The world price of a barrel of oil fell nearly 3% to $89.66 on Tuesday, its lowest since 31 August. Donald Trump said the same day that more strikes on Iran did not seem needed.
The European Commission says the crisis at the Strait of Hormuz has added 127 billion euros to the EU's bill for imported energy. Adnoc Gas, which supplies about 60% of the UAE's gas, is studying routes that avoid the strait.
Formula One kept its last 2 races, in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, near a war that has not ended. The WTA, which runs women's tennis, ended its deal for its Finals in Saudi Arabia a year early.
US electricity prices rose nearly 1% in October alone, and economists named the Iran war among the causes.
What is going on
Talk of the war ending has made oil cheaper, but the attacks on ships near Hormuz have not stopped. The cost still reaches people: Europe pays billions more for imported energy, and US households pay more for power.
Where it is heading
The next test is the Formula One race in Qatar on 29 November, which the sport says it can still cancel if fighting starts again.
Prices rising faster than pay, and interest rates with themHigh ↑›
US consumer prices rose 0.4% in October, the third month running of 0.4% or more. The interest rate on two-year US government bonds jumped 0.18 points to 4.725%.
US pay rose 3.1% in a year while prices rose about 4%. After Australia's latest rate rise, someone on the average wage can borrow over $58,000 less.
What is going on
Prices are rising faster than pay, so the same wage buys less food and power. Central banks raise interest rates to slow prices, and that lands on people who borrow: US households already owe a record $19.1 trillion.
Where it is heading
The next test is the US central bank's decision in December, where traders now weigh a rise of half a percentage point.
Fortis Games, a US maker of phone games, closed with about 440 jobs lost after its owner, the casino company Las Vegas Sands, stopped paying for it. Bandai Namco is closing its Montreal studio, Reflector.
David Jones, a 188-year-old Australian department store chain, will close 19 of its 38 stores. A Bank of England deputy governor said young Britons are hit hardest as firms freeze hiring.
Ferrara, the maker of Nerds sweets, will close a Chicago plant in April 2027, affecting about 154 workers.
What is going on
Owners are shutting the games, stores and plants that did not earn what they hoped, and the workers lose first. Firms are also hiring fewer people, so young people looking for a first job find fewer openings.
Where it is heading
The next sign is Poundland, whose protection from its creditors ends on Thursday.
Florida has had 503 dengue cases caught inside the US this year, against the earlier high of 189 in 2023. The US has counted at least 1.7 million flu cases and 1,400 deaths so far this year.
Britain has had 6 bird flu outbreaks in farm birds since October, so Scotland now makes every poultry keeper keep birds away from wild ones.
What is going on
Germs are reaching more people and places: a mosquito virus is now caught inside Florida, and US measles cases have more than doubled in a year. The people who catch them pay first, and then farmers, who must shut their birds away.
Where it is heading
The next test is a health meeting that ends on 13 November and could decide the US no longer counts as free of measles.
Some disabled people in England wait up to 2 years for a wheelchair. Complaints about it rose from 8 in 2020-21 to 110 in 2025-26.
What is going on
Fewer people give blood, and a few private firms supply at least half of England's wheelchair users, so the basics run short when either falls behind. Patients pay by waiting: Scotland's hospitals may now use type O blood only when it is essential.
Where it is heading
The next sign is Scotland's blood alert, set for 4 to 6 weeks at first and kept under review.
Help for poorer families made harder to getBuilding ↑›
The US farm department proposed a rule that would end automatic food aid for some families. About 6.3 million fewer people would qualify, about 18% of everyone who gets it.
About 70,000 adults in Nebraska must now prove 80 hours of work a month to keep Medicaid, the US health cover for people on low incomes.
What is going on
US governments are tightening who can get help, and the farm department says its rule would cut what it spends on food aid. The families just above the new lines lose it first, and sick people can lose their health cover when they cannot prove the hours.
