MARKETS

S&P 500 7,580.07 -1.82% NASDAQ 25,437.00 -2.86% FTSE 100 10,715.67 -0.13% NIKKEI 63,082 -0.33% BRENT $108.43 -4.41% GOLD $3,910.7 +0.30%

Delayed 15 min · 13:30 GMT

FLASH

Germany’s gas storage hits a record low of 61% as winter arrives Korea’s chip exports jump 259% as October shipments hit $115.3B Oil at $110: will talks, the status quo or strikes set the next move? The 49.3 Problem: China’s factories shrink as its carmakers sell abroad Week ahead: US midterms, two rate hikes, jobs data and AI’s next earnings test Weekend Wrap part 2: Record profits, Falling Stocks - and Nervous AI Investors Weekend Wrap 1: The AI bill nobody fully counted: Bangladesh, World's no.2 apparel exporter, forms garment wage board after protests shut 43 factories FBI pins $6.3B Binance heist on North Korea; withdrawals restart Exxon earns $15.4B, Chevron $9.9B as refining boom lifts Big Oil

Germany’s gas storage hits a record low of 61% as winter arrives Korea’s chip exports jump 259% as October shipments hit $115.3B Oil at $110: will talks, the status quo or strikes set the next move? The 49.3 Problem: China’s factories shrink as its carmakers sell abroad Week ahead: US midterms, two rate hikes, jobs data and AI’s next earnings test Weekend Wrap part 2: Record profits, Falling Stocks - and Nervous AI Investors Weekend Wrap 1: The AI bill nobody fully counted: Bangladesh, World's no.2 apparel exporter, forms garment wage board after protests shut 43 factories FBI pins $6.3B Binance heist on North Korea; withdrawals restart Exxon earns $15.4B, Chevron $9.9B as refining boom lifts Big Oil

Intelligence

Week ahead: US midterms, two rate hikes, jobs data and AI’s next earnings test

In five days markets get the US election, likely rate hikes in Australia and the UK, the October jobs report, and Apple, AMD and Palantir results. The Iran ceasefire talks hang over all of it, and the week will show whether last week’s AI sell-off deepens or steadies.

Global Business Pulse | 1 November 2026

Week ahead: US midterms, two rate hikes, jobs data and AI’s next earnings test

Investors face a five-day test. America votes on Tuesday, deciding who controls Congress and how far Trump’s fiscal agenda can go.

The mid-terms decide who controls Congress and how far Trump’s fiscal agenda can go.

The same day, Australia’s central bank is expected to raise rates to an 18-year high, and the Bank of England looks set to follow on Thursday as the energy shock from the Iran war keeps inflation sticky.

In between, Apple, AMD and Palantir report results, the next test of whether investors still believe the AI spending will pay off.

Friday’s jobs report then decides whether the next big move in rates is up. Over all of it hangs Hormuz, with ceasefire talks running against the risk of renewed strikes once the vote is over.

Over all of it hangs Hormuz, with ceasefire talks running against the risk of renewed strikes once the vote is over.