Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to a 30-day halt on attacks targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure following a phone call with US President Donald Trump, marking a significant shift in the ongoing conflict.

However, Putin stopped short of accepting a broader ceasefire, with the Kremlin emphasizing concerns that Ukraine could use the pause to rearm.

The White House announced that negotiations for a more comprehensive truce would begin immediately, but it remains unclear whether Ukraine will be included in these talks.

Russia halts strikes on Ukraine’s energy grid

The Kremlin confirmed that Putin has ordered Russian forces to temporarily cease attacks on Ukrainian power plants, gas pipelines, and other critical energy sites.

This comes after months of Russian missile and drone strikes that have severely disrupted Ukraine’s energy supply.

In retaliation, Ukraine has launched drone attacks on Russian oil refineries, disrupting Moscow’s fuel exports.

While the White House welcomed the agreement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has yet to respond publicly.

Kyiv has maintained that any peace deal must include a complete Russian withdrawal from occupied territories, a stance that clashes with Moscow’s demands for territorial concessions.

Energy infrastructure remains a key battleground

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has been a primary target. Key sites impacted include:

• Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant: Europe’s largest nuclear plant, occupied by Russian forces since March 2022, remains at risk due to ongoing military activity.
• Gas pipelines: Ukraine’s extensive pipeline network has been used by Russian forces in cross-border operations, while drone strikes have disrupted Russian gas exports.
• Russian oil refineries: Ukrainian drone attacks have damaged key Russian refining hubs, briefly knocking out up to 10% of Moscow’s refining capacity in February.

Europe reacts cautiously to US-Russia talks

Trump’s direct negotiations with Putin have raised concerns among European allies, who worry about a shift in US policy.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz welcomed the halt in strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure but insisted that a full ceasefire should follow.

Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned that Russia is expanding its military capabilities, signaling that the conflict is far from over.

As peace talks unfold, the future of Ukraine’s sovereignty, energy security, and Western alliances remain in the balance.

French President Emmanuel Macron emphasized that they have been advocating for peace from the start and stressed that any resolution must include Ukraine in the negotiations.

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Nvidia (NVDA) shares fell 2.4% on Tuesday after CEO Jensen Huang addressed growing concerns about overspending in the AI sector while reaffirming the company’s strong position in chipmaking.

Speaking at Nvidia’s annual software developer conference, Huang defended the company’s leadership in AI processors as competition intensifies, particularly from China’s DeepSeek, which introduced a high-performance chatbot in January.

Huang said AI expansions into building reasoning models and AI agents will require far greater computational needs.

“This last year, this is where almost the entire world got it wrong,” he said. 

“The amount of computation needed is easily 100 times more than we thought we needed at this time last year,” Huang said, reiterating a point he’s made in recent months.

Investors have been wary of whether major AI players—including Microsoft (MSFT) and Amazon (AMZN)—are spending too much on Nvidia’s premium AI chips, potentially dampening future demand.

Shares of Nvidia were already trading lower before Huang’s keynote speech.

During the event, Huang unveiled the Blackwell Ultra GPU, the next iteration of the company’s AI chip lineup, which he said will be available in the second half of this year.

While the announcement reinforced Nvidia’s commitment to innovation, it failed to boost investor sentiment.

Nvidia’s stock has fallen around 14% year-to-date, underperforming the Nasdaq Composite Index (IXIC), which has declined 9% over the same period.

The stock is currently trading at 25 times expected earnings, below its five-year average forward price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 40, based on LSEG data.

Nvidia unveils Blackwell Ultra, Vera Rubin

Nvidia has announced its latest AI chip families, Blackwell Ultra and Vera Rubin, at its annual GTC conference.

The new processors aim to power the next wave of artificial intelligence models and data center computing.

Blackwell Ultra, an upgraded version of the recently launched Blackwell chips, will start shipping in the second half of 2025.

Meanwhile, Vera Rubin, Nvidia’s next-generation GPU, is scheduled for release in 2026.

The company also revealed Vera Rubin Ultra, an enhanced variant arriving in 2027, which will deliver 14 times the computing power of the original Blackwell series.

“Once a year—like clock ticks,” said Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, emphasizing the company’s new annual chip release cycle.

Nvidia’s AI chips have become essential for training and deploying advanced AI models.

The company’s rapid innovation cycle is critical, as cloud giants such as Microsoft, Google, and Amazon continue investing heavily in Nvidia-powered infrastructure.

Analysts project that the Vera Rubin series could generate nearly $40 billion in revenue in its first year, soaring to over $95 billion by its second year.

Nvidia’s revenue has surged more than sixfold since OpenAI’s ChatGPT launched in 2022, reinforcing its dominance in the AI chip market.

