Business & Economy News: 30 October 2026

S&P Global Ratings set Meta's outlook to negative and its rating to AA- negative, citing uncertainty over its elevated AI capital spending and negative free cash flow. The agency questioned whether Meta can monetize AI investments, even as the company expects full-year capex of $135 billion to $145 billion and plans to raise $95 billion. Meta pushed back, saying it sees significant product and business opportunities and a strong credit profile.

Two Federal Reserve presidents said on Friday that rates will need to rise to rein in inflation, with St. Louis Fed's Alberto Musalem calling for a hike soon and Dallas Fed's Lorie Logan forecasting at least two more quarter-point increases. The remarks came after the Fed left rates unchanged on Wednesday and boosted expectations of a December move, with futures pricing a 76% chance of a quarter-point hike.

Crude exports through the Strait of Hormuz averaged nearly 11.1 million barrels a day in October, only about 2% lower than September, even as ship attacks doubled to at least 30 vessels this month. Brent crude traded above $117 a barrel on Friday, near its wartime closing high of $118.35 in March, after prices rose more than 13% this month. Kpler data show flows fell to 7.3 million barrels a day, more than 40% below prewar levels.

Poundland filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators at the high court on Thursday, giving it 10 days to seek a solution while protecting it from creditors. The 36-year-old chain, which operates 600 stores including Dealz outlets in Ireland, has up to 12,000 staff and faces supplier holdbacks. Its owners Gordon Brothers rejected a management-backed rescue bid by Martin Property Group, understood to be about £15m.

Edmunds data show vehicles priced between $20,000 and $29,999 took 20% fewer days to sell from the first to third quarter, the biggest acceleration of any price segment. Cars in the $30,000 to $39,999 and $40,000 to $49,999 tiers also sold faster, while all segments above $50,000 took more than 60 days. Cox Automotive said compact car sales were down about 4% and compact SUV sales nearly 8% since early 2026, partly due to Toyota RAV4 shortages.

The U.S. Treasury said newly purchased Series I bonds will pay 5.51% annual interest from Nov. 1 through April 30, up from 4.26% for purchases through Oct. 31. The rate combines a 4.08% inflation-linked variable portion and a 1.40% fixed portion, the highest fixed rate since 2006. The increase follows September consumer inflation of 3.7% and makes the government-backed asset more attractive, experts said.

Reddit shares fell 29.2% to $91.73 on Friday, the company's largest one-day percentage drop and its lowest close in over a year, after it said search referral traffic fell significantly in the third quarter. The stock is down 60% since the start of the year and was the S&P 500's worst performer, with analysts saying its shift to a logged-in user experience may take time and keep affecting revenue.

AMD shares slid as investors reacted to Intel's earnings, which showed weakening personal computer sales from high memory-chip prices and insufficient server chip supply for strong CPU demand. The broader tech selloff lifted defensive stocks.

Changpeng Zhao, Binance's cofounder and former CEO, asked Elon Musk not to troll the exchange after Musk posted mocking emojis about the $6.3 billion hack. Zhao said Binance's SpaceX stake, from an earlier investment in what was then Twitter, is worth more than $1 billion. Binance froze withdrawals and deposits after the suspected North Korean hack and has restored deposits, with about $3 billion frozen so far.

The Swiss National Bank said Friday it made a 19.1 billion Swiss franc ($23.3 billion) profit on investments in the third quarter, driven by gold and foreign currency holdings. The result lifted year to date profit to 44.2 billion francs, about $53.8 billion, raising the prospect of a payout to Swiss federal and local governments. The third quarter profit was down almost 32% from a year earlier.

Amazon chief executive Andy Jassy set a bold target on the earnings call, but the company reported slowing retail and ad growth. Online sales rose 2% year over year, down from 10% a year earlier and below estimates, while revenue guidance fell short of analyst expectations. Amazon expects $220 billion in capital expenditures this year, and its negative free cash flow reached $42.4 billion, with Meta and Alphabet reporting outflows.

Chevron reported third-quarter net income of $9.9 billion, or $5.06 a share, up nearly 200% from $3.5 billion a year earlier. Adjusted earnings of $5.28 a share beat Wall Street estimates of $4.89, helped by U.S. refineries running at 98% capacity and record crude processing above 1 million barrels per day. Refining division profits rose more than 300% to $4.9 billion as diesel and jet fuel yields increased more than 10%.

Eurostat said the 21-nation euro area grew by 0.4% in the third quarter, down from 0.6% in the second quarter but above the 0.2% forecast in a Reuters poll. France unexpectedly contracted by 0.1% as soaring borrowing costs followed a political fight over its deficit and cost-of-living unrest. The ECB held rates on Thursday, saying higher energy prices had not yet caused second-round effects, but analysts see a possible December hike.

Investors expect Democrats to take control of the House in next week's midterm elections, with polls also suggesting a possible Senate majority. Analysts say a divided government would likely create gridlock, making must-pass legislation such as government funding and raising the debt ceiling harder to enact. A Piper Sandler report projected that Democratic policy proposals would add $5 trillion to the deficit over the coming decade.

Nationwide said UK house prices rose 0.5% in the year to October, the slowest pace in more than two years, with the average price at £273,566 and flat on the previous month. Higher borrowing costs are weighing on buyers, as the average five-year fixed mortgage rate reached 6% for the first time in three years. The Bank of England has held its base rate at 3.75%, but expectations are growing that it may raise rates to 4% next week.

