Baltic
Dry Index. 2722 +63 Brent
Crude 80.57
Spot
Gold 4156 Spot Silver 65.38
U
S 2 Year Yield 4.09 Thursday
US
Federal Debt. 39.273 trillion
US
GDP 32.230 trillion
“Every person wandering abroad, or placing himself
or herself in any public place, street, highway, court, or passage, to beg or
gather alms, or causing or procuring or encouraging any child or children so to
do; shall be deemed an idle and disorderly person within the true intent and
meaning of this act.”
The Vagrancy Act 1824.
For the Great AI Danger scroll down to the technology section.
In the stock casinos and oil markets, it’s all about that sixty day
truce between the USA and Iran. Will it
hold? Will Israel sabotage it in Lebanon?
No one knows of course, but the early signs are positive.
Global stock markets close lower on Friday as
investors assess durability of U.S.-Iran peace deal
Updated Fri, Jun 19 2026 12:13 PM EDT
Global stock markets closed broadly lower on
Friday, with most European and Asia-Pacific exchanges finishing in negative
territory, as investors assessed the durability of a U.S.-brokered peace
agreement with Iran.
U.S. stock and bond markets are closed for the
Juneteenth public holiday. Futures markets will continue to operate, but with
limited hours, with equities trading halted at 1:00 p.m. ET.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Thursday defended
President Donald Trump’s interim agreement with Iran, saying any economic
relief for Tehran would depend on the country complying with the terms of the
deal.
“The United States isn’t giving up a cent of money
to Iran,” Vance said. “The only way the Iranians get any of these resources ...
is if they comply fully” with the terms of the deal.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei,
likewise described the agreement as conditional, saying on Thursday that he
approved the memorandum only after receiving guarantees that Iran’s rights and
the “resistance front” would be safeguarded.
European stocks dipped on Friday as markets reacted
negatively to the postponement of talks between Tehran and Washington. The
pan-European Stoxx 600 closed
down 0.2%, while the U.K’s FTSE
100 shed 0.35% and France’s Cac 40 lost 0.55%.
Germany’s DAX finished
flat.
Oil and gas stocks led gains, while miners and
travel stocks lagged the broader index.
In the U.K., 10-year gilt yields rose
more than 7 basis points to 4.8247% after official figures showed government
borrowing reached the highest level for May since 2019, with a budget deficit
of £23.3 billion ($30.8 billion).
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces a
looming leadership challenge from Labour Party rival Andy
Burnham, who will return to the British parliament after a special election
win on Thursday.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.28% to
close at 71,250.06 after hitting a record high on Thursday, while the Topix
lost 0.57% to end the trading day at 4,044.96.
South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.13% to close at
9,052.42, pulling back after crossing the 9,000 mark for the first time
Thursday, while the small-cap Kosdaq declined 3.43%.
Shares of Samsung Electronics reversed earlier
gains and fell 2.34%, while SK Hynix rose 2.94%.
Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was down
0.92%, ending the trading day at 8,828.7.
U.S., China, Hong Kong and Taiwan markets are
closed for a holiday.
U.S. stock futures were lower, with the S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures losing
0.4% and 0.5%, respectively, as of 5:41 a.m. ET. Futures tied to the Dow Jones
Industrial Average were down 0.3%.
Overnight in the U.S., stocks closed out the
holiday-shortened week in positive territory. The three major indexes closed
higher after the Federal Reserve indicated the possibility
of a rate hike this year — a move that sparked a sell-off in equities
during the previous session.
The S&P
500 added 1.08%, closing at 7,500.58, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed
1.91% to 26,517.93. The Dow
Jones Industrial Average rose by 72.15 points, or 0.14%, to end at
51,564.70.
Global
stock markets close lower on Friday as investors assess durability of U.S.-Iran
peace deal
Oil tanker traffic in Strait of Hormuz jumps after
U.S. and Iran implement deal to open sea lane
Published Fri, Jun 19 2026 11:48 AM EDT
At least 20 oil tankers have crossed the Strait of
Hormuz since the U.S. and Iran began to reopen the sea lane to commercial ship
traffic, according to the trade intelligence firm Kpler.
Tanker transits on Thursday hit the highest level
since June 2, the firm said. However, traffic is still below prewar levels when
more than 100 ships, including dozens of tankers, transited Hormuz daily.
In total, 25 ships transited Hormuz on Thursday
including cargo, container and other vessel classes, in addition to the
tankers, according to Kpler. Traffic has picked up after the U.S. Navy ended
its blockade of Iran, while Tehran is allowing ships to cross Hormuz
for 60 days without paying tolls.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance told reporters
Thursday that the Iranians so far “are honoring their end of the commitment.”
