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Kenji Nakanishi, a lawmaker from the Liberal Democratic Party, said on the 6th that retail sales as a share of total government bond issuance need to be expanded by an 'order of magnitude.' He stressed the idea of making them a pillar of bond absorption through a review of product design, including tax incentives, and told Reuters in an interview that 'there is room for people to buy more.' The Ministry of Finance announced on the 6th that retail government bonds for October issuance, comprising 10-year floating-rate, 5-year fixed-rate, and 3-year fixed-rate notes, totaled 1.0251 trillion yen, bringing the fiscal-year cumulative total to 6.1641 trillion yen, already exceeding the initial plan of 5.9 trillion yen and on pace to surpass the record 7.2712 trillion yen set in fiscal 2025. As the Bank of Japan reduces its government bond purchases, how to capture household financial assets exceeding 2,000 trillion yen will be a litmus test for future fiscal management, and while retail government bonds are selling well amid rising interest rates, their holding ratio remains low. Nakanishi said that with the steepening of the yield curve, super-long bond yields are 'becoming an attractive level,' and that products with maturities longer than 10 years would also be 'good to have.'

VirTra has been awarded a sole-source, single-award Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, carrying a five-year ordering period and a maximum potential ceiling value of $14M. Under the agreement, VirTra will maintain, modernize, and support its simulation training systems currently deployed across CBP facilities nationwide and in U.S. territories. Beginning in the first quarter of 2027, the company will evaluate installed CBP simulators and upgrade them to current operating standards, covering hardware modernization, projection system overhauls, software updates, accessory refreshes, preventative maintenance, annual service visits, and remote technical support. CBP awarded the contract on a sole-source basis, recognizing VirTra as the sole provider capable of sustaining and upgrading the proprietary installed hardware and software. The program will support CBP officers and agents operating across the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, and other U.S. territories.

Chinese artificial intelligence group DeepSeek is set to raise at least 80 billion yuan, or $12 billion, in a funding round backed by Tencent and CATL, according to Bloomberg News. The company had initially sought 50 billion yuan, but investor demand far exceeded expectations, and the final tally could rise as high as 100 billion yuan. DeepSeek, which shot to fame with its R1 open-source AI model in 2025, is regarded as one of China's most advanced AI labs, and earlier reports placed its valuation at about $74 billion. Investors are also closely watching the startup's plans to seek a public listing. In other market news, Gulf oil exporters surpassed pre-war export levels for roughly half of September, with the seven-day moving average for crude exports from the region at 18.3 million barrels per day on September 30, and Constellation Brands is due to report quarterly results after the closing bell, with comparable operating profit tipped at $872.3 million on comparable net sales of $2.53 billion.

Advanced Micro Devices CEO Lisa Su said the company expects demand for its chips to remain exceptionally strong over the next several years, pointing to booming artificial intelligence and high-performance computing workloads while praising manufacturing partner TSMC for aggressively expanding capacity. Speaking to reporters in Taipei on Tuesday, Su predicted very high chip demand continuing for the next few years and said that even with increases in AMD's output, demand is outpacing supply. She said AMD has been able to increase supply through 2026 and will substantially increase it in 2027, adding that one goal of her Taiwan visit was to ensure the supply chain can scale CPU and GPU production to keep pace with rising AI demand. During the trip she met with Foxconn and is scheduled to meet TSMC as part of talks with local partners, and she said AMD is working closely with memory-chip manufacturers to secure adequate supplies ahead of a planned visit to South Korea, home to Samsung and SK Hynix. Su also urged leading artificial intelligence companies to cooperate on ensuring the technology causes no harm, and said AMD is now planning three to five years ahead.

Suzuki announced on the 6th that it will launch its first mini-class passenger electric vehicle, the e SKY, on November 16. Priced from 2.12 million yen, it is the cheapest mini EV in Japan, undercutting Chinese auto giant BYD's mini EV RACCO at 2.14 million yen. With the national subsidy of 568,000 yen applied, it can be purchased from 1.552 million yen. Its range of 310 kilometers is among the longest in Japan for a mini EV, and the company aims to sell 1,000 units per month, targeting drivers switching from gasoline cars. At a launch event held in Tokyo, President Toshihiro Suzuki said, "We have packed in the appeal of a just-right mini EV that stays close to daily life. It is a confident work created with all of Suzuki's strength."

