Houthi missile attacks threaten Saudi Arabia’s economic ambitions
The Wall Street Journal’s Morning Risk Report, published October 20, 2026, said Saudi Arabia had decided to postpone its flagship investor conference, described in the newsletter’s headline as “Davos in the Desert.” The newsletter said missile attacks on the kingdom’s airports and capital city by Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen were threatening Saudi Arabia’s economic ambitions.
The Morning Risk Report highlighted how those missile attacks were affecting the kingdom’s economic ambitions. It identified the attackers as Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen.
U.S. technology policy
The Department of Homeland Security ordered federal civilian agencies to remove artificial-intelligence technology developed by China’s DeepSeek from their information-technology systems. According to a notice published by DHS, the order also barred future purchases of DeepSeek’s products and services.
Risk Journal reported that the United States sanctioned a Chinese artificial-intelligence startup founded by a former Google employee, along with its venture-capital backers, for stealing trade secrets. The State Department announced sanctions targeting Shanghai Zhisuan Technology, which works on training AI models, and MiraclePlus, a China-based venture-capital firm that invests in technology startups.
Financial enforcement
The Morning Risk Report said suspicious financial activity potentially linked to fraud against federal student-aid programs, according to the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
West African gold investment
The Morning Risk Report said a modern-day gold rush was under way in West Africa. Mining companies have raced to the region in recent years, investing billions of dollars in new gold mines to cash in on near-record prices for the metal.
The report said the boom was occurring despite what it termed “a rise in resource nationalism.” Local officials were seizing assets and detaining executives to secure a larger share of profits, according to the newsletter.
Several gold-producing nations were also battling what the Morning Risk Report characterized as “a deadly Islamist insurgency.”
Trump and denuclearization
President Trump said Monday that he would be open to meeting with the leaders of Russia and China to discuss denuclearization.
Trump said: “We would schedule a meeting based on the denuclearization, and that’s a very positive thing for the world. If they’d like to have it, I think it would be held in China.”