Energy
The strait that shook the world
Seven months after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, the bill for the biggest energy-supply shock on record is still arriving
By Kourosh Marashi · October 16th 2026Back on the brakes
An oil shock has pushed America’s central bank into its first rate rise since 2023. Kevin Warsh may not be done
The $700bn question
America’s tech giants are spending like railway barons. Investors are starting to ask what they will get back
Five per cent and counting
America’s long-term borrowing costs have hit their highest in a generation. Deficits, inflation and a shrinking Fed share the blame
The week in brief
- The Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time since 2023, to 3.75-4%. Read more
- Ten-year Treasury yields touched 5.36%, a 24-year high, before easing to about 5.14%. Read more
- Brent crude settled near $106 a barrel as the Strait of Hormuz stayed largely closed. Read more
- America’s four biggest cloud firms now plan to spend about $730bn on investment this year. Read more
- US IPO proceeds passed their 2021 record, with SpaceX raising roughly $75bn. Read more
- Central banks bought about 63 tonnes of gold in September, yet bullion is 27% below its January peak. Read more
- The SEC granted five years of relief for trading tokenised shares backed by real stock. Read more
- America’s effective tariff rate was 7.1% in June, down from 10.9% before the Supreme Court’s ruling. Read more
More stories
Trade
Tariffs, take two
The Supreme Court struck down America’s emergency tariffs. Eight months on, most of them have been rebuilt on other legal foundations
Capital markets
The window blows open
2026 is the biggest year for American stock listings on record. Much of the money went to a single company
Retail investors
Main Street’s trading floor
Small investors now account for a third of share trading on busy days. They have done better than the professionals expected
Commodities
Fool’s gold?
Bullion has fallen by more than a quarter from its January peak, even as central banks buy at the fastest pace in two years
Market plumbing
Shares that never sleep
America is rewiring its stockmarket for round-the-clock, on-chain trading. The hard part is not the technology
Investing
Why stockpickers keep losing
Four in five actively managed funds trailed the S&P 500 last year. Arithmetic explains most of it
Special report
What Moves the Stock Market?
Stocks have paid handsomely for 125 years. Today’s prices, rates, and an AI boom put that record to the test.
Read the report