Jason Calacanis wants investors to sell bitcoin and back artificial intelligence. He is also holding TAO, the cryptocurrency behind AI network Bittensor.
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Stock Market Today (Oct. 27, 2026): Nasdaq futures edge lower as Wall Street gears up for earnings, Fed meeting
This live blog is refreshed throughout the day with the latest updates from the market. To find the latest Stock Market Today threads, click here.
Happy Tuesday. Stock futures were mixed as traders prepared for a slate of earnings reports and the start of the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting.
Markets finished higher Monday, boosted in part by Anthropic’s IPO filing. The AI safety and research company is best known for creating the Claude family of large language models (LLMs).
“Anthropic’s IPO filing helped boost market sentiment and supported a tech-led rebound on Wall Street,” said Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst with Capital.com. “In the bigger picture, the moves are trivial and largely technical in nature, with the markets still positioning for a 10-day window that could determine how global markets finish out 2026.”
Rodda said earnings, central bank decisions, US politics and geopolitical risk are among the crosscurrents markets will have to contend with over the next week and a half.
“Microsoft, Apple and Amazon’s results will provide color about the outlook for the AI boom, especially amid new fears about slowing, rather than unsustainable, investment,” he added.
“Meanwhile, several central banks meet and will shed light on the outlook for the global path of monetary policy, with markets focused on what the Fed says about the prospects for future rate hikes.”
Rodda noted that the political situation in the US is probably just a speed bump markets have to navigate, “but its resolution should remove one headwind from the market.”
United Parcel Service (UPS) shares rose 1.58% in premarket trading after the shipping giant beat Wall Street expectations and raised its full-year guidance.
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Starbucks shuts 5 more coffeehouses, 2 airport locations also slated for closure
Starbucks has spent the past two years changing its coffeehouse business, investing in store renovations, improving customer service, and trying to bring customers back.
And the efforts appear to be paying off. U.S. comparable-store sales rose 7.9% in its latest reported quarter, while customer transactions increased 4.2%.
In September, CEO Brian Niccol declared, “Starbucks is back,” signaling confidence in the company’s turnaround strategy.
Also read: Wawa, Sheetz, 7-Eleven face new challenge keeping shoppers coming back
But stronger sales have not stopped the coffee giant from closing underperforming locations and eliminating jobs. It is all part of its strategic return.
An Oct.7 regulatory filing identifies five permanent Starbucks coffeehouse closures in Washington state, affecting 43 store employees, as well as 8 additional job cuts at its Seattle headquarters.
In total, 51 employees are affected, with employment terminations scheduled between Nov. 14 and Dec. 4, 2026.
The latest disclosures follow another 5-store closure notice filed in Washington earlier this year.
Meanwhile, 2 Starbucks locations at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport are also set to close following a separate decision regarding concession contracts.
Starbucks closes five coffeehouses in Washington
According to an Oct.7 Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) reviewed by TheStreet, Starbucks identified five locations for permanent closure across Seattle, Redmond, Spokane, and Vancouver.
The filing lists the following coffeehouses and affected employees:
LocationAddressEmployees affectedRedmond7625 170th Ave NE15Seattle9150 Rainier Ave S5Seattle999 Leary Way NW6Spokane2401 W Wellesley Ave13Vancouver918 SE 164th Ave4Total store employees43
Separately, Starbucks disclosed 8 permanent job cuts at its Seattle headquarters at 2401 Utah Avenue.
The affected corporate positions include an accountant, a director, a senior manager, a project manager, two managers, and two service representatives.
However, not all 51 affected employees will necessarily lose their jobs. Starbucks said some store employees would be offered transfers to nearby coffeehouses.
The filing also confirmed that employees at the Redmond and Spokane locations are union-represented.
One closure stands out for another reason.
The Starbucks at 999 Leary Way in Seattle opened in Feb. 2026 but closed in late September, just eight months later.
Starbucks previously closed five Seattle stores in 2026
The Oct. filing is not the first time Starbucks has disclosed multiple store closures in Washington this year.
A separate WARN notice dated March 27 identified five Seattle coffeehouses scheduled to close between March 29 and April 5, affecting 69 employees.
Those closures included locations on Madison Street, University Way, Minor Avenue, Harrison Street, and Sand Point Way.
Together, the March and October notices identify 10 distinct coffeehouses and 120 affected employee positions, including the eight headquarters jobs in the October filing.
The repeated disclosures come alongside corporate workforce reductions in Seattle.
As TheStreet previously reported, Starbucks disclosed in August that 224 headquarters employees were affected, including approximately 120 who declined transfers to its expanding Nashville operations.
The company has also been consolidating regional offices and streamlining its corporate organization.