“Traffic was broadly balanced, with 13 crossings
moving West to East and 12 moving East to West,” said Matt Smith, Kpler’s
commodity research director.
Three supertankers
from Saudi Arabia and one from the United Arab Emirates crossed Hormuz
on Thursday, according to Kpler. These huge ships, called very large crude
carriers, or VLCCs, can haul up to 2 million barrels of oil.
Iranian
supertankers are switching on their transponders after going dark
during the war, Kpler analysts told clients in a Friday note. Five Iranian
supertankers loaded with oil were observed departing the region on Friday, the
analysts said.
“Two-way vessel flows suggest Iranian crude trade
is gradually returning closer to normal operating patterns,” the analysts said.
Eighteen ships that crossed Thursday followed the
route designated by Iran to cross Hormuz, according to Kpler. Just one vessel
used the route defined by the International Maritime Organization. The routes
used by six ships couldn’t be confirmed, Kpler said.
The U.S.-Iran deal has raised questions about how
Hormuz will be governed. After the 60-day toll-free period ends, Iran will hold
talks with Oman and the Gulf states on how to administer the strait, according
to the deal
terms. This appears to leave open the possibility that tolls could be
imposed in the future.
Oil
tanker traffic jumps in Hormuz after U.S. and Iran open sea lane
Iran's top security body issues order to swiftly
handle requests for crossing Hormuz Strait
Source: Xinhua Editor:
huaxia 2026-06-19 05:39:15
TEHRAN, June 19 (Xinhua)
-- Iran's top security body on Thursday announced that it has issued the order
for the swift handling of requests by vessels for passage through the Strait of
Hormuz in line with meeting the objectives of a newly-signed memorandum of
understanding (MoU) between Tehran and Washington.
Iran's Supreme National
Security Council (SNSC) made the announcement in a statement carried by Iranian
media hours after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and his U.S. counterpart
Donald Trump signed the MoU, electronically.
The SNSC said under the
MoU, no fee will be charged for 60 days for passage by ships requesting to
cross the Strait of Hormuz, and all the expenses will be covered by the Iranian
government.
Vessels seeking to
transit the waterway are required to send their requests to the Persian Gulf
Strait Authority (PGSA), it said.
"Given the specific
circumstances and existence of some safety hazards along the passage route, and
due to the necessity to ensure safe traffic and prevent maritime accidents, it
is necessary for ships to pass through along the announced route and at the
announced time," it said, giving the assurance that traffic in the
waterway would gradually increase.
It said the executive
arrangements and technical details for passage through the strait will be
announced through the PGSA.
Iran, the United States
and Pakistan early Monday announced the finalization of the MoU aiming to end
conflict on all fronts, including Lebanon. Pezeshkian and Trump signed the MoU
electronically early Thursday.
Iran's top security body issues order to
swiftly handle requests for crossing Hormuz Strait-Xinhua
Kuwait lifts force majeure, with oil output set to
rebound to prewar levels
Source: Xinhua Editor:
huaxia 2026-06-19 02:47:45
KUWAIT CITY, June 18
(Xinhua) -- Kuwait announced on Thursday plans to raise crude oil production
above 2 million barrels per day within a week, signaling a major step toward
restoring energy operations after months of conflict-related disruptions.
According to a statement
by the state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), the move came as Kuwait
lifted force majeure notices imposed during the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict,
citing improved security conditions, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and
the resumption of international commercial shipping.
KPC said it has completed
repairs to damaged infrastructure and is working with customers to ensure a
smooth return to full contractual supply volumes.
The announcement follows
a precautionary reduction in oil production and refining operations introduced
in March amid repeated attacks targeting Kuwait's energy infrastructure and
transport networks.
As one of the Gulf's
major oil producers, Kuwait has been seeking to gradually restore normal energy
operations after the conflict disrupted maritime traffic through the Strait of
Hormuz, a key route for global oil exports.
Kuwait lifts force majeure, with oil output
set to rebound to prewar levels-Xinhua
In
other news, British justice and a wrongful conviction. Does Lucy Letby need a
new trial? At the very least, I think her conviction unsafe. Approx. 12
minutes.
Lucy
Letby, 19 Nurses conference - Innocent Nurse Amanda Jenkinson
Lucy Letby, 19
Nurses conference - Innocent Nurse Amanda Jenkinson
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.
Lula
calls Trump's new tariff threat against Brazil "reckless"
Source:
Xinhua Editor: huaxia 2026-06-18 10:20:30
RIO
DE JANEIRO, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
on Wednesday called U.S. President Donald Trump's latest tariff threat against
Brazil "reckless," saying it contradicted ongoing trade talks between
the two countries.
