Business & Economy News: 3 November 2026

Meta is seeking to raise between $20 billion and $25 billion in a bond sale to fund its expanding artificial intelligence infrastructure and services. The debt sale is expected to be two-thirds in US dollars and one-third in euros, coming days after S&P Global Ratings revised the company's outlook to negative.

Meta's full-year capital expenditure is expected to be between $135 billion and $145 billion, contributing to negative free cash flow in the latest quarter.

Portugal signed the share sale contract for TAP with Lufthansa, formalizing a deal that includes 1.201 billion euros for up to 49% of the airline's capital. Prime Minister Luís Montenegro stated that the agreement preserves TAP's identity and brand, while Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said the airline will continue to be Portuguese. The deal gives Lufthansa access to new markets in Africa and Latin America, particularly Brazil.

Primark will begin UK home deliveries by December 2027, bringing the plan forward by about two years after profits slid. The chain acquired a robot assisted warehouse in Sheffield from Debenhams and will take it over by mid 2027. Sales rose 4% to £9.8bn in the year to 12 September, but established UK store sales rose only 0.5% and mainland Europe established sales fell 4%.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said job openings rose to 7.52 million in September, up 333,000 from August and above the 7.15 million expected. Quits jumped to 3.36 million, the highest since March 2025, while hires rose to 5.4 million and layoffs fell to 1.64 million. There were 414,000 more openings than unemployed workers, or about 1.05 openings for each available worker. The report comes ahead of Friday's payrolls.

UK ministers proposed a default guided retirement option that would offer private sector workers a guaranteed pension income for life, with payments often linked to inflation. The government said the changes would affect 17 million workers who are investing in a pension, while people could still withdraw their money or invest it elsewhere. Nearly half of pension pots accessed for the first time in 2025-26 were emptied out.

Bill Ackman said the stock market is broken because speculative trading and heavy leverage are causing wild price swings. The Pershing Square founder compared conditions to casino markets with 95% leverage and warned the attitude could be dangerous for investors seeking quick gains. He said the dislocations let his fund buy Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet, and he remains bullish on Visa, Mastercard and Netflix.

Ferrari raised its 2026 revenue guidance to 7.65 billion euros after third-quarter results slightly beat expectations. The company also lifted adjusted earnings and industrial free cash flow targets, citing stronger customer personalizations and a second-place Formula 1 finish. Vehicle shipments through the first nine months fell by 318 units, with fewer deliveries to the Americas and to China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Shopify shares fell 9% after the e-commerce platform reported third-quarter revenue of $3.74 billion, just below estimates. Gross merchandise volume and subscription gross profit also missed, while adjusted earnings of 49 cents a share beat expectations. The company expects fourth-quarter revenue growth in the low thirties, versus 32.1% expected.

Car parts maker Schaeffler will cut 3,460 jobs and close five European sites, blaming an automotive industry crisis, overseas competition and technological change. About 2,660 jobs and four sites are in Germany, including plants making products for internal combustion engines. The company said the moves should add about 300 million euros to annual earnings from 2030.

China's central bank governor pledged further support for the stock market after major A-share indexes extended losses on Tuesday. The PBOC had launched a swap facility for institutional investors and cut the rate on a share buy-back relending programme. The Shanghai Composite fell 0.8% to 3,608.10, while the CSI 300 had its worst October in a decade.

Yum Brands reported fiscal third-quarter net income of $1.62 billion, or $5.92 per share, beating expectations, although a cyclospora outbreak at Taco Bell weighed on same-store sales. Excluding gains from its Pizza Hut divestiture and other items, the company earned $1.56 per share. Taco Bell's same-store sales fell 4% in the quarter but rose about 1% so far in the fourth quarter, with the last four weeks up 3%.

Pfizer reported third-quarter results that beat estimates and raised full-year revenue guidance to $62 billion to $64 billion. The company also named Cecile Guegan, a two-decade finance veteran, as chief financial officer. Pfizer said demand for newer and acquired products is supporting a comeback as pandemic-era sales fade.

Disney is planning to cut several thousand jobs, with some managers asked to reduce costs by up to 20%, according to people familiar with the matter. The reports did not move Disney's stock on Tuesday. The move follows earlier plans under CEO Josh D'Amaro to cut about 1,000 jobs in April and about 300 in September. Disney had about 231,000 employees at the end of fiscal 2025.

