OpenAI Must Face Copyright Infringement Claim From Authors, Court Rules

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

OpenAI must face allegations of copyright infringement made by authors in a consolidated class action lawsuit, District Judge Sidney H. Stein of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York said in an Oct. 27 order.

A computer with the Open AI logo is staged on a gradient blue background with the shadow of a man in the background in Grenoble in France, on Feb. 12, 2025. Anouk Anglade/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images

In the June 13 consolidated complaint, the plaintiffs - writers who own copyrights for various books - accused OpenAI and Microsoft, which funds OpenAI, of having engaged in “flagrant and harmful infringements of their copyrights.”

“Defendants copied Plaintiffs’ works and then fed them into their ‘large language models’ or ‘LLMs,’ algorithms designed to generate human-like text responses to users’ prompts and queries. These algorithms are at the heart of Defendants’ massive commercial enterprise. And at the heart of these algorithms is systematic theft on a mass scale,” the lawsuit said.

OpenAI asked the court to dismiss the plaintiffs’ accusations of copyright infringement.

In the Oct. 27 order, Stein sided with the authors by denying the motion, observing that the allegations made by plaintiffs “satisfy the elements of a prima facie claim of infringement as to at least some outputs of ChatGPT.”

To train ChatGPT, OpenAI used datasets that included copyrighted words of the plaintiffs, the judge wrote. When prompted, ChatGPT can then generate accurate summaries of books authored by the plaintiffs.

In a court filing, OpenAI said plaintiffs failed to plausibly allege “substantial similarity” between their works and the content output by ChatGPT and that the complaint failed to cite even a single example of the alleged copyright infringement in ChatGPT’s outputs.

OpenAI argued that not all summaries of content qualify as infringement. For instance, summarizing the final chapter of “The Door” by Mary Roberts Rinehart as “the butler did it” cannot be considered as infringement of the author’s copyright, the company said.

Stein dismissed such arguments. For one, the complaint adequately alleges that OpenAI accessed plaintiffs’ works and the infringing outputs made by ChatGPT are based on the authors’ works, which satisfies the requirement of “actual copying,” he wrote.

George R.R. Martin arrives at the premiere of HBO's "Game of Thrones" Season 3 at TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on March 18, 2013.  Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Stein then detailed a ChatGPT summary of “A Game of Thrones,” the first book in the “A Song of Ice and Fire” series by George R. R. Martin. The AI summary described the setting, prologue, main plot points, and ending of the book.

“A more discerning observer could easily conclude that this detailed summary is substantially similar to Martin’s original work, including because the summary conveys the overall tone and feel of the original work by parroting the plot, characters, and themes of the original,” Stein wrote.

Martin is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Other plaintiffs include authors John Grisham and David Baldacci.

The Epoch Times reached out to OpenAI for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

Authors Versus AI

The court ruling comes after AI company Anthropic, the maker of Claude AI, agreed to pay $1.5 billion over copyright infringement last month, according to a Sept. 5 post by law firm Banner Witcoff.

Anthropic was accused of using pirated copies of around 500,000 copyrighted works to train its AI, the post said. A court had previously issued a summary judgment on the issue, ruling that the use of pirated copies for training AIs does not qualify as “fair use.”

In a Sept. 25 statement, The Authors Guild, an advocacy group for published writers that is also a plaintiff in the OpenAI lawsuit, welcomed the preliminary approval of the Anthropic settlement.

“The settlement marks a milestone in authors’ fights against AI companies’ theft of their works. It sends a clear signal to AI companies that infringement of authors’ rights comes at a steep price and will undoubtedly push AI companies towards acquiring the books they want legally, through licensing,” the association said. “The case is also significant in that it serves as an example of how class actions can be a successful vehicle for seeking justice for mass copyright infringement.”

Multiple other legal battles have been waged by authors over the use of their works by tech companies for training artificial intelligence models.

On Oct. 15, two authors filed a lawsuit against cloud computing company Salesforce, alleging that the business “pirated hundreds of thousands of copyrighted books to develop its XGen series of large language models.”

A similar copyright infringement case filed by 13 authors against Meta went in the company’s favor in June.

The court ruling dismissed the plaintiffs’ argument that Meta copied their works to create a product that could flood the market with similar works, observing that the authors presented “no evidence about how the current or expected outputs from Meta’s models would dilute the market for their own works.”

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/28/2025 - 15:20

Corporate Layoffs Spike As Companies Prepare For Tariff Shocks

At the beginning of this year corporate layoffs accelerated with thousands of DEI program employees (dead weight) thrown to the curb, but the streamlining isn't stopping there.  The cuts are not stopping despite solid growth in overall sales and volume (amount of goods sold) in the US.  This might seem counter-intuitive, unless the layoffs are in preparation for a perceived incoming downturn.

The primary factors influencing job cuts are, of course, tariff uncertainty and inflation.

Target's latest announcement of 1000 layoffs and 800 positions eliminated focuses on it's global corporate workforce.  Leftists claim these cuts are a consequence of their supposed "boycott" of Target after the company rolled back DEI initiatives, but there is no evidence to support this.  Target did take a heavy hit from conservative boycotts in 2024 after the company tried to introduce LGBT apparel for children, but again, the white collar cuts are global and are more likely related to tariff uncertainty and inflation.   

And Target is not alone.

Nestle has announced over 16,000 layoffs over the next two years with 12,000 coming from the white collar workforce. 

UPS cut over 12,0000 white collar jobs in 2024 and in July they began shuttering 73 sites and eliminating 20,000 blue collar positions.  The most recent layoffs are efficiency related in expectation of plunging global shipments due to tariffs as well as the loss of 50% of Amazon's volume.

Rivian has eliminated 600 corporate jobs as electric vehicles suffer another year of decreasing consumer interest.

Nike is instituting 2000 white collar layoffs in a restructuring bid.  Nike is in fact suffering from revenue losses, plunging 9.8% year-over-year.  Furthermore, their business model relies heavily on China (24% of manufacturing), which is a primary target of Trump's tariffs. 

Starbucks is dropping 900 corporate employees this month following 1,100 cuts in February.  

Chip company Applied Materials is laying off 1400 white collar workers.  

Morgan Stanley is cutting 2400 employees from its wealth management and admin roles.

Cable giant Charter is eliminating 1200 management jobs.

GM is downsizing approximately 3500 workers total in 2025, citing slowing EV sales and tariff headwinds.

Amazon plans to cut up to 30,000 corporate jobs (represent nearly 10% of the company’s roughly 350,000 corporate employees) as the company works to pare expenses and compensate for overhiring during the peak pandemic demand

From a cost perspective, HQ employees are far more of a burden on a company's bottom line.  Target, for example, stands to save up to $171 million on employees salaries and benefits in a single year by removing 1800 positions.  However, this is only a portion of the $846 million the company has lost in sales from 2024 to 2025.  Meaning, more Target layoffs are probably coming soon.

Streamlining job cuts tend to act as the beginning of a greater avalanche of terminations rather than a fine tuning of labor as they're often portrayed.  Meaning, this trend is going to continue well beyond the next year. 

Inflation has slowed dramatically since the Biden Administration but prices remain high on most necessities including food, energy and housing.  To be fair to Trump, it takes a lot more than 10 months to reverse a stagflationary crisis once it has started.  A deflationary event is needed to bring prices down (or a massive production increase to create oversupply) and higher interest rates have not produced the proper drag on demand. 

In fact, Americans are spending more than ever and taking on more debt than ever.  This is a bad thing if we're talking about finally reducing prices on goods and services.

As for tariffs, a tax on corporate outsourcing is a good thing and long overdue.  The problem is that the positive effects are slow.  Manufacturing is being shifted from other countries back to the US, but not at a scale that's going to revitalize the middle class in the near term.  In other words, the public should expect multiple years of economic pain to produce significant gains.  Anyone who believes there's an easy way out of stagflation is living in a fantasy land.    

A number of companies are clearly coming to this realization and reducing costs (and jobs) to protect themselves from future pitfalls.   

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/28/2025 - 14:40

Texas Sues Tylenol Maker Over Allegedly Omitting Evidence Of Autism Link From Marketing

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Tylenol’s current and former manufacturer intentionally withheld evidence of a link between the drug and autism, a new lawsuit alleges.

Tylenol lines the shelves of a store in Brandon, Miss., on Sept. 24, 2025. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

“Defendants had the authority and the duty to change the warning labels of Tylenol products based on the significant scientific evidence, but chose not to,” stated the suit, filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a court in Texas on Oct. 28.

Some studies have found that babies born to women who took Tylenol or another form of acetaminophen have a higher risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). That includes a 2019 study published by JAMA Psychiatry.

That and other papers meant pregnant women should be cautioned against indiscriminately using acetaminophen, more than 90 researchers said in a 2021 statement.

Johnson & Johnson, which for decades manufactured Tylenol, decided against warning consumers and instead promoted Tylenol as safe, including by pointing to a website called BabyCenter that it actually owned, the suit stated.

In 2022, Johnson & Johnson spun off the manufacturing unit into a new company, Kenvue.

“This was designed to shield Johnson & Johnson’s assets from claimants who successfully sue because children develop ASD and/or ADHD after their mothers ingested Tylenol during pregnancy,” Paxton said in the suit.

Oral arguments in an appeal in one of the cases are scheduled for November.

The current label for Tylenol does not contain any warnings about autism or ADHD, although federal officials recently said they would be updating the label and told doctors that there is evidence indicating there may be a link.

