The Morning Briefing: October 28, 2026
Israel counts votes with no bloc at a majority, the Federal Reserve announces its rate decision at 2 p.m. ET, the Rays stay alive in the World Series, big tech reports earnings, the midterms enter their final six days, and Cyclone Arnab reaches India.
Here is what to know on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, six days before the November 3 midterm elections.
Israel election ends without a clear winner
Israel woke up Wednesday to a parliament with no clear majority after Tuesday’s election, the first since the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023. Exit polls put the blocs of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and challenger Gadi Eisenkot tied at 51 seats each in two polls, while a third poll gave Netanyahu’s Likud-led bloc a 52-49 edge. No bloc reached the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset.
Netanyahu called for a strong right-wing national government in an address after 3 a.m. local time. Eisenkot said voters had rejected Netanyahu staying on as prime minister and called on him to retire from politics. Neither man claimed victory. With counting still under way, early tallies on Wednesday morning put Likud ahead as a party, at about 27 percent of the vote with about 70 percent of ballots counted, according to reports from the Central Elections Committee control center.
Arab parties outside both main blocs could hold the balance of power, with projections of 17 or 18 seats, close to double their 2022 result. Both Netanyahu and Eisenkot have resisted forming a government with them. Until a coalition forms, Netanyahu stays on as caretaker prime minister, and talks could run for weeks or end in another election. Related coverage: Netanyahu bloc leads Israel vote count but remains short of a majority, early projections show and Exit polls show Netanyahu losing seats and trailing Eisenkot as Israel counts Knesset votes.
Fed decision due at 2 p.m. ET
The Federal Reserve announces its rate decision at 2 p.m. ET Wednesday, at the close of a two-day meeting that began Tuesday. Markets put the chance of a hold at about 90 percent in CME FedWatch pricing and at about 96 percent on Kalshi. A hold would keep the benchmark rate at 3.75 percent to 4.00 percent, after a quarter-point rise in September.
The decision comes with inflation still above the Fed’s 2 percent target. Annual inflation rose to 3.7 percent in September, up from 3.4 percent in each of the two prior months, and producer prices rose 6.3 percent from a year earlier. September payrolls added just 29,000 jobs, and unemployment ticked up to 4.2 percent. Traders will read the statement and the 2:30 p.m. news conference for signs on December, where markets now price a further rise as the likelier next move. Related coverage: Federal Reserve opens two-day meeting with a rate hold widely expected before the midterms.
Rays stay alive in 12 innings
Tampa Bay beat Milwaukee 4-3 in 12 innings in Game 4 of the World Series on Tuesday night in St. Petersburg, Florida, and avoided a sweep. Milwaukee still leads the best-of-seven series 3-1. Game 5 is Wednesday night in St. Petersburg.
Milwaukee took a 3-2 lead in the top of the 12th on a solo home run by rookie Cooper Pratt, his fourth hit of the night. Tampa Bay answered in the bottom half. Junior Caminero reached on a throwing error by third baseman Joey Ortiz. Liam Hicks singled to put runners on the corners. Jonny DeLuca singled up the middle to tie the game at 3-3. Chandler Simpson singled to load the bases. Pinch hitter Ben Williamson then singled to right field to score pinch runner Nick Fortes with the winning run. It was the first walk-off win by a team facing World Series elimination since 2011. Related coverage: Brewers rout Rays 10-1 in Game 3 and move one win from first World Series title.
Big tech earnings put AI spending to a test
Microsoft and Alphabet, the parent company of Google, report earnings Wednesday after the market closes. Amazon reports Thursday. The results arrive in the same week as the Fed decision, and they will show whether cloud revenue is growing fast enough to cover the cost of building data centers and buying chips.
Analyst estimates cited in Reuters coverage put Google Cloud revenue growth at 95.1 percent from a year earlier, Microsoft Azure growth at 47.7 percent, and Amazon Web Services growth at 38.2 percent. The three companies could spend close to 600 billion dollars combined on capital projects in 2026. Amazon outlined about 220 billion dollars for the year. Alphabet guided to 195 billion to 205 billion dollars. Microsoft guided to about 175 billion dollars on a calendar-year basis, counting lease financing. Related coverage: Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet report Wednesday in a test of AI cloud spending.
Midterms enter their final six days
The midterm campaign entered its last six days with Democrats ahead in the national congressional ballot in a new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll released Tuesday. The poll put Democrats at 52 percent and Republicans at 44 percent among likely voters. Among independents, Democrats led 52 percent to 39 percent. The same poll put President Donald Trump’s job approval at 40 percent, with 59 percent disapproving.
Trump campaigned in Texas on Tuesday, with rallies in Corpus Christi and Lubbock, and told supporters to vote as if he were on the ballot. He has said he plans to spend more than 400 million dollars to help Republican candidates. All 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats are on the ballot on November 3. Related coverage: Trump says he approves of Flavio Bolsonaro coming to U.S. after Brazil election loss.
Cyclone Arnab makes landfall in India
Severe Cyclone Arnab made landfall on India’s eastern coast in the early hours of Wednesday, crossing Andhra Pradesh and Yanam between 2 a.m. and 8 a.m. local time. The India Meteorological Department said winds at landfall were 125 to 135 kilometers per hour, with gusts to 150 kilometers per hour. By 8:30 a.m., the storm had weakened to a severe cyclonic storm and the landfall process was complete.
Thousands of people were evacuated from coastal areas before the storm arrived. Some train and flight services were cancelled. Trees were uprooted in several places and power supply was disrupted, the office of Andhra Pradesh’s chief minister said. No loss of life had been reported as of Wednesday morning. The department warned of a storm surge of 1.5 to 2.5 meters above normal tide in low-lying areas, and it forecast heavy rain across Andhra Pradesh, southern Odisha and Telangana through Thursday. Related coverage: Thousands evacuate India’s eastern coast as Cyclone Arnab nears landfall in Andhra Pradesh.
Reporting based on coverage by Reuters, the Associated Press, USA Today, the India Meteorological Department and the Central Elections Committee of Israel.
