The number of people in China with a fortune above 5 billion yuan ($750 million) reached a record 1,529 this year, according to the Hurun China Rich List, above the previous high of 1,460 in 2021. Liang Wenfeng, founder of DeepSeek, debuted in seventh place with $41.7 billion. Zhang Yiming of ByteDance returned to first place with $99.7 billion. Most of the 263 new entrants come from semiconductors, AI and robotics.
Leading consulting firms raised starting salaries in the United States for the first time since 2022, amid tougher competition with tech companies and AI labs for new graduates. McKinsey, BCG and Bain increased base pay by between 4% and 9%, according to Management Consulted. From next year the three firms will pay $120,000 to university graduates and $200,000 to MBA holders. The sector expects growth of 5% to 7% in the coming years.
European stocks are posting slight declines in a session dominated by quarterly results: the STOXX 600 falls around 0.2%–0.3% and the Euro Stoxx 50 0.18%. Deutsche Bank rises 3.6% after lifting its revenue forecast above €33 billion, while Santander drops 4.9% on weakness in its Brazil profit. Investors await decisions from the Fed, the Bank of Canada and the ECB, and results from Microsoft and Alphabet.
US index futures pointed to a slightly positive open on Wednesday, after two sessions of gains. SK Hynix shares rose 7.2% premarket after the company reported record quarterly profit and announced more than $25 billion in dividends and buybacks. The market awaits the Federal Reserve decision, widely expected to keep rates unchanged, and results from Microsoft and Alphabet after the close.
A REIT in Argentina's capital market, with a minimum ticket of $1,000 and quarterly rent payments in dollars, already has more than 10,000 investors. Its managers argue that the price per square meter in Buenos Aires, measured in dollars, has lagged behind other financial assets, wages and economy-wide prices. They aim to combine rental yields of between 6% and 8% in hard currency with property appreciation.
The dollar opens lower in Chile and approaches its 21-day moving average, with the Chilean peso accumulating an appreciation of close to 2% since October 25. The decline is supported by the Central Bank of Chile's decision to hold its policy rate, a rebound in copper and expectations that the Federal Reserve will also keep rates unchanged. The exchange rate stands near 977.87 pesos per dollar.
US futures trade higher, led by the Nasdaq 100, up 0.46%, while the Kospi gains nearly 6% after SK Hynix beat expectations and reinforced optimism about AI-related demand. The session includes results from Alphabet and Meta Platforms and the Federal Reserve's rate decision. The euro is near 17-month lows against the dollar and gold remains under bearish pressure, near 4,045.
Astrid Perdomo, executive director of AGER, warned during an Energía Estratégica streaming session that Guatemala's generation expansion faces the challenge of having grids to connect power plants. PEG-6 plans to contract 600 MW with supply from May 2032, while demand grows around 6% a year. Perdomo questioned the information available on connection capacity and cited an estimate of 5,000 kilometers of new lines by 2040.
Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ:HOOD) fell 8.7% in premarket trading to about $86.31 from a prior close of $94.56 after reporting third-quarter revenue below expectations. Adjusted earnings per share were $0.60, above the $0.55 consensus, but revenue of about $1.42 billion came in under the $1.43 billion expected. Crypto transaction revenue dropped 55% to $120 million and operating expenses rose 16%, faster than revenue growth of 12%.
Del Monte (NYSE:DMC) reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.50 for the third quarter of 2026, in line with the analyst consensus, while revenue of $1.1 billion came in below the expected $1.16 billion, though it grew 7.2% year over year. Gross profit rose 27.0% to $102.6 million and gross margin improved 150 basis points to 9.4%, driven by the acquisition of Del Monte Foods in March 2026. The Banana segment posted a gross loss of $2.7 million due to black sigatoka prevention costs in Costa Rica.
