Finance, in brief

Warren Buffett stepped down on Friday as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, the company he has led since 1965. [1] He turned 96 on 30 August. [4]

He becomes chairman emeritus, an honorary title, with immediate effect, and stays on the board of directors. [2][5]

His son Howard Buffett becomes chairman, as Berkshire's long-standing succession plan said he would. [2][6] Howard is 71 and has sat on the board since 1993. [3][5]

Greg Abel, 64, already runs the company day to day. [1] He took over from Buffett as chief executive in January. [3]

In his letter to shareholders Buffett wrote that Greg runs the company and Howard will guard its culture and values. [2] He said Abel has exceeded his sky-high expectations. [2]

Berkshire is a group worth about $1.1 trillion. [3][8] It owns the BNSF railroad, the car insurer Geico and many energy, industrial and retail companies. [3]

Buffett built it from a failing textile mill that he took over at 34. [1] Under him Berkshire returned 19.7% a year to its owners, almost double the S&P 500, the index of 500 big US companies. [1][9]

Buffett still owns more than 13% of Berkshire's shares but about 30% of its votes. [3] Both numbers will fall as his shares pass to foundations run by his children. [3]

Howard's job is non-executive, which means he chairs the board while Greg Abel runs the companies. [3] He has been a farmer, a sheriff and a charity head, but has never led a public company. [3]

Cathy Seifert, an analyst at the research firm CFRA, called that lack of management experience a weak spot in the plan. [3]

Berkshire's shares peaked on 2 May 2025, the day before Buffett said he would stop being chief executive. [7] Since then its B shares have fallen 5.7%, while the S&P 500 rose 34%. [7]

Berkshire's shares are up just 1% this year, against more than 11% for the S&P 500. [1] It holds about $365 billion in cash, and Abel spent $4.5 billion buying back its own shares in the second quarter. [1]

Why it matters. The next thing to watch is how fast Buffett's shares move to his children's foundations, because that is when his 30% of the votes begins to spread out. [3]

Paramount Skydance, the film and TV group run by David Ellison, is buying Warner Bros. Discovery, the owner of CNN and HBO. [11] California and 11 other states sued in July to block it, saying one company could raise prices across film and television. [11] People close to the talks said on Friday that a settlement could come this weekend. [11] The terms being discussed include an outside monitor for CNN's news and a promise on how many films reach cinemas. [11]

Why it matters. Paramount's shares rose nearly 7% after the market closed, and Warner's rose 8.4%. [11] From 30 September Paramount must pay Warner's shareholders $7 million for every day the deal stays open. [11]

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, an index of 30 big US companies, fell 1.7% this week. [15] It was its third weekly fall in a row and its worst week since March. [14] The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% for the week, while the Nasdaq, which is full of tech companies, rose 0.7%. [15] On Friday the S&P 500 closed at 7,650.50, up 0.2%, even though most US shares fell. [13]

Why it matters. The week held a US rate rise, a 5% ten-year borrowing rate and calls from AI bosses to slow down. [16] The Dow fell the most after the rate rise, while investors bought AI companies again. [15]

The US government's two-year borrowing rate rose on Friday to 4.741%, its highest since July 2024. [17] That rate moves with what traders expect from the US central bank, which raised its rate on Wednesday and signalled another rise. [17][50] Germany's ten-year rate reached 3.572% this week, its highest since 2009. [18] Britain's hit 5.493%, its highest since 2007, before both eased back on Friday. [18]

Why it matters. The New York Times traced the climb to the Iran war: bond traders began pushing long-term rates up two days after it began on 28 February. [19] An analyst at the broker Capital.com said heavy government borrowing keeps long-term rates high whatever central banks do. [49]

Brent crude, the global oil price, was near $103 a barrel on Friday, after settling at a four-month high of $108.75 earlier in the week. [20] Prices eased on hopes that Saudi Arabia can restart part of its East-West pipeline, which Yemen's Houthi forces attacked. [23][22][10] But Saudi Arabia told European customers they will get no crude next month. [21] Oil through the Strait of Hormuz averaged 10 million barrels a day, against 17.1 million before the war, the data firm Kpler said. [22]

Why it matters. Saudi Arabia has given no date for restarting the pipeline. [22] Asian countries that import most of their energy lose a route around Hormuz, and analysts say their refineries feel it first, then their prices and currencies. [24]

Gold rose 2.3% on Thursday to $4,360 an ounce and added another 0.5% on Friday. [25] It had fallen more than 1%, to about $4,240, straight after the US central bank raised its rate on Wednesday. [25] Gold pays no interest, so higher rates usually make it less attractive than a bond that does. [25] Japan's central bank also raised its rate on Friday, and gold kept its gain. [25]

Why it matters. A weaker dollar and cheaper oil helped, but the article's author says they do not explain a rebound this large. [25] Worry about war, government debt and central banks buying gold are the other reasons it lists. [25]

