Finance, in brief

Muse is a personal AI helper from Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram. It does tasks for people online, not just answer questions. [1][2]

Meta launched it two weeks ago, and it has been the top app on Apple's US App Store since Friday. [1]

Meta's shares jumped 11.3% on Monday. Analysts pointed out that Muse got more downloads in its first 13 days than ChatGPT did. [3]

On Tuesday investors sold the companies they think Muse could hurt. A broad index of US financial companies fell 2%, and the S&P 500 bank index fell 3%. [4]

Charles Schwab, which holds savings and investments for millions of Americans, fell 6.1%. Ameriprise fell 4.4% and Raymond James more than 3%. [4]

Allstate, a big US car and home insurer, fell 5.5%, its sixth losing day in a row. [5]

JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo each fell more than 2.5%. [6] Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan did the most damage to the Dow, which fell 0.4%. [7][8]

The fear is simple. An app that moves idle cash to a better account, re-shops insurance at renewal and cancels unused memberships takes money from firms that rely on customers not bothering. [2]

The same fear hit other kinds of company. Booking fell 3.9%, Expedia 3.7% and Verizon 2.8%, and the gym chain Planet Fitness lost 10.6%. [2]

Companies that let Muse work through them rose. Shopify, which runs online shops for sellers, gained nearly 7% after saying Muse will handle checkout on its platform. [9]

PayPal rose 3% after a deal to let Muse users shop and pay through PayPal's network of sellers. [10]

Amazon went the other way. On Sunday it blocked Muse from buying on its site, saying it had not been told in advance. [1]

Banks had a second worry. The gap between what the US government pays to borrow for two years and for ten fell as low as 0.18 points, the smallest since March 2025. [4]

That gap was 0.555 points on 18 August. [4] Banks borrow for short periods and lend for long ones. A fund manager at Gabelli said the smaller gap could eat into their returns. [4]

Why it matters. Watch whether OpenAI launches its own helper in the next week or two, as analysts expect, and whether more big shops follow Amazon and keep Muse out. [1]

The US Treasury sold $69 billion of two-year notes on Tuesday at 4.787%, the highest rate at such a sale since May 2024. [14] A note is a loan to the US government that is repaid in a few years. It sells $70 billion of five-year notes on Wednesday and $44 billion of seven-year notes on Thursday. [21] Richmond's Tom Barkin and Boston's Susan Collins, two US central bank officials, both backed last week's rate rise. [11]

Why it matters. Futures now put a 54% chance on another US rate rise in October. [11] A higher two-year rate feeds into car loans, credit cards and the cost of short business loans.

Brent crude, the price most of the world uses for oil, fell below $100 a barrel on Tuesday. [16] Japan's Kyodo News reported that Iran offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if the US took steps to ease military pressure. [16] It ended the day at $99.25, down 1.1%. [23] Oil has now fallen five days running, about 10% in all, and US energy shares lost 6% over those days. [22]

Why it matters. Most of the Gulf's oil normally leaves through Hormuz. Brent is still 37% above where it was when the war began in late February. [24] Donald Trump said US and Iranian officials met for three hours in New York. [8]

Saudi Arabia is testing its East-West pipeline, which carries oil across the country to the Red Sea, after drone strikes shut it. [25] If the tests pass, exports from the port of Yanbu could restart within a couple of days. [25] Reuters, citing three sources, reported that operations had already restarted. [3] Meanwhile Saudi Aramco, the state oil company, is sending more tankers through Hormuz and asking Asian buyers to collect off Oman. [25]

Why it matters. The pipeline is the main way to sell Saudi oil without passing Hormuz, so a restart would add supply fast. Houthi fighters in Yemen have stepped up attacks on Saudi energy sites, and the G7 asked Iran to stop arming them. [26]

Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, said the US government is deciding whether to ban exports of diesel. [8] Diesel averaged $6.53 a gallon in the US, according to AAA, a motoring group. [8] Bessent said officials are checking whether refineries could cope, and whether a full or partial ban would work. [8] Trump raised the same idea at the UN, as a way to curb soaring fuel prices. [23]

Why it matters. Europe relies heavily on US diesel, so analysts said a ban could push up prices there. [11] Diesel runs lorries and farm machines, so its price ends up in the cost of food and deliveries.

