TheChek News Flow

- President Donald Trump's administration has briefed Gulf Arab officials to prepare for a short, intense round of US airstrikes on Iran as soon as November 4, the day after the U.S. midterm elections

- Potential targets under consideration include Iran's nuclear facilities, missile and drone arsenals, and energy infrastructure

- FOLLOW UP: Trump tells reporters that the US is in no rush to resume military strikes against Iran: ""We're not in that much of a hurry from the standpoint that we've knocked down their Navy, we've knocked out their air force, we've knocked out their anti-aircraft...I would say 1 or 2 [nuclear] sites, but we can do that in ten minutes."

Reese Witherspoon‘s Hello Sunshine is majorly shrinking.

Earlier this month, Witherspoon bought her production company back from Candle Media, the Blackstone-backed label that had acquired a controlling stake in 2021. With the support of the French conglomerate Mediawan, the actress was reportedly able to reacquire the banner for just a fraction of the $900 million that Candle Media had paid for it. Now, after just a few weeks in the driver’s seat, Witherspoon has let go some 30 employees — roughly 50% of Hello Sunshine’s staff.

Variety learned the layoff news from multiple sources, who noted that Hello Sunshine will now focus primarily on film and television projects and the Reese’s Book Club brand, with the direct-to-consumer division being gutted. Reps for Hello Sunshine declined a request for comment.

Though Witherspoon and Mediawan’s control of Hello Sunshine is new, the company is no stranger to layoffs. Under Candle Media’s leadership, it saw at least four rounds of staff reduction in the last two years alone, impacting the unscripted department and the Gen Z-oriented lifestyle brand Sunnie in particular. Candle Media also shuttered Hello Sunshine’s kids and animation unit in 2023. In 2024, it consolidated its live-action division, including that of Hello Sunshine, into Candle Studios, which was led by Hello Sunshine CEO Sarah Harden until she stepped down a year later.

When Witherspoon re-acquired Hello Sunshine, she wrote in a statement that “the best is still ahead.”

“Mediawan has built a global, independent studio by putting creators first. That has always been my vision for Hello Sunshine,” her statement said. “I’m investing alongside Mediawan and joining Pierre-Antoine Capton and his teams because this is the perfect home for this new media landscape. It’s also a homecoming. Peter Chernin and Jesse Jacobs believed in Hello Sunshine from day one. I’m deeply proud of what our incredible team has built, and grateful to Blackstone and Candle Media for their partnership and unwavering support.”

A war room. A global conference call. A founder who live-posted about the largest crypto heist in history. Inside a frantic 24 hours at the world’s biggest crypto exchange.

At about 4:20 p.m. on Thursday, a string of unusual transactions started to cause alarm at Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.

Money was pouring out of the company’s accounts, a multibillion-dollar deluge of digital coins. It had all the hallmarks of a crypto heist — a high-speed bank robbery conducted over the internet.

As the news spread, Binance’s top executives put together an informal war room on Wea, the company’s internal messaging system, with about 100 participants, including specialized cryptocurrency tracers and security personnel.

They eventually transitioned to a mass conference call, with 100 boxes on the screen, where employees took turns muting and then unmuting, communicating in a mixture of English and Chinese. Among them was He Yi, Binance’s co-chief executive, who is seven months pregnant, and worked through the night from her base in Abu Dhabi, taking a call at 3 a.m. local time.

Ms. He and her colleagues were navigating one of the most damaging crises in Binance’s long and troubled history. A team of North Korean hackers had penetrated the exchange and drained more than $6 billion in the largest crypto heist of all time. Binance was forced to halt deposits and withdrawals, and posted a series of frantic messages on X, promising that it would cover any losses.

It was a surreal situation made even more surreal by the actions of Binance’s founder, Changpeng Zhao, who spent the evening narrating the events to his 12.9 million followers on X. He posted prayer hand emojis, publicly jousted with the site’s owner, Elon Musk, and insisted that “user funds are SAFU” — using a bit of crypto slang to reassure customers that hundreds of millions of dollars in deposits would not simply vanish into thin air.

“It hurts, but we will survive,” Mr. Zhao declared.

The impact of the Binance attack rippled across the crypto industry, from Abu Dhabi to New York, setting off a frantic effort to salvage some of the stolen funds and prompting law enforcement inquiries. This account of how the hack unfolded is based on interviews with four people with knowledge of the events, as well as analyses by crypto forensics firms and documents reviewed by The New York Times.

For years, Binance has been the most important and contentious company in the crypto world. After Mr. Zhao founded it in 2017, it quickly turned into a behemoth, the No. 1 destination for customers looking to convert traditional currencies into digital coins like Bitcoin and Ether.

It also became a haven for crime. In 2023, Binance pleaded guilty to anti-money-laundering violations that had allowed criminals to move money and paid $4.3 billion in penalties to U.S. regulators. Mr. Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison.

For all its troubles, however, Binance never lost popularity among the crypto faithful. It remains the world’s largest exchange by a distance, and Mr. Zhao, who lives in Abu Dhabi, is something of an industry folk hero. Binance’s main platform is banned in the United States. But last year, the company forged a business relationship with World Liberty Financial, the Trump family crypto start-up. President Trump granted a pardon to Mr. Zhao last October, paving the way for Binance to expand into the U.S. market.

