Despite Slumping Sentiment, US Retail Sales See Strongest Annual Rise Since Jan 2023

IEA Warns Escalation In US-Iran Hostilities Could Upend Oil Surplus Forecast Despite the tentative recovery of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz and the first build-up in global stocks since the war began, this week’s re-escalation of the U.S.-Iran hostilities could flip the outlook for an oil market surplus for next year, the International Energy Agency said on Friday.  Oil prices have plunged since the United States and Iran signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) in the middle of June, with North Sea Dated prices down by $31 per barrel in...

Trump Hails Mecca Defense Pact As 'Big, Bold, Important First Step' Since the signing of a defense pact earlier this month by Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan - which is being touted as having NATO level protections akin to an Article 5 style 'attack on one is an attack on all' - there's been much speculation on whether Washington would embrace or reject it. After all, it seems to put greater distance between Saudi Arabia and Israel, and thus lessens the potential for Riyadh ever agreeing to join the US-backed Abraham...

US and Taiwanese officials are alarmed at the status of the US military and its ability to fight a future conflict with China.  According to three sources speaking with The Washington Post, officials at Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACCOM) have expressed frustration with the dwindling military resources available to deter China.  One official said 30 warships were […]