Memorandum
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Wall Street Faces Trillion-Dollar Risk

Wall Street Faces Trillion-Dollar Risk

OpenAI pauses MLK videos, Apple buys Formula 1 rights, and Trump’s weight-loss drug comments shake markets.

Memorandum
October 18, 2025

Welcome back to your daily memorandum talking tech, business, AI, markets, and more. 🗞️

In today’s edition we are tackling the following:

🧬 North Korean hackers embed malware in smart contracts targeting crypto pros.
🎥 OpenAI halts Sora videos of Martin Luther King Jr. after estate request.
🏎️ Apple secures five-year exclusive Formula 1 streaming deal.
💊 Trump vows Ozempic price cuts, hitting drug stocks.
🏦 Gold hits record $4,300 amid market unease.

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TECHNOLOGY

North Korean hackers use EtherHiding to hide malware on blockchain (BleepingComputer)
_^More:_{^{The Hacker News}}_^,_{^{Google Cloud Blog}}_^,_{^{The Record}}
- North Korean group embeds malware within blockchain smart contracts, marking first state-sponsored use of this technique.
- Attackers target cryptocurrency professionals through fake job interviews, deploying malware that steals credentials and digital assets.
- The technique provides resilience against takedowns, costs only $1.37 per update, and operates across multiple blockchains.
OpenAI pauses Sora video generations of Martin Luther King Jr. (TechCrunch)
_^More:_^CNN_^,_^NPR_^,_^CNBC
- OpenAI blocked MLK video generation on Sora after users created disrespectful depictions at the estate's request.
- Estate owners can now request removal of likenesses from the platform, establishing new guardrails for historical figures.
- Dr. Bernice King asked users to stop sending AI videos after offensive content included racist depictions.
Apple and F1 reach five-year U.S. streaming deal (CNBC)
_^More:_^Variety_^,_{^{Apple Newsroom}}_^,_{^{Formula 1}}
- Apple secured exclusive Formula 1 broadcast rights for five years starting 2026, paying approximately $140 million annually.
- All races stream on Apple TV for $12.99 monthly subscription, with select races and practices available free.
- Deal follows F1 The Movie's success, which earned $629 million globally as highest-grossing sports film ever.

BUSINESS

Novo Nordisk shares fall as Trump vows weight-loss drug price cuts (Reuters)
_^More:_^Bloomberg_^,_{^{BNN Bloomberg}}
- Novo Nordisk fell 6.4% and Eli Lilly dropped over 5% after Trump said Ozempic prices could drop to $150 monthly from $1,000.
- Trump's most favored nation policy requires drugmakers to charge U.S. patients no more than prices in other wealthy nations.
- Analysts suggested the reaction was overdone since insured individuals already pay as low as $25 monthly for these medications.
Rattled Wall Street on alert after trillion-dollar risk runup (Bloomberg) _^More:_^Fortune_^,_^CNBC
- Bank fraud writedowns at Zions and Western Alliance erased over $100 billion in market value, stoking concerns about lending stress.
- Risky asset allocations reached 67% of portfolios by late August, near peak levels, while high-yield funds saw outflows.
- Investors are reducing equity exposure as credit downcycle concerns grow amid collapses at First Brands and Tricolor Holdings.
Gold prices topped $4,300 this week (CBS News)
_^More:_{^{Washington Post}}_^,_{^{Washington Times}}_^,_{^{World Gold Council}}
- Gold reached record $4,326 per ounce Thursday, up 60% year-to-date, driven by economic uncertainty and safe-haven demand.
- Government shutdown, trade wars, and potential Fed rate cuts are fueling investor anxiety and precious metal purchases.
- Silver jumped 70% this year to over $50 per ounce as investors distance from riskier assets like cryptocurrency.

