🤝Ukraine Accepts 30-Day Ceasefire

☀️Good morning. It's Wednesday, Mar. 12, and we're covering, Salesforce To Invest $1 Billion In Singapore Over Five Years To Drive AI Growth, Meta Begins Testing First In-House AI Training Chip, Ukraine Accepts US-Proposed 30-Day Ceasefire, Awaits Russian Response, and much more. First time reading? Sign up to get this newsletter: Sign up here. 

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MARKETS

Cryptocurrency Prices by Market Cap

• The global cryptocurrency market cap today is $2.65 Trillion, a 1.64% increase in the last 24 hours.

• The total crypto market volume over the last 24 hours is $117.11B, which makes a 25.74% decrease.

• The total volume in Defi is currently $7.29B, 6.23% of the total crypto market 24-hours.

• The volume of all stablecoins is now $109.87B, which is 93.82% of the total market 24-hour volume.

• Bitcoin’s dominance is currently 61.25%, an increase of 0.32% over the day.

BlackRock CEO Warns Of Inflation As Bitcoin Faces Volatility Amid Trump Trade Policies

Bitcoin’s price has been caught in a storm of economic and political uncertainty, with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink warning of “elevated inflation” due to former President Donald Trump’s tariff policies. Bitcoin fell below $77,000 before rebounding above $82,000, reflecting market volatility amid trade tensions. Fink cautioned that rising nationalism and tariffs could fuel inflation, impacting both traditional and digital assets.The combination of inflation fears, trade war risks, and economic uncertainty is driving Bitcoin’s price swings and broader market volatility. ( Read Deeper )

BUSINESS & FINANCE

Salesforce To Invest $1 Billion In Singapore Over Five Years To Drive AI Growth

Salesforce has announced a $1 billion investment in Singapore over the next five years to support the country’s digital transformation and boost the adoption of its AI-powered platform, Agentforce. The company is positioning Agentforce as the first AI-driven digital labor platform for enterprises, capable of handling complex queries in Slack.

Takeaways: CEO Marc Benioff highlighted the potential of AI to revolutionize productivity and scale businesses. The investment aligns with Singapore’s efforts to address labor shortages and strengthen its role as an AI innovation hub. The move comes as tech companies increasingly integrate generative AI into their business strategies. (Read Deeper)

Trump’s Steel, Aluminum Tariffs Take Effect, Sparking Global Trade Tensions

President Donald Trump’s increased tariffs on all U.S. steel and aluminum imports took effect, reinstating a 25% global tariff and expanding duties to downstream products. The move, aimed at boosting American steel and aluminum industries, triggered swift retaliation from the European Commission, which announced counter tariffs on $28 billion worth of U.S. goods. The decision has rattled financial markets and heightened fears of a potential U.S. recession. Business confidence has weakened, and consumer sentiment has declined.

Takeaways: Key U.S. allies, including Canada, Britain, and Australia, criticized the tariffs, with Canada considering reciprocal actions and potential restrictions on oil exports. The tariffs most heavily impact Canada, Brazil, Mexico, and South Korea, key suppliers of steel and aluminum to the U.S. Trump briefly threatened to double tariffs on Canadian metals but backed down after negotiations with Ontario Premier Doug Ford.(Read Deeper)

TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE

Meta Begins Testing First In-House AI Training Chip

Meta has started testing its first in-house AI training chip as part of its long-term strategy to reduce reliance on external suppliers like Nvidia and lower infrastructure costs. If successful, the chip will be deployed on a larger scale. Manufactured in collaboration with TSMC, the chip is a dedicated AI accelerator designed to improve efficiency in training artificial intelligence models. The AI industry is also grappling with concerns over the effectiveness of scaling large language models, with some researchers favoring computational efficiency over sheer processing power.

Takeaways: This move follows Meta’s earlier struggles with custom chips, including scrapping a previous AI inference chip. However, Meta successfully deployed an inference chip for recommendation systems on Facebook and Instagram. The company aims to use its own chips for training by 2026, starting with recommendation systems before expanding to generative AI products like Meta AI. Despite Meta’s push for custom silicon, it remains one of Nvidia’s largest customers. (Read Deeper)

OpenAI Launches New AI Tools To Help Businesses Build AI Agents

OpenAI has introduced new tools aimed at helping businesses and developers create AI agents—automated systems that perform tasks independently. The Responses API, OpenAI’s latest offering, allows businesses to build custom AI-powered agents for tasks like web searches, file scanning, and website navigation. To support developers, OpenAI is also launching the Agents SDK, an open-source toolkit for integrating AI agents with internal systems, monitoring performance, and ensuring reliability.

