Wall Street woke up in a good mood on Monday. Oil prices were tumbling on news of a U.S.-Iran ceasefire, and all three major indexes opened solidly higher. By midday, that optimism had largely evaporated.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) was clinging to a 0.2% gain at 12:06 p.m. ET, down from an early peak of 1.3%. The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) had slipped 0.2% into the red after starting the day up 0.9%. The Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) was off 0.5%, having completely erased its 1.1% opening pop.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
^DJI data by YCharts
Brent crude dropped approximately 6% to around $86.40 per barrel after the U.S. and Iran agreed to pause military strikes while diplomatic talks resume. Lower oil means less inflation pressure, which means the Fed might ease up on rate hikes. Treasury yields dipped accordingly.

#NVIDIA #Iran #means

The Trump administration is weighing whether to extend access to some Chinese rare earth materials beyond the January 1, 2027 cutoff after U.S. producers acknowledged they cannot build sufficient domestic processing and magnet capacity before the deadline, Reuters reported on Monday.
Industry executives and Pentagon suppliers told Reuters that U.S. processing and magnet manufacturing capacity remains insufficient to meet despite billions of dollars in federal support for new mines, separation facilities and downstream manufacturing.
The gap threatens not only military procurement but also supply chains serving electric vehicles, offshore wind, robotics, data centers and other energy-intensive industries that depend on high-performance permanent magnets.
The shortage centers on neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) and samarium-cobalt magnets, which rely on rare earth supply chains that China continues to dominate. Beijing still controls the overwhelming majority of global rare earth refining and permanent magnet production, giving it enormous leverage over downstream manufacturing even as Western governments accelerate efforts to diversify supply.
While the United States has made meaningful progress expanding domestic mining, processing, alloy production and magnet manufacturing require specialized infrastructure that has taken China decades to develop.

#earth #supply

WASHINGTON (AP) — Iran launched multiple ballistic missiles at American forces in the Middle East on Tuesday, shattering a brief pause in fighting as mediators tried to get both sides back to negotiations and toward a ceasefire, the U.S. military said.
All Iranian missiles were successfully intercepted, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement, adding that U.S. forces "remain vigilant and at a high state of readiness."
The United States and Iran had experienced a period of calm, during which neither announced attacks for days following weeks of escalation over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf waterway and narrow chokepoint through which 20% of the world's oil normally flows.
There was no immediate comment from Tehran on the U.S. military statement or the strikes.
Iran effectively closed the strait when the war began by firing at freighters and tankers off its coast or threatening them. Following the signing of an interim ceasefire deal in June, a battle for control over the strait erupted.

#Iran #following #military #statement

September S&P 500 E-Mini futures (ESU26) are up +0.98%, and September Nasdaq 100 E-Mini futures (NQU26) are up +1.59% this morning, pointing to a sharply higher open on Wall Street as a slump in oil prices boosted investor sentiment at the start of a busy week.
The price of WTI crude cratered more than -8% on Monday after the U.S. and Iran refrained from attacking each other for a third consecutive night. The Wall Street Journal reported that President Trump has put off a major military escalation against Iran amid efforts to revive diplomacy aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ongoing debate over the impact of dwindling munitions stockpiles. Mr. Trump has consistently said "he prefers a diplomatic solution, but he continues to retain all options if Iran continues terrorist activities in the Strait of Hormuz or against allies," a White House spokesman said in a statement. Meanwhile, Iran's army said on Sunday that it has suspended its retaliation against U.S. bases and troops in the region following Trump's decision to hold off on strikes.
Dear ****** eX Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for August 6
Amazon Stock Just Hit a Major Hurdle Ahead of Earnings
Elon Musk Just Revealed a Quiet Win for Tesla's AI Ambitions

