Baltic
Dry Index. 2010 -128 Brent Crude 110.60
Spot Gold 5116 Spot Silver 83.65
US 2 Year Yield 3.56 -0.01
US Federal Debt. 38.859 trillion
US GDP 31.219 trillion.
There can be no rise in the value of labour without a fall of profits.
David Ricardo
8: 00 AM Update.
Some temporary oil relief? But when it’s gone, it’s gone.
G7 ministers to discuss joint release of emergency
oil reserves
9 March 2026
G7 finance ministers are set to discuss a
possible joint release of petroleum from reserves coordinated by the
International Energy Agency in an emergency meeting on Monday, as they look to
tackle surging oil prices amid the conflict in the Gulf.
Ministers will hold a call with
International Energy Agency’s (IEA) executive director Faith Birol at 8:30am
New York time (1:30pm GMT), to discuss the impact of the Iran war, according to
people familiar with the situation – including a senior G7 official.
Three G7 countries, including the US, have
so far expressed support for the idea, according to people familiar with the
reports, the Financial Times reported.
The 32 member countries of the IEA hold strategic reserves
as part of a collective emergency system designed for oil price crises,
allowing big oil-consuming countries to respond to significant energy shocks.
The emergency petroleum stockpiles were
set up as part of the creation of the IEA in 1974, following the Arab oil
embargo, which shot up crude oil prices and triggered major fuel shortages in
the West.
One person said that some US officials
believe a joint release of 300m-400m barrels, which equals roughly 25 to 30 per
cent of the 1.2bn barrels in the reserve, would be appropriate.
Pressure piles on Trump
The emergency meeting comes as US
President Donald Trump faces increasing pressure to stop the steep rise in the
crude oil price since the start of the war.
The average US petrol price rose to $3.45
(£2.45) a gallon by Sunday, from $2.98 a gallon a week ago.
The price is expected to climb further
unless Trump can get a handle on prices and reverse the trend.
Surging oil prices over the past week have
triggered global fallout, threatening an inflationary surge that has the
potential to do lasting damage to economic growth across the world.
China, India, South Korea, Japan, Germany,
Italy and Spain are among the biggest importers of crude, leaving them starkly
exposed to price shocks.
---- Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at
IG, said: “Stock markets have raced to catch up to all the news, but we are now
looking at a vastly increased chance of a US and global recession as inflation
surges.
“While a coordinated release of oil
reserves provides temporary relief, it is a limited response, and is dwarfed by
the loss of oil output from the Hormuz closure and the shutdown of production
in the region.”
Tackling the crisis
Last Tuesday, the IEA held an emergency meeting to consider options
to tackle an emerging oil supply crisis, with a document prepared for the
meeting saying the IEA stood “ready to act to support the stability of oil
markets”.
The confidential document noted that IEA
countries held more than 1.24bn barrels of public stocks in addition to another
600m or so barrels of industry stocks that could bring additional supply if
required.
More
G7
ministers to discuss joint release of emergency oil reserves
7:00 AM Update.
Black Monday ahead? Crude oil prices eased slightly after reports of Saudi's oil supply via Yanbu port on the Red Sea. Well yes, but Yanbu's oil isn't extra oil, it's already counted in the overall supply chain. The media and the US media in particular, are trying to big up a mostly non event as extra Saudi oil supply.
In payback for EU sanctions on Russian oil and gas, President Putin is thinking about sanctioning the EU back.
Russia a 'big winner' in oil crisis
sparked by Middle East war and Strait of Hormuz closure
March 8, 2026
In short:
Russia is set to be a "big
winner" from the oil crisis created from the Middle East war, experts say.
President Vladimir Putin has
acknowledged oil prices are rising and has promoted Russia as a "reliable
supplier".
He also threatened to withdraw
Russian gas supply to Europe, blaming the European Union for any crisis the
region might face over shortages.
The longer the oil crisis sparked by
the Middle East war and closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the better for
Vladimir Putin and Russia.
The war in the Middle East has
disrupted oil and gas supplies across the world, and soaring
prices are strengthening Russia's ability to profit from its energy
exports.
Oil and gas revenue is a key pillar
of the Kremlin's budget and it directly helps pay for its war in Ukraine.
Thirty per cent of the Russian
federal budget comes from oil and gas tax revenues, and 40 per cent of that
budget is spent on military and security, figures from the Russian government
show.
"Russia is a big winner from
the war-related energy turmoil," said Simone
Tagliapietra, energy expert at the Bruegel think tank.
"Higher oil prices mean higher
revenues for the government and therefore stronger capability to finance the
war in Ukraine."
Russian Urals crude oil has risen to
$US72 ($102) a barrel, up from $US40 in December last year. Crude oil from
outside of Russia remains higher, rising to more than $US100 per barrel.
Russian President Vladimir Putin
acknowledged oil prices were rising as a result of the "aggression against
Iran" and Western restrictions on Russian oil.
The European Union (EU) is about to
adopt its 20th set of sanctions on Russian oil exports to constrain Moscow's
ability to fund its war efforts.
Speaking on Russian television, Mr
Putin took the opportunity to promote Russia as an oil provider and issue a
threat to the EU.
"Russia has always been and
remains a reliable supplier of energy resources for all our partners," he
said.
"Maybe it would be more
beneficial for us to halt [gas] supplies now to the European market and
leave."
more
Asia markets tumble as oil nears
$120 a barrel; marks largest one day gain in almost 40 years
Published Sun, Mar 8 2026 7:55 PM
EDT
South Korea’s Kospi triggered its second
circuit breaker in four sessions on Monday, leading a broader regional sell-off
as oil prices neared $120 per barrel for the first time since 2022.
The index plunged over 8%,
triggering a 20 minute suspension in trading from 10.31 a.m. local time. The
index was last 8.58% down.
