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Intelligence for the New World Economy
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The World at a Glance
Updated 11:14am EST
1
US inflation fell more than expected to 2.4% in January, easing some worries about the impact of Donald Trump’s tariffs on prices.
2Goldman Sachs’ top lawyer resigned after newly released files showed her extensive friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
3Renewables are surging across the world, even as the US overturned a landmark domestic climate ruling.
4Bucking fears of the AI jobs apocalypse, IBM said it would triple entry-level hiring this year.
5The Argentine Senate approved major labor reforms proposed by President Javier Milei, sparking fierce criticism from unions.
6A majority of Venezuelans are optimistic about the nation’s future following the ouster of Nicolás Maduro, a poll found,.
Dubai replaces DP World leadership over Epstein ties
Dubai replaced Chairman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem following negative publicity swirling around one of its most prominent companies.
Former DP World Chairman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem. Henry Nicholls/File Photo/Reuters.View / Saudi replaces key minister amid pressure to attract foreign cash
A government reshuffle puts a Saudi wealth fund executive in charge of bringing in much-needed FDI.
Minister Khalid Al-Falih. Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo/ReutersUS senator says Ugandan army chief’s tweets ‘crossed a red line’
Tensions between Washington and Kampala spiked after a series of inflammatory posts targeting the US embassy.
Muhoozi Kainerugaba, son of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. Abubaker Lubowa/File Photo/Reuters.Congress faces the inevitability of its third shutdown in five months
The Department of Homeland Security is all but guaranteed to run out of money on Saturday as negotiations fracture.
Kylie Cooper/ReutersTrump administration’s Venezuela approach gets murkier
There’s no sign of a second successful oil sale, or the movement of money out of a Qatari account to the US, as progress appears tougher to come by.
Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/ReutersPhilanthropist George Soros backs an African startup fund
The fund has raised $20 million for early-stage companies.
Billionaire investor George Soros. Lisi Niesner/Reuters.Trump administration tries to extinguish new brushfires
The week brought plenty of distractions that Republicans on Capitol Hill had hoped to cast aside for a stricter focus on affordability.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters AD
Politics
Denis Balibouse/Shelby Tauber/Reuters 
Kent Nishimura/Reuters 
Tom Nicholson/Reuters
Anthropic donates to super PAC focused on AI safety
Anthropic said it would donate $20 million to a super PAC focused on AI safety and regulation, setting up a fight with rival and top political spender OpenAI.
Denis Balibouse/Shelby Tauber/Reuters Poll suggests voters back Democrats shutdown demands
A new Hart Research poll commissioned by the Senate Democrat-aligned Senate Majority PAC found that 54% of likely midterm voters express support for Democrats demanding reforms to ICE and blocking DHS funding unless those reforms are adopted.
Kent Nishimura/Reuters Debatable: Europe’s self-reliance
A new poll shows many geopolitics experts believe Europe will achieve “strategic autonomy” in the next decade.
Tom Nicholson/ReutersTrump administration tries to extinguish new brushfires
The week brought plenty of distractions that Republicans on Capitol Hill had hoped to cast aside for a stricter focus on affordability.
Congress faces the inevitability of its third shutdown in five months
The Department of Homeland Security is all but guaranteed to run out of money on Saturday as negotiations fracture.
Senate takes aim, gently, at tech companies’ supervoting stock
A new bipartisan bill would require companies to give shareholders more information about separate classes of stock that carry extra votes in corporate elections.
House Republicans rebel against Canada tariffs
The move is mostly symbolic.
Confusion surrounds sudden El Paso airspace closure
The government cited Mexican cartel drones.
Skeptical Republicans willing to bite on Trump’s housing proposal
“If I can get [other housing] provisions — that’s the trade-off I need to get this done — then maybe it’s worth it,” one Republican member of Congress said.
Shutdown odds spike amid Department of Homeland Security funding standoff
Democrats say the Trump administration has not responded to their requests with specificity.
Bessent pitches moving Powell probe to Senate from Justice Department
The Treasury secretary proposed to lawmakers that the Senate Banking Committee could investigate the Federal Reserve chair.
Business
Jason Lee/Reuters
Beijing buys foreclosed properties as it seeks real estate boost
The property slump has weighed on economic growth and spending in the world’s second-biggest economy.
Jason Lee/ReutersWhy Intuit’s CEO thinks the market’s wrong on AI
Sasan Goodarzi says companies that “deliver for the end customer” will reap the technology’s rewards.
US government’s antitrust chief ousted
“It is with great sadness and abiding hope that I leave my role,” Gail Slater announced on X Thursday morning.
Senate takes aim, gently, at tech companies’ supervoting stock
A new bipartisan bill would require companies to give shareholders more information about separate classes of stock that carry extra votes in corporate elections.
EU leaders seek to revive economy in major summit
Fears of the European economy falling behind the US and China are not new, but worries have intensified as tensions rise with both Washington and Beijing.
Technology
Danis Balibouse/Reuters
Mario Anzuoni/File Photo/Reuters
OpenAI, Anthropic should focus on their own success than chase each other
Instead of focusing on their core audiences, Anthropic and OpenAI seem to be chasing what they can’t have.
Danis Balibouse/ReutersWaymo foreshadows future jobs by paying delivery drivers to close car doors
The situation provides a crystal ball into what happens when AI collides with real life.
Mario Anzuoni/File Photo/ReutersThe AI bubble will burst. The Middle East isn’t ready.