But on the night of Oct. 29, the company had to deal with the aftermath of the $6 billion hack.

Such attacks have become commonplace in the crypto world. In February 2025, the North Koreans stole $1.5 billion from Bybit, a rival exchange. Bybit was breached after Ben Zhou, its chief executive, approved a seemingly routine transaction that granted the thieves access to the exchange’s internal system.

It’s not clear precisely how the North Koreans got around Binance’s defenses. An initial investigation pointed to a compromised laptop, Binance said Friday. But the company later said it had uncovered “additional points of breach.”

Much of the drama played out in public. Almost all crypto transactions are recorded on the blockchain, a ledger of money movements that anyone can look up. That meant crypto analysts could see funds leaving Binance in real time.

On Thursday afternoon, Jonathan Levin, the chief executive of the crypto analytics firm Chainalysis, was on a video call with a former senior U.S. official, discussing the need for the U.S. government to deploy cyber attacks against adversaries. Then Mr. Levin got the news about Binance.

“I looked at my phone and was like, ‘Oh, this doesn’t look good,’” he said in an interview.

A group of Chainalysis employees gathered in a conference room in New York named “Silk Road,” after another crypto platform that was famously hacked. They worked until the early hours of Friday morning, eating Malaysian food and analyzing transactions to get a clearer picture of what had happened.

Soon both Chainalysis and another analytics firm, TRM Labs, attributed the attack to an elite North Korean hacking unit called TraderTraitor. The F.B.I. confirmed their findings. North Koreans have targeted crypto companies for years, using the proceeds of those thefts to fund its nuclear program, according to Western officials.

The hackers have developed increasingly complex strategies to steal crypto and launder the proceeds, a painstaking endeavor that can take months to complete. In a blog post on Friday, Chainalysis said the attackers had deployed “laundering patterns we have not seen before,” conducting thousands of transactions over a short period, probably with the help of automation.

At the same time, Binance’s colleagues in the industry mobilized to intercept some of the laundered crypto. Certain digital coin issuers can freeze funds, allowing them to halt a money-laundering operation in its tracks.

Soon after the hack, Tether and Circle, two major issuers, announced that they had frozen stashes of their own coins that the hackers had seized from Binance, a combined total of more than $2 billion in crypto. Binance is now working to gain access to those funds, the company said.

But $2.4 billion in crypto is already “beyond any issuer’s reach,” according to TRM. In a social media post on Friday, Binance said that it had set aside $6.34 billion to cover losses from the hack.

How much money Binance has in reserve is not publicly known. After midnight, Mr. Musk posted a grimacing emoji underneath an X post comparing Mr. Zhao to Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced crypto mogul whose FTX exchange collapsed in 2022.

“Bad time to troll,” Mr. Zhao responded. “Please stop.” He noted that Binance owns over $1 billion in shares in SpaceX, Mr. Musk’s rocket company.

Mr. Zhao’s comment got the attention of Ms. He, Binance’s co-chief executive and his longtime romantic partner. (Mr. Zhao is Binance’s majority shareholder but doesn’t have a formal role at the company.)

“Our company’s revenue for the year is sufficient to cover the losses, so we do not yet need to sell the SpaceX shares,” Ms. He wrote.

With the industry reeling, Ms. He and her co-chief executive, Richard Teng, told Binance employees to “stay disciplined,” according to a message reviewed by The Times.

"Do not speculate internally or externally,” the message said. “We know this is an intense moment, and we deeply appreciate everyone working overtime to make this right.”

They also tried to address the growing unease in the crypto world. Speaking in Mandarin in a video posted to X on Friday, Ms. He said that the rise of artificial intelligence had turned hacking into “a threat to the entire industry.”

“Of course, there are many things that we have done wrong,” she said. “We should have invested in security much earlier and more extensively, and established more rigorous standards.”

Word of Binance’s hack even reached Mr. Trump, who was asked about it by a reporter on Friday. “People never see the money anymore,” he said. “I’ve always felt it was a little bit dangerous. But they say they have it pretty much under control. We’ll see.”

Among the companies that rushed to Binance’s aid was the Trump family firm, World Liberty, the issuer of a coin known as USD1.

Zach Witkoff, the company’s chief executive and the son of one of Mr. Trump’s top advisers, announced on X that World Liberty had frozen $27 million in USD1 that was “associated with the Binance hack.”

“We stand by our industry partners,” he wrote.

“Thank you!” Mr. Zhao responded, followed by three prayer hand emojis.

Andrea Guerra spoke about China's prospects, Prada's epicenter strategy and Versace's potential.

Is compromise underrated in the fashion business?

Andrea Guerra, chief executive officer of Prada Group, certainly thinks so, even if he works in an environment of frequent confrontation, not the least with Patrizio Bertelli and Miuccia Prada, the famously strong-willed husband-and-wife leaders of the Italian fashion company.