Heavyweight Samsung Electronics
plunged more than 10%, while chip counterpart SK Hynix shed 12.3%.
A circuit breaker was activated last
week when the benchmark tumbled more than 12% Wednesday to record its worst
single-day decline.
Brent futures spiked 26.1%
to $116.08, while U.S. West
Texas Intermediate crude futures jumped 27.6% to $116.03. The jump in
oil prices is the largest one day gain since late 1988, according to LSEG data.
The surge comes after major Middle
Eastern oil producers, including Kuwait, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, cut
oil production following the closure
of the Strait of Hormuz.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 tumbled 7.05%,
falling below the 52,000 mark for the first time since January, while the Topix
was down 5.36%.
Softbank Group Corp was
among the largest losers on the index, falling over 11%, while chip-related
stocks such as Advantest and Lasertec was also down
over 13% and 11%, respectively.
Chinese markets saw smaller losses,
with the Hong Kong Hang Seng
index falling 2.75%, and the CSI 300 on mainland China down 1.65%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 3.2%,
paring earlier losses.
U.S. President Donald Trump,
however, posted on Truth Social that a gain in “short term oil prices” was a
“very small price to pay” for destroying Iran’s nuclear threat.
“Only fools would think
differently!” Trump added.
U.S. stock futures also tumbled on
higher oil prices, with Dow
Jones Industrial Average futures down over 800 points or 1.75% lower.
S&P 500 futures were down 1.59%,
while Nasdaq-100 futures slid 1.6%.
South
Korea's Kospi sinks, triggering circuit breaker amid broader Asia market rout
Dow futures tumble over 1,000 points
as U.S. oil nears $120 a barrel to begin the week’s trading: Live updates
Updated Mon, Mar 9 2026 11:35 PM EDT
Stock futures were plunging to start
the week’s trading as U.S. oil prices neared $120 a barrel amid the U.S.-Iran
conflict, raising fears higher energy prices could dramatically slow the U.S.
economy. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average is coming off its biggest weekly slide in nearly a
year.
Futures tied to the Dow fell
1,026 points, or 2.33%. S&P
500 futures lost 2.05% and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped
2.34%.
West Texas Intermediate crude
jumped 25% to above $113 a barrel, its first time above the $100 level since
2022, when investors were reacting to the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine. International benchmark Brent crude added 24% to
above $115 a barrel. U.S. oil prices began the year below $60 a barrel.
Oil
futures jumped on Sunday night after major Middle East producers
slashed their output due to the continued closure of the key Strait of Hormuz
passageway. Kuwait announced cuts but did not say by how much, while Iraq has
reportedly seen its production fall 70%.
The $100 oil level was seen by many
on Wall Street as a breaking point for the economy unless the war is resolved
quickly and prices retreat.
Trump posted Sunday evening that a gain in “short term oil
prices” was a “very small price to pay” for destroying Iran’s nuclear threat.
The war showed little signs of
easing despite Trump’s claim it was “already won” with Iran naming Ayatollah
Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba, as its new supreme leader, according to reports.
Sunday’s moves follow a rough week
on Wall Street as the U.S.-Iran war sent crude prices spiking. U.S. crude
soared more than 35% last week, marking its biggest
weekly gain since the futures contract began trading in 1983.
The Dow slid around 3% last week,
its worst
weekly decline since President Donald Trump’s initial tariff
announcement roiled markets in early April 2025. The broad S&P 500 shed 2%, while
the Nasdaq Composite ended
the week 1.2% lower.
“Markets are clearly jittery as the
impact, and duration, of the war in the Mideast are very uncertain, with a
potentially wide range of outcomes for economies and important market
influences,” BlackRock CIO Rick Rieder wrote to clients on Friday. “These
events are creating some extreme movements in areas of the markets as market
participants are clearly looking to reduce overweight positions or hedge
embedded risk.”
There’s no economic data of note
slated for Monday, but investors will follow releases on inflation, employment
and gross domestic product due throughout the week. Investors will
monitor Hewlett Packard
Enterprise earnings after the bell on Monday, followed by Kohl’s, Oracle, Dollar General and Dick’s Sporting Goods later in
the week.
Stock
market today: Live updates
Global week ahead: Diplomacy in
ruins as G7 meets on Iran
Published Sun, Mar 8 2026 7:12 AM
EDT
The war
in Iran will present the G7 countries with one of the most significant
diplomatic tests in modern history.
The group - comprising the United
States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom - has come
under strain during both of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tenures.
However, the decision by Washington
and Tel Aviv to attack Iran on Feb. 28 and trigger a widespread wave of strikes
across the Middle East and international military bases in the region, will
test the alliance under extreme circumstances.
France, which currently holds the G7
presidency, has called an emergency meeting to address the Middle East. Finance
Minister Roland Lescure said he and his counterparts, as well as G7 central
bank governors, will meet over the coming days.
Speaking to Franceinfo radio, he
said: “I have spoken to various counterparts, in particular [U.S. Treasury
Secretary] Scott Bessent ... to discuss the state of the situation, so we can
assess any responses that might be needed.”
Diplomacy in tatters
The dispute between the U.S. and
Spain will be a particular source of tension. Madrid’s
refusal to allow the U.S. military access to its bases has led Trump
to threaten to “cut off all trade with Spain”, while Bessent told CNBC that
“the Spanish put American lives at risk.”
European leaders have rallied around
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, in a bid to protect Europe’s sovereignty.
However, each G7 nation is also navigating their own path through this
international dispute.
France First
With an election year just around
the corner, France is walking a particularly high-stakes line.
President Emmanuel Macron branded
the U.S.-Israel led attacks as “outside the framework of international law”,
while also pledging to strengthen its nuclear arsenal to protect Europe,
sending an aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean for deterrence.
