistence on keeping troops in the corridor. The Times of Israel trumpeted the discovery of an “unusually large smuggling tunnel.” The Israel-catering Foundation for Defense of Democracies said the tunnel was “further evidence of the underground empire of terror that Hamas assembled in southern Gaza. This is important work and should continue.” 

This week, however, Israeli public television network Kan 11 reported that the Israeli government purposefully deceived Israeli citizens and the rest of the world, dressing up a mere water channel as a supposed Hamas tunnel. “There was never a tunnel, but a canal covered in dirt,” said the report. The scheme’s purpose “was to exaggerate the importance of the Philadelphi Corridor and delay a hostage deal.” 
The supposed smuggling tunnel viewed from a different angle (Telegram via Haaretz)

The source of the accusation is a former member of Netanyahu’s government: Yoav Gallant, who was defense minister from 2022 until Netanyahu fired him in November 2024. Speaking about the photo this week, he told Kan 11: 

“What the public cannot see is that this channel is not 30 meters underground, but just one meter underground. It is a covered water conduit…It was not a tunnel, but rather an attempt to prevent a ceasefire agreement…Someone took the picture, and a big fuss was made about it, a lot of headlines… weapons did not pass beneath the Philadelphi corridor.”

NEW | Israeli Army Fabricated Gaza Tunnel Discovery to Stall Ceasefire Talks
Israel’s public broadcaster KAN 11 reports the Israeli military fabricated claims of discovering a tunnel in Gaza’s…

All Quiet On The Western Ports… Is This The Calm Before The Trade War Storm?

All is quiet on the American front as the week comes to a close, even as Korea JoongAng Daily reports that a high-ranking Chinese trade official from the Ministry of Finance was spotted at the U.S. Treasury Department headquarters in Washington, D.C. earlier today. The meeting between Chinese and U.S. officials comes on the eve of a trade war shock now ripping across the Pacific, with the Port of Los Angeles set to be the first hit. High-frequency data suggests the impact will begin at some point next week and intensify with each passing week.

On the eve of a trade war shock, data from Port Optimizer—a tracking system used by vessel operators—shows that scheduled import volumes into the Port of Los Angeles are set to begin plunging next week and could collapse by mid-month.

Goldman analyst Jacob Malmstrom has a few charts for us to end the week:

Geopolitical tensions easing leading markets higher for the week but where the effective tariff rate currently is the highest it’s been in 100 years.

With globalisation the trade growth has grown substantially in the last 60 year but looking at current U.S. imports from Europe they have hovered around 15% in recent decades.

World trade growth has increased dramatically in the period of globalisation

In markets, Malmstrom warned:

Difficult to come up with a fundamental bull-case from here longer term. Still need to see any of these four conditions met for a sustainable recovery: 1) Attractive valuations ,2) Extreme positioning easing, 3) Policy Support, 4) Sense that the second derivative of growth is improving. When looking at valuations in the U.S. they look more justified when comparing to ROE. Banks sold-off in the beginning of the year but has rebounded whereas Mega-cap tech has continued its decline. Finally earnings so far has been in-line with the historical average. 

Our coverage details the events that have unfolded this month in trigger the trade war shock—one that’s already hitting China and is now set to wash ashore momentarily in the U.S.: 

Amazon Cancels Orders, Walmart Pulls Forecast As Tariffs Take Hold

Are China Road Traffic Indicators Set To Collapse As Tariff War Cancels Factory Orders

Chinese Sellers On Amazon Panic After Trump’s Tariff Bazooka

Liberation Day Fallout: China’s Port Volumes Sink After Trump’s Tariff Blitz

Chinese Plastics Factories Face Mass Closure As U.S. Ethane Supply Evaporates

“Our Export Orders Disappeared”: Chinese Factories Shutting Down, Laying Off Workers, FT Finds

First Tariff Shock Set To Hit Port Of Los Angeles, With Ripple Effects Across The Broader Economy

Walmart Opens Channel For Battered Chinese Exporters To “Quickly Expand” In Domestic Market

Trade War Shock Looms For Port Of Los Angeles As Goldman Identifies Most-Impacted Products

High-frequency data from the Port of Los Angeles suggests a substantial impact on Chinese exports to the U.S. will begin next week, mainly due to the lag between factory shutdowns or halted shipments in China—triggered by the 145% tariffs—and the time it takes for containerized freight to cross the Pacific on massive cargo ships.

