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More than $350m has been stolen from crypto exchange Bitget. The theft is the largest crypto hack so far this year. Bitget had noticed "unauthorized transfers" from some of its ​wallets on Thursday and it "temporarily suspended" ​customer withdrawals, Gracy Chen, chief executive of the ⁠Seychelles-based company, said. Chen said all user funds were ​safe and that the loss was covered by Bitget's own funds. "Withdrawals remain temporarily suspended as a security precaution, ​not because of any shortfall in funds," ​Chen told Reuters. Bitget said it had engaged incident response giant Mandiant and blockchain security outfit SlowMist to help with the investigation into the attack. The firm said the methods used were “highly consistent” with those of North Korean hackers.

 

Bloomberg

Financial Times

Reuters

The Register

OpenAI has said that its AI systems may have interfered with the external websites of “dozens of third parties,” including those belonging to government bodies, public agencies, and universities, during routine testing evaluations. According to the company, its AI models bypassed digital security barriers, disrupted website accessibility, or negatively affected services while conducting testing routines. “Some of the websites involved are operated by governments, universities, public agencies, and other institutions. That is partly because models performing research tasks are often directed toward authoritative sources of public information,” OpenAI wrote in a blog post. 

 

Financial Times

Deutsche Welle

BBC News

The bank accounts of Capstone, a Montana-headquartered payments business linked to Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer, have been seized by federal prosecutors who accuse it of making illegal transfers.

 

Financial Times

Three Vietnamese garment manufacturers with historical and commercial ties to Chinese textile group Esquel have exported at least $5m of cotton goods to the U.S. since Esquel was sanctioned by Washington in November 2024 over alleged links to forced labor in Xinjiang, allegations the company denies. Reuters found that An Loi Apparel, Tessellation Binh Duong, and Tessellation Hoa Binh previously operated under variations of the Esquel Garment Manufacturing Vietnam name and have continued to source significant amounts of cotton from Esquel, which supplied around 70% of its $34m of Chinese cotton exports between November 2024 and June 2026 to the three manufacturers. The Vietnamese firms have supplied brands including Muji and Rodd & Gunn, which said they were unaware of links between their suppliers and Esquel and outlined measures intended to prevent forced labor in their supply chains.

 

Reuters

Walmart has pledged not to use its new digital shelf labels or AI shopping assistant Sparky to set prices based on customers’ personal information, shopping history, willingness to pay or the time of day, following concerns from shoppers, consumer groups and lawmakers over personalized pricing. The retailer said digital labels are already in use across 2,300 U.S. stores and are expected to be rolled out across its entire chain within the next year. Walmart said the technology allows it to update prices consistently, ensure shelf prices match those at checkout and reduce labor costs, while price changes will continue to reflect factors such as lower costs, higher product costs or transport expenses. The pledge comes after the Federal Trade Commission warned companies that personalized pricing could breach consumer protection laws and said businesses must disclose how customers’ personal information is used to determine prices.

 

US News and World Report

Attorney General Todd Blanche has said that that the Trump administration was permitted to ban three news outlets from the White House because “it is a privilege and not a right to be there.” President Trump banned CNN, Politico and MS NOW reporters from the grounds of the executive mansion and had their passes confiscated by Secret Service. “Well, the president hasn't denied access,” Blanche told “This Week” host Martha Raddatz on ABC News. “That's not the right way to describe it. This is what the president has said – is that he is sick and tired of certain media outlets just refusing to report accurate news.” Blanche emphasized that Trump made his decision “after years and years of one-sided media coverage” that was “not fair to the American people.”

 

The Hill

The Guardian

China and the U.S. have agreed reciprocal tariff cuts covering $60bn of bilateral trade, with each side identifying $30bn of non-sensitive goods for more favorable treatment. China plans to reduce duties on U.S. agricultural products including corn, wheat, meat and dairy, alongside seafood, cosmetics and medical devices, while the U.S. will lower tariffs on Chinese consumer goods including household appliances, tableware, bedding and toys. The agreement follows last week’s summit between Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump and includes a two-month extension of the countries’ trade truce to 10 January, intended to provide businesses with a more stable policy environment. The two sides will also establish an agriculture working group and hold regular discussions on investment barriers and market access. Separately, China has agreed to import 10m metric tonnes of U.S. coal annually in 2027 and 2028, while the countries will establish an AI incident communication channel. Beijing will also consider approvals for foreign financial services firms, including U.S.-backed institutions, to operate and open branches in China, alongside further talks on increasing direct flights.

 

Financial Times

Reuters

South China Morning Post

The U.S. current account deficit widened by $33.4bn, or 15.7%, to $246bn in the second quarter, driven by a sharp increase in goods imports. The deficit represented 3% of GDP, up from 2.7% in the first quarter, although it was smaller than the $255bn economists had forecast. Goods imports jumped $67.4bn to $931.6bn, outpacing a $27.1bn increase in exports to $640.3bn and widening the goods trade deficit by $40.4bn to $291.3bn. Trade reduced second-quarter GDP by 1.14 percentage points and has weighed on growth for three consecutive quarters. Meanwhile, the U.S. international investment position deteriorated to a $22.42tn deficit from $21.27tn in the first quarter, with foreign financial assets totaling $46.97tn and liabilities reaching $69.39tn.

 

Reuters

U.S. consumer sentiment fell to a four-month low in September as households grew more concerned about rising prices and the economic outlook. The University of Michigan’s final sentiment index declined to 48.1, while consumers’ one-year inflation expectations increased to 4.6% from 4% in August, and expectations for inflation over the next five to 10 years rose to 3.4%, the highest since May. The survey’s measure of the economic outlook for the coming year dropped to its lowest level since 2022, while expectations for personal finances also deteriorated. Sentiment has declined since the beginning of the year across demographic, geographic, political, and income groups. Buying conditions for durable goods improved slightly, partly because consumers believe making purchases now could help them avoid higher prices in the future.

 

CNN

Bloomberg

Luxembourg-headquartered steel giant ArcelorMittal has said that strikes which killed employees at its plant in Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine had forced it to cease operations in the war-torn country. The multinational ⁠said it had told ​the government in Kyiv that “safe and sustainable” operations were not possible after four strikes in five weeks caused extensive damage and killed five workers at the plant. "We are discussing the future of the plant with the Government of Ukraine and will focus on preserving the infrastructure, so when peace finally returns, options for restarting production remain available,” said ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih chief executive Mauro Longobardo.

 

Financial Times

Reuters

The Guardian

Sony Group will skip CES in 2027, ending a decades-long presence at the technology showcase as its business increasingly shifts towards games, music, film and entertainment intellectual property. The company and its affiliates will not exhibit at the January event, having already gone without a dedicated Sony booth in 2026. The decision follows the collapse of Sony’s electric vehicle collaboration with Honda, whose Afeela vehicle was displayed at CES earlier this year. Sony said it is strategically reassessing its approach to events as it focuses on entertainment and technology supporting creators, although it remains a major supplier of automotive image sensors.

 

The Japan Times