News

European Commission spokesperson: We are looking into how to further restrict visa entry.

A spokesperson for the European Commission said: "We are drafting a proposal on targeted visa restrictions to address security risks, particularly those posed by hostile actions from third countries."

Wells Fargo raised its price target for Chevron (CVX.N) from $226 to $230.

Wells Fargo raised its price target for Amazon (AMZN.O) to $338 from $328.

U.S. software stocks rose in pre-market trading, with ServiceNow (NOW.N) up 2.7%, Adobe (ADBE.O) up 1.4%, and Salesforce (CRM.N) up 1.1%.

Russian President Vladimir Putin: The Russian military is advancing at an accelerated pace in special operations zones.

French sources say there is growing confidence in reaching a compromise with Tesla (TSLA.O), with a positive outcome expected within the year.

French sources say the results of Tesla's (TSLA.O) FSD advanced driver assistance system tests are expected in mid-to-late September.

[US Layoffs Drop to Four-Year Low in First Eight Months of 2026] According to the latest Challenger Layoffs Report, US companies have announced 529,914 job cuts in the first eight months of 2026, the lowest level for the same period since 2022, while the number of hiring plans has reached the highest level for the same period since 2023. Andy Challenger, Chief Revenue Officer of Challenger, stated, "We expect hiring activity to increase along with the decrease in layoffs. Although companies plan to hire more employees than last year, according to our data, these positions do not appear to be filled quickly." Many economists still believe that the US job market remains in a "low hiring, low layoffs" environment that has been prevalent in recent years. Weekly unemployment claims data do not show clear signs of large-scale layoffs, and the government's monthly employment report, expected to be released on Friday, is likely to show that the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.1% in August. The Challenger report also shows that for the first time since February, AI is no longer the main reason for employers announcing layoffs; restructuring became the primary reason in August. However, looking at cumulative data this year, AI remains the leading reason for corporate layoffs.

[OpenAI Founder Altman Increases Emphasis on Government Review] OpenAI CEO Altman stated that the Trump administration's voluntary review of the company's upcoming Astra model was a "productive process," and that strengthening communication with government officials around the world will become increasingly important as AI capabilities continue to improve. Astra, OpenAI's upcoming model, is the company's first to be rated as having "critical" cybersecurity capabilities. OpenAI stated that such models require more stringent security measures during development and before release. The Trump administration has established a voluntary framework for reviewing some advanced AI models before release, which may include allowing government officials access to the model for up to 30 days. Altman confirmed that the Trump administration reviewed Astra, noting that the process was voluntary. "As these models reach a fairly high level of capability, I think it will become even more important to really implement this work and work closely with security agencies in the U.S., the UK, and the rest of the world," Altman said, adding that Astra is "an important step forward."

Market news: The Ukrainian Foreign Minister stated that Ukrainian President Zelensky recently held talks with the US negotiating team and emphasized that the dialogue with the US is supported by regular contact.

Russian President Vladimir Putin: The morale of the Ukrainian army is currently very low, and the desertion rate is very high.

Russian President Vladimir Putin: The information about the mobilization was an information attack launched by the enemy before the Russian Duma elections, with the aim of influencing the election results.

[Bank of Japan Account Data Hints at No Large-Scale Yen Intervention on Wednesday] Data from the Bank of Japan suggests that the Japanese government did not appear to have conducted a large-scale intervention in the foreign exchange market on Wednesday, indicating that the sharp exchange rate fluctuations were likely due to trader jitters caused by a readjustment of interest rate hike expectations. The difference between the Bank of Japan's current account forecast released on Thursday and estimates from currency brokers was too small to indicate that Japan had intervened with yen purchases on the scale of a month ago. The Bank of Japan expects its current account to decrease by 410 billion yen due to fiscal factors, while the average estimate from the Central Accounting Research Institute, Ueda-Yagi Accounting Research Institute, and Tokyo Accounting Research Institute is for a decrease of approximately 700 billion yen. This difference is far less than 729 billion yen, the smallest intervention measure Japan has taken since 2022. The exchange rate volatility stemmed in part from traders adjusting their positions based on expectations of the Bank of Japan's interest rate hike direction. A series of comments from Japanese and US policymakers sparked speculation in the market about a possible acceleration of the tightening pace or even a significant interest rate hike, but sources familiar with the matter indicated that the Bank of Japan favors a 0.25 percentage point rate hike at its September meeting, dampening previous expectations of a larger rate increase.

Indonesian President: Indonesia has opened 130 mineral exploration areas, including liquefied natural gas fields, and we have invited Russian groups, companies and enterprises to jointly develop them.

Russian Defense Ministry: The Russian Black Sea Fleet destroyed six Ukrainian Navy unmanned vessels in the Black Sea.

The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that Russian air defense systems shot down two aerial bombs, three HIMARS rockets, and 998 fixed-wing drones belonging to Ukrainian forces in the past 24 hours.

Indian Foreign Minister: India is willing to assist in ending the conflict in Ukraine.

Russian Ministry of Defense: Russian armed forces have taken control of Vasilievka, Blagovatnoye, and Dolzhanka in the Kharkiv region.

The Kremlin responded to the US Treasury Secretary's remarks by saying, "We will continue to support Iran."