The Dutch TTF, the benchmark for gas in Europe, fell 2.5% to 71.44 euros a megawatt-hour on Tuesday. [25] An analyst at Commerzbank, a German bank, said the fall has a limit. [25] Gas from Qatar travels by ship, and unlike oil it has no other route while Hormuz stays officially closed. [25] Europe's gas stores are well below their five-year average before winter, and EU officials meet on Thursday. [25]

Why it matters. Low stores going into winter make home heating and factory energy bills in Europe more likely to rise. Europe already faces a gas shortage that could push energy prices higher, Reuters reported. [11]

The dollar steadied near its strongest level in two months on Wednesday. [27] One euro bought $1.1446, close to its weakest since late July. [24] A run of rate rises from big central banks, with more expected, is driving currency markets. [24] One currency strategist said futures already expect more US rate rises than the US central bank's own forecasts show. [24] The British pound traded near a two-month low. [16]

Why it matters. A dearer dollar makes oil and other dollar-priced goods cost more in euros and pounds. The yen sat at 157.55 per dollar, and traders are watching for Japan to buy its own currency. [24]

The Nasdaq, the US share index heavy with technology firms, closed at a record on Tuesday, its fourth rise in a row. [8] The wider S&P 500 finished slightly lower and the Dow fell 0.4%. [8] Only 14 stocks on the New York Stock Exchange reached a one-year high that day, while 75 hit a one-year low. [28] On Monday, bets on further rises through options, which are contracts to buy later at a set price, reached their highest since May. [28]

Why it matters. When a record rests on a few large tech companies, a stumble by those few can move the whole index. Wall Street's fear gauge sat at a low 14.21. [8]

Samsung and SK Hynix, South Korea's two big memory chip makers, rose more than 2% on Wednesday, and Korea's main index gained 1.2%. [11] Reuters said consumers taking up Meta's Muse helped lift the companies that make computing hardware. [11] Each Muse helper runs on its own virtual computer, so it uses a lot of computing power. [1] In New York, Sandisk rose more than 6% and Micron more than 3%. [28]

Why it matters. Memory chips store the data AI programs work on, so more AI use means more chips sold. An analyst at the broker Pepperstone noted that chip shares have now risen six days in a row. [11]

Bankers began approaching investors to sell $49 billion of debt that pays for Paramount's $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros Discovery. [29] It includes about $30 billion of bonds rated safe, $7.5 billion of loans and about $12 billion of riskier bonds. [29] The riskier ones are paid back only after the first lenders. Paramount hopes to close the deal in about two weeks, before late fees start after 1 October. [30]

Why it matters. The loans are set up so that Paramount, not its banks, pays more if interest rates rise. [29] In 2022 banks lost money when rates jumped on buyout loans they could not sell. [29]

Big buyers of company bonds are treating bonds from AI companies with caution while bidding eagerly for others, Reuters reported. [12] The giant cloud companies are expected to borrow a record $420 billion next year, 60% more than this year, according to Goldman Sachs. [12] Their bonds now pay about 1.15 points more than US government debt, against 0.78 points across all safe company bonds. [12] Aon, an insurance broker, sold $13.5 billion of bonds this month and drew $65 billion of orders. [12]

Why it matters. Buyers are not worried about default, managers said; they worry about how much more borrowing is coming. [12] That makes each new data centre a little dearer to pay for.

