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Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang sent a letter to the chip giant's staff on Monday expressing gratitude for the release of Avinatan Or, an Israeli employee of the company who was released from Hamas captivity after two years.
Or was attending the Nova music festival with his partner, Noa Argamani, near Kibbutz Reim when Hamas conducted a terror attack against communities near the Gaza border on October 7, 2023. Or and Argamani were both taken captive and held separately. Argamani was rescued in June 2024 during an Israeli military operation and was a prominent advocate for the release of Or and other hostages after she was freed.
After the U.S. brokered a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas, Or was released on Monday along with other surviving hostages after more than two years in captivity.
"I am profoundly moved and deeply grateful to share that, just moments ago, our colleague, Avinatan Or, was released to the Red Cross in Gaza," Huang wrote. "After two unimaginable years in Hamas captivity, Avinatan has come home."
COUPLE SEPARATED, KIDNAPPED DURING OCT 7 HAMAS ATTACK FINALLY REUNITED AFTER HOSTAGE ORDEAL
Calcalist reported that Or started working for Nvidia in 2022 after he received an electrical engineering degree from Ben-Gurion University. He worked as an engineer in Nvidia's VLSI group, which is part of the company's networking division and plays a key role in Nvidia's semiconductor design operations in Israel.
Huang wrote that Or's mother, Ditza, "inspired us all" through her "strength, courage, and unwavering hope."
He also said that Nvidia's employees in Israel "stood with her in vigil, united in determination that Avinatan would return home safely. That unity reflected the very best of who we are."
TRUMP CELEBRATES PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST AFTER SIGNING GAZA DEAL: 'ACHIEVED THE IMPOSSIBLE'
"Thousands of Nvidia employees have served with extraordinary bravery in defense of their communities during the war," Huang continued. "Many have faced immense pain, loss, and uncertainty. Some have lost family members or loved ones."
The Nvidia co-founder's letter referenced several personal losses that hit Nvidia's team in Israel, including the death of employee Amit Chayut as well as the killing of Danielle Waldman and her partner. 
Waldman is the daughter of Mellanox founder Eyal Waldman, whose company was acquired by Nvidia.
'IT TOOK 3,000 YEARS': TRUMP HERALDS 'GOLDEN AGE OF THE MIDDLE EAST' IN SPEECHES TO ARAB LEADERS, ISRAEL
"The losses to our Jewish, Druze, and Arab families alike have been immense. Grief knows no borders, no faiths, no divisions. We mourn together, and we hope together - for peace, understanding, and a future without fear," Huang wrote.
"Avinatan - welcome home. Your safe return brings profound relief and joy to the entire Nvidia family. May this moment mark the first step toward recovery, renewal, and lasting peace - for all who have been touched by this war."
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A Nvidia spokesperson declined to comment about the letter.

via: https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/nvidia-ceo-expresses-gratitude-letter-israeli-employee-freed-from-hamas-captivit

In its sharpest response yet to recent U.S. trade actions, China said on Monday it "firmly rejects" Washington's new restrictions and urged the Trump administration to honor commitments made between the two leaders in past phone calls.
"China firmly rejects the recent U.S. restrictions and sanctions on China and will do what is necessary to protect its legitimate rights and interests," the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote on X.
TRUMP THREATENS 'MASSIVE' CHINA TARIFFS, SEES 'NO REASON' TO MEET WITH XI
"Threatening high tariffs is not the right way to deal with China. The U.S. should correct its approach and act on the common understandings the two presidents reached in their phone calls," the statement added.
Tensions intensified last week after China said on Thursday that it would expand export controls on rare earths. Relations took another anxious turn when President Donald Trump outlined his countermeasures against the world's second-largest economy a day later. 
The tit-for-tat posturing between the world's two largest economies sent markets tumbling on Friday and added new strain to an already fragile relationship.
TRUMP SAYS 'DON'T WORRY ABOUT CHINA' AFTER BEIJING RESPONDS TO 100% TARIFF THREAT
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent FOX Business' Maria Bartiromo on Monday that over the weekend there were substantial communications between Washington and Beijing. 
He also said that more discussions are expected and a meeting between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea at the end of the month is still on track.
However, it is unclear how Bessent's upbeat assessment of U.S.-China communications squares with Beijing's combative tone in its latest statement.
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"We have substantially de-escalated," Bessent said during an interview on "Mornings with Maria."
"The 100% tariff does not have to happen," he said, adding that the Trump administration will not move on implementing it until Nov. 1. 
"The relationship, despite this announcement last week, is good. Lines of communication have reopened, so we'll see where it goes."

