Weekend Papers Summary
FINANCIAL TIMES
-Israel declared a “state of alert for war” on Saturday after Hamas launched its biggest attack on the country for years, firing a barrage of rockets and sending militants across the border from the Gaza Strip.
-General Motors has agreed to include battery manufacturing plants in its overarching contract with the United Auto Workers, the union said, meeting a crucial demand for employees anxious over the industry’s shift to electric vehicles.
-The US added 336,000 new jobs in September, far more than expected, pushing bond yields to a new 16-year high and fueling investors’ anxieties that interest rates will stay higher for longer.
-Maroš Šefcovic, European Commission vice-president, told the Financial Times that Brussels would interpret “made in Europe” rules very loosely in 2024, giving carmakers more time to switch battery sourcing from Asia to Europe. “We want to solve it and we are also discussing this with UK partners,” Šefcovic said, adding that he would be “very happy” if a deal could be struck before the December 31 deadline.
-Donald Trump has claimed in a lawsuit filed in London that he suffered “reputational damage and distress” as a result of the controversial Russia dossier compiled by former MI6 spy Christopher Steele.
The former US president is suing Orbis Business Intelligence, co-founded by the former British intelligence officer, in the High Court over the dossier, which leaked to media website BuzzFeed in 2017.
-In an interview with the FT, Moldova’s President Maia Sandu claimed that Wagner’s late leader Yevgeny Prigozhin had planned the coup earlier this year and warned that Moscow is using various methods, including cash mules and bank cards issued in Dubai, to smuggle money into Moldova to bribe voters ahead of a string of elections.
-Japan’s prime minister Fumio Kishida has appealed to BlackRock founder Larry Fink and others controlling $18tn of assets to invest in Japan’s future, wrapping up a charm offensive to lure capital into the country.
-A lawsuit brought against Spain’s former king Juan Carlos by his ex-lover was thrown out by London’s High Court on Friday. Juan Carlos, 85, has been fighting a court battle against his ex-lover Corinna Zu Sayn-Wittgenstein since 2020. She has accused the former king and the Spanish secret service of harassment and putting her under illegal surveillance in the UK since 2012, and was seeking substantial damages and a restraining order.
-In the wake of falling sales, insolvencies and fast-disappearing financing, the plant-based meat sector is now on a mission to win back consumers by explaining its manufacturing processes and highlighting what it says are the health benefits of plant-based meat.
NEW YORK TIMES
-Israel was hit by rockets in surprise attack; Hamas announced the operation as heavily armed militants crossed into Israel from Gaza. Israel went into an official war footing.
The Israeli news media and witness accounts described a large-scale attack by militants, apparently including some who used hang gliders.
-From the fringe to the center of the GOP, Jim Jordan Remains a Hard-Liner.
Once a tormentor of Republican speakers, Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, an unapologetic right-wing pugilist, has become a potential speaker himself.
-With a Republican leadership vacuum, Donald Trump’s influence has reached a post-presidency peak.
-President Biden’s promises to reverse trump’s immigration policies have crumbled. Biden has tried to contain a surge of migration by embracing, or at least tolerating, some of his predecessor’s approaches.
-The Biden administration’s decision to add to the border wall is a confusing one.
-The Hroza missile strike in Ukraine Killed a Family in Mourning. A missile strike on the Ukrainian village of Hroza killed at least 52 people, including every known member of one family in the area.
-Mr. Wang is one of three key witnesses who pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate against Mr. Bankman-Fried, the onetime crypto mogul on trial for fraud.
-Since his FTX firm collapsed, Sam Bankman-Fried has become a symbol of the cryptocurrency industry’s excesses.
-For as long as many New Yorkers can remember, the transit system has needed more money. Now its budget is whole, and the pressure for good service is on.
-The fatal crash involving Nadine Menendez is under new investigation.
The scrutiny could create fresh legal and political peril for Senator Robert Menendez, a Democrat, who has been charged with accepting bribes.
NY POST
-House Majority Leader Steve Scalise pledged to back the eventual nominee for speaker – even if it’s not him – and called on his potential opponents to do the same. Scalise (R-La.) touted his ability to build coalitions and unite Republicans, in an interview with Politico Friday, and vowed to support whoever the House Republican conference decides to back for the speakership as part of his effort to bring the fractured conference together.
-Last week, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission got a subpoena threat from US Rep. Patrick McHenry, chair of the House Financial Services Committee, who is demanding more information on the FTX collapse. “You refuse to be transparent with Congress regarding your interactions with FTX and Sam-Bankman Fried,” McHenry told Gensler at a Sept. 27 hearing. In response, Gensler has remained tight-lipped about his role in the crypto exchange’s downfall.