#geopolitical-conflict

#geopolitical-conflict

Brevan Howard's Master fund has given back its 2026 gains after falling 6% this month through last Friday, while Caxton Associates is down 15% on the month.

The VIX closed last week at almost 27, an 11% jump on the final trading day, and early signals this week show it climbing further. The fear gauge now sits at its 93rd percentile over the past year, meaning volatility has been this elevated or higher only 7% of trading days in the last 12 months.

Oil is a particularly tricky resource to replace. It has been for 125 years now, except for the past five or six years, when we've had this new competitive lever in electric vehicles. The global EV fleet has been growing for years, gradually chipping away at the world's oil consumption as drivers turn to charging ports instead of gas stations.

The animated video, published in full by The Daily Beast, began with Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the devil as LEGO characters looking at some kind of booklet. Trump's character was shown with tears streaming down his face before it's revealed that the booklet contains files on Epstein. Trump then pulled out a big red button, pressing it multiple times aggressively.

It is obvious that the launch of these missiles would have been impossible without British specialists. We are aware of this. We know this very well, and we are, of course, taking it into account. To stop such barbaric actions by the Kyiv regime from continuing, a special military operation is being carried out to demilitarise Kyiv and deprive it of the ability to carry out such barbaric strikes.

S&P 500 futures are down 0.22% this morning after the index closed down 0.21% yesterday. The STOXX Europe 600 fell more than a full point in early trading. Asia had a good day on news that the International Energy Agency is preparing the largest release of strategic oil reserves in its history.

Jet fuel prices, which were around $85 to $90 per barrel before the attack on Iran, have soared to between $150 and $200, New Zealand's flag carrier said on Tuesday as it suspended its financial outlook for 2026 due to uncertainty over the conflict.

I think the war is very complete, pretty much. If you look, they have nothing left. There's nothing left in a military sense. The U.S. has wiped out Iran's military capabilities, saying the country now has 'no navy, no communications' and 'no air force.' He also claimed the U.S. is 'very far' ahead of the four to five week estimate he's given for the war.

In his treatise on Islamic governance, Iran's revolutionary leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, raged at the idea of political leadership passing down through family lines. Monarchy and hereditary succession were "sinister" and "evil" and "invalid," he wrote. They "have no place in Islam." The revolution that he led, in 1979, centered on ending dynastic rule in Iran, specifically of the U.S.-backed Pahlavi family.

Every terrible thing always begins in the prettiest weather. Cruelty loves a clear sky. . . . Every war starts on a perfect day. This opening number from Diane Severin Nguyen's War Songs captured the paradox of experiencing extraordinary art and cultural vitality while geopolitical crises unfold, setting the tone for the week's contradictions.

Dubai a gilded playground for the ultra-rich and oligarch class, billed as one of the safest places on Earth had been attacked by Iranian missiles. Phones lit up with emergency messages urging residents to take shelter. But Dubai is resilient, at least when it comes to partying. Everyone just went back to their hookah and food a minute later.

Spanish bases are not being used for this operation, and they will not be used for anything not included in the agreement with the United States or for anything that is not in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said in an interview on Spanish TV on Sunday.

It is becoming increasingly common for geopolitical incidents to have a direct impact on people's finances and this looks certain to happen again after the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran, sparking conflict across the Middle East. The latest escalation comes after a year in which US president Donald Trump instigated tariffs on nations around the world during the prolonged tension between Iran and Israel.

Mary Lou McDonald pulled two political stunts this week that impressed - in a bad way - this seasoned critic of Sinn Féin's ruthless amorality. One should be accustomed to the party's revolting retelling of IRA history and the cynical game-playing over Ukraine that is conveniently Putin-friendly.

Panama Ports Company (PPC), part of the Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison, said the Panamanian government acted in disregard for the rule of law. It decried what it called the latest steps to invade and take the property of PPC during a search on Thursday. It also accused authorities of entering a private storage site without notice and ignoring requests to safeguard sensitive corporate data.

Meanwhile, the most widely cited concern by billionaires was tariffs, with 66% saying it will most likely harm market conditions over the coming year. Close behind was "major geopolitical conflict" at 63% and policy uncertainty at 59%. And while Wall Street is worried about soaring U.S. debt, other sovereign borrowers, and AI hyperscalers issuing more bonds, a comparatively low 34% of billionaires flagged a debt crisis as the biggest thing keeping them up at night.

"Satellite infrastructure is no longer just commercial, but strategic. Space has become a new front line... the vulnerabilities in current systems stem from old technology."