Top News Today: Stocks Fall, Oil Rises as U.S. Strikes Iranian Tankers

MARKET WRAPS

STOCKS: Stocks fell amid further escalation in the Iran war.

TREASURYS: Yields rose despite the Treasury's announcement of a $6 billion buyback for Treasury's maturing in 10 to 20 years.

FOREX: The U.S. dollar index ticked up ahead of Thursday's wholesale inflation data.

COMMODITIES: Oil futures rose and the globally traded Brent contract topped $100 a barrel for the first time in three months after the U.S. struck Iranian tankers.

HEADLINES

U.S. Treasury Plans $6 Billion 10- to 20-Year Bond Buyback

The U.S. Treasury raised the size of its planned buyback operation for

Treasurys maturing in 10 to 20 years to $6 billion, triple the typical

amount.

The Treasury Department announced last month that it would at least

double buybacks of longer-term bonds to $4 billion.

The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield rose after the announcement to 4.84%

from 4.81%, its highest intraday level since November 2023. The 30-year

yield rose to 5.29% from 5.26%. The two-year yield edged up to 4.42% from

4.41%.

Apple Debuts New Foldable iPhone Duo, New CEO and New (Higher) Prices

Apple kicked off its most consequential product event in years on

Wednesday, where it debuted a truly new iPhone, a new chief executive, as

well as higher prices. It hopes consumers will concentrate on the first

two.

The headline is the first foldable iPhone, which will start at $1,999.

An almost tablet-like device, the new iPhone Duo will fit comfortably in

a pocket and allows people to use more than one app at a time. It comes

in two colors: white and dark grey.

Equally important was the man introducing it. John Ternus took over as

Apple's CEO last week, becoming Apple's third CEO since 1997, when Steve

Jobs returned. Hopes are high that the longtime hardware engineering

executive can spark a new wave of innovation and the foldable iPhone is

the most significant Apple device in a decade.

Anthropic Researcher Quits Over 'Out-of-Control' AI Fears

An Anthropic researcher is quitting the artificial-intelligence

industry over fears that the lab and its competitors are racing to build

systems they won't be able to control, a sign of mounting safety concerns

within top AI companies.

Jacob Coxon, a researcher who specializes in training new AI models by

having them consume vast amounts of data, said Tuesday that he is leaving

the company because he doesn't want to participate in an industrywide

rush to build AI systems that can improve themselves, worried such

systems could spiral out of control and destroy humanity.

The 27-year old Brit, who previously studied mathematics, said many of

his industry colleagues now use phrases like "crunchtime" and "endgame"

to describe the trajectory toward self-improving models.

Google to Invest $15 Billion in AI Infrastructure in Finland

Alphabet's Google said it would spend more than $15 billion to develop

artificial-intelligence infrastructure in Finland, the latest big-ticket

commitment from a U.S. tech giant to bolster its AI capacity overseas.

The company said the investment of at least 13 billion euros,

equivalent to $15.11 billion, would fund data centers and other

infrastructure, including clean energy projects, between 2027 and 2028

across four locations.

The commitment, which Google said was its largest single investment in

Europe, underscores the company's efforts to expand operations overseas

in a bid to capitalize on growing demand for AI services.

Dunkin' Boss Named Interim CEO of Inspire Brands Ahead of IPO

Inspire Brands has named the head of its Dunkin' division as interim

chief executive, an abrupt leadership change that comes while the

fast-food giant prepares for an initial public offering.

Dunkin' President Scott Murphy will temporarily run the Atlanta-based

company while longtime Chief Executive Paul Brown takes temporary medical

leave, Inspire said in a message to employees, a copy of which was viewed

by The Wall Street Journal. Brown, Inspire's co-founder, is recovering

from a recent injury, the message said.

Murphy, who also serves as Inspire's chief brand officer, said that he

will ensure the continuity of its business, and has no plans to change

the company's strategy or direction.

Albertsons Names Former HP, eBay CEO Meg Whitman as Executive Chair to

Help Spur Growth

Albertsons named former eBay and Hewlett Packard chief Meg Whitman to

the newly created post of executive chair, as the grocery-store operator

grapples with falling sales and cautious consumer spending.

Albertsons on Wednesday said Whitman will serve as an operations and

strategic adviser to Chief Executive Susan Morris as the company works to

sharpen strategy, strengthen execution and increase profitable growth

throughout all parts of its business.

Whitman will also work with Morris to refine the Boise, Idaho,

company's long-term strategy, Albertsons said.

DOJ Requests Additional Information Regarding Fox, Roku Deal

The Justice Department has requested additional information from Fox

Corp. and Roku, as the companies work to complete a roughly $25 billion

deal.

Fox and Roku on Wednesday said they would work cooperatively with the

Justice Department, providing the requested additional information and

documentary material. The companies continue to expect the acquisition to

close in the first half of 2027.

The request comes after Fox in June said it would acquire Roku,

bringing together a media company known for its live news and sports

programming with the biggest provider of streaming platforms for

connected TVs.

Analog Devices to Acquire Alif Semiconductor for $1.35 Billion

Analog Devices struck a deal to acquire Alif Semiconductor for $1.35

billion in cash, expanding its total addressable market across quickly

growing segments such as data-center infrastructure and defense.

The companies said Wednesday that artificial intelligence is entering

a new phase, as models move beyond interpreting words and images and

instead begin to understand context and interact with the physical world.

That transformation requires advanced systems that are able to reason

from signals such as motion, sound, vibration, radio waves and

thermodynamics, while also operating locally within demanding power,

latency, security and reliability constraints, the companies added.

TALKING POINT Wealth Management Firms to Double AI Spending-and Hire More Staff Wealth management firms plan to ramp up their spending on artificial intelligence, while also hiring more financial advisors and other client-facing staff.

Those are among the key findings from research firm Cerulli Associates, which surveyed large registered investment advisory firms about their technology and hiring strategies in the next two years. Average AI-specific spending is projected to rise this year to $494,000 per firm from $237,000 in 2025, according to Cerulli, which conducted its study with Vista Equity Partners. Overall average technology spending is projected to grow to $3.3 million per firm from $2.9 million, Cerulli said. Firms surveyed had an average of $18 billion in assets under management.

At the same time, wealth managers aren't cutting back on hiring. A majority of RIAs surveyed by Cerulli, 73%, say they expect to add junior advisors over the next two years. Sixty-seven percent of RIAs anticipate hiring more client service associates over the same time frame. And 56% of RIAs project they will hire more senior advisors.

"There is a lot of discussion around whether AI will replace the advisor, but our research shows that advisors are using AI to enhance their capacity and their approach [to serving clients]," Asher Cheses, senior director of wealth management at Cerulli, tells Barron's Advisor.

Of RIAs that are already using AI, 64% say it has cut down on manual administrative work, according to Cerulli. And 46% say it has improved the quality of client communications. Cheses adds that RIAs were using AI for tasks such as meeting preparation and drafting follow-up emails to clients.

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September 09, 2026 16:43 ET (20:43 GMT)