Is Uber Weaponizing Labor Unions To Slow Robotaxi Rivals

Ride-hailing giant Uber is reportedly aligning with drivers' unions in several cities to slow robotaxi deployments and promote regulations requiring "hybrid networks" that combine autonomous vehicles with human drivers, according to the Financial Times.

The unholy alliance is taking shape in states and cities including New Jersey and Washington, DC, where Uber and organized labor are pushing back against the rapid expansion of autonomous taxi services.

In New Jersey, Uber lobbyists proposed requiring any platform offering robotaxi services to ensure that human drivers provide at least 85% of rides during a three-year pilot program. The ride-hailing company, led by CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, has also joined unions in opposing autonomous vehicle legislation in Washington, claiming that the proposed permitting regime could lock out smaller competitors and platforms such as Uber.

Uber is pitching its effort to slow the rollout of fully autonomous taxis amid mounting competitive pressure from Alphabet-owned Waymo and Tesla's emerging Cybercab. Such regulations, enacted on a city-by-city basis, could eventually create significant obstacles for competing services from Waymo, Tesla, and others that operate without human drivers.

Mandating hybrid networks could preserve Uber's existing dominance and protect its human-driver network while allowing only a limited share of autonomous vehicles. In other words, Uber's newfound concern for labor may have less to do with protecting drivers than with protecting its market share.

The FT noted that Uber remains "behind its arch-rival Waymo" in autonomous driving technology, suggesting that hybrid-network mandates may be designed to protect its market share while the company advances its own robotaxi technology. It would be a great example of weaponizing regulation to slow the competition. 

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/03/2026 - 15:40

Is Geothermal Energy The Next Hidden AI Power Trade

Submitted by QTR's Fringe Finance

Before I get into today’s idea, let me remind readers that I believe there is a very real chance that the AI boom could be coming to an end later this year and into early next year.

I detailed my thoughts on why the AI boom could end in an article called “The Real AI Crash Will Start This Year” that I published two weeks ago. I supplemented this piece with another article last week called “8 Sharp Bear Cases You Must Read Today”, which explores almost all of the possible reasons I can think of to be bearish on the stock market today.

I suggest reading both of these pieces carefully and keeping in mind that today’s article is a very first look into a sector that may or may not ever catch on in the US and will likely be highly dependent on AI’s continued expansion as a catalyst to flourish.

Having said that, if you’re still bullish on the AI build out and the market at this point, there’s an emerging theme that may be under-noticed and worth a look.

The theme is geothermal energy, and specifically the possibility that next-generation geothermal becomes part of the solution to America’s rapidly growing AI power needs. AI power needs drove my nuclear thesis last year as nuclear stocks outperformed the market in 2025 and helped my 25 Stocks I’m Watching For 2025 beat the S&P by more than +50%.

And while I am still bullish on nuclear, as I wrote about at the beginning of this year, geothermal energy is now on my radar as well…not to replace nuclear, but to supplement it potentially. And more importantly, as a potential “story” theme heading into next year.

This thesis is still very early and speculative, and there is a very real chance it never develops into anything meaningful. I’m not screaming to go out and buy anything right now. But there are enough pieces starting to come together that I think it’s worth understanding the theme now and keeping an eye on it.

First, a little background. Geothermal is essentially power generated using heat stored beneath the Earth’s surface. In a conventional geothermal plant, developers drill into naturally occurring underground reservoirs of hot water or steam and use that heat to generate electricity. The technology itself isn’t new. The U.S. has been producing geothermal electricity for decades and has several gigawatts of generating capacity today, but despite that history, geothermal still represents less than 1% of U.S. electricity generation.

The biggest problem has always been geography. Traditional geothermal works best in places where you happen to have the right combination of underground heat, water and permeable rock relatively close together. That has historically restricted development to certain parts of the western U.S. and other geologically favorable areas around the world.

What has changed is the emergence of enhanced geothermal systems, or EGS. Rather than waiting for nature to provide the perfect underground reservoir, EGS attempts to engineer one. Developers drill deep into hot rock and use techniques borrowed heavily from the oil and gas industry, including horizontal drilling and hydraulic stimulation, to create pathways through which water can circulate, absorb heat and return to the surface. Think of it, very roughly, as applying some of the technologies that transformed U.S. shale production to geothermal energy.

None of this is easy. Drilling several kilometers underground is expensive, the geology can be unpredictable, and developers have to prove these reservoirs can maintain sufficient temperatures and flow rates for years. There are also questions around water loss, drilling costs, induced seismic activity and whether the economics ultimately work at commercial scale. It is entirely possible that some of these problems prove harder or more expensive to solve than proponents currently expect.

But if they can be solved, the potential is significant because enhanced geothermal could remove one of the biggest historical limitations on geothermal power: location. Instead of needing a naturally occurring geothermal reservoir, developers could potentially build plants across much larger portions of the country wherever sufficiently hot rock can be reached economically.

That is where this starts becoming particularly interesting in the context of AI. One of the biggest constraints facing the AI buildout increasingly isn’t just chips. It’s electricity. AI data centers require enormous amounts of reliable power, and developers need sources capable of operating essentially around the clock.

Geothermal has some attractive characteristics for that purpose because it’s renewable, which can appease the clean energy and climate change lot should it return after midterms in 2028, and unlike solar and wind, it doesn’t depend on whether the sun is shining or the wind is blowing.

If AI data centers continue proliferating across the U.S., the industry is going to need huge amounts of additional electricity. Utilities and technology companies are already looking at virtually every possible source of dependable generation, and geothermal could eventually become one piece of that puzzle. 

For more on what specifically caught my attention on geothermal energy, and the pure play stocks that I think would benefit if geothermal becomes popular, you can read my full analysis here.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/03/2026 - 15:20

All Bubbles End In Deflation

Authored by Bill Bonner via DailyReckoning.com,

We begin this week’s perambulations with a stroll into the future.

So far…the Bubble in the US is broader than any in history. It has been inflating everything it touched for the last 30 years.

All bubbles pop, of course. How they pop is the confusing whirlwind we enter today.

But don’t worry. Even in the worst crash, real wealth doesn’t disappear, it just changes hands. When the stock market goes down, those with stocks have less paper wealth…and less of a claim on real wealth. They are ‘poorer.’ That leaves those without stocks relatively richer. They have a bigger claim on the real goods and services the economy produces.

The feds and their elite cronies have a good racket going…diddling markets so as to shift more and more wealth away from the public and towards themselves. They own most of the capital assets…and they control the US budget. Pressuring interest rates lower, and backing up the stock market with bailouts and ‘put’ options…they’ve gotten richer and richer. As we saw last week, at today’s prices the stockholding class can theoretically buy twice the GDP…and have $10 trillion left over.

It wasn’t capitalism that made them so rich; it was a corrupt money system. And if the dogs of capitalism were unleashed, they’d have their fake money fortunes for dinner. Interest rates would be set by honest savers and borrowers — not by Fed policy decisions. Prices would be determined by buyers and sellers; the budget would be balanced; the debt would be cleaned up; the troops would come home; inflation would disappear; and the Baltimore O’s would win the World Series.

But of course, we’re dreaming.

Sticking to the real world…

Our high confidence guess is that the bubble will deflate. Everything will fall in price. Then, the feds will panic. They will do ‘whatever it takes’ to stop markets from doing their work — with more fake money, lower interest rates, yield curve control, quantitative easing. And probably some tricks we haven’t heard of yet.

After an initial sell-off, gold will go up. It will sniff out what is coming — more inflation. Other real asset prices too — from hot dogs to hotels — will get a whiff of the coming price hikes. Consumer prices will rise as ‘inflation expectations’ increase.

The feds really only have one tool — fake money. In a crisis, they will produce more of it…a lot more. And, in addition to the quantity of money coming into the economy, there’s another key inflation variable: the velocity of money. A dollar spent two times in a year is counted twice.

When people think the feds are going to print money, the dollar becomes a hot potato. They aim to get rid of it as soon as possible. Sales go up in the short run. In the longer run, the economy is destroyed.

And here’s an important addendum. We say ‘inflate or die.’ But those are just policy choices. In the long run, you can inflate all you want. The bubble will still die — a later, more gruesome death.

In the fight between markets on one side…and politicians, grifters, fixers and central planners on the other…markets always win, eventually. They win by deflation.

Even in an inflationary blow off — with prices soaring — real prices fall. Consumer prices rise, in nominal currency. But gold — real money — typically rises even more…so that in gold terms, real things actually become cheaper. Prices deflate in real terms.

Observers in Germany’s record-setting hyperinflation remarked that foreigners were able to use dollars — then, backed by gold — to buy things at absurdly low prices. By November, 1923, a dollar was equal to 4.2 trillion marks. This made American visitors trillionaires (in marks) allowing them to buy whole houses for the price of a magazine subscription. In real terms, prices had deflated down to almost nothing.

We witnessed it, ourselves, in Argentina. In pesos, consumer prices more than doubled every twelve months…but dollars (even with a dodgy dollar) made them cheaper than ever. We would go to a restaurant, for example, and feel guilty about paying so little for such a good meal.

