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Business briefing — October 25, 2026.

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October 25, 20266 min read

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AT A GLANCE

Oil entered Fed week above $100 a barrel, while the U.S. authorized a temporary reserve exchange to address a specific refinery supply disruption—not a broad price-control release.
Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon earnings will put AI spending returns under scrutiny; Meta has already reported negative quarterly free cash flow and raised its capital-spending floor.
Bitcoin ETFs returned to approximately $301.2 million in weekly net inflows, but BlackRock’s inflows exceeded the category total and Friday’s figures remained provisional.

Oil rises above $100 as Saudi attacks and Iran tensions heighten supply concerns

WTI settled at $103.27 a barrel on October 23, up 3.8%, while Brent closed at $116.72, its highest settlement since April 29, Reuters reported. The report links the rally to attacks in Saudi Arabia and fears of renewed U.S.-Iran confrontation; it notes that Iranian claims of damaged tankers were not independently verified. Separately, the U.S. announced a temporary exchange of up to 400,000 barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help supply Phillips 66’s Lake Charles refinery.

What changed Brent moved from below $97 at the start of October to briefly above $117 on Friday, substantially increasing energy-cost pressure ahead of the Fed meeting.

Why it matters Households and businesses face a potential squeeze from sustained expensive energy: higher headline inflation can coincide with weaker purchasing power and narrower margins.

What to watch next Wednesday’s EIA inventory release is the next scheduled check on domestic supply buffers; developments around Saudi facilities and Hormuz remain unresolved risks.

FinanceFeeds ↗

Fed decision and major tech earnings converge in a high-stakes week for markets

The Nasdaq Composite ended the week at 25,955.34, down 0.7%, ahead of the Federal Reserve’s October 27–28 meeting and earnings from Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon. The report says investors are focused on whether AI-related capital spending is translating into cloud growth and future cash flow, as well as the cost of financing data-center expansion. LSEG IBES estimates third-quarter earnings growth above 32% year over year for S&P 500 companies that have reported or are represented in analyst estimates.

What changed The Nasdaq’s decline slowed from 2.6% on Thursday to 0.21% on Friday, but the index had not begun recovering that selloff.

Why it matters For technology shareholders, strong earnings alone may not settle valuation concerns: cloud revenue and future cash generation must be weighed against increasingly expensive infrastructure funding.

What to watch next Wednesday pairs the Fed decision with Alphabet and Microsoft results; Thursday brings GDP and PCE data before Amazon reports, concentrating policy and operating-performance tests into two days.

FinanceFeeds ↗

Anthropic weighs a mid-November IPO as OpenAI pursues a reported $30 billion round

Anthropic is reportedly targeting a potential mid-November listing, but its public S-1 and offering terms had not been announced as of October 24. OpenAI is separately reported to be discussing a fundraising round of up to $30 billion, with reports citing differing potential valuations of more than $1.4 trillion and $1.25 trillion; neither figure represents a completed financing. Anthropic’s prospective valuation has been reported around $1.5 trillion, while investors await public disclosures that could clarify its financials.

What changed Anthropic’s reported IPO valuation ambitions exceed its $965 billion May financing valuation, but the proposed range is not an established public-market price.

Why it matters Institutional investors considering both developers face competing demands on their capital: committing to OpenAI privately could leave less available for Anthropic’s prospective offering.

What to watch next Publication of Anthropic’s S-1, confirmation of its roadshow and offering terms remain the concrete milestones; the reported mid-November listing is not a company commitment.

FinanceFeeds ↗

Six more companies object to OKXICE tokenized shares, bringing total to 22

Wells Fargo, Arm Holdings, Intuit, Moderna, Cisco Systems and Marvell Technology have objected to having their shares tokenized on OKXICE, bringing the number of objecting companies to 22. The objections apply to the proposed third-party tokenization of those issuers’ shares, not to stock tokenization generally. Under the SEC’s temporary Innovation Exemption, an issuer objection prevents that tokenized version from being offered through the venue.

What changed Six additional issuers have opted out, widening the objection list to 22 before the proposed venue begins trading.

Why it matters OKXICE cannot rely on regulatory permission alone to build its stock offering: issuer vetoes directly restrict which third-party tokens its customers can access.

What to watch next Whether more notified issuers object remains open. Silence from the remaining companies should not be treated as approval of the venue.

