Smotrich: ICC Warrants Are a Declaration of War on Israel

Thursday’s diplomatic negotiations (26 Feb) – for all the panglossian noise from mediators and negotiators – confirmed the essential impasse. The US demands presented to Iran were: These demands plainly were formulated to obstruct, rather than facilitate, any diplomatic solution. It reflects a strategy rooted in the viscerally-held presumption of Iranian weakness that, in the […]

US Futures Drop Ahead Of Payrolls With Most Markets Closed US equity futures dipped ahead of today's payrolls report in a holiday-shortened session, with most cash markets including US stocks closed globally for Good Friday. Sifma, the US financial markets trade association, recommended trading of dollar-denominated bonds during US hours only and a 12pm New York time stop. As of 8:15am, S&P and Nasdaq futures are down 0.2%. Bonds dipped modestly in a holiday-shortened session, the 10Y yield rising 1bp to 4.31%. The dollar was mixed against its Group-of-10 peers. ...

Israeli forces continue to operate militarily in southwestern Syria, though exactly what they are attempting to accomplish is increasingly uncertain, with raids into Quneitra and Daraa Governorates involving ill-defined investigations of random homes or people. The weekend operation was near the town of Jamleh, and saw Israeli troops enter Syria to capture a group of […]