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  • Stocks Get Tech Boost in Countdown to Fed Decision: Markets Wrap

    Stocks Get Tech Boost in Countdown to Fed Decision: Markets Wrap


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    (Bloomberg) — Wall Street kicked off the week with gains as traders see a Federal Reserve cut on Wednesday as a sure thing, while awaiting validation from officials on bets for a series of reductions extending into next year.

    The $14 trillion rally that’s taken US equities to record highs is heading for an inflection point, with the first rate cut since Donald Trump became president again likely to seize the spotlight in a week that will determine policy settings for half of the world’s 10 most-traded currencies.

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    A surge in tech megacaps drove the S&P 500 above 6,600. A 6% jump in Tesla Inc. erased its 2025 losses as Elon Musk bought $1 billion worth of shares. Alphabet Inc. hit $3 trillion. Treasuries rose, with two-year yields hovering near the lowest since last September. The dollar slid.

    Recent signs of weakening in the labor market, paired with no surprises in the latest inflation data, sealed the deal for what most economists expect will be a quarter-point Fed cut. The pace of easing after that is now the big question, with prices stubbornly above the central bank’s target.

    “Now the discussion will turn to how aggressively the Fed will act,” said Chris Larkin at E*Trade from Morgan Stanley. “The Fed may remind everyone that it may be focused on jobs now, but it hasn’t forgotten about the other half of its mandate.”

    Read: Trump Urges Powell to Cut Rates ‘Bigger Than He Had in Mind’

    US policymakers on Wednesday will also release their quarterly update of economic and rate forecasts — known as the dot plot — and Fed Chair Jerome Powell will hold his regular post-decision press conference. In June, Fed officials were narrowly in favor of two quarter-point cuts in 2025.

    What traders will really hang on is the tone of Powell’s press conference and the “dot plot” projections, according to Fawad Razaqzada at City Index and Forex.com.

    “I’ll be watching how the market reacts to any mention of inflation being ‘well anchored’ or the labor market ‘cooling more than expected,” he said. “That sort of language would be music to the ears of dollar bears. On the flip side, a cautious Fed that hints at a ‘wait and see’ approach might stall the rally, at least temporarily.”

    Before that, Razaqzada noted that there’s also a bit of data to keep things lively before and after the decision. Tuesday’s retail sales could either reinforce the soft-landing narrative or raise fresh concerns about consumer demand, he said.

    In a nod to data that suggests that US-based firms are growing reluctant to hire, the Fed will cut by 25 basis points this week, according to Thierry Wizman at Macquarie Group. But to the central bank’s hawks, monetary policy doesn’t present as being tight, he noted.

    “And so Jay Powell will offer balance. He’ll highlight again the downside risk to employment growth, but refrain from signaling a (long) string of cuts after September,” Wizman said.

    Lon Erickson at Thornburg Investment Management says he doesn’t think we’re ready for another 50 basis-point cut this year like the Fed did when the cutting process first began.

    “Considering what we’ve seen with inflation, which came in a bit higher than expected, they’ll continue to be cautious,” he said. “The wild card remains inflation. The key question is how that plays out over the rest of the year and whether we end up in the dreaded stagflation-type environment, which would put the Fed in a tough spot.”

    Erickson says he’s leaning more towards expecting a rate cut at each of the remaining meetings this year amid a softening labor market.

    “Near-term risk is centered on the tension between lagging, weak labor data and the Fed’s response that may not meet the markets’ ‘need for speed,’” Morgan Stanley’s Michael Wilson said. Still, he recommended buying any dips, and his most bullish scenario sees the S&P 500 climbing to 7,200 points by mid-2026.

    JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategists said that while the stock market has disregarded weak indicators to post multiple record highs, this trend could reverse once the Fed makes its first cut of 2025.

    “Once the easing resumes, equities could turn more cautious for a bit, and price in some more downside risk, in effect repricing the current, potentially complacent, stance,” a team led by Mislav Matejka wrote.