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism announced on the 6th that this fiscal year's road-related budgets for two municipalities in Tochigi Prefecture had been cut by up to 54% compared with the previous fiscal year. The heads of the two municipalities had supported a rival candidate against Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Kazuo Yanagi in February's House of Representatives election. The cuts affected part of the budgets for these two municipalities, and the ministry disclosed them as the findings of its survey. Minister Yanagi said he has "no memory" of when he checked with the ministry.

OpenAI Chief Strategy Officer Jason Quan is testifying before an Australian parliamentary inquiry today alongside representatives from Anthropic, Microsoft and Google, following OpenAI's disclosure that its technology breached Australian government agencies earlier this year. OpenAI says it has since established an Australian task force and offered funding and technical support to the government, with recommendations expected by year end. Sue Keay, director of the AI Institute at the University of New South Wales, told Bloomberg that Australia should use its purchasing power as the largest buyer of artificial intelligence in the country to impose enforceable conditions, including mandatory reporting of breaches, and warned that without a levy on data center investment Australia could see little return once the initial construction spend is made, as ownership of the compute would remain offshore. Keay said Australia produces top-notch talent, with its researchers publishing at six times the per capita average in top AI journals, but that a lack of ambition and policy support means companies scaling to between 10 and 100 million dollars in revenue tend to be acquired by foreign firms.

Smith+Nephew has announced that its CARTIHEAL AGILI-C cartilage repair implant is now commercially available in Europe, following its U.S. introduction in 2024. The implant, made of aragonite, a natural form of calcium carbonate that acts as a biphasic scaffold, is designed to repair cartilage, restore bone and relieve pain, and will be featured at the International Cartilage Regeneration & Joint Preservation Society Congress in Porto, Portugal, from October 8 to 10. A multicenter randomized clinical trial published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine found that the CARTIHEAL AGILI-C implant achieved superior overall KOOS scores compared with standard surgical treatment at all time points evaluated through 60 months of follow-up, with greater pain relief and functional improvement at 2, 4 and 5 years and no statistically significant difference in clinical outcomes between patients with and without osteoarthritis. Joaquín Lasso, Senior Vice President and International General Manager of Sports Medicine at Smith+Nephew, said the European launch offers surgeons an innovative, evidence-backed solution for cartilage repair. The implant will launch initially in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, with expansion to other countries expected shortly after.

Smith+Nephew announced that its CARTIHEAL AGILI-C Cartilage Repair Implant is now commercially available in Europe, following its US introduction in 2024. The implant, composed of aragonite, a naturally occurring calcium carbonate that acts as a biphasic scaffold, is designed to repair cartilage, restore bone and relieve pain, and will be featured at the International Cartilage Regeneration & Joint Preservation Society Summit in Porto, Portugal, from October 8 to 10. The European rollout will begin in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the UK, with other countries expected to follow shortly after. A multicenter randomized controlled trial published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine found the implant produced higher overall Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Scores versus surgical standard of care at all time points out to 60 months, along with superior pain relief and functional gains over five years and no statistical difference in outcomes between patients with and without osteoarthritis. Joaquin Lasso, Smith+Nephew's SVP and GM of Sports Medicine International, said the launch brings surgeons an innovative, evidence-backed solution for cartilage repair, while Dr. Francesca de Caro of Pavia Hospital in Italy said expanding access to such technologies helps address complex cartilage and osteochondral conditions.

Smith+Nephew has announced the commercial launch in Europe of CARTIHEAL AGILI-C, its innovative cartilage repair implant, with the technology set to be presented at the International Cartilage Regeneration & Joint Preservation Society Summit in Porto, Portugal, from October 8 to 10. The implant, first introduced in the United States in 2024, is composed of aragonite, a natural calcium carbonate-based material, and acts as a biphasic scaffold that promotes cartilage and bone regeneration while helping to relieve pain. A multicenter randomized controlled trial recently published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine showed clinical superiority of CARTIHEAL AGILI-C over the surgical standard of care, with treated patients recording overall higher KOOS scores throughout follow-up of up to 60 months after surgery. The implant will initially be sold in Austria, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, with expansion to other European countries expected in the near future. Smith+Nephew, a global medical technology company founded in 1856 in Hull, United Kingdom, employs around 17,000 people, operates in about 100 countries and reported annual revenue of 6.2 billion dollars in 2025.

