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The NHL's 2026-27 rookie class has big skates to fill.

Affleck is the dad of Violet, 20, Seraphina, 17, and Samuel, 14, with his ex-wife Jennifer Garner. He did not welcome kids with ex-wife Jennifer Lopez.

Affleck is the dad of Violet, 20, Seraphina, 17, and Samuel, 14, with his ex-wife Jennifer Garner. He did not welcome kids with ex-wife Jennifer Lopez.

A blood-curdling, random attack in Seattle left a woman with injuries to her forehead akin to a "zombie bite," she said.

"More Signaling, Less Substance": Barclays Pours Cold Water On Trump-Xi Summit

President Donald Trump hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping for a White House state dinner late Thursday, calling for closer ties while offering limited details on progress in addressing trade and geopolitical disputes. This was Xi's first White House visit in over a decade.

On Friday morning, Trump issued a fresh Truth Social post related to the evening with Xi, but fixated on his term "Super Intelligence". Apparently Trump wants this to be his legacy in connection with the early history of AI...

Trump last night praised Xi and his wife as "truly outstanding, amazing people" and said the two superpowers should "continue to build a relationship that promotes prosperity and security."

Xi called for a relationship defined by "strategic stability" and urged both sides to "act as responsible major countries."

Behind the scenes:

Behind the scenes at the @WhiteHouse #StateDinner with President @realDonaldTrump, First Lady @MelaniaTrump, President Xi, and Madame Peng—With guests in the beautiful East Room… pic.twitter.com/kDhBrIWajI

— Dan Scavino Jr.🇺🇸🦅 (@DanScavino) September 25, 2026

Earlier on Thursday, the two leaders held bilateral talks in the Oval Office. Trump described the discussions as a "great meeting" but did not elaborate on what was said. Xi told dinner guests that the two leaders had "reached common understanding on many issues," without providing further details.

Barclays senior China economist Yingke Zhou provided clients with his first take on the Trump-Xi state visit and said it was "more signaling, less substance."

"The Trump-Xi summit was primarily about stabilizing relations rather than resolving disputes. Beyond a short trade-truce extension, progress was limited. The absence of Chinese CEOs suggests China viewed the summit as a strategic dialogue, not a deal-making exercise," Zhou said.

Zhou added more color:

What was the key message?

The Trump-Xi summit's main achievement was symbolic rather than substantive. The two sides projected a constructive tone and a willingness to keep talking, but delivered little concrete progress on the core issues, including trade, AI and geopolitics. We think the summit was primarily about stabilizing the relationship, rather than resolving core disputes.

Speaking at the arrival ceremony at the White House, President Xi repeatedly emphasized building a "constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability." Overall, we think President Xi's speech was less about concessions and more about signaling predictability, stability, and openness to continued economic engagement, despite the competition in technology, trade, and geopolitics.

For comparison, President Trump repeatedly emphasized his personal relationship with Xi and the value of engagement. The summit's key message, we think, is that both sides want to lower escalation risks and maintain dialogue, even as strategic competition remains firmly intact.

What was the most concrete deliverable?

The main deliverable was a two-month extension of the existing trade truce to 10 January 2027, removing an immediate source of policy uncertainty. However, the extension was shorter than the 3-6 month rollover many market participants had expected, and shorter than indications from Jamieson Greer ahead of the Trump-Xi meeting.

For context, China continues to face the highest effective US tariff rates among major trading partners, with an effective tariff rate of roughly 23%, compared with an average US effective tariff rate of around 7% for the rest of the world. The lack of progress on tariff reductions suggests that both sides are prioritizing stability and continued dialogue rather than pursuing a meaningful trade reset.

Board of Trade: Ahead of the summit, reports¹ suggested the US and China were considering reciprocal tariff cuts on around USD30bn of goods under the proposed Board of Trade framework. USTR said on 21 September that establishing a stable 'Board of Trade' is a key goal for the summit, with aims to secure a stable subset of goods, including agricultural and medical products, away from active trade disputes. So far, few concrete announcements have emerged. We await the details post the summit.

What the delegations tell us?

The summit delivered few concrete policy outcomes, but the composition of the delegations sent an important signal. The US side prominently featured leaders from AI and semiconductors (e.g. Nvidia, AMD, OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta), other technology (Apple, Tesla, and Dell), and finance (Citi, JPM, Blackstone, GS, and Mastercard), underscoring that technology, capital, and investment ties remain at the center of the US-China relationship.