GM and Nvidia partner to develop AI-driven vehicles

Apart from the announcement about the latest chip breakthroughs, General Motors (GM) and Nvidia also announced a strategic collaboration to integrate artificial intelligence into GM’s next-generation vehicles, advanced driver-assistance systems, and manufacturing facilities.

The partnership will see GM utilizing Nvidia’s technology across multiple areas, including in-vehicle systems, factory planning, and robotics.

“The era of physical AI is here, and together with GM, we’re transforming transportation, from vehicles to the factories where they’re made,” said Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.

The collaboration builds upon GM’s existing use of Nvidia’s artificial intelligence technology.

GM has previously used Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs) to train AI models for simulations and vehicle validation.

With this new partnership, the automaker will expand its reliance on Nvidia’s AI capabilities to include in-vehicle computing systems and factory design.

What does the deal mean for the companies? Analysts weigh in

Neither GM nor Nvidia disclosed the financial terms of the deal.

However, the collaboration signals Nvidia’s increasing efforts to expand its presence in the automotive sector, which has historically been a small part of its overall business.

More than 20 global automakers, including Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Volkswagen, and BYD, currently use Nvidia’s system-on-a-chip hardware in their smart vehicle platforms.

For GM, the move underscores its ongoing push to modernize its manufacturing and vehicle technology amid growing competition from both traditional automakers and emerging electric vehicle (EV) startups.

The company has faced pressure to accelerate its transition toward AI-driven automation and autonomous driving systems.

The partnership also comes at a time of rising competition from China and evolving regulatory challenges, including potential tariffs.

Both companies have seen stock declines in 2025, with GM’s shares falling around 8 percent and Nvidia’s stock down 12%.

Despite these headwinds, analysts view the partnership as a strategic move for both companies.

For GM, the integration of Nvidia’s AI could strengthen its position in the autonomous and connected vehicle market.

For Nvidia, the deal represents a crucial expansion beyond its core business of data centers and GPUs, allowing it to deepen its foothold in the automotive sector.

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Trump tariffs and the related fears of an economic slowdown ahead are broadly expected to serve as headwinds for the US bank stocks in 2025.

Still, one of them, Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C), is worth buying on the recent weakness, according to Wells Fargo analyst Mike Mayo.

Mayo expects Citi stock to benefit amidst the new tariff environment.

A close to 20% hit to its share price since mid-February has created an opportunity for long-term investors to buy a quality name at a deep discount, he argued in a research note on Monday.

Citi has a history of benefitting from tariffs

Despite the recent pullback in bank stocks, Mike Mayo continues to rate Citigroup at “overweight” and sees an upside in its shares to $110 indicating a potential upside of about 60% from here.

In his report, he recommended capitalizing on the recent weakness in Citi stock as it’s currently trading at a deep discount.

The analyst took heart in the fact that Citi benefitted from higher tariffs during Trump’s previous tenure as well since “it’s a global intermediary across regions,” adding it’s “important at a time when their buybacks could go further at ¾ of tangible book value.”

A healthy 3.2% dividend yield coupled with Citi shares makes them all the more exciting to own at current levels, according to the Wells Fargo analyst.

What else could help Citi stock in 2025?

Mayo remains uber bullish on Citigroup Inc. as he sees the financial services giant switching from “value destruction to value creation in 2026.”

While new levies under the Trump administration have been hurting bank stocks recently, the Wells Fargo analyst expects potential deregulation to meaningfully benefit Citi stock in 2025.

He’s convinced that Scott Bessent – the US Treasury Secretary will remove the red tap to put banks in charge of their own lending decisions.

Note that Citi shares are still up close to 25% versus their 52-week low despite the recent sell-off.

Citi topped estimates in its fiscal Q4

Mike Mayo remains constructive on Citi stock also because the NYSE-listed firm reported solid results for its fourth quarter in January.

Citigroup swung to a profit and topped estimates on both the top and the bottom lines in its fiscal Q4.

At the time, chief executive Jane Fraser told investors:

I want this company set up for long-term success and to ensure that we have enough capacity to invest for that.

We intend to improve returns and deliver Citi’s full potential for our shareholders.

In January, Citigroup which recently avoided one of the largest banking blunders ever also announced a massive $20 billion stock repurchase program.

About $1.5 billion of that will be executed in Q1, according to its chief of finance, Mark Mason.

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Bo Hines, executive director of the President’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, has signaled that comprehensive stablecoin legislation is imminent, with finalization expected in the coming months.

Speaking at the Digital Asset Summit in New York on March 18, Hines emphasized the urgency of maintaining the US dollar’s dominance in on-chain financial activity.

His remarks come after the Senate Banking Committee approved the GENIUS Act last week.