Accelevation, an Ohio company that makes power and cooling equipment for data centres, aims to sell shares at $20 to $24 each. [13] That would value it at up to $5.37 billion and raise up to $720 million, mostly to pay off debt. [13] Other AI listings are wobbling. SB Energy, a SoftBank-owned data-centre builder, has delayed its sales pitch to investors, and Holtec suspended its listing last week. [4]

Why it matters. Accelevation is one of a wave of firms selling shares to investors who want AI stocks. [13] Olympus Partners, the firm that bought it in January 2025, will keep about 85% of the votes. [13]

Nvidia, which makes the chips most AI runs on, now trades at less than 17 times the profit it is expected to make in the next twelve months. [31] That is close to its cheapest in more than a decade, according to Bloomberg data. [31] In May the figure was above 25, and in 2025 it was twice today's level. [31] A falling ratio means investors expect its fast profit growth to slow. [31]

Why it matters. Nvidia is among the largest companies on the US market, so a change in how investors value it moves many people's pensions and index funds.

Nth Cycle, a US start-up, signed a $1 billion, ten-year deal to supply Glencore, a giant commodities trader, with metals taken from old batteries. [32] Nth Cycle will turn crushed batteries into lithium and a nickel-rich material. [32] It received a $100 million US government grant in August and has doubled the size of its planned plant. [32] It plans to list its shares through a merger valuing it at $585 million. [32]

Why it matters. Lithium and nickel go into electric car batteries, and US buyers want supplies that do not come from abroad. [32]

Binance, a big crypto exchange, bought a $100 million stake in Circle, which issues USDC. [33] USDC is a stablecoin, a digital token meant to be worth exactly one dollar, and about $75 billion of it exists. [33] Binance paid $80.84 a share, and Circle will pay Binance a monthly fee to promote USDC. [33] The same day SoFi, a US financial app and bank, said stablecoin settlement is now live across its debit and credit cards. [9]

Why it matters. Stablecoins are moving from crypto trading into everyday card payments, which is where banks earn their fees.

The European Central Bank and the 27 national central banks of the EU said stablecoin issuers should not have to keep a set share of their money in bank deposits. [34] The EU's crypto law now makes the biggest issuers keep 60% there. [34] The central banks said that ties banks to the ups and downs of crypto. [34] They also said regulators struggle to stop unlicensed crypto firms reaching EU customers. [34]

Why it matters. If a stablecoin shrinks fast, deposits vanish from the banks holding its reserves; the central banks want that money in assets that repay within days instead. [34]

Britain's government spent 18.3 billion pounds more than it collected in August, the Office for National Statistics said. [19] That is 2.9 billion pounds more than in August last year, a setback before next month's budget. [19] Britain's ten-year borrowing rate rose to 5.239% after the figures. [20] Germany pays 3.469% and France 4.522% for the same ten years. [20]

Why it matters. A government paying more to borrow has less left for schools and hospitals, and British mortgage rates follow the same market.

Consumer confidence in the 21 countries that use the euro fell 1.0 point to minus 16.5 in September, the European Commission said. [18] Economists had expected a smaller drop, to minus 16.0. [18] The fall came as energy prices rose again after fighting in the Middle East escalated. [18] The figure is a monthly survey of how households feel about money.

Why it matters. Weak household spending is already holding back the euro-area economy, analysts at the bank ING said. [35] Dearer energy leaves households less to spend in shops.

South Africa's treasury received offers of 14.7 billion rand, about $906 million, for 2.55 billion rand of bonds on Tuesday. [36] That is nearly six times what was on sale, against 3.2 times at last week's sale. [36] Economists expect August inflation of 4.5% and a quarter-point rate rise from the South African Reserve Bank, the country's central bank, both due on Wednesday. [37] The country's 2035 bond paid 8.65%. [37]

Why it matters. Investors snapped up South Africa's high rates before the inflation figures and the rate decision. [36] A rise would make loans dearer for South African households and firms.

