Baltic
Dry Index. 2677 +11 Brent Crude 111.27
Spot Gold 4617 Spot Silver 73.80
US 2 Year Yield 3.84 +0.06
US Federal Debt. 39.177 trillion
US GDP 31.368 trillion.
Opec, a cartel of oil-producing nations, said output in Iraq was 61pc lower in March compared with February, with Kuwait down 53pc and the UAE cutting output by 44pc.
Production in Saudi Arabia fell 23pc even as it uses its crucial East-West pipeline to reroute barrels from the Gulf to the Red Sea for export.
It is decision day at the US central bank, no change to their key interest rate is expected.
Tomorrow it’s the turn of the ECB and BoE, again no change is expected, although Trump’s Gulf war supply disruptions bringing in higher prices make all three central banks likely to raise interest rates later inn the year.
Yesterday’s big news was the UAE’s decision to leave OPEC on Friday. Basically, once normality returns to Gulf oil shipments the UAE wants to start the process of raising their oil production from an OPEC limit of 3.5 mbpd to closer to 5 mbpd.
Will any other OPEC members follow their lead in May?
Asia-Pacific markets open mixed after OPEC shock,
tech jitters drag Wall Street lower
Asia-Pacific markets open mixed Wednesday,
after Wall Street declined overnight as investors assess the latest
developments concerning OPEC, as well as a report that pointed to weakness in
OpenAI.
The United Arab Emirates will exit OPEC on
May 1, in a major blow to the cartel that coordinates production among many of
the world’s largest oil producers, particularly those in the Middle East.
Optimism around tech stocks took hit as
the Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI’s
revenue and new users growth was below its own targets. The report added that
CFO Sarah Friar told the company leadership that she was concerned OpenAI may
not be able to pay computing contracts in the future if its top line doesn’t expand
fast enough.
South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.39%, while the
small-cap Kosdaq traded flat. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 declined
0.28%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 1.2%,
while Mainland China’s CSI 300 was down 0.26%.
Japan markets were closed for a holiday.
S&P 500 futures added
0.1%, while Nasdaq 100
futures rose 0.2%. Futures
tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 63 points, or 0.1%.
Overnight in the U.S., The S&P 500 fell on Tuesday,
weighed down by the report on OpenAI as well as a rise in oil prices. Traders
await quarterly earnings from four of the “Magnificent Seven” stocks, as well
as the conclusion of what could be Jerome Powell’s final policy meeting as Federal
Reserve chair.
The broad market index fell 0.49% to close
at 7,138.80, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 0.9%
and ended at 24,663.80. The Dow
Jones Industrial Average slid 25.86 points, or 0.05%, to settle at
49,141.93.
Asia
markets: Nikkei 225, Kospi, Hang Seng Index
S&P 500 futures are flat as Wall Street looks
ahead to ‘Mag 7’ earnings and Fed decision: Live updates
Updated Wed, Apr 29 2026 9:38 PM EDT
Futures linked to the S&P 500 were
flat Tuesday night as traders awaited quarterly earnings from four of the
“Magnificent Seven” stocks, as well as the conclusion of what could be Jerome
Powell’s final policy meeting as Federal Reserve chair.
S&P 500 futures added
0.1%, while Nasdaq 100
futures rose 0.2%. Futures
tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 63 points, or 0.1%.
The biggest after-hours movers
included Starbucks, which
jumped 5% after raising its
full-year outlook. Shares of Robinhood fell 9% after its
first-quarter results fell short of expectations. Both Seagate Technology and NXP Semiconductors popped
about 16% after posting earnings beats and sharing positive revenue guidance.
In Tuesday’s regular session, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both
retreated from their records. The broad market index shed 0.49%, while the
tech-heavy Nasdaq gave up 0.9%. The blue-chip Dow lost 25.86 points, or
0.05%.
Stocks were led lower by losses in the
technology sector that came after a The Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI recently
missed its own revenue and user growth targets. Tech giant Oracle, which has a $300 billion,
five-year partnership to supply computing power to OpenAI, slid 4%, while chip
giants Broadcom and Nvidia fell 4% and more than
1%, respectively.
