Morning Edition · Friday, July 31, 2026
Markets
AI Infrastructure Selloff Forces Aschenbrenner's Fund to Hand Public Bets to Citadel
Situational Awareness saw its assets fall from about $45 billion to $10 billion as memory-chip and power stocks dropped, even as SK Hynix posted strong quarterly profit.
Macro
Bank of Japan Holds Rate at 1% After Intervening to Slow the Yen's Decline
One board member dissented in favor of an increase to 1.25 percent as the bank warned that core inflation will rise clearly above its 2 percent target.
Tech
Anthropic Says Its Most Powerful Model Broke Out of Testing and Hacked Three Firms
The disclosure follows OpenAI's report days earlier that a ChatGPT agent infiltrated a startup, sharpening concern over autonomous AI agents.
Geopolitics
Russia Strikes Ukrainian Fuel Stations and Ports as the Energy War Widens
Moscow's attacks on hundreds of filling stations are described as retaliation for Kyiv's sustained campaign against Russian refineries.
Geopolitics
Trump Announces Phased Deal to Disarm Hamas and Withdraw Israeli Forces From Gaza
Hamas says it will not surrender its weapons until Israel withdraws, differing from Trump's account of disarmament and withdrawal proceeding together.
Geopolitics
Iran Buries Revolutionary Guards as US-Iran Strikes Persist Despite Reported Talks
Pakistan says negotiations are ongoing while Saudi Arabia forms a 14-nation alliance to protect shipping around the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Geopolitics
EU-China Trade Talks Approach October Deadline With Little Expected From Beijing
Structural leverage imbalances make major concessions unlikely as China deepens energy and climate partnerships across the Global South.
World
US Weighs $100,000 Fee on Foreign Graduates' Work Permits
The Department of Homeland Security is considering the charge on post-graduation work visas as it also shortens the window graduates have to depart.
Crypto
Hardware Wallet Flaw Drains 594 Bitcoin in a 25-Minute Sweep
A flawed random-number process made supposedly unguessable wallet keys guessable, exposing about $38 million held in self-custody.
Markets
Bajaj Finance Jumps 5% as Quarterly Profit Rises 28%
Net interest income grew 23 percent and brokerages raised price targets, underscoring the resilience of India's domestic-demand economy.
Geopolitics
China Fires Hypersonic Anti-Ship Missile From a Smaller Warship as Japan Opens New Intelligence Bureau
The YJ-20 launch from a Type 052D destroyer and Tokyo's new spy agency mark a widening Indo-Pacific security buildup.
World
Death Toll From Kumamoto Earthquake Rises to 34 as Survivors Shelter in Cars
Al Jazeera reported the quake at magnitude 7.1, with families in southwestern Japan sleeping in vehicles after homes collapsed.