Iran strike warning, Lagarde exits early, DoorDash buys Instacart, BGI banned

US tells Gulf allies to prepare for a short, intense campaign against Iran after the November 3 vote

Lagarde will leave the ECB on February 7, nine months early, so a successor is chosen before France votes

The ECB said October 29 that President Christine Lagarde will step down on February 7. Her eight-year term was due to end October 31, 2027, about nine months later.

DoorDash buys Instacart for about $17 billion at $65 a share, taking on Amazon and Walmart in grocery

DoorDash said October 29 it will acquire Instacart for about $17 billion. The price is $65 a share, a 26% premium to the October 22 close.

DHS bars BGI, MGI and BGI Group goods from October 29 under the Uyghur forced labor law

DHS added BGI Genomics, MGI Tech and Shenzhen BGI Technology, known as BGI Group, to the UFLPA Entity List, effective October 29. Customs will presume their goods are made with forced labor and bar entry.

NYT says US officials tied a Megaspeed executive close to Jensen Huang to Beijing's intelligence services

The New York Times reported that US officials concluded Megaspeed executive Alice Huang was gathering intelligence for Beijing. She has close ties to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang; the two are not related.

Lilly's third-quarter revenue jumps 39% to $24.4 billion as Mounjaro grows 65%; guidance rises to $91-92 billion

Lilly reported third-quarter revenue of $24.4 billion on October 29, up 39% and above the roughly $22.4 billion expected. Adjusted EPS was $7.48, well above the roughly $5.60 consensus.

UN vote against the Cuba embargo falls to 130 in favor, the lowest since 1995, as 25 nations abstain

The UN General Assembly voted October 28 on its annual resolution against the US embargo of Cuba: 130 in favor, 17 against, 25 abstaining. In 2025 it was 165-7-12, and in 2024 it was 187-2-1.

Microsoft seeks at least $25 billion in its first US high-grade bond sale since 2017 to fund AI

Microsoft launched a 10-tranche US dollar high-grade bond sale on October 29, its first since 2017. It targets at least $25 billion, with the final size set by demand.

Marvell is in advanced talks to buy $83 billion optics maker Lumentum, with a deal possible next week

Bloomberg reported October 28 that Marvell Technology is in advanced talks to acquire Lumentum. Sources said a deal could be announced as soon as next week, though nothing is final.

Six days out, more than 39 million Americans have voted early as Trump heads to Rock Hill, South Carolina

The Washington Post, citing University of Florida Election Lab and AP data, reported October 28 that more than 39 million Americans have voted early.

Amazon tells engineers to stop 'tokenmaxxing' and judge AI by long-term results, not usage counts

On October 27 Amazon published a September internal memo telling engineers to stop 'tokenmaxxing.' It calls token usage and lines of generated code 'deeply flawed' proxies for AI adoption.

Australia's lower house passes a bill barring chatbots from fostering children's dependence, with fines up to A$109.2 million

Australia's House of Representatives passed the Online Safety Amendment (Digital Duty of Care) Bill on October 28.