France’s debt outlook, Japan’s fund sales, Virgin Media O2’s planned job cuts

Fitch revises France’s debt outlook to negative, keeps A+ rating

Fitch kept France’s rating unchanged but shifted its outlook to negative as budget pressures deepened. Economy Minister Roland Lescure responded by urging adoption of a budget by year-end aimed at reducing the deficit to 5%.

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Bank of Japan holds rate at 1.25% and speeds up fund sales

The Bank of Japan held borrowing costs steady while shifting its focus toward keeping inflation around its target. It approved faster sales of its investment funds and left room for further rate increases without committing to one.

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Belgium’s tax agency shuts online portal after cyberattack

Belgium’s tax agency shut its online portal and other services after a cyberattack. It has extended the affected filing deadline while staff work to restore access safely; the agency said it had no indications of a data breach.

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UK Chancellor John Healey announced £100 energy payment on 28 October

UK Chancellor John Healey announced a winter energy payment tied to households’ council-tax bands. The government plans automatic transfers into the accounts used to pay council tax from the start of January 2027.

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UK Chancellor Healey plans 20% business-rate share for mayors

UK Chancellor John Healey proposes transferring tax revenue to mayors under his Budget roadmap. The package also preserves the cash savings allowance and expands tax relief for small businesses, while reducing planned heat-pump support. The local-revenue changes are scheduled to begin in 2027.

US judge dismisses Trump’s $10 billion Wall Street Journal lawsuit again

A US judge again dismissed Trump’s lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal over its Epstein birthday-letter reporting. Unlike the earlier dismissal, this ruling prevents the same claim from being refiled. Trump intends to appeal.

Virgin Media O2 plans thousands of job cuts, with total not finalized

Virgin Media O2 plans thousands of redundancies as it seeks savings amid debt and tougher competition. Prospect is seeking retraining and redeployment for affected staff, while the company declined to comment. A results update on 3 November could bring a separate announcement on fiber investment.

Trian is said to offer $1.4 billion to take Wendy’s private

Trian is reportedly proposing to take Wendy’s private while the restaurant chain works to reverse declining sales. Peltz says the business needs capital to reduce debt and fund its turnaround; the proposal remains under board review rather than an agreed acquisition.

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Poundland files notice to appoint administrators

Poundland filed notice of its intention to appoint administrators after its owner rejected a management-backed rescue bid. The filing was not an appointment of administrators. Negotiations with the bidder continued as Gordon Brothers considered offers for the whole retailer and parts of its business.

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Intel plans commercial quantum business through Classiq purchase

Intel’s agreement to buy Classiq would move its quantum work beyond research, its technology chief says. Classiq’s business customers would join Intel if the acquisition closes, while an October 28 report points to a later closing window than Intel originally targeted.

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Bedrock Robotics’ round reportedly values it at $4.1 billion

Bedrock Robotics’ $600 million financing valued it at $4.1 billion after the investment, according to Crunchbase News. The company closed the round to expand its autonomous-excavator business after starting paid construction work. The company plans to support more deployments by building its field service network, with other construction vehicles a longer-term target.

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Jio Platforms closed 27% above offer price in Mumbai debut on 28 October

Jio Platforms closed its Mumbai debut about 27% above its offer price after India’s largest initial public offering. The telecoms and digital business reached a public-market valuation of around $137 billion and plans to use offering proceeds to repay debt at its telecom subsidiary.