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View / Trump’s H-1B visa crackdown targets the wrong workers
View / Abu Dhabi Finance Week has evolved into a marker of the city’s ascendancy
The World at a Glance
Updated 12:32pm EST
1
India’s largest airline cancelled more than 1,000 flights Friday, exacerbating a week-long travel crisis during the country’s busy holiday season.
2The US military struck another alleged drug boat in the eastern Pacific, as questions intensify over the legality of its campaign.
3Netflix agreed to buy the film and streaming businesses of Warner Bros. Discovery for $72 billion.
4The US Supreme Court allowed Texas to redraw its electoral map and add up to five likely Republican-controlled House districts.
5The EU opened an antitrust investigation into Meta over WhatsApp’s use of AI.
6Shares in a Chinese semiconductor firm founded by an Nvidia alum surged in their opening day of trading, in Shanghai.
Democratic Sen. Gallego urges oversight of H-1B visas
In a letter to the Trump administration, the Arizona senator accused big tech companies of abusing the program.
Jon Cherry/Reuters Anthropic’s Dario Amodei on relationship-repair tour in DC
The Anthropic CEO discussed AI policy, export controls, and the importance of winning the AI race in Washington this week.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty ImagesRepublicans stuck in economic muddle as White House eyes second party-line bill
The party is rudderless on health care costs and divided over tariffs as Trump aides try to focus on selling what it already passed.
Kevin Lamarque/ReutersGuggenheim eyes Gulf as it brushes off private credit fears
The New York firm is looking to open an Abu Dhabi office.
Guggenheim Partners Investment Management CIO Anne Walsh. Courtesy of the Milken Institute.AD
Leaked conversation shows Europe’s distrust of US in Ukraine peace talks
Der Spiegel obtained notes of a Monday conference call where France’s president said the US may “betray Ukraine.”
Yves Herman/ReutersNuclear energy poised to rise sharply in Africa’s power mix: Report
The Rockefeller Foundation estimated growth in the use of nuclear power in Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, and South Africa.
Koeberg Nuclear Power Station in Cape Town. Esa Alexander/Reuters.US stocks gain on belief Fed will cut interest rates
Traders now project a quarter-percentage-point cut next week as nearly 90% likely.
Aaron Schwartz/File Photo/Reuters
PoliticsMichael M. Santiago/Getty Images Jon Cherry/Reuters
Anthropic’s Dario Amodei on relationship-repair tour in DC
The Anthropic CEO discussed AI policy, export controls, and the importance of winning the AI race in Washington this week.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty ImagesArchitects of the New Economy
In Washington, economic power no longer follows party lines.
Democratic Sen. Gallego urges oversight of H-1B visas
In a letter to the Trump administration, the Arizona senator accused big tech companies of abusing the program.
Jon Cherry/Reuters Senate Republican pitches Obamacare subsidy compromise
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is pitching a two-year package that would include a $200,000 income cap for coverage subsidies.
Debatable: State-level AI regulations
Republicans are divided over a President Donald Trump-backed push to limit rules for the technology.
Republicans stuck in economic muddle as White House eyes second party-line bill
The party is rudderless on health care costs and divided over tariffs as Trump aides try to focus on selling what it already passed.
Democrats push to restrict Trump on Venezuela
Two senators are trying to fast-track legislation that would prevent the president from going to war with Venezuela.
Schumer’s Democrats push back leadership debate
Debate about the future of the caucus will wait for a bit. And there’s no Senate Democratic equivalent of Rick Scott yet.
Senate eyes capital markets bill amid push to relax investment rules
Sens. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., are introducing a bill that would make it easier to invest in startups s.
Americans lose confidence in US economy
A poll found consumers’ economic confidence was at its lowest point since July 2024.
More Americans concerned about political rhetoric, poll finds
Majorities say both parties’ rhetoric has “gone too far.”
Business
Courtesy of ServiceNow/Joey Pfeifer/Semafor
How Bill McDermott’s ‘underdog desire’ drives ServiceNow
The enterprise software CEO sees AI creating ‘chaos’ inside some companies — and opportunities for his own.
Courtesy of ServiceNow/Joey Pfeifer/SemaforCongrats, we’ve reinvented the public pension
Wall Street’s solution to the death of the defined retirement benefit plans looks an awful lot like defined retirement
Top Manhattan prosecutor vows to grow fraud team as Trump reshapes DOJ
Manhattan US Attorney Jay Clayton’s told Semafor “the defense bar shouldn’t worry about the breadline.”
Private credit defaults are coming — and that’s ok
Loan defaults won’t be catastrophic and are to be expected after a decade of easy money, said a BlackRock senior executive.
What goes around, comes around in AI investments
OpenAI’s bizarre investment in Thrive — normally venture firms give money to startups, not the other way around — looks like a classic diversification play.
Technology
Brian Snyder/Reuters
Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez. Brendan McDermid/Reuters.
H-1B visa crackdown targets the wrong workers
Reforming an H-1B system long dominated by low-wage consulting firms could help the US retain elite global technologists.
Brian Snyder/ReutersCohere on ‘the right side’ of the AI bubble, CEO says
There is a right and a wrong side of the AI bubble, and Cohere is on “the right side” of it, CEO Aidan Gomez told reporters.
Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez. Brendan McDermid/Reuters.Estée Lauder enters AI beauty race with fragrance chatbot
Developed by Google Cloud, the bot prompts customers with questions about the kind of fragrance they are looking for, then provides recommendations.