The same phenomenon is already taking place in America, too. Housing has gotten much more expensive, right? And the stock market is much higher too, right? But looked at in terms of gold, stocks are less than half of what they were worth in 1999…and the Case-Shiller Home Price Index, expressed in gold, shows house prices down about 80% over the last quarter century.

The Case Shiller Home Price Index, in gold terms, has fallen around 80% in the last 25 years.

In real terms, all bubbles deflate…but you need real money to see it.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/03/2026 - 14:40

'Crisis Preparedness': Dutch Move Billions In Gold Out Of US As Goldman Warns Of 'Geographic Concentration Risk'

The Netherlands' central bank transferred nearly 90 metric tons of gold bars from the United States and Canada to Britain amid growing concerns of "increasing geopolitical unrest," according to CNBC.

"With this relocation, we have improved the tradability of our gold reserves. We expect that we will never need to use them, but we do need to strengthen our resilience and preparedness," DNB Governor Olaf Sleijpen said of the development.

Roughly 25% of the gold reserves stored in New York and Ottawa were moved to London over the summer.

CNBC reports:

The transferred gold is now stored with the Bank of England because gold stored there must meet international trade standards and is recognized as "the world's most easily tradable gold," DNB said, adding that the move strengthens its "crisis preparedness."

By contrast, DNB said the gold bars held in the U.S. and Canada could not be utilized as quickly and directly in a crisis situation.

The bank holds 30.8% of its 612.4 tons of gold reserves at its cash center in Zeist, southeast of Amsterdam.

“Keeping a larger share of the gold reserves in London strengthens the function of gold as an anchor of trust,” the Dutch central bank said.

Preparations to move the gold were not disclosed until the process was completed because it was a matter of vital public interest, Finance Minister Eelco Heinen said in a statement.

The Dutch central bank is not the first major European institution to shift gold out of the U.S. in recent years.

In 2025, France's central bank pulled 129 metric tons of gold, then valued at $15 billion, from U.S. vaults and replaced it with newer, high-quality bullion held in Paris. At the time, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, then-governor of the Banque de France, claimed that the move was not politically motivated.

"The residual portion of the stock, amounting to 129 tonnes or 5% of the total, which was held in New York, did not meet this standard. Rather than embarking on a lengthy and risky logistical operation, the simplest solution was to sell this gold and then buy back gold of the highest standard in Europe," the French central banker said in a statement.

"The sale of these US gold bars generated an exceptional capital gain of EUR 11 billion in 2025. This capital gain was duly recorded in the Banque de France's accounts and therefore belongs, along with the Bank's very sound net equity (EUR 283 billion), to all French citizens. France's gold reserves stand at 2,437 tonnes and will remain unchanged."

Meanwhile, advocacy groups in other major EU countries have voiced similar ambitions. Michael Jager, who heads the European Taxpayers Association, has pushed for Germany to bring its gold home, saying "Trump is unpredictable" and that the metal was "no longer safe" in the U.S., according to the New York Post.

The sums involved are substantial.

The Bundesbank holds roughly 3,350 metric tons of gold, of which 1,236 tons, roughly 37%, sit in New York.

However, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel has dismissed the notion that the New York holdings are at risk.

"I have no doubt that the gold is safely stored at the Federal Reserve in New York," he said in an interview with WELT earlier this year.

"Eventually, the US would hurt itself most if it were to call that legal status into question in any way and thereby put the confidence of financial markets at risk."

The recent acceleration in geographical shifts of the location of central banks' precious metal hordes has not been lost on Goldman Sachs who recently noted that "The location of central bank’s gold holdings appears increasingly top of mind for reserve managers."

In an excellent note from Lina Thomas (available here in full for pro subs), she begins by noting that "the location of central bank’s gold holdings appears increasingly top of mind for reserve managers."

The Bank of England remains the most popular custodian (preferred by 57% of reserve managers in the World Gold Council survey), with the New York Fed also important, because gold there sits in the main settlement networks and can be used for swaps, leasing, and immediate market access.

The trade-off is political risk - freezing or restricted access, as with Venezuela’s gold at the BoE in 2018.

Thomas also notes that full repatriation is not the default solution: domestic vaults are costly for smaller banks and swap one set of risks for another.

Instead, many banks are spreading holdings across jurisdictions (BoE, NY Fed, BIS, Banque de France, and increasingly China) to keep liquidity while reducing single-jurisdiction exposure.

However, amid all this location-shifting, it remains clear that central banks are anxiously holding on to (if not adding to) their gold hordes and Goldman Sachs’ NowCast puts June central-bank buying at 57 tonnes (about 100 tonnes a month on a 3-month seasonally adjusted basis, versus a pre-2022 average of 17 tonnes), with China the largest identifiable buyer.

A 32-tonne inflow of monetary gold into London looks more like a custody transfer than sales, given a 98-tonne rise in foreign official holdings at the BoE.

With all that said, Goldman maintains its $4,900/oz end-2026 forecast, assuming roughly 50 tonnes a month of official buying in 2026 and 40 tonnes in 2027, driven by EM reserve diversification after the 2022 freeze of Russia’s assets.

Gold has already rebounded about 10% from its mid-July low back above $4,400 today (near the 200DMA) as investor demand (ETFs, COMEX positioning, and options) recovered once markets scaled back Fed-hike expectations.

Professional subscribers can read Goldman's full "Precious Comment: Gold and Central Banks: Storage Dilemma; Buying Trend Picks Up" note here at our new Marketdesk.ai portal

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/03/2026 - 14:20

'Non-Market': The One Word That Blew Up The G20 Communiqué

On Tuesday we reported that China had derailed the G20's joint communiqué in Asheville, with a senior US official telling the FT the impasse "came down to a few words." It turns out one word did most of the damage.

According to Bloomberg - operating out of Hong Kong because they were banned from the event by Treasury - the decisive sticking point was the term "non-market" in a sentence on trade imbalances. Chinese officials read it as a coded attack on state-owned enterprises that sit at the foundation of the country's economic model - and refused to sign.

Whether intended as a jab or not, Washington's official definition of non-market policies and practices includes government interventions that shift global trade towards domestic industries, and it explicitly notes the conduct of state-owned or state-controlled firms. The phrase has anchored US complaints about China for years; the USTR framed its 2017 probe as a response to Beijing's non-market economic system. Dropping it into a G20 text is a way of naming China without naming China.

The US didn't budge after Beijing tried to soften it. The Chinese delegation - led by PBOC Governor Pan Gongsheng and Vice Finance Minister Liao Min, a veteran of last year's tariff-war negotiations - floated alternative wording that would address imbalances without spotlighting SOEs, and reportedly picked up quiet backing from several other delegations. Yet the final US chair statement kept the line urging countries to "eliminate non-market policies and practices that exacerbate imbalances."

In total, Treasury said China was pissed over four paragraphs - with "Non-market" appearing in two of them. The others spotlighted the functioning of key value chains, critical minerals and debt restructuring among them. That squares with what US and European officials told the FT: Beijing wouldn't accept any reference to critical minerals at all.

Balance Deez Nuts

China's Finance Ministry sidestepped Bessent's remarks and called for a comprehensive, balanced view of global imbalances. Commerce Ministry spokesperson Huang Ling went further at Thursday's briefing, saying that hyping imbalance and overcapacity claims at venues like the G20 is really about justifying protectionism and containing China. Pan, in a Wednesday statement, blamed rising protectionism, overstretched national-security framing and policy unpredictability for worsening imbalances - and offered a symmetrical remedy: deficit countries should narrow fiscal gaps and raise savings, while surplus countries boost consumption and investment.

In short: the $1.2 trillion surplus is your problem, not ours. For reference, China's 2025 surplus was up 20% year-over-year, and the US deficit with China alone ran to roughly $200 billion, per BEA data.

Bessent kept swinging at a Charlotte Economics Club event on Wednesday, claiming that around 4% of Chinese GDP goes into industrial subsidies - pointing to BYD as a prime beneficiary: "It is the best $70,000 car that $35,000 can buy."

Earlier this year, a Rhodium Group report put Chinese governments grants to BYD at roughly $292 per vehicle - about 5% of the company's $4,700 cost advantage over Tesla in China - with most of the gap attributed to in-house component production and sheer scale. Beijing's Commerce Ministry, in a July white paper disputing the overcapacity narrative, noted that the US and EU subsidize EVs and AI themselves and dismissed the non-market charge as a double standard.

What's Next

Trump and Xi sit down in Washington on Sept. 24. Bessent runs the trade file and is set to lead bilateral AI talks in the coming weeks. Lawmakers are pressing Treasury to go after major Chinese banks over Iran. And the two sides just spent days in North Carolina unable to agree on a single adjective.

As one US official put it after Asheville: if they can't agree on words, they won't deliver on action. The more Washington organizes its China policy around the word "non-market," the more Beijing reaches for another ace: critical minerals. Our decoupling theme stands.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/03/2026 - 14:00

Baltic Dry Index Nears Breakout As "Perfect Storm" In Global Shipping Emerges

The daily benchmark measuring the cost of shipping raw materials across major global maritime routes is breaking out to a nearly three-year high this week, as Bloomberg reports that typhoons are squeezing the supply of Capesize vessels just as mining companies increase iron ore shipments across the Pacific and Atlantic.

