Diesel in Chile has risen 74% since March, pushed up by the war, and lorry and bus drivers have blocked roads across the country. Iran's top security official said any base used in a new US attack, from the Middle East to Europe, would be a target.
A barrel of oil fell 1.2% to $91.62 early on Thursday, on reports of possible US talks with Iran. Oil-exporting countries pumped 27.16 million barrels a day in October, against 28.63 million before the war.
Orlen, a Polish energy company, cancelled a deal for 1 million tonnes a year of Qatari gas, after missile strikes in March damaged Qatar's main gas plant. Qatar supplied about a fifth of the world's shipped gas before the war.
US Soccer pulled its under-17 team out of the World Cup in Qatar, 8 days before kick-off, over war fears. The WTA Finals, the last event of the women's tennis season, were moved from Saudi Arabia to California.
Yango, a taxi and food app, had delays in Cote d'Ivoire after its partner's data centre in the Gulf was hit by Iranian attacks. Amazon said it could not restore 1 of its 3 data-centre zones in the UAE after strikes in March.
What is going on
Oil is cheaper than at its peak, and Gulf producers are pumping almost as much as before the war. The damage has spread past oil: lorry drivers in Chile pay far more for diesel, Poland has lost its Qatari gas, and 21 young American footballers lose their World Cup.
Where it is heading
The next test is the under-17 World Cup in Qatar, which starts on 19 November without the US team.
A Ukrainian drone maker says the fibre-optic cable that guides its drones costs roughly 6 to 10 times more in 2026 than in 2025. AI data centres and Russia's drone makers buy from the same Chinese factories.
Planned data centres in the US, Britain and Europe want 181 GW of their own gas power, BloombergNEF, an energy research firm, counts. That is almost four times Great Britain's peak demand for electricity.
Roku, which makes TV streaming devices, said its hardware losses more than doubled in a year, to $48.6 million a quarter. It blamed most of that on the rising cost of memory chips.
Shares in CoreWeave, which rents out computing power for AI, rose 24.71% on Wednesday after it beat its sales forecasts. This month, insurance against CoreWeave failing to repay its debts cost over 11%, a level seen as distress.
What is going on
AI data centres are buying cable, memory chips and power faster than factories and power plants can supply them. Everyone else who needs the same things pays more, from a drone maker in Ukraine to Roku's device business.
Where it is heading
The next sign is whether chip makers can make more memory; Fractile, a London start-up whose chips stack memory on top, plans to ship its first chips next year.
AI making more work than people can checkBuilding ↑›
A lead reviewer of Linux, free software anyone can help improve, says AI-made junk is now about half of the code changes he sees. Lecturers told England's university regulator that AI has made coursework close to impossible to assess.
Checks on new games by Steam, the biggest PC game store, used to take a few days and now take up to two weeks or more, developers say. Several studios blame a flood of AI-made games that fail and are sent again.
Anthropic's Glasswing AI has found 37,966 software flaws, but only 217 have been fixed in 7 months, says VulnCheck, a firm that tracks flaws. Anthropic says it is held back by how fast people can confirm the findings.
What is going on
AI can now make code, coursework, games and flaw reports far faster than people can check them. The checkers pay first: unpaid code reviewers, lecturers, small studios waiting to launch, and the teams who must fix the flaws.
Where it is heading
It keeps building while every AI finding still needs a person to confirm it, which Anthropic says is what holds Glasswing back.
Britain's competition regulator gave McCormick's $65 billion deal for Unilever's food arm and the $25 billion AkzoNobel-Axalta paint merger until 18 November to offer fixes. California's financial regulator set conditions that made Western Union drop a $500 million deal.
Australia's workplace regulator made NAB, one of the country's biggest banks, repay A$169 million to 65,999 underpaid staff. Its inspectors went through 550,000 lines of payroll data.
