Markets 24-Hour Briefing
×Public Markets
Last updated: October 29, 2026, 4:10 PM ET
Macro & Central Banks
The Federal Reserve held rates steady wsj.com, with Chairman Kevin Warsh signaling limited near-term guidance, and Treasury yields fell wsj.com on both sides of the Atlantic after the Fed and ECB decisions. Officials are expected to restart nytimes.com rate increases in December as inflation stays elevated. Separately, third-quarter U.S. GDP grew 3.4% nytimes.com, the fastest pace in a year, while the PCE index nytimes.com showed inflation accelerating in October. Christine Lagarde nytimes.com will step down as ECB president in February, months before her term ends. Gold dipped near $4,000 bloomberg.com after the Fed held. The euro traded near its weakest level since May 2025 ahead of the ECB, per options data bloomberg.com.
Equities & Big Tech
U.S. tech stocks fell ft.com as Alphabet and Microsoft reported results that revived concerns about AI spending, with the Nasdaq 100 losing 1.5% bloomberg.com as the trade showed new cracks. Alphabet shares tumbled roughly 9% ft.com, erasing about $500bn in value, after the company conceded its AI mode had hurt traditional search. Microsoft posted a soaring quarterly profit wsj.com as cloud growth accelerated, while Samsung's chip profit drove another record quarter wsj.com, though its shares slid ft.com on a lack of detail about investor returns. Eli Lilly shares hit a record ft.com after profits surged on weight-loss drug demand. DoorDash agreed to buy Instacart wsj.com for $17 billion, and Thrive Holdings will pay $10 a share in cash for ADT, a 35% premium.
Energy & Commodities
Oil fell wsj.com as traders weighed U.S.-Iran diplomacy, after prices had topped $115 wsj.com. Shell lifted its buyback to $5 billion bloomberg.com as its refining windfall grew, and European majors raised buybacks ft.com on Iran war profits. Europe will release 42 million barrels bloomberg.com of oil reserves to ease prices. Natural gas futures dropped wsj.com after inventories rose more than expected. Iron ore fell below $90 bloomberg.com a ton, pressuring high-cost supply, while Agnico Eagle warned bloomberg.com that rising diesel prices could lift gold output costs.
Autos, Consumer & Industrials
Volkswagen reported its largest loss nytimes.com in over a decade, with losses quadrupling ft.com in the third quarter. BYD profits rose 30% ft.com as exports offset weakness in China. Haleon shares dove wsj.com after the Advil maker cut its guidance, and Caterpillar sales rose wsj.com on AI demand but missed estimates. Carvana profit surged 91% wsj.com on 40% vehicle sales growth, and Chipotle revenue rose 9.6% wsj.com. Universal Music revenue climbed wsj.com to $3.78 billion on subscription growth. Lloyds profits surged ft.com as the UK hit banks with a higher tax.
Deals & Corporate Governance
Monte dei Paschi investors rejected the CEO's defensive plan against Intesa's €35bn takeover. Applebee's owner Dine Brands adopted a poison pill bloomberg.com to fend off a hostile bid. Trian made a $3.8bn take-private offer ft.com for Wendy's. Weil Gotshal's partners voted to dissolve ft.com the firm. Clorox named Unilever's Fabian Garcia wsj.com as its next CEO.
Private Markets & Financial Infrastructure
Investors doubled withdrawal requests ft.com at Partners Group's flagship U.S. private equity fund. Global bond sales hit a record bloomberg.com, fueled by AI borrowing. The NYSE owner's tokenized stock plan was scaled back ft.com after objections from major companies. The SEC is scrutinizing manipulation risks bloomberg.com in prediction markets, and Polymarket is investigating suspicious trades wsj.com tied to the Israel election. Kalshi raised $1 billion nytimes.com at a $40 billion valuation. Anthropic's IPO drew skepticism bloomberg.com from some Australian investment chiefs.
Coming Up
The Israeli election remains deadlocked nytimes.com, with coalition talks expected to be lengthy. California's billionaire tax is on the ballot Tuesday as Prop. 40.
Private Equity
Last updated: October 29, 2026, 4:10 PM ET
Take-Privates and Large Buyouts
Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund Management and Flynn Group have made a $7.35-a-share proposal peinsights.substack.com for Wendy's, teaming up with Blue Five Capital in an offer to take the fast-food chain private. Separately, Thrive Holdings, the vehicle linked to Jared Kushner, has agreed a $15.3bn all-cash deal peinsights.substack.com to buy ADT, with Apollo providing the financing for the US home security company.
Exits and Portfolio Deals
Carlyle and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development have sold Black Sea Oil & Gas peinsights.substack.com to former portfolio company Mazarine, marking a return to a familiar buyer. I Squared Capital has agreed to acquire Orizon Aerostructures peinsights.substack.com, the Kansas City-based aerospace components maker. Blackstone Strategic Partners has bought into a $1.3bn co-investment portfolio peinsights.substack.com at a discount of roughly 20%, a sign that secondary buyers are still finding value in private assets.
Venture Funding and Valuations
Dream, a startup founded by former Palantir executives, has raised $17M from a16z techcrunch.com to build AI world models for construction. In Europe, Fractile has raised £540m in a Series C round sifted.eu, according to filings. A fintech that was not actively fundraising still closed a $90m round sifted.eu at an $800m valuation. Deeptech startup MuRay has raised €7.1m sifted.eu to inspect rocket engines, while Bleu Robotics has raised $5m sifted.eu for industrial humanoids.
Startup Market Dynamics
Crunchbase data shows Series B funding is up this year, with investors pouring around $48 billion into startups, yet fewer deals are closing news.crunchbase.com. Meanwhile, AI megarounds are masking a squeeze on seed startups news.crunchbase.com, as the Series A market shrinks beneath them. Norway's Investinor is raising a new LP fund sifted.eu amid a broader European push to back scaleups.
Fund Strategy and Leadership
CVC's debut credit secondaries strategy has moved past its fundraising target pei-secondariesinvestor.com, while LGT Capital Partners has named a secondaries leader as its new CEO pei-secondariesinvestor.com.
Coming Up
Tech Crunch Founder Summit starts in six days techcrunch.com, bringing founders and investors to the stage.
Sector Investment
Last updated: October 29, 2026, 4:10 PM ET
Real Estate Investment
Brookfield has hired the former KKR team perenews.com behind KKR-backed Strategic Lease Partners to lead its net-lease expansion. Separately, the largest private real estate funds have lost market share perenews.com this quarter, with the top ten funds' share of fundraising declining in Q3.
Infrastructure Investment
Five Point Infrastructure has raised its fund target infrastructureinvestor.com to $4bn after already exceeding its original $2.5bn goal within five months. In Germany, the sale of SEFE's energy assets is drawing investor interest infrastructureinvestor.com as valuation concerns and a thin pipeline weigh on the broader market.
Industry Events
Submissions for the 2026 awards infrastructureinvestor.com are now open, and firms have a deadline to put forward their achievements from the year.
Coming Up
Firms have until the submission deadline to enter the 2026 awards infrastructureinvestor.com.