Good morning investors! Fear continues to rule the market as investors await more data and 30-year fixed mortgage rate tops 7% for the first time in over a year.
Today we cover:
Existing home sales dip
US-Iran war to continue
Oracle beats
📊 Economy and News
Existing Home Sales Dip in August as Supply Hits Decade High
Existing home sales fell 2% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.98 million units—the slowest pace since June 2025 with sales dropping to 14-month low in August. Sales were also down 1.2% from a year earlier, hit hardest in the Northeast and Midwest.
Higher mortgage rates weighed on activity (contracts largely signed in June–July when rates rose), though sales remain up 1.6% year-to-date.
Inventory rose to 1.62 million homes, a 4.9-month supply—the highest in more than a decade. Despite the increase, the median sale price climbed 1.6% year over year to $429,100, a new August high. Gains were strongest in the Northeast; the West was the only region to post a decline.
Luxury homes ($1 million+) were the only price tier to rise in sales (+3.9%), while lower-priced homes ($100k–$250k) dropped 10%. Homes spent an average of 31 days on the market. Cash buyers accounted for 27% of sales and first-time buyers 30%, while investor and second-home purchases fell to 15%.
Global hits:
IMF says global growth on track to reach 3% in 2026, but risks remain high.
ECB raises interest rates, bolstering bets for further moves.
Brazil services sector stalls in July, missing forecasts.
French economy set for only 0.4% growth this year.
US-Iran War and oil prices: U.S. crude oil prices surged past $100 a barrel on Thursday, with West Texas Intermediate futures jumping 6.7% to close at $102.48—the highest since mid-May.
Oil has climbed more than 18% in September; White House advisors have discussed the conflict potentially lasting past Inauguration Day in January 2029, contradicting President Trump’s claim that it would end right after the midterms. Plus, the worsening situation has raised risks of prices climbing above $120 a barrel and diesel exceeding $6 per gallon.
U.S. producer prices increased 0.4% in August, in line with forecasts, after a revised 0.1% rise in July, driven largely by a 4.2% jump in energy costs amid renewed U.S.-Iran hostilities. The Producer Price Index rose 5.4% over the past year. Food prices edged up 0.1%, while core goods (excluding food and energy) rose 0.4% and services gained 0.1%.
Some PPI components feed into the Fed’s preferred PCE inflation measure, though methodological changes starting in August may reduce the usual impact and could lead to downward revisions in earlier 2026 core PCE readings. With inflation still above target, markets assigned roughly a 62% chance of a 25-basis-point rate hike at the Fed’s mid-September meeting.
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📈 Stocks
S&P 500 7,591.70 (-0.57%)
DJIA 52,064.10 (-0.61%)
NASDAQ 26,081.72 (-0.65%)
BRENT CRUDE 107.54 (+6.42%)
* Prices as of Sep 11th, 12:20 AM UTC
Oracle Stock Rises After Earnings Beat
Oracle shares gained about 4% in extended trading after the company beat expectations for its fiscal first quarter. Adjusted earnings came in at $1.92 per share (vs. $1.74 expected) and revenue reached $19.35 billion (vs. $19.14 billion), up nearly 30% year over year.
Cloud revenue surged 62% to $11.61 billion, with cloud infrastructure more than doubling to $7.4 billion. Oracle guided for 30–34% revenue growth in the current quarter and raised its fiscal 2027 outlook to at least $90 billion in revenue. Remaining performance obligations hit $664 billion, and the company closed more than $30 billion in new AI contracts.
Despite the strong results, Oracle carries $125 billion in debt and reported deeper negative free cash flow amid heavy data-center spending.
Interesting: Ford announces $1 billion investment at Kentucky plant following DOT criticism on China.
Elon Musk’s Boring Co. turns to Middle East for expansion in reaching $23 billion valuation.
Surprising: President Donald Trump promised a $5,000 check for U.S. voters if Republicans win both the House and the Senate in the looming midterm election. Such a payout could cost more than $1 trillion and break federal law. The promise follows Trump’s proposed “DOGE dividend” and “tariff rebates.”
💵 Personal Finance
Trump Announces $500 Obamacare Refunds for Nearly 1 Million Enrollees
President Trump said the federal government will issue $500 refunds to nearly 1 million Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) enrollees in 30 states that use the federal exchange, starting in October. The payments, totaling about $500 million and drawn from surplus user fees, will mainly go to middle-income households that no longer receive premium subsidies after enhanced tax credits expired at the end of 2025.
Health policy experts called the amount a “band-aid” that does little to offset sharply higher premiums and noted the timing—just weeks before the midterms—appears aimed more at political damage control than meaningful relief. The announcement followed Trump’s separate proposal of a $5,000 “election dividend” for all adult citizens if Republicans win.
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