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US warns ‘long’ road ahead in Ebola response
The epidemic became the deadliest in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s history earlier this week.
US warns ‘long’ road ahead in Ebola response
The epidemic became the deadliest in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s history earlier this week.
View / The software buyout wave is upon us
View / Hormuz ‘isn’t really the problem’
The World at a Glance
Updated 9:47am EDT
1
The Trump administration sought to lower interest rates with rhetoric and repurchases, as US debt hit $40 trillion.
2President Donald Trump threatened to expand use of economic pressure to end the war in Iran, warning countries that traded with Tehran of severe consequences.
3More oil than previously thought is making its way out of the Gulf, helping keep elevated oil prices from spiking further.
4North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un’s sister denied that US President Trump had been in touch with Pyongyang about holding talks this year.
5The US International Development Finance Corporation has stepped in to fund rare earth production in Africa, a key battleground in Washington’s competition with China.
6Moderna said an experimental mRNA vaccine prevented skin cancer from returning, a milestone in the pursuit of cancer therapies.
Disentangling UAE-Iran economic ties could prove difficult
The UAE was Iran’s largest source of imports before the war, ahead of China.
China’s YouTube, Bilibili, plans global expansion, English-language site
The company is courting influencers to connect with “Gen Z Coded” users, and staffing up in cities around the world.
Trump embraces divisive crypto exchange
President Donald Trump’s on-camera openness to US market access for Hyperliquid won’t thrill its domestic competitors.
Trump digs in amid signs of stalled Iran-Oman talks
The US sees talks between Iran and Oman — which had appeared to be a rare fruitful negotiation path — as stalled in recent days.
Republicans scramble to remake their stance on data centers
The industry “could use a little public relations help,” President Donald Trump acknowledged. But his party is moving with the tide.
Moderna’s skin cancer vaccine shows promise in trial
The vaccine is built on the mRNA platform that allowed Moderna to quickly roll out COVID-19 vaccines five years ago.
US Treasury to double long-term bond purchases
Yields on the longest US bond pulled back from their highest levels since 2007 after the announcement.
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Politics
North Korea denies talks with Washington
Kim Jong Un’s sister said North Korea was “uninterested” in Trump’s scale down of military drills with South Korea.
Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters
US debt tops $40 trillion threshold
The Trump administration has sought to lower interest rates with rhetoric and repurchases.
Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters
US threatens to expand economic pressure on Iran
President Donald Trump warned countries that traded with Tehran of severe consequences.
Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters
US warns ‘long’ road ahead in Ebola response
The epidemic became the deadliest in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s history earlier this week.
Trump embraces divisive crypto exchange
President Donald Trump’s on-camera openness to US market access for Hyperliquid won’t thrill its domestic competitors.
Trump digs in amid signs of stalled Iran-Oman talks
The US sees talks between Iran and Oman — which had appeared to be a rare fruitful negotiation path — as stalled in recent days.
Israel to launch criminal investigations into Gaza killings
Washington had urged Israel to investigate 5-year-old Hind Rajab’s death, which was the subject of an Oscar-nominated film.
Republicans scramble to remake their stance on data centers
The industry “could use a little public relations help,” President Donald Trump acknowledged. But his party is moving with the tide.
Trump delays Canada tariffs, saying trade deal is near
Washington separately said the new deal would include “economic security commitments” and digital trade “alignment.”
White House mix-up delayed SEC crypto rule
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump will host crypto executives at the White House on Wednesday.
Warren sends Democrats $600K for midterms
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has also raised more than $1.1 million for the DNC, making her one of the committee’s highest-grossing surrogates.
Business
Tempus AI’s biotech deal attracts investor attention
The deal would have passed by without much notice, but Personalis’ technology is crucial to building the revolutionary personalized cancer therapies announced earlier this week by Merck and Moderna.
Dado Ruvic/Reuters
Walmart posts weakest sales growth in six years
The retail giant’s worse-than-expected same-store sales growth is the latest sign that consumers are feeling strapped.
The software buyout wave is upon us
The SaaSpocalypse presents a perfect moment for PE and buyout shops.
US debt tops $40 trillion threshold
The Trump administration has sought to lower interest rates with rhetoric and repurchases.
‘Washington is the center of it all’: Carlyle embraces its roots
The private-equity firm is courting defense deals and nurturing relationships with policymakers and global officials under CEO Harvey Schwartz.
Technology
Moderna’s skin cancer vaccine shows promise in trial
The vaccine is built on the mRNA platform that allowed Moderna to quickly roll out COVID-19 vaccines five years ago.
Brian Snyder/Reuters
SK Hynix to buy back $28.6 billion in shares
The world’s second-biggest memory chipmaker acted to boost investor confidence after weeks of turmoil in its share price.
Angelina Katsanis/Reuters
China’s YouTube, Bilibili, plans global expansion, English-language site
The company is courting influencers to connect with “Gen Z Coded” users, and staffing up in cities around the world.
AI startup produces fully AI-generated feature-length film
Higgsfield AI produced ‘The Cully Hill Boys’ with a $2 million budget, half of which went to AI tokens.
