Mark Filipino hosts this Financial Times news briefing covering major developments in tech spending, international markets, and corporate deals. Key contributors include Krishnan Kaushik, the FT's Mumbai correspondent reporting on India's economic challenges, James Fontenella-Khan, the U.S. finance editor analyzing GameStop's eBay bid, and Victoria Craig discussing upcoming U.S.-China diplomacy.

The episode explores how big tech's AI infrastructure investments are straining cash flows, foreign capital flight from India amid regional conflict, and GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen's ambitious $56 billion unsolicited bid for eBay. Additional coverage includes the geopolitical implications of Trump's rescheduled Beijing summit with President Xi Jinping and ongoing fallout from the Iran war's impact on global energy markets.

Big Tech's AI Spending Spree Strains Cash Flows

Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Alphabet are burning through cash for AI infrastructure, with Amazon expected to spend more than it makes this year and Meta and Microsoft likely dipping into the red by 2026.

These companies could hit their lowest yearly free cash flow levels in more than a decade, despite collective revenues being seven times larger than in 2014.

Analysts predict the AI investments will only start paying off next year as the boom generates more revenue.

India Faces Record Capital Flight Amid Energy Crisis

Foreign investors have pulled $22 billion from India as the Iran war drives energy costs up and pushes the rupee to historic lows.

"India, which relies on 90% of its energy needs on imports, nearly half of the crude oil comes from the Middle East. And that's been completely disrupted" - Krishnan.

The rupee was already under pressure from a ballooning trade deficit caused by Trump's 50% tariffs on Indian goods last August over India's Russian oil purchases.

India has "zero or almost net zero FDI" due to profit repatriation by international investors and lacks any "AI play" that attracts global investment.

The government has absorbed fuel cost increases without passing them to consumers, protecting the domestic economy so far.

GameStop's $56 Billion eBay Takeover Bid

Ryan Cohen, GameStop CEO and "meme stock king," launched an unsolicited $56 billion bid for eBay, worth four times GameStop's $11 billion market cap.

"The test here is like whether a meme stock king can actually pull off the first meme MA deal in history" - James, noting Cohen built Chewy from scratch to a $9 billion public company.

Cohen plans half cash, half stock financing using GameStop's $9 billion balance sheet plus $20 billion from TD Bank, with the remainder from new stock issuance.

eBay's response appears cold, with Cohen prepared for a proxy fight to remove the board and install his own people to approve the deal.

Cohen envisions combining GameStop's retail business with eBay's e-commerce platform to create a $100 billion Amazon rival.

Trump-Xi Summit Amid Iran War Fallout

Trump's rescheduled Beijing summit with Xi Jinping on Thursday follows his March postponement, citing "very simple, I've got a war going on."

China bought most of Iran's oil pre-war and has been affected by the conflict, which closed the Strait of Hormuz through which a fifth of global oil and gas supplies flowed.

Trump previously wanted China to send warships to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while China's foreign minister called for ceasefire while supporting Iran's sovereignty.

Trade writer Alan Beattie expects the meeting to "produce little except maybe goodwill pledges of future Chinese investment in the U.S."