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Alibaba (BABA) reportedly preps revamp of AI app to resemble ChatGPT. (00:22) China’s Baidu (BIDU) sets stage for new AI chips at its annual tech event. (01:13) Jobs, CPI reports for October may never be released – White House. (01:45)
This is an abridged transcript.
Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) is reportedly preparing an overhaul of its main mobile AI app in the coming months to help it more closely resemble OpenAI’s (OPENAI) ChatGPT.
Bloomberg News reported that Alibaba (BABA) plans to start by updating the existing “Tongyi” apps on iOS and Android and renaming them “Qwen,” after the company’s well-known AI model.
The report added, it will then gradually add agentic-AI features in the coming months to support shopping on platforms, including the main marketplace Taobao.
The end goal is to try to make Qwen a fully functioning AI agent. Alibaba plans to eventually expand globally with an overseas version, and has dedicated more than 100 developers from around the company to the makeover over the past months, as part of additional investments in AI.
Sticking with the topic of AI.
Baidu (BIDU) unveiled two new chips for AI processors and supercomputing products at its annual flagship technology conference, themed ‘AI in Action.’
According to a Reuters report, the M100—an inference-focused chip—is set to be launched in early 2026, while the M300, capable of both training and inference, is slated for early 2027.
The move supports China’s broader strategy to create a robust domestic tech stack independent of foreign chip suppliers.
The government is open again.
“And it’s an honor now to sign this incredible bill and get our country working again.”
That was President Trump late on Wednesday signing into law a federal spending package after it was cleared by Congress, ending the longest shutdown in U.S. history.
But even as the government shutdown ends, the White House is saying some data may be lost forever.
Here’s White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt:
“…with October cpi and jobs reports likely never being released and all of that economic data release will be permanently impaired leaving our policy makers at the Fed flying blind at a critical period.”
Both pieces of audio courtesy of the White House YouTube channel.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ employees were furloughed during the shutdown. The agency temporarily recalled some workers to release the September CPI report in time to set the Social Security cost-of-living-adjustment for 2026.
The BLS is expected to publish the September jobs report, since the relevant data had been collected before the shutdown began.
But releasing the reports for October is a bigger challenge, as retroactively collecting data could lead to inaccuracies due to recall bias.
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Bausch & Lomb (BLCO) investor day.
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Planet Fitness investor day.
Dow, S&P and Nasdaq futures are in the green. Crude oil is up 0.4% at $58/barrel. Bitcoin is up 1.4% at $103,000. Gold is up 0.9% at $4,232.
The FTSE 100 is down 0.4% and the DAX is down 0.5%.
The biggest movers for the day premarket: Cisco (CSCO) +7% – Shares jumped after the tech giant posted FQ1 results above expectations and raised its full-year outlook.
On today’s economic calendar:
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12:15 pm St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President Alberto Musalem will speak on the U.S. economy and monetary policy before the Evansville Regional Economic Partnership 2025 Economic Impact and Policy Forum.
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12:20 pm Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Beth Hammack will participate in a fireside chat before the Economic Club of Pittsburgh.
