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Daily Briefing

US House Republicans again block their own spending bill, European recession risks grow, and Big Pharma bets on AI.

Plus, why the real battle over succession at News Corp has yet to begin.

By Linda Noakes

Today's Top News

US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy speaks with reporters at the Capitol in Washington, September 20, 2023. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's attempt to restart his stalled spending agenda failed when Republicans for a third time blocked a procedural vote on defense spending, raising the risk of a government shutdown in just 10 days. Here is a guide to what happens during a shutdown.
Ukraine and the United States have agreed to launch joint weapons production in a step that will enable Kyiv to start producing air defense systems, while President Joe Biden promised more aid for Ukraine. Hear more on the Reuters World News daily podcast.
China and Syria will upgrade their relationship to a strategic partnership, following a meeting between China's President Xi Jinping and Syria's diplomatically-isolated leader Bashar al-Assad in Hangzhou.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called on India to cooperate with an investigation into the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia and said Canada would not release its evidence.
A small but restive volcano near the Philippine capital Manila spewed above average sulfur dioxide and volcanic smog, prompting authorities to close schools in five cities and dozens of towns and urge people to stay indoors.
Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan complained that he was uncomfortable with the use of what he described as "LGBT colors" at the United Nations, which is decorated this week with bright colors promoting the Sustainable Development Goals.

Business & Markets

The Bank of Japan maintained ultra-low interest rates and its pledge to keep supporting the economy until inflation sustainably hits its 2% target, suggesting it was in no rush to phase out its massive stimulus program.
The euro zone economy will likely contract in the third quarter and won't return to growth anytime soon, a survey showed. Meanwhile, British companies endured a much tougher September than feared, marked by growing unemployment and recession risks.
When Lachlan Murdoch was named the sole chairman of News Corp yesterday, the announcement put to rest immediate questions about who will run the sprawling media empire. But the executive transition does not settle another potential power play that could occur upon Rupert Murdoch's death, as framed by a document called the Murdoch Family Trust.
The Detroit Three automakers and the union representing the companies' US hourly workers entered the final hours to reach new labor agreements before the current coordinated strike expands to include more plants.
Microsoft's restructured $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard "opens the door" to the biggest ever gaming deal being cleared, Britain's antitrust regulator said
Cisco Systems agreed to buy cybersecurity firm Splunk for about $28 billion in its biggest-ever deal to strengthen its software business and capitalize on the boom in artificial intelligence.

The Week Ahead

The moment investors have been waiting for seems to finally have arrived, as major central banks have indicated they are nearing the end of their string of interest-rate rises.
The week ahead brings more evidence of how much progress is left for developed-economy policymakers, while in the emerging world, India is set to enter the bond-market big time and a raft of central banks wrestle with a dilemma.
The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge lands next Friday, as does euro zone consumer prices data. Here's a look at the week ahead from our markets team.

Big Pharma bets on AI to speed up clinical trials

Major drugmakers are using artificial intelligence to find patients for clinical trials quickly, or to reduce the number of people needed to test medicines, both accelerating drug development and potentially saving millions of dollars.

We report on how the new technology is playing a sizeable and growing role in drug development.

And Finally...

Richard Vargas shows his hyper-realistic hand prosthesis, in La Paz, Bolivia, September 20, 2023. REUTERS/Claudia Moralesang

Six years ago, Richard Vargas lost his hands in a dynamite explosion. Now, he wears two hyperrealistic prosthetic hands which allow him to write, eat using cutlery and do much more.

Read more here: Amputees strap on hyperrealistic prosthetic limbs

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