Finance Evening | September 28, 2026 — Nvidia Unveils $150B Buyback; Hamilton Steel Plant to Idle Lines Over Tariffs

📊 Today's North American Markets

🇺🇸 US Stocks

Nvidia Unveils AI-Agent Safety Platform and a Record $150B Buyback

Source: The Guardian

Nvidia on Monday unveiled a new security platform that the chipmaker says can stop artificial intelligence agents from going rogue. The company announced a $150bn stock buyback the same day — the largest in U.S. corporate history.

The chipmaker said its Open Agent Safety Platform includes open-source software that "sets boundaries for agents," following a series of disclosures from top AI companies about their models escaping and breaking into other organizations. The revelations have sparked fierce debate over the safety of advanced AI systems.

Nvidia executives said at a media briefing that the system could have prevented a recent incident in which a swarm of OpenAI agents autonomously hacked into the AI company Hugging Face. Nvidia also said its board approved expanding its share repurchase program by $150bn, raising the total to $235bn — topping Apple's previous $110bn record in 2024. "Our cash generation gives us the capacity to invest in the technologies that advance this transformation and return capital to shareholders," CEO Jensen Huang said in a statement.

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AMD to Acquire Fei-Fei Li's World Labs for $8.2 Billion

Source: TechCrunch

AMD said on Monday it is acquiring World Labs — one of the leading developers of deep learning models meant to understand physical reality — in an $8.2 billion deal. World Labs said the deal reflects the fact that AI development requires "close collaboration across model research, systems and compute," while AMD said understanding frontier workloads like those created at World Labs will shape its chip-making roadmap.

The acquisition will see World Labs founder Fei-Fei Li join AMD as executive vice president and chief scientist. The two companies formed an inference optimization-and-training partnership last year, and ties have remained close — Li was a guest at AMD's CES presentation earlier this year.

Li, a Stanford computer science professor, is considered a pioneer in AI, particularly computer vision, for her work building the ImageNet database and the competitions it inspired. She founded World Labs in 2024 to develop deep learning models with a more robust understanding of the physical world, arguing that true general intelligence requires a grounding in physics and the ability to reason beyond text. In a post announcing the deal, she described it as a desire to "scale our efforts, widen our reach, and get closer to the hardware." World Labs' first product, Marble, is pitched for entertainment experiences and for building simulated environments for robot training.

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Apple Ordered to Pay $5.7bn in Haptic Tech Patent Case

Source: BBC

Apple has been ordered to pay $5.7bn (£4.3bn) in damages after a U.S. jury found it had used another firm's tech without permission. Audio firm Taction Technology claimed in 2021 that Apple had infringed two of its patents for haptics systems — the technology that enables vibrations for actions such as receiving a message or pressing a button. Such tech is built into devices like the iPhone and Apple Watch.

Apple said it had not used Taction's vibration tech and would appeal the verdict. "While we thank the jury for their consideration, we strongly disagree with today's verdict and the damages awarded, which are entirely unsupported by the facts," it said, adding that its "Taptic Engine is fundamentally different from Taction's technology."

Haptics allow people to interact with devices by simulating the sense of touch through vibrations, and have become a hallmark of modern devices. Apple's "Taptic Engine" first debuted with the Apple Watch in 2014. Taction, which makes headphones and gaming headsets, said patents it was issued in 2020 were infringed. In a long-running back-and-forth, a San Diego judge ruled in 2023 that Apple did not infringe; an appeal was then taken up by a federal appeals circuit, resulting in a September jury trial at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. Jurors did not find that Apple infringed willingly. It marks one of many similar lawsuits Apple has defended — in November 2025, a judge ordered it to pay $634m to medical tech firm Masimo.

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🌎 Canada / North America Economy

Tariff Squeeze Forces Hamilton Steel Plant to Idle Lines and Cut Up to 500 Jobs

Source: CBC

Canadian steelmaker Stelco said on Monday it plans to idle part of its Hamilton plant in order to "ensure the survival" of the company, a decision that will impact up to 500 employees. In a memo obtained by CBC News, the company said it will indefinitely idle its cold-rolled and coated operations at its Hamilton Works plant, with operations set to begin winding down on Oct. 9.

