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(Adds background throughout) Oct 7 (Reuters) – Intercontinental Exchange, the parent of New York Stock Exchange, is in talks to invest $2 billion in Polymarket, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The deal could potentially value the world's biggest predictions market between $8 billion and $10 billion, the report said. Reuters had reported earlier this year that the company was close to securing a valuation of more than $1 billion in a funding round led by billionaire Peter Thiel's Founders Fund. A spokesperson for Polymarket did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Intercontinental, whose shares rose 4.4% in premarket trading following the report, also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The potential deal, which the WSJ report said could come as soon as Tuesday, would mark a vote of confidence for Polymarket from a major financial institution, as it prepares to re-enter the U.S. market more than three years after restricting American users under a settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for operating an unregistered derivatives trading platform. Polymarket allows users to profit from predicting outcomes across a wide range of topics, including sports, entertainment, politics and economy. Trading in event-based contracts has surged in popularity since the U.S. presidential election last year. Among the platform's currently trending markets is "when will the government shutdown end?" The company had also secured an undisclosed investment from Donald Trump Jr-backed venture capital firm 1789 Capital in August. (Reporting by Ateev Bhandari in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)

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FRANKFURT, Oct 7 (Reuters) – German family-owned construction materials maker Knauf Group said on Tuesday that attempts to sell its business in Russia, ongoing since April last year, have failed. The family-owned company with about 15.6 billion euros ($18.20 billion) in sales said in a statement an unnamed prospective buyer of the Russian assets had walked away from talks. For now, the business would continue to be separately run by local management in Russia, "in full compliance with sanctions", it added. Knauf, a maker of gypsum boards, drywall systems and insulation slabs, said in April 2024 that it was working on a transaction to withdraw from Russia, where it has businesses including raw material extraction, manufacturing and sales with more than 4,000 employees. The setback for the company, which echoes similar struggles by European companies with Russian operations, comes as the EU seeks ways to step up its support for Ukraine and its countermeasures against Russia's attacks against its neighbouring country. This includes work on using frozen Russian sovereign assets in the West to finance Ukraine's defence and reconstruction after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. ($1 = 0.8571 euros) (Reporting by Ludwig Burger Editing by Madeline Chambers)

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REFILE-TESLA'S PLANT MANAGER IN BERLIN SAID THAT THE NEW STRIPPED-DOWN MODEL Y WILL BE "ABOUT 10% LESS EXPENSIVE" – ELECTREK EDITOR ON X CITING GERMANY'S HANDELSBLATT (CLARIFIES SOURCING AFTER ELECTREK EDITOR'S FOLLOW-UP POST ON X)

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SYRIAN DEFENSE MINISTER SAYS AGREED WITH SDF CHIEF TO IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE IN NORTHERN AND EASTER SYRIA

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By Jan Lopatka PRAGUE, Oct 7 (Reuters) – Czech populist billionaire Andrej Babis said he may take ministers nominated by eurosceptic and far-right parties into a government he is trying to form after his ANO party won a parliamentary election but fell short of a majority. Babis initially said after the October 3-4 vote that he wanted an ANO-only minority cabinet backed in parliament by the eurosceptic Motorists and the far-right, anti-EU and anti-NATO SPD, but both parties demanded to be part of the government. "We are negotiating on a common government," Babis said in a video message on Facebook. "SPD should have some number of ministries where they want to have (non-party) experts representing them…, and the Motorists want to have their politicians there who ran in the election." ANO is a member of the Patriots for Europe group in the European Parliament together with a number of far-right parties. ANO plans to rule out implementing already agreed European Union migration and decarbonisation pacts. The Motorists, also members of the Patriots, oppose the end of combustion engines and other climate policies. SPD wants a referendum on leaving the EU and NATO but Babis has strictly rejected any such steps. SPD has also called for cutting all aid for Ukraine including funds for hundreds of thousands of refugees residing in the Czech Republic. Babis has flagged more focus on domestic and EU affairs and less support for Ukraine than the outgoing centre-right cabinet, including a possible scrapping of a Czech programme shipping artillery ammunition to Kyiv. He has criticised the scheme over what he calls overpricing and a lack of transparency. President Petr Pavel, who helped to set up the ammunition scheme and who is an important player in post-election talks as he appoints the prime minister, urged the parties on Monday to maintain the programme. If Babis reaches a coalition agreement, the formation of the new cabinet would still be weeks away. Pavel on Tuesday called the first meeting of the new lower house of parliament for November 3. The first session will have to elect a new house speaker before the formal resignation of the outgoing cabinet – the earliest point when a new prime minister can be appointed. (Reporting by Jan Lopatka; editing by Mark Heinrich)

