Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman linked his optimistic 2027 stock outlook to easing conflicts and lower energy prices, while September data showed U.S. consumer prices rose 3.7% over the 12 months through September.
In its Oct. 22 interview, CNBC reported that Ackman viewed conflicts involving Iran and Ukraine, inflation and high interest rates as drags on markets. He told the network, “We’re going to have an amazing 2027,” and said energy prices “could come way down” if the conflicts recede.
Iranian state television blamed Iranian attacks or mine strikes for fires or damage involving seven oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz overnight Oct. 22. The Associated Press said it could not independently verify the account. AP also reported that tanker operators continued moving oil through the strait despite added delays and costs, with charter rates in the hundreds of thousands of dollars per day.
Russia had given preliminary agreement to another three-way meeting with Ukraine and the United States after Nov. 10, but participants had not set a date, AP reported. The news agency also said Russian missiles struck Kyiv on Oct. 22. Ukrainian officials put the death toll at at least four. Earlier rounds of negotiations made little progress beyond prisoner exchanges, AP reported.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers rose 0.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis from August to September. Its gasoline index climbed 9.1% in September and contributed more than half of the monthly increase in the overall index. The 12-month CPI increase was 3.4% through August.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) raised its federal funds target range by a quarter percentage point in September, to 3.75%-4%. The committee is scheduled to meet again Oct. 27-28.
