Public Markets 8 Hours

Last updated: September 2, 2026, 2:58 PM ET

Equities

US stocks turned positive after a three-day skid, as oil prices halted their advance and eased inflation concerns while traders weighed the Federal Reserve's next move. The recovery comes as JPMorgan's Grace Peters warns that rising bond yields pose a key risk to global equities, with 5% Treasury yields potentially triggering a correction during the historically weak month of September. The AI trade remains a focal point: Broadcom has suffered a roughly $520 billion skid since its June peak, and investors are demanding Nvidia-like earnings to reverse the slide. Meanwhile, the AI buildout has been lifting all boats, but a “permission bottleneck” threatens to stall the rally as capacity constraints emerge.

Fixed Income & Rates

Japan's borrowing costs have hit a 30-year high, following weeks of scrutiny of fiscal and monetary policies and rare Washington-Tokyo intervention in currency markets. The move is reverberating globally, with the yen surging sharply against the dollar as traders remain on high alert for further intervention. In the US, a jittery Treasury market and the prospect of Fed rate increases risk making life more expensive for already cost-pressured Americans, as the bond selloff threatens to raise borrowing costs on mortgages, auto loans and credit cards. UK mortgage borrowers are being urged to lock in deals before fixed rates rise following the bond market sell-off. The US debt picture extends beyond borrowing: many governments look more prudent than Washington, but aging workforces and anemic growth mean debts look increasingly scary even with an AI-driven productivity lift.

Energy & Commodities

US crude stockpiles saw a larger-than-expected drop of 4.5 million barrels last week, far exceeding analyst forecasts of a 300,000-barrel decline. Oil prices had been advancing amid Middle East conflict, with US and Iranian forces trading attacks again, pushing crude higher as bond yields remained elevated. Chevron has pledged $7 billion to double its Venezuela oil production over the next five years, while Italy's Eni plans to eventually lift its Venezuelan output to more than 1 million barrels a day. Venezuela's next generation of tycoons is stepping up dealmaking in the energy sector. Russian President Vladimir Putin has launched a key copper cathode plant at the Udokan deposit, rebuilt almost from scratch after a fire nearly three years ago. Norwegian hydro reservoirs supplying southern Norway fell to a record low for this time of year, raising the risk of higher power prices and greater reliance on natural gas across Europe this winter. Indonesia's 100GW solar push highlights both momentum and obstacles around the global green energy shift, while Chinese solar giant LONGi and Petronas feature in the latest energy roundup.

Deals & Corporate Finance

Apax Partners has lined up about €1 billion of debt to back its purchase of two businesses from packaging firm Gerresheimer AG. Wren House Infrastructure Management is nearing a deal to buy GIC Pte's stake in a European data center joint venture. Advent International is looking for further healthcare opportunities in Australia and New Zealand following its acquisition of a clinical-research network. ENRC has settled with UK prosecutors and former lawyers over an abandoned probe, drawing a line under a years-long battle with the Serious Fraud Office in an agreement worth £168m. Aurora Cannabis is urging shareholders to reject an unsolicited $272 million hostile bid from Curaleaf Holdings, calling the offer inadequate.

Companies

Uber is cutting 10% of its workforce, eliminating 3,300 jobs in its biggest cuts since the pandemic, as competition rises in food delivery and the robotaxi race intensifies. The ride-hailing group is also shutting down operations in Nigeria effective September 2 following a review of its West African operations. Circle K owner Alimentation Couche-Tard reported record fuel sales as oil prices soared, but said inflation and fuel costs are curbing consumer spending. Southwest Airlines is jumping into the airport lounge competition with four initial lounges as it hopes to lure fliers to a new high-end credit card planned for next year. Brown-Forman's quarterly sales slipped 1% on a tequila slowdown, though earnings per share beat expectations amid a sluggish spirits market. BP has appointed Ian Tyler as permanent chair, getting the chair it wants rather than the one it needed, with the focus now on shoring up the rest of the board. AIG's Peter Zaffino is stepping down as chairman and joining Palantir as global head of financial services. AI startup Wonderful has hit a $5 billion valuation just a year after founding, with 650 employees and plans for a 1,000-strong team. Dyson spent six years inventing a $499 AI toothbrush with a camera, admitting it had "no idea" of the market. Brunswick is using AI and marine cruise control to raise prices on boats as borrowing costs soar to their highest levels in decades.