“Compromise to me is one of the most neglected words of the cultural vocabulary,” Guerra related during a fireside chat with James Fallon, chief content officer at Fairchild Media Group, parent of WWD. “Compromise is generosity. Compromise allows everyone to have a positive contribution to something, and at the end, you are able to find a common ground. It’s a positive word. It’s not a negative word.”

Guerra, who worked at LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Eataly, Luxottica Group, Marriott International and Merloni Elettrodomestici before joining Prada in 2023, said he thrives on working with first-generation founders.

“I love the idea to have this personal commitment by people who have the courage, the ideas, the fantasy to create it,” he said, speaking at the WWD x SKP Global Fashion & Beauty Summit in Wuhan, China. “And then on the other side, the question of moving on, and it’s never revolution. Don’t think that there can be revolutions in this kind of organization, but it’s a constant evolution.”

Indeed, he stressed that brand DNA evolves slowly, and “if you punch it,” results are unlikely to be lasting.

The executive said he feels at home in China, and is sanguine about its long-term prospects.

He related that he came to Beijing for a summer at age 16, since his best friend’s father was opening a branch of an Italian bank there. And he marveled at nearly two decades of uninterrupted growth for European luxury firms who had the foresight to arrive early.

“Now there’s a little bit of a consolidation, a little bit of a digestion, but the clients are still always there,” he said. “So it’s a question of linking to clients properly, to younger, to older, to more affluent, to less affluent.…Change is normal.”

Echoing other speakers at the one-day forum, Guerra called for a reset in the sector.

“We have to go back to what old luxury was. You need to be authentic. You need to be credible. You need to tell a story that allows people to dream. If we’re not able to do this, let’s go do something else,” he said. “And if you don’t have a background, if you don’t have a skill, if you don’t have roots, there is nothing you can tell to your clients.”

He noted that some objects created by Miuccia Prada’s grandfather Mario Prada, who founded his company in 2013 specializing in travel bags and trunks, oozed what is today characterized as Prada-ness.

“From Day One you understand that there is a constant debate, that there is a constant conversation. Sometimes in the same object you could feel that there is a kind of contrast,” Guerra said.

He predicted that the luxury goods market, aided by technology and especially AI, will become hyper-personalized, allowing brands to conduct one-to-one conversations with clients rather than targeting a category, a cluster or everybody.

For example, if Prada knows a specific client is an “unbelievable lover” of a specific kind of shoes, it can reach out when a style in a similar vein comes on the market.

But keeping a brand vibrant and relevant, IRL storytelling and experiences have become more and more elaborate, reaching a zenith with the Prada Galleria complex the brand unveiled during Milan Fashion Week last September. It fuses retail, hospitality, art, heritage and innovation across eight floors set in the historic shopping arcade Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.

“Normally, I’m a very humble guy, but I’m so proud of this project. This project represents our skill, our heart, our roots. This project is allowing Prada lovers, and Prada newcomers, to understand who we are. We’re not a logo. We’re not a sign. We are a DNA. We are a living DNA that has grown from day number one in culture, art, architecture,” he said. “I would love all of you to go because I think it’s a cultural journey in fashion.”

He also trumpeted the Prada Rong Zhai epicenter in Shanghai set within a restored 17th-century palace that contains a restaurant created by Miuccia Prada and filmmaker Wong Kar Wei, gallery spaces, a garden, and private salons where VICs can hang out, and buy “exceptional and unique things.”

“If you ask me, ‘Andrea, do you prefer to sell or so you prefer people to come back?’ I prefer people to come back,” he said. “These are places where you can spend your time. These are places where you really understand, and we will have 10 or 15 of these places around the world, while Milan will always remain the epicenter of the epicenters.”

Guerra noted that Prada’s vast cultural tentacles are never achieved via sponsorship.

“Either we do things or we don’t do things. So if you think of Linea Rossa in the America’s Cup (sailing race), that’s not sponsorship. It’s part of our group, so that is a huge connection through sports,” he said. “On the other side, [there is] the fact that we created 26 years ago an art foundation where we are doing our own exhibitions with artists.”

Prada Group’s latest big move was acquiring Versace and poaching Alaïa’s star designer Pieter Mulier as chief creative officer, setting the stage for one of the hottest debuts in early 2027.

“Versace is one of the greatest brands. If we think about fashion as it is today, Versace was at the base of the glamour, the music, the supermodels,” he said. “How to make it sexy in 2027? This is the challenge we have, and it’s hard. It’s in a different world from us.”

That being said, “we don’t want to become a group of brands. We were not looking for a Versace.”

Cédric Charbit discussed creativity, client relationships and the Parisian house’s China ambitions.

WUHAN — “Yves Saint Laurent was never looking backward,” Cédric Charbit, chief executive officer of Saint Laurent, said at the WWD x SKP Global Fashion & Beauty Summit in Wuhan, China, on Oct. 22. “He was always in sync with his time and always looking at what was happening next.”

Charbit said that idea is as relevant to the house today as it was to its founder: use Saint Laurent’s history to engage with the present, rather than preserve the past.

On stage, the CEO since January 2025 thanked Anthony Vaccarello for his decade as creative director. Vaccarello stepped down earlier this month and a successor is expected to be named soon.

