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The World
The head of the International Energy Agency has warned European countries against a scramble for energy security this winter that threatens to shatter EU unity and trigger social unrest. Fatih Birol, the IEA’s executive director, said he feared “a wild west scenario” if European countries restricted their own trade or stopped collaborating with neighbours amid mounting anxieties about fuel shortages. (Financial Times)
U.S. has sent private warnings to Russia against using a nuclear weapon. The United States has kept warnings about the consequences of a Russian nuclear strike in Ukraine deliberately vague, so that the Kremlin worries about the response. (Washington Post)
UN Security Council members condemn Russia for continuing its war on Ukraine: Session convenes after Russian President Vladimir Putin orders ‘partial mobilisations’ of reservists and vows to use ‘all the means at our disposal to protect Russia’. (South China Morning Post)
Four areas of Ukraine controlled by Russia and pro-Moscow forces were preparing to hold referendums on Friday on joining Russia, a move widely condemned by the West as illegitimate and a precursor to illegal annexation. (Reuters)
Zelenskyy calls on mobilized Russian soldiers to run away or surrender. (Financial Times)
China’s military told to ‘resolutely do what the party asks it to do’. PLA Daily runs lengthy article telling soldiers to follow the party’s leadership and take ‘whatever risks and challenges’ are needed. It comes as Beijing’s propaganda machine goes into overdrive ahead of next month’s twice-a-decade national congress. (South China Morning Post)
A U.S. aircraft carrier arrived in South Korea on Friday for the first time in about four years, due to join South Korean ships in a military show of force aimed at sending North Korea a message, officials said. The USS Ronald Reagan and ships from its accompanying strike force docked at a naval base in the southern port city of Busan. Its arrival marks the most significant deployment yet under a new push to have more U.S. nuclear-capable "strategic assets" operate in the area to deter North Korea. (Nikkei Asia Review)
Singapore has overtaken Hong Kong to become Asia’s top financial center — and the third in the world — according to a new report that puts New York and London in the first and second spots. Hong Kong slipped to fourth place, battered by strict Covid restrictions and an exodus of talent, while San Francisco moved up two spots to round out the Global Financial Centres Index’s top five. (Bloomberg)
After Years of Low Mortgage Rates, Home Sellers Are Scarce: Many homeowners locked in the “golden handcuffs” of low mortgage costs find it too daunting to sell their homes now that rates are so much higher. (Wall Street Journal)
California Regents Hear Out Pac-12 on Whether to Block U.C.L.A.’s Move to Big Ten: The leaders of the sprawling University of California educational system are considering whether they should halt the move by U.C.L.A. (New York Times)
Bermuda hunkers down as Hurricane Fiona looms, powerless Puerto Rico swelters. (Reuters)
Economy
Central banks around the world moved to combat the effects of a soaring dollar and rising inflation, joining the Federal Reserve in risking a recession to rein in climbing prices. In a flurry of central-bank meetings from Norway to South Africa, many raised rates by larger-than-expected margins in a day that analysts at ING billed as “Super Thursday.” (Wall Street Journal)
Bank of England lifts interest rates by 0.5 percentage points; Swiss National Bank raises rates by 0.75 percentage points. (Financial Times)
Japan's first direct yen-buying intervention in 24 years sent the currency rebounding from its slump beyond 145 to the dollar, but many market watchers are questioning whether even this last resort will have a real impact on its trajectory. After the Bank of Japan's decision to keep its monetary policy unchanged, the yen tumbled during Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda's news conference, only to abruptly reverse course. At 5 p.m. local time, when the yen was trading 145.7 against the dollar and everyone was waiting for a plunge beyond the 146 mark, the currency suddenly jumped by more than 1 yen, ultimately climbing back past 141. (Nikkei Asia Review)
Credit Suisse has drawn up plans to split its investment bank into three and resurrect a “bad bank” holding pen for risky assets, as the Swiss lender attempts to emerge from three years of relentless scandals. Under proposals put forward to the group’s board, Credit Suisse hopes to sell profitable units such as its securitised products business in a bid to stave off a damaging capital raise, according to people familiar with the plans. (Financial Times)
FedEx to Raise Shipping Rates by 6.9% as It Combats Slowdown: The delivery giant says it plans to eliminate another $4 billion in annual costs. (Wall Street Journal)
Technology
US senators have asked the intelligence community to examine the threat a potential deal between Apple and the Chinese chipmaker Yangtze Memory Technologies Co poses to national security, in an escalation of the political pressure being applied to the iPhone maker over the arrangement. (Financial Times)
Users of the image generating artificial intelligence Dall-E 2 will be allowed to upload faces to the system for the first time, creators OpenAI have said, as competition in the sector heats up. The feature marks the latest relaxation of the company’s rules around how its tool, which can generate high-quality images from a text prompt, can be used. When it first launched in a public beta, OpenAI banned users from generating any images with a realistic face. (The Guardian)
HappyFresh Exits Malaysia and Thailand After Strategic Review: The startup restarted operations in Indonesia on Wednesday. Market for grocery delivery services has soured recently. (Bloomberg)
Apple TV+ is about to have its first major sports moment with Yankees-Red Sox. (CNBC)
Qatar is racing to build hotels, stadiums and even a new sewage system before 1.2 million soccer fans descend on the capital, Doha, for the World Cup in mid-November. Construction is everywhere as laborers come up against a Nov. 1 deadline, already delayed due to the pandemic, supply-chain roadblocks and the scale of the event. The gas-rich country hopes that hosting one of the largest global sporting events will be an unprecedented chance to display its wealth and geopolitical clout. But the impending influx of fans will also put pressure on a nation smaller than the state of Connecticut. For example, when the games begin, non-World-Cup activity is expected to essentially vanish from Doha’s downtown through the end of the year in order to minimize congestion. (City Lab)
Smart Links
Japan to allow visa-free individual tourists from Oct. 11. (Nikkei Asia Review)
Boeing to pay $200mn penalty over misleading investors about 737 Max. (Financial Times)
Extravagant Company Retreats Are Making a Comeback. (Wall Street Journal)
Zelle Emerges as Lawmakers’ Surprise Foe at Bank Hearings. (Bloomberg)
Nearly 6 in 10 donors may give more to charity despite economic fears. (CNBC)
Amtrak pledges net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. (Washington Post)