Four of the “Magnificent Seven” tech
titans are on the docket to report their earnings after Wednesday’s closing
bell: Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms and Microsoft. Investors have high
expectations for these company to show the revenue that will justify the
capital they have spent on artificial intelligence investments.
“These companies, last time they reported,
they increased full-year capex — just those four companies — by $94 billion.
Let’s see what they say tomorrow,” said Steven Wieting, chief investment
strategist at CIO Group, on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime”
on Tuesday afternoon.
Wednesday will also see the conclusion of
the April
Fed policy meeting, which will likely be Fed Chair Powell’s last before his
term ends in May. Kevin Warsh,
Powell’s successor, appears on track to take the helm at the central bank. The
market does not expect the Fed to make any adjustments to the
current federal funds rate.
Stock
market today: Live updates
UAE Quits OPEC Just as War on Iran Throws Markets
Into Turmoil
April 28, 2026 at 5:00 PM GMT+1
The United Arab Emirates will
leave OPEC after six decades of membership, dealing a significant blow
to the group just as the supply disruption caused by the Iran war roils oil
markets. The UAE was the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’
third-biggest producer before the conflict started, accounting for about 12% of
its overall supply.
Longstanding tensions with Saudi Arabia led the UAE to talk in the past about
quitting the group. But now, Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei told us the
war’s disruptive impact means its a good time to chart its own path in energy
markets.
The UAE’s decision to quit OPEC will likely have limited impact in the short
term, as the war chokes off crude supplies through the Strait of Hormuz. Oil
prices are still elevated at over $110 a barrel. But Jorge Leon, head of
geopolitical analysis at Rystad Energy, said it could impact “Saudi Arabia’s
role as the market’s central stabilizer.” Our columnist Javier Blas calls
it “the
biggest existential crisis” OPEC has ever faced.
Iran has signaled it may be willing
to accept an interim deal to reopen the strait in exchange for an end
to the blockade, but US President Donald Trump and his national security team
are skeptical of its proposal, the Wall Street Journal reported. — Philip
Lagerkranser
UAE
Quits OPEC Just as War on Iran Throws Markets Into Turmoil - Bloomberg
United Arab Emirates leaving OPEC, effective May 1
Published Tue, Apr 28 2026 8:31 AM EDT
The United Arab Emirates will exit OPEC on
May 1, in a major blow to the cartel that coordinates production among many of
the world’s largest oil producers, particularly those in the Middle East.
The shock announcement Tuesday comes after
the UAE was the target of missile and drone attacks for weeks by fellow OPEC
member Iran. Tehran’s attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz has also
severely constrained the UAE’s ability to export oil, threatening the
foundation of its economy.
The UAE has played an influential role in
OPEC’s decisions over nearly six decades. It was the group’s third-largest oil
producer in February behind Saudi Arabia and Iraq. The Gulf state joined OPEC
in 1967, seven years after the organization was founded.
The UAE gave vague reasons for leaving
OPEC now. It came to the conclusion that exiting the group was in its national
interest following a comprehensive review of its production policy and
capacity, the energy ministry said in a written statement.
Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei
subsequently told CNBC that the UAE made the decision to leave OPEC at a time
when it would be the least disruptive to the other producers in the group.
“Our exit at this time is the right time
for it, because it will have a minimum impact on the price and it will have a
minimum impact on our friends at OPEC and OPEC+,” Al Mazrouei said.
The UAE has the ambition to achieve 5
million barrels per day of capacity by 2027 and wants more freedom of action to
pursue that goal, the energy minister added. The decision to leave OPEC is not
a response to years of production cuts led by Saudi Arabia, he said.
More
United Arab Emirates leaving OPEC, effective May 1
1 big thing: What Japan signals about the war-hit
economy
April 28, 2026
The Iran war is trapping
the world's central banks with an energy
shock that simultaneously undermines growth and stokes inflation, with
no good policy response to either.
- Each
of the world's most important central banks faces that dilemma in policy
meetings this week.
