SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE – OCTOBER 05: George Russell of Great Britain driving the (63) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team W16 leads Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB21 Lando Norris of Great Britain driving the (4) McLaren MCL39 Mercedes Oscar Piastri of Australia driving the (81) McLaren MCL39 Mercedes and the rest of the field at the start prior to the F1 Grand Prix of Singapore at Marina Bay Street Circuit on October 05, 2025 in Singapore, Singapore.
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Over the weekend, all the world was a stage — in many ways.
In Tokyo, Sanae Takaichi took pole position in Japan's political Grand Prix, becoming the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's first female leader and likely the country's next prime minister.
Her stance as a disciple of "Abenomics," which advocates for a mix of government spending and monetary stimulus, may have investors already bracing for a twist in the Bank of Japan's rate hike trajectory.
Meanwhile, the OPEC+ bloc hit the gas pedal with a modest increase of 137,000 barrels per day starting November. The move, aimed at reclaiming market share, left Brent futures hovering around $65 a barrel.
Over in the U.S., Wall Street ended the week with a victory lap despite a late stumble Friday stateside. Hopes for a Fed rate cut later this month are now almost certain, even as the government shutdown drags on.
The shutdown has led the Labor Department to pause on virtually all activity, blocking the Friday release of the September nonfarm payrolls report.
To add on to the uncertainty, White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said that mass layoffs to federal workers will start if shutdown talks stall. Currently, about 750,000 federal government employees could be put on unpaid leave each day, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Buckle up investors, it's lights out, and away we go into a new week.
What you need to know today
Who is Sanae Takaichi? Takaichi is poised to become Japan's first female prime minister at a time of economic strain at home and tense relations abroad — and tests whether Japan doubles down on the conservative, pro-Abenomics agenda that defined the past decade.
Nikkei jumps, yen weakens. Japan's Nikkei 225 index jumped over 4% to hit a record high Monday after Takaichi's victory. The yen weakened by over 1.72% to briefly hit the psychological mark of 150 against the greenback, before retreating. On Friday stateside in the U.S., markets were more mixed, retreating in the afternoon after the three major indexes hit record highs.
U.S. tech companies hit pause in India. Tech companies are delaying their decisions to lease large data centers in India, jittery from the recent souring of trade ties between New Delhi and Washington. New deals for data centers have been on hold for more than two months now, a source told CNBC.
Foreigners eye China once again. As China seeks to entice back foreign capital amid dwindling inbound investment, global investors eyeing opportunities in the country remain wary of more fundamental constraints: Beijing's iron grip on capital flows and lack of policy clarity.
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And finally...
Pictured here is Louis Vuitton's new cruise ship-shaped store in Shanghai, China, on June 28, 2025.
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