Sovereign Credit Watch: Fitch affirmed Armenia’s BB- with a positive outlook, but flagged peace-process and Russia-tension uncertainty as key swing factors for any upgrade or downgrade. World Cup Finance Clash: FIFA’s $20B plan to bring private investors into World Cup commercial operations drew sharp pushback from players’ unions and UEFA, with Infantino setting a Sept. 19 deadline for member federations. Markets & Rates: The Fed held rates at 3.50%-3.75% in a “hawkish hold,” leaving investors hunting for clarity as stocks slid and bond-market jitters returned. AI Spending Pressure: Meta’s weak revenue forecast and lowest free cash flow in years intensified scrutiny of its AI investment pace. Semiconductor Earnings vs. Sentiment: Samsung posted a record profit surge on AI memory demand, but South Korea’s shares still whipsawed amid fears AI capex may not be sustainable. Banking & Fraud Risk: India’s financial crime fight is getting more AI-driven and interconnected, pushing banks and fintechs toward tighter, converged compliance. Infrastructure & Energy Deals: Romania faces an EU state-aid probe tied to an arbitration award ordering compensation to renewable energy investors, while Tinmar/CE Oltenia advanced EPC steps for 395 MWp solar projects worth €243M. Wealth & Fintech Expansion: Revolut opened private market funds to Czech retail investors via ELTIF 2.0, and Binance Bahrain launched bStocks to give access to tokenised US stocks/ETFs. Housing Affordability: New homebuyers are increasingly counting on refinancing to survive higher mortgage costs, with high debt-to-income lending still elevated.