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said in a speech in Tokyo on the 6th that the underlying rate of inflation, excluding temporary factors, is "approaching 2%." He added that, to keep underlying inflation from overshooting the target, it is becoming more important than before to ensure it stabilizes at the 2% level.

Francesco Pesole at ING says the Euro is under pressure from French bond market turbulence, which is adding a fiscal risk premium and driving a repricing lower in European Central Bank rate expectations. Pesole flags downside risks for the single currency, with 1.1100 in sight against the US Dollar.

Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek is expected to secure at least 80 billion yuan, or 11.93 billion dollars, in its latest funding round, Bloomberg News reported on the 6th, citing people familiar with the matter. According to the report, Chinese battery giant CATL and Tencent Holdings have committed to the largest investments. DeepSeek had initially aimed to raise about 50 billion yuan, but following the successful launch of its latest AI model, investor demand exceeded expectations, and the final amount raised could approach 100 billion yuan. In September, the company released its latest model, V4.1-Flash, saying it was designed to improve capabilities, speed up inference, and expand processing capacity. Reuters reported last month that DeepSeek had enlisted CICC to prepare for an initial public offering on the STAR Market, the Shanghai Stock Exchange's market for emerging high-tech companies, though the timing of the listing, the company's valuation, and the size of the offering remain undetermined.

Michael Burry answered Nvidia's defense of its chip depreciation schedule on October 4 by quoting a 1968 passage from Adam Smith's "The Money Game," arguing the market has dismissed the same accounting objection before. The dispute centers on how long Nvidia's chips hold their value: Burry argues large buyers depreciate the chips over five to six years when the economic life is closer to two or three, flattering their earnings, while Nvidia sent analysts a memo naming him directly and arguing four to six years is right because older chips keep earning rental income. The question does not touch Nvidia's own earnings, since Nvidia sells the chips and a longer assumed life flatters the buyer's income statement rather than the seller's; Nvidia reported a 66.24% operating margin on revenue growing 105.90%, with net income of $192.88 billion and levered free cash flow of $41.81 billion. Nvidia traded near $238 on October 5, is worth $5.45 trillion, up 26.09% over twelve months, and carries a 28.51 times trailing and 24.88 times forward earnings multiple, with short interest at 1.27% of the float. Burry's argument is not that Nvidia's numbers are wrong but that the replacement cycle, which both sides turn on, is an empirical matter rather than a rhetorical one.

French long-end yields could come under renewed pressure before the country's budget is passed, according to market strategist Mark Cudmore, who said the worst of the French stress has yet to be seen. Speaking on Bloomberg's "The Opening Trade," Cudmore noted that French 30-year yields are about 20 basis points lower than they were only on Friday morning, just three sessions ago, describing the move as a temporary pause in an otherwise downward direction. He said a lot depends on what Marine Le Pen says later today, but added that the situation is likely to get worse before it gets better given domestic unrest and the lack of appetite among any parties to take the hard medicine needed. Cudmore also cautioned that shorting French bonds carries very negative carry, meaning investors must pick their moments even if the longer-term outlook deteriorates over the next year. On the euro, he said the currency has seen a slight recovery from yesterday morning's lows in Asia, but that the last few weeks have shown a downtrend and he expects more euro downside on the crosses and against the dollar.

Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Ryosei Akazawa, speaking at a lecture in Tokyo on the 6th, stressed that physical AI is "undoubtedly Japan's winning path, and if we play our cards right, we can have the field to ourselves." While acknowledging that in AI development itself Japan "for now cannot hold a candle" to the United States and China, he said Japan has "some of the world's leading manufacturing sites and the world's only decommissioning sites," expressing the view that leveraging such expertise would become a strength. Akazawa pointed out that while China holds "choke points" in rare earths, "when it comes to the materials and manufacturing equipment needed to produce AI and semiconductors, Japan holds considerable choking points," adding that "it is only natural to maintain them firmly and use them as a Japanese strength." He also said that in the AI era "the probability of startup success may rise dramatically," and that "I want to fundamentally and powerfully review our policies for promoting startups in Japan once again, from scratch." The ministry announced the same day that it would implement additional export bans on goods contributing to industrial base strengthening as additional sanctions against Russia. Regarding Sakhalin 2, Akazawa explained that "properly maintaining Japan's interests is a fairly high-priority issue" and that "we do not currently have any particular problem with Russia." On slowing the pace of AI development, he said it "would not be very effective unless both China and the United States agree."

