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Intelligence for the New World Economy
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The World at a Glance
Updated 10:44am EST
1
New data raised concerns about the health of China’s economy, after investment, manufacturing and consumption figures all fell short.
2The BBC apologized to Donald Trump for misleadingly editing one of his speeches, but refused to pay compensation.
3An energy corruption scandal surrounding Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy is threatening to engulf his presidency.
4John Furner, a Walmart veteran who will succeed Doug McMillon as the retail giant’s CEO, told Semafor last month that he is betting on a “resilient customer base.”
5Washington approved the first tranche of military sales to Taiwan since Donald Trump took office, raising tensions with Beijing.
6Washington announced it would lift some tariffs on Latin America, while Seoul announced a raft of investments in the US.
New Walmart CEO John Furner bets on a ‘resilient customer base’
Furner, who is set to succeed longtime Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, spoke at Semafor’s World Economy Summit last month about the retail giant’s use of AI and its commitment to American manufacturing.
Walmart CEO John Furner. Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Semafor.Saudi crown prince’s US visit could reshape MidEast security
Saudi’s de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman and President Donald Trump are planning the future of the US-Saudi relationship for decades to come.
Brian Snyder/ReutersRecord-breaking US govt shutdown will cast long shadow
Key economic data, including employment and inflation numbers for October, will likely never be released.
Kevin Lamarque/ReutersWhite House plows ahead with South American trade deals
The deals offer a new talking point for President Donald Trump and his top advisers, who are fielding more questions about the economy.
Kevin Lamarque/ReutersAD
Yale study shows CEOs picked from within drive higher returns
Researchers say the performance gap should tell boards not to assume that an outside ‘savior’ will be better.
Sean Anthony Eddy/GettyRepublicans scoff at 50-year mortgage proposal
‘I worry about the interest that will accrue,’ one Republican lawmaker said.
Annabelle Gordon/ReutersHow one Montana senator managed to move the Trump White House — twice
Republican Tim Sheehy is willing to play hardball, when he feels it necessary. But not in public, if he can help it.
Annabelle Gordon/Reuters
PoliticsBrian Snyder/Reuters Kevin Lamarque/Reuters Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Saudi crown prince’s US visit could reshape MidEast security
Saudi’s de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman and President Donald Trump are planning the future of the US-Saudi relationship for decades to come.
Brian Snyder/ReutersRecord-breaking US govt shutdown will cast long shadow
Key economic data, including employment and inflation numbers for October, will likely never be released.
Kevin Lamarque/ReutersWhite House plows ahead with South American trade deals
The deals offer a new talking point for President Donald Trump and his top advisers, who are fielding more questions about the economy.
Kevin Lamarque/ReutersRepublicans scoff at 50-year mortgage proposal
‘I worry about the interest that will accrue,’ one Republican lawmaker said.
Debatable: How to fight climate change
Bill Gates started a heated conversation about whether the global community should change its approach to emissions reduction.
How one Montana senator managed to move the Trump White House — twice
Republican Tim Sheehy is willing to play hardball, when he feels it necessary. But not in public, if he can help it.
US Congress to vote on releasing Epstein files
Washington is in turmoil after Democrats released thousands of emails in which sex offender Jeffrey Epstein repeatedly mentioned President Donald Trump.
One in five Americans want to leave US, poll finds
Girls and women aged 15-44 are driving the trend.
House braces for vote on Epstein files next week
Though the legislation faces long odds of enactment, it will force congressional Republicans to go on-record.
Trump signs deal to end record-breaking shutdown
The deal passed despite 11th-hour outrage over a provision poised to enrich members of the upper chamber.
Photographer ‘Caesar’ to urge Congress to repeal Syria sanctions
Farid al-Madhan is slated to testify next Thursday on the sanctions that bear his alias.
BusinessSean Anthony Eddy/Getty
Yale study shows CEOs picked from within drive higher returns
Researchers say the performance gap should tell boards not to assume that an outside ‘savior’ will be better.
Sean Anthony Eddy/GettyArgentina gets $900M as US pulls same amount from IMF
The movement of funds last month, according to reports, is separate from the US Treasury purchasing pesos during Argentina’s run-up to Javier Milei’s election win.
Markets show little reaction as US government shutdown concludes
The S&P 500 traded down about 1% as the longest government shutdown in US history ended.
Why AI is tech’s Lake Wobegon
On the cusp of an AI boom, every CEO is above average, believing they will harness the best of AI and be immune from its worst.
Weak data raises concerns for China’s economy
Investment, manufacturing, and consumption figures all fell short of expectations.
Technology
Chance Yeh/Getty Images for HubSpot
Carlos Jasso/File Photo/Reuters
Spotting cybercrime is working for Anthropic’s marketing
The company said it had successfully struck down attempts by a perceived Chinese state-sponsored group that succeeded in hacking a “small number” of global targets.
Chance Yeh/Getty Images for HubSpotGoogle refuses to breakup in a plan meant to resolve EU sanctions
Google doubled down in its response to the European Commission’s landmark September decision that found its adtech business breached antitrust rules.
Carlos Jasso/File Photo/ReutersToday’s AI buildout is just a supercharged Cloud 2.0
The reckless AI buildout that we’re hearing about is much more like the old cloud business, but fast-growing, massive, and transformative.
Russian robot’s viral tumble shows messy reality of humanoids
The fall of the highly anticipated humanoid robot overshadowed a still impressive achievement in the early days of the technology.
