A Lovely Night✨ 🔗 🔗 🔗 🔗 #BOYNEXTDOOR# #보이넥스트도어# #BND# #ADIOS# #ADIOS_Challenge#

Axios: Pre-Trump GOP targets Vance ahead of 2028. WSJ opinion, long critical of Trump, now challenges VP JD Vance as his presumed heir—citing ambition over governing, thin-skinned personality, naivety on the Iran deal, and ties to Tucker Carlson. —— Critics fall into three circles: 1. Pro-Israel conservatives 2.Traditional Republicans seeking a return to the pre-Trump party 3.The Murdoch empire (Rupert Murdoch repeatedly clashed with Trump in 2016 and 2024)

🎉 Congratulations, Basalt Health--$20M Series A raised to speed post-acute admissions. “Basalt is tackling a massive healthcare challenge with a rare combination of clinical impact, operational value, and rapid adoption. The company’s AI-powered platform is becoming essential infrastructure for care teams, and we’re thrilled to continue our partnership with Ben Hackett and the Basalt team to transform how patients move into post-acute care.” -Blake Wu, NEA 📰 Exclusive coverage via @BrockEWTurner / @axios:

Top Overnight News Efforts this week by Qatari mediators to broker a diplomatic breakthrough between the U.S. and Iran have made little progress, with neither side willing to budge, according to three sources familiar with the talks. The stalemate bolsters the belief on both sides that a renewed military conflict is becoming more likely. U.S. officials think President Trump could order a return to major combat operations after the midterms. Axios Donald Trump has held crisis talks with advisers over whether to impose a diesel export ban or take other steps to contain a fuel crisis that threatens to derail his Republican Party’s midterm election campaign. RTRS Donald Trump endorsed using outside auditors to assess the safety of AI systems in a pact with Silicon Valley leaders that sidesteps new government rules. BBG Abu Dhabi is pursuing a $300 billion infrastructure push to reduce reliance on the Strait of Hormuz and curb Iran’s leverage. BBG Trump released the White House Accord on Super Intelligence following the meeting with AI executives on Tuesday, while the document noted that every company is responsible for developing its own technology safely and each should apply four layers of controls and audits, including implementing strong internal controls to oversee model capabilities and alignment. Democratic Lawmaker Raskin has reportedly sent letters to Amazon, Google, Meta and Oracle, requesting information regarding NDAs signed with government officials in relation to AI data center projects: WSJ. China’s economy showed signs of improvement at the end of the third quarter, with official and private gauges of factory, services and construction activity all picking up. WSJ China’s latest economic stimulus package appears designed to keep economic growth on target rather than deliver a broad revival, leaving investors waiting for more aid to address the country’s underlying demand weakness. BBG DeepSeek released software developed with Huawei to program AI chips, highlighting their push to challenge Nvidia. BBG Inflation overshot estimates in France and Italy with energy remaining the main driver. Prices jumped 3.4% in France, the fastest in more than two years, while in Italy they advanced by 4.1%, the most since 2023. BBG President Donald Trump could unveil plans as soon as Wednesday to tap South Korea's pledged strategic investment package for about $54 billion to build a liquefied natural gas facility in Alaska ‌and several other major US projects. RTRS Trump told Axios that Jay Clayton would be a good AI czar.

