US job market stumbled hard in September

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US labor market falters sharply in September LINK

• US employers added just 29,000 jobs in September, less than half what economists expected, signalling a surprisingly soft patch in the labor market.
• Downward revisions deepened the picture, cutting 60,000 jobs from prior months and turning July into a loss, while wage growth slowed to a 0.1% monthly gain, the weakest annual pace since May 2021.
• Markets read the weakness as reason for the Fed to stay put at its October 27-28 meeting, pushing stock futures up and Treasury yields down, with odds of no move jumping to 82.8%.

G7 to release 100M oil barrels after Trump threat LINK

• The G7 will release 100 million barrels of oil and diesel over four months, coordinated by the International Energy Agency, to cool fuel prices after President Trump threatened to ban US diesel exports unless Europe tapped its reserves.
• The release blends crude and diesel, with a "substantial" diesel portion frontloaded in the first 20 days; Brent crude briefly slipped below $100 a barrel before recovering to about $102, up from roughly $73 before the US-Israel invasion of Iran.
• G7 members also pledged to refrain from energy export bans on one another and to stagger refinery maintenance to avoid simultaneous shutdowns, though it remains unclear which partner countries will contribute stocks or how fast.

🇺🇸 Trump names spy chief to lead new AI task force LINK

• President Trump has placed the US spy chief and the head of the Federal Trade Commission at the top of a new White House "Super Intelligence Force," a task force steering federal policy on artificial intelligence, he announced yesterday.
• The panel, which also includes the vice president and the Treasury, defense and former AI officials, has 120 days to deliver a report mapping the risks and opportunities of AI and defining what the federal government is responsible for.
• The group is expected to defer to companies on managing AI risk, officials say, with the stated priority being to keep the US ahead of China, a point the Treasury secretary repeated on Saturday.

ON Semiconductor buys Synaptics for $5.7B cash LINK

• On Semiconductor is buying chipmaker Synaptics for $5.7 billion in cash at $123 a share, scrapping an earlier all-stock agreement after a rival bidder made an unsolicited offer for Synaptics.
• Synaptics shares jumped 14% as a fixed cash price replaced a floating stock exchange, while On Semiconductor rose 8%; the semiconductor ETF outpaced the broader Nasdaq-100 enough to pin the rally on the deal itself.
• The all-cash structure protects On Semiconductor from share dilution and should add to adjusted earnings immediately on closing, but it piles debt onto $5.4 billion of liquidity and $425 million in quarterly free cash flow.

OKX and NYSE owner plan 24/7 tokenized stocks LINK

• OKXICE, the 50-50 joint venture between crypto exchange OKX and NYSE owner Intercontinental Exchange, has filed plans to run a round-the-clock venue for trading tokenized versions of US stocks under a new SEC exemption.
• The venue would offer 63 stock tokens at launch, including Nvidia, Tesla, Apple and Coinbase, each backed one-for-one by real shares held through a broker-dealer and traded against the USDC, USDG or USDT stablecoins, with holders keeping dividends and voting rights.
• The five-year exemption caps the venue at 0.25% of a stock's prior-month average daily trading and requires advance notice to each company, which can object, as Cerebras Systems already has; no launch date was given.

Macro News

• Traders see just 17% chance of Fed hike after weak jobs report. LINK
• Tankers struck near Oman and Iran as Tehran keeps Hormuz shut. LINK
• Aramco chief warns oil inventory rebuilding could take up to two years. LINK
• Trump threatens higher costs if South Korea delays Alaska LNG commitment. LINK
• Aramco cuts Asian crude prices to six-year low, raises European prices. LINK
• UK weighs tariffs on Chinese cars to align with EU industrial rules. LINK
• US community bank lobby sues regulator over crypto firms' trust charters. LINK
• China closed a record 670 banks last year amid financial-system de-risking. LINK
• CME plans first AI computing-power futures contract, pending regulatory approval. LINK
• SEC approves six triple-leveraged funds tracking crypto, metals and energy prices. LINK
• IMF sends El Salvador $138 million after waiving missed Bitcoin-related targets. LINK

Corporate News

• Trump administration plans roughly $4 billion loan package for Vistra nuclear plants. LINK
• Amazon will raise Nvidia chip rental prices 15% and explore leaseback financing. LINK
• Meta faces possible $40 billion New Mexico privacy penalty over Cambridge Analytica. LINK
• BT buys TalkTalk businesses from administration, preserving about 900 jobs. LINK
• Tesla delivered 486,532 vehicles as Europe and China offset US sales slump. LINK
• Blast will shut down as operating costs exceed revenue without sustainability prospects. LINK
• Mattel shares surge 19% on reports of possible Authentic Brands takeover. LINK
• Seagate and Western Digital fall over 10% amid Toshiba output expansion report. LINK
• Google faces UK trial over alleged hidden app-store charges exceeding £1 billion. LINK

Stocks

▲ Biggest winners

Teradyne rose 8% after launching the Magnum E2 memory tester for AI data-center demand. LINK

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Comp rose 7% after announcing a $1.2 billion order from Vultr for AMD Helios AI racks. LINK

ImmunityBio rose 11% after Q4 results showed ANKTIVA-powered revenue up 93.9% year-over-year. LINK

▼ Biggest losers

Western Digital fell 10% after CEO Irving Tan sold 19,000 shares worth $8.85 million. LINK

Seagate Technology Holdings fell 10% after Nikkei Asia reported Toshiba plans to double hard-disk capacity. LINK

Research & Reports

• AMRO warns Asia faces high exposure to a potential AI-boom collapse. LINK
• 71% of major UK financial firms expect tokenization to reshape services. LINK
• AI may prompt 11 million US workers to change occupations by 2035. LINK
• Tether and Circle bought $200 billion in Treasuries as China holdings declined. LINK
• Indian crypto exchanges capture just 0.7% of regional inflows, down sharply. LINK
• Jefferies forecasts 65.1% IT earnings growth in 2026, citing AI spending risks. LINK