1. Europe has stockpiled only enough natural gas to get through a mild winter.

Currently, Europe’s natural gas tanks are 67% full, which is 13 percentage points lower than a year ago. One reason storage is so low is that European buyers were hoping the Strait of Hormuz would be open by now.
Even so, the European Union put out a statement last week saying low stockpiles of natural gas are nothing to worry about. It said Europe has diversified away from natural gas since the 2022 energy shock caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, so it doesn’t need to hold as much inventory these days.
This has some truth to it. Demand for natural gas in winter is 17% lower now than it was in 2022, according to Wood Mackenzie. This is partly because renewable power now makes up a bigger share of Europe’s energy mix.

2. U.S. security agencies accused six Chinese AI companies of systematically exploiting American AI models to train their own systems.

American AI companies often make a similar argument defending their use of books to train their models: They say they aren’t copying the books, just learning from them.
So, this discussion may come up at the Trump-Xi meeting set for late September in Washington. If Bessent follows up on his threat to blacklist Chinese firms, U.S. and other users might find their access to Chinese models blocked.
Meanwhile, prolonged court battles offer little upside in an industry moving at breakneck speed and China will do what it does best: compete!

3. Global equities industry group performances year-to-date.

4. AI is disrupting software companies but not as fast as feared.

The “SaaSpocalypse,” a play on the acronym for software as a service, became the watchword for the meltdown.
While it is true that AI is disrupting corporate software, the incumbents are mounting a defense. And they have a lot more staying power than it might seem.
One reason is that most software development isn’t about writing code, where AI excels. It is about maintaining, updating and improving on existing software.
The incumbents’ deep integration with their customers’ IT systems provides a bulwark against AI disruption.

5. Global AI revenue has more than tripled in a year.

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