    Bullish traders may have history on their side: The S&P 500 has been 15% higher, on average, a year after cuts resumed following a pause of six months or more, data from Ned Davis Research going back to the 1970s show. That compares to a 12% gain in the same period after the first cut of an ordinary cycle.

    “With the weakening labor market and inflation seemingly under control, we expect a rate cut starting this week and totaling 100 basis points over the next four meetings through January 2026,” said Brian Buetel at UBS Wealth Management. “The stock market’s recent gains are being driven by strong earnings momentum and declining rates.”

    Buetel says he expects modest upside between now and the end of the year, and the bull market continuing to gain steam into 2026, as investors have plenty of earnings momentum runway to work with.

    Measures of projected volatility look dormant, and analysts’ profit views for the first half of 2026 are climbing back toward where they stood at the beginning of the year. Since bottoming in July, 2026 earnings estimates for the S&P 500 have climbed in each of the past nine weeks. At $295 per share, they’re in line with where they stood in late April, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

    Even as the Fed meeting and $5 trillion quarterly triple-witching options expiry loom over the equity market, volatility traders are also circling the upcoming jobs data on their calendars.

    Options markets are pricing in a 0.78% move for the US nonfarm payrolls report Oct. 3 and 0.72% for Wednesday’s Fed rate decision, according to Citigroup Inc.

    “If you threw up a minus 50k payrolls next month you’re gonna get vol higher,” said Stuart Kaiser, head of US equity-trading strategy at Citigroup, adding that negative payrolls are likely needed to get swings higher. “I don’t think there’s any way around that. You probably need the unemployment rate to be around 4.5%.”

    Meantime, President Trump again called for an end to quarterly earnings reports, tapping into a long-running fault line in American capitalism over how much information should be disclosed by public companies.

    “Subject to SEC Approval, Companies and Corporations should no longer be forced to “Report” on a quarterly basis (Quarterly Reporting!), but rather to Report on a ‘Six (6) Month Basis,’” Trump said on social media. “This will save money, and allow managers to focus on properly running their companies.”

    On the tariff front, Trump said he would speak with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday, in what would be the two leaders’ first direct engagement since June, and one where a settlement over the Chinese-owned TikTok app may be at stake.

    Corporate Highlights:

    China ruled that Nvidia Corp. violated anti-monopoly laws with a high-profile 2020 deal, ratcheting up the pressure on Washington during sensitive trade negotiations. CoreWeave Inc. said its shareholder Nvidia Corp. has agreed to buy cloud services valued at $6.3 billion, part of that company’s push to speed up the adoption of artificial intelligence across the economy. Alaska Air Group Inc.’s adjusted third-quarter profit will be at the low end of the carrier’s previous estimate of $1 to $1.40 a share, driven down by a July technology outage and rising fuel prices. Exxon Mobil Corp. is introducing a program to encourage more retail investors to support the company in proxy votes with an automatic system that threatens to limit the influence of activists. Snap Inc. is rolling out an updated version of its operating system for augmented-reality glasses, a move that signals it’s getting closer to launching its first consumer smart glasses next year. WaterBridge Infrastructure LLC’s initial public offering of as much as $540 million has attracted investor demand for multiple times the available shares, according to people familiar with the matter. Robinhood Markets Inc. is launching a closed-end fund to give US retail investors exposure to private companies. What Bloomberg Strategists say…

    “Equity traders, fixated on this week’s anticipated Fed rate cut, are unlikely to be unsettled unless Tuesday’s retail sales report reveals a sharp decline. Still, the outlook bears watching, as consumer strength has long served as a crucial pillar for both the economy and financial markets.”

    —Tatiana Darie, Macro Strategist, Markets Live. For the full analysis, click here.