The European Commission proposed a law that would bar paid loot boxes, prizes bought blind in games, for under-18s. Firms that break it could be fined up to 6% of their worldwide sales.
Governments from 14 countries, including Britain, France, the US and Japan, adopted the first shared rules asking sellers of hacking tools to check who they sell to.
What is going on
Regulators are setting terms that firms did not set for themselves, from merger deadlines to pay checks to what games may sell to children. Firms pay in delays, refunds and redesigns, and NAB's staff and children who play games are the people the rules protect.
Where it is heading
The next test is 18 November, when the offers the two mergers make decide whether the food deal goes on to a deeper review.
Borrowing costs rising, and home buyers waitingHigh ↑ · Day 2›
The interest rate on 10-year US government bonds rose to 5.01% in Asian trading, and the dollar hit its highest since April 2025. Taylor Wimpey, a British housebuilder, said higher mortgage rates are weighing on demand for homes.
New home loans in Australia fell a record 15% in three months. A typical US homeowner would pay more than $1,100 a month extra to buy again today, though US mortgage rates fell for a fourth week, to 7.21%.
What is going on
Bond prices fell around the world on fears of a bigger US rate rise, which pushes up what it costs to borrow. People hoping to buy or move pay first, so they wait, and builders like Taylor Wimpey sell fewer homes.
Where it is heading
The next test is the next weekly US mortgage rate, after four weeks of falls while bond rates rose.
Germs crossing borders and moving between animalsHigh ↑ · Day 2›
Congo's Ebola cases passed 11,042 on 11 November. Kenya sent its last patient home and started a 42-day count; all 9 of its cases came from one man who travelled home from Congo.
England ordered every flock of 50 or more birds indoors from 13 November, after 7 bird flu outbreaks on British farms since 1 October. Bird flu has reached a dairy herd in Oregon, the first in that state's cattle.
What is going on
Each bird flu case means the whole flock is killed, so poultry farmers pay first. In Congo, the WHO says checks on the contacts of sick people fell to their lowest level in weeks.
Where it is heading
The next test is Kenya's 42-day count: if no new case appears by its end, Kenya can be declared free of Ebola.
Owners selling off parts of their businessesBuilding ↑›
Anglo American, a mining company, is selling its 85% stake in De Beers, the diamond firm, to focus on copper and iron ore. ITV, a British TV broadcaster, agreed to sell its channels and streaming business to Sky.
Black Forest Games, a German studio, bought itself back from its owner THQ Nordic, part of Embracer Group. About 20 developers laid off by id Software, the makers of Doom, started a studio they all own.
Otro Capital, an investment firm, has hired a bank to explore selling its stake in the Alpine Formula 1 team. Its group bought 24% of Alpine in 2023 at a $900 million value.
What is going on
Owners are deciding some businesses are worth more apart than inside a bigger group, so they sell them. The staff of each part get a new owner, and at Black Forest Games the studio's own managers became the owners.
Where it is heading
The next sign is who buys the Alpine stake; Alpine's adviser said in September that at least 7 investors were ready.
Hoaxes, drones and hackers testing EuropeBuilding ↑›
About 6,300 of Italy's 7,476 state schools got the same bomb threat by email on Wednesday, and more than 300 were evacuated. NATO fighter jets twice failed to shoot down a drone that crossed the Baltic states from Belarus.
Poland switched off ePUAP, the website people use to send official papers to the state, after a cyberattack. France blamed a cyber unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guards for resetting fridges at more than 700 French food stores, and Iran called the claim baseless.
What is going on
Cheap attacks make European states spend time and money on threats that may come to nothing, from a hoax email to a single drone. More than 300 Italian schools emptied for a hoax, Poles lost a state website, and French shops lost food worth tens of millions of euros.
Where it is heading
France plans new sanctions over the fridge attacks, and prosecutors in Paris have opened an investigation.
The day in brief
What happened that day
1In world news, millions of Spanish workers struck over rents and house prices, less than three weeks before a national election.
