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Intelligence for the New World Economy
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Politics
Senators move to force AI companies to disclose more
The measure would have the FTC enforce disclosure requirements for certain AI companies.
Xi’s visit met with Republican criticism
Some Republicans are concerned about the red-carpet optics.
Xi’s visit met with Republican criticism
Some Republicans are concerned about the red-carpet optics.
View/ Value addition’s limitations
View / Fintech startups that hated banks are now becoming them
The World at a Glance
Updated 7:00am EDT
1
Washington and Beijing extended a trade truce ahead of a high-stakes leaders summit in Washington today.
2US allies are betting that Washington’s geopolitical isolationism will outlast the Trump administration as they seek to strengthen middle power ties.
3Washington’s Asian allies fear their position could be weakened in talks between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
4A US judge reinstated access to the White House for CNN, MS Now, and Politico after they were barred by Trump.
5European EV sales surged more than 50% year-on-year last month, as buyers turned away from petrol cars because of soaring fuel prices.
6Rebel forces in Tigray launched a major offensive against the Ethiopian government, ending a four-year ceasefire.
Some Republicans push to prioritize Husted data center bill
Republican senators have discussed the idea but made no final decision.
Poll quantifies effects of Trump’s DC takeover
Four in 10 people residing in Washington, DC, said they’ve been adversely affected by increased military presence in the district.
Trump administration backing off NIH grant order amid pushback
The proposal, which would have given President Donald Trump greater influence over health grant decisionmaking, could still advance in a new form.
Paramount weighs tapping Musk for equity investment
A cash injection from SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk could reduce investor Larry Ellison’s financial burden and bolster the deal’s investor base.
Tim Scott to Senate Republicans: We’re still in this
The NRSC chair told colleagues at a closed-door meeting that they can still maintain Senate control in the midterms despite the worsening climate for Republicans.
Flock Safety weighs selling itself
The license-plate reader and surveillance company has come under scrutiny for alleged misuse of its data.
Trump skirts last Iran lever ahead of Xi visit
The US has so far declined to sanction Chinese banks despite seeking to exert maximum economic pressure on Iran.
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Politics
New Tigray offensive ends four year ceasefire
Tensions over who controls the contested region have been growing for months; a previous war led to hundreds of thousands of deaths.
Tigrayan forces. Screen grab from a video/Reuters refile
US allies fret their position could be weakened in China talks
Analysts say one of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s priorities will be persuading Trump to halt $14 billion in proposed armed sales to Taiwan.
Kenny Holston/Reuters
Washington and Beijing extend trade truce despite simmering tensions
Expectations are low for the meeting, the third in less than a year, given their lingering disputes over trade and deep competition over AI.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Poll quantifies effects of Trump’s DC takeover
Four in 10 people residing in Washington, DC, said they’ve been adversely affected by increased military presence in the district.
Senators move to force AI companies to disclose more
The measure would have the FTC enforce disclosure requirements for certain AI companies.
US increases pressure on Sudan
With a push for a ceasefire stalled, the Trump administration is trying a new approach that risks alienating allies.
Some Republicans push to prioritize Husted data center bill
Republican senators have discussed the idea but made no final decision.
Xi’s visit met with Republican criticism
Some Republicans are concerned about the red-carpet optics.
Chinese CEOs unlikely to attend Trump-Xi summit
Earlier reports suggested Xi could be accompanied by BYD and CATL executives among others.
Iran’s president says the country won’t ‘bow’ to the US
Iran’s president said he was open to talks to end the war, but warned that Tehran wouldn’t surrender its nuclear program.
US considers 90-day diesel export ban amid fuel crunch
The US is reportedly preparing a plan to ban diesel exports for 90 days, as the White House mulls acting on record-high fuel prices over the objections of several cabinet members.
Business
European EV sales jump 50% amid soaring fuel prices
EVs now make up almost a third of sales on the continent, with even mega luxury brands joining the shift.
Annegret Hilse/Reuters
US 10-year Treasury yield hits 19-year high on strong manufacturing data
The surge came as more hot economic readings boosted expectations of further interest rate hikes.
Flock Safety weighs selling itself
The license-plate reader and surveillance company has come under scrutiny for alleged misuse of its data.
Paramount weighs tapping Musk for equity investment
A cash injection from SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk could reduce investor Larry Ellison’s financial burden and bolster the deal’s investor base.
‘Winter is coming’: IMF head issues ‘warning’ over inflation and central bank tightening
Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF’s managing director, told Semafor that prices will keep climbing.
Technology
Top AI bosses issue stark warning to UN on safety risks
Anthropic’s Dario Amodei warned that “if managed poorly, AI could be a risk to humanity as a whole.”
Brendan McDermid/Reuters
UN agencies look to hedge US tech dependence
Some UN groups are exploring shared computing and data infrastructure, which could give them more control over their sensitive data.
Caitlin Ochs/Reuters
Anthropic and OpenAI bosses to address the UN
Analysts say Washington and Beijing are unlikely to reach any wide-ranging pact in talks to constrain AI.
