BlackRock Buys Key Panama Ports Amid U.S.-China Tensions

A consortium led by BlackRock has bought two ports on either side of the Panama Canal just a few weeks after President Trump threatened to use force to restore U.S. control over the energy chokepoint. The deal was worth $22.8 billion and also involved a few dozen ports around the world. According to a Bloomberg report, it was the head of the banking giant who pitched the idea to the president. Citing unnamed sources familiar with the developments, Larry Fink offered Trump to buy the ports, whose Chinese-linked ownership had concerned the U.S. president.…