You're listening to Markets Desk, your midday read on the stories moving markets and the broader world.
Escalating conflict in the Middle East is putting fresh pressure on energy markets and global shipping lanes. Saudi Arabia struck Houthi targets in Yemen after the Iran-backed militia attacked Red Sea commercial vessels, with Greek security sources confirming two ballistic missiles were intercepted. The second front in the broader Iran conflict is tightening the risk premium on crude.
That oil surge is feeding directly into Federal Reserve calculations ahead of next week's policy meeting. Investors are now pricing in a meaningful probability of another rate hike, with sharp energy price gains threatening to reignite inflation just as the Fed had hoped to hold steady. Traders are calling the meeting, quote, live, and bond markets are responding accordingly, with short-duration yields climbing on the repricing.
Away from policy, a remarkable entrepreneurial story out of Canada. An eleven-year-old named Ashton Meyer is cleaning neighbors' trash cans for ten dollars each, building a legitimate small business after school let out in May. He has amassed one hundred thousand social media followers, a timely story given that teen summer employment is tracking at its worst level since nineteen forty-eight.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
