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This beautiful city offers a quieter alternative to the UK’s busiest festive destinations, with a magnificent medieval cathedral, riverside walks and traditional pubs to warm up in.

Christmas markets might put Bath, York and Edinburgh high on your winter travel wish list, but Norwich has plenty to tempt anyone seeking a quieter staycation.

With its medieval landmarks, independent shops and welcoming pubs, the city combines festive atmosphere with opportunities to slow down and explore. Spend a day browsing for gifts, strolling beside the river or admiring the cathedral before settling in somewhere cosy.

Norwich is Britain’s only city located within a national park — one of its major draws.

Norwich was among the leading UK staycation destinations picked by specialists at StressFreeCarRental.com in 2024. The company’s CEO, John Charnock, said: “As the nights draw in and the temperatures plummet, it’s inevitable that many of us start to feel a little down at this time of year.

“The picturesque Broads National Park has miles and miles of footpaths for visitors to truly feel at one with nature and help to keep active. Norwich is a great city to connect with the outdoors and practice ecotherapy.”

Back in the city, Norwich Cathedral is a highlight for visitors drawn to its medieval architecture. Its appeal extends beyond the building itself, with Christmas services, concerts and a light show adding to the festive experience.

On TripAdvisor, one recent visitor to the cathedral said: “Visited early on a Friday morning as the Cathedral was being prepared for the weekend with Flower arrangers busy creating displays. We had a lovely chat with one of the volunteers.

“A lovely building made of Caen Stone. We visited the grave of brave Edith Cavell. There is small gift shop if you wish to purchase something. Beautiful grounds around the building.”

While another recent visitor added: “An outstanding cathedral. Well worth visiting. Entry fee is a suggested £5. Wonderful cloisters and some very interesting and historic graves and monuments. I would definitely go back as there is so much to see.”

For Christmas shopping, Norwich offers a mix of independent retailers and familiar high street names. Its bustling marketplace, shopping centres and Norwich Lanes provide plenty of places to hunt for gifts and keepsakes.

Rather than one huge Christmas market, the city has a collection of smaller festive events showcasing local creativity. There are also multiple Christmas markets and late-night shopping on Thursdays in the run-up to Christmas.

Seasonal lights and decorations brighten the streets, while historic venues including The Assembly House and The Maids Head Hotel add to the celebrations.

When it’s time for a break from browsing, the decorated Norwich Lanes make an inviting setting for a leisurely wander. Alternatively, head out from Norwich railway station for a walk beside the River Wensum.

Along the riverside, sights include Pull’s Ferry, Cow Tower and Norwich Cathedral, with pubs such as the Compleat Angler and The Red Lion offering somewhere to stop for a drink.

For a longer dose of history, try the city’s circular walking route, which follows the Wensum and crosses ancient bridges. Medieval city walls, the imposing castle and churches are among the landmarks to look out for.

Norwich’s oldest pub, The Adam and Eve, is conveniently placed along the route. And after a day spent exploring in the winter air, one of the city’s traditional pubs with a crackling fire could be just the place to finish.

International crude oil prices climbed further on Tuesday morning amid uncertainty over US-Iran talks, as hopes of reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway crucial to oil shipments, faded.

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Hopes that Middle East tensions would ease were dashed at the weekend when Donald Trump rejected Iran’s offer of a seven-day truce.

Mediators are working with the US and Iran on a deal to end the fighting and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, officials told the Associated Press. The disruption to shipping through the waterway has affected global trade and added to inflation.

Iran has proposed reopening the strait if the US lifts its blockade of Iranian ports and eases sanctions, among other conditions. Washington says any deal must also address Iran’s nuclear programme. Officials said the two sides disagree over the timing of concessions and who should act first.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, gained nearly 2% and traded above $107 a barrel early Tuesday, well above its price of roughly $72 a barrel in late February before the Iran war.

US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.8% to more than $94 a barrel.

High oil prices have renewed inflation concerns and expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates again next month. Government bond prices have fallen as a result, pushing yields to multi-year highs.

The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield rose above 5.27% on Monday, its highest level in 19 years, following a rise of nearly half a percentage point through September. Yields rise when bond prices fall, and this month’s sell-off is the heaviest in two years.

The US two-year yield has risen even further, climbing by more than 0.57 percentage points this month to nearly 5%. In Europe, Germany’s benchmark 10-year bond yield reached 3.62%, its highest level since June 2009.

Government bond yields help set borrowing costs across the economy, from mortgages to company loans. As yields rise, governments, businesses and households face higher costs, while stocks can become less attractive to investors.