Johnson & Johnson did not respond to a request for comment regarding the litigation.

A top Johnson & Johnson scientist said in an internal email in 2018, obtained by The Epoch Times—concerning more research about a possible association between Tylenol and neurodevelopmental issues—that “the weight of evidence is starting to feel heavy to me.”

“We will vigorously defend ourselves against these claims and respond per the legal process. We stand firmly with the global medical community that acknowledges the safety of acetaminophen and believe we will continue to be successful in litigation as these claims lack legal merit and scientific support,” a spokesperson for Kenvue told The Epoch Times in an email.

“We also encourage expecting mothers to speak to their health professional before taking any over-the-counter medication, including acetaminophen, as indicated on our product label for Tylenol.”

Paxton is requesting that the court block Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue from deceptively advertising Tylenol in Texas, order the companies to destroy marketing materials that portray Tylenol as safe for pregnant women, and fine the companies $10,000 per violation of the state law prohibiting deceptive promotions.

“Big Pharma betrayed America by profiting off of pain and pushing pills regardless of the risks. These corporations lied for decades, knowingly endangering millions to line their pockets,” Paxton said in a statement.

“Additionally, seeing that the day of reckoning was coming, Johnson & Johnson attempted to escape responsibility by illegally offloading their liability onto a different company. By holding Big Pharma accountable for poisoning our people, we will help Make America Healthy Again.”

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/28/2025 - 14:25

Texas Sues Tylenol Maker Over Allegedly Omitting Evidence Of Autism Link From Marketing

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Tylenol’s current and former manufacturer intentionally withheld evidence of a link between the drug and autism, a new lawsuit alleges.

Tylenol lines the shelves of a store in Brandon, Miss., on Sept. 24, 2025. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

“Defendants had the authority and the duty to change the warning labels of Tylenol products based on the significant scientific evidence, but chose not to,” stated the suit, filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a court in Texas on Oct. 28.

Some studies have found that babies born to women who took Tylenol or another form of acetaminophen have a higher risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). That includes a 2019 study published by JAMA Psychiatry.

That and other papers meant pregnant women should be cautioned against indiscriminately using acetaminophen, more than 90 researchers said in a 2021 statement.

Johnson & Johnson, which for decades manufactured Tylenol, decided against warning consumers and instead promoted Tylenol as safe, including by pointing to a website called BabyCenter that it actually owned, the suit stated.

In 2022, Johnson & Johnson spun off the manufacturing unit into a new company, Kenvue.

“This was designed to shield Johnson & Johnson’s assets from claimants who successfully sue because children develop ASD and/or ADHD after their mothers ingested Tylenol during pregnancy,” Paxton said in the suit.

Oral arguments in an appeal in one of the cases are scheduled for November.

The current label for Tylenol does not contain any warnings about autism or ADHD, although federal officials recently said they would be updating the label and told doctors that there is evidence indicating there may be a link.

Johnson & Johnson did not respond to a request for comment regarding the litigation.

A top Johnson & Johnson scientist said in an internal email in 2018, obtained by The Epoch Times—concerning more research about a possible association between Tylenol and neurodevelopmental issues—that “the weight of evidence is starting to feel heavy to me.”

“We will vigorously defend ourselves against these claims and respond per the legal process. We stand firmly with the global medical community that acknowledges the safety of acetaminophen and believe we will continue to be successful in litigation as these claims lack legal merit and scientific support,” a spokesperson for Kenvue told The Epoch Times in an email.

“We also encourage expecting mothers to speak to their health professional before taking any over-the-counter medication, including acetaminophen, as indicated on our product label for Tylenol.”

Paxton is requesting that the court block Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue from deceptively advertising Tylenol in Texas, order the companies to destroy marketing materials that portray Tylenol as safe for pregnant women, and fine the companies $10,000 per violation of the state law prohibiting deceptive promotions.

“Big Pharma betrayed America by profiting off of pain and pushing pills regardless of the risks. These corporations lied for decades, knowingly endangering millions to line their pockets,” Paxton said in a statement.

“Additionally, seeing that the day of reckoning was coming, Johnson & Johnson attempted to escape responsibility by illegally offloading their liability onto a different company. By holding Big Pharma accountable for poisoning our people, we will help Make America Healthy Again.”

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/28/2025 - 14:25

"Our Business Has Died": Texas Services Sector Sentiment Slumps Further In October

Texas service sector activity contracted further in October, according to business executives responding to The Dallas Fed's survey...

Source: Bloomberg

The revenue index, a key measure of state service sector conditions, fell four points to -6.4, its lowest reading since July 2020...

Labor market measures suggested further declines in employment, though hours worked were largely unchanged this month. The employment index fell slightly to -5.8 from -3.6 in September...

Source: Bloomberg

Perceptions of broader business conditions worsened in October, but respondents’ expectations regarding future service sector activity remained positive, though October readings were below average.

However, it's the responses that give us a glimpse into the harsh reality on the ground as the locals are hardly delighted with either tariffs, high interest rates, falling demand or general economic malaise, which is to be expected from a regional Fed that is largely dependent on the US energy industry (read Texas shale) which in turn has been crippled by Trump's demands to keep oil prices as low as possible if not lower, and has hammered the US oil E&P industry. 

Selected comments below (read the full set here)

Accommodation

The government shutdown and economic malaise are taking a toll on hotel and travel demand.

Administrative and support services

It feels impossible to predict what the hiring and employment market will be in six months. This year has been the most challenging in 15 years of search and staffing. Candidates have failed background checks. Employers have delayed hiring, candidates have accepted counter offers, others have continued interviewing after accepting a new role. These events used to be uncommon and rare. Now they're happening on a regular basis. Revenue swings month to month are drastic. We are trying to budget and forecast, but it is impossible, and I'm on the edge of laying off an employee now.

Business has felt recessionary for over a year—no wonder we knew the jobs numbers were off and kept saying there was no way they were as good as reported, and we were correct. These are very tough times for small and midsized businesses.

The level of uncertainty has increased in the face of higher interest rates and borrowing costs. Layoffs in the energy sector are just now being felt, and the federal shutdown will have a compounding impact.

The government shutdown [is an issue impacting our business].

Most of our customers are federal agencies. If there is a shutdown, our business suffers.

Ambulatory health care services

We are seeing major price escalation resistance.

Credit intermediation and related activities

Some of our long-term clients are beginning to show interest in buying and selling properties again, and others are asking about their ability to replace short-term, bank-type loans with long-term, fixed-rate debt capital.

There are many moving parts to the economic environment, and the disruptions are resulting in an increase of destabilizing factors: the government shutdown, political instability, the anticipated impact of tariffs and the interest rate markets. Cybersecurity is still a priority, especially with the accelerating expansion of artificial intelligence. The cattle market is extremely elevated, and the price of beef over the counter and on the plate continues to be high. The race to expand the electrical grid is heating up. Nuclear-powered sources are back in the news as an alternative source of electrical power generation.

Educational services

Uncertainty about visa approval rates and H1-B visa fees will have a potentially significant negative impact.

Pipeline transportation

Lower oil prices impact producer activity and uncertainty.

Professional, scientific and technical services

We're seeing significant uncertainty among our oil and gas service company clients. Commodity prices are down, and there is no real cause to anticipate an upturn in drilling activities.

The residential market has continued its decline due to the uncertainty of the economy. Homebuilders are having a difficult time selling homes, even with the incentives they are offering, and existing homes are just sitting. The commercial market is a little better but is being held up by energy and data center transactions. We need a major adjustment in the pricing of homes or a significant reduction in the interest rate to get this market moving again.

Interest rates are still too high. Reduction in regulations is improving optimism. The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act will open new opportunities.

We have seen an upturn in work flowing from clients in October in consulting engineering.

All of our customers are scaling back on technology spending.

I feel like our clients are more apprehensive. We are writing a lot of proposals, but they are just sitting. Projects are still being planned, but the execution is being delayed.

I work globally with international companies, so uncertainty is inherently high, and it will likely increase in the coming months. Four new governments in Latin America will be decided within the next six months, and such political transitions always contribute to greater economic and business uncertainty.

Commodity prices adversely affecting upstream oil and gas companies coupled with potential increased costs from renewed China tariffs creates an uncertain or negative outlook.

We are pitching to more small businesses and nonprofits on our marketing and advertising services than we have since founding the company 14 years ago. More than 80 percent of responses from business owners indicate they are not spending money on marketing and additional items until 2026 because of economic uncertainty.

Trump administration volatility causes clients to stall new purchases.

The industrial sector appears to be gaining momentum.

Tariffs [are an issue impacting our business].

We aren't getting the larger requests that we saw at the end of fourth quarter 2024. That makes me nervous as we work on our 2026 pipeline and prospects.

Publishing industries (except internet)

There is significant inflation in regular goods prices.

We continue to be concerned about compounding effects of tariffs, government shutdown, reduced federal spending, wavering consumer confidence and the levels of credit card usage and delinquency (which we expect to increase), as well as the generally antibusiness policies being championed by Republican lawmakers and the Trump administration.

Real estate

The sentiment we see from apartment residents, owners, vendors, employees and others is neither optimism nor excessive worry. Folks are getting by OK, reallocating spending to compensate for high food prices, and they seem resigned to their fate. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continues to terrify immigrants, and they are keeping their heads down. Few people are moving, changing jobs or expecting more. The economy feels like it's in the doldrums, and all the outrageous politics just feels like noise. Our company is doing well enough to throw a couple of big events and make improvements to properties we own. Being conservative, focusing on fundamentals and conserving cash have paid off for us. Others see us doing well, so more prospects are coming our way.

