General News - September 13, 2026 at 12:30 PM

Top of Mind
Hot CPI plus an oil supply shock now frames Wednesday: Aug CPI 3.4% y/y, core +0.3% m/m, Brent ~$104.61 after Saudi shut the East-West pipeline and Houthis took Bab al-Mandeb. Fed futures price ~87% for a +25bp hike. Stocks bounced Friday but all major indexes fell for the week; 10y 4.974%, 2y 4.642%. A hold would risk a long-end selloff, per BoA. Watch China crude restocking as the marginal oil upside.

Catalyst Radar
FOMC Wednesday; US Aug retail sales. Saudi/Hormuz headlines remain tail risk. SB Energy’s AI-infrastructure IPO may price this month; AHA Lp(a) data in November.

Analyst / Opinion Columns
Heard on the Street sees political promises adding inflation risk; Cramer sees 2018 rhymes—oil near $100, sticky inflation, new Fed chair—but says trim winners, hold cash. Zweig favors TIPS.

Markets

• Equities: S&P +0.86% to 7,656.98, Dow +0.98% to 52,573.29, Nasdaq +0.96% to 26,333.04; all lower for the week.
• Rates: 10y 4.974%, highest close since Oct 2023; 30y 5.354%; 2y 4.642%; dollar rose.
• Oil: WTI $100.05 (-2.4% Fri, +9.4% wk); Brent $104.61 (+8% wk). Global stocks down 400M barrels; $120 calls if disruption persists.
• Gold $4,366; silver $64.55.
• EU gas: storage 67%, 15-yr low; TTF spot +75% since June; Germany/Netherlands ~50%. Cheniere and Venture Global are spot-LNG beneficiaries.
• Flows: Nasdaq 100 rebalance lifts SpaceX weighting; bitcoin ~$77k.

Economy

• Real avg hourly earnings -0.3% y/y as CPI 3.4% outruns 3.1% wages; gasoline +3.9% Aug, diesel $6. UMich dropped to 47.8; trade-down broadens (Costco/Walmart).
• Fed path: futures price more than one hike; higher-for-longer becoming base case.

Business/Finance

• Oracle: Ellison canceled 50M-share/$7.5B sale; no shares sold. ORCL -1.7% Fri, -23% YTD on AI-debt fears.
• PayPal: Lores goes standalone after Stripe/Advent ~$60.50 bid stalled; Venmo money-management push; PYPL $53.
• Cardio pharma: Novartis pelacarsen failed CV outcomes; Novo inflammation trial failed; Amgen worst day in decades. AHA rival data in Nov.
• Kalshi/Coinbase: Kalshi seeks first regulated US single-stock perps on TSLA/AAPL/NVDA plus ~60 names; Coinbase filed; Hyperliquid volume $212B.
• Block filed OCC charter for Builders Bank & Trust: stablecoin/bitcoin custody only.

World/Geopolitics

• Middle East: Saudi East-West pipeline cuts up to 7M b/d bypass; Houthis control Bab al-Mandeb; US blockade redirected 100 vessels. BRICS urged ceasefire; Pezeshkian rejected surrender.
• Sanctions: Treasury cut Banque Misr UAE, alleging $1.8B routed via US correspondent accounts; JPM/Citi named. $9B Iranian funds moved via US banks in 2024.
• BRICS/China: Xi as peace broker/AI-tech leader; Modi pushes border peace and local-currency trade; India-China deficit record $112B. Trump tariff pressure drives hedging without formal de-dollarization.

Technology/AI

• OpenAI rules out 2026 IPO; Amodei pacing plan backed by Altman/Musk as safety collides with IPO calendar.
• Software incumbents resilient: Salesforce +22% after beat/Anthropic; Snowflake, ServiceNow, Workday strong.
• SB Energy IPO: zero operating data centers; $430B backlog 90% tied to Ohio 10GW campus; $174B capex—long cash burn.
• AI memory kills sub-$100 phones: shipments -60% y/y; Xiaomi/Oppo ASPs +30%; memory ~60% of sub-$200 BOM.

Standouts

• Polymarket/KPMG: 98% win rate over 42 earnings bets, $22K; charges considered—event-contract integrity risk.
• Bending Spoons: NRR ~94%; amortization-heavy adjusted earnings; 14x revenue/100x earnings—short case.
• Berkshire: GE’s $11.75B CPP deal implies Precision Castparts ~$100B vs $37B cost; B shares trail S&P by 10pts.
• GM/F battery: GM domestic sodium-ion cells with Peak Energy; DOT hits Ford’s CATL tie—China supply chain fault line.
• Chime buys Stride Bank for $590M; Bancorp fell 20%.