Oil prices climb and stocks fall after Trump says he thinks Iran agreement ‘over’
Shot of oil pumps (Olga Rolenko/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Oil prices climbed and stocks tumbled in early trading on Wednesday after President Donald Trump said he believes an agreement with Iran is “over” amid an exchange of strikes in the Middle East.
Brent crude, the benchmark measure for worldwide oil trading, climbed more than 5% in early trading on Wednesday, pushing the price up to nearly $78 a barrel.
Oil prices stand above pre-war levels, though they have fallen from a high of as much as $118 reached earlier in the conflict.
Stock prices fell in response to the heightened tensions and rising oil prices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 600 points, or 1.1%, while the S&P 500 declined 0.6%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.4%.
The war prompted the Iranian closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a shipping route that facilitates about one-fifth of worldwide oil supply. In turn, the global economy suffered a historic oil shock, sending oil prices surging.
A U.S.-Iran agreement last month, however, included a provision allowing commercial shipping to resume through the strait, and to do so toll-free for 60 days. Over the ensuing weeks, oil prices prices fell below pre-war levels.
The tensions in recent days rekindled upward pressure on oil prices.
Trump said that negotiations between the U.S. and Iran will continue, but he told reporters of the agreement, “For me, I think it’s over.”
“It’s just a waste of time dealing with them,” Trump said of Iran at a press conference in Ankara, Turkey, where he is attending the NATO summit.
Iran’s military said it launched on Wednesday attacks targeting 85 U.S. military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain, saying they were retaliatory strikes following a wave of U.S. airstrikes on Iranian targets.
U.S. forces hit over 80 targets overnight in a new round of airstrikes that came as an “immediate response” to Iran’s attacks on three commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, according to U.S. Central Command.
ABC News’ Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh speaks during a news conference on July 29, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Wednesday in an effort to battle back a monthslong surge of inflation set off by the Iran war. The move marks the central bank’s first rate increase since July 2023.
The central bank hiked its benchmark rate a quarter of a percentage point, putting interest rates at a level between 3.75% and 4%.
That figure marks a significant drop from a recent peak attained in 2023, but borrowing costs remain well above a 0% rate established at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A 12-member policymaking board voted unanimously in favor of the rate increase.
“The plain fact is that inflation is too high and has been for too long,” Fed Chair Kevin Warsh said at a press conference in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. “The committee’s unanimous vote shows our resolve to achieve price stability on a timelier basis.”
The move appears aimed at containing a recent bout of price increases. Global oil prices are hovering near a four-month high and the average price for a gallon of gasoline tops $4.30, according to AAA.
The U.S. economy has shown signs of additional strain in recent days, including a bond selloff that is pushing up borrowing costs for credit cards and mortgages.
The price woes previously divided central bankers eager to contain inflation but reluctant to cool off the economy and weaken the labor market.
The Fed opted to hold interest rates steady at its most recent meeting in July. Three of the 12 members on the Fed’s policymaking board, however, voted in favor of a rate hike, marking the largest number of dissenters casting ballots in the same direction in a decade.
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh, who took the helm of the central bank in May, has vowed to cool off persistently elevated price increases.
“The Fed’s predominant focus right now should be on prices,” Warsh said in remarks last month at the Fed’s annual summer gathering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Prices rose 3.4% in August compared to a year earlier, maintaining the same level from the prior month, federal government data last week showed.
Inflation stands more than a percentage point higher than the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2%.
Despite a stubborn bout of inflation, the economy remains fairly robust by some measures.
A blockbuster jobs report earlier this month showed employers added 162,000 workers in August, demonstrating continued resilience for the nation’s labor market. The economy grew over three months ending in June, defying fear of a downturn triggered by the Iran war.
Fighting in the Middle East kept global crude prices above $105 a barrel as of Wednesday, which amounted to a rise of about 50% since the Iran war broke out in late February.
The average price of a gallon of gas in the U.S. stands at $4.36, putting it more than $1.30 higher than before the war, AAA data showed.
Record-high diesel prices have raised transport costs for many everyday products, including groceries, clothes and furniture.
The war in Iran, which began with a large-scale U.S.-Israeli attack in the winter, prompted Iran’s near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which facilitates one-fifth of global crude supply. Saudi Arabia over the weekend shut down a key pipeline bypassing the strait, which further constrained oil delivery and put upward pressure on prices.
Crude oil tankers, bulk carriers and vessels sit anchored around Qaboos Port June 22, 2026, in Muscat, Oman. The Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for the region’s oil and gas. (Elke Scholiers/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Mortgage rates have dropped to their lowest level since May as negotiations between the United States and Iran ease financial markets.
The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage stands at 6.43%, down from last week’s rate of 6.49%, Freddie Mac data on Thursday showed.
Still, mortgage rates register above their level before the war with Iran. Prior to the Middle East conflict in late February, a 30-year fixed mortgage clocked in at an average just below 6%.
“Rates did drop, which does provide some relief. But they’re still high,” Julia Fonseca, a professor at the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, told ABC News.
A decline in mortgage rates over recent weeks has come in response to a drop in oil prices and Treasury yields, some analysts told ABC News. The shift has partially reversed a trend that took hold after the Iran war broke out.
At that time, mortgage rates surged in response to a jump in U.S. Treasury yields, or the amount paid annually to a holder of government debt. The rise in bond yields is owed to fear of a renewed bout of inflation as oil prices climbed.
Since bonds pay a given investor a fixed amount each year, the specter of inflation risks higher consumer prices that would eat away at those annual payouts. In turn, bonds often become less attractive in response to economic turmoil. When demand falls, bond yields rise.
High bond yields make borrowing more expensive for average Americans, since 10-year Treasury rates influence the rates offered for a variety of loans, including mortgages.
