Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - ‘Unprecedented support’

President Joe Biden’s trip to Tel Aviv signaled his full backing of Israel, but fell short on another key goal: winning over Arab leaders. Biden made plain that the American government will back its ally in its war with Hamas, promising a new package of “unprecedented support.” He also tried to allay concerns about delayed supplies meant to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza as Israel continues bombing the densely packed strip ahead of an expected ground invasion. But the explosion that killed hundreds in a Gaza hospital deeply complicated the US effort to keep the war from becoming a regional conflict. And while American intelligence officials on Wednesday announced that their initial assessment of the hospital attack exonerated Israel’s military, the fallout from the carnage—on top of the thousands killed on both sides in 11 days of war—sparked fury throughout the Middle East and among regional leaders. “Arab leaders across the region are worried about their own national security first,” said Jonathan Panikoff, a Middle East expert at the Atlantic Council. They “are not going to be willing to contradict public sentiment that is so strongly anti-Israel.” —David E. Rovella

Bank of Nova Scotia will terminate 3%--or approximately 2,700—of its employees and take a writedown on its investment in a Chinese bank. It’s part of a cost-cutting campaign by new Chief Executive Officer Scott Thomson—and may be a sign that dismissals are coming at other Canadian lenders.

Discover Financial Services posted a 33% drop in third-quarter profit as write-offs climbed and the firm set aside more money to cover future loan losses. Net income totaled $683 million, or $2.59 a share, the Riverwoods, Illinois-based credit-card lender said Wednesday. That missed the $3.17 average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

At Sam Bankman-Fried’s fraud trial in New York on Wednesday, a forensic accountant tried to explain what happened to $9 billion in FTX customer funds that were missing way back in June 2022—five months before the company collapsed.

Amazon says it’s testing two new technologies to increase automation in its warehouses, including a trial of a humanoid robot. Called Digit, the robot is bipedal and can squat, bend and grasp items using clasps that imitate hands. It’s built by Agility Robotics and will initially be used to help employees consolidate totes that have been emptied of items. 

Amazon debuts a Digit robot in its warehouses Source: Agility Robotics Inc.

And it keeps getting worse. House Republicans are struggling to figure out what to do next after far-right Representative Jim Jordan lost two rounds of votes to become Speaker. The leadership position has been vacant for more than two weeks, ever since other ultra-conservative members pushed out Kevin McCarthy. Meanwhile, the House is unable to conduct any business, including addressing aid for Israel or funding measures to avoid a mid-November US government shutdown.

ASML Holding orders plunged in the third quarter amid a sector-wide slump in the semiconductor industry that’s left the company increasingly reliant on revenue from China. The semiconductor industry has been experiencing a slowdown after inflation hit consumer spending. Sales at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, ASML’s biggest customer, dropped 11% in the third quarter, according to Bloomberg calculations. 

Ozempic is arguably the world’s most famous drug, a diabetes treatment turned miracle weight-loss cure that’s rocketed up the sales chart despite supply constraints. This may be only the beginning. Recent studies have started to illuminate the far-reaching benefits of Ozempic and other medicines in the same class, known as GLP-1 receptor agonists. The drugs appear to have a protective effect on the heart, liver and kidneys in addition to helping people lose weight.

• What the friendship between China and Russia means for the US.
• Putin says he’s sending jets with hypersonic missiles to the Black Sea.
• US releases images of “unsafe” encounters with Chinese fighter jets.
• Rising prices may be an obstacle to Biden’s wind-power plans.
• Netflix to raise prices after its best subscriber gain in years.
• Jeep’s jump to $100,000 SUVs risks leaving loyal buyers behind
• Tesla’s Nov. 30 Cybertruck delivery may overshadow its profit drop.

For more and more deep-pocketed people who don’t want to fly commercial, owning part of a private jet is better than owning the whole thing. Wealthy travelers who tried charter flights during the pandemic have upgraded to be able to book a flight in as little as four hours. And business travelers increasingly want anonymous flights to avoid revealing potential deals to sleuths who track corporate jet movements. 

NetJets Source: Business Wire

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