Eurozone governments have until Friday 6 November to nominate a successor to ECB President Christine Lagarde, with finance ministers reviewing names on 9 November. Lagarde announced she will leave on 7 February 2027, cutting her eight-year term short by almost nine months. A candidate needs the backing of at least 16 of the 21 eurozone countries, representing at least 65% of the bloc's population.

Lufthansa Group reported adjusted operating profit of 1.4 billion euros for the July to September quarter, up 6% year on year, with revenue rising 9% to a record 12.24 billion euros. CEO Carsten Spohr said higher revenue and cost discipline offset about half a billion euros of higher fuel costs. The group now expects its full-year fuel bill to reach 9.3 billion euros, roughly 2 billion euros more than in 2025, because of the Middle East conflict.

Barclays will begin making early car finance mis-selling compensation offers to some customers, with some who accept likely to receive money before Christmas. The Financial Conduct Authority said it would welcome offers as long as they are no worse than its proposed central scheme, which faces a legal challenge in February. Average payouts are expected to be about £829 for about 12 million loans, with total industry costs up to £9.1bn.

Asda has appointed 69-year-old former Morrisons chief David Potts as chief executive with immediate effect, with executive chair Allan Leighton moving to a non-executive strategic role. The UK's third largest supermarket saw sales fall 0.5% in the three months to 4 October, while Aldi is poised to overtake it by about one percentage point. Potts led Morrisons from 2015 to 2023, and Asda faces heavy competition and debt.

Danish biotech Genmab's shares have doubled in three months after a string of major cancer drug trial successes, including a 48% surge last week. Its petosemtamab treatment, combined with Merck's Keytruda, reduced the risk of death by 50% in a Phase 3 head and neck cancer trial. CEO Jan van de Winkel said the results mark a new era as Genmab seeks to keep a larger share of revenue from its own medicines.

Executives at a Hong Kong summit warned that the artificial intelligence boom is creating unprecedented demand for capital, with investment potentially reaching $10 trillion over the next five years. Pimco CEO Emmanuel Roman compared the transformation to the Industrial Revolution, noting that rising interest rates or geopolitical tensions could trigger a downturn.

Blackstone President Jonathan Gray said debt investors are not positioned to share in the potential upside if major technology companies succeed.

Drax Group signed an agreement with Brookfield and Brookfield's neocloud platform Radiant to develop an AI data center on the Drax Power Station estate in North Yorkshire. The project targets up to 100 megawatts from the first quarter of 2028, with 500 megawatts added between 2028 and 2031 and more than 1 gigawatt later. Brookfield estimates total investment could exceed 20 billion pounds, with an initial 2.5 billion pounds in phase 1.

Virgin Media O2 will cut thousands of jobs in an £800m cost saving plan to reduce its £22bn debt. The company said £300m of savings will come from job cuts that cut the wage bill by 30% over two years, potentially affecting up to 25% of its 16,000 staff. It plans to use AI in customer service, network planning and fault management, and is exploring a wholesale deal with BT's Openreach to extend coverage from 19m to potentially 25m homes.

China's Vice-Premier He Lifeng said Beijing will introduce extra measures, as needed, to bolster Hong Kong as an international financial centre. Speaking at the 2026 Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit, he called finance the top priority for the city and urged expansion of financial services and innovation in commodities, fintech and green finance, as China seeks to stabilise its stock markets.

Bank of China president Zhang Hui said Hong Kong is well placed to help global investors diversify portfolios as geopolitical uncertainty reshapes capital flows. He called the city a superconnector between mainland China and global markets, noting it accounted for more than 75 per cent of offshore yuan payment transactions.

Saudi Aramco said third-quarter net profit rose 34.6% to 135.9 billion riyals, or 32.3 billion euros, helped by higher oil prices, stronger refining margins and a 25.9 billion riyal gain from selling its PRefChem stake to Petronas. Adjusted net income was $31.2 billion, up 9% and above the $30.66 billion median estimate. CEO Amin H. Nasser said attacks on energy facilities continued to weigh on global energy security.

Poundland founder Steve Smith warned that staff could be out of work for years if the retailer collapses, and called on owners to accept a proposed buyout. The chain, controlled by Gordon Brothers, filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators, with AlixPartners set to run the process. Smith said 12,000 employees face uncertainty, and up to 30,000 jobs could be at risk as suppliers hold back deliveries ahead of Christmas.

