Gold fell, pressured by a stronger US dollar and inflationary risks, as the war in the Middle East extended into a second week and oil surged above $100 a barrel. Bullion dropped to near $5,120 an ounce in early trading, after posting its first weekly decline in more than a month. Major oil producers curbed output due to the US-Israeli war with Iran, which shows no sign of resolution , and a gauge...
Gold fell, pressured by a stronger US dollar and inflationary risks, as the war in the Middle East extended into a second week and oil surged above $100 a barrel. Bullion dropped to near $5,120 an ounce in early trading, after posting its first weekly decline in more than a month. Major oil producers curbed output due to the US-Israeli war with Iran, which shows no sign of resolution , and a gauge of the dollar jumped 0.4%. Gold has come under pressure as spiking crude prices stoke inflation fears in the US, raising the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will leave interest rates unchanged for longer, or even raise them. Higher borrowing costs, as well a stronger dollar, are typically negative for precious metals. Bullion has also served as a source of liquidity during a deepening rout in global equities. While trading has been choppy and upward momentum has stalled, gold has still gained nearly a fifth so far this year. US President Donald Trump’s upheaval of global trade and geopolitics, as well as threats to the Fed’s independence, has supported safer assets. The war in the Middle East has entered its 10th day. Over the weekend, Tehran picked a new supreme leader and kept up attacks in the Persian Gulf region, while Israel struck fuel depots in the Iranian capital and threatened the Islamic Republic’s power grid. Attacks on energy infrastructure and a halt to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which normally handles a fifth of the world’s oil, have driven up prices of crude and natural gas. Read More: Iran Picks New Leader as Escalating War Deepens Oil Shock Spot gold fell 0.9% to $5,124.48 an ounce as of 6:56 a.m. in Singapore. Silver dropped 1.6% to $83.22. Platinum fell more than 3% and palladium lost 0.9%. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.4% after adding 1.3% last week.
Credit - A Little Bit Louder Now Submitted by Peter Tchir of Academy Securities Credit 'Hey, hey, A, yeah, yahhh... you make me wanna shout!!' After a tumultuous week, if there was one thing we could do for you, it is put a song in your head that hopefully makes you smile. Seriously, a song featured in Animal House and Wedding Crashers should make you smile, at least for a moment. This week’s T-Re...
Credit - A Little Bit Louder Now Submitted by Peter Tchir of Academy Securities Credit 'Hey, hey, A, yeah, yahhh... you make me wanna shout!!' After a tumultuous week, if there was one thing we could do for you, it is put a song in your head that hopefully makes you smile. Seriously, a song featured in Animal House and Wedding Crashers should make you smile, at least for a moment. This week’s T-Report follows up last weekend’s Is Credit Whispering? Or Shouting ? We examined the risks to credit markets, from several angles, and explored potential vulnerabilities. The main focus was on the risk of potential “contagion” (though we didn’t use the word) of “selling what you can” instead of what you might want to. On a “housekeeping” note, we often use ETFs in T-Reports. Whether we are just pointing something out, or taking a view, one way or another, it is meant to be a “badge of honor” to the ETFs selected (except single stock leveraged ETFs, but that is another story). We use ETFs when we feel they “represent” a market or a sector well. Especially when there is no “index” that people follow that tracks that sector. ETFs have multiple advantages over obscure indices. Everyone can see them trade in real-time during market hours. You can see their holdings, their volume, their NAV, etc. You can even trade them. Like any other stock, “price charts” don’t do a good job with dividends/total return, but we try to highlight that, when total return is the focus. Iran We will continue to keep you as informed as possible of our views on the conflict in the Middle East and the market ramifications. Webinar from last Sunday night. Three Themes Driving Markets from Tuesday. Tuesday’s Iran War Update SITREP. The Spider Web podcast from Thursday. We don’t actually call it that, but I think it is “catchy.” Finally, with reference to Mrs. Robinson, we published NFP and Plastics on Friday. Jet fuel was also featured. I had the pleasure of going on Bloomberg TV on Monday morning (the 52:2...
