Baltic
Dry Index. 2017 -14 Brent Crude 107.14
Spot Gold 4593 Spot Silver 72.48
US 2 Year Yield 3.82 -0.06
US Federal Debt. 39.057 trillion
US GDP 31.284 trillion.
If the governments devalue the currency in order to betray all creditors, you politely call this procedure 'inflation'.
George Bernard Shaw
It is the last trading day of the month and quarter in the stock casinos, normally a day to dress up stocks and stock indexes for the all important professional money manager bonuses.
But with Trump’s Persian Gulf was nowhere near ending and looking more likely to escalate, will the stock casinos bomb out later today?
Possibly not, as Washington’s TACO man seems to be trying his best to talk up a war exit and influence crude oil prices and the end of month and quarter stock pricing.
I wonder which way the District of Crooks insiders are betting?
Trump Steps Up Threats Against
Iranian Energy Assets
March 30, 2026 at 5:00 PM GMT+1
US President Donald Trump repeated
threats to destroy Iranian energy assets if the Strait of Hormuz isn’t
reopened soon, raising fears of a further escalation amid soaring energy prices
and a mounting economic toll from the war.
The US “is in serious discussions”
with Iran to end military operations, Trump said in a social-media post
today as more American troops arrived in the region. But if a deal isn’t
reached and Hormuz reopened, “we will conclude our lovely “stay” in Iran by
blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants,
Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!).”
There is no sign of a lull in
the war. Iran’s intense ballistic
missile attacks on Gulf targets is beginning to drain
those countries’ pre-war stockpile of interceptors. Meanwhile
there’s growing exasperation with how the war is dragging on.
Group of Seven finance and
energy officials urged today against export controls on hydrocarbons
and pledged to take “all necessary measures” to “preserve the
stability and security of the energy market.” G-7 central banks are
committed to price stability amid rising inflation pressures, they added
after holding a meeting by video link.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah
El-Sisi appealed
to Trump to find a way to end hostilities, which has pushed the
country of 110 million to dim
the lights early to conserve energy.
“I’m saying to President Trump, no
one can stop the war in our region, in the Gulf, except for you,” El-Sisi said
told an energy conference in Cairo. “Please help us end the war,” he added.
“You are capable of that.” — Zoltan
Simon
Trump
Steps Up Threats Against Iranian Energy Assets - Bloomberg
Asia markets trade mixed as oil
markets whipsaw on report that Trump is seeking Iran war exit
Published Mon, Mar 30 2026 7:48 PM
EDT
Asia-Pacific markets whipsawed in
volatile trading on Tuesday, as oil prices reversed course to fall after a
report said that President Donald
Trump was looking to avoid a prolonged conflict in the Middle East.
The Wall Street Journal reported on
Monday evening stateside that Trump told aides he was willing to end the U.S.
military hostilities against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remained largely
closed.
The West Texas Intermediate futures
for May delivery reversed gains, dropping 0.72% to $102.14 a barrel as of 10:31
p.m. ET. May futures for Brent
crude also pulled back, declining 1% to $111.55 a barrel.
Trump and his aides assessed that an
operation directed at reopening the critical chokepoint could prolong the
conflict beyond the initial timeline for the war of up to six weeks, the WSJ
said.
“Trump could be forced to wave the
white flag to control gas prices and thereby inflation before midterms,” said
Ben Emons, CIO at Fed Watch Advisors, highlighting that Trump’s “verbal
signals” for ending the Iran war gained currency after Brent neared the $120
per barrel level.
The war has increasingly become an ”
asymmetric” game, Emons said, adding that the U.S. now gains more from de‑escalation
than before, while Iran still benefits most from dragging the conflict out.”
Trump had earlier threatened to
expand attacks to Iran’s civilian energy infrastructure, including water
desalination plants, if Tehran failed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Shipping traffic through the Hormuz
waterway, through which a fifth of the global seaborne oil used to transit
before the conflict, has virtually ground to a halt since U.S. and Israel
launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28.
