Iraq's oil minister said the ministry is negotiating with US and Qatari companies on the Basra-Baniyas pipeline.

HSBC global CIO Willem Sels said US equities are not as expensive as they appear and valuations still do not fully reflect an AI-driven productivity and earnings upswing. He noted the US–Europe P/E gap has narrowed but multiples have yet to price an AI-led structural investment cycle; semiconductor names are particularly discounted and skepticism over 2027 earnings forecasts should fade as companies provide concrete order flow and guidance. Sels remains broadly bullish, saying markets have repeatedly shrugged off shocks because economic and corporate resilience has outpaced expectations and governments and firms have acted proactively. He added that AI adopters show stronger revenue, earnings and margin growth—especially in the US—signaling tangible productivity gains. The main market risk is a sharp rise in bond yields; he flagged the 10-year US Treasury around 5% as a potential trigger for volatility and warned markets have become complacent about low bond volatility.

The All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce on Sept 9 released its 2026 report on the top 1,000 Chinese private firms by R&D spending, showing 2025 R&D outlays rose 10.72% YoY to 1.59 tln yuan and average R&D intensity reached 3.73%. 640 firms in the sample were classified as high-tech, high-value, high-growth. The cohort’s aggregate scale was stable, aggregate profits increased, and headcount rose in both size and quality.