In Japan, a 40-year government bond auction drew its strongest demand since 2020 as relatively high yields attracted investors, according to Bloomberg.

Stock markets also struggled after all three main Wall Street indexes fell on Monday.

In Europe, Tuesday’s open showed a mixed reaction.

The Euro Stoxx 50 was flat in early trading while the broader pan-European Stoxx 600 traded 0.2% higher.

The UK’s FTSE 100, Italy’s FTSE MIB, Spain’s IBEX 35 and the Netherlands’ AEX all traded between 0.1% and 0.2% higher than their Monday close.

However, France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX 30 both dropped about 0.5%.

Over in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 1.3%, South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.9% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.6%. Hong Kong-traded shares of Shein fell 11.7% after the online retailer reported a 67% fall in quarterly adjusted net profit from a year earlier.

The Shanghai Composite was little changed following a report from China’s official Xinhua News Agency late Monday that its State Council had discussed ways to make economic policies more effective.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down more than 0.1% by early morning in Europe.

Australia’s central bank raised its key interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4.6% on Tuesday, a 15-year high, as rising oil prices fuelled inflation. The Reserve Bank said higher fuel costs were pushing up prices across the economy, while growth and inflation had been stronger than expected.

The US dollar edged up to 157.42 Japanese yen from 157.39 yen. The euro fell to $1.1362 from $1.1371.

Gold remained near $4,160 after steep losses on Monday, as expectations of further rate rises weighed on the metal, which pays no interest.

Investors are also awaiting key US inflation and jobs data this week that could influence the Fed’s next decision. Markets are pricing in another rate rise at the end of October.

Additional sources • AP

Investors shrug off AI safety concerns and Iran war, sending market to a new peak.

Wall Street’s Nasdaq stock exchange has hit an all-time high, shrugging off concerns about AI safety risks, sky-high tech valuations and the energy shock caused by the United States’ war on Iran.

The Nasdaq Composite index, which is dominated by US tech giants such as Nvidia, Apple and Microsoft, rose 0.45 percent on Tuesday, taking its gains to date this year to more than 17 percent.

The Nasdaq 100, a narrower index that tracks 100 top companies, jumped 0.82 percent.

The S&P 500, the most popular measure of the overall US stock market, closed essentially flat.

Monolithic Power Systems, a Florida-based manufacturer of power circuits, and Canadian e-commerce company Shopify led the gains, surging 8.1 percent and 7.1 percent, respectively.

Micron Technology, one of the world’s top three memory chip makers along with South Korea’s SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, rose 5 percent.

Chip giant Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company, gained 0.7 percent, while Apple edged up 0.2 percent.

Meta Platforms, which soared 11.4 percent on Monday on excitement surrounding its new AI assistant Muse, dropped 0.63 percent.

Major Asian stock markets opened higher on Wednesday, with Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s Kospi up about 1.4 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively, in morning trading.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index opened lower, falling more than 0.7 percent during the morning trade.

Oil prices were largely flat on Tuesday, after falling more than 3 percent the previous day amid improving oil flows out of the Gulf and hopes of renewed diplomacy between Washington and Tehran.

Futures for Brent crude, the international benchmark, were trading at $99.18 a barrel as of 01:00 GMT.

⁠US President Donald Trump on Tuesday told reporters that US officials ‌held a “very good” meeting with their Iranian counterparts on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, hours after using his address to the session to warn that he could “annihilate” Iran if Tehran did not agree to a deal on the war.

Trump, whose war on Iran is nearing the seven-month mark, said US and Iranian officials would hold another round of talks in the “very near future”.

Jay Goldberg, a senior analyst at Seaport Research Partners in San Francisco, said signs of diplomatic progress between the US and Iran had refocused investor attention on the potential of AI to generate profits after years of multibillion-dollar investments.

“We have been searching for a clear consumer use case to justify the AI spend, and many see Muse as just that product,” Goldberg told Al Jazeera.

“Personally, I think Muse is just a step in the right direction; there will be better products – probably soon – but Muse is one of those things that are so useful they get investors excited about AI prospects again,” Goldberg said.

Political parties in Morocco are intensifying campaign efforts before legislative elections on September 23, which will ultimately decide Morocco’s next government.

Twenty-seven political parties are competing for 395 seats in the House of Representatives and the vote comes at a crucial time for the country.

Rising living costs, pressure on public services, and high youth unemployment – currently at 37.3 percent for Moroccans aged 15 to 24 – are all issues being hotly debated.

