Iran Says No Deal. The Most Expensive War Ever?

Baltic Dry Index. 2001 +12     Brent Crude 104.00

Spot Gold  4499                          Spot Silver 71.05

US 2 Year Yield 3.84 -0.06

US Federal Debt. 39.036 trillion

US GDP 31.269 trillion.

There's no honorable way to kill, no gentle way to destroy. There is nothing good in war. Except its ending.

Abraham Lincoln

While President Trump insists Iran is negotiating on his 15 point peace plan, Iran says “no deal, no talks” and makes demands for peace on its own terms.

Brent crude moved back up over $100 again, the price of diesel soared to a record high in California, and the stock casinos trade nervously amidst rising uncertainty.

The only certainty, the longer this unnecessary war goes on, the more likely the global economy will stagger into stagflation.

Iran Rejects US Peace Plan, Issues Demands of Its Own

Iran wants guarantees that the US and Israel won’t resume attacks, alongside reparations for war damages and recognition of its authority over the Strait of Hormuz

March 25, 2026 at 9:21 PM GMT

Iran said it rejected a US ceasefire proposal and maintained attacks on Israel and Gulf Arab states, delivering a blow to Washington’s efforts to end a war the Trump administration started alongside Israel almost a month ago.

America’s 15-point peace plan stipulates that the Islamic Republic dismantle its main nuclear facilities and use a reduced missile arsenal in self-defense only, according to several people familiar with the matter. Iran would get certain concessions in return, including sanctions relief.

But Tehran has its own conditions for a ceasefire. Iran wants guarantees that the US and Israel won’t resume their attacks, alongside reparations for war damages and recognition of its authority over the Strait of Hormuz, it said.

The White House insisted that peace talks with Iran are ongoing, even as Tehran publicly rejected US overtures. Vice President JD Vance may travel to Pakistan for Iran talks this weekend, CNN reported. Trump has said he hopes to reach an agreement by the end of the week. —Jordan Parker Erb

Iran Rejects US Peace Plan, Issues Demands of Its Own - Bloomberg

Oil prices rise 2% as Iran rejects direct U.S. talks despite proposal review

Published Wed, Mar 25 2026 9:12 PM EDT

Oil prices rose Thursday after Iran signaled it had no intention of holding direct talks with the United States, even as a U.S. proposal to end the war is under review by senior officials in Tehran, according to remarks from the Islamic Republic’s foreign minister.

International benchmark Brent crude futures added 1.95% to $104.21 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures climbed 2.05% to $92.17 per barrel.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told state media on Wednesday that exchanges between the two countries through mediators do not mean “negotiations with the U.S.,” Reuters reported.

Iranian state media reported that Tehran would reject a U.S. ceasefire offer and had instead laid out its own conditions for ending the conflict.′

The latest comments came as Washington and Tehran continued to offer differing accounts of the status of talks.

Trump said Tuesday the U.S. and Iran are “in negotiations right now” and suggested Tehran is eager to make a deal, even as the Islamic Republic has denied any direct talks. Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said he had backed off from earlier threats to strike Iranian energy infrastructure “based on the fact we’re negotiating.”

Analysts at investment bank TD Securities said the latest oil shock is unlikely to trigger an aggressive policy response from the Federal Reserve.

While markets have begun pricing in the risk of rate hikes amid elevated inflation expectations, TD said the Fed is more likely to remain in a “wait and see” mode, with its leadership still leaning toward rate cuts later in 2026.

“The Fed will look through the energy shock” so long as longer-term inflation expectations remain anchored and second-round effects stay contained, the bank added.

Oil price: WTI, Brent after Iran rejects direct U.S. talks

Asia markets trade mixed as Iran rules out direct U.S. talks despite reviewing proposal

Published Wed, Mar 25 2026 7:40 PM EDT

Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Thursday after Iran signaled it had no intention of holding direct talks with the United States, even as Tehran reviews an American proposal to end the war, according to the Islamic Republic’s foreign minister.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that an exchange of messages between the two countries through mediators “does not mean negotiations with the U.S.,” Reuters reported.

Earlier Wednesday, Iranian state media reported that the country would reject a U.S. ceasefire offer and had outlined its own conditions for ending the war.

Thierry Wizman, global FX and rates strategist at Macquarie Group, said that a ceasefire is not imminent.

“Rather, an intensification of military action by the U.S. as it tries to nudge Iran toward making important concessions is likely over the next two weeks, before major combat operations succeed, perhaps in mid-April,” said Wizman.

“The War may now enter its third phase of ‘talk and fight,’ rather than talk only, or fight only,” he wrote in a note.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was little changed.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.28%, while the Topix rose 0.43%. South Korea’s Kospi slid 1.55% and the small-cap Kosdaq added 0.18%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slid 0.52%, while the CSI 300 opened flat.

Oil prices were stable during Asia trading hours. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 0.72% at $91 per barrel.

Overnight in the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 305.43 points, or 0.66%, and closed at 46,429.49. The S&P 500 rose 0.54% to 6,591.90, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.77% to end at 21,929.83.

Asia-Pacific markets: Nikkei 225, Kospi, Hang Seng Index

Next, more trouble in private credit. How long before the pc crash?

Moody’s cuts rating on private credit fund run by KKR and Future Standard to junk as bad loans grow

Published Tue, Mar 24 2026 7:20 AM EDT Updated Tue, Mar 24 2026 10:55 AM EDT

Moody’s Ratings on Monday downgraded a private credit fund run by KKR and Future Standard to junk amid rising bad loans and a string of weak earnings.

The ratings firm lowered the debt ratings of FS KKR Capital Corp by one notch to Ba1 from Baa3 — pushing it into “junk” territory — saying that the fund’s underlying asset quality had worsened more than its peers.

Non-accrual loans, meaning loans that borrowers have stopped making payments on, rose to 5.5% of total investments at the end of 2025, one of the highest rates among rated business development companies, according to the report.

“The downgrade reflects FSK’s continued asset quality challenges, which have resulted in weaker profitability and greater net asset value erosion over time relative to business development company (BDC) peers,” Moody’s said, referring to the fund by its ticker.

