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EARTH INTELLIGENCE

13 Oct 2025 — 6 min read

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On October 10, 2025, the United States announced approval for the construction of a Qatari Emiri Air Force facility at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho, as stated by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in a meeting with his Qatari counterpart. The facility is intended to support a group of Qatari F-15 fighter jets and forms part of a signed letter of acceptance between the two countries to strengthen military cooperation. This step expands on current relations, such as the U.S. military's access to Qatar's Al Udeid Air Base, and focuses on enabling shared training and operations, with no transfer of ownership for the Idaho location to Qatar.
The agreement takes place alongside continued U.S. government discussions about Qatar's involvement in hosting leaders from organizations labeled as terrorist groups, including Hamas, which has operated a political office in Doha since 2012 with U.S. knowledge. Although the U.S. recognizes Qatar as a major non-NATO ally and depends on it for stability in the region, certain officials and lawmakers have raised concerns that these connections pose a security risk and may conflict with goals to limit such groups' influence.

Economics & Markets:

Yesterday’s commodity market:

Yesterday’s crypto market:

Geopolitics & Military Activity:

As of October 12, 2025, Madagascar is experiencing growing political instability after an elite military unit called CAPSAT stated it is assuming control of the country's security forces during large-scale anti-government protests. On October 11, soldiers from the CAPSAT group, located outside the capital Antananarivo, joined thousands of demonstrators in the city, encouraging other forces to avoid using violence and criticizing police use of tear gas and stun grenades to break up the gatherings. President Andry Rajoelina addressed the situation on October 12, describing the military's actions as an unlawful effort to take power that goes against the constitution, and he encouraged talks and unity among citizens to address the issues. The protests have attracted big crowds that have mostly stayed put despite police actions, with limited reports of injuries so far, though upcoming weather like storms could add to the difficulties.

The situation arises from protests led by young people that started on September 25, driven by frustration over ongoing lacks of electricity and water in Madagascar, one of the poorest countries globally, which has seen many public uprisings since becoming independent from France in 1960. To handle the rising demands, Rajoelina removed his government on September 30 and put an army general in as prime minister, but this did not stop the protests, which now represent a major test for his leadership. The CAPSAT unit had backed Rajoelina in a 2009 coup, which adds layers to the current events, as demonstrators seek changes while political divisions and economic problems continue to worsen.

Cyber:

As of October 12, 2025, Qantas Airways reported a cyber attack on one of its contact centers, leading to hackers releasing customer data after a ransom demand was not met. The breach affected up to 5.7 million customers, with leaked information including names, dates of birth, phone numbers, addresses, emails, and frequent flyer numbers, which appeared on the dark web. The airline said it has secured the system involved, is informing those affected, and is working with officials. The attackers belong to a group that hit about 40 companies from April 2024 to September 2025, demanding money to keep data private but sharing it when unpaid.
The event brings attention to security issues in aviation and may result in official reviews, fines, and legal actions against Qantas from customers. It fits a trend of ransomware targeting large firms, which led the FBI to take over a connected hacker site to stop more attacks. There are no signs of impact on flight operations, but it could reduce customer confidence and increase checks from Australian privacy authorities, pointing to the importance of better protections against growing cyber threats worldwide.

Environment & Weather:

As of October 12, 2025, heavy thunderstorm rains have triggered major flash flooding in the Globe and Miami regions of Gila County, Arizona, resulting in closed roads and warnings to evacuate. The US 60 highway is shut down both ways between Superior and Miami because of high water levels, and the Arizona Department of Transportation is telling drivers to stay away.

Local officials have sent out alerts for people to avoid flooded areas and low spots, where dry riverbeds have become fast-moving streams. More storms are forecast, which may make the flooding worse and last longer. These repeated events show how open these towns are to risks from monsoon rains, leading to advice for better readiness. No deaths have been noted from the latest flooding so far, but officials are keeping a close watch to protect everyone.

Statistic:

Largest assets on Earth by market capitalization:

🥇 Gold: $27.215T
🇺🇸 NVIDIA: $4.456T
🇺🇸 Microsoft: $3.798T
🇺🇸 Apple: $3.639T
🇺🇸 Alphabet (Google): $2.866T
🥈 Silver: $2.720T
🇺🇸 Amazon: $2.307T
₿ Bitcoin: $2.297T
🇺🇸 Meta Platforms: $1.771T
🇸🇦 Saudi Aramco: $1.579T
🇺🇸 Broadcom: $1.533T
🇹🇼 TSMC: $1.455T
🇺🇸 Tesla: $1.374T
🇺🇸 Berkshire Hathaway: $1.055T
🇺🇸 Oracle: $835.16B
🇺🇸 JPMorgan Chase: $827.37B
🇺🇸 Walmart: $811.95B
📈 Vanguard S&P 500 ETF: $747.28B
🇺🇸 Eli Lilly: $747.18B
🇨🇳 Tencent: $736.72B
📈 iShares Core S&P 500 ETF: $685.66B
🇺🇸 Visa: $667.00B
📈 SPDR S&P 500 ETF: $664.79B
📈 Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF: $536.66B
🇺🇸 Netflix: $518.44B

History:

The S&P 500, or Standard & Poor’s 500, was developed as a way to track the performance of leading U.S. companies across different industries. Its origins date back to 1923 when Standard Statistics Company, a predecessor of what is now S&P Global, began publishing stock price indices covering 233 companies. The index was significantly expanded on March 4, 1957, when it was officially launched in its current form, tracking 500 large U.S. publicly traded companies. This version of the index introduced a market-capitalization-weighted methodology and used early computer systems to calculate real-time values—an innovative step at the time. The goal was to provide a broader and more consistent measure of the U.S. equity market compared to the more limited Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Since its introduction, the S&P 500 has become a widely followed benchmark for evaluating the performance of the U.S. stock market and economy. It has captured major market movements, including the crash on October 19, 1987, when it fell over 20% in a single day; the decline following the dot-com bubble burst beginning in 2000; and the downturn during the 2007–2008 financial crisis, when it lost over half its value. The index has also seen long periods of growth, such as the expansion from 2009 through early 2020, and a rapid rebound after the COVID-19-related drop in March 2020. Today, the S&P 500 includes companies from across 11 sectors and is commonly used by investors and fund managers as a reference for broad market performance. Its composition is reviewed regularly to ensure it reflects the evolving structure of the U.S. economy.

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