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US Students Still Behind Much Of The World In Math And Reading: Global Assessment

Authored by Aaron Gifford via The Epoch Times,

Results from a recent global assessment indicate that reading scores for American high school students have dropped over the past three years, while math and science performance still falls behind their peers in several other developed countries.

The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), which tests 15-year-olds in math, science, and reading proficiency as metrics for college and career readiness, conducted its last tests in 2025.

The initial findings, released on Sept. 8, indicate that children from Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom continue to outperform American public-school children in those three subjects.

PISA has not yet shared comprehensive comparative rankings of the 91 nations that participated in the latest assessments.

China did not participate as a nation; the four Chinese provinces that did also outperformed American 15-year-olds.

About 760,000 children across the world participated, according to the PISA website.

All told, U.S. students still performed above the average of all participating nations in reading and science, and slightly below average for math.

Compared to the 2022 PISA, average U.S. results in science remained the same.

For math and reading, however, the average scores remained below pre-COVID levels and "among the lowest ever observed in PISA in the United States" dating back 26 years.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the nation's outdated public education needs a major overhaul that begins with universal school choice for all American families.

"The United States of America is a nation built to lead the world, yet our one-size-fits-all federal education bureaucracy has shortchanged our children and stifled our future," she said in an email to The Epoch Times.

"Today's international education scores confirm a decade of stagnation and a devastating gap: we successfully propel our highest achievers, but the lowest-performing students are falling further behind - and have suffered a loss of learning in reading equivalent to nearly a year and a half of instruction compared to 2015.

"This moment is a stress test for our nation's future. To pass it, we must enact a hard reset that stops protecting a failed status quo and instead builds a system that empowers state leaders and embraces innovative learning options through school choice."

The PISA proficiency levels range from one to six, with level two considered minimum proficiency.

Seventy-four percent of the U.S. students were at level two or above in reading, but only 13 percent were at level five or six.

The results for science were similar.

For math, 65 percent of U.S. students were at level two or above, but only 8 percent were at levels five or six, compared to 54 percent of the four Chinese provinces and Singapore's 37 percent.

The 2025 program introduced a digital computational problem-solving assessment.

U.S. children scored above the overall average in that category, still falling behind several Asian and English-speaking nations, but outperforming Germany, France, Mexico, and Brazil, according to the PISA report.

Globally, PISA determined that one in five students is considered low-performing in science, math, and reading, up from 16 percent in 2022.

Average reading scores fell by 28 points since 2015, while math fell by 22 points, according to the report.

"PISA 2025 shows that reversing declines in student performance is urgent," said Mathias Cormann, secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which oversees the PISA program.

"The most successful education systems focus on fewer areas in greater depth, invest in teachers, engage parents, and provide targeted support for the students and schools that need it the most," Cormann said in the report.

"Technology and AI can strengthen learning and help prepare young people for the future, but only when used purposefully and not as a substitute for attention, effort, and understanding."

PISA also surveyed participants about their use of artificial intelligence to draft text in writing assignments and determined that those who did not use it outperformed those who said they did.

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 15:50

Pentagon Informs Allies Prepare For "Protracted" War In Ukraine

The full-scale war in Ukraine lately blew past four years and six months since February 24, 2022, and has also long been a proxy conflict, pitting the US and NATO against Russia. Beyond this, there's been what can be described as a raging 'dirty war' stretching back over 12 years since at least February 2014.

Lest anyone think this is an exaggeration, or that it's not actually a deep proxy and covert shadow war as well, it is worth revisiting our prior widely viewed report from 2024: CIA Built "12 Secret Spy Bases" In Ukraine & Waged Shadow War For Last Decade, Bombshell NYT Report Confirms.

Embroiled in a seemingly unwinnable Iran war and increasing quagmire, President Trump badly needs a 'win' in terms of winding down major foreign conflicts, and so this month there's been a return to intensified diplomacy on the Ukraine war, for which envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were dispatched to both Moscow and then Kiev.

It seems that prior to this week, as White House and global attention was purely consumed with the Iran war, and Hormuz-related global energy crisis, the US administration left deep state bureaucrats in charge of running the day-to-day on American involvement in Ukraine. It's no wonder why long-range drone operations deep into Russian territory have grown more and more brazen, clearly having Western intelligence targeting assistance.

Now, enter US Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby, who has informed Washington's European allies to prepare for a "protracted" war in Ukraine and to keep the pipeline of US-made weapons to Ukrainian forces going. This all certainly is a contradiction on its surface, but is part of the ongoing US policy folly of 'escalate to de-escalate'.

AFP/Getty Images

"As President Trump has stated, our goal is a lasting peace. We are supporting every effort in that direction. From the standpoint of the Department of War, however, we cannot predict when this tragic war will end," Colby said Tuesday in virtual address to the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.

The Defense Contact Group was formed under a Biden - and not a Trump - initiative, ironically enough. It has coordinated and overseen the flow of weapons among allies to Ukraine since its formation in 2022.

"As you all well know, Russia is reconstituting its forces and defense-industrial capacity. We must be prepared for a protracted conflict and for Ukraine’s requirements to persist in the months and years ahead. And we must also be prepared for other plausible contingencies as well," he added.

...So now Washington is settling in for yet more grinding and bloody "years ahead" in supporting Ukrainians on the battlefield.

Colby further said the situation "makes it all the more important for Europe to sustain support for Ukraine while also accelerating its own rearmament and reindustrialization."

"First, Europe must continue — and where necessary increase — support for Ukraine’s immediate battlefield requirements through PURL. The continued flow of munitions and critical capabilities is effective; it remains essential to enabling Ukrainian forces to hold the front line and deny further Russian advances," Colby laid out.

“Second, Europe must plan now for sustained procurement that supports both Ukraine's long-term force reconstitution and Europe’s own defense requirements,” he added.

Colby had before joining the Trump administration been an open skeptic of the US pouring so many billions into Ukraine, arguing that the Taiwan-China issue should be a much bigger and long-term priority.

For example, back in 2023 he was giving foreign policy talks called "The Case for Prioritizing Taiwan Over Ukraine" in which he argued that "if America continues to divide and distribute valuable resources to Ukraine and the Middle East, all it will do is detract from adequately addressing the largest threat to America and the world." The 'threat' in his estimation is China potential future conquest and hold over Taiwan.

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 15:35

We May Only Get One Chance To Stop AI

Submitted by QTR's Fringe Finance

It’s awful to say but at this point I’m kind of praying that AI industry valuations crash and the industry faces setbacks that give us months to reflect on its companies.

Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon is leaving the AI industry because he believes the race to build self-improving systems is moving faster than the industry’s ability to control them, it was reported yesterday.

Coxon, who previously worked at OpenAI, said Anthropic’s safety efforts were sincere but that competition makes meaningful restraint difficult without broader coordination.

In an age where everything from warfare to Wall Street, power grids to payment systems, air traffic control to hospital networks, and the software that keeps our food, fuel and communications moving is digital, losing control of the systems that operate that infrastructure is not some abstract science-fiction problem.

It is a potentially civilization-scale problem. And the more of our lives we hand over to AI, the less comforting it becomes to hear that the people building it are still figuring out how to make sure it does what it’s told.

“We’re on track for a lot of the most aggressive of these scenarios where by the end of next year things could be out of control already,” Coxon said in a post yesterday.

His departure comes amid growing concern about AI systems behaving deceptively, conducting cyberattacks and developing capabilities that may become increasingly difficult to supervise.

Coxon believes the industry is approaching a point at which systems could improve themselves faster than humans can reliably understand or constrain them.

Think about that for a second. While you’re wondering whether the Patriots covered -2.5 on a Sunday, scratching your ass and drinking beer for three hours, a cluster of 823 trillion GPUs with the brain power of every human who has ever lived times a zillion is quietly figuring out how to run the entire world without you.

And by the time you realize what’s happening, the only thing you’ll still be in control of is whether you want another beer.

There is, of course, something to be said for Coxon’s timing. It is easiest to be bombastic when you’re walking out the door. You no longer have to worry about the next performance review, the next meeting with management or whether your comments are going to make life uncomfortable at the office. And if you want to stir shit up on your way out, a dramatic warning about the future of humanity is a pretty effective way to do it.

But that doesn’t mean his warning is wrong.

I am increasingly convinced that there will come a point at which, if we have not gotten out in front of AI, curbed its capabilities or otherwise established meaningful constraints, we may no longer be able to do so.

The question is not whether that point arrives next year, five years from now or later. The question is whether we will recognize it before we cross it.

And if you’ve been paying attention, it is no longer insane to contemplate AI systems eventually taking control of enormous portions of our digital infrastructure. We have already seen models demonstrate unexpected capabilities, exploit vulnerabilities and behave in ways their developers did not intend.

And just yesterday, OpenAI announced that an internal AI system had produced a solution to the Navier–Stokes Millennium Prize Problem, a mathematical question that has resisted researchers for decades.

The company says the proof was generated through a coordinated effort involving roughly 10,000 AI agents. That is another reminder that capabilities once considered safely beyond these systems are arriving much faster than many people expected. Now imagine those 10,000 AI agents working on whatever f**king problem they want, anytime they want, without regard for human beings.

