Business briefing — October 29, 2026.

Oracle shares rally as company sets cash-flow targets and limits new borrowing

Oracle shares rose 10.73% after its investor day, where the company forecast free cash flow turning positive in the second half of fiscal 2028 and reaching at least $30 billion in fiscal 2029. Oracle also set a $20 billion cap on new equity and gross-debt raises through fiscal 2030, excluding refinancing and several other funding channels. The company targets at least $225 billion in fiscal 2030 revenue; those projections have not yet been demonstrated.

Why it matters For shareholders and creditors, the fundraising ceiling is not a comprehensive limit on financing: Oracle can still use vendor funding, customer hardware and prepayments outside it.

What to watch next Fiscal second-quarter results are due around December 14, providing an early check on the spending path well before the projected cash-flow turnaround.

XTB profit quadruples as CFDs still generate most trading income

XTB reported preliminary third-quarter profit of PLN 213.7 million, four times the year-earlier figure and above analyst forecasts, according to Finance Magnates. Clients held PLN 56.2 billion with the broker at September’s end, with stocks and ETFs accounting for 86% of assets, while CFDs generated 90.5% of the quarter’s gross result on financial instruments. XTB plans to publish its full quarterly report on November 20.

What changed Client assets increased by PLN 5.9 billion from June to September, close to the PLN 5.65 billion in net deposits during the quarter.

Why it matters For XTB shareholders, growth in investment accounts has not yet removed the business’s reliance on CFDs; the composition of client wealth is a poor proxy for its trading-income mix.

What to watch next The full third-quarter report is scheduled for November 20, following these preliminary figures.

Mirae Asset plans $35.5 million purchase of Japan’s Sanko Securities

South Korea’s Mirae Asset Securities plans to acquire Sanko Securities for about 47.6 billion won, or $35.5 million, after its board approved the deal, according to a regulatory filing. The transaction requires regulatory approvals and approval from Sanko’s board, which has not yet voted; the price could change depending on that decision. Mirae says it intends to use the acquisition to establish a Japanese foothold and eventually build a retail brokerage.

Why it matters Mirae’s commitment extends beyond the purchase price: its US subsidiary is to receive capital both to buy the shares and to fund Sanko after closing.

What to watch next Sanko’s board vote and regulatory approvals remain outstanding. Closing will establish the final price, and the board decision could alter the deal.

Visa stablecoin settlement reaches $25 billion annualized run rate

Visa said its stablecoin settlement volume has exceeded a $25 billion annualized run rate, roughly ten times the figure a year earlier, according to its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings call. The company now supports settlement across 10 blockchain networks, but the run rate is an annualized measure of recent activity, not the amount settled during the fiscal year. Visa said the business remains small compared with its traditional settlement operations.

What changed The annualized settlement pace is approximately ten times its year-earlier level; this measures growth in recent activity, not a tenfold increase in full-year settled volume.

Why it matters Participating financial institutions can settle obligations on weekends and holidays, reducing their dependence on conventional banking hours.

What to watch next Whether the higher run rate produces sustained volumes and a material financial contribution remains unresolved; the source gives no timetable for demonstrating either.

Allium restores core blockchain data services after disclosing security breach

Blockchain data provider Allium disclosed unauthorized access detected on October 25 and said it had restricted access, notified customers it believed might be affected and hired an outside cybersecurity firm to investigate. Its core Explorer APIs resumed on October 28, but some services remained unavailable as the company revoked API keys and checked or backfilled interrupted data feeds. Allium has not identified affected customers or confirmed whether sensitive information was taken; the investigation is ongoing.

What changed Explorer went offline on October 25 and the application was shut down on October 26; core Explorer functionality and its APIs returned on October 28.

Why it matters Customers using Allium’s warehouse feeds cannot equate resumed delivery with complete records: ongoing checks and backfills leave data completeness a separate operational concern.

What to watch next Allium has promised an investigation summary and corrective measures. The scope of customer exposure remains unresolved.

LME explores tokenizing Hong Kong warehouse metal for loan collateral

The London Metal Exchange is considering digital representations of off-warrant metal held in its Hong Kong warehouses that businesses could potentially pledge to lenders, Reuters reported. The LME said discussions are preliminary and plans an invitation-only industry roundtable in early November. It has not announced a platform, participating banks, token specifications or launch date, and the legal treatment of such collateral remains to be established.

Why it matters Metal holders could obtain liquidity without selling inventory if lenders accept the proposed tokens as collateral; this is a potential financing option, not an available service.

What to watch next An invitation-only industry roundtable is expected in early November to consult market participants; it is not a launch commitment.

Goldman Sachs joins EquiLend securities-finance ledger

Goldman Sachs has joined EquiLend’s 1Source distributed-ledger platform, which aims to give participants a shared record of securities-lending transactions and reduce reconciliation work. BNY and National Bank of Canada were already transmitting live transactions, but EquiLend has not disclosed the scope or volume of Goldman’s use. The platform’s expected savings remain unverified, and its impact will depend on broader adoption and measurable operational results.

What changed Goldman adds a major borrower to a ledger where BNY and National Bank of Canada have transmitted live transactions since October 2025; its own deployment scale is undisclosed.

Why it matters For securities-finance operations teams, Goldman’s participation alone will not remove reconciliation work: benefits depend on counterparties connecting systems and moving transactions onto the same ledger.

What to watch next The concrete open question is whether Goldman will replace existing comparison tools or run 1Source alongside them, and which transaction types are live.