Israel Strikes Southern, Eastern Lebanon in Latest Round of Attacks

Mexico's "Energy Sovereignty" Dos Bocas Oil Refinery Hit By Major Fire One of Mexico's largest refineries, with a processing capacity of 340,000 barrels per day, appears to have suffered a fire in its coke storage area, marking the second incident in less than a month. The Dos Bocas refinery, built by Pemex in the southeastern state of Tabasco, is the crown jewel of Mexico's push to reduce dependence on imported gasoline and diesel, especially from U.S. exporters in the Gulf of America. It cost about $21 billion to build and was...

The Barbell Economy: Why The Middle Is Vanishing Authored by Tamuz Itai via The Epoch Times, There’s a pattern quietly reshaping daily life, work, and society itself. Economists now call it the “barbell economy.” Value, growth, and opportunity concentrate at the two extremes—ultra-cheap utility on one end, premium experience and status on the other—while the broad, reasonable middle thins out. Once you start noticing it, you can’t unsee it. And the data show it isn’t a fleeting trend. Start with something as ordinary as dinner. Fast-food drive-throughs, delivery apps, and value menus...

JPMorgan Limits Lending To Private Credit Groups After Marking Down Loan Collateral The barrage of negative private credit news, now that the $1.8 trillion bubble has burst, is coming hot and heavy.  Following last night's report that Cliffwater, a private credit interval fund which according to Rubric Capital "is the canary in the coal mine and will be the first domino in the bank run” was the latest fund to be hit with 7% in investor redemptions (and unlike BlackRock, interval funds can not gate investors), this morning the FT reported that JPMorgan...