NAB Morning Call

Friday 18th September 2026

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With the US midterm elections looming and the threat of Republican losses hanging over Capitol Hill, how much should investors actually care about a potential shift in congressional power? This weekend on the NAB Morning Call, Phil speaks with Michael Townsend, Managing Director of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs at Charles Schwab and host of the Washington Wise podcast, to break down the realistic market fallout of an impending balance-of-power shakeup. Michael explains why history points to Democrats likely flipping the House while the Senate hangs on a knife-edge, but cautions against overestimating the political noise: historically, Wall Street doesn't care who wins—it simply rallies once the uncertainty is over and gridlock prevents policy overreach. With stubborn inflation, Middle East supply shocks keeping gas prices high, Fed rate hikes, and corporate debt from the AI boom dominating the landscape, does the battle for Capitol Hill even matter to the bottom line, or has the market already learned to shrug off Washington's daily drama?
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Friday 18th September 2026

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Markets have shrugged off their early response to the hawkish press conference from Kevin Warsh yesterday. NAB’s Ken Crompton says the unwound started soon after the initial response, with bond yields falling and shares recovering. Both have been helped by a further reduction in oil prices, on hopes of resumed Saudi supply through their east-west pipeline. Ken and Phil also talk about the Bank of England yesterday and the assumption that the Bank of Japan will lift rates today. But what if they don’t?
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Thursday 17th September 2026

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A unanimous decision from the Fed to lift rates and, a s NAB’s Ray Attrilll explains, at least one more rate hike seems likely this year. The market response was fairly muted initially after the short statement talked about how the resilience in the economy was adding to the supply-side inflation worries, but it was Kevin Warsh’s press conference that drew the biggest response. So what did he say? Meanwhile the Bank of England is expected to keep interest rates on hold despite rising inflation numbers yesterday. How long can they hod that stance? It’s a similar question for the RBNZ, particularly if there is clear growth in today’s GDP numbers.
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Wednesday16th September 2026

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Bond yields are still at multi-year highs, driven by inflation concerns, in turn driven by oil prices, which are still rising, alongside expectations for rate hikes from central banks. NAB’s Skye Masters says markets have almost fully priced in a rate hike from the Fed tomorrow morning (our time) but there will be interest in the dots plot (whilst it’s still a thing) to determine future moves. Phil and Skye also look at the rise in Japanese Government Bonds Yields. As Phil points out, the last time they were this high nobody had heard of the Spice Girls.

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Tuesday 15th September 2026

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Rising bond yields, rising oil prices, bond yields higher. Today is a repetition of yesterday as the same pressures drive markets - the Middle East, AI growth concerns, inflation fears and central bank expectations. NAB’s Sally Auld joins Phil to discuss market reactions and where she thinks expectations might be a little over-egged. Why, for example, asks Phil, is the market expecting hikes from the Bank of Canada this week when yesterday’s data shows inflation seems to be more under control there than in most places? Today’s UK jobs data precedes a Bank of England rate announcement on Thursday.
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