Flagship

Anthropic reportedly prepares for IPO

Anthropic reportedly brought in a law firm to begin work on possibly going public as soon as next year. The AI firm’s IPO would be among the largest ever: An ongoing private funding round values it at $300 billion, the Financial Times reported. The company is on course to break even in two years, although it spent $2.8 billion more than it took in last year. CEO Dario Amodei told Fortune that the firm’s commercial success follows its fundamental goal of building safe AI: Models that are easily controlled and understood are what enterprises want, and also, he argued, necessary to avoid disaster.

Ukraine peace talks stall as Russia digs in

The US and Russia made no tangible progress towards a truce over the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine following talks in Moscow, while Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was “ready” for war with Europe. The five hours of negotiations involving US President Donald Trump’s envoy and his son-in-law did not result in a compromise, a Putin aide said, largely meeting analysts’ expectations that Russia was unlikely to waver from expansive territorial ambitions in Ukraine. And rather than turning down the temperature, Putin said ahead of the meeting that Moscow was prepared to fight European powers, whom he said were “on the side of war”; the EU shortly afterwards said it had agreed to ban Russian gas imports within two years.

Macron in China to talk trade, tech

French President Emmanuel Macron landed in Beijing for a three-day state visit likely to focus on trade and technology rivalries. Macron’s trip is part of a European push — the European Commission president went in the summer; Germany’s and Britain’s leaders are due early next year — to reduce tensions with the world’s second-biggest economy, but few concrete deals are expected. Brussels will this week unveil plans to reduce reliance on China for rare earths, and is mulling setting “Made-in-Europe” requirements for products such as cars, but in reality it faces an uphill challenge. “This is not a choice between good, bad, and ugly outcomes,” a leading analyst said. “It is about degrees of bad and ugly.”

Brussels rocked by fraud investigation

Belgian police charged two senior EU foreign policy figures in a rare fraud investigation that has rocked Brussels. The EU’s former top diplomat Federica Mogherini and a senior European Commission official, Stefano Sannino, were accused of graft over the approval of a training facility. The two are well known among the EU’s inner circle, and one official told Politico the scandal would have a “disastrous impact on the [bloc’s] credibility,” while another told the outlet that the arrests were bad news in particular for Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who appointed Sannino to a senior Commission role this year: “People who don’t like von der Leyen will use this against her.”

Trump calls Somalis ‘garbage’

US President Donald Trump stepped up his rhetoric against Somalis as his administration blocked all migration from 19 countries. Following accusations that US government funds were misappropriated in part to support the Somalia-based terror group Al-Shabaab, Trump said Somalis were “garbage.” The administration has been cracking down on migration, and the topic is back in the headlines after two National Guard troopers were shot in Washington, allegedly by an Afghan immigrant, last week; all applications by people from Afghanistan, Haiti, Iran, and Sudan, among other nations have been halted. His administration has also slashed the number of refugees the US will take in this year, and pressed nations to take so-called third-country nationals or risk tariffs and visa bans.

Trump refuses Maduro’s resignation

US President Donald Trump reportedly rejected Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro’s offer to step down in a brief call between the leaders last month, instead vowing to ramp up Washington’s campaign against the country. During the call, Maduro offered to resign provided he received full legal amnesty, Reuters reported. He also apparently asked for 100 Venezuelan officials — many of them accused of human rights abuses — to have US sanctions removed. Venezuela’s vice president would have stayed in power until elections could be held. Trump rejected the proposals while giving Maduro a deadline to surrender. However, American lawmakers have in response threatened to block Trump’s powers over US forces if he strikes Venezuela.

Saudi to slash budget deficit

Saudi Arabia said it will shrink its budget deficit for 2026, reflecting the kingdom’s struggles to adapt to lower oil prices. Government spending has fueled a construction spree in recent years, as Saudi vies to shift its economy away from a dependency on fossil fuels. But the price of oil has already fallen around 20% this year, with JPMorgan forecasting it will drop further in 2026 and 2027, limiting Riyadh’s capacity to spend. Regardless, Saudi officials have vowed to expand the kingdom’s oil exporting capacity, dismissing gloomy price forecasts. “The worry we have is not oil demand,” the country’s finance minister said this week.

Airbus stock soars despite problems

Airbus cut its aircraft delivery target for the year after discovering several issues with its bestselling jet. The European aircraft manufacturer said new A320s required additional checks, compounding challenges for the firm, which last week ordered the grounding of 6,000 planes over potential faulty software. While the news temporarily weighed on Airbus shares, investors piled back in, pushing the stock closer to record levels on Wednesday. Despite several recent security and manufacturing issues, both Airbus and its US rival Boeing have recorded surging demand, reflecting the duopoly’s stranglehold over the industry. However, some airlines are considering turning to a Chinese upstart, which made a splashy debut last month at the world’s biggest airshow.

Prada buys Versace at a discount

Fashion giant Prada bought its rival Versace at a knockdown price, bringing two of Italy’s biggest luxury fashion brands under one roof. The $1.38 billion deal represents a nearly $700 million loss for Versace’s parent company, which bought the designer in 2018, but is struggling with debt and is offloading other brands. Donatella Versace stepped down in March, nearly 30 years after taking over the company following the murder of her brother Gianni, and sales have slowed, the BBC reported. Prada, meanwhile, wants to boost its portfolio to compete with rivals such as LVMH. The high-end fashion industry is struggling, hit by US tariffs and reduced Chinese demand; a McKinsey report predicts another year of slow growth in 2026.