Morning Briefing — November 2, 2026

World News

All 9 aboard killed in 'cataclysmic' Learjet crash in Palm Beach County, Florida — A Learjet 60 travelling from Austin, Texas to the Bahamas nosedived into a residential area in Palm Beach County on Sunday, killing all nine people aboard. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the deaths, and Governor Ron DeSantis called the scene 'cataclysmic,' noting no one on the ground was killed. CBC News

Four Americans and one Canadian among the 69 dead in Spain's train crash — Authorities have identified 66 of the 69 people killed in last week's high-speed collision near Toledo, including four Americans and a Canadian. The AVE train slammed into a stationary Iryo train on the Madrid-Seville line after what officials described as an 'inexplicable' order from the central control room. NBC News

'No one is safe' as Ebola outbreak surges past 10,000 cases, Africa CDC chief warns — Africa CDC director general Jean Kaseya warned of 'massive' spread beyond Africa unless countries including Canada step up support, as DR Congo's Bundibugyo-strain outbreak hit 10,060 cases and nearly 5,000 deaths. It is now the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak ever recorded, with cases also reported in Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda. CBC News

Michigan Democrat Haley Stevens endorses Republican Mike Rogers for Senate — Days before U.S. midterms that could determine control of Congress, Democrats were stunned as former primary candidate Haley Stevens endorsed Republican Mike Rogers over Democrat Abdul El-Sayed. El-Sayed called the move a 'despicable betrayal' as party tensions boiled over. CBC News

Carney holds 'good conversation' with Trump on Canada-U.S. trade as midterms near — The Canadian prime minister said teams would work in the coming weeks to deliver what he called a 'mutually beneficial trade deal' with the Trump administration. The talks come as uncertainty over tariffs continues to weigh on the Canadian economy. CBC News

Proposed Alberta data centre would release energy equivalent to '23 Hiroshima atomic bombs' per day — A Utah State University physicist, reviewing the project for Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, said the proposed facility demands a full environmental impact assessment. The scale of the project has raised concerns over emissions, water and grid integration. CBC News

Trump reportedly ready to resume Iran strikes after midterms as Qatar talks continue — Reports suggest U.S. President Trump could resume military action against Iran a day after the U.S. midterm elections, while Qatar-mediated negotiations are reportedly making progress. Markets opened Monday cautiously ahead of the political and geopolitical risks. Newsquawk / The Times

Business

Stocks mixed as S&P 500 and Nasdaq rebound sputters, Dow edges higher as oil tumbles — U.S. markets opened the week mixed with the Dow up around 0.7% while the Nasdaq slipped 0.35% as investors continued to digest last week's tech rout. Crude oil fell more than 7% on the day, easing inflation concerns but adding pressure on energy producers. Yahoo Finance / Reuters

Binance sees $3.6B net outflow after record $6.3B hack blamed on North Korea — Binance resumed withdrawals in phases after covering roughly 95% of the $6.3 billion stolen in what may be the largest crypto theft ever. The FBI linked the attack to North Korea's TraderTraitor group, and the exchange processed about $4.65 billion in withdrawals in the first day back. Reuters / Yahoo Finance

Oracle shares fall 6.5% as company advances $20B debt and equity raise — Oracle traded at $122.18, down about $8.49, as the company moved ahead with a $10 billion common stock offering and a separate $10 billion senior notes offering. Proceeds may fund AI-related capital spending, debt repayment, acquisitions, dividends and buybacks. FinChannel / Reuters

BoE weighs easing higher-risk mortgage limits to support UK housing market — The Bank of England's Financial Policy Committee is reportedly considering raising the loan-to-income threshold for higher-risk mortgages from 4.5 to 5 times household income. The move comes amid government pressure to boost the UK's sluggish housing market. Financial Times (via Newsquawk)

Lloyds launches voluntary redundancy programme across several divisions — Lloyds Banking Group is reportedly offering voluntary redundancy to staff across several divisions, with participating employees expected to leave in the first quarter of 2027. The move signals continued cost-cutting among UK high street lenders. The Times (via Newsquawk)

Westpac posts $6.8B profit as Australian banks slash economic forecasts — Westpac reported a $6.8 billion annual profit as the ASX slid ahead of a Reserve Bank of Australia meeting and major banks cut their economic outlooks. Analysts said the trading week was dominated by concerns about returns on surging AI capex and shareholder dilution following Meta's record $97.5bn fundraise plan. ABC News