FinanceFeeds ↗

Meta shares fall after earnings as higher AI spending and financing plans draw scrutiny

Meta closed at $642.62 on October 23, down 0.96% for the session, after falling nearly 7% the previous day, according to Nasdaq daily data cited in the report. Meta reported third-quarter revenue of $64.60 billion, up 26%, and raised the lower end of its 2026 capital-expenditure range to $135 billion from $130 billion; quarterly free cash flow was negative $2.12 billion under the company’s definition. CFO Susan Li said Meta had no specific financing plans to announce after the company approved non-voting Class C shares as a potential capital-raising tool.

What changed Meta increased its minimum expected 2026 capital spending by $5 billion while leaving the $145 billion ceiling unchanged, reducing the scope for a lower-spending outcome.

Why it matters For shareholders, negative free cash flow means quarterly operating cash did not cover equipment purchases and finance-lease principal, making spending demands more consequential than revenue growth alone suggests.

What to watch next Class C trading is expected in late January 2027. Whether Meta subsequently uses the new shares to raise capital remains unresolved; no specific financing plan was announced.

FinanceFeeds ↗

IRS plans faster voluntary disclosure process with lower penalties, including for crypto violations

IRS official Jarod Koopman said the agency aims to introduce a revised voluntary disclosure framework before December, with a target of resolving cases within 120 days after taxpayers complete the required submission process. The planned changes would cover crypto-related violations within the existing program, which is primarily designed for willful noncompliance that may carry criminal exposure—not ordinary filing mistakes. The IRS has not yet specified penalty rates, eligibility terms or the effective date.

What changed The IRS is proposing a 120-day resolution target in place of a process that can take a year or longer; this is an intended improvement, not an effective service guarantee.

Why it matters Taxpayers facing possible criminal exposure could spend less time in disclosure proceedings, but the benefit would begin only after completing the required submissions—not when they first approach the IRS.

What to watch next The final penalty structure, eligibility rules, payment options and effective date remain unpublished, preventing taxpayers from establishing the actual relief available.

FinanceFeeds ↗

Bitcoin ETFs return to weekly inflows despite sharp late-week withdrawals

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded approximately $301.2 million in net inflows for the week ending October 23, ending two weeks of withdrawals, according to Farside Investors data cited by FinanceFeeds. BlackRock’s IBIT attracted $565.7 million over the five sessions, while other Bitcoin funds collectively lost about $264.5 million; Friday’s total remained provisional because VanEck’s figure was not reported. Ethereum ETFs saw about $220.7 million in net outflows, extending their withdrawal streak to four weeks.

What changed Bitcoin ETFs ended a two-week withdrawal streak, although late-week redemptions consumed much of the subscriptions accumulated over the first three sessions.

Why it matters For fund managers assessing demand, the positive Bitcoin total masks withdrawals across the rest of the category: BlackRock alone supplied more than the net gain, weakening the case for a broad recovery.

What to watch next VanEck’s missing Friday figure remains an unresolved data item, so the reported weekly Bitcoin total is not yet final.

FinanceFeeds ↗

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Business briefing — October 25, 2026.

Your briefing

Oil rises above $100 as Saudi attacks and Iran tensions heighten supply concerns

Fed decision and major tech earnings converge in a high-stakes week for markets

Anthropic weighs a mid-November IPO as OpenAI pursues a reported $30 billion round

Six more companies object to OKXICE tokenized shares, bringing total to 22

Meta shares fall after earnings as higher AI spending and financing plans draw scrutiny

IRS plans faster voluntary disclosure process with lower penalties, including for crypto violations

Bitcoin ETFs return to weekly inflows despite sharp late-week withdrawals

Make room for a smarter morning.

Business briefing — October 25, 2026.

Your briefing

Oil rises above $100 as Saudi attacks and Iran tensions heighten supply concerns

Fed decision and major tech earnings converge in a high-stakes week for markets

Anthropic weighs a mid-November IPO as OpenAI pursues a reported $30 billion round

Six more companies object to OKXICE tokenized shares, bringing total to 22

Meta shares fall after earnings as higher AI spending and financing plans draw scrutiny

IRS plans faster voluntary disclosure process with lower penalties, including for crypto violations

Bitcoin ETFs return to weekly inflows despite sharp late-week withdrawals

Make room for a smarter morning.