Anthropic’s Dario Amodei on relationship-repair tour in DC
The Anthropic CEO discussed AI policy, export controls, and the importance of winning the AI race in Washington this week.
French AI startup Mistral goes small with stronger AI models
The smallest of the new models is tiny by LLM standards, but the company says it can outperform some models four times its size.
Amazon’s AI chip upgrades fuel broader fears about depreciation
The Trainum3 rollout also offers a glimpse at another puzzle: The difficulty of separating individual chips from the system of a data center.
Energy
Stringer/File Photo/Reuters
Stringer/Reuters
Hannah McKay/Reuters
EU unveils €3B plan to counter China’s rare earths grip
Both the EU and US have found themselves vulnerable to Beijing’s leverage over critical minerals.
Stringer/File Photo/ReutersOil prices rise amid Ukraine strikes on Russian oil infrastructure
US-brokered peace talks in Moscow yielded scarce progress.
Stringer/ReutersTrump to roll back Biden-era fuel economy standards for vehicles
Low-emission vehicles have been a target of the administration and congressional Republicans for months.
Hannah McKay/ReutersGulf
Benson Boone in Abu Dhabi. Shayden Schoonover.
Abu Dhabi Finance Week has evolved into a marker of the city’s ascendancy
ADFW is becoming the can’t-miss finale in the global calendar of convenings.
Benson Boone in Abu Dhabi. Shayden Schoonover.Turkish digital asset platform Paribu buys Gulf’s top homegrown crypto exchange
Paribu acquired CoinMENA, the Gulf’s biggest homegrown crypto exchange, in a deal valued at $240 million.
Guggenheim eyes Gulf as it brushes off private credit fears
The New York firm is looking to open an Abu Dhabi office.
Abu Dhabi’s Aldar and Mubadala to launch $1B Gulf real estate fund
The joint venture aims to sign up sovereign wealth funds, pensions, funds of funds, insurance companies, and family offices as customers.
Global powers target Gulf AI collaborations
The UAE will attend the Pax Silica summit at the White House on Dec. 12, as the US pushes to bolster its AI supply chain.
Africa
Patrick Meinhardt/AFP via Getty Images
Sodiq Adelakun
South Africa’s Vodacom buys Safaricom stake in $2.4B deal
Vodacom’s purchase will lift its stake to 55%, effectively giving it control of Kenya’s biggest company by market capitalization.
Patrick Meinhardt/AFP via Getty ImagesNigeria hit by US fallout
Nigeria’s government is learning that disagreeing with Donald Trump’s White House can carry tough consequences.
Sodiq AdelakunNuclear energy poised to rise sharply in Africa’s power mix: Report
The Rockefeller Foundation estimated growth in the use of nuclear power in Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, and South Africa.
Latin American fintech dLocal eyes Africa expansion
Rising demand from China has spurred the firm’s growth.
Trump’s uncertain peace deal for DRC and Rwanda
The presidents of DR Congo and Rwanda meet in Washington on Thursday to sign a long-expected peace agreement.
Nigeria nominates new defense minister
The move comes against the backdrop of a security crisis that threatens bilateral ties with the US.
Security
Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Reuters
Ann Wang/Reuters
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. Sputnik/Kristina Kormilitsyna/Pool via Reuters.
Maduro strikes defiant tone amid rising US tensions
“Failure is not an option at this crucial juncture,” a sword-brandishing Maduro said in a fiery address to supporters in Caracas.
Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/ReutersTaiwan pledges extra $40B for defense to counter China threat
Tensions have ramped up in the region after Japan’s leader said Tokyo may intervene militarily if Beijing sought to invade Taiwan.
Ann Wang/ReutersUS envoy, Putin to discuss new Ukraine peace plan
US envoy Steve Witkoff is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin next week.
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. Sputnik/Kristina Kormilitsyna/Pool via Reuters.Media
Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Staff cuts and strategy squabbles split Atlas Obscura leadership
The relationship between the company’s founders and some of its investors appears to have soured.
Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post via Getty ImagesVanity Fair expected to let Olivia Nuzzi’s contract lapse, insiders say
Just weeks after Vanity Fair published an excerpt of Olivia Nuzzi’s book, it’s increasingly unlikely she’ll be a fixture on its print masthead.
UK’s The Telegraph to be taken over by rival Daily Mail
The outlet has been for sale since its previous owners ran up unsupportable debts and were removed in 2023.
How Trump is trying to remake American culture — starting with his favorite buddy-cop franchise
The president is offering some creative input on potential upcoming projects.
CNN drops out of Apple News feed, for now
The two companies are continuing to discuss a new deal that would restore CNN’s stories to Apple News.
CEO SignalCourtesy of ServiceNow/Joey Pfeifer/Semafor 
The Manufacturing Institute/Joey Pfeifer/Semafor
Courtesy of New Balance/Joey Pfeifer/Semafor
How Bill McDermott’s ‘underdog desire’ drives ServiceNow
The enterprise software CEO sees AI creating ‘chaos’ inside some companies — and opportunities for his own.
Courtesy of ServiceNow/Joey Pfeifer/SemaforHow Saint-Gobain is getting US students to prize factory work
North America CEO Mark Rayfield says young Americans who visit its plants see that “it’s not your 1950s manufacturing job.”
The Manufacturing Institute/Joey Pfeifer/SemaforHow Joe Preston got New Balance back in the race
The sneaker brand’s CEO says problem-solving “sprint” teams have been key to turning around its revenues and reputation.
Courtesy of New Balance/Joey Pfeifer/SemaforAD