Hospital Sale Falls Through After Bangor Steps In
A deal meant to shore up Penobscot Community Health Care's finances collapsed after the city exercised its right of first refusal.
The outcome leaves the hospital system's finances an open question heading into the fall.
UMaine unveils two new research buildings this fall
The Green Engineering and Materials building and a Sustainable Aquaculture Workforce Innovation Center represent more than $90 million in combined investment.
New owners plan to remix the Bangor Mall
Fresh retail first, with an eventual conversion of some space to multifamily housing.
No City Hall meeting summaries published yet for Bangor.
Bath Iron Works Stands Ready to Build the Navy's "Golden Fleet" Battleship
The Maine shipyard has also opened a new $40 million building to speed its destroyer work.
The offer comes months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth toured the shipyard in February, a visit that drew protesters outside the gates: the latest flashpoint in the administration's push to expand naval shipbuilding capacity.
Administration pushes state-by-state voter eligibility lists
The effort will miss its own 60-day-before-Election-Day target; separately, the administration asked the Supreme Court to let the Postal Service restrict mail-in ballot handling for the midterms.
GOP stages a midterm convention centered on Trump
Party officials are building this cycle's messaging squarely around the president as the 2026 midterms approach.
Sununu, Pappas win New Hampshire Senate primaries
Former Republican Sen. John E. Sununu and Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas advance easily to the general election for the state's open seat.
Oil Tops $100 a Barrel as the Iran Conflict Widens
The 10-year Treasury yield followed crude to 4.81 percent, its highest since October 2023.
Most shipping through the Strait of Hormuz (a passage for roughly a fifth of the world's oil) has halted since the latest strikes, and traders now price a Federal Reserve that holds rates longer rather than one that cuts. The Fed left its target range at 3.50 to 3.75 percent in July.
China's factories keep expanding
Manufacturing PMI climbed to 51.5 in August from 50.9, with new export orders growing at their fastest pace in six months.
Brazil trims its Selic rate to 14.75%
Still the world's highest major policy rate, even after March's quarter-point cut.
Every chart below has three lines drawn on it, and none of them are magic. The wavy outer band (Bollinger Bands) just marks "wider than usual" versus "narrower than usual" price swings: think of it as a lane that gets wider when everyone's nervous and narrower when things are calm. The little zigzag underneath some charts (RSI) is closer to a speedometer: it measures how fast a price has been climbing or falling lately, on a scale of 0 to 100. Above 70 usually means "this has been climbing hard, maybe due for a breather," not a guarantee, just a tendency. Below 30 means the opposite. MACD, the third one, tracks whether the *pace* of a move is speeding up or slowing down, even while the price itself keeps going the same direction, like noticing a car is still moving forward but has eased off the gas.
Here's what those tools are actually showing this week, and why it matters outside a trading screen. Both the 10-year and 30-year U.S. Treasury yields (which set the floor under mortgage rates, car loans, and business borrowing costs) have been climbing so steadily that they're bumping up against "maybe due for a pause." That climb has been happening at the same time markets are betting the Federal Reserve holds interest rates higher for longer, or even raises them, instead of cutting. That's exactly why economist Mike Shedlock's "hold or hike" argument (see the opinion piece below) lines up with what these charts already show.
Oil is the clearest real-world link: its price band has suddenly widened a lot, which just means traders are far less certain than usual whether it keeps rising or falls back, and that uncertainty traces directly to the fighting near the Strait of Hormuz on our World desk. For a Maine household, that translates plainly: it's the gap between "heating oil keeps getting more expensive this winter" and "this spike cools off." Right now, nobody actually knows which.
Gold is the odd one out. It's the asset people traditionally buy when they're scared, and this week's war news would normally push it up. Instead it barely moved. That's not us being unable to explain it; it's us telling you plainly that the signal is mixed, which is itself useful to know. Meanwhile the stock market (which is where most retirement accounts and 401(k)s live) isn't falling apart, but its momentum is quietly cooling, like coasting after letting off the gas, not slamming the brakes. And Bitcoin and Ethereum, for once, are just sitting calmly in their normal range.
