Semafor

22 Sept 2026

Semafor

Scott Bessent emerges as the likely AI czar, concentrating technology policy inside economic diplomacy

Semafor reports that the Treasury secretary is the frontrunner for a still-undefined role, which would combine AI policy with trade, capital markets and the new US–China incident dialogue.

Semafor

18 Sept 2026

Semafor

Kai-Fu Lee’s ‘Boss AI’ turns every meeting into a managerial surveillance layer

The 19-agent system promises an institutional memory and a ledger of commitments; its usefulness and its power over workers are the same feature.

Semafor

16 Sept 2026

Semafor

An invitation to Canada tests the EU’s geographical boundaries

The proposed associate status reflects pressure on both Brussels and Ottawa from Washington.

Semafor

14 Sept 2026

SemaforReuters

Sweden’s close election leaves government formation as the next decisive stage

Early reporting gives the centre-left an advantage, but does not establish a settled governing coalition.

Semafor

14 Sept 2026

SemaforCenter for Working-Class Politics — report

A 40,000-person survey complicates the choice between economic populism and cultural moderation

The study finds appeal in working-class economic messages, but candidate background does not erase cultural disagreements.

Semafor

14 Sept 2026

SemaforThe InformationReuters

Agreement on AI risk still leaves a fight over who writes and enforces the rules

The new development is institutional: industry talks, competing congressional approaches and Germany’s refusal to endorse a halt.

Semafor

13 Sept 2026

Semafor

Bessent’s dispute with Bloomberg became a year-long fight over access

Semafor traces restricted access to a disputed investigation into the Treasury secretary’s property declarations.

Semafor

13 Sept 2026

SemaforReutersReuters · oil prices

Saudi Arabia’s pipeline shutdown is turning the regional war into a global oil-supply shock

Saudi Arabia has shut its East-West oil pipeline after drone attacks, removing precisely the piece of infrastructure designed to keep Saudi exports flowing when the Strait of Hormuz is dangerous. The line carries roughly 4mn barrels a day westward to Yanbu on the Red Sea. Reuters estimates that, if it cannot be restarted quickly, as much as 4% of global oil supply could disappear; Saudi stocks available to bridge the outage may cover only about five to seven days. Brent jumped more than $3 this morning to roughly $108 a barrel.

Semafor

8 Sept 2026

Semafor

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is going to Wall Street because Vision 2030 increasingly needs other people’s money

Saudi Arabia’s nearly $1tn Public Investment Fund is meeting Apollo, Blackstone, Brookfield, Carlyle, KKR, Stonepeak and others as it tries to attract outside debt and equity into its portfolio companies and megaprojects.

Semafor

4 Sept 2026

Semafor

Logitech treats China’s intense competition as a product-development laboratory

A dedicated local team helped reverse market-share losses, according to CEO Hanneke Faber.

Semafor

2 Sept 2026

Original investigationYouTube enforcement follow-up

Paid actors turned political outrage into a repeatable video business

Semafor traced apparently independent commentators to a shared production model; YouTube subsequently removed 20 channels.

Semafor

Semafor

Anthropic traced a UAE-linked influence operation to government officials

It allegedly used Claude to operate around 300 fake accounts, create a front NGO, draft UN testimony and compile dossiers on European politicians, journalists and UN officials while targeting the Muslim Brotherhood.