The ECB's fourth quarter survey found forecasters raised inflation expectations to 3.0% for 2026 and 2.6% for 2027, while keeping longer term views at 2.0%. They expect real GDP growth of 1.0% in 2026 and 1.3% in 2027 and 2028, with risks tilted somewhat to the downside. Respondents said the Middle East war's energy price shock is mainly expected to affect 2027, with second round effects remaining limited.

Americans are expected to spend $13.5 billion on Halloween, up from a record $13.1 billion last year, as candy and chewing gum prices rose 7.7% in September from a year earlier and are up more than 18% in two years. Weather and supply problems are lifting costs, with pumpkins up 11% from September 2020 and cocoa supply in West Africa disrupted. Early candy sales fell 11.7% through September 19, a decline that narrowed to 6.7% four weeks later.

BP said third-quarter underlying replacement cost profit rose to $8.46bn, up from $2.2bn a year ago. The jump mainly reflected significantly higher realised refining margins and gas and marketing trading, as the Middle East conflict lifted oil and gas prices. BP will use excess cash flow to settle remaining Deepwater Horizon liabilities in full, with payables and provisions at $5.94bn.

Nicola Shaw, chief executive of Yorkshire Water, said she will step down on 1 January, 24 hours after the Environment Agency gave the company one star out of four, its lowest possible rating. Shaw, who has led the firm since 2022, faces criticism over £1.3m in undisclosed payments between 2023 and 2025. The agency said Yorkshire Water caused 260 pollution incidents in 2025, its highest since 2011, and Ofwat is fining it £47m for sewage leaks.

Foxconn chairman Young Liu said the company's share of the global AI server market could reach 50% in a couple of years, from around 40% now and possibly about 45% next year. He expects AI infrastructure to account for 60% to 65% of revenue in the next three to five years, excluding edge AI devices. Foxconn is expanding U.S. manufacturing, initially focusing on higher-margin products such as AI server racks and data center equipment.

The UK tax-free trading allowance will rise from £1,000 to £3,000 in April 2027, according to the budget. Up to 1.4 million people could benefit, with an estimated 400,000 seeing their tax bill fall by an average of £380 and about 100,000 no longer needing to report trading income to HMRC. The change follows a rise in side hustles, with 2.6 million people selling goods through platforms last year, up from 450,000 in 2024.

Iran said four tankers struck mines in the Strait of Hormuz, with three catching fire near the Omani coast and a fourth burning east of the strait. The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency reported that a small boat attached two explosive devices to a tanker 25 nautical miles northeast of Khasab, Oman, disabling the vessel while the crew was safe.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards disputed a U.S. Central Command claim that mines had been cleared from primary transit routes, while Yemen's Houthis said they launched six operations against Saudi airports and oil facilities. The strait carried about one-fifth of the world's energy supplies, and daily passings have fallen to single digits since the war began in late February, raising concern that fighting could resume around the Nov.

3 vote even as Vice President JD Vance seeks to reopen talks.

Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan said remibrutinib could be one of the company's largest medicines in history, with peak annual sales expected to exceed $4 billion. The Swiss drugmaker made the case days after Barclays cut its forecast following late-stage trial results showing the MS drug reduced relapses by less than analysts expected.

Novartis reported sales growth this week despite losing key patent protection for Entresto, while analysts said the market is focused on future expirations for Kisqali and Kesimpta around 2032. The company has guided for more than $8 billion in total remibrutinib sales, including indications beyond relapsing MS.

The Bank of Japan held its policy rate at 1.25%, its highest level since 1995, and said underlying inflation was generally consistent with its 2% target for the first time since adopting it in 2013. The decision was split 8 to 1, with board member Hajime Takata dissenting in favor of a hike to 1.5%.

The BOJ raised its fiscal year 2027 inflation forecast to 2.6% and core-core inflation to 2.7%, while flagging an upward risk as firms raise wages and prices. Economists surveyed by CNBC expect the bank to set the stage for a hike in December or January next year.

Binance said on Thursday that $6.3bn of digital assets were impacted by what could be the largest hack in history, with about half frozen and many still held by attackers. Early checks suggested a compromised engineer's laptop allowed unauthorised withdrawals, and the exchange said it will cover all losses.

Two analytics firms, TRM Labs and Chainalysis, attributed the incident to a North Korean hacking unit called TraderTraitor, while Binance said it is working with law enforcement to confirm the identity. Tether and Circle said they froze about $2.4bn of assets in response.

Ian Choudri, chief executive of California's high-speed rail authority, resigned Wednesday after a state inspector general report found the agency misused public funds. The report said it paid $543,000 in disallowed travel reimbursements for consultants, including $81,000 for trips to places without an official purpose, such as gyms, an escape room and a nightclub. Choudri cited personal and family priorities in his resignation email.

US tech stocks slid on Friday as investors worried about the cost of the AI buildout. Intel shares fell as much as 30% after the chipmaker warned of a weaker PC market and said it did not expect to bring in more cash than it spends this year. The Nasdaq opened at its lowest level in more than two months, while Amazon, Reddit and Roblox also fell, raising doubts about returns from large AI investments.

Microsoft said on Thursday it plans to raise $25 billion in bonds, with the offerings expected to close on Nov. 4, to support its infrastructure expansion. The company holds an AAA rating from S&P and is targeting $170 billion in 2026 capital expenditures to meet demand from AI labs Anthropic and OpenAI, as well as other clients.

Finance chief Amy Hood said Microsoft will use additional funding sources when conditions are attractive, including leasing and debt markets. The move follows similar bond market activity by Amazon, Alphabet and CoreWeave, while Microsoft reported positive free cash flow.