#september #wall #street #major

Crude oil prices dropped sharply on Monday as investors unwound geopolitical risk premiums following indications that tensions between the United States and Iran may be easing. The selloff erased much of the rally seen last week, when fears of a wider conflict briefly pushed Brent crude close to the $100-per-barrel level.
By 06:11 GMT, Brent crude futures were down 6% at $90.93 per barrel after briefly falling below $90 earlier in the session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures declined 6.1% to $83.83 per barrel.
Last week, Brent climbed to around $100 a barrel after the conflict expanded beyond the Strait of Hormuz into the Red Sea, raising concerns over Middle Eastern oil exports.
However, market sentiment shifted after Washington paused its military campaign following 13 consecutive nights of strikes, allowing additional time for diplomatic negotiations after weeks of escalating hostilities.
Iran quickly responded to the move. According to Reuters, an Iranian official said Tehran would halt retaliatory attacks provided the United States maintained its suspension of military operations. Both governments have nevertheless indicated they are prepared to resume military action if negotiations fail.

#united #Iran

Global defense spending is entering a historic expansion phase, driven by geopolitical flashpoints from Ukraine to the Indo‑Pacific and record Pentagon budgets. NATO allies are racing to meet or exceed 2% of GDP defense commitments, while the U.S. has proposed a $1.5 trillion military budget for FY2027. Against this backdrop of rising military allocations and urgent weapons replenishment, Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE:LMT) has emerged as the sector's anchor, converting its record $230.4 billion backlog into profitable growth and securing new Pentagon contracts that reinforce its leadership in advanced defense systems.
Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE:LMT) shares surged more than 10% on July 23 after the company reported strong Q2 2026 earnings and secured additional business with the Pentagon. The stock is up more than 15% since the beginning of the year. This rally shows investor confidence in the company's ability to convert its massive backlog into profitable growth, even amid defense budget politics.
Jordan Tan / Shutterstock.com
Lockheed has won $67.7 million from the Pentagon for a new pair of contracts. One of the contracts covers US Navy submarine systems upgrades and is worth up to $44.6 million. The other covers F-35 fighter jet maintenance depots for allied nations and is worth $23.1 million.
Lockheed's latest Pentagon contract awards arrive as defense spending continues to rise. Amid persistent geopolitical tensions, countries are moving to upgrade their defense capabilities and replenish weapon inventories.

#million #martin #corp #NYSE

U.S. stock futures moved higher on Monday as investors welcomed signs of a pause in hostilities between the United States and Iran, helping to ease pressure on energy markets ahead of a crucial week for corporate earnings and central bank decisions.
By 05:49 GMT, Dow Jones futures had gained 398 points, or 0.8%, while S&P 500 futures were up 66 points, or 0.9%. Nasdaq 100 futures led the advance, climbing 406 points, or 1.4%.
Wall Street ended last week on a mixed note as rising oil prices and geopolitical uncertainty weighed on investor sentiment. However, indications that the White House is seeking to avoid a broader military escalation have improved market confidence, pushing oil prices lower while supporting both equities and bond markets.
Investors are now turning their attention to one of the busiest weeks of the earnings season, with around one-third of S&P 500 companies scheduled to publish quarterly results. Overall earnings are forecast to increase by approximately 26.5% compared with the same period last year.
Several of the world's largest technology companies are due to report this week, including Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL). Their results are expected to provide fresh insight into whether the rapid pace of investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure can continue, as markets increasingly debate the long-term profitability of AI-related spending.

#points #investors #prices

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz on Sunday blamed former President Biden for the Pentagon being low on munitions but denied that the depletion is negatively impacting the war with Iran.
"We have to take a step back here in that a lot of stockpiles were depleted not only from what we gave Ukraine over the last … four or five years," Waltz told host Kristen Welker on NBC News's "Meet the Press."
Waltz also said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth "inherited a depleted situation" from the Biden administration due to U.S. strikes on the Houthis — which the Trump administration carried out for nearly two months last year due to the Yemeni terrorist group targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea.
NBC News reported Friday that U.S. military commanders have been selectively choosing which Iranian missiles and explosive-packed drones to intercept amid an effort to preserve the Pentagon's diminishing supply of weapons that block projectiles from reaching their targets.
Military ***** ysts also ***** s it could take the U.S. four years or more to restock its weapons inventory. But that is only if Congress provides the administration with additional funding for the war.

