Weighs

• Bitcoin and gold have experienced a significant price surge, with Bitcoin recording its strongest weekly performance in over three years. • The rally is driven by investors engaging in "debasement trades" following signals of bond market intervention from Scott Bessent. • This market shift has put downward pressure on the U.S. dollar, prompting a flight toward alternative stores of value.

• Major U.S. stock indices declined today, with the Nasdaq 100 leading the losses at -1.76%, followed by the S&P 500 at -0.61% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average at -0.10%. • The downturn is primarily driven by a significant sell-off in chipmaker stocks, which has weighed heavily on tech-heavy indices. • Market sentiment remains cautious as E-mini S&P futures also trended lower, dropping -0.68%.

• The White House is considering anti-transhipment penalties after identifying a "Shadow Transshipment Network" used by China to evade US tariffs. • India has been categorized as a "Tier 1 Diversified Scale Leader," alongside major economies like Canada, Japan, and the EU, where transhipment risks are embedded in legitimate trade. • The US estimates it is losing between $19 billion and $26 billion annually due to these trade evasion tactics.

• Recent Consumer Price Index data showed benign inflation, providing the Federal Reserve with a reprieve as officials weigh potential interest rate increases. • While the report supports a patient approach, it has not fully resolved the internal debate among Fed officials regarding the necessity of further hikes. • The Fed opted to hold rates steady in July, with leadership suggesting that tightening financial conditions in the markets may be performing some of the central bank's tightening work.

• Singapore stocks reached an all-time high on Tuesday following an increase in the city-state's annual growth forecast, driven by an AI-powered economic boost. • Conversely, Southeast Asian currencies declined as oil prices hit one-week highs, fueled by fading hopes for a U.S.-Iran agreement and rising energy costs for net importers. • The Philippine peso dropped up to 0.9% to 61.243 per dollar, while the Indonesian rupiah fell 0.6% to 17,850, offsetting gains from the nomination of Destry Damayanti as central bank chief.

Veteran US health official invoked fifth amendment right amid hostile questioning from Republicans last weekUS politics live – latest updatesA US Senate committee says it obtained a backup copy of Anthony Fauci’s iPhone as it weighed whether to hold the veteran government health official in contempt of Congress for refusing to answer Republicans’ questions amid a hostile inquisition last week.The phone was used by Fauci during his time as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, including his time fronting the first Trump administration’s response to the Covid pandemic in 2020. Continue reading...

• The FDA is currently reviewing Moderna's mRNA-based flu vaccine, which would be the first of its kind to enter the commercial market. • This decision comes amid a climate of skepticism regarding mRNA technology, highlighted by questions from RFK Jr. and recent HHS funding cuts. • The regulatory uncertainty and funding drops have alarmed venture capital firms, threatening the development of mRNA therapies for Lyme disease and rare cancers.

• Asian markets retreated as a broad selloff in AI-related stocks overshadowed optimism regarding the situation in Iran. • South Korea's KOSPI experienced the steepest decline, sinking 4%, while China's CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite fell 0.6% and 0.5% respectively. • Hong Kong's Hang Seng index bucked the trend, edging 0.3% higher driven by a 5% surge in Alibaba following the launch of a new flagship AI model.

• European equities declined during a volatile trading session on Wednesday, with the STOXX 50 index falling 0.5%. • The downturn was primarily driven by losses in technology stocks as investors reacted to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and anticipated US tech earnings. • Market instability is heightened by anticipation of the US Federal Reserve's policy decision scheduled for later in the day.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed more than 500 points higher on Tuesday, as strong corporate earnings optimism offset continued weakness in technology shares. • Investors are closely monitoring the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting, which began Tuesday, to gauge future monetary directions. • While markets generally expect the central bank to keep interest rates unchanged during Wednesday's announcement, significant uncertainty remains regarding the Fed's next move.

• SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics shares declined as a broader chip sector sell-off weighed heavily on Asian stock markets. • The downturn is driven by growing investor skepticism regarding whether the massive billions of dollars invested in AI infrastructure can be justified by actual returns. • This trend highlights a critical shift in market sentiment, as traders now demand concrete evidence of profitability from AI spenders.

• AI industry leaders, including Nvidia and Mistral, are urging U.S. policymakers to avoid implementing broad restrictions on open-weight AI models. • The push comes as Washington considers responses to Chinese AI advancements and concerns over "model distillation," where one model's outputs are used to train another. • Industry representatives argue that distillation is a legitimate, widely used technique for model improvement and validation that mirrors the innovation patterns of the open-source software movement.

• Nvidia and 24 other companies, including chipmakers, cloud operators, and venture funds, have signed an open-weights letter advocating for the accessibility of AI models. • The group is responding to potential U.S. government restrictions and a possible ban on Chinese AI models to protect national security. • Notably, major frontier model developers such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google are absent from the list, as none of the signatories sell access to closed frontier models.

• Samsung is considering a €1 billion investment in Mistral AI, a move that could potentially double the French AI startup's valuation to €20 billion. • The deal aims to create a strategic partnership where Mistral becomes an anchor customer for Samsung's high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips. • In exchange, Mistral would gain preferred access to the critical semiconductor components necessary to power its expanding European data centers.