South Korea’s blue-chip Kospi dropped 2.2% while the
small-cap Kosdaq lost 1.9%. The Korean won depreciated 0.67% to 1,537.4
against the U.S. dollar, hovering near its weakest level since 2009.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 0.13%,
while the broad-based Topix reversed earlier losses to trade 0.18% higher.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 also turned
positive, rising 0.9%.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index dipped 0.3%,
while the mainland Chinese CSI 300 was little changed.
Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 fell 0.39% to
finish at 6,343.72, marking its third losing session in a row while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.73%
to end at 20,794.64. The Dow
Jones Industrial Average bucked the trend to rise 0.11% to 45,216.
The stocks pulled back even as
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said
that inflation outlook remains in check despite rising energy prices
and the central bank does not need to respond with higher interest rates.
U.S. stock futures also edged
higher, with futures tied to
the S&P 500 rising 0.3%, while Nasdaq 100 futures adding
0.2%. Dow Jones Industrial
Average futures advanced 177, or 0.4%.
Asia
markets trade mixed as oil markets whipsaw, Trump mulls war exit
Stock futures rise as oil prices
fall after report says Trump looking to end Iran war: Live updates
Updated Tue, Mar 31 2026 11:10 PM
EDT
U.S. stock futures edged up on
Monday night as oil price reversed course to drop in overnight trading.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 rose
0.3%, while Nasdaq 100
futures added 0.2%. Dow
Jones Industrial Average futures advanced 177, or 0.4%.
Prices dropped following a Wall
Street Journal report that President Donald Trump had told aides he was willing to end military hostilities in the
Middle East even if the Strait of Hormuz remained largely shut.
Oil had gained in extended trading
after Bloomberg reported that Iran struck a Kuwaiti oil tanker in
Dubai waters. The Dubai government’s media office said in a post
on X that no injuries were reported and that “the safety of all 24
crew members has been secured.” Brent crude futures climbed
2% and West Texas
Intermediate futures advanced 3%, before falling 0.82% and 0.66%,
respectively.
In Monday’s regular session,
the S&P 500 slipped
0.39%, posting its third losing session in a row, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.73%.
The 30-stock Dow bucked
the trend with its gain of 49.50 points, or 0.11%.
The S&P 500′s Monday losses put
it just over 9% off its closing high and were driven by declines in the
technology sector, which slid more than 1%. But Art Hogan, chief market
strategist at B. Riley Wealth Management, said that the recent pullback may
reflect a typical market reset rather than anything out of the ordinary.
“There’s a couple of narratives
going on, but I think long term investors should keep in mind that 10%
corrections are normal. They happen all the time. On average, every two years
we have a 10% correction,” he said to CNBC. “It’s also important for investors
to understand that the volatility in equities is the price you pay for the
higher longer-term returns.”
Hogan added: “We’ve had a smattering
of positive days when there’s some whiffs of good news.”
Several different factors on Monday
reflected the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The CBOE Volatility Index, Wall
Street’s fear gauge, topped 30 during the session, while U.S. oil prices also
rose to kick off the week.
On the other hand, markets received
some good news that the Middle East war could soon come to a conclusion, with
President Donald Trump writing in a Truth Social post that “great progress has been made”
regarding the United States’ “serious discussions with A NEW, AND MORE
REASONABLE, REGIME to end our Military Operations in Iran.” On Sunday, Trump
shared that tensions have eased in the form of Iran accepting most of the U.S.′
15-point plan to end the war, with the country allowing an additional 20 oil
ships to cross the Strait of Hormuz.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell also delivered
some relief to investors, saying on Monday that he sees the current
inflation outlook in check and there is no need at this time for any interest
rate hikes.
On Tuesday, traders will watch for
March’s consumer confidence index and February’s JOLTS job opening numbers.
Stock
market today: Live updates
In other news.
