Good morning, wonderful people, and happy hump day. It’s a busy news day once again, with two high-profile M&As leading the news well as Adnoc completes its acquisition of Fertiglobe and ADQ going after a 96% of Turkish lender Odeabank.

We also have a ton of tech news from Gitex, not least of which is Khazna Data Centers’ plan to build the largest data center in the country.

^^ We have all of this and more in this morning’s news well, below.

BUT FIRST — your morning must-read: Should you be nice to your chatbot?

WEATHER- It’s another hot day in Dubai, with the mercury hitting 37°C before cooling to an overnight low of 24°C. In Abu Dhabi, expect a high of 37°C and a low of 26°C overnight.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- UP FIRST- Masdar and DP World are eyeing infrastructure and energy projects in the Philippines, that country’s Trade and Industry Department said in a statement yesterday.

DP World is reportedly looking to invest as much as AED 1.6 bn in ports across the Philippines (the Philippines’ acting trade secretary suggested a number of ports could be up for grabs soon), while Masdar is interested in solar, wind, and geothermal power generation.

#2- In other renewable energy news: The Emirates Water and Electricity Company (Ewec) is open to expressions of interest from bidders to develop the planned 150 MW Al Sila wind farm, which would generate enough energy to power 36k homes while offsetting some 190k tonnes of CO2 each year. The deadline for submissions is 5 November.

BACKGROUND- EWEC has been busy: The company invited developers and consortiums earlier this month to submit an EOI for the development of the 1.5 GW Zarraf solar PV IPP in Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra Region. Masdar is also developing a 27 MW wind farm at Al Sila as part of the UAE’s first wind program with a total capacity of 103.5 MW.

#3- It’s official: Sphere is coming to Abu Dhabi: Sphere Entertainment and the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi are partnering to build a Sphere arena in the emirate, according to a statement. The venue will match the 20k-seat capacity of the Las Vegas original, with DCT Abu Dhabi overseeing funding and construction. Sphere Entertainment will provide tech expertise, operational support, and creative content, earning annual fees once the arena opens.

REFRESHER- New York Knicks and New York Rangers owner James Dolan was reportedly in “serious” discussions with Abu Dhabi investors in December to build here. The move is part of the DCT Abu Dhabi’s broader tourism push: The emirate set aside USD 10 bn in April to nearly double its annual visitors to 39.3 mn and grow non-oil GDP contributions to AED 90 bn by 2030.

#4- UAE officials attended a high-level Brics meeting in Moscow even as a number of Brics finance ministers and central bank chiefs stayed home, sending senior staffers instead, Reuters reports. In addition to the UAE, representatives from Egypt and Iran were present, while finance ministers from China, India, and South Africa were absent.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Nothing goes up and to the right forever. That’s the key takeaway on a very busy morning for global business news as market watchers join an increasingly loud debate about how much gas is left in the tank for the global equities market.

On the “we’re worried” side: Shars of the most important tech company you’ve never heard of slumped the most in 26 years after it booked not even 50% of the orders analysts expected. ASML Holding makes key equipment that chipmakers themselves use to make chips; the shortfall in orders has folks taking a deeper look at the chipmaking industry. Companies that sell chips with AI applications are doing really well — those that sell more workaday semiconductors for the auto, memory, and other industries? Not doing nearly as well.

Also on the worried side of the ledger: Luxury goods conglomerate LVMH saw sales slump in 3Q and says the outlook is “uncertain,” thanks in large part to a pullback in spending by Chinese consumers.

On the other side: US consumers look on track to spend about 3.5% more during the upcoming holiday season, a business group representing American retailers said. And Goldman Sachs has just reported a “monster jump” in 3Q earnings while Bank of America did a bit better than analysts had expected and Citi recorded 44% increase in fee income from investment banking activities.

The state of the debate (presented with no guidance…): Can the stock market keep going up? Market watchers think so.

ALSO IN THE BUSINESS PAGES on this fine fall morning:

MEANWHILE- There are 19 days to go until the US election. About 2x more voters turned out to cast early ballots yesterday in the key state of Georgia compared to during the 2020 cycle. Kamala Harris is on a media blitz. And Donald Trump is beating his protectionist drum.

IN POLITICS- Washington has warned Tel Aviv it has 30 days to allow more aid into Gaza or risk a cut to arms sales (Wall Street Journal | New York Times | Reuters).

And for our fellow iSheep: Apple has released an updated iPad Mini with a beefed up processor (the same as in last year’s Pro model) and the same big, ugly bezels as last year, too.

HAPPENING TODAY-

It’s day three of Gitex Global 2024, which runs through Friday at Dubai’s World Trade Center. Happening alongside Gitex is Expand North Star, which wraps up today at Dubai Harbour. Fintech Surge and the Future Blockchain Summit also continue, with today being the last day for the latter.

^^ We have full coverage of yesterday’s major Gitex headlines in this morning’s news well, below.

The SuperBridge Summit wraps up today at One Za’abeel in Dubai. The event focuses on AI, innovation, and manufacturing in emerging markets.

The IEEE / RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2024) continues today at Adnec Center Abu Dhabi and will wrap on Friday.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Sharjah International Conference on AI & Linguistics will take place on 17-18 October at the American University of Sharjah.

The Lease Conference Dubai 2024 will take place on 13-14 November at the Jumeirah Creekside Hotel. The event will bring together key players in the leasing industry across the Middle East and Africa.

EFG Hermes will host its annual One on One Conference from 7 to 10 April 2025 in Dubai. The largest gathering of its kind in the MENA region, the conference connects hundreds of international corporate leaders with institutional investors and family offices from around the world.

Check out our full calendar (at the bottom of this email) for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS-

#1- The Securities and Commodities Authority is warning that a company named Aiwa Capitals Marketing does not hold a license to engage in any financial activities or services regulated by the authority, according to a statement.

#2- Residents of GCC countries must now apply for a 30-day e-visa to enter the UAE. The e-visa is required for foreign residents of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar who apply for entry as GCC residents and not through another pathway (for example: they hold passports making them eligible for visa-free access). Tap or click here for the full rundown.

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