Oil rises 1.8% as Asia opens on Monday. Trump turned down Iran's plan to reopen Hormuz, and Iran says it will not soften it

The rest of the day

17 more stories on this beat.

Each with its own sources. None of these is a link to the story above.

1. 02

   Northern Star turns down Gold Fields

   Northern Star, Australia's biggest gold miner, said on Monday it had turned down Gold Fields, a South African miner. [14] Gold Fields offered 0.3125 of its own shares plus 7.25 Australian dollars in cash for each Northern Star share. [13] That came to about A$27 a share, or A$38.7 billion ($27.1 billion), 22% above what Northern Star's shares were worth on 11 September. [13][14] Chairman Michael Chaney said the price fell well short of the company's value. [13] Northern Star has cut its output forecasts several times, and Elliott, a big investor, has pushed it to consider a sale. [15][13]

   • Cash7.25 A$ · 27%
   • Gold Fields shares19.75 A$ · 73%

   Why it matters — Northern Star told Gold Fields on Friday that it would not discuss the offer further, so Gold Fields must raise it or walk away. [13] Gold Fields has been buying in Australia, including Gold Road Resources for $2.4 billion. [15]

2. 03

   Money pours out of Asia's share markets

   Foreign investors pulled an estimated $192 billion out of Asian share markets in September up to the 25th. [22] The old record for one month was $45 billion, in 2025. [22] That is the count of Manishi Raychaudhuri, a former BNP Paribas analyst, writing a column for Reuters. [22] He blames US 10-year borrowing rates of 4% to 5%, which pull money to the US. [22] Separately, foreign buyers put a record $426 billion into US shares and funds in the second quarter, chasing the AI boom. [23]

   $192bnOut of Asia, September

   vsvs

   $45bnOld monthly record, 2025

   Why it matters — Currencies of countries that buy more from abroad than they sell, such as India, Indonesia and the Philippines, fell hardest, which makes imports dearer. [22] Inflation is 6.1% in the Philippines, and its central bank and Indonesia's have each raised rates three times this year. [22]

3. 04

   Britain's finance minister makes his first big speech

   John Healey, Britain's finance minister, makes his first speech to the Labour Party conference in Liverpool on Monday. [16] He will back firms that build for the military, such as three floating docks for submarines on the Clyde in Scotland. [16] He must also fill a 4.7 billion pound gap in the defence plan. [16] His first budget is on 28 October, and he is skipping many conference events to work on it. [17] The OECD, an economic research group, has just raised its British growth forecast for this year to 1.1% and cut its inflation forecast to 3.1%. [19]

   Why it matters — Energy costs from the Iran war and tight public money leave him little room. [16] Tax rises, spending cuts or both could be on the way, the AP reports. [18]

4. 05

   Europe and Japan face their own tests this week

   Forecasters expect euro-area prices in September to be 3.7% higher than a year earlier, the fastest rise in three years, when the figure comes out on Friday. [12] Markets expect up to four more quarter-point rate rises from the European Central Bank within a year. [11] In Japan, the Tankan, a big central-bank survey of companies, is expected on Thursday to show large manufacturers at their most hopeful since December 2017. [11][12] Markets expect more than four rate rises from Canada's central bank over the next year. [11]

   Why it matters — A high euro-area figure would add to the case for a third European Central Bank rate rise this year. [12] That would make loans dearer in the countries that use the euro.

