Australia rates hit an 18-year high

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Before The Bell

Change over the last 24 hours · as of Nov 3, 2026, 6:08 AM ET

🇦🇺 Australia hikes rates to 18-year high LINK

• Australia's central bank lifted its benchmark cash rate by a quarter point to 4.85%, the highest since November 2008, as it keeps battling inflation that most peers have already brought to heel.
• The move, the RBA's fifth hike this year, split the board six-to-three, and came as consumer prices rose 4.3% in September, up from 4% in August and the fastest pace since March.
• The bank now expects inflation to stay elevated through much of 2027 and not return to its 2%-3% target until late that year, three quarters later than forecast, though Governor Michele Bullock said a recession is "not our base case."

$6.4B Binance hack triggers crypto selloff LINK

• A $6.4 billion theft from Binance, blamed on North Korea-linked group TraderTraitor and more than four times the previous record set by February 2025's Bybit hack, triggered a crypto selloff that pulled Bitcoin down to $77,600.
• Attackers drained Binance's hot wallets across roughly 10 blockchains in about 20 minutes on Thursday, exploiting pre-signed authorizations that turned one wallet into a self-emptying contract, a failure of Binance's own approval process rather than of the blockchains, with no private keys leaked.
• The fallout erased Bitcoin ETFs' month, with $643 million of outflows on Friday flipping October from a small gain to a loss; Binance has set aside enough to repay users and must now buy tokens on the open market to refill the pool.

Apple warns of slimmer margins on AI costs LINK

• Apple told investors yesterday that rising memory-chip costs, driven by AI demand, will squeeze its gross margin to 45%-46% this holiday quarter, down from 47.9% in the quarter just ended, sending shares down as much as 4% on the call.
• Services revenue is forecast to grow 8%-9%, short of the 10.7% analysts expected, and executives said purchasing commitments jumped $33 billion in the quarter as Apple moved to lock in memory supplies amid prices it expects to keep climbing into next year.
• To offset the hit, Apple raised iPhone 17 prices by $100 and lifted some MacBook prices, and plans to charge more for iCloud+ to cover AI costs; suppliers benefited too, with Micron up more than 1% in after-hours trading.

Marvell buys Lumentum for $115B in AI connectivity bet LINK

• Marvell has agreed to buy optical-networking maker Lumentum in an all-stock deal valued at $115 billion including debt, a bet on the plumbing that connects AI data centers and one of the largest tech acquisitions ever.
• Marvell will swap 4.5 of its shares for each Lumentum share, giving the deal an equity value of about $80 billion, bigger than Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard in 2022.
• Both companies share Nvidia as a backer, which invested $2 billion in each earlier this year; the deal still needs shareholder and regulatory approval and is not expected to close until the first half of 2028.

Anthropic's revenue soars 1200% but posts $104B loss LINK

• Anthropic's amended IPO filing disclosed about $895.4 billion in committed spending on computing power and infrastructure, a cost burden that helped push the company deep into the red despite surging sales.
• Revenue for the nine months to Sept. 30 reached $33.24 billion, up roughly 1,200% from a year earlier, but the company booked a $104 billion net loss, most of it tied to accounting changes on convertible notes rather than operations.
• As Anthropic prepares its IPO road show, investors are watching whether computing capacity, sourced largely from Amazon, Google and SpaceX, can come online fast enough, a worry sharpened by last week's heavy AI spending reports from Microsoft, Google and Amazon.

Macro News

• Oil prices rebounded after reports of a secret US strike on Iran's Qeshm Island. LINK
• US factory activity expanded for a tenth straight month, beating forecasts. LINK
• Treasury forecasts $618 billion Q4 2026 and $800 billion Q1 2027 borrowing. LINK
• US LNG exports neared a record as winter buying pushed prices higher. LINK
• China's yuan faced its steepest drop in six months after liquidity tightening. LINK
• Nasdaq 100 entered correction, falling more than 10% from its October peak. LINK
• CFTC chief urges federal oversight of offshore crypto exchanges after Binance theft. LINK
• Circle urges SEC crypto rules to cover vetted open blockchain networks. LINK
• FATF will review crypto-active jurisdictions for anti-money-laundering enforcement gaps. LINK
• Global oil emergency inventories depleted after nearly one billion barrels were withdrawn. LINK
• China factory growth eased slightly as export orders weakened, while output rose. LINK

Corporate News

• Oracle raised planned $20 billion financing early, sending shares sharply lower. LINK
• Palantir's commercial revenue outpaced government business as quarterly sales topped $2 billion. LINK
• Brookfield plans a $26.8 billion AI data center at a UK power estate. LINK
• SpaceX discusses buying or using EchoStar's Boost network to accelerate Starlink Mobile. LINK
• Meta prepares a bond sale of at least $20 billion, including euros. LINK
• Salesforce bought call-center software maker Cresta, its third acquisition in two weeks. LINK
• Disney plans thousands of job cuts as managers target 20% cost savings. LINK
• Aramco's third-quarter adjusted profit rose 9% to $31.2 billion on refining strength. LINK
• Grab raised its 2026 revenue outlook on steady rides and stronger delivery demand. LINK
• NYSE added four firms to its planned blockchain-based stock trading platform. LINK

Stocks

▲ Biggest winners

IDEXX Laboratories rose 22% after beating Q3 EPS estimates by $0.24 and raising full-year 2026 revenue guidance to $4.74–$4.77 billion. LINK

Nextpower rose 15% after Jefferies named it a Franchise Pick, replacing GE Vernova. LINK

Rivian Automotive rose 8% after UBS upgraded Rivian to buy with $17 price target. LINK

▼ Biggest losers

Cerebras Systems fell 12% after UBS cut its price target to $250 from $330. LINK

Ciena fell 11% after missing revenue estimates and issuing weak guidance. LINK

Research & Reports

• BofA warns a prolonged AI stock selloff threatens US and global economies. LINK
• Amazon AI and data-center spending could reach $476 billion in 2028. LINK
• Dollar stablecoin use often remains high after capital controls are lifted. LINK
• Goldman raised oil forecasts, warning Brent may reach $140 in 2027. LINK
• Fed study finds tariffs weigh on spending beyond their direct price increases. LINK
• AI-exposed chip stocks may fall another 10% to 15% before a mid-November bottom. LINK

Market Calendar

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