Russia welcomes arrival of oil
tanker in Cuba after Trump softens approach to U.S. blockade
Published Mon, Mar 30 2026 2:21 AM
EDT
The Kremlin on Monday welcomed the
arrival of a Russian-flagged oil tanker to Cuba, saying energy supplies to the
fuel-starved island had been discussed with the U.S. ahead
of its delivery.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said
Moscow considered it its duty to help Cuba, according to Russian state news
outlet RIA Novosti. He added that Havana needed petroleum products amid a de
facto U.S. oil blockade.
A Russian oil tanker carrying a
humanitarian shipment of 100,000 tons of crude oil reportedly arrived
in Cuba earlier in the day.
The sanctioned Anatoly Kolodkin
vessel was said to be waiting to unload shortly after U.S. President Donald
Trump said he had “no problem” with a Russian crude tanker delivering fuel to
Cuba.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air
Force One on Sunday, Trump said: “If a country wants to send some oil into Cuba
right now, I have no problem with that, whether it’s Russia or not.”
The shipment of crude oil is seen as
something of a lifeline to the Caribbean nation, which is facing its biggest test since
the collapse of the Soviet Union amid a deepening energy crisis.
Cuba had been heavily dependent on
oil supplies from Venezuela, but it has effectively been cut off since early
January when the U.S. launched an extraordinary military operation to depose
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The Trump administration
subsequently threatened to impose tariffs on any country that sent crude to
Cuba, prompting the likes of Mexico to halt shipments. The Kremlin has
previously shrugged off Trump’s
tariff threats, pointing out that Washington and Moscow “don’t have much trade
right now.”
Cuba’s President Miguel Díaz-Canel
said last week that the island hadn’t received oil shipments in more than three
months. The country, which has said it is
holding talks with the U.S., has sought to dramatically increase its solar
power generation amid the ongoing fuel shortage.
The island of roughly 10 million
people has faced a series of power blackouts in
recent weeks and the United Nations has warned that
Cuban hospitals have been struggling to maintain emergency and intensive care
services.
“Cuba is finished, they have a bad
regime and they have very bad and corrupt leadership and whether or not they
get a boat of oil it’s not going to matter,” Trump said Sunday.
“I prefer letting it in, whether
it’s Russia or anybody else, because the people need heat and cooling and all
of the other things that you need,” he added.
Russia welcomes arrival of oil tanker in Cuba amid U.S. oil
blockade
Budget airlines built on cheap fares
now face a painful reality: Fuel is getting expensive
Published Mon, Mar 30 2026 2:20 AM
EDT
Budget airlines in Asia risk losing
their price advantage as fuel prices rise and Middle East tensions disrupt key
routes, forcing carriers to raise fares and cut expenses.
Low-cost carriers rely on high
passenger volumes and low fares, leaving them with thinner margins and less
room to absorb fuel price swings and route disruptions than full-service
airlines.
Airline executives, speaking at the
Aviation Festival Asia conference in Singapore, said they are now trying to cut
costs, adjust fares and shift routes to avoid passing too much of the increase
on to passengers.
″[We have to] adjust the fares, and
at the same time, stimulate the demand,” Vissoth Nam, CEO at AirAsia Cambodia,
told CNBC’s Monica Pitrelli during a panel on Thursday. “Otherwise, we don’t
have travelers.”
India’s SpiceJet said the Middle
East conflict has significantly affected its operations due to heavy traffic
between India and the region.
“Dubai alone has 77 flights a week
from India, and that’s absolutely a huge impact for us from a route and loss of
revenue perspective,” said Kamal Hingorani, the chief customer officer at
SpiceJet.
While higher fuel costs have not yet
fully hit the airline, Hingorani said prices are set monthly and could rise
further in April.
The Investment Information and
Credit Rating Agency of India on March 26 changed its outlook on India’s aviation sector to negative
from stable, citing the weaker Indian Rupee against the U.S. dollar and higher
fuel prices. Fuel prices were 5.4% higher in March from a year earlier and are
expected to rise further in April.
Hingorani said if fuel prices rise
to an unmanageable level, the airline “may have to absorb some [costs]” because
passing on high fuel surcharges would hurt demand.
