Finance Evening | Aug 31: Stocks Slip as Oil Jumps, Tim Cook Steps Down as Apple CEO, Rate-Hike Bets Heat Up

📊 North American Markets Today

---

1. Wall Street Slips as Oil Surge Revives Inflation Fears

Source: Reuters

U.S. stocks weakened on Monday as a war-related jump in crude prices revived inflation fears and raised the likelihood of tighter monetary policy. Spiking oil prices dampened investor risk appetite and pushed benchmark U.S. Treasury yields higher.

Investors continued to digest Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's hawkish tone on Friday at the Jackson Hole Symposium. Despite the broad sell-off, all three major U.S. stock indexes posted monthly gains in August, with the Nasdaq showing the largest percentage rise for the month and the Dow notching its fifth consecutive monthly advance.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 374.09 points (-0.70%) to 53,185.90, the S&P 500 lost 25.62 points (-0.33%) to 7,686.14, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 31.53 points (-0.12%) to 26,370.89. Financial markets are now pricing in more than a 65% chance of a 25-basis-point rate hike at September's meeting, according to CME's FedWatch tool.

Original article

---

2. Tim Cook Steps Down as Apple CEO, Staying On as Executive Chairman

Source: Fox Business

Apple CEO Tim Cook formally stepped down Monday, ending a 15-year tenure at the helm of one of the world's largest tech companies. He announced in April that he would step down as CEO at the end of August, and while he is leaving the role, he will remain with the company as executive chairman.

Cook's successor is John Ternus, who most recently served as Apple's senior vice president of hardware engineering. Cook became CEO in August 2011, when Apple co-founder Steve Jobs resigned six weeks before his death.

During Cook's tenure, Apple launched products and services including Apple Watch, AirPods, Apple Music and Apple TV+. The company became the first U.S.-based publicly traded company to reach a $1 trillion market cap in 2018, then crossed $2 trillion in 2020, $3 trillion in intraday trading in 2022, and $4 trillion in October 2025. Apple now has a market cap of roughly $4.6 trillion, second behind Nvidia's $5.25 trillion.

Original article

---

3. Trump Strikes New Drug Pricing Deals With Nine Drugmakers

Source: CNBC

President Donald Trump on Monday said he struck new drug pricing deals with nine drugmakers to voluntarily sell their medications for less, building on his push to link U.S. pharmaceutical prices to cheaper ones abroad.

According to the White House, the nine companies signing the deals are Alcon, Astellas Pharma, BeOne Medicines, BridgeBio, CSL, Kyowa Kirin, Sun Pharma, Teva Pharmaceuticals and UCB. Under the agreements, the companies agreed to provide discounts on outpatient drugs to every state Medicaid program so that prices align with what they charge in foreign countries.

The White House said the companies committed to invest at least $19.6 billion collectively in U.S. manufacturing in the near term. The new agreements bring the administration's total number of drug pricing deals to 26 companies, which Trump said represents 90% of the domestic pharmaceutical market.

Original article

---

4. GM Plans C$1.1 Billion Investment in Canadian Auto Sector

Source: New York Post

General Motors plans to assemble a heavy-duty pickup at an Ontario plant as part of a tentative deal with the Unifor union that would pump C$1.1 billion (US$791.31 million) into Canada's auto sector as it reels from U.S. tariffs.

Canada's auto sector currently faces 25% U.S. tariffs, and President Trump has pledged to double them to 50% on Jan. 1. According to Unifor's bargaining report, GM plans to spend C$144 million to add the next-generation GMC Sierra heavy-duty truck to a plant in Oshawa, and pledged not to immediately sell or close a second assembly plant in Ingersoll.

The C$1.1 billion investment includes a C$691 million commitment to support production of new V8 engines in Ontario that was previously announced in April, plus C$215 million to assemble a new-generation transmission at a plant in St. Catharines. The tentative agreement was reached Aug. 22 and covers 4,600 union members in Ontario.

Original article

---

5. Canadians Try an America-Free Lifestyle Amid Trade War

Source: Business Insider

As the U.S.-Canada trade war expands, some Canadians are purposely shrinking their shopping options by staying local. Earlier this week, President Donald Trump's 50% tariffs on about $20 billion in Canadian goods went into effect, prompting "dollar-for-dollar" retaliatory tariffs from Canada.

To push back, some Canadian businesses started displaying "Made in Canada" labels in their stores last spring, prompting shoppers to consider swapping U.S. grocery hauls for more locally sourced fare. Yet from analyzing "made in" labels to paying more for product swaps, Canadians say shopping locally doesn't come without a price.

