Financial Markets

Financial Markets September 28: Citigroup Taps Coinbase for Corporate Stablecoin Payments Amid Rising Yields

Created: September 28th, 2026 - 05:00 PT

Script

Here is today's Financial Markets for Monday September 28th. Treasury yields are climbing again and stock futures are slipping as investors begin a jobs-data-heavy week with renewed concern that interest rates could stay higher for longer. The Treasury selloff has extended amid geopolitical uncertainty and expectations for persistent inflation, making borrowing more expensive for companies, households, and governments. That is a difficult backdrop for equities, particularly the highly valued technology shares that have carried much of this year’s market strength. The coming labor-market reports will be crucial in testing whether the economy is slowing enough to relieve the pressure on rates.

Energy is adding to those inflation concerns. Oil prices rose today as U.S.-Iran talks encountered fresh hurdles, keeping the risk of disruption to Middle Eastern supply routes in focus. European natural-gas prices are also moving higher on prospects for prolonged disruptions to liquefied-natural-gas supplies. There is one offset: Saudi Arabia has reportedly resumed oil exports through a key cross-country pipeline after repairs following drone strikes earlier this month. Still, markets are likely to treat that as a partial supply improvement rather than a resolution of the larger regional risk. [1]

In trade, China said it will cut tariffs on a broad range of U.S. agricultural products, including corn, wheat, meat, and dairy. But soybeans, a major U.S. export to China, were excluded from the tariff-reduction list. That limits the immediate benefit for American farmers and suggests the U.S.-China trade thaw remains selective rather than comprehensive. Agricultural markets are signaling disappointment after the Trump-Xi summit, underscoring that investors want clearer commitments before pricing in a durable reduction in trade risk. [2]

Elsewhere, Citigroup has tapped Coinbase to help large corporate clients accept stablecoin payments. The partnership is another sign that major banks are moving beyond crypto trading and custody toward using blockchain-based payments in mainstream corporate finance. [3]

The broad pattern remains challenging: higher yields, firmer energy prices, and geopolitical uncertainty are weighing on risk appetite, while selective trade and financial-technology developments offer only limited relief. Gold has fallen to a seven-week low as rate-hike expectations rise, while Bitcoin has also lost momentum, showing that even alternative assets are feeling the macro pressure. Thank you for listening to Financial Markets from The Daily FM. See you tomorrow! [4]

Source Evidence

Recent tweets from @business

...atus/2104537881444299220
Links: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2026-09-28/the-trump-xi-summit-leaves-agricultural-markets-wanting-more?taid=6aba5341b13c710001a24a21&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_content=business&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

Saudi Arabia has started exporting oil using a key cross-country pipeline after the link was repaired following drone strikes earlier this month, sources say https://t.co/dMB3rPf9dK
Post

Links in excerpt: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2026-09-28/the-trump-xi-summit-leaves-agricultural-markets-wanting-more?taid=6aba5341b13c710001a24a21&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_content=business&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter, https://t.co/dMB3rPf9dK

Recent tweets from @ReutersBiz

...top import item — are excluded. Lewis Jackson decodes the US-China Board of Trade https://t.co/9L4CpRphLF https://t.co/Rbj9bWwjA8
Posted: 2026-09-28T11:45:00.000Z
Tweet: https://x.com/ReutersBiz/status/2104537857486426403
Links: https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-says-cut-tariffs-us-farm-goods-soybeans-excluded-2026-09-28/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook, https://x.com/ReutersBiz/status/2104537857486426403/video/1

Western automakers are chasing a defense spending boom as a way to sell more vehicles and make use of underemployed factories, though executives say military work will not make up for slowing car sales and growing Chinese competition. More here: https://t.co/Bdqlaq34Zx
Posted: 2026-09-28T07:54:27.000Z
Tweet: https://x.com/ReutersBiz/status/2104479840032178334
Links: https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/pickups-idle-plants-auto...

Links in excerpt: https://t.co/9L4CpRphLF, https://t.co/Rbj9bWwjA8, https://x.com/ReutersBiz/status/2104537857486426403, https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-says-cut-tariffs-us-farm-goods-soybeans-excluded-2026-09-28/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook,, https://x.com/ReutersBiz/status/2104537857486426403/video/1, https://t.co/Bdqlaq34Zx, https://x.com/ReutersBiz/status/2104479840032178334, https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/pickups-idle-plants-auto...

