Two Palestinians Killed, Several Children Wounded, by Israeli Attacks in Gaza

Why Is Consumer Sentiment At Record Lows? Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via substack, Consumer sentiment is at record lows because there is zero visibility on any real-world trends that would be positive for the bottom 90%. Vague promises of super-abundance are not visibility. Why is consumer sentiment at record lows while the stock market is at record highs? The media / social media are ablaze with coverage and commentary on this K-shaped economy, for example: The Stock Market Has Never Been So Good When People Have Felt So Bad: Stocks are partying like it’s 1999....

US Sending Witkoff, Kushner To Pakistan As Iran Balks At Talks Summary President Trump is sending two envoys - Steve Witkoff and Jared Jushner - for talks with Iran in Pakistan, CNN reported, while Tehran sounded a more pessimistic tone on the prospects of further negotiations Avalanche of Friday morning headlines speculating on Iran FM travel to Pakistan, and potential US delegating arriving too - Iranians will just engage Pakistan mediators in this visit. Third US aircraft carrier, the George HW Bush, has finally arrived in Mideast regional waters after taking the long way around...

Oracle & OpenAI Scrap Texas Data Center Expansion Plan, Sending AI Stocks Lower AI-related stocks are sliding late in the New York cash session after Bloomberg News reported that Oracle and OpenAI have scrapped plans to expand the Stargate AI data center in Abilene, Texas, from about 1.2 GW to 2.0 GW. Sources said the expansion was canceled after talks stalled over financing issues and OpenAI's changing demand forecasts. However, the collapse of the Oracle-OpenAI plans has opened the door for Meta, which is now in talks to lease the...