2026, day 239 Good morning from Asia. ‘New US aircraft carrier reportedly set to deploy to the Middle East’ (AFP); ‘Trump seeks to sanction Tehran into submission rather than renew MOU, sources say’ (ToI); ‘Iran's Hormuz leverage risks becoming a 'strategic liability' — will ultimately backfire, says Saudi Prince’ (Gulf News); ‘Hormuz Oil Flows Rising as Gulf Giants' Ramp Up Accelerates’ (BBG); ‘Iran to draft conditions to open Hormuz following mediator requests’ (AJ); ‘OpenAI, Anthropic issue dire cyber threat warning’ (Axios); ‘Meta disrupts Iran-linked AI operation targeting politicians, journalists’ (Axios); ‘Saudi FM calls for OIC reform, stronger Islamic cooperation and solidarity’ (Al Arabiya); ‘CIA boss Moscow trip was about Iran, not the Baltics, ex-Estonian president tells Euronews’ (Euronews); ‘Top White House Aides Were in the Dark on Ratcliffe Russia Trip’ (WSJ); ‘Putin sees U.S. as weakened by Iran war, intelligence reports say’ (WaPo); ‘Trump to Axios: I'm not worried Russia will attack NATO’ (Axios); ‘Russia says UK ‘playing with fire’’ (Guardian); ‘Putin’s ‘little green men’ could attack Nato from within’ (Telegraph) - “Intelligence experts fear Russia could reprise Crimea playbook with Estonia incursion to test alliance”; ‘The Russia-Ukraine Air War Has Entered a New, Deadlier Phase’ (WSJ); ‘US Patriot missile stocks in Europe are 'beyond critical' due to Iran war, officials’ (AP); ‘Pentagon awards contract in race to field cheaper interceptors, missiles’ (Defense News) - “less than 1/5 cost of Patriot missile”; ‘US rebukes Europeans over ‘sea of red’ military gaps’ (FT); ‘Pentagon policy chief tells NATO allies US wants European-led defense of continent’ (Reuters); ‘Pentagon's NATO review preparing troop options for Hegseth by November 6’ (Reuters); ‘Poland rules out hosting nuclear weapons despite Russian threat’ (Politico); ‘EU budget must bankroll Europe’s independence, von der Leyen says’ (Politico); ‘Trump Signs Executive Order to Rename Lake Ontario ‘Lake America’’ (WSJ); ‘Lutnick claims Canada pulled out of trade talks due to the Quebec election, Alberta referendum’ (National Post); ‘Venezuela Weighs OPEC Exit as US Discusses Stake in Oil Fields’ (BBG); ‘Uefa prepares criminal complaint against Fifa’s Infantino’ (FT); ‘On Taiwan, China Is Pursuing ‘Unification Without Formal Unification'’ (National Review); ‘Australia's Pacific rivalry with China heats up after Beijing's ICBM test’ (Nikkei Asia); ‘Why China Can’t Fully Capitalize on Trump’s Global Disruption’ (BBG); In geoeconomics, ‘U.S. close to striking “massive" deal for Venezuelan oil fields’ (Axios); ‘Trump to meet refiners, fuel retailers as Iran war boosts gas prices ahead of midterms, sources say’ (Reuters); ‘Greer Suggests US Needs to Consider Bans on Canadian Goods’ (BBG); ‘Backing Off French Issue Could Restart U.S. Trade Talks, Canadian Official Says’ (NYT); ‘Ottawa reverses fish tariff plan over concerns it could hit Canada’s seafood processing industry’ (Globe & Mail); ‘China must deliver on trade or EU will act, warns von der Leyen’ (Euractiv); ‘Chinese executives may join Xi’s US trip, as trade truce extension ‘almost certain’’ (SCMP); ‘Trump hints at sanctions on Chinese banks over Iran ties before Xi’s expected US visit’ (SCMP); ‘Brazil’s rare earths will not loosen China’s magnet grip this decade, researchers say’ (SCMP); In markets, ‘Bessent’s Moves Test Boundaries Between Treasury and Fed’ (WSJ); ‘Kevin Warsh Has to Pick a Side in the Bond-Market Battle’ (WSJ); ‘Fed's Warsh faces challenge whether inflation is a problem or not’ (Reuters); ‘Don’t draw the wrong conclusion from Treasury yields’ (FT); ‘Thailand Central Bank Chief Takes On Problems Rates Can’t Fix’ (BBG); ‘France replaces Italy as European bond investors’ biggest worry’ (FT); ‘The $19trn reason this housing slump will run longer than you think’ (AFR); ‘Bitcoin and Gold Funds Draw $7 Billion Amid Scarcity Trade’ (BBG)