2In finance, Britain's competition regulator gave two big mergers, worth $65 billion and $25 billion, until 18 November to offer fixes.
3In technology, a Ukrainian drone maker says its fibre-optic cable costs 6 to 10 times more than last year, as AI data centres buy from the same factories.
4In health, Kenya sent its last Ebola patient home, while Congo's cases passed 11,000.
5In climate, a new count says today's policies lead to 2.7C of warming, as the COP31 summit meets.
The day, connected
What is really going on
Where the day is heading
1The Iran war is reaching far from the Gulf: diesel prices in Chile, lost gas in Poland, and attacks on French shops that France blames on Iran's hackers.
2AI data centres are buying parts and power that drone makers and device firms also need.
3AI tools are also making more work than the people who check it can get through.
4Big firms are changing shape, as regulators hold up mergers and order refunds, and owners sell off parts they think are worth more on their own.
5Higher borrowing costs are slowing home buying, from Australia's record fall in new home loans to US owners who would pay $1,100 a month more to move.
6Germs are crossing borders and moving between animals, and poultry farmers and health workers in Congo pay first.
The truth: Spain's government backed a strike over rents because it wants the 29 November vote fought over housing, not corruption cases and a train crash that killed 69.
5 signals: War costs reaching far away · Fights over how long leaders stay · Voters turning on those in power · Reporters and writers punished · Hoaxes and drones over Europe›Open the World signals
War costs reaching far away
High ↑
Diesel in Chile has risen 74% since March, pushed up by the war in Iran. Egypt confirmed its troops are guarding Saudi sites from Houthi missiles. Iran threatened US bases as far away as Europe.
Fights over how long leaders stay
Building ↑
Congo's president signed a law easing referendums, which opponents say opens a third term. Uganda's ruling party pushed back on a plan to make Museveni's son his heir. Israel's opposition wants a limit on how long a prime minister may serve.
Voters turning on those in power
High ↑
A Democrat won a Senate seat in Mississippi, a state Republicans had held for decades. Spain's opposition leads the polls before the 29 November vote. Indonesia's vice-president resigned as lawmakers moved to impeach him.
Reporters and writers punished
Building ↑
Egypt put off the retrial of the editor Lina Attalah. Algeria sentenced the novelist Kamel Daoud to 5 years in his absence. A local journalist in Ecuador was shot dead outside his home.
Hoaxes and drones over Europe
Building ↑
About 6,300 schools in Italy got the same bomb threat by email. NATO fighter jets twice failed to shoot down a drone over northern Lithuania overnight.
The truth: One regulator's week now decides the shape of two mergers worth $65 billion and $25 billion.
4 signals: Regulators holding up deals · Borrowing costs rising again · Companies selling off parts · Carmakers squeezed in China›Open the Finance signals
Regulators holding up deals
Building ↑
Britain's competition regulator gave two big mergers until November 18 to offer fixes. California's financial regulator set conditions that made Western Union drop its $500 million deal.
Borrowing costs rising again
High ↑
The US 10-year bond yield rose to 5.01% in Asian trading. The dollar index hit its highest since April 2025. Taylor Wimpey said higher mortgage rates are weighing on demand for homes.
Companies selling off parts
Building ↑
Anglo American is selling its 85% stake in De Beers to focus on copper and iron ore. ITV has agreed to sell its channels and streaming business to Sky. Metlen plans to list its infrastructure arm in Athens.
Carmakers squeezed in China
High ↑
Nissan's sales in China fell 32% in the first nine months of the year. Volkswagen scrapped its factory upgrade plan, citing money limits.
The truth: AI data centres are buying fibre and memory chips faster than factories can make more.
4 signals: Parts bought up for AI · Banned chips still reaching China · AI work swamping human checkers · Neighbours fighting new data centres›Open the Tech signals
Parts bought up for AI
High ↑
A Ukrainian drone maker says fibre cost roughly 6 to 10 times more in 2026 than in 2025. AI demand is straining SK Hynix and Micron, which make the fast memory AI chips use. AMD now sells software that lets servers run on half the memory.