In contrast, President Xi's delegation consisted almost entirely of senior government officials and policymakers, including economic, trade, and foreign-affairs officials. No major Chinese entrepreneurs, technology leaders, or corporate executives were part of the official delegation. In our view, the absence of Chinese CEOs suggests China wanted to frame the summit primarily as a state-to-state diplomatic engagement, rather than a platform for commercial deal-making.

What are the key takeaways on geopolitics?

The summit built guardrails, not solutions. On geopolitics, the focus was on managing risks rather than resolving disputes.

On Taiwan, Chinese state media reported² that President Xi urged the US to "adhere to the correct position of opposing Taiwan independence," underscoring that Taiwan remains Beijing's foremost geopolitical red line and the most sensitive issue in US-China relations.

On Iran, President Xi expressed support for the US and Iran returning to the June memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the conflict and reopening the Strait of Hormuz³. More broadly, China appears relatively insulated from the energy shock. Kepler data suggest that China's crude oil inventories have declined by less than 5% since the Middle East conflict began. At the current pace of drawdown, China has ample energy buffers and could sustain supply disruptions for at least 10 years.

The Trump-Xi meeting comes amid uncertainty over two conflicts raging across Eurasia, from Russia-Ukraine to the Gulf conflict, alongside intensifying resource nationalism and competition for technological leadership. The world is on an uncertain glide path into 2027 amid a global refining crisis.

* * *

Tyler Durden Fri, 09/25/2026 - 10:55

Alabama’s lawsuit was filed last year by state Attorney General Steve Marshall.

The "Trainwreck" star, 45, and Fischer, 46, confirmed their separation after seven years of marriage in December 2025.

The "Trainwreck" star, 45, and Fischer, 46, confirmed their separation after seven years of marriage in December 2025.

Julious Johnican was sentenced over what the horrified mom of one of the young students filmed called in a lawsuit a “reprehensible ‘Fight Club’ type of discipline.”

Don't sleep on this deal (but actually sleep on this pillow).

"The emotional impact this may have on Sienna could be devastating," the girl's mother said.

Frenemies: "China May Be Exporting Two Pandas, But It Would Much Rather Export Millions Of Cars"

By Molly Schwartz, cros-aset macro strategist at Rabobank 

Frenemies

The US-China summit officially began after Xi arrived in Washington, DC, late on Wednesday. Topics including trade, the Strait of Hormuz, and the AI (AGI?) races are expected to arise, but little tangible progress is anticipated.

After all that, Trump and Xi agreed to... rename AI to SI https://t.co/gLaNhLT18I pic.twitter.com/YZ9s2pvGBA

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) September 25, 2026

Instead, the goal is to “prevent something very bad from happening.” Frenemies, Xi and Trump, hailed “healthy competition,” rather than competition “in which one wins and one loses.” In a show of friendship (frenemyship?), China is sending two giant pandas, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, to Zoo Atlanta. According to Politico, “one person close to the White House” said: “Trump likes to be like, ‘oh, we get along great,’ and it’s like, okay, well, at the same time, these guys are a massive threat to us. We’re in an AI race with them. They’re supplying Iranians with intelligence and weapons…He’s missing the message here. No one cares whether you’re friends with the guy or not… are you advancing [the US’] objectives or not?”

But a friendly veneer is unlikely to temper the tensions simmering below the surface. Although Trump and Xi may have a “personal rapport”, their respective objectives are diametrically opposed. China may be exporting two pandas, but it would much rather export tens of thousands of Chinese-made electric vehicles. For now, the US-China trade-war truce has been extended to January 10, 2027, but what follows remains unclear.

Moreover, the trade-war truce still accommodates a slew of US and Chinese trade barriers, including legacy Section 301 tariffs related to Chinese forced labour from 2018, new Section 301 tariffs, and broad-based Section 232 tariffs. Meanwhile, China continues to enforce its own 10% retaliatory tariff on US goods, alongside barriers affecting American agricultural products.

A similar pattern emerged in the AI discussion: both leaders again emphasized cooperation over confrontation, but few are convinced that either will slow the development of their respective AI capabilities.

The UN General Assembly is still under way in New York City. Some question the organization’s effectiveness in fulfilling its stated mission, which includes “saving succeeding generations from the scourge of war.” Scourge or not, brent has continued to surge, rising another $5 after gaining $5 the previous day, to close at $107/bbl.

After briefly diverging yesterday morning, with the 2-year yield edging lower and the 10-year yield creeping higher, both were again pulled into line with intraday moves in Brent crude. The 2-year yield has struggled to break above resistance at 4.90% but remains near Wednesday’s two-year high, while the 10-year yield continues to reach levels not seen since 2002, most recently at 5.16%. With Brent still climbing and little currently pushing back against inflation expectations, the OIS curve suggests investors are pricing a 68% probability of a hike at the October meeting and more than 93bp of tightening by October next year.

