Also: Hot housing markets, China scrutinizes a $69B deal, Jon Stewart's Apple show ends. 
Good morning.
The brutal terror attacks on Israel and the escalating violence they have triggered have cast a terrible pall over the world for the last two weeks. Many CEOs have spoken out on the issue, as Yale’s Jeff Sonnenfeld writes in a commentary piece here. Many more are dealing with consequences affecting employees with friends and family in both Israel and Gaza.
I had an interesting conversation with one Israeli entrepreneur this week who found a silver lining amid the horror. His name is Gal Krubiner, and he is co-founder and CEO of Pagaya. The company employs 700 people, 400 of whom are in Israel. It works with U.S. banks to make loans to people who otherwise would not have access to credit, using AI to qualify them. “Fifty percent of people applying for a loan are getting denied,” Krubiner said. Pagaya aims to help fix that. The company went public through a SPAC transaction last year, and currently has a market cap of around a billion dollars. It has funded more than $16 billion in loans.
Krubiner says many of his Israeli employees have joined the war effort, and as a result, he is having to rely more heavily on his U.S. employees to run the business. But, he says:
“To see the people, even between the U.S. and Israel, helping each other is amazing. People are actually wanting to help, rather than running away. In Israel in the last few years, I think that when you would see the news, you would see how politicians have been dividing everyone. There have been Orthodox and not Orthodox, Arabs and Jews, right wing and left wing. Then in a single day, everyone is united. It’s like, unfortunately, your 9/11. Everyone is coming together. So it’s very bitter, but a little bright.”
You can find more on how CEOs and others are responding to the conflict here, and see one case study of a CEO who got it wrong here. Other news below.
Alan Murray
@alansmurray
alan.murray@fortune.com
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The hot Midwest
Eight of the nine housing markets that reported the greatest appreciation in home values for the year ending Aug. 31 are in the Midwest—with Kansas City leading the pack. “Cities like Cleveland, Columbus, and Pittsburgh have more going for them in the near future than a Las Vegas or Phoenix,” says Ed Pinto, director of the AEI’s Housing Center, which compiled the data. Pinto blames a “price explosion in the Southern tier” for creating a “huge barrier for most potential buyers.” Fortune
Beijing merger meddling
Chinese officials are reportedly considering whether to delay approval of chip company Broadcom’s $69 billion deal to buy VMWare. Beijing had earlier dragged its feet on approving Intel’s $5.4 billion acquisition of Tower Semiconductor, eventually scuttling the deal. China reserves the right to evaluate mergers—even those involving two non-Chinese companies—if they conduct significant business in China. Financial Times
A problem with Jon Stewart
Apple is reportedly ending its show with comedian and former Daily Show host Jon Stewart due to creative disagreements on content involving AI and China. Apple executives were also concerned that more disputes might arise heading into the 2024 U.S. presidential election. China is important to Apple, both as a consumer market and production hub. CEO Tim Cook made a surprise trip to the country this week, meeting with commerce minister Wang Wentao. The New York Times
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Corner Kick to Corner Office Sports can transcend cultural, social and economic differences. Pete Giorgio, sports practice leader, looks at Deloitte's research on the impact of sports on women professionals and shares how being raised by strong women and raising strong women himself helps him lead each day. Read his article here.
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