    Some of the main moves in markets:

    Stocks

    The S&P 500 rose 0.4% as of 12:56 p.m. New York time The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.7% The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed The MSCI World Index rose 0.5% Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index rose 2% The Russell 2000 Index rose 0.4% Currencies

    The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2% The euro rose 0.2% to $1.1757 The British pound rose 0.3% to $1.3598 The Japanese yen rose 0.2% to 147.36 per dollar Cryptocurrencies

    Bitcoin fell 1% to $114,749.44 Ether fell 2.6% to $4,497.32 Bonds

    The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined three basis points to 4.03% Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 2.69% Britain’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to 4.63% The yield on 2-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 3.53% The yield on 30-year Treasuries declined three basis points to 4.65% Commodities

    West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.8% to $63.21 a barrel Spot gold rose 1% to $3,679.50 an ounce ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.

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  • EDF presbyopia correction IOL implanted during cataract surgery offers excellent vision at all distances

    EDF presbyopia correction IOL implanted during cataract surgery offers excellent vision at all distances

    Patients who have a new type of lens implanted in their eyes during surgery for cataracts or to correct their eyesight have excellent or good vision over distances both near and far, and often no longer need spectacles for reading.

    Research presented today (Sunday) at the 43rd Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS) evaluated outcomes for around 200 patients in 17 sites in Europe and Asia-Pacific who had surgery to implant the TECNIS PureSEETM, a purely refractive extended depth of field (EDF) presbyopia correction Intraocular Lens (IOL). Presbyopia is the condition that affects all people as they age, making it harder to focus clearly on close objects and text.

    The study looked at visual acuity after surgery: how well the patients could see over far, intermediate and near distances on the logMAR visual acuity charts used by ophthalmologists that consist of rows of letters that become smaller as they go down the chart. It also measured Manifest Refraction Spherical Equivalent (MRSE) – a way of quantifying the refractive errors of the eye. In addition, the study reported on how patients were managing after surgery in terms of whether or not they needed spectacles for reading, how satisfied they were with their outcomes and whether they would recommend the lens to others.

    Data were available for 238 patients at the time of the Congress, making it one of the biggest studies to report on this type of lens so far. The findings showed that the EDF presbyopia correction IOL, on average, provided excellent distance, very good intermediate, and functional near vision without glasses, with little refractive error.

    Nearly all patients (96%) reported needing glasses ‘none’ or ‘a little of the time’ for distance vision; 93% reported this for intermediate distances, 62% for near distances, and 85% for overall vision. 

    For satisfaction with the outcomes, 96% were ‘mostly’ or ‘completely’ satisfied with their distance vision, 94% with intermediate, 73% with near, and 95% with overall vision; 96% would recommend the lens to their family and friends.

    Professor Oliver Findl, Chair of the ESCRS Education Committee, is a consultant eye surgeon and head of the ophthalmology department at Hanusch Hospital, Vienna. He presented the findings to the congress. 

    He said: “The PureSee EDF IOL gave patients excellent distance, very good intermediate and functional near vision, which resulted in high patient satisfaction with less need for spectacles. The data in this study came from several surgical centres throughout Europe and Asia in a ‘real world setting’ outside of the usual clinical trials. 

    “The category of EDF IOLs, such as the TECNIS PureSee, are a great alternative to multifocal lenses for patients who wish to be less dependent on spectacles after lens surgery and do not want to take the risk of unwanted optical side-effects.”

    Currently, when a person requires cataract surgery, their cloudy lens is replaced with an artificial lens. To enable a patient to see objects both near and far, their surgeon may offer them a choice of lenses, such as: 

    1. Monofocal lens, which enables patients to see clearly at one distance point (far, intermediate or near), but which mean they need spectacles for the distances they have not chosen. If surgery is needed on both eyes, patients can choose to have a lens for close-up work in one eye, and another lens for distances in the other eye. This combination is known as monovision and the brain then adjusts to the two distances so that the patient can see both near and far.

    2. Multifocal lens, which can provide good vision over all distances, without the need for glasses. The lens is split into different zones or concentric rings, with different prescription lengths for each section, which provide clear, complete vision when combined. However, these lenses may cause some unwanted optical side-effects, especially at night.

