Trump declares Gaza war over as hostages released

Good morning. Here's what happened overnight and what you need to know today.

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1.

Gaza stage: Donald Trump declared the war in Gaza over on Monday in a speech to Israel’s Parliament, calling the release of 20 Israeli hostages and nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners “the historic dawn of a new Middle East”. “Not only the end of a war, this is the end of the age of terror and death,” he said. During his speech Trump also lobbied Israel’s president to pardon Netanyahu (who is on trial for bribery) and watched as two lawmakers from a joint Palestinian-Israeli party were removed from Parliament for holding signs that read “Recognize Palestine!” Hours later in Egypt, Trump signed a document with the leaders of Turkey, Qatar and Egypt, brokered by the US, calling it a “very comprehensive” agreement. The contents were not immediately clear and it was not signed by Israel or Hamas. Israel also confirmed receipt of four coffins of hostages’ remains, though Hamas is still required to return additional bodies under the deal. The United Nations reported “real progress” in aid deliveries to Gaza, where local officials say around 67,000 people have been killed. Palestinians and Israelis welcomed the cease-fire, but Gaza residents spoke of unbearable personal loss and ongoing displacement. Trump said wealthy nations would fund Gaza’s reconstruction, and proposed expanding the Abraham Accords. Netanyahu called Trump “the greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House” and said he was “committed to this peace”, but did not comment on how Israel would respond if Hamas did not comply. (NYT)(AP)(Reuters)(WSJ)(FT)(Capital Brief)

2.

Bespoke chips: OpenAI and Broadcom agreed to collaborate on custom chips and networking equipment, as the ChatGPT maker scrambles to secure computing power required to meet demand for its services. The companies said that OpenAI would design chips which Broadcom would then develop and deploy, commencing in the second half of 2026. The companies also said they planned to roll out 10 gigawatts worth of AI data centre capacity. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said: “Developing our own accelerators adds to the broader ecosystem of partners all building the capacity required to push the frontier of AI to provide benefits to all humanity.” The deal confirms an arrangement that Broadcom hinted at during last month’s earnings call. Meanwhile, shares in Bloom Energy soared 36% in premarket trading in the US on Monday after Brookfield Corp agreed to invest up to USD5 billion to deploy the company’s fuel cells at new data centres that operate AI. (OpenAI)(Bloomberg)(Reuters)(Capital Brief)

3.

Cooling Trade: US stocks recovered from Friday’s sharp selloff, after Donald Trump and senior officials struck a more conciliatory tone on China. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business he still expects Trump and Xi to meet, adding the two sides would talk in the coming weeks and that the threatened tariff hike “didn’t need to happen.” His comments came after Trump over the weekend said on Truth Social, “Don’t worry about China, it will all be fine!”. The S&P 500 was 1.53% higher in late afternoon trading, the Nasdaq was 2.09% higher and the Dow up 1.26%, with chipmakers and AI-related stocks leading gains. Broadcom surged more than 10% after OpenAI agreed to buy its custom chips and networking equipment under a multiyear deal. Silver futures jumped 6.8% to a record USD50.13 a troy ounce, while gold also hit a new high. JPMorgan said it would invest USD10 billion in companies deemed critical to US national security. (Reuters)(Bloomberg)(WSJ)

4.

Credit branch: Brookfield will acquire the remaining 26% stake of distressed debt specialist Oaktree Capital Management that it does not already own, bolstering its position as a key alternative credit provider. Brookfield will acquire the 26% stake for around USD3 billion ($4.6 billion), valuing Oaktree at around USD11.5 billion. Oaktree’s assets under management have climbed 75% since Brookfield bought a 62% stake in 2019. Of the USD3 billion purchase price, Brookfield Asset Management and Brookfield Corporation will fund approximately USD1.6 billion and USD1.4 billion, respectively, reflecting their proportional ownership of Oaktree today. While Brookfield has traditionally focused on real estate and infrastructure, its partnership with Oaktree helped strengthen the firm’s credit business. “With this closer alignment, Oaktree will remain central to Brookfield’s credit strategy, and we see significant opportunities to grow the franchise and expand what we can offer our clients together,” Oaktree co-founder Howard Marks said. (Brookfield Asset Management)(Capital Brief)

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Bulge-bracket backing: JPMorgan Chase unveiled a USD1.5 trillion ($2.3 trillion) investment initiative aimed at bolstering sectors critical to the US economy over the next 10 years, part of efforts to protect the US economy in the face of rising trade tensions with countries including China. The bank said that the investment includes a USD10 billion allocation toward companies it deems as critical to US national security, including defence contractors, mineral manufacturers and AI firms. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said: “It has become painfully clear that the United States has allowed itself to become too reliant on unreliable sources of critical minerals, products and manufacturing – all of which are essential for our national security.” The new funding builds on a planned USD1 trillion investment, adding USD500 billion across four key areas and 27 subgroups. JPMorgan said that its support of firms across these sectors could range from "advice…financing, and, in some cases, investing capital." (JPMorgan Chase)(Capital Brief)

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Supermarket spies: Palantir, the big data company better known for its defence and intelligence applications, is used by supermarket chain Coles to improve employee happiness. That’s according to Ashwin Rajan, head of global accounts at Palantir, who gave a rare glimpse into a deal signed with Coles in early 2024 during a panel at SXSW Sydney on Monday. “One of the ways we really help them is around workforce, and particularly around how we can help them be a better employer, fundamentally, and be a happier place to work,” Rajan said. Palantir, co-founded by Peter Thiel and sitting at a market cap of USD416 billion ($638 billion), mines and analyses disparate data to surface insights. The company has taken a spook-like regard for secrecy into the private sector, where its Australian customers include Westrac, Westpac and Coles. At the time, Palantir would only say Coles would use its technology to help coordinate its workforce. (Capital Brief)

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Defences down: Australia’s cyber intelligence agency warned that quantum computing could render existing cyber defences redundant within years, setting businesses a 2030 deadline to prepare for the threat. The Australian Signals Directorate’s annual cyber threat report warned that malicious actors — including state actors — are increasingly targeting Australia’s critical infrastructure. The report revealed two “extensive compromises” of either federal government, government shared devices, or critical infrastructure in 2024-25, compared to one such incident the year before. Details of the incidents have not been publicly released. The report laid bare an increased overall number in reports of malicious cyber activity, with businesses paying more after every breach. While artificial intelligence is turbocharging hackers’ ability to break cyber defences, the imminent arrival of quantum computing is causing particular concern. Experts fear cryptographically relevant quantum computers, powerful enough to break existing public-key encryption systems, would render existing protections obsolete. (Capital Brief)

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Dutch block: The Dutch government took control of Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia in what it described as a “highly exceptional” step, citing “serious governance shortcomings” that could jeopardise vital technological knowledge and capabilities in Europe. The move was made under the rarely used Goods Availability Act, originally passed over 70 years ago, allowing the government to block or reverse decisions at Nexperia if deemed harmful to the company’s future or to European economic security. Based in Nijmegen, Nexperia is fully owned by China’s Wingtech and produces semiconductors for automotive and consumer electronics. Wingtech said its control had been “temporarily restricted” and condemned the intervention as “excessive interference” driven by “geopolitical bias”. Wingtech’s shares dropped 10% in Shanghai. Nexperia, which Wingtech bought for USD3.63 billion in 2018, told media it complies with all relevant laws and regulations, adding it would pursue legal remedies and protect the rights and interests of the company. (Bloomberg)(Reuters)(AP)