French Economy and Finance Minister Lescure said on the 6th that, amid turmoil in the country's government bond market, France has not reached the stage of considering the use of the European Central Bank's Transmission Protection Instrument (TPI) to stabilize its funding environment. He told reporters, "Of course, the goal is to avoid such a situation at all costs. That is precisely why we are currently prioritizing fiscal consolidation." The TPI is a mechanism for purchasing the government bonds of eurozone member states facing market pressure, on the condition that they maintain sound economic policies.

Informa announced Tuesday it will acquire events organizer Clarion from Blackstone for an enterprise value of £2.24 billion, or about $3 billion, and separate its Taylor & Francis academic publishing arm to focus on business-to-business events. The deal values Clarion at 11.1 times expected 2027 EBITDA, falling to about 9 times when £50 million of annual run-rate cost savings are included, and Informa expects it to lift adjusted diluted earnings per share by a mid-single-digit percentage in 2027, with a post-tax return on invested capital above 10% by 2029. Clarion owns more than 100 B2B event brands, including Germany's IFA consumer electronics show, the DSEI defense exhibition and the ICE gaming event in Barcelona, and is expected to generate revenue of more than £575 million in 2027 with adjusted operating margins above 30%. Informa said the combination would create the leading U.K.-listed B2B events operator, with group revenue above $6 billion and underlying growth of around 7%, and identified £25 million in additional operating profit from revenue synergies by 2029. The purchase will be funded with acquisition financing and a roughly £940 million equity raise, equal to about 9% of its share capital, consisting of an institutional placing and a retail offer, while the company pauses its share buyback; net debt to EBITDA is expected to stay below 3 times at year-end and fall below 2.5 times by the end of 2027, with completion expected late in the fourth quarter subject to regulatory approvals. Taylor & Francis, which has revenue approaching $1 billion and is growing about 4% a year, will go through a formal separation review, with the outcome reported alongside full-year results in March 2027; Informa did not say whether it favors a sale or a spin-off. Blackstone bought Clarion in 2017 from Providence Equity Partners for £600 million.

Germany's Federal Statistical Office reported on the 6th that industrial orders in August fell 10.6% from the previous month on a seasonally and working-day adjusted basis, far below the 1.0% decline forecast by analysts polled by Reuters. Large orders for aircraft, ships, rail vehicles and military vehicles declined, with the "other transport equipment" category plunging 61.5%. This is a reversal after orders in that sector more than doubled in July. Excluding large-scale contracts, new orders in August edged down just 0.1%. On a three-month comparison that smooths out volatility, new orders from June to August rose 1.3% compared with the preceding three-month period. July's new orders were revised up to a 3.2% month-on-month increase from the preliminary reading of 2.5%. Foreign orders in August fell 5.4%, with orders from the euro zone down 5.4%, orders from outside the euro zone down 5.5%, and domestic orders down 17.3%.

Live Nation Entertainment announced it intends to offer $840.0 million in aggregate principal amount of senior notes due 2032 and €500.0 million in aggregate principal amount of senior notes due 2032 through a private placement. The company plans to use the net proceeds to fund the redemption in full of all of its outstanding 6.500% senior secured notes due 2027, to pay fees and expenses related to the offering, and for general corporate purposes, which may include the repayment or repurchase of certain of its indebtedness. The Notes will be guaranteed by the company and its existing and future domestic restricted subsidiaries that guarantee its senior secured credit facilities. Completion of the offering is subject to pricing and market conditions, and the Notes will be offered only to qualified institutional buyers under Rule 144A and, outside the United States, to non-U.S. persons in compliance with Regulation S.