    3. Extended depth of field (EDF) lens, which provides good distance and intermediate (arm’s length) vision, but spectacles may still be needed for close work such as reading small print.

    The difference between some of these lenses and the EDF presbyopia correction IOL that we used in this study is that it is a fully ‘refractive’ IOL, meaning it uses variations in the lens curvature to focus light at a single distance. The surface of the lens is smooth and you don’t see bumps or rings. This means you have better night vision and don’t see halos, starbursts, glare and other visual disturbances that can occur with other lenses.”


    Professor Oliver Findl, Chair of the ESCRS Education Committee

    Dr Joaquín Fernández is ESCRS Secretary, CEO of Qvision and Medical Director of Andalusian Ophthalmology Institute at Vithas Hospitals. He was not involved in the research. He commented: “Eye surgery for cataracts or to correct vision is constantly evolving but, so far, the ‘holy grail’ of developing a lens that can give patients good vision over all distances without any visual disturbances has been elusive. These data from a ‘real world’ study are very encouraging and suggest that the available options are expanding to better meet the expectations of our patients. However, other options still need to be explored. We look forward to further results from the study.”

    Source:

    European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons

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  • All-Star Fantasy Team of the Week

    All-Star Fantasy Team of the Week

    What a weekend. A pair of ‘Epics in Exeter’ and a couple of ‘Brutes in Bristol’. All of which means we have the four best teams in the world preparing for the semi-finals. 

    Before all of that though, which player makes her fourth successive appearance in the Fantasy Team of the Week, who is on a seemingly inexorable rise and which French forward caught the eye most?

    Read on to find out as Fantasy Women’s Rugby World Cup hits boiling point: 

    Props

    Linda Djougang (61pts) makes her first appearance in the Fantasy Team of the Week after an all-court match against France which saw her score a try, make 24 carries (behind only teammate Aoife Wafer’s 26), and complete 13 tackles – the most by an Irish player. It was her best performance of the tournament and so nearly was the catalyst for one of the great upsets.

    Kelsey Clifford (52pts) returns after making the team for round two. She scored two tries against Scotland and now has five for the tournament, the most for a prop and the second most for a forward behind Freda Tafuna (six) of the USA.

    Hooker

    Georgia Ponsonby (50pts) has got better each round, which isn’t good news for the Canadians who face her next. She assisted both a try and a line break and made 15 tackles in their victory over South Africa. A victory that required unrelenting defence from the Black Ferns. They made 252 tackles to just 84 from South Africa.

    Second row

    Sophie de Goede (106pts) is back once more. She has made the team of the week in every round and has top scored in three of the four. We’re running out of ways to explain just how brilliant she is. Her quarter-final against Australia marked the fourth match where she made 10 or more carries and scored points; nobody else has done that more than twice. What’s more, she’s just getting better. This 106pt haul is 25pts higher than the next best by a tight five player (prop, hooker, second row) and 38pts higher than her previous best in round one.

    Madoussou Fall Raclot (41pts) was crucial to keeping France in the game as Ireland threw everything at them, especially in the first half when the wind was assisting. She made 30 tackles, the most of the round and the second most in the tournament. In total she missed just two, a herculean effort.

    Loose forwards

    Kaipo Olsen-Baker (82pts) completed her remarkable return after what was initially feared to be a broken ankle in the opening game. She played just 14 minutes in that first game against Spain but roared back in the quarter-final scoring two tries and leading her team with 26 tackles made.

    Caroline Crossley (57pts) also returned after a couple of lower scoring matches against Wales and Scotland to lead the round with seven defenders beaten.

    Charlotte Escudero (55pts) scored a crucial try which kickstarted France’s comeback. She also made more carries than any other French player (12) and the third most tackles (25) in a tireless match.

    Scrum-half

    Justine Pelletier (43pts) marks her first appearance in the team of the week with a performance that saw her create crucial chances for her Canadian side. She led the match with two try assists and two line break assists. Across the tournament she has six try assists, tied with Mo Hunt (ENG) for the most.