Party headquarters across Morocco and sites at packed city neighbourhoods and markets have been transformed into electioneering operation rooms. Campaign teams navigate crowded streets with loudspeakers, music, and leaflets to catch the attention of Morocco’s 15.8 million registered voters.

“We choose communication locations carefully; we start from a field map where we define the spaces where citizens meet naturally, then we divide the team according to tasks between direct communication and recording observations,” al-Wali al-Shtouki, campaign manager for the Justice and Development Party (PJD) in the Medina-Sidi Youssef Ben Ali district, told Al Jazeera.

“We also hold small meetings at the headquarters because they allow a calm and direct dialogue to understand what the citizen actually expects. What we hear in the field is what guides our daily work. After every tour or meeting, we collect observations and repeated questions and discuss them within the team, then we distinguish between local issues that need follow-up and those related to public policies and parliamentary work.”

While physical headquarters serve as hubs for election campaigns, a party’s success ultimately relies on its roots within a community, Jawad al-Shafdi, head of the Moroccan Observatory for Political Participation, said.

“In the Moroccan case, the strength of the candidate, their local extension, their network of relationships, and their electoral record also play essential roles,” al-Shafdi told Al Jazeera.

“We may find a party with limited organisational presence in a specific district achieving a significant result thanks to a strong candidate, and vice versa. Winning votes is achieved through a more complex system that combines party organisation, candidate strength, local extension, networks of elected officials, direct and digital communication, in addition to the party’s image and political offering.

“Therefore, the true criterion is not the number of people who enter the headquarters, but its ability to convert organisational movement into electoral mobilisation, mobilisation into votes, and votes into seats.”

Digital, direct engagement

The competition has forced political groups to adopt multi-channel strategies that balance street-level outreach with digital campaigns to reach a broader audience.

Fatima al-Tamni, a candidate for the Left Alliance in the Ain Sebaa – Hay Mohammadi district in Casablanca, highlighted the necessity of direct engagement with voters rather than superficial campaign displays.

She believes that party campaigns should serve as a space to listen to the concerns of the electorate and propose solutions, while building a strategic vision for transport, housing, pollution and other issues.

“We do not want to speak to the citizen from above, nor turn the campaign into a festival of pictures and slogans… We want to speak with them in clear language, and hear from them before we speak in their name,” she said. “[It] is not an end in itself, but the beginning of a new political relationship with citizens based on clarity, accountability, and fulfilling commitments.”

Youssef Ait Sidi Said, a political activist with the Progress and Socialism Party in the Chichaoua province, said campaigning remains an evolving process.

“For the party, this campaign is no longer just a specific period to introduce candidates and the electoral programme, but has become an opportunity for direct and continuous communication with the population and listening to their concerns and expectations,” Ait Sidi Said told Al Jazeera.

“Digital platforms allow reaching broad groups, especially youth, and grant them the possibility to interact, ask questions, and express their opinions. However, we do not consider that digitisation can replace direct communication. On the contrary, we see that each tool has its function.”

Ultimately, direct engagement with voters should remain the hallmark of party campaigns, he said.

“Field communication allows direct listening to the citizen, while digital platforms allow expanding the reach, interaction, and documenting activities,” Ait Sidi Said added.

A weekend in Europe might seem like an expensive option in the run up to Christmas, but these festive weekend breaks could be cheaper than the train fare to another UK city and offer unforgettable Christmas market experiences

While the UK has some great Christmas markets, the ones found in Europe tend to be bigger and more traditional. If you’re dreaming of drinking mulled wine and wandering around wooden chalets to buy gifts, you don’t need to drain your bank account to enjoy a festive weekend away.

Here are some Christmas market breaks coming in at around £100 per person. Prices are correct at the time of going to press, but can change, especially air fares which are likely to become more expensive as the Christmas dates book up.

Christmas in Tivoli – Copenhagen – £96.50

Many Christmas markets are set in town squares, but Christmas in Tivoli takes over Copenhagen’s historic amusement park, turning it into a winter wonderland. Its beautifully decorated gardens are full of wooden stalls, often dusted with snow, and there are festive rides, freshly-baked Danish treats, and serious hygge vibes. Head to Christmas in Tivoli for its opening weekend, November 13, and you can take return flights from Bristol for £56 on Ryanair.