We are always hopeful things are going to move forward and upward. Our goal is to survive the next six months.

Repair and maintenance

We are a naturally seasonal business. Our outlook for the future is bright.

Securities, commodity contracts and other financial investments and related activities

Uncertainty remains uncertain.

I wish we would get clarity on tariffs. We have been slow to sign new clients.

Government shutdown, federal employee firings, tariffs, ICE raids, international turmoil and higher cost of living are creating general business uncertainty and increasing downside risks to our businesses.

Specialty trade contractors

Volatility—including interest rates, stock market fluctuations, geopolitical issues and the government shutdown—is creating poor confidence.

Support activities for transportation

With the current administration taking meaningful action to address foreign labor issues, the outlook for the trucking and logistics industry has improved considerably. The decline faced in recent years has been attributable to violations of federal laws, most notably allowing those not legally authorized and without English proficiency to saturate the market and to violate cabotage restrictions. We are encouraged by the renewed emphasis on enforcement and compliance. As these measures take effect and below-market labor practices are curtailed, American motor carriers will once again be able to begin breaking even and then to profit.

Truck transportation

Our business has died.

And finally, one respondent waxed poetic:

With continued angst over secured overnight financing rate, federal funds rate and prime

Pundits are debating whether “it is different this time.”

Federal Reserve keeps tracking,

but economic data’s still lacking.

Historians will laugh or cry at this rhyme!

Source: Dallas Fed

So, with President Trump doing everything in his powers to bring down the price of oil (and therefore gas), it appears the locals can't take it anymore.

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/28/2025 - 14:05

"Our Business Has Died": Texas Services Sector Sentiment Slumps Further In October

Texas service sector activity contracted further in October, according to business executives responding to The Dallas Fed's survey...

Source: Bloomberg

The revenue index, a key measure of state service sector conditions, fell four points to -6.4, its lowest reading since July 2020...

Labor market measures suggested further declines in employment, though hours worked were largely unchanged this month. The employment index fell slightly to -5.8 from -3.6 in September...

Source: Bloomberg

Perceptions of broader business conditions worsened in October, but respondents’ expectations regarding future service sector activity remained positive, though October readings were below average.

However, it's the responses that give us a glimpse into the harsh reality on the ground as the locals are hardly delighted with either tariffs, high interest rates, falling demand or general economic malaise, which is to be expected from a regional Fed that is largely dependent on the US energy industry (read Texas shale) which in turn has been crippled by Trump's demands to keep oil prices as low as possible if not lower, and has hammered the US oil E&P industry. 

Selected comments below (read the full set here)

Accommodation

The government shutdown and economic malaise are taking a toll on hotel and travel demand.

Administrative and support services

It feels impossible to predict what the hiring and employment market will be in six months. This year has been the most challenging in 15 years of search and staffing. Candidates have failed background checks. Employers have delayed hiring, candidates have accepted counter offers, others have continued interviewing after accepting a new role. These events used to be uncommon and rare. Now they're happening on a regular basis. Revenue swings month to month are drastic. We are trying to budget and forecast, but it is impossible, and I'm on the edge of laying off an employee now.

Business has felt recessionary for over a year—no wonder we knew the jobs numbers were off and kept saying there was no way they were as good as reported, and we were correct. These are very tough times for small and midsized businesses.

The level of uncertainty has increased in the face of higher interest rates and borrowing costs. Layoffs in the energy sector are just now being felt, and the federal shutdown will have a compounding impact.

The government shutdown [is an issue impacting our business].

Most of our customers are federal agencies. If there is a shutdown, our business suffers.

Ambulatory health care services

We are seeing major price escalation resistance.

Credit intermediation and related activities

Some of our long-term clients are beginning to show interest in buying and selling properties again, and others are asking about their ability to replace short-term, bank-type loans with long-term, fixed-rate debt capital.

There are many moving parts to the economic environment, and the disruptions are resulting in an increase of destabilizing factors: the government shutdown, political instability, the anticipated impact of tariffs and the interest rate markets. Cybersecurity is still a priority, especially with the accelerating expansion of artificial intelligence. The cattle market is extremely elevated, and the price of beef over the counter and on the plate continues to be high. The race to expand the electrical grid is heating up. Nuclear-powered sources are back in the news as an alternative source of electrical power generation.

Educational services

Uncertainty about visa approval rates and H1-B visa fees will have a potentially significant negative impact.

Pipeline transportation

Lower oil prices impact producer activity and uncertainty.

Professional, scientific and technical services

We're seeing significant uncertainty among our oil and gas service company clients. Commodity prices are down, and there is no real cause to anticipate an upturn in drilling activities.

The residential market has continued its decline due to the uncertainty of the economy. Homebuilders are having a difficult time selling homes, even with the incentives they are offering, and existing homes are just sitting. The commercial market is a little better but is being held up by energy and data center transactions. We need a major adjustment in the pricing of homes or a significant reduction in the interest rate to get this market moving again.

Interest rates are still too high. Reduction in regulations is improving optimism. The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act will open new opportunities.

We have seen an upturn in work flowing from clients in October in consulting engineering.

All of our customers are scaling back on technology spending.

I feel like our clients are more apprehensive. We are writing a lot of proposals, but they are just sitting. Projects are still being planned, but the execution is being delayed.

I work globally with international companies, so uncertainty is inherently high, and it will likely increase in the coming months. Four new governments in Latin America will be decided within the next six months, and such political transitions always contribute to greater economic and business uncertainty.

Commodity prices adversely affecting upstream oil and gas companies coupled with potential increased costs from renewed China tariffs creates an uncertain or negative outlook.

We are pitching to more small businesses and nonprofits on our marketing and advertising services than we have since founding the company 14 years ago. More than 80 percent of responses from business owners indicate they are not spending money on marketing and additional items until 2026 because of economic uncertainty.

Trump administration volatility causes clients to stall new purchases.

The industrial sector appears to be gaining momentum.

Tariffs [are an issue impacting our business].

We aren't getting the larger requests that we saw at the end of fourth quarter 2024. That makes me nervous as we work on our 2026 pipeline and prospects.

Publishing industries (except internet)

There is significant inflation in regular goods prices.

We continue to be concerned about compounding effects of tariffs, government shutdown, reduced federal spending, wavering consumer confidence and the levels of credit card usage and delinquency (which we expect to increase), as well as the generally antibusiness policies being championed by Republican lawmakers and the Trump administration.

Real estate

The sentiment we see from apartment residents, owners, vendors, employees and others is neither optimism nor excessive worry. Folks are getting by OK, reallocating spending to compensate for high food prices, and they seem resigned to their fate. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continues to terrify immigrants, and they are keeping their heads down. Few people are moving, changing jobs or expecting more. The economy feels like it's in the doldrums, and all the outrageous politics just feels like noise. Our company is doing well enough to throw a couple of big events and make improvements to properties we own. Being conservative, focusing on fundamentals and conserving cash have paid off for us. Others see us doing well, so more prospects are coming our way.

We are always hopeful things are going to move forward and upward. Our goal is to survive the next six months.

Repair and maintenance

We are a naturally seasonal business. Our outlook for the future is bright.

Securities, commodity contracts and other financial investments and related activities

Uncertainty remains uncertain.

I wish we would get clarity on tariffs. We have been slow to sign new clients.

Government shutdown, federal employee firings, tariffs, ICE raids, international turmoil and higher cost of living are creating general business uncertainty and increasing downside risks to our businesses.

Specialty trade contractors

Volatility—including interest rates, stock market fluctuations, geopolitical issues and the government shutdown—is creating poor confidence.

Support activities for transportation

With the current administration taking meaningful action to address foreign labor issues, the outlook for the trucking and logistics industry has improved considerably. The decline faced in recent years has been attributable to violations of federal laws, most notably allowing those not legally authorized and without English proficiency to saturate the market and to violate cabotage restrictions. We are encouraged by the renewed emphasis on enforcement and compliance. As these measures take effect and below-market labor practices are curtailed, American motor carriers will once again be able to begin breaking even and then to profit.

Truck transportation

Our business has died.

And finally, one respondent waxed poetic:

With continued angst over secured overnight financing rate, federal funds rate and prime

Pundits are debating whether “it is different this time.”

Federal Reserve keeps tracking,

but economic data’s still lacking.

Historians will laugh or cry at this rhyme!

Source: Dallas Fed

So, with President Trump doing everything in his powers to bring down the price of oil (and therefore gas), it appears the locals can't take it anymore.

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/28/2025 - 14:05

Another update ... a few key points:
1) There is a clear seasonal pattern for house prices.
2) The surge in distressed sales during the housing bust distorted the seasonal pattern.  This was because distressed sales (at lower price points) happened at a steady rate all year, while regular sales followed the normal seasonal pattern.  This made for larger swings in the seasonal factor during the housing bust.3) The seasonal swings have increased recently without a surge in distressed sales.

Click on graph for larger image.

This graph shows the month-to-month change in the NSA Case-Shiller National index since 1987 (through August 2025). The seasonal pattern was smaller back in the '90s and early '00s and increased once the bubble burst.

The seasonal swings declined following the bust, however the pandemic price surge changed the month-over-month pattern.  
The peak MoM increase in NSA prices this year was the smallest since 2008!

