Finance, in brief

Flames and thick smoke rose from Aramco's oil refinery south of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capital, on Saturday. [2][11] Fire engines, ambulances and police were at the site. [2]

Yemen's Houthis, an armed group backed by Iran that holds most of north-west Yemen, said they hit the site with ballistic missiles and drones. [1][7]

Aramco is Saudi Arabia's state-controlled oil company and the most important company in its economy. [11] Neither Aramco nor the Saudi government had confirmed the cause of the fire or any damage. [1][4]

The Houthis called it revenge for Saudi air strikes on Sanaa, Yemen's capital. [1] Their TV channel counted 26 strikes on the city on Thursday night. [2]

Early on Sunday, the forces of Yemen's government, which Saudi Arabia backs, said they were striking 'vital targets' in Sanaa and in Saada, a Houthi stronghold. [5][3]

This war had mostly stopped after a 2022 truce. [5] It restarted in July, when the Houthis declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia and began attacking its land and ships. [5]

Since then the Houthis have taken Yemen's whole Red Sea coast, next to the Bab al-Mandab, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. [6] More than 800 people have been killed, the World Health Organization says. [6]

Last week the Houthis said they fired at Aramco sites in Yanbu, a Saudi oil port on the Red Sea. [2] Saudi Arabia said it shot down six missiles and reported no damage. [2][4]

Saudi Arabia has asked the US for help, reports say, and President Donald Trump has so far said no. [7]

Brent crude, the world's main oil price, closed on Friday at $102.25 a barrel. [8] Oil does not trade at weekends, so Monday's opening is the first price since the fire.

Oil had still fallen about 2% over the week. [9] The G7 group of rich countries had agreed on Friday to release up to 100 million barrels of fuel and crude from emergency stocks. [8]

Diesel is already scarce. [8] In Britain the average litre passed 2 pounds for the first time on Friday, up 40.5% since the war on Iran began in late February. [10]

Why it matters. Watch whether Saudi Arabia or Aramco says how badly the refinery was hit before trading opens on Monday, and whether Brent stays above $100 a barrel once it does. [8][1]

Iran loaded no oil at its export ports in September, the first time since its 1979 revolution, according to Kpler, a firm that tracks tankers. [12] A US naval blockade since mid-July has stopped nearly all of its sales. [12] Its currency, the rial, has fallen to a new low near 2.7 million to the US dollar on the street market. [1] It was about 1.5 million in January. [12] Iran's central bank began selling up to $2bn to hold it up. [1]

Why it matters. Oil pays for about a third of Iran's state budget, and prices inside Iran are rising by nearly 90% a year. [12] Iran's president says money it is owed for oil sold to China is stuck there. [12]

The United Arab Emirates has committed about 30 billion pounds to Britain. [14] Its officials warned that 'the Premier League's actions' against Manchester City would 'have an influence' on relations, Bloomberg reported. [13] The club is owned by Sheikh Mansour, one of the most senior figures in Abu Dhabi. [15] It was found guilty of 114 of 115 charges of breaking football's money rules, and has appealed. [13][16] A UK-UAE investment summit is planned for this month. [14]

Why it matters. Britain's prime minister, Andy Burnham, said he would be 'really concerned' to lose the club's owners. [13] One expert told AFP the balance of power still favours Britain: the UAE is a small country in a dangerous region, and makes up only 1.3% of UK trade. [15]

Scope, a European firm that grades how safe it is to lend to governments, kept the US at AA-, three steps below the top grade. [19] It warned that the US is paying ever more interest on its debt. [19] The US government's interest bill reached $1.1 trillion in the year to September, more than it spends on defence. [19] Scope expects the US to hit its $41.1 trillion legal borrowing limit early in 2027. [19]

Why it matters. Every rise in the rate lenders charge adds to that bill, and a group that tracks the budget estimates one extra point would add $3.5 trillion over ten years. [19] A fight in Congress over the limit after November's vote could shake markets again. [19]

Jim Chalmers, Australia's treasurer, said on Sunday the war on Iran has been an economic disaster. [17] He blamed it for higher prices and higher interest rates around the world. [17] Australia's central bank had raised its rate to a 15-year high, partly because of energy prices. [17] Chalmers said rising bond rates would add 'some billions of dollars' to his government's interest bill. [17]

Why it matters. Australians pay through dearer fuel and dearer home loans, and their government through dearer borrowing. [17] Chalmers flies to Japan on Sunday to talk about energy and fuel supplies. [17]

Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Ukraine will attack more Russian oil refineries. [43] He said it was an answer to a new Russian plan to bomb a wider range of civilian targets before winter. [43] Russia says its strikes answer Ukrainian attacks inside Russia. [43] Zelenskyy also said a Ukrainian push had won back about 140 square kilometres in the Donbas region. [43]

Why it matters. The world is already short of fuel because of the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. [8] Fewer Russian refineries working would mean less fuel for sale.