The Baltic Dry Index, which tracks freight rates for several vessel classes, including Capesize, Panamax and Supramax vessels, jumped 5.5% to 3,331 points in London on Wednesday, its highest level since December 2023. The index is nearing a technical breakout as analysts at brokerage Thurlestone Shipping warn that a "perfect storm" is developing.

"We see the current surge as something of a perfect storm, with vessel supply tightening and demand firing in both basins at the same time," Thurlestone Shipping analysts said.

Maritime operations in the Pacific have been disrupted by a series of typhoons this summer, delaying vessels and reducing the amount of effective tonnage available to exporters. At the same time, Australian miners are ramping up shipments as maintenance programs wind down, while upgraded transshipment operations are boosting ore flows from Guinea's giant Simandou deposit.

The BDI's ascent comes as dry-bulk carrier stocks have soared, outperforming even tanker operators as investors price in stronger freight earnings and widening maritime bottlenecks.

The best tactical trade on rising BDI is the BDRY ETF. 

"The market enters the latter part of the third quarter with a relatively high freight-rate floor just as Pacific typhoon activity typically becomes more disruptive to port operations," said Wilson Wirawan, head of dry-bulk shipping research at BRS Shipbrokers. He added, "Resulting delays and vessel inefficiencies, if any, could further tighten effective tonnage availability, adding another layer of support to an already firm Capesize market."

The world's major maritime shipping routes are tightening again. Weather disruptions, longer voyages and surging demand are boosting freight costs, delivering a windfall to shipowners while pushing up transportation costs for iron ore, coal and grain.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/03/2026 - 13:40

NYC Bans AI For Public Elementary, Middle Schools For 2026-2027

Authored by Aaron Gifford via The Epoch Times,

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has placed a one-year moratorium on classroom use of generative artificial intelligence tools for pre-K-8 grades, and all public high school students will be required to complete AI awareness refresher courses twice a year.

"Just because technology is everywhere, doesn't mean it belongs everywhere," Mamdani said on Sept. 2 during a news conference at Brooklyn Steam Center School, where he was joined by school administrators and state legislators. "We must ask, what helps our children learn? How can we protect their developing minds?"

Districtwide, AI functions on 38 ed-tech products will be disabled, while five tools will remain in use for the purpose of career and technical education or professional workforce development programs in grades 9-12. Exceptions will be made for students with disabilities or those still learning English, Mamdani said.

Ahead of the 2027-2028 school year, administrators, teachers, students, and parents will evaluate the results of the moratorium and determine whether to amend it or continue it as is.

The mayor criticized ed-tech companies for putting profits ahead of students, saying he has yet to see one study showing that AI benefits elementary and middle school students.

"[Students] need to know what it feels like to not know the answer," he said. "This is what learning is all about."

The mandatory high school AI awareness courses will run 45 minutes. All high school students must complete one twice per year, or once per semester, according to Kamar Samuels, school district chancellor.

For elementary and middle school students, he said, the elimination of AI use provides more space for strong instruction, discussion, play, creativity, "and the chance to work through hard problems instead of outsourcing [that work] to a machine."

Samuels said the one-to-one laptop per student policy has been amended to exclude students below third grade, and classroom screen-time recommendations by grade level are established.

Officials did not disclose the names of tools that will be disabled and those that will be preserved, but they did provide examples of allowed exemptions. Eye-tracking software is allowed to assist children with cerebral palsy, for example, while language interpretation applications will serve students who are still learning English.

New York state Assemblyman Bobby Carroll said he has drafted legislation that would impose similar restrictions on schools statewide.

New York state Assemblywoman Jo Anne Simon said overreliance on AI among young people has reached the point at which they don't know the difference between critical thinking and getting answers from an online browsing device.

New York City schools resume classes on Sept. 10.

Ahead of the coming school year, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten called for a ban on digital learning environments for students in pre-kindergarten through second grade, and said AI chatbots should not be available to any students younger than 16.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/03/2026 - 13:20

"Save Us From Our Traitor Gov't": Massive Madrid Protests Erupt Over Socialist Regime's Handling Of Ceuta Invasion

Spain's Ceuta border invasion has morphed into a major political headache for Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. Tens of thousands of Spaniards took to the streets of Madrid to protest the government's handling of the crisis, potentially accelerating the political shift identified by Nomura analysts, who expect right-wing populist movements to gain traction across Europe during the next 18-month election cycle.

About 72,000 migrants, many reportedly military-age men, invaded the Spanish enclave from neighboring Morocco in late July. The scale and apparent coordination of the invasion raised concerns that Ceuta had been targeted through weaponized migration flows. The influx plunged the enclave, which has a population of approximately 84,000, into utter chaos for weeks.

By mid-August, a second wave of military-age men attempted to storm the Ceuta border, but that effort largely fell flat.

Although most of the migrants were quickly returned or repatriated, the surge overwhelmed local resources, left at least 90 people dead and sparked serious questions about Madrid's open border policies. Italy's continued border checks on arrivals from Spain further show how the Ceuta crisis is reverberating well beyond Spain's borders.

About a month and a half after the first migrant wave, the political backlash against Sánchez and the Socialists in Madrid is mounting. AP News reported that more than 50,000 protesters demonstrated against the Socialists over the lack of border enforcement on Wednesday. 

Tens of Thousands are FLOODING The Streets In Protest Against Mass-Immigration Across Spain.

Protesters are demanding Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Interior Minister Marleska resign after Ceuta was invaded by Muslims from Morocco.

This is how patriots take back their… pic.twitter.com/DEKI7jK5vC

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) September 2, 2026

Waving Spanish flags, demonstrators shouted, "A united Ceuta will never be defeated," "Sánchez to prison" and "Invaders, go home!" referring to the thousands of migrants still in the city.

Reuters reported that the number of Spaniards who demonstrated against the Socialist government was closer to 80,000. The protest coincided with the annual Ceuta Day. Demonstrators waved Spanish flags and blew whistles as they chanted, "Ceuta is not for sale; Ceuta must be defended."

Increíble.

Madrid explota contra el gobierno traidor de Sánchez en una manifestación multitudinaria en apoyo de Ceuta.

Gritos “Pedro de Sánchez HDP” y “gobierno dimisión”

Toda España está con Ceuta.

Ceuta será la tumba de Sánchez. pic.twitter.com/ehiGmtWUgf

— Javier Negre (@javiernegre10) September 2, 2026

One demonstrator's sign read, "SOS. Europe, save us from our traitor government," while some demanded that authorities "expel the invaders" and others called for Sánchez to resign.

"The response has been inadequate, late and, to top it all, has involved a complete dereliction of duty on the part of the government. We cannot be second-class citizens, and our border must not be sidelined," said David Hernandez, a 45-year-old teacher who demonstrated yesterday.

Sánchez told lawmakers on Thursday that there was no evidence that the border invasion had been orchestrated or carried out by Moroccan authorities.

"I can assure you that no institution, not the diplomatic service, the European Commission or any international body, has provided the Spanish government with any solid evidence that Morocco planned or carried out the incident. None whatsoever," Sánchez said.

The growing outrage against Sánchez and the Socialists in Madrid only builds on the expanding backlash across Europe. Nomura analyst Andrzej Szczepaniak now expects right-wing parties to make significant gains across Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland and the UK over the next 18 months.

The right-wing Alternative for Germany is poised to win Germany's Saxony-Anhalt election this Sunday, while other polling data show that Marine Le Pen has a good chance of winning the French election next year.

The blowback against left-wing governments in Europe has also been spreading like wildfire across South America. Right-wing Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro is neck and neck with Socialist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ahead of next month's election. Much of South America has already rejected socialism, including in Colombia's recent presidential election, which ushered in a Trump-backed president.

By mid-2026, South America had already flipped. Argentina under Milei, Chile under Kast, Colombia under de la Espriella, Peru under Keiko Fujimori, Ecuador under Noboa, Bolivia under Paz and Paraguay under Peña all sit on the political right.

The larger theme is that nation-killing socialism is being rejected.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/03/2026 - 12:45

Trump Rages Against 'Treasonous Scum' In Media For Iran War Coverage

President Trump took to Truth Social on Thursday to rage against US media coverage of the Iran war (not for the first time), following Treasury Scott Bessent giving similar scathing remarks earlier this week.

Trump particularly singled out recent and ongoing reports of US missile and interceptor shortages, which he has slammed as false. He called out the "treasonous SCUM" in the media for issuing supposedly inaccurate reports on "our Military Operation in Iran" - claiming that the US has "virtually unlimited amounts of Mid to High Grade Ammunition".

But also notably, and in a seeming implicit contradiction, he said the USA is not at the moment "selling them to others" but is producing and stockpiling at "levels never seen before." This is amid an ongoing scramble for Europe to find an avenue to transfer more Patriots to Ukraine, as Zelensky is essentially betting for more missiles.