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer raised the prospect of helping households with soaring energy bills as oil prices hit $100 a barrel with little sign of resolution to the war in Iran. “No matter the headwinds, supporting working people and their families with the cost of living is always top of my mind,” he said ahead of a visit on Monday to a community center in London. Starmer is under pressure fr...
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer raised the prospect of helping households with soaring energy bills as oil prices hit $100 a barrel with little sign of resolution to the war in Iran. “No matter the headwinds, supporting working people and their families with the cost of living is always top of my mind,” he said ahead of a visit on Monday to a community center in London. Starmer is under pressure from unions and his own Labour MPs to prepare a support package in the event of a prolonged conflict. Brent crude oil prices surged as much as 10% to around $109 a barrel and more production cutbacks by United Arab Emirates and Kuwait over the weekend threaten another week of chaos in the markets. Oil was $72 on Feb. 27 before the conflict began. The Resolution Foundation think tank has warned that the spike in gas and oil prices since the conflict began could cost a typical UK household £500 ($666.92), more than wiping out the £150 of savings Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves unveiled in the November budget. Starmer said the public is “rightly worrying what this means for life at home – their bills, their jobs, their communities. I want to address those concerns head on. I will always be guided by what is best for the British public.” Economists have warned that the UK cannot afford a broad household bail-out. The prime minister’s comments came after he spoke with President Donald Trump Sunday afternoon to discuss military cooperation on RAF bases and offer his condolences following the deaths of six US soldiers. The call was the first time the two had spoken since the president criticised him for not supporting strikes on Iran last week. Trump said on Saturday “we don’t need them any longer,” in response to news that Britain is preparing an aircraft carrier for the Middle East. “We will remember. We don’t need people that join Wars after we’ve already won!” He had already described Starmer as “not Winston Churchill ” over the prime minister’s initial reluctance to l...
The West has some of the most expensive cities in the country. San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle are some of the priciest areas, but it is possible to live here without spending a fortune on housing. These are some of the best places to retire in the West for people who are looking to save money, especially as retirement looms. Tucson, Arizona Tucson is a little less than two hours away from...
The West has some of the most expensive cities in the country. San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle are some of the priciest areas, but it is possible to live here without spending a fortune on housing. These are some of the best places to retire in the West for people who are looking to save money, especially as retirement looms. Tucson, Arizona Tucson is a little less than two hours away from Phoenix by car, but there's a lot to do in this affordable city. Hikers will be delighted to walk through the Saguaro National Park and the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area. Tucson Mountain Park is a 20,000-acre haven for hikers seeking complete immersion in nature. It also has several museums and historical sites that give the city some charm beyond its hiking trails. The Tucson Botanical Gardens and Reid Park Zoo are two popular options. Tucson has a median home price of $275,000, which is slightly down year over year, according to Realtor.com. Affordability was a key factor for retirees in The Motley Fool's Best Places to Retire Index, which bodes well for anyone considering Tucson. Spokane, Washington It takes about four hours to drive down from Spokane to Seattle. But thanks to the many amenities Spokane already offers, it isn't necessary to drive down to Seattle. Spokane has a median housing price of $420,000, which is down by roughly 1% year over year. The median rent is $1,650 per month, up 22% over the past year, according to Realtor.com. Spokane has the picturesque 40-mile Centennial Trail, ideal for runners and bikers. The Riverfront Park and Manito Park also offer scenic options that don't require traversing a 40-mile trail. The city also has several local stores and museums. You can even visit farms in Green Bluff, a 26-farm collection near Spokane. Twin Falls, Idaho Twin Falls offers incredible views and outdoor activities year-round. Shoshone Falls Park is considered the Niagara Falls of the West. It also has the Canyon Rim Trail, a 10-mile route along the Snak...