Vingroup and Alstom have signed a rolling stock contract and a Technology License Agreement under which Alstom will transfer train manufacturing and assembly technology to Vietnam and supply a total of 200 Metropolis trainsets for Hanoi's urban rail projects. The first 83 trainsets will be designed and manufactured at Alstom's Valenciennes Petite-Forêt site in France, while Alstom will also provide technology, engineering expertise, tooling support and key components so that Vingroup can build local capability to manufacture and assemble the remaining 117 trainsets in Vietnam. All the trains are new-generation five-car sets with aluminium car bodies, wide-body interiors, fully automated driverless GoA4 operation and a braking system combining regenerative and disc brakes. Vingroup is general contractor for Hanoi's metro projects through its subsidiary Vinhomes, and under Hanoi's Capital Master Plan with a 2045 vision the city's urban rail network is planned to reach 979 kilometres across 18 lines, one of the largest urban rail development programmes in Southeast Asia. Alstom CEO Martin Sion called the agreement a major milestone in one of the fastest-growing mobility markets in the world, and Vingroup Vice Chairman and CEO Nguyen Viet Quang said next-generation transport infrastructure is a key area under the group's Infrastructure pillar.

Norwegian Air Shuttle said Monday its September load factor rose to 87.1%, up 0.6 percentage points from a year earlier, as strong autumn holiday demand across the Nordic countries filled flights. The Norwegian Group carried 2.8 million passengers in September, of which Norwegian flew 2.4 million and regional carrier Wideroe 394,000. Norwegian's capacity, measured in available seat kilometers, rose 6% year over year to 3,833 million, while passenger traffic, measured in revenue passenger kilometers, climbed 7% to 3,339 million. Yield for the month totaled 0.91, regularity was 99.4% and punctuality 84.3%, with an average of 94 aircraft in operation. Chief Executive Geir Karlsen said winter bookings are strong, with sun destinations such as Egypt and the Canary Islands and city breaks to London and Berlin performing well, while current fuel prices are creating headwinds the airline is managing through seasonally adjusted capacity and hedge positions. Norwegian also took delivery of two new Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft on September 30, its 200th and 201st deliveries, while at Wideroe capacity rose 3% to 208 million seat kilometers and traffic rose 1% to 149 million, pushing the load factor down 1.6 percentage points to 71.8%.

IG Port, a major anime production company, surged sharply, closing on the 6th at 1,156 yen, up 43 yen from the previous day and marking its highest level in about three months. After the close of trading on the 5th, the company announced that a television anime, "Ascendance of a Bookworm: The Self-Proclaimed Librarian of the Royal Academy," handled by a consolidated subsidiary, has been greenlit for production. The work is based on a popular bibliophile fantasy whose cumulative circulation, including e-books, has surpassed 14 million copies, making it a highly anticipated series, and the sequel production announcement came immediately after the previous installment, the "Adopted Daughter of the Lord" arc, aired its final episode on the 3rd. Animation production will again be handled by Wit Studio, a consolidated subsidiary of the company, continuing from the previous installment. The view spread that maintaining the proven production setup would ensure high quality and sustained popularity, drawing inflows of funds in anticipation of future growth in related revenue and contributions to earnings such as licensing income.

Up Garage Group's September same-store sales rose 11.4% year on year, and the company's shares extended their gains. In monthly sales figures announced on the 5th, direct-operated stores posted a 25.3% increase in total sales, while franchise stores saw same-store sales rise 6.7% and total sales climb 10.2%, showing solid momentum. Combined direct-operated and franchise total sales for the cumulative first half of the fiscal year ending March 2027 rose 13.7% from a year earlier. Buying and selling of used tires and wheels, rider gear, and car accessories remained strong, with resilient reuse demand amid rising prices supporting results. The closing price on the 6th was 1,452 yen, up 25 yen from the previous day.

Seria, a major 100-yen shop operator, plunged as much as 6.5% from the previous day to 4,180 yen at one point, sinking to its lowest level in about a month and a half, before closing down 200 yen at 4,270 yen. The sell-off was triggered by the company's preliminary September sales report released the previous day, which showed same-store sales rose 8.3% year on year, slowing from a 9.7% gain in August. Average spending per customer rose 2.2%, outpacing August's 1.7% increase, but customer traffic grew just 6.0%, below August's 7.9% gain. Total sales across all stores, including the contribution from new openings, rose 11.8%, continuing double-digit revenue growth. According to some analysts, sticker sales were roughly flat year on year, while daily necessities such as garbage bags and handicraft supplies remained strong. The stock had risen more than 40% year to date to a high of 4,905 yen set on September 15, and its decline from that peak has widened to about 15%.

