Good morning. Israel escalates regional tensions with a strike on Qatar. Nvidia gets ready to release a new chip system. And extreme weather is taking a toll on French vineyards. Listen to the day’s top stories.
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Israel conducted a strike against senior Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, escalating tensions with Arab nations over the Gaza war. Qatar condemned the attack as a “flagrant violation” of international law, while Benjamin Netanyahu insisted the move was a “wholly independent Israeli operation.” The White House said the strike didn’t help US or Israeli peace goals.
More geopolitics: Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra signaled he will remain politically active after being sentenced to a year in prison. Nepal’s leader KP Sharma Oli resigned after demonstrators torched his private residence and other government buildings during violent protests, according to local media reports. And in Europe, President Emmanuel Macron named Sebastien Lecornu to be France’s new prime minister after Francois Bayrou officially resigned.
Apple goes thin at its biggest product launch event of the year. The tech titan debuted its iPhone 17 lineup, improving the devices’ durability and camera technology and adding an all-new skinnier Air design. CEO Tim Cook called the iPhone Air a “total game changer.” But Bloomberg Opinion’s Dave Lee raises an important question: who actually wants to buy a thinner iPhone? Also getting upgrades: Apple Watch and AirPods.
Oracle surged after posting a jump in bookings in the latest quarter, following a massive deal with OpenAI. In more tech news, Microsoft is ordering Seattle-area workers back to the office three days a week. The move will be expanded to the rest of the US and internationally as well. The software giant is also continuing to distance itself from OpenAI, getting ready to use Anthropic’s offerings for some Office apps, according to The Information.
The S&P 500 hit all-time highs on hopes for a rate cut from the Federal Reserve to help curb a jobs downturn. US job growth in the year through March was marked down by a record 911,000 in the BLS’s preliminary revision, adding pressure on the central bank to start easing. Jamie Dimon said the adjustment provides further proof the economy is weakening. In light of the revision, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called on the Fed to change its policy stance.
Deep Dive: Chip Change
Nvidia is gearing up to offer a new chip system designed to handle demanding AI tasks like video generation and software creation. The product, dubbed Rubin CPX, will debut at the end of next year.
The offering is yet another example of the company’s relentless pace in introducing new hardware and software— a speed its competitors have yet to match—aimed at keeping the industry hooked on its offerings.
The chipmaking titan’s venture capital arm has also been making some big moves, investing in Quantinuum for the first time, valuing the company at $10 billion after CEO Jensen Huang suggested earlier this year that quantum computing will become a practical technique sooner than previously expected.
The moves come after Nvidia gave a tepid revenue forecast last month that signaled growth is decelerating after the staggering two-year boom in AI spending.
President Prabowo Subianto has turned to Indonesia’s central bank to shore up the budget and help fund his ambitious programs. The country’s new finance minister needs to tread carefully to establish trust, Daniel Moss writes.
Burnt grape vines in a vineyard following a wildfire in Fontjoncouse, Aude, France. Photographer: Angel Garcia/Bloomberg
Extreme weather is coming for your vino. French wine production is taking a major hit this year after heat waves, drought and wildfires that damaged vineyards tanked output to 37.4 million hectolitres, below the five-year average.