The second graph shows the seasonal factors for the Case-Shiller National index since 1987. The factors started to change near the peak of the bubble, and really increased during the bust since normal sales followed the regular seasonal pattern - and distressed sales happened all year.   
The swings in the seasonal factors were decreasing following the bust but have increased again recently - this time without a surge in distressed sales.

Cameco, Nuclear Names Soar After US Government Invests $80BN In Nuclear Reactors

WHAM: White House Asset Management strikes again.

Back in May, immediately after Trump issued his "nuclear" order (a day which was the unofficial start of Trump's new Industrial Policy, and which the president described as a "huge day for the nuclear industry"), we wrote "Trump's "Nuclear" Order And How To Profit" an article meant for our premium subscribers which laid out "All You Need To Know About The Coming Nuclear Energy Transition." The highlight, as premium subs know, was our focus on two primary beneficiaries from the "nuclear opportunity": established Uranium names such as Cameco, and modular reactor names such as Nano Nuclear, Oklo and NuScale.

Specifically, this is what we said, when recapping the stock implications from Trump's nuclear order.

• Cameco (CCJ/CCO.TO) is set to benefit as a uranium producer, in our view, as increased nuclear generating capacity would increase demand for physical uranium and conversion services as demand for fuel would likely increase. We note this would likely be a longer term tailwind. Additionally, CCJ/CCO.TO has a 49% stake in Westinghouse which we view would be a more immediate winner given Westinghouse's exposure to new reactor builds and operations and services. The Westinghouse segment would likely see an uplift as construction on new nuclear plants begins, if the AP1000 technology is chosen for these new builds.
   
• Small/Mobile Modula Reactor companies could potentially benefit if there is additional allocations for loan dollars earmarked for SMRs, as well as a push for SMRs to be used for either civilian or defense power applications.

Fast-forward 5 months later to this morning, when our forecast that CCJ would be the first winner from Trump's nuclear Industrial Policy was validated, after Cameco and the Trump admin announced an $80 billion deal with Westinghouse Electric (Cameco owns 49%) to build nuclear reactors, the latest push to meet rising demand for electricity from artificial intelligence.

The strategic partnership, which also involves Brookfield Asset Management and Cameco, aims to deliver on President Trump’s AI ambitions and scale up an industry he sees as vital to competing with China. It will create tens of thousands of jobs, the companies said in a statement on Tuesday.

CCJ announced that the company and Brookfield Asset Management have entered into a partnership with the US Government to accelerate the deployment of Westinghouse's reactor technology across the US. The $80bn commitment is expected to include near-term financing of long lead time items. In a note from Goldman's research team (which turned bullish on the name about a year ago, and roughly 3 years after us) wrote that they "view this partnership as a significant step forward in reinvigorating nuclear supply chains to accelerate deployment of nuclear power deployment in the United States. We reiterate our Buy rating and highlight key takeaways within."

According to the release, each two-unit Westinghouse AP1000 project creates or sustains 45,000 manufacturing and engineering jobs in 43 states, and a national deployment will create more than 100,000 construction jobs, the companies said. In short, this is a huge win-win deal for everyone (except a handful of environmental radicals). 

"The program will cement the United States as one of the world’s nuclear energy powerhouses and increase exports of Westinghouse’s nuclear power generation technology globally," according to the statement.

Some more details from the investment:

Under the new strategic partnership, the US Government will be granted a participation interest (Participation Interest), which, once vested, will entitle it to receive 20% of any cash distributions in excess of US$17.5 billion made by Westinghouse after the granting of the Participation Interest. For the Participation Interest to vest, the US Government must make a final investment decision and enter into definitive agreements to complete the construction of new Westinghouse nuclear reactors in the US with an aggregate value of at least US$80 billion.

Additionally, in recognition of the anticipated acceleration of long-term value creation that the US Government is expected to help unlock by deploying its financial, regulatory, policy and diplomatic tools to support the objectives of the partnership, if, on or prior to January 2029 the Participation Interest has vested, and if the valuation in an initial public offering (IPO) of Westinghouse is expected to be US$30 billion or more at that time, the US Government will be entitled to require an (IPO). Immediately prior to, or in connection with the IPO, the Participation Interest will directly or indirectly convert into a warrant, with a five-year term, to purchase equity securities equivalent to 20% of the public value of the IPO entity at the time of exercise after deducting US$17.5 billion from the public value.

What's the impetus behind this deal? Simple: one look at the chart below will answer it - see if you can spot the odd one out.

Of course, this is just the start: back in March 2024, when the autopen formerly known as Joe Biden was still in the White House (and when we were pitching the Power-Up America trade which has soared in the past 18 months, blowing away even AI stock returns) we said to go all in Uranium names ahead of the coming explosion in power demand.

got uranium? pic.twitter.com/kK8ENvrUbg

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) March 31, 2024

Sure enough, the mainstream media has been slowly catching up, and today BloombergNEF writes that US power consumption from data centers is set to double by 2035, to almost 9% of all demand, and is "causing a rush to build new power stations and secure grid connections. But building new reactors takes several years and some companies, like Google, are looking at reopening shuttered nuclear plants to try to get power quicker."

So as Trump's industiral policy rolls on, the winners are becoming increasingly clear: those who read our May 26 primer how to trade Trump's nuclear policies, and bought CCJ, have doubled their money.

And while we would urge subs to take off at least half of their CCJ long so their position is now risk free, for those wondering who may be next, we suggest you look at the other nuclear components of our Power Up America basket, which among others include such Modular Reactor companies as Nano Nuclear which we are confident will be next on Trump's Industrial Policy checklist.

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/28/2025 - 13:45

Cameco, Nuclear Names Soar After US Government Invests $80BN In Nuclear Reactors

WHAM: White House Asset Management strikes again.

Back in May, immediately after Trump issued his "nuclear" order (a day which was the unofficial start of Trump's new Industrial Policy, and which the president described as a "huge day for the nuclear industry"), we wrote "Trump's "Nuclear" Order And How To Profit" an article meant for our premium subscribers which laid out "All You Need To Know About The Coming Nuclear Energy Transition." The highlight, as premium subs know, was our focus on two primary beneficiaries from the "nuclear opportunity": established Uranium names such as Cameco, and modular reactor names such as Nano Nuclear, Oklo and NuScale.

Specifically, this is what we said, when recapping the stock implications from Trump's nuclear order.

• Cameco (CCJ/CCO.TO) is set to benefit as a uranium producer, in our view, as increased nuclear generating capacity would increase demand for physical uranium and conversion services as demand for fuel would likely increase. We note this would likely be a longer term tailwind. Additionally, CCJ/CCO.TO has a 49% stake in Westinghouse which we view would be a more immediate winner given Westinghouse's exposure to new reactor builds and operations and services. The Westinghouse segment would likely see an uplift as construction on new nuclear plants begins, if the AP1000 technology is chosen for these new builds.
   
• Small/Mobile Modula Reactor companies could potentially benefit if there is additional allocations for loan dollars earmarked for SMRs, as well as a push for SMRs to be used for either civilian or defense power applications.

Fast-forward 5 months later to this morning, when our forecast that CCJ would be the first winner from Trump's nuclear Industrial Policy was validated, after Cameco and the Trump admin announced an $80 billion deal with Westinghouse Electric (Cameco owns 49%) to build nuclear reactors, the latest push to meet rising demand for electricity from artificial intelligence.

The strategic partnership, which also involves Brookfield Asset Management and Cameco, aims to deliver on President Trump’s AI ambitions and scale up an industry he sees as vital to competing with China. It will create tens of thousands of jobs, the companies said in a statement on Tuesday.

CCJ announced that the company and Brookfield Asset Management have entered into a partnership with the US Government to accelerate the deployment of Westinghouse's reactor technology across the US. The $80bn commitment is expected to include near-term financing of long lead time items. In a note from Goldman's research team (which turned bullish on the name about a year ago, and roughly 3 years after us) wrote that they "view this partnership as a significant step forward in reinvigorating nuclear supply chains to accelerate deployment of nuclear power deployment in the United States. We reiterate our Buy rating and highlight key takeaways within."

According to the release, each two-unit Westinghouse AP1000 project creates or sustains 45,000 manufacturing and engineering jobs in 43 states, and a national deployment will create more than 100,000 construction jobs, the companies said. In short, this is a huge win-win deal for everyone (except a handful of environmental radicals). 

"The program will cement the United States as one of the world’s nuclear energy powerhouses and increase exports of Westinghouse’s nuclear power generation technology globally," according to the statement.

Some more details from the investment:

Under the new strategic partnership, the US Government will be granted a participation interest (Participation Interest), which, once vested, will entitle it to receive 20% of any cash distributions in excess of US$17.5 billion made by Westinghouse after the granting of the Participation Interest. For the Participation Interest to vest, the US Government must make a final investment decision and enter into definitive agreements to complete the construction of new Westinghouse nuclear reactors in the US with an aggregate value of at least US$80 billion.

Additionally, in recognition of the anticipated acceleration of long-term value creation that the US Government is expected to help unlock by deploying its financial, regulatory, policy and diplomatic tools to support the objectives of the partnership, if, on or prior to January 2029 the Participation Interest has vested, and if the valuation in an initial public offering (IPO) of Westinghouse is expected to be US$30 billion or more at that time, the US Government will be entitled to require an (IPO). Immediately prior to, or in connection with the IPO, the Participation Interest will directly or indirectly convert into a warrant, with a five-year term, to purchase equity securities equivalent to 20% of the public value of the IPO entity at the time of exercise after deducting US$17.5 billion from the public value.