With just a two hour flight time it’s perfect for a weekend break, and you can return on Sunday to avoid taking extra annual leave. Generator Copenhagen is about a 15-minute walk away, or a quick metro ride, and has a lively bar, restaurant, and terrace. Stays start at £23.81 for a dorm. Another unique option, if you’d like a little more privacy, is the Urban Camper Hostel, which has indoor tents that come with twin or double beds and lockers. Prices start at £40.50 per person for the weekend based on two sharing. If you prefer a hotel, you can find stays from £82 for two nights with Kayak.

Spitalerstrasse Christmas Market – Hamburg – £99.34

If traditional Christmas markets are your thing you can’t go wrong with Spitalerstrasse in Hamburg, which is basically a blueprint for every festive city centre event in Europe. Wooden chalets line the streets, vendors sell gingerbread, bratwurst, and mugs of glühwein, and it’s all set amid a backdrop of glorious medieval buildings covered in twinkly lights.

Hamburg has fewer options for direct flights from the UK – only London and Manchester offer this route – but there are bargains to be found. For example, if you travel between November 20 and 22, a return from London-Stansted costs £48, and the 90 minute flight time makes it perfect for a weekend away.

Next to Hamburg’s central station is the Generator Hamburg has basic dorms from £25.67 a night. Other budget options in the centre include the unique CAB20, which offers inexpensive cabin-style rooms for £164 for two nights based on two sharing.

Plaza Mayor Christmas Market – Madrid – £84.50

Enjoy Christmas with a Spanish flair at the Plaza Mayor Christmas Market, which runs from late November to December 31. The Spanish capital’s stunning historic square is the perfect backdrop for more than 100 red stalls, lit by fairy lights, where you can buy handcrafted nativity figures, unique decorations, and gifts. Enjoy freshly roasted chestnuts, turrón nougat, or churros with proper hot chocolate.

The cool weather means December tends to be an inexpensive time to visit Madrid, and if you fly from Bristol on Friday December 4, coming back Sunday, you can pick up flights from £38. If you’d like to stay in the city centre, one option is the Capsule Inn Madrid where couples can share a double capsule for £93 for two nights. Although it’s an extremely cosy space so you’d need to ensure you don’t fight at the airport before arriving.

Campo Santo Stefano Christmas Market – Venice – £94.56

Venice’s Campo Santo Stefano Christmas market kicks off on November 17, so it’s perfect for an early festive break. Stick to November dates and you can avoid the tourist crowds, and browse a wide range of Italian and European Christmas foods, artisan gifts, and canals lined with lights.

You can book flights from November 27 to 29, departing London-Luton on Wizz Air from £43, while the Generator Venice , housed in a historic building on Giudecca Island, has beds from £25.78 a night on those dates. Giudecca Island is about a 20-minute walk to the Christmas market, taking you across Venice’s bridges, or you can take a boat and enjoy the festive canal views. Meanwhile on Skyscanner you can find hotels with stays from £92 for two nights over a December weekend.

RAW Christmas Market – Berlin – £109.94

Berlin’s RAW Christmas Market is a unique experience. Set in a former railway repair yard in the hip, alternative neighbourhood of Friedrichshain, it has a medieval theme giving it vaguely Ren Faire vibes. Taking place from November 12 to December 22, you can enjoy this creative market which includes a wooden Ferris wheel, street entertainment, and lots of artistic stalls.

You can fly with Ryanair from London-Stansted to Berlin on November 20 to 22 from £51, making it an ideal time to visit the city. Continue the cool arty theme with a stay at Generator Berlin Mitte , a design-led hotel that has dorms, sleeping pods, and private rooms, from £18.99 a night. A single pod is £29.47 a night, if you’re feeling brave and not claustrophobic, while a private twin ensuite room for the weekend costs £92.82 a night.

Have a story you want to share? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com

Published on
18/09/2026 – 7:54 GMT+2

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 1.9% to 65,332.57 after the Bank of Japan raised the benchmark interest rate to 1.25% from 1.0%, a 31-year high.

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The move had been widely priced in, coming after the Federal Reserve also raised its key rate this week. Pressures have been coming from the US for Japan to raise rates because of concerns about the weakening yen.

The nations intervened together recently to prop up the yen. But the efforts haven’t had a big impact.

In currency trading, the US dollar rose to 157.11 Japanese yen from 155.95 yen. The euro cost $1.1487, up from $1.1480.

South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.3% to 6,866.83. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was little changed, slipping less than 0.1% to 8,731.50. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged up nearly 0.7% to 24,769.80, while the Shanghai Composite added 1.0% to 3,916.08.

Falling oil prices and easing pressure from the bond market helped Wall Street reverse many of its losses from the prior day.

