FINANCIAL TIMES
-Crude prices rose by almost 8% in the past week due to speculation that Israel or Iran could strike energy infrastructure in the Middle East, the world's most important oil-exporting region. Brent, the global oil benchmark, settled at $78.05 a barrel, marking the biggest weekly gain since January 2023. The surge came as escalating conflict in the Middle East fueled fears of violent disruption to exports in a region that produces a third of the world's crude. US President Joe Biden suggested Israel should consider other options, reducing the rally and rekindling fears of inflation. Iran exports 1.7M barrels of oil daily, mainly from a terminal on Kharg Island.
-The US economy added 254,000 jobs in September, surpassing expectations and causing traders to increase bets on the Federal Reserve's slower rate cut. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1%, a three-year high in July. The report suggests the Fed is on course to pull off a soft landing for the economy, which has weathered high inflation while maintaining robust growth and strong employment. The resilience of the labor market is also beneficial for vice-president Kamala Harris, who is tied in opinion polls with Republican nominee Donald Trump ahead of the upcoming presidential election.
-The US military has conducted multiple strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, resuming offensive action amid growing fears of a wider Middle East conflict. The US Central Command carried out 15 strikes at various locations in the country, aiming to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer for US, coalition, and merchant vessels. The strikes against the Iranian-backed Houthis, who have controlled Yemen's north since 2015, came as Iran and the region braced for Israel's response to Iran's missile barrage against the country. The Iranian-backed Houthis have been attacking merchant shipping and US naval vessels in the Red Sea and firing drones and missiles at Israel since Hamas's October 7 attack. The group has issued new threats against Israeli targets, claiming responsibility for a failed attack on American warships in the Red Sea.
-Hurricane Helene has exposed a vulnerability in the semiconductor supply chain, as flooding at mines in North Carolina halted the production of ultra-pure quartz, which is vital to chip manufacturing. The storm, the most deadly to hit the US mainland since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, flooded the mountain town of Spruce Pine, which produces up to 90% of the world's ultra-pure quartz. This scarce mineral is used to make crucibles for high-grade silicon used in semiconductors. Any long-term interruption could affect downstream production of essential components in electronics, such as smartphones, computers, and solar panels. The hit comes as demand for servers for artificial intelligence outstrips supply of advanced chips. Vince Beiser, who visited Spruce Pine, said that there are no other sources of high-purity quartz with the same purity, quantity, and ease of access.
-After declaring their intention to privatize Aerolíneas Argentinas, the national airline of Argentina, the Milei government is escalating its anti-worker offensive by seeking to restrict the right to strike of aviation workers and pressing spurious criminal charges against Pablo Biro, General Secretary of the Asociación de Pilotos de Líneas Aéreas (APLA).
-Klarna Bank AB's board has decided to remove Mikael Walther, a confidant of co-founder Victor Jacobsson, amid ongoing disagreements at the Swedish buy-now, pay-later firm. The move will require shareholder approval. Klarna, founded in 2005 by Jacobsson and Sebastian Siemiatkowski, is preparing for a potential public offering next year. The company's strategy has been influenced by Walther. Klarna's revenue surged 27% in the first half of this year, with the company refocusing on artificial intelligence.
-Shein's senior executives are set to meet potential U.S. investors in the coming week as the fashion giant moves closer to a potential London listing. The Singapore-based company's founder and CEO, Sky Xu, will be the first to meet large institutional investors. Shein has faced increasing scrutiny from governments worldwide during its preparations for a potential stock listing. The company has moved to London after its plans for a multibillion-dollar listing in New York collapsed. Xu and Shein's chief financial officer, Leigh Gui, have started informal meetings with global investors in the UK.
NEW YORK TIMES
--The roots of Donald Trump's animus towards Ukraine can be traced back to a series of events between 2016 and 2017. In a meeting between President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and former President Donald J. Trump in Hamburg in 2017, Putin disparaged Ukraine, a former Soviet republic with aspirations of joining the European Union and NATO. Putin argued that Ukraine was a corrupt, fabricated country and that Russia had every right to exert its influence over the country. Trump told Putin that his administration was considering giving weapons to Ukraine, to which Putin responded that it would be "a mistake" and that the Ukrainians would ask for more. This meeting highlights the political resentment and mistrust between the two leaders, as well as the potential consequences of Trump's re-election if he were elected again. The roots of Trump's animus towards Ukraine can be traced back to a series of events that spanned from 2016 to 2017.
-Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is increasingly fatalistic and determined to see Israel embroiled in a wider regional conflict, according to US officials. Sinwar has long believed he will not survive the war, which has hindered negotiations to secure the release of hostages seized by his group in the October 7 attacks in Israel. His attitude has hardened in recent weeks, and American negotiators now believe that Hamas has no intention of reaching a deal with Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has rejected proposals in the negotiations and added positions that have complicated the talks. US officials estimate that he is mainly concerned about his political survival and might not think a cease-fire in Gaza is in his interests. Hamas has shown no desire to engage in talks in recent weeks, and they suspect that Sinwar has grown more resigned as Israeli forces pursue him and talk about closing in on him. A larger war that puts pressure on Israel and its military would, in Sinwar's assessment, force them to scale back operations in Gaza.
-As the Israeli offensive in Lebanon expands to include ground incursions and intensifying airstrikes, senior Pentagon officials are discussing whether the enhanced U.S. military presence in the Middle East is helping to prevent a much wider war or emboldening Israel. In the 12 months since Hamas attacked Israel, launching a conflict that includes Yemen, Iran, and Lebanon, the Pentagon has sent a bristling array of weaponry to the region, including aircraft carriers, guided missile destroyers, amphibious assault ships, and fighter squadrons.
The Pentagon announced this week that it would add a "few thousand" more troops to the equation and essentially doubled its air power in the region. President Biden says the U.S. hardware and extra troops are there to help defend Israel and protect other American troops on bases throughout the region.
-The United States Central Command has conducted strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, including "Houthi offensive military capabilities," in an effort to secure international waterways. The Iranian-backed Houthi militia in Yemen has been striking ships in the Red Sea in solidarity with Hamas since last year, disrupting commercial shipping. Central Command said on social media that it struck 15 targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. The attack on Sanaa came as the Houthis and their supporters were holding their weekly "million-man march" protest, which this week was focused on Israel's killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike near Beirut, Lebanon. Hashem Sharaf al-Din, a Houthi official, considered the strikes "a desperate attempt" to intimidate the Yemeni people and vowed not to be deterred by them.
-Conservative activists in Arizona and other states are accusing Latino advocacy groups of registering undocumented immigrants, leading to concerns about safety among canvassers. In Phoenix, four workers from a Latino nonprofit were filmed and yelled at while trying to register voters. The canvassers, who were wearing matching "Poder Latinx" T-shirts, were seen persuading reluctant Americans to register to vote. Conservative video blogger Vlad Stepanov, 33, noticed the suspicious appearance of the canvassers and asked if they were registering noncitizens to vote. The canvassers insisted they were following Arizona laws and registering only citizens. However, Stepanov argued that obtaining an ID does not prove a citizen. As the ground game intensifies ahead of state voter-registration deadlines in early October, suspicions of election fraud have turned the routine task of registering voters into tense confrontations.
-Kamala Harris has a unique connection to her estranged father, Donald J. Harris. Although the father has been mostly absent from Kamala’s life, he has played a significant role in shaping her into the person she is today. In her recent convention speech, Kamala Harris recalled a childhood memory of her father, who encouraged her to run and not let anything stop her. This moment seemed like a tribute to the bond between the father and daughter, but the reality is more complicated. Harris, an economist, lives with his second wife two miles from the vice president's official residence in Washington. Despite this, the two rarely speak, and Kamala Harris's convention speech was a rare instance where she publicly named her father, a stark contrast to her regular praise for her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, a biomedical scientist who died in 2009.
-Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned in Michigan, a key battleground state, to strengthen her support among labor and the working class. At a rally in Flint, Michigan, she attacked former President Donald J. Trump as a threat to manufacturing jobs, while Gov. Gretchen Whitmer blamed him for the loss of 280,000 jobs in the state. Harris pledged to be a friend to organized labor, a day after the International Association of Fire Fighters declined to endorse a presidential candidate. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters also declined to weigh in on the race. Shawn Fain, the president of the powerful United Auto Workers union, was among the speakers at her rally.
