US mortgage rates have soared to a 21-year high, US retailer earnings reports send mixed messages on consumer spending, and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are buying up thousands of the high-performance Nvidia chips crucial for building artificial intelligence software. Mentioned in this podcast:Walmart sales rise as inflation keeps consumers hunting for bargainsTarget sales hit by Pride backlash and consumer cautionSaudi Arabia and UAE race to buy Nvidia chips to power AI ambitions‘People were losing their mind’: Russia’s bootleg Barbie viewingsFT Weekend festival promo code: FTPodcastThe FT News Briefing is produced by Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Josh Gabert-Doyon, Monique Mulima, Monica Lopez, Peter Barber, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music. Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.