The S&P 500 jumped 1.1% for just its second rise in the last nine days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 316 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.7%.

Wall Street stocks got a boost after the price of a barrel ofBrent crude oil slid from the nearly $110 it reached earlier in the week on worries that the war with Iran will keep oil bottled up in the Middle East instead of going to customers worldwide.

In Asian trading, Brent, the international standard, lost 0.94% to $103.83 a barrel. Benchmark US crude slid 0.83% to $101.06 a barrel.

Brent is still more expensive than the $72 per barrel that it cost earlier this summer, but the recent drop helped pull yields lower in the bond market and removed some pressure on stocks. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.93% from 5.01% late Wednesday.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised the short-term interest rate that it controls, the federal funds rate, by a quarter of a percentage point for its first hike in more than three years. Officials also hinted that they may raise the federal funds rate one more time this year as they try to get high inflation in the US under control.

The signals sent Wall Street on a roller coaster. Stocks initially remained higher for the day after the Fed made its announcement Wednesday. They then slid sharply before recovering a chunk of the losses before trading ended.

On the upside for markets, the shift to higher interest rates built confidence that the Fed is committed to getting inflation back to its target of 2%. On the downside for markets, higher rates undercut prices for stocks and other investments.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 85.95 points to 7,637.76. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 316.14 to 51,778.04, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 439.87 to 26,418.30.

Additional sources • AP

Published on 17/09/2026 – 9:55 GMT+2•Updated
10:03

Investors in Europe took the Federal Reserve rate hike in their stride.

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Both the Euro Stoxx 50 and the broader pan-European Stoxx 600 traded over 0.6% higher at the start of Thursday’s session.

France’s CAC 40, Germany’s DAX 30, Italy’s FTSE MIB, Spain’s IBEX 35, the Netherlands’ AEX and Switzerland’s CH20, all traded between 0.2% and 0.7% higher than their Wednesday close.

The UK’s FTSE 100 led the pack and rose more than 1%.

Carmakers and industrials led the Paris index, with Renault gaining more than 2%, Stellantis 1.6% and Schneider Electric 1.3%. Technology went the other way, with Dassault Systèmes falling 2.4%.

The calm followed a rougher session in New York, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.2% lower on Wednesday and the S&P 500 fell 0.4%, while the Nasdaq was broadly flat.

Asian markets were mixed overnight with Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rising 0.2%, Seoul’s Kospi gaining 0.9%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.7% and the Shanghai Composite 0.4%.

Reactions were “pretty much expected since the rate hike was also in line with market expectations”, said Lorraine Tan, director of equity research for Asia at Morningstar, adding that the Iran war is likely to keep pressure on inflation.

A stronger US dollar and higher yields

The more consequential moves were in currencies and bonds.

The US dollar climbed to its highest in seven weeks against a basket of major currencies, lifted by the jump in short-dated Treasury yields that followed the decision.

The euro was trading around $1.146, down 0.5% from Wednesday’s open.

A stronger US dollar makes European exports more competitive in American markets, but it also raises the cost of anything priced in dollars, which includes oil and gas, which compounds Europe’s energy bill at a difficult moment.

In bond markets, the two-year Treasury yield, the maturity most sensitive to rate expectations, jumped to around 4.72% from 4.67% before the decision, holding near that level on Thursday.

The 10-year sat close to 5%, reflecting both the war-driven energy shock and mounting investor concern about American government debt.

Traders now fully expect another rate hike by December and put the odds of a move as soon as October at around 50%. Goldman Sachs became one of the first major Wall Street banks to forecast consecutive hikes, reversing its previous view that this month’s move would be the only one.

Attention turns next to the Bank of England, which announces its decision later on Thursday and is expected to hold rates steady, and to the Bank of Japan on Friday, where a hike is anticipated.

Additional sources • AP

Crypto traders are assigning Anthropic an implied valuation more than $1 trillion (€866bn) above its last funding-round price, before public investors have even seen its accounts.

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The company behind Claude has filed its IPO paperwork confidentially and chosen Nasdaq for its initial public offering.

What remains is the public release of its S-1 filing, the official registration package that a US company submits to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Until it arrives, the only live price on Anthropic comes from a corner of the crypto market where pre-IPO speculation runs rampant, and it currently sits far above anything the company has ever agreed with an investor.

The last agreed valuation was $965 billion (€836bn), set when a $65 billion (€56bn) Series H round closed at the end of May, led by Altimeter Capital, Dragoneer, Greenoaks and Sequoia.

