Global Tech, Politics, and Economy Face Fresh Strains

10th September 2025

Apple’s iPhone 17 launch disappointed Wall Street, with shares slipping as critics cited a lack of innovation, particularly in AI leaving competitors like Samsung and Google poised to benefit. Microsoft, meanwhile, is broadening its AI strategy by adding Anthropic’s models to Office apps alongside OpenAI’s. In the Middle East, Israel’s airstrike on Hamas leaders in Qatar sparked global condemnation, raised risks for ceasefire talks, and drew rare disapproval from President Trump. On the economic front, the U.S. job market was dealt a blow after bgovernment data revealed employment growth had been overstated by 911,000 through March 2025 the steepest downward revision on record fueling concerns over economic weakness and fresh pressure on the Fed to cut rates. All in today’s Read It and Eat! 

Major News

• Apple’s iPhone 17 Launch Fails to Impress Wall Street

Apple’s highly anticipated “Awe Dropping” event came and went with new devices the iPhone 17, the ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air, fresh Apple Watches, and upgraded AirPods but the market wasn’t wowed. Instead of a stock bump, Apple shares slipped in after-hours trading as investors concluded the company delivered refinements, not revolutions. For Wall Street, the launch underscored a growing concern: sleek design and incremental updates may no longer be enough in a maturing smartphone market.

The new lineup showcased solid improvements. The iPhone 17 boasts a larger Super Retina XDR display, a more powerful A19 chip, and an upgraded 48MP camera. The iPhone 17 Air turned heads for its 5.5mm profile, Apple’s thinnest yet, while the Pro models pushed performance further. Apple also rolled out the Apple Watch Series 11 with added health features and the AirPods Pro 3 with improved noise canceling. On paper, these are meaningful enhancements for consumers but analysts saw them as expected steps forward, not breakthroughs.

What really dampened enthusiasm so much that the stock fell after hours of trading was because of how unimpressive their product line is, with examples of the lack of bold AI features. Analysts flagged that meaningful Siri upgrades are delayed until 2026, leaving Apple looking flat-footed while rivals like Samsung and Google aggressively integrate AI into their devices. Visible Alpha’s Melissa Otto summed up the mood: “It felt like an iteration.” For investors, that’s a problem especially when consumers are already holding onto phones for 3.5 years or more before upgrading.

Competitors stand to benefit. Samsung is gaining U.S. market share thanks to its foldables and deep AI integration, while Google’s Pixel sales have doubled globally in the past year. Even Chinese brands like Xiaomi and Huawei are well-positioned to nibble away at Apple’s dominance, particularly in emerging markets. Suppliers may see demand shift accordingly, with chipmakers and display makers rebalancing between Apple and its Android rivals.

The bigger picture is that Apple is at a crossroads. Its services business and upcoming Vision Pro headset give it new growth avenues, and its R&D spend shows it’s serious about AI and AR. But for now, Wall Street’s message is clear: “good enough” isn’t enough. Unless Apple can deliver a true breakthrough whether through foldables, AI-driven devices, or AR the company risks being seen as a follower rather than a leader. The iPhone 17 launch was supposed to set the tone for 2025, but instead, it highlighted just how high the bar for innovation has become. TechCrunch 

• Microsoft Reportedly Taps Anthropic AI for Office Apps, Signaling a Shift from OpenAI

Microsoft is widening its AI toolkit. According to a report from The Information, the tech giant will begin using some of Anthropic’s models to power features in its Office 365 apps, alongside those from longtime partner OpenAI. The move suggests Microsoft is diversifying its AI portfolio after years of leaning heavily on OpenAI technology in Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint.

The decision comes as developers testing Office AI features reportedly found Anthropic’s models outperforming OpenAI’s in certain areas. For example, Claude Sonnet 4 was said to generate cleaner, more visually polished PowerPoint presentations and handle some advanced Excel functions more effectively. While OpenAI’s newly launched GPT-5 remains central to Microsoft’s strategy, Anthropic’s strengths appear to complement areas where users demand efficiency and better design.

Importantly, Microsoft stressed it is not walking away from OpenAI. “As we’ve said, OpenAI will continue to be our partner on frontier models and we remain committed to our long-term partnership,” a company spokesperson told The Information. Microsoft has invested more than $13 billion in OpenAI and still relies on its models across Azure and Copilot tools.

At the same time, the company is clearly hedging its bets. Beyond Anthropic, Microsoft is building its own AI models and recently began integrating DeepSeek’s technology into Azure. Interestingly, in order to access Anthropic’s models, Microsoft will be paying Amazon Web Services one of Anthropic’s largest shareholders and a direct cloud rival.