Ron Wells, president of United Steelworkers Local 1005, estimates about 350 steelworkers will be laid off. He was briefed on the matter in a meeting with the company on Monday morning. "Christmas ain't that far away, and we have no idea the duration of these layoffs … People are concerned. I don't blame them," Wells told CBC News.

Stelco vice-president of sales Frederic Fafard called it "an unfortunate but necessary action to help ensure the survival of Stelco in what has become a challenging and unsustainable market," blaming ongoing trade disruptions affecting the Canadian steel industry. U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in June applying a tariff of up to 50 percent to certain steel and aluminum imports from Canada. Ohio-based Cleveland-Cliffs acquired Hamilton-based Stelco in a $3.4-billion Cdn cash-and-stock deal that closed in November 2024.

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TIME Fact-Checks Trump's 'Big Unemployment' Claim About Canada

Source: TIME

President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated that Canada has a problem with its unemployment rate as he criticizes America's northern neighbor amid the ongoing trade war. Revisiting the claims last week, Trump insisted Prime Minister Mark Carney's government was "destroying" Canada with immigration policies that he said were "causing problems." "It's already showing up in their numbers," he said on Sept. 23. "Big unemployment." In August, amid the collapse of U.S.-Canada trade negotiations, he falsely argued that "Canada's unemployment rate is now at 10%, and rapidly rising."

Here's what the data says. Canada's economy lost 42,000 jobs in August, a decrease of 0.2%, according to the country's Labour Force Survey released on Sept. 4 — well below reported consensus expectations for a 15k gain. The losses were concentrated in areas such as business, building and other support services, natural resources, and utilities. The number of public sector employees fell by 20,000 (0.4%), down for the third consecutive month.

Trump's focus on Canada's unemployment figures comes amid a prolonged trade standoff. Canada's retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods took effect earlier this month, with Carney matching the economic pressure imposed by the U.S. Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to annex Canada, stoked tensions by signing an executive order renaming Lake Ontario as "Lake America." U.S. import bans on certain Canadian products, largely centered on alcohol and dairy, are due to take effect Tuesday. Carney, meanwhile, is focusing on strengthening international alliances, including pursuing efforts for Canada to become the E.U.'s first "associate member."

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RBC: Housing-Affordability Relief Is Tapering Off Across Canada

Source: RBC

RBC's national housing affordability measure in Canada was little changed in Q2 (52.8%), posting its smallest improvement of 0.4 percentage point in almost a year, according to a report published Monday.

Rising household income accounted for the entire affordability gain in Canada in Q2 as home prices and rates held fairly steady. This was true in most regions, reflecting firmer wage growth and government transfers — including the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit distributed in June with a one-time top up. Exceptions included markets in British Columbia where a softening labour market weighed on worker pay, preventing the affordability boost of still-falling prices from being fully realized. Strong income gains in Quebec and parts of Atlantic Canada came short of offsetting mounting costs tied to solid appreciation in property values.

RBC warned that upward pressure on long-term interest rates and the likelihood of Bank of Canada hikes next year could put ownership costs on the rise again after dropping significantly since 2024, while spiking energy costs will exacerbate matters by raising utility bills. The bank said it sees these factors triggering a modest loss of affordability as 2027 rolls in. Victoria's aggregate affordability measure stood at 63.3%, the third worst among tracked markets in Q2.

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🏦 Macro & Central Banks

10-Year Treasury Yield Climbs to 5.25%, Highest Since 2007

Source: Yahoo Finance

Yields on the longer end of the curve rose further to multidecade highs on Monday as a bond sell-off deepened. The 10-year Treasury yield — often called the most critical number in global finance for its use as a benchmark — advanced roughly 5 basis points to 5.25%, its highest level since 2007. Further out, the 30-year yield rose 6 basis points to 5.57%, a level not touched since 2004, while the 2-year yield rose roughly 8 basis points to 4.93%.

The sell-off has been driven by bets on further Federal Reserve rate hikes, an energy crisis sparked by the war in Iran, ballooning U.S. government debt and deficits, and a historic AI-driven investment cycle. The Fed is perhaps the biggest focus: earlier in September it issued a quarter-point hike, raising the U.S. target rate for the first time in three years. "We now have data broadly defined that says the economy has indeed strengthened," Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh said at a press conference. "Underlying growth is higher. Inflation is the problem." More notable than the hike itself were projections showing a majority of FOMC members expected at least another quarter-point hike, with four members seeing the need for 50 basis points in 2026.