Canadian economy stalled in August, points to September decline — Statistics Canada said GDP was essentially flat in August as a wholesale trade drop of 1.4% offset gains in retail. BMO economist Douglas Porter said the data undermines claims of economic resilience amid the ongoing U.S. trade war, and may push the Bank of Canada to hold rates steady. CBC News

Glencore proposes faster CEO pay-out in event of takeover — Glencore is reportedly proposing changes to CEO Gary Nagle's remuneration package that would let him cash out long-term share awards more quickly if the mining group is acquired. The move comes amid ongoing M&A speculation across the commodities sector. Financial Times (via Newsquawk)

Technology

OpenAI slashes funding target by $10bn as AI anxieties mount — OpenAI has cut its latest funding target by roughly $10 billion as investor concerns grow about the sustainability of massive AI capital spending. The news adds to a widening debate about returns on hyperscaler AI investment after last week's tech rout. Financial Times

Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft lead $3 trillion AI spending pledge — The three hyperscalers are reportedly anchoring a sweeping multi-year commitment to AI infrastructure totalling about $3 trillion. The pledge comes as Alphabet suffered its biggest one-day drop on record on disappointing search-ad results and a sharp acceleration in cash burn. Bloomberg

Musk throttles Grok because its cost is 'unsustainably high' — Elon Musk said xAI is throttling its Grok chatbot because the model's compute cost has become unsustainable. The admission underscores a broader industry debate about the economics of frontier AI inference as rivals also face capital pressure. Yahoo Finance

Google, Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic adopt new AI training crawl protocol — The four leading AI firms have agreed on a new protocol governing how AI systems crawl and index the web for training data. Separately, Reddit shares tumbled after the CEO acknowledged declines in Google Search referral traffic. Search Engine Roundtable

Meta reportedly building humanoid robot with Chinese startup Fourier — Meta is working with Chinese robotics firm Fourier on a humanoid robot platform, according to The Information. The project signals Meta's deeper push into physical AI alongside its existing Reality Labs hardware investments. Reuters / The Information

CrowdStrike and Dell launch integrated AI security for the Dell AI Factory with NVIDIA — At Fal.Con Europe 2026, CrowdStrike and Dell unveiled a combined security solution for the Dell AI Factory, including Falcon Guardian for runtime protection against prompt injection and malicious agent behaviour. The product will integrate with NVIDIA OpenShell, Sentry and BlueField-4 DPUs. Business Wire / Yahoo Finance

UK's CMA opens investigation into Meta's terms for publishers and advertisers — Britain's Competition and Markets Authority has launched a probe into Meta's terms with publishers and advertisers under its new digital-markets powers. The investigation adds to mounting European scrutiny of large platforms over AI, search and ad practices. Reuters

French publishers file EU antitrust complaint over Google AI Overviews — A coalition of French publishers has lodged an EU antitrust complaint against Google's AI-generated search summaries, arguing the feature siphons traffic from news sites. The move follows mounting evidence that AI Overviews are cutting referral clicks to publishers. MLex

Renewable Energy

Turkey awards 1.5 GW of wind capacity in YEKA RES-2026 tender — Turkey's energy ministry concluded its latest onshore wind tender on November 2, awarding 1.5 gigawatts of grid-connection capacity across seven project zones. Twelve companies competed, with winners including Metgun Enerji (320 MW Sivas) and Ecogreen Elektrik (260 MW Kutahya). bne IntelliNews

PM Modi: Future of energy security lies in clean energy — Opening the Bharat Renewable Energy Summit in New Delhi alongside the 9th International Solar Alliance Assembly, PM Narendra Modi warned that heavy fossil-fuel reliance disrupts the global economy. India has expanded solar module manufacturing from 2 GW a decade ago to over 200 GW, with 44,000 government buildings now solar-powered. ANI News

Italy adds 4.83 GW of solar in first nine months of 2026, storage nears 20 GWh — Italy connected 1.74 GW of new solar PV in Q3 alone — a 37% increase on the same period in 2025 — bringing the nine-month total to 4.83 GW. Battery storage climbed to nearly 20 GWh across almost one million connected systems, led by utility-scale projects. SolarQuarter

ACCIONA Energía begins commercial operation of two wind farms in Croatia — Spanish developer ACCIONA Energía has commenced commercial operations at two Croatian wind farms, expanding its Southeast European portfolio. Separately, Ukraine's Naftogaz won an open auction to build new wind farms as part of the country's energy reconstruction push. Renewable Energy Magazine