By extension, the USD is the best-performing G10 currency for a second consecutive day. The Brent crude à higher yields à stronger USD pipeline was in full swing, sending EUR/USD to 1.13—its lowest level since late July. The 14-day RSI suggests EUR/USD is somewhat oversold, and nearby support at 1.1325 indicates that a reversal may be imminent. Rabobank’s head of FX strategy, Jane Foley, recently revised her EUR/USD forecast and now expects the pair to trade sideways around 1.14 over a one-month horizon before retracing to 1.16–1.17. Read more here.

The Danish Defence Intelligence Service published a report yesterday stating that there is a “low but growing risk that Russia will launch a limited military attack against one or several NATO countries bordering Russia,” although it remains “highly unlikely that Russia will launch an invasion.” The report also highlights an intensification of Russian cyber and drone attacks, including “the foiled drone attack on Leipzig/Halle Airport, which…had been planned by Russia over a period of several months.” Meanwhile, reports indicate that an AI agent hacked into an Australian government health-data portal in June. As the AI race continues, the risk of hybrid warfare across both land and fibre-optic networks is growing rapidly.

Banxico held the overnight policy rate at 6.50% yesterday but adjusted its statement. Previously, the Bank had indicated that it was satisfied with the reference rate; however, the Fed’s decision to hike a few weeks ago has put Banxico in an uncomfortable position. Banxico has historically followed the Fed to some extent, and diverging policy paths could have significant consequences for USD/MXN, which is quickly approaching 17.8. The peso is particularly sensitive to interest-rate differentials because of its status as an attractive carry currency. Three-month USD/MXN implied volatility has risen from 9% to 10.3%, which is the highest level since April. Elevated volatility, combined with expectations of rapidly narrowing interest-rate differentials between Mexico and both the US and Japan, could point to USD/MXN moving above the 18-handle. However, Rabobank is currently maintaining its forecast of USD/MXN predominantly trading between 17 and 18. Read more here.

Tyler Durden Fri, 09/25/2026 - 10:40

Lab-grown diamonds are real diamonds.

The “True Blood” blood star is named alongside her brother in the explosive court documents that detail cocaine use, drug sales, and abusive group sex.

American tech billionaires filled the seats at President Trump’s flashy state dinner honoring Chinese leader Xi Jinping Thursday night, as concerns about the global AI race take center stage.

Fans on social media called the risqué lyric "insane" and "freaky."

Fans on social media called the risqué lyric "insane" and "freaky."

During President Trump's second term, the Justice Department has routinely used the court's so-called emergency docket to ask the justices to stay lower-court rulings blocking contentious policies.

UMich Consumer Confidence Slides In September As Republicans Lose Faith

After July's rebound to pre-war levels, a re-escalation in the MidEast (and soaring fuel costs) has sent confidence back towards YTD lows. Today's final September data was expected to show UMich headline sentiment sliding further (and inflation expectations re-accelerating).

And while sentiment is lower overall (month to month), it did actually pick up modestly intra-month from preliminary levels.

Consumer sentiment ticked down less than four index points in September, reaching the lowest reading in four months and back down notably from January 2026.

Views of current and year-ahead expected personal finances also both weakened notably this month, with concerns over high prices continuing to climb.

Year-ahead inflation expectations jumped from 4.0% last month to 4.6% this month, the highest reading since June. The current reading substantially exceeds the 3.4% seen in February before the Iran conflict began, along with all 2024 readings. Long-run inflation expectations ticked up to 3.4%, ending three consecutive months at 3.3%. These expectations remain higher than their 2024 range of 2.8% to 3.2%.

Democrats are the most fearful of inflation once again...

Since the start of the year, consumer sentiment has declined for all groups by age, education, geography, political party and income, according to the report.

A gauge of the outlook for the economy in the year ahead slumped in September to the lowest since 2022. Consumers' expectations for their personal finances also deteriorated.

Buying conditions for durable goods improved slightly, but it was partly “due to a perception that completing such purchases now would help consumers avoid higher prices in the future,” Joanne Hsu, director of the survey, said in a statement.

Perhaps most ominously from the report is the finding that after particularly large declines in sentiment this month, Republican sentiment is now 20% lower than January 2026; Democrats are down 13% over the same period.

“Despite political differences, consumers unanimously believe that the outlook for the economy has diminished,’’ Hsu said.

Tyler Durden Fri, 09/25/2026 - 10:10

Listen to Ben "Clock Twink" Ahlers' first single now!