Doug Brignole's Iron Man Archive

US Retail Sales Jumped Most In 8 Months In February Bank of America's omniscient analysts forecast a very strong month for Retail Sales in February data (released today)... The actual print was +0.6% MoM (better than the 0.5% consensus, but less than BofA's forecast) comes after a revised higher 0.1% MoM decline in January (and December's nothingburger)... Source: Bloomberg That is the highest MoM rise since June 2025, and sales rose 3.7% YoY... Core Retail Sales (Ex Autos) rose 0.5% MoM (much better than expected) and Ex Autos and Gas also rose more than...

Trump Threatens 'Unprecedented Military Consequences' As Iran Reportedly Starts Mining The Strait Of Hormuz Summary: CNN says the IRGC had already begun laying explosive mines in the vital Strait of Hormuz. Reuters: AS MANY AS 150 US TROOPS WOUNDED SO FAR IN IRAN WAR CBS says US intelligence has begun to see indications Iran is taking steps to deploy mines in Strait of Hormuz shipping lane Divergent signals flying between Tehran and Washington: Witkoff says Trump "always willing to talk" to Iran, the question is whether or not it is worth it. Trump-Putin spoke Monday,...

EU and Australia Seal Trade Deal Amid Strategic Resource Concerns Submitted by Thomas Kolbe It took an astonishing eight years before the European Union and Australia were able, at the beginning of the week, to agree on a joint trade agreement. What EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese presented in Australia’s capital Canberra represented a far-reaching reduction of direct tariffs over a medium-term period. Over 90 percent of goods will be able to circulate freely between the two continents, of course always under the application of...