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

Stocks Jump, Oil Tumbles After IEA Calls Extraordinary Meeting To Decide On SPR Release With oil reversing much of the overnight losses as we neared the start of US cash open trading, futures slumped and it felt like we were back to square one.  That's when the jawboning out of the G7 members - many of whom are already at their breaking point in terms of soaring input costs - decided to double down on the jawboning rhetoric from yesterday - and hinted strongly that an SPR release could be imminent.  The...

The Private Credit Crisis Is Spreading Submitted by QTR's Fringe Finance The private credit crisis is spreading to another corner of the market that I warned about back in October, when I wrote about 10 parts of the market I’d avoid. For years I’ve been warning that buy now pay later (“BNPL”) industry was built on a pretty fragile foundation. The quality of the loans was always the obvious problem. The entire business model revolves around extending instant credit with minimal underwriting to consumers making small purchases. Companies whose primary innovation is allowing consumers to...

Trump Cites Progress With 'More Reasonable Regime' - Mulls Uranium Seizure Op; Bessent Says Will 'Retake' Hormuz 'Over Time' Summary Iran rejects 'excessive, illogical' US demands while Trump mentions 'progress' with a 'more reasonable regime'. Trump again threatens to destroy Iran energy sites and Kharg Island. White House seriously considering ground operation to seize Iran's enriched uranium stockpile but also wants Tehran to negotiate handing it over willingly. Bessent: US will 'retake' Hormuz Strait 'over time'. Bazan oil refinery in Israel's northern city of Haifa is on fire after a second apparent Iranian missile strike of the...