ELIZA BLEU AND THE PERPETUAL TRAUMA MACHINE—PART 2

39 going on $40 trillion is an achievement only in the sense that many once thought we’d never see numbers this large.

Iran Hardliners Push For Nukes Amid Tehran's Demands That US Scale Back Ceasefire Conditions Summary Iran rejects US plan but says diplomacy continues (indirectly, apparently) - White House, Pentagon reviewing options for 'final blow' as Trump tells Iranians 'get serious' about talks. Hegseth: we'll "negotiate through bombs". Trump asserts Iran is begging for a deal. Trump touts "present" of several tankers allowed by Tehran through Strait, while at the same time warning Tehran of 'no turning back' if it doesn't negotiate. Cabinet meeting hails 'successes' while saying war to 'end soon', confirms 15-point plan...

Conference Board Confidence Unexpectedly Jumped Amid War In March Despite war (and rising gas prices) now on respondents' minds (the survey period for preliminary results was March 1 to 24), it is perhaps surprising that The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence rose more than expected in March (from 91.0 to 91.8), considerably better than the 87.9 expected. Even more intriguing, the Present Situation rose from 120.0 to 123.3 (118 exp) while Expectations fell from 72.0 to 70.9 (68.4 exp) Source: Bloomberg Among demographic groups, confidence on a six-month moving average basis continued to moderate...