The Federal Reserve announces its interest rate decision today, with Kevin Warsh as the institution's chair. The market takes for granted that there will be no rate move, after the bond market a month ago priced in a 25 basis point hike with a probability above 70%. Warsh will have to explain why the committee raised rates after a two-tenths increase in September's core PCE and now holds them steady with a three-tenths forecast.
Oil prices rose more than 1% after Yemen's Houthi movement claimed a missile attack on Saudi Arabia's largest refinery, with capacity of about 550,000 barrels per day. Brent gained 1.2% to $115.24 a barrel and WTI 1.6% to $101.52. Also weighing in were a 2.03 million barrel drop in U.S. crude inventories reported by the API, Sunday's OPEC+ meeting and the possibility of lower Russian exports in November.
BlackRock launched two actively managed fixed-income ETFs: the iShares € Investment Grade Corp Bond Active UCITS ETF (EBCA), with a 0.25% TER, and the iShares European High Yield Corp Bond Active UCITS ETF (EYBA), at 0.40%. Both are euro-denominated and list on Xetra and Euronext Milan. They add to the active AT1 bond ETF launched in January with a 0.50% TER. The asset manager expects to add more active fixed-income ETFs to the range before the end of 2026.
Labiana Health, a Spanish pharmaceutical group listed on BME Growth, reported revenue of 41.26 million euros in the first half of 2026, up 5.2%, with adjusted EBITDA of 8.20 million (+10.2%) and adjusted EBIT of 6.19 million (+14.2%). Animal Health grew 9.6% and accounted for 50.3% of sales. Net income was 0.93 million, after 3.5 million in extraordinary financial expenses from cancelling the previous financing with Miralta/Blantyre.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand kept its official cash rate unchanged at 2.75%, despite the market pricing in close to a 90% probability of a 25 basis point hike. The decision passed on a tight 4-3 vote and the country's five largest commercial banks had expected rates at 3.00%. The majority chose to assess the impact of the two previous hikes, with inflation at 3.7% year-on-year in the third quarter. Governor Anna Breman said further hikes are likely.
Bunge discontinued production of ammonia and ammonium thiosulfate in Campana, a decision that affects 110 employees. The company attributed the loss of viability to a combination of technological and infrastructure limitations, market changes and supply difficulties. The measure applies to that operation and does not mean Bunge is ceasing its activities in Argentina. ACA participates in an associative manner for the equivalent of 17.5% of what is produced. In the same Rosario business agenda, a group of Chinese investors plans six multi-category stores of more than 1,000 square meters.
Santander reported third-quarter 2026 results with ordinary net profit of 3.848 billion euros (+18.5% year on year) and net interest income of 11.903 billion (+14.9%), though both metrics came slightly below analyst consensus. Net profit in Brazil fell 21.2%, while the UK and the US contributed increases of 39.3% and 44.6%. The efficiency ratio improved to 42.6%. Its shares were down 4% after the release.
BASF reported sales of 16.4 billion euros in the third quarter of 2026, up 14% year on year, driven by prices 12% higher and volumes 2% higher. EBITDA before special items rose 15% to 1.6 billion, with contributions from all core businesses. The group raised its 2026 EBITDA before special items guidance range to between 7.4 and 7.8 billion euros, from the previous 6.9-7.7 billion.
Heineken raised its total volumes by 4.8% organically in the third quarter, above analyst forecasts, driven by premium brands and growth in Vietnam. Consolidated volumes rose 3.9%. Shares of the Dutch brewer gained as much as 2% in Amsterdam. New CEO Rafael Oliveira said the company has solid foundations but that these are not translating into consistent growth. Heineken kept its forecast of organic operating profit growth of up to 6% for the year.
Ence recorded a net attributable profit of more than 10 million euros in the third quarter of 2026, its second consecutive quarter in the black. Consolidated ebitda reached 46 million euros between July and September, nearly 70% more than in the previous quarter, driven by pulp and renewables prices, the Efficiency and Competitiveness Plan and the sale of energy savings certificates worth 17 million.