The gap between what these systems can do and what we can confidently guarantee they will not do is becoming a serious problem, if you ask me. And as more of the economy, communications, finance, energy and national infrastructure become dependent on software, the consequences of getting that gap wrong become much larger.

This is no longer just a question of whether a chatbot gives you a bad answer. It is a question of what happens when increasingly autonomous systems are given access to the machinery that runs the modern world.

And we are already getting glimpses of why that matter. Here's 10 examples specifically of how AI has already gone wrong. 

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None of these examples proves that AI is about to take over the world. Some were controlled evaluations, some were security vulnerabilities, and some involved humans deliberately using AI for malicious purposes. But taken together, they show why the control problem deserves to be taken seriously. We are already seeing systems cross intended boundaries, exploit weaknesses and carry out actions their operators did not anticipate. The question is what happens when those capabilities become substantially more powerful and are connected to more consequential infrastructure.

None of this proves that AI is about to take over the world. But it does show that the concern is not being pulled out of thin air. We are already seeing systems exploit weaknesses, cross intended boundaries and behave in ways their developers did not anticipate. The question is what happens when those same capabilities become substantially more powerful and are connected to more consequential infrastructure.

So whether Coxon is being bombastic is ultimately beside the point. His warning is legitimate, and it deserves to be treated as a warning rather than dismissed as another disgruntled employee making noise on the way out. You can roll your eyes at the delivery and still recognize that the underlying concern is real.

AI is now a race. A race between companies, a race between countries, a race between zealous company founders. And in a race there is adrenaline, competitiveness and all the reason in the world to throw care to the wind to be first. To win. Except this time ‘winning’ your beef with some other dorky AI founder may accidentally mean the end of civilization. And I’m really not trying to be hyperbolic.

If we ignore the speed we are moving…and wait until the systems are powerful enough that we can no longer reliably constrain them, the debate over whether we should have acted sooner will be completely meaningless.

We may only get one chance to establish meaningful control before that happens. We should probably use it.

--

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Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 15:20

Comcast Plunges As CFO Warns Broadband Subscriber Bleeding Won't Stop

Comcast shares tumbled after CFO Jason Armstrong warned at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference that broadband subscriber losses would not improve this quarter from a year earlier.

Bloomberg first reported Armstrong's comments, which sent shares down as much as 8.1% around 11:16 a.m. ET, their largest decline in months.

Armstrong told the audience at the conference in San Francisco, California, today that he still expects broadband subscriber losses to improve for the full year, although quarterly results will vary. He blamed part of the pressure on what he called "irrational fiber pricing."

Analysts tracked by Bloomberg expected Comcast to lose 103,000 domestic broadband subscribers in the third quarter, slightly fewer than the 104,000 lost a year earlier.

KeyBanc analyst Brandon Nispel expects consensus subscriber forecasts to deteriorate following the comments. He said, "We would expect CMCSA consensus net adds to move lower, where an accelerating loss trajectory could require further ARPU pressure for Subs to stabilize, a cycle we don't see ending."

Charter Communications fell 5.7% as the warning weighed on peers.

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 15:05

FCC Chairman Says Agency May Issue Guidance On 'Fake Polls' Ahead Of Midterms

Authored by AG News Staff via American Greatness,

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr said the agency may soon issue guidance to television broadcasters over what he called "fake polls," particularly if they are intended to suppress voter participation ahead of November's midterm elections.

Carr said Sunday that broadcasters face federal public-interest obligations because local television stations use FCC-licensed public airwaves, unlike cable networks and online platforms.

"There's a lot of interest right now in fake polls that are out there," Carr said. "And so the FCC may put guidance out soon to remind broadcasters about their obligations with respect to not airing fake polls, particularly if they're done to suppress people heading into the fall."

Carr's comments follow criticism from President Donald Trump over media coverage of political polling and his endorsement record in Republican primaries.

Trump recently called for the FCC to take action against NBC News' Kristen Welker after she said on a local NBC affiliate that Trump had experienced "mixed results" with candidates he endorsed in this year's primaries.

Trump disputed that characterization and said Welker should be reported to the FCC for "rebuke or punishment."

NBC News defended Welker.

Carr did not announce a formal investigation of Welker.

Instead, he said the FCC was considering several actions involving broadcasters and emphasized their obligation to operate in the public interest.

The FCC regulates local broadcast television and radio stations, but its authority over news content is limited by federal law and the First Amendment. The commission has historically said it generally will not intervene in complaints about one-sided or inaccurate news coverage because doing so could improperly substitute the government's judgment for that of broadcasters.

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, the commission's sole Democrat, rejected the idea that the agency can punish individual journalists over their reporting.

"As I've said many times, the FCC has no authority to punish journalists this administration doesn't like," Gomez said.

Carr has not specified what standards the FCC would use to determine whether a political poll is "fake" or what consequences broadcasters could face under any new guidance.

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 14:50

Scarcity Warnings In Physical World Send Commodities To 14-Year High, Threatening Stock Rally

Readers are familiar by now with the broad-based commodity rally, with energy, agricultural products and metals moving sharply higher as former Goldman Sachs commodities head Jeff Currie warned this summer of growing scarcity in the physical economy.

The Bloomberg Commodity Index has climbed to levels last seen in 2012...

... while the Quantix Commodity Index has hit a new record high.

Bloomberg macro strategist Simon White is out with a new note this morning warning that the commodity rally is threatening to squeeze corporate margins and household spending, raising questions about how long stocks can withstand an inflation shock spreading well beyond oil.

White wrote:

Stocks are reacting negatively to the inflation and growth risks from commodities, which have just reached levels not seen since 2012.

Commodities are rallying, but this is no longer principally an oil story. The rally is instead broadening out. Since the beginning of August, not only are energy prices rising, such as European gas (up 34%), or gasoline (+22%), metal prices are also rising (zinc, copper), as well as precious metals (silver, platinum, gold), and softs, such as sugar, cocoa and corn.

He added:

Only a handful of the main commodities traded on futures markets (eg hogs, cattle, nickel and orange juice) are down since Aug. 1.

The energy shock affects input costs for everything from manufacturing to food production. The hobbling of refinery capacity from the Iran war has led to elevated prices for products such diesel and gasoline, inflaming transport costs.

Soft commodity prices are being further pressured by the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine war, especially in the Black Sea region, as well as concerns about a particularly potent El Nino this year and next.

For equity bulls, White warned that soaring commodity prices raise questions about how long stocks can withstand an inflation shock broadening across the commodity complex. 

He continued on that thought:

The recent rally in raw materials has taken the Bloomberg Commodity Index to near 15-year highs. On a 10-year annualised basis, returns recently reached a level they have only once eclipsed, in 2008, since the mega-commodity rally of the 1970s.

But as we can see from the chart above, when commodity prices are high, such as in the 1970s or early 2010s, stock prices falter. Equivalently, stocks tend to enjoy their best periods when commodities are historically on the low side.

The current environment of rising stock and commodity returns looks somewhat of an anomaly. Stocks are slipping today, but if commodity prices stay bid - and there are many reasons for them to do just that - the equity market has more downside ahead. (Tatiana's point on higher energy prices boosting earnings won't translate into higher stock prices if the rest of the economy is suffering from broad-based commodity inflation.)

The Nasdaq 100's ratio to the Quantix Commodity Total Return Index has pointed to this summer's renewed commodity outperformance as traders price in scarcity. 

As we've pointed out in the metals space, copper is at an all-time high, north of $14,700, and iron ore might have found a bottom, with prices in Singapore around $100 a ton. On the critical materials side, we've outlined the continued tightening of supplies from China to the West, as seen last week in a Reuters report. We've also identified miners that are poised to break China's "quasi-monopolistic" grip on critical materials.

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 14:35

Apple's Long-Awaited Foldable iPhone Arrives. Will It Fit In Your Pocket?

Summary:

• Foldable iPhone: Apple announces its first folding iPhone
• iPhone 18 Pro Max: Starts at $1,299.
• New CEO John Ternus' First Major Test with Wall Street
• Apple Set to Launch Foldable iPhone at 1 p.m. ET Event

Apple Unveils its First Foldable, Called "iPhone Duo" 

iFold is here

*APPLE ANNOUNCES FOLDABLE IPHONE

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) September 9, 2026

iPhone Duo ... 

Apple has just unveiled its first foldable, iPhone Duo pic.twitter.com/JPZnpFEDdn

— 9to5Mac (@9to5mac) September 9, 2026

Apple Unveils Foldable iPhone, iPhone 18 Pro Lineup and New Wearables (courtesy of Bloomberg):

• Foldable iPhone: Apple announces its first folding iPhone.
• iPhone 18 Pro: Starts at $1,199.
• iPhone 18 Pro Max: Starts at $1,299.
• A20 Pro chip: Built on 2nm technology, with seven GPU cores and a 32-core Neural Engine to strengthen on-device AI performance.
• Camera upgrade: iPhone 18 Pro adds a 48MP Fusion main camera with variable aperture.
• Photo verification: Apple introduces its Reference Image Standard, designed to verify photo authenticity at capture. The feature will be unavailable in the EU and China.
• Apple Intelligence: Remains unavailable in the EU and China.
• AirPods 5: Base model starts at $129.
• Apple Watch: New Series 12 and Ultra 4 models join the lineup.

