Thursday, May 15

United States President Donald Trump has secured over $600 billion in investments into the US from Saudi Arabia as he continues through his visits of the Gulf countries.

Trump is now on a tour of the Middle East, where he is working to find investors and strengthen ties with the Gulf countries. His tour began with a trip to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, continued with a visit to Qatar yesterday, and he is now in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, for the final leg of his journey.

Recently, Trump has been working to strengthen partnerships with these three countries, which together, hold almost one-quarter of the world's oil reserves and over 18% of the world's natural gas.

At a high-stakes lunch on Tuesday, Trump met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, along with the CEOs of dozens of large American companies. After several deals came through, the White House published an official message announcing that they had secured over $600 billion in investments.

One of the most major of these deals was with Nvidia: Saudi Arabia confirmed that they are looking to heavily invest into artificial intelligence, and they announced that the Saudi company Humain would buy over 18,000 Nvidia chips.

Additionally, as an attempt to better befriend the current president, most companies whose CEOs attended the lunch also donated $1 million to his inauguration fund. Most of the fund will be used to build Trump's future presidential library, and he has raised a staggering $239 million so far.

Meanwhile, a brief trip to Qatar yesterday also saw some productivity for Trump and other companies. Boeing, a major aircraft manufacturer, announced that they have agreed on their largest-ever deal with Qatar Airways, which comes at a time when Boeing has been struggling financially.

However, many people are concerned about Trump's personal goals on the trip, as he has also used his time with the world leaders to expand his personal profile in the area. Throughout the trip, Trump has also secured deals for new Trump hotels, golf courses, and other ventures, along with the aforementioned investment deals. For example, one Emirati company has invested over $2 billion into Trump's cryptocurrency, $TRUMP, which came as a shock to many people.

Fact of the Day (BBC): Sound can reach negative decibels. The quietest place on Earth is Microsoft’s anechoic chamber in Redmond, WA, USA, at -20.6 decibels. These anechoic chambers are built out of heavy concrete and brick and are mounted on springs to stop vibrations from getting in through the floor.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future. (John F. Kennedy)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Scuttlebutt (noun, SKUTT-ul-butt) - Scuttlebutt refers to rumor or gossip—in other words, talk or stories about someone or something that may not be true.

In a Sentence: According to the scuttlebutt in the financial markets, the company will be downsizing soon.