What's the impetus behind this deal? Simple: one look at the chart below will answer it - see if you can spot the odd one out.

Of course, this is just the start: back in March 2024, when the autopen formerly known as Joe Biden was still in the White House (and when we were pitching the Power-Up America trade which has soared in the past 18 months, blowing away even AI stock returns) we said to go all in Uranium names ahead of the coming explosion in power demand.

got uranium? pic.twitter.com/kK8ENvrUbg

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) March 31, 2024

Sure enough, the mainstream media has been slowly catching up, and today BloombergNEF writes that US power consumption from data centers is set to double by 2035, to almost 9% of all demand, and is "causing a rush to build new power stations and secure grid connections. But building new reactors takes several years and some companies, like Google, are looking at reopening shuttered nuclear plants to try to get power quicker."

So as Trump's industiral policy rolls on, the winners are becoming increasingly clear: those who read our May 26 primer how to trade Trump's nuclear policies, and bought CCJ, have doubled their money.

And while we would urge subs to take off at least half of their CCJ long so their position is now risk free, for those wondering who may be next, we suggest you look at the other nuclear components of our Power Up America basket, which among others include such Modular Reactor companies as Nano Nuclear which we are confident will be next on Trump's Industrial Policy checklist.

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/28/2025 - 13:45

More Than Half A Million Illegal Immigrants Deported From US: DHS

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times,

More than 527,000 illegal immigrants have been removed from the United States so far under the Trump administration, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement on Oct. 27.

“The Trump Administration is on pace to shatter historic records and deport nearly 600,000 illegal aliens by the end of President Donald Trump’s first year since returning to office. More than 2 million illegal aliens have left the U.S., including 1.6 million who have voluntarily self-deported and over 527,000 deportations,” DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said.

“This is just the beginning. President Trump and Secretary Noem have jumpstarted an agency that was hamstrung and barred from doing its job for the last four years.”

DHS highlighted the CBP Home app, which illegal immigrants can use to notify the federal government of their intention to depart the United States.

The government is currently offering illegal immigrants $1,000 and free flights to self-deport back to their home nations. This gives them a chance to come back legally. Those arrested and deported won’t be able to return to the United States, DHS said.

According to the DHS, law enforcement has been removing the “worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens” from the country, including rapists, murderers, drug dealers, and pedophiles, despite facing opposition from politicians in sanctuary jurisdictions.

Sanctuary jurisdictions are places where local officials refuse to enforce immigration laws or comply with federal immigration authorities. According to an Aug. 8 list from the Department of Justice (DOJ), 12 states and 18 local jurisdictions in the country are currently classified as following such policies.

Meanwhile, DHS and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) operations against illegal immigrants have faced widespread protests in places such as Portland and Chicago, which are on the DOJ’s sanctuary jurisdiction list.

Currently, ICE has around 129 detention facilities across the United States to house illegal immigrants before presenting them before an immigration judge or removing them from the country.

The Trump administration has also faced legal challenges in court. For instance, President Donald Trump had said he wanted to federalize the National Guard in Oregon to tackle unrest in Portland and protect ICE facilities. On Oct. 24, an appeals court temporarily paused the National Guard deployment in Portland.

“In the face of a historic number of injunctions from activist judges and threats to law enforcement, DHS, ICE, and CBP have not just closed the border, but made historic strides to carry out President Trump’s promise of arresting and deporting illegal aliens who have invaded our country,” McLaughlin said.

“Illegal aliens are hearing our message to leave now or face the consequence: Migrants are now turning back before they even reach our borders. Migration through Panama’s Darien Gap is down 99.99 percent.”

Democrats Launch Investigation

Democratic lawmakers have criticized the illegal immigrant crackdown initiated by the Trump administration.

An Oct. 20 statement from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) have launched an investigation into DHS over reports of unlawful detentions of U.S. citizens and immigrants by federal agents.

In a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, the lawmakers said there have been “reports of excessive, shocking behavior by CBP and ICE agents directed at U.S. citizens.” The letter claimed that more than 170 U.S. citizens had been detained by immigration agents over the previous nine months.

“The impact of these arrests has not been evenly distributed across the country, and cities like Chicago, Portland, Washington, and Los Angeles have been targeted heavily by ICE and CBP. Troublingly, the pattern of U.S. Citizen arrests coincides with an alarming increase in racial profiling—particularly of Latinos,” the letter stated.

The lawmakers demanded that Noem submit certain information to the House Oversight Committee by Nov. 3, including the number of American citizens detained by CBP, ICE, or DHS since Jan. 20.

DHS said in its Oct. 27 statement that 70 percent of arrests made by ICE were of criminal illegal immigrants convicted or charged with a crime in the United States.

In an Oct. 21 post on X, Noem said that more than 480,000 criminal illegal immigrants were arrested in the nine months under the Trump administration.

“What our law enforcement has accomplished for the American people, under President Trump, is nothing short of extraordinary,” she wrote.

“We will continue to fulfill @POTUS Trump’s promise to Make America Safe Again, secure our borders, and protect our people.”

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/28/2025 - 13:45

More Than Half A Million Illegal Immigrants Deported From US: DHS

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times,

More than 527,000 illegal immigrants have been removed from the United States so far under the Trump administration, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement on Oct. 27.

“The Trump Administration is on pace to shatter historic records and deport nearly 600,000 illegal aliens by the end of President Donald Trump’s first year since returning to office. More than 2 million illegal aliens have left the U.S., including 1.6 million who have voluntarily self-deported and over 527,000 deportations,” DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said.

“This is just the beginning. President Trump and Secretary Noem have jumpstarted an agency that was hamstrung and barred from doing its job for the last four years.”

DHS highlighted the CBP Home app, which illegal immigrants can use to notify the federal government of their intention to depart the United States.

The government is currently offering illegal immigrants $1,000 and free flights to self-deport back to their home nations. This gives them a chance to come back legally. Those arrested and deported won’t be able to return to the United States, DHS said.

According to the DHS, law enforcement has been removing the “worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens” from the country, including rapists, murderers, drug dealers, and pedophiles, despite facing opposition from politicians in sanctuary jurisdictions.

Sanctuary jurisdictions are places where local officials refuse to enforce immigration laws or comply with federal immigration authorities. According to an Aug. 8 list from the Department of Justice (DOJ), 12 states and 18 local jurisdictions in the country are currently classified as following such policies.

Meanwhile, DHS and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) operations against illegal immigrants have faced widespread protests in places such as Portland and Chicago, which are on the DOJ’s sanctuary jurisdiction list.

Currently, ICE has around 129 detention facilities across the United States to house illegal immigrants before presenting them before an immigration judge or removing them from the country.

The Trump administration has also faced legal challenges in court. For instance, President Donald Trump had said he wanted to federalize the National Guard in Oregon to tackle unrest in Portland and protect ICE facilities. On Oct. 24, an appeals court temporarily paused the National Guard deployment in Portland.

“In the face of a historic number of injunctions from activist judges and threats to law enforcement, DHS, ICE, and CBP have not just closed the border, but made historic strides to carry out President Trump’s promise of arresting and deporting illegal aliens who have invaded our country,” McLaughlin said.

“Illegal aliens are hearing our message to leave now or face the consequence: Migrants are now turning back before they even reach our borders. Migration through Panama’s Darien Gap is down 99.99 percent.”

Democrats Launch Investigation

Democratic lawmakers have criticized the illegal immigrant crackdown initiated by the Trump administration.

An Oct. 20 statement from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) have launched an investigation into DHS over reports of unlawful detentions of U.S. citizens and immigrants by federal agents.

In a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, the lawmakers said there have been “reports of excessive, shocking behavior by CBP and ICE agents directed at U.S. citizens.” The letter claimed that more than 170 U.S. citizens had been detained by immigration agents over the previous nine months.

“The impact of these arrests has not been evenly distributed across the country, and cities like Chicago, Portland, Washington, and Los Angeles have been targeted heavily by ICE and CBP. Troublingly, the pattern of U.S. Citizen arrests coincides with an alarming increase in racial profiling—particularly of Latinos,” the letter stated.

The lawmakers demanded that Noem submit certain information to the House Oversight Committee by Nov. 3, including the number of American citizens detained by CBP, ICE, or DHS since Jan. 20.

DHS said in its Oct. 27 statement that 70 percent of arrests made by ICE were of criminal illegal immigrants convicted or charged with a crime in the United States.

In an Oct. 21 post on X, Noem said that more than 480,000 criminal illegal immigrants were arrested in the nine months under the Trump administration.

“What our law enforcement has accomplished for the American people, under President Trump, is nothing short of extraordinary,” she wrote.

“We will continue to fulfill @POTUS Trump’s promise to Make America Safe Again, secure our borders, and protect our people.”

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/28/2025 - 13:45

Mediocre 7Y Auction Tails Most In 14 Months As Foreign Buyers Stay On Sidelines

If yesterday's 5Y auction was stellar, with solid demand across the board including a jump in foreign demand, then today's sale of $44BN in 7Y paper, the week's final coupon auction in an abbreviated schedule ahead of tomorrow's Fed decision, was mediocre at best.

The auction priced at a high yield of 3.790%, down from 3.953% in September and the lowest since Sept 24; it tailed the When Issued 3.782% by 0.8bps, the third tail in a row and the biggest tail since last August.

The bid to cover was 2.457, up from 2.395 which however was a multi-year low; in the context of recent auctions today's btc was subpar, printing below the six auction average at 2.575.