Gen AI outputs are unattributable, study finds
Researchers discovered a phenomenon they call “attribution decay,” where the more data a generative model is trained on, the harder it becomes to trace a generated image to a single image from the training data.
OpenAI needs to hit pause
One way to look at the AI giant slowing down its frontier model work because of safety concerns is that models are getting scarily powerful.
Energy
US oil companies lock in Venezuela deals
After months of slow progress and noncommittal MOUs, international oil companies are making tangible headway in Venezuela.
Issac Urrutia/Reuters
Hormuz ‘isn’t really the problem’
A number of other factors are conspiring to drive down the volume of crude tankers faster over the past two weeks than any point during the war.
Social media via Reuters
More oil leaving the Gulf than previously thought
The US military has helped ferry crude through the Strait of Hormuz, Axios reported.
Vladimir Tonic/Reuters
Gulf
Saudi intensifies $13.3 billion buildout of indoor entertainment centers
The kingdom is starting with its underserved second-tier cities, which are often in areas that attract year-round tourism because of their cooler climate.
Courtesy of Saudi Press Agency
HUMAIN teases new laptop developed with Qualcomm
The device represents a big bet by HUMAIN to broaden its AI efforts, and pits it against some large players.
Disentangling UAE-Iran economic ties could prove difficult
The UAE was Iran’s largest source of imports before the war, ahead of China.
More oil leaving the Gulf than previously thought
The US military has helped ferry crude through the Strait of Hormuz, Axios reported.
US threatens to expand economic pressure on Iran
President Donald Trump warned countries that traded with Tehran of severe consequences.
China
DFC funds rare earth projects in Africa
Private investors remain reluctant to finance the sector, a key battleground in Washington’s competition with China.
Steve Marcus/Reuters
China blocks EU anti-subsidies probe of JD.com
China ordered entities not to comply with an EU probe of the e-commerce giant’s acquisition of a German electronics retailer.
Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
China’s YouTube, Bilibili, plans global expansion, English-language site
The company is courting influencers to connect with “Gen Z Coded” users, and staffing up in cities around the world.
Go Nakamura/Reuters
Africa
DFC funds rare earth projects in Africa
Private investors remain reluctant to finance the sector, a key battleground in Washington’s competition with China.
Steve Marcus/Reuters
US warns ‘long’ road ahead in Ebola response
The epidemic became the deadliest in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s history earlier this week.
Passengers who disembarked from a boat intercepted by health authorities wait to be tested for Ebola in Kinasha. Benoit Nyemba/Reuters
Africa Finance Corporation raises $430 million digital bond
The deal is the first by an African institution to be listed, traded, and settled on a regulated digital exchange.
Namibia’s oil boom draws global energy giant Equinor
Norway’s Equinor was bought into Chevron’s deepwater block off the coast of Namibia.
Dangote Refinery secures $1 billion underwriting ahead of IPO
The underwriting program comes from two firms, and forms part of a push towards an initial public offering this year.
Zambia’s pro-business president wins second term in controversial election
Hichilema has overseen a massive influx in foreign direct investment since taking office in 2021.
Security
Israel to launch criminal investigations into Gaza killings
Washington had urged Israel to investigate 5-year-old Hind Rajab’s death, which was the subject of an Oscar-nominated film.
Mussa Qawasma/Reuters
Israel’s Lebanon attacks and threats over Gaza undercut US claims of peace progress
Israel carried out its deadliest attacks on Lebanon in weeks and a top Israeli minister called for an intensified assault on Gaza.
Stringer/Reuters
China furthers goals in Asia amid US focus on the Middle East
Washington withdrew an aircraft carrier from the Pacific and has criticized South Korea.
Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
Media
China’s YouTube, Bilibili, plans global expansion, English-language site
The company is courting influencers to connect with “Gen Z Coded” users, and staffing up in cities around the world.
Go Nakamura/Reuters
Tennis’ greatest battles — on the court and off
‘The Cruelest Game,’ by Matthew Futterman, details the unique psychological toll that professional tennis can take — particularly on its greatest stars.
MS NOW to launch membership program for ‘super fans’
The cable news network will roll out the program next month in an effort to grow its digital business and reach new audiences.
‘The Daily Show’ faces uncertain future under Paramount
Jon Stewart’s deal is up at the end of the year, and while there is strong interest from Paramount to renew, the two sides have yet to ink an extension.
Daily Mail brings on exec as it plans video expansion
The US outpost of the UK tabloid told Semafor that it had hired Mike Rothman as the company’s new general manager.
CEO Signal
‘It’s an unbundling’: ADP’s Maria Black on how AI is changing the workforce
The payroll processor sees technology disrupting low-value tasks but making human judgment more valuable.
Courtesy of ADP/Graph Massara/Semafor
Reed Hastings on life after Netflix and the coming ‘creative destruction’
The streaming pioneer says we’re underestimating how AI will change competition.
Why Max Levchin wants Affirm to act like your smarter older sister
The fintech founder sees AI threatening traditional lenders by alerting consumers to their hidden fees.
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