    Fly-half:

    Holly Aitchison (51pts) made her first start of the tournament and delivered a nerveless performance scoring a try and kicking five of her six conversions. That 15pt match haul was the highest of the round and means England have made their team selection even harder.

    BRISTOL, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 14: Holly Aitchison of England successfully kicks a conversion during the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 Quarter Final match between England and Scotland at Ashton Gate on September 14, 2025 in Bristol, England. (Photo by Molly Darlington – World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images)

    Centres

    Florence Symonds (46pts) becomes the fourth Canadian to make the team, the most they’ve achieved in this tournament. Symonds scored her highest tally so far with two line breaks and a try assist. She also forced a turnover in the tackle to bolster her defensive stats.

    Stacey Waaka (45pts) has 184pts for the tournament, behind only Gabrielle Vernier (FRA). In the quarter-finals, Waaka beat two defenders and had two line breaks and also assisted a try.

    Outside Backs

    Braxton Sorensen-McGee (79pts) has topped the outside backs for three of the last four rounds. Her points total of 364pts is the highest of the tournament and she is one of only two people to go beyond 300pts (teammate Jorja Miller – 306pts – the other). This time around Sorensen-McGee scored another two tries (she leads with eight overall) and she kicked two conversions for good measure.

    Renee Holmes (78pts) pushed her teammate hard with two tries for herself, two line breaks, three defenders beaten, and a try assist.

    Abby Dow (50pts) breaks up the Kiwi full sweep. She scored a try against Scotland and was second at the weekend with 113m carried. Dow has been ultra consistent, in her three matches she has scored 55, 45, and 50pts.

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  • Rogers goes No.2 all time to retain world hammer title in Tokyo | News | Tokyo 25

    Rogers goes No.2 all time to retain world hammer title in Tokyo | News | Tokyo 25

    Canadian Camryn Rogers successfully defended her hammer title at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 on Monday (15) with a sensational throw of 80.51m that moves her up to second on the world all-time list.

    The Olympic champion, who had led the finalists out on to the infield, maintained the leading theme by opening her series with 78.09m, a throw that would have ultimately been enough to win the competition.

    But the beauty came in round two, the Canadian wriggled her fingers and sprinkled some maple magic before effortlessly breaking the 80-metre barrier and falling to the floor when she realised her feat.

    Young Chinese duo Zhao Jie, 22, and Zhang Jiale, 18, completed the podium, both throwing beyond 77 metres in the final round, recording their best efforts of the night.

    Zhao, the Olympic bronze medallist, added exactly one metre to her personal best, throwing 77.60m after being temporarily knocked into bronze by her compatriot in the final round when the teenager threw 77.10m.

    Two other women threw beyond 75 metres: Finland’s Silja Kosonen (75.28m) and USA’s 2019 world champion DeAnna Price (75.10m). Hammer legend and multiple global champion Anita Wlodarczyk was sixth with 74.64m.

    “I first picked up a hammer on 5 January 2012,” recalls Rogers. “I’ll never forget the date, it’s just ingrained in my head.

    “It was not good, I promise you. But at that moment, I just couldn’t think of any time in my life where I’d felt more powerful.

    “[My 80m throw] makes me think of my 12-year-old self and it makes me think of everything that she dreamed of when she started training. I just think of her and I just think of how proud she would be of me.”

    The moment was extra special for Rogers as Wlodarczyk, the world record-holder, was also competing in the final, and has been a role model for the two-time world champion.

    “I remember watching her [Wlodarczyk] break the world record in 2016, twice, she did at the Olympics and then she did it three weeks later and I was like, ‘okay, go off icon, go off queen’,” says Rogers.

    “But she came up to me afterwards today and gave me a hug and she said to me, ‘welcome to the 80-metre club’ and I feel like my whole heart just exploded.

    “Not only is 12 year old me internally screaming, but 26-year-old me is also externally screaming.”