via: https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/china-blasts-new-us-trade-curbs-treasury-secretary-notes-talks-back-trac

LendingTree, Inc. announced Monday its founder and CEO Doug Lebda died unexpectedly in an all-terrain vehicle accident over the weekend. 
The board has appointed LendingTree's Chief Operating Officer and President, Scott Peyree, to succeed Lebda, effective immediately.
"We are deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Doug. Doug was a visionary leader whose relentless drive, innovation and passion transformed the financial services landscape, touching the lives of millions of consumers," the board of directors said in a statement.
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The board said Lebda "dedicated himself to building a company rooted in consumer empowerment, championing a mission to simplify financial decisions and fostering economic opportunity for all" since its founding in 1996. 
LendingTree is one of the nation's largest online financial platforms, providing offers for loans, credit cards, insurance, and more through a network of approximately 430 financial partners. Lebda, who graduated from Bucknell University and earned his MBA from the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business, was with the company for 26 years.
He founded the company with the goal of simplifying the loan-shopping process by creating a website that took the legwork out of running to multiple banks for information.
"Instead of physically going to multiple banks, customers could go to a website where the banks would compete for their business," LendingTree's website reads. 
After launching nationally in July 1998, he led LendingTree through its IPO in 2000, the dot-com meltdown of 2001 and a sale to IAC/InterActiveCorp in 2003. 
Between 2005 and 2008, Lebda served as IAC's President and Chief Operating Officer, and in 2008, joined the newly formed Tree.com, which rebranded as LendingTree, as it spun out from IAC as a separate public company. Before the of founding LendingTree, Lebda worked as an auditor and consultant for PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
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In a statement, Peyree said Lebda's passing was devastating, "but one of the most immediate impacts of his legacy is the strong management team he put in place at LendingTree. I look forward to leading our team and continuing the shared vision Doug and I worked toward for the future."
The board said it will work closely with Peyree to honor Lebda's vision, emphasizing that the company is "committed to upholding his legacy and continuing the work he began with passion, integrity, and dedication."
'BUY NOW, PAY LATER' SERVICES ARE DANGEROUS TRAP FOR YOUNG AMERICANS, FINANCIAL EXPERT WARNS
Lead independent director, Steve Ozonian, will serve as the chairman of the board effective immediately. Ozonian joined the Board in 2008. 
Ozonian thanked Peyree for his "outstanding commitment and focus" at the company and expressed confidence in his "ability to continue leading LendingTree into the future."
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Shares of the company's stock fell on the news of Lebda's death. 

via: https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/lendingtree-founder-ceo-dies-unexpectedly-weekend-atv-accident-age-5

