Trump: The Houthis Are Behaving Very Badly

Fearing Iranian Escalation In Red Sea, Saudis Push Trump To Call Off Hormuz Blockade Wary of Iranian escalation that shuts down Red Sea traffic, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is asking the Trump administration to back off from its newly-implemented blockade of Iranian-linked shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday evening. On Sunday, a senior advisor to Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei warned that Iran has "large, untouched levers" to respond to such a blockade.  Perhaps ominously, Bab el-Mandeb translates to "Gate of Tears" (map via...

US Treasury Sells $139BN In Two Polar Opposite Auctions: A Stellar 2Y And A Dismal 5Y Ahead of Wednesday's FOMC decision (where according to SOFR futures, the odds of a rate hike are a significant 38%, even as most traders expect no action by the Fed), we had the week's first two coupon auctions take place according to an abbreviated schedule, with the sale of $69BN in 2Y notes taking place at 11:30am, followed by $70BN in 5Y notes. And while the former was unexpectedly strong, the latter was one...

Hormuz Tanker Traffic Plunges After Fresh US-Iran Strikes Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz tumbled since late last week, as ship owners and operators froze up amid the renewed hostilities between Iran and the US over the weekend. The Thursday attack on the container ship Ever Lovely prompted some shipowners to pull back and wait for additional information about how safe transiting the Strait is. The U.S. military on Friday carried out strikes on Iran in response to the attack on the vessel. Then, on Friday and Saturday, the US Central...