    For silver medallist Zhao, today was also a perfect day.

    “This was a final when dreams come true,” Zhao said. “I was very confident in myself and focused on my technique during the competition, I didn’t pay attention to what my rivals did until the last attempt.

    “When Zhang went out to 77.10m, I tried to calm down and do my throw technically clean and my coach was supporting me from the tribune.”

    Bronze medallist Zhang, who set a world U20 record of 77.24m last month, has enjoyed a seamless transition to the senior global stage, having earned world U20 silver last year and now bronze in Tokyo.

    “To win the World U20 Championships and then to compete in the final here is a huge difference,” she said.

    “I had to improve many things, including my technique and strength, to get where I’m today. I put everything into my last attempt to get even one position higher, and I was successful, but (Zhao) Jie was incredible on her last throw.

    “I’m only 18, but I have a dream to grab the gold at next World Championships in Beijing.”

    Jasmine Trapnell for World Athletics
    Produced as part of the World Athletics Media Academy project

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  • Arab states’ response to Israel’s strikes on Doha has been mostly angry bombast – The Economist

    1. Arab states’ response to Israel’s strikes on Doha has been mostly angry bombast  The Economist
    2. Arab-Islamic summit: Qatar’s emir vows to ‘confront Israeli aggression’  Al Jazeera
    3. Qatar hosts Arab-Islamic emergency summit over Israeli strike on Doha  BBC
    4. PM suggests task force to check Israeli expansionism as Arab-Islamic summit mulls response to Doha strikes  Dawn
    5. Arab Ministers Meet on Response to Israeli Attack in Qatar  The New York Times

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  • HUNTR/X’s ‘Golden’ No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 for Fifth Week

    HUNTR/X’s ‘Golden’ No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 for Fifth Week

    Saja Boys weren’t the only animated singers in HUNTR/X’s way.

    HUNTR/X, the heroic trio in Netflix’s smash film KPop Demon Hunters, claims a fifth week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Golden” — which becomes the sole longest-leading hit by an animated act in the chart’s 67-year history. Two previous cartoon tunes each reigned for four weeks: The Archies, with “Sugar, Sugar” in 1969, and the Chipmunks with David Seville, with “The Chipmunk Song” over the 1958 holiday season.

    Upon the original ascent to No. 1 for “Golden,” HUNTR/X — the IRL singing trio of EJAE, Audrey Nuna and REI AMI (in the roles of the movie’s characters Rumi, Mira and Zoey) — became the first female group associated with Korean pop to crown the Hot 100.

    KPop Demon Hunters has also become the first soundtrack to generate four simultaneous Hot 100 top 10s over the chart’s archives. The songs place in the bracket for a fourth week, with Saja Boys’ “Your Idol” and “Soda Pop” each up a spot to return to their respective Nos. 4 and 5 bests and HUNTR/X’s “How It’s Done” lifting one place to a new No. 8 high.

    Meanwhile, KPop Demon Hunters charts three songs in the Hot 100’s top five simultaneously for a third week. It surpasses the only other soundtrack that spun off three concurrent top five hits: For two weeks (April 8 and 15, 1978), three Saturday Night Fever songs were all in the top five: Bee Gees’ “Night Fever” and “Stayin’ Alive” and Yvonne Eliiman’s Bee Gees-penned “If I Can’t Have You” (at Nos. 1, 2 and 5, respectively).

    As previously reported, the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack slashes its way to its first week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Thanks to the set and “Golden,” a soundtrack and one of its songs lead the Billboard 200 and Hot 100, respectively, for the first time since the charts dated March 5, 2022, when Encanto and its ensemble anthem “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” wrapped five weeks doubly dominating. (KPop Demon Hunters and Encanto are the only animated films to earn such honors.)

    Browse the full rundown of this week’s Hot 100 top 10 below.

    The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data, the lattermost metric reflecting purchases of physical singles and digital tracks from full-service digital music retailers; digital singles sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites are excluded from chart calculations. All charts (dated Sept. 20, 2025) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, Sept. 16. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.

    Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.

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  • Apple receives FDA nod for hypertension notification feature

    Apple receives FDA nod for hypertension notification feature













    Apple receives FDA nod for hypertension notification feature | Mobi Health News


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  • Netanyahu admits Israel faces prolonged ‘isolation’ over war in Gaza

    Netanyahu admits Israel faces prolonged ‘isolation’ over war in Gaza

    With global anger mounting over the nearly two-year war in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Monday that Israel is facing a “kind of isolation” that could last for years, and has no choice but to stand on its own.

    Speaking at a finance ministry conference, Netanyahu said Israel’s economy would need to adapt to “autarkic characteristics” – becoming more self-sufficient and less reliant on external trade.

    “It’s a word I hate,” Netanyahu said, adding that it was he who had brought a “free-market revolution to Israel.”

    One of the key industries facing isolation is weapons trade, he said, which may force Israel to avoid reliance on foreign arms imports.

    “We’ll need to develop our weapons industry – we’re going to be Athens and super Sparta combined. We have no choice, at least for the coming years when we’ll be required to deal with these isolation attempts,” he said.

    Netanyahu’s statements mark a rare acknowledgement of the massive international backlash Israel faces as it escalates its war in Gaza. He has refused to change course, despite warnings from the United Nations and others that a looming assault on Gaza City will lead to more death and destruction, and amid mounting accusations that Israel is committing genocide in the enclave, which Israel strongly denies.

    Israel now faces partial or complete arms embargoes from France, the Netherlands, the UK, Spain, Italy and others due to its conduct in the Gaza war. The majority of its weapons imports however, come from the United States, which hasn’t placed any such restrictions – and has warned others from doing so. A Biden-era delay on a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs was quickly lifted by the Trump administration.

    The Israeli public, hostage families, and even the military have opposed expanding the war over concerns it could endanger the hostages and worsen the humanitarian toll. But the prime minister has insisted on pressing ahead.

    For years, Israel has been considered an economic powerhouse regionally and globally, driven in large part by its vaunted high-tech industry. But the war has had an economic impact and is already the longest and most expensive in the country’s history.

    Netanyahu partly attributed the isolation to “an extreme Islamist agenda” which he claimed had a “very negative influence” on European foreign policy. He also said rival states – “among them Qatar” – have shaped global discourse on social media, which “puts us into a kind of isolation.”

    “This situation threatens us with the beginnings of economic sanctions and problems importing weapons and weapon parts,” Netanyahu said.

    ‘There will be no second chance’

    Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid slammed Netanyahu in response, dubbing his statement that Israel is entering isolation as “crazy.”

    “Isolation is not fate; it is the result of Netanyahu’s flawed and failed policy,” Lapid wrote on X.

    Gadi Eisenkot, the former Israeli military chief planning a political run, also blasted the prime minister, saying, “There will be no second chance to repair the damage caused by him and his partners who abandoned the hostages and isolated Israel in the world.”

    Later on Monday, Netanyahu addressed the “pessimists” about the economy, saying Israel’s stock market is the “strongest in the world.”

    “Investing in Israel is the smart thing to do,” he said in a statement, adding that Israel would continue to increase investments in weapons production to avoid dependence on “weak Western European leaders who surrender to extreme Muslim minorities in their countries.”

    Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich appeared to echo the prime minister’s statement, posting to X that the stock market is rising, inflation is falling, and commending the country’s management of the economy amid the war in Gaza.

    Earlier Monday, Netanyahu spoke alongside US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who lavished praise on “the friendship that Israel has shown towards the United States on so many issues we’ve worked on together that extend beyond the causes of war and peace.”

    The two criticized a number of countries, including France, Canada, Australia and others that are set to recognize a Palestinian state ahead of the United Nations General Assembly this month.