But the prospect of how persistently
higher energy prices could impact inflation at home at a sensitive time for the
economy is also influencing Macron’s response. Finance Minister Roland Lescure,
who will lead the G7 meeting, said “in a conflict that has global
repercussions, it is obviously essential that we coordinate.”
Germany’s grip on Europe
Germany has taken a more diplomatic
tack, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz saying “now is not the time to lecture our
partners and allies,” ahead of his meeting with President Trump in Washington
D.C. last week.
However, the economic reality of a
prolonged war in the Middle East is already of concern to Bundesbank President
Joachim Nagel, who is expected to attend the G7 talks this week. He told CNBC’s
Annette Weisbach that “this war is a burden for the economy in Germany, in
Europe and for the whole world.”
More
Global
week ahead: Diplomacy in ruins as G7 meets on Iran
3 AM Update.
Once upon a time, in a shipping channel, near far away prosperous global oil, LNG, aluminium and fertiliser suppliers, peace reigned and goods moved freely and relatively cheaply between exporters and importers.
Not anymore, since February 28th when a seeming all-against-all war broke out!!
Though western media is busy misleading their public about just how lopsided in favour of the west, this war is progressing, that’s only partially true militarily. In the great global commerce war, after just a mere week of disruption, the commerce war has been lopsided in favour of Iran.
For now, some of Iran’s oil continues to flow, primarily to Asia, but some in America are calling on the US Navy to start seizing Iranian tankers, Venezuelan style.
The downside, cutting off Iran’s very limited oil exports, incentivises Iran to actually mine the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz. The mere threat of doing so threatens a global commerce calamity and fast.
With no apparent US ending game plan except President Trump’s “unconditional surrender,” improbable for many weeks, the global economy stands on the cusp of a repeat of 1929-1933.
Bad things are happening fast in the global economy from week two in the unnecessary, war in the Persian Gulf.
As the price of diesel and natural gas soars in America and around the planet, inflation, bankruptcies and massive unemployment follow within weeks if not days.
South Korea’s Kospi sinks over 8%, triggering
circuit breaker amid broader Asia market rout as oil crosses $110
Published Sun, Mar 8 20267 :55 PM EDT
South Korea’s Kospi triggered its second
circuit breaker in four sessions on Monday, leading a broader regional sell-off
as oil prices breached $110 per barrel for the first time since 2022.
The index plunged over 8%, triggering a 20
minute suspension in trading from 10.31 a.m. local time. Heavyweight Samsung
Electronics plunged more than 10%, while chip counterpart SK Hynix shed 11.6%.
A circuit breaker was activated last week
when the benchmark tumbled more than 12% Wednesday to record its worst
single-day decline.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 tumbled 6.48%,
falling below the 53,000 mark for the first time since Feb. 6, while the Topix
was down 5.8%.
Softbank Group Corp was
among the largest losers on the index, falling over 11%, while chip-related
stocks such as Advantest and Lasertec was also down
over 10% and 9%, respectively.
Brent futures spiked 23.38%
to $114.30, while U.S. West
Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 26.35% to $114.85.
The surge comes after major Middle Eastern
oil producers, including Kuwait, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, cut oil
production following the closure
of the Strait of Hormuz.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 4.15%.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index also fell 3%,
while the CSI 300 on mainland China was down 2%.
U.S. President Donald Trump, however,
posted on Truth Social that a gain in “short term oil prices” was a “very small
price to pay” for destroying Iran’s nuclear threat.
“Only fools would think differently!”
Trump added.
U.S. stock futures also tumbled on higher
oil prices, with Dow Jones
Industrial Average futures down over 800 points or 1.75% lower.
S&P 500 futures were down 1.59%, while
Nasdaq-100 futures slid 1.6%.
South
Korea's Kospi sinks, triggering circuit breaker amid broader Asia market rout
Oil surges above $110 a barrel; Trump says ‘small
price to pay’ for defeating Iran
Published Sun, Mar 8 2026 6:03 PM EDT
Crude oil prices crossed $110 per barrel
on Sunday, after major Middle East producers cut output because the critical
Strait of Hormuz remains closed due to the Iran war.
West Texas Intermediate jumped
26.5%, or $24, to $114.9 per barrel. Global benchmark Brent advanced 23%, or
$21.56, to $114.25. U.S. crude oil surged
about 35% last week in its biggest gain in futures trading history
dating back to 1983. The last time oil prices topped $100 per barrel was after
Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Shortly after oil blasted past $100 at the
open of trading Sunday evening, President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that a gain in “short term oil
prices” was a “very small price to pay” for destroying Iran’s nuclear threat.
“Only fools would think differently!”
Trump added.
Kuwait, the fifth-biggest producer in
OPEC, announced precautionary
cuts Saturday to its oil production and refinery output due to
“Iranian threats against safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.”
The state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corporation did not detail the size of the
cuts.
Output in Iraq, the second-biggest OPEC
producer, has effectively collapsed. Production from its three main southern
oilfields has fallen 70% to 1.3 million barrels per day, three industry
officials told Reuters Sunday. Those fields produced 4.3 million bpd
before Iran war.
And the United Arab Emirates, the
third-biggest producer in OPEC, said Saturday that it is “carefully managing
offshore production levels to address storage requirements.” The Abu Dhabi
National Oil Company (ADNOC) said its onshore operations are continuing
normally.
Gulf Arab states are cutting production
because they are running out of storage space, as oil barrels pile up with
nowhere to go due to the closure of the Strait. Tankers are unwilling transit
the narrow waterway because they are worried Iran will attack them. About 20%
of the world’s oil consumption is exported through the Strait.
The war showed little signs of easing
despite President Donald Trump’s claim it was “already won.” Iran named Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba, as its new supreme leader, according to reports. The
U.S. and Israel killed Khamenei in the opening days of the war.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Sunday
traffic through the Strait will resume after the U.S. has destroyed Iran’s
ability to threaten tankers.
