Flagship

Inflation cools to a three-year low

Inflation in the US cooled to a three-year low, setting the stage for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates next week. A slight uptick in a core gauge of consumer prices, however, dimmed investors’ hopes for a more aggressive cut than the quarter-percentage point now expected from the central bank, CNN reported, sending stock prices lower. The inflation data likely cemented the Fed’s shift in focus from stabilizing prices to steadying the labor market after data last week showed job creation was slowing. Even a more limited cut next week likely marks the beginning of a cycle, though: Traders are betting on 1.4 percentage points of reductions by the end of January.

World governments react to US debate

The first debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump sparked strong reactions from world leaders and diplomats, with many agreeing that Harris had the better night. Germany pushed back against Trump’s criticism of its green energy transition, and one lawmaker said Harris made Trump seem “like an aging incumbent, old, angry and confused.” Hungarian politicians approved of Trump’s lavish praise of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, but one EU diplomat said it didn’t matter because “no one in the US knows” who Orbán is. China, meanwhile, refrained from directly commenting on the debate, while a Kremlin spokesperson compared the candidates to boxers sparring on the Titanic: “Who won? Does it mean anything? There’s only 15 minutes left until the iceberg.”

US pledges more Ukraine aid

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged $717 million in aid for Ukraine during a visit to Kyiv Wednesday. The support comes as US President Joe Biden appears to be at odds with his intelligence community over Ukraine’s plea to use US weapons to strike Russia, the Financial Times reported. Such strikes are unlikely to be “game-changing” for Ukraine, a defense expert argued in Foreign Affairs, unless coupled with the kind of tight ground maneuvers that Kyiv has so far failed to master. The US also wants Kyiv to have more pragmatic war goals, The Wall Street Journal reported, because a total Ukrainian victory would require billions of dollars’ worth of support, “something neither Washington nor Europe can realistically do.”

China’s ‘divide-and-conquer’ tariff ploy

Spain’s prime minister called on the European Union to reconsider tariffs against Chinese-made electric vehicles following his visit to China. Pedro Sánchez’s comments suggest that European leaders could muster enough support to block Brussels’ trade escalations against Beijing, Bloomberg reported, setting the stage for internal fights with countries like France, which supports the tariffs. Beijing is playing a “divide-and-conquer strategy” Euronews wrote, by threatening retaliatory duties on EU member states in hopes of pressuring them to thwart Brussels’ tariffs. Chinese goods are also being taxed elsewhere: India on Wednesday said it would impose up to 30% tariffs on some steel products imported from China.

Maldives faces Islamic bond default

The Maldives’ debt crisis will test the global Islamic financing system as the island nation seeks massive bailouts from China and India. The price of a $500 million sukuk — essentially a Sharia law-compliant government bond — issued by the Maldives, collapsed to about 70 cents on the dollar over the past month, with a payment due in October. The sukuk’s restructuring process is “an opaque and poorly understood area of law,” a consulting firm told the Financial Times, and Gulf monarchies have sometimes stepped in “to keep the reputation of sukuk unblemished,” such as by bailing out Bahrain in 2018. It’s unlikely that India or China will do the same for the Maldives, an investor said, risking the first Islamic sovereign debt default.

Ye’s China concert stuns fans

US rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, is set to perform in China on Sept. 15, stunning Chinese citizens. Tickets for Ye’s “listening party” on the island of Hainan sold out within minutes, reflecting the rapper’s enduring popularity in the country where he once attended school. Hainan is a less conventional choice than Shanghai or Beijing, where Ye performed 16 years ago. But the island, dubbed “China’s Hawaii,” is trying to rebrand itself as an international destination amid declining domestic tourism, a tourist consultant told CNBC. Still, Ye’s presence is a “political gamble” for Hainan, he said, with one internet commentator calling the rapper “an outright misfit” by China’s conservative standards.

Saudi megacity has workplace issues

The planned Saudi Arabian megacity of Neom has been plagued by worker deaths and executives’ misconduct, a Wall Street Journal investigation found. After three people died while working on the project, one executive reportedly commented: “You can’t train for stupidity.” Others have been investigated for corruption and embezzlement. It could pose a problem for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has poured hundreds of billions of dollars into the city, which is set to host the Asian Winter Games and FIFA World Cup. “If Neom fails, the 39-year-old de facto ruler risks squandering his country’s wealth, and his reputation as a reformer,” the Journal wrote. Neom said it has zero tolerance for inappropriate workplace behavior.

Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nevada), Mark Ein, Venture Capitalist and Entrepreneur; Limited Partner, Washington Commanders and Lori Kalani, Chief Responsible Gaming Officer, DraftKings will join Semafor’s editors in Washington, D.C. on September 19 for a discussion on the growth and trajectory of the U.S. gaming industry.

RSVP for in-person or livestream.

US could see driverless trucks soon

Driverless trucks could make their debut on US roads within months. Autonomous vehicle startup Aurora has scheduled a 200-mile trial drive from Dallas to Houston for December. Two other companies have begun driverless testing. Trucking employs hundreds of thousands of drivers in the US, Ars Technica noted. Large trucks cause thousands of deaths every year, so the potential safety gains are considerable too. But trucks can weigh up to 40 tons, so even a momentary mistake could be deadly. To minimize the risk of failure, Aurora’s trucks each have two independent computers, separately wired and powered, so the second can take over if the first fails.

Robot helps with Fukushima’s cleanup

A robot removed radioactive material from the ruined Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan. The reactor was destroyed by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, leading to a major meltdown and widespread evacuation. Clearing the highly radioactive site is dangerous and complex: Humans cannot safely enter, and cleanup work is three years behind schedule. The robot removed less than an ounce of material — which will be sent to Japan’s nuclear watchdog for analysis — but will later return in earnest. Removing the roughly 880 tons of melted fuel debris from the facility is expected to take 30 to 40 years, Gizmodo reported.

Aquarium worker’s emoji mission

A US aquarium worker is on a quest to make marine life emojis anatomically accurate. Emily Simpson of California’s Monterey Bay Aquarium convinced Google to put its octopus emoji’s eyes on the side of its head, and correct its shark’s tail so that the top fin is longer than the bottom, Mercury News reported. She also got Apple to rectify its squid and oyster. Not all her suggestions were accepted: Google’s shark still has just three gill slits rather than a realistic minimum of five, and the pufferfish appears fully puffed, which would suggest it is stressed. Still, Simpson has reason for a smiley face emoji, particularly because the lobster, crab, shrimp, and oyster have been moved from the “food” category to “animals and nature.”

September 12:

• US President Joe Biden hosts UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House.
• A vast coin collection owned by Danish butter magnate Lars Emil Bruun is set to go on sale a century after his death.
• Olympic and Paralympic flags are installed at Los Angeles City Hall.

An Impressionist masterpiece that birthed one of art history’s most important movements is making its US debut. Claude Monet completed his green-gray vision of the harbor at Le Havre in a single sitting and titled the work Impression, Sunrise – unwittingly giving Impressionism its name. First staged at the Musée d’Orsay, the show at Washington DC’s National Gallery of Art seeks to recreate the first Impressionist exhibition held in 1874, when a group of radical artists defied the rules of the Paris Salon to exhibit their work. “It will invite visitors to immerse themselves in this decisive moment, a major rupture in the history of art,” the Musée d’Orsay’s president said.

• Kamala Harris baited Donald Trump into a debate on her terms.
• US closer to green lighting Nvidia chips for Saudi Arabia.
• Low-profile New York publisher bids for Telegraph.