692 stories from 22 sources
The month in U.S. Business and Markets
Longest running story: 28 days
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AI demand expanded from servers and semiconductors into cloud contracts, optical components, power, and software, pushing the rally into a broader market theme. Rising capital needs, dilution, customer concentration, worker shortages, and uneven stock reactions shifted the test from demand to profitable execution.
Mortgage rates moved toward or above 7%, pushing existing-home sales to a 31-year low before weaker starts and builder incentives pointed to a downturn extending through 2027. Sellers offered larger concessions and builders protected margins as demand fell, while selective investor support did not remove the financing pressure.
Trade tensions moved from policy risk into higher costs, pulled-forward imports, weaker freight demand, and job pressure across manufacturers, retailers, aerospace suppliers, and politically important states. Automakers responded by localizing production and defending combustion vehicles, while the threat shifted toward lost market share and export volume.
Amazon's advertising case and the SEC's proxy-adviser suit showed direct challenges to powerful business and governance intermediaries. Scrutiny then broadened to algorithmic pricing, privacy penalties, patent rights, worker pay, political disclosures, and bank oversight, increasing legal risk across otherwise unrelated sectors.
Higher-income and premium shoppers supported parts of retail, while inflation, fuel costs, and slower wage growth pushed other households toward essentials and value. Restaurants and retailers responded with heavier promotions, franchisee support, and product resets, including Lululemon's shift toward a potentially multiyear overhaul.
U.S. markets remained open to some issuers, but uneven demand forced at least one offering below its planned range while other companies used equity or large debt deals to fund growth. Office owners and corporate borrowers increasingly faced refinancing pressure, discounted asset sales, or restructuring as capital stayed expensive and valuations weakened.
Amazon moved from an 85-hub same-day network toward more than 1,000 facilities, raising the standard for local inventory and speed. Walmart, Costco, and other retailers pursued delivery through owned systems, AI tools, and partnerships, making convenience and consumer trust central to the next retail contest.
A late-August selloff broadened as oil prices, bond yields, and a concentrated jobs gain revived inflation and rate concerns. Technology shares absorbed much of the pressure, showing that strong earnings and growth narratives no longer insulated the market from macroeconomic repricing.
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