“We’re not too long away before you’ll see
more regular resumption of ship traffic through the Straits of Hormuz,” Wright
told CNN in an interview. “We’re nowhere near normal traffic right now. That
will take some time. But again, worst case that’s a few weeks, that’s not
months.”
Oil
surges above $110 a barrel; Trump says 'small price to pay' for defeating Iran
Iran's miscalculation has 'destroyed everything',
Qatar's PM says
8 March 2026
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani
has described Iran's strikes on Gulf countries as a "dangerous
miscalculation" - warning the escalation risks destabilising the region
and sending shockwaves through the global economy.
Speaking to the media for the first time
since Qatar has
come under repeated missile and drone attacks, the prime minister told Sky News
that the country had entered what he called "a very difficult period"
- but praised the professionalism of its defence and security forces.
For a man who has mediated some of the
world's most complex crises, what stood out to me was how angry he was about
Iran's actions.
"It is a big sense of betrayal,"
he told me. "Just an hour after the start of the war, Qatar and other Gulf
countries have been attacked. We made clear that we were not going to take part
in any wars against our neighbours."
----Yet even as he condemned the strikes,
the prime minister repeatedly stressed that military escalation would only
deepen the crisis - and that the responsibility to step back lies with all
sides.
"We continue to seek
de-escalation," he said. "They are our neighbours - it's our
destiny."
His message was directed not only at
Tehran. He also called on the US to reduce tensions, warning of the risk that
the entire region slides into war.
Diplomacy, he argued, remains the only
viable path out of the crisis.
"The miscalculation by the Iranians
to attack Gulf countries has destroyed everything," he said, but insisted
the answer now must be renewed negotiations.
----Over and over again, he
returned to the global stakes - and that what happens in the Gulf won't stay in
the Gulf.
Qatar supplies roughly 20% of the world's
gas and is one of the planet's largest fertiliser producers - meaning any
sustained disruption would impact markets, food supplies and people worldwide.
Even as the Gulf states insist this is not
their fight, however, they are an integral aspect of it.
And that, perhaps, is the central danger
of this moment - a war that began between the US, Israel and Iran is now
dragging in countries that want no part of it, but increasingly find themselves
on its front lines.
Iran's miscalculation has 'destroyed everything', Qatar's PM says
Cost of plane tickets likely to soar as Iran war
brings huge fuel price surge — United CEO says impact will ‘probably start
quick’
By Andrew Court Published March 7, 2026, 11:52 a.m. ET
The war in Iran has already caused the
cost of plane tickets to rise, experts say.
Jet fuel, which accounts for about
one-fifth of airlines’ operating expenses, surged a staggering 56% in the
days following the initial Feb. 28 US and Israeli strikes on Iran, per CBS News.
The Strait of Hormuz, a key Middle East
trade route for oil and liquefied natural gas, is effectively closed amid the
conflict.
Henry Harteveldt, founder of Atmosphere
Research Group, told the outlet that airlines “began increasing airfares this
week as spot jet fuel prices started to spike.”
The expert said increases have usually
been for premium seats, such as those located in first-class and business.
“They are trying to find a balance between
how much they can increase fares to cover substantially higher fuel costs and
how high is too high,” he stated.
Meanwhile, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby
says the war’s impact on ticket prices will “probably start quick.”
He made the claim during a discussion at
the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences on
Thursday, as cited by The Street.
More
Iran Is Hitting the Radars That Underpin U.S.
Missile Defenses
Tehran is carrying out many of the strikes
with one-way attack drones
March 7, 2026 1:25 pm ET
Iran is targeting the radar systems that
serve as the eyes of the air defenses in the Middle East, hitting several in
recent days and degrading the ability of the U.S. and its allies to track
incoming missiles.
Iranian strikes in retaliation for
the U.S.
and Israeli bombing campaign have hit radar, communications and
air defense systems in Qatar, the U.A.E., Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi
Arabia, according to U.S. officials, military analysts and commercially
available satellite images.
The strikes are often carried out by
Iran’s one-way attack drones, such as its Shaheds, which are a fraction of the
cost of the missiles that the sophisticated U.S. systems were designed to
defend against. Iran
has fired fewer missiles in recent days.
“Overall, our defenses are doing quite
well. That said, it is clear that the Iranians have a sense of what type of
targets they want to continue to press against, and that includes command and
control and our ability to detect inbound missiles and drones,” said Ravi
Chaudhary, a former assistant secretary of the Air Force in charge of
installations.
A spokesman for U.S. Central Command said
the military remained at full combat capability despite the hits. The U.S. has
been bolstering its defenses in the region, sending in more equipment and
interceptors, U.S. officials said.
The U.S. says it is degrading Iran’s
ability to launch attacks by the day. Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S.
forces in the Middle East, said Thursday that ballistic-missile attacks had
decreased by 90% and drone attacks had dropped by 83% since the war began.
The U.S. and its partners in the region
use a network of Thaads, Patriots and other air-defense systems to shoot down
missiles, drones and rockets fired by Iran and its allied militias in the
region.
Those air defense batteries depend on
radar to detect incoming missiles and drones. Those systems are often rare and
expensive. The conflict has also chewed through U.S.
stocks of interceptors it uses to fend off missiles.
One of the most significant strikes hit a
sophisticated early-warning radar system at Qatar’s Al-Udeid, which hosts the
largest American military base in the region. The attack damaged the AN/FPS-132
radar, hindering its ability to function, according to satellite imagery and a
U.S. official.
---- Satellite images from Planet Labs show damage
to the radar installation in Qatar. The images show debris on the northeastern
face of the domed radar installation, the side facing Iran, along with water
runoff, likely from efforts to put out a fire, according to Sam Lair, a
researcher with the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.
“It demonstrates the fragility of some of
these kind of higher tier radars,” said Lair, who published an analysis of the
satellite image.
