Tech, AI, & Semis Aren't The Only Problem...

Aluminum Market Descends Into Supply 'Black Hole' Aluminum prices on the London Metal Exchange are climbing into the end of the week, reaching $3,621 a ton and approaching the peak seen during Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The problem now is that the aluminum market has been thrust into a serious supply shock amid the U.S.-Iran conflict in the Middle East, one that is unlikely to be reversed in the near term. One big problem we highlighted last weekend was that Emirates Global Aluminum (EGA), the Gulf's largest aluminum...

Bessent To Unveil Weekly Iran-Related Secondary Sanctions, After 1st Round Falls Flat The US Treasury Department plans to roll out new secondary sanctions every week to intensify economic pressure on Iran, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed Sunday. "You're going to see a lot more of these every week," Bessent said ahead of a meeting of Group of 20 (G20) financial leaders in Asheville, North Carolina, confirming that announcements will come on a weekly basis. The warning and threat follows on the heels of the US having sanctioned a couple UAE branches of a...

Persian Gulf Countries 'Refused' UAE Call For Joint Attack On Iran Via The Cradle The UAE tried but failed to persuade neighboring states, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, to take part in a coordinated military attack on Iran, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing sources familiar with the matter. UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed (MbZ) spoke by phone with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) and other regional leaders to propose the coordinated attacks, shortly after the US and Israel launched the war on Iran on February 28, the sources said. During the calls, MbZ argued that...