-President Biden has urged Congress to provide emergency funding for the Small Business Administration (SBA) to help small-business owners recover from Hurricane Helene. In a letter to Congress leadership, Biden stated that the SBA's disaster relief program will run out of money in weeks before Congress reconvenes. He urged Congress to act to restore this funding. This comes just days after Republican Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana said he saw no need for Congress to return from its recess, which will continue through at least Election Day in early November. Johnson and other Republicans argue that the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other parts of the government have enough money in the short term and that it would take weeks to assess the longer-term needs of those in the path of the hurricane, which can be addressed after the election.
-A plan to place American-made reactors on a picturesque coastline in Poland has broad support in both Poland and Washington, but local opposition has run into geopolitical calculations. At a harvest festival in Choczewo, Poland, locals are bitterly divided on a proposed nuclear plant, Poland's first. The festival featured traditional folk songs, local farmers displaying their wares, and women in traditional dress singing folk songs. However, among the stalls selling sausages and hams was a more unusual sight: men in white lab coats discussing nuclear radiation, and protesters in T-shirts emblazoned with the message, "No Atoms on the Baltic!" The debate over nuclear energy is very real in Choczewo, a district in northern Poland dotted with farms, forests, and white-sand beaches.
-Former President Donald Trump and his allies, who often criticize undocumented immigrants, are targeting programs that allow millions of people to enter the United States lawfully. Trump has said he would again aim to curb legal channels into the country. However, remarks made by Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, signal that a second Trump administration would again aim to curb the legal channels that allow people to enter the country or obtain protection from deportation once inside its borders. In an interview with NewsNation, Trump said he would revoke a program that allows tens of thousands of Haitian immigrants to legally live in the country. This move signals a potential shift in the Trump administration's approach to immigration.
-The Biden administration has announced that it will allow temporary legal permission for migrants from Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti, and Nicaragua to lapse, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to find other methods to stay in the country or face deportation. This decision comes as political pressure mounts to cut down on programs that allow migrants to stay in the United States temporarily, even without a visa or green card. The Biden administration began a program allowing migrants from these four countries to apply to stay in the United States for two years, as long as they had a financial sponsor and passed background checks. The program was designed to discourage people from sneaking into the country by giving them a legal way to enter the United States. However, the administration now states that migrants cannot extend their stay under the program, according to an update on the Homeland Security Department's website.
NEW YORK POST
-Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked by a trio of young suspects while walking their dog on the Upper East Side on Friday night. Paterson, 70, and his wife's 20-year-old son, Anthony Chester Sliwa, encountered the group of young men, possibly teens, climbing a fire escape on Second Avenue near East 96th Street shortly before 9 p.m. Paterson's spokesperson, Sean Darcy, confirmed that the group had a previous interaction with Paterson's stepson. Both Paterson and his stepson suffered some injuries but were able to fight off their attackers. The ex-governor, who is legally blind, sustained an injury to his head, while his stepson suffered a face wound. Sources said his stepson's injury was more severe. They were taken to NY-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center as a precaution, and a police report had been filed. No arrests were made as of late Friday.
-Vice President Kamala Harris has resisted her previous support for banning gasoline-powered cars, stating that she will never tell Americans what car they have to drive. Harris made the remark during a campaign rally in Flint, Michigan, where she promised to retool existing factories and push policies that support innovation in advanced batteries and electric vehicles. The vice president's declaration is an apparent response to a Trump campaign ad running in Michigan, which claims, “Kamala Harris wants to end all gas-powered cars.” The ad continues, stating that Harris's push requiring electric-only is failing big and Michigan auto workers are paying the price.
-Toyota Motor Corp. is rethinking its approach to diversity and inclusion (DEI) and pro-LGBTQ events following a recent online controversy. The company has announced that it will limit community activities to align with STEM education and workforce readiness and will no longer participate in the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index. This follows allegations by anti-woke activist Robby Starbuck that the company has funded groups opposing gender transition treatments on minors, formed Employee Resource Groups, and sponsored a drag queen program at a summer camp for kids. Toyota will continue to promote an inclusive environment, but will focus on activities that enhance business quality.