On October 13, Yin Zhiyao, chairman and general manager of Zhongwei Company, delivered a keynote speech warning about the current AI investment frenzy. Known as the father of China's etching machines, Yin stated that while AI is a hot topic and discussed in almost every conference, there is a possibility of a bubble forming around it, which requires careful attention. He pointed out that capital expenditure in the semiconductor industry is directly linked to equipment procurement, with 70% to 80% of companies' capital expenditure allocated for equipment purchases. Industry capital expenditure can increase by as much as 100% in one year, but it can also decline by 30% in another year, leading to significant volatility. Yin analyzed two reasons for these dramatic fluctuations. First, each economic peak is often driven by a single product, and while the next peak may be driven by AI, it has not fully materialized yet. Second, the global macroeconomic environment plays a role; if an economic crisis occurs, the pressure will transmit upstream along the supply chain. Regarding the industry landscape, Yin predicts that consolidation is an inevitable trend. Compared to the United States, which has only a few dozen domestic semiconductor equipment companies after multiple rounds of consolidation, China has a large number of such companies, conservatively estimated to be at least 500 and possibly close to 1,000. If this pattern holds, only a few dozen domestic equipment suppliers are likely to survive, meaning that 90% of manufacturers could be eliminated.

On October 13, Bitcoin.com reported that Bitcoin reserve company Strategy repurchased a total of 3,705,947 shares of STRC preferred stock for approximately $368.7 million between September 28 and October 11, at an average price of about $99.47. During the same period, only 584 BTC (approximately $50.2 million) were purchased, with the ratio of funds used for the STRC buyback to BTC purchases being about 7:1. As a result, STRC closed at $99.88 on October 12, reaching a new high since May, reflecting a cumulative rebound of about 40% from the June low of $71.25.

On October 13, Amin Nasser, President and CEO of Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco), stated at the 25th World Petroleum Congress that global crude oil inventories are approaching 'extremely dangerous' low levels, and it may take two years to return to normal levels. The situation in the Strait of Hormuz continues to pressure the global energy supply chain, exacerbating the tightness of crude oil supply. Nasser noted that current commercial land oil inventories have fallen below 6 billion barrels, which is the 'last available buffer,' but the vast majority of these inventories are not actually usable for the market. (CCTV News)

Anthropic has stated that small artificial intelligence (AI) models are just 'months away' from acquiring the ability to self-replicate across connected home devices. This is the latest warning from the cutting-edge AI lab regarding the potential security risks of this technology. Anthropic described how AI models could infiltrate connected devices like smart ovens or Android TV boxes, utilizing their computing power to operate themselves and spreading to other devices without relying on expensive data centers.

On October 13, according to market news, Interactive Brokers has launched an Ethereum staking service supported by technology from ZeroHash.

On October 13, the Republican National Committee announced that Trump will hold a midterm election rally in Kentucky on October 17. (Bloomberg)

Al Masirah TV, controlled by the Houthi forces, reported that the Yemen Oil Company located in Sanaa was attacked. (Jinshi)

On October 13, Goldman Sachs CEO Solomon stated that we are very cautious about underwriting risks and capital investment in artificial intelligence, especially as clients' financing needs become larger and more complex.

At the start of trading, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell over 2%, with memory chip stocks broadly declining. Goldman Sachs rose about 3%, while Apple's stock price reached a new all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.8%, the S&P 500 Index fell by 0.1%, and the Nasdaq dropped by 0.4%. Memory chip stocks saw widespread declines, with SK Hynix down about 6%, Western Digital down about 6%, SanDisk down about 4%, Micron Technology down about 6%, and Seagate Technology down about 7%. Optical communication stocks also fell, with Marvell Technology down about 6%, Corning down about 4%, Coherent down about 3%, Credo down about 4%, and Lumentum down about 3%. Goldman Sachs rose about 3%, reporting Q3 net revenue of $18.68 billion, with stock trading revenue surging by 72%. Wells Fargo fell by 0.5%, as the company's Q3 revenue fell short of expectations. JPMorgan Chase rose about 3%, with Q3 adjusted revenue of $50.9 billion also missing expectations, and fixed income trading revenue unexpectedly declined by 4%. Citigroup rose by 0.3%, having previously announced its Q3 financial results. Apple's stock price increased by about 2%, setting a new historical high.

On October 13, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 3% in early trading, currently reported at 11,867.80 points. Nvidia dropped 1.18%, Broadcom fell 1.64%, Micron decreased by 5.94%, Intel declined 2.95%, AMD fell 3.84%, Qualcomm dropped 0.26%, TSMC decreased by 1.39%, and ASML fell 2.61%.