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According to ChainCatcher, citing Golden Ten Data, Robert Subbaraman, Chief Economist for Asia (excluding Japan) at Nomura Securities, stated that the U.S. economy is expected to remain strong, with a projected growth rate of 2.5% in the first half of 2026. He attributes this outlook to the ongoing AI investment boom and fiscal expansion. Subbaraman expects the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates unchanged in December, but the baseline view is that rate cuts will occur in March, June, and September of 2026. Consumer inflation may remain around 3%, and if financial conditions and liquidity increase, inflation could rise.

Jinse Finance reported that the European Union is planning a new antitrust investigation into Meta's introduction of artificial intelligence features in WhatsApp, marking the latest challenge the EU has launched against major tech companies. According to two officials who spoke to the Financial Times, the European Commission is preparing to investigate how the Silicon Valley company integrated its "MetaAI" system into its popular messaging service earlier this year. Sources familiar with the matter said that the EU's top antitrust enforcement body, the European Commission, plans to announce the investigation in the coming days, although the timing may still change. The new investigation will fall under traditional antitrust law, rather than the Digital Markets Act (DMA)—the EU's landmark legislation aimed at addressing the dominance of large online platforms, but which has been particularly criticized by the Trump administration. Italian antitrust authorities are already investigating Meta, accusing it of leveraging its dominant position to integrate AI into WhatsApp without user consent. (Golden Ten Data)