OpenAI exec is ‘cautiously optimistic’ about the US working with China on AI
Communication between the two nations is a “starting place.”
Global South more optimistic about AI than the US, Google exec says
AI is making strides in disease diagnostics and language translation for populations outside of the US and Europe, Google’s James Manyika said at Semafor’s The Next 3 Billion.
‘Fear of the unknown’ drives data center pushback, Nvidia exec says
At Semafor’s The Next 3 Billion, Nvidia’s head of sustainability pushed back against the groundswell of anti-AI sentiment that’s unfurled in the US over the last few weeks.
Energy
Southeast Asia continues its $160 billion gas buildout
The region is carrying on even as the Middle East conflict exposes its vulnerability to supply shocks.
Puspa Perwitasari/Reuters
China’s clean tech exports prevented more than the UK’s annual emissions
Solar panel exports to South Asia alone were responsible for almost a third of the avoided emissions..
China Daily via Reuters
US energy secretary downplays diesel export ban idea as prices climb
Oil prices rose above $100 a barrel on the US-Iran geopolitical deadlock.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Gulf
India’s biggest payments app PhonePe enters UAE
The UAE fintech industry is projected to nearly double by 2029, after drawing in a third of all startup funding in the country in 2024.
Nasir Kachroo/Reuters
UAE launches new freight rail service connecting Fujairah with Abu Dhabi
Three times a week, Etihad Rail will move containers about 200 kilometers from the port on the UAE’s Gulf of Oman coast to Abu Dhabi.
Microsoft doubles down on investment in the Gulf
Microsoft is planning to spend at least $10 billion by 2030 to shore up the region’s digital resilience.
Iran presents US with roadmap to end the war
It echoes the two countries’ June agreement — a 60-day ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz — The National reported.
Saudi Arabia’s $1.3 billion biotech push following Riyadh summit
One deal includes a $130 million vaccine manufacturing plant, which would be the Gulf’s largest, in a push to become a global biotech hub by 2040.
China
US allies fret their position could be weakened in China talks
Analysts say one of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s priorities will be persuading Trump to halt $14 billion in proposed armed sales to Taiwan.
Kenny Holston/Reuters
Washington and Beijing extend trade truce despite simmering tensions
Expectations are low for the meeting, the third in less than a year, given their lingering disputes over trade and deep competition over AI.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Xi’s visit met with Republican criticism
Some Republicans are concerned about the red-carpet optics.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Africa
New Tigray offensive ends four year ceasefire
Tensions over who controls the contested region have been growing for months; a previous war led to hundreds of thousands of deaths.
Tigrayan forces. Screen grab from a video/Reuters refile
The limitations of Africa’s ‘value addition’ mantra
African governments increasingly want partnerships that build domestic capacity, rather than simply finance projects or provide an exit route for commodities.
Goran Tomasevic/Reuters
South Africa faces US investment freeze warns ambassador
L. Brent Bozell III said Pretoria’s measures aimed at redressing inequalities caused by apartheid were barriers to investment.
Trump’s Africa adviser defends proposed Libyan deal: ‘Absolute partnership’
Massad Boulos pushed back on claims that a US plan for Libya would hand control of the country to a powerful military commander and his family.
DRC prime minister defends Ebola response
Judith Suminwa also discussed the country’s relationship with the US.
World has entered ‘age of impunity’ amid global aid cuts, Miliband says
Extensive cuts to global aid have left the world with “more shocks, fewer shock absorbers,” the International Rescue Committee president said.
Security
New Tigray offensive ends four year ceasefire
Tensions over who controls the contested region have been growing for months; a previous war led to hundreds of thousands of deaths.
Tigrayan forces. Screen grab from a video/Reuters refile
Iran’s president says the country won’t ‘bow’ to the US
Iran’s president said he was open to talks to end the war, but warned that Tehran wouldn’t surrender its nuclear program.
Mike Segar/Reuters
Trump hails ‘productive’ US-Iran talks
Trump had earlier threatened to “annihilate” Iran unless it agreed to end the war.
Mohammed Aty/Reuters
Media
Trump battles press as Xi heads to town
A judge is expected to hear arguments in a lawsuit brought by the three news outlets the president banned from the White House last week.
David Dee Delgado/Reuters
Inside the US Treasury secretary’s tense relationship with financial media
Scott Bessent’s blacklist starts with Bloomberg.
Fertile ground
Flagship’s lead writer Tom Chivers says goodbye after four years.
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.
YouTube cracks down on ‘ghost creators’
The enforcement action targeted accounts named in Semafor’s report earlier this week.
CEO Signal
Why Kai-Fu Lee thinks companies need an AI boss
Google’s former China chief says CEOs face a Darwinian choice if they want more than “AI theater.”
How Atlassian built a $45 billion software company far from Silicon Valley’s ‘froth and bubbles’
CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes says CEOs need context, experimentation, and some big bets to get the most from AI.
How the billionaire Bayeux Tapestry backer gets ‘impact per dollar’
WorldQuant’s Igor Tulchinsky finds inspiration in the ‘very, very old data set’ now on display in the British Museum.
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