Shares of FSK dropped 4% in Tuesday morning trading. They’ve plunged by more than 30% this year.

The move by Moody’s is the latest sign of distress in the private credit world. Retail investors have been rushing to withdraw funds, running into gates amid concerns about upcoming credit losses, especially related to software loans. Asset managers from Blackstone to Blue Owl have had to contend with elevated redemption requests for their private credit funds, a potential turning point for a category that has seen explosive growth in the past decade.

FSK, which lends to private, middle-market U.S. companies, became the second-largest publicly traded BDC when it was formed through a merger of two predecessor funds in 2018.

Funds such as FSK issue debt to help juice returns, so the Moody’s downgrade could increase its borrowing costs and, therefore, lower future returns.

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Moody's cuts rating on private credit fund run by KKR and Future Standard to junk

In other news, the needless war gets ever more costly.

It’s not just oil and gas. The Strait of Hormuz blockage is rattling another vital commodity

Published Wed, Mar 25 2026 4:23 AM EDT

Farmers in the northern hemisphere are heading into the crucial spring months, during which major fieldwork must begin. Their peers in the south, meanwhile, are busy harvesting crops before the winter sets in.

However, their work now takes place as the Iran war creates serious supply constraints for essential fertilizer products — fueling massive price spikes and warnings of looming food insecurity.

Around one-third of the global seaborne fertilizer trade passes through the Strait of Hormuz, according to the UN.

The waterway, a critical shipping route that runs along Iran’s southern border, has been severely disrupted since the start of the war, with traffic effectively coming to a halt and several ships being hit by projectiles in or near the waterway.

Since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, the price of fertilizer — much of which is produced in the Middle East — has skyrocketed.

Fertilizer futures contracts are less liquid than other commodities, making prices more opaque. But analysts working in the sector told CNBC that they had seen the cost of FOB granular urea in Egypt — a bellwether of nitrogen fertilizers — jump to around $700 per metric ton, up from $400 to $490 before the war began.

In a Monday note, Oxford Economics’ Alpine Macro said urea and ammonia prices had surged by around 50% and 20%, respectively, since the war began. Other fertilizers, like potash and sulfur, have also risen in price.

The Middle East is a particularly large exporter of urea and nitrogen products, according to Chris Lawson, VP of market intelligence and prices at CRU.

“With the Strait of Hormuz essentially cut off, there’s a big chunk of global trade that isn’t able to move right now,” Lawson said. “We estimate around 30% of exportable suppliers are not really available to the market right now, that is Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain, but that also includes Iran.”

Iran, Lawson said, is an important producer of nitrogen-based fertilizers and one of the largest exporters globally.

“There’s a lot of traded supply that is at risk — 30% of global urea trade comes out of Iran and the Hormuz-constrained countries,” he told CNBC.

“It’s a long supply chain — if farmers aren’t able to get the urea that they need, crop yields will inevitably go lower. Nitrogen is the main nutrient that a crop needs to grow, [and] there will be inventories that can be drawn down, so you’re not really going to see an impact on crop yields and a loss of crop production until later in the year.”

‘You can’t skip a season of nitrogen’

Dawid Heyl, a co-portfolio manager for the Global Natural Resources strategy at Ninety One, told CNBC that nitrogen fertilizers like urea were at the forefront of the Middle East crisis because — unlike other fertilizer groups like potash and phosphates — nitrogen is “the one element that you need to get to the plant every single year.”

“You can skip a season of potash, you can skip a season of phosphates, but you can’t skip a season of nitrogen,” Heyl said.

With farmers in the northern hemisphere due to begin fertilizing their fields, the supply constraint has intersected with cyclical demand. Urea, one of the world’s most used fertilizers, is used in the growth of various crops, including maize, wheat, rapeseed and some fruits and vegetables.

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Fertilizer prices surge amid Iran war, sparking food security warnings

U.S. California diesel prices hit record high

Source: Xinhua| 2026-03-25 13:34:15

LOS ANGELES, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Diesel prices in the U.S. state of California have risen to a record high, according to the latest data from the American Automobile Association (AAA).

The average price of diesel in California reached 7.018 U.S. dollars per gallon on Tuesday, the highest level recorded in AAA's database. By comparison, the current U.S. national average price for diesel is about 5.345 dollars per gallon.

U.S. media reports attributed the rising diesel prices to reduced oil-refining capacity and disruptions in global energy shipments amid the war in Iran. California has lost two refineries since October 2025, eliminating roughly 20 percent of its refining capacity.

The increase in diesel prices is driving up transportation costs, with potential ripple effects on food, building materials and retail goods shipped by diesel-powered trucks, reports said.

U.S. California diesel prices hit record high-Xinhua

Tungsten prices surge as Iran war drains stocks

By  Staff Writer  March 23, 2026

TUNGSTEN prices have hit their highest level in at least 90 years as the US and Israel burn through munitions supplies in their air campaign against Iran, deepening a supply crisis already set in motion by Chinese export restrictions.

The Rotterdam price for ammonium paratungstate, an intermediate product used to make tungsten metal, has surged from under $400 per ton a year ago to more than $2,200, said Reuters citing data from the Shanghai Metals Market. Tungsten is consequently one of the best-performing commodities of recent months, the newswire said.

China, which accounts for around 80% of global mined tungsten production, tightened its export controls in February 2025 in response to US tariffs. Exports have since fallen by nearly 40%, William Parry-Jones, founder of Wolfram Advisory told Reuters. Chinese domestic output also fell 10% year-on-year to 61,000 tons in 2025 due to lower government quotas and environmental curbs on smaller producers.

Unlike tungsten carbide drill bits, which can be recycled, tungsten used in munitions is destroyed on detonation. The defence sector consumed around 10% of global tungsten supply last year, a share analysts expect to rise sharply as Western nations race to rebuild stockpiles depleted by conflicts in Ukraine and the Gulf, said Reuters.

Military demand is likely to crowd out civilian users, including manufacturers of semiconductors, printed circuit boards and solar panels, analysts warn.

Western supply is growing, with non-Chinese production rising 20% to 19,000 tons last year, led by Kazakhstan’s Boguty mine, though new projects remain years from meaningful output, the newswire said.