The announcement, expected in the coming weeks, won’t change pricing for Office AI tools. Instead, it highlights Microsoft’s broader strategy: blending best-in-class AI systems from multiple sources to ensure its productivity apps remain competitive. In the increasingly crowded AI race, “all of the above” may prove to be Microsoft’s winning formula. BBC 

• Israel Strikes Hamas Leaders in Qatar, Drawing Global Backlash and Trump’s Disapproval

Israel carried out an airstrike in Qatar on Tuesday, targeting senior Hamas political leaders in what has quickly become one of the most controversial moves of the conflict. The strike, which Israel defended as justified retaliation, was immediately condemned by Qatar, which called it “state terrorism.” The U.S. government labeled it a unilateral action that does little to advance American or Israeli interests. President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters in Washington, said he was “very unhappy about every aspect” of the attack and promised a fuller statement Wednesday.

The timing of the strike was striking on multiple levels. Qatar has long hosted Hamas’s political leadership while also serving as a key mediator in ceasefire negotiations, alongside Egypt. Its role as a U.S. security partner home to al-Udeid Air Base, the largest American military facility in the region makes the attack especially sensitive. Trump acknowledged Hamas remains a legitimate threat but expressed concern over the location, saying it was “not a good situation” given Qatar’s strategic importance as a U.S. ally. Qatar’s prime minister warned the attack risked derailing ongoing peace talks and vowed that his country “reserves the right to respond.”

The international reaction was swift and overwhelmingly negative. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, the European Union, and the United Nations all condemned the strike, with the EU calling it a breach of international law. Pope Leo issued an unusually strong rebuke, urging restraint and warning of serious consequences. Even within Israel, some military officials have cautioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about widening the war, while families of hostages fear the move could further endanger their loved ones. Netanyahu, however, insisted the operation was justified, saying, “The days are over when terror leaders can enjoy immunity of any kind.”

Hamas confirmed that five members of the group were killed, including the son of senior negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, though top leaders reportedly survived. The strike followed a deadly Hamas shooting near Jerusalem that killed six people and came as Israel escalates efforts to crush the group after nearly two years of war. Since October 2023, Israel’s campaign has stretched beyond Gaza into Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and Yemen fueling mounting accusations of disproportionate force and even genocide, with Palestinian authorities claiming more than 64,000 deaths.

Meanwhile, Gaza City is once again on edge. Israeli forces dropped leaflets telling residents to evacuate ahead of another offensive, leaving civilians in panic and confusion. With international criticism mounting, hostages still in captivity, and ceasefire negotiations on the brink of collapse, the strike in Qatar underscores just how precarious and globally consequential this conflict has become. Reuters 

• Job Growth Revised Down by 911,000, Exposing a Weaker U.S. Economy

The U.S. job market may not be as strong as once thought. According to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employment growth was overstated by 911,000 jobs through March 2025. That’s the largest downward revision on record since 2002 and well above what Wall Street economists were bracing for. In practical terms, it means average monthly job growth was about 76,000 lower than previously reported.

The revisions, which draw on updated tax records and the quarterly census of employment, point to a softer labor market than earlier estimates suggested. Weakness was concentrated in leisure and hospitality (-176,000), professional and business services (-158,000), and retail trade (-126,200). Transportation, warehousing, and utilities saw slight upward adjustments, but nearly all of the decline came from private-sector payrolls. Importantly, the report covers a period largely before President Donald Trump’s tariffs took effect, signaling that the slowdown was already in motion.

For economists, the new figures reinforce concerns that wage and income growth have been running on weaker footing than previously believed. “The slower job creation implies income growth was also on a softer footing even prior to the recent rise in policy uncertainty,” said Oren Klachkin of Nationwide Financial. That could give the Federal Reserve more incentive to resume cutting interest rates as the broader economy shows signs of cooling. Recent months’ data paint the same picture: payroll growth averaged just 29,000 per month this summer, well below what’s needed to keep unemployment steady.

The revisions also bring political heat. President Trump, who has repeatedly criticized the BLS, fired its commissioner earlier this summer after a string of weak reports and has since nominated Heritage Foundation economist E.J. Antoni to lead the agency. The White House seized on Tuesday’s numbers, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt declaring that the data “proved Trump was right” about the weakness of Biden-era job growth and that the Fed “has officially run out of excuses and must cut the rates now.”

Markets reacted with little immediate drama, though Treasury yields ticked higher following the release. Still, the implications could be significant. Beyond shaping monetary policy, the revisions deepen questions about the accuracy of the government’s jobs data, with final benchmark numbers not due until February 2026. For now, though, the message is clear: the labor market’s recent strength may have been overstated, leaving the economy on shakier ground than policymakers or investors realized. BBC 

Minor News 

• U.S. high school reading and math scores fall to lowest levels in two decades, new NAEP data shows. Reuters 

• Robinhood rolls out stock shorting and overnight options trading features. Morning Brew 

• UK names Peter Kyle as new business secretary in government reshuffle. CityAM 

• London tube strikes this week are set to cost the economy an estimated £230 million, think tank warns. CityAM 

• TSMC reports 34% sales surge in August. Reuters 

• Nepal’s prime minister steps down amid mass protests. Reuters 

• Meta and TikTok beat EU tech fees in court, forcing regulators back to the drawing board. TechCrunch 

• Oracle stock jumps 31% on eye-popping $500B cloud revenue outlook. Reuters