Morning Edition · Friday, October 23, 2026
Markets
Meta's Higher AI Spending Plans Drive a 2.6% Nasdaq Drop and Push Money Into Japanese Bonds and the Yen
Chip-equipment makers fell as much as 12%, and OpenAI cut its fundraising valuation target to $1.25 trillion from $1.4 trillion after some investors refused the higher price.
Macro
French 10-Year Yield Climbs to Its Highest Level Since 2002 as Paris Bans Some Protests
The gap over German debt reached about 1.6 percentage points, with the European Central Bank (ECB) meeting on Oct. 29 and a credit-rating review due this weekend.
Markets
Brent Settles at $113.17 After Houthi Strikes Hit Saudi Oil Sites and an Airport
Saudi Aramco told staff to evacuate its Dhahran headquarters, and the attack on Yanbu targets the Red Sea port that lets Saudi crude bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
Markets
Gold Falls Below $4,000 an Ounce as Oil and Strong U.S. Jobs Data Revive Rate Fears
Spot gold touched $3,986.54 in Asian trading, heading for a sharp weekly decline, and bitcoin fell alongside it to about $81,000.
Geopolitics
Netanyahu Says Iran's Government Must Be Overthrown as Tehran Prepares for Renewed Strikes
Reports say President Donald Trump blocked an Israeli plan to resume the war before the Nov. 3 U.S. midterm elections, and Trump now says the conflict with Iran will be "done very soon."
World
Datafolha Puts Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro at 50% Each Before Sunday's Brazilian Run-Off
The real weakened to about 5.04 per dollar and the Ibovespa fell 1.15% on Thursday, as the government opened a third phase of its Desenrola debt-renegotiation program days before the vote.
Geopolitics
Moscow Pushes for a Putin-Trump-Xi Summit as Trump Says a Ukraine Settlement Is "Closer Than Ever"
Russia's deputy foreign minister for Asia said Moscow wants the three-way meeting to happen, and reports place it at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen on Nov. 18-19, possibly without Ukraine's president.
Macro
Bank of Russia Expected to Hold Its Key Rate at 14% as Drones Keep Reaching Moscow
Sberbank's investment arm says federal bonds and fixed-coupon corporate debt are the most attractive instruments if the rate stays at 14%, and Moscow's mayor reported five drones shot down overnight on approach to the capital.
Markets
Berlin's Election Winners Plan to Take Over Large Landlords' Flats, Exposing Vonovia to an €8 Billion Hit
The Social Democrats, Greens and Left party agreed to socialize holdings above 10,000 apartments per company, with total compensation capped at €16 billion and a law planned for mid-2028.
Geopolitics
Ukraine Asks to Move Customs Checks Into the EU After Russian Drones Target Lorry Queues
Kyiv says its forces have downed 408,000 Russian drones this year, and Finnish companies plan a Ukrainian-controlled satellite network to reduce reliance on Starlink.
World
Ebola Reaches Nigeria as Africa's Disease Agency Puts the Outbreak's Death Toll Near 4,700
Nigeria is the fourth African country affected, and Kenya will release its first group of quarantined contacts on Sunday after recording nine confirmed cases and one death.
World
Indonesia Prepares for Drought as United Nations Agencies Warn of a Strong El Niño
Indonesia's disaster agency says El Niño may delay the rainy season in the world's largest palm-oil producer, and United Nations food agencies are seeking money to protect 8.8 million people in 22 countries.