Where it is heading
The next step is the 30 days the public has to comment on the US food-aid rule.
British police arrested a 41-year-old US soldier who served at a NATO base in England, on suspicion of spying for Russia. Poland charged two Ukrainian men it says Russia paid, partly in cryptocurrency, to burn cars.
ESET, a security company, says Turla, a Russian spy group, hid inside government email servers in Kazakhstan and Romania and copied chosen emails. Check Point, another, tied 3 China-linked spying campaigns against governments to one shared set of tools.
What is going on
Russia and China are reaching into other countries through people they pay and software they hide. Poland's prosecutors say the car fires were meant to stir anger against Ukrainians living there.
Where it is heading
The next step is the court case in Poland, where the two men face 10 years to life in prison if found guilty.
Microsoft fixed 1,093 flaws on Tuesday and says AI tools helped it find so many. Datadog, a cloud monitoring firm, says the typical cloud app's serious flaws rose from 4 in May to 16 in November.
Microsoft researchers used an AI scanner to find a bug that sat in the Rust programming language's basic code for nearly 11 years. In one part of Linux, AI sent in more fixes than bug reports.
What is going on
AI tools now find flaws in software far faster than people did, which lets makers fix more of them. The same speed helps attackers turn a published fix into an attack, so IT teams must sort more than 1,000 fixes a month to find the few that matter first.
Where it is heading
The next deadline is Friday, when US government agencies must have fixed two Barracuda email flaws that attackers are already using.
People handing more work and worries to AIBuilding ↑›
Hackers who broke into Railway, a cloud host, used stolen keys to run up about $740,000 of AI use.
What is going on
More people are giving AI chatbots their office work, their health questions and their feelings. The firms that sell them gain, and so do thieves who steal the keys to them; nobody yet knows whether the comfort people find lasts.
Where it is heading
The next sign is Anthropic's share sale, expected to be priced on 18 November, which will show what investors think these tools will earn.
New York opened sign-ups for its AI safety law on Tuesday. The biggest AI makers must report a serious incident within 72 hours, with fines of up to $3 million for repeat breaches.
19 judges at the Independent Games Festival will not vote for any game made with AI help. The line caught Big Walk, a hit game, over about 10 lines of code.
What is going on
Lawmakers and judges are drawing lines around AI because they cannot tell from outside what it did. Those lines rest on what makers say about their own work: Big Walk was caught only after its studio said it had used AI.
Where it is heading
From January, the biggest AI makers must publish their safety plans for anyone to read under New York's law.
Europe moving against tricks in online sellingBuilding ↑›
The European Commission is presenting the Digital Fairness Act on Wednesday, a law that would ban designs that trick people into buying, such as bright buttons that push a purchase.
A leaked draft of the same law would switch loot boxes, paid prizes with surprise contents, off by default for children.
What is going on
The European Union wants to stop shops and games from steering people into spending, children above all. Sellers who earn from surprise prizes and hard-to-cancel subscriptions would earn less, and buyers would see real prices and prize odds.
Where it is heading
The full proposal is due on Wednesday 11 November, and an explainer site says the law could be adopted late in 2027.
Between 12 and 13 million UK smart meters could stop working properly as old phone networks close, and replacing them may cost about £4 billion. Older Fitbit watches stop taking new apps from 28 November.
Sony will shut its PlayStation Plus app for PC on 10 December. Choice, an Australian consumer group, says a digital PlayStation game buys only a licence to play it.
What is going on
A meter, watch or game keeps working only while its maker keeps the services behind it running. When the maker moves on, the owner pays: they lose features, or someone must pay to replace the device.
Where it is heading
The next date is 28 November, when older Fitbit watches stop taking new apps and updates.
The day in brief
What happened that day
1In finance, US prices rose 0.4% in October, more than forecast, and traders began to weigh a bigger rate rise in December.
2In personal money, US households now owe a record $19.1 trillion.