Speaking
at a news conference after the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, Lula said
Washington's move ran counter to negotiations already under way.
"What
he did was a reckless thing to do to Brazil. He knows that. That is why I said
he keeps acting like an emperor. We were reaching agreements," Lula noted.
His
remarks came after the Trump administration suggested imposing new tariffs on
Brazilian products, raising concerns among Brazilian officials and business
sectors.
Stressing
that bilateral government talks are continuing via established channels, Lula
said there was no need to request a bilateral meeting.
However,
Lula added that he remained open to direct contact with Trump if the talks
failed to produce satisfactory results.
Lula calls Trump's
new tariff threat against Brazil "reckless"-Xinhua
Technology
Update.
With events happening
fast in the development of solar power and graphene, I’ve added this section.
‘Dangerous’
AI Models Are Coming No Matter What
The
US government crackdown on Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 hides a
glaring truth: AI models with advanced hacking capabilities will soon be the
norm.
Jun
16, 2026 1:50 PM
Late
last week, Anthropic
took its new Claude Fable 5 and
Mythos 5 AI
models offline following a United States government export-control directive
barring “any foreign national” from using the services. The company has been
in talks with the
White House since
Friday but has yet to secure an agreement that would allow it to reinstate the
offerings.
Since Mythos debuted in
April,
Anthropic has claimed—and warned—that the model has advanced capabilities for
not only finding software vulnerabilities to help defenders patch them, but
also figuring out ways to exploit them that could be used by bad actors.
Anthropic itself noted this double edged sword in its launch of Mythos 5 and
Claude Fable 5. “A great deal of advanced usage of AI models is dual use: the
same queries that are beneficial in the hands of cybersecurity professionals
and biology researchers could be dangerous if available to malicious actors,”
the company wrote in a blog
post last
week.
With
this in mind, the company initially released a version called Mythos Preview to
a select consortium as part of a working group known as Project Glasswing.
Mythos 5 was also privately released to this group last week, while Claude
Fable 5, which is a Mythos-grade model, was released to the general public with
specific blocks on its ability to give responses to questions about biology and
cybersecurity.
Then,
at the end of last week, the Trump administration moved to restrict
both models because
it believes that Fable 5’s guardrails can be disabled to allow full access to
the Mythos 5 capabilities, allegedly making it a national security risk.
Experts
say, though, that this institutional clash is simply delaying or masking a hard
truth: Anthropic may be the tip of the spear in this moment, but AI
capabilities in general and models from multiple companies and open-weight
developers will almost certainly have similar capabilities to Mythos 5 in the
near future—if they don't already.
“It's
myopic in the extreme to think that no other competitors to Anthropic will
develop similar capabilities to Mythos or even that they have not already done
so,” says Tarah Wheeler, chief security officer of the specialized
cybersecurity consulting firm TPO Group. “There are other companies hot on
Anthropic's heels who probably have the capabilities, too, and are holding them
in reserve as they see how Anthropic is being treated in the current regulatory
environment.”
Anthropic
itself has emphasized this point since the launch of Mythos Preview. “The real
message is that this is not about the model or Anthropic,” Logan Graham, the
company's frontier red team lead, told WIRED when Mythos Preview launched in
April. “We need to prepare now for a world where these capabilities are broadly
available in 6, 12, 24 months.”
OpenAI,
for example, also did a private release of a cybersecurity-focused
model in
mid-April and announced an expanded cybersecurity strategy.
More
‘Dangerous’ AI
Models Are Coming No Matter What | WIRED
5:21
PM: The Order That Disabled Anthropic’s AI Models
Jacob Shapiro June 18, 2026
On
Friday afternoon, the US government did something extraordinary: It issued an
export control directive to suspend all access to Anthropic’s advanced Claude
AI models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5, by any foreign national. This includes
Anthropic’s foreign national employees.
----Ultimately,
the engine under all this was built in a Cold War defense budget, and on
Friday, the original owner reminded everyone whose engine it is. The mistake
would be to read that as strength. You reach for the off switch when the
durable forms of control, the physical ones, are starting to slip out of your
hands.
The
Situation:
Unless you follow
this industry closely, you have probably never heard of Fable and Mythos.
Mythos is not the chatbot your kids use to dodge their homework. It is
unnervingly good at finding hidden security flaws in the world’s software, at
machine speed. Anthropic says Mythos turned up thousands of serious, previously
unknown vulnerabilities across every major operating system and web browser,
including one that had gone unnoticed for 27 years. And it did this almost
entirely on its own.
Anthropic was so unnerved by its Frankensteinian creation that it opted to never sell Mythos access openly. Back in April, Anthropic locked Mythos inside a vetted club of about 40 defenders it called Project Glasswing, with the White House reportedly curating the guest list and rejecting a plan to let in 70 more organizations.
