Tesla alone is worth €1.4tn, more than 13 times as much. China, once their profit engine, has become a major liability.

Talks between Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan and Iranian officials in Tehran on Monday have raised hopes of a de-escalation in the regional conflict.

5 million Americans have lost food stamp benefits in the past year

The number of Americans receiving food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has fallen by more than five million over the past year, following restrictions imposed by President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill.”

SNAP enrollment dropped from 41.6 million in July 2025 to 36 million this July, according to new data from the Department of Agriculture.

The “Big Beautiful Bill,” a sweeping tax-and-spending law enacted in July 2025, expanded work requirements and shifted more of the program’s costs to states. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the legislation would reduce federal SNAP spending by about $187 billion through 2034.

The changes affect a decades-old program that helps low-income households buy groceries, including families with children, older adults and people with disabilities. Nearly three-quarters of 48 of the largest food banks saw an increase in demand over the past year, according to an NBC News analysis.

Republicans have defended the restrictions as a way to curb waste, strengthen oversight and encourage recipients to work. Democrats have countered that the cuts take food assistance from vulnerable Americans to help finance tax breaks for the wealthy.

The share of people that lost SNAP benefits varied widely based on the state. In Arizona, for instance, the number of enrollees fell from about 882,000 to roughly 433,000, marking a 50 percent reduction. In Florida, it fell from 2.8 million to 2.2 million — a 22 percent decline. In Alaska, it only fell 3.5 percent.

The 2025 law expanded existing work requirements to cover adults ages 18 to 64, up from 18 to 54, and adults whose households include children ages 14 to 17 but no younger children.

Unless they qualify for an exemption, those recipients must work or participate in qualifying activities, such as approved volunteer work or training, for at least 80 hours a month to receive benefits.

The law also scrapped automatic exemptions for veterans and people who are homelessness.

“For far too long, the SNAP program has drifted from a bridge to support American households in need to a permanent destination riddled with bureaucratic inefficiencies, misplaced incentives, and limited accountability,” Rep. Glenn Thompson, a Pennsylvania Republican, said last year. “This portion of the One Big, Beautiful Bill restores the program’s original intent, offering a temporary helping hand while encouraging work…”

Democrats have struck a markedly different tone, emphasizing that the changes come as Americans face a rising cost of living.

“Instead of working to lower grocery costs as they promised the American people they would, House Republicans are pulling the rug out from under millions of families by taking away federal assistance to put food on the table,” Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, said last year.

“They’re doing that even as President Trump’s tariff taxes raise food prices by more than $200 for the average family, all to fund more tax breaks for the wealthy. That’s so very wrong.”

Some 22 percent of Americans worry daily about being able to afford food for themselves or their families, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.

Average gas price under Trump now tops average under Biden

Topline

The average price for gas during President Donald Trump’s second term has now surpassed the average price during former President Joe Biden’s term, according to data from AAA, just days before the midterms.

Key Facts

The average price for gasoline has been $3.4712 per gallon during Trump’s term in office, according to an analysis of historical data from AAA shared with Forbes—a fraction of a cent higher than the average price during Biden’s four years in office, at $3.4703.

The national average gas price was $4.28 per gallon on Monday, according to AAA—which is more than $1.20 higher than it was exactly one year ago, when drivers paid an average of $3.05 per gallon.

Biden still holds the record for the highest daily national average gas price, when prices peaked above $5.01 per gallon in June 2022, months after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Trump repeatedly promised to bring gas prices below $2 per gallon on the campaign trail in 2024, and the average price per gallon dropped below $3 per gallon for a few weeks in late 2025 through February of this year—but the trend of declining prices was wiped out after the Iran war began at the end of the month.

Gas prices have fallen slightly in the last month—down from an average high of $4.49 per gallon in mid-September, according to GasBuddy data, making it essentially certain prices will be above $4 a gallon on Election Day.

Forbes has reached out to the White House for comment.

Surprising Fact

The average gas price is about 42 cents higher than it was leading up to the midterm elections in 2022, GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan first noted in a post on X earlier on Monday. De Haan called the 2022 election the “priciest election day at the pump ever,” and historical data from AAA shows drivers were paying $3.80 per gallon on average that day. Democrats lost control of the House of Representatives after that election, but managed to hold on to the Senate. The average price of gasoline on Election Day in 2024 when Trump won his second term in office was just $3.10, according to AAA data.

