And renowned primatologist Dr Jane Goodall has died, aged 91.
Happy Thursday and welcome to your morning wrap of the latest business and political headlines from around the world.
First up, President Donald Trump’s administration has frozen funding for major transportation projects in New York, as it followed through on a threat to use the government shutdown to target Democratic priorities, Reuters reported.
The funding freeze came as the US government shut down for the 15th time since 1981, as senators from across the aisle failed to agree on a funding bill for federal agencies.
Some 750,000 federal workers were ordered not to work, while others, such as troops and border patrol agents, were ordered to work without pay.
Following a US$18 billion funding freeze for New York, the White House taunted top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer, posting a digitally manipulated image of the New York lawmaker as a hot dog.
Meanwhile, the Senate has again failed to keep the government functioning, as separate Republican and Democratic votes that would have kept it open failed. Republicans have a 53-47 majority, but they need the support of at least seven Democrats to meet the chamber threshold for spending bills.
Chuck Schumer (Source: Wikimedia Commons.)
To Europe, where German police have arrested three suspected Hamas members who were allegedly procuring weapons “for assassinations targeting Israeli or Jewish institutions,” CNN reported, citing a statement from German prosecutors.
The three accused were charged with membership in a foreign terrorist organisation and preparing an act of violence endangering the state. Two of them are German, and a third was born in Lebanon.
The suspects were arrested in Berlin and will appear before a judge on Thursday (local time).
Staying in the region, European leaders have discussed plans to bolster the bloc’s defences against Russian drones, as they met in Copenhagen days after an unmanned aircraft entered Danish airspace, Reuters reported.
The incident, as well as others where Russian drones have entered Poland, and its jets flew over Estonia, highlights how leaders in the region have come to view Russia as a threat to the continent’s security.
"Russia tries to test us. But Russia also tries to sow division and anxiety in our societies. We will not let this happen," European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said as she arrived at the European Union summit in Copenhagen.
Last month, von der Leyen called for a drone wall of sensors to detect, track and neutralise unmanned aircraft to protect Europe’s eastern flank. The idea has received praise from Nato and other EU leaders.
Ursula Von der Leyen.
To the US, where the Supreme Court has allowed Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook to remain in her job for now, declining to back the Trump administration’s attempt to remove her immediately, the Associated Press reported.
The court said it would hear arguments in January over the matter, when it would consider whether to block a lower-court ruling in Cook’s favour.
As AP notes, the Supreme Court’s ruling is a rare instance where the president has not gotten what he wants.
Separately, the justices are hearing arguments in December over Trump’s actions to fire members of the boards that oversee other independent federal agencies, which could bear directly on Cook’s fate.
He initially sought to oust her before the September meeting of the Fed’s interest-rate-setting committee, alleging she committed mortgage fraud.
Lisa Cook being sworn in as Federal Reserve governor.
In business news, electric vehicle giant BYD’s monthly sales have fallen for the first time in more than 18 months, as its domestic rivals reported strong gains amid fierce competition in the Chinese market, Bloomberg reported.
Shipments fell 5.5% to 396,270 units in September, marking the first contraction since February 2024.
The decline comes as BYD slashed its sales goal for the year by 16% to 4.6 million units.
In commodity news, gold prices soared to new highs overnight, as the US government entered the shutdown, CNBC reported.
Spot prices for the yellow metal hit $3,894 an ounce, while gold futures hit a high of $3,922.
While the impact of shutdowns on markets is usually minimal, this one has occurred as critical jobs data that was due to be published on Friday has now been delayed, clouding the outlook for the next Fed meeting.
Today’s fresh high is the 39th record the precious metal has broken this year.
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 has risen to a new record as traders bet on a short-lived shutdown.
“The market appears unconcerned,” Navellier & Associates founder Louis Navellier said. “The hopeful dip buyers are going to have to wait. Momentum remains positive.”
The broad market index has surged 40% since its April lows in a rally that has been led by mega-cap tech giants, which have invested billions in AI.
However, longtime investor Leon Cooperman believes the market has reached a point where bubbles can form and risks rise.
Finally, chimpanzee expert and animal rights campaigner Dr Jane Goodall has died, aged 91, the BBC reported.
She was best known as a primatologist who revolutionised the study of wild chimpanzees.
When Goodall first went to Africa to study the animals at the age of 26, she had no formal scientific training but still managed to win the trust of the primates, leading to ground-breaking observations.
Her death was announced by the Jane Goodall Institute on its Instagram page, saying she died of natural causes in California. “Dr Goodall’s discoveries as an ethologist revolutionised science, and she was a tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of our natural world."
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