Sam Altman thinks AI will be the most tremendous 'leap forward in quality of life for people' we've had

Yahoo Finance
Disney earnings beat as streaming profit tops estimates
Disney reported fiscal fourth quarter earnings that beat expectations on both the top and bottom lines as its streaming business swung to a profit.
Associated Press
UK set to create new pension megafunds with aim of unlocking $100 billion for investment
British Treasury chief Rachel Reeves is set to announce plans later Thursday to merge dozens of pension funds with the aim of unlocking tens of billions of pounds for investment and boosting the U.K.'s sub-par economic growth. In comments released by the Treasury ahead of her speech to finance leaders in central London, Reeves will say that the creation of so-called “megafunds” will represent the “biggest pension reform in decades.” In her first so-called Mansion House speech, an annual ritual for British chancellors of the exchequer, Reeves will say that the changes could help unlock 80 billion pounds ($100 billion) for investment.
Reuters
Qatari Emir arrives in Turkey to meet Erdogan, discuss cooperation
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani arrived in Ankara on Thursday to chair a Turkey-Qatar High Strategic Committee meeting with President Tayyip Erdogan, after which the sides are expected to sign off on investment-related accords. Turkey, which fiercely criticised Israel over its offensives in Gaza and in Lebanon, does not deem the Palestinian militant group Hamas a terrorist group, and some of its political officials regularly visit Turkey. Erdogan and al Thani will hold a bilateral meeting and then will chair the tenth meeting of the Turkey-Qatar High Strategic Committee.
Reuters
Futures muted ahead of economic data, Powell speech
The producer price index (PPI) reading for October and weekly jobless claims data are expected at 8:30 a.m. ET. "These numbers (PPI) better reflect corporate pricing power than the consumer price data, the tone should be consistent with a December rate cut," said Paul Donovan, chief economist at UBS Global Wealth Management. Traders are broadly pricing in an 82.3% chance of a 25-basis point interest rate cut at the Fed's December meeting, according to CME FedWatch.
Associated Press
Mastermind of foiled Hong Kong bomb plot to target police is jailed for nearly 24 years
The mastermind behind a foiled bomb plot during anti-government protests in Hong Kong in 2019 has been jailed for nearly 24 years in the city's first case brought under a United Nations anti-terrorism law. Ng Chi-hung, who had previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit the bombing of prescribed objects under the anti-terror law and possession of arms or ammunition with intent to endanger life, was sentenced to 23 years and 10 months by a Hong Kong court on Thursday. The seven are not well-known activists in the semi-autonomous Chinese city’s pro-democracy movement, but their case has drawn attention because the United Nations (Anti-Terrorism Measures) Ordinance was invoked.
Reuters
Biden to bid farewell at APEC and G20 under Trump's shadow
President Joe Biden heads to South America on Thursday for a curtain call with global leaders after over 50 years in U.S. politics, but the man he tried and failed to keep from returning to power is likely to be the focus of many meetings: incoming U.S. President Donald Trump. Biden will hold private meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and the heads of Japan, South Korea and Brazil during the summits of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, in Peru and the Group of 20 leading economies, or G20, in Brazil. The meetings over six days are not expected to yield any major new agreements, senior Biden administration officials said, even as they are likely to touch on trade, security and global alliances.
AFP
Russia shuts Moscow's famed gulag museum
Russian authorities ordered the closure from Thursday of Moscow's award-winning Gulag History Museum, dedicated to the victims of Soviet-era repression.In 2021, authorities ordered the liquidation of Memorial, the Nobel Prize-winning NGO that records victims of both Soviet repression and allegations of human rights violations by the current regime.
Reuters
Analysis-Crypto industry pushes for policy sea change after Trump victory
The crypto industry is pushing for an ambitious raft of policies that would promote the widespread adoption of digital assets and considering who best to promote them, as they anticipate a cryptocurrency-friendly regime under President-elect Donald Trump. While crypto companies were already anticipating a lighter touch with a new administration, Donald Trump's decisive victory and a projected Republican sweep of Congress pave the way for a dramatic and lasting crypto policy overhaul. Trump courted crypto cash with promises to be a "crypto president," and industry executives say he now has a strong mandate to deliver.
AFP
London mayor says Trump attacks due to his ethnicity and religion
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has accused Donald Trump of repeatedly criticising him because of his "ethnicity" and Muslim faith, in comments likely to renew his long-running feud with the US president-elect.Trump then accused Khan -- the first Muslim mayor of a Western capital when he was first elected in 2016 -- of doing a "very bad job on terrorism" and called him a "stone cold loser" and "very dumb".
