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Classified budget estimates indicate the National Security Agency is paying billions of dollars to test artificial intelligence models, according to a new report. The figures suggest US intelligence agencies are moving aggressively to evaluate advanced AI systems for national security uses, and the scale of the spending is drawing attention to how deeply classified programs are funding AI development.

Anthropic has signed a $12 billion computing agreement with Akamai to secure AI infrastructure. The deal, reported by Bloomberg, marks a major commitment by the AI company to scale its computing capacity amid intense industry-wide demand for chips and data centers. It adds Anthropic to the list of AI firms locking in multi-billion-dollar infrastructure deals, underscoring how expensive the race to build frontier AI models has become.

U.S. Postal Inspection Service has shut down a website that sold millions of dollars in counterfeit postage labels. The scheme allowed shippers to print fake shipping labels at a fraction of the real cost, costing the Postal Service significant revenue. The story has drawn attention online, with readers discussing how the fraud worked, how it went undetected for so long, and what it means for small sellers who relied on the discounted labels.

Saudi Arabia has reportedly stepped back from Project mBridge, the central bank digital currency platform led by the Bank for International Settlements that aims to enable cross-border payments outside the dollar system. A South China Morning Post opinion column argues the move shows that de-dollarisation efforts face practical limits, as the dollar's dominance in trade and finance remains difficult to displace.

US job openings dropped to 7.079 million in August, below what economists had expected. Hiring held at 5.2 million and layoffs at 1.6 million, showing little movement. The dollar rose to multi-week highs as markets watch how the Federal Reserve weighs the cooling labor market in its next rate decisions.

ETF provider HANetf has launched what it describes as the first bitcoin fund hedged against the euro, aimed at European investors seeking exposure to bitcoin without euro currency risk layered on top. The fund tracks bitcoin's price while neutralising fluctuations between the euro and the dollar, in which most bitcoin trading is denominated. Coverage so far is limited to the initial launch announcement, with reactions still emerging across the crypto and ETF sectors.

New analysis from the Centre for Economic Policy Research examines how the international financial system is changing, focusing on persistent global imbalances, the shifting role of major currencies, and threats to financial stability. It argues that structural shifts in capital flows and reserve currency dynamics are creating new policy challenges. Economists are being urged to rethink how the system can be made more resilient to future shocks.