Long-haul strength
Not all airlines have been affected
equally, however.
Zipair Tokyo says it has performed
relatively well compared with other budget airlines, partly because its routes
avoid the Middle East and have not been disrupted by the conflict.
The airline, which operates a fleet
of eight planes on mid- to long-haul international flights, has also seen
strong demand during Japan’s cherry blossom season,
particularly in April.
“With this crisis, there are some
routes that have become strong while others have weakened,” said Brendan Sobie,
an aviation analyst at Sobie Aviation. Long-haul routes have generally remained
resilient.
However, fuel prices still directly
affect costs, Yasuhiro Fukada, incoming chief executive and co-founder of
Zipair, said, especially because the airline carrier does not impose fuel surcharges.
While Japan has domestic oil
reserves and is procuring crude from the United States, Zipair told CNBC in an
email that supply conditions could still become more challenging depending on
how the conflict develops.
Its parent company, Japan
Airlines, implemented a fuel surcharge
policy on international flights on Feb. 27 due to the “unprecedented rises” in
fuel prices.
Zipair intends to double its fleet
to over 20 aircraft by 2032, Fukada said.
More
Airlines get crushed by fuel costs, budget airlines try to
cope
Dollar dominance is reinforced by the global oil
trade, but the Iran war could give rise to the ‘petroyuan’ as the U.S. security
shield weakens
Sat, March 28, 2026 at 7:37 PM GMT
Middle East oil has long been a linchpin
of the U.S. dollar’s status as the dominant currency in global trade and
reserves, but President Donald Trump’s war on Iran could open the door to
China’s currency, according to Deutsche Bank.
In a note on Tuesday, analysts pointed out
that the current “petrodollar” regime goes back to a deal struck in 1974 when
Saudi Arabia agreed to price its oil in dollars and invest surpluses in U.S.
assets.
And because oil is a core input to global
manufacturing and transport, supply chains have a natural incentive to
dollarize, the note added. Indeed, Mideast oil and gas is used to make
petrochemicals, fertilizer, and even helium, which is critical to chipmaking.
“The world saves in dollars in large part
because it pays in dollars,” Deutsche Bank said. “The dollar’s dominance in
cross-border trade is arguably built on the petrodollar: globally traded oil is
priced and invoiced in USD.”
In exchange for Saudi Arabia recycling its
dollars back into the U.S., Washington guaranteed the kingdom’s security, which
also involved stationing troops in the region, providing advanced weapons, and
ensuring free navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
That security shield was on display in
1990, when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait and threatened Saudi Arabia. The U.S.
assembled a massive international coalition to quickly defeat Iraq and lower
oil prices.
Fast forward to today, and America’s role
in the Mideast looks vastly different. While the U.S. and Israeli militaries
have severely degraded Iran’s capabilities, the regime still retains enough to
combat power to selectively close off the Strait of Hormuz—unless countries
negotiate safe passage and pay in Chinese yuan.
At the same time, Iran’s swarms of
missiles and drones have inflicted significant damage on U.S. aircraft, radars
and bases, while American air-defense systems have failed to completely protect
Gulf allies’ critical energy infrastructure.
But even before the Iran war, the
petrodollar regime had come under pressure, Deutsche Bank noted. U.S. sanctions
on oil from Russia and Iran created an illicit trade that relied on other
currencies, like the yuan.
Saudi Arabia also joined mBridge project,
a central bank digital currency initiative led by China that takes on the
dollar-payment infrastructure.
“The current conflict may expose further
fault lines, by challenging the US security umbrella for Gulf
infrastructure and the maritime security for global trade in oil,” analysts
warned.
---- Efforts by Gulf states to diversify from
oil and become international finance and tourism hubs are also at risk amid the
Iranian bombardment.
“Damage to Gulf economies could encourage
an unwind in their foreign asset savings,” Deutsche Bank said. “In this
context, reports that the passage for ships through the Strait of Hormuz may be
granted in exchange for oil payments in yuan should be closely followed. The
conflict could be remembered as a key catalyst for erosion in petrodollar
dominance, and the beginnings of the petroyuan.”