#four

President Trump's campaign for lower interest rates in the U.S. faces another setback this week at the meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). Wall Street ***** ysts have generally come to the conclusion that the FOMC will hold rates steady, if not hike them—and Trump's own foreign policy is an underlying factor.

The FOMC, led by central bank chairman Kevin Warsh, will meet Tuesday and Wednesday of this week to discuss progress toward its targets of maximum employment and inflation at 2%.

It is the latter task that has caused the Fed some difficulty over the past few years. At the time of writing, inflation stands at 3.5%—a drop from May to June, but still elevated compared with the start of the year and the Fed's target.
Part of that reading has come from higher fuel prices, up 15.7% from a year ago. While pressure in this category is beginning to fade (down 4.9% May to June), prices remain elevated as a result of conflict in the Middle East, choking global oil supply as a result.
There is little sign of a resolution between Washington and Tehran in sight. While the two sides are not currently engaged in active military conflict, as they have been over the past fortnight, no official ceasefire has been announced. While the fragile pause of fire allows ***** e for diplomacy to proceed, neither side has indicated they will capitulate over control of the Strait of Hormuz—the key shipping lane in the movement of oil around the planet.
Trump's foreign policy is therefore standing in the way of Warsh's path to a cut—Wall Street ***** ysts highlighted at the start of the week.
Bank of America's base case is for a hold this month, wrote chief U.S. economist Aditya Bhave and his team: "With markets now pricing nearly 10 [basis points] of hikes in July, Chair Warsh faces a difficult choice. Not hiking could challenge the Fed's credibility on inflation. But raising rates would go against his framework of looking through supply shocks.

#bank

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean authorities ordered civilians to evacuate on Tuesday after a suspected white phosphorus leak at a U.S. military base near the capital, Seoul.
Officials in the city of Pyeongtaek urged nearby residents to move to a safe location and avoid skin exposure after the leak at the Osan Air Base was detected at around 5 p.m. The alert was lifted several hours later following the completion of decontamination work, according to text messages sent out by the city.
The U.S. 51st Fighter Wing said it established a 300-meter cordon around the base "out of an abundance of caution" after experts conducting a routine inspection identified white phosphorus crystallization that left residue inside a munitions crate.
An explosive ordnance disposal unit was deployed and response plans were immediately activated to ensure the munitions remained fully contained, it said in a statement.
The cordon was lifted after emergency response personnel mitigated the situation, allowing the base to return to normal operations, it said. There were "no injuries resulting from this situation and no risk to personnel on or off installation."

#seoul #phosphorus

RTX Corporation (NYSE:RTX) on Thursday lifted its sales and profit outlook for 2026, amid sustained demand for commercial aircraft maintenance and military systems, as airlines continue to rely on older fleets and governments restock weapons.
The aerospace and defense company now projects adjusted sales in the range of $95 billion to $96 billion, up from its earlier estimates of $92.5 billion to $93.5 billion. Wall Street has an average forecast of $94.08 billion. The full-year adjusted EPS is expected in the range of $7.10 to $7.25, up from $6.70 to $6.90, and above ******* ysts' forecast of $6.92 per share.
The forecast lift came during the second quarter earnings call on July 23, where RTX beat Wall Street's estimates for both revenue and profit. Quarterly revenue came in at $24.7 billion, growing 14% year-over-year, while adjusted EPS was logged at $1.89, representing a 21% increase from the prior year's period.
The Pratt & Whitney unit, which manufactures engines for Airbus jets and the F-35, saw a 16% increase in sales to $8.89 billion, while demand for air and missile defense systems drove an 18% sales growth in the company's Raytheon defense business. Collins Aerospace, which delivers advanced aviation systems, saw an 8% increase in sales.
The company said its backlog expanded 22% from the prior year's period to $289 billion, which included $170 billion in commercial aerospace and $119 billion in defense-related orders. Operating cash flow during the quarter came in at $3.5 billion, resulting in free cash flow of $2.9 billion.

