Good Morning

 

• The Canadian government has accused Indian Home Minister Amit Shah of being behind a plan to target Sikh separatists on Canadian soil. The Indian government has denied the allegations as unfounded. According to the *Washington Post*, a Canadian official confirmed that Shah was involved in campaigns of violence and intimidation against Sikh separatists in Canada. Sikh separatists are demanding an independent state of Khalistan in India, which is seen as a threat by the Indian government. The allegations are straining relations between Canada, the USA and India.
  
• Kamala Harris warned in Washington of the dangers of another term in office for Donald Trump. At a large rally with around 75,000 participants near the White House, the location of Trump's speech on 6 January 2021, she criticized Trump for his attempt to seize power unchecked and violently reverse his defeat in the 2020 election. The presidential election on November 5 is crucial for the future of the USA, said Harris. Trump, meanwhile, described his recent New York event as a “love fest” despite controversial statements from speakers.
  
• Mukesh Ambani wants to convert his retail chain Reliance to fast 10-30 minute delivery services, similar to Indian start-ups Zomato, Swiggy and Zepto. This is to counter the growing trend towards quick commerce, which is displacing traditional stores. Reliance plans to offer quick deliveries from over 3,000 supermarkets and is doing away with additional warehouses. The launch is also a step towards preparing for Reliance Retail's planned IPO. However, there are challenges in terms of logistics and competition with established services.
  
• North Korea's foreign minister has arrived in Russia for talks, while NATO and South Korea are warning against the deployment of North Korean troops to support Russia in the Ukraine war. According to the Pentagon, some North Korean soldiers are already stationed in the Kursk region near the Ukrainian border. South Korea is considering supplying weapons to Ukraine if North Korea supports Russia. The USA and South Korea fear that North Korea is gaining military experience, which poses a threat to the region. North Korean troops could be used as infantry to bolster Russia's resources.
  
• Australia is strengthening its missile defense due to “significant concerns” about China's ICBM test in the South Pacific. Defense Minister Pat Conroy announced plans to increase weapons stockpiles and work with the US, Japan and South Korea to contribute to regional stability. Australia is investing A$74 billion in missiles and missile defense, including A$7 billion for long-range missiles from US company Raytheon. Local production of GMLRS missiles and 155mm ammunition is also planned to make Australia more self-sufficient.
  
• Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has been trying to reposition the chip manufacturer and move its production forward since 2021. However, a critical comment about Taiwan led to a broken deal with TSMC, which weighed on profits. High targets in AI and chip production were not achieved, important customers such as Apple and Qualcomm continue to rely on competitors such as TSMC. Despite billions in investment and government support, Intel is falling short of expectations and is struggling with production problems, particularly the delay in 18A technology.
  
  
• Intel expects sales to fall by 8% to USD 13.02 billion in the coming quarter. The company continues to lose market share in data centers and PCs, while it has hardly benefited from AI chip demand so far. CEO Pat Gelsinger is under pressure to improve production of the new 18A technology by 2025. But even new contracts, such as the one with Amazon, have failed to reassure investors - the share price fell by over 50 % in 2024. Many are calling for the loss-making Foundry division, which continues to weigh on margins, to be divested.
  
  
• Volkswagen reports a 64 percent drop in profits to 1.58 billion euros in the third quarter, due to falling vehicle sales and expensive cost-cutting measures. Due to weak results, particularly in China, VW is planning plant closures in Germany and massive job cuts. The Works Council and IG Metall are calling for long-term solutions that go beyond mere cost-cutting measures. The collective bargaining talks continue today.
  
• The EU has imposed tariffs of up to 35.3% on electric cars from China since midnight after months of unsuccessful negotiations. These “countervailing duties” are intended to compensate for distortions of competition due to Chinese subsidies. While the share of Chinese e-cars in the EU market has risen from 2% to 14%, opinions on the tariffs differ within the EU. Germany is against these measures, while other major automotive countries support them. Chinese countermeasures could affect German manufacturers as their dependence on the Chinese market increases. Despite the tariffs, there are still negotiations on possible solutions and minimum prices for e-cars from China.
  
