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  1. 1

    Tech stocks slide as AI selloff and oil surge to $110 hit markets

    Tech stocks slid on Friday as oil climbed to its highest level in five months, with Brent crude surpassing $110 a barrel for the first time since May, NBC News reported. Investors worried that debt-laden AI infrastructure companies may not turn profits in time to repay their borrowings, while higher interest rates and inflation concerns resurfaced. NBC News said rising energy prices make another Federal Reserve rate increase this year more likely. Diesel has risen fastest, driven by Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries and Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy assets, and it is a key inflation issue for President Donald Trump ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

    Key facts

    • Tech stocks erased more than $1 trillion in value on Friday, NBC News reported.
    • West Texas Intermediate closed at $101.41, crossing $100 for the first time since September.
    • The Philadelphia semiconductor index fell 3.8%, its eighth straight daily loss and longest streak since 2008.
    • CoreWeave shares fell 12% on Friday and about 25% over five sessions, Reuters reported.
    • Reuters put the Nasdaq's weekly loss above 4%, while Bloomberg said the Nasdaq 100 lost 5.5%.

    Commentary

    Oil did not start this selloff, but it exposed how much AI growth depends on cheap debt. With energy prices pushing rates higher, indebted AI builders face costlier borrowing just as investors question when their spending will pay off. The weakest borrowers, such as CoreWeave, will likely bear that cost first.

    Sources: NBC News, Bloomberg.com, Yahoo Finance

  2. 2

    US inflation rises to 3.7% in September as energy prices hit consumers

    US consumer prices rose 3.7% in the 12 months through September, up from 3.4% in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Energy drove the jump, and KATU reported that the war with Iran has been the main source of renewed inflation this year. With crude prices near $100 a barrel, refined fuels such as diesel and jet fuel have surged to their highest rates in years, raising transport costs across the economy. Businesses now face higher shipping and production costs. Economists warn that companies will soon pass some of these costs to consumers, who already show early signs of fatigue. The Federal Reserve, which has already raised rates, has limited tools against supply disruptions.

    Key facts

    • Gasoline prices rose 9.1% in September alone, accounting for over half the month's total increase.
    • Core inflation, excluding food and energy, was 2.6% from a year earlier and 0.3% month-to-month.
    • Producer prices rose 1.3% from August to September and 6.3% from a year earlier.
    • Diesel averaged $6.32 a gallon, compared with $3.64 a year earlier, according to AAA.
    • CME FedWatch shows 15% odds of a Fed rate hike this month and 90% odds by December.

    Commentary

    The real shift is upstream: wholesale costs are now outpacing consumer prices, meaning the energy shock is spreading into goods and shipping rather than fading at the pump. Businesses squeezed by diesel must choose between absorbing these costs and passing them on, and that choice will decide whether this inflation outlasts the oil spike.

    Sources: NBC News, Fox Business, The Motley Fool, KATU

  3. 3

    Fed holds interest rates steady as Chair Kevin Warsh pledges to contain inflation

    The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday, its first decision under Chair Kevin Warsh, as inflation reached its highest level in three years. Warsh said persistently high prices are a burden for the American people and pledged that the committee will deliver price stability, bringing inflation back to the Fed's 2% target. The hold came days after a U.S.-Iran agreement offered hope for price relief, although ABC News reported that fuel costs remain well above pre-war levels. Reports differ on the current rate: ABC News put the benchmark at 3.5% to 3.75%, while PBS reported a September increase to about 3.9% and Scotsman Guide cited a range of 3.75% to 4%.

    Key facts

    • All 12 FOMC members voted to hold rates steady, and Warsh and Powell agreed on the decision.
    • Nine members indicated they expect rate increases by the end of the year.
    • Inflation has risen above 4%, according to ABC News.
    • CME FedWatch gave roughly a four in 10 chance of a quarter-point hike in December.
    • Gasoline prices fell below $4 a gallon for the first time since March.

    Commentary

    The unanimous hold was the predictable part; the real shift is in the projections, where most members lean toward hikes and Warsh's refusal to signal leaves households guessing. Shoppers already paying elevated grocery and fuel costs will absorb any tightening, so his pledge will be judged on what comes next.

    Sources: ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos, PBS, Scotsman Guide

  4. 4

    Oil prices rise as Iran and proxies escalate attacks

    Oil prices rose sharply on Thursday and were heading for weekly gains as attacks around the Strait of Hormuz intensified. Iran said it was stepping up strikes in response to a US blockade of its ports and tougher sanctions introduced last month, and Kpler analysts said intensified Iranian attacks drove Gulf crude flows sharply lower. Houthi missiles hit the presidential palace complex in Aden, killing five people, and Ukraine struck a Russian oil refinery after President Zelenskiy abandoned an energy-site ceasefire. Goldman Sachs analysts said physical prices remain elevated because escalation threatens supply, but they expect a supply surplus in late 2026 and 2027 to moderate prices.

    Key facts

    • Brent crude rose $3.41, or 3.2%, to $109.34 a barrel on Thursday.
    • WTI crossed $100 a barrel for the first time since September 21, reaching $100.67.
    • So far this week, Brent has risen 4.1% and WTI has risen 8.6%.
    • The IEA agreed to release more than 20 million barrels of fuel to the market.
    • Russia's Ryazan refinery suspended a crude distillation unit after a drone attack, two industry sources told Reuters.

    Commentary

    What moved prices is not the attacks alone but the gap between physical and futures markets: dated Brent for next-month delivery trades above $130 while futures sit near $100, so buyers are paying for prompt barrels. Goldman estimates about $25 of spot Brent is risk premium, so prices stay exposed to escalation until supply rebuilds, and consumers absorb the diffuse costs.

    Sources: Marine Link, Goldman Sachs, Competitive Enterprise Institute

  5. 5

    U.S. Treasury yields waver after volatile week shaped by inflation data and Fed signals

    U.S. Treasury yields teetered on Friday as investors weighed hotter-than-expected inflation data and Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh's latest comments on interest rates, CNBC reported. The benchmark 10-year yield fell less than 1 basis point to 5.085%. Wholesale prices rose 6.3% annually in September, the biggest gain since 2022, and consumer prices rose 3.7%, both above forecasts, with energy prices pushed higher by the ongoing U.S.-Iran war. Warsh declined to say whether the Fed would raise rates again at its meeting two weeks away. Stocktwits reported that his silence led traders to cut the odds of an October hike to 20%, and that the 10-year yield fell about 16 basis points over the week. Bond prices were also pressured as an accelerating rout in AI stocks sent the dollar to its sharpest weekly drop in over a month.

    Key facts

    • CNBC reported the 30-year Treasury yield rose to 5.434% on Friday.
    • The 2-year Treasury yield fell more than 3 basis points to 4.715%.
    • Economists polled by Dow Jones had expected a 5.5% annual producer price increase.
    • Stocktwits reported the Treasury Department offered no explicit plan to cut 20-year bond issuance.
    • European government bond yields rose alongside U.S. peers, Stocktwits reported.

    Commentary

    The predictable part is bond-market nervousness over inflation; the less obvious shift is that Warsh's silence, rather than the data itself, pulled October hike bets down. Until he gives clearer guidance, yields will keep swinging on each Fed remark, and markets still pricing another increase by December show the rate path is far from settled.

    Sources: CNBC, Stocktwits

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