Intel shares plunged 21% after the chipmaker's fourth-quarter guidance missed estimates by a wide margin, blaming a PC market slowdown and the fallout from a fatal fab explosion in Israel. Separately, Microsoft announced plans to raise $25 billion in bonds to fund its AI infrastructure buildout.
Aon CEO Greg Case warned that clustering billions of dollars of equipment in a small number of AI data center locations could make projects difficult to insure and cut off access to debt financing, as the company reported record demand for specialized coverage in its third-quarter earnings.
U.S. employee engagement dropped to 29% in Q3 2026, its lowest level since 2011, according to Gallup, with remote and hybrid workers at AI-integrated organizations driving the steepest declines.
Microsoft cut its full-year capex forecast to $170 billion from $175 billion, while Alphabet held guidance at $195 billion to $205 billion — both below analyst estimates — as GPU delivery delays from third-party providers push some AI infrastructure capacity into 2027.
Tencent and Visa have signed a memorandum of understanding to expand cross-border payments and AI-powered commerce in China, days after Visa received approval from the People's Bank of China to prepare for a domestic bank card clearing business.
Microsoft reported fiscal first-quarter revenue of $92.28 billion and Azure cloud growth of 48% year over year, but capital expenditures of $45.2 billion — well below the $50.7 billion analyst estimate — sent neocloud stocks CoreWeave and Nebius down nearly 5% in after-hours trading.
Alphabet posted negative free cash flow of $9.07 billion in the third quarter of 2026, missing analyst expectations by a wide margin, as capital expenditures of $51.36 billion fell short of forecasts and a reversal in equity-holdings revenue weighed on net income.
Intel shares plunged 21% after the chipmaker's fourth-quarter guidance missed estimates by a wide margin, blaming a PC market slowdown and the fallout from a fatal fab explosion in Israel. Separately, Microsoft announced plans to raise $25 billion in bonds to fund its AI infrastructure buildout.
Aon CEO Greg Case warned that clustering billions of dollars of equipment in a small number of AI data center locations could make projects difficult to insure and cut off access to debt financing, as the company reported record demand for specialized coverage in its third-quarter earnings.
Tencent and Visa have signed a memorandum of understanding to expand cross-border payments and AI-powered commerce in China, days after Visa received approval from the People's Bank of China to prepare for a domestic bank card clearing business.
U.S. employee engagement dropped to 29% in Q3 2026, its lowest level since 2011, according to Gallup, with remote and hybrid workers at AI-integrated organizations driving the steepest declines.
Microsoft cut its full-year capex forecast to $170 billion from $175 billion, while Alphabet held guidance at $195 billion to $205 billion — both below analyst estimates — as GPU delivery delays from third-party providers push some AI infrastructure capacity into 2027.
Apple unveiled the first touchscreen MacBook Pro on Wednesday, reversing a decades-long design stance. The 14-inch model starts at $2,899 and goes on sale November 6, as the company bets software and developer support will make the feature stick.
Written for readers who already know the basics — markets, AI, and the policy decisions that shape both.