Bond yields eased in recent weeks as negotiations unfolded between the U.S. and Iran, pushing down oil prices and softening inflation expectations, Ken Johnson, a real estate economist at the University of Mississippi, told ABC News. In turn, Johnson said, mortgage rates have fallen.
“The big driver has been the cooling of tensions in the Gulf,” Johnson told ABC News.
Despite the recent drop, mortgage rates remain higher than their pre-war level. Even more, mortgage rates stand well above their level as recently as 2022, when the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage came in below 5%.
Elevated mortgage rates have contributed to a phenomenon known as the “lock-in” effect.
Mortgage rates remain well above the rates enjoyed by most current homeowners, who may be reluctant to put their homes on the market and risk a much higher rate on their next mortgage.
“Rates are still pretty high relative to what they were a few years ago, but every drop in mortgage rates helps. This is not going to go all the way toward unlocking people. We might see this gradual unlocking as time goes by and as rates tick down,” Fonseca said.
Emily Normandin-Parker is seen in this photo. Her parents Carol Normandin and Ken Parker were awarded $40 million in arbitration after their daughter was struck and killed after her Uber driver left her along a Southern California freeway. (Courtesy Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP)
(NEW YORK) — The parents of a 23-year-old woman who was struck and killed after her Uber driver left her along a Southern California freeway are speaking out after being awarded $40 million in an arbitration against Uber and the driver.
Carol Normandin and Ken Parker, the parents of Emily Normandin-Parker, sat down exclusively with “Good Morning America” in an interview aired on Thursday to discuss their daughter’s death and the arbitration award.
Asked if they believe Uber put profits over their daughter’s safety, Normandin responded, “Absolutely.”
Normandin-Parker, a 2022 UCLA graduate, was taking an Uber home with her friend Luna Moore after a night out when Moore became sick during the ride, according to the arbitration award.
The driver, Vu Tran, pulled over on State Route 73 in Orange County at a gore point — the triangular area by the off-ramp on the freeway, according to the arbitration.
“He chose to pull over there and demand money and kick them out of the car. All I can think that Emily was doing — her friend, the driver arguing — was to get help. They argue, Emily gets hit while they’re arguing,” Normandin told ABC News’ Trevor Ault in an interview that aired Thursday on “GMA.”
In his arbitration award, retired Judge Richard A. Stone, who served as the arbitrator, described the gore point as an “unsafe and illegal” area and found that Tran could have instead taken the nearby MacArthur Boulevard exit and stopped in a safe location.
Stone also wrote in the award that Tran knew Normandin-Parker and Moore were intoxicated and had argued with Moore over a cleaning fee before leaving the women at the location.
Normandin-Parker later entered the freeway and was struck and killed by a vehicle.
According to the arbitration award, GPS data showed Tran drove near Normandin-Parker’s body before taking the next exit and calling Uber to seek a cleaning fee.
Stone described Tran’s testimony as “largely — in fact, almost entirely — incredible and unbelievable.”
The arbitrator also found Tran showed “far more worry for his new car than he did for his passengers” and that he had options to get the women to a safe location.
According to attorneys representing Normandin-Parker’s parents, evidence presented during the arbitration showed Uber had received previous complaints about Tran’s driving. One rider described a trip with Tran as “the least safe” ride they had experienced, while another said “he cannot drive.”
Parker described the complaints to “GMA” as “driving the wrong way on a one-way, erratic driving, almost hitting pedestrians, very erratic behavior.”
Following the five-day arbitration, Stone awarded $20 million each to Normandin and Parker, finding Uber and Tran jointly and severally liable. Moore was separately awarded $300,000. The arbitrator did not award punitive damages.
Stone also found Uber vicariously liable for Tran’s negligence as a common carrier. In his decision, Stone rejected Uber’s argument that it is “merely a technology company” connecting riders with drivers, finding that Uber provides transportation services to the public through its app, sets prices and controls key aspects of the rider experience.
The arbitrator also rejected Uber’s argument that Proposition 22 — a California ballot measure approved by voters in 2020 that allows companies to classify app-based drivers as independent contractors instead of employees — prevented the company from being held liable for Tran’s conduct.
In a statement to “GMA,” an Uber spokesperson said, “No family should have to suffer the loss of a child, and our thoughts continue to be with the Normandin-Parker family.”
“While we respect the arbitration process, we believe the arbitrator was wrong in holding Uber legally responsible for the tragic events of that night,” the statement continued.
“We have continued to strengthen our approach to safety over the years…including additional guidance to drivers about avoiding drop-offs in unsafe locations,” the statement said.
Normandin-Parker’s parents also spoke to “GMA” about Uber’s efforts to keep the arbitration award from being made public.
“We didn’t have much time to absorb the award before Uber almost immediately started contending that it could not be made public and then sent an agreement to us requiring non-disparagement, the $10 million penalty for saying anything bad about Uber,” Parker said.According to a press release from their attorneys, Normandin and Parker established the Emily Normandin-Parker Foundation following their daughter’s death to advocate for ride-hailing safety and corporate accountability. Proceeds from the arbitration award will be used to fund the foundation, the release said.
Ian Samson, an attorney for the family, told “GMA,” “he said, I’m troubled by all this, and changing the policies and practices is something Uber should do. And since the arbitration award was issued, what I’ve seen is great urgency by Uber to try to keep it secret.”
According to a press release from their attorneys, Normandin and Parker established the Emily Normandin-Parker Foundation following their daughter’s death to advocate for ride-hailing safety and corporate accountability. Proceeds from the arbitration award will be used to fund the foundation, the release said.
When asked what else they wanted people to know about their daughter, Normandin said, “Her laugh was contagious.”
“And she was funny. And she could sing. Oh my god, could she sing,” Normandin said.