2026, day 262 Good morning from and goodbye to Australia on a sleepy Sunday - but 2026 never sleeps. Not when the FT is talking about “the end of human existence” and Bloomberg says watch 50’s monster movies to understand AI. GEOPOLITICS: 🌍🔥 ‘Iran says it has conveyed conditions to re-engage in talks, end war with US’ (JPost) - “The conditions include ending the war on all fronts, unfreezing Iranian funds, and ending the US naval blockade”; ‘US working to keep Strait of Hormuz open and secure: CENTCOM chief’ (Al Arabiya); ‘Yemen’s Houthis Claim Attack on Saudi Capital After Fuel Depot Burns at Airport’ (WSJ); ‘Houthis say they targeted ‘sensitive sites’ in Riyadh, oil sites in Saudi port city Yanbu’ (AFP); ‘Houthis eye Yemen’s oil-rich east after seizing Red Sea coast’ (ToI); ‘Syria’s military is rebuilding, but foreign influence may slow security progress’ (FDD); ‘Al Jazeera fires 24 Gaza staff amid US lawsuit alleging Hamas, Islamic Jihad ties’ (Ynet); ‘Somali piracy rise tests China’s long-running Gulf of Aden mission’ (SCMP); ‘India Is Again Squeezed Between the Threat of Trump Tariffs and Russian Oil’ (NYT); ‘Turkey: We proposed Russia and Ukraine halt attacks in Black Sea, awaiting response’ (Reuters); ‘Putin accuses Ukraine of interfering in Russian parliamentary election’ (Reuters); ‘EU Allocates €100bn for Ukraine in 2028-34 Budget Plan’ (Kyiv Post); ‘Greenland, Denmark say Trump deal won't compromise sovereignty’ (Reuters); ‘Danes mock Trump for ‘status quo’ Greenland deal’ (Telegraph); ‘Trump’s Greenland deal aims to boost leverage at Xi summit, midterms: analysts’ (SCMP); ‘Carney’s Euro trip inflames Trump tensions’ (The Hill); ‘The economics of Alberta separation would be disastrous for everyone’ (National Post); ‘US state department under pressure to disclose Venezuelan oil takings’ (FT); ‘Inside Machado’s Plan to Return to Venezuela and Revive Its Democracy’ (WSJ) - “The Nobel laureate is planning her comeback from exile in Panama, setting up a clash with the U.S.-backed interim government”; ‘Koizumi and U.S. defense chief Hegseth agree to boost security cooperation’ (Japan Times); ‘Is Africa becoming a 'testing ground' for Chinese power projection?’ (SCMP); ‘Defense firms ride export wave, but supply chain stabilization poses new challenges’ (Korea Times); ‘‘Inspired by Israel? North Korea showcases mass production of suicide drones resembling Harop’ (Ynet); ‘The Rise of A.I. Is Raising Threats From Drones, Police Group Warns’ (NYT); GEOECONOMICS: 🌍✈️⛴️ 🚛 ‘World Running Short of Supertankers Threatens Long-Haul Oil Flow’ (BBG); ‘EU fuel prices hit records as ECB experts see diesel margins peak in October’ (Euronews); ‘US, China Trade Teams Set to Huddle in New York on AI, Iran’ (BBG); ‘Trump Announces an ‘AI Force’ After Industry Sounded Alarm’ (WSJ) - “The president calls for federal oversight of the industry as opposition toward AI grows among voters”; ‘Trump wants a new AI czar and an "AI Force" modeled on Space Force’ (Axios); The White House has officially characterized systematic abuses of the H-1B visa program as a "national security threat”: POLITICS: 🗳️ ‘‘There are no decent parties left’: Sham elections underscore Putin’s grip on Russia’ (Politico); ‘How Germany’s far right learned to put on a smile to win elections’ (Politico) - “The AfD is wrapping its dark vision of national decline in a package of hope and optimism”; ‘In Dubbo, the migration reality is a far cry from the political debate’ (AFR) - “Big regional employers rely heavily on foreign workers and scoff at One Nation’s view that unemployed Australians can take their place”; ‘Pip benefits bill set to double by 2030’ (The Times) - “The budget for disability payments is on track to reach £45bn a year, bigger than all but three government departments”; MARKETS: 📈 ‘How should investors position for the robot apocalypse?’ (FT) - “The end of human existence might be bad for financial markets”;