For the first time in 2026, the market is facing a real jolt of worry. The conflict in Iran has pushed equity volatility to its highest levels of the year. The 10-year Treasury yield briefly hit its lowest point since April 2025. Investors genuinely seem spooked. Long-term investors could view this as an opportunity. If you believe that geopolitical events tend to be more short-term in nature, thi...
For the first time in 2026, the market is facing a real jolt of worry. The conflict in Iran has pushed equity volatility to its highest levels of the year. The 10-year Treasury yield briefly hit its lowest point since April 2025. Investors genuinely seem spooked. Long-term investors could view this as an opportunity. If you believe that geopolitical events tend to be more short-term in nature, this could be a temporary dip that can be taken advantage of. At a high level, the U.S. economy is still expanding and corporate earnings growth remains robust. Those are the factors that support the long-term growth of equity prices even in the face of short-term volatility. I generally keep some cash on the sidelines in my portfolio for times just like this. Short-term disruptions can be a chance to buy successful companies at discounted prices. But I don't try to buy individual winners or even specific sectors. I like to buy the whole market on the dip and simply take advantage of lower prices. For that, I buy the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (NYSEMKT: VTI) . Continue reading
U.S. stock-market futures fell on Sunday as crude futures surged above $100 a barrel for the first time since 2022 amid growing fears about the economic effects of the conflict with Iran.
U.S. stock-market futures fell on Sunday as crude futures surged above $100 a barrel for the first time since 2022 amid growing fears about the economic effects of the conflict with Iran.
Global oil prices have breached the $100 (£74) a barrel mark for the first time since 2022 as escalating military aggression in the Middle East continues to wipe 20m barrels of oil from the market each day. Brent crude, the international benchmark, climbed 12.2% to $104.05 a barrel as the new week’s trading began in the Asia Pacific markets, the first time that market prices have soared above this...
Global oil prices have breached the $100 (£74) a barrel mark for the first time since 2022 as escalating military aggression in the Middle East continues to wipe 20m barrels of oil from the market each day. Brent crude, the international benchmark, climbed 12.2% to $104.05 a barrel as the new week’s trading began in the Asia Pacific markets, the first time that market prices have soared above this key psychological threshold since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Prices rose after a weekend of escalating conflict in the Middle East, during which Kuwait’s national oil company announced a “precautionary” cut to its crude oil production. The oil price returned to triple digits after the highest weekly gains since the Covid-19 pandemic six years ago, and included a $10 increase in the price of US crude on Friday alone. “The grace period given by the market to the Trump administration expired at the end of last week,” according to Clayton Seigle, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “A deficit of 20m barrels per day (mb/d) is hitting global [oil market] balances with no sign of relief. To the contrary, President Trump is demanding unconditional surrender, a very unlikely prospect. While observers may have initially thought his disregard for painful oil prices was a bluff, it’s now clear that it isn’t,” he said. Overall, oil prices have rocketed by two-thirds from just above $60 a barrel at the start of the year. Prices had already risen in January and February, before accelerating after the US-Israeli attack on Iran just over a week ago, which has disrupted a vital trade route for Middle Eastern oil supplies through the strait of Hormuz. Fears of a global oil shortfall were compounded late last week by Qatar’s energy minister, who predicted that if the war continued unabated all Gulf energy exporters would be forced to shut down production within weeks and oil would rise to $150 a barrel. Oil storage facilities in Saudi Arabia, the United A...
In this article USO Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT watch now VIDEO 5:21 05:21 Higher oil prices will lead to more inflation, says Moody's Mark Zandi Fast Money Crude oil prices surged above $100 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 18.98%, or $17.2...