The legislation, formally known as the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act, aims to establish regulatory frameworks for stablecoin issuers, including collateralization requirements and compliance with anti-money laundering laws.

“We saw that vote come out of the Senate Banking Committee in an extremely bipartisan fashion, […] which was fantastic to see,” Hines said.

He stressed that bipartisan support underscores the national interest in preserving US leadership in the digital asset space.

“I think our colleagues on the other side of the aisle also recognize the importance of US dominance in this space, and they’re willing to work with us here, and that’s what’s exciting about this,” he said.

“You know, there’s not many issues in Washington, DC, in which folks can come together from both sides of the aisle and propel the United States forward in a way that’s comprehensive,” he added.

When asked about when stablecoin legislation will be passed, Hines said, “I think that stables could be on the president’s desk here in the next two months.”

Right now, the market seems to be underestimating what this bill “could do for the US economy in terms of US dollar dominance, in terms of payment rails, in terms of altering the course of financial markets,” said Hines.

Reinforcing the dollar’s dominance

The US dollar continues to be the primary currency backing stablecoins, with digital dollars accounting for most of the $230 billion stablecoin market.

These assets play a crucial role in cryptocurrency trading, remittances, and digital payments, further entrenching the dollar’s global influence.

While some experts foresee a shift toward multicurrency stablecoins, the dominance of dollar-backed assets remains unchallenged.

White House emphasizes the strategic role of stablecoins

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has reaffirmed the Trump administration’s commitment to leveraging stablecoins as a tool for maintaining the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency.

Speaking at the White House Crypto Summit on March 7, Bessent highlighted the administration’s focus on a well-regulated stablecoin regime.

“We are going to put a lot of thought into the stablecoin regime, and as President Trump has directed, we are going to keep the US [dollar] the dominant reserve currency in the world, and we will use stablecoins to do that,” Bessent said.

With stablecoins becoming increasingly embedded in global finance, regulatory clarity could bolster the US financial system’s competitiveness while reinforcing the dollar’s dominance in digital asset markets.

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British employers have not made any changes in pay increases in response to rising costs and an impending hike in payroll taxes, bringing wage growth back in line with inflation for the first time since October 2023.

Data from human resources firm Brightmine shows that the median pay award remained at 3% for the three months to February 2025, marking the joint lowest rate of increase since December 2021.

This stabilisation suggests that businesses are exercising greater caution as they navigate economic uncertainties, a trend likely to be welcomed by the Bank of England (BoE) as it assesses inflationary pressures in the labour market.

Employers brace for tax rise

With payroll taxes set to increase in April, many British businesses are taking a conservative approach to wage growth.

Brightmine’s data indicates that a quarter of firms are planning to put hiring freezes or restructure their teams in response to the tax changes.

Some businesses are considering pay freezes and postponing salary increases to manage rising operational costs.

This shift reflects concerns about maintaining financial stability amid broader economic pressures, including higher social security contributions and minimum wage adjustments.

The cautious stance among employers is evident in the consistency of wage growth figures over recent months.

The median pay award of 3% in the three months to February remained unchanged from the previous two quarters.

This is in sharp contrast to the wage growth acceleration seen throughout 2023, when inflation-driven pay increases were more common.

As employers anticipate higher tax burdens, wage growth is unlikely to pick up significantly in the near term.

Minimum wage hike pressures firms

Along with the payroll tax increase, the UK’s minimum wage is set to rise by nearly 7% in April, putting further pressure on businesses.

Brightmine’s analysis suggests that nearly three-quarters of employers expect this change to narrow the gap between their lowest and highest-paid workers.

Companies with a significant proportion of lower-paid staff may need to adjust salary structures across the board to maintain differentiation between roles.

This could lead to cost-cutting measures elsewhere, including delayed pay rises for higher earners or reductions in discretionary bonuses.

The impact of the minimum wage hike will be particularly significant in sectors with large numbers of lower-paid employees, such as retail, hospitality, and care services.

Many businesses in these industries are already operating on tight margins and could face difficult decisions about pricing, staffing, and overall workforce management.

BoE watches wage trends

The BoE is closely monitoring wage growth as a key indicator of inflationary pressure in the economy.

The latest data suggesting a stagnation in pay increases supports expectations that inflationary risks from the labour market may be subsiding.

In January, the UK’s consumer price index (CPI) stood at 3%, matching the latest wage growth figures.

While the BoE is widely expected to keep interest rates on hold following its March meeting, a continued easing of wage pressures could strengthen the case for rate cuts later in the year.

Policymakers have been cautious about lowering borrowing costs too soon, fearing a resurgence of inflation.

However, if pay growth remains subdued and inflation continues its downward trend, the central bank may have more room to manoeuvre on monetary policy in the coming months.

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