More countries tell their citizens to leave Lebanon. The...
More countries tell their citizens to leave Lebanon. The US, UK, Australia, France, and other nations urged their citizens to leave Lebanon over concerns that a wider regional war would break out in the Middle East following two assassinations, one in Tehran and one in Beirut, last week. Airlines, including Emirates, Air France-KLM Group, and Lufthansa Group, have suspended, rescheduled, or canceled flights to and from Beirut, home to Lebanon’s only commercial airport. Israel has confirmed it was behind the strike that killed a Hezbollah commander in Beirut, but it did not comment on the killing of Hamas’s political chief in Tehran. Iran has vowed “severe” retaliation.
Tropical Storm Debby is expected to make landfall as a hurricane today on Florida’s Big Bend, then bring “potentially historic” amounts of rain later in the week to southeast Georgia and the eastern Carolinas.
The latest on a potential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump: Trump says he wants to have it on Fox News on Sept. 4; Harris’s spokesperson says Trump is “scared” and Harris still plans on attending the debate that was scheduled between Trump and Biden on ABC on Sept. 10.
At least 76 people were killed in ongoing anti-government protests in Bangladesh.
Google is pulling its AI-focused “Dear Sydney” ad from the Olympics after receiving backlash.
Aerosmith has retired from touring due to permanent vocal cord damage lead singer Steven Tyler sustained last year.
US drillers cut oil and gas rigs for first time in three weeks
According to energy services firm Baker Hughes, this week, U.S. energy...
According to energy services firm Baker Hughes, this week, U.S. energy firms reduced the number of active oil and natural gas rigs for the first time in three weeks. Oklahoma saw no change, with 35 rigs running.
The total rig count dropped by three to 586 for the week ending August 2. This is 73 rigs, or 11%, lower than the same period last year.
Oil rigs remained steady at 482, while gas rigs decreased by three to 98.
In regional updates:
The Denver-Julesburg (DJ)-Niobrara basin saw a reduction of one rig, bringing the total to 9, the lowest since June 2021.
The Marcellus Shale lost one rig, lowering the count to 24, the lowest since September 2020.
The Permian Shale saw a decrease of one rig, reducing the total to 303, the lowest since February 2022.
Benchmark U.S. crude oil for September delivery ...
Benchmark U.S. crude oil for September delivery fell $2.79to $73.52 per barrel Friday. Brent crude for October delivery fell $2.71to $76.81 per barrel.
Wholesale gasoline for September delivery fell 8 cents to $2.32 a gallon. September heating oil fell 9 cents to $2.32 a gallon. September natural gas was unchanged at $1.97 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Today, all eyes were on the July employment data. The numbers confirmed many economists' fears that high rates have been taking too much of a toll on the labor market to justify the Fed’s central banking policy.
The unemployment rate is up to 4.3%, up from 4.1% last month and the highest since October 2021.
The S&P and Nasdaq ended the week lower than where they began for a third straight week, while Dow snapped its four-week win streak. The Nasdaq hit its lowest level since May today, the S&P 500 fell back to June levels, and the Dow dropped an eye-watering 989 points at one point this afternoon in its worst day of trading since September 2022.
The Dow Jones Industrial Averagefell 1.5% [-610.71]Friday, while the S&P 500 closed 1.8% lower [-100.12] and the Nasdaq slumped 2.4% [-417.98]
The VIX soared to an 18-month high as volatility swept through markets thanks to a worse-than-expected jobs report spurring fears of a recession.
Crude prices held steady for most of the day but wrapped the week with a 4th negative week in a row—despite the sharp uptick earlier this week after heightened geopolitical tension between Israel and Iran.
Amid all the madness, gold stands tall as today’s winner, providing investors with a safe haven to store their wealth. The shiny metal hit yet another all-time high today as investors tried to wait out all of today’s volatility, though it ended up sinking lower by the end of the day as well.
Easing regulatory constraints is a focus of former President Donald Trump's...
Easing regulatory constraints is a focus of former President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign. Still, there is little mention of permitting changes -- a problem that could be solved with Trump's endorsement of new permitting legislation introduced by Sens. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., and John Barrasso, R-Wyo., asserts the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal. "[I]f the former President wants to drill, baby, drill, and keep the electricity and energy costs down, he'll need help from Congress to make permitting easier," it writes.
