Colombia quake death toll tops 250 as Typhoon 15 crosses Japan — August 12, 2026

Top U.S. Stories

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the July Consumer Price Index tonight (Japan time). Economists expect headline CPI up 3.4% year over year, with core CPI seen at 2.5%. Why it matters: rising oil prices tied to the Strait of Hormuz standoff could push the reading higher, reshaping bets on a September Fed rate move.
• U.S. stocks fell Tuesday as the standoff between the U.S. and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz intensified: the Dow fell 184.13 points (0.3%) to 53,791.85, the S&P 500 dropped 24.91 points (0.3%) to 7,728.20, and the Nasdaq fell 159.91 points (0.6%) to 26,445.45. Why it matters: the drop reflects growing doubt that a deal to reopen Hormuz will be reached soon, keeping oil prices elevated.
• A magnitude-7.4 earthquake in western Colombia has killed more than 250 people, with 101 dead in Pereira and 95 in Cali; the government has declared a national disaster and the UN estimates about 5,000 homes were damaged.
• Iran and Oman continue talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but Iran is still demanding a full U.S. troop withdrawal before it will restore normal shipping access. (CNN)
• An American Airlines flight out of South Carolina returned to Myrtle Beach after flames erupted from its left engine, in what appears to have been a bird strike. (NBC Los Angeles)

Markets

Brent crude rose 1.4% to $88.91 a barrel on August 11 as Hormuz tensions kept energy markets on edge, weighing on U.S. equities into Wednesday’s CPI report. Tokyo’s exchange was closed Tuesday for the Mountain Day holiday, so the Nikkei 225’s most recent close remains its August 10 level of 66,970.22, up 2.08% (JPX holiday calendar). The dollar traded around ¥159.2, near a fresh multi-week low for the yen.

Stocks in Focus

• Energy stocks: Brent crude touched levels near $90 a barrel intraday as the Hormuz standoff dragged on, keeping energy names in focus.
• Alphabet: shares fell after the company raised its 2026 capital expenditure forecast to as much as $205 billion, stoking concern about near-term margin pressure from AI spending. (The Motley Fool)
• Intel: shares slipped after the company announced a stock offering of up to $20 billion, adding to pressure on the chip sector. (Axios)

Not a recommendation to buy or sell any specific security.

Compass Insight

The throughline today is how far energy prices will feed into inflation. Brent crude’s push toward $90 a barrel, driven by the unresolved Hormuz standoff, sets the stage for tonight’s U.S. CPI report — if oil shows up clearly in the data, the September rate-hike odds that eased after July’s soft jobs report could firm back up.

For household budgets, a weaker yen (near ¥159) layered on top of firmer oil prices is a double cost-push: gasoline, utilities and imported goods all tend to feel it with a lag. Anyone on a variable-rate mortgage should keep an eye on rate risk given the Bank of Japan’s continued tilt toward tightening. In the short term, watch tonight’s CPI print and any Hormuz developments; over the medium term, the interplay between oil-driven inflation and the Fed-BOJ policy gap is worth tracking for its effect on the dollar-yen rate.

Auto-generated and AI-written. Not investment advice.