Tungsten prices surge as Iran war drains stocks - Miningmx

Global Inflation/Stagflation/Recession Watch.

Given our Magic Money Tree central banksters and our spendthrift politicians.

Recession odds climb on Wall Street as economy shows cracks beneath the surface

Published Wed, Mar 25 2026 6:07 AM EDT

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell last week pushed back when asked whether stagflation posed a threat to the U.S. economy. His successor may face a tougher challenge, as Wall Street forecasters raise their expectations of recession, brought on in part by the Iran war and potential for higher prices.

In recent days, economists have pulled up their risk assessments of a U.S. contraction amid heightened uncertainty over geopolitical risk and a labor market that for the past year has shown strains over the past year.

Moody’s Analytics’ model has raised its recession outlook for the next 12 months to 48.6%. Goldman Sachs boosted its estimate to 30%. Wilmington Trust has the odds at 45%, while EY Parthenon has it at 40%, with the caveat that “those odds could rapidly rise in the event of a more prolonged or severe Middle East conflict.”

In normal times, the risk for a recession in any given 12-months span is around 20%. So while the current predictions are hardly certainties, they signify elevated risk.

The situation poses a tough challenge for policymakers who are being asked to balance threats to the labor market against sticky inflation.

“I’m concerned recession risks are uncomfortably high and on the rise,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. “Recession is a real threat here.”

War drives the fears

Talk of an economic contraction has accelerated as the war with Iran has dragged on.

An oil shock has preceded virtually every recession the U.S. has seen since the Great Depression, save for the Covid pandemic. Prices at the pump have risen by $1.02 a gallon over the past month, an increase of 35%, according to AAA.

While economists still debate the pass-through impact from higher energy, the trend has held.

“The negative consequences of higher oil prices happen first and fast,” Zandi said. “If oil prices stay kind of where they are through Memorial Day, certainly through the end of the second quarter, that’ll push us into recession.”

Like his fellow forecasters, Zandi said his “baseline” expectation is that the warring sides find a diplomatic off-ramp, oil flows again through the Strait of Hormuz and the economy can avoid a worst-case scenario.

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Recession odds climb on Wall Street as economy shows cracks beneath the surface

There will be a global recession if oil reaches $150 a barrel, warns Blackrock boss

Updated: 08:04, 25 March 2026

If oil reaches $150 a barrel, it could trigger a global recession, the boss of the world's largest asset manager has warned.

Blackrock chief executive Larry Fink said that if the Iran war keeps energy prices persistently high, it will have ‘profound implications’ for the world economy.

The conflict has caused wild swings in markets, as investors grapple with the ramifications for global supply chains.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has pushed Brent crude prices to their highest levels in nearly four years - at one point reaching nearly $120 a barrel.

Economists have warned that recession and stagflation -  the combination of higher inflation and unemployment, and stagnating growth - risks are rising because of the war. 

Fink said it was too early to determine the outcome of the war, but told the BBC there were two possible scenarios.

If the conflict ends soon, then oil prices could return to their pre-conflict level at around $70.

----If the war is drawn out, Fink says there could be ‘years of above $100, closer to $150 oil, which has profound implications in the economy’ and an outcome of ‘a probably stark and steep recession’.

Last week, Deutsche Bank said: 'Investors are increasingly pricing in a more protracted conflict that causes extensive economic damage'. 

The longer there is disruption to shipping routes and energy infrastructure across the region, the less likely the damage is temporary.  

The outlook hasn't been helped by comments made by the International Energy Agency (IEA), which has called the conflict the 'largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market'. 

On Monday, Fatih Birol, the IEA's executive director, said that hat the severe damage to at least 40 energy sites meant that even an end to the conflict would not immediately restore oil supply.

Rising oil and gas prices will soon start to filter through to household energy bills because the UK relies on imports. 

Fink said ‘Rising energy prices is a very regressive tax. It affects the poor more than the wealthy.’

Energy experts have called on the Government to allow the domestic production of oil and gas or risk further price shocks.

Fink said countries should not rely on one source of energy, and that if oil prices rise to $150 ‘you would have so many countries moving so rapidly towards solar and maybe even wind’.

He added: ‘Use what you have unquestionably, but also aggressively move towards alternative sources too.’

There will be a global recession if oil reaches $150 a barrel, warns Blackrock boss | This is Money

Consumer confidence collapses as Middle East war escalates

25 March 2026

Consumer confidence has “collapsed” as the war in the Middle East raises fears of soaring inflation over the coming months, figures show.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) survey by Opinium, taken between March 10 and March 13, shows consumer expectations of the economy over the next three months fell to its lowest level on record, plunging to minus 53 from minus 30 in February.

Expectations for personal finances also fell to a record low of minus 17, down from minus six in February.

Meanwhile, spending predictions rose seven points to 13 as shoppers expected to see rising energy costs reflected across the economy.

BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “Consumer confidence collapsed as the Middle East conflict raised the prospect of higher inflation in the months ahead.

“As stock markets tumbled, confidence in both the economy and personal finances dropped to their lowest levels on record.

“The drop in confidence was most pronounced among the Boomer generation, who are most reliant on investment and pension funds.

Ms Dickinson added: “The current conflict has created a great deal of uncertainty in the economy. Inflation is expected to rise in the coming months. Just as the economy was beginning to turn a corner on inflation, the rise in global energy prices is particularly unwelcome for businesses and families.

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Consumer confidence collapses as Middle East war escalates

Technology Update.

With events happening fast in the development of solar power and graphene, among other things, I’ve added this section Updates as they get reported.

Fire experts ‘kept awake’ over growing hazard of lithium-ion batteries

Fire service warns ubiquity of batteries in everyday products is outpacing public understanding and safety regulations

Fri 20 Mar 2026 11.11 GMT Last modified on Fri 20 Mar 2026 13.05 GMT

Lithium-ion batteries represent a new technological hazard that one fire science expert has said keeps him awake at night, as fire service chiefs warn the ubiquity of the batteries in everyday products is outpacing public understanding and safety regulations.

