The yield on France's 10-year government bond dropped by 8 basis points to 4.82%.

Tesla (TSLA.US) is downplaying the name "Full Self-Driving" in an effort to gain approval for its driver assistance system in Europe and to distance itself from the long-criticized, potentially misleading term. In recent days, Tesla has started using the name "Tesla Assisted Driving" on its European websites. Meanwhile, its U.S. website still refers to the technology as "Full Self-Driving (Supervised)."

(1) Slovakia's Economy Minister, Denisa Saková, stated that the United States has expressed "absolute understanding" regarding Slovakia's need to continue importing Russian oil and natural gas until the end of 2027. (2) Saková said that Slovakia is working to eliminate its reliance on Moscow's fossil fuels, but if the country continues to receive Russian oil next year, it will need to obtain exemptions from potential US sanctions. (3) Meanwhile, according to the EU's comprehensive ban, Slovakia must stop importing Russian natural gas by the fall of 2027. Saková told reporters in Bratislava on Friday that the US side understands Slovakia’s situation and its supply diversification timetable, and emphasized that Slovakia needs the transition period to continue at least until the end of 2027. (4) This week, Saková held talks in Washington with Jared Agen, Executive Director of the White House National Energy Leadership Committee, and US Deputy Treasury Secretary Francis Brook. (5) To replace supplies from Gazprom, Slovakia plans to sign a short- or medium-term natural gas contract, or a long-term contract, for around 1 billion cubic meters per year. Saková said Algeria, Azerbaijan, and the United States are all potential suppliers, and these supplies would cover about one-third of the total needs of the state-owned gas supplier, Slovenský plynárenský priemysel.

BP has announced a temporary reduction in oil production in the Gulf of Mexico and has evacuated all personnel from its Na Kika and Thunder Horse offshore platforms to prepare for Hurricane Isaias. As the storm intensifies, oil producers throughout the Gulf of Mexico are cutting production and evacuating workers from offshore facilities. The hurricane is expected to make landfall along the northern Gulf Coast late Friday or early Saturday. On Thursday, BP also reported evacuating non-essential staff from its Argos, Atlantis, and Mad Dog platforms. Meanwhile, Shell, Chevron, and Harbour Energy have suspended partial operations at some facilities and evacuated some staff. According to the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, as of Thursday morning, approximately 1.28 million barrels per day of offshore crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico had been suspended, accounting for 62.9% of the region’s current offshore crude oil output.

According to Jinse Finance, several major Wall Street banks will begin releasing their Q3 financial reports next week. Overall, the main focus of these earnings reports is clear: while stock trading revenue is expected to reach historic highs, the combination of declining fixed income, a cooling capital markets environment, and mounting pressure from AOCI (Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income) unrealized losses will cause much greater divergence among bank stocks compared to the first half of the year.