Two Starbucks locations close at Seattle airport
Starbucks is also preparing to lose two coffeehouses at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, although these closures are unrelated to its corporate restructuring.
An Oct. 23 WARN notice filed by airport concession operator HMSHost confirms that its Starbucks location in Concourse A will permanently close as its airport contract expires.
The notice states that approximately 13 employees are expected to lose their jobs between Dec. 31, 2026, and Jan. 13, 2027.
However, there is a discrepancy in the filing.
While the letter identifies approximately 13 affected employees, its attached roster lists roughly 135 positions, including baristas, utility workers, and managers. Washington state’s WARN database also records 135 affected workers.
The difference has not been publicly clarified.
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Another Starbucks in Concourse C is also set to close, but its WARN notice has not yet been issued, and the precise store closure dates have not been announced.
The changes follow a competitive bidding process in which the airport selected 17 new dining and retail locations.
In its Sept. 15 announcement, the Port of Seattle confirmed Anchorhead Coffee and The Flora Bakehouse among the selected businesses.
Starbucks expressed disappointment that its concession contract was not renewed, telling local media it hopes to expand its presence at the airport again.
Once both locations close, two Starbucks coffeehouses will remain at the airport.
The airport closures are decisions made by the concession operator and the Port of Seattle, rather than part of Starbucks’ company-operated store closure program.
Why Starbucks continues to close stores?
The Washington closures are part of Starbucks’ broader “Back to Starbucks” restructuring, which aims to improve the customer experience while eliminating locations that do not meet its financial or operational expectations.
In a Sept. 24 announcement, Chief Operating Officer Mike Grams said Starbucks had identified approximately 250 North American coffeehouses for closure.
“While most are benefiting from this overall momentum, some coffeehouses continue to underperform,” Grams said.
According to the company’s September SEC filing, Starbucks expects approximately $300 million in restructuring charges, including $200 million in cash expenses primarily for lease exits and employee separation benefits.
The company had already reduced its U.S. store network before the announcement.
According to its third-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings report, Starbucks operated 16,933 U.S. locations at the end of June, down from 17,230 a year earlier.
Notably, Starbucks removes permanently closed coffeehouses from its comparable-store sales calculations beginning the month after closure.
This means improving sales at continuing locations do not necessarily reflect the performance of every coffeehouse in its network.
At the same time, Starbucks continues investing in renovations, faster service, and more comfortable seating, with a target of completing at least 1,500 coffeehouse upgrades in North America.
For customers losing their neighborhood Starbucks, the company says it will direct them to nearby locations. Employees who cannot be transferred will be offered severance support.
Starbucks is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter and full-year fiscal 2026 earnings on Oct. 29.
The results will provide a clearer picture of whether the coffee giant maintained its sales momentum and how its restructuring is affecting the business.
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This Vanguard Fund Has Proved Its Defensive Chops
Key Morningstar Metrics for Vanguard Global Minimum VolatilityMorningstar Medalist Rating: GoldProcess Pillar: Above AveragePeople Pillar: Above AverageParent Pillar: HighVanguard Global Minimum Volatility Fund VMNVX is a well-executed low-volatility strategy with a track record of navigating market turbulence well.This systematic strategy uses an optimizer to create a less risky portfolio from the FTSE Global All Cap Hedged Index, a market-capitalization-weighted index that covers the large-, mid-, and small-cap segments of the global stock market. The optimizer considers stocks’ individual volatility and their performance correlated with other holdings. That holistic perspective favors steady companies while also creating room in the portfolio for more fickle stocks with unique performance patterns. The portfolio managers also fully hedge currency risk with forward contracts.Thorough constraints improve the strategy’s portfolio construction, even if they may weaken its defensive posture. The fund ties its stock- and sector-level allocations to the parent index. These constraints reduce concentration and ensure that the fund is not overly reliant on sectors like consumer defensive and utilities, which are favorites among simpler low-volatility strategies. Controlling for risk factors like size and momentum prevents unwanted factor wagers. While these guardrails may prevent the fund from building the most defensive portfolio possible, they ensure that no unintended bets undermine the low-volatility mandate.The portfolio management team makes trading decisions with consideration for the strategy’s compositional rules, the portfolio’s current volatility risk, and expected trading costs.So far, the fund has delivered on its low-volatility objective. The strategy, however, is likely to underperform in most market rallies because it cuts back on risk. Its rigorous portfolio construction process and thorough approach to risk should allow the fund to deliver on its minimum volatility objective over the long term, though.Vanguard Global Minimum Volatility: Performance HighlightsThe fund’s monthly returns typically fluctuate less than the category average. It was about 28% less volatile than the category average and captured just 53% of the market’s downside from December 2013 through September 2026, demonstrating its low-volatility prowess. This stability and downside protection did come with a modest trade-off, as the fund’s total return lagged its average peer by 27 basis points annualized over the same period.It had a 4.86-percentage-point edge over the category during the fourth-quarter market downturn of 2018. The fund also proved its defensive chops in the bear market of 2022, outperforming its average peer by 12.4 percentage points through the calendar year. When tariff concerns roiled the market in February, March, and April of 2025, the fund posted a positive return of more than 2.5% while the large-stock blend category lost 3.6%. In keeping with the expected performance pattern of a low-volatility fund, it has struggled to keep pace in the broad market rally since May 2025, trailing its category average by nearly 10 percentage points annualized through September 2026.