• Indian billionaire Gautam Adani is considering the launch of a new airline, according to sources cited by The Business Times. • This potential move marks a strategic shift for the Adani Group, which already maintains a significant infrastructure footprint by operating eight airports across India. • The entry of a new major player could reshape the competitive landscape of the Indian aviation market, though no final decision has been made.

• Republicans are seeking ways to force a Senate vote on the SAVE America Act, which would mandate proof of U.S. citizenship for federal election registration. • Former President Donald Trump has publicly pressured lawmakers to pass the measure and send it to his desk before the 2026 midterm elections. • Some Senate conservatives are now considering attaching the act to a short-term government funding bill to ensure its passage.

• The Trump administration is considering new restrictions on Chinese AI models, which may include adding Chinese AI labs to the Entity List and issuing security threat designations. • This move follows the departure of pro-market figures like former senior AI policy advisor Sriram Krishnan, removing internal obstacles to a potential ban. • The proposal has caused concern in Silicon Valley, with figures like David Sacks warning that such regulations could lead to regulatory capture that benefits large U.S. labs while stifling open-source competition.

• The Nasdaq and broader Wall Street markets faced a sharp sell-off on Friday, driven by a rout in chip stocks and concerns over artificial intelligence valuations. • Market sentiment was further dampened by disappointing earnings reports and guidance from Netflix and Intuitive Surgical, as well as a dip in SpaceX shares following a failed Starship launch. • Federal Reserve Vice Chair Phillip Jefferson intensified investor anxiety by suggesting that interest rates may need to rise if inflation does not cool.

Comedian backs LGBTQ+ theatre in ‘David v Goliath’ fight. Follow today’s news live Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Nick Visser with the main action.Comedian Josh Thomas has weighed in on the Divine Playhouse saga, a queer-friendly theatre pop-up in Sydney that has been kicked out by its landlord. Continue reading...

Divine Playhouse promoter and founder says venue faces significant operational, legal and financial challengesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA former church turned arts venue at the centre of a culture war is exploring legal action after receiving a notice from its landlord that forced its organisers to close the space and cancel planned events.Divine Playhouse is facing possible eviction, with its landlord ordering the venue’s organisers, Heaps Gay Events, to stop “engaging in offensive trade”, days after religious groups protested its opening night. Continue reading...

• Chinese AI pioneer DeepSeek has begun preparations for an initial public offering (IPO) and may file as early as this year. • In addition to the public listing, the company is reportedly weighing a new funding round to bolster its capital. • This move is significant as it could mark a landmark debut for China's technology sector amidst a global race for AI supremacy.

• The Trump administration is considering a new framework for the release of advanced open-source AI models to maintain a competitive edge. • This move comes as Chinese rivals gain ground by offering low-cost AI systems and achieving hardware breakthroughs that reduce energy consumption. • The shift highlights a critical intersection of national security and economics, as global businesses increasingly adopt more affordable Chinese alternatives.

• A top European Union official is considering the implementation of age restrictions for children using social media platforms. • The proposal follows a global trend of increasing restrictions driven by growing concerns over how social media affects young, developing brains. • This move highlights the EU's effort to mitigate the psychological and developmental risks associated with early exposure to digital networking.

• China is considering new restrictions to limit overseas access to its most advanced artificial intelligence models, including proprietary designs that have not yet been publicly released. • According to a Reuters report citing three sources, the Beijing government is tightening control mechanisms to protect domestic AI technology and prevent intellectual property leakage. • This move signals an escalation in technology controls as China seeks to safeguard its strategic AI sector from foreign influence or exploitation.

• The Chinese government is reportedly considering restrictions on overseas access to advanced AI models developed by domestic tech giants like Alibaba and ByteDance. • This move treats frontier AI software as a critical national asset, echoing concerns from state media and cybersecurity expert Zhou Hongyi regarding the need for a domestic "Mythos." • Such curbs could disrupt global tech markets by increasing costs and limiting the availability of high-performance AI tools outside of China.

• China is currently evaluating the security risks of open-weight AI models against its national strategy for technological innovation. • The debate follows the release of Zhipu AI’s GLM-5.2, a powerful LLM that has significantly closed the performance gap with global frontier models. • Concerns have intensified after the model demonstrated an ability to autonomously identify cybersecurity vulnerabilities and potentially lower barriers to creating bioweapons.

• U.S. companies are increasingly adopting affordable Chinese AI models to reduce costs, with weekly usage on the Openrouter platform peaking at 46% since February 8. • This trend marks a significant surge from the previous year's 11% average and a low of 4.5% during the first half of 2025, with startups like Lindy fully integrating Chinese tech. • The shift highlights a growing American reliance on foreign AI infrastructure, prompting China to consider restricting access to its most advanced models.

• Chinese authorities have held meetings with leading tech firms over the past month to discuss restricting foreign access to the country's most advanced AI models. • The proposed restrictions would apply to both currently available systems and upcoming models that have not yet been released to the public. • This move signals a tightening of control over strategic technology exports and a desire to prevent sensitive AI capabilities from being utilized by overseas entities.