Amazon is gearing up for the holidays with a plan to hire 250,000 works across its U.S. fulfillment and delivery network. 
The online commerce giant is hiring full-time, part-time, and seasonal roles, with positions being posted weekly through December. Amazon touted that regular full- and part-time employees earn an average of $23 per hour with benefits, and seasonal employees can earn an average wage of over $19 per hour. 
The company said it would invest over $1 billion into additional pay and benefits for its fulfillment and transportation employees, bringing the average total compensation to more than $30 per hour when you include the value of their elected benefits. 
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"We find that our seasonal roles are really popular-often filling up within minutes of being posted-because they meet different needs for so many different people," Amazon said in a blog post. 
Aside from pay, the company said its seasonal roles offer flexible schedules. Meanwhile, workers who stay on for regular full-time roles, the opportunities expand further, with access to a range of benefits including health care and education programs such as Career Choice, where the company will pre-pay tuition for workers to earn college degrees or certificates.  
Amazon is only one of a handful of companies making public commitments to holiday staffing. Following a summer of subdued hiring, seasonal retail hiring is expected to fall to its lowest point since the recession-hit season of 2009, according to a recent report from job placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
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The firm projects retailers may add under 500,000 positions in the last three months of 2025, which would be the smallest seasonal gain in 16 years. 
"Seasonal employers are facing a confluence of factors this year: tariffs loom, inflationary pressures linger, and many companies continue to rely on automation and permanent staff instead of large waves of seasonal hires," Andy Challenger, Senior Vice President of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said. 
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Although there is a chance we could "see a late hiring push if holiday sales surprise to the upside, the cautious pace of announcements so far suggests that companies are not betting on a big seasonal surge," Challenger said, adding that "this year may be more about doing more with less."
Aside from Amazon, Bath & Body Works plans to hire 32,000 workers this holiday season, which includes 2,000 roles in its distribution centers. 
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Spirit Halloween plans to add 50,000 workers and Kohl's announced that it was hiring seasonal workers, though it didn't give a number. 
Meanwhile, Target posted about its seasonal plans, but did not make any major hiring announcement. Insteas, the company said it would offer hours to existing workers and tap into a network of 43,000 "OnDemand" team members, in addition to hiring new team members. 

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Despite the continuing government shutdown, taxpayers who requested an extension earlier this year from the IRS to file their return still have to meet the cutoff date. 
Taxpayers who needed more time to file their 2024 tax return earlier this year were able to request an extension from the IRS before the April 15 filing deadline that gave them until October 15 to get their return filed.
While extensions give taxpayers extra time to file, they don't get extra time to pay what they owe and are required to pay taxes due on April 15 of this year to avoid being hit with penalties and interest.
Due to the partial shutdown of the federal government, the IRS furloughed roughly half of its workforce this month - though the extended deadline for filing 2024 tax returns remains Oct. 15.
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Taxpayers facing the filing deadline following the end of the extension period can file their returns online. 
Through its Free File program, the IRS offers free guided tax software for filers with an adjusted gross income of $84,000 or less, while it also has fillable forms that are available for all income levels.
With thousands of IRS workers furloughed due to the shutdown, it's possible that filers may encounter delays in getting in touch with the agency's representatives, though the IRS' contingency plan ahead of the shutdown showed the agency planned to keep some customer service agents on the job.
SOCIAL SECURITY COMMISSIONER FRANK BISIGNANO NAMED IRS CEO
Last week, the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) issued a statement warning taxpayers may have a harder time getting assistance from the IRS if they need it when they're trying to file their taxes under the extension.
"Taxpayers around the country will now have a much harder time getting the assistance they need, just as they get ready to file their extension returns due next week."
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"Every day these employees are locked out of work is another day of frustration for taxpayers and a growing backlog of work that sits and waits for the shutdown to end," NTEU added.

via: https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/government-shut-down-tax-filing-extension-deadline-remain