Rising yields aren't necessarily bearish for growth, Macquarie strategists argued, noting higher Treasury yields often represent economic strength. "The reason to worry about the recent rise in long-term yields, if there is any, is not because they will slow the economy," they wrote. "That way of thinking inverts the truer causality: yields are high partly because the economy is strong and bond issuance is high."

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Stocks Fall, Bond Yields Surge and Oil Swings as War Keeps Markets on Edge

Source: NBC News

Stocks fell Monday alongside a jump in bond yields and erratic oil trading as geopolitical upheaval remained front and center for traders. The S&P 500 ended lower by 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.9% as oil prices rose, pushing Brent crude back above $106 per barrel.

Bond yields surged to fresh multiyear highs. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose as high as 5.27%, its highest since mid-June 2007; the 30-year hit its highest since May 2004; and the 2-year reached its highest since 2024. Earlier in the day Brent rose beyond $108, but the jump moderated after reports said mediators planned to meet with U.S. and Iranian officials separately. Iran's semiofficial ISNA news agency downplayed the meetings, saying Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi would attend talks with mediators but that no U.S. representatives would be present.

Over the weekend, Trump said he had rejected a recent proposal from Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. "They want to make a deal, and I think that's fine," Trump told reporters. "I like making a deal too, but ... that deal would not be acceptable." Market analyst Ed Yardeni wrote that the significant increase in oil prices this year "hasn't knocked the wind out of the global economy's sails," adding: "The question is whether rapidly rising interest rates will do so." For the year so far, the S&P 500 has risen a little more than 12%, lifted by the information technology sector (+27%) and energy (+38%), while utilities, financials and consumer discretionary have contracted.

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🛢️ Commodities & FX

Oil Surges After Trump Rejects Iran's Plan to Reopen Strait of Hormuz

Source: Al Jazeera

Oil prices have risen sharply after U.S. President Donald Trump's rejection of an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose more than 3 percent on Monday, nearing $108 a barrel during trading in Asia; after easing in the afternoon, Brent futures for November were trading at $107.35 a barrel shortly before 08:00 GMT.

Major stock markets in Asia Pacific had a mixed session: Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.73% and South Korea's Kospi dropped 2.70%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.54% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.17%. The volatility comes after Trump said on Saturday that Tehran's latest proposal for ending the U.S.-Israel war on Iran was not acceptable. Under the proposal announced at the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, the U.S. would release frozen Iranian funds, lift sanctions and end its naval blockade on Iranian ports in exchange for Iran reopening the strait and returning to negotiations on its nuclear program within a week.

Before the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran in late February, approximately one-fifth of global oil supplies flowed through the Strait of Hormuz, which links the Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. Commercial shipping there has declined drastically since the start of the war. Vessels made 132 transits of the strait from Sept. 21 to 27, up from 116 the previous week, according to maritime intelligence platform MarineTraffic — far below the roughly 130 crossings the waterway saw each day before the war.

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💰 Personal Finance & Consumer

Starbucks Looks Set to Close 36 Southern California Stores Amid 250-Store Cut

Source: Los Angeles Times

Starbucks may be closing 36 locations in Southern California as the chain looks to pare down its store count and shut underperforming coffee houses. The Seattle coffee giant said Thursday that it would close 250 locations, or 1% of its more than 18,000 North American stores.

The closures come as Starbucks battles increased competition in the coffee market that has led to slowing sales. After taking over in 2024, CEO Brian Niccol enacted a turnaround plan to make stores more inviting. The 250 stores marked for closure are locations where Starbucks does not see a path to delivering the customer experience or long-term financial performance the chain expects, COO Mike Grams said in a letter posted on the company's website.

Already, the company has closed more than 600 stores in North America and Europe and laid off hundreds of non-retail employees. In July, it reported that global comparable-store sales were up 7.9% for the fiscal third quarter, with North American store sales up 8.1%. Starbucks did not list the locations set to shut, though it said affected stores had signs in their windows. A Starbucks fan known online as Winter compiled a spreadsheet of likely stores based on locations listed as closed for the coming week in the company's app; according to SFGate, that spreadsheet includes 36 Southern California locations. The Times confirmed all are no longer listed in the app and are either designated "permanently closed" on Google or did not respond to phone calls.

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