1. In Germany, Friedrich Merz has been elected chancellor in a second round of parliamentary voting. He failed to secure a majority in the first vote earlier on Tuesday. Merz was the candidate for the alliance of the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union, which won the country’s general election in February.
2. India has launched military strikes against what it calls “terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Islamabad is poised to retaliate. India’s defense ministry said its armed forces struck nine sites shortly after 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday, local time.
3. It’s earnings season on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and scores of companies are releasing results for the year ended in March and projections for the year ahead. The common theme is how new US import tariffs will hit operations.