Most Americans Expect Prolonged Conflict With Iran

"Calm Before The Storm?" UBS Warns Of Stock Market Turbulence As Midterms Loom "This may be the calm before the storm," UBS chief economist Arend Kapteyn wrote in a note on Wednesday morning. Kapteyn is referring to a historically turbulent stretch for equity markets ahead of midterm elections, which threatens to amplify the seasonal rise in market volatility. "Indeed, since 1928, these have been the most volatile months of the calendar, with volatility increasing in both election and non-election years before falling sharply thereafter," Kapteyn continued. Since 1950, the president's party has lost...

Think "Weekends" Rather Than "Weeks" By Elwin de Groot, head of macro strategy  As another volatile week comes to an end, investors and market participants appear to be clinging to the hope that the two‑week ceasefire between the United States and Iran, which began on Wednesday, will not unravel entirely – at least until a direct, face‑to‑face exchange and clarification of key demands can take place during the planned talks in Islamabad this weekend. Near‑dated Brent crude edged up by $2 to $97, equity markets posted modest declines in Europe, whilst...

Bill Anderson offers a ground-level view of California's decline, arguing that the state's deep entanglement of government with water, energy, housing, and transportation has created a self-reinforcing system where every new crisis produces more regulation, more spending, and fewer productive citizens.