Banned chips still reaching China
Building ↑
A Chinese university on the US blacklist bought 2 Nvidia H200 chips through a Chinese supplier in October. Semafor reports the US Commerce Department is resisting calls to blacklist Megaspeed, a Singapore cloud firm.
AI work swamping human checkers
Building ↑
A lead Linux reviewer says AI-made junk is now about half of the code changes he sees. Lecturers told England's university regulator that AI has made coursework close to impossible to assess.
Neighbours fighting new data centres
Building ↑
Residents of Effingham County, Georgia, sued OpenAI and county leaders over a planned data centre costing up to $30 billion. SpaceX's $24 billion Starbase site faces an incoming Texas governor who campaigned against new data centres.
The truth: In England, care homes and home-care firms charge people paying for themselves about 40% more than councils pay, Louise Casey's commission found.
4 signals: Paying more for the same care · Health bills passed to others · Health staff paid less · Brain claims ahead of proof›Open the Mind & body signals
Paying more for the same care
High ↑
People in England who pay for their own care are charged 40% more than councils pay. A Lemsip Max Strength box costs over 20 times plain paracetamol, with the same 500mg dose. An insurer says PHI Health charges 700% of the Medicare rate.
Health bills passed to others
Building ↑
PHI Health, an air ambulance firm, is suing employers for bills their insurers did not fully pay. Australian states may sue tobacco firms for up to $50bn in smokers' health costs.
Health staff paid less
High →
England's senior doctors' union says their pay has lost 25% of its value since 2009. Care workers often earn less than the minimum wage, Louise Casey said in March.
Brain claims ahead of proof
Steady →
A review found 30 of 61 gene-based studies saw no brain benefit from activity, or the opposite. A brain-scan pattern sorted SuperAgers from Alzheimer's patients 71% of the time in new people.
The truth: At COP31, Climate Action Tracker counted 2.7C of warming on today's policies, and Carbon Brief found rich countries' climate-money pledges down by more than 70%.
5 signals: Data centres want power fast · Less aid for poorer countries · Gas still in short supply · Electric vehicles selling faster · Warming running ahead of plans›Open the Climate signals
Data centres want power fast
Building ↑
Planned data centres want 181 GW of their own gas power, BloombergNEF counts. Coal plants near new data centres are closing later, a study finds. Georgia approved nearly 10 GW of gas plants and batteries, mainly for data centres.
Less aid for poorer countries
High ↑
Rich countries' climate-money pledges have fallen by more than 70%. Aid budgets, which paid much of the money that helps African countries cope, are at their lowest since 2014. Pakistan says it needs about $138bn by 2035 for low-carbon power.
Gas still in short supply
High →
Poland's Orlen cancelled a Qatari gas deal after months without cargoes. A drone attack on Iraq's Khor Mor gas field left about 10 million people without power. The gas shortage has revived Australia's $30bn Browse project.
Electric vehicles selling faster
Building ↑
Europe's sales of fully electric cars rose 49% in October. More than 1 in 10 motorcycles sold in Pakistan this year was electric. Britain is weighing a cut to its target of 80% electric car sales in 2030.
Warming running ahead of plans
High ↑
Climate Action Tracker counts 2.7C of warming on today's policies, up from 2.6C. Climate change made this week's South African heat at least 5 times likelier. Germany fell to 25th on a climate ranking, its worst since 2019.
The truth: A team at CSIRO in Australia re-processed the Event Horizon Telescope's data with a new method and got the ring again.
4 signals: Old findings checked again · NASA changing how it spends · Companies selling from orbit · Key dates close at hand›Open the Space signals
Old findings checked again
Building ↑
A new method found the same ring in the 2019 black hole picture. A Cambridge model says comets almost certainly did not bring life's building blocks to Earth. A star logged as a supernova turned out to survive its flares.