Why it matters: From Tokyo to
Washington, central banks that were on track to normalize policy are now
paralyzed, unsure whether the energy price shock will prove more consequential
in causing sustained inflation or in sapping growth.
- The
longer the war drags on, the more the global economy will have to grapple
with a stagflationary problem that no interest rate decision can
solve.
- The
Bank of Japan was the first to deal with this dilemma earlier today, as it
elected to leave rates steady. The Fed follows tomorrow, and the European
Central Bank and Bank of England each meet on Thursday.
What they're saying: Like the
BOJ, other central banks this week will "hold rates steady as they all
face slightly different versions of the same dilemma," Karl Schamotta,
chief market strategist at global payments firm Corpay, wrote in a note this
morning.
- Namely,
"whether the energy shock rippling through global markets will prove
transitory or become embedded in prices, echoing the post-pandemic
inflation surge."
Driving the news: The BOJ held its
benchmark rate steady at 0.75% today. Before the war, central bank watchers had
expected a rate increase — a continuation of the gradual tightening cycle that
the BOJ began in March 2024, when it raised rates for the first time in 17 years as it
escaped decades of deflation and negative borrowing costs.
- Three
of nine board members dissented in favor of an immediate hike — a sign
that some top officials believe that the inflation threat feels urgent
enough that waiting carries its own risks.
- The
bank slashed its 2026 growth forecast in half, to 0.5%, while raising its
core inflation outlook 0.9 percentage point, to 2.8% — the arithmetic of a
stagflation trap.
Zoom in: Japan is particularly exposed
to Iran war fallout: It sources more than 90% of its crude
oil from the Middle East, nearly all of it through the Strait of
Hormuz, which remains effectively closed.
The big picture: In the
context of several reoccurring shocks over the past six years, central banks
are questioning whether war-related effects will scramble the usual playbooks.
- Japan
could raise rates because energy costs and a weakening yen are forcing the
bank's hand, not because the economy is chugging along and can digest
higher borrowing costs.
"Our decision today is based on
the view that central banks should look through temporary supply shock-driven
inflation," BOJ governor Kazuo Ueda said at the press conference.
- "But
if such shock brings about second-round effects on underlying inflation,
we must raise interest rates," Ueda added.
More
In other news. Hmm.
SAIL STRAIT THROUGH
Sanctioned Russian billionaire’s vast £370m
superyacht mysteriously sails through WW3 flashpoint Strait of Hormuz
Published: 11:56, 27 Apr 2026
A SANCTIONED Russian billionaire’s
£370million superyacht has brazenly sailed through the volatile Strait of
Hormuz at the heart of the Iran war.
The floating palace, linked to oligarch
Alexey Mordashov, mysteriously slipped through the world’s most dangerous
shipping lane, where tensions remain sky-high.
Shipping data shows the colossal 142-metre
vessel Nord slipped out of Dubai on Friday afternoon before
cruising through the World War Three flashpoint and docking in Muscat on
Sunday.
Valued at around £370million, the luxury
vessel boasts multiple decks and jaw-dropping features, and its daring
route through the blockade has raised serious questions.
It is not clear how the superyacht gained
permission to use the route.
Iran‘s bloodthirsty Revolutionary
Guards have heavily restricted traffic in the strait for two months, choking a
vital waterway that usually carries around a fifth of the world’s oil.
Only a handful of ships now pass through
each day, mostly merchant vessels, compared to as many as 140 daily crossings
before fighting erupted on February 28.
The US has hit back by blockading Iranian
ports, leaving the region on a knife edge despite an uneasy ceasefire.
Mordashov, a steel tycoon with close ties
to Vladimir Putin, is not
officially listed as the yacht’s owner.
But records show the vessel is tied to a
Russian firm owned by his wife, registered in Cherepovets, the same town as his
steel giant Severstal.
The oligarch was slapped with sanctions by
the US and EU over his links to the Kremlin after Russia’s illegal invasion of
Ukraine.
Nord is among the largest yachts on the
planet, boasting 20 luxury cabins, a swimming pool, helipad and even
its own submarine, according to industry insiders.
Meanwhile, Iran has offered Donald Trump a deal to
reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war.
