Skip NavigationMarketsBusinessInvestingTechPolitics & PolicyVideoWatchlistInvesting Club
PRO
LivestreamMenu
- A federal judge has ordered the White House to restore press access to CNN, MS NOW and Politico.
- The U.S.-China trade truce bought itself two more months as Trump gave China’s Xi the first airport tarmac welcome.
- Xi also arrived at the summit with a chip flex after a run of chip and model releases.
- Iran accused Canada of staying silent on Trump’s threat to destroy Iran.
- The 10-year Treasury yield rocketed to the highest levels since July 2007, while Japan’s 10-year JGB yield hit a 30-year high.
- Meta unveiled $1,299 VR glasses alongside the Muse Charm, a keychain-sized AI pendant.
- An Indian AI firm just quietly became a unicorn several times over.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump attend a meeting on the sidelines during a tour of the Zhongnanhai Garden on May 15, 2026 in Beijing, China. China Pool | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Hello, this is Anniek Bao writing to you from Singapore. Welcome to another edition of CNBC’s Daily Open.
Everyone’s telling a story about control today. Trump’s own judge thinks the ban against news outlets has gone too far.
Trump and Xi showed warmth on camera while tensions over chips, tariffs, a stray shipment of stealth-jet parts, kept running in the background.
Bond markets aren’t buying the calm act as yields just went back to levels no one’s seen since before the financial crisis.
What you need to know today
A federal judge has ordered the White House to restore press access to CNN, MS NOW and Politico, ruling that the Trump administration’s ban — imposed last week over what the Justice Department called violations of “professionalism and decorum” — failed basic due process.
The three media outlets had argued the ban violated their First Amendment rights, and comes as Trump hosts Chinese President Xi Jinping for a high-stakes meeting.
District Judge Tim Kelly said the outlets should have their access immediately restored, rejecting a request by the Justice Department to delay it for at least two days.
Trump and Xi’s traveling show
The U.S.-China trade truce bought itself two more months. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed the truce is extended to Jan. 10 as Xi Jinping’s state visit got underway in Washington.
China arrived at the summit with a chip flex. Alibaba’s chip unit unveiled the Zhenwu V900 AI accelerator two days before the Trump-Xi meeting — 216GB of on-chip memory, clusters scaling to 500,000 units, triple the performance of its predecessor.
Three generations of homegrown AI chips since Washington’s 2022 export curbs have armed Xi with a simple line for Trump: you can’t choke us off.
Separately, the Pentagon is investigating how sensitive F-35 components — including a cockpit canopy with radar-absorbent coating — were diverted from an Australian repair hub to Hong Kong, where Chinese authorities are reportedly now holding them.
Markets, money and a $1,299 pair of glasses
Bond markets had their own bad day. The 10-year Treasury yield rocketed to 5.079%, its highest since July 2007, while Japan’s 10-year JGB yield hit 3.055%, a 30-year high, as the U.S. selloff spilled across the Pacific.
Hot PMI data and Fed Governor Michael Barr’s warning that “further tightening… is likely needed” did the damage. Oil was mixed, falling at first and then reversing to rise.
Over in the Middle East, Tehran picked a fight with Ottawa. Iran’s Foreign Ministry accused Canada of staying silent on Trump’s threat to destroy Iran, after Canada backed the U.S. campaign in the Strait of Hormuz with new sanctions. Prime Minister Mark Carney has walked a line between supporting the strikes and calling for diplomacy — a balancing act Tehran isn’t buying.
SoftBank just wrote a very large check. The group issued $11.1 billion in bonds — split across dollar and euro tranches paying up to 9.75% — largely to fund its OpenAI stake, which is set to rise to $64.6 billion. Shares jumped more than 7% on the news.
Mark Zuckerberg wants you to stop wearing a headset. Meta unveiled $1,299 VR glasses — 100 grams, arriving spring 2027 — alongside the Muse Charm, a keychain-sized AI pendant launching this holiday season that Zuckerberg called “the fastest way to talk to your Muse.” The pitch: less strapping something to your face, more carrying something in your pocket.
And an Indian AI firm just quietly became a unicorn several times over. Brahma AI, backed by DNEG — the visual-effects studio behind “Dune” — raised $150 million at a $2 billion valuation. Its clients include Warner Bros., the NBA and the Mayo Clinic. Parent Prime Focus called it one of two growth engines, alongside DNEG’s effects business.
The world is heading into the next food crisis “blind,” aid workers warn, as U.S. funding cuts gut the UN’s World Food Programme just when tracking capacity is needed most. The warning isn’t that the crisis is coming, but there may not be anyone in present to foresee it clearly until it’s already here.
— Anniek Bao
And finally…
Qantas to start selling tickets next year for its New York to Sydney nonstop flight
Qantas Airways plans to start selling seats on its first nonstop between New York and Sydney next August, with flights set to launch in 2028, as the Australian carrier plans another marathon route with a special Airbus plane.
The route will take about 18 hours, which puts it close to what is currently the world’s longest flight. The route that has that designation right now, nonstop service on Singapore Airlines from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to Singapore, can top 19 hours.
But Qantas is set to take the crown next fall when it debuts nonstops between London Heathrow and Sydney that take about 20 hours. Flight times vary based on direction and time of year.
— Leslie Josephs
Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.Read More
