Welcome back and hopefully you enjoyed the long holiday weekend. The summer is officially over, and the kids are back at school, even the straggler towns in New Jersey (including mine which made for an anxiety ridden evening). Add that to September’s reputation as the worst month for equities and it’s no wonder that markets are in a bit of a foul mood to start the week. But if you’re looking for a bit of optimism you’ve come to the right place because the MAC Desk’s favorite season is not summer, it’s football. College football is officially underway (not without some controversy), the NFL kicks off tomorrow and on a slightly different note Aaron Judge is slated to return to the starting lineup after a stint on the IR, so all things considered the MAC Desk is in a jolly mood.

Following a strong jobs report on Friday US equities ended the week on a mixed note as rate hike expectations increased. That being said the rates move was relatively muted as the long-end was basically unchanged. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial average were both down ~0.5%, though small and midcap indices ended slightly in the green. Crude continued to rise up nearly 10% for the week, while gold and bitcoin fell. While most major US indices ended the week on either side of unchanged AI hardware saw solid gains with several new models releases but that was offset by software weakness.

The Iranian situation heated up over the weekend. There has been a lot of press focusing on the growing pressure that the Iranian government is under from the US blockade and military actions. That pressure has not led to negotiations but rather an escalation in kinetic activity. On Saturday after Iran launched strikes on U.S. warships, U.S. forces hit 3 Iranian oil tankers. Over the last twenty-four hours Saudi Arabian oil facilities were also hit by Houthi missile and drone attacks. A deal between Iran and Oman to manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is imminent according to reports. Iran is also developing plans to create a maritime exclusion zone where it intends to stop ships transiting the Strait without its permission. Oil prices moved higher overnight with ICE Brent approaching $100 but has since backed off to around unchanged levels.