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The World
President Biden said that “there must be ‘a vision of what comes next’ after the war, calling for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” Biden said, “Hamas is hiding behind Palestinian civilians, and it’s despicable — and not surprisingly, cowardly as well. This also puts an added burden on Israel while they go after Hamas. But that does not lessen the need for us to operate in line with the laws of war. Israel has to do everything in its power.” (Washington Post)
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 12-9 on Wednesday to advance Jacob Lew’s nomination to serve as ambassador to Israel to a floor vote. Republicans “have criticized Lew for his role in the Obama White House when it negotiated the Iran nuclear agreement in 2015, among other foreign policy moves. The deal with Iran — the chief sponsor of Hamas — was later scuttled” by President Trump. (Associated Press)
Israel's economy, “already under strain before the Hamas terror attacks this month, is rapidly shifting to a war footing.” Since the October 7 Hamas attack, the shekel has “tumbled sharply,” and “the Bank of Israel reduced its forecast for economic growth this year to 2.3% from 3% on Monday, while raising forecasts for debt and deficits due to military spending and outlays to support the economy more broadly.” (Axios)
Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA), who is in his fourth term, was elected speaker of the House. “All 220 Republicans voted in support of Johnson, a rare show of unity after weeks of intraparty chaos.” After being elected, Johnson “said on social media that he ‘will advance a comprehensive conservative policy agenda, combat the harmful policies of the Biden Administration, and support our allies abroad.’ He added: ‘And we will restore sanity to a government desperately in need of it.’” (Semafor)
The “little-known” Johnson “is both a leading election denier and one of the staunchest religious conservatives in the House.” He “played a pivotal role in congressional efforts to overturn the 2020 election.” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) said on Steve Bannon’s podcast, “If you don’t think that moving from Kevin McCarthy to MAGA Mike Johnson shows the ascendance of this movement and where the power in the Republican Party truly lies, then you’re not paying attention.” (New York Times)
California Gov. Gavin Newsom met with Xi Jinping in Beijing “as the U.S. grappled with rising tensions with the world’s second-largest economy and the Democratic governor worked to navigate a challenging diplomatic landscape on a trip meant to promote climate cooperation.” It was Newsom’s “second meeting with a foreign government leader in less than a week after he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on Friday — an extraordinary foray into international affairs for a governor who has no authority on global matters.” (Los Angeles Times)
“Abandoned by its traditional Russian ally and squeezed between two hostile neighbors, Armenia is reaching out for Western support as it fears another war.” Armenia is “bound to Russia by a military alliance and an economic union,” but Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said his country is seeking new partners “because Moscow has failed to live up to its commitments as an ally, especially during Azerbaijan’s takeover” of Nagorno-Karabakh last month. (Wall Street Journal)
Patricia Bullrich, who took 24% of the vote in the first round of Argentina’s presidential election over the weekend, “endorsed right-wing populist Javier Milei for next month’s runoff, a move that could rupture the country’s main center-right opposition coalition.” Milei received 30% of the vote, while Economy Minister Sergio Massa received 37%. (Associated Press)
“A 54% majority of Americans believe the government is ‘trying to do too many things that should be left to individuals and businesses,’ whereas 43% think it ‘should do more to solve the country’s problems.’ This critique of the government is similar to Americans’ views over the past two years; however, it differs from 2020, when 54% of Americans said they wanted the government to do more.” (Gallup)
Economy
The United Auto Workers and Ford reached a tentative contract agreement that will end the union’s strike against the automaker if ratified by workers, the union said, in a crucial step toward resolving a nationwide work stoppage that continues against two other Detroit automakers. The tentative agreement, if approved by a majority of Ford’s UAW workers, would end a six-week strike that has halted work at Ford factories in Chicago, Louisville and Wayne, Mich. The preliminary deal increases pressure on General Motors and Stellantis, which still face strikes at dozens of factories and warehouses, to reach agreements with similar terms. The deal includes the biggest contract wins the UAW has secured in years, including a 25 percent wage increase over the life of the contract, according to a person familiar with the deal, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations. (Associated Press)
