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The Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, plans to extend its halt on Covid-19 vaccine exports until the end of the year in a blow to countries depending on its shipments to start their vaccination campaigns.

“We continue to scale up manufacturing and prioritise India,” Adar Poonawalla, chief executive, said on Tuesday. “We also hope to start delivering to Covax and other countries by the end of this year,” he added, referring to the multilateral global vaccine programme.

Poonawalla said he was making the statement in response to “intense discussion” over a decision to export vaccines at the start of the year, which was followed by a sudden freeze on shipments imposed by prime minister Narendra Modi’s government in March as virus cases surged.

The Serum Institute’s CEO had previously said he hoped to resume exports in June, but only if the number of Covid-19 cases in India began to decline.

Coronavirus digest

• Japan’s economic output fell 1.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2021, a drop of 5.1 per cent at an annualised rate, amid a renewed Covid-19 state of emergency.

• China’s retail sales in April came in below expectations, contributing to a slowed economic recovery last month.

• Thailand on Tuesday reported a record number of Covid-19 deaths, which come as the kingdom weathers a third wave of infections.

• The UK labour market turned a corner in the first quarter of 2021, with payroll employment rising, unemployment falling faster than expected and hiring accelerating in the run-up to the economy reopening. (FT, WSJ)

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In the news

Joe Biden meets Democratic lawmaker critical of his Israel response The US president met progressive Palestinian-American congresswoman Rashida Tlaib as he comes under growing pressure from within his party to do more to stop the hostilities. A rocket launched from Gaza on Tuesday killed two Thai workers in a southern Israel factory. Earlier, Israeli air strikes destroyed a six-story building. (FT, AP)

• Go deeper: Katrina Manson, US foreign and defence correspondent, and Michael Peel, EU diplomatic correspondent, discuss how the US and Europe are responding to the Gaza conflict in Tuesday’s FT News Briefing podcast.

Energy groups must stop new oil and gas projects, IEA says To keep global warming in check, energy groups must stop all new oil and gas exploration projects from this year, the International Energy Agency said in a report on ways to achieve net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.

Nvidia tries to stop some chips being used for crypto mining With video gamers facing an acute shortage of high-powered silicon chips amid booming demand in cryptocurrency, the chipmaker acts to prevent its most popular graphics cards being used for crypto mining.

JPMorgan elevates potential successors to Jamie Dimon The US bank has elevated Marianne Lake and Jennifer Piepszak to co-heads of its consumer and community banking unit in a reshuffle of its top ranks. Both are considered potential replacements for Dimon when he eventually steps down. 

Amazon in talks to acquire MGM The ecommerce giant is seeking to buy the film studio behind the James Bond franchise for about $9bn. MGM is one of the few Hollywood studios not to have been gobbled up in recent waves of media consolidation. News of Amazon’s interest in MGM comes a day after AT&T agreed to spin off and combine WarnerMedia with rival Discovery.

• Read more: The AT&T-Discovery deal creates a media empire with the heft to compete with Disney and Netflix. Go deeper with our Due Diligence newsletter. Sign up here to receive the email in your inbox.

Hong Kong suspends operations at Taiwan representative office In a sign of growing diplomatic tension, the territory on Tuesday halted operations at its representative office in Taiwan. The Hong Kong government did not explain the decision, but said it was not related to the island nation’s surge in Covid-19 cases. (Reuters)

Overworking kills More than 745,000 people died in 2016 because of overworking that resulted in stroke and heart disease, according to a new study from the World Health Organization. Workers in south-east Asia were among those most at risk. (NPR)

The day ahead

Federal Reserve minutes The US central bank publishes its last meeting’s minutes on Wednesday after last week’s inflation leap. Chair Jay Powell reiterated after the policymakers’ last meeting in late April that the Fed was still “a long way” from withdrawing any monetary support.

• Related: Lawrence Summers, the former US Treasury secretary, sharply rebuked the Federal Reserve for its loose monetary policies, accusing the central bank of creating a “dangerous complacency”.

European inflation data A higher inflation reading for April, which is out on Wednesday, would be one of the strongest signs yet that the region’s recovery is gaining momentum.

In our new email, Unhedged, US financial editor Rob Armstrong writes that while very high valuations suggest poor long-term returns, being out of the market risks missing out on the short-term returns that often characterise the end of a bull market. Not everyone agreed. Read more in today’s newsletter and sign up here.

What else we’re reading

Singapore’s museums get a digital makeover Digitally savvy museums in the country are also part of the drive to build a smart city — a process that has raised privacy concerns in this quasi-authoritarian state, writes Stefania Palma.

Tale of Taiwan’s tech giants in US reveals divide in approach Business has hardly ever been this political for technology companies. As they attempt to balance the demands on capacity from the geopolitical rivals US and China, Foxconn exemplifies the balance gone badly wrong, writes Kathrin Hille.

How social media is pumping penny stocks Hundreds of stocks traded privately, away from the main US stock markets, have had their own frenzied, social media-driven speculation this year, according to an FT investigation, often encouraged by social media accounts with cultish followings.

‘The economy needs more than neoliberal medicine’ Former dean of Columbia Business School and Republican adviser Glenn Hubbard tells the FT’s editor-at-large Gillian Tett why 1980s-style neoliberalism — the mantra of Ronald Reagan — needs to be rethought for the 21st century. This is the latest in our Economists Exchange series.

Net zero: from fringe to mainstream The world has rarely seen any environmental idea take off like the push to cut greenhouse gas emissions to net zero, Pilita Clark writes. Yet for many businesses, the rush to net zero looks like a looming car crash. As it works towards its 2030 solar goal, Singapore has built a floating solar farm the size of 45 football fields. (FT, Straits Times)

Podcast of the day

How can I change my money mindset? Rosie, a 32-year-old project manager, contacted Money Clinic as she kept making the same mistakes when it came to budgeting. With the help of Tim Harford, FT columnist and author, and blogger Ellie Austin-Williams, known online as This Girl Talks Money, the FT’s consumer editor Claer Barrett offers some advice.