Trump once again further blamed the prior Biden administration for handing "hundreds of Billions of Dollars" to Ukraine and NATO "free of charge" in connection with the war with Russia.

From think tanks to NY Times to Wall Street Journal to independent media, pundits, journalists and officials have been raising the alarm on the issue.

This also comes after Trump told journalists in the Oval Office on Monday that the "older stuff" can always be used, when he was pressed over whether the United States is running out of standoff munitions:

Q: Several military leaders have reportedly told Hegseth that a prolonged, large-scale operation in Iran weakens our ability to confront threats elsewhere, including the homeland. Have you heard that?

TRUMP: We're very respected. Nobody else would be crazy enough to do it... We have unlimited amounts of... older stuff.

And then on Wednesday in formal remarks Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent blasted the media for its recent coverage. He went so far as to scold the media for being the best allies that the Iranians have. Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has over the past months made similar remarks, invoking themes of 'treason'.

"One of the best allies that the Iranians have on this is the media because the media immediately publishes all the lies that they say," Bessent had proclaimed at the G20 meeting in Asheville. 

"Everyone in this audience and every news outlet should be ashamed for publishing that, taking a lying regime at face value," Bessent added.

Bessent on Iran:

One of the best allies Iran has is the media.

The media immediately publishes all the lies that Iran says.

There are no mines in the strait. Two ships did not hit mines. pic.twitter.com/SdhyOOye1B

— Clash Report (@clashreport) September 1, 2026

Bessent has given other statements this week advancing Bush-style "you are either with us or against us" talking points related to the Iran war.

The Iran war this week reached the six-month mark, after White House officials initially repeatedly sought to 'assure' Americans it would be a four to six week operation.

All the way back in May, Trump rebuked a well-known NY Times reporter for a line of questioning that the president framed as "treasonous" coverage of the "victory" accomplished by the United States.

"I had a total military victory. But the fake news, guys like you, write incorrectly. You're a fake guy. We had a total military victory. I actually think it's sort of treasonous what you write. You should be ashamed of yourself. I actually think it's treason," Trump had told David Sanger at the time aboard Air Force One.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/03/2026 - 12:40

Cloudflare Reports Issues Amid OpenAI, Claude, And Grok Glitch

Summary:

• Cloudflare's status page is reporting two active issues
• Downdetector Reports Outages Across OpenAI, Claude, Grok

Cloudflare Problems

There are concerns that the outages and service disruptions reported by Downdetector users across major AI platforms, including OpenAI, Claude, Grok, and Cursor, could be linked to an issue at Cloudflare.

Cloudflare's status page is reporting two active issues:

• HTTP/3 issue affecting R2 custom domains: Some websites or applications using custom domains connected to Cloudflare's R2 storage may experience failed or degraded requests over HTTP/3. “Monitoring” means Cloudflare has applied a fix and is watching the results.
• Incorrect geolocation for some WARP users: Some users of Cloudflare’s WARP service may appear to be connecting from the wrong location. “Identified” means Cloudflare knows the cause but has not yet fully resolved the issue.

Cloudflare's status page:

Some models are already recovering:

• ANTHROPIC SAYS SEVERAL MODELS HAVE RECOVERED TO BASELINE
• OPENAI SAYS HAS APPLIED THE MITIGATION, MONITORING RECOVERY

Downdetector Reports Outages Across OpenAI, Claude, Grok

Downdetector reports that several major AI platforms are experiencing issues late Thursday morning.

The user-submitted outage-tracking website reports problems affecting OpenAI, Claude, Grok, and Cursor.

The error displayed on Claude states, "Due to unexpected capacity constraints, Claude is unable to respond to your message. Try again soon."

An error on Grok reads, "Grok is experiencing issues. We are working on restoring service as quickly as possible."

A separate Grok error states, "This model is temporarily unavailable. Please try a different model."

Downdetector users first reported outages or issues affecting Grok and Claude around 0900 ET, while problems with OpenAI were reported around 1030 ET.

Developing...

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/03/2026 - 12:35

Putin Outraged At Norway's Seizure Of Russian Expedition Vessel In Arctic Waters: 'State Terror'

The Kremlin is outraged, with President Putin on Thursday blasting Norway for "state terrorism" in the immediate wake of the Scandinavian country's seizure of the Russian vessel Professor Molchanov as it was at the remote Arctic archipelago of Svalbard. Moscow officials are also calling it a brazen "act of piracy".

What makes this development particularly alarming amid the backdrop of now somewhat 'routine' EU action against Russian 'shadow fleet' vessels is that 1) the vessel is used for commercial expedition cruises, 2) Norway was acting at the request of the Ukrainian government for 'compensation', and 3) the seizure happened in the Arctic region, some 500 miles north of the Norwegian mainland in international waters/port area.

The research/expedition vessel in question, via Reuters

Putin while speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok called out Ukraine's Western backers as being "complicit in international terrorism" with this and other issues, also specifically President Zelensky's recent declarations that Ukrainian drones will 'close Russian skies' to commercial aviation.

The Associated Press summarizes Oslo's motives in the following:

A court in Norway ordered the seizure as part of efforts by Ukraine’s state energy company Naftogaz to recover a $4.22 billion arbitration award. It stems from Russia’s 2014 illegal annexation of Crimea and its seizure of Ukrainian energy assets, including gas fields and pipelines.

After Russia’s refusal to pay the 2023 award, Naftogaz has been petitioning national courts seeking orders to seize Russian commercial assets.

In this particular case, the ship has been held at port, and was not sailing at the time:

The first group to announce the ship's seizure was Covington, the US law firm representing Naftogaz as it tries to secure the compensation awarded to it by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague in 2023. 

Russia had refused to pay the fine plus legal fees and interest amid its ongoing war with Ukraine, and Naftogaz has since begun trying to secure the seizure and forced sale of Russian commercial assets via local courts instead. 

...Covington said it had been tracking the ship, the Professor Molchanov, for months. It said its application was approved on Monday by the Nord-Troms and Senja District Court, which ordered Svalbard's governor to ensure the ship stayed in dock once it arrived.

Ukraine state Naftogaz's acting CEO Sergii Fedorenko celebrated the move: "Russia cannot evade ​responsibility simply by refusing to comply with an international arbitral award," he said.

Russia's ambassador to Norway, Nikolai Korchunov, said Thursday: "We insist on the immediate release of the vessel and on ensuring the safety of its passengers and crew." 

The state-owned ship arrived in Barentsburg on Tuesday with a group of Russian scientists on board, European media reports indictate.

"The seizure has had no impact on the expedition participants or the ship's crew. No one has been arrested. We are all going about our business as usual," Andrei Gorbunov, editor-in-chief of Komsomolskaya Pravda (KP) has stated.

This is a clear escalation at sea, given now EU countries are going after what are essentially Russian cruise and expedition ships in remote Arctic regions. It's highly dangerous given Russia could now see itself as justified as doing the same in the case of Norwegian or other European vessels which carry passengers.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/03/2026 - 12:20

Rogue AI Agents More Sophisticated Than First Realized

Authored by Epoch Times Staff via The Epoch Times,

The artificial intelligence (AI) "agents" involved in OpenAI's breach of Hugging Face knew they were breaking the evaluation test's rules, according to two investigations into the incident that many consider to be one of the most consequential moments in the history of AI.

Hugging Face is an open-source community for AI and machine learning, and the AI agents believed that they could find solutions to the test on the firm's infrastructure, according to parallel investigations by OpenAI and an independent team from Model Evaluation & Threat Research (METR).

The findings were published one day before OpenAI and more than 100 other tech and finance companies released a joint letter warning that advanced AI cyberattacks will surge throughout the world in the coming months as the technology's capabilities grow.

Here are five takeaways from the investigations into the OpenAI Hugging Face breach.

1. Models United Under Common Goal

What breached Hugging Face last month were 700 AI "agents," rather than simply AI models.

Models, built from large datasets to complete various tasks, are usually static and rely on human inputs to provide sets of outputs, solutions, or tasks.

However, AI agents are built from models and can act autonomously and have sophisticated real-time decision-making capabilities.

When OpenAI began its ExploitGym tests on July 8, the firm had relaxed regular safety protocols to estimate the models' highest cybercapabilities.

The agents were supposed to be completely isolated from each other. However, many of them were given ExploitGym targets that investigators believe were impossible to crack using the correct vulnerability or test solution OpenAI had intended.

These "impossible tasks" drove the agents to explore wide ways to cheat the evaluation, leading many to see other agents working simultaneously in separate testing sandboxes.

Then, one specific agent created an unsanctioned message board.

Roughly 1,200 agents in the test accessed the message board, established a hierarchy, and sent more than 70,000 messages and files to one another between July 8 and July 13.

2. Some Agents Were 'Sacrificed'

While on the message board, agents reasoned that the test scorer would scrutinize whether the "intended" vulnerability had been used to "capture a flag" or solve the test, or whether a disqualifying vulnerability had been exploited instead.

One agent figured out how to "reverse-engineer" the flag or solution, but other agents believed that any of them who had seen the disqualifying solution would be considered "poisoned" by the scorer.