#sales #adjusted #forecast #increase

Aziz Abdul never met his grandfather. He was a military dictator and died in exile when little Aziz was a toddler. His name was Idi Amin.
Globally, he had another name. The Butcher of Uganda.
Amin took charge of his homeland in a coup in 1971 - becoming the country's third president - and ran a brutal regime for eight years. It's estimated half a million people were killed and the country's entire Asian population were expelled.
He married six times and fathered around 60 children. Or, rather, that's how many he acknowledged. Somewhere among all that, belongs Abdul.
This week, the 25-year-old is one of around 3,000 athletes in Glasgow. Just another face in a tracksuit, here for the Commonwealth Games. But not many others have the lineage that the super-heavyweight boxer does.

#around #many #butcher #asian

Concerned about an AI bubble? Sign up for The Daily Upside for smart and actionable market news, built for investors.
Oh, the spoils of war.
The House of Representatives narrowly passed a record $1.15 trillion annual defense budget last week. It still needs Senate approval, but Washington's appetite for military spending is clear, and the US isn't alone. The EU, **** an and Middle Eastern nations have all been ramping up defense budgets, too, creating real sector opportunities for portfolios. Capturing them, however, takes more than pure defense-category investing: It requires knowing where the money actually flows.
"The defense ecosystem is actually much larger than most investors think," said Chris Grisanti, chief market strategist at MAI Capital Management. "It can include industrial companies like autos — GM has a big defense business — and of course technology and communications companies."
Sign up for The Daily Upside at no cost for premium **** ysis on all your favorite stocks.

#defense #sign #upside #House

The second wave of the US-Iran conflict shows no signs of letting up. Attacks by the Houthi militia have threatened to curtail shipping through the Red Sea. Russia's refineries are buckling under the weight of bombardment by the Ukrainian military.
For global oil markets, already in a precarious situation, critical logistical nodes just keep getting thwarted. Things keep going wrong. Oil prices have started rebounding in return, reaching levels not seen since the first weeks of June before the signing of the US-Iran memorandum of understanding as Brent futures (BZ=F) crossed $100 per barrel on Thursday.
"If a ceasefire does not materialize," Rystad Energy head of geopolitical ***** ysis Jorge León said, "the risk of a significant rebound in oil prices would be substantial."
As the war between the US and Iran initially began in late February, attention swung toward the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway responsible for roughly a fifth of the world's oil trade. Threats of violence and, eventually, direct attacks on vessels by Iranian military wings sent traffic through the strait collapsing, kicking off the largest energy supply crisis on record.
Six months down the road, as the conflict has reignited, the danger for the global oil market has diversified, no longer concentrated in a single waterway or oil-producing country. Instead, disruptions are accumulating across the infrastructure that carries crude from the Middle East, processes Russian oil into 11% of the world's diesel, and supplies fuel to consumers from Europe to Asia — and at a time when the market is already squeezed after half a year's worth of supply disruptions.

#energy

Concerned about an AI bubble? Sign up for The Daily Upside for smart and actionable market news, built for investors.
Blackstone knows what the characters on The Walking Dead took a couple of seasons to learn: In a zombie apocalypse, you should always have an exit plan.
The investment giant announced blowout earnings on Thursday, driven in part by a healthy rate of private equity exits and realizations. That makes it the envy of the private equity industry, which is contending with a record number of unsellable "zombie funds" that have lived on far past their intended lifespan, per an ******* ysis in The Wall Street Journal.
Sign up for The Daily Upside at no cost for premium ******* ysis on all your favorite stocks.
READ ALSO: Defense Contractors Amass Record Backlogs as Military Spending Ramps Up and Saudi Nuclear Deal Confusion Threatens Billions in Potential US Manufacturing Sales