2026, day 235 Good morning from Asia. ‘Iran’s Top Politicians Urge an End to the War’ (WSJ); ‘Tehran says US sanctions ‘declaration of war' on all nations’ (AJ); ‘Iran says any country joining new US sanctions would be ‘considered an enemy’’ (AFP); ‘Iranian hackers shut down UK power plant’ (Telegraph); ‘Iran grants permission for a number of Iraqi oil tankers to pass through Hormuz’ (Reuters); ‘Saudis Shuttle Oil North On Tankers To Evade Houthis’ (BBG); ‘Israel must stop Erdogan's military expansion before Turkey reaches its borders - opinion’ (JPost); ‘Katz says Israel directly warned 'highest levels' of Syrian regime before giving IDF green light to strike air base’ (ToI); ‘US envoy suggests Israeli strike in Syria was election ploy aimed at 'baiting' Turkey into clash’ (ToI); ‘Time to question Israel’s warnings of a new Sunni axis’ (Ynet); ‘On anniversary of gas attack, Syria asks to join anti-chemical weapons partnership’ (ToI); ‘Putin says Ukraine opened 'Pandora's box' with strikes on economic targets’ (Reuters); ‘Germany plans a €12B missile program to deter Putin’ (Politico); ‘Macron pledges air defence as 13 killed in Russia, Ukraine strikes’ (Euractiv); ‘Spain rejects Morocco's call for talks on Ceuta and Melilla sovereignty’ (Euronews); ‘Chinese research centre near MoD site is ‘enormous concern’, says ex-spy chief’ (Telegraph); ‘How Pacific nations walk a tightrope between Western security and Chinese trade’ (SCMP); ‘Mainland Chinese research ship spotted near Taiwan’s largest naval base’ (SCMP); ‘Why China may have little to lose as ‘weakened’ Trump seeks North Korea talks’ (SCMP); ‘North Korea says record-high Japan defense budget would risk ‘turmoil’’ (AFP); ‘China's rise lays bare the aging of the U.S.-Japan alliance’ (Nikkei Asia) - “Partnership approaching 75th year faces challenges in military capacity, strategic focus”; ‘Lula turns to Donald Trump as unlikely ally in Brazil’s clash with Marco Rubio’ (FT); ‘Hit by Trump tariffs, Quebec loses appetite for quick separation from Canada’ (Reuters); ‘U.S.-sanctioned ICC head warns against ‘demise of international rule of law’’ (AFP); In geoeconomics, ‘Global oil inventories on the decline again amid Hormuz stalemate’ (Nikkei Asia); ‘China's NewNew Shipping Line Pushes Deeper Into Arctic With First Murmansk Container Run’ (gCaptain); ‘Panama Canal Draught Restrictions Set to Add to Congestion Chaos’ (The Loadstar); ‘US Sanctions Fishing Fleet Accused of Shipping Cocaine to Mexico’ (BBG); ‘U.S. Imposes 50% Tariffs on Some Canadian Goods After Last-Ditch Talks Fail’ (WSJ); 'Mark Carney says Canada is now ‘at war’ with US over trade’ (FT); ‘Threat to Quebec's French language, identity key reason Carney ends trade talks with Trump’ (Montreal Gazette); ‘U.S. Economy Could Feel the Sting From Trade War With Canada’ (NYT); ‘Canada sets retaliatory tariffs in response to 50% U.S. levies as trade talks fail’ (WaPo); ‘As premiers rally behind Carney in trade dispute, Alberta’s Smith questions retaliation plan’ (Globe and Mail); ‘Things are about to get verrrrrry ugly: The pain will be felt on both sides of the border’ (National Post); ‘Nvidia Is Spending $6 Billion to Build a Powerful U.S. Alternative to Chinese AI’ (WSJ); In politics, ‘Rising data center backlash shakes up midterm races’ (The Hill); ‘Federal judge rules against Trump’s 75-country visa ban’ (The Hill); ‘Trump: I’ll be impeached if I lose the midterms’ (Telegraph) - “US president warns Republicans they will ‘lose everything’ if Democrats take control of Congress”; ‘Burnham to send ‘mansion tax police’ to assess home values’ (Telegraph); ‘Fedorov decries corruption in Defense Ministry, doubles down on calls for elections’ (Kyiv Independent); In markets, ‘Oil markets are tuning out Trump's "truths"’ (Axios); ‘The Bank of England is costing the taxpayer billions. It must stop’ (Telegraph)

