According to reports, on Friday, the three major indices closed higher. The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX), known as the "Fear Index" of Wall Street, declined steadily, indicating a reduction in market anxiety. This index had surged significantly on Thursday due to concerns over a potential resurgence of banking credit crises. Earlier on Friday, Trump stated that the high tariffs on Chinese goods would not be permanent. When asked if the current tariff levels would continue, Trump replied in an interview, “That’s unsustainable.” At market close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 238.37 points, or 0.52%, closing at 46,190.61; the Nasdaq Composite increased by 117.44 points, or 0.52%, ending at 22,679.97; while the S&P 500 rose by 34.94 points, or 0.53%, closing at 6,664.01. Major tech stocks showed mixed results, with Tesla (TSLA.US) up 2.46%, Apple (AAPL.US) nearly 2%, and Oracle (ORCL.US) down nearly 7%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index fell by 0.14%, with Alibaba (BABA.US) gaining 1.19% and Miniso (MNSO.US) down 1.39%. European stocks were mostly lower, with the German DAX30 index down 447.61 points, or 1.84%, at 23,825.32; the UK FTSE 100 index fell 85.19 points, or 0.90%, to 9,350.90; France's CAC40 index dropped 14.39 points, or 0.18%, closing at 8,174.20; the Euro Stoxx 50 index decreased by 44.76 points, or 0.79%, to 5,607.25; the Spanish IBEX35 index slipped 27.80 points, or 0.18%, to 15,597.50; while Italy's FTSE MIB dropped 639.18 points, or 1.51%, to 41,735.00. In commodities, light crude oil futures for November delivery rose by 8 cents to $57.54 per barrel, a 0.14% increase; December Brent crude oil futures grew by 23 cents to $61.29 per barrel, up 0.38%. In cryptocurrency, Bitcoin dropped over 1% to $107,104.6, while Ethereum fell over 1% to $3,855.42. The US Dollar Index rose on the 17th, with a 0.09% increase measuring the greenback against six major currencies, closing at 98.432. By the end of trading in New York, 1 Euro exchanged for 1.1668 dollars, lower than the previous day’s 1.1689; 1 pound converted to 1.3434 dollars, slightly down from 1.3436; 1 dollar bought 150.50 yen, higher than the previous day’s 150.30; 1 dollar exchanged for 0.7926 Swiss francs, down from 0.7934; 1 dollar traded at 1.4017 Canadian dollars, lower than 1.4046; and 1 dollar fetched 9.4243 Swedish kronas, up from 9.4201. In precious metals, spot gold fell by 1.76% to $4,252.98/ounce, but showed a 5.74% increase for the week, with continuous gains from October 13 to 17 reaching an all-time high of $4,379.93 before dropping below $4,200 on the 17th. COMEX gold futures rose 6.53% this week, initially reaching a historic intraday high of $4,392 on October 17 before falling below $4,200. In macro news, Federal Reserve's Musalem indicated he might support another rate cut to boost the slowing labor market, emphasizing that decisions should be made on a meeting-by-meeting basis given economic uncertainties. Musalem stated, “If there’s a further risk regarding the labor market and if ongoing inflation risks remain under control, I might support a path to further lower the policy rate. We certainly do not need to follow a preset course.” Also, as the government shutdown continues, US courts are nearing a funding shortage and will be forced to furlough employees. Reports indicate that starting Monday, the federal court system will begin to scale back non-essential functions and furlough some employees, having run low on funds during the shutdown. This marks the first time in nearly 30 years that the federal judiciary will have to send some of its over 33,000 employees home, with others being required to work without pay, due to Congress failing to pass funding legislation for the courts and other government departments. Unlike the executive branches under Trump, the judicial system managed to maintain salaried operations for weeks using funds not reliant on new congressional appropriations at the beginning of the shutdown that started on October 1. However, due to tighter budgets in recent years, the available funds were less than those at the beginning of the 2019 shutdown, which lasted five weeks. In Canada, Bank of Canada Governor Macklem remarked that despite a rebound in September, the job market remains “weak.” Macklem indicated that while recent data showed an addition of 60,400 jobs in Canada in September, he thinks the employment market is still “weak.” He noted that last month’s job growth only partially reversed a loss of over 100,000 jobs in the previous two months, branding the data as “volatile.” He said, “The labor market and the overall economy have not plunged significantly, but they are certainly weak.” He also highlighted that the unemployment rate rose from 6.6% at the beginning of the year to 7.1%. “In high-tariff industries, we have seen job losses. In other sectors of the economy, hiring is indeed quite weak. I think this aligns with the fact that businesses are feeling uncertain.” Macklem also indicated that the central bank expects soft growth in the second half of the year following a contraction in the economy in the second quarter. He remarked that consumption from April to June was unexpectedly strong, but subsequent data may ease. In individual stock news, NVIDIA and TSMC announced the production of the first Blackwell chip wafer made in the US. Reports indicate that NVIDIA (NVDA.US) and TSMC (TSM.US) will announce on Friday that they have completed their first wafer produced in the US, which will be turned into the Blackwell chip for artificial intelligence. This milestone represents one of the first results of the Trump administration's push to build AI technology domestically and marks a key step in the competition to control the future of AI in the US. NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang visited TSMC's semiconductor manufacturing facility in Phoenix on Friday to announce this progress. NVIDIA stated, “NVIDIA and TSMC are working together to build infrastructure in the US that supports global AI manufacturing.” In a joint statement, NVIDIA and TSMC emphasized, “The TSMC Arizona facility is expected to create thousands of high-tech jobs and attract a broad ecosystem of suppliers.” However, while this wafer is an important first step in bringing key chip production back to the US, a long journey remains before US demand for chips can be completely independent from overseas companies and factories. Goldman Sachs is forming a global infrastructure financing team, betting on AI and energy transition opportunities. Reports indicate that Goldman Sachs (GS.US) is intensifying its efforts to enter the hot market of data center and other infrastructure financing to capture a larger share of the AI boom. Insiders revealed that Goldman is establishing a dedicated team within its global banking and markets division focused on global infrastructure financing, which includes increasing lending in this sector and finding investors for that debt. This move is driven by a new wave of several billion dollars’ worth of deals related to AI data centers, their substantial energy demands, and funding for processing units that support AI development. The new team will also focus on traditional infrastructure construction or upgrade projects in both developed and emerging markets, and will be responsible for raising funds for renewable energy and certain types of LNG projects, as well as financing related to rising defense spending overseas. Tesla: ISS has completely ignored fundamental principles of investment and corporate governance again. Tesla (TSLA.US) posted on social media that Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), the advisory firm for shareholders, has recommended against a compensation plan that shareholders have already voted to approve twice (Musk has received this compensation), as well as against the 2025 CEO performance award (which Musk will not receive unless shareholders see substantial returns). ISS's baseless and absurd opposition to Ira shows their disconnection from reality. As Tesla's longest-serving independent board member, Ira established a governance framework that yielded an astonishing approximately 39,000% total shareholder return (TSR) during his tenure. He exemplifies our highly engaged board—hands-on leadership and effective governance are focused on long-term value. When ISS has no vested interest, it can easily tell others how to vote. Please support Tesla by voting in favor of all proposals.