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Politics
Trump moves to ban Canadian imports
The decision to ban Canadian imports like alcohol, whey, and motorcycles is the latest escalation of the countries’ trade war.
View / Warsh has plenty of excuses to delay a rate hike
View / Oil executives are anxious about Venezuela
The World at a Glance
Updated 6:35am EDT
1
An Anthropic researcher quit, warning that the rush to “self-improving superintelligence [is] gambling with our lives.”
2The US-Canada trade war intensified, with Washington moving to ban a raft of goods from Canada after Ottawa imposed retaliatory tariffs.
3Trump administration officials expressed worries about Chinese firms they said undermined Washington’s agenda just weeks before a leaders summit.
4Attacks on fuel refining facilities in the Middle East and Russia could cause a jump in diesel prices as supplies drop.
5Israel hit back at the UK for leading a dozen-country alliance that is restricting trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
6Singapore increased its prime minister’s salary to $2.8 million, part of its longstanding strategy to boost talent and reduce corruption.
Rubio pushes more cooperation against drug cartels
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is betting he can advance the fight against narcoterrorism in Latin America.
Democratic Turek holds narrow lead in Iowa Senate race, internal polling shows
Most strategists see the race as a toss-up, though Turek’s opponent is narrowly leading in polls.
House calendar crunch leaves unfinished business
The House’s abbreviated schedule will punt a host of legislative items to the post-election period.
Justice Department to take a closer look at Fox’s $22 billion Roku deal
Rivals are concerned that Fox could favor its own content platforms over competitors’ if it owns Roku.
Pappas, Sununu to face off in crucial New Hampshire Senate race
The state is practically a must-win for Democrats hoping to retake the Senate majority.
Saudi wealth fund takes its capital pitch to Wall Street
PIF and some of its portfolio companies are courting investors including Blackstone and Carlyle this week to fill its funding gap.
CVC to name co-CEOs, poaching TPG exec
European private-equity firm CVC has hired a top TPG executive to be its co-CEO, people familiar with the matter said.
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Politics
US-Canada trade war escalates amid tit-for-tat tariffs
The row is derailing any hope of renewing the USMCA North American trade pact.
Carlos Osorio/Reuters
Singapore boosts PM’s pay to $2.8 million
Singapore’s first prime minister argued in 1955 that low pay meant top candidates rarely joined politics and faced temptation when they did.
Valeria Mongelli/Reuters
Democratic Turek holds narrow lead in Iowa Senate race, internal polling shows
Most strategists see the race as a toss-up, though Turek’s opponent is narrowly leading in polls.
Nathan Layne/Reuters
Rubio pushes more cooperation against drug cartels
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is betting he can advance the fight against narcoterrorism in Latin America.
House calendar crunch leaves unfinished business
The House’s abbreviated schedule will punt a host of legislative items to the post-election period.
Left-right coalition seeks release of White House AI framework
More than two dozen organizations from both the left and right are urging the White House to publicly release its voluntary AI security framework, per a letter shared first with Semafor.
Trump moves to ban Canadian imports
The decision to ban Canadian imports like alcohol, whey, and motorcycles is the latest escalation of the countries’ trade war.
Pappas, Sununu to face off in crucial New Hampshire Senate race
The state is practically a must-win for Democrats hoping to retake the Senate majority.
Prominent Chinese scholar signals optimism over Trump-Xi summit
One of Beijing’s top America experts wrote that the upcoming US-China summit offers a “rare opportunity” to put a floor under the countries’ relations.
UK bans trade with Israeli settlements
France and Canada joined the UK in announcing trade sanctions on Israel’s West Bank settlements, widening a geopolitical rift between Israel and its allies.
Republican exploits divided field in Montana Senate race
The failure of two candidates — one Democratic and one independent — to consolidate anti-Republican support has the GOP candidate running away with the Senate seat currently held by retiring GOP Sen. Steve Daines.
Business
US-Canada trade war escalates amid tit-for-tat tariffs
The row is derailing any hope of renewing the USMCA North American trade pact.
Carlos Osorio/Reuters
CVC to name co-CEOs, poaching TPG exec
European private-equity firm CVC has hired a top TPG executive to be its co-CEO, people familiar with the matter said.
Justice Department to take a closer look at Fox’s $22 billion Roku deal
Rivals are concerned that Fox could favor its own content platforms over competitors’ if it owns Roku.
Global AI infrastructure spending could top $31T, PwC estimates
AI infrastructure spending could exceed $31 trillion through 2050, as firms forge ahead with a flurry of data center deals.
Warsh has plenty of excuses to delay a rate hike
The Fed chair will have to guard his hawkish flank, led by Cleveland President Beth Hammack, but likely has enough allies to avoid a hike.
Technology
US ramps up China rhetoric ahead of upcoming meeting
The US Treasury secretary warned that “nothing else would matter” if China were to win the AI race.
Sam Wolfe/File Photo/Reuters
AI researchers say industry is ‘gambling with our lives’
An Anthropic researcher quit, warning the AI industry has not internalized the “civilizational stakes” of rushing towards superintelligence.
Yves Herman/Reuters
Global AI infrastructure spending could top $31T, PwC estimates
AI infrastructure spending could exceed $31 trillion through 2050, as firms forge ahead with a flurry of data center deals.