The US government will lend about $4.2bn to Vistra, a big power company, a person familiar with the plan said on Saturday. [23] Energy Secretary Chris Wright is due to announce it on Monday at Vistra's nuclear plant on Lake Erie in Ohio. [23] The money will help at least three of Vistra's four nuclear plants make more power, which needs no new licences. [23] Its six reactors already make enough for about 3.25 million homes. [23]

Why it matters. US demand for power is growing for the first time in decades, driven by AI data centres, electric transport and crypto mining. [23] Trump has set a goal of four times as much nuclear power by 2050. [23]

Gold fell more than 3% last week and silver more than 6%. [9] The US dollar rose above 102 on its main index for the first time since April 2025. [9] Gold briefly passed $4,200 an ounce twice but closed below $4,150. [9] This week traders wait for the minutes of the US central bank's last meeting. [9]

Why it matters. Gold pays no interest, so it suffers when government bonds pay more and the dollar is strong. [9] A softer jobs report on Friday cut bets on a US rate rise in October, but did not lift gold. [9]

Companies raised a record $47.5bn by selling shares in Hong Kong from July to September. [27] Alibaba's $10.2bn sale of new shares was the biggest deal. [27] New listings alone raised $48.4bn in the first nine months, about double the year before. [28] Across Asia, third-quarter share sales passed $120bn, the most for the period in six years. [27]

Why it matters. Chinese firms are raising money to spend on AI, some only months after their last round. [27] But only two of Hong Kong's ten biggest deals since July are worth more now than when they were sold. [27]

Local objections have delayed or cancelled about $42bn of data-centre projects in Europe and about $77bn in the US, STL Partners, a research firm, says. [29] More than 70 European projects were rejected or limited from January to April. [29] Scotland has paused approvals for very large data centres. [29] Amazon promised to publish its water and power use and to spend more than $1bn over five years in data-centre counties. [30]

Why it matters. The builders need land, power and water that local people control. [29] Some US towns now win money from them, such as bonuses for teachers in Louisiana paid by Meta. [30]

Polymarket, a US-owned betting website, has taken $77,507 of bets on whether big banks such as HSBC and Lloyds will fail this year. [20] People in Britain, the US, Canada and the EU are banned from that version of the site. [20] Britain's financial regulator, the FCA, said it has been talking to other regulators about such sites. [20] A member of Parliament warned that a fast-moving bet could help start a run on a bank. [20]

Why it matters. A bank run is when many customers pull their money at once. [20] Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse collapsed in 2023 after runs sped up by talk on social media. [20]

Trump said late on Friday that 20 million people on Medicare, the US health plan for older people, will get $90 each this month. [24][25] That is almost half of one month's premium of about $203. [25] The money comes from a fund Congress set up in 2008. [24] Trump has also promised $5,000 to every adult if his party keeps Congress in the 3 November vote. [24]

Why it matters. The $5,000 plan would need Congress and would likely cost more than $1 trillion, adding to the deficit. [24] Only 17% of Americans approve of how Trump is handling prices, polls show. [24]

Britain has put no import tax on Chinese cars, while the EU charges up to 45%. [34] EU officials reportedly told Britain it must, or face 'made in Europe' rules that would favour cars built inside the EU. [34] The EU takes 58% of UK car exports and China about 4%. [34] Chinese brands such as BYD have tripled their share of UK sales to 12% this year. [34]

Why it matters. British drivers get cheaper cars from China, and UK car plants depend on selling to Europe. [34] Chery, a Chinese carmaker, is in talks to build cars at Nissan's plant in Sunderland. [34]

Bain, a consulting firm, says AI companies will need $6 trillion of sales a year by 2031 to pay for the computing they are building. [31] About $4.2 trillion of that would have to come from products that do not exist yet. [31] McKinsey warned US government agencies that the price per AI answer is falling, but their total AI bill is rising. [31]

Why it matters. Nobody yet knows whether that much money will come in. [31] OpenAI and Anthropic are both preparing to sell shares. [31]

More than 800 workers at General Dynamics NASSCO, a San Diego shipyard building ships for the US Navy, won a 10% pay rise for the first year. [32] Last month 4,500 workers at Bath Iron Works in Maine won 17%. [32] At Ingalls Shipbuilding, wages will rise 35% to 47% by 2031. [32] At Huntington Ingalls, the biggest US shipbuilder, the average electrical supervisor has four and a half years on the job, against 20 in the mid-1990s. [32]

Why it matters. The Navy needs more ships, and a former Navy secretary said welders could earn the same at a roadside shop or at Amazon. [32] So the yards have had to pay more to keep them. [32]

