Nova Sappho

Much of the Northeast is just shy of $4.

Diesel prices nationally are up from $3.76 before the war to $5.45.

Diesel is the primary fuel for big trucks, freight trains, and farm equipment, meaning large price swings could filter through to other areas of the economy.

Rising gasoline prices were already hurting households.

55% of respondents to a Reuters survey a week ago said their finances had taken a hit.

I'm Novosafo for Marketplace.

Yemen's Houthi rebel group, which is backed by Iran, over the weekend fired at Israel for the first time since the conflict started.

This is significant in that the group has previously caused trouble through a different global shipping choke point called the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which essentially connects the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean.

Saudi Arabia has been diverting some of its oil shipments to that route via an east-west pipeline that now carries about 4.5 to 5 million barrels of oil per day.

If the Houthis once again fire at ships crossing the Red Sea Passage, those barrels would have to find another route out of Saudi Arabia, potentially further constraining the global oil supply.

That could lift prices even higher than they are now.

I'm Novosafo for Marketplace.

The new AI application from Altruist is set to ingest documents like tax forms, pay stubs and notes and spit out tax planning advice, traditionally a function of a financial advisor.

The AI is reducing the cost of intelligence.

Thomas Schuster is research director at IDC Financial Insights.

So, which companies might get walloped?

Sean Dunlop at Morningstar says it's hard to say.

But it's not clear firms are facing a serious threat at all, in part because we've seen this movie before.

Financial advisors have offered automated options for at least a decade, but clients haven't used them much, says Dunlop.

Such low uptake is no surprise to Isabella Loaiza of MIT, who's researched AI's impact on the financial industry.