NASA changing how it spends
Building ↑
NASA stopped work on a second launch tower for its Moon rocket. It now asks companies for short pitches before full bids. A new team will plan the return of Mars samples from January 2027.
Companies selling from orbit
Building ↑
Anduril plans to sell satellite-tracking data to the US military. SpaceX ordered 60 million euros of solar cells for its planned Starmind satellites. Two MIT researchers modelled a platinum price crash if asteroid mining works.
Key dates close at hand
High ↑
Starship Flight 15 is set to launch on Friday 13 November. NASA's Roman telescope is due at its spot in under 2 weeks. A Senate committee votes on two NASA nominees on 18 November.
The truth: Kenya stopped Ebola at 9 cases because all 8 people who caught it from the first patient were already in quarantine when they fell ill.
4 signals: Ebola crossing borders · Huge health records studied · Drugs dropped after trials · Doubts over US health officials›Open the Biotech signals
Ebola crossing borders
High ↑
All 9 of Kenya's Ebola cases came from one man who travelled home from Congo through Uganda. The UAE still refuses new visas to travellers from Congo and South Sudan. Congo's count passed 11,042 cases on 11 November.
Huge health records studied
Building ↑
Gene data from nearly 100,000 Americans turned up thousands of new variants that change how drugs work. Records of more than 80,000 Italians linked stopping GLP-1 drugs to twice the risk of heart attack, stroke or death. A new obesity test was checked against records of more than 800,000 people.
Drugs dropped after trials
Building →
Zura Bio stopped testing tibulizumab in a skin disease after it did little better than a dummy drug. AbCellera said it will not take its eczema drug beyond its first trial.
Doubts over US health officials
Building ↑
Every member of a US preventive-care panel got a waiver to serve, though some have financial stakes. The chair of the US Senate health committee called the FDA nominee's vaccine role almost disqualifying.
The truth: NAB found its own pay errors in 2019 and still paid staff wrongly until this year.
5 signals: Outside checks on money · Winter fuel bills climbing · Young people paying more · Dear loans slowing home moves · Pensions with less money behind them›Open the Money signals
Outside checks on money
Building ↑
Australia's workplace regulator made NAB repay 65,999 underpaid staff A$169 million. Russia's tax service now scans firms' bank data for company-card spending.
Winter fuel bills climbing
High ↑
US heating bills are set to rise more than 7% this winter. UK diesel still costs 197p a litre, close to its record. Russia's energy ministry says power prices could double by 2042.
Young people paying more
Building ↑
Welsh graduates will start repaying student loans sooner after the repayment line was frozen at £29,385. A UK review would move under-25s off the main sickness benefits.
Dear loans slowing home moves
Building →
New home loans in Australia fell a record 15% in three months. A typical US owner would pay more than $1,100 a month extra to buy again today. US rates fell for a fourth week, to 7.21%.
Pensions with less money behind them
Building ↑
Taxed pay fell from 41% of the US economy in 1983 to 34% in 2025, AARP says. UK government estimates put the triple lock's cost at £50 billion by 2050.
The truth: US Soccer kept its under-17 team out of the World Cup in Qatar, pointing to the US government's own warning about Qatar.
4 signals: War keeping teams away · Leagues tightening spending · Star pay still climbing · Investors buying into teams›Open the Sports signals
War keeping teams away
High ↑
US Soccer pulled its under-17 team out of the World Cup in Qatar over safety. The WTA Finals were moved from Saudi Arabia to Indian Wells in California.
Leagues tightening spending
Building ↑
League One clubs are weighing a £1 levy for each £1 spent above 50% of revenue. Baseball's owners have proposed a hard cap of $258.2 million on each team's 2028 payroll.