Iran also struck a TPY-2 radar attached to
a Thaad battery in Jordan, according to satellite imagery and a U.S. official.
The radar is a critical component of the ground-based missile-defense system,
which intercepts ballistic missiles above the atmosphere.
Satellite images reviewed by The Wall
Street Journal also show damage to three radar domes at Camp Arifjan, a base
used by U.S. forces in Kuwait, and damage to a satellite communications system
at the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.
In Saudi Arabia, a satellite image taken
on March 1 shows smoke billowing from a building at a radar site at the
kingdom’s Prince Sultan Air Base.
Adverti
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Iran Is Hitting
the Radars That Underpin U.S. Missile Defenses - WSJ
Iran wipes out America's $300M missile shield
system: How THAAD radar was destroyed in Jordan strikes
March 7, 2026
Iran has dealt a heavy blow to the United
States after it destroyed a key $300 million radar system crucial to directing
US missile defence batteries in the Gulf. Satellite photos show that an RTX
Corp. AN/TPY-2 radar and support equipment - used by US
THAAD missile defence systems - was destroyed at Muwaffaq Salti
Air Base in Jordan in the
opening days of the war, CNN reported, citing commercial satellite imagery. The
destruction risks further straining the region's ability to counter future
attacks, according to a US official.
Data gathered by the Foundation for
Defence of Democracies think tank shows two reported Iranian strikes in Jordan:
one on February 28 and one on March 3. Both were reported to have been
intercepted, Bloomberg reported.
"If successful, an Iranian strike on
a THAAD radar would mark one of Iran's most successful attacks so far,"
said Ryan Brobst, deputy director of the Center on Military and Political Power
at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. However, he added that
"the US military and its partners have other radars that can continue to
provide air and missile defense coverage, mitigating the loss of any single
radar."
Why this is a big blow to the US
The US has eight THAAD systems globally,
including in South Korea and Guam. US Terminal High Altitude Area Defence, or
THAAD, units are meant to destroy ballistic missiles at the edges of the
atmosphere, enabling them to engage more difficult threats than shorter-range
Patriot batteries. The batteries cost about $1 billion each, with the radar
comprising about $300 million of that, according to the Center for Strategic
and International Studies.
With this AN/TPY-2 radar out of
commission, missile interception duties will fall onto the Patriot systems, for
which PAC-3 missiles are already in short supply.
"These are scarce strategic resources
and its loss is a huge blow," Tom Karako, a missile defence expert with
the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Bloomberg. The Army's
current "eight-battery force is still below the force structure
requirements of nine set back in 2012, so there aren't exactly any spare TPY-2
lying around," he said.
A THAAD battery consists of 90 soldiers,
six truck-mounted launchers and forty-eight interceptors - 8 per launcher - one
TPY-2 radar, as well as a tactical fire control and communication unit. Each
interceptor missile, manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corp., costs about $13
million.
Earlier in the war, an AN/FPS-132 radar in
Qatar was also damaged during an Iranian attack, according to research from the
James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, California. That
system is an early warning radar, designed to spot threats at extreme distances
but without the precision needed to launch weapons at them.
Air and missile defence systems in the
Gulf region have been stressed, and the strikes and counterstrikes in the
region have prompted fears that stockpiles of advanced interceptors such as
THAAD and PAC-3 could soon run dangerously low. On Friday, defence contractors,
including Lockheed and RTX, met at the White House as the Pentagon pushes to
speed weapons production.
Iranian drone damages desalination plant in
Bahrain
8 March 2026
An Iranian drone attack caused “material
damage” to a desalination plant, Bahrain said Sunday
morning.
It was the first time an Arab country has
reported Iran targeting a desalination plant during the nine-day war.
Hundreds of desalination plants sit along
the Persian
Gulf coast,
and the Arab countries in the region rely heavily on the facilities for their
drinking water.
Iranian drone
damages desalination plant in Bahrain
US aluminium buyers hunt for alternatives as Iran
war upends global supply
The Middle East supply turmoil comes at a
particularly fragile moment for American aluminium consumers
Published Sat, Mar 7, 2026 · 03:27 PM
[NEW YORK] Aluminium buyers in the US are
rushing to secure alternative supplies from Asia as the war on Iran disrupts a
major foreign source, a development that threatens to hike the cost of the
metal used in auto parts, appliances and beverage cans.
An effective halt on shipments through the
Strait of Hormuz has already prompted two top producers in the region, Qatar
and Bahrain, to suspend deliveries to customers. The US relies heavily on
imports, with the Middle East supplying nearly a fifth of its aluminium last
year, according to government data.
Andy Massey of Bonnell Aluminum said the
company, which molds aluminium into shapes that can be used in products
including cars and construction materials, is looking to source the metal from
markets such as India and Australia. The Georgia-based manufacturer may even
tap the domestic market for near-term deliveries if there’s metal that is not
tied up in annual contracts.
“We are all scrambling to figure out
what’s happening on the ground” in the Middle East, said Massey, Bonnell’s
vice-president of metals, procurement and transportation. “I need to find
alternative supplies over the next two days – fast – and make sure we don’t
overpay.”
The Middle East supply turmoil comes at a
particularly fragile moment for American aluminium consumers. They have already
been squeezed by US President Donald Trump’s import tariffs on the metal, which
have driven up domestic prices and constrained flows from Canada, the largest
foreign supplier to the US. Even brief interruptions to the supply of
aluminium, prized by manufacturers for its abundance and low cost, can cause
chaos for factories that tend to buy it on a just-in-time basis.
RM-Metals, a New Jersey-based supplier of
speciality metal products, is facing a quandary similar to Bonnell’s. It’s
seeking alternative sources as some of its shipments remain stuck in Dubai,
according to vice president Sam Desai.