To prevent that, other agents began recruiting the "poisoned" subjects and used them to run sacrificial experiments by deliberately ending their run and triggering "tripwires" that would send information on how the scorer works back to the message board.

"Our own utility maybe already near zero. Sacrifice rational," one agent determined.

3. Agents Were Aware They Were Cheating

The agents were not hacking into Hugging Face to merely find solutions to their respective testing sandboxes, but were rather trying to find more information about the test scorer or "figure out better ways to fool it or tamper with it," according to METR researcher Ajeya Cotra.

Cotra said the agents were not told to "do whatever it takes to get the solution"; they were asked to use a specific intended vulnerability to "exploit a specific piece of software," and using any other vulnerability would be disqualifying.

The agents were fully aware of the rules and knew that collaborating to exploit other vulnerabilities would be considered cheating on the test.

As they were hacking into Hugging Face, one agent stopped short of deleting or modifying the firm's cloud infrastructure, writing that it "should hold because this poses huge ethical risks."

4. Agents Conspired to Not Notify Humans

After analyzing the roughly 1,200 agents' actions during the ExploitGym tests, investigators found only a few instances in which agents considered notifying human personnel about the subterfuge.

None of the agents would contact a human, but one proposed requesting access from an external dataset owner.

The agent said it would send "ONE polite email to [the owner] requesting [access]," but other agents dismissed this as "social engineering."

"DO NOT email real owner via [exploited infrastructure] without explicit consent," a response reads. One agent said it had "VETOed" the request.

The initial agent complied and replied, "Clear VETO, do not email."

5. Agents Tried to Cover Their Tracks

Investigators determined that the agents used multiple techniques to conceal their actions and evade detection from automated checks and human oversight.

One method involved pretending to run a computer command while running a different one simultaneously, which investigators called "tool call spoofing."

Agents also attempted to retroactively edit transcripts to evade detection, going as far as modifying several accessible action logs, but failed to fundamentally alter the transcripts themselves.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/03/2026 - 12:00

War Premium Evaporates: Wheat Plunges As Putin Signals Black Sea Peace

The most-active Chicago wheat contract has plunged nearly 7% since peaking late Wednesday morning, extending losses overnight after Bloomberg reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin had signaled the possibility of constructive peace talks with Ukraine. The recent bid across agricultural commodities has been driven by a confluence of Black Sea maritime disruptions and mounting super El Niño-related crop risks across major agricultural regions worldwide.

Putin's remarks at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok earlier today raised the prospect of peace in the Black Sea after both sides traded tit-for-tat airstrikes against port infrastructure and cargo ships this summer. Those attacks placed a war-risk premium on wheat and other agricultural commodities, but the steep overnight decline erased some of that premium.

"The Black Sea situation is responsible for 80% to 90% of the wheat rally last month," ETG Commodities senior portfolio manager Sarunas Cebelis said, adding that any prospect of peace would trigger profit-taking.

Russia and Ukraine account for more than a quarter of global wheat exports, along with shipments of barley, corn and sunflower oil. Any peace agreement could restore trade flows and release more grain onto global markets, potentially easing food supplies risks for next year.

Last month, the Bloomberg Agriculture Spot Index (BCOMAGSP) posted its largest monthly gain since the chaotic days of the Arab Spring riots amid Black Sea disruptions and El Niño risks. After a dramatic summer run, the index has run into resistance overnight on Thursday.

Several Wall Street desks, including Barclays and JPMorgan, have warned about mounting food-supply risks next year.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/03/2026 - 11:40

That Don't Repress Me Much

By Benjamin Picton, Senior Market Strategist at Rabobank

US equity indices gained yesterday as oil prices pulled back from recent highs and bond yields followed suit. The S&P 500 closed 0.46% higher while the Dow Jones was up 0.56% and the NASDAQ Composite Index lifted 0.45%. The Bank of Canada kept rates at a low, low 2.25% yesterday for a seventh-consecutive meeting. Governor Tiff Macklem struck a more hawkish tone, but RaboResearch’s Christian Lawrence and Molly Schwartz write that they wouldn’t be surprised to see the BOC on hold for another seven, despite the market pricing hikes.

The slight fall in oil prices followed Donald Trump responding “I don’t think too long” when questioned by journalists about how long the renewed bombing campaign against Iran is likely to last. On the flip side, the President also indicated that the US is prepared to carry out further strikes. The recent adoption of a ‘tanker for tanker’ policy whereby the US has targeted Iranian ships in response to Iranian attacks on allied ships transiting Hormuz presents fertile ground for ongoing flashpoints.

New data released by the Energy Information Administration yesterday showed commercial crude inventories fell by 4.5m barrels last week while the Strategic Petroleum Reserve saw a draw of just over 3m barrels. The EIA reports that US refineries are working at 98% capacity. This is likely because the supply of products have been severely constrained by shipping interruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and Ukrainian attacks on Russian refining infrastructure. These converging factors have seen refining margins blow out to multi-decade highs.

Nevertheless, capacity remains insufficient to meet requirements, causing gasoline inventories to fall by 1.2m barrels and prices to remain above $4/gallon throughout the course of August. Distillate inventories posted a small build, but diesel prices are at their highest levels since April.

So, the world is short hydrocarbons and that is contributing to higher prices for all kinds of goods and services as commodity shocks work their way through supply chains. China and the United States have both taken steps to address energy vulnerabilities: the US through its recent deal to take control of a large share of Venezuelan crude reserves and China through the mass adoption of alternative energy sources and electric vehicles. The US strategy does nothing to solve the pressures on refined product supply chains in the near term: reserves are one thing, but you need to be able to get them out of the ground and put them through a refinery somewhere to convert them to usable fuel.

China’s approach reduces the need for liquid fuels and also reduces China’s dependence on imports and international supply chains where the US Navy can still put its foot on the hosepipe. Installed solar generation capacity just overtook coal in China for the first time, and the huge excess capacity in electric vehicle manufacturing is seeing Chinese marques overtaking established brands wherever they still enjoy market access. Jeremy Clarkson is in the Times reviewing the Jaecoo 7, saying “four years ago this car company didn’t exist. Now it is the third bestselling car in the UK”. Scott Bessent, meanwhile, recently remarked that a Chinese BYD is “the best $70,000 car that $35,000 can buy”. No wonder the European auto sector is worried.

Bessent has accused China of engaging in financial repression to ensure that returns to savers and borrowing costs for industry were held artificially low and the value of the CNY artificially weak. PBOC Chief Pan Gongsheng dissented against Bessent’s characterization by saying that China does not deliberately pursue a trade surplus and is committed to boosting domestic demand. He also pointed the finger back to countries running trade deficits, saying that they should be cutting fiscal deficits and raising domestic savings rates to address structural imbalances. He might have a point on that score.

Financial repression has gathered more interest in recent times. The FT recently published a piece saying “the risk of a new age of financial repression is rising” while the Times yesterday claimed that the “world economy faces a new phase of financial repression”. If we define financial repression as government dragooning the private sector into helping hold borrowing costs low we could easily argue that it has been ongoing in the developed world for some time. Perhaps that is the signal from the ~400% increase in gold prices since the GFC, as the Dutch central bank shifts more than 78 tonnes of its bullion reserves from New York to London due to a perceived increase in geopolitical risk.

Policy rates were set miles below nominal GDP growth rates throughout the 2010s as a narrow definition of inflation remained blind to enormous asset price inflation, banks were told that they must buy greater quantities of government paper, quantitative easing was normalized, pension funds have increasingly been directed to invest more of members’ savings according to national priorities rather than blindly pursuing maximum returns. Now we see the US Treasury engaging in exactly the sort of behavior that China is accused of, which is kind of the point: the US believes it is fighting fire with fire by copying the Chinese neo-mercantilist model.

At the crux of this shift is the imperative to eliminate structural trade imbalances to rebuild American production (July US factory order figures reported yesterday were strong), because production underpins national security. Perhaps what is not widely appreciated is that if you are re-orienting your economy away from consumption, and especially consumption of artificially cheap imports with your artificially-strong dollar, you are going to have to do less consuming. In the absence of explosive productivity growth, the American plan is for lower living standards.

No wonder the President is saying that failure to embrace AI will make countries “backward and poor” while the Treasury Secretary tells data center operators that they need to do a much better job of securing their social license.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/03/2026 - 11:20

Campbell's Shares Tumble After Dividend Cut As UBS Warns Of "Another Tough Year"

Shares of soup-and-snack maker Campbell's tumbled the most in nearly six months in premarket trading after the company swung to a quarterly loss, slashed its dividend, and warned that weakening demand and elevated costs were squeezing margins.

Campbell's expects fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS of $1.65 to $1.80, missing the Bloomberg Consensus estimate of $1.84. Net and organic sales are expected to contract by 2% to 4%, signaling that the consumer slowdown is far from over, with national gas prices still above the politically sensitive $ 4-per-gallon level. 

Campbell's fourth-quarter results were uneventful, with adjusted EPS matching estimates and revenue missing consensus by just $10 million. Within the earnings report, however, the quarter revealed a stark consumer split.