Volkswagen, the German carmaker, cut its forecast for the whole of 2026 on Friday. [26] It blamed a hard market, especially in China, and more costs for restructuring the company. [26] It also wrote down the value of Porsche, the sports-car maker it controls. [26] A write-down means Volkswagen now says Porsche is worth less than it had recorded, and that loss comes off its profit. [26]

Why it matters. Volkswagen's shares fell 5.58% on the news. [26] The report did not say how large the Porsche write-down is. [26]

A bill in the US Congress would let the US government put tariffs of up to 100% on countries that buy a lot of Russian oil, including India and China. [27] India is the world's third-largest oil importer and one of the biggest buyers of Russian crude. [27] India's government warned on Thursday that the bill could damage relations and disrupt energy markets. [27] A planned US-India trade deal has already been delayed several times. [27]

Why it matters. If India buys less Russian oil, fuel could cost Indians more before state elections early next year. [27] If it keeps buying, Indian exporters could face tariffs in the US, their largest market. [27]

InPost, a Polish company that runs parcel lockers in nine countries, said 89.81% of its shares were handed over in a takeover offer. [28] The buyers are FedEx, the US delivery company, the investment firm Advent International and some existing InPost investors. [28] They agreed in February to pay 15.60 euros a share, about 7.8 billion euros in cash. [28] The 80% minimum has been passed. [28]

Why it matters. InPost will leave the Euronext Amsterdam stock market once the deal closes, but it keeps its name, its managers and its head office in Poland. [28] Its shares had struggled since 2021 against tougher rivals at home and heavy spending. [28]

Orion180, a Florida company that insures homes in 14 US states, began trading on the Nasdaq exchange on Friday. [29] It sold its shares at $12, below the $15 to $17 it had asked for, and raised $240 million. [29] The shares opened lower, at $11.50, which values the company at $1.14 billion. [29] Its main markets are Texas, California and Florida, where floods and wildfires have pushed insurance prices up. [29]

Why it matters. The rate rise and higher borrowing costs are putting investors off new share sales, Reuters reported. [29] Bamboo Insurance, backed by the investment firm CVC, plans to list next week at a value of $3.24 billion. [29]

Airtel Money, the mobile-money arm of the African phone company Airtel Africa, is considering raising at least $800 million in its London share sale, Bloomberg reported. [30] It had aimed for $1.5 billion to $2 billion. [30] It may also value itself at $8 billion to $9 billion, down from $10 billion, after hearing from investors. [30] Airtel Africa's shares fell 8.5% in London on Friday. [30]

Why it matters. Airtel Money could file as early as next week and start trading in October. [30] A smaller sale at a lower value means Airtel Africa gets less money for the part of the business it sells. [30]

Softcat, a British company that sells computer equipment and services to businesses, raised 354 million pounds by selling new shares. [30] The money helps pay for its $1.05 billion purchase of GDT, a US company. [30] Softcat issued about 18.7 million shares at 1,890 pence each, about 9.5% more shares than it had before. [30] The rest comes from 100 million pounds of cash and new loans. [30]

Why it matters. Softcat's shares fell 2.8%, and each existing owner now holds a slightly smaller slice of the company. [30] In return it gets a US business that works on networks, data centres, AI equipment and cybersecurity. [30]

RoboTechnik, a Chinese maker of machines that build solar cells and parts for AI data centres, plans to start its Hong Kong share sale on 21 September. [31] It wants to raise about $800 million, two people close to the deal said. [31] It is already listed in Shenzhen, where its shares are up 166% this year. [31] Its revenue rose 144.8% in the first half, and it made a profit after a loss a year earlier. [31]

Why it matters. It would set its price on 24 September and start trading on 29 September. [31] It plans to spend the money on research, factories, selling abroad and possible purchases. [31]

Dillard's, a US department store chain, said on Friday it will move its main stock market listing from the New York Stock Exchange to the new Texas Stock Exchange. [32] Two regional banks, Origin Bancorp and Texas Capital, announced the same move this month. [32] All three should start trading there in October. [32] The new exchange is backed by BlackRock, Citadel Securities and Charles Schwab, and promises lighter rules than New York. [32]

Why it matters. Companies on the Texas exchange must be registered in Texas, where a 2025 law makes it harder for shareholders to sue a company. [32] Exxon Mobil and Tesla moved their head offices to Texas but have not moved their listings. [32]

EDF, France's state-owned nuclear power company, wants to sell a minority stake in Edison, an Italian energy company, to help pay for new reactors. [33] It had studied selling Edison shares on the stock market. [33] But Edison buys gas from QatarEnergy, which has cancelled deliveries since April because the Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed. [33] EDF is now considering a deal in which buyers get paid first from Edison's cash, up to a set target return. [33]