Takeaways: The Responses API replaces OpenAI’s Assistants API (which will be discontinued in 2026) and provides access to models like GPT-4o search and GPT-4o mini search, which OpenAI claims offer higher factual accuracy than previous models. The API also includes a file search tool and a Computer-Using Agent (CUA) model that enables automation of computer tasks like data entry and app workflows. OpenAI acknowledges that AI agents are still imperfect, with challenges like occasional inaccuracies in search results and unreliable automation. ( Read Deeper )

AROUND DE WORLD & POLITICS

Ukraine Accepts US-Proposed 30-Day Ceasefire, Awaits Russian Response

Ukraine has agreed to a 30-day ceasefire proposal put forth by the United States, signaling a potential breakthrough in the ongoing war with Russia. The decision came after high-level talks between US and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia, where Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the next move rests with Moscow. Beyond the ceasefire, the US and Ukraine have revived negotiations on a critical minerals deal, which could see Ukraine granting the US access to its rare earth mineral reserves in exchange for security guarantees.

Takeaways: The ceasefire offer comes amid ongoing drone attacks between Ukraine and Russia. The US has resumed military aid and intelligence-sharing with Ukraine, which had previously been suspended due to tensions between President Zelensky and Donald Trump. Russia has not yet responded officially but has indicated that it may engage in talks with the US. Trump, meanwhile, has expressed hope that Putin will agree, while also warning of potential additional sanctions if Russia refuses. (Read Deeper)

Bank Of Canada Set To Cut Interest Rates As Trade War Threatens Economy

The Bank of Canada is expected to cut interest rates for the seventh time on Wednesday, lowering the policy rate to 2.75% as trade tensions with the U.S. escalate. President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods—along with threats of more levies on key industries like lumber, dairy, steel, and aluminum—are raising fears of an economic downturn. Analysts predict further rate cuts could bring borrowing costs down to 2% by the end of the year if trade tensions persist.

Takeaways: In response, Canada has imposed C$30 billion in retaliatory tariffs and plans to expand them to C$155 billion by April unless a deal is reached. Economists estimate the tariffs could shave 2 to 4 percentage points off GDP growth, while the central bank warns of a potential 3% output loss over two years. Despite recent 2.6% economic growth, the uncertainty has prompted the Bank of Canada to continue cutting rates, though inflation remains at 2.7%, limiting how much monetary policy can offset the trade shock. (Read Deeper)

ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS

Liverpool Knocked Out Of Champions League By PSG In Penalty Shootout

Liverpool’s Champions League hopes came to a crushing end as Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) secured a dramatic victory on penalties at Anfield, overturning a first-leg deficit to progress to the semifinals. PSG, needing to recover from a 1-0 loss in Paris, demonstrated their growing maturity under coach Luis Enrique, stunning a Liverpool side that had been considered favorites for the title. The French side struck early, with Ousmane Dembélé capitalizing on a defensive lapse to give PSG the lead inside 12 minutes. (Read Deeper)

Tiger Woods Sidelined Indefinitely After Surgery For Ruptures Achilles

Tiger Woods has suffered another major injury, rupturing his left Achilles tendon while training at home. He underwent surgery and is now in recovery, forcing him to miss the upcoming Masters Tournament. Woods had not played a PGA Tour event this season and was already limiting his schedule due to past injuries, including multiple back surgeries and a serious car accident in 2021. With no clear timeline for his return, questions remain about his ability to continue competing at the highest level. (Read Deeper)

PODCAST(WHAT WE ARE LISTENING TO)

• ​The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) is ushering in an era of unprecedented acceleration, with discussions about artificial general intelligence (AGI) and artificial superintelligence (ASI) becoming increasingly prominent. This swift progression has sparked both optimism and caution among experts and industry leaders. ( Listen )

EXTRA BREVITI

• Ray Dalio has drawn historical parallels between the unfolding global trade war and 1930s German. (Read More)

• YC Founders Raising Less VC Money Signals a ‘Vibe Shift’. ( Read More)

• The captain of the Portuguese-flagged cargo ship Solong has been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter. (Read More)

• What Is A Recession? Signs Of An Economic Downturn And How It Affects You. (Read More)