Charbit said Vaccarello had made “a massive impact on our financial trajectory, on our image” and created “a very recognizable silhouette” for men and women. He also credited him with helping the brand build cultural relevance.

“Ten years in our industry is quite a long one,” Charbit said. But a CEO, he added, has ”to look at the future and plan ahead the next 10 years.”

Saint Laurent is in a strong position, he said, but “there is somehow much more we can do with it.”

For Charbit, that forward-looking spirit goes back to Yves Saint Laurent himself.

The designer arrived in Paris at 19 and opened his couture house with Pierre Bergé at 21. “He had no heritage in mind. He didn’t know he would leave behind him such a great legacy,” Charbit said. What mattered then was expressing “his creativity and vision.”

The house’s move into ready-to-wear in 1966 was another example of Saint Laurent responding to his time. The shift reflected a changing society, Charbit said, as women increasingly bought clothes with their own money. Ready-to-wear was “about understanding the now.”

So how does a fashion house work with its heritage without getting stuck in it? Saint Laurent has extraordinary archives, codes and savoir-faire, Charbit said. But the real question is: “What do you do with all this?”

For him, the answer starts with having something meaningful to say.

“You need to be authentic. You need to be credible. You need to tell a story that allows people to live,” he said. Without a background, skills and rules, he added, “there is nothing you can tell your clients.”

That clarity matters even more in a difficult luxury market.

“You have no choice” but to learn to operate through highs and lows, Charbit said. When business is booming, confidence can turn into overconfidence and investment into overinvestment. When the market slows, companies can become too cautious and start questioning everything.

“What you need to do is to really clarify what you stand for, what you believe in as a company, as a brand,” he said. Challenging conditions shouldn’t curb ambition, he added. “It should simply make it more precise and sharper.”

Charbit said Saint Laurent’s recent product launches and experiences had performed well; his focus is on “what to do next and how to do things better.”

When asked about the house’s priorities for the future, Charbit put creativity first.

“No compromise about this. Creativity is at the center of Saint Laurent,” he said. While one person may have the vision, he added, bringing it to life is “a collective achievement,” involving everyone from merchandising and retail to the supply chain and the atelier.

Saint Laurent also wants to become a more complete house, Charbit said, but “never at the expense of identity.” That means looking across categories, geographies, clients and experiences, and finding ways to serve them better.

The client, he added, needs to stay at the center of those decisions.

Charbit said he pays attention to every touchpoint, from stores to online and offline activities. Experiences, he said, will only become more important.

In an industry that tracks everything from traffic and sales to fashion-show performance, Charbit said he’s also interested in what a spreadsheet can’t capture: a brand’s ability to create desire and offer experiences that matter. “You cannot really build that desire in the long run from a spreadsheet,” he said.

Technology, including artificial intelligence, can help brands understand their clients and anticipate what they might want, he said.

But fashion houses shouldn’t stop at giving people what they already expect. “We need to do things that people don’t have the idea they will want to wear in the future,” Charbit said. “We need to surprise them.”

He sees luxury becoming more personal, too.

Charbit questioned whether clients still buy things to impress people they don’t know, or to post a picture and seek likes. Increasingly, he said, clients want to express themselves, feel inspired and be part of a community.

Charbit said his own approach to leadership was shaped by years in retail and by working with creative teams. He recalled a conversation with SKP chairman Ji Xiao’an about store layouts, assortments and brand positioning, and said the exchange offered a valuable Chinese perspective on retail.

Working with creative leaders also taught him the importance of believing in a vision and bringing others along. The best work, he said, comes from bringing together different expertise, opinions and even disagreements. “It’s never a one-man show.”

Over time, Charbit said, he has come to value action as much as the outcome. “What matters the most is the action itself,” he said. Take the risk, learn from the decision and move forward — whether it leads to success or a mistake.

Saint Laurent’s connection with China goes back decades. Charbit cited the house’s 1977 Chinese collection and Yves Saint Laurent’s 1985 visit to Beijing, where he was invited by China’s culture minister and held a retrospective at the National Fine Arts Museum.

“I am very confident in the future we have here in China,” Charbit said, while acknowledging that Saint Laurent still has work to do.

The brand entered the market in 2010, he said, and is relocating, renovating or redesigning stores, rethinking assortments and working to communicate more effectively with local clients. He said the goal is to address 90 percent of the store network by the end of 2027.

Charbit said the aim isn’t growth for its own sake. “We want to make sure we matter more,” he added.

The company built a prototype called Max with China’s Fourier and is now working on a second version.

Meta Platforms has built a prototype humanoid with Chinese robotics company Fourier and is already working on a second version, as the social media giant steps up efforts to develop robots for people’s homes, according to people familiar with the initiative.

Meta and Fourier built the roughly 106-pound humanoid, known internally as Max, in just three months. The goal was to help Meta develop a more polished future product at its robotics arm that it could eventually release as a product, one of the people said, adding that no launch target had been set.

While it’s still a relatively early step, the prototype represents the most concrete progress in Meta’s robotics aspirations since it launched Meta Robotics Studio early last year and tapped the former chief executive of General Motors’ autonomous vehicle unit, Cruise, to run it. Meta has also focused on the software side of robotics, in May acquiring Assured Robot Intelligence, a startup that developed AI models for training robots to understand and adapt to human behavior in different environments.