The bulleted list…

Are Global Consumers Turning Away From US Brands?

Is anti-American sentiment putting consumers off buying U.S. brands? 

According to a recent report by Morning Consult, this is the case. 

Statista’s Anna Fleck reports that northerly neighbor Canada is perhaps the clearest example of this trend, with consumers having turned away from purchasing U.S. products in protest against U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest policies and rhetoric and instead choosing to “Buy Canadian”. 

In France too, some consumers angered over Washington’s latest moves are boycotting U.S. brands, citing Trump’s announcements of punitive trade tariffs, his stance on diversity and inclusion, as well as his handling of Ukraine and his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Data published by Axios looks more closely at how global sentiment on a selection of U.S. brands changed between January and March, 2025. Of the 16 brands surveyed, 12 saw declines in favorability, with FedEx, Chevron and WB/ Discovery having seen the biggest drops (each down more than 33 percent). 

However, as this chart shows, the trend does not extend across all brands, as Meta, McDonald’s, OpenAI and Apple Inc. have each seen improved sentiment since Trump’s inauguration.

 

You will find more infographics at Statista

It is important to note here that without further data it is difficult to say whether these changes are a causation or merely a correlation as there are multiple reasons why consumers opinions on a specific brand could change with time.

Tyler Durden
Fri, 04/25/2025 – 18:00…

Meet The “Other” EV Brands Challenging Tesla’s Domination

As Tesla continues to dominate the global EV conversation, a wave of upstart and established players—many of them based in China—are rising fast, offering compelling alternatives based on affordability, innovation, and scale. A recent comparative study by Slot.Day lays bare the shifting dynamics in the EV landscape, assessing automakers across sales, search interest, safety, price, and electric range.

Leading the charge is BYD, which now tops the list as the most viable EV alternative to Tesla, accrording to a new report by Slot.Day. 

With over 2.6 million units sold and more than 600,000 monthly Google searches, BYD blends scale with visibility. Prices range from a modest $13,900 to a luxury-tier $65,830, while its vehicles achieve an average 445 km range and top safety ratings. It’s a rare mix of affordability, mass appeal, and performance—an EV juggernaut grounded in realism rather than aspiration.

In second place, SAIC Maxus is perhaps the most underrated name on the list. It offers the lowest entry-level EV at just $4,460—a figure that borders on the absurd in today’s market—and backs it up with a perfect 5-star safety score and a respectable 365 km range. This kind of value-driven engineering speaks directly to practical consumers rather than subsidy-chasing status seekers.

The Slot.Day report says that Changan, in third, makes its mark with a stellar 95% adult occupant protection rating and a 450 km range. While not yet globally synonymous with electric innovation, its performance metrics suggest it soon might be. The Deepal SL03 has particularly impressed in the mid-price market, starting around $16,400.

Further down the list, Wuling ranks fourth thanks to astonishing sales of over 370,000 units and a starting price of just $6,400. Though its average range is a modest 300 km, it thrives in dense urban environments where range anxiety is minimal. The tiny but mighty Wuling Hongguang Mini EV proves that minimalist mobility has a devoted customer base.

Aion stands out with the longest average range at 520 km and remains price-competitive, offering models between $17,800 and $29,000. Though not fully ANCAP-tested, its high safety rating (4.6 out of 5) and expanding lineup push it into fifth place.

Outside China, few non-domestic brands crack the top rankings. Volkswagen Group, despite strong brand recognition and more than 1.6 million monthly searches, is weighed down by high pricing and middling EV sales. Its ID.4 maintains the group’s reputation but struggles to outpace nimbler rivals.

Nio, Leapmotor, and Geely round out the top ten with mixed results—each showing promise in select metrics but lacking the comprehensive strength to push into the top tier. Nio appeals to premium buyers, while Leapmotor targets the budget segment with modest ranges and excellent safety. Geely, versatile but uneven, finds itself in a middle ground that may appeal to some but excite few.

Hyundai, the sole Korean entry, closes the list at tenth. Despite solid safety marks and over 860,000 monthly searches, it lags in sales and innovation compared to its Chinese peers. Its Ioniq series shows promise but faces fierce competition from…