Finance

Official data shows China's foreign exchange reserves stood at $3,405.2 billion at the end of October 2026. Monthly changes in reserves relate to exchange-rate movements and asset price fluctuations, and are an important indicator for assessing external financial stability and monetary policy room; the market watches them closely. Judgments about financial markets depend heavily on such high-frequency data, so it is best cross-checked against official figures.

Chinese title: 截至2026年10月末，我国外汇储备规模为34052亿美元

Crunchbase rounds up the ten largest funding deals of the week, with artificial intelligence, defense technology and space technology taking the leading positions among large financings. The ranking shows capital continuing to concentrate in hard tech and AI infrastructure. The short-term impact of any single week is limited, but cumulatively these flows shift the market's risk appetite.

Chinese title: 本周十大融资轮：AI、国防与太空科技领跑大额融资

FactSet summarizes the latest earnings season for S&P 500 companies, including the share of companies beating earnings expectations, revenue growth rates and divergence across sectors. The data provides a basis for judging the earnings trend of U.S. listed companies and market valuations. Judgment about financial markets depends heavily on such high-frequency information, so it is best cross-checked against official data.

Chinese title: 标普500财报季更新（2026年11月6日）

FactSet has published its U.S. ETF monthly summary for October 2026, covering fund inflows and outflows, assets under management and performance by category. The data is an important window into shifts in investor preferences and market sentiment. For investors, this information needs to be read together with the broader environment of interest rates and funding conditions.

Chinese title: 美国ETF月度综述：2026年10月

A U.S. survey finds that three-quarters of Americans do not want artificial intelligence to touch their wallets and finances. The result shows that, despite the rapid spread of AI tools, public trust in AI remains limited when it comes to money, and financial AI products must first clear the trust hurdle. Judgment about financial markets depends heavily on such high-frequency information, so it is best cross-checked against official data.

Chinese title: 四分之三的美国人不愿让AI碰自己的钱包

CB Insights' quarterly report on insurtech notes that the number of deals in the sector fell this quarter to its lowest level since 2016, yet four companies became unicorns, the most in a single quarter since 2021. The mix of weak and strong figures sketches the structural change now underway in insurtech financing.

Chinese title: 2026年三季度保险科技行业报告

The New York Fed's Liberty Street Economics blog examines the U.S. oil sector's role in restraining oil prices, covering capacity, inventories and market expectations. The analysis offers an official research perspective on how oil prices are formed. For investors, this kind of information needs to be read together with the overall environment of interest rates and funding conditions.

Chinese title: 美国石油行业在抑制油价中的作用

Crunchbase data shows that more than half of U.S. venture capital from seed to growth stage so far in 2026 has gone to seven companies founded or led by billionaires. The degree to which funding is concentrated in a very small number of star companies provides hard data for judging the structure of the venture capital market.

Chinese title: 大多数风险投资流向了亿万富翁创立或领导的公司

An article from the New York Fed's Liberty Street Economics explores why borrowers in similar circumstances are offered very different interest rates when they apply for credit cards, with the research pointing to card issuers' market position as an important factor. This kind of detailed, granular data helps explain how pricing works in consumer credit.

Chinese title: 市场地位如何影响信用卡利率

FactSet data shows that, as Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft have reported their actual third-quarter results, five of the Magnificent Seven have now reported, and their earnings growth has fallen below that of the other 493 companies in the S&P 500. This reversal provides direct data support for the debate over excessive concentration in U.S. equities.

Chinese title: 七巨头三季度盈利增速已低于标普500其余493家公司

Crunchbase data shows global venture funding reached $59 billion in October, up 45% year on year, driven mainly by the largest startup deal in China's history. The monthly figures show how clearly a single large transaction can lift the global venture capital total.

Chinese title: 中国史上最大创业交易推高10月全球风投至590亿美元

A study published by Cato examines the relationship between bank regulation and construction financing: while the relevant policies strengthen the banking system, they also constrain lending that relies on local relationship-based credit markets, which in turn affects the supply of new housing. The interaction between housing supply and financial regulation is a deep variable in the U.S. housing price problem.

Chinese title: 银行监管、建设融资与新房供给

Liberty Street Economics at the New York Fed presents findings from a staff report on the role of bank supervision in identifying and constraining failing banks. For understanding how financial regulation reduces the cost of bank failures, research produced inside the regulator carries particular weight.

Chinese title: 银行监管者如何处置问题银行

SAS's latest study shows the banking industry is accelerating toward a future in which AI makes risk decisions autonomously, with many institutions willing to accept reduced visibility into how decisions are made. The tension between the drive for efficiency and explainability is becoming a governance question the financial industry must confront as it deploys AI.

Chinese title: 银行调查：机构愿把决策交给AI，哪怕解释不清

A new report from Boston Consulting Group says digital asset custody is evolving from simple 'safekeeping' into core financial infrastructure, and the choice of custody solution increasingly determines whether financial institutions can run digital asset businesses smoothly. As institutions move deeper into digital assets, the strategic importance of the custody link continues to rise.

Chinese title: BCG报告：数字资产托管正成为核心金融基础设施

A J.D. Power survey shows the digital banking experience offered by Canada's five largest banks to small and mid-sized businesses keeps improving, with overall satisfaction up 4 points year on year to 656. Yet while customers value the convenience of digital channels, they also want more attentive personal service, leaving the right mix of online and in-person service an open question.

