Good Afternoon. It’s National Dessert Day, so go ahead have that extra slice of cake. Between Powell’s “firmer footing,” trillion-dollar asset managers, and a streaming service that just scored a major podcast deal, today’s market menu is anything but vanilla. Let’s get into it.

—Rosie, Wyatt, Evan & Conor

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1. Bank Earnings Top Expectations

The News: U.S. stocks reversed early losses Tuesday as trade jitters eased and earnings impressed. The Dow climbed after U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer confirmed that Presidents Trump and Xi are “on track to meet,” cooling fears of fresh escalation. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Wells Fargo all beat Q3 expectations, while BlackRock’s assets topped $13 trillion for the first time. Fed Chair Jerome Powell reinforced hopes for further rate cuts.

Why It Matters: Earnings strength and dovish Fed signals are giving investors cover to buy dips, at least for now. For households, sustained confidence could support 401(k)s and mortgage-rate relief if Powell follows through. Yet China’s deepening slowdown and rising “fee-for-fee” retaliation suggest the trade truce remains fragile.

What to Watch: October’s inflation data and Powell’s next remarks on balance-sheet reductions. The good news, when banks are making money they’re happy to lend it out.
Source: wsj.com

2. Fed says Economy on Firmer Footing

The News: Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday the economy “may be on a somewhat firmer trajectory” despite sluggish hiring and layoffs remaining near record lows. Speaking in Philadelphia, Powell noted that policymakers will take a “meeting-by-meeting” approach to further cuts, with inflation still above the 2% goal. The Fed’s September rate cut of 25 bps was its first since June, and markets now expect another on Oct. 29. Powell also blamed tariffs, not underlying demand, for recent goods inflation spikes.

Why It Matters: For workers, a “low-hiring, low-firing” job market means stability without opportunity—a soft landing that feels more like a stall. For investors, Powell’s tone suggests more easing ahead if trade-driven inflation proves temporary. The Fed is walking a narrowing path between growth fatigue and policy credibility.

What to Watch: The Oct. 24 CPI release and Powell’s October 29 decision on whether to deliver another 25 bps cut. The Fed says we’re on firmer footing. For most Americans, it still feels like walking on eggshells.
Source: finance.yahoo.com

3. NVIDIA Launches New AI Supercomputer

The News: NVIDIA announced Monday that it will begin shipping the DGX Spark on Oct. 15 — calling it “the world’s smallest AI supercomputer.” Built on the new Grace Blackwell architecture, Spark delivers 1 petaflop of AI performance and 128 GB of unified memory in a desktop form factor. The system integrates NVIDIA GPUs, CPUs, NVLink networking, CUDA libraries, and the full NVIDIA AI stack, allowing developers to fine-tune models up to 70 billion parameters locally. CEO Jensen Huang hand-delivered one of the first units to Elon Musk at SpaceX, echoing his 2016 delivery of the original DGX-1 to also Elon Musk then at a small start-up called OpenAI.

Why It Matters: DGX Spark marks NVIDIA’s move to put enterprise-grade AI power directly on developers’ desks, cutting reliance on costly cloud rentals and reinforcing its dominance across the full AI stack. For researchers, it’s a chance to prototype sensitive models locally; for rivals AMD and Intel, another reminder of how quickly NVIDIA turns infrastructure into ecosystem.

What to Watch: Pre-order demand as systems go live Oct. 15 and early adoption from partners like Meta, Microsoft, and Hugging Face. When “supercomputing” fits between your keyboard and coffee mug, the cloud may finally have competition.
Source: nvidianews.nvidia.com

4. BlackRock’s Assets Hit Record $13.5 Trillion

The News: BlackRock ended Q3 with $13.46 trillion AUM, a 17% YoY jump, lifted by buoyant markets and $205 billion of net inflows. Base fees grew at a 10% annualized pace, topping CEO Larry Fink’s long-term target. Results included the first quarter of HPS Investment Partners, part of a $30 billion deals spree to expand in private markets. GAAP net income fell 19% to $1.32B ($8.43/share); $11.55 ex acquisition costs beat expectations. Private-markets AUM reached $320.9B. iShares remained the engine, with the iShares Bitcoin Trust nearing $100B, and the stock is up 14% YTD, after hitting a record this month.

Why It Matters: For investors, fee growth plus ETF demand shows BlackRock can scale revenues even before markets do the lifting. The private-markets push widens margins but raises execution risk, integrating high-pay talent while containing costs and preserving performance. For clients, “one-stop” breadth (index to private credit) is the pitch; discipline on fees and governance is the question.

