| Here’s what my colleague, market strategist Mike “Willo” Wilson, says happened while we were sleeping… US stocks edged higher, driven by tech companies. Moves were tempered and Treasuries rose as talks around thousands of Federal workers being laid off continued. Oil fell to the lowest in nearly five months on expectation OPEC+ is going to restore previously idled supply. The Aussie, kiwi and the dollar consolidated. That should continue into the weekend given the bare economic calendar locally and US jobs data likely being a non-starter due to the government shutdown. ASX futures point to a staid opening for local equities. The European Union plans to hike tariffs on its steel imports to 50%, according to a draft proposal seen by Bloomberg. The move will align the bloc’s rate with the US, which has sought to push back against overcapacity from China. It comes amid an increasingly volatile time for iron ore — Australia’s biggest resource export — and uncertainty over China’s steel market. The hunt for winners in the AI gold rush has landed on Caterpillar, an old-line industrial equipment maker, as investors bet AI's demand for electricity will fuel orders for its power-generation turbines. The iconic US company, known for its yellow excavators and bulldozers that feature across Australian mines, closed September at an all-time high. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway reached a deal to buy Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s petrochemical business for about $9.7 billion in cash. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter. Occidental plans to use a vast amount of the cash to pay down debt. | 