The blaze that devastated a historic building in Glasgow and resulted in the closure of Central Station, Scotland’s largest rail interchange, is believed to have started in a shop selling vapes, which are powered by lithium-ion batteries. Glasgow’s Central Station has since reopened.

The latest data reveals a sharp increase in battery-related fires across Scotland, while firefighters in London attend an e-bike or e-scooter fire every other day.

Paul Christensen, a professor of pure and applied electrochemistry at the University of Newcastle, underlined that, while the probability of a fire from a lithium-ion battery is very low, the hazard is “very, very high, as we’ve seen with this fire in Glasgow”.

Guillermo Rein, a professor of fire science at Imperial College London, said: “It’s a new technology that comes with an unintended new hazard, that keeps me awake at night.

“A lithium battery fire – in terms of the way it develops, the way we detect it and how we suppress it – is completely different from the sorts of fires we have protected our homes, businesses and public buildings against. It breaches most of the layers of protection that we know. And they [the batteries] are omnipresent.”

Lithium-ion batteries are used in mobile phones, tablets, laptops, electric toothbrushes, tools, toys and vapes, and are also used to power e-bikes, e-scooters and electric vehicles.

If used incorrectly or damaged, they bring a specific hazard, called thermal runaway: a dangerous chain reaction where the temperature inside the battery rises uncontrollably, producing a toxic gas that vents at high pressure creating a flame like a blow torch, and exploding.

Existing data suggests a significant escalation in these fires in recent years. London fire brigade reports that firefighters attended 206 e-bike and e-scooter fires in 2025, compared with 12 in 2019. In total there were 521 related fires, compared with 80 in 2019. Of five fatalities in the past three years, none of the dead owned the e-bike involved. LFB says these fires have had a “devastating effect” on families and communities.

There is no specific data collection for lithium battery-related fires in England and Wales, now under review. But, according to the latest FoI data from the Scottish fire and rescue service, there were 69 lithium battery-related fires in Scotland in 2025, compared with 20 in 2019, including 10 house fires last year, two in hospitals and three in prisons. Data going back to 2009 confirms there have been no related fatalities in Scotland.

The incorrect disposal of these batteries – which should not be thrown in an ordinary bin but can be recycled in bins at many supermarkets – has resulted in serious fires in bin lorries and at recycling plants across the UK, the cost of which is now estimated annually at more than £1bn, as well as causing injuries to staff.

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Fire experts ‘kept awake’ over growing hazard of lithium-ion batteries | Lithium-ion batteries | The Guardian

Next, the world global debt clock. Nations debts to GDP compared.

World Debt Clocks (usdebtclock.org)

In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies.

Winston Churchill

Iran, Deal Or No Deal? The Most Corrupt War? Updated.

Baltic Dry Index. 1989 -48      Brent Crude 99.92

Spot Gold  4559                          Spot Silver 73.06

US 2 Year Yield 3.90 +0.07

US Federal Debt. 39.032 trillion

US GDP 31.266 trillion.

“Experience is merely the name men gave to their mistakes.”

Oscar Wilde

8:00 AM Update

Energy shortages in Europe could hit by next month, warns Shell CEO

By Stephanie Kelly and Marianna Parraga

March 24, 2026 2:25 PM GMT

·         Summary

·         Energy shortages in Europe could hit next month, warns Shell CEO

·         Middle East conflict affecting global energy supplies

·         Shell exploring gas and oil opportunities in Venezuela

 HOUSTON, March 24 (Reuters) - Energy shortages could ​hit Europe by next month, Shell (SHEL.L), opens new tab CEO Wael Sawan said on Tuesday, adding that securing adequate ‌energy supply was critical to national security.

Countries cannot have national security without energy security, Sawan said, adding that Shell was trying to work with governments to help them address the energy crisis, including with storage and purchasing. The Middle East conflict, now in its fourth week, has already affected ​supplies of jet fuel, with diesel set to be next, followed by gasoline as summer driving season ​gets underway in the Northern Hemisphere, Sawan said.

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Energy shortages in Europe could hit by next month, warns Shell CEO | Reuters

 Another day and President Trump doubles down on his claims that Iran is negotiating a deal with the USA on a US 15 point end of war plan.

But highly suspicious oil and stock market trading is taking place ahead of announcements and military actions, suggesting insider trading and a highly corrupt war, possibly the most corrupt war ever.

South Korea stocks jump 3%, leading regional gains as Trump comments signal Iran war de-escalation

Published Tue, Mar 24 2026 7:47 PM EDT

South Korea stocks led gains Wednesday as comments from U.S. President Donald Trump pointing to potential talks with Iran lifted sentiment, even as Tehran has denied any direct negotiations with Washington.

Speaking at the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump said the U.S. and Iran were “in negotiations right now” and suggested Tehran was keen to strike a peace deal, adding he had stepped back from threats to target Iranian energy infrastructure “based on the fact we’re negotiating.”

South Korea’s Kospi jumped 3%, while the small-cap Kosdaq was 3.18% higher.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 2%.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 2.88%, while the Topix added 2.4%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 1.14%, while the CSI 300 rose 0.67%.

Oil prices were lower in early Asia trading hours.

International benchmark Brent crude futures fell around 6% to $98.31 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were also down 5% at $87.65 per barrel.

U.S. stock futures rose Tuesday night stateside, with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures rising 0.7% and 0.8%, respectively. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 318 points, or 0.7%.

Futures were higher after the S&P 500 pulled back, giving back some of the sharp gains seen in the previous session, as crude prices rose again while the Iran war entered its fourth week.

The broad market index lost 0.37% and ended at 6,556.37, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 84.41 points, or 0.18%, and settled at 46,124.06. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.84% and closed at 21,761.89.

Asia markets: Nikkei 225, Kospi, Hang Seng Index

Oil drops more than 4% as Trump signals Iran talks despite Tehran denial

Published Tue, Mar 24 2026 8:33 PM EDT

Oil prices fell on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump said that Washington and Tehran are “in negotiations right now” and indicated Iran is keen to reach a peace agreement, despite the Islamic Republic denying any direct talks with the U.S.

International benchmark Brent crude futures declined 4.52% to $98.71 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were also down 3.72% at $88.89 per barrel.

Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump said he had pulled back from his earlier threat to launch strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure “based on the fact we’re negotiating.”

“They’re talking to us, and they’re talking sense,” Trump said when asked to elaborate on the shift.

Later Tuesday, The New York Times reported, citing two unnamed officials, that the U.S. had sent Iran a 15-point proposal aimed at ending the war.

According to the report, it remains unclear how widely the proposal, delivered through Pakistan, has been circulated among Iranian officials. It is also uncertain whether Israel, which is carrying out attacks on Iran alongside the U.S., would back the plan.

Iran’s top joint military command spokesperson signaled that oil markets will remain volatile, warning prices won’t normalize until regional stability is secured under its military control, Reuters reported.

The current disruption to oil supplies marks the largest shock in decades when measured as a share of global supply, Goldman Sachs co-head of global commodities research Daan Struyven said in a call with the media, underscoring the unusually high uncertainty facing markets.

The bank noted that near-term price movements are being driven less by changes in the base case outlook and more by shifts in the perceived probability of worst-case scenarios. Crude is effectively trading on a geopolitical risk premium as investors hedge against prolonged disruptions and critically low inventories, Goldman said.

The bank’s base case assumes flows through the Strait of Hormuz to normalize in April over a four-week period.

Oil price: WTI, Brent fall as Trump signals Iran talks despite Tehran denial

Gold jumps over 2% as oil slump eases inflation fears amid Trump Iran talks

Published Tue, Mar 24 2026 10:36 PM EDT

Gold prices climbed on Wednesday as declining oil prices helped temper worries about persistent inflation, following reports that Washington is working on a proposal to end the Middle East conflict.

Spot gold prices were last up 2.56% at $4,588 per ounce, while gold futures for April delivery were last seen over 4% higher at $4,597.7 per ounce.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday the U.S. and Iran are “in negotiations right now” and suggested Tehran is eager to make a peace deal, even as the Islamic Republic has denied it is in direct talks with Washington.

Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said he decided to back off from his recent threat to order strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure “based on the fact we’re negotiating.”

“They’re talking to us, and they’re talking sense,” Trump said when asked to further explain his pivot.

Oil prices fell following Trump’s comments. International benchmark Brent crude futures fell around 6% to $98.31 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were also down roughly 5% at $87.65 per barrel.

The dollar index, which measures the strength of the greenback against a basket of currencies, was down 0.17% early Asia hours.

Gold prices, however, remain about 17% below their late-January peak.

Goldman Sachs said the recent pullback in gold prices was largely in line with historical patterns, citing higher interest rate expectations and market volatility as key drivers behind the decline. 

“We don’t think that the decline … is surprising in light of our existing pricing framework,” said the bank’s co-head of global commodities research Daan Struyven on Wednesday. He noted that rising rate expectations have weighed on investor demand, particularly through gold-backed ETFs, which are “very rate sensitive.” 

Episodes of extreme market stress can also pressure bullion, Struyven told the media in a briefing call, as investors facing margin calls tend to sell gold alongside other assets.

He also suggested that gold’s latest rally has overshot fundamentals, with part of the correction reflecting “a bit of normalization.” 

Still, Goldman has maintained a structurally bullish outlook, forecasting gold to reach $5,400 by year-end, underpinned by continued central bank buying as countries seek to diversify into assets with “lower geopolitical and financial risks.”

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Gold price amid Donald Trump Middle East peace hopes

Trump Began Iran Talks as Allies Warned War Risked Disaster

Tue, March 24, 2026 at 2:36 AM GMT

(Bloomberg) — Donald Trump’s decision to back down from his threat to destroy Iran’s power infrastructure came after US allies and Gulf countries privately warned the president of the dangers of following through with his threat, according to people familiar with the matter.

The US president said Monday he was giving Iran a five-day reprieve from his threatened action, pointing to new talks with Tehran he believed could broker a deal that would resolve the conflict.

But Trump’s decision came after some allies cautioned that the war was quickly becoming a disaster. Regional partners told the US that permanent damage to Iranian infrastructure would almost inevitably result in a failed state after the conflict ended, according to the people, who described private conversations on the condition of anonymity.

Pulling back also dovetailed with another interest of the president’s: calming markets rattled by his threats and the ongoing conflict. Trump’s decision, which was announced shortly before US trading began, was designed in part to address those concerns, according to the people, and immediately spurred a sharp fall in Brent crude and a rebound in the S&P 500 and US Treasuries.

“Trump needed some way to climb down from a threat that would surely have started a new round of escalation, this time crossing a new threshold by targeting civilian energy infrastructure, which would likely constitute a war crime,” said Dana Stroul, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East. “It is surely no coincidence that the announcement of a five-day pause and talks came right before markets opened in the United States on Monday morning.”

The picture that has emerged is one where Iran’s regional neighbors are, for now, seeing the latest burst of diplomacy as a five-day reprieve. One senior diplomat said Egypt, Turkey and Pakistan are passing messages between the US and Iran. While officials are acting as go-betweens for the two countries, it’s not at all clear the extent to which those negotiations are happening directly.

Trump, speaking on Monday during travel to Tennessee, said representatives from Iran reached out to start the talks because they were eager to make a deal after his threat to strike energy facilities.

“We’ve been negotiating for a long time, and this time, they mean business, and it’s only because of the great job that our military did,” Trump said.

The Trump administration appears to believe that Iran will readily agree to talks if the US signals it’s ready to negotiate, but allies worry that it may not be that easy, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The negotiations between an unnamed Iranian official, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and adviser Steve Witkoff started Saturday and continued through Sunday, Trump said. According to the US president, Tehran agreed to turn over nuclear material in the country and not resume its nuclear program.

The talks were expected to continue by phone on Monday. Asked who would control the pivotal Strait of Hormuz under such a deal, Trump said, “maybe me and the ayatollah — whoever the ayatollah is.”

“We’ll see how that goes, and if it goes well, we’re going to end up with settling this,” Trump said. “Otherwise, we’ll just keep bombing our little hearts out.”

----Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir, spoke with Trump on Sunday while Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif held talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday, the Financial Times reported.

