Editor's note: Global Morning Briefing is a roundup of international news compiled by The Seoul Economic Daily.
Anger Over Living Costs Spreads Across Europe
Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across France to protest high prices and deteriorating public services. Pressure is mounting for fiscal austerity to rein in the country's massive national debt, but demonstrations that began with demands for better schools have broadened into a backlash against living costs and economic inequality, putting intense pressure on President Emmanuel Macron's government. The protest wave that started in France is now spreading to neighboring European countries where frustration over prices has built up.
On the 17th, hundreds of thousands of people poured into the streets of Paris and other major French cities to vent anger over high prices, worsening public services and economic inequality.
The largely peaceful protests turned violent in some areas. At Place de la Republique in central Paris, masked demonstrators fired fireworks at police and threw bricks, while officers responded with tear gas and water cannons. In the city center, protesters attempted to break into the Galeries Lafayette department store, and luxury shops and supermarkets were looted. In some cases, people smashed shop windows, broke down doors and fled with merchandise.
In the central city of Limoges, demonstrators set fire to city hall, collapsing the roof of the 143-year-old building and destroying a large portion of its exterior walls.
Analysts say the scale of the protests reflects an eruption of grievances that have accumulated across French society, extending well beyond education. The unrest is also expected to add to the political burden on Macron, who is in the final stretch of his term.
Rallies against high prices and war also turned violent in Milan, Italy, on the same day, with protesters clashing with police. In Brussels, students clashed with police over the cost of education and planned changes to the school system, while in Lisbon, demonstrators protested soaring home prices and rents.
Press Secretary Ousted After Four Days; Chief of Staff Said to Be at Odds With Trump
Troubling signals are emerging from the White House about two weeks before the U.S. midterm elections. Katie Zachariah, the new press secretary, was abruptly dismissed after four days amid a controversy over false claims about her credentials as a lawyer, and speculation has surfaced that Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, seen as the administration's most powerful figure, was behind the move. Rumors are also swirling that Wiles herself is close to being replaced as her rift with President Donald Trump widens. Local media say the White House has descended into infighting as the prospect of defeat in the midterms grows.
Zachariah, who started the job on the 12th, was removed on the 16th, four days later. Analysts say the White House ultimately dismissed her as the controversy over her legal credentials intensified.
Some observers believe Wiles engineered the dismissal. Zachariah appeared on Fox News on the night of the 15th and again on the morning of the 16th to try to contain the controversy surrounding her. But her responses to the anchor's questions — including that she had consulted legal experts who told her it was acceptable to call herself a lawyer — only poured fuel on the fire, and she was dismissed immediately after the interview aired. The account holds that a group of officials around Wiles arranged the interview that led to her ouster.
Speculation is spreading that Wiles's own position has weakened and that her replacement is imminent. The U.S. online outlet Politico recently reported that Trump has been asking aides about her reputation and looking for a successor.
Expectations are growing that Republicans will struggle in the midterms. Republican strategists are said to be treating the loss of the House as a foregone conclusion and putting the chances of holding a Senate majority at 50-50.
"AI Could Lift U.S. GDP 50% in Four Years; Safeguards Needed Fast"
A co-founder of Anthropic has projected that continued advances in artificial intelligence could expand U.S. gross domestic product by about 50% over four years.
Jack Clark, head of public interest at Anthropic, cited the company's internal analytical model at the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Bangkok, Thailand, saying U.S. GDP, now around $30 trillion, could reach $44 trillion by 2030.
He said the forecast assumes technology continues to advance, and that if such economic expansion materializes, it would also spawn new industries and inventions to drive it.
CXMT Sees Third-Quarter Revenue Surging 600%; Musk Says DRAM Map Will Be Redrawn in Two Years
ChangXin Memory Technologies, China's largest DRAM maker, has signaled a sevenfold jump in third-quarter revenue amid the artificial intelligence boom. After recently announcing plans to become the world's first to release server DRAM using next-generation technology this year, the company is sustaining explosive earnings growth and accelerating its pursuit of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. Wall Street is leaning toward the view that the recent plunge in global memory stocks has been excessive, arguing that CXMT's technology has not been sufficiently validated.
In an earnings preview on the 16th, CXMT estimated third-quarter revenue at 114.7 billion to 119.7 billion yuan (about 22.95 trillion to 23.95 trillion won). That represents an increase of 589% to 619% from a year earlier and 15% to 20% from the second quarter. The company said it expects to swing to a third-quarter net profit of 53.395 billion to 54.895 billion yuan (about 10.6 trillion to 10.9 trillion won).
CXMT Chairman Zhu Yiming proposed a share buyback of 1 billion to 2 billion yuan (about 200 billion to 400 billion won). Given that buybacks by companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange's STAR Market, a board dedicated to technology stocks, typically range from 200 million to 800 million yuan, the move is seen as a sign of management's confidence in the company's future value.
Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on the 15th that China will produce an enormous amount of memory chips in 2028. The comment on potential Chinese output expansion followed his complaint on the 13th that Micron had taken a reasonable stance on future memory prices while other suppliers had demanded absurdly high prices.
Teen Prodigy Behind Kimi Breakthrough Leaves Chinese Startup for U.S.
A 17-year-old prodigy who helped develop core models at Chinese artificial intelligence startup Moonshot AI is leaving the company for Silicon Valley. With the U.S.-China race in AI technology intensifying, attention is turning to the next move by one of China's young AI talents.
Chen Guangyu, born in 2009, disclosed the departure from Moonshot AI on X, formerly Twitter, on the 15th.
Chen drew attention as a prodigy when he joined Moonshot AI's Kimi research team last November at just 16. He took part in research on Kimi Delta Attention, or KDA, and Attention Residual, technologies that improve the efficiency of AI information processing. Both were used as core technologies in Kimi K3, an AI model unveiled in July that attracted wide attention.