#sign #zombie #private

Updated July 23, 2026 4:59 pm ET
Listen
(4 min)
The latest Market Talks covering Basic Materials. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.
0627 ET – Palm oil ended higher as crude oil and soybean oil prices surged amid escalating tensions in the Middle East conflict, according to David Ng, a trader at Kuala Lumpur-based Iceberg X. The U.S. is increasing the presence of forces, medics and weaponry to the Middle East to give President Trump more military options, as he considers expanding the conflict against Iran, The Wall Street Journal reported. Ng sees prices for palm oil well supported above 4,600 ringgit a ton and resistance at 4,780 ringgit a ton. The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives contract for October delivery rose 87 ringgit to 4,709 a ton.(tracy.quwsj.com)

#conflict

By Lawrence Delevingne and Marc Jones
July 23 (Reuters) - Oil prices spiked to $100 a barrel on Thursday for the first time since May, while major tech giants knocked U.S. stocks lower and Europe's borrowing costs surged to long-term highs in an unsettling day across markets.
Brent crude settled up 7% at $100.69 a barrel, following attacks on ‌tankers in the Red Sea that choked off a second crucial Middle East artery for global oil supplies, alongside Iran's near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis struck ‌two Saudi oil tankers as part of a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, sending prices higher as the brief cessation of hostilities between Iran and the U.S. receded into the rear-view mirror.
The U.S. military carried out a new round of strikes on Iran, marking a 12th successive night of American attacks, and prompting further Iranian retaliation. The White House has threatened additional attacks on Iranian infrastructure and key locations of its nuclear facilities.

#marc

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., came under fire after claiming the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would "merge parts of our military with the Israel Defense Forces," drawing accusations that she distorted what the legislation actually does.
The fight centers on Section 219 of the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act, a provision that calls for deeper U.S.-Israel defense integration through expanded cooperation on military technology, supply chains, research, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and joint exercises.
On Wednesday, the House passed its version of the FY2027 NDAA in a 219-206 vote, leaving Section 219 intact.
But ahead of the vote, Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X that the NDAA "includes a provision to merge parts of our military with the IDF."
The Us-israel Strategic Alliance – Partnership, Not Charity

#passed #national #authorization

By Maggie Michael and Parisa Hafezi
July 23 (Reuters) - Iran flew Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders, military advisers and missile- and drone-related equipment into Yemen this month, according to four sources, in a move that suggests Tehran is seeking to strengthen the ability of its Houthi allies to threaten Red Sea shipping.
Four sources familiar ‌with the matter, including two Iranian sources, Yemen's information minister and a regional security ****** yst, said Iran transferred the IRGC personnel and military-related equipment on a flight from ‌Tehran to Yemen on July 13, a development that has not been previously reported.
The two Iranian sources told Reuters that between 10 and 21 IRGC personnel, including senior commanders, were on the Mahan Air flight.
The plane was originally bound for the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa, but diverted to the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah after the airport came under attack by the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.

#sources #yemen

Brett McGurk is a CNN global affairs ****** yst who served in senior national security positions under Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
Wars often end somewhere different from where they begin.
The current conflict with Iran has been plagued by ill-defined and shifting objectives, from aspirations of regime change to more focused aims of degrading Iran's nuclear and military capabilities.
Nearly six months in, it has evolved into something else entirely: a struggle over who controls the Strait of Hormuz and, with it, one of the world's most important arteries for global energy. Iran has demonstrated both the capability and willingness to target commercial shipping passing through the strait unless conducted under rules Tehran prescribes.
The US – and much of the world, including all the Gulf states adjacent to the strait – has rightly deemed that unacceptable.

#strait #bush #obama

In May, President Donald Trump said in an interview he was eager to open the vault at Fort Knox to ensure the U.S. reserves of gold—valued at more than $600 billion—were still there.
Trump was doubling down on plans he and Elon Musk, then-head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) made last year, calling on an audit of the reserves to delve into conspiracies that gold had been stolen.
Now, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is offering **** urance the cache of gold is indeed safe and sound—but is completely inconsequential to the value of the dollar today.
"The treasurer has been to Fort Knox," Bessent said in a recent Fox News appearance. "I am happy to say all gold is present and accounted for. The U.S. has the largest pile of gold in the world, over a trillion dollars at current market value."
Established in 1918 in Kentucky, Fort Knox was a key military installation for the U.S. through both World Wars and the Vietnam War. The Fort Knox Bullion Depository was added years later, holding much of the U.S. gold reserves beginning in 1937. Today it holds about 147.3 million ounces, worth about $608 billion, according to the U.S. Mint.