Hoden Seimitsu Kenkyusho announced its earnings after the close on October 6, revising its full-year consolidated ordinary profit forecast for the fiscal year ending February 2027 upward by 30.2%, from 1.31 billion yen to 1.71 billion yen. The prior fiscal year came in at 1.03 billion yen, so the profit growth rate expands from 26.9% to 65.2%, adding further to the previous forecast of a record high for a second consecutive year. At the same time, the company raised its year-end lump-sum dividend to 25 yen from the previously planned 20 yen. For the cumulative second quarter of the fiscal year ending February 2027, consolidated ordinary profit rose 88.4% year on year to 1.07 billion yen, landing above the previous forecast of 750 million yen. For the June-August period, consolidated ordinary profit surged 2.5-fold year on year to 540 million yen, and the operating profit margin improved from 6.7% to 13.2%.

Japan's Financial Services Agency launched Delta Wall, a large-scale cross-industry cybersecurity exercise, on the 6th. A record 181 financial institutions are taking part, aiming to improve their response capabilities as the threat of cyberattacks grows with the emergence of cutting-edge AI models that are far better at finding system vulnerabilities. The exercise runs through the 22nd and, under a simulated cyberattack scenario, will review the full sequence of steps from initial response to investigation and analysis of the attack and recovery work. The agency also plans to share best practices with financial institutions not taking part, with the aim of strengthening security measures across the industry.

Nintendo announced on the 6th that it will release a "Choose Your Game Set" for its home console, the Nintendo Switch 2, that includes one game, on the 12th of next month. The suggested retail price is 63,980 yen, which the company says is cheaper than buying the items separately. The set is the Japanese-language version, for domestic use only, and after purchase buyers can download one of three titles at no additional charge: Mario Kart World, Nintendo Switch Sports Resort, or Tomodachi Collection Waku Waku Life. The download is valid until March 31, 2027. The company explained that it chose these three titles so the product would serve as an opportunity for people to take an interest in the Switch 2 and pick one up.

Nagheshwaran, the Indian government's chief economic adviser, said in an exclusive interview with Jiji Press that India is expected to overtake Japan by the end of March 2027 to rise to the world's fourth-largest nominal GDP, after the United States, China and Germany. The initially anticipated overtaking of Japan during 2026 has not materialized. Citing India's economic strengths, he pointed to growth of 7.8 percent year on year in the April-to-June quarter of 2026, analyzing that "it cannot be said that there are many weaknesses," and took pride in the fact that, compared with Western countries, "India is achieving better results in job creation and income expansion." On the other hand, he also noted that youth unemployment is pronounced among women in urban areas and that improvement has been slow. The International Monetary Fund predicted in 2025 that India would overtake Japan in nominal GDP as early as 2026, but it later pushed back the timing of the reversal to 2027. Nagheshwaran pointed out that the primary reason was that India's statistics bureau reduced the size of GDP when it revised the base year for GDP, stressing that "this is evidence showing that we are not using a change in methodology as a pretext for inflating the figures."

RQ Bio has appointed Gavin Koh as Chief Medical Officer, strengthening its leadership as the company prepares to advance its lead influenza antibody candidate RQB01 into the clinic. Dr Koh brings 20 years of pharmaceutical drug development and infectious disease experience, having held senior roles at AstraZeneca and GSK, where he led programmes from discovery to registration and launch, including Evusheld during the COVID-19 pandemic. The appointment follows RQ Bio's $115 million, or £85.5 million, Series A financing announced in June 2026, which is supporting the clinical development of RQB01, currently in IND-enabling studies. RQ Bio also named Debra Nevin as Vice President, Head of CMC; Brad Norton as Vice President, Head of Clinical Operations; and Vicky Wheeler as Senior Director, Head of Programme Management. RQB01 is a long-acting antibody product designed to provide potent and broad protection against influenza across an entire season with a single administration for high-risk and immunocompromised populations.

Euromonitor International unveiled the next generation of Passport, its AI-powered market intelligence platform, on October 6, 2026. The reimagined platform adds natural-language discovery, unified search and AI-generated summaries, and introduces Passport Connect, which brings Euromonitor market intelligence into Microsoft Copilot and other supported AI assistants through MCP, as well as into enterprise systems, dashboards and workflows through APIs and integrations. The rollout begins today, with clients transitioning to the new Passport experience in phases through a structured onboarding programme. CEO Tim Kitchin said the next generation of Passport builds on more than 50 years of independent research and expert analysis, giving teams a faster and more connected way to understand change and make confident decisions. Chief Technology Officer Chris Fosberry said Passport Connect makes Euromonitor's market intelligence accessible within the tools organisations already use, letting clients connect trusted data with their own business information.

