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The yen is regaining safe-haven status as risk-off moves spread, with euro-yen eyeing 175 and dollar-yen 155 as France's fiscal and social strains weigh on the euro.

Chromium is why stainless steel doesn't rust - and it accounts for roughly 75% of all chromium consumption. A short walkthrough of how chromium flows through markets as ferrochromium rather than a direct futures contract, why South Africa's 40% share of global reserves creates a structural supply risk, what drives the price cycle, and why there's no pure-play chromium investment.

Bedrock Robotics, a US autonomous construction startup, raised a $600M Series C at a $4.1B valuation.

China's four-day Communist Party plenum opened with Xi Jinping pushing stricter discipline and an anti-corruption drive ahead of an expected fourth term.

Coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel on Earth - and the world still burns 8 billion tonnes of it every year. A short walkthrough of the two completely separate coal markets (thermal for electricity, coking for steel), why China accounts for half of global output and 55% of demand, how Australia became Asia's premium supplier, and what the long road to a 15–25% electricity share by 2050 actually looks like for investors.

ASI, a US startup building AI software for complex physical operations, raised $325M led by Andreessen Horowitz.

The ECB is expected to hold its policy rate at 2.50% on Oct. 29 as five central banks meet, while the Bank of Japan signals a possible December hike.

Itaú Unibanco is buying Brazilian AI startup NeoSpace for about $580M in cash.

The Democratic Republic of Congo produces roughly 70% of the world's cobalt - and no other critical commodity is so dependent on a single nation. A short walkthrough of why cobalt became essential to EV battery cathodes, how the market swung from $8 to $25 per pound and back to $6 in just two years, why LFP batteries are threatening to bypass it entirely, and what a 5% recycling rate means for long-term supply security.

Daytona, a Croatian-founded cloud platform for AI-generated code and agents, raised a $60M Series B at a $1B valuation.

Hadrian, a London-Amsterdam agentic AI offensive-security startup, raised about €35.7M to expand in EMEA and the US.

Foundational, a London space-tech startup, emerged from stealth with €9.6M pre-seed to track satellites and debris with millimetre-level precision.

Clio acquired Page, a Waterloo-based AI startup that tracks legislation and regulation, for its legal software platform.

Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana grow over 60% of the world's cocoa - and a single disease outbreak can wipe out 20–30% of a harvest. A short walkthrough of why cocoa demand is almost entirely tied to chocolate, how slow-maturing cacao trees make supply painfully inelastic, why farmers receive only 10–20% of the final chocolate price, and what climate change and farmer abandonment mean for long-term supply.

Matiks, an Indian social gaming startup, raised $10M in a pre-Series A round led by General Catalyst to expand globally.

Over 2 billion people drink coffee every day - and the entire supply chain rests on a handful of frost-prone growing regions and 20 million small farmers receiving 5–10% of the retail price. A short walkthrough of Arabica vs Robusta, why a single Brazilian frost can cut the following year's supply by 20–30%, how the 3–4 year tree maturity cycle creates boom-bust pricing, and what climate change means for Colombia, Kenya, and Ethiopia.

Mave, a Tel Aviv agentic SecOps startup founded by Unit 8200 alumni, raised $34M ($28M Series A led by Red Dot Capital Partners plus $6M seed).