Good Afternoon. On this day in 1969, America’s first ATM opened at Chemical Bank in Rockville Centre, New York. It dispensed cash beyond banking hours, proving a simple machine could turn financial infrastructure into everyday convenience.

Wall Street watched a similar conversion test today. Stocks regained ground as yields steadied, but Dell’s $95 billion AI-server backlog, Vertiv’s power deal, and slowing private hiring showed that demand alone isn’t enough. The next winners have to turn orders into delivered capacity, cash, and durable margins.

—Rosie, Wyatt, Evan & Conor

🔥 What’s Hot: 🔥

🥶 What’s Not: 🥶

🔢 Big number: $95 billion — Dell’s AI-server backlog at the end of its fiscal second quarter. It’s evidence of powerful demand, but the value arrives only as systems ship, customers pay, and infrastructure keeps pace.

U.S. stocks moved higher after three losing sessions as bond yields and oil prices stopped accelerating. The rebound didn’t erase the pressures that caused the earlier decline; it showed that investors can tolerate expensive energy and restrictive financing when those forces aren’t worsening at the same time.

The news: The S&P 500 and Dow were up close to 0.4% late in the session, while the Nasdaq gained roughly 0.3%. Brent crude added about 0.7% to $95.33 a barrel, and the 10-year Treasury yield held near 4.8%. Markets aren’t done balancing Iran-related supply risk against incoming labor and inflation data.

Bottom line: One steadier session doesn’t settle the rate debate. Friday’s employment report can change expectations for the Federal Reserve, while another energy shock could put inflation back in control. Investors and businesses should keep plans flexible because financing costs, hiring decisions, and valuations are all responding to the same policy outlook.

Source: Associated Press

Dell’s AI infrastructure business is growing at a pace that would’ve looked improbable a few years ago. The headline demand is impressive, but its record backlog also turns the next phase into an operating challenge: secure components, assemble systems, help customers deploy them, and collect the cash without sacrificing service or margins.

The news: Fiscal second-quarter revenue reached $47 billion, up 58% from a year earlier. Dell booked $60.9 billion of new AI-server orders, delivered $16.4 billion of AI-server revenue, and ended with a $95 billion backlog. It’s now guiding to roughly $192 billion in full-year revenue, which would be about 69% growth.

Big picture: A backlog isn’t the same thing as finished revenue. Dell still has to match supply with customer timelines while data-center power and construction remain constraints. Readers should watch the pace of deliveries, cash flow, and margins—not only the size of the order book—because that’s where AI enthusiasm becomes economic value.

Source: Dell Technologies

U.S. companies added fewer workers in August, giving Friday’s government employment report a softer setup. The slowdown wasn’t spread evenly: healthcare and education continued to hire, while manufacturing and professional services pulled back. That split suggests companies are becoming selective rather than uniformly preparing for a downturn.

The news: Private payrolls increased by 38,000, the smallest gain since January. Education and health services added 45,000 positions, while manufacturing lost 17,000 and professional and business services lost 16,000. Base pay for people staying in their jobs rose 3.2%, so wage growth hasn’t disappeared even as hiring cools.

What’s next: The ADP report won’t predict the government count perfectly, but it does raise the stakes for Friday. Employers should prepare for a labor market where specialized roles remain difficult to fill while broader headcount receives more scrutiny. A weak official report could ease rate pressure, though it’d also question how much consumer spending can carry.

Source: ADP

Vertiv agreed to buy UtilityInnovation Group to help data-center operators connect generation, storage, and electrical controls more quickly. The deal addresses the part of the AI buildout that software can’t solve: advanced chips and servers are useful only after a site secures enough reliable power to operate them.

The news: Vertiv will pay $1.45 billion in cash, plus as much as $1.15 billion if the acquired business reaches agreed earnings targets. The base price equals about 13 times expected 2027 EBITDA. UtilityInnovation Group brings microgrid controls and onsite-power expertise that should complement Vertiv’s cooling and electrical systems.

