Remembering the Mogambo Guru

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...

AI Just Became A Massive Midterm Election Issue Submitted by QTR's Fringe Finance Artificial intelligence is about to become one of the most consequential issues in the 2026 midterm elections. Maybe not immigration-level consequential or inflation-level consequential. But over the next two months, I think Americans are going to hear a lot more about a question that, until very recently, mostly belonged to Silicon Valley and a relatively small group of researchers: should the United States government force the development of frontier AI to slow down? That question exploded into the political mainstream...

Massive Gas Pipeline Blast Rocks Damascus Suburbs - 2nd Suspected Sabotage This Week A huge explosion has rocked a Damascus suburb area on Wednesday evening (local), in what could be the second act of suspected sabotage against natural gas infrastructure in just a few days. "A gas pipeline exploded Wednesday near the Tishreen power station in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta area in the Damascus countryside," Alikhbariah TV reported. According to more per regional sources, "It said the loud blast heard in Eastern Ghouta was caused by the pipeline explosion near the power station." Unconfirmed...