Hour in Review — 2026-10-01 13:00 UTC 17 sources
The rapid scaling of artificial intelligence infrastructure is driving unprecedented capital and energy commitments, highlighted by Anthropic's IPO prospectus disclosing an extensive partnership with Broadcom that includes lending the AI lab up to $42 billion to lease chips1. To power data center buildouts, Amazon signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Constellation Energy for 690 megawatts from Maryland's Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant, unlocking over $3 billion in infrastructure investment2,3, while NANO Nuclear moved to secure supply by agreeing to acquire Radnostix's NRC-licensed nuclear fuel assets for $13.5 million4,5. Compute expansion is also reaching orbit, with Alphabet launching AI chips into space on a SpaceX rocket6, Bank of America assigning SpaceX a $235 price target following Starship's orbital launch, and Nvidia joining a $668 million funding round for GMI Cloud7. Geopolitical conflict intensified around critical energy and tech assets as heavy Russian strikes pounded Ukraine's energy grid across five regions ahead of winter—leaving seven dead—and permanently disabled Kyiv's Parkovyi data centre8,9, while Ukraine persisted with drone strikes against Russian oil facilities8,10, the European Commission secured means to cover Ukraine's 2026 budget and defense needs11, and European officials discussed releasing emergency diesel stocks amid fuel supply strains12. In aviation security, Saudi authorities detained an Omani co-pilot who attacked captain Smit Machchhar aboard flydubai Flight 1073 and forced a rapid 14,000-foot descent on a Tel Aviv-bound flight13,14, prompting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to state that investigators will probe potential Iranian links14. In clinical developments, Eli Lilly reported Phase 2b data showing its experimental combination of eloralintide and tirzepatide achieved up to 23.3% average weight loss in diabetic patients15. Meanwhile, global markets kicked off the fourth quarter with equity futures rising on tech strength as benchmark 10-year Treasury yields pulled back slightly from a 24-year high of 5.34% during an escalating global debt rout3,16,17.
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