Still, Iran’s foreign ministry denied any US-Iran talks to the state-run Mizan News Agency, and Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, on Monday said in a social media post that the US president’s claims were fake news “used to manipulate the financial and oil markets.”

The president’s decision to halt his planned strikes on energy facilities was specifically seen as an effort to manage oil prices by people familiar with the proceeding diplomatic talks, and Trump on Monday acknowledged the link.

“The price of oil will drop like a rock as soon as the deal is done,” Trump said. “I guess it already is today. So we have a very serious chance of making a deal.”

And that mixing of motives has fanned questions across Washington and Wall Street about the actual prospects for peace. Trump’s well-established history of backing off maximalist threats, Iran’s own record of stringing along nuclear talks, and recent examples of the US using discussions with Tehran as a feint ahead of fresh military action all have diplomats and traders questioning whether the negotiations are likely to yield a real deal.

“The President also has shown a penchant for misdirection, and we cannot rule out the possibility that his 48-hour deadline might provide cover for some near-term event that could change the facts on the ground,” said Clearview Energy Partners LLC in an analyst note.

----Trump’s emphatic insistence there are direct communications was met with caution by many US allies who adopted a wait-and-see approach and remained skeptical of this latest salvo given the US leader’s multiple reversals during the three-week conflict.

Trump conceded that the talks had not been with Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who was appointed supreme leader after his father, Ali Khamenei, was killed in the strikes. Trump said the US had not heard from the new leader directly — and was not sure if he was still alive — but believed based on intelligence that Witkoff and Kushner were dealing with the true power center in Iran.

Still, there’s a risk that the pause could end up validating Iran’s approach, particularly if the talks don’t succeed.

“This risks confirming, in Tehran’s mind, that if it threatens back especially against energy infrastructure in the region, it can compel the US to back down,” Jonathan Panikoff, former Deputy National Intelligence Officer for the Near East at the US National Intelligence Council. “In its mind, Iran is not only winning but this is the type of action that increases its own deterrence.”

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Trump Began Iran Talks as Allies Warned War Risked Disaster

Stagflation alarm bells ring in the euro zone as energy crunch hits the global economy

Published Tue, Mar 24 2026 8:39 AM EDT

Private sector output in the euro zone sank to a 10-month low in March, amid mounting evidence of the impact the Iran conflict is having on the global economy.

The closely-watched S&P Global flash purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the euro zone fell to 50.5 in March, marking a steep decline from the 51.9 reported in February.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected a shallower dip to 51.0. The 50.0 threshold separates expansion from contraction territory.

The reading prompted fresh warnings that the region is facing the specter of looming stagflation — a toxic combination of high inflation and unemployment, and stalling growth.

“The flash Eurozone PMI is ringing stagflation alarm bells as the war in the Middle East drives prices sharply higher while stifling growth,” Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, commented Tuesday.

“Firms’ costs are rising at the fastest rate for over three years amid the surge in energy prices and choking of supply chains resulting from the war. Supplier delays have jumped to their highest since mid-2022, largely linked to shipping issues.”

Euro zone companies surveyed by S&P Global scaled back hiring marginally during March, as bosses lowered output expectations for the year when compared with February forecasts, according to S&P Global economists.

“Stagflation” is often seen as a “worse case scenario” for economies and poses a dilemma for central banks because the tools they’d usually use to combat high inflation — higher interest rates — can stifle growth and employment, while lowering rates can boost growth but increase demand and inflation.

The euro zone is not alone in seeing private sector activity slow due to the Iran war, with PMI data from India earlier on Tuesday also showing output growth slowed to its lowest level since October 2022.

‘Critical’ energy crunch

The current turmoil in the Middle East has made previous growth and inflation forecasts largely redundant, and businesses and policymakers have been left trying to gauge the direction of travel for input costs and inflation without knowing how long the conflict will last.

In revised forecasts released last week, the European Central Bank now expects economic growth of 0.9% in 2026, and headline inflation to average 2.6% this year.

That outlook could be optimistic, however, with S&P Global’s Williamson noting that the PMI survey’s price gauge was indicative of inflation accelerating close to 3%, “with cost pressure likely to add still further to selling price inflation in the coming months.”

“The outlook depends on the duration of the war and any potential lasting impact on energy and supply chains, but the flash PMI data underscore how the European Central Bank is no longer in a ‘good place’ with respect to growth and inflation,” Williamson said.

The March PMIs show the conflict in Iran is already having a significant impact on the euro area economy, J.P. Morgan’s Raphael Brun-Aguerre noted Tuesday.

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Stagflation alarm bells in the euro zone amid 'critical' energy crunch

Half a billion dollars bet on oil minutes before Trump climbdown

Some 6,200 oil futures contracts changed hands before president announced energy strikes ceasefire, raising concerns about insider knowledge

Published 24 March 2026 7:53pm GMT

Half a billion dollars worth of bets on the oil market were placed 15 minutes before Donald Trump said the US had held “productive” talks with Iran and announced a ceasefire on energy strikes.

Some 6,200 oil futures contracts – valued at a reported $580m (£433.9m) – changed hands between 6.49am and 6.50am EST (10.49am and 10.50am GMT) on Monday.

A quarter of an hour later, the US president announced “very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East” on Truth Social, which caused oil prices to tumble.

The oil futures market allows investors to buy or sell oil at a set price on a future date, enabling them to guard against any unexpected leaps in prices in the months ahead. Banks and hedge funds also bet on moves in the price of oil to earn profits.

Shortly after Mr Trump’s post, oil prices fell below oil prices fell below $100 £74 a barrel, with markets hedging that the conflict would probably come to an end soon.

Anonymous traders using the betting site Polymarket, which allows you to wager on the outcome of everything from weather patterns to politics, have made hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent months.

Bets predicting military action ‘suspicious’

One user has made $1m (£747,000) since 2024 from well-timed bets predicting military action by the US and Israel against Iran, according to CNN.

Nick Vaiman, who leads Bubblemaps, an analytics company tracking anonymous digital blockchain transactions, described the trades as “suspicious”.