Regulation & Policy

In a major victory for Google, a federal judge ruled the company won't have to break up its ad tech business, though it must change practices that depress ad rates for web publishers. The judge declined to order a divestiture of Google's ad exchange and other technology, a decision that avoids the most drastic remedy the Justice Department sought. California lawmakers failed to pass a watered-down wildfire bill after utility pushback, leaving the debate over who pays for fire damage unresolved. The SEC's proposal on quarterly reporting frequency faces strong opposition, with critics arguing the reforms risk the ability of investors to compare companies. US aluminum tariffs are harming domestic manufacturers by raising costs while failing to revive domestic smelting, according to a Wall Street Journal opinion piece. A trucking crackdown is accelerating in the US, impacting retailers and the Shein IPO, while retailers report higher sales heading into fall. The Morning Risk Report highlights an island paradise that has become a secret hub for Russian sanctions evasion, alongside Amazon's "secret" ad pricing system and retailers ditching variety to beat tariffs.

Emerging Markets

Senegal's bond selloff reveals investor angst on debt rework, as holders of its short-dated bonds expect losses ahead. India raised a record $127 billion in forex deposits from its 35-million-strong diaspora since June through a special dollar-swap window, giving policymakers a bigger cushion. Zerodha, India's second-largest broker founded by billionaire Nithin Kamath, secured a merchant banking license as the nation's booming equity capital market draws new entrants. Brazil's beef exports face new European Union traceability restrictions that threaten a higher-priced market. Japan Activation Capital, founded by former Carlyle Group partner Hiroyuki Otsuka, is pushing companies to take risks from within, having invested in seven Tokyo-listed companies.

Politics & Geopolitics

President Trump called on Iranians to "rise up and fight" as the US seems increasingly bogged down after six months of conflict, returning to a familiar playbook. Trump's speed on the White House ballroom construction threatens to outpace the courts, with critics saying the president has tried to outrun judicial review. A Wall Street Journal opinion warns that Trump's policy on Venezuela could entrench an oligarchy, drawing parallels to Russia's loans-for-shares program. UK Labour leader Burnham sought to reassure bond markets amid public spending fears, with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch accusing him of being unable to refuse spending requests in the first Prime Minister's Questions. Indonesia's solar push offers lessons for the global energy transition, highlighting both momentum and obstacles around green energy shift.

Other News

Leanne Morgan, the 60-year-old Southern comic, has become a breakout star with big tours, a Netflix series and Judd Apatow's adoration, a red-state phenomenon with blue-state celebrity. A Nepalese family's green-painted "miracle house" survived the floods that destroyed everything around it, drawing visitors to take photos. David Booth, founder of Dimensional Fund Advisors, reflects on life, stocks and not trying to beat the market in a new book about embracing uncertainty. A Princeton graduate reflects on going to the Ivy League to become a "so-so Indian," realizing that in this country Indians were not supposed to be happy but to pursue suffering. OpenAI has restricted its Astra model over cyberattack risks after discovering it can hack with minimal human help, while Honeywell Aerospace settles a cyber whistleblower case and CrowdStrike helps law enforcement take down a botnet. A new college M&A tool from Forvis Mazars is trying to connect schools with potential partners as higher education faces a shrinking pipeline of students.

Market Structure & Regulation

A vital tenet of US equity markets is under threat as SEC reforms risk the ability of investors to compare companies, with the quarterly reporting proposal facing strong opposition. The trucking crackdown in the US is impacting retailers and the Shein IPO, with regulators stepping up enforcement. UK regulator warns that companies risk being overwhelmed by frontier models' findings, as AI spots cyber gaps faster than financial firms can fix them.