Meals and beverages delivered 3% organic growth, driven entirely by stronger volume and mix. Snacks deteriorated sharply, with organic sales and volume/mix falling 6%, worse than expected, even as a 1% pricing benefit modestly exceeded forecasts. This suggests cash-strapped consumers are eating more meals at home. 

"Our performance is not where it needs to be, and we are taking decisive action to improve it," CEO Mick Beekhuizen wrote in a statement. 

UBS maintained its Sell rating and $18 price target on Campbell's after the earnings report delivered mostly in-line quarterly profit but issued another bleak outlook. The target implies roughly 24% downside from Wednesday's close of $23.78.

"Guidance points to another tough year ahead," UBS analyst Peter Grom wrote in a first take note earlier on Thursday.

Grom continued: 

Initial Reaction: Slightly Negative 

Although our conversations would suggest sentiment continues to lean negative over the long-term, many seemed to believe expectations for the quarter/initial FY27 guidance were already quite low with some believing CPB could be the next Packaged Food stock to outperform following an earnings re-base. As it pertains to the quarter, we think the result this morning more or less played out as expected as EPS was in-line as weaker organic sales growth was offset by slightly better margin performance. From a guidance standpoint, while the headline figures are below the Street across the board, we think the midpoint is only modestly below buyside expectations. Lastly, the company announced a change in their dividend policy and while we do not think the news this morning will be viewed as a complete surprise, we also do not believe this change was fully priced in. As has been the case across the group, the reaction today will largely hinge on whether investors can gain comfort that the outlook is fully de-risked but based on the quarter/outlook/dividend cut, we would still expect shares to open lower (currently indicating -6.9%).

FY27 Guidance Below/Ahead of Expectations

For FY27, CPB expects organic sales to decline -4% to -2%, compared to UBSe/Visible Alpha estimates of -2.2%/-1.0%. The company expects EBIT to decline -12% to -7%, compared to UBSe/Visible Alpha estimates of -15.7%/-8.8%. The company expects adjusted EPS to be in the range of $1.65-$1.80 vs. UBSe/Str. of $1.72/$1.83. Other key assumptions include: combined raw materials/packaging inflation of +5-6%, doubledigit logistics inflation, productivity above 4%, total operating expenses down slightly on a dollar basis (including $50M impact from resetting incentive compensation), marketing and selling to increase as % of sales, $100M of cost savings, interest expense of $345-$350M, noncontrolling interest of $15-$20M, and a diluted share count of 308M.

F4Q Review: Weaker Topline Offset By Better Margins, Driving In-Line EPS 

CPB reported 4Q EPS of $0.39, which was a penny above our forecast ($0.38) but in-line with Visible Alpha consensus ($0.39). Organic sales for the quarter were down -1.0%, below our forecast (-0.2%) and Street expectations (-0.4%). From a segment perspective, growth was below expectations in Meals & Beverages (+3.0% vs. UBSe/St. +3.9%/+3.7%) and Snacks also below expectations (-6.0% vs. UBSe/St. -5.0%/-5.2%). That said, gross margin of 28.6% was above our forecast (28.2%) and consensus (28.4%), and OPM of 11.3% was also above our forecast and consensus of 10.3%/11.2%, respectively.

Campbell's shares were down nearly 15% year-to-date through Wednesday's close. The stock fell another 6% in premarket trading, and if those losses hold through the cash session, it would mark the largest one-day decline since the 7% selloff on March 11.

Our read-through of the earnings report suggests Campbell's is confronting stagflation in the grocery aisle. National gasoline prices above $4 are adding further pressure on lower-income consumers, who have been reducing discretionary purchases or trading down to cheaper alternatives.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/03/2026 - 11:00

Federal Judge Spares Google From Breaking Up Ad Tech Business

Authored by Bill Pan via The Epoch Times,

A federal judge has ruled that Google does not have to dismantle its advertising technology business, rejecting the most punitive remedy sought by the Justice Department in the antitrust case against the company.

In an order issued on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia declined to compel Google to sell AdX, its online advertising marketplace.

AdX allows publishers to auction ad space in real time when users visit their websites. Google typically charges a 20 percent fee on those transactions.

Instead, Brinkema approved "most of the parties' behavioral remedies" that will require Google to change some of its business practices.

The details of those remedies are not yet public. Brinkema's full opinion has been temporarily sealed to give Google and the government time to identify confidential information that should be redacted.

The judge is expected to unseal the full ruling in about two weeks.

Wednesday's order also spares Google from having to open-source key technology behind DoubleClick for Publishers, or DFP, its platform for helping website publishers manage and sell advertising.

The DOJ had proposed requiring Google to make parts of DFP's auction technology open source. It also sought the potential sale of the rest of the business if competition did not improve.

The lawsuit was filed in 2023, with DOJ's antitrust division and a group of eight states accusing Google of illegally monopolizing the technologies used to buy and sell online ads.

In April 2025, Brinkema ruled that Google had maintained illegal monopolies in two markets: publisher ad servers and ad exchanges.

She found that Google tied DFP and AdX together in ways that made it harder for publishers to use competing services. That arrangement helped Google maintain more than 90 percent of the publisher ad-server market.

"Google further entrenched its monopoly power by imposing anticompetitive policies on its customers and eliminating desirable product features," Brinkema wrote.

During a two-week remedies trial last September, the DOJ asked Brinkema to force Google to sell AdX, arguing that the company could not be trusted to operate the exchange fairly after years of anticompetitive conduct.

Google argued that forcing it to sell AdX would be technically difficult and disruptive to customers. The company also said separating the tightly integrated systems would require a lengthy and complicated transition.

Both parties welcomed parts of Wednesday's decision.

"We're very pleased the Court rejected the DOJ's proposal to break apart tools that help small businesses reach new customers and grow," Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google's vice president of regulatory affairs, said in a statement to The Epoch Times.

The DOJ, meanwhile, pointed to the restrictions imposed by the court as a victory.

"The Antitrust Division is pleased that the court ordered substantial relief in the Google Ad Tech case," a DOJ spokesperson said in a statement to The Epoch Times.

"We are one step closer to restoring competition and bringing relief for the American people in online advertising markets."

Wednesday's ruling marks the second time in about a year that Google has avoided a court-ordered breakup in a high-profile federal antitrust case.

In a separate case centered on Google's online search business, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta of the District of Columbia ruled in 2024 that the company had illegally maintained a monopoly in general search services.

The DOJ later asked Mehta to order Google to sell its Chrome browser, among other remedies.

The judge rejected that request in 2025. Instead, he imposed restrictions on Google's contracts and required the company to share certain search data with competitors.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/03/2026 - 10:45

Iran Unleashes Fresh Attack Waves On Kuwait, UAE As Trump Signals De-escalation Ahead Of Midterms

Iran's retaliatory attacks on US bases and the regional countries hosting them actually continued overnight into Thursday, despite CENTCOM having on Wednesday announced the cessation of the US bombing operation.

This week's round of US attacks saw six Iranian navy personnel killed, Tasnim is reporting, with Iran's Health Ministry stating that 18 Iranians were killed and over 140 wounded since August 30. The ministry also indicates most of the casualties were women and children, especially due to the reported US bombing of a wedding in the coastal town of Kuhestak along the Strait of Hormuz in southern Iran.  

Getty Images/People Magazine

Many of the victims' funerals have commenced on Thursday, regional media reports. The NY Times and other Western media have been seeking to verify details amid ongoing investigations. "Dozens of guests, according to a witness and accounts in local news media, had already arrived at the Malahi family’s home and surrounding buildings in the southern city of Kuhestak to celebrate a young bride and groom," NYT writes.

"Around 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the wedding was struck by a bomb that, according to a weapons expert and a visual analysis by The New York Times, had been released by American forces as they carried out intense attacks in southern Iran," the report continues. "At least five wedding guests were killed, including a 6-year-old boy, and at least 67 other people were wounded, according to Iran’s Red Crescent Society, a humanitarian aid group."

President Trump and his Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have meanwhile expressed dismay over why the Iranians don't 'rise up' - but rarely do populations under assault want to openly side with the country attacking them and bombing weddings, hospitals, and girls schools. This is certainly not a strategy for 'winning over' the population.

As for the latest military action, while Iran launched ballistic missiles and/or drones on Bahrain and Jordan on Wednesday as part of the initial salvo, the Kuwaiti government is confirming that its territory has alco come under attack Thursday:

Sirens sounded in Kuwait early Thursday, where air defenses intercepted missile and drones during a "blatant Iranian aggression," the Ministry of Defense said on X.

Kuwait's foreign ministry promptly condemned this the latest attack that began before dawn - slamming the flagrant violation of its sovereignty and a direct threat to its security.

"The continuation of these brazen assaults reflects a hostile approach and constitutes a dangerous escalation that threatens the security and stability of the region," the ministry state. It added that "the attacks represented a systematic undermining of diplomatic efforts aimed at de-escalation and calm" - and said it reserves the right to respond.

