NEW YORK (AP) — The upcoming week promises to deliver notable updates on inflation, a topic sure to dominate the U.S. midterm elections now less than a month away. A separate report will show how retailers are faring in an inflationary environment, while the nation's biggest banks roll out financials details from the most recent quarter.
The price of oil will be front and center as the U.S. war with Iran drags into its eighth month. Renewed violence has sent oil prices back above $100 per barrel and average gasoline prices remain well above $4 per gallon, while diesel remains just below the record high prices reached in September. That has all fueled inflation, putting more pressure on household budgets and businesses.
Here's a look at some of the events that will be front and center in the week ahead.
No news is good news lately in the U.S. housing market. On Tuesday, the National Association of Realtors reports existing home sales for September, and economists believe sales held steady from August. But August was awful, with sales declining to their slowest annual pace in more than a year. Prospective home buyers are being thwarted by rising mortgage rates which, as Freddie Mac reported Thursday, marched higher for the seventh consecutive week. The average long-term U.S. home loan rate is now higher than it's been in nearly three years. The housing sector has been in a slump since 2022 and sales of previously occupied homes were essentially flat last year, stuck at a 30-year low.
The U.S. reported last month that inflation accelerated in August as gas prices spiked in the wake of renewed fighting in the Middle East. More of the same is expected for September with all sides in the Iranian conflict unwilling to concede ground. The Labor Department is expected to report Wednesday that its consumer price index rose by two-tenths of a percent month over month and rose 3.6% compared with a year ago at this time. A day later, the department will release its producer price index — which captures inflation before it reaches consumers. Same story there. Economists expect an increase from the 5.4% registered in August, which was up from 4.8% in July. Last week, PepsiCo said it was raising prices on Doritos and other favorites, citing rising costs for fuel, aluminum and commodities.
Economists believe that Americans pulled back on shopping in September with the holiday shopping season just around the corner. Most expect a 0.65% bump. That said, consumers surprised just about everyone in August. As they griped about higher prices at the pump and at the grocery store, Americans spent heartily, expanding retail sales by 1.2%, nearly twice what forecasters had expected. Also next week, the National Retail Federation releases its forecast for the holidays.
Banks have notched record profits this year as their trading desks benefit from a volatile stock market while the U.S. war with Iran drags on. Big swings in markets tend to increase activity on trading desks, leading to higher commissions and fee revenue for the banks. Meanwhile, consumers keep spending despite pressure from high prices, and that helps boost fee and lending revenue.
Wall Street expects more of the same from the third-quarter updates. Analysts expect JPMorgan Chase to report a 47% boost in profits and Citigroup to report a 61% profit jump when both release earnings Tuesday. Bank of America is expected to tally a profit gain of 36% when it announces results Wednesday. Several other banks and financial institutions, including Morgan Stanley, will also report results during the week.
Households and businesses are also facing high interest rates that allow banks to charge more for loans and that won't likely change anytime soon. The Federal Reserve recently raised its benchmark interest rate in an effort to cool inflation and is leaning toward another rate hike by the end of the year.
The prices of a gallon of the various grades of fuel available is displayed electronically on a pump at a QuikTrip station Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, in Greenwood Village, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
LONDON (AP) — A stuffed Phillie Phanatic mascot doll sits perched atop a New England Patriots helmet near a shrine to Nick Foles.
The cuddly toy's legs cover most, but not all, of the choice messages written in marker on the vandalized silver helmet. Tom Brady is a favorite target.
Welcome to Passyunk Avenue.
The dive bar named after a well-known south Philadelphia street has become a go-to spot for curious British sports fans as well as traveling Eagles supporters — especially this week ahead of the team’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
For Eagles' season-ticket holder Mark Servodidio, in town with his wife and friends for the game Sunday, it’s the little things — like a Cabrini University jersey on the ceiling — that make the difference.
“You have all these little nuances. You can tell this is really a true hardcore Philadelphia-fandom pub,” he said. “When you get here, you really have to take a walk around and look. All these things have such meaning.”