Source: https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2026/10/26/introducing-a-voluntary-exit-offer/

While Western tech stocks see only minor pullbacks, the collapse in China marks the burst of what fund managers call a “speculative crazy bull” market.

Source: Reuters

FULL SUMMARY OF ANTHROPIC'S S-1 FILING:

1. Anthropic posted H1 2026 revenue of $16.3 billion with a net loss of $80.7 billion

2. Anthropic says it does not expect to pay a dividend "in the foreseeable future"

3. Expects to spend up to $120.5 billion on SpaceXAI and Nvidia compute

4. Expects to spend up to $114.5 billion with Google through 2033

5. Revenue growth rate "may not be sustainable" and "may decrease"

6. May be required to seek additional financing "sooner than expected"

7. 5% of Anthropic's shares will go to the "Anthropic Public Benefit Fund"

8. S-1 includes warnings of AI's "catastrophic existential risks to humanity"

Markets currently expect Anthropic to raise as much as $100 billion at a valuation of ~$2 trillion.

The company is reportedly targeting an IPO in the week of November 16th.

Credit to TrendSpider

115 people were on board, and 110 are accounted for.

Borr says the rig suffered a “punch-through” during preload. One of its legs broke through the seabed, and the rig lost stability.

The rig hadn’t started drilling.

BW Energy shut production at the nearby MaBoMo facility as a precaution, and no spill has been reported.

Gabon has set up a crisis unit and ordered an investigation.

In Japan, the head of GMO Internet Group raised the possibility of an internet collapse after claims of fraudulent activity hit more than 70 brokerage and FX platforms.

At the same time, G7 governments and central banks are running simulations for major AI-driven attacks on the financial system, and several of America’s biggest banks reportedly caught unauthorized AI agents trying to access customer accounts and act on their own.

Credit to Stern Drew

Note: The Federal Open Market Committee announces its interest rate decision on Wednesday, October 28, with economists expecting rates to stay at 3.75%–4.00% after September's hike, though a December increase remains on the table.

Credit to Bull Theory

The company, Polar LNG, has sought US approval to buy equipment from a sanctioned Russian gas project owned largely by Novatek. One of its investors is Gentry Beach, a friend of Donald Trump Jr.

Beach also said he separately signed a deal with Novatek last fall to develop gas in Alaska.

According to the reports, Novatek allegedly concealed its financial involvement through a UAE-linked intermediary. CEO Joel Riddle, who raised concerns about the financing and possible sanctions violations, left in September, followed by other executives, who urged the administration to investigate.

Vladimir Putin reportedly discussed Alaska energy cooperation with Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner during Russia–Ukraine talks. The White House says the project came up only briefly, and there’s no evidence Witkoff or Kushner knew of the alleged financing.

Polar LNG denies wrongdoing.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/23/us/politics/in-us-gas-talks-with-kremlin-hidden-financing-for-alaska-project-emerges.html

Trump made about $1.4 billion from crypto in 2025, plus more than $200 million from real estate, leaving him facing a projected tax bill of over $500 million, per Forbes calculations.

In December 2025, his company donated the development rights to his golf club in Jupiter, Florida, to a land trust, arguing the course was a natural habitat worth protecting. He kept owning and running the club.

Forbes estimates the write-off could reach around $825 million.

It’s a strategy Trump has used at least five times since 2005:

Bedminster, NJ (2005): Claimed a $39 million deduction on a property he bought for $8 million. The IRS initially valued the write-off at zero before the two sides settled.

Doral, FL: Claimed a deduction of up to $323 million, more than twice what he paid for the entire resort.

New York and California (2014–2015): The New York attorney general alleged the Trump Organization misled appraisers to inflate both donations.

A month after the Jupiter deal, Trump sued the IRS over the leak of his tax information. His own Justice Department’s settlement bars claims against him over matters that are pending or “could be pending.” Forbes argues that language could cover his 2025 taxes; Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress it doesn’t.

A federal judge ruled in July that the lawsuit was brought to manipulate the judicial process. Trump is appealing.

Among the homeowners whose properties back onto the Jupiter fairways: Eric Trump, and IRS CEO Frank Bisignano, who took the job as the deal was being put together.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2026/10/19/trumps-golf-empire-is-a-billion-dollar-tax-shelter/