Internals were also mediocre, if better than the dismal September auction: Indirects were awarded 59.0%, up from 56.4%, but below the six-auction average 67.3%. And with Directs dipping to 27.9%, Dealers were left with 13.14%, the highest since April.

Overall, this was a mediocre, forgettable, and very tailing "belly-busting" 7Y auction which is somewhat surprising ahead of tomorrow's Fed decision which is expected to see not only a rate cut but put an end to QT as first noted here two weeks ago. 

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/28/2025 - 13:27

Mediocre 7Y Auction Tails Most In 14 Months As Foreign Buyers Stay On Sidelines

If yesterday's 5Y auction was stellar, with solid demand across the board including a jump in foreign demand, then today's sale of $44BN in 7Y paper, the week's final coupon auction in an abbreviated schedule ahead of tomorrow's Fed decision, was mediocre at best.

The auction priced at a high yield of 3.790%, down from 3.953% in September and the lowest since Sept 24; it tailed the When Issued 3.782% by 0.8bps, the third tail in a row and the biggest tail since last August.

The bid to cover was 2.457, up from 2.395 which however was a multi-year low; in the context of recent auctions today's btc was subpar, printing below the six auction average at 2.575.

Internals were also mediocre, if better than the dismal September auction: Indirects were awarded 59.0%, up from 56.4%, but below the six-auction average 67.3%. And with Directs dipping to 27.9%, Dealers were left with 13.14%, the highest since April.

Overall, this was a mediocre, forgettable, and very tailing "belly-busting" 7Y auction which is somewhat surprising ahead of tomorrow's Fed decision which is expected to see not only a rate cut but put an end to QT as first noted here two weeks ago. 

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/28/2025 - 13:27

Hegseth Announces 14 Killed In New, Largest Single Attack On 'Narco-Terrorist' Boats

Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth has announced yet more strikes on alleged drug vessels operating off South America, in what's becoming a weekly thing. This latest strike involved four total boats - in what looks to be the largest single set of strikes yet.

Unlike most of the some nine strikes recorded thus far, these fresh attacks were on the Pacific side of Latin America, and not directly off Venezuela's coast. There's been only one other prior instance, announced earlier this month, of such operations on the Pacific side.

Illustrative: AP

The attacks against several vessels occurred Monday. Hegseth disclosed on Tuesday, "Yesterday, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out three lethal kinetic strikes on four vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations (DTO) trafficking narcotics in the Eastern Pacific."

"The four vessels were known by our intelligence apparatus, transiting along known narco-trafficking routes, and carrying narcotics," Hegseth continued.

The death toll was high in comparison with other attacks which stretch back several weeks. Hegseth continues in his statement on X:

Eight male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessels during the first strike. Four male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessel during the second strike. Three male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessel during the third strike. A total of 14 narco-terrorists were killed during the three strikes, with one survivor.

All strikes were in international waters with no U.S. forces harmed. Regarding the survivor, USSOUTHCOM immediately initiated Search and Rescue (SAR) standard protocols; Mexican SAR authorities accepted the case and assumed responsibility for coordinating the rescue. 

This note about cooperation from Mexican authorities is interesting, and shows that not all regional governments are against the heightened Pentagon action off their shores - or else they are simply too scared of the Trump administration to say 'no'.

The new footage of Monday's strikes released by the Pentagon...

Yesterday, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out three lethal kinetic strikes on four vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations (DTO) trafficking narcotics in the Eastern Pacific.

The four vessels were known by our intelligence… pic.twitter.com/UhoFlZ3jPG

— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) October 28, 2025

This latest incident also reveals the individual operations are growing in scale, and presumably involved more missiles launched by drones operating in regional waters.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has meanwhile accused President Trump of essentially 'inventing a war' after the US has embarked on an unprecedented military build-up in the Caribbean, which has included diverting an aircraft carrier group from the Mediterranean. 

The Trump-ordered build-up is facing valid criticism, given it's all happening without a declaration of war, or without any oversight from Congress for that matter...

U.S. military sinks 4 more small speedboats and kills 14 civilians as part of the largest naval buildup in the world. https://t.co/TYvvHLDj8B

— Paul McLeary (@paulmcleary) October 28, 2025

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/28/2025 - 13:25

Hegseth Announces 14 Killed In New, Largest Single Attack On 'Narco-Terrorist' Boats

Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth has announced yet more strikes on alleged drug vessels operating off South America, in what's becoming a weekly thing. This latest strike involved four total boats - in what looks to be the largest single set of strikes yet.

Unlike most of the some nine strikes recorded thus far, these fresh attacks were on the Pacific side of Latin America, and not directly off Venezuela's coast. There's been only one other prior instance, announced earlier this month, of such operations on the Pacific side.

Illustrative: AP

The attacks against several vessels occurred Monday. Hegseth disclosed on Tuesday, "Yesterday, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out three lethal kinetic strikes on four vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations (DTO) trafficking narcotics in the Eastern Pacific."

"The four vessels were known by our intelligence apparatus, transiting along known narco-trafficking routes, and carrying narcotics," Hegseth continued.

The death toll was high in comparison with other attacks which stretch back several weeks. Hegseth continues in his statement on X:

Eight male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessels during the first strike. Four male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessel during the second strike. Three male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessel during the third strike. A total of 14 narco-terrorists were killed during the three strikes, with one survivor.

All strikes were in international waters with no U.S. forces harmed. Regarding the survivor, USSOUTHCOM immediately initiated Search and Rescue (SAR) standard protocols; Mexican SAR authorities accepted the case and assumed responsibility for coordinating the rescue. 

This note about cooperation from Mexican authorities is interesting, and shows that not all regional governments are against the heightened Pentagon action off their shores - or else they are simply too scared of the Trump administration to say 'no'.

The new footage of Monday's strikes released by the Pentagon...

Yesterday, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out three lethal kinetic strikes on four vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations (DTO) trafficking narcotics in the Eastern Pacific.

The four vessels were known by our intelligence… pic.twitter.com/UhoFlZ3jPG

— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) October 28, 2025

This latest incident also reveals the individual operations are growing in scale, and presumably involved more missiles launched by drones operating in regional waters.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has meanwhile accused President Trump of essentially 'inventing a war' after the US has embarked on an unprecedented military build-up in the Caribbean, which has included diverting an aircraft carrier group from the Mediterranean. 

The Trump-ordered build-up is facing valid criticism, given it's all happening without a declaration of war, or without any oversight from Congress for that matter...

U.S. military sinks 4 more small speedboats and kills 14 civilians as part of the largest naval buildup in the world. https://t.co/TYvvHLDj8B

— Paul McLeary (@paulmcleary) October 28, 2025

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/28/2025 - 13:25

The Left's Never-Ending Outrage Machine

Authored by Roger Kimball via American Greatness,

The Democrats appear to be a never-ending source of pitiable entertainment these days. Last week, it was the pathetic “No Kings” (what some mischievous wag called “No Brains”) rallies across the country. Those 2,700 anti-Trump therapy sessions for aging, anencephalic boomers were funded to the tune of $294 million by such public-spirited individuals and entities as Arabella Advisors, the Tides Foundation, George Soros, and Warren Buffett. Such streams of cash funneled millions through dozens of left-leaning entities, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the National LGBTQ Task Force, the Sierra Club Foundation, the Democracy Forward Foundation, and other havens for the perpetually aggrieved.

It was a noisy but preposterous temper tantrum, full of sound and fury, signifying stupidity. The union of Kumbayah gestures with rage-filled pantomimes was both inadvertently comic and repellent, the odor of rotting pseudo-idealism wafting over the proceedings everywhere.

The insurmountable problem all of those protestors faced was the incontrovertible fact that Donald Trump is not a king. He is a duly elected president who handily won both the Electoral College and the popular vote. He campaigned precisely on the issues that the unhappy pot-bangers and sign-wavers bewailed: closing the border, expelling illegal migrants, dismantling the woke DEI apparat in academia and the federal government, and resuscitating and Americanizing the U.S. economy.

If Trump were a king, why would he not simply outlaw such puerile displays of maliciousness as the “No Kings” rallies? Why wouldn’t he simply decree the government open again? No, the whole thing was ridiculous. I doubt that even the participants could have taken their make-believe protests seriously. But they probably feel they have to do something to make themselves heard these days. In the face of the perpetual-motion machine that is Donald Trump, what is an underemployed Democrat to do?

Just as nature abhors a vacuum, so the wokerati abhor an absence of outrage. It is an addiction, a sickness, a craving that cannot be denied. “Outrage or burst”: that’s their motto. So no sooner had the hangover of the “No Kings” fiasco begun to dissipate than a new draught was necessary. Trump supplied it with the news that he was going ahead with his plans to add a new ballroom—paid for with private funds—to the White House.

In fact, Trump has been promising to do just this—build a beautiful ballroom so that large gatherings at the White House would not have to be held under a tent—at least since 2016. But somebody in the Democrat Central Committee pretended to canvass the focus groups and decided that the engine of outrage could be primed with the Trump-is-desecrating-this-sacred-public-monument meme.

Again, the outpouring of manufactured outrage was both hilarious and pathetic. The people who suddenly became hypersensitive architectural preservationists had spent the last decade cheering on the people who tore down or desecrated important historical statues, smashed or ripped or sullied artworks, and substituted their noxious woke fantasies for the clear light of historical truth.