Bottom line: The acquisition won’t create electricity, but it can shorten the path from a power source to a working data hall. Vertiv has to integrate the technology and justify a sizable contingent payment. If it succeeds, the company can sell customers a broader answer to the industry’s biggest bottleneck instead of only individual pieces of equipment.

Source: Vertiv

Palo Alto Networks ended its fiscal year with rapid subscription growth and a large contracted-revenue base, yet its shares fell as investors examined what that growth costs under standard accounting. It’s a useful reminder that adjusted earnings can clarify an operating trend without replacing the expenses and valuation changes recorded under GAAP.

The news: Fiscal fourth-quarter revenue rose 34% to $3.41 billion, Next-Generation Security annual recurring revenue climbed 63% to $9.1 billion, and remaining performance obligations reached $21.2 billion. The company’s results also included a $282 million GAAP loss, versus a $254 million profit a year earlier, while adjusted free cash flow reached $1.3 billion.

Big picture: Customers haven’t stopped consolidating security tools, and Palo Alto Networks still expects strong growth. The tougher question is whether acquisitions, share-based compensation, and financing effects allow that expansion to create comparable value for shareholders. Watch cash generation and integration progress alongside recurring revenue, because no single adjusted metric tells the whole story.

Source: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

The Bank of Canada kept its policy rate unchanged as officials weighed slower domestic demand against a new energy-driven inflation threat. Holding gives policymakers time to see whether higher fuel costs fade or spread, but it doesn’t promise borrowers that relief is close.

The news: The overnight rate remains 2.25%, with headline inflation near 3%. Excluding gasoline, inflation was about 2.2%, while the bank’s preferred core measures stayed close to 2%. Officials said energy prices, U.S. tariffs, and Canadian countermeasures have increased the risk that inflation remains above target for longer.

What’s next: Canada’s next decision arrives on October 28, after policymakers receive more evidence on prices, spending, and trade. Households renewing loans shouldn’t assume a quick cut, while businesses exposed to fuel or imported inputs may need wider cost ranges. The bank can wait today, but persistent pass-through would make that patience harder to maintain.

Source: Bank of Canada

A Bank of Japan board member argued that 2026 has become a turning point where rate increases may need to happen more flexibly. The view isn’t the entire board’s commitment, but it shows how stronger wages, corporate investment, and expensive energy are shifting the discussion away from deflation and toward containing second-round inflation.

The news: Hajime Takata said Japan’s economy hasn’t shown a marked slowdown and noted that real wages have recently turned positive. Producer prices were up 7.2% in July, while companies planned substantial investment in AI, data centers, and electricity capacity. He proposed lifting the policy rate to 1.25% at the July meeting after the bank raised it to 1% in June.

Bottom line: Japan’s central bank still has to distinguish a temporary energy shock from lasting wage-and-price momentum. A faster hiking path could support the yen and restrain inflation, but it’d also raise borrowing costs after decades of unusually easy policy. Global investors should watch whether Takata’s concern spreads across the board before treating it as the next decision.

Source: Bank of Japan

The Dutch central bank moved part of its gold reserve from North America to London, placing more metal in a market where it could be sold or pledged more easily during a crisis. The transfer isn’t a bet on gold prices; it’s a change in where emergency liquidity sits and how quickly officials could use it.

The news: De Nederlandsche Bank moved 86 metric tons from vaults in New York and Ottawa between March and August. The bank held 612.4 metric tons worth about €72.2 billion at the end of 2025. It’s left New York and Ottawa with 18.5% of the reserve each, while a larger share sits in London.

Big picture: Reserve management is partly about diversification and partly about logistics. Gold in several jurisdictions reduces custody concentration, while London offers deep trading infrastructure. The move doesn’t mean the Netherlands expects an immediate emergency, but it shows central banks are testing whether strategic assets can be mobilized—not merely stored—when markets become stressed.

Source: Associated Press

Q: Why don’t skeletons fight each other?

A: They don’t have the guts.

Order-to-cash cycle: it’s the time between receiving a customer’s order and collecting payment after delivery.

In a sentence: Dell’s $95 billion backlog makes the order-to-cash cycle essential because booked demand hasn’t created cash until servers ship and customers pay.

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