Markets 8-Hour Briefing
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Last updated: October 21, 2026, 11:22 PM ET
Meta and Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg pushed Meta nytimes.com to restructure its stock so he could stay in California despite a proposed state wealth tax, telling the board he planned to list his Silicon Valley home. Meta agreed to a deal ft.com that creates a new class of non-voting shares, allowing stock sales without diluting control. The company will split its stock wsj.com and create the new class to fund AI spending, after reporting record third-quarter revenue of $64.6 billion. Meta's negative cash flow nytimes.com emerged as AI spending surpassed $40bn, and the company is getting creative wsj.com to finance it. Separately, Meta was ordered to pay $25bn nytimes.com over Cambridge Analytica privacy violations, one of the largest penalties ever levied against a tech giant.
Tesla and SpaceX
Tesla reported flat revenue wsj.com and falling profits as Musk set a lower sales target ft.com while exploring a merger with SpaceX. Tesla's profit slumped nytimes.com even as the carmaker's cash flow improved. Analysts have long noted how intertwined wsj.com the two companies are, and a formal tie-up is now being discussed wsj.com. SpaceX's strong earnings helped lift US stocks wsj.com in an AI-driven relief rally.
Markets and Currencies
US equity futures dropped after mixed megacap earnings, while tech shares rebounded wsj.com on AI optimism. The Nikkei edged 0.3% higher wsj.com as Wall Street gains offset Mideast worries. Asian currencies consolidated against the dollar, and the Singapore dollar gained bloomberg.com as a carry-trade funder. The WSJ Dollar Index slipped 0.04% wsj.com to 96.92. Treasuries fell bloomberg.com after reports the Middle East war was heating up.
Energy and Commodities
Oil rose wsj.com on fears of a re-escalation of Mideast conflict, and crude futures settled mixed wsj.com as shipping risks tempered optimism about flows. Deadly attacks in Saudi Arabia pushed prices higher bloomberg.com, and the US ordered some personnel ft.com to leave the kingdom. Gold edged lower as traders weighed Mideast signals and the Fed rate path. Natural gas is set to fall wsj.com on record domestic output and mild weather expectations. China's petrochemical glut bloomberg.com has turned into a crunch, and El Niño has forced China bloomberg.com back to costlier gas power plants. Santos posted record quarterly output from new LNG and oil projects, while APA committed to a gas pipeline bloomberg.com to avert shortfalls. Fortescue flagged a risk bloomberg.com to full-year profit from its standoff with Chinese buyer COSCO, and Woodmac warned Japan may become a price taker on iron ore.
Deals and Corporate News
EQT agreed to acquire bloomberg.com Qiagen for about €9.6bn ($10.8bn) in one of the largest take-private transactions in Europe. LSEG is nearing a $3.5bn deal ft.com for credit data specialist Octus. Mercer International is weighing a Chapter 11 filing bloomberg.com, and Chevron ended support bloomberg.com for Guyana port studies after its Hess acquisition. Southwest cut its earnings outlook wsj.com to $2.60 per share on rising fuel costs, and Molina Healthcare's third-quarter profit fell wsj.com to $38 million. IBM reported higher profit wsj.com as delayed deals came through. Citigroup is aiming bloomberg.com for the top spot in China while it awaits a securities license. Chinese drugmakers are moving into the big league ft.com as foreign groups pay for access to local innovation. Mattel added an EdgePoint executive wsj.com to its board amid activist pressure. Nextdc clawed back losses after a profit warning, though Uni Super says it is "not that keen" bloomberg.com on data centers. GM aims to leapfrog rivals ft.com with a new generation of autonomous cars. Canada will provide billions wsj.com to steel and auto sectors to ease the trade crunch. The ASX will unveil a new strategy in 2027.
Finance and Policy
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent shrugged off ft.com systemic AI risks at a closed-door investor event. Private credit managers are courting advisers wsj.com with elaborate events, and CME and Silicon Data are launching AI compute derivatives wsj.com. MSCI defended its Indonesia downgrade warning bloomberg.com under investor pushback. Argentine bonds faced a selloff bloomberg.com ahead of 2027 elections. Brazil's Flávio Bolsonaro would unleash Petrobras without privatizing it if he wins the October 25 runoff. An ex-Brevan Howard trader was sued bloomberg.com by a quant who joined a new fund. A producer sued Netflix wsj.com for $105 million after a $45 million Nicolas Cage film was stolen.
Coming Up
The US and Israel are drafting plans nytimes.com for renewed strikes on Iran after the elections. Brazil's presidential runoff takes place on October 25.
Private Equity
Last updated: October 21, 2026, 11:22 PM ET
Venture Capital
Legora techcrunch.com raised a $550M Series E at an $8.8B valuation, marking a major funding round for the legal AI startup.
Infrastructure Investing
IFM Investors named Michael Kulper pehub.com head of its North America infrastructure business. Kulper, who joined IFM in 2013, previously led the origination of its toll road portfolio.
Coming Up
The TechCrunch Founder Summit techcrunch.com takes place in Boston on November 4.
Sector Investment
Last updated: October 21, 2026, 11:22 PM ET
Renewables Investment
US renewables managers infrastructureinvestor.com are reworking their strategies as surging electricity demand meets a shifting market backdrop, with investors adjusting positioning at an inopportune moment for the sector.