AI and machines will cut demand for about 36 million US jobs by 2035 and create about 41 million, a McKinsey report says. [33] About 11 million workers, 7% of the total, would have to leave their line of work entirely. [33] Lower-paid workers are 7.6 times as likely to need a new kind of job. [33] Most cuts fall in office support, shops and transport. [33]

Why it matters. The new jobs are mainly in healthcare, building and management. [33] About 770,000 people a year would need to switch fields, 3.6 times the usual number. [33]

Hammersmith and Fulham, a council in west London, says it may have to raise its share of council tax by 150% in 2027-28. [35] Council tax is the yearly charge each home pays for local services. [35] Its government grant will fall by more than half, to 72.4 million pounds, under a new formula that sends money to poorer areas. [35] A typical family home would pay 29.11 pounds a week more. [35]

Why it matters. Six richer councils, including Westminster, may raise bills above the usual 5% limit next year. [35] Households in those areas pay for money moving to places hit hardest by cuts. [35]

House prices in Westminster fell 25.4% in a year, and in Kensington and Chelsea 14.7%, official figures show. [36] Across Britain prices rose about 2% over the same year. [36] A house first listed at 20 million pounds was cut to 14 million this year. [36] Savills, an estate agent, says owners who bought at the peak face losses of up to 25%. [36]

Why it matters. Agents blame higher property taxes, dearer borrowing and very rich foreigners leaving after a tax break for them was ended. [36] Ordinary Londoners still struggle with high rents and a lack of homes. [36]

About 80% of US homeowners with a mortgage pay less than 6%, and half pay less than 4%, so few want to move. [38] Mortgage rates rose above 7.5% this week, their highest in three years, CNBC reported. [37] About a third of home projects are being delayed or cancelled. [38] Analysts at Citi expect spending on home improvement to stay flat for a year. [38]

Why it matters. Shops like Home Depot and Lowe's sell fewer big items. [37] Owners now stay in their homes 10 to 11 years, against seven or eight before. [38]

Women have outnumbered men in the US workforce for eight months in a row, the longest stretch since 2010, Indeed, a jobs website, says. [39] About 1.2 million fewer men had jobs in September than a year earlier. [39] Women's jobs rose by more than 650,000. [39] Healthcare, where four in five workers are women, made more than half of September's job growth. [39]

Why it matters. Friday's report showed only 29,000 new US jobs in September. [39] Men lose out partly because the industries that are growing hire mostly women. [39]

Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett's company, raised its stake in Lennar, a big US housebuilder, to 11.2%. [26] It bought $53.6m of shares from Monday to Wednesday, a slower pace than the week before. [26] Morgan Stanley, a bank, started covering Lennar on Thursday with a price target of $65, about 19% below Friday's close of $79.81. [26]

Why it matters. Berkshire is betting that US housing recovers over many years. [26] For now the average 30-year US mortgage rate is 7.30%, its highest since late 2023, by one survey. [26]

Five members of the US House of Representatives criticised 7-Eleven and Circle K, the two biggest US convenience-store chains. [40] A Guardian investigation found they often charge more at the till than on the shelf. [40] 7-Eleven failed 47% of price checks in Colorado and Utah from 2023 to 2025. [40] Circle K failed 62% in North Carolina. [40] One member asked the Federal Trade Commission, the US consumer regulator, to investigate. [40]

Why it matters. Shoppers pay the higher price unless they check every receipt. [40] Both chains said they take price accuracy seriously. [40]

A top leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said on Saturday that prediction markets are gambling and morally wrong. [21] Prediction markets let people bet on events, from sport to elections. [21] Novig, a new prediction market for sports, said trading rose 94% around an advert starring the actress Sydney Sweeney. [22] First-time depositors rose by more than 218%. [22]

Why it matters. The Trump administration argues these sites are not gambling, so states should not limit them. [21] A federal judge ruled in August that Utah can apply its anti-gambling laws to them. [21]

Tesla had 169 of its Cybercab driverless cars approved for paid rides in Texas by Friday, up from 45 at launch a month ago. [42] Waymo, Alphabet's robotaxi company, had 1,154. [42] Some Cybercab riders complained of long waits and drop-offs in the wrong place. [42] Tesla shares are down 18% this year. [42]

Why it matters. Investors are counting on robotaxis because Tesla's car sales are shrinking under pressure from Chinese rivals. [42] Waymo already runs more than 500,000 paid rides a week. [42]

BT has briefly cut the broadband of some customers who ignored two years of letters about switching their landline. [41] Britain's old copper phone lines close at the end of January, and calls will move to the internet. [41] About 1.3 million copper lines are still left to switch. [41] BT says more than 80% of the customers it paused then switched over. [41]

Why it matters. A campaign group, Silver Voices, called it bullying. [41] Landlines and care alarms kept working during the pause. [41]