Chinese title: 加拿大中小企业拥抱数字银行，但客户想要更好的人工服务

Drake Star's update on the managed service provider (MSP) market for the third quarter of 2026 records 110 M&A deals in the quarter, with strategic buyers willing to pay a premium for specialized capabilities. The level of deal activity shows consolidation in the IT services industry continuing, with expertise in specific segments becoming an important factor in valuations.

Chinese title: Drake Star：2026年三季度MSP市场报告，110笔并购交易

The New York Fed examines long-term changes in U.S. labor productivity: output per hour in the nonfarm business sector grew only about 1% a year on average between 2010 and 2019, below the earlier pace. Against the backdrop of recovering revenue per worker, the study asks how the distribution of income between firms and workers has changed.

Chinese title: 单位劳动收入上升，企业分走的份额变大了吗？

A J.D. Power survey finds that overall customer satisfaction with Canadian banks rose slightly this year, up 3 points on a 1,000-point scale, driven mainly by the customer groups that improved the most. But beneath the high overall satisfaction, younger Canadians are shifting rapidly toward fintech companies, testing traditional banks' ability to hold on to young customers.

Chinese title: 加拿大银行满意度虽高，年轻客户却在转向金融科技

New York Fed research notes that the AI boom is already visible in the U.S. balance of payments: imports of semiconductors, servers and computing equipment have surged, changing the composition of the current account. AI capital spending is not just a domestic phenomenon; it is reshaping America's external economic data through trade channels.

Chinese title: AI热潮影响美国经常账户了吗？

CB Insights reports that fintech deal activity fell in the third quarter to its lowest level in more than four years, with funding down for a third consecutive quarter, dropping 18% quarter on quarter to $11 billion. As capital pulls back, fintech companies face stricter requirements on valuations and profitability.

Chinese title: CB Insights：2026年三季度金融科技全景

An SAS study argues that whether insurance companies can capture value from AI depends on trust and transparency. The risk-bearing nature of the insurance business makes black-box models hard to deploy, and the demand for explainable decisions in underwriting and claims is reshaping insurers' priorities when procuring and deploying AI.

Chinese title: SAS研究：保险业的AI价值取决于信任与透明度

New York Fed research based on a survey of small business owners explores the relationship between AI adoption and employment expectations: there is currently no consensus on AI's impact on jobs, and changes in pay and headcount at the macro level have been modest. The survey evidence helps calibrate the debate about 'AI taking jobs,' separating expectations from actual adoption.

Chinese title: AI采用与就业预期：来自小企业主调查的证据

Drake Star's supply chain and logistics software report for fall 2026 notes that, as tariffs, geopolitical conflicts and trade disruptions reinforce the essential role of supply chain software, the deal environment in the sector is recovering. The structural need to move goods faster and across more borders is supporting M&A and financing activity in the segment.

Chinese title: Drake Star：2026年秋季供应链与物流软件市场报告

New York Fed research examines how quickly tariffs pass through into consumer prices: after tariffs rise, how long it takes and how much of the import cost is passed on to consumers is a key parameter in determining the actual impact of this round of tariffs. The study's estimate of the pass-through pace provides empirical support for judging the inflation outlook.

Chinese title: 关税多快传导到消费价格？

New York Fed research based on millions of homeowners' insurance contracts and property-level disaster risk data finds that buying insurance does not complete the transfer of risk: even with coverage, the risk actually borne by different homeowners varies widely. The granular data answers the question of who is ultimately footing the bill for climate and disaster risk.

Chinese title: 有保险也仍要自担风险：房主保险中谁的风险最大

An SAS study of small and mid-sized banks shows small banks are surprisingly ahead in AI adoption, but still lag in scaling up deployment. Resource-constrained small institutions move fast but cannot roll out broadly, the opposite of the path taken by large banks, so the competitive landscape in banking AI is not simply a matter of size.

Chinese title: SAS研究：中小银行AI应用领先，但规模化滞后

CB Insights has published its Insurtech 50 list, naming the 50 most promising insurtech startups of 2026. What this year's selections have in common is pragmatism over hype: in a competitive environment where AI has become standard, the ability to solve real underwriting and claims problems has become the dividing line.

Chinese title: Insurtech 50：2026年最值得关注的保险科技初创公司

A McKinsey survey reveals the gap in Hong Kong financial advice is widening: half of Hong Kong customers already use AI before making financial decisions, while half of financial advisers use AI less than once a week or never. The report argues the real divide is not between people and AI, but between advisers who use AI and those who do not.

Chinese title: 顾客用AI超越财务顾问：麦肯锡调查揭示香港财务咨询差距扩大

EY data shows pay for European financial services board directors rose 10% in 2025, more than double the increases in North America (4.5%) and Asia-Pacific (4.7%), narrowing the pay gap between Europe and North America; male directors in Europe still earn more than their global peers. The pay data offers a window into the regional landscape of the financial industry's senior market.

Chinese title: 欧洲金融业董事薪酬差距与北美收窄

The IDC FinTech Rankings show that ranked firms' revenue from financial services grew nearly 20% year on year in 2025, almost twice the growth rate of overall IT spending. The direction of banks' digital budgets can be read from the revenue mix in the ranking: money is concentrating on technology that delivers direct business results.

Chinese title: 2026年IDC金融科技百强：头部企业金融服务收入增20%