The
export control directive suggests Washington feels Project Glasswing is not up
to the task. The White House didn’t technically outlaw Mythos and Fable, but
Anthropic had no practical way to wall foreign users out, so it complied by
switching both models off for everyone. Anthropic described the order as
a “misunderstanding” and said it
is working to restore access—perhaps thinking the blackout forces Washington’s
hand. That seems like a misreading, as the US government is the one flexing its
might here, and the two sides have been butting heads for months.
----If
the US government, or any government for that matter, thinks a technology can
challenge the sovereignty of the state, the state will react. Cryptocurrencies are an
example of this challenge, but AI is an order of magnitude greater.
The
Imperative
After
Anthropic previewed Mythos, a civil-liberties nuisance became an existential
threat to state sovereignty overnight. Project Glasswing was supposed to help
solve the problem, and Anthropic’s more general Fable was supposed to bring
some of Mythos’s abilities to market with certain safeguards to prevent misuse
from nefarious actors. But the US government claims that someone demonstrated a
“jailbreak” that unlocks those capabilities.
More,
much more.
5:21 PM: The Order
That Disabled Anthropic’s AI Models | Mauldin Economics
Trump
tells Axios he no longer views Anthropic as a national security threat
Published
Fri, Jun 19 2026 4:16 PM EDT
President Donald Trump said he might
have viewed artificial intelligence company Anthropic as
a national security threat last week, but he no longer does, according to an
interview with “The Axios Show” published on Friday.
Senior
Anthropic technical staff were scheduled
to meet with Trump administration officials earlier this week to
discuss a dispute over foreign access to its most advanced AI models, Fable
5 and Mythos 5. The company last week disabled access for all users to
those models after Trump
ordered Anthropic to block foreign nationals from accessing them.
When
asked if he viewed Anthropic, or its CEO Dario Amodei, as a threat to national
security, Trump said: “Well, not now, but a week ago, maybe.”
Trump
told Axios that Amodei responded to the administration’s export control
directive “very quickly” and “responsibly.”
Trump
and other G7 leaders met
with tech bosses, including Amodei, at a summit in France this week.
Trump
did not rule out using emergency powers under the Defense Production Act
against Anthropic, according to Axios.
“I
have the power to use a lot of things,” Trump said of the DPA. “But I’m not
sure I have to do that.”
Asked
to comment on Trump’s interview, an Anthropic spokesperson said: “We are
grateful to the administration for their ongoing partnership in working to get
this matter resolved as quickly as possible. We remain committed to working
alongside them towards our shared goals of protecting critical infrastructure
and making sure the U.S. leads in AI.”
Trump
tells Axios he no longer views Anthropic as a national security threat
Next, the
world global debt clock. Nations debts to GDP compared.
World Debt Clocks
(usdebtclock.org)
Exponent
Calculator
Enter
values into any two of the input fields to solve for the third.
This
weekend’ s music diversion, Johann Georg Pisendel. Approx. 14 minutes.
Johann Georg Pisendel: Concerto in B-Flat
major for Violin, Strings & B.c
Johann Georg
Pisendel: Concerto in B-Flat major for Violin, Strings & B.c - YouTube
Next,
yet another bad modern building story, Florida’s Aston Martin Building. Approx. 14 minutes.
The
Crumbling Billionaire Tower : Aston Martin’s Florida Project Gone Wrong
The Crumbling
Billionaire Tower : Aston Martin’s Florida Project Gone Wrong - YouTube
Finally, more fun with square roots. Approx. 6 minutes and 32 minutes for a fuller explanation.
Find Square Roots of Big Numbers in
Seconds! (No Calculator Needed)
Find Square Roots of Big Numbers in Seconds! (No Calculator Needed) - YouTube
How to Calculate the Square Root of Any
Number, Digit by Digit Method
How to Calculate the Square Root of Any Number, Digit by Digit Method
The number of prosecutions and convictions under sections 3 and 4 of the 1824 act has declined over the last decade. In 2023, there were 305 prosecutions and 239 convictions for the section 3 offence of begging.[8] There has been a decline each year since the peak of 2,219 prosecutions and 1,857 convictions in 2014. Prosecutions and convictions under section 4 have followed a similar trend. There was a total of 79 prosecutions and 59 convictions for section 4 offences in 2023. This is down from a peak of 1,050 and 810 respectively in 2011. The following table presents total prosecutions and convictions for offences under the Vagrancy Act 1824.
In summary, while the Vagrancy
Act 1824 still technically applies today, its enforcement has been
limited, and it is scheduled to be completely repealed by Spring 2026,
effectively decriminalising rough sleeping in England and Wales.
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