Iran Says Strait of Hormuz Is Closed, Trump Claims It’s Open for Commercial Shipping

The European Union Hates Hungary, Loves Ukraine Authored by J.B. Shurk via American Thinker, What’s in a name?  These days…not much. The European Union does not include Ukraine; nevertheless and notwithstanding the objections of E.U. members Hungary and Slovakia... ...the European supra-state insists on paying the salaries of Ukraine’s government bureaucracy while that nation’s martial-law-holdover-president, Volodymyr Zelensky, fights to maintain control over a breakaway region that has rejected Ukrainian rule since the 2014 coup d’état of Ukraine’s then-president, Viktor Yanukovych. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization does not include Ukraine; nevertheless and notwithstanding the objections of NATO members Hungary and...

Futures Flat Ahead Of CPI, Ceasefire Negotiations US equity futures are flat, recovering from an earlier drop, and set to extend a seven-day rally, the longest since October, as investors looked to talks between the US and Iran for signs a fragile truce can hold while bracing for a big jump in today's CPI report (full preview here). As of 8:00am ET, S&P futures were up 0.1%,on track for their biggest weekly advance in almost a year. Nasdaq futures rose 0.2%, its winning streak is the longest since September,  led once...

Music streaming giant Spotify will lay off about 6% of its workforce, Daniel Ek, the billionaire CEO of the Stockholm-based company announced Monday, becoming the latest company to dramatically reduce headcount as fears of a looming recession continue into the new year.