Brent crude broke $100 a barrel overnight for the first time since July, after the US struck five Iranian tankers on Tuesday. Gas prices have moved sharply higher alongside it. For anyone with energy exposure or watching the inflation picture, this is the number that matters this morning. The supply shock risk is real and immediate, not theoretical.

The UK air traffic control chaos is now into its second day. NATS says the technical fault is resolved, but over 1,900 flights have been cancelled since yesterday and the backlog is still clearing. Operationally disruptive, but not a macro story unless it drags on further.

On the Middle East and UK foreign policy: Israel has told the UK to close its East Jerusalem consulate within 30 days, a direct response to London’s sanctions on illegal West Bank settlements. Miliband is defending the move and says he’s “proud” of it. Andy Burnham separately held a call with the Chinese president and issued a statement describing constructive bilateral relations — the Tories are already using the contrast to land a hypocrisy charge. The diplomatic fallout with Israel is escalating faster than the government appeared to anticipate, and the Burnham-China angle complicates the messaging on values-based foreign policy.

Bessent has warned currency traders not to bet against the yen, following July’s joint intervention with Tokyo. The language — “I am the house now” — is unusually direct for a Treasury secretary and markets will take it seriously. It signals Washington is prepared to defend the yen again if it weakens materially, which constrains the short-yen carry trade that has been a popular position.

Microsoft’s September patch release is being described as unusually large, with the company accelerating fixes ahead of what its security teams expect to be an increase in AI-assisted cyberattacks. Worth flagging to anyone running IT risk or cyber insurance books.

Iran is quietly relaxing foreign currency controls and encouraging crypto use to repatriate funds, according to the FT. With oil revenues under pressure from sanctions and the ongoing US military campaign, Tehran is improvising. It adds context to why the regime may be absorbing the tanker strikes rather than escalating symmetrically — the economy is under severe strain.

US CPI for August prints tomorrow.

Sources

Guardian, BBC News, Al Jazeera, FT, The Economist, Politico, TechCrunch, Ars Technica — 2026-09-09