Australia’s headline inflation eased slightly to 3.5% in July, but it remains well above the Reserve Bank of Australia’s 2–3% target band. Core inflation, measured by the trimmed mean, held at 3.6% and was also higher than forecasts. RBA officials have reiterated the need to return inflation to the target range, lifting market expectations of a fourth rate rise later this month. If the cash rate is lifted again, it could reach a 15-year high.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sought to cool what he called market “fever,” but a Treasury announcement to repurchase $6 billion of 10- to 20-year government bonds instead coincided with a jump in yields. The 10-year yield climbed to 4.85%, its highest since November 2023, while the 20- and 30-year yields rose to 5.3%. Stocks slipped at midday, with the Nasdaq Composite down 0.8% and the S&P 500 off 0.6%. Investors have also been focused on concerns that the Iran conflict and President Donald Trump’s trade policies could lift inflation, as U.S. national debt has surpassed $40 trillion.

Kevin Simpson has bought shares of Freeport McMoRan, one of the world’s largest publicly traded copper producers, as copper prices climb amid tight supply. Copper on the London Metal Exchange has broken above $14,500 per metric ton to a record high. The company generated about $2 billion in operating cash flow in the second quarter and expects roughly $8.3 billion for the full year. At a $72.50 purchase price, the stock trades at about 26 times expected 2026 earnings.

Prediction market Kalshi has filed with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission to self-certify perpetual futures tied to gold and silver, aiming to list them on September 9. The contracts would have no expiry date and are slated to trade 24/7 with no scheduled market closures. Kalshi had previously asked the CFTC to review precious-metals perpetuals under a slower regulatory approval process. The move extends Kalshi’s perpetuals lineup beyond crypto into traditional precious metals.

Rising fears over oil supply disruptions tied to the escalating U.S.-Iran conflict pushed Brent crude up to $101.18 a barrel, the first move above $100 since July. U.S. equities fell broadly, with the Dow dropping more than 300 points, even as energy stocks outperformed and Exxon Mobil and Chevron rose 1.9% and 1.6%. U.S. petrol prices are now about 32% higher than a year ago, at $4.22 a gallon.

Digital bank Chime said it will acquire Stride Bank for $590m in cash after partnering with the lender for seven years, and plans to rename it Chime Bank. The company said it expects more than $100m in net synergies from the deal and raised its revenue outlook to $705m for the current quarter, about 30% higher year on year, with full-year guidance of $2.76bn to $2.77bn. The transaction still requires approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve.

SpaceX completed an unlock of 319 million shares on September 9. Another 59 million shares are expected to be released on September 10. The market is watching how the total $56.3 billion unlock could affect the stock price. Earlier in August, more than 900 million shares were unlocked in batches.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange hit a record $14,779 a ton on Tuesday, taking its year-to-date gain to nearly 18%. Over the same period, global smelting economics deteriorated sharply as spot treatment and refining charges fell to about negative $127 a ton, effectively forcing smelters to pay miners to process concentrate. China, which smelts roughly half of the world’s copper and has accounted for more than 90% of global smelting capacity growth since 2005, has continued to tighten its grip on processing.