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The World
President Joe Biden has ordered officials to prepare for more releases from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve as he approved the sale of 15mn barrels of oil in December and established a plan to replenish the dwindling emergency stockpile. Senior administration officials said Biden would make the announcements on Wednesday during a speech on his efforts to tame high petrol prices, which have been a political liability for Democrats ahead of next month’s midterm elections. (Financial Times)
Iran has promised to provide Russia with surface to surface missiles, in addition to more drones, two senior Iranian officials and two Iranian diplomats told Reuters, a move that is likely to infuriate the United States and other Western powers. A deal was agreed on Oct. 6 when Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, two senior officials from Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards and an official from the Supreme National Security Council visited Moscow for talks with Russia about the delivery of the weapons. (Reuters)
China has made a decision to seize Taiwan on a “much faster timeline” than previously thought, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, shortly after China’s leader reiterated his intent to take the island by force if necessary. “There has been a change in the approach from Beijing toward Taiwan in recent years,” Blinken said in an event at Stanford University in California. (Bloomberg)
North Korea fires shells as 'warning' to South Korea: The artillery shells fell into the maritime buffer zone separating the two Koreas, the South's military said. Seoul has just started its annual military drills to better counter provocations from the North. (Deutsche Welle)
Chicago Plans to Speed Up Vacant Lot Sales in Bid to Curb Crime: Windy City has 4,000 lots that are clean and ready for sale Planned sales could also boost number of affordable homes. (City Lab)
Flooded Australian towns ready levees, sandbags ahead of more rain. (Reuters)
Economy
Federal Reserve officials have coalesced around a plan to raise interest rates by three-quarters of a point next month as policymakers grow alarmed by the staying power of rapid price increases — and increasingly worried that inflation is now feeding on itself. Such concerns could also prompt the Fed to raise rates at least slightly higher next year than previously forecast as officials face two huge choices at their coming meetings: when to slow rapid rate increases and when to stop them altogether. (New York Times)
The Federal Reserve can’t pause its campaign of monetary policy tightening once its benchmark interest rate reaches 4.5% to 4.75% if “underlying” inflation is still accelerating, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said. “Core services inflation -- which is the stickiest of all -- keeps climbing, and we keep getting surprised on the upside,” Kashkari said. (Bloomberg)
Goldman Sachs is so dependent on its investment bank that a slump in deal making sent third-quarter profit down 43%—by far the steepest slide among its big-bank peers. A broad restructuring is meant to change that: Goldman will fold investment banking and trading into one unit and merge asset and wealth management into another—giving it a higher profile at the same time. (Wall Street Journal)
Billionaire MacKenzie Scott to Donate Nearly $85 Million to Girl Scouts of the USA: The money is the largest donation from a single individual in the Girl Scouts’ history, according to the organization. (Wall Street Journal)
Technology
Netflix adds more than 2.4 million subscribers, reveals details about password-sharing crackdown. Netflix beat third-quarter expectations on the top and bottom lines Tuesday. The company said it added 2.41 million net subscribers during the quarter, higher than the 1 million it had forecast. Netflix will begin to crack down on password sharing next year. (CNBC)
Amazon Will Stream an NFL Game on Black Friday Next Year: Deal deepens partnership between football league and Amazon, which this season started streaming ‘Thursday Night Football’. (Wall Street Journal)
Apple is cutting production of the iPhone 14 Plus less than two weeks after its debut. Apple has told at least one manufacturer in China to immediately halt production of iPhone 14 Plus components while its procurement team reevaluates demand for the product, which Apple has positioned as a cheaper alternative to its more expensive iPhone Pro models but equipped with a large screen, according to one of the people. Two downstream Apple suppliers in China that rely on the parts and assemble them into larger modules are also cutting their production 70% and 90% respectively. (The Information)
Apple today unveiled the new generation of 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro, powered by the latest M2 Apple Silicon chips. The M2 chip made its debut in the 2022 MacBook Air and 2022 13-inch MacBook Pro, and this update brings that same performance to Apple’s lineup of pro tablets as well. Alongside the M2 performance boost, the iPad Pros can now detect when the Apple Pencil is hovering above the display. This means UI elements can expand and respond as the user approaches the screen with the stylus. Apple says the M2’s 8-core CPU is up to fifteen percent faster than the M1 CPU. The GPU is up to 35 percent faster. The M2 chip also allows the iPad Pro to capture ProPres video for the first time. The new iPad Pro also bring faster Wi-Fi networking, with support for the latest Wi-Fi 6E standards. This means downloads can be up to 2x faster when connecting to a 6E network. Cellular models now support more 5G bands for better worldwide coverage. (9to5Mac)
Apple announces an Apple TV 4K with A15, HDR10+ support, and an updated Siri Remote with USB-C, starting at $129 for preorder now and shipping on November 4. (MacRumors)
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Smart Links
Pakistan seeks billions in loans for ‘mega undertakings’ after floods. (Financial Times)
British podcast listeners listen to 6.5 hours a week. (Podnews)
Utah governor wants schools to ban cell phones in classrooms. (District Administration Magazine)
Netflix VP of Gaming Mike Verdu says the company is “seriously exploring a cloud gaming offering” and plans to open a new gaming studio in Southern California. (TechCrunch)
Venture FOMO Returns as Investors Chase Artificial Intelligence Deals. (The Information)