Microsoft Up, Google Down. A Tale of Two Hyperscalers.

Andrew here. Breaking: Christine Lagarde just announced that she would step down as president of the European Central Bank in February, cutting her eight-year term short by months. She is widely expected to be appointed as the next chair of the World Economic Forum.

Her early exit raises a lot of questions about the future of European monetary policy, but the timing of the decision is what really has political circles buzzing. By leaving in February, Lagarde clears the way for European leaders — most notably, the departing President Emmanuel Macron of France — to finalize the appointment of her successor before his country’s presidential election in April.

We won’t have to wait long for answers to those questions. I will interview Lagarde on Nov. 18 at this year’s DealBook Summit. You can apply here to join us.

A.I. split screen

Judging by the market on Thursday, Microsoft is demonstrating how to excel at the artificial intelligence game.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/29/business/dealbook/microsoft-google-ai-hyperscalers.html