Brent crude tops $117 and diesel exceeds $200 in international markets, driven not by product scarcity but by rising freight rates. According to Clarkson, chartering a supertanker on Middle East-Asia routes exceeds $1.4 million per day for the first time, versus less than $50,000 a year ago. Shipping now accounts for between 20% and 40% of the total price of crude destined for refining.
Days before the October 28 meeting, Fed Funds futures assign an 84% probability that the Federal Reserve keeps rates in the 3.75%-4% range, following the 25-basis-point hike applied on September 16. The market sees a 72% chance of an increase to 4%-4.25% at the December 9 meeting. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh declined to anticipate the direction of monetary policy.
Revolut and Ferratum lead no-payroll savings accounts in October, with 3.51% and 3.40% APR respectively for new customers, according to data dated October 26. Revolut pays that rate for four months on up to 25,000 euros and requires three 5-euro card payments every 30 days; Ferratum keeps it for three months and then drops to 3%. B100, bunq and Raisin also exceed 3% with conditions. These accounts let savers earn interest without having a salary paid in.
The yield on the French 10-year bond has reached 5.11%, its highest level since 2002, and its risk premium over Germany has climbed to 173.58 basis points, the highest since 2011. Spain's risk premium has risen to 71 points. Pablo Vega, an expert at Roams, warns that contagion exists, although investors still distinguish between the two economies based on fundamentals: France combines a high deficit, debt near 119% of GDP and political deadlock.
The ECB and the Fed meet this week with no rate moves expected; analysts point to December for the next move. The ECB meeting is shaped by the French crisis, with the risk premium at its highest since 2011, and by Lagarde's succession. In the US, the Fed meets ten days before the midterm elections, with inflation at 3.7% in September and oil above $120 a barrel.
So-called boomerang employees, who leave a company and return years later, are gaining ground as a recruitment source in sectors struggling to find profiles, such as technology, sales and services. According to specialists from Adecco, Hays and Deloitte, they usually improve their conditions on returning, with salary increases typically between 15% and 25%. In the US they account for between 20% and 25% of hires at large tech companies; at Deloitte, 24% of management hires in the past year had already worked at the firm.
Copper extended last week's decline amid pressure on artificial intelligence stocks, which curbed risk appetite ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting. The metal fell as much as 0.6% in London on Monday and later stood at US$14,247.50 a ton, down 0.5%. Supply in China remains tight due to lower domestic output and the flow of metal to the United States amid expected tariffs, while the Yangshan premium reached its highest level since 2017.
On July 27, 2026, the CNMC asked Red Eléctrica for a study on the methodology for allocating technical restrictions to demand, to assess whether the current mechanism sends adequate signals to consumers and reflects costs correctly. The regulator rejected the large utilities' proposal to set an ex-ante regulated price and warns that the overall cost of technical restrictions remains high, even though reinforced operation fell from 516 to 275 million euros.
Canadian fund Brookfield is negotiating the sale of two portfolios totaling around 1,550 rental homes in Madrid: one of five buildings with 850 homes and another of seven blocks with 700 units. According to market sources, it is already in talks with an Asian fund and a Spanish family office. Doubts over closing the deal stem from regulatory uncertainty following the decree known as 'Maricarmen' and the November 29 elections. Brookfield bought the homes in April as part of a 5,000-home package from Fidere for 1.05 billion euros.
The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz drove up gas and electricity prices, giving breathing room to hundreds of Spanish renewable plants, especially solar ones, that were struggling to repay their loans. Forecasts for the end of 2026 point to revenues of between 35 and 40 euros per MWh, compared with the just over 20 euros expected before the crisis. UNEF had requested a 945 million euro line from the ICO for some 10,000 MW in difficulties.
Magda Chambriard has chaired Petrobras since May 24, 2024, and is at the center of Brazil's energy scene after Lula's reelection, in which he won 51.8% of valid votes according to the TSE. A civil engineer from UFRJ, she joined the oil company in 1980 and was the first woman to head the ANP. Her term ends on April 13, 2027, and renewal depends on the board of directors. The company earned u$s 19.6 billion in 2025 and in October of that year completed its first Vaca Muerta gas import.