3The world's lead was a US case against three men over Iran-backed attacks in Europe, though the US holds only one of them.
4In health, US measles cases have more than doubled this year to 5,182, and a meeting this week could end the country's measles-free status.
5In technology and games, new lines were drawn on AI, from a New York safety law to festival judges who will not vote for games made with its help.
The day, connected
What is really going on
Where the day is heading
1Prices are rising faster than pay, and the rate rises meant to slow them land on the people who borrow most.
2The Iran war still adds to those prices: oil fell below $90, but ships near Hormuz are still attacked, and US power bills rose in October.
3Firms are closing and hiring fewer people, and the US is making food aid and health cover harder to get, so poorer families have less to fall back on.
4Diseases are spreading further while basic care runs short: US measles cases have more than doubled this year, and Scotland's type O blood fell below two days' supply.
5People are handing AI more of their work and worries, and the new rules for it rely on what its makers say about their own products.
6Conflicts are spreading past the battlefields, to ships near Hormuz and to spies Russia and China run inside other countries' armies and email.
7Things people paid for keep working only while their makers support them, and Europe is now moving to ban the tricks that push people to spend.
The truth: The US charged three men over Iran-backed attacks in Europe, but only al-Saadi is in a US jail; the other two are not in US hands.
5 signals: Ships under attack near Hormuz · Spies and saboteurs hired locally · Talks to end two wars · Leaders losing their posts · Courts reaching across borders›Open the World signals
Ships under attack near Hormuz
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37 ships were attacked in October, the most in any month of the Iran war. An Emirati ship was hit in the UAE's own waters on Tuesday. Iran's blockade of Hormuz has sent oil prices soaring.
Spies and saboteurs hired locally
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Poland charged two Ukrainian men it says Russia paid, partly in crypto, to burn cars. A US soldier at a NATO base in England was arrested on suspicion of spying for Russia. US prosecutors say an Iraqi man paid people in Britain to scout RAF Fairford.
Talks to end two wars
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Russia, Ukraine and the US held their first three-way talks since February, in Abu Dhabi. Marco Rubio said US pressure on Iran's economy means there is 'no need for major combat operations'.
Leaders losing their posts
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Indonesia's vice president offered to resign after two courts questioned his school papers. Paraguay's new president took office after his predecessor was removed over a failed bank. Israel's opposition holds 67 of the Knesset's 120 seats and plans to replace its speaker.
Courts reaching across borders
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A court in London struck down Trinidad and Tobago's laws against gay sex. A US judge let a lawsuit be served on Ajit Doval, India's national security adviser.
The truth: US prices rose 0.4% in October, more than forecast.
4 signals: Borrowing getting dearer · Money leaving AI shares · Prices still climbing · Oil getting cheaper›Open the Finance signals
Borrowing getting dearer
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The two-year US government bond yield jumped 0.18 points to 4.725% on Tuesday. The value of new home loans in Australia fell 15.5% in three months. SoftBank's financing costs more than doubled to 462 billion yen.
Money leaving AI shares
High ↑
Nvidia's shares fell to a seven-month low of $166.5, Mint reported. State investment funds' listed AI holdings have lost $30.5 billion since June. Anthropic's price range values it below the $2 trillion some analysts had predicted.
Prices still climbing
High →
US consumer prices rose 0.4% in October, the third month running of 0.4% or more. Brazil's central bank put a worse inflation outlook down to supply shocks. Commonwealth Bank said rising rates and prices pushed up late home loan payments.
Oil getting cheaper
Easing ↓
Brent crude fell nearly 3% to $89.66 a barrel, its lowest since 31 August. India's three state fuel sellers have gained 10% to 13.5% this month. Cheaper oil cut bets on more UK rate rises, and sterling fell.
The truth: New York and France spent the day building checks on AI makers, but both checks rely on what the firms choose to publish or release.
