The US May Have Shot Down a Small Hobby Balloon With a Sidewinder Missile

US Services Surveys Disappoint In April Amid Stench Of Stagflation Despite Manufacturing surveys solid (and US factory orders surging), expectations are for the Services sector surveys today to show stagflationary signals (weak growth, surging prices). S&P Global's Services PMI disappointed in April (final), falling from its flash print of 51.3 to 51.0, but still up from multi-year lows below 50 in March, showing just marginal activity growth despite weak drop in sales volumes. ISM Services PMI also disappointed in April, falling from 54.0 to 53.6 (vs 53.7 exp) amid tumbling new orders and...

Tehran's Toll Booth For Hormuz Strait Divides Countries Into 3 Categories The last several days have seen a limited number of foreign vessels successfully and safely cross the Strait of Hormuz for the first time, amid the ongoing de facto military blockage by Iran. A group of several vessels, namely French, Japanese, and Oman-linked ships were reported to have crossed the strait at the end of this week. This included Malta-flagged 'Kribi,' owned by French shipping group CMA CGM, having exited the Gulf through an Iranian-approved corridor, broadcasting "owner France" - as we...

After Kevin Warsh was confirmed as Federal Reserve chairman last week, he received a stark reminder of the challenges facing the central bank. The reminder came in the form of a worldwide surge in the interest rates paid by government bonds. The surge followed the spike in oil prices caused by the Iran War. The […]