While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Oct 30, 2025

US Fed lowers interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point

A divided US central bank lowered interest rates on Oct 29 and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signalled it may be the last cut of the year, especially if the lack of official data during the ongoing government shutdown continues to shroud the true state of the economy in uncertainty.

Speaking at a press conference after the end of a two-day policy meeting, Mr Powell said the decision by the central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee to reduce its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point was a “solid” endorsement of easing policy to help support a gradually cooling labour market.

But he offered a note of caution about what lies ahead.

“In the committee’s discussions at this meeting, there were strongly differing views about how to proceed in December,” Mr Powell said, adding that “a further reduction in the policy rate at the December meeting is not a foregone conclusion. Far from it, policy is not on a preset course.”

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Nvidia becomes world’s first $6.5 trillion company

AI chip juggernaut Nvidia became the world’s first US$5 trillion (S$6.5 trillion) company on Oct 29, as investors remain confident that artificial intelligence will deliver a new wave of innovation and growth.

The California-based tech giant saw its share price rise by 4.91 per cent to US$210.90 at the open of trading on Wall Street, pushing Nvidia’s market capitalisation past the never-before-seen threshold.

By way of comparison, the level was greater than the GDP of France or Germany or higher than that of Tesla, Meta (Facebook), and Netflix combined.

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South Korea strikes gold with Trump’s visit, sealing trade deal

South Korea went on a golden offensive to charm US President Donald Trump during his visit to the East Asian country, as the two sides finally agreed on a trade deal after months of deadlock.

The two sides had not been able to agree over the modalities of Seoul’s pledge of US$350 billion (S$453 billion) in investments as part of a framework trade deal struck in July to lower US-imposed reciprocal tariffs of 25 per cent to 15 per cent.

But the deal was “pretty much finalised”, declared Mr Trump at a dinner on Oct 29 that followed his summit with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in the city of Gyeongju, where the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum is set to be held from Oct 31 to Nov 1.

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France revamps rape law after Gisele Pelicot case

Senators approved changes to France's rape law on Oct 29 to include consent, bringing the legislation more into line with more than a dozen other European countries in a move that was given new impetus by the Gisele Pelicot mass rape trial.

French criminal law has until now defined rape as a penetrative act or oral sex act committed on someone using "violence, coercion, threat or surprise". It did not make clear mention of the need for consent and prosecutors had to prove the intention to rape to secure a guilty verdict.

In December 2024, Gisele Pelicot's husband admitted to a court in southern France that he had repeatedly drugged his wife and recruited dozens of men online to rape her while she was unconscious.

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Exit poll suggests centrists win Dutch vote

Dutch voters appeared to have shunned far-right leader Geert Wilders in favour of a centrist party, exit polls suggested on Oct 29, after a snap election closely watched in Europe where extremists are gaining ground.

The centrist D66 party led by Mr Rob Jetten was projected to win 27 seats out of 150 in Parliament, ahead of Mr Wilders and his far-right PVV Freedom Party with 25 seats, according to the Ipsos poll.

Exit polls in the Netherlands generally provide an accurate reflection of the parliamentary make-up but the seats could change as actual votes are counted.

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