Meta’s ambition to develop consumer robots that can help with housework and everyday tasks has taken on new urgency with the launch of the company’s consumer-focused AI agent, Muse. Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth has described humanoid robots internally as a physical embodiment of Muse, the knowledgeable people said.

Building Max required Meta’s team to travel to China to work closely with Fourier. Meta’s vice president of product for robotics, Li-Chen Miller, spent almost two months at Fourier’s factory in Shanghai to collaborate on the prototype, two of the people said. That trip culminated in an in-person demonstration of Max to some employees at the end of August as part of an internal robotics summit, those people said.

The partnership comes as the Trump administration has stepped up scrutiny of China’s robotics sector—which dominates global production—and raised questions about the national security implications of U.S. companies relying on Chinese firms for parts. In July, the Federal Communications Commission barred imports of new models of Chinese humanoid robots, citing potential supply chain and cybersecurity risks.

Under existing FCC import rules, companies can import up to 4,000 units of devices for testing or product development, provided they are not marketed or sold. That exemption allows U.S. companies including Meta to bring in prototypes from China for research and development purposes.

But in August the FCC proposed lowering that threshold to just 40 units for devices covered by its restrictions, unless companies obtain written approval from the agency to import more. The proposal could make it harder for Meta and other companies to bring batches of prototypes into the U.S. for testing and development, and difficult to obtain a steady supply of parts to build robots for sale.

A spokesperson for Meta said: “We face the same realities as the rest of the industry when it comes to sourcing components that are not readily available domestically. However, this effort with Fourier is focused on internal research and experimentation, and we have no plans to sell these units.”

Stiff Competition in Humanoid Robotics

If Meta does end up trying to sell humanoids to consumers, it would face stiff competition. Chinese companies are already producing such robots at scale, and Elon Musk is heavily betting the future of his electric vehicle company, Tesla, on its Optimus humanoid robot, now in its third version. In addition, prominent startups including Figure and 1X Technologies have been working on humanoids for years.

Despite the buzz surrounding humanoids, consumer adoption within homes is still in its early days. Figure has begun testing its robots in home environments, while 1X has started taking pre-orders for its NEO robots.

The Meta robotics division has recently undergone a leadership change. Meta tapped Ning Li to serve as interim leader of Meta Robotics Studio after Marc Whitten, the former Cruise CEO, left the company at the end of August, just 18 months after joining, according to two people familiar with the matter. Li reports to Bosworth, who has taken over Whitten’s former responsibilities and has been closely involved in Meta Robotics Studio, one person said. Bosworth has held regular meetings with the team and spent time digging into the division’s technical and operational challenges, the person said.

Max, which stands about 1.5 meters tall, or just under 5 feet, is currently powered by Nvidia’s Jetson Thor chip and a separate software platform that helps it move. It has two speakers built into its chest, and the eyes and mouth on its face can mimic human expressions. Its five-fingered hands can pick up small bottles and toys.

Meta built its custom robot using Fourier’s hardware and insights from the first, second and third generations of its series of robots. The companies then increased the prototype’s height, changed its proportions and altered its head design, display and cameras, while adding hands and shoes.

Meta also laid out specific requirements for how the robot should perceive and respond to people in a home environment. The two companies designed Max based on several requirements from Meta, including the ability to recognize a voice from 5 meters away, interpret a hand gesture or wave from 3 meters away, hold eye contact, and signal various states such as listening, thinking, speaking and uncertainty.

Meta and Fourier started building Max 2 in September. It will include a redesigned torso and reworked hands with better manipulation skills, as well as a projector to display visual content, the people said. It will also have additional sensors to help it go up and down stairs.

Meta is also building out the team it may need to eventually manufacture robots in large numbers. The company is looking to hire a supplier development engineer in Shanghai to work with product design and manufacturing and help scale robotics “from prototype through mass production,” according to a job posting viewed by The Information. Meta is also hiring a product design engineer and a technical program manager for Meta Robotics Studio in Shenzhen, China, to oversee prototype development, planning and mass production, according to two other job postings.

This week featured a robust lineup of large rounds, led by manufacturing startup Re:Build, which closed on $2.1 billion, and predictions marketplace Kalshi, which picked up another $1 billion. Other sectors in which startups drew significant rounds included construction automation, biotech, batteries and enterprise AI.

1. Re:Build, $2.1B, manufacturing: Re:Build, a manufacturing startup that partners with industrial companies and innovators from the product design phase to large-scale production, secured $2.1 billion in new funding. General Catalyst and JPMorganChase led the financing for the 6-year-old, Framingham, Massachusetts-based company.

2. Kalshi, $1B, predictions marketplace: Predictions marketplace Kalshi announced a $1 billion Series G financing led by Wellington Management and Sequoia Capital. The round set a $40 billion post-money valuation for New York-based Kalshi, which says its business’ annualized trading volume now exceeds $1 trillion.

