Apple Inc. $AAPL has regained its lead in the Chinese smartphone market in May, according to preliminary data released by Counterpoint Research. The company’s iPhone sales saw a global year-on-year increase of 15% across April and May 2025 — the strongest two-month performance since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The rebound was fueled by a return to growth in Apple’s two largest markets, the United States and China, as well as notable sales momentum in Japan, India, and the Middle East.

European Union antitrust regulators have intensified their scrutiny of payment processing giants Visa Inc. $V and Mastercard Incorporated $MA. Following ongoing concerns, the European Commission has reached out to retailers and payment service providers with new questionnaires aimed at determining whether a standardized, consolidated disclosure of fees could resolve market inefficiencies and enhance tariff transparency. This development marks an expansion of the preliminary investigation, reflecting regulatory priorities on transparency and fairness in payment fees across the EU.

China’s industrial profits showed a notable increase in April 2025, according to official data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday. This growth has encouraged policymakers optimistic that recent economic stimulus measures are helping the country sustain its industrial sector despite persistent trade tensions with the United States. The escalation of the US-China trade conflict under President Donald Trump had raised significant concerns about the future trajectory of China’s export-driven growth amid weak domestic demand and deflationary pressures.