John Authers, Columnist

OPEC’s Yom Kippur Surprise Going Into Earnings Season

Profit forecasts have turned decisively downward, while inflation will likely prove more stubborn thanks to oil supply cuts. On the bright side: Bond and the Beatles.

Abdulaziz bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's energy minister, during a Bloomberg Television interview. 

Photographer: Akos Stiller/Bloomberg
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For most people the Jewish annual Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur, is best known for giving its name to the war in 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab nations led by Egypt and Syria. That conflict, which initially caught Israel by surprise, led to the Arab oil embargo and was a critical shock in the inflationary cycle that would vitiate the decade. So it’s not surprising that, coinciding with Yom Kippur observances this week, some see a parallel with the announcement by the OPEC+ group of oil exporters that they will cut oil production in a move designed to push up its price.