Economics

• Argentina’s Sluggish August Points to Technical Recession
  Argentina’s economy is on track to enter a technical recession after a lukewarm recovery in August failed to make up for steeper losses in July, adding to President Javier Milei’s challenges ahead of next year’s election.
• Robert Rubin Warns AI Boom Carries Risks for US Economy, Markets
  Former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin warned that the artificial-intelligence investment boom could bring major productivity gains but also create financial and social risks that markets may not be fully pricing.
• Child Predators Turn to Open-Source AI to Make Unlimited Illegal Images
• Brazil Auto Jobs Imperiled by Chinese Imports, Stellantis Says
  Brazil’s rising imports of vehicles partially assembled in China could eventually put thousands of auto-industry jobs at risk in the South American country, the head of Stellantis NV’s business in the region said.
• Houthis Kill Three in Attacks on Two Airports in Saudi Arabia
  The Iran-backed Houthis struck two airports in Saudi Arabia, killing three residents and injuring dozens as the militant group intensifies its attacks on the kingdom while fighting Saudi-backed forces in Yemen.
• US Enlists Trading Partners in Pledge to Address Excess Capacity
  The US joined 14 other economies in pledging to confront excess manufacturing capacity and production in certain sectors, even as the Trump administration looks to punish some of those trading partners over those concerns.
• Fed Used Treasury Funds to Support Yen in Joint Intervention
  The Federal Reserve said on Wednesday that the US participation with Japan in intervening to support the Japanese yen in late July was a Treasury Department move, and that its own funds weren’t involved.
• Embattled Republicans Rebuff Trump as Their Senate Races Tighten
  Republican Senate candidates in key battleground states are more assertively distancing themselves from President Donald Trump and some of his signature policies less than four weeks before the midterm elections.
• What Can Trump Do to Tame Diesel and Gasoline Prices as Midterms Loom?
  President Donald Trump returned to office promising to lower the cost of living for Americans. At the start of his second term, the price of gasoline in the US was, on average, around $3 a gallon. It’s now above $4 — a record high for this time of year — posing a problem for Republicans as they seek to hold onto both chambers of Congress in November’s midterm elections.
• Why Dangote’s Mega-Refinery IPO Is Such a Big Deal for Africa
  A mega-refinery in Nigeria owned by Africa’s richest person is going public, seeking to raise at least $1.6 billion to help fund its expansion. The share sale is set to be the continent’s largest-ever initial public offering. Aliko Dangote has pitched it as an “IPO for the people” and aims to draw in millions of first-time investors by setting the minimum stake in his firm at just $4.
• Lo que debe saber sobre el presunto caso de peste en Siberia
• Why the Houthis Are So Hard to Defeat
  After four years of relative calm, the war pitting Yemen’s Houthi militia against the country’s internationally recognized government and its backer Saudi Arabia is back on. Announcing the start of a full-scale military campaign against the Houthis, the Saudi-led coalition supporting government forces said on social media on Oct. 4 that the goal is to “eliminate” the group.
• China Can Give Europe a Break on EVs
  With Europe and China on the brink of a trade war, Beijing has a stark choice: offer a concession to defuse tension or fan the flames. It should opt for the former, and phasing out an incentive that rewards its carmakers for selling more vehicles overseas is a good place to start.
• AI Is Eating Software and Investors Have Noticed
  The economist Robert Solow’s famous 1987 adage about the computer age — it can be seen everywhere except the productivity statistics — also applies to generative artificial intelligence.
• UK Politics Returns to Old Divide of Tax Cuts Versus Big State
  Ahead of laying out a platform of tax cuts aimed at affluent Britons at her party’s annual convention, opposition leader Kemi Badenoch told journalists: “We are going back to the authentic Conservative Party that people knew and loved.”
• Fed Minutes Show Hawkish Unity Behind September Rate Hike
  (Bloomberg) - All 19 Federal Reserve officials backed the decision in September to raise interest rates, with many supporting the move to guard against the risk of intensifying inflation pressures.
• Canada Weighs Future of Foreign Homebuyer Ban Before Expiry
  Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne says the federal government is mulling its options ahead of the expiry of Canada’s foreign homebuyers ban at the end of the year.
• Serbia Opposition Cries Foul Weeks Before Tense Early Elections
  Allegations of unfair election conditions are rife in Serbia ahead of an Oct. 25 snap ballot for parliament in which the Balkan nation’s dominant politician Aleksandar Vucic and his ruling Progressive Party face their biggest challenge in more than a decade since coming to power.
• French Finance Ministry Says No Change in Bond Issuance Strategy
  France’s finance ministry said it is not changing its strategy for bond issuance and will continue to use the flexibility it has at auctions.