Welcome to Markets Desk, here's what's moving the needle right now.
Tensions in the Middle East are escalating fast. The U.S. military struck three Iranian oil tankers over the weekend after Navy warships were targeted with missiles, warning it would destroy Iran's entire oil fleet if necessary. The move signals a sharp return to active confrontation after months of stop-and-start conflict, and energy markets will be watching closely when trading opens.
On the macro front, President Trump is pushing back hard against the Federal Reserve after Friday's stronger-than-expected jobs report. Rather than welcoming the data, Trump called out what he described as stupidity causing inflation and threatened to cut off trade with countries he believes are driving up interest rates. The comments add fresh uncertainty to an already complicated rate outlook heading into the fall.
And on the corporate side, Greg Abel, Warren Buffett's successor at Berkshire Hathaway, is making his mark in a decisive way. Abel deployed four point five billion dollars into a single stock last quarter and has added at least three point three billion more in the current quarter, breaking two long-standing streaks from the Buffett era and signaling a more aggressive capital deployment posture at the conglomerate.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
