Trump: US to hold talks with Iran soon, deal possible after midterms

U.S. Politics & Diplomacy

• Trump stated that he will hold talks with Iran in the near future, and a U.S.-Iran deal may be reached after the midterm elections. He also said he may have to "destroy" the mountain.
• On September 22, the United States signed a security agreement with Denmark and its autonomous territory Greenland to "enhance security in the Arctic and North Atlantic regions."
• Trump said he believes Ukraine will reach a deal. He also noted that the situation in Cuba is not optimistic.
• Trump stated that he may allow CNN, MSNBC, and Politico back into the White House if a judge rules accordingly.

Federal Reserve Commentary

• Fed's Collins said she sees a higher likelihood that inflation will remain above 2%, and that rate hikes would help bring inflation back to target.
• Fed's Barkin said it remains unclear whether further rate hikes are needed.
• Fed's Williams said he will continue to focus on central clearing of the U.S. Treasury market.

Iran & Middle East

• Iran's Foreign Minister met with the U.S. special envoy in New York. Iran stated that the meeting was to convey conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
• Iran plans to detain ships until 20% of fines related to the Strait of Hormuz are paid.

Ukraine-Russia

• Zelenskyy said he is ready to achieve an energy ceasefire with Russia.

Financial Markets

• U.S. stock indexes closed mixed: Nasdaq rose 0.45% (hitting a new all-time high), S&P 500 was flat, and the Dow fell 0.36%.
• Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose over 2%, closing at its highest level since mid-July.
• Memory chip stocks rallied: SanDisk rose over 6%, Micron Technology gained 5%, and Seagate Technology added over 4%.
• European indexes closed mixed; Germany's DAX 30 rose 0.1%.
• COMEX gold futures rose 0.28% to $4,396.2/oz; COMEX silver futures rose 1.8% to $67.61/oz.
• International crude oil futures settled down over 1%. WTI crude oil October contract fell 1.24%; Brent crude oil November contract fell 1.09%.

Technology & AI

• Anthropic announced that Claude Opus 5.5 is now available on all platforms. In the coming weeks, it will also launch Claude Sonnet 5.5 and Claude Haiku 5.5.
• OpenAI launched GPT-6 SOL and GPT-6 LUNA. API prices for these models are 50% lower than the promotional pricing of GPT-5.6.
• Apple announced the official launch of the new Mac mini and Mac Studio. Apple is reportedly developing a new fitness tracker to compete with Whoop.
• SpaceXAI announced that its AI agent product Grok Bot has surpassed 400,000 users within its first month.
• Microsoft is reportedly set to continue reviewing shareholder proposals ahead of next year's annual general meeting.
• Qualcomm launched the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme (6th Gen) and Snapdragon 8 Elite (6th Gen).

Corporate & M&A

• Goldman Sachs is in talks to acquire Palmer Square, a credit firm managing $370 billion in assets.
• Wayve has partnered with Mercedes-Benz to integrate its AI autonomous driving system into future Mercedes-Benz models.
• PayPal announced a partnership with Meta.
• Saudi Aramco is reportedly planning a restructuring and considering spinning off some business units for potential listing.
• JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said the spending boom in AI shows no signs of slowing, and investment in the entire hyperscale data center ecosystem could reach $1 trillion next year.
• According to Sensor Tower, Meta Muse, Meta's AI agent app, surpassed ChatGPT in downloads within five days of launch, becoming the top free app on the U.S. iOS platform, with cumulative downloads exceeding 2.5 million.

Crypto & Commodities

• CME Group will launch Bitcoin Cash and Uniswap futures, scheduled for listing on October 19.
• Fitch raised its oil price forecast for 2027 and its TTF natural gas price forecast for 2026–2027, while maintaining its 2026 Brent crude oil price forecast at $87 per barrel.