Iran War Pushes Up Energy and Borrowing Costs, Squeezing U.S. Households Ahead of Midterms

usehold bills. After shipping in the Strait of Hormuz was disrupted, expectations for oil supply tightened, while costs for tanker insurance, transport and storage rose. Those pressures quickly showed up at gas stations, in freight rates and in business o

Banking Stocks Tailwind Near End as Veteran Analyst Exits to Gold and Income Assets

ptember, selling all of his bank stocks and rotating into precious metals, energy stocks and income-producing assets, while using put options to bet against some consumer lenders. His core judgment is that rising credit costs and higher consumer default r

AI Return on Investment Concerns Rise as Trillions in Infrastructure Spending Face Impairment Risk

timately generate sufficient cash returns. The firm said AI-related revenue from 2027 to 2030 may fail to cover all planned capital expenditures, leaving more than $3.5 trillion of AI infrastructure investment exposed to potential impairment. Newer cloud

Bangkok Annual Meetings Focus on AI Investment and Debt Risks

spending, elevated debt levels, widening global imbalances and a lack of robust policy coordination among major economies. The IMF has offered a tiered assessment of which economies are best positioned to benefit from the AI upcycle. Countries deeply emb

France Street Clashes Escalate as Fiscal Pressure Builds Ahead of Budget Vote

ies. Authorities said nearly 2,400 people were arrested and about 1,000 police officers and gendarmes were injured. The unrest came as the government was set to enter a critical phase of voting on the 2027 budget, adding pressure to already tight fiscal p

China Coffee Market Shifts From Scale Race to Operational Quality

strength of a coffee company. Now, single-store profitability, customer repurchase and long-term cash flow have become more closely watched indicators. The rise of local consumer culture is also pushing coffee brands to rethink the Chinese market. The do

Warsh Offers No Clear Support for More Rate Hikes as Global Stocks Rebound and Dollar Eases

remarks at an International Monetary Fund event in Bangkok. Bets on another Fed rate hike this month cooled sharply, with traders cutting the odds from more than 25% to about 15%. The shift quickly spilled over into currency and equity markets, as global

Sticky Inflation Brings Duration of High Rates Into Focus

rates will remain elevated. The U.S. Consumer Price Index rose 0.6% month-on-month and 3.7% year-on-year in September, with gasoline prices up 9.1% on a monthly basis and acting as the main driver of overall inflation. Energy prices have a direct impact o

Gold Prices Retreat as China\'s Gold Market Enters Q4, With Central Bank and ETFs Continuing to Add

while RMB-denominated gold also weakened in tandem, though the quarter as a whole still ended with a modest gain. In September, international gold prices fell 8.5% and RMB-denominated gold declined 5.5%, while RMB gold prices still rose 3% in Q3, narrowi

China Gold Market Enters Fourth Quarter After Price Pullback as Central Bank and ETFs Keep Buying

d back sharply and gold priced in Chinese yuan also weakened, but both still posted modest gains for the full quarter. In September, international gold prices and yuan-priced gold fell 8.5% and 5.5%, respectively. Yuan-priced gold still rose 3% in the thi

Gold Becomes Less Sensitive to US Treasury Yields as Institutions See Pressure Easing Within the Year

. Earlier, the 10-year US Treasury yield briefly climbed to 5.30%, and the 10-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities yield also approached 3%, but gold did not register a pronounced decline commensurate with the sharp rise in rates. A senior officia

Gold Pullback Leaves Long Term Logic Intact as Mining Profit Resilience Draws Attention

me institutions see this as a window for future allocation. An investment bank in its latest metals and mining report said that although higher bond yields have weighed on gold, the longer-term bull case has not been broken, and the gold mining sector is

U.S. Retail Forex Customer Funds Contract Again in August After July Rebound

ightly in August. At the end of August, the six firms liabilities to retail customers totaled $469.96 million, down $1.61 million, or 0.34%, from July. In July, customer deposits increased by $9.27 million, or 2.01%, to $471.58 million, after standing at

U.S. Treasury Yields Break Above 5% and Edge Toward 6% as AI Capital Surge Clashes With Economic Fragility

amie Dimon said he is not directly forecasting that 10-year Treasury yields will reach 6%, but investors need to prepare for such an extreme scenario. He stressed that a one-percentage-point rise from the 5% level seen in September would hit markets far h

Prominent Hedge Fund Founder Warns of Severe Headwinds for US Equities in 2027, Turns Bullish on Crude Oil

. He anticipates that by 2027, the U.S. stock market could face its most adverse capital supply-and-demand dynamics since 2002. Despite the ongoing bull market, which has lasted nearly four years, the legendary investor has explicitly declared his intenti