“All of this is strong signalling of insider activity, based on the amount they made, the markets they bet on, the timing of their trades, the success rates of these trades,” he told CNN.

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Half a billion dollars bet on oil minutes before Trump climbdown

Exclusive: Trader made nearly $1 million on Polymarket with remarkably accurate Iran bets

March 24, 2025

A trader made nearly $1 million since 2024 from dozens of well-timed Polymarket bets that correctly predicted US and Israeli military actions against Iran, according to an analysis shared with CNN.

The bettor won a staggering 93% of their five-figure wagers about Iran, even though the events they predicted were unannounced military operations.

The trader had a pattern of prescient bets, including hours before Israeli strikes in October 2024 during its tit-for-tat conflict with Iran, hours before US airstrikes against Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025, and hours before the joint US-Israeli surprise attack in February, which started the current war.

The findings from Bubblemaps, an analytics company that tracks blockchain transactions, highlight the rising concerns about the potential for insider trading on some prediction markets, where users can wager on everything from sports to elections to warfare.

“All of this is strong signaling of insider activity, based on the amount they made, the markets they bet on, the timing of their trades, the success rates of these trades, and the fact that they are connected on-chain,” Bubblemaps CEO Nick Vaiman told CNN. “This is pretty suspicious in my book.”

It isn’t clear whether the trader flagged by Bubblemaps is an insider, and the accounts they used are anonymous and can’t be publicly traced to a specific person.

The bets were placed on Polymarket’s international site, which is out of the reach of US regulations. Polymarket didn’t respond to CNN’s multiple requests for comment.

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Exclusive: Trader made nearly $1 million on Polymarket with remarkably accurate Iran bets | CNN Politics

In other news, is a Super El Nino next?

What is a ‘super El Niño’? Scientists predict record-breaking climate event this year

Mon, March 23, 2026 at 5:05 PM GMT

The ever-shifting, interconnected system of global air and ocean currents dictates the weather we experience daily.

This year, however, scientists are warning that a particularly potent version of one of Earth's most infamous climate phenomena, El Niño, could dramatically alter these patterns.

Climate scientist Daniel Swain recently posted on X (formerly Twitter), stating: "Whew. All signs are increasingly pointing to a significant, if not strong to very strong, El Niño event."

This sentiment was echoed by Washington Post meteorologist Ben Noll, who cautioned that "changes in location, intensity and frequency of droughts, floods, heat waves and hurricanes are all likely."

In his X post, Noll estimated a 22 percent chance of a "super El Niño" by August and an 80 percent chance of a "strong" one based on new modeling from the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.

This outcome is not set in stone, and predictions in early spring tend to be less reliable than predictions later in the year. Some scientists have warned against making assumptions just yet.

But if it does happen, the impact on U.S. weather would be profound.

What is El Niño?

For hundreds of years, fishermen off the western coast of South America had their livelihoods rocked by a periodic change in water temperature that caused mass death in the food chain they relied on.

Since it always happened around December, they dubbed it "El Niño de Navidad" — literally 'the little boy of Christmas' — in a sardonic reference to the birth of Jesus Christ.

What we now call simply El Niño (the boy) is a disruption in the usual pattern of water and air movement in the Pacific Ocean, occurring roughly every two to seven years.

Normally, warmer surface water from the eastern Pacific is continuously moved westward by strong winds. Colder water wells up from the deep ocean to fill the gap, making the eastern Pacific far cooler than the western Pacific.

Sometimes, though, this process falters (although scientists disagree on exactly why). Those stiff westerly winds get weaker, and the eastern Pacific gets warmer, causing massive updrafts of warm air that change the path of the air currents flowing east over the Americas.

According to The Washington Post, a 'super' version of El Niño happens roughly once every 10-15 years. The impact on our weather is profound — and can be catastrophic.

How would it affect the U.S.?

The impact of El Niño on the U.S. is often unpredictable, but there are some patterns.

A strong El Niño generally makes the whole world warmer, as all that heat wafting up from the ocean gets spread far beyond the tropics.

That could lead to a hotter-than-usual summer in the western U.S., potentially worsening the wildfire season in California and Oregon. In the past, it has also often meant a cooler summer in the U.S. South.

Conversely, Western and Southern winters could be wetter than normal, leading to more snowfall in the mountains and perhaps some relief for the ongoing droughts in many states.

The Midwest might see drier weather, while the Pacific Northwest is likely to be unusually hot.

"El Niño patterns could bring more rain than normal to the Colorado Basin," said AccuWeather meteorologist Chat Merrill. "The early start to the El Niño can lead to an increase in moisture from the southern Plains to East Coast during summer and fall.”

While hurricanes in the Atlantic generally find it harder to form, they are more active in the Pacific, meaning that Hawaii and east Asia might suffer more storms.

Pacific Islands such as Guam, Hawaii, and American Samoa tend to get drier weather, but the increased chance of cyclones means they may be suddenly lashed by high rainfall.

Extreme weather is more likely overall, with intense heat in tropical countries and potentially widespread droughts around the world.

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What is a ‘super El Niño’? Scientists predict record-breaking climate event this year

Global Inflation/Stagflation/Recession Watch.

Given our Magic Money Tree central banksters and our spendthrift politicians.

Now it depends on the outcome of the next five days.

Apollo gives investors only 45% of requested withdrawals from $15 billion private credit fund

March 23, 2026

Apollo, the asset management giant, told investors in its flagship private credit fund that it will limit withdrawals this quarter to just under half of requests, the latest sign of stress in the asset class.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Monday, Apollo Debt Solutions BDC said that it received redemption requests equal to 11.2% of shares outstanding in the first quarter, far exceeding the 5% quarterly cap the fund allows.

Unlike some other private credit players, Apollo is sticking with the 5% cap, an industry standard that rivals including Blackstone have recently relaxed to satisfy investor demands for their funds.

The vehicle — a non-traded business development company, or BDC — expects to return about $730 million to investors on a prorated basis, meaning redeeming shareholders will receive roughly 45% of the capital they requested. The fund has a net asset value of $15.1 billion as of Feb. 28.