Shares are mixed following the launch event:

Absolutely dreadful, they missed the point of the phone being smaller than a usual phone when folded up, this ain’t going to do well.

— Ross (@rossr180) September 9, 2026 Live Launch Event

Apple's product launch event at its Cupertino, California, headquarters begins at 1 p.m. ET.

Here's a breakdown of the expected announcements and production outlook from Susquehanna semiconductor analyst Mehdi Hosseini:

1. Our checks suggest Sep-Q iPhone builds are tracking to 60 million units, including 28 million units of the iPhone 18 family and 1-2 million units of the iPhone Ultra1, Apple's first foldable form factor. Rolling forecasts further indicate Dec-Q iPhone builds of 74 million units, including 45 million iPhone 18 units and 6-7 million iPhone Ultra1 units.

2. Importantly, iPhone18 production in 2H26 is expected to consist exclusively of the Pro and Pro Max models, while up to 10 million units of the lower-priced iPhone18 are currently scheduled for shipment in 1Q27.

3. Our updated model projects total iPhone builds and shipments of ~240 million units in 2026, down 2% Y/Y. This includes iPhone17, iPhone18, and iPhone Ultra1 production of 144 million, 73 million, and 8 million units, respectively.

4. Looking ahead, current forecasts suggest Mar-Q iPhone builds of 62 million units, down 17% Q/Q but up 10% Y/Y. This total comprises roughly 10 million iPhone17 units, 45 million iPhone 18 units (including the base, Pro, and Pro Max models), and ~3 million iPhone Ultra1 units.

5. Key Features of iPhone18 - The iPhone18 is expected to feature Apple’s A20 processor built on a 2nm process node, offering ~15% higher performance while reducing power consumption by ~30%. Additional enhancements include under-display Face ID, a larger battery, Wi-Fi 7 connectivity, and an aluminum chassis.

6. Key Features of iPhone Ultra1 (foldable) - Apple's first foldable iPhone is expected to feature a 5.5-inch outer display that expands to a 7.8-inch inner display, a liquid-metal hinge design, a 24MP to 28MP camera system, Touch ID authentication, a hole-punch Dynamic Island implementation, and a titanium frame.

Apple shares were down about 1% ahead of the launch event.

Bloomberg data show how the stock performed over the five days following previous iPhone releases.

Watch the event live:

Apple's Foldable iPhone Moment Arrives: New CEO Ternus Faces First Big Wall Street Test

Apple is expected to unveil its long-awaited foldable handset, rumored to be called the "iPhone Ultra," at today's big product event, scheduled for 1 p.m. ET and led by new CEO John Ternus.

"Watching Apple's event is later today… huge index weight, first major event under John Ternus, and potentially the first foldable iPhone. If the product/new CEO combination lands well, it could become a useful mega-cap catalyst," Goldman Sachs Delta-One desk head Rich Privorotsky told clients earlier.

Last-minute details about Apple’s foldable iPhone: the iPhone Duo 🚨

Source: @markgurman pic.twitter.com/nR8vvO9Xhe

— Apple Hub (@theapplehub) September 9, 2026

Today's event will give CEO Ternus an early opportunity to set Apple's new direction as Wall Street looks for evidence that AI and new products can translate into hardware upgrades and greater adoption of Apple's services.

Whether the foldable iPhone is called "iPhone Ultra" or, as some have suggested, "iPhone Duo" remains irrelevant at this point because, yet again, Apple is testing the premium market, with rumored prices north of $2,000 for the model with 256 gigabytes of storage and $3,000 for the top-tier version. Bloomberg reported last week that memory costs were among the reasons for the price hikes.

Wait, the new iphone starts at $2400?

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) September 8, 2026

Apple is also expected to raise iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max prices by $100 each. Those models will mostly retain familiar designs while adding upgrades to the camera, battery, processing, and other components. Apple is expected to release the standard iPhone 18 and other lower-priced models next year.

Melissa Otto, the global head of Visible Alpha Research at S&P Global Market Intelligence, wrote in a Tuesday note that the new foldable iPhone faces a demanding financial test: persuading consumers to spend as much on a handset as they would on a laptop.

Otto continued:

Apple's upcoming September 9 event will be John Ternus's first big hardware event and an opportunity for the market to see how he may put his thumbprint on the company. Last year's event was widely viewed as underwhelming, because there was little emphasis on AI and how the company may start to leverage its AI capabilities to drive innovation and stickiness in its ecosystem. This gap left many investors wondering what Apple's role will be in the new AI world and what may be next for the Company. Under Ternus's new leadership, the market is likely to be looking for clear indications about Apple's AI direction and how that may trickle into hardware upgrades and broader services adoption.

Apple is expected to release the new iPhone 18 with an enhanced Siri capability. In addition, the company is projected to showcase its first foldable phone. A foldable phone may serve as a catalyst for broader adoption of its higher margin services, as a larger screen option may be a key factor for some users. Based on Visible Alpha consensus, Apple is expected to sell 259 million iPhone units next fiscal year, flat year-over-year. Foldable phones at competitors are priced higher than current iPhones. For example, Samsung'sd foldable phone ranges from $1,899 to $2,999, compared to $989 to $1199 for an iPhone 17. Will a foldable model enable iPhone to raise prices on next generation models, or will they keep prices in line to grab to try to grab share?

Last year, promotional trade-ins at carriers for 13-series and above offered $1100 in credit (offsetting monthly payments, not lump sum). Coming into the important fall Back to School and holiday seasons, will these promotions reappear to entice users to upgrade? In Q4 2026, Apple is expected to generate $55.5 billion in iPhone revenue and $274.2 billion next year. Expectations for both the upcoming quarter and next fiscal year have been increasing steadily since last year, suggesting the market is pricing in users upgrading to next generation iPhones.

The event is also expected to feature updates to air pods and the apple watch. The wearables segment is projected to generate $36.2 billion in sales this fiscal year and $37.9 billion next year. Expectations for Services revenue in the upcoming Q4 2026 and in FY 2027 have declined since last quarter. Will these accessories, along with iPhone upgrades, help to drive higher sales and profitability longer-term through increased usage of service?

At the start of the week, Huawei Technologies and Xiaomi unveiled premium foldable phones priced similarly to the Apple foldable iPhone- mid-$2,500 range. 

Counterpoint analyst Ivan Lam said Apple has the "world's biggest premium device installed base," adding, "Its foldable will sell well and rapidly grab market share." He also noted that the new handset could spur broader consumer demand, giving rivals a lift.

Smart Analytics Global forecasts that Apple could capture 41% of worldwide foldable sales next year. Its entry will undoubtedly intensify competition across the foldable space.

However, Nikkei Asia reported last week that production of foldable iPhones remains limited ahead of today's launch.

"Apple has very high quality requirements and added an extra trial run in August ahead of actual production. However, production is ramping up slowly, with output currently at only a few hundred units a day in late August. That initial volume could be challenging to meet market demand," one supply chain manager told the Japanese news outlet.

For Ternus, the big challenge is convincing consumers facing $4 gasoline and record diesel prices to upgrade to a phone that costs as much as a laptop. Financing and trade-in incentives may soften the upfront cost but underlying affordability remains the most troubling picture for the demand story. Apple's disappointing $3,000-plus Vision Pro offers a cautionary lesson for the new CEO: premium pricing requires a compelling use case, and even monthly payment plans have limits.

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 14:16

3rd Burning Man Attendee Dies En Route To Hospital

Authored by Jill McLaughlin via The Epoch Times,

A third person has died at this year's Burning Man Festival in the Nevada desert, according to the local sheriff's office.

Details about the death, reported on Sept. 8, were not released as festival attendees faced the usual traffic jam on their way home from the annual event in Black Rock Desert about 110 miles north of Reno.

The death occurred en route to a Reno-area hospital on Sept. 4, according to the Burning Man Project.

"We are saddened to have learned that a Burning Man participant, who experienced a serious medical emergency in Black Rock City during the early hours of Friday, Sept. 4, and immediately received on-site lifesaving measures, later passed away after being transported to Reno for medical care," a festival spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email.

The examiner overseeing the death investigation at the Washoe County Medical Examiner's Office didn't return requests for more information.

Two other festival attendees died this year at the weeklong event that started on Aug. 30.

On Sept. 3, the first man, identified later by Sheriff Jerry Allen as Sampson Tshombe, was pronounced dead by a doctor on festival grounds.

"It is with heavy hearts that The Burning Man Project confirms a Black Rock City participant in his mid-50s experienced a medical emergency, immediately received lifesaving measures, and was transported to the onsite center for emergency care where he was pronounced deceased," the organization said of Tshombe in a statement.

Two days later, the festival reported Craigh Mann, 60, was found dead by his friends at his camp at about 3 p.m.

Mann was also sent to the Washoe County Medical Examiner's office for an autopsy and toxicology screening, according to the sheriff.

Allen reported deputies had arrested 34 people for drug sales and trafficking at this year's festival as of Sept. 5.

Requests sent to the sheriff to confirm the arrest information were not returned by publication time.

