Good Afternoon. On this day in 1908, William Durant incorporated General Motors. His theory was that several carmakers assembled under one company could grow faster than any single brand could alone.

Today, the Federal Reserve tried a different kind of consolidation: bringing inflation back under control with its first rate increase in three years. Stocks fell after officials raised their benchmark range to 3.75%–4.00%, while strong retail sales and hotter import prices suggested households and businesses haven’t fully hit the brakes.

—Rosie, Wyatt, Evan & Conor

🔥 What’s Hot: 🔥

🥶 What’s Not: 🥶

🔢 Big number: 4.00% — the top of the Federal Reserve’s new target range after officials unanimously approved their first rate increase since 2023.

The Federal Reserve isn’t waiting for inflation to settle on its own. Officials raised interest rates for the first time in three years, reversing last year’s easing cycle after energy costs and stronger demand made price stability harder to defend.

The news: The Fed didn’t split on the decision: all 12 voting members supported a quarter-point increase, lifting the federal funds target to 3.75%–4.00%. The central bank described economic activity as solid and inflation as elevated, while its latest projections pointed to another increase later this year.

Bottom line: One increase won’t instantly slow prices or spending, but it raises the cost of carrying debt and resets expectations for mortgages, business loans, and bonds. Investors will now watch whether demand cools without turning a preventive move into a longer tightening cycle.

Source: Federal Reserve

American consumers haven’t stopped spending just because borrowing and fuel cost more. Retail sales rebounded sharply in August, giving the Fed fresh evidence that demand can keep the economy moving while also making inflation harder to tame.

The news: August sales didn’t merely recover from July’s revised 0.5% decline; they climbed 1.2%, beating economists’ expectations for a 0.7% increase. Spending excluding gasoline rose 1.1%, while the narrower control group used in gross domestic product calculations jumped 1.4%.

What’s next: Healthy spending gives businesses room to protect revenue, but it doesn’t guarantee healthy margins if imported goods, wages, and financing keep getting pricier. The next test will be whether households can sustain this pace without leaning harder on credit.

Source: Associated Press

Rocket Lab hasn’t closed its Iridium acquisition, but it has removed a large financing question. Completing a multibillion-dollar share sale gives the space company the cash it needs while replacing a temporary bridge loan with a more durable capital structure.

The news: Rocket Lab didn’t stop at raising $1.944 billion through the sale of 29.3 million shares. Iridium’s lenders also approved changes to its existing $1.775 billion term loan, allowing Rocket Lab to cancel a planned $3.6 billion bridge facility ahead of the expected mid-2027 closing.

Big picture: Funding certainty lowers deal risk, but shareholders have paid through dilution and regulators still need to approve the transaction. Rocket Lab will eventually have to prove that combining launch, satellites, and Iridium’s communications network creates more value than the financing costs.

Source: Rocket Lab

SPX Technologies isn’t treating data-center growth as a chip story alone. Its acquisition of FIS Water adds equipment that manages and controls water in cooling systems, giving the industrial company another way to participate in the infrastructure behind computing demand.

The news: SPX didn’t disclose a complicated financing package; it completed the all-cash purchase for roughly $410 million. FIS Water’s products support cooling towers and other water-management applications serving data centers, health care, manufacturing, and institutional buildings.

Bottom line: The deal broadens SPX’s cooling platform at a time when dense computing is increasing demand for heat management. The opportunity is attractive, but the purchase price will need to be justified through integration, cross-selling, and reliable growth beyond the current data-center buildout.

Source: SPX Technologies

BKV isn’t buying Barnett Shale wells in isolation. Its latest acquisition combines natural-gas production, processing, gathering lines, and carbon capture, reinforcing a strategy built around controlling more of the energy chain around the Dallas–Fort Worth market.

The news: The acquired assets don’t lack scale: they include more than 65 million cubic feet equivalent per day of production, about 117,000 net acres, roughly 1,000 operated wells, and a gas plant with 180 million cubic feet per day of capacity. Terms weren’t disclosed, and BKV used cash plus its revolving credit facility.

What’s next: Shared infrastructure could lower operating costs and direct more gas toward regional power demand, but debt-funded expansion still has to earn its keep. Investors will watch commodity prices, decline rates, and whether the carbon-capture assets can grow alongside production.

Source: BKV

Britain’s inflation rate isn’t moving toward target in a straight line. Higher fuel prices and airfares pushed the headline measure to a five-month high, complicating the Bank of England’s decision just as households hoped borrowing relief might be closer.

The news: Consumer prices didn’t hold at July’s 2.9% pace; inflation accelerated to 3.1% in August, above the central bank’s 2% target. The Bank of England’s benchmark rate stands at 3.75%, and policymakers are expected to keep it unchanged when they meet Thursday.

Big picture: A pause won’t solve the tradeoff between weak growth and expensive essentials. If energy keeps feeding into transport and business costs, the bank may have to leave rates higher for longer even as families and employers feel the squeeze.

Source: Office for National Statistics

Japan’s exporters haven’t lost momentum, but imports are growing even faster. A weaker yen and costly energy widened the country’s trade deficit, showing how a strong factory sector can still leave the overall goods balance under pressure.

The news: August exports didn’t stall, rising 19.3% from a year earlier to about ¥10 trillion. Imports surged 28% to roughly ¥11.15 trillion, producing a fourth consecutive monthly deficit of about ¥1.1 trillion, or approximately $7 billion.

Bottom line: Strong overseas demand supports manufacturers, but it doesn't stop the larger import bill from sending income abroad and raising costs at home. Japan now needs export gains to persist while currency and energy pressures ease, or the trade gap could become another obstacle for household purchasing power.

Source: Japan Ministry of Finance

The European Union doesn’t currently have an associate-member category, but its president wants to invent one for Canada. The proposal reflects how U.S. trade friction is pushing both sides to explore a relationship deeper than their existing free-trade agreement.

The news: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen didn’t provide a finished legal framework, because one doesn’t exist yet. Her proposal would build on the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement as Canada tries to diversify an export economy that still sends roughly 70% of its goods to the United States.

What’s next: Canada and the EU will need to define what associate membership means before businesses can price in any benefit. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s expected remarks Thursday and an October summit may show whether the idea becomes a negotiating plan or remains political signaling.

Source: Associated Press

Q: Why did the tomato turn red?

A: Because it saw the salad dressing.

Cost of capital: the return a business must offer investors and lenders, which isn't limited to the interest charged on borrowed money, to justify financing its operations or a new project.

In a sentence: Today’s Fed increase raised the cost of capital, forcing companies to clear a higher bar before borrowing, expanding, or buying another business.

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