Gulf countries worry Trump will leave a mess, say Iranian control of the Strait is "unacceptable"

October 9th - SpaceX (SPCX.O) has reached an agreement to acquire a portfolio of nationwide low-frequency spectrum licenses, enabling Starlink Mobile to become a major telecom operator in the US, causing a pre-market decline in US telecom stocks. T-Mobile (TMUS.O) shares fell by 6.3%, AT&T by 5.7%, and Verizon (VZ.N) by 5.1%. According to The Wall Street Journal, citing sources familiar with the matter, SPCX will pay about 8 billion USD in cash to the seller, private equity firm Grain Management, to acquire the asset. The financial terms of the agreement have not yet been disclosed by either party. This deal increases competition for traditional carriers, transforming satellite direct-to-device technology from a supplementary safety feature for remote signal dead zones into a full-fledged commercial competitor replacing terrestrial cellular networks. "Although the three major carriers (T, TMUS, VZ) face a more concrete competitive threat due to their weak performance among high-speed data users (HSDs), this is not entirely unexpected and will most likely begin in rural areas," said Morgan Stanley. So far this year, TMUS is down 15.6%, VZ is up 13.7%, and T is slightly up. European telecom stocks were also impacted, including Germany’s Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE). (To facilitate non-English-speaking users, Reuters automates its reports into several other languages. As automated translations may be inaccurate or lack required context, Reuters does not guarantee the accuracy of automated translations, which are provided solely for reader convenience. Reuters assumes no liability for any harm or loss arising from use of this automated translation feature.)

October 9th - SpaceX (SPCX.O) shares rose 3.8% in pre-market trading to $166.70. The company has reached an agreement to acquire nationwide low-frequency spectrum in order to challenge U.S. wireless carriers, according to The Wall Street Journal. SpaceX will pay about $8 billion to Grain Management for related assets, acquiring radio waves that can travel long distances and penetrate dense structures such as walls. The financial terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed. The acquisition is expected to strengthen the "direct-to-device" service of Starlink Mobile and reduce reliance on traditional base stations. The deal intensifies the competition between satellite communications and cellular networks, increasing the challenges facing existing wireless carriers. The transaction is still subject to approval by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. As of the close of the previous trading day, SPCX shares had risen more than 18% from the IPO price of $135.

Goldman Sachs Chief Economist Jan Hatzius stated that the Federal Reserve might opt to raise interest rates two more times, rather than only once in December.