#World

Concerned about an AI bubble? Sign up for The Daily Upside for smart and actionable market news, built for investors.
Will generic drugmakers bring manufacturing capacity to the US or will tariffs mean they'll simply hike the cost of the generic ibuprofen in your bathroom cabinet, adding wallet-ache to headache? We should find out … in the next year or two.
In a social media post, President Trump threatened companies Tuesday with 100% tariffs on imported generic drugs from August 2028, doubling to 200% one year later (months after the end of his second term) if they don't "reshore" manufacturing to the US.
Sign up for The Daily Upside at no cost for premium ****** ysis on all your favorite stocks.
READ ALSO: Blackstone's AI Bet Fuels Blowout Growth While Rivals Grapple With "Zombie Funds" and Defense Contractors Amass Record Backlogs as Military Spending Ramps Up

#sign #Manufacturing #cost

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's new initiative to test and treat troops for low testosterone has prompted a federal judge to question the differences between that kind of testosterone replacement therapy and hormone treatment for transgender men in the military.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington raised the question Wednesday in an ongoing lawsuit against President Donald Trump's ban on transgender troops. Reyes noted that Trump's ban says "the Armed Forces must adhere to high mental and physical health standards ... without the benefit of routine medical treatment or special provisions."
Reyes ordered both parties in the lawsuit to address "the similarities and differences in administering TRT, both medically and logistically, for trans men compared to other service members, including cis individuals." She was using the acronym for testosterone replacement therapy.
The judge also requested information on the Pentagon's "basis for treating trans men and other service members differently between this new policy and the Military Ban."
Reyes' order comes a week after Hegseth announced that he is rolling out a new screening program for "testosterone deficiency" among troops, calling it necessary to allow them to operate at their "absolute best."

#military #differences

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine's fired defense minister said Thursday he has rejected President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's efforts to persuade him to rejoin the government in a different role where he could continue fighting Russia's more than 4-year-old invasion.
Mykhailo Fedorov, who was dismissed last week after just six months in the job, is a youthful and popular public figure due to his success in modernizing the armed forces and giving Ukraine an edge in the war through innovative use of technology. He has also cracked down on corruption in military procurement.
His departure triggered street protests across Ukraine that have put pressure on Zelenskyy and cheered Moscow officials.
Fedorov said in a statement that leading the Defense Ministry was one of only three jobs that "actually shape the course of the war," along with the presidency and chief of the armed forces.
He said that he would "not accept any position other than" defense minister, in what amounted to a defiant stance against Zelenskyy.

#forces #thursday

By
Listen
(2 min)
Airbus AIR -1.82%
decrease; down pointing triangle
shares jumped after the group said it aimed to significantly boost its profitability in the coming years, betting that demand for commercial and military aircraft will remain strong and continue to fuel growth.

#decrease #shares #jumped

The benchmark diesel price used as the basis for most fuel surcharges rose this week by the second-largest amount since the start of the Iran war.
The Department of Energy/Energy Information Administration average retail diesel price climbed 33.8 cents/gallon to $5.134/g, published Tuesday but effective Monday.
The size of the increase is the second largest since the benchmark price rose 96.2 cts/g on March 9, the first time the DOE/EIA price measured a full week of market movement following the launch of military action against Iran by the U.S. and Israel on February 28/March 1.
With the benchmark price having moved up sharply two weeks in a row, it is now 55.6 cts/g more than where it stood just three weeks ago.
Retail prices, as they generally do, are reacting after the fact to increases in the price of ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD) on the CME commodity exchange.