Countries need to build real infrastructure, attract real talent, and focus on fundamentals to survive.
Chatbot lovers foreshadow AI’s new normal
The bots have become more integrated into the every lives of users — with friends and family beginning to accept them.
Anthropic donates to super PAC focused on AI safety
Anthropic said it would donate $20 million to a super PAC focused on AI safety and regulation, setting up a fight with rival and top political spender OpenAI.
Russia seeks to block WhatsApp amid crackdown
Meta said Moscow was trying to push its 100 million Russian users onto a state-owned app, which is unencrypted and thus more easily monitored.
Energy
Abidi/File Photo/File Photo/Reuters
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez. Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Reuters
Fewer experts see climate change as global security threat, survey finds
In an Atlantic Council survey of nearly 450 experts, shared first with Semafor, 80% expect the world to become hotter over the next decade.
Abidi/File Photo/File Photo/ReutersTrump orders Pentagon to buy power from coal plants
It’s the latest effort by the White House to revive the dirtiest and most expensive fossil fuel.
Jonathan Ernst/ReutersUS energy secretary visits Venezuela to assess oil industry
The first steps are underway, including an overhaul of Venezuelan law to curb state-owned PDVSA’s control.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez. Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/ReutersGulf
“Submarine Cable Map,” via TeleGeography, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Gulf expands data connectivity with new subsea cable system
A 45,000-km 2Africa cable thats links 33 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East has been connected to UAE telecom giant e&’s data center.
“Submarine Cable Map,” via TeleGeography, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.Dubai replaces DP World leadership over Epstein ties
Dubai replaced Chairman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem following negative publicity swirling around one of its most prominent companies.
The AI bubble will burst. The Middle East isn’t ready.
Countries need to build real infrastructure, attract real talent, and focus on fundamentals to survive.
Saudi replaces key minister amid pressure to attract foreign cash
A government reshuffle puts a Saudi wealth fund executive in charge of bringing in much-needed FDI.
Qatar expands LNG fleet to support energy ambitions
QatarEnergy CEO Saad Sherida al-Kaabi called the fleet expansion the biggest shipbuilding program in the LNG industry’s history.
Africa
Francis Kokoroko/Reuters
Xbox/YouTube
Competition for minerals heats up at African mining summit
This year’s Mining Indaba conference set the stage for a US versus China critical minerals “race,” with all the drama that comes with it.
Francis Kokoroko/ReutersSouth African video game allows players to conduct heists on Western museums
Players of Relooted can reclaim artifacts that colonialists plundered from Africa.
Xbox/YouTubeUS senator says Ugandan army chief’s tweets ‘crossed a red line’
Tensions between Washington and Kampala spiked after a series of inflammatory posts targeting the US embassy.
Philanthropist George Soros backs an African startup fund
The fund has raised $20 million for early-stage companies.
Nigeria makes big gains in fight against neglected tropical diseases
Nigeria could unlock $19 billion for the country’s economy by 2030 by eliminating NTDs, but foreign aid cuts threaten advancements.
South Africa’s Ramaphosa confirms breakup of state energy giant Eskom
Ramaphosa said the government would move forward with dismantling Eskom in order to create a “fully independent” firm.
Security
Staff Sgt. Roidan Carlson/Handout via Reuters
Stephanie Lecocq/Reuters
Stephanie Lecocq/Reuters
US weighs expanding its nuclear weapons arsenal
Within hours of New START lapsing last week, a senior State Department official complained of the pact’s “unacceptable” constraints.
Staff Sgt. Roidan Carlson/Handout via ReutersEU planning to expedite Ukraine’s entry into the bloc
Ukraine received EU candidate status in 2022, but progress has been stalled by Hungary.
Stephanie Lecocq/ReutersMacron signals possible resumption of dialogue with Russia
Macron broke off dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin seven months after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Stephanie Lecocq/ReutersMedia
Rolling Stone scion on investing in ‘Track Star’ and the anti-algorithmic future of music media
Gus Wenner on taste and algorithms as the “lowest common denominator.”
Washington Post suffers marketing mishap with new slogan
The paper had prepared a new brand campaign, with a new tagline meant to convey its connection to America: “We The People.”
New emails show how Epstein used the media to rehab his reputation
Most of the revelations in the files have not revealed journalistic sins, but have highlighted uncomfortably close relationships.
Washington Post CEO resigns, leaving no clear strategy
Will Lewis and Jeff Bezos presided over a sharp decline at the definitive Washington newspaper.
How McDonald’s embraced its Donald Trump drive-thru moment
Former CMO Tariq Hassan on why brands shouldn’t run away from news, politics and controversy.
CEO Signal
Courtesy of Intuit/Joey Pfeifer/Semafor
Courtesy of GE Vernova/Joey Pfeifer/Semafor
Courtesy of the Gates Foundation/Joey Pfeifer/Semafor
Why Intuit’s CEO thinks the market’s wrong on AI
Sasan Goodarzi says companies that “deliver for the end customer” will reap the technology’s rewards.
Courtesy of Intuit/Joey Pfeifer/SemaforThe CEO behind GE Vernova’s $200B power surge
Scott Strazik says demand is surging, but his energy company won’t spend money on “hobbies.”
Courtesy of GE Vernova/Joey Pfeifer/SemaforHow the Gates Foundation’s CEO plans to shape its last 20 years
Mark Suzman wants to reframe the case for aid in the face of government cuts and intense public scrutiny
Courtesy of the Gates Foundation/Joey Pfeifer/SemaforAD