Thursday, 5 November 2026
Thursday, 5 November 2026
Thu 5 Nov · At a glance
Thursday, 5 November 2026
Wall Street's worst day since April 2025, and the Bank of England raises rates
453 stories in 12 beats
Signals: what moved across the beats
- War around the Gulf keeping energy dear, and rates rising with itHigh → · 5 beats
- Data centres outbidding everyone, as investors start to doubt themHigh ↑ · 5 beats
- US election reaching firms that did well under TrumpHigh ↑ · 5 beats
- El Nino drying fields and flooding townsHigh ↑ · 2 beats
Swipe up for the day ↑Scroll down for the day ↓
War around the Gulf keeping energy dear, and rates rising with it
Day 16 of this signal
Seen in 5 of the 12 beats
Swipe up to see where ↑Scroll down to see where ↓
World
Iran's Guards say 2 tankers and a tug burned in the Strait of Hormuz, the sea lane out of the Gulf, on Thursday. South Korea plans to move a navy unit to about 650km from it.
The World stories →Climate
Diesel stocks in some markets are at their lowest for the season in 35 years, the chief of Adnoc, Abu Dhabi's state oil company, says. India now buys crude oil from about 43 countries to get round the disruption.
The Climate stories →Food
Fresh food in Italy cost 7.5% more in October, after lorry drivers angry at diesel prices blocked roads. Urea, a farm fertiliser, averaged 482 pounds a tonne in the UK as gas costs climbed.
The Food stories →Finance
The Bank of England raised its rate from 3.75% to 4% in an 8-1 vote, and Sweden also raised on Wednesday. A barrel of oil fell more than 8% on Wednesday on hopes of peace, then was back up 2.6% to $97.11 by midday on Thursday.
The Finance stories →Money
About 500,000 UK tracker mortgages pay some £31 more a month at once. The 87% of UK mortgage-holders on fixed deals feel it only when they renew.
The Money stories →What is going on
Ships burning near the Gulf keep energy dear, so lorries, fertiliser and food cost more.
What is going on
The Bank of England raised its rate to slow those price rises, so homes on tracker mortgages pay first.
Data centres outbidding everyone, as investors start to doubt them
Day 3 of this signal
Seen in 5 of the 12 beats
Swipe up to see where ↑Scroll down to see where ↓
Tech
One 16GB memory chip went from $8.70 to $48 on contract in about a year. Voters sided against data centres in all but one of about 45 local US measures.
The Tech stories →Gaming
Macronix, a Taiwanese chip maker, is dropping Nintendo's cartridge chips because data centres pay more. Nintendo raised Switch 2 prices in 3 countries, and sales fell 41%.
The Gaming stories →Climate
Omaha's power company has under 100 megawatts left for new large customers. Arizona's biggest utility expects its yearly sales to more than double by 2041, and is keeping a coal plant to help.
The Climate stories →Food
A Kentucky farming family turned down more than $26m for its land from a data centre developer.
The Food stories →Finance
US shares had their worst day since April 2025: the S&P 500, a broad index of big firms, fell 4.36% and the Nasdaq 5.52%, as investors feared slower data-centre building.
The Finance stories →What is going on
Data centres pay more, so chip makers and power companies serve them first, and game and phone buyers pay higher prices.
What is going on
Now towns are voting no and investors fear slower building, and shareholders in chip firms paid on Thursday.
US election reaching firms that did well under Trump
Day 2 of this signal
Seen in 5 of the 12 beats
Swipe up to see where ↑Scroll down to see where ↓
World
JD Vance, the US vice-president, blamed the Iran war for the defeat a day after the vote. A Trump adviser said the defence chief 'could be on the chopping block'.
The World stories →Space
SpaceX has gained an estimated $10 billion in US contracts since Trump's election, and several Democrats want its role investigated.
The Space stories →Biotech
One Democratic senator posted a single word after the win: "Subpoenas". CVS Health is splitting in two while fighting state laws against owning both pharmacies and drug middlemen.
The Biotech stories →Sports
Team owners put more than $100m into the elections, mostly on the losing side. A college sport bill that passed the US Senate 77-22 now has almost no chance in the House.
The Sports stories →Finance
The Dow, an index of 30 big US firms, rose more than 1,500 points on Wednesday after the vote. It fell 1,833 points on Thursday, more than wiping that out.
The Finance stories →What is going on
Democrats take over the committees of the US Congress in January, and those committees can order people to testify.
What is going on
Firms that did well under Trump could pay first, in time and legal bills, before any law changes.
El Nino drying fields and flooding towns
Seen in 2 of the 12 beats
Swipe up to see where ↑Scroll down to see where ↓
Climate
The tropical Pacific reached 4C above normal in October, the highest since 1949. Malabar, Florida, took 2 feet of rain in 36 hours, and UNICEF is $5.54 million short for protecting children in Malawi.
