Hi there, this is your daily ☕️ Finpresso.
In today's newsletter:
🤖 OpenAI launches GPT-6 Astra and declares AGI era
🚕 Tesla invites buyers for Cybercab robotaxi fleets
🏦 Revolut wins provisional US banking licence
🎨 Adobe names insider Chakravarthy as CEO
🇳🇴 Norway's oil fund plans to cut US Treasuries
Plus: 🌍 11 macro news, 🏢 9 corporate news, and 📑 6 research & reports.
| 🤖 OpenAI launches GPT-6 Astra and declares AGI era LINK |
- OpenAI released GPT-6 Astra on Thursday, with president Greg Brockman declaring the arrival of artificial general intelligence, systems the company defines as outperforming humans at most economically valuable work.
- Training the model used more than 100,000 GPUs, and OpenAI says it beat rival frontier models on tests of computer use, coding, and cybersecurity, scoring 98.6% on ARC-AGI 3, a reasoning test built to block advance preparation.
- Astra rolls out first to enterprise cybersecurity customers before reaching Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise users, the API, and Amazon Web Services, completing desktop tasks in about half the time of predecessor GPT-5.6 Sol.
| 🚕 Tesla invites buyers for Cybercab robotaxi fleets LINK |
- Tesla has opened an online interest form inviting businesses to buy fleets of its Cybercab robotaxis or supply infrastructure, a shift toward selling its autonomous vehicles to third-party operators rather than running the network entirely in-house.
- The form, released ahead of a Cybercab event in Austin, lets interested parties choose options including fleet purchasing, mobility hubs, and infrastructure, signaling Tesla sees profit in widening its network to outside operators to scale and saturate markets faster.
- Tesla is entering a crowded field: fleet manager Moove, which runs Waymo cars in Phoenix, Miami, and Las Vegas, raised $250 million last month at a $2.1 billion valuation, while Uber has partnered with operators like Avomo, New Horizon, Avis, and Hertz.
| 🏦 Revolut wins provisional US banking licence LINK |
- Revolut has won conditional approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, an early step toward operating as a bank in what its CEO called the world's largest financial market.
- The green light would eventually let the fintech directly offer US customers products from loans and credit cards to stablecoins, building on bank licenses it already holds in France, Australia and the UK.
- Revolut joins a wave of crypto and tech firms winning US charters, with the OCC approving 21 of 40 applications since 2025, including Coinbase, Ripple and Circle, and denying two.
| 🎨 Adobe names insider Chakravarthy as CEO LINK |
- Adobe named Anil Chakravarthy, head of its smaller marketing and analytics software unit, as CEO effective December 1, with longtime chief Shantanu Narayen, in charge since 2007, moving to executive chair.
- Shares fell about 2% in extended trading after the transition and the exit of creative-business head David Wadhwani, the expected front-runner, extending a 52% stock decline since early 2024 driven by fears that free AI tools threaten Adobe's products.
- Chakravarthy's division generated $5.86 billion in fiscal 2025 sales, about a quarter of company revenue, and analysts say his main task is reversing slowing sales growth and the perception that Adobe is vulnerable to AI rivals.
| 🇳🇴 Norway's oil fund plans to cut US Treasuries LINK |
- Norway's $2.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, has proposed shrinking its government-bond allocation from 70% to 50%, a move that would chiefly trim its US Treasury holdings as it seeks higher returns.
- The reshuffle would gradually cut Treasuries to 21.9% from 34.1% and euro-area bonds to 14.1% from 16.8%, while lifting Japanese government debt to 7.4% and non-government US bonds like corporate debt to 27.6% from 16.2%.
- The proposal lands as long-dated Treasury yields sit at decade-highs on US fiscal worries, with economist Mohamed El-Erian saying the sums are small but signal that traditional buyers like Japan, China and Gulf states are "becoming less reliable."
🌍 Macro News
- Yen rose over 1% as traders weighed intervention and BOJ hikes. LINK
- Waller backed steady September rates if inflation data remains unsurprising. LINK
- Brent topped $97 as Middle East tensions extended oil's weekly rally. LINK
- Diesel refining margins hit records as conflict and Russian ban squeeze supply. LINK
- US automakers urged Congress to permanently ban Chinese connected vehicles over security concerns. LINK
- CLARITY Act passage likely delayed until post-election lame-duck session. LINK
- South Korea targets February 2027 for tokenized securities infrastructure. LINK
- BOE economist Pill urged prompt rate increase to 4% amid inflation risks. LINK
- US 30-year mortgage rates reached 6.71%, highest since July 2025. LINK
- Chinese banks bought Treasuries, raising dollar deposit rates to fund purchases. LINK
- ASIC gave crypto firms until September 30 to secure required licensing. LINK
🏢 Corporate News
- Crusoe raised $3 billion at $30 billion valuation, tripling its value. LINK
- Volkswagen approved 50,000 additional job cuts amid tariffs and Chinese competition. LINK
- Accel may lead $1 billion Thinking Machines round at $40 billion valuation. LINK
- Moonshot confidentially filed for Hong Kong IPO targeting $3 billion. LINK
- Apple faces $2.7 billion UK lawsuit over app tracking rules. LINK
- Zscaler shares jumped after strong results, driven by AI-related cybersecurity demand. LINK
- SoFi and Payward partnered on stablecoin listings and round-the-clock settlement. LINK
- Coinbase asked SEC approval for round-the-clock equity perpetuals trading. LINK
- Waymo seeks over $3 billion in debt financing to expand robotaxi fleet. LINK
📈 Stocks
📑 Research & Reports
- Bitcoin's correlation with gold reached its highest level since 2020. LINK
- Apple may raise iPhone 18 Pro prices up to 20% amid memory costs. LINK
- Jackson Hole symposium examined blockchain-enabled payments bypassing traditional banking intermediaries. LINK
- JPMorgan says yen could rally sharply beyond 155 as short bets unwind. LINK
- Morgan Stanley says AI spending remains strong despite data-center political opposition. LINK
- Installment plans influenced medical-care choices for 55% of Gen Z consumers. LINK