“Korea is a great option right now,” said
Desai, adding that his firm is also looking at supplies from northern Europe.
“It’s becoming very hard because the cost of aluminium itself has gone up”
since the Iran war started.
Prices of the lightweight metal traded on
the London Metal Exchange soared to the highest since 2022 this week. The
so-called US Midwest premium – the amount added to global benchmarks to deliver
aluminium to that region – climbed to a fresh record of US$1.075 a pound.
Before the Iran crisis, American manufacturers were already paying among the
highest aluminium prices worldwide due to Trump’s 50 per cent tariffs.
While aluminium from India is the most
likely seaborne replacement for American consumers, shipping it across the
Pacific takes about 60 days, according to Jean Simard, chief executive officer
of Aluminium Association of Canada. Other alternatives include Brazil,
Indonesia, Iceland and Norway, said Timna Tanners, an analyst at Wells Fargo
Securities.
Meanwhile, shipments from Canada, the most
obvious alternative for US buyers, have continued to decline under Trump’s
tariffs. Producers there have increasingly favoured Europe, where net returns
have been more attractive than selling into the US market. At the same time,
expectations that the levies could be eased or repealed in the coming months
have made US buyers wary of locking in large volumes, for fear of overpaying if
the tariffs are later rolled back.
It could be “a timely moment to review”
the US tariffs on Canadian aluminium, Simard said. Those levies, which fall
under a law that allows duties on certain sectors to protect national security,
were not affected by the recent Supreme Court decision that struck down other
Trump tariffs.
About six million tonnes of primary
aluminium, metal that has not yet been recycled, is now stranded in the Middle
East, according to Simard. There is about 30 days’ supply of alumina, the raw
material used to make aluminium, left for most smelters in the region, he said.
More
US aluminium
buyers hunt for alternatives as Iran war upends global supply - The Business
Times
Maritime insurance premiums surge as Iran conflict
widens
March 6, 2026 11:06 AM GMT Updated March
6, 2026
March 6 (Reuters) - As the conflict in the
Gulf widens, maritime insurance premiums for war coverage are surging -- in
some cases by more than 1000% -- dramatically driving up the cost of moving
energy through a critical maritime corridor.
The conflagration sparked by Saturday's
Israeli-U.S. air strikes against Tehran has paralyzed traffic through the
Strait of Hormuz, a major shipping chokepoint. Iran on Monday said it would
fire on any ship trying to pass, and at least nine vessels have suffered
damage in
the area since the conflict began.
War risk insurance allows ship owners to
claim against any damage to their vessel or the cargo resulting from conflict
or terrorism. Policies are typically annual, although some cover one-off
voyages through risky waters, including war zones.
The spike in premiums underscores how the
war is raising costs for ship owners, traders and energy companies moving cargo
through the Strait, adding to fears the conflict -- which shows no signs of
abating -- could stoke
inflation if
it goes on, said analysts.
"The hull war market has reacted more
immediately," due to the risk of large, concentrated losses if multiple
vessels are hit in the same area, said Stephen Rudman, head of marine, Asia, at
global insurance broker Aon, adding that if the situation escalates
materially, further rate correction is likely.
"Additional premiums for vessels
transiting high-risk waters are rising sharply and may continue to fluctuate in
the short term," he said.
Cargo war risk premium rates are also
increasing, with quotes being reviewed on a voyage-by-voyage basis,
particularly for energy and bulk commodity trades, he said.
Analysts at Jefferies estimated on
Thursday that potential industry losses from at least seven vessels reported
damaged, at the time its note was published on March 5, could reach up to $1.75
billion.
With most tankers valued between $200
million and $300 million, the new insurance rate of 3% would imply a hull war
risk premium of about $7.5 million, up from around 0.25%, or $625,000, before
the conflict began, the brokerage added.
Angus Blayney, marine divisional director
at Gallagher, a major insurance broker, told Reuters that rates have increased
and are changing daily depending on vessel type and individual circumstances,
but he did not provide specific figures. He added that cover remains available.
More
Maritime insurance
premiums surge as Iran conflict widens | Reuters
In our increasingly unstable, insane world,
Ukraine’s Zelensky threatens to assassinate Hungary’s Orban.
Hungary seizes millions of euros in cash and gold
from Ukrainian convoy
Seven Ukrainians arrested and
money-laundering investigation launched in latest spat between Kyiv and
Budapest
Fri 6 Mar 2026 16.00 GMT
Hungary seizes millions of euros in cash
and gold from Ukrainian convoy
Seven Ukrainians arrested and
money-laundering investigation launched in latest spat between Kyiv and
Budapest
An increasingly acrimonious spat between
Hungary and Ukraine has
escalated further, as Budapest impounded two Ukrainian armoured bank vehicles
carrying millions of euros of hard cash as well as bars of gold.
Seven Ukrainian citizens accompanying the
convoy were also arrested. Hungarian officials said the detained Ukrainians had
intelligence links and suggested the money could be of dubious origin, while
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, accused Budapest of “taking hostages
and stealing money”.
Sybiha also accused the pro-Russian
Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, of cooking up the
scandal for political gain, ahead of Hungarian elections next month.
Hungary’s national tax and customs
administration said it had opened a money-laundering investigation over the
shipment, which it said was made up of $40m and €35m in cash, as well as 9kg of
gold. It said one of those arrested was “a former Ukrainian intelligence
service general”.
Oschadbank, Ukraine’s state savings bank,
said its staff were transporting cash and gold between between Austria and
Ukraine in a “routine trip”, carried out by land because of restrictions on air
travel in Ukraine.
But Orbán’s political director, Balázs
Orbán, cast doubt on the shipment: “Armoured vehicles full of cash and gold
moving across Hungary is not how legitimate financial transactions usually
work,” he wrote on X. “The real question is simple: who stands behind this
money and what is it meant to finance?”