New chatbot lets users text with AI Jesus
The app, which is trained on the Bible, is one of many ways people of faith are exploring AI’s role in their spiritual lives.
Laude Institute ramps efforts to bring more AI research to light
Braden Hancock is a research partner at the Laude Institute, a nonprofit that aims to fund computer science studies that might otherwise die on the vine.
Energy
Seun Sanni/Reuters
Adriano Machado/Reuters
Tim McDonnell/Semafor
Renewables could increase developing countries’ GDP by 10%, report finds
Between 2017 and 2022, renewable investments in the 100 largest developing countries (excluding China) contributed a combined $1.2 trillion to GDP growth.
Seun Sanni/ReutersNewsom rejects Trump plan to drill off California coast
‘Over our dead body, full stop,’ Newsom said about Trump’s drilling plans.
Adriano Machado/ReutersCOP parties head below deck
Negotiations may be off to a slow start at COP, but the after-hours party scene is alive and well.
Tim McDonnell/SemaforGulf
Emirates News Agency-WAM
Abu Dhabi greenlights driverless taxis and flying cars
The UAE capital approved the Middle East’s first driverless ride-hailing services, following two pilot programs by Chinese rivals.
Emirates News Agency-WAMSaudi crown prince’s US visit could reshape MidEast security
Saudi’s de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman and President Donald Trump are planning the future of the US-Saudi relationship for decades to come.
China overtakes the West in trade with the Gulf
Trade between the Gulf and China reached $257 billion last year, just ahead of the region’s $256 billion trade with the Eurozone, UK, and US combined.
Abu Dhabi’s XRG doubles value in a year to $151B
XRG was launched last year as the investment arm of Abu Dhabi’s state energy company, ADNOC.
Standard Chartered leans on Dubai to court wealthy families
The UK firm is 18 months into a five-year, $1.5 billion spending plan that will see $750 million poured into recruiting relationship managers and wealth specialists.
Africa
Addis Ababa. J. Countess/Getty Images.
South Africa’s Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana. Rogan Ward/Reuters.
Ethiopia’s COP32 success offers opportunity for Africa
The country looks set to stage the UN climate summit in 2027, the first sub-Saharan African host since 2011.
Addis Ababa. J. Countess/Getty Images.South Africa eyes potential upgrade
The country may be on the brink of securing its first credit rating upgrade in almost two decades.
South Africa’s Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana. Rogan Ward/Reuters.Dangote’s $1B bet on Zimbabwe
The Dangote Group will invest in cement and power generation, as well as an oil pipeline.
Air pollution monitoring investment offers ‘high return’ on health
A new report found that less than 0.1% of global philanthropy goes to combatting air pollution, which the WHO says poses major health and climate risks.
China’s Xi Jinping is latest leader to skip G20
US President Donald Trump announced that no American officials would attend, while the presidents of Argentina and Mexico will also be ab
New malaria treatments show significant promise
Swiss drugmaker Novartis said a trial of its new treatment in 12 African countries had performed well.
Security
Ann Wang/Reuters
NTB/Lise Aserud via Reuters
A model of The Fujian aircraft carrier at an airshow in China. Tingshu Wang/File Photo/Reuters.
US approves weapons sale to Taiwan, risking Beijing’s ire
The move risks once again sparking tensions with Beijing, after the US and China reached a détente in their trade war.
Ann Wang/ReutersUS allies cut intelligence sharing with US over Caribbean strikes
Colombia and the UK said that they would pause all or some intelligence sharing after US attacks on vessels in Caribbean killed dozens.
NTB/Lise Aserud via ReutersChina launches its largest naval aircraft carrier
Leader Xi Jinping has pushed to modernize the military to challenge US dominance in the South China Sea and assert sovereignty claims over Taiwan.
A model of The Fujian aircraft carrier at an airshow in China. Tingshu Wang/File Photo/Reuters.Media
Mike Blake, Mario Anzuoni, Eric Gaillard, and Dado Ruvic/Reuters
Comcast, Paramount, Netflix near bids for Warner Bros. Discovery
A frenetic pursuit for the last big chunk of media assets is entering its next stage.
Mike Blake, Mario Anzuoni, Eric Gaillard, and Dado Ruvic/ReutersBBC director general quits over Trump reporting
He resigned over a report suggesting the broadcaster had misleadingly edited a speech by US President Donald Trump.
Axel Springer’s CEO — and biggest star — is chasing his next deal
Mathias Döpfner is emerging as a new-school mogul: ubiquitously public, sitting on a pile of cash, and on the hunt for more deals.
Zaslav meets with Comcast executives as bidding war ramps up
Comcast may feel there is still a path forward for a deal.
Condé Nast abruptly fires 4 staffers after HR confrontation
The firings were an unsubtle message to its employee union that the publisher was taking a harder line in its dealings with employees.
CEO SignalSean Anthony Eddy/Getty 
Merck/Joey Pfeifer/Semafor
Joey Pfeifer/Semafor
Yale study shows CEOs picked from within drive higher returns
Researchers say the performance gap should tell boards not to assume that an outside ‘savior’ will be better.
Sean Anthony Eddy/GettyBelén Garijo’s prescription for Germany’s Merck
The former doctor says long-term success stems from making hard decisions when the going is good.
Merck/Joey Pfeifer/SemaforHow Ariane Gorin sees AI writing Expedia’s third chapter
The former Microsoft executive says agents will not replace her travel site — if it can get its own technology right.
Joey Pfeifer/SemaforAD