Such woke marauders also completely ignored the actual history of the White House and its many reconstructions, additions, renovations, and renewals. The comedy was endless. Hillary Clinton, who should know better than to wax moralistic about anything having to do with the White House, pretended to be outraged and posted, “It’s not his house. It’s your house. And he’s destroying it.” To which the president replied, “I may name it the Monica Lewinsky ballroom.” Connoisseurs of the Clinton libido will savor the double entendre.

The great Scott Adams had fun with the charade. Everyone agrees that a ballroom at the White House is needed, he notes. But the Dems just demonstrated that they can get their base to go insane over anything.

“All they have to do is say it over and over.”

All of a sudden, “Trump is going to renovate the White House” becomes “Trump is going to destroy the White House.” 

One poor baby said, “It feels almost the same as when I saw the Pentagon damage on 9/11.” Yes, really. It is insane.

But Adams was loving it: “I think you should respect that the Democrats are willing to take on the challenge of living in a country where there is a building being renovated.”

Heroes!

The White House itself posted a helpful timeline of significant renovations and events at the residence through the years. By now, many readers will know that in 1902, Teddy Roosevelt added the West Wing to the White House. In 1909, William Howard Taft expanded the West Wing and added the original Oval Office. In the 1930s and ’40s, FDR moved the Oval Office to its current location, built the East Wing, and added an indoor swimming pool. FDR’s successor, Harry S Truman, gutted and totally rebuilt the interior of the White House. Richard Nixon converted the White House swimming pool into the press briefing room and added a bowling alley. Barack Obama, though part of the witches’ chorus now, desecrated a tennis court to build a basketball court.

But that pedestrian inventory does not include some of the more piquant items that the White House included in its records. My favorites were the slides regarding the discovery of cocaine and the transgender day celebration at the White House.

And by the way, most renovations stuck taxpayers with the tab.  Trump’s new ballroom will cost the taxpayers nothing—zero, zilch, nada. It is entirely privately funded.

Among other things, this week’s Democrat exercise in feckless melodrama reminds us that all the political initiative now is with Donald Trump. It’s not just that the Democrats are wholly reactive, responding like Pavlov’s dog to any bell that Trump might ring. There is also the fact that Trump has consumed all the political oxygen available in the body politic. His MAGA agenda is shaping everything—from his peace initiatives on the world stage to his efforts at the border and with the economy and cultural fabric of the country.

 All the Democrats have now is the screech of Elizabeth Warren and her tribe, resounding like a gigantic set of fingernails drawn harshly across the blackboard of the nation’s attention. It is a horrible, disagreeable sound. No one heeds it. Everyone recoils from it. It’s not much, but it’s all the Democrats have now, a sort of endless reenactment of Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” in lieu of any constructive action.

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/28/2025 - 13:05

The Left's Never-Ending Outrage Machine

Authored by Roger Kimball via American Greatness,

The Democrats appear to be a never-ending source of pitiable entertainment these days. Last week, it was the pathetic “No Kings” (what some mischievous wag called “No Brains”) rallies across the country. Those 2,700 anti-Trump therapy sessions for aging, anencephalic boomers were funded to the tune of $294 million by such public-spirited individuals and entities as Arabella Advisors, the Tides Foundation, George Soros, and Warren Buffett. Such streams of cash funneled millions through dozens of left-leaning entities, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the National LGBTQ Task Force, the Sierra Club Foundation, the Democracy Forward Foundation, and other havens for the perpetually aggrieved.

It was a noisy but preposterous temper tantrum, full of sound and fury, signifying stupidity. The union of Kumbayah gestures with rage-filled pantomimes was both inadvertently comic and repellent, the odor of rotting pseudo-idealism wafting over the proceedings everywhere.

The insurmountable problem all of those protestors faced was the incontrovertible fact that Donald Trump is not a king. He is a duly elected president who handily won both the Electoral College and the popular vote. He campaigned precisely on the issues that the unhappy pot-bangers and sign-wavers bewailed: closing the border, expelling illegal migrants, dismantling the woke DEI apparat in academia and the federal government, and resuscitating and Americanizing the U.S. economy.

If Trump were a king, why would he not simply outlaw such puerile displays of maliciousness as the “No Kings” rallies? Why wouldn’t he simply decree the government open again? No, the whole thing was ridiculous. I doubt that even the participants could have taken their make-believe protests seriously. But they probably feel they have to do something to make themselves heard these days. In the face of the perpetual-motion machine that is Donald Trump, what is an underemployed Democrat to do?

Just as nature abhors a vacuum, so the wokerati abhor an absence of outrage. It is an addiction, a sickness, a craving that cannot be denied. “Outrage or burst”: that’s their motto. So no sooner had the hangover of the “No Kings” fiasco begun to dissipate than a new draught was necessary. Trump supplied it with the news that he was going ahead with his plans to add a new ballroom—paid for with private funds—to the White House.

In fact, Trump has been promising to do just this—build a beautiful ballroom so that large gatherings at the White House would not have to be held under a tent—at least since 2016. But somebody in the Democrat Central Committee pretended to canvass the focus groups and decided that the engine of outrage could be primed with the Trump-is-desecrating-this-sacred-public-monument meme.

Again, the outpouring of manufactured outrage was both hilarious and pathetic. The people who suddenly became hypersensitive architectural preservationists had spent the last decade cheering on the people who tore down or desecrated important historical statues, smashed or ripped or sullied artworks, and substituted their noxious woke fantasies for the clear light of historical truth.

Such woke marauders also completely ignored the actual history of the White House and its many reconstructions, additions, renovations, and renewals. The comedy was endless. Hillary Clinton, who should know better than to wax moralistic about anything having to do with the White House, pretended to be outraged and posted, “It’s not his house. It’s your house. And he’s destroying it.” To which the president replied, “I may name it the Monica Lewinsky ballroom.” Connoisseurs of the Clinton libido will savor the double entendre.

The great Scott Adams had fun with the charade. Everyone agrees that a ballroom at the White House is needed, he notes. But the Dems just demonstrated that they can get their base to go insane over anything.

“All they have to do is say it over and over.”

All of a sudden, “Trump is going to renovate the White House” becomes “Trump is going to destroy the White House.” 

One poor baby said, “It feels almost the same as when I saw the Pentagon damage on 9/11.” Yes, really. It is insane.

But Adams was loving it: “I think you should respect that the Democrats are willing to take on the challenge of living in a country where there is a building being renovated.”

Heroes!

The White House itself posted a helpful timeline of significant renovations and events at the residence through the years. By now, many readers will know that in 1902, Teddy Roosevelt added the West Wing to the White House. In 1909, William Howard Taft expanded the West Wing and added the original Oval Office. In the 1930s and ’40s, FDR moved the Oval Office to its current location, built the East Wing, and added an indoor swimming pool. FDR’s successor, Harry S Truman, gutted and totally rebuilt the interior of the White House. Richard Nixon converted the White House swimming pool into the press briefing room and added a bowling alley. Barack Obama, though part of the witches’ chorus now, desecrated a tennis court to build a basketball court.

But that pedestrian inventory does not include some of the more piquant items that the White House included in its records. My favorites were the slides regarding the discovery of cocaine and the transgender day celebration at the White House.

And by the way, most renovations stuck taxpayers with the tab.  Trump’s new ballroom will cost the taxpayers nothing—zero, zilch, nada. It is entirely privately funded.

Among other things, this week’s Democrat exercise in feckless melodrama reminds us that all the political initiative now is with Donald Trump. It’s not just that the Democrats are wholly reactive, responding like Pavlov’s dog to any bell that Trump might ring. There is also the fact that Trump has consumed all the political oxygen available in the body politic. His MAGA agenda is shaping everything—from his peace initiatives on the world stage to his efforts at the border and with the economy and cultural fabric of the country.

 All the Democrats have now is the screech of Elizabeth Warren and her tribe, resounding like a gigantic set of fingernails drawn harshly across the blackboard of the nation’s attention. It is a horrible, disagreeable sound. No one heeds it. Everyone recoils from it. It’s not much, but it’s all the Democrats have now, a sort of endless reenactment of Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” in lieu of any constructive action.

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/28/2025 - 13:05

US To Roll Back Some China Tariffs If Beijing Cracks Down On Export Of Fentanyl Precursor Chemicals

The US is prepared to roll back some tariffs on China if Beijing cracks down on the export of chemicals that produce fentanyl, under a trade framework that President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are set to discuss Thursday, the WSJ reported citing people familiar. 

According to the report, China is expected to commit to more controls on the export of precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl. In return, the U.S. could cut its 20% fentanyl-related tariff on Chinese goods by as much as 10%, the people said.

If Trump lowers the fentanyl-tariff on Chinese goods to 10%, it would bring the average tariff on most Chinese imports, currently around 55%, to about 45%. That would put China’s average tariff rate closer to those of other trading partners, potentially reducing the price competitiveness of goods manufactured outside of China. Indicatively, goods from India and Brazil face 50% tariffs, and the Trump administration has said Chinese goods transshipped through Southeast Asian nations would face 40% tariffs, much higher than the 19%-20% rate for other goods from the region.

Bringing the total tariffs on China closer to the 40% levies threatened on Southeast Asian nations would reduce the incentive for Chinese firms to transship goods through those economies to the U.S., while potentially motivating more direct trade between China and the U.S.

The administration reached two trade agreements and two frameworks with Southeast Asian nations this week that included provisions to prevent China from exporting goods through their economies at below-market prices.

The U.S. and China are also expected to reduce port fees on each other’s ships, the report goes on.