None of this is telling you what to do with your own money. It's us explaining what the charts already show and connecting it to the news causing it. For decisions about your own finances, talk to a professional who knows your situation.
The Fed's Next Move Might Not Be a Cut: It Might Be a Hike
Independent economist Mike Shedlock says political and market pressure now point toward a September rate hike, not a pause, and this week's oil shock only strengthens his case.
Every economic story this week traces back to the same fact: oil is back above $100 a barrel, and the Strait of Hormuz (the passage for roughly a fifth of the world's crude) has gone quiet since the latest U.S.–Iran strikes. The 10-year Treasury yield followed it up to 4.81%, the highest since October 2023. The Fed itself, at its July meeting, held its target range at 3.50–3.75% while noting inflation remained elevated against its 2% goal.
That's the official story. Independent economist Mike Shedlock, writing at MishTalk, is making a sharper argument: political realities may force the Fed's hand toward a hike in September, not a pause. He points to Fed funds futures pricing roughly 82% odds of a hike after a recent Fed governor's speech, and lays out seven structural forces he says are keeping yields high and rising: a growing federal budget deficit, national debt past $40 trillion, tariff-driven price pressure, and now the Iran conflict's energy shock on top of all of it.
That's a real fork in the road, and a different one than the market was debating even a few months ago, when the question was hold-or-cut. Only one more CPI report lands before the Fed's September 16 meeting to settle it.
My own read: the bond market has already cast a vote. A 4.81% ten-year yield doesn't wait for a Fed announcement; it's priced in a good chunk of Shedlock's case already, whichever way the actual vote goes. For Maine households, the practical upshot is the same either way: it's the energy bill, not the FOMC statement, that decides how this winter actually feels.
Strait of Hormuz Shipping Halts as U.S.–Iran Conflict Escalates
The U.S. says it destroyed five Iranian tankers; Tehran struck back at U.S. ships and a base in Jordan.
The narrow waterway carries roughly a fifth of the world's oil. Its closure is the direct cause of this week's price spike, and the diplomatic path back to normal shipping remains unclear.
Iran says it struck 10 ships near the Strait of Hormuz
The retaliation follows the U.S. sinking five Iranian tankers; at least one seafarer is reported dead and another missing. Trump said he expects the conflict to end after the November midterms.
UK bans trade with Israeli settlements, sanctions "settler terrorists"
The move comes amid growing international pressure over West Bank settlement expansion.
Apple Confirms iPhone 18 Pro, Refreshes Mac Mini and Studio
An OLED option for iPad Mini also headlines this week's Apple news.
The refresh lands the same week oil prices, not gadgets, are dominating the wider business news.
Apple unveils the foldable iPhone Duo
New CEO John Ternus introduced the passport-style foldable, Apple's most radical design change in nearly two decades.
Anthropic builds a public tool modeling AI's economic impact
The interactive model estimates how AI could reshape the U.S. economy over the next several years.
A Diabetes Drug Is Showing an Unexpected Mental-Health Benefit
A large Swedish study links semaglutide -- the drug behind Ozempic and Wegovy -- to a 21% lower risk of psychiatric hospitalization in people with bipolar disorder.
Researchers tracked nearly 15,000 people with bipolar disorder and found that those taking semaglutide had markedly fewer psychiatric hospital stays than those who weren't -- a finding that adds to a growing pile of evidence that the drug's effects reach well beyond weight loss and blood sugar.
A combined lifestyle program improved memory in older adults at dementia risk
Exercise, healthier eating, cognitive training, and social engagement together produced measurable gains -- no single habit did it alone.
Scientists map hidden "sleeper" cancer cells inside breast tumors
The detailed mapping may help explain why some cancers return years after successful treatment.
A new Parkinson's drug shows real improvement in a major trial
Tavapadon, tested in over 300 adults with early Parkinson's disease, outperformed a placebo in a phase 3 trial.
Tip: the "sweet spot" for exercise may be smaller than you think
Doctors point to roughly 45 minutes of movement, three to five times a week -- and note that even short bursts help brain health on days you can't manage more.