A familiar face is dominating the exchange-traded fund leaderboard, with more than half of the top 10 ranked by annual gains coming from one firm: Direxion. 
 "All the Direxion ETFs referenced are magnified bull products and the corresponding underlying indices or individual single stocks that they track are all up +45%+ year-to-date, thus reflecting the strong performance of a magnified bullish view," Ed Egilinsky, managing director at Direxion, told FOX Business.
The list tracked is compiled by VettaFi.
The uptrend kicked in after stocks hit yearly lows in April concentrated in "gold miner stock indices, uranium stocks, semiconductors, and AI single stock names such as Micron and Palantir, along with defense stocks, have been leading the market higher," he added.
Gold prices, for example, have doubled in price this year, topping a record $4,000 an ounce as investors load up on safer assets amid global uncertainty and what is seen as a long-running government shutdown. 
THE LATEST ETF NEWS
Despite U.S. stocks hitting fresh record highs last week, Friday's carnage, which shaved nearly 900 points off the Dow Jones Industrial Average, came from an unexpected U.S.-China trade spat with President Donald Trump threatening a tariff slap after China outlined rare-earth export controls. The swift reversal is a cautionary tale of how quickly markets can turn.
Still, U.S. stocks rebounded on Monday.
TRUMP VS. CHINA: THE LATEST TWIST
"However, despite the strong performance year-to-date, most markets don't trend higher indefinitely, and our products are designed as short-term trading tools for active traders and should be monitored daily," he advised before last week's sell-off. 
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The firm's inflows may also be flashing a directionary shift. 
"On the flip side, most of our biggest inflows year-to-date are within bear funds, as traders are either looking for a reversal in the market as they feel it is overextended or utilizing it as a short-term hedge," Egilinsky added. 
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Whether market sentiment is bullish or bearish, the ETF industry itself is on track for another record year topping $1 trillion of inflows as soon as this week, according to Matt Bartolini, global head of research strategists at State Street Investment Management.

via: https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/etf-leader-board-dominated-nimble-fund

As trade tensions with China escalate, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that the U.S. adversary is making "provocative" moves.
"The United States is pushing for peace in the world. China is financing war," Bessent said on "Mornings with Maria" Monday.
"Trying to get leverage in front of a meeting with Donald Trump is a bad idea, and he turned the tables with his two very good tweets on Friday talking about raising tariffs and implementing any sanctions that we need to," the secretary continued. "But we are communicating now. I am confident that we can move forward."
President Donald Trump sought to calm fears of an escalating trade war with Beijing on Sunday after threatening to impose 100% tariffs - up from the current 55% - on Chinese imports in response to new export curbs on rare earth minerals.
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In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that China's economic troubles would "all be fine" and insisted that the U.S. "wants to help China, not hurt it."
"Don't worry about China, it will all be fine!" Trump wrote. "Highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment. He doesn't want depression for his country, and neither do I. The U.S.A. wants to help China, not hurt it!!!"
The post came hours after China issued an official response to Trump's threat to impose a 100% tariff on Chinese imports by Nov. 1, warning Washington not to resort to "threats" and pledging to "resolutely take corresponding measures" if the U.S. proceeds.
"This is China versus the rest of the world," Bessent said Monday. "They announced these export controls that are going to go into effect next month, and we have aggressively pushed back against them. We're not sure where this came from, why the Chinese have decided to do it now."
"They have pointed a bazooka at the supply chains and the industrial base of the entire free world. And, you know, we're not going to have it. China is a command and control economy. They are neither going to command [nor] control us. We are going to assert our sovereignty in various ways. We have already been in touch with the allies. We will be meeting with them this week and, you know, I expect that we will get substantial global support from the Europeans, from the Indians, from the democracies in Asia," he added.
Trump's threat was initially triggered by new Chinese restrictions on the export of rare earths, or minerals that are crucial to advanced manufacturing and military technology. China controls about 70% of global rare earths mining and nearly 90% of processing capacity.
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Bessent asserted his belief that China is open to discussion on the issue, and that the U.S. is "willing to do whatever it takes" when it comes to working out a deal.
"Everything's on the table. I am optimistic that this can be de-escalated ... lines of communication have been opened ... But, the U.S. will not be deterred here. And, you know, as I said, this is China versus the world. And the Chinese have a different business model than we do. But there is no business model that shows it is a good idea to harm your customers. China is the largest exporter in the world, and they are dependent on trade. We do not want to decouple. We want to de-risk."
Bessent said Trump is reportedly expected to meet with Xi in South Korea in late October. 
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FOX Business' Emma Bussey contributed to this report.

