Vol. 01 / Issue 1 / 31 October 2026
Anthropic and Meta are asking investors to pay for the AI boom. The bill is only now coming into view.
The maker of Claude reported $16.3bn of revenue in the first half of 2026, more than three times its total for last year, in a filing that could set up one of the largest flotations on record.
The record equity raise comes days after spending on data centres pushed the company's free cash flow into negative territory for the first time in more than a decade.
Google's parent burned $9.1bn of free cash in the third quarter and signalled heavier spending next year; Microsoft's shares rose after cloud growth beat forecasts and spending came in lighter than expected.
The Nasdaq fell nearly 3 per cent as disappointing forecasts from Intel, Amazon and Reddit deepened doubts over whether the AI boom is turning into profits.
The chipmaker is underwriting leases and buying spare capacity to keep demand for its processors strong, leaving it more exposed if AI customers struggle to pay.
The central bank's president will step down in February, nine months before her term ends, opening a contest to lead it as French borrowing costs strain the euro zone.
With about half the vote counted, Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc is projected at 55 seats, six short of a majority, after a vote in which the economy ranked as voters' top concern.
John Healey's first budget should buy back the trust of lenders before it buys the gratitude of voters.
Trading was halted in São Paulo as stocks fell as much as 17 per cent and the real lost about 12 per cent against the dollar.
Brent crude has averaged just over $100 a barrel since the war began on 28 February, about 46 per cent more than in the first two months of the year.
