Market Overview

SpaceX agreed on Thursday to purchase a nationwide spectrum portfolio from Grain Management, securing up to 14 megahertz of paired spectrum in the 800 MHz band. The transaction gives Starlink Mobile the low-band frequencies required to penetrate buildings and walls, closing a critical technical gap against terrestrial networks. Shares of AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile tumbled in extended trading following the announcement. The deal remains subject to approval by the Federal Communications Commission. Grain Management previously acquired these airwaves from T-Mobile earlier this year. SpaceX plans to combine the newly acquired terrestrial spectrum with its recently approved Gen2 constellation of 15,000 satellites. Most existing unmodified mobile handsets already support the 800 MHz frequency band, allowing consumers to connect without proprietary devices. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed by either party. SpaceX went public in June in a record offering and is valued at over 2 trillion dollars. The agreement escalates the direct competition between Elon Musk's venture and legacy wireless operators in the United States.

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Nvidia shares dropped more than 2% on Thursday after disclosures revealed OpenAI's annualized revenue reached roughly $50 billion at the end of September, falling short of prior market expectations. The discrepancy stems from accounting differences in how annualized sales are calculated compared with rival developer Anthropic, which includes sales through third-party cloud partners like Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud. OpenAI excluded those third-party channels from its core figures, leading to earlier market estimates reaching up to $70 billion. The lower-than-expected revenue figure rippled across the technology sector, pressuring shares of major hardware suppliers and infrastructure partners. Oracle shares fell more than 5% on Thursday following the revenue disclosure and separate reports detailing plans to tap debt markets to fund artificial intelligence chip purchases. Oracle capital spending reached $28.5 billion in its June-to-August quarter, supporting an extensive data center infrastructure build-out tied heavily to contracted future revenue. Broadcom shares declined nearly 4% on Thursday, while Microsoft lost over 1% amid the broader selloff in artificial intelligence-linked equities.

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Schneider Electric has agreed to acquire PTC for $205 per share in cash, valuing the enterprise software maker at approximately €21 billion, or $22.6 billion. The transaction gives Schneider a portfolio of computer-aided design and product lifecycle management software, including its Creo and Windchill offerings, to complement existing industrial units such as AVEVA and ETAP. Chief Executive Officer Olivier Blum described the purchase as the final component in connecting physical factory operations with digital design systems. Chief Financial Officer Nathan Fast outlined expected cost synergies of €250 million within three years, alongside €800 million in potential revenue synergies from cross-selling across combined customer bases. The cash consideration is backed by a fully underwritten bridge facility, with funding to consist of €5 billion to €6 billion in equity raised through an accelerated bookbuild and €16 billion to €17 billion in senior debt. Share repurchases are scheduled to pause during 2027 and 2028 to accommodate the debt load. The combined software-assisted business will represent 24 percent of Schneider group revenue on a 2025 reference basis, with recurring revenue projected at 89 percent. PTC is expected to contribute organic annual recurring revenue growth of about 10 percent in the medium term, backed by a gross margin of approximately 85 percent and an adjusted EBITA margin of 40 percent before synergies. The deal is valued at roughly 13 times adjusted EBITA including full run-rate synergies. The transaction is expected to close by the third quarter of 2027, pending regulatory approvals including review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States and a simple-majority vote by PTC shareholders.

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The World Trade Organization more than doubled its 2026 forecast for global merchandise trade growth to 3.9 per cent, driven by an artificial intelligence investment boom centered in Asia, CNA reported Thursday. The Geneva-based trade body lifted its projection from a March estimate of 1.9 per cent after trade volumes grew a stronger-than-expected 3.5 per cent in the first half of the year. Global merchandise trade is projected to accelerate to 4.1 per cent in 2027, while global gross domestic product is forecast to expand 2.6 per cent this year and 2.9 per cent next year. Demand for semiconductors and servers accounted for 47 per cent of global merchandise trade growth in the first half of 2026. Trade in AI-enabling goods soared 67 per cent year-on-year in the first half, nearly doubling the sector's share of world merchandise trade from 8 per cent to 14.8 per cent. Asia is forecast to contribute 4.0 percentage points to the 3.9 per cent global merchandise trade increase this year, effectively accounting for more than 100 per cent of total growth as the rest of the world combined experiences a slight decline. Asia's merchandise exports are projected to surge 9.9 per cent this year, led by East Asian economies supplying more than half of global AI hardware exports and Southeast Asia providing another quarter. By contrast, European exports are forecast to dip 0.1 per cent, and Middle Eastern exports are expected to plunge 17.2 per cent due to regional conflict. The trade resilience extends to broader supply chains, with alternative suppliers limiting crude oil export declines to 6 per cent and liquefied natural gas to 1 per cent despite sharp drops in Middle Eastern shipments. However, the WTO downgraded its commercial services trade growth forecast to 3.3 per cent this year from 4.8 per cent, as transport and travel felt the strain of conflict.

