Federal Reserve's Williams: AI Development Driving Productivity Hopes, But Rate Impact Uncertain

Finnish Ministry of Finance: Finland will hold an auction of euro-denominated Treasury bills on October 13, with a maximum auction amount of 2 billions euros.

(1) The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) stated that the EU may need to reduce its natural gas demand by 7% year-on-year this winter. (2) Currently, gas storage inventories are low, and as the heating season starts, the region's energy risk resistance capabilities decrease. (3) Europe's natural gas storage facility capacity is only slightly above 73%, far below the usual level of 88% for the same period in previous years. (4) The EU's complete ban on importing Russian liquefied natural gas, starting from January next year, will further increase this pressure. (5) IEEFA estimates that if demand is not reduced and the storage gap is filled by additional natural gas imports instead, the cost would reach 3 billions euros. (6) Due to the Iran conflict driving global natural gas prices higher, this procurement cost is 12% higher than similar-scale purchases in 2025. (7) IEEFA pointed out that, therefore, “increased reliance on storage facilities” has become a significant “financial burden” for Europe.

(1) Firmus, an Australian AI data center operator backed by Nvidia, has withdrawn its planned major initial public offering (IPO) due to market volatility and conditions, according to a statement the company sent to CNBC. (2) Firmus stated that its board determined the proposed offering terms did not adequately reflect its business strength and long-term growth prospects. (3) The statement said, "Therefore, the board has concluded that proceeding with this offering is not in the best interests of the company and its shareholders." Firmus added that it will now seek capital from the private market and consider other public and private market options. (4) Reportedly, Firmus had planned to raise 5 billions USD in the IPO, pricing shares at 11 AUD each, which would have made it the second-largest new share issue in Australian history. The IPO valued the company at approximately 30.6 billions USD. (5) In August, the company announced a 2 billions USD financing round, backed by Nvidia, Coatue Management, Blackstone, and Jane Street, bringing its total equity raised in the past year to over 3 billions USD, with a valuation exceeding 10.5 billions USD. (6) Last month, Firmus also announced an agreement with Meta to provide GPU computing power in its Southeast Asian AI data centers. These centers are built on Nvidia's DSX platform to support Meta's AI research, model development, and training.

Indian government: Coal supply to power plants accelerated in October.