- D.C.
- BXL
- Lagos
- Riyadh
- Beijing
- SG
Intelligence for the New World Economy
- D.C.
- BXL
- Lagos
- Riyadh
- Beijing
- SG
The World at a Glance
Updated 5:44pm EST
1
US President Donald Trump announced a $12 billion aid package for American farmers pummeled by Washington’s trade spat with China.
2Boosting domestic demand is China’s top economic priority in 2026, signaling the challenges Beijing faces at home even while its exports boom.
3Germany’s industrial sector unexpectedly ramped up production in October, despite an automotive slowdown amid competition with China.
4China appears to be growing its military footprint across land, air, and sea in multiple geographies.
5China’s trade surplus topped $1 trillion this year, underscoring Beijing’s resilience to American trade pressure.
6Renewed fighting in Africa and Southeast Asia is undermining peace agreements that Donald Trump used to bolster his peacemaking credentials.
How Scott Bessent took over the global economy
The 63-year-old hedge fund manager alpha-ed his way past figures like Elon Musk to become the administration’s defining economic figure.
Jim Watson/Getty ImagesSenate Republicans divided over expiring health care subsidies
President Donald Trump’s party may simply try to unite against Democrats’ three-year extension of expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits.
Daniel Heuer/ReutersAI critics funded AI coverage at top newsrooms
A behind-the-scenes media war over coverage of AI reflects a deep split inside the tech community.
Dado Ruvic/Illustration via ReutersHawley warns Republicans: Do more for working class or we’ll lose
The Missouri senator told Semafor that his party’s populist wing is in danger of being ignored, with consequences likely in the midterms.
Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty ImagesAD
Trump didn’t blow up foreign aid — he’s trying to rebuild it in his own image
Washington’s $150M African expansion deal with Silicon Valley’s Zipline reveals its new “America first” approach to global assistance.
Zipline/Handout via ReutersObamacare more popular with Americans than ever, poll finds
Fifty-seven percent of US adults approve of the Affordable Care Act, according to new polling from Gallup and West Health.
Mike Blake/Reuters 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/Semafor
Politics
Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters
Mike Blake/Reuters
Cornyn welcomes ‘gift’ of Crockett campaign in Texas
Jasmine Crockett entered the Senate race on the Democratic side as Colin Allred bowed out.
Elizabeth Frantz/ReutersArchitects of the New Economy 2025: Washington DC
The new voices shaping economic policy and power in Washington.
Obamacare more popular with Americans than ever, poll finds
Fifty-seven percent of US adults approve of the Affordable Care Act, according to new polling from Gallup and West Health.
Mike Blake/Reuters How Scott Bessent took over the global economy
The 63-year-old hedge fund manager alpha-ed his way past figures like Elon Musk to become the administration’s defining economic figure.
Congress lines up defense bill for possible vote this week
Lawmakers released text Sunday that would limit the administration’s ability to withdraw troops from Europe.
Hawley warns Republicans: Do more for working class or we’ll lose
The Missouri senator told Semafor that his party’s populist wing is in danger of being ignored, with consequences likely in the midterms.
Senate Republicans divided over expiring health care subsidies
President Donald Trump’s party may simply try to unite against Democrats’ three-year extension of expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits.
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.
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.
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.
Business
Brendan McDermid/Reuters
Finger-pointing in Washington as Paramount goes hostile
The Ellisons “leaned into the stereotypes” of a politicized regulatory process in its aggressive pursuit of Warner Bros.
Brendan McDermid/ReutersHow Bill McDermott’s ‘underdog desire’ drives ServiceNow
The enterprise software CEO sees AI creating ‘chaos’ inside some companies — and opportunities for his own.
Congrats, 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.
Technology
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
Brian Snyder/Reuters
White House floats compromise with China to export Nvidia H200 chips
The move, which has the support of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, could bolster Nvidia’s revenue by opening up a huge market for its chips while ensuring US technology remains the standard worldwide.
Evelyn Hockstein/ReutersH-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.
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.
Energy
Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/File Photo/Reuters
Stringer/File Photo/Reuters
Stringer/Reuters
Qatar ‘worried’ gas demand can’t be met
Demand for liquefied natural gas will grow by at least 50% in the next decade, Qatar’s Energy Minister Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said.
Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/File Photo/ReutersEU 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/ReutersGulf
Fawaz Salman/Reuters
UAE-backed group seizes power across South Yemen
The UAE and Saudi Arabia have supported different groups in Yemen for years, but the latest developments bring their rivalry there to a new level.
Fawaz Salman/Reuters Emirati families’ heirlooms and oral histories on display in a new Abu Dhabi museum
The Zayed National Museum, unlike the neighboring Louvre and upcoming Guggenheim, is not another global art museum.
Trump admin shifts US Middle East strategy from crisis to commerce
The Middle East will become “a place of partnership, friendship, and investment,” the administration’s new national security strategy says.
Qatar ‘worried’ gas demand can’t be met
Demand for liquefied natural gas will grow by at least 50% in the next decade, Qatar’s Energy Minister Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said.
Crypto giant Binance to transfer operations to Abu Dhabi
The firm said it had secured three licenses from the city’s financial regulator covering operations, clearing and custody, and broker activity.
Africa
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Ekperikpe Ekpo. Callaghan O’Hare/Reuters.
Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters
Nigeria approves $128 million payment for gas debts
The arrears had stifled investment into the energy sector, and the settlement aims to restore confidence in the market.
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Ekperikpe Ekpo. Callaghan O’Hare/Reuters.South Africa opens first underground gold mine in 15 years
Australian company West Wits Mining inaugurated its Qala Shallows gold mine in Johannesburg on Thursday.
Siphiwe Sibeko/ReutersSouth Sudan’s mining sector held back by illegal practices: report
Swissaid, a Bern-headquartered NGO, said the country’s authorities have “failed to govern the sector effectively.”
Sudan Retold in London explores the country’s history through art
The show’s title is also the name of a newly released book about Sudan, updating an earlier edition published in 2019.
Trump didn’t blow up foreign aid — he’s trying to rebuild it in his own image
Washington’s $150M African expansion deal with Silicon Valley’s Zipline reveals its new “America first” approach to global assistance.
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.
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
Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Reuters
In mad dash to stop Netflix-WBD deal, Paramount has ‘no juice’
Seemingly everyone hates that Netflix won out in the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery, but the Ellisons couldn’t stop it.
Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Reuters AI critics funded AI coverage at top newsrooms
A behind-the-scenes media war over coverage of AI reflects a deep split inside the tech community.
CNN staffers, bracing for Paramount takeover, are relieved by Netflix deal
As federal regulators weigh Netflix’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming business, WBD will continue spinning off its cable assets.
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.
Vanity 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.
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