Gold prices reflect a shift in paradigm – Part I

French Election: Socialists Secure Paris, LePen's Populists Make Historic Local Gains Marine Le Pen’s National Rally delivered its strongest performance ever in French local elections on Sunday, capturing dozens of municipalities and installing an ally as mayor of Nice - while socialists predictably held onto key urban centers, including Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Lille.  NR celebrates in 2024 The results of the second-round municipal vote on Sunday mark the clearest sign yet that the populist party is no longer a protest movement but a genuine governing force in parts of France - and a...

Stock Futures Slide As Doubts Over Ceasefire Send Oil Higher Stocks resumed their drop and oil erased about a third of its Wednesday drop as traders watched the fragile US-Iran ceasefire shatter by the hour, with both sides accusing the other of breaches while the Strait of Hormuz is still effectively closed and Israel intensified strikes on Lebanon. As of 8:00am ET, S&P futures fell 0.4% after Bloomberg strategists said a best-case scenario has already been priced in;  Nasdaq futures dropped 0.3% with Mag7 stocks mostly lower. Europe’s Stoxx 600 index fell 0.7%. Emerging-market...

Crude Stocks Rise 3.5 Million, Highest Since May 2025 With oil flows passing through the Straits of Hormuz blocked indefinitely, markets were paying especially close attention to today's weekly DOE report on oil stocks, to see how much capacity the US has in case of a prolonged lockout. The result was satisfactory.  The DOE reported the following weekly changes: Crude +3.475MM, more than the expected +3.00MM, and the highest since May 2025 Gasoline -1.704MM, down to the lowest since Jan 9, 2026 Distillates +429K, biggest increase since Jan 2026 Cushing +1.6MM, rising to the highest...