ABN Amro reported quarterly profit that beat analysts’ estimates thanks to higher fees and growth in lending income, prompting the Dutch bank to raise the outlook for its biggest revenue source

Bond investors at firms including ABN AMRO Investment Solutions and Brandywine Global Investment Management are voicing skepticism about mounting speculation that Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh is poised to raise interest rates

Europe's institutional giants are officially joining forces on-chain! 🇪🇺🏦 Ten major European financial institutions have launched Regulated Layer One (RL1), an equal-governance blockchain cooperative designed specifically for tokenized assets, digital money, and capital market settlement. The latest KuCoin blog breaks down the launch of this massive institutional utility: 🏛️ A Jointly Governed Utility: Headquartered in Luxembourg, RL1 gives founding members like ABN AMRO, DekaBank, and Natixis CIB equal voting rights to prevent single-entity network dominance. 📈 Proven Transaction Record: Built on SWIAT's DLT infrastructure, the network goes live having already processed over €700 million across 50+ live transactions. 🔗 Ending Market Fragmentation: Moving beyond isolated bank pilots, RL1 creates a neutral, shared ledger to scale institutional tokenization and support broader European Central Bank digital finance initiatives. 🎯 Targeting Real-World Assets: The permissioned architecture is strictly optimized for capital markets—enabling immediate bond tokenization, RWA settlement, and near-real-time collateral mobility. The transition from experimental blockchain pilots to scalable, integrated capital market infrastructure has officially begun. Read the full breakdown here:

Top Overnight News Japan’s Sanae Takaichi said the government may review spending and revenue plans if bond yields move unexpectedly. BBG The EU’s preparing measures to limit imports of Chinese hybrid vehicles into the bloc, people familiar said. One option is to impose a levy on imports above a certain volume. BBG India’s central bank raised interest rates for the first time in more than three years as the Middle East conflict kept energy prices high, hurting the rupee and fueling inflation fears. The Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy committee voted unanimously to raise its benchmark repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.50%, ending a pause spanning four consecutive meetings. WSJ According to the Saudi aviation authority, Saudi Arabia’s airports in Jazan and Najran were targeted in two attacks, as hostilities between Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis and the kingdom grow. CNBC Leading oil executives warned that the world is running out of stopgaps to manage the impact of the Iran war as the conflict extends into an eighth month. Producers and consumers have pulled virtually every lever available to adjust to the diminished flows, including reductions in demand and large releases from strategic petroleum reserves. BBG The global energy crisis triggered by the Middle East conflict has entered a new phase because of a shortage of tankers to move crude around the world, according to the head of the world’s largest independent oil trader. Vitol chief executive Russell Hardy said that while more oil was now flowing out of the Gulf, there was a fresh bottleneck as buyers struggled to secure ships. FT The US is gearing up for another quarter of bumper corporate earnings spurred by lavish spending on the AI build-out. The robust growth should help Wall Street shrug off worries about the durability of the AI trade against the backdrop of rising borrowing costs but may do little to allay concerns about how reliant the record-high stock market has become on a small group of technology names. FT The French government desperately needs a return to strong growth if it is to contain its rapidly rising debts. But uncertainty about whether the country can fix its finances has itself started to weigh on economic activity. France only narrowly avoided a recession in the second quarter, as activity stagnated after extreme heat hit agricultural output and the energy price shock from the war in Iran continued to squeeze households and businesses. WSJ SpaceX is in talks to raise $40 billion to buy Nvidia chips, people familiar said, in one of the biggest-ever debt financings for AI buildout as the borrowing binge accelerates. BBG Clients have certainly re-engaged in tech as a result of this macro uncertainty. Chart 2 shows that net exposure on our prime book to Mag7 as a % of Total US exposure is near 22%, which is the highest on record since the start of 2022. Our prime data shows that US Tech stocks in September had their largest % buying in a month since Feb ’25 (and were the only sector net bought on our prime book in the month of September). H/T Shawn Tuteja Iran has increased the pace of attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, just as oil shipments through the world’s most important energy chokepoint approach prewar levels. BBG US 30-year yields rose 5bps to 5.7%, the highest since 2002, while 10-year yields climbed 4bps to 5.3%; traders extended their short bets against US government bonds. BBG Germany’s industrial production for Aug came in ahead of expectations at +2% M/M (vs. the Street +0.5%). BBG Taiwan’s CPI overshoots the consensus at +2.73% headline (vs. the Street +2.4%) and +2.52% core (vs. the Street +2.45%). BBG Iraq devalued its currency by about 13% versus the dollar as Hormuz disruption hits oil exports. BBG The Dutch government plans to cut its stake in ABN Amro to 10.5% from 20.7%. BBG US VP Vance said that Iran must make a "meaningful" reduction in its nuclear enrichment capacity to satisfy US demands and end the war. RTRS US officials have formally requested additional information from Russia and are coordinating with governments around the world, according to the State Department spokesperson. Newsquawk France's government is willing to bypass parliament to pass billions in cuts. WSJ US equities have decoupled from the ex-AI market: since Aug 27, the SPX is +1.28% while SPX ex-AI is -5.19%, with the rolling 30-day gap near its widest since January 2023. GS FactSet reports 26Q3 set a record for the largest number of positive pre-announcements, led by Tech, Industrials and Healthcare. JPM

🚨🇨🇳 PENTAGON SHOCKED: CHINA SENDS MISSILE-ARMED TRAINER JETS TO INTERCEPT PHILIPPINE AIRCRAFT China has found a cheaper and more sustainable way to counter Philippine air patrols around Huangyan Dao: deploy missile-armed JL-10 trainer jets instead of wasting valuable flight hours on heavyweight fighters. For the first time, the PLA has publicly shown armed JL-10s taking the lead in driving Philippine aircraft away from the area. 🔸 Footage released by the PLA Southern Theater Command showed at least three twin-engine JL-10s carrying PL-5 short-range air-to-air missiles. 🔸 The jets tracked and locked onto three Philippine aircraft — a BN-2A Islander, C-208 and PA-31T — as Chinese pilots ordered them to leave the airspace around Huangyan Dao. 🔸 The Philippine aircraft fly far slower than modern fighters. The JL-10’s low-speed handling allows it to remain close to them for identification, monitoring and repeated warnings without struggling to maintain position. 🔸 Although developed primarily to train fighter pilots, the JL-10 can also conduct light combat missions and carry live weapons. It therefore provides far more firepower than the mission requires without consuming the flight hours of a frontline J-16. 🔸 Exact PLA operating costs are not public, but a smaller trainer should burn less fuel and place significantly less wear on its engines and airframe than a heavyweight fighter. 🔸 J-16 fighters and an H-6K bomber remained part of the wider operation, giving China heavier options if the situation escalated while the JL-10s handled the close interception. The Philippines is a U.S. treaty ally and plays a central role in Washington’s strategy of applying constant pressure on China in the South China Sea. But Beijing no longer needs to answer every cheap Philippine patrol with one of its most valuable combat aircraft. By assigning routine interceptions to missile-armed trainers while keeping heavier aircraft behind them, China can maintain pressure around Huangyan Dao at a lower cost and preserve its frontline fighters for more serious threats. Has China found a smarter way to counter Philippine patrols without wasting frontline fighter hours?

"Are the prompts secure? Is this being transferred to you? If it was so valuable, if I can make you a bn dollars, wouldn't I say, I'll make you a bn dollars and I want 30%? Why are they charging for tokens if it's so valuable? " - Palantir CEO Alex Karp