More
Inflation is the parent of unemployment and the unseen robber of those who have saved.
Margaret Thatcher
Global Inflation/Stagflation/Recession
Watch.
Given
our Magic Money Tree central banksters and our spendthrift politicians.
India
flags slower growth, wider deficit as Iran war raises the stakes for New Delhi
Published
Mon, Mar 30 2026 2:08 AM EDT
India
has warned that its growth forecast of 7.0%–7.4% for the financial year ending
March 2027 faces
“considerable downside” risk due to rising energy costs and
supply‑chain disruptions linked to the Iran war.
The
conflict, which began on Feb. 28 following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran,
has disrupted goods movement through the Strait of Hormuz — a critical
waterway carrying 20% of global oil — driving up energy and freight costs and
straining supply chains.
“The
trade deficit will rise significantly” in the next financial year ending March
2027 and will lead to “widening [of] the current account deficit,” India’s
Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran wrote in the report
published Saturday.
“Keeping
it manageable will require burden-sharing between the government, via fiscal
absorption, and households and businesses,” he said. However, the pass-through
of higher import prices to end-users “will also moderate demand growth,” said
Nageswaran.
So
far, the Indian government has shown little inclination to pass the rising
energy costs to consumers. On Thursday, it cut central excise
duties on petrol and diesel for domestic consumption by 10 rupees ($0.11)
per liter each to prevent pump prices from rising as the Iran war disrupts
global energy supplies.
The
government also raised duties on exports of diesel and aviation turbine fuel,
with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman saying it was done to “ensure adequate
availability of these products for domestic consumption.”
“This
will provide protection to consumers from a rise in prices,” Sitharaman said in
a post on X on
Friday. This move will hurt India’s tax
revenues,
India’s Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said Friday.
---- Growth worries
India
relies on supplies from the Strait of Hormuz for about 50% of its crude oil
needs, according to Citi, and imports most
of its liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG — the primary cooking fuel for both
commercial establishments and households — through this route.
Alternative
supplies of crude and liquified natural gas, or LNG, are available but come
with delays and higher costs, the finance ministry’s monthly report said. It
added that LPG is far harder to replace because nearly all of it comes from
conflict‑hit regions and domestic refinery yields are very low.
“If
demand moderates in response to higher prices, the central bank will be more
inclined to treat the inflationary impact as a supply shock,” Nageswaran added.
The RBI
will announce its latest monetary policy decision on April 8.
More
India flags slower
growth, wider deficit as Iran war raises the stakes for New Delhi
Trump
declared inflation 'defeated' — now the U.S. is projected to have the worst
inflation among G7 countries in 2026
Sun,
March 29, 2026 at 12:30 PM GMT+1
What
a difference a war makes. In January, President Donald Trump boasted to G7
leaders and others at the World Economic Forum in Davos that his team had
“defeated” inflation in the U.S. (1)
“Grocery
prices, energy prices, airfares, mortgage rates, rent and car payments are all
coming down, and they’re coming down fast,” he said.
At
the time, U.S. inflation stood at 2.4% year-over-year, compared to 2.7% overall
in 2025 (2). When President Joe Biden left office, inflation stood at 3% (3),
down from a post-pandemic high of 9.1% in June 2022, when prices were
skyrocketing globally (4).
Still,
while inflation eased somewhat under Trump, it remained higher than the Federal
Reserve’s long-term annual target of 2% (5).
Now
the U.S. and Israel’s war in Iran is expected to make inflation worse,
according to a new report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD).
The
OECD predicts that America could have the highest inflation in the G7 by the
end of this year, in large part due to the war and the ongoing impact of
Trump’s tariff policy.