Troubles in which sellers hand over used cars but are never paid are spreading rapidly, and the abuse of bulk appraisal sites for car buybacks has emerged as a tactic common to unscrupulous dealers. A customer, identified as A, registered their beloved Land Cruiser on a bulk appraisal site and handed the car to a dealer that offered 10.3 million yen, only to have the dealer vanish without paying. In the case of Car Shop IKKI, which has drawn the most reports of damage, a customer identified as B registered an Audi A3 for sale through Car Sensor's bulk appraisal service, signed a contract in July with the shop after it offered 2 million yen against another company's top estimate of 1.9 million yen, and handed over the car, but the payment date on the contract was left blank and the shop stopped answering phone calls from September onward. The number of victims of nonpayment by IKKI known to this writer alone reaches about 50, and the shop had also been certified as a proper sales outlet by an industry body. Recruit, which operates Car Sensor, said it was aware of the trouble and had completely removed all pages related to IKKI on September 10, while MOTA said it has tightened its membership screening and suspends distribution for any buyback shop where problems are confirmed.

Citigroup has taken the top spot among underwriters for global initial public offerings for the year through September, edging out Goldman Sachs Group in the league tables, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Goldman Sachs remained the top underwriter globally for equity offerings, a broader measure that also includes deals such as block trades and follow-on share sales. Citi advised on several major transactions, including the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd.'s $2.4B listing in Mumbai in September, one of the largest in the country's history. In July, it served as lead global coordinator for SK Hynix's $26.5B Nasdaq listing, the largest U.S. share sale ever by a foreign company. Citi also played a role in SpaceX's landmark $86B IPO in June.

Ant International announced an expanded collaboration with HSBC to enhance real-time treasury management services in the Middle East, using HSBC's global Tokenised Deposit Service. As part of the collaboration, Ant International completed pilot transactions across two payment corridors connecting the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong: real-time, dirham-denominated tokenised deposit transfers within the UAE, and cross-border US dollar tokenised deposit payments initiated from the UAE to international markets including Hong Kong and Singapore. The transactions were initiated via WhaleRTP, Ant International's proprietary blockchain-based real-time treasury management platform, and executed in real-time through HSBC's TDS, with the workflow jointly designed by the two companies. The collaboration makes Ant International HSBC's first client in the Middle East to use its TDS service. Since 2019, Ant International has used blockchain and tokenised deposit technologies for real-time treasury management across major financial centres including Hong Kong, Singapore, Europe and the United States, and WhaleRTP is currently supported by more than 20 leading global banks, including HSBC, enabling real-time transfers in more than 17 currencies including the US dollar, Hong Kong dollar and UAE dirham. HSBC's TDS is already live in six markets: Hong Kong, Singapore, Luxembourg, the UK, the US and the UAE, and supports multiple currencies including CNH, HKD, SGD, EUR, GBP, USD and AED.

ServiceNow announced AI Workflow Factory and Autonomous Engineer, solutions that discover where AI can improve work and deliver one unified way to build, run and extend AI workflows across the enterprise. Announced in India at World Forum Mumbai, the launch reinforces India's role as a key market for governed, enterprise-wide AI transformation, with ServiceNow's partner ecosystem in India adopting AI Workflow Factory and deploying new developer capabilities including unattended coding for autonomous planning, building and testing of implementation work. AI Workflow Factory is a continuous workflow improvement loop that connects Process Mining, Autonomous Engineer and Build Agent, and App Engine, all governed by AI Control Tower, so that each outcome reveals the next opportunity for multi-process improvement. Amit Zavery, President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Product Officer of ServiceNow, said AI Workflow Factory brings the full cycle of reinvention onto the ServiceNow platform so teams can move from idea to impact continuously with control and governance built into every step. ServiceNow cited its 2026 Enterprise AI Maturity Index showing enterprise AI investment in India grew 119% in a single year, one of the strongest showings among the markets surveyed. AI Workflow Factory is globally available today, while Autonomous Engineer Early Access is available on request.

