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Intelligence for the New World Economy
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Distrust complicates Iran talks
“We’ve seen this movie before,” one administration official said.
Semafor Recommends
Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 5, Episode 25 was the late Sir Patrick Stewart’s all-time favorite episode, and, according to Polygon, “a reminder that time is life’s only truly nonrenewable resource.”
Jane Mayer’s The Dark Side is a “brilliantly researched and deeply unsettling” account of the use of torture as a tool in the US-led “war on terror.”
Matthew Cole’s Princes and Thieves offers an “important” yet “incomplete” account of Jared Kushner’s alleged political and financial ties to the UAE’s Mohamed bin Zayed.
In charting the unlikely success story of the American Girl doll, Amanda FitzSimons’ An American Girl is “a lively contribution to the history of business and girlhood.”
Wicker, directed by Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson is “an anti-marriage marriage movie” that is “a good fit for this moment of romantic ambivalence.”
In War is Interested in You, Gideon Rachman uses “engaging and anecdotal” writing to offer a bleak assessment of why the threat of a “new world war” is becoming impossible to ignore.
Republicans ask FEC to investigate Peltola campaign over spoiler candidate
In a revised complaint, the NRSC asks the FEC to ‘sanction to the fullest extent of the law all the violations it finds.’
Schumer girds for fight with Trump over election results
Trump “is directing a government-wide effort to prevent Americans from voting and to challenge any results he doesn’t like,” Schumer wrote in a letter to the Democratic Caucus shared first with Semafor.
The AI boom spawns job market for data-center liaisons
Hyperscalers, AI labs, and data-center developers are paying six-figure salaries for the role.
French economy unexpectedly shrank last quarter
The latest figures come with investors already concerned over rising debt levels and a yawning budget deficit.
View / My reporting prompted Dartmouth provost to resign. It wasn’t the right call
Does it make sense to have a blanket ban on something that has become so prevalent and can fool some of the world’s most renowned editors?
Prediction markets flop on recent elections
Kalshi and Polymrket blew three big elections this week, a bad look for platforms pitching themselves to investors as hedges against global risk.
Anthropic is now SpaceX’s biggest customer
The results, published in SpaceX’s last quarter results, sparked fears over the intense concentration of the tech market.
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Politics
Schumer girds for fight with Trump over election results
Trump “is directing a government-wide effort to prevent Americans from voting and to challenge any results he doesn’t like,” Schumer wrote in a letter to the Democratic Caucus shared first with Semafor.
Evan Vucci/Reuters
Republicans ask FEC to investigate Peltola campaign over spoiler candidate
In a revised complaint, the NRSC asks the FEC to ‘sanction to the fullest extent of the law all the violations it finds.’
Kerry Tasker/Reuters
US pressures allies amid a push for a Russia-Ukraine truce
The moves come as Russia’s foreign minister entered the US to attend a meeting of G20 foreign ministers.
The aftermath of a Russian missile strike in a residential area in Kyiv, Ukraine on October 30. Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters
New sanctions show limits of Trump influence over Congo conflict
The US imposed sanctions on Rwanda’s Ministry of Defense and a bank serving its security services earlier this week.
Shapiro eyes minimum wage hike if Democrats sweep Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania governor said he’ll be focused on passing a few specific items if his party wins full control of the government.
House girds for post-midterm leadership elections
For Republicans, a lot rides on whether Tuesday’s balloting substantially diminishes their ranks.
Distrust complicates Iran talks
“We’ve seen this movie before,” one administration official said.
US economy grows faster than expected
The strong economic reading right before next week’s midterm elections is unlikely to cheer Americans worried about rising inflation, analysts said.
Top House Democrat Clyburn stumping for unity around El-Sayed
The South Carolina Democrat is heading to Michigan this weekend for a rally in support of Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
AI disillusionment puts regulation at forefront ahead of midterms
Polling shared first with Semafor found voters preferred “reasonable” safeguards, even if such rules hurt US competitiveness.
2028 candidates: What’s your GLP-1 plan?
Only a few politicians are saying much about the policy implications of this new class of miracle drugs.
Business
Prediction markets flop on recent elections
Kalshi and Polymrket blew three big elections this week, a bad look for platforms pitching themselves to investors as hedges against global risk.
A Kalshi ad for Texas Senate betting in New York City. Jeenah Moon/Reuters.
Microsoft reaps the benefits of protecting its AAA credit rating
The company raised $25 billion in its first bond offering since 2017. The deal’s 10-year portion cost just 5.6%, barely more than the US government pays to borrow.
Brazil’s economic outlook darkens as debt soars
Brazil’s debt burden steadily climbed during Lula’s third term and the deficit hit a recent record high.
French economy unexpectedly shrank last quarter
The latest figures come with investors already concerned over rising debt levels and a yawning budget deficit.
‘Will business stand up?’: Ken Chenault on CEO courage and the US midterms
The former American Express chief is calling for a new accord between business and society.
Technology
The AI boom spawns job market for data-center liaisons
Hyperscalers, AI labs, and data-center developers are paying six-figure salaries for the role.
Daniel Cole/Reuters
My reporting prompted Dartmouth provost to resign. It wasn’t the right call
Does it make sense to have a blanket ban on something that has become so prevalent and can fool some of the world’s most renowned editors?
Brian Snyder/Reuters
Amazon and Intel post worse-than-expected results
Investors have grown wary of the AI trade as surging debt and financing costs outpace revenues and push firms into negative cash flows.
