The Bank of England announced its first benchmark interest rate increase in over three years, raising borrowing costs by a quarter percentage point from 3.75% to 4%. Eight members of the Monetary Policy Committee supported the move, while one official voted for a steeper half-point hike to 4.25%. Central bank leaders emphasized that the shift was prompted by elevated energy prices linked to ongoing military conflict involving Iran, which has stoked inflationary pressures across the domestic economy.
Policymakers projected that domestic inflation could approach 5% by the middle of 2027 before restrictive credit conditions and stabilizing power costs begin to cool consumer prices. Bank Governor Andrew Bailey indicated that future policy choices would depend heavily on geopolitical developments in the Middle East, cautioning that additional hikes remain possible if regional tensions persist, even as officials attempted to reassure households that an extended series of rapid increases is not guaranteed.
Chinese artificial intelligence venture Moonshot AI has held discussions to lease computational power from neocloud providers operating data centers across Europe, according to people familiar with the arrangements. The developer, known for its Kimi model series, sought access to infrastructure housing Nvidia's advanced Blackwell processing units after facing tighter limits on direct hardware acquisitions under United States trade measures.
American trade restrictions prohibit direct shipments of top-tier semiconductor technology to Chinese entities, aiming to preserve a competitive lead for domestic laboratories against overseas developers. While exports into China remain restricted, remote computational arrangements through third-party server hubs outside the country present alternative avenues for international developers seeking computing scale. Moonshot had previously drawn scrutiny from Washington over remote chip utilization through facilities located in Thailand.
An investigative hearing convened by a White House committee to review Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook has been rescheduled from Thursday to December 14. The proceeding forms part of an inquiry into whether allegations of misstatements on mortgage documentation provide legal cause for her dismissal by President Donald Trump, who previously attempted to remove her from office in August 2025.
Administration officials confirmed the delay followed a request from Cook's legal counsel, who noted that she would be conducting official central banking responsibilities in Europe through November. Her representatives had also raised concerns regarding the committee's procedural fairness, maintaining that those issues needed resolution prior to any appearance. The delay occurs against the backdrop of earlier court rulings that temporarily barred executive actions targeting her post.
Snap recorded a decline of more than 10% in its equity valuation after delivering third-quarter financial results that fell short of analyst projections for revenue and daily active users. Despite the miss against consensus expectations, the social media firm reported total quarterly revenue growth of 14% year over year and posted net income of $56 million, reversing a net loss of $104 million reported during the identical period of the previous year.
For the fourth quarter, company leadership projected revenue between $1.95 billion and $1.99 billion, alongside adjusted earnings ranging from $490 million to $525 million. In an accompanying communication to shareholders, executives revealed plans to transition toward global monthly active users as their core audience reporting standard beginning in the first quarter of 2027, explaining that the business seeks to prioritize enduring ecosystem value over short-term daily engagement gains.
Qualcomm shares dropped 7% in extended trading following the release of quarterly financial guidance that fell below market expectations. While the company's past-quarter headline results surpassed Wall Street estimates, executives offered a conservative forward outlook, projecting current-quarter earnings per share between $2.15 and $2.35 alongside revenue anticipated to reach between $10.4 billion and $11.2 billion.
The cautious tone reflects ongoing headwinds across the global smartphone sector, where rising memory component expenses have led device manufacturers to lift retail prices and curb consumer demand. Handset processor revenue fell 26% year over year to $5.14 billion. In response to margin compression, the firm implemented price increases in September and continues exploring expansion into artificial intelligence infrastructure and data center components to counterbalance stagnation in traditional consumer device lines.