Morning Edition · Friday, September 18, 2026
Macro
Bank of Japan lifts its policy rate to 1.25 percent, the highest since 1993
The increase comes two days after the Federal Reserve's own rate increase, and Japan's ten-year government bond yield has already climbed above 3 percent.
Markets
Trump says he is close to deciding whether to "annihilate" Iran's government as a second tanker is hit in Hormuz
South Korea's president ruled out sending combat troops, weakening Washington's coalition, while Brent crude fell for a third session to about $102 on hopes of Saudi pipeline repairs and renewed diplomacy.
Macro
Venezuela nears agreement to move $4 billion of gold reserves to New York
Roughly 31 tonnes held at the Bank of England would pass to United States Treasury management with outside audits, giving the interim government in Caracas access to cash.
Crypto
Bitcoin holds above $77,000 after the Bank of Japan hike while ether and XRP funds lose money
Gold is trading near $4,310 an ounce after this week's central bank decisions, and bitcoin remains roughly 39 percent below the level it reached in October 2025.
Macro
American inflation runs at 3.4 percent with petrol up 27 percent as the Fed tightens into an energy shock
Gasoline averaged $4.19 a gallon in August, and lower-income households are absorbing both higher fuel bills and higher borrowing costs before November's midterm elections.
Geopolitics
Russia and China veto the United Nations panel that monitors Iran sanctions
The resolution failed 11 to 2 with Somalia and Pakistan abstaining, and the expert panel's mandate expires on 27 September.
Geopolitics
Washington clears a $24.3 billion sale of 48 F-35 jets to Saudi Arabia
The package includes 49 engines, cryptographic equipment and electronic warfare support, and now needs approval from Congress, where espionage concerns are already being raised.
Geopolitics
At least eight NATO members start buying defence equipment outside the United States
European governments are redirecting procurement toward drones and software-defined systems, the areas where Ukraine, not Washington, sets the standard.
Tech
SoftBank's data centre unit tests public appetite for artificial intelligence power projects
SB Energy has 8.8 gigawatts of contracted capacity that is mostly unbuilt and two anchor customers, and OpenAI's delayed listing removes one reference point for pricing the deal.
World
China opens the Pinglu Canal, its first river-to-sea waterway since 1949
The 134-kilometre channel cost 72.7 billion yuan and cuts more than 560 kilometres from the route between landlocked southwest China and the sea.
World
South Korea's president apologises as his approval rating falls to 38 percent
Washington is pressing Seoul over its reluctance to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz and over slow progress on a $350 billion trade package.
World
Russia votes in State Duma elections held over three days under wartime conditions
Officials say polling stations in four annexed Ukrainian regions will take part for the first time, a claim Kyiv and most United Nations members reject.