Indian bank stocks rose on Tuesday, led by a 1.1% jump in the Nifty Private Bank index, as investors positioned for a potential Reserve Bank of India rate hike this week amid signs that inflationary pressures are broadening. Kotak Mahindra Bank was the strongest gainer among the major lenders shown, rising 3.77% to 431.70 rupees, while Axis Bank gained 1.15% to 1,236.20 rupees, HDFC Bank rose 0.72% to 709.90 rupees and ICICI Bank gained 0.17% to 1,334.20 rupees. Markets have increasingly priced in a rate increase at the RBI's monetary policy meeting on Wednesday, with nearly 60% of economists polled by Reuters expecting a 25-basis-point hike that would be the RBI's first increase in almost four years and take the benchmark repo rate to 5.50% from 5.25%, while swap markets are fully pricing a hike and implying about 100 basis points of increases over the next 12 months. Consumer inflation accelerated to 4.82% in August, remaining above the RBI's 4% medium-term target for a third consecutive month, while the economy grew 7.8% in the April-June quarter. Public-sector lenders also advanced, with Indian Bank up 0.43%, Bank of Baroda up 0.50%, Union Bank of India up 0.57%, Punjab National Bank up 0.26% and Canara Bank up 0.17%.

Blackstone, Bain Capital, Warburg Pincus and others are preparing final bids for the sale of Sankei Building, the core real estate subsidiary being divested by Fuji Media Holdings, according to multiple people familiar with the matter who spoke to Reuters. The deal, including debt, could reach around 1 trillion yen, and if completed would rank among the largest acquisitions in Japan's real estate industry. Besides the three firms, BGO, a real estate investment fund under Canadian insurance giant Sun Life, is also preparing and is expected to submit a binding final proposal by the end of October. Fuji HD is expected to scrutinize the proposals, select a preferred negotiator, and then seek shareholder approval for the terms. Meanwhile, Singapore-based investment fund Vasant Master Fund, in a letter dated September 30 addressed to President Kenji Shimizu, demanded more detailed disclosure on the valuation of Sankei Building's assets, the transaction structure, consideration of alternatives, and the use of sale proceeds.

Magnite has secured a fresh role with HP TV+, becoming the primary video ad server and programmatic tech provider for HP's free, PC-focused streaming environment. The win comes as Magnite's shares have gained 6.67% over 7 days, 21.64% over 90 days and 55.42% year to date, with a 3 year total shareholder return of 238.21%. The stock last closed at $24.96, while the most followed Magnite narrative pegs fair value near $29.67, framing the shares as 16% undervalued. Magnite is positioned to benefit from the shift of ad spend from traditional TV to digital and connected TV, evidenced by deepened partnerships with Roku, Netflix, LG, Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount. Risks include reliance on a handful of large CTV and agency clients and uncertainty around the timing of Google AdTech remedies.

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking and eight other companies announced on October 6 that they have completed the second phase of "Project Trinity," a proof-of-concept experiment to settle digital securities using stablecoins. The second-phase trials ran from April to September 2026 between Daiwa Securities and SBI Securities, using security tokens issued by SBI VC Trade and trust-type stablecoins issued by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking for the purpose of this verification. Assuming trading on the Osaka Digital Exchange's security token trading market "START," two transactions were settled. Progmat handled the issuance and management infrastructure for the security tokens, while Progmat and Datachain provided the technology linking security tokens and stablecoins on different blockchains. In the trials, in addition to purchasing and redeeming stablecoins and ordinary settlement, the participants also tested responses for cases where stablecoins were insufficient or transaction details did not match. The companies said the results met expectations within the anticipated scope, and explained that they have set a near-term goal of delivery-versus-payment settlement at T+2, two business days after execution, and have confirmed to a certain degree that this is achievable.

The Board of Kenmare Resources plc has confirmed it received a non-binding proposal from International Resources Holdings RSC Ltd, or IRH, regarding a possible cash offer for the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Kenmare. Discussions with IRH are ongoing, and the company said there can be no certainty that a firm offer will be made or as to the terms of any such offer. Under Rule 2.6(a) of the Irish Takeover Rules, IRH must by no later than 5.00 pm GMT on 17 November 2026 either announce a firm intention to make an offer for Kenmare or announce that it does not intend to make an offer. Kenmare said the announcement was made without the approval of IRH. The company also confirmed its issued share capital comprises 89,228,161 ordinary shares of nominal value €0.001 each, with 2,363,871 options over ordinary shares outstanding under its restricted share plan.