All foundations installed at 980-MW Nordlicht I offshore wind farm — Developers announced that all foundations are now in place at the 980-MW Nordlicht I project, a major milestone for one of the largest offshore wind farms under construction. Meanwhile Poland's Gdansk inaugurated a new offshore-wind installation terminal. Renewables Now

China's Yingfa unveils 7.5-GW solar cell plant in Indonesia — Yingfa announced plans for a 7.5-gigawatt solar cell manufacturing facility in Indonesia, deepening Chinese PV supply-chain investment in Southeast Asia. The move follows a broader trend of relocating cell manufacturing closer to end markets to navigate U.S. tariffs. Renewables Now

Uganda launches $17.7B National Energy Compact targeting 85% electricity access by 2030 — Uganda unveiled a $17.7 billion National Energy Compact aimed at reaching 85% electricity access by 2030, with heavy emphasis on renewable generation and grid expansion. The compact is one of the largest single-country energy-access commitments announced this year. SolarQuarter

DCM Shriram commissions full 68 MW wind-solar hybrid project in India — DCM Shriram has fully commissioned its 68 MW wind-solar hybrid project through JSW Renew Energy Thirty Two Limited, completing its planned renewable capacity. The hybrid design combines wind and solar to improve utilisation of grid connections. SolarQuarter

2026 climate outlook: fossil CO2 may fall 0.5% as oil demand drops — A Carbon Brief analysis projects global fossil CO2 emissions could fall about 0.5% in 2026 — the first annual decline since the pandemic — driven mainly by lower oil and gas use after the Strait of Hormuz closure. Clean power remains the structural driver, with solar generation up a record 30% in 2025. Carbon Brief / Carbon Emissions Counter

Soil Science

FAO Food Price Index at highest level since November 2022, up 1.5% month-on-month — The FAO reported its Food Price Index reached its highest level in nearly three years in September, rising 1.5% from August. The agency warned that global food inflation will accelerate and persist until at least 2027, driven by climate shocks and geopolitical tensions. Willagri / FAO

FAO urges agricultural innovation and digital farming for global food security — Marking World Food Day 2026, the FAO called for accelerated innovation and targeted investment to strengthen food security and climate resilience. Officials highlighted the need to combine ancestral farming knowledge with early warning systems, satellite data and modern technologies to tackle soil degradation and water scarcity. Newsy Today / FAO

FAO launches updated guidelines for managing competing demands on land, soil and water — At the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP17), FAO released an updated framework to help countries balance competing land, soil and water uses. The guidelines incorporate advances in geospatial technologies, digital information systems and multicriteria decision support. FAO

10th International Nitrogen Conference opens in Kyoto — N2026, the 10th International Nitrogen Conference, runs November 2-6 in Kyoto under the theme 'Sustainable Nitrogen Management for Future Generations.' Delegates from around the world will discuss nitrogen cycling, pollution, agriculture and policy. IUSS

CANVAS 2026 convenes thousands of agronomy, crop and soil scientists in Portland — The joint meeting of the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America and Soil Science Society of America is being held November 1-4 at the Oregon Convention Center. The programme covers climate change, food security and sustainable land management across thousands of presentations. Science Societies

Soil Science Australia conference tackles 'Soils for the Anthropocene' — Western Australia is hosting the 2026 Soil Science Australia National Conference November 1-5 in Boorloo (Perth) under the theme 'Common Ground: Soils for the Anthropocene.' The event brings together researchers, policymakers and industry on soil as a foundation for productivity and resilience. IUSS

FAO Food Outlook: Global cereal output to decline 2% in 2026 amid weather risks — The biannual Food Outlook forecasts global cereal production will fall 2.0% to 2.98 billion tonnes in 2026, with wheat output expected to drop 3.8% as major exporters including Australia, the EU and U.S. see smaller harvests. Fisheries and aquaculture production is set to grow 1.0% globally. FAO

Study: Maize-potato intercropping boosts aggregate stability and mycorrhizal diversity in red soils — New research in the SSSA Journal shows that maize-potato intercropping in southern Chinese red soils improves aggregate stability and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi diversity compared with monocultures. The findings support intercropping as a tool for restoring degraded tropical and subtropical soils. Soil Science Society of America Journal

Microbial amendments show promise for reclaiming saline-alkali soils in northwest India — A new open-access study tested eleven amendment treatments on salt-affected soils in semi-arid northern India, which suffer from elevated salinity, low organic carbon and restricted phosphorus. Microbial amendments improved key soil properties and could help restore agroforestry productivity in degraded landscapes. Discover Forests / Springer

Cover photo by Çağlar Oskay on Unsplash.