That was already an extraordinary figure for a company founded in 2021 by Dario and Daniela Amodei, and it followed a valuation of $61.5 billion (€53.3bn) barely a year earlier, representing a nearly sixteenfold increase in roughly 12 months.

Revenue has moved almost as fast.

Anthropic’s annualised revenue run rate passed $65 billion (€56bn) by the end of July, driven by enterprise adoption of Claude.

The losses are also enormous, reportedly reaching close to $42 billion (€36.4bn) in 2025, reflecting the cost of training frontier models. Amazon has committed to investing as much as $33 billion (€28.6bn) in the company, while Anthropic has committed to spending more than $100 billion (€86.6bn) on AWS technologies over the coming decade.

Given these figures, investors are already aiming considerably higher than the valuation in the last round.

Reports have put the target IPO valuation at $2 trillion (€1.73tn), with Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley leading an offering expected to raise more than $60 billion (€52bn).

The market that is already trading

Perpetual futures contracts tracking Anthropic’s pre-IPO valuation are currently trading on Hyperliquid, the largest decentralised derivatives venue, where the implied market capitalisation reached an all-time high of roughly $2.36 trillion (€2.05tn) and sits near $2.15 trillion (€1.86tn) at the time of writing.

That is about 2.2 times the Series H valuation.

Heng Yu Lee, partner at market maker DWF Labs, which is active in these instruments, rejects the suggestion that leverage rather than conviction is driving the premium.

“Whether it’s leveraged or not, everyone trading the pre-IPO market is genuine demand at the price that’s reflected,” he told Euronews, adding that “the premium is pricing in public information that’s available, such as expected revenue numbers and expected market demand for the stock.”

These contracts will also be the first instruments to react when the filing lands, trading around the clock while equity markets are shut.

“At a moment like the S-1 dropping, you typically see volume spike and prices fluctuate heavily as the market digests the information,” Lee explained.

However, the market remains small relative to what it is valuing.

“Currently, the market isn’t super deep, with just $6M in 24-hour volume and $31M in open interest on Hyperliquid,” Lee said, adding that liquidity should improve as the listing approaches, given that more investors are likely to pile in.

Lee is also candid about how much weight the number deserves.

“As of now, I wouldn’t rely too heavily on the absolute pricing as we have yet to have a public S-1,” he stated while clarifying that “the direction of how the prices move typically still accurately reflects the shifting sentiment towards the company as things develop.”

A crowded year for AI listings

Once Anthropic files publicly, it will cement 2026 as the year of AI IPOs.

It started with chipmaker Cerebras Systems, which designs wafer-scale processors pitched as an alternative to Nvidia’s. The firm listed on Nasdaq in May after two false starts, raising $5.55 billion (€4.76bn) at $185 a share, above its revised price range.

The stock opened 89% higher and closed its first day near $311, valuing the company at roughly $67 billion (€58bn) compared with the $23 billion (€20bn) it had been worth three months earlier.

Investor appetite for a credible Nvidia challenger proved fierce, though the enthusiasm cooled quickly after a disappointing first earnings report. Cerebras is currently trading at a valuation of around $43.7 billion (€37.8bn).

Then came SpaceX, which listed in June, raising more than $85 billion (€73.6bn) at a valuation that briefly touched $2.8 trillion (€2.4tn) before falling back to around $1.95 trillion (€1.69tn).

OpenAI was also slated to hold an IPO this year and had already filed confidentially, but has now stepped back entirely. The company has a private valuation of $852 billion (€738bn), set during a $122 billion (€105bn) round in March.

CEO Sam Altman told Fortune on Saturday that listing this year would be “ill-advised”, ruling out 2026 and declining to commit to 2027. He said the company had “a lot of stuff to do” on safety and alignment and that being private made that easier.

Altman’s comments arrived the same day that Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published an essay titled “We Must Pace the Frontier”, arguing that AI companies should deliberately slow the rate at which they improve their most capable models.

Amodei proposed three steps: independent evaluators with employee-level access to frontier systems, coordination on safety standards among labs in democratic countries, and international agreements on the most dangerous categories of use.

Anthropic has already committed unilaterally to the first, and the endorsements came quickly, with Sam Altman saying he agreed on the need to pace the frontier and Elon Musk replying simply: “Dario is right”.

However, US President Donald Trump did not.

In his first public response to the three CEOs, Trump, speaking in Ireland on Sunday, dismissed the argument.