Tehran’s proposal would bring
an end to the bitter conflict and reopen the key trade route – while
protecting its nuclear ambitions, Axios reports.
But putting an end to the
conflict and lifting the blockade would remove Trump’s leverage over Iran.
More
Global Inflation/Stagflation/Recession
Watch.
Given
our Magic Money Tree central banksters and our spendthrift politicians.
Global oil stockpiles being depleted 'at record pace'
27 April 2026
Global stockpiles of oil
are being depleted at a record pace as the Iran war continues to choke off
supplies to the world, Goldman Sachs has warned.
Between 11 million and 12
million barrels of crude have been drawn from inventories each day this month,
the Wall Street bank estimated, as it raised its forecast for oil prices this year.
Analysts at the
investment giant said the “extreme” drawdowns of worldwide reserves were being driven by the dramatic reduction in
oil production across the Middle East.
As a result, the bank
said the price of Brent crude would average $90 a barrel during the fourth
quarter of this year, up from its previous estimate of $80.
Neil Crosby, an analyst
at Sparta, said introducing measures to lower demand for oil was the only way
to address the sharp drop in production.
He said this had happened
“pre-emptively” to an extent, with airlines cutting flights and restrictions
imposed in some South-east Asian countries.
‘There will be real shortages’
The Philippines has told
civil servants to work from home, while Thailand has urged workers to limit use
of air conditioning and encouraged people to wear short-sleeved shirts to the
office.
Mr Crosby said: “The rate
at which we’re drawing down means we can do this for maybe three months.
“If we maintain the
situation where Hormuz is closed, eventually there will be real shortages.”
He added: “And then
either we’re going to have a panicked market where it’s not managed by
governments ... or we’re going to have a managed market, which is going to
involve government measures on top of the price doing its job, which is going
to be a high price and consumers are going to have to cut back.”
The international oil
benchmark was trading at $108 a barrel on Monday even as Iran submitted a new
peace proposal to the US, offering to open the Strait of Hormuz.
Goldman Sachs said the
Iran war had cut production in the Gulf by around 14.5 million barrels a day
(mb/d) as containers have been unable to move through the waterway. This
outweighs the drawdowns of reserves by at least 2.5mb/d.
The bank added that it
expected the Gulf to recover only 70pc of the lost crude production by July.
As a result, global
demand for oil is expected to drop by 1.7mb/d during the second quarter of this
year as countries are forced to cut back to avoid shortages.
Daan Struyven, the head
of commodity research at Goldman Sachs, said: “Because extreme inventory draws
are not sustainable, even sharper demand losses could be required if the supply
shock persists longer.”
More
Global oil stockpiles being depleted 'at record pace'
Barclays sets aside £823m for bad debts after
fraud hit but profits rise
28 April 2026
Barclays has revealed
it set aside more than £800 million for bad debts related to the collapse of a
mortgage lender and as it builds a buffer amid geopolitical turmoil despite
reporting an uptick in earnings for the first quarter.
The £823 million provision for loans
expected to turn sour was increased from £643 million a year ago.
The banking group’s impairment charge was
largely driven by a one-off loss surrounding a single company affecting its
investment banking operations.
It is understood that this refers to the
collapse of UK property lender Market Financial Solutions (MFS) earlier this
year amid allegations of fraud.
Group chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan,
known within the bank as Venkat, said he was “disappointed” by the hit which
related to a “well-publicised sophisticated fraud”.
“This fraud, as with the one in Tricolor,
indicates to us the importance of strong financial controls of borrowers, and
the difficulty of identifying fraud,” he said.
“As such, we are constraining lending to
certain structured finance counterparties who operate more vulnerable business
models and cannot convince us of the quality and independence of their
financial controls.”
The bank suffered a separate impairment
last year linked to the collapse of US subprime lender Tricolor.
Venkat stressed that efforts to restrict
lending to more risky borrowers were not having any significant impact on the
business but that he wanted to “give our investors a sense of how we’re
thinking about the environment”.
Meanwhile, Barclays also warned that
“geopolitical uncertainty persists” which was reflected in the latest buffer.