3. Bedrock Robotics, $600M, construction tech: San Francisco-based Bedrock Robotics, a developer of autonomous systems for heavy equipment used in construction, raised $600 million in Series C funding led by CapitalG and Emergence Capital. The round brings Bedrock’s total funding to nearly $1 billion and sets a post-money valuation of $4.1 billion.

4. Dren Bio, $350M, biotech: Dren Bio, a developer of antibody therapeutics for cancer and autoimmune diseases, closed on $350 million in a new round led by Juvia Group and Lightspeed Venture Partners. The funding will support advanced trials for the San Carlos, California-based company’s blood cancer therapies.

5. Group 14 Technologies, $169M, battery tech: Woodinville, Washington-based Group 14 Technologies, a manufacturer and supplier of advanced silicon battery materials, picked up $169 million in Series D extension funding. The company also announced plans to expand into Europe with a production facility in Sagunto, Spain.

6. (tied) Firehawk Aerospace, $150M, defense tech: Firehawk Aerospace, a developer of propulsion technology, said it secured over $150 million in Series D funding at a valuation of more than $1.4 billion. Advent and Rochefort led the financing for the 7-year-old, Dallas-based company.

6. (tied) Serval, $150M, enterprise AI: Serval, a startup focused on coding agents for enterprise automation, raised $150 million in Series C funding at a $3 billion valuation. Sequoia Capital led the round for the 2-year-old, San Francisco-based company.

8. (tied) General Compute, $100M, AI infrastructure: AI cloud provider General Compute picked up $100 million in Series A funding led by Blackbird and Abstract. The company is building out its infrastructure using inference chips from Nvidia rivals Cerebras Systems, SambaNova and Positron AI.

8. (tied) Foundry Robotics, $100M, autonomous factories: Emeryville, California-based Foundry Robotics, a startup focused on building and operating autonomous factories, closed on $100 million in a Series A funding round led by Marlinspike.

8(tied) Hex Technologies, $100M, data analytics: Hex Technologies, a startup focused on building an AI-native platform for data analytics, secured $100 million in new financing. Peak XV and 137 Ventures led the round, which set a $1.2 billion valuation for the San Francisco-based company.

- Separately US Embassy in Moscow confirms it aware of a "credible threat of a mass casualty event" on Saturday at Moscow's Tsaritsyno Museum Reserve and that the US was coordinating with Russian authorities.

-US bond investors are retreating from growth-sensitive assets as concerns mount over the economy's dependence on artificial-intelligence investment. Government bonds are attracting renewed interest after a prolonged sell-off, reflecting doubts about whether technology spending can continue supporting economic expansion and corporate earnings. The shift suggests that investors are beginning to reassess the risks of an increasingly concentrated growth model, particularly after heavy losses in technology shares.

-OpenAI has reduced its fundraising target by $10B amid growing investor concerns about the scale and profitability of AI infrastructure spending. The adjustment comes as technology stocks face mounting pressure over capital requirements and uncertain returns. Separately, Blackstone has warned that Anthropic may struggle to obtain an investment-grade credit rating following its anticipated IPO, highlighting financing risks for AI developers whose expansion plans depend on sustained access to enormous amounts of capital.

-Steve Bannon has warned that Republicans could descend into an internal civil war following the midterm elections, exposing divisions within the movement supporting President Trump. The former White House strategist's prediction comes as the party faces electoral pressure over the Iran war, economic conditions and Trump's political leadership. A disappointing result could intensify disputes over the administration's direction and the future of the Republican coalition ahead of the 2028 presidential election.

-Iran has warned that any renewed military attack will provoke retaliation without geographical limitations, raising the prospect of a wider conflict beyond its immediate neighborhood. The threat comes as Washington considers further strikes and diplomatic efforts continue to prevent another escalation. Tehran's warning increases uncertainty for American military installations, regional allies and international shipping, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz, where renewed hostilities could disrupt global energy markets.

-The United States has approved a $2.1B sale of Patriot missile interceptors to Ukraine to reinforce its air defenses as Russian attacks continue. The authorization comes amid uncertainty over Washington's broader approach to the war and pressure on Ukraine to limit strikes against Russian energy infrastructure. Additional interceptors could help protect cities and strategic facilities, although the availability of sufficient air-defense ammunition remains a persistent challenge for Ukraine and its Western supporters.

-Fitch has unexpectedly downgraded its outlook on France, citing concerns about the country's fiscal and political trajectory. The unscheduled decision adds pressure on French government bonds as the economy contracts and domestic unrest complicates efforts to stabilize public finances. French banks have reported improving profitability, but their shares remain under pressure because investors fear that political instability, sovereign debt concerns and weaker economic growth could undermine earnings.

-Brazil's agricultural commodity markets fell following Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's surprise election victory, reflecting uncertainty over the government's economic and agricultural policies. The result marks a remarkable political comeback for the 81-year-old president and introduces fresh questions about fiscal policy, commodity exports and relations with major trading partners. Investors will be watching how the administration balances social spending commitments with the competitiveness of Brazil's globally important agricultural sector.

-Poland has suspended senior judges as its confrontation over judicial independence and the rule of law intensifies. The measures reflect the continuing struggle over control of the judiciary following years of institutional conflict between rival political forces. The dispute carries implications for Poland's relations with European institutions, investor confidence and the independence of courts in one of the EU's largest economies.

