Key headlines drawing attention in global financial media overnight and this morning:
Trump says a "small-scale attack" was launched on Iran
President Trump said on the 3rd that the United States launched a "small-scale attack" on Iran, adding that it "was not a war." In a telephone interview with media that day, Trump said: "They (Iran) spent about two months building an air defense facility... the United States had been observing its construction, and as soon as it was completed, we struck it 'very beautifully' last night." He also said, "This was a small-scale attack, not a war."
Apple warns that AI agents acting in "unexpected or unpredictable" ways pose risks
Apple said on Tuesday in its annual financial filing that AI agents capable of acting in "unexpected or unpredictable ways" could expose the company to litigation or damage its reputation, thereby posing a threat to its business. The new risk factors in Apple's filing highlight the disruptive potential of AI agents, which have quickly become a matter of intense focus for Silicon Valley's most important companies. "In particular, artificial intelligence agents and other technologies can take actions autonomously, including interacting with internal or external systems—in some cases systems they may not have permission to access—executing or modifying code, sending communications, and completing transactions," Apple wrote in the filing.
Meta plans to issue about $15 billion in bonds, with peak subscription reaching nearly 4 times
Meta Platforms Inc. is seeking to raise about $15 billion through a cross-border dollar bond issuance. At a time when investor skepticism over massive spending by technology giants is deepening, these companies are still issuing debt to finance artificial intelligence infrastructure construction. People familiar with the matter said investor orders at one point reached $58 billion, about 3.9 times the issuance size. Bloomberg-compiled data show this is roughly in line with the average peak subscription multiple for major U.S. technology company dollar bond deals this year. Sources said the transaction is the largest part of Meta's cross-border financing plan, which is expected to raise at least $20 billion in total, with an initial euro bond issuance expected as early as Wednesday.
AMD shares jump 7% after earnings, data center revenue nearly doubles
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) released its third-quarter earnings on Tuesday, with results exceeding Wall Street expectations, revenue rising 45% year over year, and data center sales nearly doubling from a year earlier. The stock surged 7% after hours. Earnings per share: adjusted $2.09, expected $1.95. Revenue: $13.38 billion, expected $13.09 billion. AMD said in a statement that revenue was higher than $9.25 billion in the same period last year. CEO Lisa Su said she expects growth in the data center processor business to "accelerate further," and that meeting demand will not be a problem.
"Nobody likes it": Morgan Asset Management calls on the U.S. Treasury to eliminate the 20-year Treasury bond
Bob Michele of Morgan Asset Management offered a suggestion to U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent: eliminate the 20-year Treasury bond. Ahead of the Treasury's quarterly bond issuance plan to be announced on Wednesday, the global head of fixed income at Morgan Asset Management said, "Nobody likes the 20-year Treasury, so why issue it? It made sense in another era. It no longer does." Long-term Treasury yields recently surged to the highest level since 2002, with the market speculating that the Treasury will shift its issuance focus in the coming months toward shorter-term Treasury bills and intermediate-term notes. However, completely eliminating the 20-year Treasury remains a low-probability tail scenario, and none of the dealers surveyed by Bloomberg listed such a move as a baseline expectation.
France's central bank may cut its 2026 growth forecast, governor says current expectation is too optimistic
Bank of France Governor Emmanuel Moulin said that after an unexpected contraction in third-quarter economic activity, the French central bank may have to lower its forecast for 2026 economic growth. The current forecast is 0.4% growth this year, and achieving that level would require very strong growth in the fourth quarter. "Unfortunately, I think that is a bit too optimistic," Moulin said at the Jeco conference in Lyon, France. "We will certainly have to make some fine-tuning and lower it a little."
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