Last year, some Canadian businesses promoting "made in Canada" products found themselves in a "maple washing" controversy — slapping maple leaf stickers onto imported products to indicate they are Canadian. Many shoppers now have to inspect labels more carefully, and local alternatives often cost more.

Original article

---

6. Bank of England Governor Warns AI Could Cause Global Downturn

Source: BBC

The governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, has warned G20 finance ministers that artificial intelligence could cause a global economic downturn and pose a significant cyber security risk to financial systems. Bailey said any collapse of growth in the AI sector could lead to a "future market correction" that spreads worldwide.

In an open letter to U.S. finance ministers on Monday, he said companies around the world should prepare for security breaches involving simultaneous disruption across multiple firms. Earlier this month, a group of 100 firms, including Google, Microsoft, Anthropic and OpenAI, urged countries to beef up their cyber defences before AI grows powerful enough to override them.

Bailey wrote in his capacity as chairman of the Financial Stability Board (FSB). He said a combination of highly priced stock markets, increased borrowing by investors, and the growing concentration of money into a small number of major technology companies could amplify any future market correction.

Original article

---

7. Rate-Hike Bets Heat Up After Warsh's Speech; September Odds Hit 66%

Source: CNBC

Just a few carefully chosen words from Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh at the Jackson Hole Symposium convinced markets he was serious about inflation and ready to recommend an interest rate hike within weeks. Following Warsh's keynote Friday, markets flipped on rate expectations, with odds of a September hike surging.

According to CME's FedWatch tool, the probability of a hike at the Sept. 15-16 meeting jumped to 66.1% on Monday, nearly double where it was before Warsh spoke. Some observers, however, warned that the hype for a hike is unjustified. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday he believes this is a supply shock, and that traditionally you don't raise into a supply shock unless you see second- or third-order effects, while core inflation has remained very restrained.

Citi economist Andrew Hollenhorst argued there was no consensus to raise rates at the July FOMC meeting, and data since then has shown cooler inflation and softer hiring. Bank of America, meanwhile, is holding to its call for three increases ahead, saying Warsh's speech showed markets a "more credible Fed."

Original article

---

8. Gold Falls Again After Friday's Biggest Drop in Months

Source: Forbes

Gold prices fell further Monday following their biggest decline in months on Friday, which analysts attributed to Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's speech calling for Fed action to cool inflation, as well as renewed tensions with Iran.

Gold futures were around $4,475 per ounce just after 10 a.m. EDT on Monday, down more than 1%, after hitting a low of $4,445.60 earlier in the morning. Gold had previously declined more than 3% on Friday, which Reuters reported was the metal's biggest one-day drop in more than 11 weeks.

Silver prices also slipped Monday to about $66 per ounce, down about 1%. According to CME's FedWatch tool, markets now see a 63.9% chance of a rate hike at the Fed's September meeting, up from roughly 36% before Warsh's speech.

Original article

---

9. Mortgage Rates Hit Highest Level Since June 2025

Source: CNBC

A jump in oil prices after renewed hostilities in the Iran war is pushing bond yields higher, and mortgage rates are following suit. The average rate on the 30-year fixed loan jumped 6 basis points on Monday to 6.87%, according to Mortgage News Daily — the highest level since June 2025.

The rate is now up 12 basis points since Thursday and has risen more than 30 basis points in the last two months. The expectation had been for falling rates this year, but the war with Iran and its resulting rise in oil prices upended that.

For someone buying a $450,000 home — right around the national median — putting 20% down on a 30-year fixed mortgage, the monthly principal and interest payment today would be $2,363, which is $207 a month more than it would have been at the end of February.

Original article

---

10. 'Die With Zero' Gains Momentum; Making It a Plan Is the Hard Part

Source: USA Today

"Die With Zero" encourages retirees to spend to their hearts' delight rather than scrimping, saving and ending up dying with few memories and experiences. The book's author, Skylar Capital founder Bill Perkins, advocates for people to stop accumulating retirement savings and instead spend the money to enjoy their lives to the fullest.

But some financial advisers warn the philosophy isn't right for everyone. A 2026 Allianz survey showed nearly half of Americans (48%) do not have a written financial plan.

Advisers note that "die with zero" requires a lot of planning. Meanwhile, research from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) found that about one-third of retirees still have 100% or more of their initial retirement assets remaining by their mid-80s — suggesting many people actually spend too conservatively.

Original article