-Private equity group Clayton, Dubilier & Rice is pursuing a buyout of Global Payments, the US payments processor valued at approximately $40B. The transaction would rank among the largest leveraged buyouts in history, testing investors' appetite for financing exceptionally large acquisitions amid volatile credit markets. A successful deal would signal renewed confidence in private equity's capacity to execute megatransactions, even as borrowing costs and exit conditions remain challenging.

-ExxonMobil and Chevron reported exceptionally strong profits while warning of potential constraints on diesel supplies, reflecting tight fuel markets amid geopolitical disruptions. BP also recorded its highest profits as elevated fuel prices boosted earnings. The results underline the extraordinary cash generation of major oil companies, although continued restraint on investment could prolong supply pressures. Diesel availability is particularly important for freight transportation, agriculture and industrial activity.

-Intel shares plunged 22% following a disappointing sales outlook that raised fresh doubts about its turnaround strategy. The semiconductor manufacturer faces intense competitive pressure while attempting to rebuild its technological position and manufacturing capabilities. Meanwhile, Amazon shares declined after the company issued a weaker Christmas sales forecast, adding to concerns about the profitability of enormous AI-related investments. Together with a nearly $900B rout across major technology stocks, the developments point to growing investor skepticism about the sector's valuations.

-Spotify plans to introduce an AI-powered music remixing service early next year, extending generative AI into consumer music production and personalization. The initiative could create new engagement opportunities but also raises questions about copyright, artist compensation and control over derivative works. The move reflects a broader effort by digital platforms to commercialize AI capabilities beyond their existing services, while navigating increasingly contentious relationships with content creators.

-Michigan's Democratic Senate race has descended into an increasingly bitter dispute between nominee Abdul El-Sayed and Rep. Haley Stevens, whose criticism of his positions on Israel has exposed divisions within the party days before the midterms. El-Sayed has told Stevens to stay away from his campaign, while Democratic figures disagree over whether criticism of the candidate reflects legitimate policy concerns or prejudice. The confrontation threatens party unity in a closely contested race with implications for control of the Senate.

-European foreign ministers forced the cancellation of the traditional G20 group photograph in Atlanta after refusing to pose alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, whom Secretary of State Marco Rubio had invited. Canada and Australia reportedly joined the objections, exposing divisions over Ukraine despite Washington's efforts to restore diplomatic engagement with Moscow. Rubio urged cooperation on energy security, trade and freedom of navigation, but disagreements over Ukraine, Iran and China threatened any joint declaration. Ukraine was excluded from the meeting, as was G20 member South Africa, further complicating preparations for December's leaders' summit in Miami.

-Major American law firms that reached accommodations with the Trump administration have largely remained on the sidelines as the midterm elections approach. Their reluctance to engage politically reflects the continuing influence of the White House over institutions that traditionally defend legal independence. The episode raises questions about whether concessions made under government pressure have weakened the legal profession's willingness to challenge executive authority.

-Republicans, led by President Trump, are closing their midterm campaigns with increasingly personal attacks against Democratic candidates. The strategy emphasizes character and cultural controversies as the party confronts voter dissatisfaction over economic conditions and the Iran war. The aggressive rhetoric may energize Republican supporters but risks alienating independents, particularly in competitive suburban districts where control of Congress could be decided.

-The Trump administration's reductions in federal research funding and scientific personnel are undermining America's research infrastructure, according to a New York Times investigation. Canceled grants, university funding cuts and departures from government laboratories have disrupted projects across medicine, environmental science and advanced technology. An unclassified Pentagon assessment warned that DOGE-related staff reductions had damaged military research laboratories, with potentially grave consequences for national defense. Researchers fear the losses could prove difficult to reverse, weakening American competitiveness against China and other scientific powers.

-Binance faced a frantic 24-hour crisis after hackers stole an estimated $6.3B in digital assets, forcing executives to coordinate an international response while its founder communicated publicly with customers. The breach has renewed scrutiny of cryptocurrency exchanges' security arrangements and the protections available to depositors. Its unprecedented scale could accelerate regulatory demands for stronger custody safeguards and raise questions about the concentration of digital assets on major trading platforms.

-Ukrainian civilians have begun returning from the devastated Russian-occupied city of Oleshky following a temporary truce that permitted evacuations through Belarus. Continuous Russian attacks had rendered much of the city virtually uninhabitable, leaving residents isolated amid deteriorating humanitarian conditions. The operation illustrates the limited practical benefits of localized ceasefires, even as broader negotiations remain stalled and the war continues to destroy civilian infrastructure.

-Ukrainian doctors are increasingly treating difficult infections using approaches associated with biological warfare preparedness, reflecting the emergence of dangerous pathogens among wounded soldiers and civilians. Prolonged conflict, damaged hospitals and extensive antibiotic use have complicated infection control and contributed to the challenge of antimicrobial resistance. The experience carries implications beyond Ukraine, particularly for military medicine and public health systems confronting drug-resistant infections.

