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[Musk, Huang, and Altman to Speak at G20 Technology Summit Next Week] According to sources, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and former White House AI chief David Sachs plan to speak at a technology-focused G20 ministerial meeting in North Carolina next week. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and OpenAI CEO Altman will also be in attendance. The event, organized by White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Jesse Kratsios and Commerce Secretary Rutnick, is part of a prelude to the G20 summit in December.

[White House: No Negotiations with Iran at Present, All Options Under Consideration] White House Press Secretary Levitt said in an interview with Fox News on Thursday that the United States and Iran are not currently negotiating to end the war because Washington is focused on exerting economic pressure on Tehran, but all options remain "on the table." "President Trump's primary goal has always been and will always be to ensure that Iran never acquires nuclear weapons. It's that simple. Therefore, we launched Operation Epic Fury to destroy their military capabilities. Now, we have launched Operation Economic Isolation to destroy their economy," Levitt said. "There are currently no negotiations taking place, and this will continue until the president believes they might come to the negotiating table in a meaningful way. We haven't seen that yet." Levitt stated, "He certainly continues to keep all options open, and the naval blockade remains in effect."

UN Secretary-General Guterres: Funding from the United States will be received soon.

[US Capital Goods Imports Hit Highest Since 1993 Amid AI Boom] According to foreign media reports, US merchandise imports rose 3.7% in July. The growth was primarily driven by capital goods, which saw the highest increase since 1993. This category includes computers and accessories, semiconductors, and telecommunications equipment. Imports of artificial intelligence-related equipment have remained strong in recent months. Data also shows that both imports and exports of industrial goods declined in July. This category includes crude oil and petroleum products, as well as non-monetary gold, the latter having contributed to trade volatility over the past year.

[Iranian Official: No Shortages, Price Hikes Are the Main Issue] According to Al Jazeera, citing the Iranian news agency IRNA, Farahani, head of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stated that despite the US naval blockade, there are no shortages of goods in Iran. Farahani said, "We don't have shortages, but there are indeed high prices. Part of the price increases are due to logistical problems and changes in transportation routes, as transporting goods by rail and road takes longer and is more expensive than previous routes." The war has put enormous pressure on the Iranian economy. New sanctions announced by Washington on Monday caused the Iranian rial to fall to a record low against the US dollar.

Shares of US cloud computing companies rose, with Nebius (NBIS.O) up 5% and Coreweave (CRWV.O) up 2.6%.

Nvidia (NVDA.O) rose 7.1% in early trading, adding $359 billion to its market capitalization.

US semiconductor stocks rose, with Nvidia (NVDA.O) up over 6%, Arm (ARM.O) up 3.7%, SK Hynix (SKHY.O) up 3.6%, Intel (INTC.O) up 3.5%, and Broadcom (AVGO.O) up 2.5%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened down 49.62 points, or 0.09%, at 53,414.26 on Thursday, August 27; the S&P 500 opened up 18.93 points, or 0.25%, at 7,694.76; and the Nasdaq Composite opened up 190.55 points, or 0.73%, at 26,320.75.

[US Questions European Allies, Plans to Accelerate Defense Responsibility Transfer] A senior US Department of Defense official stated that as Washington continues to review the deployment of US troops in Europe, the US hopes to "advance and accelerate" the transfer of most conventional defense responsibilities in Europe to Europe itself. US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Colby, arrived in Brussels on Thursday to meet with NATO allies and brief them on the progress of the six-month review. This review is expected to be completed by the end of this year and will lead to significant changes in the scale of US military deployments in Europe. As part of this process, US allies received a questionnaire with a deadline of this Friday. The questionnaire asks whether countries "publicly support" Trump's foreign policy, whether they restrict the use of US military bases, and whether they purchase from US defense contractors. "We want to hear directly from our allies and understand their views in writing," Colby said. His visit is related to this questionnaire, which surprised many European governments earlier this summer.

[3,000-Year-Old Gold Treasure Stolen from Spain, Valued at Up to €1.7 Million] A museum in the medieval Spanish town of Verena was robbed of a collection of precious artifacts dating back 3,000 years, including bracelets, bowls, bottles, and other objects primarily made of gold, within minutes. Discovered in 1963, the artifacts date back to the Bronze Age, around 1000 BC. “We are deeply saddened – I’m still trembling as I speak,” said Fulgencio Serdan, the mayor of Verena, near Alicante in the Valencian Region. “This is part of our cultural heritage.” Serdan stated that the gold contained in the artifacts could be worth up to €1.7 million (approximately $2 million), but their historical value is immeasurable. The Spanish Civil Guard is investigating the theft, which occurred early Thursday morning and is believed to have been committed by professional thieves. Last year, a high-profile theft also occurred at the Louvre Museum in France, where a valuable ancient crown was stolen.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson: Russia has not provided any evidence to support these allegations.

A spokesperson for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry stated that Russia's accusations of Ukrainian involvement in the attacks in Mali are lies.

Market sources indicate that Elon Musk and David Sachs, chairman of the U.S. President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, will attend the G20 event alongside OpenAI founder Altman and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.

UBS raises its target price for Nvidia (NVDA.O) from $280 to $300.

Russia's central bank's gold and foreign exchange reserves stood at $761.2 billion for the week ending August 21, compared with $755.6 billion in the previous week.

Royal Bank of Canada executives: While industries directly affected by U.S. tariffs face challenges, the impact remains limited and has not spread throughout the overall economy.

[US Initial Jobless Claims Fall, Fed May Continue to Focus on Inflation] The number of initial jobless claims in the US fell last week, indicating that the US labor market remains stable despite an unexpected drop in employment in July. The US Labor Department said on Thursday that seasonally adjusted initial claims fell by 4,000 to 203,000 in the week ending August 22, compared with economists' expectations of 208,000. Initial claims are currently at the lower end of the year's range of 189,000 to 230,000, suggesting that even with weak hiring activity, layoffs remain low. The US unemployment rate fell slightly again last month to 4.1%, a historically low level. If the labor market continues to remain stable, the Federal Reserve may be able to continue focusing on controlling inflation. US inflation has been above the Fed's 2% target for 65 consecutive months. Data showed that continuing jobless claims fell by 18,000 to 1.778 million, an indicator that can be used as a reference for hiring.

The U.S. goods trade deficit widened to its highest level since early last year in July, driven by a surge in imports, primarily fueled by increased shipments of capital equipment. Data released by the U.S. Commerce Department on Thursday showed that the goods trade deficit expanded by 17.2% month-on-month to $118.8 billion in July, the highest level since March 2025, compared to economists' median forecast of $100.5 billion. The figures are unadjusted for inflation. Imports rose 3.7% in July, while goods exports fell 2.9%. The U.S. trade deficit has fluctuated in recent months. On the one hand, the Iran war has boosted global demand for U.S. petroleum products; on the other hand, U.S. companies have stockpiled goods and raw materials to mitigate the impact of supply chain disruptions. Meanwhile, companies are adapting to changing tariff rates, and imports of artificial intelligence-related equipment remain strong.

Canada's second-quarter current account deficit was C$8.84 billion, compared to a forecast of C$2 billion and a revised previous figure of C$8.31 billion (originally C$7.18 billion).