The Climate stories →Food
Thai rice reached $499 a ton, its highest in almost two years, as El Nino brought drier weather to Asia's fields. Rice in the Philippines jumped 21%.
The Food stories →What is going on
A hot Pacific shifts the rain, so some fields go dry and some towns flood. Families who buy their rice at the market pay in higher prices.
Where the day is heading
Swipe up for what comes next ↑Scroll down for what comes next ↓
Where we are heading
Fuel, rice and memory chips are all getting dearer for different reasons: a war, the weather and data centres.
Where we are heading
Shoppers meet those rises at the supermarket and on the phones and consoles they buy, and the Bank of England's answer reaches homes on tracker mortgages first.
Where we are heading
On Thursday the money behind the data centres wavered too, as US shares had their worst day since April 2025.
War around the Gulf keeping energy dear, and rates rising with it
The next test is whether oil stays below the $108 or so that the Bank's 5% inflation forecast was built on.
Data centres outbidding everyone, as investors start to doubt them
The next test is whether the new governors in Texas, Ohio and Georgia carry out the pauses on data centres they pledged.
US election reaching firms that did well under Trump
The first test comes in January, when Democrats can start ordering testimony.
El Nino drying fields and flooding towns
The thing to watch is whether Thai rice holds near $499 a ton.
The day, beat by beat
Swipe up for every beat ↑Scroll down for every beat ↓
World · 61 stories
Joshua Wong jailed for 10 more years in Hong Kong, two months before his release
- South Africa's ANC at 32% in the first count
- Vance blames the Iran war, and Trump half agrees
- Trump backs Hegseth as an adviser sees a sacking
Finance · 34 stories
The Bank of England raises its rate to 4% in an 8-1 vote, the first rise since August 2023, and warns inflation will reach about 5%
- Oil falls below $100 on hopes of peace
- Shares in AI builders split in two
- The Dow has its best day in 18 months
Tech · 53 stories
US voters back limits on data centres in almost every local ballot measure, and Meta's and Amazon's Ohio plans are now in doubt
- Tech backers talk of data centres in space
- US Democrats plan to question AI bosses
- AI election money had a mixed night
Mind & body · 36 stories
One in four of the world's adolescents reported no active day in the previous week, and 15 years have brought no progress, WHO finds
- WHO sums up 6 climate steps at 1.6 million lives
- Cocaine passes heroin in drug death figures
- A cheap drape shows when birth bleeding is too much
Climate · 41 stories
UN says money to help poorer countries cope with climate harm has stalled at $32bn at most, far short of the $305bn a year needed by 2035
- Democrats gain a way to push US climate spending
- El Nino floods hit Florida and the Four Corners
- East Asia's typhoon energy forecast near double normal
Space · 19 stories
A craft circling Mars picks up gas leaking from cracks by a giant volcano, a clue that magma may still be down there
- Swift falls over Sumatra
- SpaceX's home state turns Democratic
- Space Force plans Falcon 9 flights to 2032
Biotech · 25 stories
WHO's advisers back 2 vaccines built for the Ebola strain that has killed over 5,300, for a trial in Congo
- A British health worker with Ebola flies home
- CVS will split into two companies
- The Wegovy pill lifts Novo's forecast
Money · 29 stories
UK interest rate rises to 4%: about 500,000 tracker mortgages pay some £31 more a month at once, and savers may earn more
- Eurozone prices rise 4% on energy
- What US Democrats can change on bills
- A US card rate cap back on the table
Sports · 49 stories
LIV Golf plans to wind down after BC Partners pulls out of a $300m rescue, ending a tour that took more than $5bn of Saudi money
- Rugby's big unions agree to sell together
- Voters in Plano reject arena taxes
- Burnley's accounts lean on an appeal
Gaming · 38 stories
Macronix, the chip maker behind Nintendo's Switch cartridges, quits game chips for data-centre memory after record profits
- Switch 2 sales fall 41% after price rises
- Arkane's union blames Microsoft for the delays
- One in 3 bought game studios has been shut
Food · 41 stories
Asian rice hits its highest price in almost two years as El Nino dries harvests, and Philippine rice jumps 21%
- US small shops must stock 28 staples for food aid
- One in three US shoppers cuts meals
- Fresh food leads Europe's new price rise
Cyber · 27 stories
Hackers linked to Russia's spy service poisoned websites to reach phones that had missed updates
- French bank loses about $133 million to hackers
- Hackers set French blood stores to heat up
- Amadeus break-in ran over 3 years, Japan Airlines says
That's the day at a glance.
4 signals, seen across 10 beats. Now the stories, beat by beat.
or keep swiping up