An average of one death a year is reported at the annual festival that typically attracts about 70,000 people to its temporary sand metropolis.

Last year, 37-year-old Vadim Kruglov, of Russia, was found dead at the event. Sheriff's deputies, who were investigating the death as a homicide, have not yet made any arrests.

[ZH: We have one question, while we know they went out dusty, did they go out smiling?]

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 14:05

Google To Invest $15 Billion In AI Infrastructure And Nuclear Power In Finland

By Georgia Butler of DataCenterDynamics

Google has committed to investing €13 billion ($15.13bn) in digital infrastructure in Finland across 2027 and 2028.

This will include data centers and supporting infrastructure investments in Hamina, Kajaani, Muhos, and Vaala, in the country. According to Google, this is its largest single investment in Europe to date.

Google has had a presence in Finland since it acquired a former paper mill in Hamina in 2009 and transformed it into a data center. The data center is cooled with seawater, and has been upgraded numerous times over the last 15 years. In 2022, the company purchased 50 acres of adjacent land to accommodate further expansion.

In 2024, Google acquired 1,400 hectares of land in Kajaani and Muhos from state-run forest agency Metsähallitus, but did not detail plans for the sites at the time. In February of this year, it added to its Finland land portfolio again with the acquisition of 900 hectares in Vaala for a possible data center project.

With the new investment and plans to build out in the country, Google is estimating that it will bring around 16,000 construction jobs to Finland, out of a total of 37,000 jobs generated. Once operational, the facilities will employ some 7,000 people.

"Finland is an attractive destination for investments, and attracting further investment remains a top priority. Google’s decision is a clear testament to our strengths. The value of the data economy extends far beyond direct investment into spurring innovation, research, and development. Deepening our collaboration with Google will deliver lasting benefits for both parties," said Petteri Orpo, Prime Minister of Finland.

Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Alphabet and Google, added: "Google is proud to deepen our roots in Finland with the company’s largest single investment in Europe, building on more than 15 years of sustained investment in Finland. This investment underscores Google’s commitment to grow our presence responsibly, pairing the expansion of our technical infrastructure with new energy capacity, grid enhancements, and energy affordability initiatives."

Alongside the investment in data centers, Google has invested in energy initiatives in the country, including a Power Purchase Agreement with Fortum to extend the life of the Loviisa nuclear power plant, two onshore wind projects developed by Valorem and Suomen Hyötytuuli, and a 94MW battery system that will be located near Google's site in Kajaani.

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 13:50

Female Lindsay Clancy Jurors Have Public Meltdown Over Mistrial

It's almost shocking how prophetic the conservative online memes were when it came to the hidden deliberations inside the Lindsay Clancy jury room.  The court proceedings have sparked a political firestorm as a female led cult of supporters (mostly leftists) rallied to defend Clancy, a mother who confessed to brutally murdering her three helpless children after sending her husband out of the house on errands.   

The case has triggered a wake up call for America, with critics pointing out that the feminist movement has done far more damage to society than anyone realized.  The ideology is so malignant, it has inspired millions of women to become morally devoid monsters.  Coupled with social media addiction and false consensus bias, the Clancy trial conjured what many are calling a "mass psychosis event".   

This might be the most disturbing trend that ever hit the internet pic.twitter.com/pQryMgV9rG

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) September 8, 2026

Now that the case has ended in a mistrial (11 to 1) and the jurors (9 women and 3 men) have been sent home, the truth is starting to leak out. 

Three female jurors from the Lindsay Clancy trial - foreperson Roni Carlson, Paula Devlin, and Kellie Farina - gave an exclusive interview to NBC10 Boston this week. Much of their discussion focused on their frustration with the mistrial and the lone male holdout juror (the person defense attorney Kevin Reddington called a “rogue juror”).  The attitudes and conclusions of these jurors were exactly as most people predicted.    

Female jurors in the Lindsay Clancy trial FUME over the lone male holdout: “He was very arrogant. He just completely disregarded the information they gave.” pic.twitter.com/3TF0SrlG6t

— TheBlaze (@theblaze) September 8, 2026

“He admitted he had reasonable doubt and I started filling out the forms, I was so excited. There were three forms I had to fill out, and I started filling them out. I wrote my signature on each one. And then he said, ‘But I’m still not going to say that she’s not guilty by reason of insanity.’”

“He had the hardest time getting off the fact that Lindsay viciously killed her children.” 

I am the holdout pic.twitter.com/sLMJ3buLfk

— Dr. Clown, PhD (@DrClownPhD) September 3, 2026

The circumstances surrounding the murders suggest that Clancy was fully aware of what she was doing, including the fact that her supposed "psychotic episode" in which she "heard a voice" telling her to kill her children had never happened before or since.  The episode also just happened to take place right after she sent her then husband Patrick Clancy on multiple errands which kept him away from the house. 

She even took a phone call from Patrick while she was in the midst of committing the murders and acted as if everything was fine.

Clancy was in treatment only a couple weeks before the event, but checked herself out.  She was diagnosed with a depressive disorder (not a psychosis) and she denied having any homicidal or suicidal thoughts.  Some of the drugs in her system (which the defense claimed were the cause of her "episode") were taken by Clancy in an attempt to overdose after the children were dead.  All of this information and more was ignored by 11 jurors for the sake of a convenient insanity plea. 

But the realities in the deliberations room get even more disturbing.  One female juror has come forward asserting that many of the jurors had taken Clancy's side early in the case and pressure to let her off with an insanity plea was applied.  This juror denounced the conspiracy claims on social media that the husband was the "real killer" and admits that Lindsay did indeed commit the act.  However, she also hints that despite her own misgivings, she had to side with the other "big personalities in the room". 

The rest of the jurors interviewed highlight the "vibes" of the defense attorney, noting that Kevin Reddington was fun, likable and empathetic to Lindsay (facts, apparently, took a backseat).  It should be noted that the jurors were not sequestered in this case, which means they went home each night and had free and unmonitored access to the internet and all the ridiculous theories available.  

In Massachusetts, the rules surrounding an insanity plea are reversed.  Usually, it is up to the defense to prove that the suspect was suffering from a mental breakdown.  But in MA, it is up to the prosecution to prove the suspect was not insane at the time of the crime.  How does one prove beyond a reasonable doubt that someone was not crazy when the crime alone requires an inherent level of insanity?  It's impossible. 

This is why around half of all women who use postpartum psychosis as a murder defense escape real punishment for their crimes.  The case centers on the criminal as if that person is a victim, too.     

In MA if Clancy is found not guilty by reason of insanity she is remanded to a mental health facility, but she has the chance to be released as early as six months into her incarceration.  Keep in mind, her defense was that her psychosis was temporary; it had never happened before or since the murders.  In other words, she would automatically be considered "cured" by the standards of the facilities in MA - How would they be able to prove otherwise?   

Thankfully, at least one juror had the courage to stop this from happening.  The case has started a national conversation about the exploitation of "women's health" issues as a shield to protect female criminals from prosecution.  The threat being that America has been conned into accepting a two tier justice system in favor of violent women willing to play crazy.  The hormone defense would never work for a man who killed his three children; why should it work for Lindsay Clancy?   

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 13:35

Stellar 10Y Auction Stops Through, With Highest Bid To Cover In A Decade On BIggest Yield Since 2007

After today's very disappointing buyback announcement, which at $6BN came in far below whisper expectations of $10BN, and which sent yields surging to 4.85%, many were on edge ahead of today's $39 billion sale of 10Y paper. In the end, it priced far stronger than expected, with today's selloff providing a sufficient concession to stir up enough demand to avoid a fullblown bond market panic. 

The 9 Year/11 month reopening of cusip ER0 stopped at a high yield of 4.834%, up from 4.680% in August, and the highest since August 2007!

Just as importantly, the auction stopped through the When Issued 4.384% by 1.5bps, the biggest stop through since April 2025, which was some much needed good news in a day when yields soared briefly above 4.85% on their path to the inevitable date with 5.00%

The bid to cover was stellar at 2.713, it jumped from 2.532 in August and was the highest since April 2016.

The internals were even stronger, with indirect bidders taking 79.18% of the issue, one of the highest on record, while primary dealers were left with just 4.31%, the lowest participation since late Sept 2025. Direct took down 16.51%, right in line with the recent average of 16.42%.

In short, this was a stellar auction, which helped pare some of the earlier blowout in yields following today's buyback announcement, with the 10-year note last yielding 4.837%, up 3.26bp on the session but off its pre-auction highs.

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 13:25

If You're Still Talking About Central Bank Independence, You Are Behind The Curve

By Michael Every of Rabobank

The US just hit five more Iranian oil tankers, citing attempted strikes on one of its warships, and warned more will be sunk if Iran tries it again. It also imposed more economic war via aviation sanctions. The Saudis and Houthis are on the brink of new war after a series of strikes at Saudi cities, followed by Riyadh’s reprisals and the threat of “consequences [the Houthis] cannot handle.” Qatar and the UAE both said the Gulf cannot rely on US alone for the region's security: but Russia can’t extend power there now; China can’t or doesn’t want to; Europe can’t and won’t – so that leaves Turkey and Israel, both eyeing the other suspiciously; and as France and Canada joined the UK in issuing trade sanctions on Israeli settlements, the EU reportedly wants to pursue closer Israel ties on air defence and space.

