If you’re a financial wonk, it was a good week. I can only imagine the delight when the civilians in your life sheepishly ask, unprompted, “Now, explain to me what’s going on with the bond market?”

Here’s the distillation for the travel industry. The U.S. sank five Iranian oil tankers last week, so Iran retaliated against shipping near the Strait of Hormuz. Predictably, oil prices then shot above $100 a barrel. That’s an inflationary signal. Inflation — and the prospect of higher interest rates to contain it — is bad for bonds, pushing prices down and yields up.

Then came CPI. Headline inflation held at 3.4%, while core prices rose slightly more than economists expected. That strengthened the case for the Fed to raise interest rates next week. Markets behaved accordingly, and the bond market spent much of the week losing its mind.

Bottom line: Energy is more expensive, inflation means the cost of goods are more expensive, and the cost of money is likely going to get even more expensive. That’s bad for business.

(Unless you’re a luxury provider, in which case you may give all of this a collective shrug. The top of the K-shaped economy doesn’t check the price of gas and will figure out how to flex whatever needs flexing when rates go up. They probably also have a very strong bond game, come good times or bad. There’s always a hedge.)

Here’s what we’re watching.

Oil: Brent jumped above $107 a barrel this week as attacks on shipping raised fears about supplies moving through the Strait. For airlines, that means renewed pressure on jet-fuel costs. For hotels and tour operators, higher transportation and supply-chain costs. And for consumers, more money disappears at the gas pump and the check-out. 

Inflation: The headline CPI number wasn’t disastrous. The problem is now the Fed is under pressure to keep fighting prices rather than supporting growth. That matters to travel companies well beyond their own borrowing costs. Higher-for-longer rates hit hotel development, aircraft financing, M&A and private equity returns — while higher prices simultaneously squeeze the customer on the other side.

Consumer Spending: So far, the consumer hasn’t cracked. Yet. But the Fed says shoppers are increasingly price-sensitive even as high-end spending remains solid, and airlines are still seeing strong demand despite higher fares. Travel spending was up nearly 6% year over year in July.