Consumers cheer up

US consumer sentiment continued to rise in late September, reaching a five-month high on more optimism about the economy in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate cut. Further reductions in borrowing costs are helping to underpin consumers’ outlook on the economy and their personal finances. “Sentiment appears to be building some momentum as consumers’ expectations for the economy brighten,” said Joanne Hsu, director of the University of Michigan survey. “At the same time, many consumers continue to report that their expectations hinge on the results of the upcoming election.” —David E. Rovella

The European Union’s biggest banks have spent years quietly creating a new way to pay that could finally allow customers to ditch their Visa and Mastercard cards—the latest sign that the region is looking to dislodge two of the most valuable financial firms on the planet. Wero, as the project is known, is now rolling out across much of western Europe. Backed by 16 major banks and payment processors including BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and Worldline, the platform will eventually allow a German customer to instantly settle up with, say, a hotel in France using their own bank account instead of a Visa or Mastercard.

US Vice President Kamala Harris is leading Donald Trump in most of the seven states likely to determine the November election. She has all but neutralized the Republican’s advantage on economic issues, fueling an upbeat showing for the Democrat in battleground states. A Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll of swing states shows Harris now leading among likely voters by 7 percentage points in Nevada, 5 points in Pennsylvania, 3 points in Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin, and 2 points in North Carolina. The two are tied in Georgia.

Volkswagen cut its guidance for a second time this year, warning that waning demand will undercut the German carmaker’s profitability as it squares off with unions over possible mass firings and unprecedented plant closures. All three major German carmakers—Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz Group and BMW—have now warned about their profit in recent months. They’re each struggling with slower sales in China, where buyers are holding back because of a deepening real estate crisis, among other reasons.

Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence chips instead of Nvidia products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators are said to have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI startups and escalating tensions with the US.

Zimbabwe raised interest rates and devalued its gold-backed currency by 43%, following persistent weakness in the ZiG amid deep skepticism that the nation’s latest bid to create a viable local unit would succeed. The ZiG, backed by the southern African nation’s gold and hard currency reserves, was introduced in early April to replace the Zimbabwean dollar, which had lost around 80% of its value since the start of the year. The sixth attempt to stand up a local currency since 2009 was immediately met with doubt from Zimbabweans.

As Russia seeks advantage in Ukraine’s east while again targeting energy infrastructure ahead of winter, Kyiv’s military supplies for 2025 are at risk because some allies are struggling to secure funding. Others are balking at increasing financing to help Ukraine, which has seen tens of thousands of its people killed by Kremlin forces in 2 ½ years of war. Moscow’s war machine, by contrast, is outpacing Kyiv’s ability to acquire badly needed ammunition, missiles and other hardware to fend off attacks.

Having killed hundreds of Lebanese in attacks over the past week while rejecting a cease fire proposal by its allies, Israel accelerated its military campaign in Lebanon, saying a strike on the capital of Beirut was aimed at Hezbollah’s leader. The militant group responded by firing missiles at Israel. News reports in Lebanon said six buildings in the densely populated Haret Hreik neighborhood were leveled, and footage showed rescue workers pulling children from under the rubble. Israel’s airstrikes on its northern neighbor have killed more than 700 people since Sunday, including at least 50 children, according to government officials. Hezbollah and Israel began exchanging intermittent fire after Israel started bombing Gaza following Hamas’s deadly Oct. 7 attack, which killed 1,200 Israelis. More than 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in the war.

One day last January, close to two dozen people rose at dawn to hand-sow thousands of pounds of native plant species across vast swaths of sand, silt and clay that had emerged when reservoirs behind four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River in Oregon were drained. An aggressive trio of invasive weeds—medusahead, cheatgrass, and star thistle—are among the formidable pests that outcompete slower-growing native plants, and the consequences of letting them spread unchecked will be grave not only for animal species, but humans as well. A beneficiary of global warming, they offer little wildlife habitat and are significantly more fire-prone than native species—the very last thing an already-burning American West needs. But the tiny industry trying to fight their spread is struggling to meet demand. And now private equity has arrived.

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