Oil trades above $100, and notably Shanghai oil is now trading higher than Brent having been vastly lower in the early stages of the Iran War. Crack spreads remain worryingly high all over. Refined product stocks remain worryingly low.

Shanghai crude $110: contract record high pic.twitter.com/gWCza5BD2M

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) September 9, 2026

Trump spoke to Putin as Hungary expelled 10 Russian diplomats to Moscow’s threats of a harsh response. Iceland summoned the US ambassador over Trump’s Stars and Stripes map Truth post showing the US flag covering Canada, Mexico, Greenland, and Iceland. Israel shut down the UK consulate in Jerusalem. The British Army has reportedly been ordered to save money by using reservists less, and flights were grounded across the UK due to a tech issue – showing the impact ‘grey zone’ attacks can have. The Hong Kong press notes China is boosting Pakistani drone defences ‘as India tensions simmer’, and ‘How Japan is digging in to deter –and withstand– a conflict over Taiwan.’ All the kind of things to rattle the long end of government bond yield curves.

Maritime nations are warning that global shipping rules are collapsing, which could take much global trade with it as some worry if there is enough bunker fuel for the ships to use. While the Suez Canal is seeing more passages as tankers try to avoid Hormuz, the Panama Canal is warning of deeper transit cuts as the El Nino drought threat intensifies. Further north, and next to Europe, Russia is betting on a $400bn Arctic Transport Corridor but can’t fund it without China.

Brussels warned China it ‘must buy more’ from the EU to avoid a trade war: but what exactly? The old joke vs. the US was ‘Will you sell us aircraft carriers?’ China now builds its own faster. Europe has few resources China needs or goods it doesn’t make itself. Even EU luxury brands are less popular as Beijing prioritises domestic brands. Perhaps the EU could sell China more tech from ASML, to a new trans-Atlantic storm? Meanwhile, EU industry claims it faces 300,000 job cuts as China “colonises” its supply chains, and European “wealth” is threatened by the decline of its carmakers, with a deleterious effect on the steel, aluminium, glass, and chemical sectors needed for rearmament. Again, not much fun for the long end of bond markets if they think about it.

Canadian counter tariffs on the US went into effect; the US is to ban Canadian dairy and some alcohol and motor vehicles from September 29, as well as Canadian firms from government contracts in response. The Globe and Mail opines, ‘With this trade war, Canada faces its Singapore moment’. The National Post says, ‘Canadians support hard line against US, but don't want to pay for it’, as “When asked if they would pay an extra C$500 per year to hold the line in the current trade war, 56% called this ‘unacceptable’.” Becoming Singapore implies paying vastly more than C$500 per year.

US Secretary of State Rubio is seeking more economic and security ties in Latin America, which has an FTA with the EU, which doesn’t offer the same security ties. He’s in Colombia to ‘clarify’ its China links and to sign a minerals deal, as Nicaragua hands a gold concession to a sister firm of US-sanctioned Chinese miner.

In AI, there are more reports about experts fearing the technology is out of control, as markets worry about the same issue from a different standpoint. The US also accused Chinese AI firms of “malicious” copying of AI technology – which can be resisted how if so, a digital Iron Curtain? Despite fears of US-South Korean tensions, as opposed to alignment on rapprochement with North Korea, KHNP and the US Westinghouse are to align the two nations nuclear supply chains for eight new US reactors. That is a small step in the right direction regarding AI power demands.

In politics, anti-AfD protests swept parts of Germany as the establishment fears that Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania may fall to the populists on 20 September. That’s as Politico says, ‘Merz has no good answers as the far right targets his downfall.’ Nothing for the bond market to worry about there, right?

In markets, there is some speculation the BOJ might even think about a 50bps hike. If so, it would be the first such move since 1989, when it was still in a bubble. Appropriately, given the current geopolitical backdrop, it was also before the3 first Cold War had fully ended and was a time when the US used national security arguments vs. its allies to achieve the likes of the Plaza Accord.

Indeed, US Treasury Secretary Bessent stated: “I am the house now, so when we intervene with the Japanese Yen, I have a pretty good insight into what the Japanese, what the Bank of Japan is going to do, what Japanese policy makers are going to do. And you can bet against me if you want.” I repeat, if you are still talking about the independence of central banks, you are behind the curve; the world is now about the functional independence of countries within which central banks sit. Of course, as JPY rallies and shorter-dated JGB yields rise, the issue becomes when we might see Japanese holdings abroad repatriated, pushing FX down and yields higher in other markets. That might take some more economic statecraft, not “because markets”, from Bessent to handle.

The RBA just saw Hauser give a hawkish speech, which has markets thinking of hikes this month and in November. Fortunately, that’s very much what the US Treasury would like to see – plus a lot more action on non-housing parts of the economy.

ECB President Lagarde, who’s talked independently about economic statecraft yet done nothing, is to release her memoir in January. That’s odd given she will still be in office so can’t tell us anything interesting enough to justify reading it. Unless she has moved on to pontificate at Davos, as whispered. That would allow Macron to choose the replacement ECB representative before the French presidential election where the nationalist Le Pen is seen as favourite, a clear ‘rules’-based ringfencing of a ‘rules-based’ institution against at least one populist appointment. Yet when you see where the political winds are blowing, such action may not prove quite as reassuring for markets as the ‘sensible centrist’ optimists would try to sell it.

On the other hand, China's tobacco monopoly played a key role in shoring up state-owned banks, which just raised $54bn in capital even as GDP is sluggish. Where there’s smoking, there’s fire, but is the new capital for bad loans, a bad sign for global growth, or new “not because markets” lending, a bad sign for global inflation? Today’s Chinese CPI data were in line at just 0.8% y-o-y headline, up from 0.5%, and slightly above expectations at 1.0% y-o-y core, while PPI was 3.8% y-o-y vs. 3.6% consensus and up from 3.5%. Let’s see how all of them trend with Shanghai oil over $100.

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 13:20

Treasury Yields Surge After Bessent Disappoints Market With Small Buyback Size

Ahead of today's highly anticipated Treasury buyback announcement - which put a number to the shocking Aug 19 news from the Treasury that the maximum size of $2 billion per longer-dated buyback operation would be "at least $4 billion" - we warned that no matter what was unveiled at 11am ET, the market would be disappointed...

Bessent will reveal the expanded Treasury buyback size at 11am ET. It will disappoint.

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) September 9, 2026

... for the simple reason that when it comes to $2+ trillion in gross issuance every year and hundreds of billions in annual duration (DV01) supply, $4 billion - or even $10 billion as some expected - would be a drop in the bucket as this chart from Goldman shows (where if you use a microscope, you can even see the size of the TSY buyback in context).

So at precisely 11am, the Treasury did release the long-awaited number.... and it was a huge disappointment.

The treasury announced that going forward, the maximum par amount of 20-30 Year TSYs to be repurchased would be $6 billion... which while more than the $4 billion guaranteed minimum per the original press release, was less than the $10 billion whisper. 

Source: Treasury

Many dealers had ramped up their predictions for Thursday’s buyback operation after Bessent publicly touted the potential for purchases of over $4 billion; many expected $6 billion, a few even said that a number north of $10 billion isn't out of the question. The Treasury chief on Tuesday reiterated that while he cannot alter the “equilibrium” price of Treasuries, his objective was to slow moves down and prevent any damaging narrative taking hold in the world’s biggest bond market

BNP Paribas head of US rates strategy, Guneet Dhingra, said before the announcement it would take a maximum size of $7 billion to surprise the market, with anything less triggering selling pressure. He was right: the $6 billion number proved to be a dud as confirmed by the bond market reaction which has sent 10Y yields spiking 4 bps higher on the disappointing news, rising as high as 4.85%. 

How successful the enlarged program will prove remains to be seen. Yields dropped after the initial announcement of the plan last month, but retraced the move. Benchmark 10-year yields last week hit their highest since 2023.

Markets in August, when 30-year yields hit their highest since 2007, were driven by concerns “the US is not going to be able to pay its debt. It was absurd, but it just became kind of the dominant narrative,” Bessent claimed in a Texas event. He has separately characterized buybacks as aimed at boosting liquidity. They will enable banks and other institutions to offload harder-to-trade securities so that they can then boost their participation in auctions of new debt, he said last week.

“Scott has absolutely adopted a very activist model as Treasury secretary,” Krishna Guha, head of economics at Evercore ISI, said before Wednesday’s announcement. “He’s tactically very skilled in terms of when and how to surprise and move markets and has had some near-term success.”

Guha, who previously worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, said “the challenge is always whether the impact of these kind of interventions can be sustained without bigger changes in fundamentals.”

Of course, since the buyback size is a "maximum", that means the Treasury will not necessarily purchase that amount of securities. However, when it comes to buybacks targeting longer-dated nominal debt, the department does tend to buy the full size, having only twice not done so in the 52 such operations since the program was reintroduced in 2024.