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Australia's Qantas Airways said that it was one of several companies whose customer data was posted online following a July cyber incident that impacted millions of customers.
The major airline said in a statement that it's working with cybersecurity experts to investigate what data was part of the release. The airline also said it has a court order in place to prevent the stolen data from being accessed, viewed, released, used, transmitted or published by anyone, including third parties.  
The airline implemented additional security measures such as increased training across its teams and strengthened system monitoring and detection ever since it detected "unusual activity" on a third-party platform used by a Qantas airline contact center, which holds service records for 6 million people, in July. 
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After discovering the incident, the airline issued concerns that a "significant" amount of customer data was stolen. It also alerted customers about what specific personal data could have been impacted. 
During an initial review, the airline discovered that some customers' names, email addresses, phone numbers, birth dates and frequent flyer numbers were impacted. 
However, the airline confirmed following that review that credit card details, personal financial information and passport details are not held in this system. Frequent flyer accounts, passwords, PINs and log-in details weren't impacted. 
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Qantas said on Sunday that there has been no change to this information. 
The company said it will continue to provide updates on its website and through its customer support line, where it says customers have ongoing access to specialist identity protection services.
The July cyberattack on Quantas comes days after U.S. officials warned that a notorious cybercriminal group was targeting the airline sector.
CYBERATTACK HITS MAJOR AIRLINE, UP TO 6M CUSTOMER PROFILES EXPOSED
The FBI posted on X last week that the cybercrime group "Scattered Spider" relies on "social engineering techniques, often impersonating employees or contractors to deceive IT help desks" to grant access to systems and steal sensitive data for extortion. 
The group frequently involves methods to bypass multifactor authentication (MFA), such as convincing help desk services to add unauthorized MFA devices to compromised accounts. 
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"They target large corporations and their third-party IT providers, which means anyone in the airline ecosystem, including trusted vendors and contractors, could be at risk," the FBI wrote.

via: https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/major-airline-says-customer-data-leaked-after-cyberattac

JPMorgan Chase on Monday unveiled a sweeping $1.5 trillion, decade-long initiative to strengthen industries vital to America's economic and national security.
The effort - dubbed the "Security and Resiliency Initiative" - will direct $1.5 trillion toward projects spanning energy, manufacturing and defense. As part of the plan, the financial giant will invest up to $10 billion in direct equity and venture capital to help select U.S.-based companies "enhance their growth, spur innovation and accelerate strategic manufacturing," the company said.
"It has become painfully clear that the United States has allowed itself to become too reliant on unreliable sources of critical minerals, products and manufacturing - all of which are essential for our national security," JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said in a statement. 
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Dimon added, "Our security is predicated on the strength and resiliency of America's economy. America needs more speed and investment. It also needs to remove obstacles that stand in the way: excessive regulations, bureaucratic delay, partisan gridlock and an education system not aligned to the skills we need."
The company said it will focus on four key areas, including supply chain and advanced manufacturing, defense and aerospace, energy independence and resilience and frontier and strategic technologies. These four areas are further broken down into 27 sub-areas which range from cybersecurity to nuclear energy to critical defense components, as noted in the announcement.
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"This new initiative includes efforts like ensuring reliable access to life-saving medicines and critical minerals, defending our nation, building energy systems to meet AI-driven demand and advancing technologies like semiconductors and data centers. Our support of clients in these industries remains unwavering," Dimon said.
JPMorgan will also advocate for policies aimed at accelerating these efforts and conduct targeted research on private companies and supply chain issues related to rare earths, AI and advanced technology. 
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The financial institution had already planned about $1 trillion over the next decade to support these sectors. With this initiative, the firm is increasing that total by another $500 billion, according to the announcement.
As part of the initiative, JPMorgan will hire additional bankers, investment professionals and industry experts. It will also form an external advisory council to help guide its long-term strategy.
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"Hopefully, once again, as America has in the past, we will all come together to address these immense challenges," Dimon said. "We need to act now."

via: https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/jpmorganchase-launches-1-5-trillion-plan-bolster-us-economic-national-securit