-Iran is preparing for renewed military confrontation regardless of the outcome of America's midterm elections or Israel's political contest. Tehran sees little prospect of a fundamental change in either the US or Israel’s approach, despite the electoral pressures facing Trump and Netanyahu. Iranian officials therefore appear to be planning around continued military threats rather than an imminent diplomatic settlement, increasing uncertainty over regional security, energy infrastructure and the Strait of Hormuz.

-Syria is considering joining a Saudi-led mutual defense arrangement as the war in Yemen continues to destabilize the region. Such a move would signal a potentially significant realignment in Middle Eastern security relations, drawing Damascus closer to Gulf Arab states and potentially altering its relations with Iran. The proposal also suggests that Saudi Arabia is seeking a broader regional security framework amid persistent threats from Yemen and uncertainty over American military commitments.

-New York Times/Siena poll shows Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts leading independent challenger Dan Osborn in Nebraska, offering Republicans a measure of reassurance in an otherwise competitive midterm environment. Osborn's independent candidacy has attracted attention as an alternative to conventional party politics, but overcoming Nebraska's Republican electorate remains difficult. The result could influence Democratic calculations about whether supporting independent candidates offers a viable path in conservative states.

-A shooting at a Spirit Halloween store in Fairfield, California, left at least one person dead and six injured, prompting a major police response. The attack occurred during a busy shopping period immediately before Halloween, raising renewed concerns about security in crowded commercial establishments. Authorities are investigating the circumstances and motive, while the incident adds to the debate over gun violence and public safety ahead of the midterm elections.

-The US Embassy in Moscow has issued an unusual security warning citing a credible threat of an imminent mass-casualty attack at a popular tourist destination. The alert comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Moscow over Ukraine and the broader European security crisis. Although the warning does not establish the identity or intentions of potential attackers, it raises concerns about Russia's domestic security and the vulnerability of crowded public locations.

-Washington and Tehran are reportedly attempting to revive negotiations in Qatar as President Trump considers further military strikes against Iran following the US midterm elections. The diplomatic effort comes amid renewed threats of retaliation from Iranian hardliners, including a demand by one prominent figure that Iran acquire nuclear weapons. The combination of military pressure and tentative diplomacy highlights the fragility of the ceasefire and the risk of another regional escalation affecting Gulf energy exports and shipping.

Ayatollah Khamenei tells military commanders response will be ‘immediate’ as Qatari mediators seek to avert a feared US-Israeli bombing campaign

Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has warned that Iran’s response to any renewed US-Israeli attacks would be “immediate, effective” and “without any geographical limitations”.

“Should the enemies once again embark on military or terrorist attacks, it will be the armed forces of the Islamic republic and the Iranian nation who will determine the time and conditions for ending it,” Iran’s supreme leader said in a meeting with commanders, according to remarks carried by local media on Saturday.

Khamenei added that the “data bank of targets should be updated so that the armed forces could hit all kinds of financial and non-financial assets of the US-Zionist enemies”.

The meeting took place as Iranian officials held discussions in Doha on Saturday with Qatari mediators, a person briefed on the talks said, in an effort to broker an interim deal between Tehran and the Trump administration to avert another round of hostilities after next week’s US midterm elections.

A Qatari delegation also held talks with Iranian officials in Tehran on Friday

Concern is mounting in Tehran as well as in western and regional capitals that Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are preparing a large-scale bombing campaign against the Islamic republic after Americans go to the polls on Tuesday.

Tehran responded to the US-Israeli attack in February by closing the Strait of Hormuz and striking Gulf Arab states that hosted US military bases.

“Iran has now officially gone beyond the ‘regional war doctrine’ and shifted to ‘a war without geographical limitations’,” Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, wrote in an analysis of Khamenei’s remarks.

“Experience shows that when the supreme leader makes such comments, it means there is determination and the possibility of acting on them,” it added.

Khamenei has been in hiding since February 28 when his father Ali Khamenei was killed in the opening hours of the war.

Over the past week, local media have reported a series of meetings between him and senior officials. Khamenei met Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of parliament, as well as Mohsen Rezaei, the top security official.

He also held discussions with Major General Ali Abdollahi, chief of the joint armed forces; Major General Ahmad Vahidi, commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Guards; and Major General Amir Hatami, commander of the regular army.

Abdollahi and Vahidi’s predecessors were also killed at the start of the conflict, fuelling speculation in Tehran that another round of hostilities could entail more assassinations.

“This warning by the supreme leader shows that the armed forces have all their targets ready to be hit without any co-ordination with commanders should they be assassinated like their predecessors,” said a person close to the regime.

“The chances of a peace deal are low because the US will not accept its hegemony being challenged.”

In an indication that Iran could resort to pre-emptive strikes, Abdollahi wrote on X: “Whenever indications of hostile action by the enemy are confirmed, the armed forces will not wait for the enemy to initiate an attack before deciding when and how to respond.”

Khamenei also praised “the resistance front” — Iran’s network of allied armed groups in the region including Lebanon’s Hizbollah, Iraq’s Hashd al-Shaabi and Yemen’s Houthis — and called for unity to help “form a new political and security order” in the region and establish a “modern Islamic civilisation”.