AI

As many Governments express concern or downplay Mythos cybersecurity warnings Clark sees future open source similar capabilities

Colin Henderson

Semafor World Economy event Could China develop a Mythos competitor? Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Semafor Cybersecurity concerns about Anthropic’s new model Mythos raised a pressing question for policymakers and executives: Could China develop similar technology in the near future? The answer is yes, if you ask Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark. Within a year and a half, “there’ll be open-source models from China that have these capabilities,” Clark said at Semafor World Economy this week. White House cyber director Sean Cairncross agreed, telling Semafor that “it would be irresponsible” for the US “to assume that that wouldn’t be the case.” After … Continue reading As many Governments express concern or downplay Mythos cybersecurity warnings Clark sees future open source similar capabilities

Geopolitics

Morning Briefing — Friday, 17 April 2026 · 06:30 EST · 1,220 words

Colin Henderson

⸻ Introduction Split-screen day on the Middle East. The Lebanon–Israel 10-day ceasefire took effect at midnight local time, with celebratory gunfire across Beirut and immediate reports of Israeli ceasefire violations — a fragile truce sitting atop an unresolved war. Meanwhile, Macron and Starmer convene around 30–40 countries in Paris today on the Strait of Hormuz, explicitly framing any future maritime mission as independent from the US blockade — a pointed signal about where European security thinking is heading. Beneath both stories sits the IMF’s mid-week warning that the world is one bad month away from a recession-adjacent scenario, and Russia … Continue reading Morning Briefing — Friday, 17 April 2026 · 06:30 EST · 1,220 words

Geopolitics

Morning Briefing — Thursday, April 16, 2026 · 08:25 EST · 1,190 words

Colin Henderson

Today’s environment is defined by a single countdown: the April 21 ceasefire expiry in the US-Iran war, with Pakistan’s army chief physically in Tehran this morning to set the table for a second round of talks. Everything else — oil at $92, chip supply anxiety, Hungary’s transition — is downstream of whether that deadline holds or breaks. There is cautious optimism in Islamabad and Washington; deep structural gaps remain in Tehran. The TSMC earnings this morning add a secondary note: AI demand is resilient but the Hormuz disruption is migrating into specialty chemical supply chains in ways that will take … Continue reading Morning Briefing — Thursday, April 16, 2026 · 08:25 EST · 1,190 words

Canada, regulation

OSFI Annual Risk Outlook 2027

Colin Henderson

OSFI Introduction Current risk environment Global markets continue to experience episodes of volatility as investors shift between exuberance and sharp selloffs often triggered by geopolitical events. The Canadian economy continues to contend with the negative impacts of the current geopolitical and trade environments. To date, subdued growth and a softer labour market, particularly in regions most impacted by the changing trade dynamics, have characterized our risk environment. While considerable progress is underway to address these challenges, near-term economic threats remain. Geopolitics can act as a driver of risk and can trigger scenarios that have negative outcomes. In this uncertain environment, … Continue reading OSFI Annual Risk Outlook 2027

AI, Business Models, Canada, EU, Geopolitics, NATO, unbanked, US

Morning Briefing — Tuesday, April 14, 2026 · 07:51 EST · 1,285 words

Colin Henderson

Today’s environment is dominated by a single cascading event: the US naval blockade of Iranian ports that took effect at 10:00 AM EDT Monday, immediately after the collapse of the Islamabad ceasefire talks. The blockade has set off simultaneous shocks across energy markets, NATO unity, and Gulf security. A partial relief signal arrived this morning — Trump says Iran has “called” and wants a deal — creating a whipsaw between escalation and diplomatic revival that will define the day’s market and political moves. Hungary’s watershed election result, landing Sunday, adds a structurally significant European political shift to the mix. 1. … Continue reading Morning Briefing — Tuesday, April 14, 2026 · 07:51 EST · 1,285 words

UK

Axel Springer wins approval for Telegraph takeover

Colin Henderson

German publisher vows to retain newspaper’s ‘British identity’ in £575m deal that ends years of uncertainty Christopher WilliamsBusiness Editor 14 April 2026 12:12pm BST The takeover of The Telegraph by the German publisher Axel Springer for £575m is to be waved through to end almost three years of uncertainty and unlock investment in its future. Lisa Nandy, the Culture Secretary, told the House of Commons that she had given permission for the Abu Dhabi-backed investor RedBird IMI to sell security over the newspaper to the owner of Politico and Business Insider. The security is structured to be immediately converted to … Continue reading Axel Springer wins approval for Telegraph takeover

Diplomacy, EU, Geopolitics

The Europe Brief

Colin Henderson

April 14, 2026 Turkey pushes for larger role in Europe’s defense as Trump questions NATO Shutting out Ankara from EU defense initiatives would cause more damage than the U.S. pulling troops from the continent, warned Turkey’s defense minister. Read More France mulls fallback tank for delayed MGCS program in defense update The delay for the MGCS project is due to Germany deciding to start a program for new Leopard 3 tanks, according to Vautrin. Read More Italian government shakes up Leonardo leadership, replacing Cingolani as CEO Some sources said Cingolani’s focus on non-kinetic priorities may have led to the surprise move, with … Continue reading The Europe Brief

Cybersecurity

Anthropic uncovers security flaws in all browsers worrying Banks

Colin Henderson

Anthropic isn’t sure if it will sell its powerful new Mythos model to the public, the AI startup’s co-founder said at Semafor World Economy, days after top US officials summoned Wall Street banks to raise security concerns about the tech. Mythos sparked alarm at the company when it discovered previously unknown security flaws in every major web browser and operating system, unnerving global financial authorities. Mythos is “not a special model,” Jack Clark said Monday; within a year and a half, “there will be open-source models from China that have these capabilities.” Anthropic is working with the US government to address potential cyber risks from … Continue reading Anthropic uncovers security flaws in all browsers worrying Banks

Geopolitics

Morning Briefing — Monday, 13 April 2026 · 08:15 EST · 1,280 words

Colin Henderson

The dominant story today is the collapse of US-Iran talks in Islamabad and Trump’s immediate announcement of a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, effective 10:00 AM ET this morning. The ceasefire is nominally intact but under acute strain — the IRGC has already threatened a “harsh and decisive” response to any military approach to the strait. Compounding an already volatile news environment: Orbán’s defeat in Hungary yesterday represents the most significant structural shift in European democratic alignment since Poland’s 2023 election. Markets are reacting badly. Today is more dangerous than yesterday. 1. What Changed Iran-US: Islamabad Talks Collapse, … Continue reading Morning Briefing — Monday, 13 April 2026 · 08:15 EST · 1,280 words

AI, Business Models, Frontier_AI

Meta launches Muse Spark: First model from Meta Superintelligence Labs

Colin Henderson

My attention span for Meta is low because their stated target is advertising promotion on their proprietary properties. However the shift away from (meta description-Open Source ) to paid API access is structural and could place them in direct competition with Anthropic and OpenAI as a Frontier model. Something to watch. ————————————- Meta launches Muse Spark: First model from Meta Superintelligence LabsMeta debuted Muse Spark (formerly Avocado) this week — its first proprietary model since the $14.3B acquisition of Scale AI’s Alexandr Wang last June. The headline claim: same capability benchmarks as Llama 4 Maverick at over 10× less compute. … Continue reading Meta launches Muse Spark: First model from Meta Superintelligence Labs