*🇨🇦 👀 3 Things I’m Watching this week | Oct. 5–9*
*1. Jobs vs. inflation: the Fed’s new problem*
Only 29,000 U.S. jobs were created in September, wage growth slowed to 3.0% year over year and unemployment increased to 4.2%.
Normally that should favor easier monetary policy, but inflation remains elevated and energy prices remain high.
That tension makes *Wednesday’s Fed minutes* especially interesting. I’ll be watching *Treasury yields and rate expectations,* not just stocks.
*2. Oil above $100 🛢️*
OPEC+ decided Sunday to keep November production targets unchanged. Brent remains above $100 as the Iran conflict continues to constrain Gulf supply.
At the same time, the conflict is spreading. Yemen’s internationally recognized government launched a major offensive Sunday against the Iran-backed Houthis, who control the strategically important Bab el-Mandeb shipping route.
*For Canadian investors, watch energy stocks, the CAD, transportation costs and inflation expectations.*
*3. AI demand beyond the mega-caps*
Global manufacturing data is showing something interesting: the AI spending boom is increasingly appearing in the real economy, particularly in semiconductors and AI-related capital equipment.
That’s why I’ll be paying attention to *Applied Digital’s earnings report on Wednesday.*
The next stage of the AI story isn’t simply whether Nvidia sells more chips.
It’s whether companies building the data centres, power infrastructure, memory, networking and cooling systems around those chips can turn demand into sustainable earnings.
*This week’s theme: Jobs. Rates. Oil. AI infrastructure.*
Promises to be another interesting week.
