Morning Edition · Monday, November 2, 2026
Markets
Oil Falls as Qatar Brokers a Two-Day Plan to Reopen Hormuz Before the US Midterms
Brent slipped to about $112 a barrel in early Asian trading. Israel is pressing Washington to resume strikes on Iran after Tuesday's vote, and that risk is keeping a premium in crude prices.
Macro
Gold Recovers to About $3,900 After Its Worst October Since 2008 as Investors Sold Bullion to Cover Tech Losses
The Federal Reserve held its benchmark rate at 3.75% to 4% last week, but two officials voted for a hike, and the 10-year Treasury yield remains near 5%.
Macro
Brazil's Stock Index Loses 18% and the Real 9% in the Week After Lula's Re-Election
Lula has pledged to keep every social program in his 2027-2030 term, and the leader of a key centrist party says markets will not settle until he appoints a finance team with real authority.
Markets
Losses in the Lowest-Rated Junk Debt Spread as Lenders Fight Borrowers Moving Assets Out of Reach
The spread on CCC-rated bonds reached 13.56 percentage points, up from under 10 in July, while the broad high-yield index barely moved and investors began to question how long AI-driven earnings growth can last.
Crypto
Binance Users Withdraw $3.6 Billion After the $6.3 Billion Hack Investigators Blame on North Korea
Bitcoin trades near $78,000 after last week's slide, and BTCPay, a separate bitcoin payment tool, has told merchants to shut down their servers after reports of drained wallets.
World
Trump's Republicans Defend Congress on Tuesday After a Reported 54 Million Early Votes
The House and Senate results will decide how much freedom Trump has on spending and on Iran, where he has said he will not resume strikes before the vote.
Macro
China's Central Bank Makes the Overnight Rate Its Main Policy Tool and Drains a Net 515 Billion Yuan on the First Day
The People's Bank of China lent 541 billion yuan overnight at 1.25%, and analysts say the change adds about 5 basis points to bank margins while the Federal Reserve moves in the opposite direction.
Geopolitics
Oleshky Humanitarian Ceasefire Ends as Zelensky Offers to Pause Refinery Strikes in Exchange for Patriot Missiles
Melania Trump called the five-day evacuation truce a success, and Russia says it has since struck a cargo ship and missile launchers in Odesa region.
Markets
Japan's $21 Billion US Gas Deal Spree Contrasts With Losses at China's Big Airlines as Iran-War Fuel Costs Spread Across Asia
Jet fuel prices have more than doubled since late February, and the airlines and buyers that cannot hedge the cost are absorbing it while Japan buys gas fields in Texas and Louisiana.
Geopolitics
Hackers Send Fake Nuclear Attack Alerts Through Russia's Emergency Ministry Channels After Ukraine's Air-Raid App Is Breached
The false warnings appeared in about 10 Russian regions overnight, and a separate group claims it took casualty data from Russia's federal statistics agency.
Geopolitics
Oman's Sultan Signs Cooperation Deals With Xi on the First Visit to China by an Omani Head of State
The talks covered energy, ports, logistics and artificial intelligence, and Oman's central bank governor traveled with the sultan while Qatar leads the effort to reopen Hormuz.
Geopolitics
Pakistan Threatens Kabul With "Unbearable Punishment" as Border Clashes Continue and Reko Diq Faces a Delay to 2030
Islamabad's military spokesman named India as the "prime contractor" behind militancy in Pakistan, a charge New Delhi has repeatedly rejected, and the security concerns are now affecting one of the world's largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits.