Flagship

Trump revives Greenland threat

President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to withdraw US troops from Europe and revived calls to annex Greenland, undercutting European allies’ efforts to placate him during a NATO summit in Türkiye. NATO leaders unveiled splashy arms deals, vowed to increase defense spending, and signaled reconciliation on Iran, largely in service of keeping “one person happy and satisfied,” a NATO diplomat told Politico: “It’s all about Trump management.” The NATO chief endorsed Trump’s policy decisions, saying, “what he is doing for NATO is great news.” But the US president continued to lash out at the alliance, praising Türkiye’s leader for passing his Iran war “test” where Europe failed, and signaling he would lift sanctions blocking Ankara’s acquisition of F-35 jets.

Global foreign investment ticks up

Global foreign investment rose last year, the UN said Tuesday, but warned that this year’s outlook is clouded by trade policy uncertainty and geopolitical tensions. The US was the top destination for FDI, though inflows fell from 2024. The Trump administration’s decision last week not to renew the US-Mexico-Canada trade pact risks deterring investors who “can’t place billion-dollar bets while Washington… rewrite[s] the rules every year,” a Wall Street Journal columnist argued. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s whipsawing foreign policy could also dent investor confidence, a Rhodium Group analyst told The New York Times, by raising “fundamental doubts about the long-term trustworthiness of the US.”

India, China win back investors

Foreign investors are returning to Asia’s two largest emerging markets, as India and China regain favor with global fund managers. After pulling $29 billion out of Indian equities this year, overseas investors are warming to India, thanks to easing energy prices and supportive monetary policies, with the country’s “lack of AI-linked plays” becoming less of a drawback amid wariness over the red-hot AI trade, Bloomberg reported. China is also attracting renewed portfolio inflows as its resilience through the Iran war and AI frenzy shows how the country “has broken step with global markets, carving it a niche as ​a sandbag against volatility, ” Reuters wrote. Still, concerns over China’s slowing domestic economy and India’s weak monsoon could temper inflows, analysts said.

Amazon plots $25 billion bond sale

Amazon will aim to raise at least $25 billion via bond sale, Bloomberg reported, as the tech giant dips back into debt markets to fund its AI buildout. This latest offering pushes the total for AI-related debt sales in 2026 to twice that of last year — highlighting the immense dollar figure required to finance the construction of AI-related infrastructure, which investors have generally been eager to fund: Alphabet sold $85 billion in stock last month, and Nvidia and SpaceX each raised $25 billion in bond sales, though the Elon Musk-owned rocket maker’s offering weakened in secondary markets, suggesting a possible lack of demand. Veritable cash machines, “big tech companies have hit the limits of their cash flows,” Semafor’s business editor wrote, and their borrowing is getting more expensive.

Selloff marks chip trade ‘reset’

A chip selloff dragged down US markets Tuesday, a week after the sector posted its best-ever quarter, as investors reassessed the AI trade. South Korean tech giant Samsung’s record profits announced Tuesday failed to satisfy investors’ even loftier expectations, sending its shares lower alongside memory-chip rivals SK Hynix and Micron. “Investors pursuing AI riches keep chasing the chokepoint,” Semafor’s Liz Hoffman wrote: first the models, then chips and compute, then the dirt and steel that house them. Now, “the money is chasing humble memory,” and this chokepoint trade — which is “right on schedule for a reset,” according to Morgan Stanley’s chief investment officer — will face its next test Friday with SK Hynix’s US listing.

DeepSeek’s AI chip plans

DeepSeek is developing its own AI chip, Reuters reported, in a move that could reshape China’s domestic semiconductor race while also ramping up pressure on US chip giant Nvidia. The Chinese AI startup is seeking to reduce reliance on Nvidia and Huawei chips to train and run its breakthrough models. The self-sufficiency push comes as Nvidia’s market share in China has eroded owing to US export controls, with Huawei set to capture roughly 50% this year. But Huawei’s domestic dominance is being challenged by rival tech companies like Alibaba, Baidu, and now DeepSeek, which are designing in-house AI chips, while the Chinese firms collectively heed Beijing’s call to reduce dependence on US technology.

Bitcoin miners push into AI market

Anthropic signed a 20-year lease with a former bitcoin miner, cementing the trend of crypto companies pivoting to AI. Bitcoin’s value has fallen nearly 50% since October 2025. Mining’s profitability is highly dependent on crypto’s price, but miners have been exiting for a while, as AI compute demand — and thus tech giants’ willingness to pay — has soared. Bitcoin mining uses entirely different processors from AI, so converting a data center from one use to the other can be a heavy lift, but they already have several crucial advantages: sufficient power, land, grid connection, cooling, and operational know-how. Anthropic will pay a projected $19 billion over two decades, Gizmodo reported, a stable income compared to mining’s wild volatility.

Is the World Cup a raw deal for cities? FIFA’s New York frontman disagrees. On this week’s Compound Interest, presented by Amazon Business, New York-New Jersey Host Committee CEO Alex Lasry joins Liz and Rohan to discuss what’s really in it for the two states, why he thinks you can’t put a price on the opportunity, how celebrities are getting their hands on coveted tickets, and the hypothetical logistical nightmare that keeps him up at night. Plus, his family’s experience owning the Milwaukee Bucks and why he thinks more sports owners should prioritize the fan experience over the bottom line.

Europe’s far right faces challenges

The difficulties facing two of Europe’s leading far right figures underscored right-wing movements’ failure to coalesce behind their sizable polling advantages. Convicted National Rally leader Marine Le Pen announced she will run for the French presidency next year after a court cleared the way, but will likely do so under home confinement against a darkening fiscal backdrop. Reform Britain’s Nigel Farage resigned from parliament amid scrutiny of his finances, with plans to recontest his seat — a gamble he hopes can break “an unending cycle” of controversies, a Bloomberg columnist wrote — while facing a challenge from his right. Europe’s populists have benefited from the middle ground’s fracturing, Brookings noted, but have yet to prove they can overcome their own divisions.

World Cup marred by political controversies

Lionel Messi lifted Argentina to a stunning comeback victory against Egypt Tuesday, but a series of charged controversies at the FIFA men’s World Cup threaten to overshadow the on-field heroics. French star Kylian Mbappé called a Paraguayan senator who targeted him with a racist rant a “despicable woman,” as French prosecutors opened an investigation. Belgium, which defeated a US team beset by allegations of FIFA favoritism initiated by President Donald Trump, mocked the Americans: “Overturn this.” Elsewhere, public reckonings have unfolded over unfavorable results: South Korea’s president called for a government investigation into his team’s early exit, and Italy’s failure to qualify for consecutive tournaments has sparked a “bitter political battle” over the country’s soccer infrastructure, Politico reported.