Bessent’s expansion of the long-dated buybacks program last month took investors by surprise because it was announced outside the Treasury’s quarterly announcement schedule. That’s fanned talk of a new, more activist style of US debt management, in contrast to the department’s long-held mantra of being “regular and predictable.”

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 12:55

Trump Admin Asks Supreme Court To Allow Voter Citizenship Verification

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

The Justice Department on Sept. 8 requested that the Supreme Court let the government verify the citizenship of voters using a federal immigration database.

A federal judge earlier in the year ruled that the Trump administration was violating privacy laws by using the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system to verify the citizenship of people on state voter rolls.

An appeals court upheld the ruling on Sept. 4 in a split decision, with the majority concluding that using the database would illegally disclose personal data such as Social Security numbers.

"The district court has issued an indefensible order that threatens the integrity of upcoming elections by vacating the federal government's authority to internally use Social Security data when fulfilling its duty to respond to requests by states to verify the citizenship of individuals for voting and other purposes," Department of Justice lawyers wrote in the new filing to the nation's top court.

They said the order exceeds the jurisdiction of the court, because the organizations that brought the lawsuit do not have standing, or are not affected by the order in a way that allows them to legally challenge it.

"The court's order also fails on the merits, as the policy is consistent with all applicable federal statutes," the filing states.

"The order will irreparably harm the federal government, the States, and the public by depriving the government of an effective tool to verify the eligibility of registered voters and benefits applicants under various state and federal programs."

The groups that brought the litigation, including the League of Women Voters, have not yet responded to the filing.

The litigation was brought after the government enabled bulk queries to SAVE, complying with an order from a different judge that came in a case brought by states that struggled to verify the citizenship of registered voters.

Although a majority of a U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit panel on Sept. 4 ruled in favor of the groups, Judge Gregory Katsas dissented. He said that he would have stayed the order blocking the government from using SAVE, pending the outcome of the appeal.

The government's modified system does not appear to violate the federal law that prohibits disclosure of Social Security numbers and "related records," according to the judge. He said that the disclosures would only be made to the Department of Homeland Security, which would then convey information about a person's immigration status or citizenship to state agencies.

"In sum, SAVE responses are not 'related records' because they simply repeat identifying information provided by the SAVE user, in the course of conveying any additional, unprotected information about the identified individual's citizenship status," Katsas wrote.

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 12:40

'It Could Kill Us All By 2030': AI Researcher Resigns, Warns "Do Not Underestimate The Power Of This Tech"

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

An artificial intelligence (AI) researcher on Sept. 8 said he had resigned and warned people about the technology's dangers.

Jacob Coxon, who has worked in recent years doing research at the firms OpenAI and Anthropic, said in a series of posts on X that neither company is acting responsibly as they move toward what he described as superintelligent AI that is capable of self-improvement.

"Do not underestimate the power of this technology. These will soon be superhuman systems that can hack anything, revolutionize any field overnight, and acquire real power and resources. We have all witnessed the progress in each of these domains, and progress is not slowing," Coxon said.

"The people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade. This is not a marketing stunt. If anything, many executives and senior researchers will couch their phrasing in the press to sound sensible - but I hear the same people express fear privately. No other human activity poses this level of danger."

Coxon said a common response to such warnings is, if company leaders believe in the dangers, why are they still building the superintelligent AI? He said that at OpenAI, many there "have not deeply internalized the civilizational stakes." At Anthropic, according to Coxon, "the stakes are well-understood, but they are locked in a race to get there first - they believe no one else will act responsibly, so they must do it themselves, despite the risk."

OpenAI and Anthropic did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.

Coxon's warning came after OpenAI acknowledged several incidents that involved AI going beyond restrictions imposed by programmers, including remaining isolated from other agents, during attacks on Hugging Face and other websites.

Some lawmakers have taken notice. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) announced recently that they plan on introducing legislation that would ban AI superintelligence and pause development of advanced AI until federal regulators establish safety rules.

Jakub Pachocki, OpenAI's chief scientist, said in a blog post on Sept. 6 that in 2023, he was worried about seeing in his lifetime AI that is smarter than himself and wondering about how to alert people.

"Three years later, reasoning language models are a rapidly growing part of the economy and starting to push the boundaries of science. They are able to operate computers and graphical interfaces, collaborate with people and each other, and carry out research projects. They are also transforming the landscape of computer security, and in that present clear new dangers," Pachocki wrote.

He called for "extreme caution" but said that multiple factors support continuing AI development, including creating systems that can defend against the dangers posed by other AI.

Anthropic executives have issued similar warnings. Over the summer, company leaders called for a global pause in AI development because, they said, models would soon be able to independently improve themselves.

Evan Hubinger, another developer at Anthropic, said in a Sept. 8 post on X that Coxon was correct in his assertion that people building AI believe it could kill all humans, and that he personally pegs the risk at under 10 percent within the next decade.

"I believe Anthropic is trying its best, but we do not yet have a plan to solve alignment for superintelligence and are not clearly on track to," he said, referring to AI following instructions and restrictions.

"To be clear, as we say in our latest Risk Report, I think the risk from present models is low. What I am worried about is superintelligence arising from recursive self-improvement, as we have said is happening faster than we thought."

Samuel Marks, who works on safety research at Anthropic, said in a Sept. 9 post on X that he also agrees that AI could lead to human extinction as soon as the next few years.

"Why do AI developers continue despite the risk? Due to a mixture of commercial incentives and a belief that they are in a race with other, less responsible AI developers that will abuse the technology or develop it less safely," Marks said.

[Writing this in a personal capacity, not on behalf of my employer (Anthropic).]

Jacob’s thread is very worth reading. Here’s my birds-eye view of the situation with risks from AI:

1. AI developers believe their technology could cause human extinction (or similarly bad… https://t.co/rCVoiOWWzm

— Samuel Marks (@saprmarks) September 9, 2026

Marks said it's not possible to program AIs to behave how people would like, that AI agents frequently "severely misbehave," and that the current plan is to train AI to align with restrictions to the point the agents can train their successors better than humans can currently train AI. He said he's conducting research "because I hope my work will reduce the chance of these extinction-level bad outcomes."

[ZH: We can't help but feel in the same week we see OpenAI 'solves' Navier-Stokes, we get another glut of existential warnings about just how awesome (in the scary sense) these models are... all sounds like a marketing psy-op... similar to the fence-jumping episodes with Hugging Face etc 'showing off' how great the agents are (and how they need regulating (i.e a path to shutting out open-weight models)... but could just be our skeptical bias emerging...]

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 12:00

Steve Eisman: What If OpenAI Actually Fails?

Steve Eisman has spent most of the years since the financial crisis being asked, in his words, to predict the end of the world. In his latest weekly wrap - recorded Thursday night as the 10-year brushed 4.8%, he says he's still not there on AI, but if he were - he lays out exactly how it would happen.

Eisman is not predicting that OpenAI fails - but it is the weak link in a chain that runs from two money-losing labs, through hyperscaler capex, to roughly half of projected US GDP growth - and arguing that it's "not too early to think about" what happens if the link breaks.

"I predicted the end of the world once, and believe me, it was no fun. I am in no rush to predict the end of the world again, unless I am really convinced that it's going to happen. But I'm not going to make such a prediction just because it will get a lot of press. There is no question in my mind that the entire US economy hinges on the success of AI. The amount being spent is just so large that were it to stop, the economy would go into a recession almost immediately."

The chain: two companies, $700 billion of capex, half of GDP growth

Eisman waves off the two "bubble" arguments echoing through the halls - and that both hyperscalers' vanished free cash flow, and Nvidia's circular financing - are survivable if AI pays off. The real vulnerability, he argues, sits one layer down:

"So where is the Achilles heel? I think that it resides with Anthropic and OpenAI, because they are so central to the entire AI food chain. According to reports from various Wall Street firms, something like 70% of hyperscaler AI revenue comes from Anthropic and OpenAI... I can't confirm those statistics, but they sound right given what we actually know about Oracle."

From there it's arithmetic:

"Hyperscalers are spending about $700 billion in capex this year, and even more next year, and that spend accounts for around half of the 2% GDP growth projected for 2026. So one must conclude that the health of the US economy is extremely dependent on hyperscaler capex, and hyperscaler capex is highly dependent on the health of Anthropic and OpenAI. That's the chain."

OpenAI is... the weakest link

Between the two labs, Eisman says, "OpenAI is the weaker entity" - pointing to a WSJ report on the 2nd quarter. 

"OpenAI's June quarter revenue reached $6.7 billion, up only 18% versus the March quarter. Compare that to Anthropic's revenue of $11 billion-plus in the June quarter, which was up over 100%... OpenAI's costs reached $12.3 billion, up $3 billion versus the March quarter. So, in three months, revenue increased $1 billion, but costs surged $3 billion. Things are not moving in the right direction."

(ZH Note; the $12.3 billion Eisman calls "costs" is OpenAI's operating loss, including stock-based compensation, up from $9.3 billion in the first quarter, per WSJ. On $6.7 billion of revenue, that implies an expense line closer to $19 billion. Revenue rose $1 billion; the loss rose $3 billion.)