Separately, China is also expected to commit to significant purchases of American soybeans, Bessent said in a CBS News interview on Sunday, potentially bringing relief to U.Sp. farmers hit hard by the loss of Chinese buyers this year.

If Beijing agrees, the framework would ease market-rattling tensions between the world’s two biggest economies. Earlier this month, China tightened controls on rare earths, a sector it dominates, potentially jolting global supply chains that rely on them to manufacture everything from electric vehicles to jet fighters. In turn Trump threatened another 100% tariffs on China. Now, under the new framework, the U.S. expects China to delay the new rare-earths rules.

“I believe that they are going to delay that for a year while they re-examine it,” Bessent said in an interview with ABC News on Sunday.

The expected deferral of China’s latest rare-earth controls means Trump’s threat to impose a 100% tariff on all Chinese goods by Nov. 1 is now “effectively off the table,” Bessent told CBS News.

There's more: Chinese negotiators are also expecting the U.S. to freeze potential new policy actions deemed as harmful to China, such as controls on exports of products made with U.S. software. Bessent told CBS News on Sunday there have been no changes to U.S. export controls.

It is unclear how the framework would affect a different set of rare-earths restrictions that Beijing announced in April. The established licensing system suggests authorities could ramp up rare-earth restrictions again if the U.S. were to impose new trade policies deemed harmful to China.

Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Li Chenggang, a senior member of China’s trade delegation, said the two sides have reached “preliminary consensus” on issues including export controls, reciprocal tariffs, fentanyl-related tariffs, cooperation on fentanyl, an expansion of bilateral trade and port fees. Both sides will then go through domestic approval processes, he said.

“The current turbulences and twists and turns are the ones that we do not wish to see,” Li said.

Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel is set to travel to Beijing to discuss the fentanyl issue with Chinese authorities, said people familiar with the matter.

The expected agreements are subject to change and dependent on the meeting of the two leaders. Details are expected to be hammered out in subsequent negotiations.

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/28/2025 - 12:50

Two-Screen Analysis

By Michael Every of Rabobank

A depressing development in Hollywood, besides CGI and AI, is the rise of ‘two-screen viewing’, where scripts are simplified so audiences glued to their phones can follow the ‘plot’ in the background rather than being distracted by it: TV/movies are ‘product’ for those who don’t pay attention. One could argue the same with financial market media and ‘two-screen analysis’.

None are covering Islamist Sudanese paramilitaries advancing into the military’s last stronghold in Darfur: there are no assets there. But none are covering Russia’s test of a powerful new missile either, or Norway’s defence minister warning Moscow is concentrating its nuclear forces in the Arctic Circle in preparation “for war with NATO”, or Trump telling Putin the US has “the world’s greatest nuclear submarine stationed right off their shores." They only notice the deals related to the above, such as Lukoil planning to sell its international assets following US sanctions. That’s being behind the curve, to use the language financial media purport to understand.

There are plenty of such deals - and sparse analysis of them. The UK just agreed an $11bn Eurofighter sale to Turkey when the Ministry of Defense is reportedly underfunded and planning cuts even as it’s told to rearm rapidly. Politico claims to have ‘Germany’s new €377bn military wish list’ to become the most powerful conventional military in Europe: it’s of course anchored in German industry, with the exception of a few key US systems, such as upgraded F-15s and 400 Tomahawk missiles. There are implications there for Europe in multiple dimensions.

The US losing a helicopter and fighter jet within 30 minutes in the South China Sea yesterday may have been down to “bad fuel”, according to Trump. If so, it’s an indictment of US Navy logistics. That’s why we are seeing US strategic deals with South Korea and Japan to build US ships in their shipyards; the US says Japan's pledged $550bn FDI package will focus on infrastructure such as electricity and energy; and Trump and PM Takaichi will today talk trade and defence, which are increasingly the same thing.

On which note, Europe has also seen far-from-normal developments:

Former ECB President Draghi called for “pragmatic federalism” where clusters of EU countries agree to policies rather than one-size fits all. EC President Von der Leyen laid out green tech policies that imply massive use of economic statecraft: huge non-tariff barriers (“Made in Europe” for all state tenders); capital controls (screen FDI so it’s “in the EU’s interests”: and outbound FDI?); and tariffs and subsidies (support for key sectors - “You are critical to Europe's future. and your future will be made in Europe. That is critical for us”). 

Both Macron and VdL threatened China with the EU’s Anti-Coercion Instrument over withholding rare earths, which would shatter EU-China trade and make the Nexperia crisis look like nothing, even as its China parent Wingtech declares a cash-flow risk and an EU car production shutdowns loom as chip supplies dry up, Covid-style.

The EU is to launch a "RESourceEU" plan before end-2025, on top of the EU Critical Minerals Act that has so far achieved little, to: diversify supply chains (to countries who already did deals with the US and China); boost domestic extraction and refining in the EU (which is highly polluting and uneconomic); scaling up recycling; and strengthening strategic reserves to guard against supply disruptions (so central planning and commodity buying as well as the need to set agreed market price ceilings and floors?).

Moreover, Politico also reports the ‘EU will move to take on Wall Street with major financial reform proposals’. These include amending the EU’s flagship financial market rules, MiFID and MiFIR; for clearinghouses (EMIR); investments (AIFMD/the UCITS Directive); central securities depositories (CSDR); crypto rules (MiCA); and the regulation of markets watchdog (ESMA). Moreover, the Commission is also planning to propose financial markets supervision moving from the national to EU level. As said here many times, geopolitics now drives market paradigm shifts.

In Latin America, Argentina’s markets rallied strongly over Milei’s political victory. Moreover, Brazil’s Lula stated he sees a “definitive solution’ with the US coming within days, and that Trump “guaranteed” him a trade deal: is it a coincidence that Lula also offered to help the US mediate with Venezuela? On that front, Venezuela is moving to cancel energy agreements with Trinidad after a US warship arrived at the neighbouring island nation, which analysts see hurts Venezuela more than Trinidad.

In North America, Canada’s PM Carney is now floating dropping the 100% tariff on Chinese EVs it had agreed in line with the US in return for lower tariffs on Canadian pork and canola into China. Now that there is no transshipment possible into the US due to its tariffs on Canada --could they now go higher in response?-- that just implies more pressure on the Canadian auto industry already struggling with the loss of sales to the US and potential production shifts south of the border. One wonders if any analysis of the value-add of the agri vs auto industries is being done – is there an economic statecraft target in either direction, or is it just potentially-expensive ‘we have options, you know’ messaging to Trump?

In Asia, after Trump’s swirl of charm-offensive critical minerals deals and a Thailand-Cambodia peace treaty, China and ASEAN inked an upgraded free trade pact covering digital, green economies, and supply chain connectivity.

In the domestic political economy sphere, but with global implications, Australia’s largest aluminium smelter is in employee talks for potential closure: is the Aussie role in the new geopolitical geoeconomic order also just the old one – resources?

UK Chancellor Reeves reportedly faces another £20bn hit to UK public finances due to a downgrading of assumed UK productivity by the budget watchdog by 0.3 percentage points per annum.

The French parliament just voted to increase corporation tax from 33.8% to 35% next year, as the Socialist Party will reportedly wait until the end of the week to decide whether to topple the government over a wealth tax, which they want to see start at 3% of assets over €10m, not 2% on over €100m, as the government proposes.

Spain’s already-wobbly government lost a coalition partner, making the passage of any legislation more difficult; and

In the US, the Wall Street Journal says, ‘Amazon to Lay Off Up to 30,000 Corporate Workers’, and below it, ‘The Good Vibes Are Back on Wall Street’. In-between is a smaller headline stating that big firms think they can keep growing without hiring anyone.

Meanwhile, The Economist proclaims, ‘The end of the rip-off economy’ as “From finance and medicine to used cars, artificial intelligence is radically improving market efficiency.” Is that also twin-screen analysis, where a ‘Hollywood ending’ plot is shot-gunned into the eyes of those who might otherwise see a vastly more complex, nuanced, and perhaps even diametrically opposed picture?

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/28/2025 - 12:45

Nvidia's $1 Billion Bet Aims To Transform Nokia Into The West's Answer To Huawei

The endless stream of AI headlines continues...

Just ahead of the lunch hour in New York, Bloomberg reported that Nvidia will invest $1 billion in Nokia, acquiring a 2.9% stake by purchasing 166 million shares at $6.01 each. The headline was enough to catapult Nokia's shares in Europe up 17%. U.S.-listed shares were briefly halted, now up 21%.

Under the new partnership, Nvidia's AI chips will power Nokia's AI-accelerated 5G and 6G software and will explore integrating Nokia's data center technologies into Nvidia's own infrastructure. The deal transforms Nokia into the only Western full-stack alternative to Huawei in the telecommunications grid.

CEO Justin Hotard has led Nokia's impressive turnaround. He recently acquired Infinera for $2.3 billion to expand into AI networking hardware. For Nvidia, this partnership adds to the ever-expanding list of AI investments, which includes OpenAI, Wayve, Oxa, Revolut, PolyAI, and a billion-euro data center project with Deutsche Telekom.

U.S.-listed Nokia shares jumped as much as 21%.

The 21% move higher is the largest intraday gain in U.S.-listed Nokia shares since January 2021.

What happened to Nokia? Thought it was dead. Everyone who was around in the 1990s and early 2000s who had a Nokia handset remembers this...

Now, Nokia is being positioned to become the "Huawei of the West." What a dramatic turnaround.

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/28/2025 - 12:10