Flagship

Bitcoin hits $80K as crypto hopes surge

The price of Bitcoin hit $80,000 for the first time Sunday, fueled by the election of Donald Trump and more than a dozen new pro-cryptocurrency US lawmakers. The industry poured $170 million into campaigning, and traders are riding a wave of hope that Washington will “treat it differently from Wall Street,” with less regulatory oversight, The Wall Street Journal wrote. Stocks also surged post-election, but “now comes the hard part” for investors, as they try to predict which industries will see a lasting boost, Bloomberg reported. Financial stocks are seen as a strong bet, given the likelihood of milder banking rules, while some warn oil and gas stocks could take a hit if Republican efforts to cut regulations create a supply glut.

Trump transition speculation mounts

Donald Trump completed a clean sweep of all seven swing states, receiving a clear mandate amid rising speculation over who will serve in his second administration. Multiple conservative figures have flocked to the US president-elect’s Florida resort to vie for cabinet roles, and so far, the process seems more “orderly” than 2016, Semafor’s Shelby Talcott reported. Still, some in Washington are concerned that Trump’s delay in signing an agreement with the federal government to assist the transition and enable the Republican’s team to receive classified briefings could yet hamper the process. Meanwhile, several big Democratic donors and funders of progressive causes are increasingly preparing for the possibility that they could face retaliatory investigations, Semafor reported.

Qatar halts Israel-Hamas mediation

Israel and Hamas are effectively left without a go-between to help broker a ceasefire in Gaza after Qatar halted its mediation efforts. The Gulf nation also reportedly asked Hamas’ political leaders to leave the country, after the latest round of talks made no progress. The move comes at a particularly uncertain moment for the region: US President-elect Donald Trump has said he wants the war over by his inauguration in January, but experts say it’s unlikely that fighting will come to a complete stop any time soon. For Qatar, distancing from Hamas could help the country’s diplomatic standing with the incoming Trump administration, a Haaretz columnist wrote: “Qatar’s relations with the first Trump government fluctuated. Doha must now prepare for the second.”

COP29 opens with expectations low

COP29 opens Monday in Azerbaijan under the shadow of a controversy involving its chief executive and the results of the US election. The aim of this year’s talks is to establish a new climate financing target, but climate advocates worry that disagreements over who pays what, along with the incoming Trump administration in the US, could derail negotiations. Meanwhile, the summit’s chief executive has faced criticism after a video appeared to show him touting the potential for fossil fuel deals at the conference. Some have called on the UK to assume a greater leadership role as US influence recedes. “The world is moving on,” one climate researcher said, adding that the US “has never been a great team player at COPs” anyway.

Singles Day sees strong spending

China’s Singles Day shopping festival seems to be doing a bit better than last year, with consumers spending on practical items over luxury goods. Analysts predict a 15% sales increase over 2023, although the event still feels “much calmer” than the pre-pandemic buying frenzy it once inspired, CNBC reports. The subdued enthusiasm reflects a broader economic picture: New data found prices barely rose in October, while production pricing continued its deflationary course. In an effort to buck these trends, Beijing approved a 10 trillion yuan debt relief package for local governments Friday. But because the cash isn’t being injected directly into the economy, analysts said it will “require some time” before there is a clear rebound in consumer spending.

Japan’s PM Ishiba likely to survive vote

Japan’s prime minister is expected to survive a leadership vote Monday, even after his ruling coalition lost its majority last month in a snap election. Splinters among the main opposition parties clear the way for Shigeru Ishiba to remain as prime minister at a pivotal time for Washington’s closest Asian ally, with Ishiba vowing to strengthen the country’s military and its US ties. Donald Trump’s reelection could spark friction between Washington and Tokyo over trade, but the country’s market may be well positioned to ride those waves, the Financial Times’ Leo Lewis argued. Japanese exporter and defense industry stocks rose after Trump won, and Ishiba’s government will likely be too weak to make any big policy shifts that might shake markets.

