Ukrainian and US negotiators are seeking to move beyond this week’s breakdown in transatlantic relations and finalize a deal on critical minerals. Just two days after  President Donald Trump hectored President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as a “dictator,” Ukrainian officials are discussing mineral rights with US special envoy Keith Kellogg during his visit to Kyiv, a person with knowledge of the talks told us. 

Zelenskiy rejected an initial US offer that involved securing half the income from Ukraine’s minerals, but he said that the meeting yesterday with Kellogg had “restored hope.” That didn’t stop Trump from suggesting today that there’s no need for Zelenskiy to take part in talks on ending the conflict with Russia. 

The US president has zeroed in on key minerals used by the defense and tech industries, saying he wants the equivalent of $500 billion worth of those rare-earth metals. But despite reports of $10 trillion worth of deposits, Ukraine has no major rare-earth reserves that are internationally recognized as economically viable. Most of the ores would likely be recovered as by-products of producing materials like phosphates. Some are in areas of Russian control. — Jennifer Duggan

What You Need to Know Today

German voters go to the polls on Sunday to decide the makeup of the next Bundestag. Voter support for Friedrich Merz’s CDU/CSU bloc has held steady at around 30% throughout the three-month election campaign since Chancellor Olaf Scholz dismantled his ruling coalition in November. The far-right Alternative for Germany is in second place at about 20%, with Scholz’s SPD trailing in third at around 15%. While voter surveys have proved relatively accurate in past elections, pollsters are still nervous there might be a surprise.

President Trump is expected to sign a memorandum today that opens the door to levies in response to digital services taxes some countries impose on US tech giants. The memo, according to people familiar, focuses broadly on digital trade issues. The action directs the Office of the US Trade Representative to develop remedies for the taxes that foreign governments impose on US tech companies such as Alphabet and Meta Platforms, the people said.

European defense stocks are on the cusp of closing out their best week in 16 months on a bet that the region is about to massively ramp up spending in support of Ukraine. A Goldman Sachs Group basket that includes Rheinmetall and Leonardo has surged 11% this week. The moves extend what’s already been a dramatic rally, with Rheinmetall, a German maker of combat tanks and air defense systems, as the big standout with a 45% surge so far in 2025.

With US allies and rivals alike weathering a blizzard of daily announcements, insults and edicts from President Trump, the rest of the world’s biggest economies did their best this week to show they were united. At a gathering of Group of 20 foreign ministers in Johannesburg, established industrialized nations and members of the so-called Global South stressed the need to protect multilateralism and the international institutions upon which the post World War II order was built. The US snubbed the meeting, the first of a series to be hosted by this year’s G-20 host South Africa. 

Kaja Kallas, vice president of the European Commission, left, and Ronald Lamola, South Africa’s international relations minister, during the 16th EU-South Africa Ministerial Political Dialogue in Cape Town on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. Photographer: Dwayne Senior/Bloomberg

Novo Nordisk’s weight-loss and diabetes drugs are no longer in short supply, US regulators said. It’s a decision that’s expected to curtail widespread access to cheaper copies of the popular medications. Novo can now meet the demand for Ozempic and Wegovy nationwide, the Food and Drug Administration said today. The ruling means compounding pharmacies no longer have permission to make exact copies of Novo’s brand-name drugs, as they did during the shortage.

The investment firm of one of Saudi Arabia’s richest women is upping bets on female-led businesses, helping to plug a gender-financing gap in the male-dominated region. Dara Holdings, billionaire Lubna Olayan’s family office, has made a series of investments since mid-2024 in United Arab Emirates-based startups founded by women. Her firm participated in a $10 million seed funding round disclosed this month for qeen.ai, a Dubai-based artificial intelligence startup co-founded by former Google executive Dina Alsamhan.

The bosses of the UK’s biggest banks are for the most part enjoying bumper pay days, with some looking forward to even bigger maximum awards as the country lifts its cap on variable remuneration. Chief executives at Barclays, HSBC Holdings, NatWest Group, Lloyds Banking Group and Standard Chartered took home a combined £37 million ($46.8 million) in 2024, up a third on £28 million the previous year. That number covers all remuneration, including salaries and bonuses.

What You’ll Need to Know Tomorrow

For Your Commute

Jim Ratcliffe’s gambles on struggling industrial firms turned him into one of the UK’s richest men. But he has spent about $1.5 billion to acquire almost a third of one of the world’s biggest football clubs — Manchester United. Over his first year as a stakeholder, the club has performed worse than any time since the 1980s, lost more than £100 million ($126 million), and has a looming debt cliff.  The 72-year-old billionaire isn’t the first wealthy football fan to struggle in an industry whose numbers rarely add up. But few clubs have witnessed such a decline as Manchester United, once England’s richest, most powerful sporting brand. 

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