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— Josh
MARKETS
💰 U.S. Created 119,000 Jobs in September, More Than Expected
(Credit: TheOtherKev/Pixabay)
The Scoop: The U.S. economy added 119,000 jobs in September, well above economists’ forecast of 50,000, signaling continued resilience in the labor market despite government delays caused by the recent shutdown, Fox Business reports.
The Details:
Total Americans with jobs rose by 251,000 while 219,000 more were actively seeking work but unable to find positions.
The unemployment rate edged up to 4.4 percent from 4.3 percent as labor force participation increased.
Federal government employment fell by 3,000 in September and is down 97,000 since the start of the year.
Average hourly earnings rose 9 cents to $36.67, increasing 3.8 percent year-over-year and outpacing inflation.
What’s Next: The October report is likely never to be released due to the shutdown, and the November jobs report is scheduled for December 16, offering the next official look at U.S. employment trends.
Market Roundup
🏦 Economy
⭐ Editor’s Pick: Trump signed an executive order removing 40% tariffs on Brazilian agricultural imports like beef, coffee, cocoa, and fruits. (RTS)
The Treasury Department issued a landmark rule barring illegal immigrants and foreign nationals from claiming federal income tax credits. (BN)
Argentina scrapped a planned $20 billion bank bailout in favor of a $5 billion short-term repo loan to cover a $4 billion debt payment. (WSJ)
Existing-home sales rose 1.2% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.1 million units—the highest since February—fueled by falling mortgage rates. (YN)
J.P. Morgan withdrew its forecast for a Federal Reserve rate cut in December after a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report. (INV)
📈 Hot Stock Picks
⭐ Editor’s Pick: Adobe trades 42% below Morningstar's $560 fair value estimate, offering 70% upside, fueled by AI adoption in Firefly tools. (MS)
Bristol Myers Squibb, trading at just 7 times forward earnings with a 5% dividend yield, is too cheap to ignore, according to Barron’s. (BAR)
Marvell Technology, a full-stack semiconductor powerhouse fueling AI and cloud data centers, trades at a peer-discount valuation, meriting a buy, according to Seeking Alpha. (SA)
Motley Fool spotlighted three growth stocks for purchase: Taiwan Semiconductor, poised for AI-driven surges with 41% Q3 revenue growth; Trade Desk, rebounding via AI ad tech; and MercadoLibre. (MF)
🏢 Industry
⭐ Editor’s Pick: Cracker Barrel shareholders retained CEO Julie Felss Masino on the board despite backlash over a botched logo rebrand, but ousted DEI specialist Gilbert Dávila. (NYP)
Paramount, Comcast and Netflix submitted nonbinding bids for Warner Bros. Discovery. (WSJ)
The Justice Department charged two Americans and two Chinese nationals with illegally exporting restricted Nvidia AI GPUs to China via a Florida real estate front. (FBN)
🛢️ Energy & Commodities
⭐ Editor’s Pick: The Trump administration unveiled offshore drilling plan with six California lease sales through 2030, plus 20-plus in Alaska and new Gulf zones off Florida. (CNBC)
The Energy Department shuttered two major clean-energy offices—the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations and the Loan Programs Office's clean-energy arm. (WSJ)
A fire at the COP30 venue in Brazil disrupted talks, evacuating thousands and delaying negotiations amid stalled disputes over fossil-fuel transitions. (RTS)
Sen. Mike Lee introduced the Gold Reserve Transparency Act, mandating the first comprehensive U.S. gold audit in decades. (FXS)
🌕 Crypto
⭐ Editor’s Pick: JPMorgan attributed the recent crypto-market correction to retail investors' $4 billion sell-off in bitcoin and ether ETFs. (TB)
Kalshi raised $1 billion at an $11 billion valuation, according to sources. (TC)
Bitcoin plunged 7.3% to $85,700 in 24 hours, a 32% retreat from its October peak. (TB)
Ethereum Foundation is developing an interoperability layer to enable seamless communication among layer-2 networks, eliminating bridges and chain-specific hurdles. (DEC)
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TECH
💻 California Forever: Inside the Bet to Build America’s First New Industrial City in a Century
(Credit: California Forever)
The Scoop: In 1959, the Army Corps of Engineers predicted a 14.4-million-person Bay Area anchored by new industrial cities. That future never materialized. Today, California Forever founder Jan Sramek is attempting exactly that with a plan to build a 400,000-person advanced manufacturing city on 69,000 acres he has spent eight years assembling, Arena Magazine reports.
The Details:
Sramek’s proposal calls for a built-from-scratch industrial hub designed around factories, battery plants, robotics labs, and other modern production facilities—an effort to re-anchor hardware and manufacturing in California rather than exporting it overseas.
The project sits roughly 80 minutes from Silicon Valley, allowing companies to colocate design, engineering, prototyping, and fabrication rather than splitting them across multiple states or countries.
California Forever’s 2024 ballot initiative was defeated by nearly 70 percent, citing distrust of the project’s scale, traffic concerns, and frustration over the secrecy surrounding early land purchases.