Venkat said the bank was “vigilant about
the inflationary impact of the rising energy crisis” linked to the war in Iran.
He added: “The higher oil prices and the
longer it goes on will have an impact on the economy.
More
Barclays sets
aside £823m for bad debts after fraud hit but profits rise
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.
Shocking?
World's
first electric airline plunges into liquidation less than three years after
launching
27 April 2026
A UK airline has entered
liquidation just a few years after launching - and it never got one plane in
the air.
The Scottish carrier, Ecojet,
was founded by controverisial British entrepreneur - and Just Stop Oil backer - Dale Vince in 2023 who had big plans for it to be the
'world's first electric airline'.
However, the airline has now
closed down after it reportedly tried to raise £20million, according to
the Express.
Opus Restructuring has been
appointed as provisional liquidators and the advisory group explained how it
was a 'voluntary liquidation initiated by the company's board'.
It company
added: 'Ecojet was a start-up business and has no material assets.
'The members have elected to
fund the liquidation process to ensure that the company's employees receive
their full statutory entitlements.'
Ecojet had not yet launched
any flights, but had planned routes between Southampton and Edinburgh on planes retrofitted with hydrogen-electric engines.
It also intended to spread
its wings further afield to mainland Europe and had long-haul trips to the
likes of the US and Asia as the ultimate goal.
The carrier had the
eco-friendly values implemented throughout its plans and even intended to feed
its passengers plant-based meals served by staff in environmentally friendly
uniforms.
Vince - who is a
multi-millionaire vegan eco-tycoon and has donated money to the Labour
party and climate activists Just Stop Oil - intended for Ecojet to be the airline that made zero carbon,
emission-free air travel possible for the first time.
More
World's first electric airline plunges into liquidation less than three
years after launching
American Airlines is the latest carrier to restrict portable
chargers on planes. Here’s what to know about the new policy
Tue, 28 April 2026 at 5:09 am BST
American Airlines is
the latest carrier to restrict portable chargers on planes amid fears of the devices catching
fire.
Airlines have been slowly limiting the
number of portable chargers allowed on planes over concerns about the lithium
batteries inside the devices. The Federal Aviation Administration has warned that lithium batteries can catch
fire if damaged.
American Airlines passengers will only
be allowed to carry two portable lithium chargers each starting on Friday, an
American Airlines representative told The Independent. Neither
power bank can exceed 100 watt-hours.
Currently, American Airlines allows up
to four lithium batteries in a carry-on bag if they don’t exceed 100
watt-hours. Passengers may also bring two spare lithium batteries that produce
between 100 and 160 watt-hours in their carry-on bag under the current policy.
American Airlines also directs
passengers to keep portable chargers visible while they are using them,
according to the representative.
The chargers are banned from being
stored in overhead bins, and customers are directed to keep the devices nearby
when they are tucked away in carry-on bags.
Portable chargers also cannot be
recharged while on board the flight, the representative said.
“To support safety on board while
ensuring our customers continue to have the ability to charge when on the go,
American is requiring customers to keep these devices easily accessible during
flight,” the carrier said in a statement to The Independent.
Last week, Southwest Airlines changed
its policy on portable chargers, only allowing one power bank per customer that
doesn’t exceed 100 watt-hours.
The device cannot be put in the overhead
bin, must be visible when in use and cannot be recharged on board.
There are also federal rules regarding
portable chargers. The FAA warns that the devices cannot exceed 160
watt-hours and cannot be put in checked bags, only carry-ons.
There have been more than 700 verified
lithium battery incidents involving “smoke, fire or extreme heat” on aircraft
since March 2006, according to the
FAA. As of April 15, there have been 22 incidents this year.
South Korean airline Air Busan banned power banks in overhead bins after one of its planes burst into flames on
the runaway in January 2025.
Next, the
world global debt clock. Nations debts to GDP compared.
World Debt Clocks
(usdebtclock.org)
It is the highest impertinence and presumption, therefore, in
kings and ministers to pretend to watch over the economy of private people, and
to restrain their expense. They are themselves, always, and without any
exception, the greatest spendthrifts in the society.
Adam Smith