5. 06

   Indian shares fall for a seventh week

   India's main share indexes ended lower for a seventh week in a row. [10] The Sensex, an index of 30 big Indian companies, hit its lowest in more than three months on Thursday, then rose 0.43% to 73,895.74 on Friday. [10] Analysts blame oil above $100 a barrel, rising borrowing rates abroad and steady selling by foreign investors. [10][24] Economists at ANZ, Citi, HSBC and Deutsche Bank expect the Reserve Bank of India to raise its main rate in October. [25]

   Why it matters — India's central bank has already drained more than half of the spare cash in the banks, because that cash, dear oil and a weaker rupee all push prices up. [25] ANZ expects three rises in a row, taking the main rate to 6%. [25]

6. 07

   AI builders pay more to borrow

   The US government's 10-year borrowing rate is near 5.17%, up about a point since January, so AI data-centre builders pay more to borrow. [26] JPMorgan estimated in June that $4.1 trillion of AI-related debt will be sold by 2030. [26] Shares of Oracle, which borrows heavily for AI, fell 7% last week. [26] Bloomberg had reported that it sent a legal notice to protect itself from higher costs at its New Mexico data centre. [26] It would let Oracle delay paying for the site if it is not running by 2028; Oracle says the project is on schedule. [26]

   Why it matters — Riley Thompson of Mitsubishi HC Capital America told CNBC that lenders are getting choosier. [26] He said the market really wants to fund only about 20 of 50 smaller AI cloud companies. [26] Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft borrow more cheaply because of their strong credit ratings. [26]

7. 08

   Warburg Pincus bids a third time for Ingenia

   Ingenia Communities, an Australian company, said on Monday it is weighing a third offer from Warburg Pincus, a private equity firm, meaning one that buys whole companies. [20][21] The new offer is A$5.25 a share, or about A$2.14 billion. [20] Ingenia's board turned down A$4.75 and then A$5.05, saying both were far too low. [20] Warburg still wants Ingenia to drop its planned $711 million purchase of Peet, a builder of new neighbourhoods. [20] Ingenia's shares rose as much as 7.1%, to their highest since late January. [20]

   Why it matters — After two refusals, the offer is now 10.5% above the first one. [20] The board has still not said yes, and has made no recommendation to shareholders. [20]

8. 09

   Ukraine asks for $27 billion more

   Ukraine is asking its partners for another $27 billion this year for defence. [33] It says the war costs more as Ukraine and Russia trade long-range drone and missile attacks. [33] President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday that the EU and the IMF understand Ukraine needs the help. [33] Ukraine expects to need more than $52 billion of foreign financial help next year. [33] Its finance minister, Sergii Marchenko, said an IMF team comes in November to review Ukraine's loan, and a plan for next year's budget is needed by then. [33]

   Why it matters — Zelenskiy says drones must be ordered in October and November, or Ukraine faces trouble at the start of next year. [33] Ukraine has also asked the EU to pay part of a loan early. [33]

9. 10

   Senegal hopes to finish its debt rework soon

   Senegal's president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, said he wants to finish reworking the country's debts quickly. [30] His first aim is a $2.2 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund. [30] Senegal plans to rework its foreign-currency debt but leave out debt in the regional CFA franc. [31] S&P Global Ratings said African banks hold only that local debt, and not much of it, so they face little risk. [31] Even a 70% cut to local debt would leave them above the capital rules, S&P estimated. [31]

   Why it matters — Leaving local debt out suggests that lenders owed foreign currency would take the losses, S&P said. [31] Those lenders could get less money back, less interest, or later payments. [31]

10. 11

    The IMF changes how it writes its loans

    The International Monetary Fund, which lends to countries in trouble, said on Thursday that its loan programmes should ask for fewer but deeper reforms. [28] Its review covered programmes from 2018 to 2024, years of trade war, the pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. [28] The IMF still favours early budget cuts, because they go with programmes that work. [28] But it says cuts should go only as far as possible, with spending kept to protect the poorest. [28] Its board backed the changes. [28]

    Why it matters — Critics such as Jubilee USA say past IMF terms cut health spending in some poor countries. [28] They also say countries keep falling back into debt. [28]

11. 12

    A top ECB official moves to the IMF

    Isabel Schnabel, a member of the executive board of the European Central Bank, which sets interest rates for the euro, is set to leave in January. [29] She is going to a senior job at the IMF, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. [29] Schnabel would run the IMF's department for money and financial markets. [29] Her eight-year term at the European Central Bank would have ended next December. [29]

