Daily Buzz: 9 October 2025

Trump Says Israel, Hamas Have Signed Off on First Stage of Gaza Peace Deal

US President Donald Trump said Israel and Hamas have both agreed to the first phase of his 20-point Gaza peace plan and he may travel to the Middle East at the end of the week. "This means all the hostages will be released very soon and Israel will withdraw its troops to an agreed line," he said in a social media post. The apparent breakthrough comes two years after Hamas attacked settlements in southern Israel, triggering a war that has left an estimated 64,000 Palestinians dead and Gaza in rubble. Further phases of Trump's peace plan called for an international body to take over transitional administration of Gaza and for Hamas to disarm.

Macron Swats Aside Calls to Resign, Plans to Name New Premier

French President Emmanuel Macron will appoint a new prime minister in the next 48 hours, his office said on Wednesday, after talks with National Assembly members found no appetite for fresh parliamentary elections to end the nation's worst political crisis in decades. Sebastien Lecornu, who resigned this week as France's fifth premier in two years after only 27 days in the job, led the last-ditch talks with centrist and leftist parties before his departure. The political paralysis has been triggered by disputes over how to handle severe budget debt, leading to calls for Macron to resign.

Chinese Scientists Propose a Unified Global Satellite System

Chinese researchers at the National University of Defense Technology have proposed a united world effort to build a satellite mega constellation to deliver real-time services for everyone on Earth while preventing low-altitude space orbits from becoming dangerously cluttered, the South China Morning Post reported. Their plan, published in the National Science Review, envisions a network of 48,000 AI-operated satellites coordinated through a shared orbital cloud system. Yang Jun, a longtime professor in Chinese satellite navigation systems, said such global cooperation with would build a shared future in space for mankind.

Rescuers Evacuate the Last Stranded Himalayan Trekkers

The last trekkers trapped by a blizzard on the Chinese side of the Himalayas were rescued, bringing the total number of evacuees to almost 900, Xinhua reported. Outdoor enthusiasts, who had flocked to an area nearly 4,200 meters above sea level during an eight-day Chinese holiday and in a month when trekking conditions are normally ideal, were caught off-guard by sudden snowstorms. Those stranded were guided down the mountains by Chinese rescue teams.

Three Chemical Scientists Win Nobel Prize

The Nobel Prize for Chemistry was awarded to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M Yaghi for their work on "molecular architecture" called metal-organic frameworks that could tackle planet problems like climate change and plastic pollution. Kitagawa is a professor at Kyoto University, Robson is a professor at the University of Melbourne, and Yaghi hold a professorship at the University of California.

Top Business

AI Shares Power Ahead, Bank of England Warns of Possible 'Bubble' Risk

The global rally in AI-related shares continued as mega dealmaking in the industry whetted investor appetite to be part of the current market mania. On Wednesday, Nvidia confirmed its participation in a US$20 billion round of financing for Elon Musk's xAI startup, and Japan's SoftBank announced it is acquiring the robotics arm of ABB for US$5.4 billion. Those deals came after Advanced Micro Devices and OpenAI announced a multibillion-dollar partnership earlier this week that may see OpenAI take a 10 percent stake in AMD, after major AI chip deals were signed with Samsung and SK Hynix last week, and after Alibaba announced last month that its spending on AI will be increased beyond an original US$53 billion target.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq in New York hit another record high on Wednesday despite continuing debate about whether investors are getting head of themselves in the frenzy to own AI-related shares. The Bank of England warned that the risk of a "sharp market correction" has increased, noting that valuations appear stretched, particularly for AI-focused tech firms. It joins a growing list of banks and analysts expressing concern about an AI bubble that could burst.

CF PharmTech Shares Surge in HK Debut

Shares in Suzhou-based CF PharmTech surged 161 percent above their offer price in their Hong Kong trading debut on Tuesday. The company, which specializes in development and sale of drugs for respiratory diseases, raised HK$607.7 million yuan (US$78.1 million) in the share sale. The company said in its prospectus that it will earmark 40 percent of the proceeds toward research and development, with the rest going to facility expansion and marketing. The company reported first-quarter revenue of 136 million (US$19 million) and profit of 12.8 million yuan. The strong debut, which came on a day when the benchmark Hang Seng index fell 0.48 percent, reflects the emerging global stature of China's pharmaceutical industry.

Economy & Markets

Chinese Jewelry Retailers Lift Prices as Gold Passes Milestone

Chinese jewellery chains Lao Miao, Lao Feng Xiang, Chow Tai Fook and Chow Sang Sang are hiking prices as the price of gold surged past US$4,000 an ounce. Major brands raised retail gold prices this week by between 1,160 yuan (US$163) and 1,165 yuan per gram, following a 50 percent jump in international prices this year. The spot gold price in New York closed at US$4,044.09, fueled by central bank gold purchases and investors flocking to gold exchange-traded funds.

Ray Dalio, billionaire founder of major hedge fund Bridgewater, is advising investors to buy gold in an environment that he said reminds him of the stagflation of the early 1970s. He warned that higher inflation, weak growth, rising debt and geopolitical tensions are leading the world into "very, very dark times," saying "Gold is the only asset that somebody can hold and you don't have to depend on somebody else to pay you money for."

China's Holiday Travel Tops 2.4 Billion Trips

China's transport network handled an estimated 2.4 billion passengers during the eight-day National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, rising 6 percent from a year earlier, according to forecasts by the Ministry of Transport. Railways handled 153 million passengers, while civil aviation carried 19.2 million. The so-called "Golden Week" holiday ends today, with expectations of significant increases in consumer spending.

US to Add Chinese Companies to Blacklist Over Drones

The US Department of Commerce said on Wednesday it will add a dozen China-based companies to its restricted trade list for their alleged roles in facilitating the purchase and use of American components and technology found in weaponized drones operated by Hamas and Houthi militants in Yemen.

Corporate

Sungrow Power Seeks Listing in Hong Kong

Hefei-based Sungrow Power Supply, a major global producer of solar inverters and energy storage systems, has filed a preliminary prospectus to list on the Hong Kong stock exchange. No size for the proposed share sale was given. The company has an estimated 25 percent share of the global market for inverters, which convert the power of solar panels into electricity for home and business use. Sungrow has about 12 percent of the global market for energy-storage systems

The company was an early pioneer in renewable energy, founded in 1997 by a former teacher at Hefei University of Technology. Its shares, listed in the Shenzhen stock exchange, have jumped 123 percent this year, thanks to booming energy demand with AI data centers. Last year, the company surpassed longtime rival LONGi Green Technology as the world's most valuable solar sector company.

Tesla Unveils 'Affordable Models' to Woo Back Buyers

Tesla unveiled two cheaper "affordable" models of its Model Y and Model 2 series as it tries to win back consumers, but investors said the US$5,000 reduction in sticker prices isn't enough to halt sliding sales caused by lower-cost electric cars from competitors, particularly Chinese. The stripped-down Tesla models offer buyers fewer extra features. The price reductions don't cover the US$7,500 increased expense American electric car buyers face after the Trump administration let a tax credit for new energy vehicles expire at the end of September.

Germany's Competition Watchdog Launches Probe Into Temu Operations

Germany's Federal Cartel Office announced an investigation into Chinese e-commerce giant Temu to examine its pricing policies for traders and the company's treatment of suppliers. The competition watchdog said the probe into possible price-fixing is focused on its Dublin-based EU arm. Temu has an estimated 19.3 million active users in Germany, the equivalent of more than a quarter of the adult population.

Qualcomm Acquires Italian Software Company

Qualcomm, a leading US mobile chip firm, said it is acquiring Arduino, an Italian open-source company that introduced a whole generation of tinkerers and hobbyists to microcontrollers and embedded electronics with inexpensive, programmable circuit boards, and has about 33 million active users. No value for the takeover was made public. Arduino products can't be used to build commercial products but they are popular for testing out new concepts.