Bullion faced renewed selling pressure across international trading desks as global commodity markets digested a quarter-point interest rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve. Spot gold declined 1 percent to $4,249 per ounce, hitting multi-session lows under the weight of higher sovereign yields and restrictive monetary policy. Higher interest rates have increased the opportunity cost of holding physical bullion, prompting institutional portfolios to reallocate capital into fixed-income assets.
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Heavy rain began affecting Hainan on September 11 as a South China Sea tropical depression interacted with cold air. The system brought widespread downpours to the island, with the heaviest rain falling across southern and central areas. Baoting, Wuzhishan, Wanning, Qionghai and Lingshui were among the locations facing significant rainfall. Rivers rose and water accumulated in several communities as the rain continued.
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The iPhone Duo uses Super Retina XDR displays on both sides, with ProMotion and Always-On support. Apple rates peak outdoor brightness at 3,000 nits for both screens. A nano-texture finish on the inner panel reduces glare and makes the fold crease less visible, according to Apple. Grade 5 titanium forms the enclosure, while the precision hinge uses more than 100 components. Apple also gives the iPhone Duo an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance.
Apple has unveiled the iPhone Duo, its first foldable iPhone, with sales set to begin October 23. The new model opens to a 7.6-inch inner screen and carries a 5.4-inch outer display. Apple says the larger panel offers the biggest screen yet on an iPhone. U.S. prices start at $1,999 for 256GB of storage. Preorders begin October 16 across more than 70 countries and regions.
The iPhone 18 Pro camera system adds four selectable aperture settings to control lighting and depth of field. Its main camera supports apertures of f/1.48, f/1.8, f/2.8 and f/4.0. The system also includes 48-megapixel Ultra Wide and Telephoto cameras. New Pro controls allow adjustments to aperture, shutter speed and white balance inside the Camera app. Users can also view a histogram while composing photos or videos. Apple has introduced Reference Image, an opt-in feature designed to help verify the authenticity of photographs. The system captures signed sensor data when users take a photo in Reference mode. That data creates a reference image that users can compare with an edited version in the Photos app. The company is also adding support for image metadata and the SynthID standard. SynthID support will arrive through a software update later in 2026. Camera controls expand with variable aperture The A20 Pro chip uses a 2-nanometer manufacturing process and includes a six-core CPU and seven-core GPU. It also has a Dual 16-core Neural Engine with 32 total cores for artificial intelligence processing. Apple says the GPU delivers up to 40% faster performance than the A19 Pro. A redesigned vapor chamber increases surface area and improves sustained performance. The models also include Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and Thread through Apple’s N1 wireless networking chip. Battery life also increases across the iPhone 18 Pro lineup. Apple
The United States is expanding domestic battery production as it works to reduce dependence on China. The larger challenge sits deeper in the supply chain. China still dominates battery materials, processing and key manufacturing technologies used worldwide. U.S. factories have added capacity, but many depend on imported components and refined minerals. That gap has placed graphite, cathodes, anodes and lithium iron phosphate materials at the center of Washington’s battery push.
Japan is expanding its fight against investment fraud with a new system that uses artificial intelligence to spot warning signs earlier. The Consumer Affairs Agency announced the package on September 1. It will analyze consumer complaints for language and patterns linked to fraudulent schemes and failing businesses. The package says AI will supplement existing keyword searches and support earlier alerts, investigations and enforcement when complaint data indicate serious risks.
China’s digital industry generated 20.71 trillion yuan in revenue during the first half of 2026, up 13.6% from a year earlier. Total profit reached 1.79 trillion yuan, an increase of 19.3%. China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said the sector’s revenue growth accelerated by 4.1 percentage points from the same period last year. The industry’s profit margin reached 8.6%, up 0.7 percentage point. China’s largest digital industry centers accounted for most of the national total. The 10 leading provincial-level markets generated 17.21 trillion yuan in combined revenue, up 13.2%. They represented 83.1% of national digital industry revenue and contributed 87% of overall revenue growth. Central China recorded 2.86 trillion yuan in digital industry revenue, an increase of 28.3% from a year earlier.