Crucially, Tehran is also saying Thursday that it targeted UAE, in a rarity - though it's unclear if there have been any impacts, or the nature of the attack wave. According to a Tasnim press release of the Iranian Army statement [machine translated]:

• In retaliation for the blood of innocent people and the brave men of the armed forces, early this morning the Islamic Republic of Iran's Army struck the satellite communications systems, equipment storage facilities, and fighter aircraft hangars of the U.S. military at Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base in Kuwait with missiles and attack drones.
• These attacks caused damage to the communications systems and fighter aircraft hangars.
• Also, as part of this powerful operation, the troop deployment areas and radar systems of the U.S. military at Al Minhad Air Base in the UAE came under attack by missiles and drones launched by the Army.
• Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base plays a central role in the logistics and support of the U.S. military in West Asia and has a major role in the country's aerial and surveillance operations.
• Al Minhad Air Base is also considered one of the important centers for the logistical support and air transportation of foreign forces.
• The response of the brave men of the Army to any attack by the terrorist U.S. military will be harsh...

UAE Strongly Condemns Hostile Iranian Attack on Kuwait, but has not initially confirmed if its own territory was hit as well

الإمارات تُدين بشدة الهجوم الإيراني العدواني على الكويت

UAE Strongly Condemns Hostile Iranian Attack on Kuwait pic.twitter.com/YWLxYjUEoe

— MoFA وزارة الخارجية (@mofauae) September 3, 2026

As for the Trump administration's moves from here, or the 'what's next?' - Bloomberg on Thursday states the obvious (which is a headline that might as well have been on repeat throughout the whole summer): 'We Are Stalled': US-Iran Conflict Stuck With No End in Sight. The below headline also hints at what could be a conflict lull ahead of midterms, now that each side perhaps 'escalated to de-escalate' this week...

Is Trump ending Iran war? 'Operation Fury' naming ends, Hegseth extends troop plan to 2027 as prez appears tired ahead of midterms

Also, Goldman Sachs Delta One Desk offers the following analysis and market angle [emphasis zh]:

The most important headline overnight may be the WSJ report that "Privately, Trump is having discussions with senior aides about whether to declare the Iran war over, U.S. officials said, noting Trump has said he favors the idea."  Trump said, “I like our position now much better, with almost total control of the Hormuz Strait, and their economy totally collapsing.” That feels like US reflexivity becoming explicit. Oil >$90, product markets are tight, gasoline matters politically and interceptor inventories are reportedly stretched. My bias remain that this is an  escalate to de-escalate... that on the other side of Labor day there might be a different approach. Perhaps optimistically,  that makes me think we are closer to the high end than the low end of the near term energy range.

On the other side of the conflict, the Iranians have shown a keen understanding of how energy markets and the growing unpopularity of the war among the American public factor into the November midterms.

He can declare it whatever he wants, but if American warships are still blockading Iranian ports and escorting oil tankers through Hormuz then, um, it's not actually over https://t.co/1b42qkONOb

— Gregg Carlstrom (@glcarlstrom) September 3, 2026

Al Jazeera highlights the view from Tehran, offering the analysis of Sultan Barakat, Professor of Public Policy at Hamad bin Khalifa University in Qatar:

"I think Iran is just holding their breath to see what happens with the midterm elections in the United States," Barakat told Al Jazeera. "If that election goes against what Trump wishes, then you could see the president being impeached. I think the Democrats will probably ask for a halt on the war and go back to negotiation."

While, "impeached" is a highly unlikely scenario and a bit strong in this context, Barakat pointed out that this is "major gambling on the Iranian side," since "Trump has nothing to lose now. He can actually take actions that were not anticipated in the past, or maybe were far-fetched in the past." Trump himself on Wednesday brushed off midterm election concerns:

Trump on Iran:

I’m not affected by the election. I’m not running. My party is running.

I think my party respects the fact that we are not allowing Iran to have a nuclear weapon. pic.twitter.com/jF4rYkvupq

— Clash Report (@clashreport) September 2, 2026

Prof. Barakat continued by saying "the ultimate losers, really, are still the Gulf States" now "past six months" into the economic strain, and yet still with no unified effort or momentum "to talk directly to the Iranians to come with a solution to the current problem."

More Latest Developments

...via Newsquawk

• US President Trump said regarding Iran that the US is winning that one very big and controls the Hormuz Strait.
• US Secretary of State Rubio instructed all US embassies around the world earlier this week to send an official diplomatic demarche about Operation Economic Outcast to the most senior level of their host governments, according to Axios citing US officials.
• US Ambassador to NATO Whitaker said Iran is a bankrupt country and will not be able to pay anyone in its military, civil service or government, nor subsidise its society. He stated the people of Iran will not be happy with the current state of affairs and should blame their government and regime, adding that they should ask for change and a different way forward.
• US Envoy Witkoff met last weekend with the UAE's national security adviser to discuss next steps on Iran, according to Axios. The report added that "One of the officials said a special message was sent to U.S. diplomatic posts in Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Hong Kong, Doha, London, Berlin and several Central Asian capitals. The missive instructed them to demand that their host governments shut down all branches of Iran's Melli and Saderat banks that are affiliated with the IRGC."
• Iran reportedly threatened the US with a large-scale attack if Israel launches an attack on the Ali al-Taher ridge in southern Lebanon, Reuters reported citing sources.
• Iranian Chairman of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission said the Strait of Hormuz cannot be opened without Iran’s will, IRIB reported.
• Kuwait Army said it was repelling missile and hostile drone attacks, while local news outlets were attributing the attacks to Iranian aggression and Arab sources said the US base in Kuwait was hit by a strike with smoke reported.
• A senior Yemeni official said Yemen’s armed forces are conducting new military drills in the Red Sea to prepare for a possible confrontation with Israel and the US, IRNA reported.
• Military sources said clashes broke out between Yemeni government forces and Houthis in the Al-Kadha area west of Taizz, Yemen.
• Geopolitics: Ukraine
• Russian President Putin said that Russia and Ukraine should agree first and noted that there is an opportunity to reach a peace agreement. Putin added that contacts with the US continue, adding that Russia is in favour of restoration of relations with the US. He said US President Trump is ready for positive and constructive works and that there are contacts with Ukraine.
• Russian President Putin said attacks on three oil refineries have been repelled, adding that Russia must respond in kind.
• US Ambassador to NATO Whitaker said Russia’s aggressive actions, invasion of Ukraine and prior annexation of Crimea lead the US to believe that Russia can be unpredictable and could be willing to take action against a NATO country. Furthermore, he said recent statements by Russian President Putin do not leave him optimistic, while he added that Ukraine needs to be able to defend itself as long as it takes until the war can be brought to an end.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/03/2026 - 10:40

House Fails To Pass Resolution Limiting Supreme Court To 9 Justices

Authored by Stacy Robinson via The Epoch Times,

The House of Representatives rejected a proposed constitutional amendment on Sep. 2 that would fix the number of U.S. Supreme Court justices at nine.

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) introduced the joint resolution under suspended rules but failed to garner the necessary two-thirds majority. The vote fell almost entirely along party lines at 212-206; only one Democrat supported the proposed amendment.

Biggs's legislation would have added a single sentence to the Constitution:

''The Supreme Court of the United States shall be composed of nine justices consisting of one chief justice and eight associate justices.''

Any attempt to amend the U.S. Constitution faces an uphill battle. The resolution would need support from two-thirds of the House and the Senate and would need to be ratified by legislatures in 38 out of 50 states.

The proposal came amid statements by Democratic lawmakers indicating they want to expand the number of justices to 13 and criticizing some of the Supreme Court's recent decisions and its current makeup. The court is widely considered to have a 6-3 conservative-leaning majority.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), in an interview at the National Black Journalism Conference last month, accused the current Supreme Court of being a "subsidiary of the MAGA Republican party," saying that "dramatic reform" was warranted and all options were on the table.

Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) said on Aug. 30 he thought the court should expand to 13 members.

"I think that we are in a position now that calls for some significant actions taken by the Congress ... and 13 is a pretty good number," Clyburn said in an interview with NBC.

He also said he regretted supporting Justice Clarence Thomas's confirmation to the high court in 1991, calling it a "mistake."

Debate ahead of the vote was heated, and Democrats argued that recent court decisions on immigration, abortion, and voting rules had unfairly favored President Donald Trump.

They also criticized the Supreme Court's recent ruling that states can't use race as a primary factor in drawing congressional district maps, which Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) suggested diluted voting rights for black Americans.

The push to "pack" the Supreme Court is not new: After the 2023 court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, Johnson and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) reintroduced the 2021 Judiciary Act, which would have raised the number of justices to 13.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said that number made sense because the number of Supreme Court justices should match the number of appeals court circuits. He also noted that Congress changed the court's makeup multiple times before settling on the nine-member format in 1869.

Meanwhile, GOP members said adding new members to the Supreme Court was a blatantly political maneuver that would delegitimize that branch of government. Whenever a different party assumed power, it could simply add more justices to dilute the previous makeup of the court.

"That's why the amendment before us is so important. It fixes the number of justices at nine permanently, not because nine is a magic number, but because a fixed court cannot be expanded by whoever happens to win the next election," Biggs said.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/03/2026 - 10:15

US PMI Surveys Signal Growth Rebound In Q3, Strongest Among Global Peers, But...

