Reuters Weekend Briefing

"Who's afraid of the big bad AI trade."

Views expressed in this geopolitical news and analysis update are those of the reporters and correspondents.  Accessed on 31 October 2026, 1457 UTC.

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Russ Roberts (https://trendsingeopolitics.blogspot.com).

Stay informed with Reuters. Subscribe for $1/week. Weekend Briefing From Reuters Daily Briefing   By Robert MacMillan, Reuters.com Weekend Editor Thanks for joining me for a frightful Halloween Weekend Briefing. The US sold Patriot missiles to Ukraine for $2.1 billion. A record number of Americans voted early in the midterm elections. And we’re turning back the clocks in the USA this weekend despite President Trump’s best efforts. Stocks take a pounding   REUTERS/Jordan Tovin Thanks to AI: Disappointing quarterly results from Intel and Amazon amplified worries about massive corporate spending on artificial intelligence. The Nasdaq 100 is expected to lose more than $2 trillion in market value this month. And it’s been 15 years since the biggest US tech companies made so much cash while giving so little of it to their shareholders. Binance: Analysts blamed North Korea for the $6.3 billion theft from the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. This was a record for stolen digital assets and took about 20 minutes to pull off, records show. If I owned cryptocurrency, I’d be awfully interested in how the insurance works. US approves Patriot missile sale to Ukraine $2.1 billion: Ukraine says it urgently needs more missile interceptors to fight Russia. Even so, two US officials told us that they won’t be delivered until a few years from now. Weapons and workers: A Russian network of brokers sponsored by Pyongyang has taken North Koreans to work in Russia in exploitative conditions and in violation of UN sanctions, a rights group says. And Ukrainian arms maker Fire Point has found ways to carry out long-range strikes in Russia and occupied Ukraine without relying on SpaceX satellites, its chief executive said. Barack Obama brings the late-breaking cheesecake Dessert before dinner: The former president struck a nerve with Donald Trump when he compared the president’s White House renovations to a Cheesecake Factory designed by Saddam Hussein. The administration is investigating whether Democrats conspired to recruit a spoiler candidate in a Senate race in Alaska. And a judge ordered the Justice Dept. to stop threatening to prosecute state and local election officials who don’t comply with the administration’s demands related to voting by alleged non-citizens. Power bills and data centers: Both have become major political issues, particularly in battleground states Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania, where in some cases electricity bills have soared by triple the rate of inflation. Voters in swing districts say the rising cost of living won’t necessarily affect their votes in Tuesday’s midterms. Richard Sackler’s house is not a home Interference: A US bankruptcy judge ruled that Sackler and his wife must stop interfering with efforts to sell their Greenwich, Connecticut mansion that was pledged as collateral in the Sackler family’s $7.4 billion settlement with opioid claimants. The judge also noted that Sackler has four other houses. Beached: Americans Lynn and Paul Montoya probably could use one of them. The couple sold their house and cars in Wyoming to spend their retirement living on a residential cruise ship. Its operator forced passengers to disembark in Cambodia 17 months into their voyage. Before I forget… We’re expecting fresh protests in France and demonstrations in Germany. Mexico has a fake-priest problem and it’s getting worse. The US Supreme Court will hear a case brought by Catholic groups challenging a Colorado law barring anti-LGBT discrimination at publicly funded preschools. Leo XIV cast his ballot in the midterms, making him the first pope to do so. For whom did he vote? That’s confidential. He next goes to South America, where he will meet survivors of sex abuse in the Church. Flávio Bolsonaro didn’t mean to call himself Brazil’s president-elect, an ally said. Rather, ChatGPT did it. McDonald’s will have to face a lawsuit that accuses it of defrauding people who buy its McRib sandwich. The suit says people expect pork rib meat when they’re getting shoulder, heart, tripe or stomach. Behind the barn door: The market for bull semen is bigger than ever now that China's back.   Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. Advertise in this newsletter or on the Reuters website   Weekend Briefing is sent once a week. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here. Want to stop receiving this email? Unsubscribe here. To manage which newsletters you're signed up for, click here. This email includes limited tracking for Reuters to understand whether you’ve engaged with its contents. For more information on how we process your personal information and your rights, please see our Privacy Statement. Terms & Conditions   © 2026 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036