OpenAI agents find proof to $1 million Millennium Prize Problem
OpenAI announced the proof to one of math’s great outstanding questions — although not without drama.
US firm alerts WeChat to AI hacking tool
A US startup used AI models to identify a potentially devastating bug in Chinese super-app WeChat.
OpenAI and Anthropic eye credit ratings ahead of IPOs
The AI giants’ bankers are reportedly pressing for the companies to quickly win investment-grade credit ratings.
Energy
Coal plateaus in China amid electrification surge
Coal generation has stopped growing in 17 out of 26 Chinese provinces and regions.
Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
Oil importers less vulnerable to supply shocks than expected
“Diversification can go a long way in securing them against geo-economic bullying,” Barclays analysts wrote in a recent note.
Mahmoud Hassano/Reuters
Oil executives are anxious about Venezuela
Big Oil companies have always moonlighted as geopolitical risk assessment firms. That capability faces a big test now.
Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Reuters
Gulf
Iran war blows hole in Qatar budget
The 21.2 billion-riyal ($5.8 billion) second-quarter shortfall was almost double the previous quarter’s, with few signs that passage through the Strait of Hormuz is easing.
Reuters
Saudi Arabia could give UN nuclear watchdog greater inspection powers
This is part of Saudi Arabia’s attempts to get a nuclear deal with the US approved.
Abu Dhabi’s ADGM now holds more than $100B in AI money
Abu Dhabi tech vehicle MGX, which closed its first fund in July at $49 billion, is the largest, according to ADGM.
Saudi wealth fund takes its capital pitch to Wall Street
PIF and some of its portfolio companies are courting investors including Blackstone and Carlyle this week to fill its funding gap.
Saudi soccer cuts spending
Saudi clubs spent the lowest amount since the 2023 buying spree that aimed to boost the kingdom’s international soccer cachet, according to FIFA’s transfer report.
China
US ramps up China rhetoric ahead of upcoming meeting
The US Treasury secretary warned that “nothing else would matter” if China were to win the AI race.
Sam Wolfe/File Photo/Reuters
China widens the scope of its polar ambitions
The first Chinese cargo ship traveling along the Northern Sea Route is set to dock in England this week, though analysts cast doubt on the venture’s commercial feasibility.
Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
US firm alerts WeChat to AI hacking tool
A US startup used AI models to identify a potentially devastating bug in Chinese super-app WeChat.
Dado Ruvic/Reuters
Africa
South Africa’s GDP shrank in Q2 2026
The impact of the Iran war ended an 18-month period of growth in Africa’s biggest economy.
Esa Alexander/Reuters
Dangote faces Kenya refinery hurdles
It is unclear where the planned refinery in Lamu, which Africa’s richest man aims to complete by 2030, will secure its feedstock from.
Sodiq Adelakun/Reuters
Infrastructure investor Africa50 targets $20B portfolio
The Casablanca-based fund has backed more than 30 projects in 32 countries across multiple sectors.
Nigeria’s trade surplus doubles to $9.5B
The shift was driven by a fall in fuel imports and a rise in the exports of crude oil and raw materials.
Senegal seeks more time to pay off debt
Senegal’s prime minister said the country hopes to extend the maturity of its borrowing.
Kenya’s foreign-trader crackdown exposes an economic fault line
Kenya’s President Ruto is drawing a sharper distinction between the foreigners he says the economy needs and those he says are taking opportunities from Kenyans
Security
Israel hits back at UK over trade restrictions
Analysts said the measures against settlement building, illegal under international law, were more symbolic than tangible.
Ammar Awad/Reuters
UK bans trade with Israeli settlements
France and Canada joined the UK in announcing trade sanctions on Israel’s West Bank settlements, widening a geopolitical rift between Israel and its allies.
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband. House of Commons/Handout via Reuters
Australia deepens Pacific ties to guard against China
The agreement, which includes $700 million from Australia to the Pacific nation according to the ABC, follows a recent deal to boost defense ties with the US.
Hollie Adams/Reuters
Media
Crooked Media’s nonprofit launches new political creator drive
The nonprofit arm of Pod Save America’s audio empire is hoping to lure younger voters back to the Democratic Party.
Crooked Media; Screenshot/TikTok/Crooked Ideas
YouTube cracks down on ‘ghost creators’
The enforcement action targeted accounts named in Semafor’s report earlier this week.
Paid actors, AI writing: How a new kind of video business cashed in on America’s divided politics
‘Ghost creators’ are reaching millions of viewers with nearly identical, sensationalized videos that take aim at Democrats.
New Leon Black book picks fight with the Times
Bill Cohan’s new biography is aimed, in part, at rebutting The New York Times’ coverage of Black and his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Axel Springer invests in Abu Dhabi-based outlet The Circuit
Axel Springer is latest Western publisher to take a greater editorial interest in the business story in the Middle East.
CEO Signal
How a ‘China-for-China’ strategy rebooted Logitech
CEO Hanneke Faber says competing in China is critical to winning in the rest of the world.
Coefficient Giving’s CEO on Silicon Valley $40 billion philanthropy boom
Alexander Berger is preparing for the AI-fueled wave.
‘We go big’: Jon Gray on how Blackstone places its AI bets
The $1.3 trillion firm is staying bullish but investing “through the lens that this may change.”
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