In this article USO Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT watch now VIDEO 5:21 05:21 Higher oil prices will lead to more inflation, says Moody's Mark Zandi Fast Money Crude oil prices surged above $100 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 18.98%, or $17.25, to $108.15 per barrel by 6:12 p.m. ET. Global benchmark Brent advanced 16.19%, or $15.01, to $107.70. U.S. crude oil surged about 35% last week in its biggest gain in futures trading history dating back to 1983. 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 Trump's claim it was "already won" with Iran naming Ayatollah Khamenei's son, Mojtaba, as its new supreme leader, according to reports. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said ...
Born on September 8, 1969, in the holy city of Mashhad in eastern Iran, Mojtaba Khamenei is one of six children of the late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed just over a week ago at the age of 86 during US-Israeli air strikes. Mojtaba Khamenei was chosen by Iran’s Assembly of Experts to succeed his father as supreme leader, in a sign that hardliners were still firmly in charge...
Born on September 8, 1969, in the holy city of Mashhad in eastern Iran, Mojtaba Khamenei is one of six children of the late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed just over a week ago at the age of 86 during US-Israeli air strikes. Mojtaba Khamenei was chosen by Iran’s Assembly of Experts to succeed his father as supreme leader, in a sign that hardliners were still firmly in charge. Because of his discretion at official ceremonies and in the media, Mojtaba Khamenei’s true influence has been the subject of intense speculation for years among the Iranian population as well as in diplomatic circles. Advertisement He is the only child of the former supreme leader to hold a public position despite having no official post. The cleric, who has a salt-and-pepper beard and the black turban of the “seyyed”, descendants of the Prophet Mohammed, has been presented by some as acting behind the scenes to pull strings at the heart of power in Iran. Advertisement He is regarded as close to conservatives, notably because of his ties with the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of the Islamic republic’s military.
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on March 5, 2026. Spencer Platt | Getty Images Stock futures were plunging to start the week's trading as U.S. oil prices topped $100 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. Futu...
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on March 5, 2026. Spencer Platt | Getty Images Stock futures were plunging to start the week's trading as U.S. oil prices topped $100 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 936 points or 2%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures each tumbled 1.7%. West Texas Intermediate crude jumped 18% to above $108 a barrel. International benchmark Brent crude added 16% to above $107 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. 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 American crude contract finished the week above the $90 mark. 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," Blac...
$5 Gas Imminent As Oil Prices Explode Higher, Equity Futures Puke On Dashed De-Escalation Hopes It's Sunday night and the much-hoped for de-escalation has not happened. This has triggered an explosive move higher in WTI... ...topping $110 for the first time since 2022... (Goldman nailed that call) US equity futures have dramatically 'broken the box'... These moves come as the Trump administration ...
$5 Gas Imminent As Oil Prices Explode Higher, Equity Futures Puke On Dashed De-Escalation Hopes It's Sunday night and the much-hoped for de-escalation has not happened. This has triggered an explosive move higher in WTI... ...topping $110 for the first time since 2022... (Goldman nailed that call) US equity futures have dramatically 'broken the box'... These moves come as the Trump administration said it is not prioritizing using the US Department of the Treasury to trade oil futures as it weighs ways to ease surging global energy prices, according to Yahoo Finance . Officials have considered having Treasury buy or sell energy futures, but believe the agency would have limited ability to move such a large and active market. Daily trading volumes have surged during the recent conflict, diluting the impact any single participant could have. The White House is also reluctant to immediately tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Heavy drawdowns under former president Joe Biden left the reserve about 60% full, while repeated withdrawals have created maintenance issues. Still, officials acknowledge that even a modest release could send a strong signal to calm markets. Domestic gas (pump) prices soaring (and are about to go even higher)... The report says that the administration is reviewing a wide range of responses. Doug Burgum said “everything is being considered,” from immediate steps to longer-term measures, as officials try to contain rising fuel costs that pose both geopolitical risks and political pressure ahead of November’s midterm elections. $5 gas prices at the pump is imminent!! Given the current moves we are seeing, we suspect that laissez-faire attitude will shift rapidly and some kind of intervention is imminent. Tyler Durden Sun, 03/08/2026 - 18:16