“We’re leading China in AI. We’re the most sophisticated country in the world, and frankly, I want to keep it that way, because whoever wins AI wins,” Trump said, describing some warnings as things “that won’t happen”.

Trump has since reiterated that argument in several social media posts.

Likewise, China’s foreign ministry called the warnings “fearmongering”.

Markets registered the exchange, with shares in SoftBank, Kioxia and SK Hynix falling sharply on Monday. Shares in the Japanese and South Korean companies fell more than 6% and 4.3%, respectively.

This leaves Anthropic in an awkward position as it approaches what could be the largest listing ever attempted in public markets.

The company is asking public investors to fund frontier AI development while its founder argues publicly that such development should proceed more slowly.

That is not necessarily a contradiction, since pacing is not stopping, and Anthropic has always argued that safety-focused labs should be at the frontier rather than ceding it.

However, it is a story the S-1 filing will have to tell convincingly, and the risk factors section will be read unusually closely.

Published on 14/09/2026 – 9:40 GMT+2•Updated
9:46

The oil market spent Monday morning pricing in a weekend of bad news from the Gulf.

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Brent for October and November deliveries gained over 3% and crossed $108 a barrel, while the US benchmark WTI for October rose 2.3% to around $102, both extending last week’s advance after each reclaimed the $100 threshold.

Prices moved following Saudi Arabia’s announcement that its East-West pipeline is temporarily closed after drone attacks.

The line carries crude across the kingdom to Red Sea ports, allowing oil to reach export terminals without passing through the Strait of Hormuz, so its loss removes the main alternative at the moment the strait itself is most dangerous.

That danger was also demonstrated on Sunday, when a merchant vessel was hit in the strait, killing one person and injuring three others, according to Iranian authorities.

Passage through the waterway now works very differently from before the war.

Vessels must obtain Iranian permission to transit, and Tehran is weighing a mechanism to charge service fees. Ships that fail to comply are routinely targeted, while US forces periodically bomb the Iranian coastline to contest Tehran’s claim to control the strait.

Diplomatic efforts have stalled too.

Oman has postponed planned talks between Iran and Gulf states on the future of the waterway, which carries a large share of the world’s seaborne oil trade.

Record fuel prices and finger-pointing

The consequences are extremely visible at American pumps.

The US national average price of diesel crossed $6 a gallon on Friday for the first time in history, up from around $5.85 a week earlier and roughly 60% above the $3.71 drivers paid a year ago.

Petrol is also averaging $4.22 after setting records over the Labor Day weekend.

US President Donald Trump has pointed the finger elsewhere.

Speaking to reporters in Ireland on Sunday, where he was attending the Irish Open at his Doonbeg golf resort, Trump stated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “has to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia.”

“Let him go after targets, but not diesel fuel, because he’s causing a shortage of diesel fuel,” Trump added.

Ukraine has struck more than 20 Russian refinery targets this summer, prompting Moscow to ban diesel exports.

On the flight back from his state visit to Ireland this weekend, Trump reiterated the claim.

However, the supply arithmetic suggests otherwise.

Analysts attribute roughly 800,000 barrels a day of lost diesel supply to Russia’s export ban, against about 1.2 million from disruption around the Strait of Hormuz, according to Lipow Oil Associates.

The wider picture is more lopsided still as crude flows through the strait have fallen from around 20 million barrels a day before the war to about 7 million.

Between them, the two wars have also shut refineries representing around 5 million barrels a day of capacity.

Additional sources • AFP

RIYADH: Saudi-Russian cooperation has proven vital in supporting the stability of global energy markets and achieving a balance that serves the interests of both producers and consumers, the Kingdom’s foreign minister said on Tuesday.

During a visit to Moscow, Prince Faisal bin Farhan said the partnership between Riyadh and Moscow contributes to sustainable global economic growth and fosters cooperation across the economic, trade, and investment sectors.

Prince Faisal met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov who said that the minister’s visit offers a valuable opportunity to discuss Russian-Saudi relations which are witnessing year-on-year development across the trade, economic, investment, cultural, and humanitarian spheres.

Lavrov also affirmed his country’s sincere desire to contribute to efforts aimed at de-escalating the situation in the region and addressing regional issues.

The two ministers emphasized the importance of supporting the diplomatic path to resolve current regional and international challenges — including the Palestinian cause and the situation in Yemen.

They underscored the necessity of ensuring the security and freedom of navigation in international waterways, particularly the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab El-Mandab Strait.

Both sides affirmed their aspiration to advance Saudi-Russian relations which were established a hundred years ago.

