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Inflation report raises Fed rate-hike odds
The Labor Department said Wednesday that consumer prices rose more in September than economists had expected.
The World at a Glance
Updated 4:13pm EDT
1
US consumer prices rose more last month than expected, increasing the chance of an interest rate hike.
2Chinese exports jumped 36% year-on-year in September, a bumper figure that is likely to vex the country’s trade partners over alleged domestic overproduction.
3The CEO of ASML said AI demand would outstrip supply for years to come, easing investors’ worries of a spending bubble.
4The threat of a workers’ strike at the world’s largest copper mine sent prices of the metal surging, a reflection of Chile’s dominance of the sector.
5Iran-backed Houthi fighters reportedly struck Saudi Arabia’s national oil company headquarters as regional conflict escalates.
6India cracked down further on anti-government protests over education and frustration with broader threats to democracy.
Trump mulls intelligence-sharing with Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said recently that Kyiv had received no intelligence from partners on a Russian missile attack.
Why one spoiler candidate is now trying to replicate his work nationwide
Aaron Day cost one Republican senator her race in 2016. These days he’s using AI to expand his work.
Former Canadian official says Europe erred on Trump tariffs
“A real problem for the Western alliance has been the decision by the UK and by the EU to give in to the Trump bullying on tariffs,” Chrystia Freeland told Semafor.
Trump returns to Ohio as Democrats try to claw back his advantage
MAGA’s advance might be slowing in Youngstown, but will it roll back?
AI task force readies for first meeting
It’s still not clear what exactly will be discussed at the task force’s first meeting, as the group scrambles to organize following its formation earlier this month.
Kenya clears path for Dangote refinery IPO investment
Economic integration across Africa has long been undermined by the continent’s disconnected financial markets.
Top Democratic super PAC spends more in Michigan, Maine
Senate Democrats’ top super PAC is pouring nearly $7 million more into two major races.
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Politics
White House played central role in antitrust probe of TV networks
Multiple people told Semafor that the idea of an inquiry was first discussed inside the White House before being pursued by the DOJ.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Inflation report raises Fed rate-hike odds
The Labor Department said Wednesday that consumer prices rose more in September than economists had expected.
Evan Vucci/Reuters
Trump returns to Ohio as Democrats try to claw back his advantage
Republicans around Youngstown expected the trend of underestimating their vote to hold this year, but not accelerate, and they agreed Democrats would at least be competitive.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Why one spoiler candidate is now trying to replicate his work nationwide
Aaron Day cost one Republican senator her race in 2016. These days he’s using AI to expand his work.
Former Canadian official says Europe erred on Trump tariffs
“A real problem for the Western alliance has been the decision by the UK and by the EU to give in to the Trump bullying on tariffs,” Chrystia Freeland told Semafor.
AI task force readies for first meeting
It’s still not clear what exactly will be discussed at the task force’s first meeting, as the group scrambles to organize following its formation earlier this month.
Political fallout from Trump’s Russian diesel deal overshadows price impact
The planned imports will “have very little unnoticeable impact on domestic US diesel prices, even if it happens,” an economist told Semafor.
Trump mulls intelligence-sharing with Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said recently that Kyiv had received no intelligence from partners on a Russian missile attack.
Top Democratic super PAC spends more in Michigan, Maine
Senate Democrats’ top super PAC is pouring nearly $7 million more into two major races.
US is still sharing intel with Kyiv, Trump says
Ukraine’s leader said he received no advance warnings from Western partners before a Russian missile strike on Tuesday.
Trump crosses country in bid to save midterms
The president’s goal remains persuading his loyalists to turn out in an election where he isn’t on the ballot.
Business
A quarter of financial firms tie pay and promotions to AI proficiency: survey
A survey of 500 companies by financial recruiting firm Selby Jennings finds that the practice is more common among fintechs and smaller firms.
Workers at a startup in San Salvador. Jessica Orellana/Reuters.
Saudi national arrested over alleged planting of recording device at OpenAI
Startup espionage has been pursued for far less, but the FBI’s quick work and public rollout of the arrest shows how high the stakes are for the US government and frontier labs.
It’s BlackRock vs. Apollo in war to bank corporate America
With a little-noticed deal this week for senior-care clinics, BlackRock entered the lending space, which Apollo has had to itself until now.
Asia is world’s largest producer of ‘zombie’ firms, IMF warns
Zombie firms’ debt share has more than doubled since 2008.
Bumble to go private in $1.3B acquisition
The company has faced years of falling revenue amid a shift in online dating habits.
Technology
The AI era will redefine business
Reflection AI co-founder and CTO Ioannis Antonoglou said this week on Semafor’s Future Proof that in the AI era, companies have to throw out what they’ve done for decades and come up with new ways to measure and carry out their work.
Xbox leans into AI with Xbox Labs
The company aims to work with users as well as its own developers and engineers to make games and experiences stemming from the new AI-fueled creations.
Mike Blake/Reuters
A quarter of financial firms tie pay and promotions to AI proficiency: survey
A survey of 500 companies by financial recruiting firm Selby Jennings finds that the practice is more common among fintechs and smaller firms.
Saudi national arrested over alleged planting of recording device at OpenAI
Startup espionage has been pursued for far less, but the FBI’s quick work and public rollout of the arrest shows how high the stakes are for the US government and frontier labs.