4 signals: Governments writing AI rules · US fears over chips and China · Gadgets losing their support · AI apps moving into work and shopping›Open the Tech signals
Governments writing AI rules
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New York opened sign-ups for its AI safety law on Tuesday, with fines of up to $3 million. The EU's draft Digital Fairness Act would also cover AI agents that shop for people.
US fears over chips and China
High ↑
A report says Alice Huang helped at least $7.5 billion of Nvidia chips reach Chinese firms. The FCC is weighing a ban on Chinese optical parts, which make up 66% of the world market.
Gadgets losing their support
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Between 12 and 13 million UK smart meters could stop working properly when old phone networks close. Older Fitbit watches lose app installs and updates from 28 November.
AI apps moving into work and shopping
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Anthropic launched AI spreadsheet, whiteboard and meeting tools on Tuesday. OpenAI now lets companies set up business profiles inside ChatGPT. eBay appears to have blocked outside AI shopping agents.
The truth: Escitalopram came top in a ranking of antidepressants for keeping depression away, but the experts quoted called the gaps between drugs modest.
4 signals: Measles spreading in the US · Long waits for care · Poorer places, worse health · People confiding in chatbots›Open the Mind & body signals
Measles spreading in the US
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The US has 5,182 measles cases so far in 2026, up from 2,289 in 2025. A Pennsylvania county nurse has given more than 400 measles shots in Amish homes since August.
Long waits for care
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Some disabled people in England wait up to 2 years for a wheelchair. People with neuroendocrine cancer wait 5 years on average from first symptom to diagnosis. Home visits to babies in one Welsh area fell from 6,140 to 909 during a strike.
Poorer places, worse health
High →
People in England's poorest areas die before 75 at 2.3 times the rate of the richest. Cleaner air would save the most lives in low- and middle-income countries, a Cambridge study found. A health worker counted more than 100 women who died in childbirth in Tigray in a year.
People confiding in chatbots
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In a Pew survey, 8% of men said they used chatbots for emotional support. More than 300 million people ask ChatGPT health questions each week. Dubai educators say children already treat chatbots as friends.
The truth: Turkey's plan to get 35% of the world's energy from electricity by 2035 would count power made from coal and gas.
5 signals: Imported fuel costing more · Storms and floods arriving · New oil and gas still sought · Batteries added to grids · Electric cars getting cheaper›Open the Climate signals
Imported fuel costing more
High →
The European Commission says the Hormuz crisis has added 127 billion euros to the EU's energy import bill. The Philippines declared an energy crisis in March, and the rooftop solar firms surveyed there more than doubled their installs.
Storms and floods arriving
High ↑
Portugal shut its schools on Wednesday for Storm Charles. Gusts of up to 120km an hour were forecast. Kenya's short rains have begun, with an 81% chance of a very strong El Nino.
New oil and gas still sought
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Turkey, the host of COP31, announced two new oilfields this week. Adnoc Gas, which supplies most of the UAE's gas, is studying export routes that avoid the Strait of Hormuz.
Batteries added to grids
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Uzbekistan's Nukus 2 wind farm pairs 200 megawatts of wind with a 100 megawatt-hour battery. In Romania, 238 projects with both grid and building permits include storage. Vietnam lets solar farms with batteries charge more.
Electric cars getting cheaper
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New electric cars in the US sold for 2.7% less in October than a year earlier, Kelley Blue Book says. Ford's electric pickup due next year will start at $28,400.
The truth: SpaceX, whose Falcon 9 flew 85% of US launches in 2025, will take no new company orders for flights after 2028.
4 signals: Rocket rides running short · Military money for space firms · Investors pouring money in · Fights over NASA's money›Open the Space signals
Rocket rides running short
High ↑
Rocket Lab raised its Neutron rocket's price from $55 million to $70 million, citing demand. Kratos, a US defence company, signed up to launch from a new floating platform from 2027.
