Daily Brief — Thursday 22 October 2026

The government has ruled out raising capital gains tax in the upcoming Budget. That removes one of the broadest options for raising revenue, and critics argue it leaves Labour reaching for narrower, more damaging measures instead. Elsewhere on energy, the Jackdaw gas field has been approved. Separately, the Treasury has for the first time calculated what the UK might have raised by investing North Sea proceeds in a sovereign fund. The answer is on the order of a trillion pounds, which will feed the argument over how the next round of energy revenue is used.

On tech, a global cyber-security warning has governments and companies scrambling to check their exposure. The UK is working to identify where it is vulnerable, and Amazon says it was attacked before the warning went public. Details are thin so far, but expect more disclosures from affected firms.

Meta is creating a new class of non-voting shares. The FT frames this as a deal to keep Zuckerberg in California despite a wealth tax proposal, letting him sell stock without diluting his control. TechCrunch frames it as a way to fund the AI buildout. Both can be true, and either way it is a template other founder-led firms may copy. On the financing question, Blackstone’s AI head Jas Khaira says fears over AI-buildout debt are overblown.

Tesla’s third-quarter profit fell 43%, and its energy storage business shrank too. The company still says it will start selling the Cybercab by the end of the year, even though federal regulators are investigating whether the vehicle meets safety standards.

Oil is the market story this morning. A drone attack on Saudi Aramco’s Shaybah field killed two people, pushing crude higher and pointing the FTSE 100 lower at the open. The FT reports the US has ordered some personnel to leave Saudi Arabia after Houthi attacks. City AM’s coverage doesn’t attribute the Shaybah strike, so treat the Houthi link as the FT’s framing for now.

Closer to home, the Commons defence committee says the Royal Navy lacks the submarines and warships to counter Russia in the high north. It cites the slow deployment of HMS Dragon to Cyprus and reports that all five Astute-class submarines were in dock this summer. The committee wants “dramatic progress” by the end of the decade. Brazil also votes on Sunday 25 October, with Lula seeking re-election against Flávio Bolsonaro.

Sources

FTSE 100 Live: Stocks to drop as oil higher after Saudi drone attack — City AM
UK working to identify exposure after global cyber-security warning — BBC News
Strongmen like Trump would destroy the planet out of pure spite – and Brazil shows we’re all in peril | George Monbiot — Guardian
Approving Jackdaw is just a distraction from Labour’s obsession with net stupid zero — City AM
Brazil’s Bolsonaro challenges Lula to expand release of personal records — Al Jazeera
Ditching a damaging capital gains tax rise doesn’t make Healey a pro-growth Chancellor — City AM
UK’s gaps in Arctic defence leave it open to Russian attacks, committee warns — BBC News
US orders some personnel to leave Saudi Arabia after Houthi attacks — FT
Tesla says it will start selling Cybercabs by end of year — TechCrunch
The ’trillion pound’ oil fund the government believes Britain could have built — BBC News
Royal Navy lacks resources to counter Russian threat in high north, MPs warn — Guardian
Meta agrees deal to keep Zuckerberg in California despite wealth tax proposal — FT
Blackstone’s Jas Khaira says fears over AI-buildout debt are overblown — TechCrunch
Meta wants to pay for its broad AI buildout with a newly created class of stock — TechCrunch
Tesla profits drop 43% in Q3 — Ars Technica

City AM, BBC News, Guardian, Al Jazeera, FT, TechCrunch, Ars Technica — 2026-10-22