• Kamala Harris gave a campaign speech at a symbolic location in front of the White House on Monday evening to warn voters about Donald Trump. She emphasized that Trump was not thinking about improving people's lives and criticized his unstable nature. Harris presented herself as the president for all Americans and promised to look for solutions and compromise. Meanwhile, Trump made an appearance in Pennsylvania, where he responded to a comedian's controversial comment about Puerto Rico without apologizing. Joe Biden, who also responded to Trump's comment, came under criticism himself for his statement that Trump's supporters were the only trash he saw.
  
  
• The Italian mafia organization 'Ndrangheta uses Germany for money laundering and tax fraud. Investigations by Operation Eureka show that millions in drug money are laundered via car washes. A suspect from Munich, Domenico R., procured fake vaccination certificates and was involved in a tax carousel. There are also links to pizzerias in Erfurt, which are apparently used for money laundering.
  
  
• Heavy flooding in Spain, particularly in the Valencia region, has left several people dead and many missing. After heavy rainfall and flash floods, rescue workers used drones to search for the missing, including six people in Letur, Albacete. The masses of water flooded roads, houses and fields, while air and rail traffic was disrupted. A high-speed train derailed, but there were no injuries. The Spanish head of government, Pedro Sánchez, asked the population to be careful and follow the instructions of the authorities. Scientists warn that climate change could intensify extreme weather events.
  
  
  
• “red_panda": Mysterious image generation model outperforms the competition A new, mysterious image generation model called ‘red_panda’ has left the competition far behind on the Artificial Analysis benchmark list. The model not only impresses with its performance, but also with its speed, as it generates images in just 7 seconds - far faster than OpenAI's DALL-E 3, for example. However, the origin of “red_panda” remains a mystery, and the AI community is eagerly awaiting further information. (TC)OpenAI: Baut eigenen KI-Chip mit Broadcom und TSMC
• OpenAI is probably developing its own AI chip in collaboration with Broadcom and TSMC. CEO Sam Altman is thus examining various options to broaden the chip supply and reduce costs. (RT)
• xAI: Elon Musk's AI start-up is heading for a $40 billion valuation The AI start-up xAI is currently negotiating a new financing round worth billions. The valuation of Elon Musk's company could reach new heights as a result. (WSJ)
  
• EU: imposes punitive tariffs on electric cars from China The punitive tariffs on imports of Chinese electric cars into the EU are finally coming into force. This was announced by the EU Commission yesterday afternoon. From today, the tariffs will officially apply for five years - and German car manufacturers fear countermeasures. (RT) 
• VDA study: Will 140,000 car jobs be lost by 2035?
   According to a study, the transition to electromobility could result in the loss of a further 140,000 jobs in the German automotive industry over the next ten years if developments remain the same. This corresponds to a good 15 percent of the total of 911,000 people working in the industry in 2023. (VDA)
• Bitpanda: IPO in 2025? According to the news agency Bloomberg, the Viennese crypto exchange Bitpanda is concretizing its plans for an IPO in Frankfurt. Bitpanda has mandated the major US banks Citigroup and Morgan Stanley to help prepare the IPO. The valuation of the start-up, which was founded in 2014, could be at least €3.7 billion. (BBG)
  
  
• Penguin Random House: Publisher wants to protect authors from AI exploitation (HEI)
• Lawsuit against Elon Musk: Unlawful use of “Blade Runner 2049” images for AI training? (CNBC)
• GMI Cloud: Startup secures $82 million for GPU cloud infrastructure (TC)
• Ex-OpenAI CTO: Mira Murati launches new AI startup - Barret Zoph, former OpenAI researcher, could join (RT)
• TSMC challenges: Free trade weakens, chip giant's founder warns of growth hurdles (RT)
• Alphabet, the parent company of Google, made 34% more profit in Q3 than in the previous year's Q3 - sales rose by 15% DAX: Closes in the red (TAG) 
• GfK consumer climate: Consumer sentiment continues to brighten (TAG) 
• Adidas: Strong Q3 - Group continues to grow in China and USA (ADI) 
• Lufthansa: Decline in profits - core brand becomes ballast (RT) 
• Covestro: Plastics group cuts forecast again (MS) World Bank: Expects oil price to fall again - for fourth year in a row (GUAR) 
• USA: Enacts new restrictions on investments in Chinese tech and AI companies (BBG) 
• Meta: Probably developing its own AI search engine (TI)
• Starbucks: Threatens employees with dismissal if they do not return to the office (BBG) 
• Washington Post: Loses 200,000 subscribers - because newspaper traditionally suspended election endorsement (NPR)