Why it matters. EDF would keep the majority of Edison and control of it, while the new investors, probably big funds, get paid ahead of other owners. [33] EDF is expected to decide at the end of September. [33]

Bolivia's lawmakers approved on Friday a $1.9 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, which lends to countries in money trouble. [34] Bolivia is short of dollars. [34] Its government says it inherited $3.17 billion in reserves, of which only $52 million was cash it could use. [34] The deal should open the way to more than $5 billion from the World Bank and other lenders. [34]

Why it matters. In return Bolivia must cut its budget gap and end its fuel subsidies, so Bolivians will pay more for fuel. [34] Bolivia's government says the cuts must come with protection for the poorest people. [34]

Zscaler, which protects company computer networks, rose 19.76% this week, the best of the US shares Morningstar covers. [35] Tenable and Qualys, two more cybersecurity companies, rose 17.72% and 16.4%. [35] They climbed as worry grew about the safety of powerful AI, and some of the gain was sold on Friday. [36] Anthropic and Accenture also agreed to spend $2 billion over five years on checking AI systems for safety. [37]

Why it matters. The rise came as the heads of Anthropic and OpenAI called for more safety checks on AI, and Microsoft published new safety rules. [37] Accenture will use Faculty, an AI testing company it bought in March, for the Anthropic work. [37]

Wells Fargo, a big US bank, told investors on Friday to hold fewer Netflix shares than the market as a whole does. [40] It was the first negative call on the streaming company in months. [40] Its analysts estimated that people watched 8% less Netflix in the first half of 2026 than in the same months of 2023. [39] They said Netflix has lacked big original series. [39]

Why it matters. Netflix is pushing games, documentaries, reality shows and video podcasts. [39] The analysts said that without a breakout hit the shares will not recover. [39]

Sales in British shops rose 0.5% in August from July, when economists had expected a 0.2% fall. [41] They were 2.4% higher than a year earlier. [41] The pound rose slightly, to $1.337. [41] The Bank of England kept its rate at 3.75% on Thursday but said inflation will probably peak above 4% early next year. [41]

Why it matters. Traders now see about a 65% chance that the Bank of England raises its rate in November. [41] One economist said strong shop sales are one more thing pushing it that way. [41]

Foreign investors sold a net $457 million of government bonds in South Korea, Malaysia, India, Indonesia and Thailand in August. [42] It was the first month of net selling since March. [42] Rising interest rates around the world and worry about inflation made those bonds less attractive. [42]

Why it matters. Borrowing rates in Germany and Britain reached their highest in more than 15 years this month, so investors can earn more closer to home. [18][42]

Investors put money into US shares at the fastest pace in three months last week, a Bank of America report said on Friday. [43] They took money out of company bonds at the same time. [43] The bank warned that investors are too optimistic and that company profits look set to peak next year. [43]

Why it matters. The bank said a sudden jump in what risky companies pay to borrow would be the clearest sign that the US economy is weaker than its central bank thinks. [43]

The average rate on a 30-year fixed US home loan was 7.09% on Friday, according to Bankrate, a site that compares loans. [44] A 15-year loan averaged 6.46%. [44] Mortgage rates went above 7% this month for the first time in more than a year. [44] The US central bank does not set them directly, but its rate rise on Wednesday adds pressure. [44]

Why it matters. Mortgage rates follow the US ten-year borrowing rate, which touched 5% early this week for the first time since 2023. [13]

Mark Carney, Canada's prime minister and a former head of the central banks of both Canada and England, said on Friday that Canada is strong. [45] He pointed out that the US government now pays much more to borrow than Canada's does. [45] He said markets are starting to separate the strong from the weak. [45] He spoke after a week in Europe, where he backed a much closer alliance with the EU. [45]

Why it matters. Canada suspended trade talks with the US government last month over tariffs. [45] A Canada-EU summit follows on 29 and 30 October in Montreal. [45]

President Trump said on Friday that the US and Denmark had reached a security agreement over Greenland, a self-governing territory of Denmark. [46] It allows more US troops on the island. [46] Trump said no US adversary can make sensitive investments in Greenland without written US approval. [47] Reuters reported that the deal stops well short of Trump's wish to take over the island. [47]

Why it matters. Greenland stays Danish, but Trump said the US will start building a large military presence there at once. [46] Companies from countries the US government calls adversaries now need its written approval to invest in sensitive projects. [47]

Dianomi, a small British company that places adverts for publishers, accepted a takeover by Taboola, a US advertising company. [48] Taboola will pay 64 pence a share in cash, which values Dianomi at 19 million pounds. [48] Up to 24 pence more a share depends on Dianomi's publishers accepting new terms, which could lift the price to 27 million pounds. [48] Dianomi's shares jumped 74%. [48]

Why it matters. Owners of 75.3% of Dianomi's shares have already agreed to sell. [48] Its chief executive said it needs Taboola's size to compete as online advertising changes. [48]