Here
are the projected 2026 inflation rates for G7 countries:
- U.S. 4.2% (up
from 2.6% in 2025, according to its calculation)
- U.K. 4% (up
from 3.4%)
- Germany 2.9%
(up from 2.3%)
- Canada 2.4%
(up from 2.1%)
- Italy 2.4%
(up from 1.6%)
- Japan 2.4%
(the outlier, down from 3.2%)
- France 1.8%
(up from 0.9%) (6)
Things could get worse as the war drags on
The
OECD warns that inflation could spike as the Middle East conflict disrupts
supply chains and the normal flow of trade. The longer it drags on, the worse
things could get.
Trump
can no longer claim the cost of energy is down. It’s top of mind for many
Americans.
Gas
prices are up more than 30% this month amid Iran’s chokehold on shipments
through the Strait of Hormuz (7), and attacks on energy infrastructure like
refineries, gas plants and oil fields throughout the Middle East (8). According
to a New York Times report, even if the war ends, energy prices are likely to
remain above the pre-war baseline for months, thanks to damage to energy
infrastructure (9).
What
about groceries? As PBS reports, farmers in the U.S. and elsewhere are worried
about the prices for key components of the fertilizers they need to grow their
crops, which are normally shipped through the Strait of Hormuz (10). That’s one
reason the cost of groceries is likely to rise (10).
The
U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts food prices will rise 3.6% this year,
with the cost of groceries rising 3.1% alone, faster than the 20-year average
of 2.6%.
Beef,
fish, vegetables, sweets and baked goods are all projected to become more
expensive (11).
More
From oil to food to markets: How a month of war on Iran has remade the
world economy
Sun, March 29, 2026 at
10:23 PM GMT+1
It's not easy being the
world economy right now.
One month into the US and
Israeli war on Iran, the shock is upending everything from supply chains to air travel.
As the price of a barrel of oil settles in at north of $100, up from $70
before the war, gas prices in the US are flirting with $4 a gallon, the highest
since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. And on the other side of the world,
consumers in places like the Philippines and India are waiting hours in line
for fuel as governments ration dwindling supplies.
"No country will be
immune to the effects of this crisis if it continues to go in this
direction," Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency, told
journalists in Australia earlier this week.
This energy supply shock
threatens to drive up inflation, which could mean higher interest rates, which can
lead to a recession. It's a delicate balance that is difficult to calibrate in
the uncertainty of war. Some economists are warning of a dreaded 1970s -style
stagflation, a perfect storm of high prices, a stalled economy, and rising
unemployment.
The war is also hammering supply chains for things like helium, a critical component
in the semiconductor chips powering the AI revolution, and fertilizer, which
could, in time, lead to higher grocery prices.
President Donald Trump says the war on Iran is intended to mitigate what he called the
"imminent threat" of its ballistic missiles, alleged nuclear weapons
program, and its proxies in the Middle East, like Hezbollah in Lebanon and the
Houthis in Yemen.
Iran, however, has shown
resilience. How long the war lasts will likely depend on how long the world can
withstand its economic impact. Here are some of the major ways that impact is
spreading.
The
oil shock
Global oil prices have
skyrocketed since the military conflict began in late February, mainly due to
the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz. About 20% of the world's oil supply and liquefied
natural gas pass through the waterway off Iran's coast.
Other major oil hubs
across the Middle East have also sustained damage, including the United Arab
Emirates' Port of Fujairah, further driving up oil prices to over $100 a
barrel. When the markets closed on Friday, Brent oil sat at $112.57, while West Texas Intermediate landed at $99.64.
For the average person,
the fallout means two things: spending more money at the pump and surging
energy bills. In America, the national average gas price reached $3.98 on
Sunday, up from $2.98 in February.
Some countries are trying
to cushion the price shock through rationing. That includes the Philippines,
where officials implemented a temporary four-day workweek for federal workers
and urged businesses to conserve energy. Pakistan also implemented a shortened
workweek, closed schools for two weeks, and had public-sector employees work
from home to ration oil.
This month, the
International Energy Agency released 400 million barrels of oil from reserves
to ease global economic volatility. The agency said this war is creating
"the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil
market."
