Bank of America was ordered to pay $1.21 billion to the US Treasury for anti-money laundering and sanctions violations, the third-largest penalty in the department's history. The bank admitted it willfully violated the Bank Secrecy Act and failed to file required suspicious activity reports, including for more than $5 billion in transactions. It also settled 475 apparent violations of sanctions programmes covering Russia, Belarus, Iran, Burma, Somalia, narcotics and global terrorism. Of the total, $750 million goes to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, its largest fine ever. The bank said it has invested billions in financial crime controls.
The US Treasury reported a fiscal 2026 budget deficit of $1.992 trillion, about 12% higher than a year earlier and the largest in five years. It is the third-highest deficit on record, behind only 2020 and 2021. Receipts set a record at $5.40 trillion while outlays reached $7.40 trillion, with defence spending up 6% to $917 billion and corporate tax receipts down about $70 billion after last year's tax cuts. Treasury estimated the deficit at 6.2% of GDP, against 5.8% in fiscal 2025.
US consumer prices rose 3.7 percent in September from a year earlier, the Labor Department said, up from 3.4 percent in August and above the 3.6 percent economists expected. Prices rose 0.6 percent on the month, the biggest gain in five months, while core inflation ran at 2.6 percent. Energy costs drove much of the increase as Brent crude touched $110 a barrel on attacks in the Strait of Hormuz. The report is the last full inflation snapshot before the midterm elections and complicates the Federal Reserve's next move.
US consumer prices rose 0.6% from August and 3.7% over the year in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported, above the 3.6% economists expected. Core prices, which strip out food and energy, rose 0.3% for the month and 2.6% over the year, also above forecast. Energy costs drove much of the increase, and price pressure spread beyond petrol. The report lands three weeks before midterm elections, with consumer sentiment near record lows and the Federal Reserve still far from its 2% goal.
US consumer prices rose 0.6 per cent in September after a 0.4 per cent increase in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said, matching economist forecasts but confirming that inflation is not cooling quickly. The Federal Reserve raised rates in mid-September for the first time in three years, and another increase at this month's meeting is back in play. Core PCE inflation, the Fed's preferred gauge, ran at 3.0 per cent in the year to August. Economists warn the last stretch back to the central bank's 2 per cent target will be bumpy, with some projecting further hikes into 2027.
Tencent Holdings raised about $5.7 billion on Tuesday through US dollar and offshore yuan bonds after investor orders came in at close to four times the amount the company had targeted. The Chinese technology group had been seeking at least $4.5 billion across four tranches. Demand held up even as concerns about the scale of global AI spending pushed technology shares lower earlier in the week. Tencent's capital spending more than doubled in the first half of 2026. Goldman Sachs credit strategists say AI-related debt issuance worldwide has passed $575 billion so far this year.
Oil prices rose to near two-week highs on Monday as attacks on Saudi Arabia outweighed the prospect of extra supply after President Donald Trump welcomed fresh Russian diesel exports and a claimed Russia-Ukraine energy ceasefire. Crude traded at about $93 a barrel, up roughly 1.3%, after reports of an attack on a Saudi airport pushed prices up nearly $2. Trump said Russia would supply more than 300,000 tonnes of diesel immediately, plus further cargoes in the following weeks. A bipartisan group of six US senators demanded the administration reverse the plan, saying it gives Vladimir Putin a financial lifeline.
Traders began pricing out the war-risk premium in crude and diesel after President Donald Trump announced an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine on Oct 11. The premium has been the largest supply-side fear in fuel markets, so a pause in strikes on refineries and pipelines removes its immediate justification. US diesel averaged $6.28 a gallon on Oct 11, down from $6.53 on Sept 22 but still near double the level of a year ago. The move comes with US stocks firm: the S&P 500 closed at 7,823.60, the Dow at 51,740.80 and the Nasdaq 100 at 30,928.20. September inflation data arrive on Oct 14, with economists split on whether the Federal Reserve hikes again this month.
Thieves stole about 30,000 bottles of premium wine from a Marchesi Antinori storage facility in Tuscany, worth an estimated 5 million euros, in what the company calls the largest wine theft in Italian history. At least seven masked people disabled alarms and cameras at the warehouse in Cortona before loading two trucks. The most striking detail is the equipment: the gang used the winery's own forklifts to move thousands of cases. The haul included Tignanello, Solaia and Guado al Tasso reds, which often sell for 175 to 580 euros a bottle. Chief executive Renzo Cotarella called the group highly trained and said it may have hit other Italian wineries. Police and Carabinieri are investigating.
The US trade deficit widened 13.7 percent in August to 105.6 billion dollars, the largest monthly gap in 17 months, the Commerce Department reported. Imports rose 4.3 percent to a record 420.8 billion dollars while exports grew 1.4 percent to 315.2 billion dollars. The goods deficit reached 136.6 billion dollars and the services surplus held near 31 billion dollars. A new round of tariffs in July and heavy imports of components for AI data centres both pushed the numbers up. Year to date the deficit is down almost 20 percent. West Coast ports are working through a strong peak season that has stretched dockworker rosters.