On Thursday, Oct. 8, a barrel of Brent was up about 5% and trading around 05, according to AFP and Reuters. Reuters cites the growing number of attacks on ships in the Gulf and the prospect of U.S. military operations against Iran. The Houthis have struck Saudi airports; three people died, according to Riyadh. European stock markets are down: the CAC 40 lost nearly 1% during the session and ended at 7,729.69 points, down 0.51%, after −1.22% on Wednesday. U.S. WTI was up nearly 3.7% in the evening, near $91.5. OPmobility plunges about 16% after cutting its forecasts and announcing job cuts. On Wall Street, futures are down about 0.5% and the 10-year Treasury yield stays close to its highest since 2002, while the thirty-year yield has touched a twenty-four-year high. In France, borrowing rates are climbing. The governor of the Banque de France says geopolitical shocks are becoming a financial shock; according to AFP, the ECB is standing pat. Twenty-three economists appeal to elected officials in Le Monde.
Oil at 05 feeds inflation and pushes rates up, just as France is trying to finance a high deficit. Energy prices, debt and budget policy reinforce one another.
For a driver, diesel may not come down before November despite the government’s plan. For a borrower, the upward trend in rates feeds through to loans.
The markets are a reminder that costly energy and high debt are a danger for a country that cannot manage to pass its budget: it must act quickly.
The day is mostly about Gulf geopolitics, which no French budget can settle. Panic is a poor adviser, and the ECB retains the means to act.
Three figures to remember: Brent above 00, the CAC 40 below 7,700 points and the 10-year OAT near 5%. They are moving together. To see whether the trend turns, watch what oil does on Friday, before any budget decision.
AFP via Le Singulier (Brent +5%) · Reuters via Boursorama (ships, Iran, Wall Street) · Zonebourse and BFM Bourse (CAC 40 intraday, OPmobility) · closing quotes for the CAC 40 (7,729.69, −0.51%) and evening WTI · Orange · Le Monde (economists, U.S. concern) · Les Échos (rates, companies) · Brent close not known
Economy · Energy · MarketsPress ✓ 6 outlets · Brent: intraday levels, close not known
Brent jumps 5% to around $105. Paris stocks fall and French yields climb again
Attacks on ships are multiplying in the Gulf. Bond yields are rising on both sides of the Atlantic, and the ECB is standing pat.
A barrel of Brent was up about 5% on Thursday and trading around $105, according to AFP and Reuters, amid tensions in the Middle East. Reuters cites the growing number of attacks on ships in the Gulf and the possibility that Washington could resume large-scale military operations against Iran. The Houthis have struck Saudi airports, with three dead according to Riyadh. European stock markets are down. The CAC 40 lost nearly 1% during the session (7,700.73 points at 1:50 p.m.) before closing at 7,729.69 points, down 0.51%, after −1.22% on Wednesday. U.S. WTI was up nearly 3.7% in the evening, near $91.5. Shares in OPmobility plunge about 16% after cutting their forecasts and announcing job cuts, according to Zonebourse and Les Échos. On Wall Street, futures are down about 0.5% and the yield on 10-year Treasuries stays close to its highest since 2002.
In France, borrowing rates are rising again. The 10-year OAT yield stood at about 4.90% the day before, after an intraday peak of 4.96% on Oct. 1. The governor of the Banque de France, Emmanuel Moulin, says geopolitical shocks are now turning into a financial shock. According to AFP, the ECB is standing pat for now: the economy minister and one governor consider intervention of little use, while another raises the possibility of a rate hike. In Le Monde, twenty-three economists urge elected officials to act to “stop France’s slide,” and the paper explains why the country’s situation worries the United States.
Open the story and DailyDrop’s take
By the numbers
≈$105a barrel of Brent on Thursday, up about 5% on the session (AFP, Reuters)
−0.51%the CAC 40 at the close, 7,729.69 points (Wednesday: 7,769.21, −1.22%)
4.90%the French 10-year rate the day before; intraday high of 4.96% on Oct. 1
On Thursday, Oct. 8, in Stockholm, the Swedish Academy awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature to Canadian Anne Carson, 76, for a body of work it called “bold and inventive.” Born in Toronto, a specialist in classical studies, she has taught in the United States and Canada. Her thesis, published in 1981, is titled “Odi et Amo Ergo Sum.” She is the author of “Eros the Bittersweet,” on desire in ancient Greek literature, and “Autobiography of Red,” a verse novel. She is the 19th woman to receive the prize and succeeds Hungarian László Krasznahorkai. The prize is worth 12 million Swedish kronor. Her next book, “Eros the Bittersweet” (« Éros doux-amer »), comes out in French on Nov. 6 from Arche Éditeur, in a translation by Vanasay Khamphommala.
The prize rewards a body of work that blends genres and sets antiquity in conversation with the present, and it puts the spotlight on poetry, which is rarely honored.
If you want to read her, her books are available in French translation. The release of “Eros the Bittersweet” (« Éros doux-amer ») on Nov. 6 is a way in.
A demanding and justified choice that rewards formal invention.
A difficult body of work, for a limited readership.
Note that the Nobel Peace Prize follows on Friday. For literature, the next event is the release of her book in French.
Le Monde · Les Échos · ActuaLitté · Livres Hebdo · CNN · NBC News · Noovo (Oct. 8) · Swedish Academy
Culture · Nobel PrizePress ✓ 7 outlets · Source ✓ Swedish Academy
Nobel Prize in Literature goes to Canadian poet Anne Carson
The Swedish Academy on Thursday honored Canadian Anne Carson, 76, in Stockholm for a body of work it called “bold and inventive.” A poet, essayist, translator and specialist in classical studies, she draws on Greek and Roman literature to blend poetry, essay and fiction. Her verse novel “Autobiography of Red,” which reinvents the myth of Geryon, and the essay “Eros the Bittersweet,” on desire in ancient Greece, are among her best-known books. She is the 19th woman to receive the prize and succeeds Hungarian László Krasznahorkai. The prize carries 12 million Swedish kronor, about €1.07 million. She was in Iceland when the announcement was made. Her next book, “Eros the Bittersweet” (« Éros doux-amer »), is due out in French on Nov. 6 from Arche Éditeur.
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Word of the day
PhilologistLiteratureA specialist in the study of ancient texts: their establishment, their language and their history. The chair of the Nobel committee praised the way Anne Carson brings together a philologist’s obsession with words and a poet’s desire to find new meaning.