South Africa mulls ‘germline’ editing

South Africa took a step closer to becoming the first nation to allow “germline” editing of the human genome. The gene editing currently performed in humans is “somatic,” which means it involves cells that already exist in a person’s body. Germline editing, by contrast, involves altering the genome in sperm or egg cells, making changes inheritable. South Africa’s latest research guidelines include germline editing, which scientists told Nature brings the country closer to explicitly permitting the controversial technique. Many scientists and ethicists are in favor of a moratorium on the practice in clinical settings, at least until the technology improves. That said, germline targeting could help prevent inherited diseases like sickle cell anemia — which, notably, is more common in people of African descent.

Self-driving trucks make mining safer

Rio Tinto is increasingly employing self-driving trucks at its Australia mines. The company’s Greater Nammuldi mine in Western Australia employs around 400 people, but also more than 50 trucks — including 300-ton behemoths the size of townhouses — with no driver at the wheel, the BBC reported. Despite being coordinated from Perth, some 1,000 miles away, they are improving both productivity and safety, a company manager said. Meanwhile, their former drivers have been successfully retrained on other equipment. According to some estimates, the number of self-driving haul trucks worldwide has about quadrupled in four years, and, while autonomous vehicles are still a rare sight on city streets — although that is slowly changing — the technology is already changing the economy elsewhere.

Ancient art sheds light on Stone Age Europe

The oldest known depictions of fishing were discovered on a cave wall in Germany. The 15,800-year-old images include intricate engravings of fish and what appear to be nets on slate-like stone slabs called “plaquettes.” Scientists already knew that Paleolithic people living in Europe ate a diet that included fish, but they had no evidence of how ancient people caught them. The discovery sheds light on that question, and also nods to the importance of fishing to ancient humans: The plaquettes are among the greatest artistic treasures of Stone Age Europe, featuring images of prey animals like mammoth and wooly rhinos, as well as highly stylized depictions of the female form.

Bollywood bets on horror

Horror films are booming in Bollywood, bucking the industry wisdom that the genre had limited appeal. Horror movies have been among the biggest earners at the Indian box office this year; one comedy-horror film with a modest budget made almost as much as a pricey action film starring Bollywood’s biggest stars. The genre has undergone a reinvention: In the past, horror movies were geared toward adult audiences, but today’s hits infuse comedy and branding to broaden appeal — although critics aren’t fans, the BBC reported. One top horror-comedy writer said the success reflects the lack of cliches: “The success of a film depends on creativity. It cannot be attributed to the ABC genre,” he told Hindustan Times. “Equations don’t work in art.”

Nov. 11:

• Web Summit, an annual European tech conference, begins in Lisbon.
• World leaders gather in Paris to commemorate the 106th anniversary of the 1918 Armistice.
• American actress Demi Moore turns 62.

Semafor Climate & Energy Editor Tim McDonnell will be in Baku for COP29 — subscribe to Semafor Net Zero for on-the-ground updates from the climate conference.

A selection of photographs curated by American film director Jim Jarmusch to mark the centennial of the Surrealist movement went on show in Paris. While not all of the 34 images were strictly Surrealist, the images “reflect [Surrealism’s] tenets of the transformation of the ordinary into the dreamlike, and at times vice-versa,” Jarmusch told Artnet. The exhibition includes photos by David Hockney and Man Ray, as well as an Italian photographer’s images of Genoa’s trans community in the 1960s. “The beauty of Surrealism is looking at things in a different way,” the Paterson director said. “It’s about juxtaposing the mundane and fantastical.”

While Western policymakers are fretting over China-made EVs, its domestically dominant two-wheelers are looking to expand globally, Xiaoying You reported. “Much of the domestic Chinese market has become saturated with electric cars, prompting automakers to look abroad,” You wrote, “two-wheeler manufacturers are following suit.”