How Philly is this jawn? Very.
Eagles, Phillies, Flyers and 76ers paraphernalia — all donated by visitors over the years — cover the walls and ceilings. Cheesesteaks are on the menu. Episodes of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” run on a TV above the front bar. U.S. dollar bills with written messages — think Brady, again, and the Dallas Cowboys — are pinned to the walls. There’s an unopened DVD set of “Rocky” movies.
The hole-in-the-wall spot in swanky Fitzrovia — filmmaker Guy Ritchie owns a restaurant nearby — opened in 2018, and they’ve added several other London locations.
Each one features a
Foles bar. Each location’s Wi-Fi password includes Foles. If anyone needs reminding, Foles was the backup quarterback who led the Eagles to a 41-33 victory over Brady and the Patriots in Super Bowl concluding the 2017 season. Foles’ MVP performance included a touchdown reception on a play named “ Philly Special.”
Had enough Foles? Philly hasn’t — at the Fitzrovia location there’s an inspirational Foles quote on the staircase descending to Foles bar. On the staircase, don’t miss the People magazine cover of Princess Diana wearing a green-and-white Eagles varsity bomber jacket.
It’s all the brainchild of J.P. Teti, Passyunk’s founder and managing director. He grew up in New Jersey with connections to Philadelphia — his Italian great grandparents settled in South Philly. While working a corporate job in London, he had discovered “you can’t get hoagies, you can’t get cheese steaks, chicken parms.”
He got some seed money and opened in Fitzrovia.
“I imagined this business to be this culturally immersive outpost that when you walk through the front door, you are someplace else for a little while,” said Teti, adding he hopes it’s a place people “can connect with emotionally, whether they’re from Philadelphia or not.”
Travis and Jason Kelce recorded an episode of their podcast at the Fitzrovia location in 2024 during Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. Chiefs tight end Travis and Swift got married this past summer.
The brothers had arrived for the session early in the morning, explained Jessi Riley, manager and “cultural ambassador” at Passyunk. A brief awkward moment turned comical. Riley had been planning a Taylor Swift after-party for post-concert regulars and had a cardboard cutout of the singer when Travis showed up.
“I’m like, ‘Sorry about the girlfriend, I’m having a Taylor Swift after-party,'" Riley said. "And he said ‘As am I.’”
The brothers later tried the cheesesteaks.
"Travis had two before 11 a.m., so I think that’s a pretty good sign," she said.
Jason spent his entire 13-year NFL career with the Eagles. His wife, Kylie, took a $100 bill from Jason — he didn’t have anything smaller, Riley said, wrote a message on it and posted it on the wall during the visit. She wrote “Go Birds!” and “Go Cabrini!” along with a Dallas-related dispatch.
The Passyunk bars are hosting Eagles events all weekend and Teti said there will be a “victory parade” on Monday with a brass band. The Fitzrovia location was the only one open in 2018 and was packed when the Eagles beat the Jags 24-18 at Wembley Stadium.
Over at the much larger Waterloo location, local Eagles fan Gareth Smith said there’s a natural affinity for the team among Britons.
“It’s one of the biggest-supported teams over here,” said Smith, one of the hosts of The Franchise Tag podcast. “A lot of British people can associate with Philadelphia. It’s a working-class city. It’s also not the most popular. Being English, we’re not the most popular worldwide. There’s a lot of similarities."
There's also the attitude of the fan base, he said.
"The sheer case of ‘we don’t care what anyone else thinks.’ That resonates quite nicely with the UK.”
See AP’s full NFL coverage here
A London Underground tube logo with "Philadelphia" written on it is displayed at Passyunk Avenue bar, a Philadelphia sports teams bar in London, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
A photo of former Philadelphia Eagles player Nick Foles, who led the team to win its first Super Bowl LII, is displayed on a wall at Passyunk Avenue bar in London, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Pedestrians walk past the entrance of the Passyunk Avenue bar, a sports bar in London, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
A Philadelphia Eagles emblem is displayed on a wall at the Passyunk Avenue bar in London, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
