Oil surges

Oil surged as markets braced for the possibility that Israel could strike Iran’s energy industry, the latest potential escalation of a conflict that began almost one year ago when Hamas attacked Israel. Global benchmark Brent crude climbed near $77 after US President Joe Biden indicated Israel was weighing an attack on Iran’s oil infrastructure as a response to Iran’s missile attack on Israel, itself a response to Israel’s killing of leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas and an Iranian general. When asked if he would support a new Israeli attack, Biden responded “we’re discussing that.” Israel meanwhile continued to strike Lebanon, killing nine people at a medical site in central Beirut, local authorities said, among other targets. Israel has said it’s targeting Hezbollah militants while Lebanese officials said the attacks have killed more than 1,300 people and displaced over a million. Tel Aviv also has warned civilians in southern Lebanon to evacuate as Israeli forces expand a ground invasion there. —Margaret Sutherlin

US markets churned as traders weighed the prospect of an escalating conflict in the Middle East and awaited September unemployment numbers Friday. The US services sector last month expanded at the fastest pace since February 2023, driven by a flurry of orders, consumer spending and stronger business activity. Here’s your markets wrap.

Despite rates ticking higherThursday, a mortgage refinancing wave appears to be coming. Last week, the volume of people looking to refinance was almost three times higher than the same period a year ago, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association. Customers who bought homes when rates were above 7% are now in a position to save several hundred dollars per month with a loan closer to 6%. And if rates continue to decline, as economists project, they can do it all over again.

OpenAI just closed one of the largest fundraising rounds in history, valuing the company at $157 billion, a huge leap for a scrappy startup run by a handful of executives. But as OpenAI races to build a global business, it has been roiled by an exodus of top officials and much of the brain trust that put the startup on the map, including most recently Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati. Employees at various levels of the company are now wrestling with exhaustion as concerns grow that OpenAI’s initial commitment to responsible AI development may be wavering.

US Vice President Kamala Harris is tapping one of Donald Trump’s prime antagonists to join her on the campaign trail. Former US Representative Liz Cheney–who previously chaired the Congressional investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol by Trump followers—is to hold an event in the swing state of Wisconsin. There, as in other swing states, election officials are bracing for last-minute legal decisions that could scramble plans in the lead up to Election Day and beyond. Republicans have accelerated an ongoing national effort to impose more restrictions on voting access, with new initiatives that may complicate how votes are tabulated after Election Day.

The aftermath of Hurricane Helene has underscored one thing: America is not ready for billion-dollar disasters. As North Carolina, Tennessee and Florida’s panhandle reel from catastrophic flooding, mudslides, wind and more, Helene’s damage will cost around $160 billion to cleanup, and direct economic losses could total as much as $35 billion.

The National Football League is in talks with David Ellison’s Skydance Media and one of his major investors, RedBird Capital, that could result in a sale of NFL Media and its NFL Network cable channel. It could signal an acquisition by Paramount Global of the league’s interest in Skydance Sports, a joint venture that produces movies and TV shows. Paramount, which holds rights to broadcast NFL games, is in the process of merging with Skydance, an independent film and TV studio, in a deal expected to close next year. The NFL’s deal with Paramount’s CBS network is worth about $2.1 billion a year.

The opening of Tower 28, one of the tallest residential towers in New York City outside Manhattan, brought rent-stabilized units to Long Island City roughly seven years ago, adding affordable listings to a neighborhood where soaring prices were increasingly squeezing out many renters. Now, three tenants at the 58-story building have filed a class-action lawsuit alleging the landlord sought to evade New York City rent regulations in order to raise prices even higher over time.

On Aug. 19, 2023, Russia launched a cruise missile into Chernihiv, Ukraine. The explosion killed seven people and injured 214. Sofiya Holynska, a six-year-old girl visiting for the day with her mother, was among the dead. Markings on the missile’s engine and components showed it was assembled more than a year after the US and its allies imposed export controls that banned shipments of a broad class of technology to Russia to kneecap its defense industry. But the missile nevertheless contained components made by four Western companies.

(The Oct. 2 edition of the Evening Briefing incorrectly referred to the $135 million spent on the Alinghi Red Bull Racing team in the run up to the America's Cup.)

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