What to Watch: Fundraising traction toward the $400B by 2030 private-markets target and whether GAAP profits re-accelerate as deal costs fade. When your assets top $13 trillion, you’re playing in the same league as nations, only the U.S. and China have larger GDPs. The question now is whether BlackRock can manage an economy-sized empire without tripping over its own weight.
Source: wsj.com

5. Netflix & Spotify Join Forces

The News: Netflix is entering the podcast game — visually. The streamer announced a partnership with Spotify to host video versions of 16 Spotify and Ringer podcasts spanning sports, culture, entertainment, and true crime. The lineup includes The Bill Simmons Podcast, Rewatchables, Conspiracy Theories, and Serial Killers. Full video episodes will stream on Netflix early next year, with distribution exclusive to Netflix and Spotify — notably excluding YouTube, its biggest rival for video podcast audiences. Under the deal, Spotify retains integrated ad sales, while Netflix will run the shows ad-free, even for its lower-priced tier. Both companies said the slate will expand over time, though Spotify’s most popular title, Good Hang With Amy Poehler, isn’t included.

Why It Matters: This is Netflix’s first true foray into podcasting and a strategic counterpunch to YouTube’s dominance in the hybrid video-audio space. For Spotify, it’s a new distribution engine after costly missteps in podcasting bets like Rogan and Gimlet. For Netflix, it’s content that keeps users inside its app longer, without the risk of billion-dollar production budgets.

What to Watch: Viewer engagement and creator sign-ups once the podcasts debut in early 2026. If successful, Netflix could turn your “background noise” into bingeable content.
Source: nytimes.com

1. UK will be second-fastest-growing G7 economy, IMF predicts

The News: The IMF expects the UK to be the G7’s second-fastest-growing economy in 2025, expanding 1.3%, behind only the U.S. The upgrade reflects “strong activity in the first half of 2025” and a modest trade rebound helped by the new U.S.–UK trade deal. But the praise comes with a sting: Britain is also set to record the highest inflation in the G7, at 3.4% this year and 2.5% in 2026, before easing to the 2% target by late next year. The IMF also warned of broader global strains from Trump’s tariffs and a weakening dollar to an overheated U.S. tech sector. Chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said AI hype may be inflating valuations “substantially higher” than during the 2000 dotcom bubble.

Why It Matters: For Chancellor Rachel Reeves, the IMF upgrade offers validation that Labour’s early fiscal messaging hasn’t scared off growth. For households, though, it’s little comfort: prices remain the G7’s stickiest, and energy costs continue to bite.

What to Watch: Inflation persistence and whether higher growth finally translates into rising real wages before rate cuts resume. When the IMF calls your economy both one of the strongest and most expensive in the club, it’s a reminder: you can win the growth race and still feel broke at the finish line.
Source: bbc.com

2. Japan’s PayPay Eyes $20B U.S. IPO

The News: SoftBank is preparing to list its Japanese payments app PayPay in the U.S. as early as December, targeting a valuation above $20 billion (¥3 trillion), according to Reuters sources. Investor meetings began in September, with baseline estimates near ¥2 trillion but room to rise depending on growth prospects abroad. PayPay dominates Japan’s QR code payment market, helping shift consumers away from cash, and recently expanded cross-border payments starting with South Korea. SoftBank’s financial arm, which includes PayPay, more than doubled profits last quarter to ¥18.1 billion.

Why It Matters: A blockbuster PayPay debut would mark one of the largest Japanese tech listings in years and test U.S. investor appetite for Asia’s fintechs amid a revived IPO market. If successful, look for other overseas companies to join the fray.

What to Watch: Whether PayPay can sell a global growth story. Japan and other Asian countries have gone cashless fast, but overseas, most people just know ApplePay, meaning PayPay has a tough high to climb for QR Code commerce globally.
Source: cnbc.com

3. Google to invest $15B in Indian AI infrastructure hub

The News: Google will invest $15 billion to build a 1-gigawatt AI and data hub in Visakhapatnam, India, its largest investment outside the U.S. The five-year project includes a subsea cable network built with Bharti Airtel and data center infrastructure from AdaniConneX, part of a plan to make the coastal city a global connectivity hub. The move comes amid rising U.S.–India trade friction — including Trump’s 50% tariffs on Indian imports, an increased fee for H-1B Visas and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “swadeshi” push to promote homegrown tech alternatives like Zoho and MapMyIndia.

Why It Matters: Remember, there’s a billion people in India and Google wants to capitalize on that opportunity. Google’s new AI hub cements India’s role in global infrastructure just as political headwinds challenge U.S. tech’s dominance there. For India, it’s both a prestige win and a sovereignty dilemma: foreign capital fueling local innovation with strings attached.

What to Watch: Whether Modi’s government can balance nationalist tech ambitions with foreign partnerships and if Google’s “from India, for Asia” vision becomes more than a slogan. Lastly, keep an eye on U.S. Visa programs, as more of these types of investments could reshape that policy.
Source: techcrunch.com

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