Brad Klontz, a doctor of psychology, certified financial planner and associate professor at Creighton University, argues that people's relationship with money is shaped by beliefs formed since childhood, based on family experiences and their environment. Klontz calls these deep ideas "money scripts," which guide how people spend, save and invest, and warns that most people do not realize they influence their decisions. He therefore argues that knowledge about budgeting and investing is not enough: people also need to review their own history with money.
Engineering firm Wood Thilsted won the contract for the detailed design of the monopile foundations at the Outer Dowsing offshore wind farm, with a projected capacity of 1.5 GW, off the coast of Lincolnshire in the United Kingdom. The scope includes structural modelling of up to 100 support structures, geometric optimisation of the tubes and material fatigue analysis. The project is promoted by TotalEnergies, Corio Generation and Gulf Energy Development, after completing FEED studies and securing planning consent.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's reelection in Brazil was read as a "bad signal" by investors and Argentine assets would feel the impact, according to analysts cited by Clarín. The EWZ, the main ETF tracking Brazilian stocks, fell more than 20% in the final minutes of the vote count, and Argentine ADRs such as Banco Galicia's were down more than 9% before Monday's open. Argentina's country risk had closed Friday at 707 points and the City expects it to heat up due to a "contagion effect."
After Lula Da Silva's victory in Brazil's runoff, Brazilian financial assets are posting sharp declines in pre-market trading. The EWZ ETF, which groups the main companies on the Brazilian stock exchange, plunges nearly 20%, while Petrobras and Itaú were down almost 13%. Real futures depreciate 10%. Analysts say Monday's open will be key to gauge the size of the move and how much was already priced in.
Bank of America, Chase, Citibank, Wells Fargo and other institutions will close their branches in the United States on Wednesday, November 11 for Veterans Day and Thursday, November 26 for Thanksgiving. Banks follow the Federal Reserve holiday calendar, which closes on the 11 federal holidays. Online banking, mobile apps and ATMs will remain available, though payments scheduled on a holiday may be processed the next business day. Branches will also close on December 25 for Christmas.
The reelection of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva over Senator Flávio Bolsonaro in Sunday's October 25 runoff triggered sharp falls in real derivatives and in instruments linked to Brazilian equities before markets reopened. With 93.03% of votes counted, Lula had 51.68% against Bolsonaro's 48.32%. Investors had bet on a Bolsonaro win, and Brazilian assets had accumulated gains since the first round.
Vicctus Multi Family Office, part of the Credicorp group, is consolidating its business in four key Latin American markets: Chile, Colombia, Guatemala and Ecuador. Its Chief Investment Officer, Roberto Melzi, told Funds Society that the firm, founded in Peru and with an RIA in Miami, seeks to offer investment, tax and financial planning advice to high-net-worth clients in the region. Melzi said that, except for Chile, a highly competitive market, those markets have greater growth capacity. Regional growth has been mostly organic.
Markets face a busy week: the Fed will decide monetary policy on Wednesday, October 28, with the market expecting it to hold rates at 3.75%-4.00%. Alphabet and Microsoft report earnings the same day, and Amazon on Thursday. The September PCE and the first estimate of third-quarter US GDP will also be published. Decisions are due from the Bank of Canada, the ECB, the Bank of Japan and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, and on Friday from Colombia's Banco de la República, with its reference rate at 12.25%.
Spain's large banks have refocused on personal banking, the segment of clients with assets between 100,000 and 500,000 euros, as a defensive move against neobanks. Santander, BBVA and Sabadell have revised their strategy with organizational changes or an expanded service offering. Digital players such as Trade Republic, Revolut and MyInvestor are gaining ground among clients with greater savings and investment capacity thanks to their product range, competitive fees and digital operations.
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