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Tokenization could unlock tens of billions of dollars in trapped capital by making collateral more liquid across the global financial system, Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman said on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, according to CNBC. Speaking at the Token2049 conference in Singapore, Friedman said that converting assets such as Treasurys, equities, and money market funds into digital tokens on a blockchain would allow capital to flow more fluidly. Institutional interest in tokenization has accelerated over the past year, driven partly by the passage of the Genius Act in the U.S. to establish a regulatory framework for stablecoins, alongside persistent demand from retail investors for round-the-clock trading. Moving to a 24/7 market structure presents a significant operational challenge for traditional financial institutions that rely on closed market periods for system updates and risk management. Artificial intelligence will be critical to managing that transition, according to Friedman, who noted that Nasdaq has already introduced digital agents within its risk management platform to provide automated recommendations. Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi also noted strong international interest in both tokenization and U.S. public listings at the conference. However, Friedman cautioned that round-the-clock trading may not suit every asset class, noting that not all assets possess sufficient liquidity to support continuous trading.

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Anthropic is launching a presidential engagement program to advise candidates on AI policy ahead of the 2028 election, Fortune reported. The company is hiring a Political Programs lead to build an in-house team that will work with U.S. presidential candidates from both parties, guide executive political strategy, and manage the company political giving program. The effort takes shape as Anthropic prepares for an impending initial public offering that could value the company at up to $2 trillion. In April, Anthropic established its first employee-funded political action committee called AnthroPAC, which permits employee contributions of up to $5,000 per year. CEO Dario Amodei donated $1 million in July to Public First, a pro-AI regulation super PAC. The initiative follows a rocky relationship with the Trump administration, including a March designation by the Department of Defense as a supply chain risk following a dispute over military use of its technology.

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Elevra Lithium signed a binding agreement to supply 240,000 dry metric tonnes of spodumene concentrate to LG Energy Solution from its North American Lithium facility in Quebec, Canada. Shipments are expected to begin in calendar year 2026. The contracted base quantity comprises 30,000 dry metric tonnes in 2026, followed by 60,000 dry metric tonnes in both 2027 and 2028, and 90,000 dry metric tonnes in 2029. In addition to the base volume, Elevra may supply up to 90,000 dry metric tonnes of optional volume during the contract period subject to mutual agreement. Pricing will be determined through a market-linked mechanism adjusted for lithium content. Managing Director and CEO Lucas Dow stated that the agreement implements the commercial strategy outlined with the company's fiscal year 2026 annual results. The deal secures a committed customer for a meaningful portion of production at the North American Lithium asset while retaining exposure to market pricing. Elevra owns 100 percent of the North American Lithium site, alongside a 60 percent interest in the Moblan Lithium Project, full ownership of the Carolina Lithium Project in the United States, and a joint venture in Western Australia. LG Energy Solution will use the local supply to support growing regional demand for energy storage systems and electric vehicles across North America.

Mining Technology

US Senator Richard Blumenthal demanded records from Cantor Fitzgerald regarding its business ties to stablecoin issuer Tether, including family payouts to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. In a letter sent Thursday, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations asked Cantor chairman Brandon Lutnick to provide compliance, banking, and sanctions records tied to the arrangement. Cantor acquired a 5 percent stake in Tether in 2024 and custodies tens of billions of dollars in US Treasury reserves for the stablecoin issuer. Blumenthal alleged that Cantor's stake in Tether climbed in estimated value from $600 million to $10 billion since President Donald Trump returned to office, and that Howard Lutnick received more than $250 million over that period, including a $192 million distribution from Cantor Fitzgerald. The inquiry follows a Democratic committee report alleging that Tether's USDT token served as a primary tool for Iran's shadow banking network. Blumenthal called on the Treasury and Justice Departments to investigate potential sanction violations, while Tether stated it has frozen nearly $550 million in Iran-linked USDT this year. The senator asked Cantor to respond by October 23.

Cointelegraph

E.ON Next completed its acquisition of Ovo Energy on Thursday, consolidating the British household energy market into a dominant group of three suppliers, according to The Guardian. The transaction leaves E.ON Next serving 5.6 million households and holding a 25% market share, placing it narrowly behind Octopus Energy at 26% and ahead of British Gas at 23%. Almost three-quarters of British households are now serviced by these three suppliers, while five firms total control 90% of the market. The completion follows clearance from Britain's competition watchdog despite concerns over reduced consumer choice and weaker incentives to lower bills. Chris Norbury, chief executive of E.ON UK, defended the deal by pointing to the company's scale and flexibility to transform the energy system. The market previously saw dozens of supplier failures during the 2021 and 2022 energy crisis after years of attempts to dismantle the legacy Big Six structure. The consolidation leaves smaller independent competitors squeezed out as larger players absorb remaining market share.

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The Federal Reserve Board announced an enforcement action against American Express Company on October 8, 2026, citing failures to detect and report suspicious activity related to money laundering. Regulators found significant deficiencies in the implementation of the firm enterprise-wide anti-money laundering program, specifically at its subsidiary national bank. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a separate enforcement action against the bank in parallel. The central bank measure is intended to force compliance with United States laws and regulations across the lending group.

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