Foreign investors have sold $1.7 billion of Indian shares so far in September, taking this year's total to nearly $26 billion, the most ever. [38] India's main index of big companies, the Nifty 50, is down more than 10% since January. [38] The bank Bernstein said India's largest firms are protecting old businesses rather than investing in new ones. [38] Mid-sized companies grew profits 31% last quarter, against 11% for the big ones. [38]

Why it matters. India is still the fastest-growing big economy, yet its biggest companies are losing foreign money. [38] Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank trade near one-year lows. [38]

Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, told Congress that the US has the best-performing bond market in the developed world. [39] A Treasury official told the New York Times he compares the rise in ten-year rates with Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Japan. [39] Measured from the start of the Trump administration, the US rate rose less than all five. [39] Since January, though, Germany has done best. [39]

Why it matters. US ten-year rates are near a two-decade high, which means bond savers have lost value and home buyers pay more. [39]

The US Treasury keeps just under $1 trillion in its account at the US central bank, like a chequebook for the US government. [40] At a New York Fed panel, market firms backed lending some of it out for short periods against bonds, so it earns interest. [40] They asked for a predictable process. [40] John Williams, head of the New York Fed, said the US central bank's tools for steering short-term rates work well. [41]

Why it matters. When cash leaves that account it becomes money inside the banking system. [40] Market firms want those moves to be predictable rather than random. [40]

Sales of previously owned US homes fell 2% in August, the second monthly fall in a row. [15] The weekly average mortgage rate from Freddie Mac, a big home-loan company, is 6.95%, the highest since January 2025. [15] Applications for home-buying loans were 19% lower than a year earlier. [15] Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett's company, disclosed buying more than 2.7 million shares in Lennar, a housebuilder, whose stock rose 4%. [9]

Why it matters. Prices have not come down: the typical home sold for $429,100 in August, 1.6% more than a year earlier. [15] Buyers face higher payments on higher prices at the same time.

Medicare, the US government health plan for older people, has been paying 16% more for laboratory tests than private insurers do, a report from the agency that runs it found. [9] The agency said it will bring most of its payments into line with private prices. [9] Shares in Quest Diagnostics fell 5.3% and Labcorp 3.6%. [9] Both run testing labs that bill Medicare.

Why it matters. The cut saves taxpayers money and takes it from two of the biggest US lab companies.

Amgen, a big US biotech company, said its drug dazodalibep worked in a late-stage trial for adults with Sjogren's disease. [9] Its shares rose more than 3%. [9] Sjogren's is an illness in which the immune system attacks the glands that make tears and saliva. Roche, the Swiss drugmaker, said its obesity drug enicepatide met its main goals in a mid-stage trial, lowering blood sugar and weight. [42]

Why it matters. A late-stage win is the last step before asking regulators to approve a drug.

Anthony Tan, chief executive of Grab, the Singapore-based ride-hailing company, disclosed he bought 10.4 million of its shares. [9] Grab's shares jumped more than 7%. [9] Ryan Cohen, who runs GameStop, the video-game shop chain, disclosed buying 1.2 million GameStop shares, and the stock gained 4%. [9] Bosses must report their own trades in public.

Why it matters. Investors read a boss spending his own money on shares as a sign he expects them to rise.

Capri, which owns the fashion brands Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo, has been in contact with potential buyers, the trade paper WWD reported, citing sources. [9] Capri's shares rose 7% on the report. [9] Its brands sell handbags, shoes and clothes in shops around the world.

Why it matters. A sale would put two well-known handbag and shoe brands under new owners.

On, the Swiss sportswear company, set a goal of at least 5.6 billion Swiss francs, about $6.8 billion, of sales by 2029. [9] It also aims to keep 65% of each sale as gross profit, and to buy back up to $1 billion of its own shares by December 2029. [9] It kept this year's forecast. [9] Its shares jumped more than 10%. [9]

Why it matters. A buyback returns cash to shareholders by shrinking the number of shares, which leaves each one a bigger slice of the profit.

Vicor, a US power electronics company, said it expects sales this quarter to grow more than 20% from the last one. [9] Its earlier forecast was nearly 10%. [9] Its shares rallied 14%. [9] A forecast is a company's own promise to investors, so raising it this much is a strong claim.

Why it matters. A company that doubles its own forecast in the middle of a quarter is usually seeing orders arrive faster than it planned.