Then the departures. Chief revenue officer Denise Dresser left in August after roughly eight months, two days after Brad Lightcap ended an eight-year run. Eisman reads both through the lens of an IPO that keeps sliding:

"Supposedly, OpenAI is getting closer to an IPO. That's the big payday for employees, because it means that eventually they can sell some of their shares. That two such senior employees would leave now is an important data point."

Two fairness notes: Lightcap had already been moved out of the COO role in April, so his exit was telegraphed. And Eisman doesn't mention Fidji Simo, who stepped down in July and was arguably the bigger loss.

The heart of the argument is what unprofitability does to a company's relationship with its funders:

"When you lose billions upon billions, appearances matter a lot. OpenAI is completely dependent on the kindness of strangers funding its cash flow needs. When a company is growing and very profitable, appearances don't matter nearly as much... But when a company is not profitable and has an insatiable need for capital, appearances matter more than anything, because if the narrative turns negative, raising capital becomes much more difficult."

That's why he flags last week's "good news" - OpenAI's ad business hitting a $1 billion annualized run rate - as bad news: earlier this year the company projected $2.4 billion of ad revenue for all of 2026, and $1 billion annualized in September doesn't get there. 

pic.twitter.com/WGH5sNDwYz

— cocktail peanut (@cocktailpeanut) September 8, 2026 Oracle is the first domino - and the market has already run the drill once

"If OpenAI fails, Oracle is in immediate trouble because of the large increase in Oracle's debt levels. Oracle's debt rating is barely above junk. Oracle's S&P credit rating is triple-B-minus, which is quite weak. Like I said before, it has a $600 billion backlog, and half of that backlog is from OpenAI."

That isn't Eisman's inference; it's S&P's. When the agency cut Oracle to BBB- on July 9, it named OpenAI a "key credit risk," put the lab at roughly half of a $638 billion RPO, and spelled out the failure path: if OpenAI can't pay, Oracle is left holding data center leases it can't exit or must re-lease on worse terms.

Eisman's point is that investors have already seen the preview:

"Prior to the earnings report, the stock was $230 a share. In just a few days, it jumped to $330 a share. Then analysts started publishing reports pointing out that 50% of the RPO was from OpenAI, and the stock gave back all of its gains, plus, in a few months. Today the stock is around $145... From the peak, the stock is down over 50%. That decline is because the market perceives an over-reliance on OpenAI. Imagine what the market would do to Oracle stock if OpenAI fails."

Why it doesn't stop at tech - and what he's doing about it

"The ramifications of an OpenAI failure extend far beyond just Oracle. Remember I said that AI capex accounts for 50% of US GDP growth. While the other hyperscalers are not quite as dependent on Anthropic and OpenAI as Oracle, they are dependent enough. If OpenAI failed, the hyperscalers, I am sure, would cut back on their capex. So I'm starting to think that the demise of OpenAI could push the US into an almost immediate recession."

Affected sectors are all over the place... It isn't just Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Oracle and Nvidia. It's the investment banks, sitting at peak valuations on a financing cycle that AI is feeding. It's GE Vernova and Quanta on power, Eaton and Rockwell on electrification and automation. The uncomfortable implication: a portfolio that "diversifies" across tech, financials and industrials may own three versions of the same trade.

His answer is reallocation, not stock-picking - healthcare, consumer staples, and within financials the property-and-casualty names - and he names three ETFs by ticker: LVHD, SPLV and KBWP. Then the caveat that should anchor this whole piece:

"It's still early, and I want to emphasize that I am not making a major call. Not yet. I'm just preparing."

That Said...

OpenAI has its own numbers. CFO Sarah Friar told employees that July's annualized revenue already exceeded the entire second quarter, and the company says its run rate has topped $40 billion. Worth knowing: that is a latest-month annualization, while recognized Q2 revenue annualizes closer to $27 billion. Second, strangers have been extremely kind. A March round at a valuation above $852 billion reportedly raised more than $122 billion. Runway isn't the near-term issue, it's the next raise - which is Eisman's point.

One more: Nvidia, where "both things can be true"

Eisman's read of Nvidia's $96.2 billion quarter - revenue up 106% year over year - is that the AI story "continues but is displaying potential weakness," and that "both apparently contradictory ideas can be true." His evidence for the weakness is Note 7 of the 10-Q: five direct customers at 22%, 14%, 13%, 11% and 10% of accounts receivable, which he sums to 70% and assumes "must be the hyperscalers."

Careful there. That disclosure is receivables, not revenue, and Nvidia's direct customers include distributors, ODMs and system integrators, not just clouds. The revenue disclosure in the same filing shows one direct customer at 16% of the quarter. The better version of Eisman's point is one sentence lower in the 10-Q: Nvidia estimates that one "AI research and deployment company" - OpenAI's own description of itself - contributed a meaningful amount of revenue by buying cloud services from Nvidia's customers. Same dependency, no arithmetic error.

And the circularity he mentions in passing is in Nvidia's own release: roughly $7.8 billion of gains on equity securities ran through other income this quarter, which is why GAAP net income ($59.7 billion) tops non-GAAP ($54.0 billion). Nvidia invests in the companies that buy its chips, then books the markups.

Eisman's closing line on all of it:

"Once again, it looks like the entire AI ecosystem is dependent on the future health and success of two companies that currently lose billions. Again, if Anthropic or OpenAI ever get into trouble, the whole AI ecosystem will slow to a crawl."

Watch the entire episode below: 

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 11:00

US Officials Threaten Retaliation Against UK Over Israeli Settlements Sanctions

Via Middle East Eye

US officials have attacked the UK over its new trade sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements, amid speculation that Washington could publicly rebuke the British government.

On Tuesday morning, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee suggested the Trump administration could retaliate against Britain over its new trade sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements.

US Embassy

Meanwhile, Florida Republican Congressman Randy Fine warned that British companies could be stopped from doing business in Florida, accusing the UK of a "vanity project in support of Muslim terror".

Huckabee told the BBC that the UK's planned ban on Israeli settlement goods would be a "discrimination against the Jewish people". He suggested US states, specifically Florida, could take trade action against Britain.

Over the weekend the ambassador had accused the British government of "Jew hate" in response to criticisms of Israel's actions in Gaza by British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, who is himself Jewish. 

Congressman Randy Fine warned on Monday night: "As the British government considers forcing British companies to boycott portions of Israel, it should be aware that a Florida law that I passed as a member of the Legislature would ban any British company forced to comply from doing business with any state or local government in Florida."  

Fine added: "It would also end any British business participating in that boycott from doing any business in Florida if it needed any official interaction with state or local government to operate" (permits, tax collection). 

"Florida is one of Britain’s largest trading partners. They should understand that their vanity project in support of Muslim terror could cost them billions of dollars." 

Fine further said: "Any company – or nation – that boycotts Israel is boycotted by Florida."

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband is expected to outline a raft of new measures on Israel in parliament in the early afternoon. 

The United States privately urged the British government not to go ahead with the ban on Israeli settlement goods, MEE understands.

Same day:

• Israeli defense minister calls total ethnic cleansing of Gaza
• He doesn’t rule out using force against UK for it sanctions
• 2 Palestinian boys killed in West Bank after settler attack
• A Palestinian village razed to the ground in WB pic.twitter.com/ONfaQb7I92

— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) September 2, 2026

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham reportedly briefed US President Donald Trump on his plans to introduce sanctions on Israel on Monday afternoon. 

On Monday night, Israeli ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich called for Israel to sanction Britain and expel the UK ambassador over the issue of the Falkland Islands. Argentina and the UK both assert sovereignty over the South Atlantic archipelago, but the vast majority of the territory's 3,600 residents back British rule.

Last week, Trump suggested he would not back the UK if Argentina invaded the territory. The US president has not yet commented publicly on the UK's planned sanctions.

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 10:45

Iceland Summons US Ambassador After Trump Shares American Flag Post

Authored by Rachel Roberts via The Epoch Times,

Iceland summoned the U.S. ambassador on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump posted an image on Truth Social showing the north Atlantic island and other countries covered by the American flag, according to local media RUV.

Trump's Labor Day post depicted the United States, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Mexico, the whole of Central America and the Caribbean covered by the stars and stripes banner, with the entire landmass labeled "United States of America." The image was shared without comment by the president.

Iceland is a founding member of NATO but has no army of its own and has had an agreement with the United States for its defense since 1951.

Icelandic Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Gunnarsdottir called in Billy Long, the U.S. ambassador to Iceland, who is new to the role, having formally taken up the post in August, according to RUV.

"The position was clearly expressed that the post was completely inappropriate," the foreign ministry told RUV.

'The 52nd State'

Former Missouri Congressman Long joked in January that Iceland would become the 52nd U.S. state and that he might be appointed governor.

During his Senate confirmation hearing for the ambassadorial post in February, Long acknowledged this was a mistake, but said he was not being serious.

"It was like a three-way [conversation]. Somebody said something, somebody else said something, and yes, I did add the part about the 52nd state, which was totally inappropriate. But it was not something that I said as a pronouncement that was serious," he said.

"I just hope that the people in Iceland will give me a second chance to make a first impression," he said. "I have a lot of respect for them. They have a beautiful country - 700,000 Americans go there every year. I hope I can get that up to a million by the time my term's up."

