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Intelligence for the New World Economy
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The World at a Glance
Updated 8:18am EST
1
China appears to be growing its military footprint across land, air, and sea in multiple geographies.
2China’s trade surplus topped $1 trillion this year, underscoring Beijing’s resilience to American trade pressure.
3Renewed fighting in Africa and Southeast Asia is undermining peace agreements that Donald Trump used to bolster his peacemaking credentials.
4Washington’s new National Security Strategy published last week makes explicit that Europe is no longer a US ally.
5Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet the leaders of France, Germany, and the UK in London today.
6The spat between Beijing and Tokyo escalated after a Chinese fighter jet trained its radar on Japanese aircraft.
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.
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 ImagesTrump 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 AD
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/SemaforNetflix agrees $72B deal for Warner Bros. Discovery
The deal, which represents the streaming giant’s largest ever acquisition, promises to reshape the US entertainment industry.
Mike Blake/File Photo/ReutersDemocratic 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 
PoliticsMike Blake/Reuters 
Jim Watson/Getty Images
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
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 alphaed his way past figures like Elon Musk to become the administration’s defining economic figure.
Jim Watson/Getty ImagesCongress 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.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters 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.
Architects 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.
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.
BusinessCourtesy 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.
AfricaZipline/Handout via Reuters 
Patrick Meinhardt/AFP via Getty Images
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 ReutersSouth 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.
Nuclear 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.
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