Yahoo Finance
The 'DOGE' jokes are easy, but Musk's new side hustle is Tesla's biggest advantage yet: Morning Brief
Taking Musk's government efficiency department as a joke underestimates what he might do with this newfound power.
AFP
Iran tells UN nuclear chief it won't negotiate under 'intimidation'
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Thursday that Iran will not negotiate under "intimidation" as he held crunch talks with the UN nuclear chief weeks before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office.The IAEA chief described his meeting with Araghchi as "indispensable" in a post on X. Araghchi was Iran's chief negotiator in talks that led to a landmark 2015 nuclear deal with major powers, abandoned three years later by Trump.
Associated Press
A Russian man stands treason trial on charges he filmed military equipment for Ukraine
A Russian man faced trial on Thursday on charges of high treason for a video he had allegedly sent to Ukraine's security services, the latest in a growing series of espionage cases amid the fighting in Ukraine. The Volgograd District Court began hearing a new case against Nikita Zhuravel, who is currently serving a 3.5-year sentence for publicly burning a Quran in front of a mosque. The new charges against Zhuravel are based on allegations that he filmed a trainload of military equipment and warplanes in 2023 and sent the video to a representative of Ukraine’s security agency.
AFP
Uganda TikToker convicted for insulting president
A Ugandan court has convicted a 21-year-old content creator for calling for the public flogging of President Yoweri Museveni on video-sharing platform TikTok, a state prosecutor said on Thursday. In July, another 21-year-old TikToker was sentenced to six years in prison for insulting Museveni, who has ruled Uganda with an iron fist since he toppled president Milton Obote in 1986.
Reuters
EU lawmakers seek change to deforestation law and back delay
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Parliament sought on Thursday to water down a ban on the import of commodities such as beef and soy linked to deforestation, and backed a one year delay to the new rule, in a fresh push-back against the EU's environmental agenda. The European Commission proposed a 12-month delay until Dec 2025 last month after complaints from a group of 20 EU countries, some companies and countries such as Brazil and Indonesia. The parliament's vote for changes adds to uncertainty over the EU deforestation regulation (EUDR) as lawmakers will now have to enter negotiations with EU governments to find a compromise.
CNN
Thousands evacuated as parts of Spain hit with nearly a month’s rainfall in one hour
Severe thunderstorms and torrential rain have once again battered coastal Spain, causing flooding and evacuations just two weeks after the country experienced deadly flooding in Valencia and other nearby communities.
AFP
Thousands flee as Typhoon Usagi hits north Philippines
Typhoon Usagi slammed into the Philippines' already disaster-ravaged north on Thursday, as authorities rushed to evacuate thousands of people from flood-prone areas.- 'Forced evacuations' - Elsewhere in Cagayan, officials worked in driving rain Thursday to evacuate residents along the coasts and on the banks of already swollen rivers.
AFP
As Trump returns, African exporters torn between hope and horror
Citrus growers in South Africa are among the businesses most nervous that duty- and quota-free exports to the United States could be scrapped next year when Donald Trump returns to the White House.Another South African citrus company told AFP on condition of anonymity that if AGOA were not renewed, it would "kill" their business, which employed more than 3,000 people and exported an average of 350 containers of sorbet products per year to the United States.
AFP
Burberry launches turnaround plan as posts loss
Troubled British fashion house Burberry on Thursday announced cost-cutting plans after posting a loss, with the global luxury sector pressured by weak Chinese demand.China is the world's biggest spender in the luxury sector, accounting for half of global sales.
USA TODAY
Man is 'not dead anymore' after long battle with IRS, which mistakenly labeled him deceased
Phil Anderson found out his social security number was switched with his late daughter’s, and the government had labeled him deceased.
Reuters
Trump’s victory could ease regulatory path for Musk’s robotaxi, but hurdles remain
As Tesla’s electric-vehicle sales have flattened this year, CEO Elon Musk has increasingly staked the company’s future on his vision for self-driving robotaxis, despite the massive technological and regulatory obstacles in delivering them. Now Musk - as one of President-elect Donald Trump's biggest backers - may have the influence to help break through those regulatory roadblocks. Tesla currently faces a diverse landscape of state driverless-vehicle laws that Musk blasted in an Oct. 23 earnings call, calling it “incredibly painful to do it state-by-state.”

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