What Happened A French court cleared Marine Le Pen to contest next year’s presidential election, according to Reuters, injecting fresh political uncertainty into the Eurozone’s largest economy. The ruling arrived on a day when WTI crude fell 2.77% to $71.48 per barrel, gold rose 1.82% to $4,145 per troy ounce, and the US 10-year Treasury … Read more
What Happened Israel launched fresh strikes in southern Syria on Sunday, according to Reuters and Al Jazeera, displacing civilian families and drawing a sharp condemnation from Ankara, which called the attacks a violation of international law. The extension of Israeli military operations into Syrian territory — beyond the longer-running fronts in Gaza and Lebanon — … Read more
Iran just reminded the world that the Strait of Hormuz—through which 21 million barrels of oil per day flow, roughly 21% of global petroleum liquids consumption—remains a single-decision choke point. A senior Iranian politician this week described closure of the strait as “on the level of an atomic bomb” for the global economy, while US-Iran … Read more
The first direct US-Iran negotiations since 1979 launched in Islamabad this week, creating a binary outcome scenario that could either unleash energy shocks exceeding $110 oil or provide the catalyst for a sustained growth stock rally. With 21% of global crude flowing through the Strait of Hormuz—Iran’s primary negotiating lever—this diplomatic pivot represents the most … Read more