Stocks retreat as tech mood sours, oil prices jump

RTHK - Oct 22, 2026

Equities sank Thursday as tech firms resumed their downward spiral after a mixed bag of earnings from Wall Street titans, while rising oil prices soured sentiment. AI-linked companies continued the rollercoaster ride they have endured since hitting record highs in June amid worries over colossal investment sums and their timeline for profitability, with growing debt-servicing costs adding to the uncertainty. A blockbuster quarterly report from Elon Musk's SpaceX, its first since listing in June, provided what some hoped would be solid support heading into a crucial earnings season, helping push all three main Wall Street indexes higher Wednesday. But mixed after-hours releases from Meta and Tesla muddied the waters again for investors. Tesla announced lower profits in July-September and cut its capital spending forecast for this year, while Facebook-parent Meta lifted its estimates for how much it would spend on artificial intelligence. Shares of Tesla shed 1.3 percent at the start of trading in New York, while those of Meta slumped 6.7 percent. "Risk-off sentiment is returning amid high geopolitical tensions and a swirl of worries about financing the AI juggernaut," noted Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club. Wall Street's main indices moved lower, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropping 1.3 percent. The reports come as...

Read full article

MORE NEWS

article.head.headline
Oct 22, 2026
HBO Max K-drama Make Me Tingle: Nam Ji-hyun, Kim Jae-young lead tame sex romcom

Lead cast: Nam Ji-hyun, Kim Jae-young South Korea finds itself at an interesting juncture in its social evolution in the mid-2020s. Following the success of works such as the 2016 book Kim Ji-young, Born 1982 and its hit 2019 film adaptation, which brought the country’s gender inequality into sharp focus, the imbalance remains stubbornly stark. People now recognise this imbalance and are unafraid to label it for what it is – “patriarchy” is no longer a dirty word. Yet change has been slow. South...

article.head.headline
Oct 22, 2026
The Tower of London Crowned the UK’s Most Photographed Castle

The Tower of London has been crowned the UK’s most photographed castle, according to new data released by photo curation app Popsa - just as Halloween arrives and Britain’s castles enjoy a cultural relevance surge thanks to the new Traitors series. Analysing anonymised, aggregated metadata from millions of photos across 2024 and 2025, Popsa assigned each castle a Photo Index Score reflecting the relative volume of photos taken there.

article.head.headline
Oct 22, 2026
Die besten Wein-Events im Rheingau

Herbstzeit ist Weinzeit im Rheingau. Mit den Glorreichen Rheingau Tagen feiern die Weingüter den Abschluss der Ernte in festlichem Rahmen. Zusätzlich können sich Besucher aber auch auf urige Straußwirtschaften und legere Events freuen. The post Die besten Wein-Events im Rheingau appeared first on Business Traveller.

article.head.headline
Oct 22, 2026
Global tourism ministers join line-up as WTM London unveils new WTM Wanderlust Headliner speakers

The Ministers of Tourism for Angola, Belize, Portugal, Guatemala, Jamaica, Uruguay and Montenegro are among the latest speakers to be announced for WTM London’s Wanderlust Headliner stage. Sustainability is a key theme across several of the ministerial sessions, with leaders sharing how their countries are making tourism work better for people and places. Among the highlights, Pedro Machado, Portugal’s Secretary of State for Tourism, will share how the country’s new Tourism Strategy 2035 puts inclusive, resilient growth at its heart.

article.head.headline
Oct 22, 2026
Miral Names Ali Al Saloom as Conservation Ambassador

The popular Emirati cultural advocate will champion regional wildlife and ecosystem initiatives under Miral's sustainability platform The post Miral Names Ali Al Saloom as Conservation Ambassador appeared first on Business Traveller.

article.head.headline
Oct 22, 2026
WTM LONDON 2026: YOUR GATEWAY TO SARAWAK, THE GATEWAY TO BORNEO

Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) is preparing to return to World Travel Market (WTM) London, taking place from 3–5 November 2026 at ExCeL London, with a refreshed destination identity, exciting new tourism experiences and a renewed focus on strengthening partnerships with the UK travel industry. Under its newly launched tagline, ‘Sarawak: Gateway to Borneo’, Malaysia’s largest state is positioning itself as the natural starting point for exploring the island of Borneo, bringing together extraordinary biodiversity, UNESCO-recognised heritage, indigenous cultures and authentic community-led tourism experiences.

article.head.headline
Oct 22, 2026
Barclays to Cut 5,000 Jobs in A.I.-Driven Push to Lower Costs

The move is the latest illustration of a company saying it believes it can be more efficient with fewer workers because of artificial intelligence.

article.head.headline
Oct 22, 2026
New Airbnb Rules Will Limit Chores Hosts Can Require

The company will limit the chores hosts can require of guests, responding to complaints from travelers who said they shouldn’t have to do housekeeping while paying cleaning fees.

article.head.headline
Oct 22, 2026
FINN PARTNERS SECURES GLOBAL WIN, LEADING BELIZE TOURISM BOARD’S REBRAND ACROSS EUROPE AND THE USA

FINN Partners has been appointed by the Belize Tourism Board (BTB) to lead its global rebrand across trade, public relations and marketing in Europe and the United States, following a highly competitive review process. The win expands FINN Partners’ remit after more than a decade of representing Belize across Europe, marking an exciting new chapter in the destination’s international growth. The global win reflects Belize’s drive to position themselves as one of the world’s leading sustainable and authentic travel destinations by protecting what makes them unique: their people, culture, and environment.

article.head.headline
Oct 22, 2026
Zuckerberg’s Big Deal to Stay in California

The agreement that Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s chief executive, cut to stay in California underscores businesses’ fears about a major tax proposal.

article.head.headline
Oct 22, 2026
Demand for South Korea Holidays Rises 167% as Autumn Foliage Season Gets Underway

Bookings for Riviera Travel’s Highlights of South Korea tour have increased 167% year-on-year, while views of the operator’s South Korea tour pages have risen 89%, as interest in the East Asian destination continues to grow. The trend reflects wider growth in South Korea’s tourism sector. According to UN Tourism, international visitor arrivals to South Korea increased by 21.3% in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025.

article.head.headline
Oct 22, 2026
PHP Security Flaw Sets Off Global Rush to Patch, Leaving Websites Offline

Governments and businesses in Kenya, the Netherlands and elsewhere were scrambling to prevent hackers from exploiting a vulnerability in PHP, a widely used programming language.