#geopolitical-uncertainty

#geopolitical-uncertainty

"The start of the year has been extremely sluggish for German industry," said Elmar Voelker, an analyst at the bank LBBW, noting that "the fleeting hopes of a recovery that had emerged last autumn have evaporated for now."

Oil prices were volatile, but remained elevated, as markets reacted to geopolitical uncertainty. The absence of progress on the diplomatic front could reinforce concerns that disruptions to one of the world's most critical oil transit routes could persist.

The Committee seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run. Uncertainty about the economic outlook remains elevated. The implications of developments in the Middle East for the US economy are uncertain, the central bank said in a statement announcing its policy decision and referring to its Federal Open Market Committee.

Uncertainty over US and Israeli war aims is slowing the Iranian Kurdish opposition groups urged by President Donald Trump to rise up against the Islamic Republic, Kurdish analysts have told Al Jazeera. From Trump's call for Iranians to topple their government, to arguments from the United States that it was forced into attacking Iran by its ally Israel, to discredited claims that the strikes on Tehran were somehow defensive, Washington has yet to offer a clear explanation for its attacks on Iran or what its plans might be beyond them.

The wave of red across investors' monitors is primarily due to one major factor: uncertainty around how far the Iran conflict will travel and how long it will last. Over the weekend, President Donald Trump ordered strikes on Iran, during which the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed.

Norway's parliamentary elections take place on Monday with polls forecasting a close outcome. Latest polls predict a close result but give left-leaning parties, including Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stre's Labour party, a narrow advantage. However, the overall result could hinge on whether smaller parties on the left, such as the Green (MDG) party, get enough of a vote share to reach the threshold (sperregrense) for parliamentary representation.