The U.S. average diesel price reached a record $6.45 per gallon this week, up 74% from a year earlier. Oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz averaged 7.6 million barrels a day in August, 13.1 million barrels below the August 2025 average. With about three-fourths of the nation’s commercial trucks running on diesel, higher fuel costs are expected to filter into retail food prices. Global daily oil supply has fallen by about 7 million barrels since early 2026.

Oscar Health said its majority shareholder, Thrive Capital, completed a distribution of Oscar Health common stock to its limited partners on 2026-09-18. After the distribution, entities affiliated with Thrive Capital and Joshua Kushner collectively hold about 4.7 million Class A shares and about 32.9 million Class B shares. Those holdings represent roughly 67% of the combined voting power of the company’s outstanding common stock.

S&P 500 companies posted a 51% year-over-year jump in earnings per share in Q2 2026, lifting growth over the past four quarters to 26%. Major technology firms including Amazon and Meta are expected to spend about $800 billion on capital expenditures this year, up 94% from 2025. Memory-chip makers are seeing gross margins near 80%, and Goldman Sachs estimates S&P 500 earnings could fall by about 10% if overall chip gross margins drop from roughly 70% to the 15-year average of 55%. Large technology companies also generated more than $150 billion in private-investment gains during the quarter, contributing roughly 12% of S&P 500 EPS.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission approved Paramount’s request to allow up to 49.5% foreign ownership, a move tied to its proposed merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. Paramount owns 28 television stations, requiring FCC approval to exceed the 25% foreign-ownership threshold. Shares fell more than 3% in the final minutes of Thursday trading, and the stock is down 43.87% over the past year.

Credit Acceptance Corporation has reached a settlement with 41 state attorneys general that provides $694 million in cash and debt relief nationwide. In Georgia, $28 million will be paid directly to 4,890 consumers. The lawsuit alleged the company used deceptive, unfair and abusive practices in its subprime auto lending, including approving loans for borrowers it allegedly knew could not afford them.

With the Iran war in its seventh month, commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is shrinking even as Gulf oil export demand remains pressing. Baltic Exchange data this week show the daily charter rate for a very large crude carrier hauling oil from the Persian Gulf to China rose to $1.035 million, versus about $208,000 per day for a comparable route. Higher insurance costs and industry consolidation have helped push freight rates higher as supply constraints lift oil back above $100 per barrel and diesel prices top $6 for the first time, up 60% from before the war.

The Netherlands recently moved 86 tonnes of gold from the United States and Canada to the Bank of England in London amid ongoing geopolitical turmoil. Some European countries are reassessing where they store their gold reserves. The moves reflect concerns about the current US fiscal trajectory and its ability to meet debt obligations.

The U.S. SEC issued an “Innovation Exemption” that allows platforms to trade certain tokenized U.S. stocks on blockchains for five years. SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the move is intended to help bring U.S. capital markets into the digital age. Baird analyst Robert Bamberger said the exemption is a positive for Coinbase, making its asset-class offerings more comparable to Robinhood’s. Coinbase shares rose 12% on Friday afternoon to around $194, though Wall Street’s average target price of $201.31 implies about 4% upside.