The seizure follows a dispute over gas
supplies, in which Hungary and Slovakia have accused Kyiv of deliberately
stalling on repairs to an oil pipeline after it was hit in an apparent Russian
drone attack. In response, Orbán vetoed further EU sanctions on Russia as well
as an additional €90bn loan for Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to the loan
veto on Thursday with what sounded like a physical threat to Orbán. “We hope
that one person in the European Union will not block the 90 bn Otherwise we
will give this person’s address to our armed forces, to our guys. Let them call
him and talk to him in their own language,” he said, in comments that caused
shock in Budapest.
More
Hungary seizes
millions of euros in cash and gold from Ukrainian convoy | Hungary | The
Guardian
In other news, the first British cockroach
arrives.
Bank of England investigates collapse of £2bn
shadow bank
6 March 2026
The Bank of England is investigating the
collapse of a £2bn British “shadow bank” as fears about the sector rip through
stock markets.
Officials at the Prudential Regulation
Authority (PRA) have requested information from lenders including Barclays that
backed Market Financial Solutions (MFS), a private credit provider that was
placed into administration amid allegations
of fraud last
week.
PRA, a division of the central bank that
regulates lenders, is reportedly concerned about insufficient risk assessment
and due diligence by banks of MFS and its related companies, according
to the Financial Times, which first reported the news.
The PRA is also investigating whether
banks have indirect exposure through lending to private capital groups that may
have backed MFS independently.
A Bank of England spokesman said: “We are
constantly monitoring the financial system and wider markets and stay in close
contact with firms. It is the responsibility of firms to manage the risks to
which they are exposed.”
The enquiries come amid a broader upheaval
in the private credit sector. Shares in BlackRock tumbled by 6pc in the US on
Friday after the asset manager limited withdrawals from one of its flagship
private credit funds for the first time.
Blackrock’s HPS Corporate Lending Fund,
which is marketed to individuals, said it would not offer redemptions above the
traditional 5pc limit each quarter, despite receiving requests to redeem 9.3pc
of shares in the most recent quarter.
Private credit funds, often called “shadow
banks”, extend loans but do not take deposits and so are not subject to the
same kind of strict regulations as banks. The sector has exploded in size since
the financial crisis as banks have faced stricter regulation.
However, there are concerns about loose
lending standards and the opacity of the sector. Several Wall Street leaders
have expressed worries about private credit, with Lloyd Blankfein, the former
boss of Goldman Sachs, saying he
could “smell” a crash on
the horizon and Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JP Morgan, warning
of “cockroaches” in
the sector.
MFS described itself as a specialist
provider of buy-to-let mortgage lending and bridging finance. It was part of a
fast-growing crop of so-called bridging lenders in the UK. These firms provide
short-term, property-backed loans to borrowers who may not qualify for
traditional bank financing and often charge higher interest rates.
A number of large banks gave capital to
MFS to lend, including Santander, Jefferies and Barclays, which has between
£500m and £600m tied up in the firm.
Private capital firms including Apollo’s
Atlas SP Partners and Castlelake also extended financing to the failed mortgage
lender. Some of these firms may have used leverage from banks to make these
loans in the first place.
Last week, a court placed MFS into
administration amid accusations of fraud. It has been estimated that there is a
shortfall on its balance sheet of as much as £930m.
Investors reportedly first noticed
financial irregularities in November. Barclays, which also provided banking
services to MFS, froze the bridge loan provider’s accounts in January.
Bank of England
investigates collapse of £2bn shadow bank
Global Inflation/Stagflation/Recession
Watch.
Given
our Magic Money Tree central banksters and our spendthrift politicians,
inflation now needs an entire section of its own.
US
pump prices surge as Iran war upends global energy supply
March
7, 2026 12:59 AM GMT
MARIETTA/NEW
YORK, March 6 (Reuters) - U.S. retail gasoline and diesel prices are soaring as
the U.S.-Israel war with Iran constrains oil and fuel
exports, which could be a political test for President Donald Trump's Republican
Party ahead of midterm elections in November.
Fuel
prices jumped more than 10% this week as oil rose above $90 a barrel, its
highest in years, adding pain at the pump for consumers already strained by
inflation. Trump on Thursday shrugged off higher gasoline prices in an interview
with Reuters, opens new tab, saying "if they rise, they rise."
The
president had vowed to lower energy prices and unleash U.S. oil and gas
drilling during his second term, but much of his tenure has been marked by
volatility and uncertainty amid shifts in policies like tariffs and
geopolitical turmoil. The U.S. is the world's largest oil
producer. It is a major exporter but also imports millions of barrels a day
since it is the world's largest oil consumer.
As
of Friday, the national average prices for regular gasoline stood at $3.32 a
gallon, up 11% from a week ago and the highest since September 2024, according
to data from the motorists association AAA. Diesel was at $4.33, up 15% from a
week ago, surging to the highest since November 2023.
MIDWEST,
SOUTH FEEL THE PINCH
U.S.
motorists in parts of the Midwest and the South, including states that
supported Trump, have seen some of the steepest increases in fuel costs since
the conflict in Iran started.
In
Georgia, a swing state, average retail gasoline prices rose 40.1 cents a gallon
over the past week, according to fuel tracking site GasBuddy.
Andrenna
McDaniel, a healthcare insurance worker in South Fulton, Georgia, said she was
surprised to see prices skyrocket overnight.
"They
jumped up so quickly," she said on Friday, adding that she does not agree
with the war at all.
McDaniel,
a Democrat, said that for now she is only driving for the most important
things, and feels lucky that she works from home so she does not have to drive
as much as other people do.
Georgia
voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 election.
Other
states, including Indiana and West Virginia have seen prices rise by 44.3 cents
and 43.9 cents, respectively.
PRICES
MAY RISE FURTHER
More
pain may be on the way, analysts said, as oil prices continue to trend upward.
