Markets shed trillions in value this week as rare earths weaponisation threatened to reignite the trade war and a government shutdown burned through US$1.5 billion per day. The lurking catalysts that threatened market stability are no longer lurking as the AI arms race heats up with TRILLIONS being spent.
All the top moves, shakes, and red-hot takes from Azzet's editorial team are right here in your weekly business wrap every Friday (17 October, 2025).
Rare earths standoff
The trade war reignited after Beijing announced sweeping controls on rare earth minerals critical to everything from F-35 fighter jets to smartphone vibration units.
Trump responded by threatening 100% tariffs on top of the existing 44% rate, effectively attempting to sever trade with the country that supplies 70% of America's rare earth imports.
China controls 60% of rare earths mining and over 90% of global refining capacity, giving Beijing significant leverage in the escalating trade dispute.
U.S. stocks shed about $2 trillion in value on Friday following Trump's tariff announcement.
Washington's shutdown continues
The U.S. government shutdown entered its third week, costing $1.5 billion per day whilst furloughing roughly 900,000 federal employees and leaving another 700,000 working without pay.
Enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies and spending levels remain the primary sticking points preventing resolution between Republicans and Democrats.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has warned this could become "the longest shutdown in U.S. history", surpassing the previous 35-day record set in 2018-2019.
A federal judge stepped in to block Trump's plan to cut 10,000 federal jobs during the shutdown, whilst the Senate failed to advance a clean funding bill for the tenth time on Thursday.
The economic fallout is mounting, with United's CEO warning the shutdown may hit travel demand, whilst the National Institutes of Health and CDC face partial or full suspensions of operations.
AI infrastructure build-out
OpenAI announced a partnership with Broadcom to co-develop 10 gigawatts of custom AI accelerators, bringing the company's total compute commitments to roughly 33 gigawatts across partnerships with Nvidia, AMD, Oracle, and Broadcom.
The scale-up is significant, given OpenAI currently operates on just over 2 gigawatts of capacity.
The AI infrastructure race accelerated across the sector, with Meta committing $1.5 billion for a new Texas data centre, Google pledging $1.5 billion to an India facility, and Oracle placing a 50,000 AMD GPU order.
The central question remains: Will AI return in spades or is it a gigantic money pit?
With valuations stretched and infrastructure costs ballooning into the hundreds of billions, actual monetisation strategies remain frustratingly vague.
Earnings season
The banks kicked off earnings season with results that demonstrated that beating expectations no longer guarantees share price appreciation.
JPMorgan lifted Q3 net income, yet shares fell 1.9%, whilst Goldman Sachs beat expectations only to face immediate questions about efficiency from analysts.
Morgan Stanley and Bank of America credited investment banking for their Q3 beats, with guidance dictating Wall Street's reaction more than actual results.
Outside banking, Domino's Pizza exceeded expectations with shares up 3.9%, whilst Delta Airlines beat on earnings as passenger numbers increased despite broader economic headwinds.
Tech developments
Qualcomm found itself in China's crosshairs with an antitrust probe linked to an acquisition, whilst Apple acquired talent and tech from AI startup Prompt in a continuation of its acquisition strategy.
Retail and music streaming moved into AI partnerships, with Walmart partnering with OpenAI for instant checkout capabilities and Spotify inking deals with music labels around "responsible AI" development and deployment.
In semiconductors, ASML's sales dipped with expectations of declining China demand, whilst TSMC posted record profit and lifted its outlook, driven by AI demand.
The Dutch government took control of a China-owned chipmaker in a move signalling Europe's growing concerns over strategic technology ownership.
Everything else
Geopolitics: The Gaza ceasefire held ahead of hostage releases, with world leaders celebrating the diplomatic breakthrough after months of escalating conflict.
A Philippine ship was rammed in the contested South China Sea, whilst Japan's ruling coalition split before voting on a new prime minister.
Corporate moves: Warner Bros rebuffed Paramount's merger offer in what would have been a major media consolidation.
Macquarie set a record with an A$40 billion data centres sale, capitalising on surging demand for AI infrastructure.
Nestlé announced 16,000 job cuts as its new CEO vows to "restore glory" in the face of declining market share.
Salesforce announced new Bay Area investments, whilst JPMorgan committed $1.5 trillion to U.S. economic security initiatives over the coming years.
Consumer & markets: U.S. consumer confidence hit a five-month low in October as the government shutdown and trade tensions weighed on sentiment.
New car prices topped $50,000 as EV sales soared, pushing average transaction prices to new records.
Homebuilder sentiment rose as mortgage rates dropped from recent peaks, providing some relief to the beleaguered housing sector.
The U.S. deficit fell 2% to $1.78 trillion for the fiscal year, aided by surging tariff revenue.
Down under: Qantas customer data ended up on the dark web following a breach that exposed sensitive passenger information.
Treasury flagged a backflip on the $3 million super tax, with passing the super test now critical for wealthy Australians.
Australia's jobless rate hit a near four-year high, raising concerns about the strength of the domestic economy.
ANZ's reset strategy won praise from analysts, whilst execution was questioned, a pattern familiar across the banking sector.
Westpac pocketed A$500 million as regulatory punishment ended, whilst the Big Four's biggest bank boss secured three more years at the helm.
The ACCC is probing the Southern Cross Seven media merger, whilst ASIC warned against one-size-fits-all communications in financial services.
Resources & industry: China's new home sales are expected to drop 8% in 2025, according to S&P, adding to concerns about the world's second-largest economy.
The IMF lifted its growth outlook for the global economy whilst simultaneously flagging China concerns as trade war tensions escalate.
Michelin lowered guidance amid lower North American sales, reflecting broader weakness in the automotive sector.
Guidance on spotting rare earth element diggers from dreamers proved timely, given this week's supply crisis.
BYD's mission proved critical in making China an EV leader through vertical integration and aggressive scaling.
Travel to Japan is about to get more expensive as the yen strengthens and tourism infrastructure costs rise.
The private credit shock deepened after First Brands' collapse raised fresh questions about risk management in the shadow banking sector.
Monetary policy: Powell hinted at an end to the Fed's balance sheet runoff, signalling a potential shift in monetary policy stance.
France's Lecornu was reappointed as prime minister days after resigning, highlighting ongoing political instability in Europe.