Financial
markets begin to crack
Trump has a way with
words and has used them strategically to influence markets. Stock traders
appeared to wise up this week, however, as multiple exchanges entered correction territory.
Two major indexes — the
Dow and the Nasdaq 100 — are now halfway to a bear market. The latter, composed mostly of American tech
companies and already reeling from uncertainty over the impact of AI on
software companies, slid into the realm of a correction at the close of trading
on Friday.
The broader S&P 500,
meanwhile, notched its fifth week of losses by the end of the day on Friday,
coming in just shy of a correction after a January peak of almost 6,980.
BCA Research, an
independent provider of global investment data, said that if losses continue at
this pace, it would be a strong "motivator" for Trump to rethink his war strategy.
While it's been a dire
few weeks for the markets, not everyone thinks the war, as it stands now, is
enough to reverse optimism around the industrial renaissance driven by AI and
the tax cuts from Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill."
"The bottom line is
that the Iran shock is not big enough to offset the strong tailwinds to the US
economy," Torsten Sløk, the chief economist at Apollo Global Management,
said Friday.
The
spectre of stagflation
More
From oil to food to markets: How a month of war on Iran has remade the
world economy
The consequences of inflation are malinvestment, waste, a wanton
redistribution of wealth and income, the growth of speculation and gambling,
immorality and corruption, disillusionment, social resentment, discontent,
upheaval and riots, bankruptcy, increased government controls, and eventual
collapse.
Henry Hazlitt
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.
Tongwei moves into hybrid heterojunction back contact solar cell
technology
Tongwei
is partnering with GS-Solar and Golden Solar to develop a large-scale
manufacturing facility for hybrid heterojunction back-contact (HBC) solar cells
that combine heterojunction passivation, tunneling oxide and polysilicon
structures used in TOPCon designs, and the grid-free front-side architecture
typical of back-contact technologies.
March 30, 2026
Tongwei has
signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Gold Stone (Fujian) Energy Co Ltd (GS-Solar) and Golden Solar (Quanzhou)
New Energy Technology Co Ltd to develop a mass-production facility for
hybrid heterojunction back-contact (HBC) solar cells.
The agreement was signed on March 18,
2026, at Golden Solar’s headquarters in Quanzhou. The partners plan to
collaborate across the full value chain, including technology development,
manufacturing, and process optimization. The factory’s location and planned
capacity have not been disclosed, but the companies said it is intended for
large-scale commercialization.
Under the agreement, Tongwei Solar, a
wholly owned subsidiary of Tongwei, will provide manufacturing capacity,
production facilities, supply chain resources, and operational management.
GS-Solar will act as the technology provider, contributing its hybrid HBC cell
design, GW-scale integrated equipment, and mass-production process solutions.
Golden Solar will provide patents, commissioning experience, and process
support.
The companies said they will establish a
coordination mechanism to optimize production processes, reduce manufacturing
costs, and improve conversion efficiency as they move toward industrial
deployment.
At the center of the partnership is
GS-Solar’s hybrid HBC technology, which combines multiple cell concepts. The
design builds on HBC architecture and integrates heterojunction passivation
from HJT cells, tunneling oxide and polysilicon structures associated with
TOPCon, and a grid-free front-side design typical of back-contact technologies.
The approach aims to balance high efficiency with lower production costs and
simplified processing.
GS-Solar reported a laboratory
conversion efficiency of 27.08% for the technology in March 2023, rising to
27.62% in November 2024, according to the company.
The collaboration brings Tongwei, one of
the world’s largest solar cell manufacturers, into the hybrid HBC segment and
could accelerate the transition from laboratory-scale development to industrial
production. It also expands Tongwei’s technology portfolio, which includes
TOPCon, HJT, BC, and TBC-related approaches.
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Next, the
world global debt clock. Nations debts to GDP compared.
World Debt Clocks
(usdebtclock.org)
Inflation is not all bad. After all, it has allowed every
American to live in a more expensive neighborhood without moving.
Senator Alan Cranston
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