USA & Canada Intelligence Brief — Wednesday, August 26, 2026

August 26, 2026: Inflation in the USA and Canada reached 3.7% year-on-year, surpassing expectations, according to the latest data. The core inflation rate stood at 3.3%, with prices increasing by 0.2% on a monthly basis. The household saving rate remained constant at 3.0%, while income growth was reported at 0.4% and consumer spending saw a slight rise of 0.2%.

Fed officials, including President Collins, President John Williams, and Kevin Warsh, debated the appropriate response to the inflationary pressures, with Warsh advocating for potential rate hikes later in the year. The United States imposed 50% tariffs on Canadian goods valued at around $20 billion, triggering Canada's retaliatory tariff measures covering over 700 US products.

Canada announced a support package worth C$7.5 billion to assist affected industries, equivalent to approximately $27.6 billion in imports. Nvidia reported after the bell, delivering an earnings outlook that exceeded expectations despite a weak first-half performance. The company's revenue guidance of $91 billion, including a deliberate assumption of zero data-center compute sales to China, did not meet market consensus, which was near $90.7 to $93.5 billion.

Meanwhile, Iran faced increased financial pressure, with the rial crossing two million to the dollar, fuel quotas being reduced, and protests erupting in various cities. The US Supreme Court's decision to uphold mail-in voting rules for the November election added to the political landscape, with the Saudi nuclear cooperation agreement under scrutiny.

Meta agreed to pay over $16 billion in a settlement with US states, marking the largest such payment in the industry.