Supporters argue the project could deliver tens of thousands of middle-income manufacturing jobs and expand the Bay Area’s constrained housing supply.
What’s Next: California Forever now enters a make-or-break phase. If the annexation path and environmental review succeed, the United States could see its first new major city of the century—one explicitly built around modern manufacturing. (CAPITAL readers get 25% off Arena Magazine here)
Tech Roundup
🧠 AI
⭐ Editor’s Pick: Google unveiled Gemini 3 Nano Banana Pro, a potent AI upgrade for image generation and editing in the Gemini app. (GOG)
In an internal memo, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman warned employees that Google's rapid AI advances could generate "temporary economic headwinds" for the company. (TI)
Sheba Medical Center, Nvidia, and Mount Sinai Hospital will build a ChatGPT-like generative AI engine trained on genomic data, aiming to decode the 98% of the human genome to enable personalized medicine. (TOI)
Swatch launched AI-DADA, an OpenAI-powered tool that lets users craft bespoke watch designs from text prompts, ushering in a new era of consumer product personalization. (WIR)
🤖 Hardware & Robotics
⭐ Editor’s Pick: A Chinese humanoid robot clinched a Guinness World Record by trekking nearly 66 miles between cities, showcasing breakthroughs in battery endurance and navigation. (CD)
Shanghai's municipal government unveiled plans targeting over 70% of fast-food chains, cafes, and canteens by 2028 with centralized AI-powered robotic kitchens. (ELM)
Foxconn partnered with Intrinsic to develop AI-powered modular robots for U.S. factories. (RR)
Toyota and Volkswagen are ramping up humanoid robotics investments to challenge Tesla's Optimus, signaling a fierce "invisible war" for industrial and household automation dominance. (DIG)
🚀 Defense & Space
⭐ Editor’s Pick: Mystery drone incursions have surged over Europe's sensitive NATO military sites, including French defense facilities, heightening fears of hybrid warfare. (WT)
Saudi Arabia is negotiating a landmark $15 billion deal for up to 130 MQ-9B drones and 200 collaborative combat aircraft from General Atomics, the largest U.S. military drone sale ever. (NW)
Twenty, a cyber-warfare startup founded by ex-military hackers, secured Pentagon contracts to arm hackers with AI tools that automate network penetrations amid a pivot from defense to aggression. (BBG)
The UK Royal Navy will equip its Type 45 destroyers with a high-energy laser, capable of neutralizing drones for around $1 per shot, marking Europe's first operational deployment of such weaponry. (DN)
💰Venture Capital
⭐ Editor’s Pick: AI robotics startup Physical Intelligence raised $600 million led by CapitalG at a $5.6 billion valuation, with Jeff Bezos and Lux Capital participating. (BBG)
AI workplace agents startup Genspark raised a $275 million Series B, led by Emergence Capital, at a $1.25 billion valuation. (BW)
AI voice dictation startup Wispr Flow raised $25 million in fresh funding led by Notable Capital. (TC)
Coverbase, an AI-powered procurement platform for enterprise vendors, raised $16 million in a Series A led by Canapi Ventures. (CB)
FREEDOM
📢 State Department Expands Human Rights Reports to Flag Child Mutilation, Speech Restrictions
(Credit: State Department)
The Scoop: The State Department is expanding its annual human rights reports to cover additional abuses, including the “chemical and surgical mutilation of children,” free speech restrictions disguised as hate-speech laws, and DEI policies that discriminate on the basis of race, Breitbart News reports.
The Details:
State Department Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said “new destructive ideologies” have enabled serious violations and that the administration will no longer ignore practices that harm children or suppress fundamental freedoms.
The revised reports will flag speech laws that curb free expression, workplace DEI rules that treat workers differently based on race, and medical interventions on minors that attempt to modify sex.
The reports will also highlight foreign policies that subsidize abortion, pressure citizens into euthanasia, violate religious freedom, or facilitate illegal mass migration.
Additional categories will document forced medical testing, organ harvesting, and gene editing of human embryos.
What’s Next: U.S. officials believe the expanded reporting will give Congress and the public a clearer picture of human rights conditions worldwide and will put governments on notice that these practices will be examined and confronted.
Freedom Roundup
🏛️ Policy & Culture
⭐ Editor’s Pick: UK police arrested nearly 10,000 people last year for "offensive" online communications under vague laws like the Communications Act 2003. (RTN)
Trump agreed to attend the January Davos gathering after organizers assured him that overtly "woke" topics would not feature prominently. (FT)
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sued proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis for allegedly politicizing retirement accounts through ESG-driven climate activism. (DW)
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DISCLAIMER: The CAPITAL newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or professional advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The CAPITAL newsletter and its owner and operator, Josh Caplan, are not liable for any loss or damage resulting from reliance on this information. The CAPITAL newsletter is solely owned and independently operated by Josh Caplan, separate from any employer affiliations.
