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Last updated: October 30, 2026, 3:40 PM ET
Crypto Markets and the Binance Hack
The largest crypto theft on record hit Binance, with a $6.3 billion heist ft.com that forced the exchange to suspend withdrawals ft.com while it works to cover losses. Clues point to North Korea wsj.com as the likely culprit, and crypto stocks sold off nytimes.com across exchanges and fintech names. Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple wsj.com each fell more than 2%, while CZ hit back at Musk bloomberg.com over the attack. Polymarket also suspended trading wsj.com after its own breach, and hackers swiped millions wsj.com from its users.
Tech Selloff and AI Spending Fears
Big Tech shed nearly $900bn ft.com as investors questioned the price of AI build-outs, with Alphabet's market value wsj.com dropping $500 billion. Nasdaq 100 fell 3% bloomberg.com as earnings stoked an AI reckoning, and AI debt fears bloomberg.com pushed tech credit default swaps to record highs. Intel shares plunged 22% ft.com on a weak sales outlook, and Amazon stock dropped wsj.com despite its biggest cloud growth in years. Taiwan stocks neared a correction bloomberg.com as the global AI selloff deepened, while the broader U.S. market held nytimes.com relatively steady.
Energy and Oil Windfalls
ExxonMobil and Chevron ft.com posted bumper profits and warned on diesel supplies, with U.S. oil industry profits nytimes.com topping $130 billion during the Iran war. BP's profit hit an 18-year high bloomberg.com on soaring refining margins, and Big Oil reaped more than $50 billion bloomberg.com in windfall profits. Oil climbed bloomberg.com on fears the U.S. may resume strikes against Iran, and ANZ raised its oil price forecast bloomberg.com as the market tightened. Tensions at sea escalated when Iran hit a Hormuz tanker ft.com with limpet mines, and oil spills washed up ft.com on UAE beaches.
Central Banks and Rates
Fed's Musalem said more rate hikes are needed soon to tame inflation, and gold fell wsj.com as tightening bets weighed. U.S. Treasury yields dropped wsj.com to multiweek lows, and Treasuries headed for a monthly gain bloomberg.com as tech stocks stumbled. The yen strengthened bloomberg.com after the Bank of Japan kept rates steady, while Nikkei extended losses wsj.com. UK yields slid bloomberg.com as a cautious budget boosted bonds, and Colombia suspended rate increases bloomberg.com as its economy cooled. French economy shrank 0.1% ft.com in the third quarter, and the euro posted its worst month bloomberg.com against sterling since 2022.
Private Equity and Deals
CD&R is pursuing a $40bn buyout ft.com of Global Payments, which would rank among the largest buyouts ever. BASF's $12.5 billion bid for Evonik wsj.com was rebuffed, and Evonik rejected the sweetened offer ft.com. Partners Group plans to halve withdrawal limits ft.com on a strained private equity fund. PAG agreed to buy a stake wsj.com in Evergrande Property Services, and Tesco will sell its European units ft.com for £1.5bn. Weil Gotshal collapsed wsj.com after a 95-year run, and Kirkland & Ellis is in talks ft.com with Weil's Ramona Nee.
Coming Up
The U.S. midterms are days away bloomberg.com, with Wall Street expecting Democrats to win at least one chamber of Congress. Logistics operators are delaying holiday hiring wsj.com as strikes loom, and Spotify plans its AI remix service ft.com for early next year.
Private Equity
Last updated: October 30, 2026, 3:40 PM ET
Mega-Rounds & Venture Funding
This week's largest funding rounds were led by physical AI news.crunchbase.com and manufacturing startups, according to Crunchbase News. Wellington Management and Sequoia Capital co-led a $1bn Series G peinsights.substack.com in Kalshi, valuing the prediction-market platform at $40bn. Meanwhile, travel tech funding is sliding news.crunchbase.com toward a multiyear low, even as investors pour money into AI.
Fund Managers & Fundraising
Ares Management raised $31bn peinsights.substack.com in gross capital commitments during the third quarter, while fee earnings climbed 11%. Pantheon's Hassanally said its latest flagship fund will back pei-secondariesinvestor.com the same mid-market deals with larger checks. Partners Group, however, faces pressure as its US evergreen fund gated redemptions again peinsights.substack.com after requests reached $2.2bn.
Buyouts & Acquisitions
TPG completed its acquisition peinsights.substack.com of a controlling 61.17% stake in Lotte Rental in a $990m deal that Affinity could not close. Stonepeak closed its purchase peinsights.substack.com of BMO Financial Group's equipment finance carve-out and launched a new vehicle called Longview. In a larger transaction, OpenAI-backed Thrive Holdings is acquiring techcrunch.com ADT in a $15.3 billion deal.
European Startups & Talent
Talent ranks as the top concern sifted.eu for European AI startups as funding pressures mount. Creandum and USV co-led a $40m seed round sifted.eu into Machenta, a robotics lab without a product yet. South Korea is wagering on startups sifted.eu to secure its position on the global stage, while France's startup ecosystem shows signs sifted.eu of disenchantment with Emmanuel Macron. Former EQT investor Doreen Huber joined Interface Capital sifted.eu with a focus on cybersecurity deals.
AI Governance & Infrastructure
Startups building guardrails for autonomous agents sifted.eu are drawing investor interest as agentic AI expands.
Events
Tech Crunch Founder Summit techcrunch.com takes place November 4 at SoWa Power Station in Boston, and the early-registration window closes in five days. Attendees can also book Braindate techcrunch.com networking sessions ahead of the event.
Coming Up
The Tech Crunch Founder Summit happens November 4 techcrunch.com at SoWa Power Station in Boston.
Sector Investment
Last updated: October 30, 2026, 3:40 PM ET
Real Estate Fundraising
Digital Realty is reportedly targeting $3.5bn perenews.com for its cornerstone core debut fund. TPG has held a first close perenews.com on its fifth flagship fund, having raised more than half of the $8.5bn target as the manager shifts toward new strategies. Phoenix Property Investors is nearing final close perenews.com on Fund VII, and for the first time the Hong Kong-based firm could raise more capital for associated vehicles.
Consolidation and Independence
Genesta is trading independence for scale perenews.com as the boutique Nordic manager pursues a merger amid what its leadership describes as tough times for real estate.
Infrastructure and AI
Edward Casserley is moving infrastructureinvestor.com from Stonepeak to the investment team of KKR's recently launched AI infrastructure unit.
Private Credit in Asia
Capita Land Investment's Kishore Moorjani argues that Asia is private credit's next frontier, positioning the firm's approach as building a platform perenews.com rather than assembling a collection of loans.
Healthcare
Value-based care remains one of healthcare's largest bets on changing how care is delivered, and a discussion with TruHelm's CEO thehealthcareinvestor.com examines where those models are actually working.
Coming Up
Phoenix Property Investors expects its Fund VII final close perenews.com to follow shortly, and TPG's fifth flagship fund continues toward its $8.5bn target.