Welcome to Markets Desk, here's what's moving markets and the macro picture right now.
Mortgage rates have climbed for a third consecutive week, reaching their highest level since June of this year, while existing home sales have now fallen for three straight months. The combination signals a housing market under genuine stress, caught between stubborn borrowing costs and buyers who simply cannot pencil the numbers.
Shifting to energy and geopolitical risk, an attack on a key Saudi oil pipeline launched from Iraqi territory has rattled the region, with Iraq moving to close two major border crossings with Iran in response. President Trump appeared to attribute blame to Tehran while striking a notably calm tone, saying, quote, everything's going to work out fine and dandy. Markets will be watching crude closely as the situation develops.
And in the technology space, Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei is urging competitors to voluntarily slow artificial intelligence development, calling on rivals to allow embedded external auditors into their operations and coordinate a deliberate pause that would give regulators room to catch up. It is a remarkable posture from a sitting CEO inside the industry driving that very acceleration.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