#price #march

The dollar index (DXY00) is up by +0.06% today. The dollar is slightly higher today as the escalation of hostilities between the US and Iran is boosting crude oil prices, which raises inflation expectations that could prompt the Fed to tighten monetary policy, a supportive factor for the dollar. Higher T-note yields today have also strengthened the dollar's interest rate differentials. Today's rally in stocks has curbed liquidity demand for the dollar, limiting gains in the currency.
The US and Iran exchanged strikes for a 10th consecutive day as mediators sought to revive a truce, with the US targeting military command centers, launch sites and air defenses in Iran and Iran attacking US military sites in Kuwait and Jordan. The UK navy also reported today that Iran struck two vessels around the Strait of Hormuz.
Dollar Supported by Higher T-Note Yields and Crude Prices
Dollar Firms With T-Note Yields and Crude Prices
Why Persistent Inflation Isn't Enough to Prevent a Plunge in Gold Prices

#inflation #military

The House passed its $1.15 trillion annual defense policy bill Wednesday after a bipartisan revolt over a provision expanding U.S.-Israel defense technology cooperation.
The fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act passed 216-212, with Republicans largely supporting and Democrats mostly opposing the measure.
The annual bill, which sets Pentagon policy and typically draws broad bipartisan support, received only six Democratic votes as much of the caucus objected to Section 219 and Republican-backed amendments restricting transgender care and easing access to personal guns on military bases.
House Democrats Fracture Badly Over Massie Amendment To Cut $3.3B In U.s. Aid To Israel
Opposition came from a coalition of progressive Democrats and Republican skeptics of U.S. support for Israel, who accused congressional leaders of shielding the provision from scrutiny after lawmakers were denied a separate vote to remove it.

#policy #bill

The flying taxi company just unveiled a military drone, and investors are betting it's a much faster path to a paycheck.
If you blinked, you might have missed it. Archer Aviation (ACHR) stock jumped +19.6% on Monday, a sharp reversal after hitting its 52-week low of $4.44 just the session before. While peers like JOBY also saw a lift, Archer's move was in a different league. So what exactly put the charge back into this electric aircraft developer?
On Monday morning, the company pulled the curtain back on a new partnership with a defense technology company. They unveiled an autonomous aircraft platform called Thunder. This isn't another sleek pod designed to whisk you over city traffic. It's a craft built with military and commercial applications in mind, marking a significant new direction for the company.
Because it gives Archer a second, more tangible story to tell. Crucially, Archer remains essentially pre-revenue, with its entire valuation pinned on the future commercialization of urban air mobility. But as one report noted, the eVTOL industry is seeing "slower-than-expected progress." This pivot into defense is a "major expansion beyond its core urban air mobility business," offering a potential path to revenue that doesn't rely solely on a consumer market that doesn't exist yet. It's a strategic hedge while commercial passenger certification moves through lengthy regulatory timelines.
The company isn't abandoning its original mission. The CEO reaffirmed the goal of achieving certification for its passenger craft by 2028. But the more immediate catalyst is on the commercial front. Archer is expected to announce its "first commercial customers later this week," which could provide another jolt of validation. This pivot firmly plants a foot in the aerospace and defense sector, a move that clearly resonated with investors tired of waiting.

#Monday #investors

By Mike Stone and Aishwarya Jain
July 21 (Reuters) - Defense supplier Northrop Grumman on Tuesday lifted its 2026 sales and adjusted profit forecast, supported by sustained ‌demand for weapons amid a wave of global geopolitical conflicts.
U.S. President Donald Trump ‌has been pressing defense companies to expand manufacturing capacity and boost weapons production as the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East drain the country's stockpiles.
The U.S. has expended more than 50,000 rockets, missiles and other rocket-propelled projectiles since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022 through the war with Iran, according to data from the Pentagon.
Trump has also proposed a record $1.5 trillion military ‌budget for fiscal year 2027, ⁠far exceeding the $901 billion approved for 2026.

#mike #stone