Week in Review (Oct. 26–30, 2026): Fed Holds, Israel Deadlocks, Big Tech Earnings Test AI Spending and the Brewers Win the World Series

This week in review covers Oct. 26–30, 2026. The Federal Reserve held rates steady with two dissents in favor of a hike, Israel’s election left neither bloc with a majority, Big Tech earnings tested investor patience with AI spending, and the Milwaukee Brewers won their first World Series. Each item below links to its original source. Verified facts are separated from analysis.

Week in Review at a Glance

US News: Fed Holds, Economy Grows, Inflation Stays High

Federal Reserve holds rates in Warsh’s first decision

Verified: On Oct. 28 the Federal Open Market Committee kept the federal funds target range at 3.75% to 4% by a 10–2 vote. Governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack dissented because they preferred a quarter-point increase. The statement said “inflation remains elevated” and economic activity “is expanding at a strong pace.” (Federal Reserve statement)

Q3 GDP and September PCE

• GDP: Real GDP grew at a 3.4% annual rate in the third quarter, up from 2.2% in the second quarter, according to the advance estimate. (BEA)
• Inflation: The PCE price index rose 0.5% in September and 3.6% from a year earlier. Core PCE rose 0.3% on the month and 3.1% on the year. Real disposable income fell 0.3%. (BEA)

Also on the site this week: Four Corners flooding damages hundreds of homes as New Mexico seeks federal aid.

World News: Israel Deadlock, Brazil’s Result

• Israel (verified, provisional): With more than 99% of ballots from the Oct. 27 vote counted, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc held 53 of 120 Knesset seats. Gadi Eisenkot’s opposition bloc held 48, and Arab-led parties held 19. Neither side reached the 61 seats needed for a majority. Final results are due to be certified by Wednesday, Nov. 4. Likud has made unsubstantiated fraud claims, which have been rejected. The Central Elections Committee chair asked the Shin Bet to look into foreign-interference allegations he said he could not verify. (Al Jazeera, citing Haaretz)
• Brazil: President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won a fourth term in the Oct. 25 runoff. (Vanderbiltreport.com coverage)
• Middle East energy: The week opened with oil prices easing after Houthi strikes on Saudi targets. (Vanderbiltreport.com coverage)

Markets: AI Spending Under the Microscope

• Alphabet: The stock had its worst drop on record on Oct. 29, closing 12.6% lower after its quarterly report, and the Nasdaq fell 1.4%. (AP; Stock Titan)
• Amazon: AWS revenue grew 39%, but EPS of $1.89 missed estimates and free cash flow turned negative. Shares fell more than 7% after hours. (Amazon release; GeekWire)
• Deals and movers: DoorDash agreed to acquire Instacart, mostly in cash. Intel fell about 23% after hours on a lower revenue forecast, and Eli Lilly rose after raising its outlook. (Stock Titan)

Analysis: Cloud revenue grew strongly across all three hyperscalers this week. Even so, investors marked down the companies whose AI capital spending outran their cash generation. That theme carried over from last week’s review.

Technology

• Microsoft: Fiscal first-quarter revenue rose 19% to $92.3 billion. Azure revenue grew 48%, and commercial remaining performance obligation rose 73% to $677 billion. (Microsoft release)
• Alphabet: Revenue rose 25% to $127.6 billion, and Google Cloud revenue rose 103% to $30.7 billion. EPS fell to $2.12 from $2.87. (Alphabet release)
• Anthropic: The AI company’s S-1 showed $16.3 billion in half-year revenue. (Vanderbiltreport.com coverage)

Health and Science

• Lancet Countdown 2026: Heat-related deaths reached a record 710,000.
• CDC antimicrobial resistance report: Drug-resistant germs cause about 51,000 U.S. deaths a year.
• Genmab’s petosemtamab: Phase 3 head-and-neck cancer data showed a 50% reduction in death risk when combined with Keytruda.

Crypto

• Tokenization: DTCC’s tokenization service went live, with 20 firms including JPMorgan and Citi signed on. (Vanderbiltreport.com coverage)
• Coinbase: Third-quarter net revenue fell 34% to $1.16 billion, and transaction revenue fell 44%. Net income of $719 million was driven largely by a $715 million gain on crypto investments. (Yahoo Finance)

Sports: Brewers Win First World Series

Verified: The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 on Oct. 28 in Tampa Bay to win the series 4-1. It is the first title in franchise history. (ESPN box score; MLB.com) Earlier: Game 1 recap.

What to Watch Next Week (Nov. 1–6)

This list includes only scheduled or documented events. It is a calendar, not a forecast.

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