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- Trump Admin Floats Unfreezing Russian Assets In Big Move To Restart Talks
According to the Financial Times, the US has proposed that European countries unfreeze some of Russia's sovereign assets and deposit them in a vehicle controlled by Washington. The plan was presented by envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner at a Miami meeting on Oct. 10, and European officials reportedly rejected it, with Merz saying the assets should remain frozen in Europe. At least €260 billion in Russian central bank sovereign assets have been frozen since 2022, over €210 billion of it in the EU, mostly at the Belgian depository Euroclear. The article asks whether information about Russia's support for Iran, including drones and intelligence, is being withheld from the US president, noting that Trump said on October 13 he did not believe Russia was helping Iran.
- EU Seeks to Curb Russian Oil Supply in 22nd Sanctions Package
On Oct. 20, TASS reported that the European Commission wants to add new restrictions on Russian oil to its 22nd sanctions package. EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said the package would target Russia's shadow fleet, its energy and banking sectors, and entities in third countries. She gave no timeline, and the package requires unanimous approval from member states. The move comes amid Europe's energy crisis, with EU countries spending 100 billion euros more on energy imports since the start of the year than in the same period last year, gas prices up 140% and diesel up 100%. The 22nd package was originally planned for September, and on Oct. 12 the EU expanded its sanctions list by nearly 1,600 individuals and entities, though the Commission clarified that this was not the 22nd package.
- NATO Begins Reviewing Military Plans Against Russia Without Relying on the U.S.
NATO is set to begin talks on force allocation and new weapons targets for 2029 to deter a potential Russian attack, as the Trump administration debates sharply reducing the U.S. military presence in Europe. According to Politico, these talks are the first stage of NATO's NDPP planning cycle and will set the level of ambition, meaning the troops and capabilities 32 member states are willing to contribute, including whether to keep a reserve of 18 brigades for operations outside alliance territory. Allies would need to fill the gap left by the U.S. with their own capabilities and agree on fair cost-sharing. The discussion covers five areas: ambition levels, offsetting declining U.S. contributions, differences among eastern, northern and southern flanks, balancing drones with traditional armored vehicles, and lessons from Ukraine. A senior NATO diplomat said sharing the burden and balancing ambition with political priorities will be a very big challenge.
- Russia Puts Tarkett , Ontex Under State Management
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed Decree No. 738 in mid-October 2026, placing the Russian units of five European-linked companies, including Tarkett and Ontex, under temporary management. The mechanism lets Moscow take operational control without transferring legal title, leaving foreign investors uncertain about recovering their assets. It rests on Presidential Decree No. 302 of 25 April 2023, under which only the president can end temporary management; in this case he named Centre Capital (Tsentr Kapital) as manager instead of the default Rosimushchestvo. Earlier cases show that assets have been returned only after presidential decisions, sometimes in the context of exits negotiated with Russian authorities. Decree No. 604 of 24 August 2026 added a separate ground covering critical infrastructure, applying to Russian and foreign owners alike.
- EU Blames Russia for Drone Attacks on Ships in Bulgaria Black Sea Waters - Novinite . com
The European Council, at its two-day Brussels summit, formally blamed Russia for drone attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea exclusive economic zones of Bulgaria and Romania, calling them a serious breach of international law, including UNCLOS. The conclusions also condemn Russian attacks on Ukraine's agricultural infrastructure and ports and call for safe passage to be restored immediately. European Council President António Costa accused Moscow of expanding hybrid operations across Europe, saying “these actions will not go unanswered.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv needs an extra 70 billion euros on top of the 90-billion-euro loan already agreed. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said imported fossil fuel costs had risen by 106 billion euros, with gas prices up about 140% since late February and diesel prices doubled.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy October 2026 address to the European Council – The Sofia Globe
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed EU leaders on the second day of the European Council meeting held October 15-16. He thanked the EU for its support, said the bloc has not backed down under fear, and argued that without firm European decisions Putin would have advanced much further. Zelenskyy said Putin's real enemy is an international order based on rules, and that the work is aimed at security guarantees for all of Europe, not just Ukraine. He added that the American people will have their say and that Putin would listen to America if Washington applied real pressure, choosing either peace or no more money for his war. He called for diplomacy, close coordination, and readiness for ballistic missiles and shahed drones.
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Musk said SpaceX and Tesla have formed special committees to study a merger, which would be worth about $3.5 trillion combined and would be the largest corporate deal in history. SpaceX, valued at about $2 trillion after a record listing this year, absorbed Musk's AI startup xAI in February, while Tesla is valued at about $1.5 trillion. Musk holds about 82 percent of SpaceX's voting power but only about 20 percent at Tesla. Dan Ives puts the odds of a deal at 90 percent by early 2027, though Musk called the requirement of a majority of all Tesla shares 'quite a high hurdle'. Loyal retail investors hold an estimated 25 to 27 percent of Tesla shares, and legal obstacles appear slight because both companies moved their incorporation to Texas from Delaware.
- CoreWeave and Nebius Stocks Are Crashing. Time to Buy the Dip?
Shares of Nebius and CoreWeave each fell 25% in the week of October 12 to 16. The sell-off stems from the yield on CoreWeave's debt in the secondary market surging to 15%, versus roughly 5% on Treasuries, which pushes the debt into 'distressed' territory and signals doubts about its ability to meet obligations. Nebius sold off in sympathy as a fellow neocloud company. The bigger concern is that both companies must keep issuing debt to fund data centers, and if yields are high at issuance, the assumption of nearly unlimited cheap capital could be challenged. The author says it is unclear whether now is the time to buy.
- Disney’s multiplatform Super Bowl plan frustrates ABC affiliates
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- Meta’s deal to keep Zuckerberg in California adds fuel to wealth tax debate ahead of election
Meta says Mark Zuckerberg will remain in California for eight years and has created a new stock plan that could help cover his taxes if Proposition 40, a 5% tax on Californians worth over $1 billion, passes on Election Day on Nov. 3. According to a filing released with its third-quarter earnings, Meta will issue non-voting Class C shares starting in January, and Zuckerberg can sell or transfer up to 20% of the shares granted to him without affecting his majority voting control. The filing says Zuckerberg’s leadership is crucial to the company’s growth and its AI ambitions, including Meta Superintelligence Labs. Most of the tech industry opposes the measure, while a recent Citrin-Politico poll found 46% in favor and 43% against, suggesting it may fall short of the majority support it needs.
- Nasdaq sell-off: A momentum unwind 'for the record books'
Matt Stucky, chief portfolio manager for equities at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management, calls Thursday’s sell-off in the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) a momentum unwind “for the record books.” He says the market spent the first half of 2026 driven by a beta and momentum trade led by semiconductors, but in the third quarter, as rates rose, money shifted into quality stocks. He does not think the sell-off is justified by fundamentals, arguing that institutional portfolio managers swapping out of factor positions can drag down whole baskets of stocks. In semiconductors, spot rental rates for Nvidia Blackwell chips are higher than a month ago, showing tightening compute supply, even as financing costs rise and investors worry about neocloud business models and the rising cost of insuring their bonds.
- Dune launches real-time data feeds covering 200 onchain trading venues
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