Daily Update — November 2, 2026
Manifesting Australia-EU Mineral Pacts; AI Risks in Banking; and US Fed Rate Pause
Today is Monday, November 2, 2026, and here’s your curated selection of Essential Intelligence on global markets from S&P Global. Subscribe to be notified of each new Daily Update.
Energy Expansion
Australia, EU push to turn critical minerals pacts into funded projects: officials
Australia and the EU are intensifying efforts to transition their critical minerals partnership into tangible, funded projects. The partnership is intended to establish a commercial environment that enables Australia’s rare earths and other critical raw materials to enter the EU and allow investment to flow between the two jurisdictions.
About 9% of Australia's critical minerals resources flow to Europe, leaving sizable untapped potential. The two jurisdictions entered a memorandum of understanding and concluded free trade negotiations earlier in 2026. Now the key challenge is moving "into delivered projects and actions that change the critical minerals scene," said Angus Campbell, Australia's ambassador to the EU, NATO, Belgium and Luxembourg, at the 2026 International Mining and Resources Conference in Sydney.
Artificial Intelligence
US banks bolster deposit defenses while downplaying AI risks
Large US lenders and industry analysts do not see an immediate threat to bank deposits from agentic AI. However, as AI agents’ use in moving money gains momentum while the regulatory framework catches up, it falls to banks to manage the threat. The Big Four US banks — JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup — are strengthening their defenses against AI-related deposit risks.
"There's no consensus on what regulators or legislators should do about AI in banking, but there's a palpable unease that whatever is done will be in response to a problem rather than prevent the problem," Capital Alpha analyst Ian Katz wrote in a research note. "Because of the regulatory gaps, banks are already taking some matters into their own hands” by blocking AI agents from accessing customer accounts, the analyst wrote.
Economy
Fed focus shifts to longer-run inflation as rates hold steady
The US Federal Reserve held interest rates steady in its latest monetary policy meeting and shifted its focus toward longer-term price trends. The Federal Open Market Committee on Oct. 28 voted in favor of keeping the benchmark federal funds rate at 3.75% to 4%.
The pause is a recognition that higher interest rates cannot lower escalating energy prices nor lessen the impact of tariffs, as inflation stays well above the central bank's 2% target. "Quashing inflation is not about a fixed date on a calendar or isolated data point … We haven't achieved price stability, but we're working on it," Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh said.
In case you missed it
- China Life Insurance in Beijing ranks as the world's largest life insurer in 2026, followed by Germany’s Allianz and Shenzhen, China-based Ping An Insurance, according to an S&P Global Market Intelligence analysis.
- In an interview with Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, Uganda's new energy minister outlined an infrastructure plan as the country prepares for its first oil production by the end of 2026.
- Japan’s private-sector residential mortgage-backed security market demonstrates resilient asset performance amid rising interest rates, thanks to low and stable unemployment rates, according to S&P Global Ratings.
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