October 30, 2026

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Happy Friday. The viral Dune Sandworm popcorn bucket from AMC Theatres is back—and it’s as NSFW as ever. To commemorate the final film in the trilogy (out Dec. 18), the bucket has not one but two bulging wormholes through which you must access your popcorn.

Sorry, but if they expect us to enter a wormhole at the movies, they should re-release Interstellar.

—Sam Klebanov, Molly Liebergall, Matty Merritt, Dave Lozo, Adam Epstein, Holly Van Leuven, Neal Freyman

In today’s newsletter, we’ll get into:

The latest numbers on GDP (up) and inflation (also up)
A storied New York law firm imploding
The rise of horror bookstores

Markets

Nasdaq

26,184.72

-1.38%

S&P

7,720.39

-0.30%

Dow

52,342.56

-0.25%

10-Year

4.989%

-6.0 bps

Bitcoin

$78,985.82

-2.80%

Alphabet

$283.82

-12.64%

Data is provided by

*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 5:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean.

Markets: Stocks caught the Halloween spooky vibes and tumbled yesterday amid another round of AI jitters. On a related note, Alphabet absolutely tanked, shedding $482 billion in market value in its worst day since going public in 2004.

GROWTH MINDSET

The US economy had a surprise growth spurt

Person walking past shops holding shopping bags with upward-trending graph overlaid

Illustration: Morning Brew Inc., Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Just like a college student who finally started going to office hours, the US economy just got its best report card of the year. The GDP grew at an annualized rate of 3.4% in Q3, thanks to booming business investment and resilient consumer spending despite rising inflation, according to government data released yesterday.

The economic expansion was bigger than analysts expected, representing a sharp acceleration from the 2.5% and 2.2% growth in the preceding two quarters:

Yearly consumer spending growth reached 3.8% last quarter, the fastest pace since 2024.
Business investment jumped 12.7%, accounting for over half of GDP growth.

AI investment was a major GDP propellant: Equipment purchases soared by a whopping 20.9%, which included AI hyperscalers splurging on data center tech.

What were the drags on GDP? Paradoxically, the AI buildout was one of them. That’s because many AI hardware purchases, like computer chips, happened overseas. That reduced economic growth by skewing the US trade balance toward imports (which are subtracted from GDP). Plus, rising mortgage rates dampened homebuilding.

Not everyone feels the GDP in their wallets

Though unemployment remains low, inflation outpaced income gains last month. Price growth accelerated in September on both a monthly and annual basis, per the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure. It remained well above the central bank’s 2% annual inflation target, strengthening the case for raising interest rates.

In a sign that higher prices might be straining American budgets, the after-tax savings rate dipped to 3.8% last month, the lowest since 2022. And purchases like cars, furniture, and electronics stagnated.

Momentum might be fragile. Many economists think that wealthier Americans, emboldened by gains in their stock portfolios (which are largely contingent on the AI boom), are sustaining consumption.—SK

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World

Tour de headlines

John Phillips/Getty Images

💔 Patrick Stewart died at 86. The beloved English actor, best known for his roles as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men film franchise, died after a battle with Alzheimer’s and Lewy body dementia, his family announced. His six-decade career included two Olivier Awards (the awards for top London theatre), a Grammy (for his narration of Peter and the Wolf), and four Emmy nominations. “Like me, Jean-Luc has lived an unusual life that has taken him far beyond the bounds of normal human experience,” Stewart wrote in his 2023 memoir. “In the end, he feels the call of home, as do I.”

🛒 DoorDash is buying Instacart for $17 billion. Bow to your new delivery overlords. DoorDash will acquire rival Instacart, the companies announced, uniting the US’ biggest restaurant delivery service with its biggest online grocery platform. The merger gives Instacart users access to thousands of additional stores and will combine memberships to each service into one subscription. Per NBC News, DoorDash is expected to keep Instacart’s brand and tech once the deal closes. Owning Instacart not only gives DoorDash more ammo in its duel with Uber, but it also helps the delivery giant compete with Walmart and Amazon in the increasingly competitive grocery space.

🥸 Report: Nvidia’s CEO may have been targeted in a Chinese spy plot. According to the New York Times, Nvidia chief Jensen Huang had a “close relationship” with an executive at a Singapore-based cloud company who US intelligence agencies believed was a Chinese asset. The woman, Alice Huang, was reportedly already suspected of helping China circumvent constraints on accessing AI chips from the US. Nvidia said its CEO’s interactions with the woman were not unusual, and that allegations that the cloud company was helping China evade US export controls were “investigated and debunked.” President Trump was briefed on the matter about a year ago and decided not to take any action, the NYT reported.—AE

BILLABLE FLOUNDERS

This prestigious firm’s downfall is shaking Big Law

Exterior office building with Weil signage

Adobe Stock

Weil, it’s over. One of the most storied law firms in the industry—Weil, Gotshal & Manges—is set to wind down operations after ruling the world of high-profile bankruptcies for decades.

The nearly century-old firm’s stunning fall from grace happened slowly, and then all at once:

More than 30 partners left Weil Gotshal this year, including several top moneymakers (who tend to take their clients with them).
The firm was in talks to shore itself up through a merger with a rival, but the deal reportedly fell apart last week amid more partner exits.
Then, news broke that the firm’s chosen successor to its current chair had declined the job.

Why this implosion is such a shocker: Weil Gotshal employs 2,000 people (including 1,200 lawyers), has few liabilities, and is one of the Top 20 most profitable law firms. It guided Enron’s historic bankruptcy filing in 2001 and scored $1+ billion in fees in 2009 from Lehman Brothers, General Motors, and other filers.

But…post-recession, Weil Gotshal was outpaced by competitors like Kirkland & Ellis, whose revenue exploded from $2 billion in 2015 to beyond $10 billion last year, while Weil Gotshal’s grew from $1 billion to $2 billion in the same period.

Zoom out: It’s now common practice for big firms to use multimillion-dollar pay packages to poach top partners, which can lead to a cascading talent exodus that’s hard to stop. It’s a “white-hot lateral market for partners,” law journalist Kathryn Rubino told CNBC.—ML

Friday puzzle

Write a three-letter word in the blank spaces to complete a word on the left and begin a separate word on the right.

1. feat _ _ _ oic = ?

2. cour _ _ _ nda = ?

3. disp _ _ _ over = ?

4. kee _ _ _ sist = ?

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Answer

Her (feather, heroic)
Age (courage, agenda)
Lay (display, layover)
Per (keeper, persist)

(Source)

Word of the Day

Today’s Word of the Day is: circumvent, meaning “to find a clever, cunning, or indirect way around a rule, problem, or obstacle.” Thanks to Bailey from Seguin, TX, and others for the suggestion. Submit another Word of the Day here.

✢ A Note From Chase

For informational/educational purposes only: Views and strategies described in this article or provided via links may not be appropriate for everyone and are not intended as specific advice/recommendation for any business. Information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but JPMorgan Chase & Co. or its affiliates and/or subsidiaries do not warrant its completeness or accuracy. The material is not intended to provide legal, tax, or financial advice or to indicate the availability or suitability of any JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. product or service. You should carefully consider your needs and objectives before making any decisions and consult the appropriate professional(s). Outlooks and past performance are not guarantees of future results. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and its affiliates are not responsible for, and do not provide or endorse third party products, services, or other content.

Deposit and credit card products provided by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Member FDIC.

Written by Adam Epstein, Sam Klebanov, Molly Liebergall, Matty Merritt, Dave Lozo, Holly Van Leuven, and Neal Freyman

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☕️ Surprising growth spurt