A TON OF THINGS HAPPENED IN THE STOCK MARKET TODAY. Here's a full recap: 1. OpenAI told investors its annualized revenue was approaching $50B at the end of September, according to the Financial Times, below the roughly $70B figure that had been widely reported last month. The discrepancy reportedly reflects differences in accounting methods, with Anthropic including revenue generated through cloud partners such as AWS and Google Cloud, while OpenAI does not. Investors had attempted to adjust OpenAI’s figures to make them comparable with Anthropic’s, contributing to the higher estimate. The report weighed on AI infrastructure sentiment, with several semiconductor stocks falling roughly 5–7% as investors reassessed near-term AI spending expectations. OpenAI declined to comment. 2. The September FOMC meeting minutes showed that most Federal Reserve officials expect another interest rate hike by year-end, reinforcing the central bank’s higher-for-longer stance. All 19 Fed officials supported the September rate hike, reflecting unanimous concern that inflation remains above target. The minutes also said almost all policymakers believe inflation risks remain tilted to the upside, with several officials warning that the accelerating AI investment boom could increase demand faster than supply, adding to inflationary pressures. 3. Elon Musk said today that he sees an extraordinary long-term future for $SPCX SpaceX, writing: “This will sound super crazy, but I see a path to SpaceX being worth orders of magnitude more than the current Earth economy.” 4. Goldman Sachs upgraded Palantir $PLTR to Buy with a $230 price target, while Barclays initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $265 price target. Goldman argued that Palantir’s total addressable market is entering another step-function expansion, driven by the rise of sovereign AI, bespoke enterprise AI applications, and the company’s increasing verticalization strategy. The firm also highlighted Palantir’s Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) model as a key competitive advantage, noting that its tight feedback loop between customer deployments and product development has become so refined that Palantir is now able to automate portions of the FDE workflow with AI-powered FDEs. Goldman believes these dynamics further strengthen Palantir’s long-term competitive position as enterprise AI adoption accelerates. 5. Zeta $ZETA unveiled AthenaOS, an enterprise intelligence operating system designed to dynamically organize AI, applications, and workflows around a specific business objective by combining proprietary enterprise knowledge with intelligence from the Zeta Data Cloud. The company also introduced Athena MCP, which allows Athena’s intelligence to plug directly into existing enterprise tools, including ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, while preserving enterprise data governance and control. Zeta also launched the Athena Inference Model (AIM), a suite of specialized AI models built with Fireworks using NVIDIA Nemotron, and said it has begun developing a specialized AI chip and supporting data center infrastructure with a leading semiconductor partner through a capital-light approach. AthenaOS is currently in limited internal beta, with a public beta planned later this year and general availability targeted for Q1 2027. 6. Starbucks $SBUX has reportedly explored a potential takeover of Chipotle $CMG in what would rank among the largest restaurant acquisitions ever. A combination could significantly accelerate Chipotle’s international expansion by leveraging Starbucks’ global network of more than 41,000 stores, established licensing partners, and extensive real estate relationships. At the same time, any transaction would face substantial financing, integration, and execution challenges given the size of the deal and the complexity of combining two of the world's largest restaurant brands. 7. The top 10 most active options today by contracts traded were $NVDA with 2.9M contracts, $TSLA with 1.3M contracts, $INTC with 1.2M contracts, $MU with 1.1M contracts, $AAPL with 1.0M contracts, $SPCX with 1.0M contracts, $PLTR with 927K contracts, $AMZN with 635K contracts, $ORCL with 635K contracts, and $IREN with 612K contracts. 