"Today's decision reflects our ongoing commitment to long-term value creation for the Fund's shareholders," Apollo said. "As long-term stewards of capital, we have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of all Fund investors, balancing the interests of shareholders seeking liquidity with those who choose to remain invested."

Apollo said the fund's net asset value per share declined 1.2% over the past three months through Feb. 28, but outperformed the U.S. Leveraged Loan Index, which fell 2.2% over the same period.

The withdrawals show that Apollo didn't avoid the rush of investor redemptions plaguing rivals, driven by concern over private credit loans to software companies. Apollo executives have sought to distance themselves from other players recently, saying the firm typically made loans to larger, more stable companies.

At 12.3% of loans, software is the single biggest sector in the Apollo Debt Solutions BDC, according to the company.

Apollo gives investors only 45% of requested withdrawals from $15 billion private credit fund

‘Capital is a coward’: A whole new world of elevated risk will stay embedded in global markets, keeping prices higher everywhere

Jason Ma  Mon, March 23, 2026 at 2:46 PM GMT

Markets rebounded Monday after President Donald Trump retreated from his threat to destroy Iranian energy infrastructure and revealed talks with the regime, but the world is unlikely to revert to its prewar status quo, according to a geopolitics expert.

In a Washington Post op-ed on Thursday, Eurasia Group Chairman and former State Department official Cliff Kupchan predicted the Iranian regime, dominated by successive layers of hardliners, will remain hostile to the U.S.

“The end of the war, therefore, is unlikely to usher in a stable peace,” he warned. “That reality means the Strait of Hormuz will become a source of geopolitical risk for a long time—a live wire down the middle of the global economy.”

Even if Tehran eventually negotiates away its uranium enrichment program and longer-range ballistic missiles, it will still have drones, mines and fast attack boats that can threaten tankers, Kupchan pointed out.

And Iran wouldn’t have to use its diminished capabilities very often to scare investors. In fact, despite the U.S. and Israel decimating its military with thousands of airstrikes, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has been able to keep the Strait of Hormuz largely closed with occasional attacks on ships.

That threat has effectively bottled up about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquified natural gas, and prices have soared, though they pulled back somewhat on Monday. Still, the genie is already out of the bottle.

“From now on traders will act based on the knowledge that Iran might at any time attack, and that new perception will create new risk premia in critically important sectors,” Kupchan said.

Indeed, Brent crude oil prices are still above $100 a barrel after tumbling 10% Monday. He expects them to trade in the $80 range for several months due to the lingering risk as well as the time needed to restore output. Oil giants like Saudi Arabia and Iraq slashed production as their exports have been throttled by the Hormuz closure.

Likewise for the LNG market, which suffered a major shock last week when Iran struck a top natural gas field in Qatar that will take years to repair. Meanwhile, the Gulf is also a major source of fertilizer, aluminum, and helium, meaning shortages will curb crop yields, industrial output, and semiconductor supplies, respectively.

The new risk environment will cause prices to stay higher globally and further stoke inflation, Kupchan added. At the same time, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar will struggle to rehabilitate their images as safe places to invest, affecting the AI and defense sectors too.

“Capital is a coward, going only where it feels safe,” he noted. “Once unimaginable images of office and hotel towers burning after Iranian strikes will pierce investor sentiment.”

To be sure, the U.S. will likely help allies rebuild after the war and increase regional integration, but the Gulf will need a long time to become a global safe haven for capital again, Kupchan wrote.

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‘Capital is a coward’: A whole new world of elevated risk will stay embedded in global markets, keeping prices higher everywhere

Technology Update.

With events happening fast in the development of solar power and graphene, among other things, I’ve added this section Updates as they get reported.

£400 plug-in solar panels to be sold by Lidl and Amazon to cut your energy bills

The Government claims a family could save £70 to £110 a year using plug-in solar

March 24, 2026 6:00 am (Updated 6:01 am)

Households in the UK will soon be able to buy “plug-in” solar panels in shops, the Government has said. Ministers say the appliances will take money off energy bills and support Britain’s transition to net zero.

Here’s how it works.

What is plug-in-solar?

Plug-in solar refers to low-cost panels that families can put on their balconies or outdoor spaces.

Unlike traditional solar panels, which can be costly and complex to install, these panels are plugged directly into a mains socket like any other device, providing a home with free solar power.

The appliances reduce the amount of electricity a household draws from the grid, thereby cutting a family’s energy bills.

What is the Government planning?

Plug-in solar is already popular in European countries like Germany and Spain. In Germany, where they are referred to as Balkonkraftwerk (balcony power plant), around half a million devices are plugged in each year.

However, UK regulations do not currently allow plug-in solar. Ministers have promised to change this, saying the technology is easy-to-install and could save many households significant amounts on their energy bills while making Britain less reliant on fossil fuel.

The Government has said it will work with the Energy Networks Association, Distribution Network Operators (the organisations which own and control the electricity distribution network), and the regulator Ofgem to update the regulations.

Specifically, it will update the “G98 distribution code and wiring regulations BS 7671” to allow UK households to connect <800W plug-in solar panels to domestic mains sockets, without the need for an electrician and with tailored safety standards.

The Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “The Iran War has once again shown our drive for clean power is essential for our energy security so we can escape the grip of fossil fuel markets we don’t control.”

He added that plug-in solar would help to “roll out clean power so we can give our country energy sovereignty”.

When could it become available by?

The Government has said it is already working with retailers like Lidl and Amazon, alongside manufacturers such as EcoFlow, to bring plug-in solar to the UK market. 

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has promised that the solar panels will be available in shops “within months”, while EcoFlow has said it hopes people will be able to use them this summer.

Georgina Hall, corporate affairs director at Lidl GB said: “At Lidl GB, we are committed to making sustainable living affordable for everyone and we welcome the Government’s move to modernise regulations in the UK.

“Updating the regulatory landscape for this ‘plug-and-play’ technology is a positive step towards empowering British households to manage their energy costs and support the nation’s net-zero ambitions.”

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£400 plug-in solar panels to be sold by Lidl and Amazon to cut your energy bills

Next, the world global debt clock. Nations debts to GDP compared.

World Debt Clocks (usdebtclock.org)

“Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination.”

Oscar Wilde