☕️ US moves to ban AI deals in China

Hi there, this is your daily ☕️ Finpresso.

In today's newsletter:

🇨🇳 US proposes curbs on AI investment in China

📡 SpaceX seeks 80,000 cell sites to rival carriers

💰 DeepSeek raises $15B days after US ban

🇭🇰 HSBC launches Hong Kong dollar stablecoin

💾 SK Hynix scraps $15B Solidigm US IPO

Plus: 🌍 8 macro stories, 🏢 8 corporate stories, and 📑 6 research & reports.

📊 Before The Bell

• The US Treasury has proposed rules that would ban or require advance notice on American investments in sensitive technology deals across China, Russia, Iran, North Korea and Cuba, with an outright ban on AI-system deals.
• The draft covers six fields, semiconductors, AI, quantum, supercomputing, hypersonics and biotechnology, but targets only defined dual-use deals tied to military or surveillance work, exempting publicly traded shares and transactions below $50,000.
• The rule is still a proposal, open to public comment through December 7, and a former Justice Department lawyer told the AP it could force companies into substantial compliance programs to screen portfolio holdings before deals close.

• SpaceX is in talks to lease at least 80,000 US cell sites as it builds out a terrestrial network to become a fourth nationwide wireless carrier, challenging the three dominant operators, people familiar with the discussions told Bloomberg.
• The threat of new competition sent AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile shares 4-5% lower in extended trading on Thursday, while tower landlords rallied on potential deals that could reach into the billions of dollars, with Crown Castle and American Tower both gaining.
• The push builds on SpaceX's recent purchase of low-band spectrum and FCC clearance to launch 15,000 satellites for direct-to-phone service, which Musk said would make Starlink Mobile a major US carrier; SpaceX shares rose 1.4% after hours.

• DeepSeek has raised about $15 billion, roughly 100 billion yuan, in one of China's largest-ever funding rounds, closing it just two days after Washington ordered federal civilian agencies to strip the lab's AI from their systems over security concerns.
• Reported backers include battery maker CATL and WeChat owner Tencent, and the deal follows a June round of more than $7 billion at a $50 billion valuation, with a possible IPO in China as early as next year.
• The Hangzhou lab is spending more on AI infrastructure and open models for home and overseas markets despite the US restrictions, a push that could sharpen competition with Chinese rivals such as Moonshot AI, Zhipu and MiniMax.

• HSBC has launched RedCoin, a digital token pegged one-to-one to the Hong Kong dollar, making it available to retail users today through the bank's PayMe payments app under the symbol RCHKD.
• Users can switch on a stablecoin wallet inside PayMe in the coming days, enabling transfers between individuals and payments to more than 100,000 merchants that already accept the app.
• The move follows Hong Kong granting its first stablecoin licenses in April 2026 to HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial, and the bank says it plans further products and an expansion into corporate and institutional uses.

• SK Hynix has called off plans to list its US memory unit Solidigm on an American exchange in a deal projected at $15 billion, citing shareholder pushback and warnings from South Korean regulators that it could dilute minority investors.
• The company also dropped a parallel private fundraising round expected to raise about $3.8 billion, having lined up a Nasdaq listing for as early as 2027; regulators had flagged Solidigm as a "duplicate listing" that could erode parent shareholders' stakes.
• SK Hynix shares fell 4.2% in early trading today and are now down 58% from their June high on weaker memory demand, with investors watching how it funds Solidigm's US expansion without an IPO and whether other firms' overseas listings face the same rules.

🌍 Macro News

• Japan core inflation hit 2.1% in September, highest this year, above forecasts. LINK
• FCC waives import ban for Intel's foreign-made robots at US chip plants. LINK
• Chinese wealthy move offshore assets into US banks after Beijing tax. LINK
• Traders cut Fed hike bets, easing mortgage rates as Treasury yields fall. LINK
• Japan may cut gasoline subsidies from December as costs become unsustainable. LINK
• Ofgem approves deal preserving UK gas imports from Europe during demand spikes. LINK
• Gold slips as Middle East tensions weigh against expectations Fed holds rates. LINK
• UK proposes easing personal accountability rules for senior City executives. LINK

🏢 Corporate News

• OpenAI seeks up to $30 billion at $1.25 trillion valuation, CNBC reports. LINK
• Meta creates nonvoting shares, helping Zuckerberg cover wealth tax while retaining control. LINK
• Musk invests about $1 billion in newly merged media company Skydance. LINK
• Apple boosts foldable iPhone shipment target 44% to 14 million units. LINK
• Western Digital earnings beat forecasts, rising to $4.64 a share. LINK
• Nebius secures $3.5 billion Citigroup financing for data centers and GPUs. LINK
• SoFi launches tokenized deposit, letting crypto customers earn interest on accessible cash. LINK
• Spotify shares rise premarket as subscriber growth tops expectations, with AI personalization. LINK

📈 Stocks

📑 Research & Reports

• Aleph's 2026 SaaS benchmarks: collect the growth, retention and efficiency numbers SaaS finance teams are actually measured on this year. Download the free benchmarks
• McKinsey sees quantum computing creating up to $2.7 trillion by 2035. LINK
• 18% of corporates now use stablecoins in production, double last year's share. LINK
• Euro-area one-year inflation expectations rise to 3.1% in September, ECB survey finds. LINK
• US money-laundering losses fell to $658 billion, 2.14% of GDP in 2025. LINK
• AI data-center growth reshapes metals markets, with project pipeline exceeding 250 gigawatts. LINK
• Goldman estimates China's gold buying exceeded official figures by 128% from May-August. LINK

📅 Market Calendar

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