8. The U.S. Pentagon has reportedly instructed the military to complete preparations for a potential resumption of major combat operations against Iran, according to Axios. U.S. and Israeli sources told the outlet that renewed operations could occur before the midterm elections, while a White House official said President Trump “has all options available at any time.” The report also said Trump's national security team met at Camp David on Friday to discuss possible scenarios for restarting large-scale military operations. The developments come as the administration continues weighing both military and diplomatic options in its approach toward Iran. 9. Broadcom $AVGO is reportedly seeking more than $50B in financing for OpenAI’s custom AI chip program, according to the Wall Street Journal, with Apollo and Blackstone among the firms approached to participate. The financing could support several gigawatts of custom AI chip capacity, with a transaction targeted before year-end, though discussions remain preliminary and the size could change. OpenAI’s internally developed chip initiative, known as “Nexus,” includes its first two generations, “Jalapeño” and “Serrano,” and builds on the companies’ previously announced plan to deploy 10 GW of custom AI chips using Broadcom’s networking technology between the second half of 2026 and 2029. 10. Bitcoin $BTC fell to around $81,000 down roughly 3% on the day and about 6–8% from the $87,000 highs reached earlier this week, with an intraday low near $80,300. The selloff appears to be a broad risk-off move rather than the result of a single headline, driven by Brent crude above $105, rising inflation concerns, expectations for another Fed rate hike after the September FOMC minutes and comments from Governor Christopher Waller, and a 10-year Treasury yield near 5.3%. Pressure was compounded by roughly $485M in U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF outflows on October 7, approximately $1–1.16B in crypto liquidations, mostly long positions, and blockchain data showing wallets linked to the U.S. government moving about 12,267 BTC from a seized Bitfinex wallet, adding to concerns about potential future supply. Altcoins underperformed Bitcoin throughout the session, consistent with a broader leverage-driven unwind across the crypto market. 11. Since the start of 2025, U.S. nonfarm payrolls have been revised lower in 16 of the last 20 months, removing a cumulative 793,000 jobs from previously reported figures, an average downward revision of roughly 39,650 jobs per month. The latest revisions reduced July and August payrolls by a combined 60,000 jobs, continuing a pattern of consistent downward revisions that has persisted since 2023. If that average revision were applied to the initially reported 29,000 jobs added in September, it would imply a decline of roughly 10,650 jobs instead. That would mark the third monthly contraction in payrolls during 2026, following declines of 156,000 in February and 10,000 in July. 12. SpaceX $SPCX has agreed to acquire Grain Management’s nationwide portfolio of 800 MHz low-band spectrum licenses, a move Elon Musk called “the last critical piece of the spectrum puzzle” needed for Starlink to become a major U.S. mobile carrier. The company plans to combine its satellite network with a terrestrial mobile network, using the newly acquired low-band spectrum alongside Starlink’s existing 2 GHz holdings to improve indoor coverage and expand service into areas with weak or no cellular reception. Separately, the FCC approved a new constellation of 15,000 SpaceX satellites for direct-to-device mobile services, further advancing Starlink’s wireless ambitions. The announcement pressured telecom stocks after hours, with AT&T $T falling 6.75%, Verizon $VZ down 5%, and T-Mobile $TMUS declining 5.4%, as investors weighed the prospect of a new nationwide competitor. The spectrum acquisition remains subject to FCC approval and other customary closing conditions, with financial terms undisclosed. WALL STREET IS THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH.