Key global financial headlines from overnight and this morning include:
1. EU Assesses Potential US Tariffs Exceeding 15% Pact Cap, Affecting €4.2 Billion in Goods The new tariff plan from US President Donald Trump could subject approximately €4.2 billion (equivalent to $5 billion) of EU exports to tariffs higher than the 15% ceiling established under the US-EU trade agreement. According to sources familiar with the EU's tariff assessment, the new policy would raise duties on European exports, including cheese, butter, certain agricultural products, as well as some plastics, textiles, and chemicals, above the maximum levels permitted by the agreement. The sources indicated that tariffs on other goods, such as certain spirits, would remain below 15%. This follows Trump's announcement of a new 10% global tariff after the US Supreme Court ruled he could not impose so-called "reciprocal tariffs" worldwide under emergency powers, with subsequent threats to raise the rate to 15%, though this has not yet been formally implemented.
2. Trump to Require Tech Giants to Pledge Self-Funding for Data Center Power Costs US President Donald Trump is set to convene tech industry executives at the White House next week to sign a commitment ensuring their companies will cover the electricity costs for their high-energy-consumption data centers. A White House official stated that representatives from companies including Amazon, Meta Platforms Inc., Microsoft, and Google parent Alphabet are expected to attend the event with Trump on March 4th. The invitation list also includes Elon Musk's xAI, Oracle, and OpenAI. "Under this bold initiative, these major companies will build, bring in, or purchase power supplies for new AI data centers themselves, ensuring that as electricity demand grows, Americans' utility bills do not increase," White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said on Wednesday. "President Trump is committed to maintaining US leadership in artificial intelligence while lowering living costs for working families."
3. Thrive Capital Invests Approximately $1 Billion in OpenAI at $285 Billion Valuation, Sources Say On Wednesday, sources confirmed that Joshua Kushner's Thrive Capital invested approximately $1 billion in OpenAI last December, valuing the company at $285 billion. This represents a favorable deal for the venture capital firm, which has long been a major financial backer of the AI startup. OpenAI is currently finalizing a substantial funding round that could total over $100 billion, potentially pushing the company's valuation to $800 billion. According to a source familiar with the negotiations who requested anonymity due to the confidential nature of the talks, Thrive's investment from late last year was a separate transaction, but the firm is likely to participate in the current funding round.
4. Samsung Galaxy S26 Series Launched: Features AI Triple-Engine Fusion and Debuts Privacy Screen, Two Models See $100 Price Increase Samsung Electronics unveiled its latest flagship smartphone series on Wednesday, with two models seeing a $100 price increase compared to their predecessors, as the industry grapples with the impact of a global memory chip shortage. Against the backdrop of rapid AI infrastructure expansion causing industry-wide chip shortages, Samsung highlighted the upgraded AI capabilities and new privacy display features of its new models. Market research firm Counterpoint Research noted in a December report that, affected by the memory chip shortage, the average selling price of smartphones is projected to rise by 6.9% in 2026. The starting price of the top-tier S26 Ultra remains consistent with last year's S25 series, while the S26 and S26+ are $100 more expensive than the previous S25 series. Ben Wood, Chief Analyst at CCS Insight, stated that the chip shortage is "not a short-term issue." He added, "We expect the global memory chip shortage to persist until 2027, primarily due to the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure diverting chip supply away from smartphones, PCs, and other consumer electronics."
5. Major Outage at World's Largest Derivatives Exchange! CME Metal Market Halted for 1.5 Hours, Natural Gas Trading Disrupted for 35 Minutes CME Group, the world's largest derivatives exchange, experienced a system outage on Wednesday, leading to a trading halt in its flagship metals market for an hour and a half. The metals market on the exchange operator's Chicago-based Globex electronic trading system, which hosts the main US gold futures contract, was suspended from 12:15 PM local time until 1:45 PM. Additionally, its natural gas futures and options market faced approximately 35 minutes of trading disruption. CME also announced that all day orders and Good-'Til-Date (GTD) orders marked for the current day would be canceled, with only confirmed Good-'Til-Canceled (GTC) orders remaining active. CME attributed Wednesday's incident to a "technical issue."
6. Far-Fetched or Science Fiction? Citrini's 2028 Global AI Crisis Report Draws Criticism The argument presented by Citrini Research that artificial intelligence will trigger widespread unemployment is facing skepticism from investors and economists worldwide. Over the past few days, experts from institutions including Citadel Securities, Deutsche Bank, Fidelity International, and Liontrust Asset Management Plc have suggested that the thesis is, at best, far-fetched, with a senior White House economist even labeling it "science fiction." Citrini itself cautioned against taking the report too literally. The second sentence of the 7,000-word article published on Substack states: "What follows is a scenario, not a forecast."
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