Anthropic is now SpaceX’s biggest customer
The results, published in SpaceX’s last quarter results, sparked fears over the intense concentration of the tech market.
Canada to take equity stake in AI firm
Canada is investing up to $1.1 billion in a Toronto-based AI startup, as Washington’s allies work to reduce their technological reliance on the US.
Alphabet loses $500 billion in market value
Alphabet’s shares fell by 13%, erasing more than $500 billion in market value in the company’s worst single-day performance after it reported slowing search revenue growth.
Energy
Upcoming elections put US-Venezuela oil deal at risk
“We don’t know if this contract is going to survive a change in government in the US,” Michael McCarthy, CEO of political risk firm Caracas Wire, told Semafor.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Democrats divided on timing for permitting reform
A group of left-leaning Senate Democrats said a vote should be put off until the White House commits to restore clean energy funding it cut.
Former US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. Murad Sezer/Reuters.
TPG rolls out $10 billion climate fund
The fund invests in companies in clean power, energy services and technology, low-carbon transportation, and industrial decarbonization.
Brendan McDermid/Reuters
Gulf
Oman stands out amongst Gulf markets weathering disruption
Saudi Aramco accounted for about 72% of the combined earnings of Tadawul-listed companies in the first half of the year.
Abdelhadi Ramahi/Reuters
Oracle among AI firms forging ahead with Gulf expansion
Despite a more expensive build-out in the region, rising demand for compute is still drawing developers.
Saudi Arabia’s largest renewables firm expands into US
Washington-based investment firm EIG is forming a joint venture with ACWA to invest in US power projects.
Qatar Investment Authority doubles New York staff in US push
QIA is committed to investing $500 billion into the world’s largest economy over the next decade, its CEO said.
Netanyahu becomes prediction markets’ favorite to be next Israeli PM
Netanyahu is favored to stay on as Israel’s prime minister in its next government, which could take weeks or months to form, as the broader region braced for a period of prolonged uncertainty.
China
Xi Jinping doubles down on purge of party elite
The Party said it had expelled 33 officials from its senior ranks and elevated the former head of the military’s anti-corruption body to its Politburo.
Florence Lo/Reuters
HP shifts production back to China as costs soar
Firms are moving some manufacturing back to offset surging memory and storage chip prices fueled by AI demand.
Donna Carson/Reuters
Taobao’s AI-enabled deliveries help close pay gap for deaf couriers
A simple AI tool reduced the discrepancy in hourly pay by roughly a third.
Gibson Kochanek/Semafor
Africa
Africa’s AI bet is on building, not catching up
Despite gaps in computing power, capital and energy, African founders see an opportunity to build businesses around a technology reshaping the global economy.
Francis Kokoroko/Reuters
Tanzania and Angola reach agreement to connect rail corridors
The move brings together multibillion-dollar infrastructure backed by Western governments and China.
Baz Ratner/Reuters
Uganda calls for AU force to contain Ebola outbreak
Its health minister says AU personnel could provide medical and logistical support, and help ease a shortage of health workers
Lagos Fashion Week returns with focus on sustainability
Designers including Lisa Folawiyo, Nkwo, Orange Culture, and Emmy Kasbit all appeared at the star-studded event.
Africa Cup of Nations U-turn on four-year cycle
Announcing the reversal, the Confederation of African Football placed financial considerations at the heart of its reasoning.
South African lender Absa opens Gulf office
The move gives the bank a seat closer to Middle Eastern investors hunting for deals on the continent.
Security
Russia strikes Ukraine amid ceasefire in occupied Oleshky
The US-brokered localized ceasefire in an occupied city held for a third day, highlighting Washington’s uneven progress in ending the nearly five-year war.
Stringer/Reuters
Finnish and Norwegian leaders reach out to Russia’s president
The two leaders framed their decision as part of efforts to influence diplomacy aimed at ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, but the move sparked division in Europe.
Gleb Garanich/Reuters
EU lobbies G7 nations to increase Ukraine funding
Non-EU allies have pledged only $4.5 billion for 2027, the Financial Times reported, down from more than $20 billion this year.
Yves Herman/File Photo/Reuters
Media
Times journalist’s children allegedly became billionaire memoirist’s focus
Days after a New York Times investigation raised questions about Amy Griffin’s memoir The Tell, reporter Katherine Rosman received a worrying call.
Rest of World faces prospect of shutting down
The six-year-old digital publication has seen the social and web search traffic on which it depends evaporate.
White House expects press briefing ‘soon’ as hiring search continues
The White House’s press secretary vacancy won’t necessarily keep the briefing room closed.
Four years of Semafor
Semafor is starting to emerge clearly as the thing we hoped it would become.
How CBS News’ Middle East war spread to the Upper Midwest
Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss has personally advocated for CBS News journalists to pursue numerous story angles related to Abdul El-Sayed’s supposed sympathy towards the Muslim Brotherhood.
CEO Signal
‘Will business stand up?’: Ken Chenault on CEO courage and the US midterms
The former American Express chief is calling for a new accord between business and society.
Brian Chesky’s new blueprint for Airbnb — and Silicon Valley
The designer-turned-founder sees an opportunity in addressing AI-fueled isolation.
The $22B startup co-founder working to make chatbots talk back
ElevenLabs’ Mati Staniszewski is betting that “voice AI” will soon become the norm.
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