Japan’s yen fell to its lowest level against the dollar in a year, crossing a psychological barrier of ¥150 that has prompted intervention by the country’s central bank in the past. The currency traded as low as ¥150.31 to the dollar on Wednesday, its weakest level since October 2022. (Financial Times)
Boeing will miss its target for 737 Max deliveries this year. The company reported a net third-quarter loss of $1.6 billion on $18.1 billion in revenue. However, CEO David Calhoun says Boeing is on track in its recovery following the grounding of the Max in 2019 following two crashes and the impact of the pandemic one year later. (Financial Times)
Outflows of investment capital from China are growing as wealthy Chinese shift funds abroad and foreign companies scale back operations. The net outflow reached $53.9 billion in September, the largest amount since January 2016. (Nikkei Asia)
Morgan Stanley named Ted Pick as its next chief executive to succeed longtime CEO James Gorman, ushering in a new era for the Wall Street powerhouse. Pick, who leads Morgan Stanley’s investment-banking and trading operations, was one of three finalists selected as possible successors for Gorman, who said in May that he would step down from the CEO role he has held since 2010. (Wall Street Journal)
Technology
The Biden Administration is expected to unveil an executive order on AI on Monday that “would leverage the U.S. government’s role as a top technology customer by requiring advanced AI models to undergo assessments before they can be used by federal workers.” It would also ease immigration barriers for highly skilled workers. The proposal is expected “two days before government leaders, top Silicon Valley executives, and civil society groups gather in Britain for an international summit focused on the potential risks that AI presents to society.” (Washington Post)
Microsoft is beating Alphabet “in the race to make money from generative artificial intelligence through early bets on OpenAI and focus on big clients, raising worries that the Google parent could lose share in the cloud-computing market.” Cloud spending by businesses introducing AI features “powered a rebound in growth for Microsoft's Azure platform in its first quarter,” while growth at Alphabet's cloud unit “hit a near three-year low as its big exposure to smaller clients dampened growth.” (Reuters)
“Alphabet shares fell the most in a year on Wednesday after revenue in the company’s Google Cloud unit trailed analyst estimates.” (CNBC)
Meta “again exceeded Wall Street’s expectations when it reported earnings for the quarter ended in September.” The company’s year-over-year quarterly revenue gains were up 23% to more than $34 billion. Meta “also more than doubled profits compared to the year-ago quarter, reporting net income of nearly $11.6 billion.” (CNN)
General Motors and Honda have called off their planned collaboration on inexpensive electric vehicles. The joint project “was supposed to develop a new platform for use in lower-cost EVs for North America, South America, and China, with cars appearing in 2027.” The companies said in a joint statement, “After extensive studies and analysis, we have come to a mutual decision to discontinue the program. Each company remains committed to affordability in the EV market.” (Ars Technica)
Amazon warehouse workers “are suffering physical injuries and mental stress on the job as a result of the company’s extreme focus on speed and pervasive surveillance.” In a University of Illinois Chicago Center for Urban Economic Development survey of Amazon workers at 451 facilities, nearly 70% “said they’ve had to take unpaid time off due to pain or exhaustion suffered on the job in the past month, while 34% have had to do so three or more times.” (CNBC)
Smart Links
U.S. mortgage rates soar to highest in more than 23 years. (Reuters)
Chasing Big Mergers, Oil Executives Dismiss Peak Oil Concerns. (New York Times)
Hong Kong announces steps to boost growth and restore global status. (Nikkei Asia)
The AI boom’s chip shortage has an unlikely hero: the blockchain. (Semafor)
IBM software sales up 8% as the company beats on top and bottom lines. (CNBC)
Researchers have developed an attack that forces Apple’s Safari browser to divulge passwords and other sensitive personal information. (Ars Technica)