Axios

Market watchers think the market should be able to continue to gain altitude despite a headwind from Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.

Why it matters: Rate-hiking cycles have sometimes undermined the market, leaving investors with ugly losses.

And the award for honesty in oil market analysis goes to ... J.P. Morgan!

• "For the first time since the start of the Iran conflict, we don't have a baseline view. We simply don't know how to model the endgame," bank researchers said in a note (emphasis added).

Why it matters: While the phrasing is unusually blunt, the sentiment is shared to varying degrees.

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers agree that consumers shouldn't fund the massive power needs of AI data centers. They're less aligned on whether Congress will actually stop that from happening.

Why it matters: The AI boom is colliding with an aging grid and long waits for new power projects — forcing policymakers to figure out how to add power fast without sticking households and businesses with the bill. Data centers are also emerging as one of this midterm cycle's most volatile political issues.

Over the past decade, lithium-ion batteries have transformed how we live, work and travel, ushering in the era of the Rechargeable Society.

Okay, but: As battery technology expands into the connected home, self-driving systems and grid infrastructure, everyone across the supply chain must build in safety. This will allow innovation to thrive and ultimately earn public trust and allow for society to anticipate failures before they turn into major headlines.

Markets are slowly coming to the view that the disruptions to the energy markets — the Iran war foremost among them — will keep energy prices elevated well into next year.

Why it matters: Unlike surging spot prices for crude oil — cash paid to get actual deliveries of products ASAP — prices in the energy futures markets have been slower to price in a long-lasting impact of the conflict.

• That could be changing.

Climate change is still melting ice and threatening polar bears, but the conversation at New York's upcoming Climate Week is centered on something much closer to home: the cost of energy.

Why it matters: With the Iran war pushing up energy costs, the AI boom driving power demand and the midterms looming, affordability is becoming a central test for climate action.