Star pay still climbing
High ↑
Quarterback Kamario Taylor is set to stay at Mississippi State on $7.5 million a year. Hardik Pandya moves to Punjab Kings for 18 crore rupees, up from 16.35 crore.
Investors buying into teams
High →
Otro Capital has hired a bank to explore selling its stake in the Alpine Formula 1 team. IPL team prices average $1.7 billion, up from $90 million at launch, a Sportico column says.
The truth: The European Commission has proposed a law that would bar paid loot boxes for under-18s and make games show what their coins cost in real money.
5 signals: Rules on how games sell · Studios going it alone · Consoles costing more · Old games selling again · AI in how games are made›Open the Gaming signals
Rules on how games sell
Building ↑
The EU proposed barring paid loot boxes for under-18s and showing the real price of game coins. Nintendo had 144 projects for Switch mod chips removed from GitHub, a code-sharing site, under US law.
Studios going it alone
Building ↑
Black Forest Games bought itself back from THQ Nordic, part of Embracer Group. About 20 developers laid off by id Software formed a studio they all own. Relic's boss says keeping Company of Heroes when it left Sega saved the studio.
Consoles costing more
High ↑
The cheapest PS5 now costs $599.99 in the US, against $399.99 at launch. Analysts at Enders say average console prices are the highest ever. Roku, which makes TV streaming devices, blamed dearer memory chips for doubled hardware losses.
Old games selling again
High ↑
Nintendo's Ocarina of Time remake sold 5.2 million copies in 4 days. Square Enix credits older games, as well as new ones, for its higher sales. Shrek 2 Remastered, a 2004 game made again, drew mixed Steam reviews.
AI in how games are made
Building ↑
CD Projekt Red used AI firm Respeecher to match its Polish Geralt's voice to old recordings. Several studios blame a flood of AI-made games for slower approvals on Steam, the biggest PC game store.
Bird flu was found in an Oregon dairy herd on 10 November, the first in that state's cattle. Active screwworm cases in three US states rose from 18 to 61 in 12 days.
Food germs not falling
High →
US infections from Listeria, Campylobacter and the worst E coli rose against their 2030 targets, a government study found. One person tied to an E coli outbreak at a California pumpkin farm has died.
Dry weather cutting crops
Building ↑
Drought in England's hottest summer on record hit the vegetables Kanes Foods needed. Dry sowing weather in France cut forecasts for next year's rapeseed. Some California almond regions harvested 20% less.
Watchdogs checking food deals
Building ↑
The UK competition watchdog gave Unilever and McCormick until 18 November to answer its concerns. It also asked for views on Pilgrim's buying Walkers Deli & Sausage Co by 25 November.
The truth: Attackers reached 286 computers through ScreenConnect, a tool six IT firms trusted, and ran AntiFox, a free testing tool, against Amazon cloud accounts.
4 signals: Remote-control tools used to break in · AI tools in attackers' hands · Data taken from old or outside systems · More fixes than owners can install›Open the Cyber signals
Remote-control tools used to break in
High ↑
Attackers put rogue copies of ScreenConnect on 286 computers through 6 IT firms. Defused, a security firm, saw attackers probing N-able's N-central servers within 24 hours of flaws being posted.
AI tools in attackers' hands
Building ↑
Attackers ran AntiFox, a free AI testing tool, against Amazon cloud accounts. A group used a hacked-open AI model against a European phone company, Malbear Labs says. Fortinet says AI shortens the time before a public flaw is attacked.
Data taken from old or outside systems
Building →
Maersk says hackers took data from an old system that came with a firm it bought. Baker Tilly's client data was stolen from a supplier's platform. Landmark Group says someone reached the system behind its Shukran loyalty scheme.
More fixes than owners can install
High ↑
Fortinet released fixes for nearly 100 flaws in one day. Siemens says several of its products have no fix yet, and some versions never will. Anthropic's Glasswing AI found 37,966 flaws, but only 217 are fixed, VulnCheck says.