Evening edition · Monday, 26 October 2026 · 17:59 CET
Four delegations met, and the inventories kept counting.
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey sat with Iran's leaders in Tehran while the Houthis claimed another pipeline strike; Brent gave back about 1.6%. The ifo rose for a sixth month, Brazil's loser filed his complaint, and the Rhine climbed to 55 cm. Eleven desks, every number sourced.
Morning 08:30 · Evening 17:30 · Sunday 10:00, Berlin time
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey sat down with Iran's leaders on Monday. The Houthis said they hit the East-West pipeline again. Brent eased about 1.6%, which is what a meeting is worth before anything is signed.
On Monday the defence minister of Saudi Arabia, Prince Khalid bin Salman, Pakistan's army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Turkey's intelligence chief, Ibrahim Kalin, met Iran's top security officials and negotiators in Tehran. Iranian state television showed the Pakistani delegation sitting with President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Saudi Arabia's deputy minister for public diplomacy, Rayed Krimly, called it part of the Makkah Defence Alliance's efforts "for de-escalation", in support of the mediation by Qatar and Pakistan.
It is the first high-level contact between Iran and all three members of that alliance since Saudi Arabia was drawn deeper into the conflict. That is the news. The rest is a list of things that have not happened yet.
Lula won with 51.79%. Flávio Bolsonaro wants the vote annulled over a two-hour extension both campaigns had asked for in some form. The institutions now do the slow part.
In the APA's annual survey, 77% of US adults name the cost of living as a significant source of stress. The economy is second, money third. Worry has become an accounting category.
The Houthis say they hit East-West pumping stations; Riyadh has not confirmed damage. Washington lent 400,000 barrels to one refinery. Saudi Arabia will store crude in Singapore from 2027. German power is back at €116.57.
The Fed meets on Tuesday and Wednesday, the ECB decides on Thursday. Both have held since September. Moody's kept France at Aa3, and the French ten-year slipped below 5%.
Heating oil edged up 24 cents per 100 litres between Monday morning and afternoon on the German average, although Brent fell. The exchange reaches the tank a day late.
Russia launched 140 drones and four missiles at Ukraine overnight; Ukraine's drones hit Voronezh. Both sides have agreed to meet again, with the US, next month.
A day after it cleared its 2018 low, the Kaub gauge has climbed by more than 20 centimetres. Storm Manja's remnants left, the warm front of NAOMI arrives in the north-west tonight.
Tonight, write tomorrow's three fixed costs on a slip of paper: one bill, one subscription, one regular purchase. Leave it by the door. Not to cut anything, just to know them by heart. A known bill is a lighter one.
A habit, not advice.
What went right
German manufacturers' business climate turned positive in October for the first time in more than three years, at +1.2, with incoming orders rising and firms planning to expand production, according to the ifo Institute 1.
The day in one sentence
Neighbours sat down in Tehran, German factories got more orders, and the Rhine rose; none of it is finished, all of it is moving the right way.
In euros at home
Heating oil averaged €174.58 per 100 litres in Germany on Monday afternoon, €41.03 more than three months ago 2. Desk arithmetic: for a house using 2,500 litres a year, that is about €4,365 at today's price, roughly €1,026 more than at the price of three months ago.
Desk arithmetic on the cited average price. Local prices differ by region, quantity and supplier. Nothing here is advice.
Small words
Balance (in a survey)
The share of firms saying 'good' minus the share saying 'poor'. When the ifo says manufacturing's balance is +1.2, it means slightly more factories report good business than bad, for the first time in over three years 1.
Commentary for information only. Not investment, legal, tax, medical or political advice. "Desk arithmetic" is our own calculation from the cited figures.