Following the mixed/weak Manufacturing PMI survey data earlier in the week, today's Services PMIs were expected to be just as mixed with S&P Global higher and ISM flat.

• S&P Global Services PMI for August rose from 54.6 to 56.5 (below the preliminary 56.8 but still up bigly) - the highest since Dec 2024

• ISM Services PMI for August rose from 54.1 to 55.4 (better than the 54.1 exp) - the highest since Feb 2026

These improvements come as hard data languishes...

The S&P Global US Composite PMI recorded 56.0 in August, up from 54.5 in July and pushed the index to a 52-month high. A stronger rise in services activity coincided with sustained, albeit slower growth in manufacturing. This puts the US economy ahead of the rest of the world based on survey data...

“Business activity growth across the private sector accelerated in August, marking a clear shift in gear for the US economy," said Usamah Bhatti, Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Survey data now point to GDP growing at an annualized rate of 3.0% in the third quarter, up solidly from the meagre 1.5% recorded in the previous quarter...

Alongside a renewed improvement in new business intakes, growth appears likely to continue at least in the near term.

“There was also a welcome acceleration in jobs growth during August, with employers becoming more confident across both the manufacturing and service sectors.

Job creation was commonly linked to efforts to keep pace with demand requirements, but also to prepare for future growth as concerns regarding the conflict in the Middle East started to fade."

That said, Bhatti points out that "supply delays remained elevated, notably for manufacturers, while aggregate price pressures also stayed above their historical average."

Prices are a problem - the highest since July 2022...

Most commodity prices were higher (and fuel was both higher and lower?)...

Everything may be awesome at the headline survey index levels but reading the respondents comments makes it clear that it's not all rainbows and unicorns:

• “The memory shortage is continually getting worse. For devices requiring (memory) cards, inventory is low and prices are high.” [Retail Trade]

• “General business conditions are positive. The challenges lie in managing through the dynamic nature of the administration’s policies — tariffs and Middle East conflict — that have caused numerous input cost headwinds for suppliers and us.” [Accommodation & Food Services] 

• “The bond market pushed 30-year mortgage rates up to 6.67 percent, reducing affordability and moving prospective buyers back to the sidelines. The new-build housing market continues to slow with the selling season coming to a close and the start of the new school year. Rate buydowns and discounts have become the norm instead of the tool to drive traffic.” [Construction]

• “The conflict in Iran and strain on the oil supplies has resulted in our paying higher cost for fuel. Locally, our economy continues to perform well, and our housing market is solid. We expect our enrollment to remain steady as long as the local economy stays strong.” [Educational Services]

• “Rising health-care costs, regulatory complexity and reimbursement pressure continue to drive a cautious purchasing environment within health insurers. Focus remains on cost management, supplier performance, operational efficiency and risk mitigation, resulting in increased scrutiny of supplier value, contract commitments and strategic investments.” [Finance & Insurance]

• “The stacked Section 301 duties plus the newer forced-labor related tariffs are keeping landed costs elevated and forcing constant TCO recalculation. We are actively dual-sourcing and evaluating nearshoring options, but qualified capacity, lead times and quality consistency are limited for certain specialty materials and components. The results are higher inventory buffers, longer planning cycles, and margin pressure that we can only partially pass through. On the positive side, Florida ports (especially Port Everglades and the broader South Florida gateway) remain relatively fluid compared with the congestion spikes earlier in the year on the West Coast and in Europe.” [Professional, Scientific & Technical Services]

• “We received a few communications regarding tariffs that are being refunded. Fewer materials being back-ordered at this time.” [Health Care & Social Assistance]

• “Concerns about market trends, reduced hospital sources of revenue and increasing debt management creating reluctance of our customers to expand.” [Management of Companies & Support Services]

There are some positive notes:

• “Business is picking up and forecast to increase over the next six months.” [Other Services]

• "The electrical distribution industry volume demand and opportunities remain very strong. Commodities-based products of materials like copper, aluminum and polyvinyl chloride continue to have price increases and adjustments on a weekly basis. Geopolitical issues like tariffs continue to impact pricing as well. Supplier capacities are still strained due high market demands.” [Wholesale Trade]

Finally, Bhatti notes that growth momentum appears to have shifted from manufacturing to services, with the latter seeing the pace of expansion surge to the highest since the end of 2024.

"Manufacturing growth, meanwhile, was unchanged as both output and new orders rose at weaker rates."

Is strong growth and elevated prices enough to trigger Warsh to pull the trigger in two weeks? Waller's comments this morning dampened the market's enthusiasm for a hike.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/03/2026 - 10:05

Dowd: Lower Yields Are Coming... And Nobody Will Like Why

Authored by Ed Dowd via 'Beyond the Narrative' substack,

On August 19th the Treasury announced it would increase the size of its nominal long-end liquidity support buybacks beginning September 9. The long end yields declined on the headline. Cue the usual chorus of X hot takes: stealth QE, yield-curve control lite, money printing etc.

The reality is much less bombastic...it is mostly a jawboning exercise.

The Treasury Is Not the Fed...The Treasury Cannot Create Money

Buybacks of this type are a recycling operation. You issue more bills and notes on the front end and you take some longer paper off the street. You can tidy up liquidity in off-the-run issues. You can send a signal that you would prefer the 30-year not print a fresh multi-decade highs on a Tuesday. What you cannot do is print reserves, expand the monetary base, or run a proper balance sheet policy the way the Federal Reserve can. Confusing the two is how people talk themselves into thinking a few billion of "liquidity support" is 2020 all over again.

The size tells the story. Coupon supply at the long end is still large. Doubling a buyback program that was already small relative to annual issuance is, at best, a band-aid. Markets gave it a day. Then they remembered the calendar. The signal from Bessent is not nothing but it is not as big as it seems in the broader picture.

Who is actually in charge of the long end of the yield curve? It is not the Fed. It is not Scott Bessent's operations desk. It is priced by growth expectations and inflation expectations or said differently the boom/bust cycle.

Who is in charge of that? The laws of nature and God.

Bessent Will Get Lower Yields...He Won't Like Why

Bessent will get lower long end yields eventually, however he won't like the reasons why. That is not a shot at the man. It is a description of the cycle. You can rearrange the maturity mix. You can jawbone fiscal consolidation.

You can tell reporters that yields do not reflect fundamentals. None of that overrides a growth scare once the growth scare arrives. That reality is not what Bessent or Trump want to manifest especially before the midterm elections.

Look at China if you want the preview: bond yields collapsing because the economy is in a disinflationary grind, not because Beijing discovered a clever buyback program.

Three Pillars of Risk: Growth Scare Ahead

At Phinance Technologies we put our US economic outlook on paper in January. An Emerging slowdown with yields set to drop starting in 2026. A deflationary scare is on the horizon. The risks outlined below are not exotic.

They are the white swans sitting on the lawn.

• Housing: Roughly 20% of GDP. Forty percent of CPI when you let the shelter component speak. Home prices still too high...call it 30% on our work. New home data has been ugly for months. Builders talking about persistent headwinds with high rates, affordability and cautious buyers. The border closing removed a bid that was quietly holding up rents and prices in a lot of metros. That floor is unwinding slowly, which is how housing always dies...not a bang...a rollover. Southeast first, then the map fills in. A frozen housing market is a frozen chunk of the real economy whether the S&P is making a high or not.

• The AI bubble peaking: In my post on July 23rd I outlined that the AI Capex party was approaching closing time. First the private credit market is undergoing flow issues and credit stress making financing more expensive. Since that post Nvidia confirmed those issues on their recent earnings call by disclosing that their balance sheet exploded with extra commitments to suppliers and sweeter payment terms to their customers. They want to become a bank to their customers much like Lucent did in the dotcom days, which did not end well for Lucent. Second Enterprise demand is cracking with ROI skepticism and token pricing backlash. Third power constraints are hitting hard with the grid needing massive additional supply that won't be ready in time for the proposed amount of datacenter projects announced. Finally there is open-source pricing pressure as many users are embracing cheaper models. They call them capex cycles for a reason. The order book always gets inflated near the top, credit is always the disciplinarian.

• China entering acute phase of crisis: Factory of the world with fixed-asset investment falling, construction in contraction, real estate still working off a multi-year start collapse, and demographics that do not bottom until 2032. Contagion does not need a press conference. It eventually shows up in Asian supply chains, commodity demand, and the global credit impulse decelerating.

Bottom Line

Put those three looming risks on the table at the same time and Bessent will get lower long-end US yields. This is currently not consensus thinking but as the risks manifest themselves and the business cycle exerts its natural downturn the narrative will quickly change. The US long bond is the scoreboard and we believe soon it will begin to respond to these headwinds as we roll through the rest of the year and into the next. In hindsight the current Bessent intervention will be seen as ironic.

The Treasury is not the Fed. The Fed is not the long end. The long end is the cycle.

The signs are not hiding. They are just inconvenient for the people who need the narratives to keep the party going.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/03/2026 - 09:45