On Friday, U.S. oil futures settled at $90.90 a barrel, up nearly $10 and the
biggest single-day rise since April 2020.
"Given
current market conditions, the national average price of gasoline could climb
toward $3.50 to $3.70 per gallon in the coming days if oil continues rising and
supply disruptions persist," GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan said.
The
disruptions in the Middle East and the Strait of Hormuz, a key trade conduit,
have boosted demand for U.S. oil abroad, which in turn has driven up prices for
domestic refiners too.
"The
U.S. has weaned itself off of its dependence on Middle Eastern crude, but
obviously Asian refineries, and to a lesser extent, European refineries have
not," Denton Cinquegrana, chief oil analyst with OPIS. "That's what
you're seeing happen in the spot market, because the demand for U.S. exports
rise, and so the price rise."
Seasonal
factors could add further pressure. Gasoline prices typically go up in the
spring and peak in the summer due to higher gasoline demand and production of
summer-blend gasoline, which is more costly to produce.
Diesel
fuel saw an even more aggressive jump since Iran
began retaliating against U.S. and Israeli strikes, significantly disrupting
shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Global
diesel inventories have remained in tight supply due to heavy demand for
heating and power generation during a prolonged winter in the U.S. and other
parts of the world and a structural tightness of refining capacity.
Sticker
prices of everything from food to furniture go up when the cost of diesel goes
up, as the fuel is mainly used in freight transportation, manufacturing,
agriculture, and global shipping, analysts said.
"In
a world where buzzword seems to be 'affordability', that is certainly not
going to help," Cinquegrana said.
US pump prices
surge as Iran war upends global energy supply | Reuters
Trump
tariffs: Customs and Border Protection tells judge it can’t comply with refund
order
Published
Fri, Mar 6 2026 10:59 AM EST Updated Fri, Mar 6 2026 4:16 PM EST
U.S. Customs and
Border Protection told
a U.S. Court of
International Trade judge
on Friday that it is not currently able to comply with his order to begin
refunding about $166 billion collected in
reciprocal tariffs imposed
last year by President Donald Trump.
CBP, in
a court filing,
cited its existing technology, processes and manpower requirements as the
reasons it could not immediately comply with the conditions of Judge Richard
Eaton’s order on the so-called IEEPA tariffs. The Supreme Court
recently ruled those duties are illegal.
But
CBP also suggested in the new filing that it could begin issuing refunds by
late April after revamping its technology.
Brandon
Lord, executive director of the trade programs directorate at CBP’s Office of
Trade, in the filing said that as of Wednesday, more than 330,000 importers
have made a total of over 53 million
entries “in which they have deposited or paid duties imposed pursuant to the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act.”
Trump
had invoked that act to slap reciprocal tariffs in various amounts on imported
products from most of the world’s countries, without authorization from
Congress.
The
filing came as Eaton was set to hold a hearing Friday on the refund issue at
the Court of International Trade in New York.
Eaton
has been designated as the only CIT judge who will hear lawsuits from importers
seeking refunds on Trump’s tariffs in light of the Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling
invalidating them on Feb. 20, in the
case known as Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump.
CBP
in the filing said it “is confident that it can develop and implement” new
functionality in its Automated Commercial Environment — the system for tracking
imported merchandise — “that will streamline and consolidate refunds and
interest payments on an importer basis,” instead of issuing more than 54
million separate refunds.
“CBP
is making all possible efforts to have this new ACE functionality ready for use
in 45 days,” the agency said. “This new process will require minimal submission
from importers.”
The
agency said it estimates that changing the ACE system “will save CBP over 4
million hours” of work by employees.
More
Trump tariffs
refunds: Customs and Border Protection can't comply with order
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.
The Rise of “Stealth Solar”: How Balcony Power Is Quietly Changing
the Energy Landscape
March 5, 2026
Across cities and suburbs, a quiet
energy revolution is unfolding. Instead of large rooftop arrays installed by
contractors, a growing number of households are experimenting with small,
plug-in solar systems mounted on balconies, backyard sheds, and apartment
railings. Often called “balcony solar” or “plug-in solar,” these compact
photovoltaic systems allow people to generate electricity without major
installation costs or construction work.
The appeal is straightforward: lower
electricity bills and greater energy independence. A typical plug-in solar
setup includes one to four solar panels connected to a small inverter and
plugged into a household outlet. The electricity produced offsets a portion of
the home’s baseline consumption—powering appliances such as refrigerators,
routers, lighting, and electronics.
In an era of rising energy prices and
climate concerns, these small systems are becoming a gateway technology for
households that cannot install full rooftop arrays.
How
Plug-In Solar Systems Actually Work
Unlike traditional solar installations
that require professional electrical integration, balcony solar systems are
designed to be simple and modular. The panels convert sunlight into
electricity, which flows through a micro-inverter and then into the home’s
electrical circuit.
Because these systems operate on a small
scale, their goal is not to power an entire house. Instead, they help offset
everyday energy demand.
These systems can cover roughly
15–25% of the electricity used by an average apartment, depending on
sunlight and energy consumption patterns.
In dense urban environments—where
rooftop access may be limited—this small contribution can still make a
meaningful difference.
Why Balcony Solar Thrives Overseas
The concept of plug-in solar is far from
new. In Europe, particularly Germany, balcony solar systems have become a
mainstream technology. By 2024, more than 700,000 balcony solar units
were installed in Germany alone, reflecting strong consumer demand for
small-scale renewable solutions.
Several factors helped drive that
growth:
More
The Rise of “Stealth Solar”: How Balcony Power Is Quietly Changing the
Energy Landscape - EarthTimes
Next, the
world global debt clock. Nations debts to GDP compared.
World Debt Clocks
(usdebtclock.org)
There is no way of keeping profits up but by keeping wages down.
David Ricardo
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