    Why it matters — She leaves just as markets expect up to four more rate rises from the European Central Bank within a year. [11][29]

12. 13

    Tata firms face a hard vote

    Companies in India's Tata Group must soon vote on whether Natarajan Chandrasekaran stays on the board of Tata Sons, the group's holding company. [27] Tata Sons' board voted on 17 September to keep him as executive chairman for five more years. [27] But Noel Tata, who chairs the Tata Trusts, opposes it, and the trusts own a majority of Tata Sons. [27] About 10 group companies, including Tata Motors and Tata Steel, own 12.86%. [27] The annual meeting was put off in August for lack of a quorum. [27]

    Why it matters — The group companies fear any vote will be read as taking a side, and some may not vote at all. [27] Tata Sons may ask a company-law court to let the meeting go ahead without the trusts' nominee. [27]

13. 14

    Airtel Money files to list in London

    Airtel Money, which runs mobile payments for customers in Africa and is 77% owned by Airtel Africa, has filed to list its shares in London. [19] Reports value it at more than 6 billion pounds. [19] That would make it the biggest new listing in Britain since Wise in 2021. [19] Britain has had only 11 new listings of more than 100 million pounds since the start of 2023. [19] Meanwhile Schroders and Beazley, two big London companies, leave the stock market in October after being bought. [19]

    Why it matters — Britain's stock market is slowly shrinking because more companies leave than join, says Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell. [19] One big listing does not change that on its own, he says. [19]

14. 15

    Help to Buy may come back

    Analysts at RBC Capital Markets expect Britain to bring back Help to Buy in the 28 October budget. [19] The scheme ran from 2011 to 2023. [19] It lent first-time buyers up to 20% of a new-build home's price, or 40% in London. [19] A government review found it raised new housing supply by 15% and added 25.1 billion pounds to the economy. [19] Shares in housebuilders such as Vistry and Crest Nicholson have been hit hard this year by the Iran war and dearer mortgages. [19]

    Why it matters — The loan made it easier for buyers to find a deposit and pass a lender's checks. [19] RBC says a return would be the biggest boost the housebuilders could get. [19]

15. 16

    Trump's fraud figure is hard to check

    US Vice President JD Vance, who leads the Trump administration's task force on fraud, said this month that it had found 250 billion dollars of fraud. [32] A New York Times check found some of the task force's figures overstated or vague. [32] Some rely on cases that began before Trump's second term. [32] The task force's own list claims more than 300 billion dollars found or stopped. [32] It gives details for only about 47 billion dollars of that. [32]

    Why it matters — A senior Trump administration official said the task force does not list each case, to avoid harming live investigations. [32] So nobody outside can check the total. [32]

16. 17

    India widens compulsory pension saving

    India has raised the part of monthly pay on which retirement saving is compulsory, from 15,000 rupees to 25,000 rupees, from 17 September. [34] The change is expected to bring about 10 million more workers into the Employees' Provident Fund, the national savings scheme for workers. [34] It follows minimum wages above 15,000 rupees in seven states and territories, including Delhi and Maharashtra. [34] Employers must also pay more into workers' pensions. [34]

    Why it matters — A worker earning 25,000 rupees a month now puts in 3,000 rupees instead of 1,800, taken from the worker's pay. [34] The employer's payment into the worker's pension rises to 2,083 rupees from 1,250. [34]

17. 18

    Romania pays blood donors in bonds

    Romania has raised $604 million since 2025 by offering blood donors government bonds that pay more interest than usual. [35] The scheme also helps with the country's blood shortages. [35] S&P Global Ratings may update Romania's credit rating on Friday. [12] After months of political trouble, Romania sits on the lowest investment grade, and is in danger of a cut to junk, the grade for riskier borrowers. [12]

    Why it matters — Governments with big deficits are working harder to borrow from their own citizens, using rewards, marketing and tax breaks. [35]