MARKETS

S&P	6,512.66	+0.27%
NASDAQ	22,438.92	–0.61%
Dow	46,190.61	+0.52%
10-Year	4.227%	+0.020 pp
Bitcoin	$115,199	+0.43%
Gold	$4,272.50	+2.02%

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WORLD

Salesforce CEO apologizes for National Guard comments (CNBC)
_^More:_^CNN_^,_{^{CBS San Francisco}}_^,_{^{Mercury News}}
- Marc Benioff apologized after suggesting Trump deploy National Guard to San Francisco, facing swift backlash from officials.
- Prominent investor Ron Conway resigned from Salesforce Foundation board over Benioff's comments supporting federal troop deployment.
- Benioff walked back remarks following largest Dreamforce conference, saying National Guard not needed to address city safety.
South Koreans detained in Cambodia over scams return home (AP)
_^More:_{^{Korea Times}}_^,_{^{Washington Post}}_^,_^France24
- Sixty-four South Koreans detained in Cambodia over alleged scam involvement returned home Saturday on charter flight.
- South Korea banned travel to parts of Cambodia after student's torture death, with 1,000 nationals working in scams.
- About 200,000 people are trapped in Southeast Asian scam operations targeting victims globally through forced labor.
Polish court blocks Nord Stream suspect extradition (Washington Post)
_^More:_{^{Al Jazeera}}_^,_{^{Notes from Poland}}_^,_^Euronews
- Polish judge ruled Ukrainian diver Volodymyr Zhuravlov's alleged Nord Stream attack was justified military action, blocking extradition.
- Court ordered immediate release, finding pipeline destruction during defensive war cannot constitute crime under international law.
- Poland's Prime Minister Tusk welcomed decision, stating extradition not in country's interest given pipeline's controversial history.

FUTURISM

Facebook rolls out AI photo editing for camera roll (TechCrunch)
_^More:_^MacRumors_^,_^Engadget_^,_{^{Android Headlines}}
- Facebook's opt-in feature uploads camera roll photos to cloud for AI-suggested collages, recaps, and themed edits.
- Meta will use shared or edited AI-generated content for training, though unshared camera roll media won't train models.
- Feature now available in U.S. and Canada, with settings found under Preferences in Facebook's camera roll section.
Silicon Valley intimidates AI safety advocates (TechCrunch)
_^More:_{^{NBC News}}_^,_^Axios
- White House AI Czar David Sacks accused Anthropic of regulatory capture after company endorsed California safety bill.
- OpenAI subpoenaed seven nonprofits critical of its restructuring, demanding communications with Musk and Zuckerberg, sparking backlash.
- AI safety advocates say tech leaders' attacks aim to intimidate critics as movement gains momentum heading into 2026.
Meta adds AI chatbot parental controls to Instagram (TechCrunch)
^_More:^{_{Washington Post}}^_,^_Engadget^_,^{_{U.S. News}}
- Parents can disable teen AI character chats entirely or block specific bots starting early 2026 on Instagram.
- Meta AI assistant remains accessible with age-appropriate protections, while parents receive topic insights without full chat access.
- Over 70% of teens use AI companions regularly, prompting controls amid lawsuits linking chatbots to teen suicides.
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CONTENT

Deel’s Growth Overshadows SpyGate, Claude Learned New Skills Debate (This Week in Startups)
- Jason Calacanis and Alex discuss how Deel’s rapid growth is eclipsing espionage allegations and attracting new investors.
- The hosts debate the ‘Mag 7 to Mag 70’ prediction, venture capital’s broken economics, and using capital as a weapon.
- Anthropic’s new Claude Skills update and the evolving AI market round out an episode packed with startup insights.
I Built an Entire App with OpenAI's Codex and 8 AI Agent Employees (Greg Isenberg)
- Greg Isenberg and Alex Finn show how to ideate, design, and build a working app using AI tools like Codex and ChatGPT.
- The process starts with Idea Browser to find opportunities, then multiple AI agents collaborate to create a full MVP.
- They share real prompts, build workflows, and a marketing plan proving one person can ship products using only AI.
Andrej Karpathy — AGI Is Still a Decade Away (Dwarkesh Patel)
- Andrej Karpathy explains why AGI progress will follow a slow, compounding trajectory instead of a sudden leap.
- He argues reinforcement learning is deeply flawed yet remains the least bad approach available to researchers.
- The discussion covers self-driving’s challenges, the evolution of intelligence, and why education will be transformed by AI.

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