Renewed Move Out of Riskier Assets on Mideast Conflict Fears March 26, 2026 The Middle Eastern war may be about to become much fiercer. President Trump’s plea for Iran to accept a deal continues to be rebuffed, and the red-line demands of each side are miles apart. Meanwhile, Israel claims to have killed another top…
Markets Cheered by News of 15-Point U.S. Peace Plan to End Middle East War March 25, 2026 So far, Iran shows little sign of deescalating, and the all-import Strait of Hormuz remains effectively shut to shipping traffic. Nevertheless, as of 08:15 EDT, the dollar had risen overnight by 0.5% against the Australian dollar, 0.3% relative…
Imminent Risks March 24, 2026 Justification for the joint U.S. and Israeli war against Iran and the choice of February 28th for the start of their attack, a stage that involved leadership replacement by assassination of high Iranian officials, rested in large part on the assertion that Iran, which has perennially sponsored terrorism in the…
Middle Eastern War Chugs Onward and So Do Wide Day-to-Day Swings in Financial Markets March 24, 2026 The Middle Eastern war continues to play out on many different planes. The actual conflict has been fierce and continues to suck in a widening range of countries in the region. Considerable property damage is occurring, some that…
Another Major Whiplash in Financial Markets After Latest Trump Zig-Zag March 23, 2026 (147) Late today was to have been the deadline for a massive bombing operation of Iranian oil facility sites if Iran didn’t open up the Strait of Hormuz to normal shipping traffic. The ultimatum had been made two days ago, but with…
Gold (XAUUSD) has transitioned into a clear bearish market structure following a confirmed Change of Character (CHoCH) on the higher timeframe. This structural shift marks the end of the previous bullish phase and signals the beginning of a sustained bearish trend. Over recent sessions, price action has demonstrated strong downside momentum, with a decisive break…
How Often U.S. Stock Market Corrections Evolve into Bear Markets? March 20, 2026 With key U.S. stock market indices fast approaching correction status, I asked Google AI Overview how often previous corrections of the S&P 500 (defined as a cumulative high-to-low movement of at least 10%) have evolved into a bear market, where the requirement…
Next Week’s Menu: March 21-27, 2026 March 20, 2026 Central Banks: Far fewer monetary policy reviews are scheduled next week than this one. Meetings in the coming period are planned in Mexico, South Africa, Norway, Hungary and Chile. The growing speculation today that 2026 will see a number of central banks switch direction and actually…
A Seventh Central Bank Interest Rate Cut in Russia March 20, 2026 The other central bank rate decision today involved an as-expected 50-basis point cut in the Central Bank of Russia‘s benchmark to 15.0%, its lowest level since December 2023. From a peak of 21% reached in October 2024 and maintained until June 2025, seven…
Dollar Mixed, Equities Down, Bond Yields Higher, and Mood Remains Fearful March 20, 2026 In overnight trading, the dollar rose 0.6% against the Japanese yen and 0.8% versus the South Korean won but slipped 0.3% relative to the Canadian dollar and 0.1% against the Swissy, euro and sterling. A five-basis point advance in the ten-year…