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BURTON-UPON-TRENT, England, Oct 7 (Reuters) – England winger Anthony Gordon admits he is playing with a sense of "paranoia" as he fights to secure his place in Thomas Tuchel's squad for next year's World Cup. Despite impressing in last month's 5-0 thrashing of Serbia, the Newcastle United forward is well aware of the fierce competition for places, and the omission of Jude Bellingham for this month's two internationals underscored the unpredictability of selection. "At this level, you see the squad changing all the time, players coming in, players leaving," Gordon said from England's camp at St. George's Park. "You've almost got to be a bit paranoid that you're not going to get in because it pushes you even further. "You've always got to challenge yourself because the lads you're competing with are always at the highest level because that's the level we're playing at." WORLD CUP QUALIFICATION England host Wales in a friendly on Thursday at Wembley before heading to Riga for a World Cup qualifier against Latvia, where a victory combined with a draw in the match between Serbia and Albania would guarantee England qualify for the World Cup. "I never think I'm nailed in, but obviously it's a massive goal for me and one I'm pushing for," the 24-year-old Gordon aid. "It's up to us as players to push ourselves as individuals and that ultimately challenges the next man in our position to do better again. "It's a World Cup year and everyone seems to be flying. I think it's more about the team. We have to focus on the team, it's the team that's going to win tournaments, hopefully, and the moment we start making it about individuals is when we've got a problem." Bellingham's omission raised eyebrows, but Gordon dismissed speculation that the Real Madrid midfielder's place in the team is not guaranteed. "I think we all know that if (Bellingham) is playing week in, week out for Real Madrid, he is going to be in the England team," he said. "You definitely notice when he is not here because he is such a big presence, such a big player. "But he has been injured, he has had a tough couple of months and it's probably done him some good to be honest because he has played so much football for his age (22)." Jack Grealish's absence also raised questions considering the excellent start he has made with Everton and the midfielder is tied atop the list of Premier League assists this season. "I don't think it's anything to do with them individually, I think they're all at different stages of their career," Gordon said. (Reporting by Lori Ewing, editing by Ed Osmond)

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* Brent, WTI steady after settling 1% higher previously * OPEC+ to hike November output by 137,000 bpd, less-than-expected * Oversupply outlook weighs slightly on prices (Updates prices) By Enes Tunagur LONDON, Oct 7 (Reuters) – Oil prices were steady on Tuesday as investors assessed a smaller-than-expected November output hike by OPEC+ against the backdrop of oversupply expectations. Brent crude futures fell 9 cents, or 0.14%, to $65.38 a barrel by 1007 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude lost 10 cents, or 0.16%, to $61.59. Both contracts settled up more than 1% in the previous session after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plus Russia and some smaller producers, known as OPEC+, decided to increase its collective oil production by 137,000 barrels per day, starting in November. The move was in contrast to market expectations for a more aggressive reintroduction of supply, a sign that the group remains cautious about increasing its production share in the global oil market amid predictions of a supply surplus in the fourth quarter as well as next year, said ING analysts. "Brent had fallen by around $5 per barrel last week in response to earlier expectations of a larger supply boost, so this mild rebound seems reasonable," said Anh Pham, a senior analyst at LSEG. "For now, the market still appears capable of accommodating the extra volume, and we have yet to see a shift into contango at the front of the curve." OPEC+ did not discuss increasing quotas after November, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday. OPEC+ has increased its oil output targets by more than 2.7 million bpd this year, equivalent to about 2.5% of global demand. Geopolitical factors have kept a floor under prices, with conflict between Russia and Ukraine affecting energy assets and creating uncertainty over Russian crude supply. Russia's Kirishi oil refinery halted its most productive distillation unit following a drone attack and subsequent fire on October 4, with recovery likely to take about a month, two industry sources said on Monday. (Reporting by Enes Tunagur in London, Anjana Anil in Bengaluru and Siyi Liu in Singapore; Editing by Kim Coghill and Clarence Fernandez)