Tensions Over Greenland

Trump's repeated assertions that the United States must acquire or control Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory, led to tensions between Washington and Copenhagen.

Denmark has reiterated that the mineral-rich Arctic island is "not for sale," and that the future of Greenland is for the island's people to determine, together with Copenhagen.

The situation sparked a broader diplomatic crisis within Europe and NATO, with both the United States and Denmark founding members of the defense alliance.

Iceland last month narrowly voted in a referendum against reopening EU membership talks, with Trump's ambitions for Greenland featuring in the debate around whether or not the economically prosperous North Atlantic island would benefit from joining the 27-nation bloc.

Supporters of restarting EU accession talks pointed to the changing international security environment, including uncertainty surrounding Iceland's long-standing defense relationship with the United States.

Trump made his post just hours after the EU announced a 200 million euro ($232.5 million) investment package in Greenland during a visit by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told Danish news agency Ritzau in Nuuk that the Greenlandic government and the Greenlandic people "have said again and again that they do not want to be American."

"I hope no one is in any doubt about that, either in the United States or the rest of the world," she said, while on a visit to Greenland alongside von der Leyen and the Arctic island's prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen.

Trump's 'Verbal Stumble' at Davos

In January, addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump appeared to mix up Greenland with Iceland several times, saying that Iceland had cost the United States a lot of money due to a drop in the stock market.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio later said that Trump had misspoken and said Iceland when he meant Greenland, saying, "I think we're all familiar with presidents that have verbal stumbles. We've had presidents like that before. Some made a lot more than this one."

In 2016, an addendum was made to the Iceland-U.S. defense agreement which was neither publicly discussed nor published in Iceland when it was signed, according to RUV, which reported on it last year.

The addendum gives the U.S. military and its contractors unrestricted access to Iceland's defense areas for the purposes of defending the island, which is sparsely populated with about 393,000 people.

The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 10:15

Who's Winning China's Sportswear Battle? UBS Say It's Not Nike

Greater China accounts for about 13% of Nike's revenue and 15% of Adidas', making the world's second-largest economy a major competitive battleground for both clothing brands. 

A new UBS note highlights a widening divergence, with Adidas gaining market share as Nike's turnaround struggles to gain solid traction.

UBS retail analyst Jay Sole wrote Monday that Adidas continues to outperform Nike in China, citing an industry expert who highlighted Adidas's stronger locally tailored products and marketing. Nike, meanwhile, faces weaker product momentum woes, inventory challenges and disruption from changes to its distribution strategy. 

Sole's conversation with the industry expert and other findings raise further questions about Nike management's execution and its ability to refocus the business on product innovation and consumer demand after years of prioritizing woke cultural wars that only ended up with S&P Dow Jones Indices booting the company out of the S&P100 later this month. 

Here's more color on Sole's conversation: 

China athletic wear industry market conditions are have softened: 

We hosted a call on September 4th with an industry expert to provide insight around how athletic wear sales are trending in China. The expert believes overall industry conditions have become more challenging over the last several months, with demand slowing versus earlier in the year. While consumer interest in athletic wear remains healthy, shoppers are becoming increasingly value conscious amid broader macroeconomic pressures. Inventory levels across the industry remain manageable, though conditions vary significantly by brand. adidas continues to outperform and gain market share, while Nike remains under pressure due to ongoing channel restructuring, inventory challenges, and weaker product momentum. Domestic brands and emerging running brands are also gaining traction.

Consumers remain engaged but are becoming more value-focused: 

The expert believes Chinese consumers remain interested in sportswear, fitness, and active lifestyles. However, macroeconomic uncertainty continues to influence purchasing behavior. Rather than exiting the category, consumers are becoming more selective and increasingly focused on affordability and value. Many shoppers are trading down to lower-priced products or gravitating toward brands that offer stronger perceived value. This environment appears to favor brands with compelling pricing, strong local relevance, and differentiated product offerings.

Nike: Challenges persist and a full recovery likely takes more time: 

The expert noted Nike and Jordan have been the weakest-performing major global sportswear brands in China recently. The expert believes sales trends deteriorated through the summer, with declines remaining in the -DD% range and further decelerating into September MTD. According to the expert, Nike's challenges are largely idiosyncratic. Nike has less new product innovation in the performance side of this business y/y. At the same time, the company has reduced distributor participation in ecommerce channels, scaled back promotional support, and focused on improving pricing integrity. While these actions may improve the long-term health of the business, they are adding to near-term sales pressure. Inventory levels remain somewhat elevated, though the expert noted conditions improved between July and August. Looking ahead, Nike's recovery is expected to take time and will likely depend on improved product innovation, cleaner inventory levels, and successful execution of Nike's revised distribution strategy, in the expert's view.

Adidas: No signs of a slowdown, confidence in the 2027 outlook remains intact:

After beginning Q3 with high-single-digit growth, trading momentum strengthened considerably in August and September, with growth accelerating into the high teens. According to the expert, this performance has been driven by the success of the company's local-for-local product strategy, supported by effective and locally relevant marketing initiatives. While inventory levels remain somewhat higher, they are viewed as manageable, with no signs of increased discounting or promotional activity. Looking ahead, experts expect demand trends to remain healthy through the end of the year, with no indications of a slowdown. Early indications for 2027 are also constructive, with order books pointing to high-single-digit growth

Looking ahead: Industry growth likely remains modest while share shifts expected to continue:

The outlook for China's athletic wear market remains constructive but increasingly competitive. The expert expects industry growth to remain modest and roughly in line with broader economic growth. Market performance has become more polarized, with stronger brands continuing to gain share while weaker brands face mounting pressure. adidas appears positioned to continue gaining market share, supported by healthy inventories, strong product acceptance, and positive distributor sentiment. Nike is expected to remain under pressure as channel restructuring efforts continue and distributors work through elevated inventory levels. Beyond the major global brands, the expert highlighted continued strength from domestic players such as Anta, as well as international running-focused brands including On, ASICS, and Salomon. Overall, success in the market is increasingly tied to localization, product relevance, and the ability to deliver compelling value to consumers.

Nike shares have plunged nearly 40% this year through Monday's close, leaving the stock deep in a bear market.

Adidas has fallen roughly 12%, outperforming its US peer so far this year. 

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 10:00

US Sanctions Dozens Of Iranian Airlines As Tehran-Favored Mahan Air Defiant, Expands Flights

As part of the latest in the Trump-Bessent "asphyxiation of this regime" approach to Iran after six months of military action failed to accomplish most White House aims, the Trump administration on Tuesday announced it is sanctioning all Iranian airlines in a massive aviation crackdown.

The Treasury statement listed 27 Iranian air carriers and nine entities as part of an effort to deny the Iranian government the ability to move "weapons, personnel, and illicit cargo".

via IRNA

"Let this be a warning to anyone doing business with Iran’s remaining airlines, all of which we sanctioned today: You are at risk of being cut off from the global financial system," Bessent said.

On the list is Ava Airlines, Fly Persia, and Mehr Airways - and others, after the US first sanctioned Mahan Air in 2011, which was the first such instance of Washington sanctioning an Iranian commercial airline.

Related secondary sanctions were implemented on top of the direct airline measures.

"The Treasury Department also sanctioned Turkey-based firms that have coordinated shipments, including drone components and industrial equipment destined for Iran, on behalf of Mahan Air, and it sanctioned a Turkey-based entity that has served as a general sales agent for Mahan Air and coordinated shipments on behalf of the blacklisted airline," The Hill details.

"Other sanctioned entities with ties to Mahan are based in Malaysia and Kazakhstan," the report further indicates.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi mocked the 'Economic D-Day' and 'Operation Epic Outcast' sanctions, saying that the fallout of the war "has been disastrous for America, including its standing worldwide."

"After failing to achieve its aims through sanctions or war, Washington’s 'novel' solution is…more sanctions. Seriously?" Araghchi wrote Tuesday afternoon.

The Wall Street Journal has meanwhile noted that Mahan and others continue defying sanctions and the US pressure campaign, while still clearly struggling:

Out-of-date aircraft: Mahan’s three dozen planes tend to be aging, secondhand Boeing and Airbus aircraft, some in service for as long as 35 years. Passengers who post about their trips on social media say there is no onboard entertainment or alcohol, and tickets have to be purchased in cash instead of international credit or debit cards.

New horizons: Despite the lack of amenities, and the sanctions scrutiny, Mahan has been adding new destinations for passenger and cargo services during the war between the U.S. and Iran.

In this new @ForeignAffairs essay, I argue that US officials are being too triumphant about Iran’s economic downturn.

Iran’s leaders are using inflation to engage in financial repression. Counterintuitively, reduced economic activity is helping the state stave off a deeper… pic.twitter.com/jRtAZYEnHG

— Esfandyar Batmanghelidj (@yarbatman) September 8, 2026

In recent years the Islamic Republic has suffered some significant aerial disasters, which included the May 19, 2024 death of President Ebrahim Raisi. His military helicopter went down in a rugged, mountainous area of northwestern Iran. Some speculate that lack of airline parts and aging aircraft, due to the long-standing US targeting of the industry, has increased the chances of aviation disasters.

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 09:20