Falling Oil Prices Offer Relief to Global Markets

0:00Russia hunted him as a spy. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. Now, after 491 days in a Russian prison, he tells his harrowing story to George Stephanopoulos from the shocking arrest. They're in full masks. They're in full masks, and I'm getting dragged down onto the floor. There's a hood put over my head, and then I'm just being dragged out. To being behind bars in Russia. You had to actually write a letter to let him approve. Watch Monday morning as the exclusive breaks, only on ABC's Good Morning America. Here is your morning brief for Friday, September 25th. I'm Luke Vargas for the Wall Street Journal. Oil prices are falling today as investors assess the prospects for diplomacy. After Iran offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days. Brent Crude fell around 1%, while West Texas Intermediate fell almost 2% in early European trading. That retreat, which has played a big role in how bonds have traded this week, seems to have reassured investors and studied the global bond sell-off,

1:01giving US stock futures relief, and mostly lowering borrowing costs across Europe and Asia. Cracks are beginning to show in Oracle's massive AI Data Center build out in New Mexico. Dubbed Project Jupiter, it's part of the blitz of deals to create computing power for Open AI, but we report that the facility is facing local resistance. Oracle has booted one of its key land and power partners from the project, and this week sent a force-major notice to a developer to push back the data it needs to start paying rent. We also report that lenders are showing signs of unease about their exposure to Oracle, with at least one bank that arranged loans for the New Mexico Project selling off a portion of the debt. An Oracle spokesman said that Project Jupiter is on schedule and that the company is confident in its path forward. Oracle stock is down roughly 40% here to date. And Costco is reporting rising sales and higher profit, pointing to healthy spending from consumers

2:02undeterred by inflation alongside a record year for its gas business as the war in Iran boasts its value prop. CFO Gary Miller said that younger shoppers are also signing on as Costco members, driven by both new investments into its app and the brand's older school warehouse vibe. Costco says that more than a quarter of its member base is now under age 40. And we've got a lot more coverage of the day's news on the WSJ's What's News podcast. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Russia hunted him as a spy. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, now after 491 days in a Russian prison, he tells his harrowing story to George Stephanopoulos from the shocking arrest. They're in full masks. They're in full masks and I'm getting dragged down onto the floor. There's a hood put over my head and then I'm just being dragged out. To being behind bars in Russia. You had to actually write a letter to Vladimir Putin. Watch Monday morning as the exclusive breaks only on ABC's Good Morning America.