China's foreign exchange regulator has proposed nine measures to simplify current account foreign exchange transactions and reduce settlement costs for businesses. A draft notice, open for consultation until December 1, would extend a cross border trade payment scheme nationwide from January 1, allowing banks to ease documentation checks for eligible companies with sound compliance records.

Blackstone President Jon Gray said the AI infrastructure buildout will need more equity financing as lenders face growing concentration risks. Speaking at a Hong Kong Monetary Authority summit, he said computing demand is running well ahead of supply. Pimco CEO Emmanuel Roman warned AI related capital spending could reach about $10 trillion over five years, with about $550 billion in AI debt issued so far this year.

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Michele Bullock said some pain now would prevent worse pain later after the bank raised the cash rate to 4.85%, the highest since 2008. The decision split the board, with six members voting for a hike and three for no change. The rise will add $107 a month to repayments on a $700,000 home loan, while markets halved the chance of another rise before Christmas to 12%.

A Resolution Foundation study based on the 2025 British Social Attitudes survey found UK job satisfaction at a record low, with workers increasingly frustrated by pay and flexible working. Satisfaction fell from 81% in 2015 to 74%, the lowest since the question was first asked in 1989. The share willing to work harder than required to help their employer succeed fell from 69% in 2015 to 55% in 2025.

A severe drought in Indonesia is slowing output of nickel, a crucial material for electric vehicle batteries, and creating risks across China's electric car supply chain. Refineries that use acid leaching need large volumes of water, and one flagship operation in Central Sulawesi is running at 30 percent capacity, down from 50 percent. CRU Group expects similar cutbacks across the industry through this month.

North Korea denied U.S. allegations of the record $6.3bn Binance hack, with Kim Yo-jong calling the claim a grave political provocation. The FBI and blockchain analysts linked the attack to TraderTraitor, while Binance began reopening withdrawals for more assets. Analysts say hackers used thousands of wallets across multiple blockchains to obscure the stolen funds.

The People's Bank of China said on Tuesday it will raise the reserve requirement ratio on foreign exchange deposits by two percentage points to 6 percent, effective November 15. The central bank called the move a step to strengthen liquidity management of financial institutions. It is expected to tighten onshore foreign currency liquidity and ease appreciation pressure on the yuan, which recently reached its strongest level since June 2022.

Palantir shares fell in premarket trading on Tuesday after the company reported third-quarter results that beat Wall Street estimates. U.S. commercial revenue topped government revenue for the first time, but a deceleration in U.S. commercial contract growth gave some Wall Street analysts pause. The stock slid alongside Apple, which also reported after the bell on Monday.

Apple reported revenue of $114.5 billion for the three months to 26 September, up 12% and above estimates, with record iPhone sales in the September quarter. Earnings were $2.10 a share, versus $1.99 expected, but shares fell about 3% after hours on thinner margins. Apple expects December quarter revenue to rise 7% to 10%, while gross margin falls to 45% to 46% on memory costs and Siri AI spending.

Apple's chief operating officer said the company did not know when more foldable iPhones would be available after the $1,999 iPhone Duo sold out at release. CEO John Ternus said Apple was working to make the phones available to more people, while the company said it would replace a small number of units that cracked along the inside fold. Supply constraints from advanced chips are expected to continue into next year.

The Nasdaq-100 entered its third correction this year as investors worried about artificial intelligence spending. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley chiefs called the pullback a temporary speed bump and said AI could drive productivity over a long cycle. US hyperscalers have poured $750 billion into AI data-centre investments this year, and one estimate puts the next decade at $10 trillion to $15 trillion.

John Lewis is launching its 20th Christmas ad, starring Kristin Scott Thomas as a glamorous granny and featuring a talking toy dog called Pickles. The retailer said it increased spend on the ad as production costs rose and wanted to push the boat out for its 20th year.

Marketing director Rosie Hanley said the company was confident of a strong return before Black Friday, with spending on Christmas related gear at John Lewis already up on last year.

Chinese carmakers' marketing tactics are under the spotlight after an Xpeng product manager used the slang term Lao Deng, referring to middle aged people, during a live streamed launch. The comment drew criticism from consumers in their 40s and 50s, and the manager later apologized, saying she meant to criticize rigid thinking by conservative car designers. The episode comes as sales slow and regulators step up quality checks.