ASML CEO confident AI demand will outstrip supply for years to come
Christophe Fouquet’s comments have eased investors’ concerns of an AI spending bubble after ASML reported bumper profits.
AI task force readies for first meeting
It’s still not clear what exactly will be discussed at the task force’s first meeting, as the group scrambles to organize following its formation earlier this month.
Energy
Saudi attacks shake the confidence of foreign investors
International energy bosses were largely absent from this week’s World Petroleum Council Energy Congress, held in Riyadh, after the Houthi attack.
Social Media/Reuters
Trump’s Russian energy strategy could backfire
The contradictory tangle of energy policy actions taken by Trump toward Russia risks repeating mistakes that he often slammed his predecessor for.
Annabelle Gordon/Reuters
Power firms cut waste and modernize systems to meet surging demand
Companies are positioning their commercial offerings for the huge demand growth of the coming decades.
Shelby Tauber/Reuters
Gulf
Saudi set to drop plans for five 2034 World Cup stadiums
The proposed cuts would leave the kingdom with 10 match venues as it scales back spending on major domestic projects.
Hamad I Mohammed/Reuters
It’s a different oil crisis, but Saudi Arabia will still pay
The kingdom remains the global swing producer. But the US is no longer beholden to OPEC, shifting the diplomatic calculation.
Qatar’s wealth fund keeps spending as war slashes government revenue
Qatar Investment Authority’s appetite mirrors many peers in the Gulf.
A pioneering Jeddah schoolhouse show reaches Frieze Masters in London 58 years later
In 1968, two female artists hung their paintings in the Dar Al-Tarbia Al-Hadetha school, among the first exhibitions women had ever held in Saudi Arabia.
How the Houthis’ Zaydi heritage influences their strikes in Iran
The Houthis are heirs to a 1,000-year-old Zaydi imamate that ruled northern Yemen on and off until the modern state was established in 1962.
China
Chinese exports surge, putting the country on track for a record surplus
Faced with US and EU trade restrictions, Chinese companies have turned to other markets sparking criticism from producers in Southeast Asia and Africa.
China Daily/Reuters
Xi’s ‘death watch’ will become a global spectacle
China’s internal risks are now the world’s risks.
Florence Lo/Reuters
New report shows US chip industry’s reliance on China
More than 5% of equipment and materials supplied to US chipmakers originate in China, which also possesses some 90% of the rare earths required to manufacture semiconductors.
Go Nakamura/Reuters
Africa
Rwanda confirms it will host F1 Grand Prix
The sport’s governing body, which has committed to a 10-year race deal, linked the move to expanding the global reach of F1.
Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame. Jean Bizimana/Reuters.
Malawi launches black market fuel crackdown as prices soar
The southern African nation is struggling with fuel shortages that have left truckers queuing for up to a week and bus fares doubling on some routes.
Eldson Chagara/Reuters
Former DR Congo president forms new rebel movement
The move deepens the political and security threat to President Félix Tshisekedi’s government.
IMF raises sub-Saharan Africa growth outlook
The IMF said the new projection, marginally higher than July’s 4.3%, “masks substantial divergence” within the region.
Kenya clears path for Dangote refinery IPO investment
Economic integration across Africa has long been undermined by the continent’s disconnected financial markets.
Ecobank agrees to join Chinese payment platform
The move follows increasing demand from African businesses to settle deals using China’s currency.
Security
MI5 chief warns of escalating hybrid threats from Russia, Iran
The British intelligence agency is now devoting more resources to state threats than during the Cold War, Ken McCallum said.
Jonathan Brady/Pool/Reuters
US is still sharing intel with Kyiv, Trump says
Ukraine’s leader said he received no advance warnings from Western partners before a Russian missile strike on Tuesday.
Aleksandra Szmigiel/Reuters
Cyberattack destroys food at hundreds of French grocery stores
A cyberattack affected at least 400 French supermarkets overnight, raising refrigerator temperatures to more than 122°F (50°C) in some cases.
Stephane Mahe/Reuters
Media
Fox stays positive on data centers even as public backlash grows
More than half of the references to data centers on Fox News over the last two years would have left viewers with a favorable impression, according to a Semafor analysis.
Fred Greaves/Reuters
Hack reveals Netanyahu campaign’s media ties
The latest breach comes from the Whatsapp account of Netanyahu aide Jonatan Urich.
ABC News offers contradictory explanation for vanishing Anduril story
Emails between ABC News and its subjects, provided to Semafor, show the network seeking to downplay its errors by misrepresenting its own processes.
New Skydance CEO Kreiz will be Ellison’s enforcer
Investors are warily eying Skydance’s freshly downgraded debt, and layoffs are coming.
Marc Elias’ Democracy Docket sees Trump 2.0 success
One of the Democratic Party’s most prolific lawyers also is becoming one of its most prolific posters.
CEO Signal
The CEO who put Canary Wharf back on the map
Shobi Khan’s success in filling the east London site is tempting him to think about international expansion.
‘It’s not about the champagne:’ Why VistaJet thinks the private flights boom can last
Founder Thomas Flohr is keeping IPO options open as he expands his global fleet.
How Greg Jackson runs Octopus Energy with no HR, no bonuses, and no succession plan
The serial founder relies on “family dinners,” accessibility, and a disdain for bureaucracy.
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