Finance

Elon Musk has publicly confirmed that SpaceX and Tesla are exploring a merger. The earnings disclosed alongside that statement show a sharp divergence: Tesla profit fell about 43 percent with automotive revenue declining, while SpaceX revenue rose 161 percent and the company posted its first-ever profit. The combination therefore raises a valuation debate in which the two sides do not agree on the terms.

Barclays announced the elimination of roughly 5,000 positions, about five percent of its workforce, and tied the reduction directly to its AI deployment. The major UK bank has formally converted AI from a technology topic into a cost topic, and for the first time attached a number outsiders can check. For the UK labour market this is an internal absorption of scale rather than a cyclical edge signal.

Japanese exports grew just 16.7% in September, well short of expectations, while imports rose 18.9%, also missing the 19.6% consensus forecast, pointing to softer external demand alongside domestic consumption.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said naval mines had prevented three tankers from passing through the Strait of Hormuz, and traders assessing Middle East supply risks pushed oil prices higher.

US Secretary of State Rubio visited Reliance Industries’ Jamnagar refinery, calling its extraordinary refining capacity useful for diversifying India’s energy supplies and hinting at greater offtake of Venezuelan crude.

Netflix reported third-quarter profit up 44 percent to about 3.7 billion dollars with revenue meeting estimates, but its shares fell after the company forecast a fourth-quarter slowdown and said it would miss its full-year advertising revenue target. The report also lands alongside a significant content leadership shake-up. Shares sank despite the earnings beat, which investors read as a verdict on the advertising strategy rather than on current profitability.

Utah’s attorney general has sued Kalshi, the prediction-market platform, arguing it operates an illegal gambling operation and describing the firm as the manager of a back-alley gambling den. Utah also declared the activity a public nuisance. The case adds another state-level challenge to event contracts, building on pressure event-contract platforms already face from regulators over whether such products count as gambling or regulated derivatives.

Elon Musk said on October 20 that Tesla and SpaceX have each formed special committees to weigh a potential merger, with independent directors evaluating the combination. Musk described the outcome as not a certainty. The discussion follows SpaceX’s first-ever quarterly profit, with revenue up 161 percent as its AI-related business scaled and capital spending coming in below expectations. Press reports put the potential combined value in the range of 3.5 trillion dollars. Tesla shares slid while SpaceX stock surged after the disclosure.

United Airlines cut its full-year 2026 profit outlook, citing higher fuel prices, while reporting a fourth-quarter revenue forecast above estimates at about 18.48 billion dollars. The disconnect between a strong revenue guide and a reduced profit outlook is the central story: fuel costs are absorbing the pricing power airlines have built since 2022. Analysts note travellers continue to book despite higher fares, suggesting demand elasticity remains limited, which is the airlines’ main defence but also their main vulnerability.

General Motors reported third-quarter net income more than doubling year on year, driven primarily by truck operations and software services even as overall sales edged lower. The company announced a $20 billion share buyback while narrowing full-year guidance and raising its adjusted automotive free-cash-flow outlook. GM shares fell roughly 6% in their worst session in more than a year, with Ford also lower.