The first direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in over three years went ahead today in Istanbul, but ended after nearly two hours amid skepticism from the US and Europe about the potential for a peace deal to end the war. 

The low-level Russian delegation, headed by President Vladimir Putin aide Vladimir Medinsky, was described as a “sham” by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who sent Defense Minister Rustem Umerov to lead his team. At the meeting, the Russian representatives set out demands for full control of all four regions in the east and southeast of Ukraine that the Kremlin claimed sovereignty of in 2022 despite not fully controlling them, we’re told. They also demanded recognition of Crimea, which Russia seized in 2014, as Russian. Ukraine and European countries have demanded that Putin commit to a 30-day unconditional ceasefire while a peace deal is negotiated. Putin didn’t agree, and instead offered the weekend for talks. 

To pressure Putin to negotiate a peace deal, the EU is currently working on a new sanctions package to target Russia’s financial sector, targeting third-party banks that are supporting Moscow’s war effort, according to a source. “We want peace and we have to increase the pressure on President Putin until he is ready for peace,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Tirana today. 

Bloomberg Opinion’s Max Hastings argues that Putin holds all the cards in these talks, and has no reason to give them up. —Helen Chandler-Wilde

What You Need to Know Today

Ozempic and Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk is replacing its chief executive, Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen, as the company battles against increased competition for its obesity and diabetes drugs. The Danish company has suffered a 53% decline in its share price over the last year, cutting more than $300 billion off its market value after facing setbacks in trials of new weight-loss drugs and growing rivalry from Eli Lilly. Novo has had just three CEOs since 1990, and Jorgensen has spent his entire career with the company before being appointed for the top job in 2017. The company’s value has more than tripled since then.

Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg

A Bloomberg Businessweek investigation has revealed that visa scams are swindling immigrants to the UK, who are promised jobs and work papers in exchange for large sums of cash. The scammers are using the political context in the UK, with 139,000 vacancies in the health and social care sector, to lure in victims and convince them to hand over thousands of pounds. Social care visas are a sensitive topic in the UK generally, and have led to over 680,000 people coming to the country in less than five years. Those high figures led Prime Minister Keir Starmer this week to announce changes to immigration policy – which sadly won’t help those who have been scammed.

LVMH was once a boon to French stock markets – but is now its biggest drag. The luxury giant’s stock valuation languishes at the bottom of a five-year range, but that still hasn’t proved enough of a markdown to lure back investors. Over the last year, France’s benchmark CAC 40 index has trailed the regional Stoxx 600 by around 9 percentage points. LVMH on its own accounts for more than 70% of CAC’s relatively poor performance. The company has been battered by a slump in spending by wealthy Chinese shoppers, as well as concerns about Trump’s tariffs on imports from the European Union.

Rugby – once a symbol of apartheid – is now helping to unite South Africa. During apartheid, Black South Africans were barred from joining the national team, the Springboks, and could play only in segregated and poorly-funded leagues. But today almost half of players called up for this year’s first international fixtures are people of color, including Springboks captain Siya Kolisi.

Photographer: Jodi Bieber for Bloomberg

Hanging out with princes, a mobile McDonald’s and plenty of bling: it seems that there has been a lot to appeal to Donald Trump in this week’s visit to the Middle East. In his first planned overseas trip of this presidential term, Trump swung through the Gulf states taking in investments. In contrast to the frosty relationships with traditional democratic allies like Canada and Europe, Trump seems to be warming up to strongmen Arab leaders. The shift in US foreign policy from security to commerce has alarmed Israel, particularly the massive deals struck on this trip – including $142 billion in arms to Saudi Arabia and $243 billion to Qatar, with a focus on defense.

Commerzbank, once synonymous with low profits, is now drawing cheers after strategic moves by new CEO Bettina Orlopp to boost investor payouts. Orlopp took over at a critical time for the bank, when news broke that UniCredit had built a large stake in the company, underscoring the risk that Commerzbank could lose its independence after 155 years. This move helped to galvanize support for Orlopp, who refused to get publicly drawn into squabbles between the government and UniCredit about the approach – instead focusing on improving profitability and paying more profits to investors. At the bank’s annual meeting on Thursday, supporters in t-shirts saying “My heart beats yellow” (a reference to the firm’s corporate colors) cheered the bank and booed UniCredit, who did not attend.

Water levels are dropping across the UK as the country deals with the driest spring so far in 69 years, leading to fears of usage restrictions and drought. Reservoirs have less water than normal, river flows are tracking well below long-term averages, groundwater levels are dropping and the soil in some areas is already as dry as it typically is in summer. Water companies have started asking customers to voluntarily conserve their usage and Thames Water — which serves about a quarter of the UK including London — is considering mandatory restrictions if conditions don’t improve.

Bare banks at a reservoir near Ripponden, UK Photographer: Oli Scarff/Getty Images

What You’ll Need to Know Tomorrow

For Your Commute

Eight years after the revolutionary Nintendo Switch was released, the company will be releasing Switch 2 in June. The original console was groundbreaking in gaming, providing the flexibility of either plugging it into a TV screen at home, or using its 6-inch screen while out and about. This time around the company is embracing a slightly different approach: Don’t just buy a new one, but fill your home with them. The approach, which started from around 2021, should be thought of as the “iPhone-ification” of consoles: one per person, rather than one per household, with new models encouraging frequent upgrades. And the new model certainly is a significant upgrade, with a larger 8-inch screen, more powerful processor and better functionality for social including audio and video chat. 

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