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Oct 7 (Reuters) – * SUSPECTED CHINESE GOVERNMENT OPERATIVES USED CHATGPT TO SHAPE MASS SURVEILLANCE PROPOSALS, OPENAI SAYS – CNN Source text: https://tinyurl.com/2xjgshw7

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(Repeats to more subscribers) * Airbus A320-family overtakes Boeing 737 in total deliveries * Milestone follows fierce competition in busiest part of market * Airbus narrow-body jet was launched in 1984, first flew in 1987 * Both planemakers face new rivals but plan no immediate new jets By Tim Hepher PRAGUE, Oct 7 (Reuters) – Europe's Airbus broke a major commercial barrier on Tuesday when its A320 family of planes overtook the Boeing 737 to become the most-delivered jetliner in history. Boeing's decades-old record fell as a jet was delivered overnight to Saudi carrier Flynas, bringing deliveries to 12,260 since the A320 began service in 1988, according to benchmark data from UK-based consultancy Cirium, used across the industry. Airbus did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the data, tracked by aircraft supply analyst Rob Morris. Between them Boeing and Airbus have delivered more than 25,000 such jets, originally designed to feed large hubs and later widely adopted by low-cost carriers, which Airbus courted after Boeing cut output during a downturn in demand post-9/11. Airbus is already the world's largest planemaker by total annual deliveries, but the shattered ceiling in the narrow-body market caps a 40-year transatlantic battle for market share after early disagreements over strategy and the share of jobs between partner nations, France, Germany, Spain and Britain. DECADES OF TRANSATLANTIC RIVALRY The A320 was launched in 1984 at a time when many questioned whether Airbus would last another decade after painfully launching two wide-body jets. It first flew three years later. Airbus engineers in Toulouse, France, gambled on introducing fly-by-wire computer controls for the first time to a mainstream airliner, a pioneering technology that faced resistance from unions and some carriers but later became widely accepted. Airbus is now expanding production in the U.S. and China. Boeing set the standard for narrow-body aircraft production with its popular 737, first introduced in the 1960s, but plunged into crisis following fatal accidents in 2018 and 2019. The company is gradually restoring output under regulatory limits. The two plane giants are expected to introduce new models sometime next decade but both told the ISTAT conference in Prague on Monday they were unlikely to start development any time soon as they wait for advances in engine technology. (Reporting by Tim Hepher, Editing by Louise Heavens)

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STOCKHOLM, Oct 7 (Reuters) – Nobel medicine prize winner Fred Ramsdell thought his wife had spotted a grizzly bear in the backcountry of Wyoming when she suddenly let out a yell on Monday – only to discover he had won the most coveted award in science. Ramsdell shared the 2025 award with Mary Brunkow and Shimon Sakaguchi for work shedding light on how the immune system spares healthy cells, but the Nobel Assembly could not reach him as he was on a camping and hiking trip with his wife. Thomas Perlmann, Secretary-General of the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute, said it took until Tuesday morning Swedish time before he got to talk to the laureate, who was completely off-grid when the award was announced the previous day. Perlmann said Ramsdell and his wife were heading back to their hotel when they stopped to fix something on their car and she switched on her cell phone and saw the messages. "They were still in the wild and there are plenty of grizzly bears there, so he was quite worried when she let out a yell," Perlmann told Reuters. "Fortunately, it was the Nobel Prize. He was very happy and elated and had not expected the prize at all." Nobel announcements have not been without hiccups in the past. Poet and musician Bob Dylan ignored his 2016 Nobel literature prize for weeks, while a 2011 medicine prize was announced only to find that one of the winners had died days before. (Reporting by Johan Ahlander; additional reporting by Marie Mannes; editing by Niklas Pollard and Alex Richardson)

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