Military money for space firms
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A US Defense Department office offered Rocket Lab a $150 million loan on Tuesday. The US Space Force hired Viasat, a satellite company, on a contract worth up to $450 million. Lyra Systems signed a 5-year research deal with the US Air Force.
Investors pouring money in
Building ↑
Space start-ups raised a record $20.8 billion from July to September, Space.com reports. Lyra Systems' founder says defence budgets and private money have both more than doubled.
Fights over NASA's money
Building →
Axiom Space is suing its rival Vast a month before NASA's space station bids are due. A Florida congressman says NASA may be held to its current budget under a Democratic House.
The truth: Four drug companies, Beam, PepGen, Mirum and Merck, announced trial wins, each in its own statement.
4 signals: Germs spreading in new places · Basic medical supplies running short · Gene and RNA fixes reaching patients · Drug firms buying into small labs›Open the Biotech signals
Germs spreading in new places
Building ↑
Florida had 503 dengue cases caught inside the US this year, against an earlier high of 189. US flu cases reached at least 1.7 million by early November, more than usual.
Basic medical supplies running short
High ↑
Scotland's stocks of type O blood fell below 2 days' supply several times. A charity that ranks drugmakers warned that Sanofi, Lilly or Novo Nordisk could leave the insulin market. Money for tropical disease programmes is 30% below its level before COVID-19.
Gene and RNA fixes reaching patients
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Beam's DNA-letter edit kept 31 sickle cell patients free of severe pain crises for 12 months, Fierce Biotech reported. PepGen's RNA drug fixed 46.5% of faulty gene readings in 6 patients.
Drug firms buying into small labs
Steady ↑
AstraZeneca bought Omniose, its vaccine partner since January 2024, without saying what it paid. Kyorin agreed to pay $12 million upfront for Japan rights to Edesa's lung drug. Eli Lilly was among the investors in Oyster's $60 million round.
The truth: Homeowners with cheap mortgages are borrowing against their houses at 7.49%, and Fed researchers say mostly from strength.
4 signals: Borrowing costs climbing · Prices rising faster than pay · Help for poorer households tightened · Big shops collapsing before Christmas›Open the Money signals
Borrowing costs climbing
High ↑
An average Australian earner can borrow over $58,000 less after the latest rate rise. Mortgage rates above 7% have priced everyday buyers out in Las Vegas. A new US credit card offer charges about 24% a year.
Prices rising faster than pay
High ↑
US pay rose 3.1% in a year while prices rose about 4%. A South African food basket cost R5,488 against a R5,078 minimum wage. Bracket creep would take 56% of real pay rises at A$45,000.
Help for poorer households tightened
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A US rule would end automatic food aid for families on cash help above SNAP's income line. About 70,000 Nebraska adults must now prove 80 hours of work a month for Medicaid.
Big shops collapsing before Christmas
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David Jones will close half its stores after Christmas. Poundland's 11,000 staff wait on a rescue deal. Shops near a closed Walmart lost about a quarter of their trade.
The truth: Formula One kept its last two races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi because travel advice and insurance allow it, and both hosts pay large fees and own parts of two teams.
5 signals: War near the Gulf venues · Coaches bought out of contracts · Players swapped for future picks · Sports bodies short of cash · Old scandals reopening›Open the Sports signals
War near the Gulf venues
High →
Formula One kept its last 2 races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, near a war that has not ended. The WTA ended its Saudi Finals deal a year early, after poor crowds and uncertainty over the war.
Coaches bought out of contracts
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Mauricio Pochettino's US contract has a buyout clause of about $10 million. Crystal Palace paid more than £4m to buy Pierre Sage out of his Lens contract. Lyon's coach Paulo Fonseca left suddenly for Sporting Lisbon last week.
Players swapped for future picks
High →
NFL teams moved 34 draft picks in 18 trades before Tuesday's deadline. The Vikings gave a third-round pick for Kirk Cousins, who is 38. Baseball teams may rush deals before a likely lockout on 2 December.