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  • Eurovision has never been about politics, says BBC boss Tim Davie

    Eurovision has never been about politics, says BBC boss Tim Davie

    Paul GlynnCulture reporter

    PA Tim Davie wearing a navy blue suit, navy tie and white shirtPA

    The BBC director general is also on the executive board of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU)

    BBC director general Tim Davie has said the corporation is “aware of the concerns” around Israel taking part in next year’s Eurovision, adding that the song contest has “never been about politics”.

    Speaking on Monday in front of parliament’s public accounts committee, Davie said the BBC would “work with” Eurovision organisers, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), on the issue.

    “Eurovision has never been about politics, it should be a celebration of music and culture that brings people together,” he added. “We need to see what the broadcast union decides.”

    Fellow broadcasters from Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Iceland and now Spain have all threatened to boycott the event if Israel is allowed to take part over the country’s actions in Gaza.

    “We’re very aware of the concerns,” the BBC boss told the committee. “It’s obviously a well-debated topic and difficult.

    “At this stage we are supportive of the European Broadcast Union’s work. They are going around discussing with members, working through all the processes by which they would be satisfied to make a decision one way or the other.”

    He added that it was “really important that we try to preserve” the celebratory element of the contest.

    “But at this stage, I’m supporting the European Broadcasting Union’s work, and they need to get on with it.”

    On Friday, leaders of the Green parties of England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland urged a potential UK boycott in a joint letter to Davie.

    Earlier this year, more than 70 former Eurovision contestants signed a letter calling on the organisers to ban Israel from the 2025 competition in Basel, which Austrian singer JJ won after a nail-biting finish that saw him topple Israel from pole position at the very last minute.

    As a result, next summer’s event will be held in the Austrian capital of Vienna.

    Getty Images A landscape view of the Votiv Church in Vienna and surrounding areaGetty Images

    Next summer’s Eurovision song contest will take place in Vienna, Austria

    Spain’s culture minister Ernest Urtasun has now said Israel should not take part, repeating calls made by the country’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, earlier this year.

    In 2024, Spain joined Norway and Ireland in acknowledging a Palestinian state and last week, Sánchez accused Israel of genocide and announced a series of measures against it, including an arms embargo.

    Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Saar responded by accusing Sanchez’s administration of being antisemitic and of using “wild and hateful rhetoric”.

    In August, the UN-backed food monitor, the IPC, confirmed that famine was taking place in parts of Gaza. Israel is accused of causing the famine through ongoing restrictions on food and medical aid entering the territory.

    Israel controls all border crossings into the Gaza Strip, and as the occupying power bears responsibility for protecting civilian life under international law, which includes the prevention of starvation.

    Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly denied starvation is taking place in Gaza and has said that where there is hunger, it is the fault of aid agencies and Hamas.

    Israel has regularly denied that its actions in Gaza amount to genocide and says they are justified as a means of self-defence.

    Israel launched its war in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

    At least 64,871 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.

    Political messages

    Getty Images Dancers for Madonna displaying flags of both Israel and Palestine on their backs during the star's guest performance at Eurovision 2019 in Tel AvivGetty Images

    Dancers for Madonna displayed flags of both Israel and Palestine on their backs during the star’s guest performance at Eurovision 2019 in Tel Aviv

    It’s not unprecedented for countries to be uninvited to Eurovision for political reasons.

    Russia was banned from competing in 2022 following its invasion of Ukraine.

    The EBU said at the time that Russia’s inclusion could bring the competition into disrepute “in light of the unprecedented crisis in Ukraine”.

    Before making this decision, the EBU said it had taken time to consult widely among its membership.

    Ukraine went on to win the contest.

    Eurovision is loved for its camp pop hits, soaring ballads and everything inbetween.

    But over the years, artists have used their platform to send subtle – and not so subtle – political messages.

    In 2023, Switzerland sent an anti-war song, Watergun, while Iceland were fined €5,000 (£4,325) back in 2019 for flying a Palestinian flag during the competition.

    In 2016, Ukraine also won the event with a song called 1944 about the ethnic cleansing of Crimean Tatars in that year by Soviet forces.

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