How a Fed interest rate pause would impact Main Street investors
Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh, despite dropping traditional forward guidance on interest-rate paths, recently said the central bank is focused on “removing a dose of accommodation.”
For retail investors, this means the era of artificially cheap money is over, and navigating a higher-rate normal is essential for portfolio strategy.
Markets expect the policymaking Federal Open Market Committee will decide on a hawkish pause at its Oct. 27-28 meeting, despite hiking short-term interest rates 25 basis points to 3.75% to 4.0% at its September meeting.
But strong economic vibes, supported by reporting from many Wall Street banks and the CME Group FedWatch Tool, indicate at least one more 25 basis-point hike as early as the next FOMC meeting Dec. 8-9 to mitigate persistent inflation.
Melissa Brown, global head of investment decision research at SimCorp, told TheStreet in an exclusive email interview that equity markets have woken up to the real risks of higher inflation and overly rosy revenue assumptions for AI-related companies.
“With no guidance to dispute the assumption, it seems likely long rates will stay higher for longer,’’ Brown said, adding that higher rates further into the future mean lower valuations right now for companies that rely on high-growth expectations.
“On top of that, higher government yields mean that current debt has to be issued at higher rates, suggesting that revenues have to be that much higher to cover the debt service,’’ Brown said. “This impacts all companies that issue debt, not just AI, although the amounts of debt they need to issue to finance the infrastructure buildout is enormous.”
Aptus Capital Advisors Portfolio Manager & Head of Fixed Income John Luke Tyner told TheStreet in an exclusive email that there is no doubt that both energy prices and AI borrowing have increased inflation metrics and pushed interest rates higher.
“We can see both of these dynamics moving markets, although last week showed a bit of a separation between oil prices and rates (moved in opposite directions) and more alignment between rates and some exhaustion within the AI spending frenzy,’’ Tyner said.
“This is definitely an interesting signpost and at least suggests that the last six months’ rise in rates, plus the Fed’s September hike, could have been a situation where the market did some of the work for the central bank,” Tyner added.
Fed’s expected rate pause balances its dual mandate
The Fed’s dual mandate from Congress requires maximum employment and price stability.
Yes, it’s a tricky balance of monetary policy because:
Lower interest rates support hiring but can fuel inflation. This risks fueling further inflation, potentially leading to an inflationary spiral.
Higher rates cool prices but can weaken the job market. This increases the cost of borrowing and further stifles economic activity.
How an interest-rate pause hits your wallet
The CME Group’s FedWatch Tool shows traders pricing in a roughly 10.5% probability of a Fed rate hike at its Oct. 27-28 FOMC meeting with expectations of an 82.3% probability of a rate hike by its Dec. 8-9 meeting.
The Fed’s September interest-rate hike, the first since January 2023, sent ripples through the entire financial system with the most immediate pressure hitting short-term borrowing such as variable-rate credit cards and student loans.
Related: UBS explains how looming Fed rate hike could impact your investments
Indirectly, it impacted fixed-rate mortgage rates which rely on Treasury yields plus corporate debt and capital investment.
The good news? Interest rates on savings accounts and CDs could see an increase.
Fed’s hawkish outlook focuses on inflation
Fed experts expect the FOMC to hold rates steady in October for three reasons:
Policymakers want more time to assess stubborn inflation.
Rising Treasury yields have already tightened financial conditions.
The cooling labor market argues against raising borrowing costs too quickly.
Plus, monetary policy alone will not offset rising energy prices from the Iran War, especially if the United States decides to escalate threats to resume military action.
WEBs ETFs CEO Ben Fulton told TheStreet in an exclusive email that the Fed will want time to further assess the impact of the September rate increase and the ever-changing energy and fuel prices driving inflation.
“Wait and see also keeps the Fed out of the political crosshairs that an increase the week before the midterm elections would incite,’’ Fulton said. “We are a long way from the 2% target inflation rate, yet the Fed is showing a firm grip on the economic levers it can deploy.’’
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