Sports bodies short of cash
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LIV Golf owes players and suppliers more than $100 million and has set aside $2 million. The WTA expects about $15 million in cash at the end of the year. Harness Racing Victoria had an A$34 million operating loss in 2024.
Old scandals reopening
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Michael Clarke wants the 2018 sandpaper case reopened after Usman Khawaja's book. Rui Pinto, whose leaked files fed the Manchester City case, is in talks with the UK's fraud office.
The truth: Sony stopped Fairgames because fewer players came back in its test than it had aimed for, and kept the whole team.
4 signals: Online game bets falling short · Whole studios being shut · Hard lines drawn on AI · Tighter rules on selling games›Open the Gaming signals
Online game bets falling short
High ↑
Sony cancelled its online shooter Fairgames after a test with thousands of players. Sony is also closing its PlayStation Plus PC app, used by under 0.4% of members. Nexon, the publisher of Arc Raiders, expects it to earn less this quarter than a year ago.
Whole studios being shut
High ↑
Las Vegas Sands stopped paying for the phone game maker Fortis Games, and about 440 people lost their jobs. Bandai Namco is closing its Montreal studio Reflector, at a loss of 21 million euros.
Hard lines drawn on AI
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19 jurors at the Independent Games Festival will not vote for any game made with AI help. An Australian school game contest is ending because judges cannot tell students' work from AI.
Tighter rules on selling games
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A leaked EU draft would switch loot boxes off by default for children. Choice, an Australian consumer group, shamed Sony for selling licences instead of games. Steam now lets 9-year-old Australian accounts pass its age check.
US grocery prices rose 0.4% in October as recent fuel costs reached shelves, the food industry group FMI says. Hain Celestial, a baby food and tea maker, says its energy costs are still well above normal.
Food firms moving factories
High ↑
Mars plans to spend $1.4 billion on US factories in 2027, its most ever in one year. Ferrara, the Nerds maker, will close a Chicago plant and move its work. General Mills is cutting its four divisions to three.
Animal disease controls tightening
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Scotland now makes every poultry keeper keep birds away from wild ones, after six outbreaks in Britain since October. England will vaccinate badgers against cattle TB in three more areas from May 2027.
Food rules being rewritten
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The FDA bans three solvents from making food colours from 11 January 2027. Norway will make fish farms report losses day by day from January 2027. Red Tractor plans 27% fewer audit points on crop farms.
The truth: Microsoft fixed 1,093 flaws on Tuesday, and attackers were already using one of them, in Outlook.
5 signals: AI finding more flaws · Stolen keys to AI services · Attacks before fixes go in · Spies inside government networks · Private records left open›Open the Cyber signals
AI finding more flaws
Building ↑
Microsoft fixed 1,093 flaws on Tuesday and says AI tools helped it find so many. Datadog, a cloud monitoring firm, says the typical cloud app's serious flaws rose from 4 in May to 16 in November.
Stolen keys to AI services
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Hackers who broke into Railway, a cloud host, ran up about $740,000 of AI use with stolen keys. Fireworks, which runs AI models for other firms, links its breach to a gang that sells stolen AI access.
Attacks before fixes go in
High ↑
Attackers used two Barracuda email-filter flaws a week after the fixes came out. Huntress, a security firm, found intruders on backup servers through AhsayCBS flaws fixed in mid-October. CISA added 6 flaws to its list of attacked ones on Tuesday.
Spies inside government networks
High →
ESET says Turla, a Russian spy group, read chosen emails on government servers in Kazakhstan and Romania. Check Point tied three China-linked spying campaigns against governments and phone companies to one shared toolkit.
Private records left open
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Nitori, a Japanese furniture chain, says 37.62 million customer records may have leaked. More than 35,000 links to apps made with Grok Build, an AI app maker, opened their data without a login.