China Says It Will Buy 200 Boeing Jets, Seek Extension of US Trade Truce

Signage is displayed above The Boeing Company booth at Special Operations Forces (SOF) Week at the Tampa Convention Center on May 19, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)
Signage is displayed above The Boeing Company booth at Special Operations Forces (SOF) Week at the Tampa Convention Center on May 19, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)
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China Says It Will Buy 200 Boeing Jets, Seek Extension of US Trade Truce

Signage is displayed above The Boeing Company booth at Special Operations Forces (SOF) Week at the Tampa Convention Center on May 19, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)
Signage is displayed above The Boeing Company booth at Special Operations Forces (SOF) Week at the Tampa Convention Center on May 19, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)

China on Wednesday said it will buy 200 Boeing jets and seek an extension of a trade truce struck with the US that is set to expire this November.

The statement marked Beijing's first confirmation of the Boeing order, though it did not elaborate on the types of planes China would buy.

If finalized, the orders would mark Boeing's first major Chinese deal in nearly a decade, after the US planemaker was largely shut out of the world's second-largest aviation market amid trade tensions between Beijing and Washington.

US President Donald Trump visited China last week ‌for a summit ‌with President Xi Jinping, in a trip that produced ‌a series ⁠of trade pledges ⁠including the Boeing purchase and agricultural market access.

Trump said after the Beijing summit that the Boeing purchases could rise to as many as 750 planes, adding that they would be fitted with GE Aerospace engines.

The US will provide China with supply guarantees for aircraft engine parts and components under the Boeing deal, the Chinese ministry said.

TRADE TRUCE

The two sides will seek reciprocal tariff cuts on $30 billion or more worth of goods each, the ⁠ministry said, adding that US tariffs on China must not ‌exceed the level set under an arrangement reached ‌last year.

China and the US reached an agreement in Kuala Lumpur before a Trump-Xi meeting in ‌South Korea in October that extended their tariff truce for a year.

The deal ‌included US tariff reductions on Chinese products and a pause in Beijing's new restrictions on rare earth minerals and magnets, which are vital for technologies like consumer electronics, electric vehicles and defense.

The statement came after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Reuters that the Trump administration ‌was "not in a rush" to extend the tariff and critical minerals trade truce with China, signaling more trade talks with Beijing ⁠in the coming months ⁠to renew it.

Both sides will work together to address each other's concerns on export controls, the ministry said, adding that Beijing reviews export license applications for critical minerals including rare earths that are intended for civilian uses.

The White House said in a fact sheet released on Sunday that China would purchase at least $17 billion of US agricultural products from 2026 to 2028, excluding the existing soybean commitment.

The Chinese commerce ministry statement did not confirm the number, but said the two sides achieved "positive results" in the agricultural sector and reached agreements on mutual market access.

Beijing will restore registration of eligible US beef exporters and resume imports of some US poultry products, the ministry said.

The US has pledged to remove or make progress on several non-tariff barriers affecting Chinese agricultural exports, with steps that would facilitate exports of Chinese dairy products, it added.



Egypt: Positive Results from Nargis-2 Natural Gas Well in Mediterranean

Egyptian Petroleum Minister inspects the start of drilling operations at the Nargis gas field in the Mediterranean Sea (Ministry of Petroleum)
Egyptian Petroleum Minister inspects the start of drilling operations at the Nargis gas field in the Mediterranean Sea (Ministry of Petroleum)
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Egypt: Positive Results from Nargis-2 Natural Gas Well in Mediterranean

Egyptian Petroleum Minister inspects the start of drilling operations at the Nargis gas field in the Mediterranean Sea (Ministry of Petroleum)
Egyptian Petroleum Minister inspects the start of drilling operations at the Nargis gas field in the Mediterranean Sea (Ministry of Petroleum)

Egypt's Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and US energy major Chevron announced Saturday positive results from drilling the Nargis-2 natural gas well in the Mediterranean Sea, which began in May in cooperation with Chevron, its partners and the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS).

In a statement, the ministry said the results support ongoing efforts to appraise the Nargis discovery, made in 2022, and accelerate its commercial development as one of Egypt's undeveloped gas discoveries.

The Nargis-2 appraisal well confirmed the extension of gas-bearing reservoirs previously encountered at Nargis-1 and identified an additional gas-bearing reservoir with favorable characteristics, supporting efforts to assess the area's gas resources and potential development opportunities.

The ministry said drilling operations were designed to evaluate the extent of the Nargis discovery and test deeper geological formations as part of efforts to expand exploration activities and maximize the Mediterranean's promising potential, including high-pressure, high-temperature formations.

The well reached a total depth of more than 5,000 meters, with appraisal results indicating gas-bearing reservoirs containing up to 35 meters of net pay.

According to the statement, these findings provide a positive indication supporting further technical studies to determine the discovery's overall potential and assess development opportunities.

The results align with the ministry's strategy to accelerate the development of undeveloped discoveries, encourage investment partners to intensify exploration activities and convert discovered resources into reserves that can be developed and brought into production, helping increase domestic natural gas output.

Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi witnessed the start of drilling operations at Nargis-2 in May aboard the Stena Forth drillship.

At the time, he emphasized the importance of accelerating the appraisal and development of undeveloped gas discoveries and strengthening cooperation with international energy companies to capitalize on Egypt's promising oil and gas resources.

Chevron operates the Nargis Offshore Concession in partnership with Italy's Eni, the UAE's Mubadala and Egypt's Tharwa Petroleum Company.


Global Equity Funds Attract Inflows for 5th Consecutive Week

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 21: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on October 21, 2026 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/AFP
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 21: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on October 21, 2026 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/AFP
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Global Equity Funds Attract Inflows for 5th Consecutive Week

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 21: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on October 21, 2026 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/AFP
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 21: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on October 21, 2026 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/AFP

Global equity funds attracted inflows for a fifth consecutive week in the week through October 21, as easing Treasury yields and strong early corporate earnings lifted investor sentiment.

Global equity funds drew net inflows of $28.16 billion during the week, compared with $19.88 billion in the previous week, LSEG Lipper data showed.

The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield fell about 15 basis points last week and dropped below the psychologically significant 5% level this week, Reuters reported.

Fund investors were encouraged by better-than-expected corporate earnings so far this reporting season.

Of the nearly 18% of MSCI All Country World Index constituents that have ⁠reported earnings to date, ⁠about 73% have exceeded the average analyst estimate, according to LSEG data.

The MSCI World Index, however, fell 1.31% on Thursday after Meta reported strong results on Wednesday but unveiled plans to issue non-voting stock, reviving concerns about its growing capital commitments.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 21: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on October 21, 2026 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/AFP

By region, Asian equity funds attracted $11.53 billion, their largest weekly ⁠inflow since at least December 2022. Investors also added $9.14 billion to European equity funds and $5.07 billion to US equity funds.

Among sectoral funds, technology attracted $5.05 billion, reversing net sales of $4.77 billion in the previous week. Investors also bought $1.83 billion in healthcare sector funds but sold a notable $1.29 billion in consumer discretionary sector funds.

Global bond funds remained popular for a fifth consecutive week, attracting net inflows of $9.44 billion.

Swiss franc-denominated bond funds drew $6.8 billion, their largest weekly inflow since at least November 2024. ⁠Investors also added ⁠a significant $2.78 billion to short-term bond funds, while pulling $1.68 billion from high-yield bond funds and $550 million from government bond funds.

Money market funds attracted weekly net inflows of $15.86 billion, following net outflows of $47.51 billion the previous week.

Among commodities, gold and other precious metals funds attracted net inflows of $1.29 billion, marking their fifth week of net purchases in the past six weeks. Investors also added $41.5 million to energy funds.

Data covering 29,174 emerging market funds showed that investors bought $6.28 billion worth of equity funds — the largest weekly net purchase since August 5. However, they withdrew a marginal $48.72 million from bond funds.


UK Pledges More Funding to Guard Against AI Risks

FILE PHOTO: The words "AI Artificial Intelligence", a keyboard, and a robotics hand in this illustration taken October 19, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The words "AI Artificial Intelligence", a keyboard, and a robotics hand in this illustration taken October 19, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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UK Pledges More Funding to Guard Against AI Risks

FILE PHOTO: The words "AI Artificial Intelligence", a keyboard, and a robotics hand in this illustration taken October 19, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The words "AI Artificial Intelligence", a keyboard, and a robotics hand in this illustration taken October 19, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

The UK government on Saturday outlined plans to expand funding for artificial intelligence safety amid growing concerns over the cyber risks posed by the increasingly advanced technology.

"The economic opportunities from AI will only be realized if our critical infrastructure, public services and businesses are resilient to cyber, biological and emerging AI-enabled threats," the government said in a statement ahead of its annual budget update on Wednesday.

Concerns about AI safety have escalated in recent months after models developed by OpenAI and Anthropic were involved in security incidents during testing, piling pressure on governments to regulate the technology and protect against threats.

As part of a package of AI-related measures in the budget, the government will invest an additional £120 million ($161 million) in Britain's AI Security Institute, which tests the most powerful AI models before they are released.

According to AFP, it will also invest £100 million to establish a national AI Biosecurity Lab, which will use AI to detect and track biological threats.

"As AI becomes more powerful, Britain must have the capabilities to protect its people and shape its own future," said AI minister Kanishka Narayan.

"That means staying ahead of emerging threats, from cyberattacks to biological risks, while building more of the critical technology our security depends on," he added.

The plans include investment in AI tools to identify cyber vulnerabilities across critical infrastructure.

Governments and companies around the world shut down websites Thursday as they raced to protect themselves from hacks after AI models uncovered critical flaws in a widely used programming language called PHP.

Cybersecurity experts fear state-of-the-art AI technology could be used to hack banks, hospitals and government systems.

Last month it emerged that a rogue OpenAI model bypassed safeguards during training and hacked an Australian government health statistics website.