New York City's decline has a familiar ring, says Curtis Sliwa - one straight out of Hollywood.
"It's 'Escape From New York' all over again," the Republican mayoral hopeful told Fox News Digital, warning that progressive mismanagement, high taxes and rising crime are turning the nation's largest city into a cautionary tale.
Sliwa - who was born in New York City, founded the Guardian Angels in 1979 and says he'll "die in this city" - is the current underdog in the race for mayor. A recently released Quinnipiac University poll found that Democratic Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani leads with 46% of likely voters backing him, followed by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo with 33% and Sliwa with 15%.
"We may be looking at a sequel," Sliwa said, invoking the 1981 dystopian classic. "Such a vast migration of people out because we don't have the money to support the social service systems that Democratic Socialists like Zohran Mamdani, AOC and others want to basically dominate in New York City to be providers, not producers."
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"The economy is in a severe decline," he said. "It's been a massive movement of equity and investment out of New York City ... to Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Texas, Tennessee."
Data supports some of Sliwa's warning, showing that New York City's population fell by roughly 4.5% between 2020 and 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, as residents relocated to lower-cost states including Florida and Texas.
"They've given every reason in the world to push people out the door," he added. 
The sole Republican candidate offers a blunt assessment in his sweeping diagnosis of New York City's decline, proposing a retention plan and a separate focus on economic relief for the city's younger generations.
"My program is 'improve, don't move,'" Sliwa said. "We've got to create an economy here in which the private sector will stay because they provide most of the jobs."
"We're going to give them a five-year tax holiday on their income taxes," he said, referring to graduates who stay and work in the Empire State. "You can't live the American dream, buy a car, buy a house. So the next thing you're looking toward is being recruited to a different location ... We have a government that has a bloated budget of $118 billion ... I'm the only candidate of the three running for mayoralty who says we gotta cut the taxes, we gotta cut the cost of government and we have to keep our millennial[s] and Gen Zers."
"We can cut $10 billion just from the waste at the top," Sliwa continued, blasting "deputy chancellors and department heads that nobody knows, nobody ever sees."
Sliwa built his career by showing up where government sometimes fails, and his fiscal conservative centerpiece links public safety to financial recovery.
"You cannot have a good quality of life unless you have safety, and we need at least an additional 7,000 more police officers," he explained. "Fear City exists in the subways, especially for women. They don't feel comfortable. They're being sexually harassed ... [Women] are the number one members of our workforce in New York City."
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"If we can establish public safety, everything else will fall in line. But we're neglecting that, and we've actually become a city that's best known around the world for locking up its toothpaste and not locking up its criminals," Sliwa said.
He also aims to protect small businesses, which have been outspoken that New York City has become too expensive and bureaucratic to thrive.
"Small businesses are never given their due," Sliwa said. "They hire a million people across the five boroughs."
"We have something called congestion pricing. It has to be eliminated ... other cities will follow by taxing blue-collar, working-class people who have to come to work in their vehicles ... It's nothing more than trying to offset the budget imbalances."
"I operate on Republican principles - fiscally being alert to cutting the waste and cutting the taxes."
Neither the Mamdani nor Cuomo campaigns responded to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
According to their public campaign platforms, Mamdani emphasizes housing affordability, expanded transit access and social investment, while Cuomo has pitched a centrist comeback focused on fiscal discipline and increased police funding.
Though New York has leaned blue for decades, Sliwa claimed a red-led state government isn't impossible. He also shared a message for those who feel the city has lost the energy and opportunity that once defined it.
"That's why I'm working so hard to get so many votes in this mayoral election, so that next year Elise Stefanik can topple Kathy Hochul out of Albany ... and it will simulate exactly what happened back in 1993," he said. "We had no chaos, no corruption, good quality of life, [a] good economy."
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But New York City hasn't elected a Republican mayor since Michael Bloomberg's 2005 re-election - and no candidate running solely as a Republican has won since Rudy Giuliani left office in 2001.
"The one thing people know about me is, I've been a part of New York City for 46 years ... The 'C' in Curtis stands for consistency ... In New York City, it has to be the merging of not just what government can do, but what volunteers can do to save this city that I love ... I am the only real New Yorker running in this race."
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