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Moderna lifts 2026 growth outlook to 15–25% after 29% Q3 jump Panama’s $8.5B Bet: The Canal That Wants to Be More Than a Canal Microsoft reportedly winds down Oracle AI-computing deal; Oracle falls 4% Up 1,500, down 1,800: Wall Street’s wildest week since the 2025 tariff crash Fox closes $22B Roku takeover months ahead of schedule Nikkei, Kospi plunge 6% as AI crash spreads to Asia Nasdaq crashes 5.5% as $2.5 trillion vanishes in AI rout Europe’s Stoxx 600 hits record as money rotates out of AI Toyota soars 16.7%, raises profit forecast 15% on hybrids, weak yen Europe’s defence darling, Rheinmetall, plunges 16% after second sales cut in three months

Moderna lifts 2026 growth outlook to 15–25% after 29% Q3 jump Panama’s $8.5B Bet: The Canal That Wants to Be More Than a Canal Microsoft reportedly winds down Oracle AI-computing deal; Oracle falls 4% Up 1,500, down 1,800: Wall Street’s wildest week since the 2025 tariff crash Fox closes $22B Roku takeover months ahead of schedule Nikkei, Kospi plunge 6% as AI crash spreads to Asia Nasdaq crashes 5.5% as $2.5 trillion vanishes in AI rout Europe’s Stoxx 600 hits record as money rotates out of AI Toyota soars 16.7%, raises profit forecast 15% on hybrids, weak yen Europe’s defence darling, Rheinmetall, plunges 16% after second sales cut in three months

Intelligence

Lagarde to quit ECB on 7 Feb 2027, almost nine months early

ECB President Christine Lagarde will leave nearly nine months before her term ends. That starts a race to choose her successor before France’s presidential election.

News | 30 October 2026

Lagarde to quit ECB on 7 Feb 2027, almost nine months early

Europe’s most powerful central banker has set her exit date. Christine Lagarde will leave the ECB on 7 February 2027, almost nine months before her term ends.

She says she wants the freedom to speak on issues beyond monetary policy. Some MEPs say the timing could raise questions about the ECB’s political independence.

The timing is the real story: leaving in February lets today’s EU leaders pick her successor before France votes. Some MEPs say that blurs the line between the ECB and politics. Klaas Knot of the Netherlands and Pablo Hernández de Cos of Spain lead the field.

Lagarde announced her exit as the ECB held its deposit rate at 2.5%, and she insists policy won’t skip a beat.