Thinking of heading to Europe’s Christmas markets this year? Here are some destinations you can reach directly on Eurostar, making them ideal for a day trip or a quick overnight break

A European Christmas market is an amazing way to get into the festive spirit. The historic city backdrops, authentic food and drink, and unique gifts all make it a must-do in the run up to Christmas.

Eurostar can be a good alternative to flying for short breaks, as it allows you to get to the heart of the city for a day trip or quick overnight stay, without the hassle of the airport. (Although do factor in the logistics of getting to London from where the trains depart).

If you’re already starting to count down the days until Christmas, we’ve got you covered with some of the top markets you can reach by Eurostar this winter…

1. Lille Christmas Market

Lille is Eurostar’s shortest route from London at around 90 minutes, so it’s ideal for a Christmas market day trip. Lille Christmas Market takes place on Place Rihour, just a 15-minute walk from the Eurostart terminal, making it an easy location to get to.

The event runs from November 19 to December 30, and is open seven days a week with Fridays and Saturdays seeing the event stay open until 10pm. In the square you’ll find a huge Ferris wheel covered in lights and around 90 wooden chalets selling food, drink, and crafty items. It’s relatively small compared to some of Europe’s other giant markets, but Lille’s red-brick Flemish architecture and cobbled streets make the whole city perfect for a Christmas break.

2. Paris – La Défense Christmas Market

Paris has a few festive markets around the city, and La Défense Christmas Market is the largest, running daily from mid-November until early-January, with exact dates not confirmed yet for 2026.

Running on La Défense Esplanade, it includes an ice skating rink, carnival rides, and hundreds of stalls selling mulled wine, tartiflette, and raclette. However, it’s worth noting that the market can get incredibly busy as it’s in a Paris business district, so you may want to visit during off-peak times.

Another option is the Tuileries Garden Market, set in a park between the Louvre and Place de la Concorde, a sprawling market which takes up about half a mile of space. It runs for about six weeks from mid-November, again no dates are confirmed yet, and features 80 wooden chalets, a Ferris wheel, and lots of festive activities in this lively space.

3. Brussels – Winter Wonders

Brussels has a compact city centre that makes it ideal for a short break, and from the Eurostar station you can take a quick 10 minute journey to get to Winter Wonders. Taking up several streets in the Belgian capital, this sprawling Christmas market runs from November 27 to January 3 and features over 200 stalls.

At the heart of the market, in the beautiful Baroque Grand-Place, you’ll find the giant Christmas tree and a sound and light show. The market also has an ice rink and Ferris wheel, and closes daily at 10pm, so you can enjoy the festive atmosphere when the sun goes down and the Christmas lights turn on.

4. Antwerp Christmas Market

Eurostar launches a new direct service to Antwerp on December 14, and this city full of unique architecture, from ornate medieval buildings to quirky art nouveau structures, is the ideal backdrop to enjoy a Christmas market.

In the centre you’ll find the Grote Markt and Handschoenmarkt full of handmade crafts, local treats like Antwerp’s hand-shaped biscuits, a huge ice rink and plenty of festive bars. An adjacent street is turned into a giant light tunnel, perfect for exploring after dark, and the market is open until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays for festive night owls.

5. Amsterdam Christmas Market and Village

Amsterdam, Eurostar’s longest direct route from London, has multiple Christmas markets and events, but perhaps its best-known takes place in Museumplein, the city’s largest square. This area, popular with tourists thanks to its several attractions such as the Van Gogh Museum, is transformed into a Christmas village complete with live entertainment, 45 festive stalls, and a roaming acappella choir.

But if you prefer something a little less traditional, visit the Funky Xmas Market on December 20 in Westerpark. The event brings together the work of artists and creatives from across this colourful city, with lots of unique and quirky ideas for loved ones who are difficult to buy for.

6. Rotterdam – Scandinavian Christmas markets

Enjoy the ultimate hygge atmosphere at one of Rotterdam’s Scandinavian Christmas markets, which are held in traditional Seamen’s Churches across the city. Rotterdam has always had close ties to Scandinavia thanks to its large harbour, so you can enjoy the Scandi-vibes at traditional Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish markets, which are mostly held during November.

If you’re visiting in December, then Deliplein Winterplein is a two-week community festival where the Katendrecht neighborhood is turned into a winter wonderland. It kicks off with a parade and tree lighting, and includes lots of live music events, visits from Santa, and creative workshops. It’s a more community-focused alternative to the usual touristy Christmas markets.

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