Recent tweets from @WSJmarkets

Gold Falls to Seven-Week Low as Rate-Hike Bets Rise https://t.co/ARa91uspgg
Posted: 2026-09-28T11:37:19.000Z
Tweet: https://x.com/WSJmarkets/status/2104535923278942266
Links: https://www.wsj.com/finance/commodities-futures/gold-falls-to-seven-week-low-as-rate-hike-bets-rise-45658349?reflink=e2twmkts

Citigroup has tapped crypto company Coinbase Global to help the bank’s big clients take stablecoin payments from customers https://t.co/E9XzfMqx7I
Posted: 2026-09-28T11:32:56.000Z
Tweet: https://x.com/WSJmarkets/status/2104534821577859179
Links: https://www.wsj.com/finance/currencies/citi-expands-digital-assets-footprint-with-coinbase-partnership-8e97a7b9?reflink=e2twmkts

Canada wants to become an energy superpower, and if it has the will, there is a way https://t.co/f2mOQUtNio
Posted: 2026-09-28T09:31:11.0...

Links in excerpt: https://t.co/ARa91uspgg, https://x.com/WSJmarkets/status/2104535923278942266, https://www.wsj.com/finance/commodities-futures/gold-falls-to-seven-week-low-as-rate-hike-bets-rise-45658349?reflink=e2twmkts, https://t.co/E9XzfMqx7I, https://x.com/WSJmarkets/status/2104534821577859179, https://www.wsj.com/finance/currencies/citi-expands-digital-assets-footprint-with-coinbase-partnership-8e97a7b9?reflink=e2twmkts, https://t.co/f2mOQUtNio

Recent tweets from @WSJmarkets

Gold Falls to Seven-Week Low as Rate-Hike Bets Rise https://t.co/ARa91uspgg
Posted: 2026-09-28T11:37:19.000Z
Tweet: https://x.com/WSJmarkets/status/2104535923278942266
Links: https://www.wsj.com/finance/commodities-futures/gold-falls-to-seven-week-low-as-rate-hike-bets-rise-45658349?reflink=e2twmkts

Citigroup has tapped crypto company Coinbase Global to help the bank’s big clients take stablecoin payments from customers https://t.co/E9XzfMqx7I
Posted: 2026-09-28T11:32:56.000Z
Tweet: https://x.com/WSJmarkets/status/2104534821577859179
Links: https://www.wsj.com/finance/currencies/citi-expands-digital-assets-footp...

Sources

Financial Markets September 27: Iran Awaits U.S. Response on Strait of Hormuz Reopening

Created: September 27th, 2026 - 05:00 PT

Script

Here is today's Financial Markets for Sunday September 27th. With U.S. markets closed for the weekend, news is likely to be lighter, but investors will begin the new week focused on whether diplomacy can ease the energy and inflation risks that have driven recent volatility. [1]

The most immediate development is in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran said it is awaiting a definitive U.S. response to its proposed seven-day arrangement for reopening the vital shipping route, but added that it will not soften its conditions after President Trump rejected the offer. The Strait is a crucial passage for global oil and liquefied natural-gas shipments. Any credible reopening plan could ease supply fears and pressure on crude prices; continued deadlock would keep an energy-risk premium in markets and complicate the inflation outlook.

Bond yields remain another major concern. The Wall Street Journal notes that investors are debating how stocks can continue to withstand rising borrowing costs, drawing comparisons with previous periods when yield increases produced sharply different market outcomes. Equities ended the week higher despite the move in yields, aided by AI-related technology shares. But sustained high rates raise the hurdle for richly valued growth stocks and add costs for consumers, businesses, and governments. [2]

Climate risk is also moving into investment decisions. T. Rowe Price is using specialized models to protect its 165-billion-dollar emerging-markets portfolio from what it sees as an unusually destructive El Niño cycle. That highlights a broader shift: weather disruptions are increasingly treated not simply as humanitarian or agricultural events, but as risks to food prices, infrastructure, corporate profits, and sovereign finances. [3]

In commodities, Barrick Mining reached an agreement with unions at its Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex in Mali, averting strikes planned for Monday. The deal reduces the immediate risk of production disruption at a significant gold operation, though political and operational risk in major mining regions remains important for supply forecasts. [4]

The broader theme for the week ahead is that markets are balancing resilient enthusiasm around artificial intelligence against three more tangible pressures: elevated yields, fragile energy routes, and climate-related supply disruptions. Thank you for listening to Financial Markets from The Daily FM. See you tomorrow! [5]

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