In 2024, climate activists in New York City protested alongside anti-Israel protesters at a rally headlined “Climate Justice Means Free Palestine.”
Last year, climate change celebrity icon Greta Thunberg tried to storm Israel by sea on a flotilla protesting the country’s war in Gaza, yelling “Free! Free! Palestine!” when she was refused entry.
And, last week, activists from CodePink, a far-left feminist activist group that has received funds from an American expatriate, Neville Roy Singham, living in Shanghai, took a break from their rallies supporting the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Cuba Communist Party to circulate a video on Instagram, attacking a Utah data center project backed by investor Kevin O’Leary.
That’s a busy bunch protesting against the West.
Maybe someone should tell them that the clean air in Cuba is due to a collapse of industrial activity.
Or we can always remind them of how they treat gays in Palestine or women in general.
As the article points out, these marches were always about hating the West and what we stand for.
So don’t be fooled by the slogans or some well-meaning people showing up to protest.
The root of all of this is hatred of the West and our individual freedoms.
The widening wealth inequality gap is the political third rail nobody in power truly ever wants to touch.
Politicians will scream at each other all day over taxes, healthcare, immigration, tariffs, student loans, climate policy, or whatever outrage is currently driving engagement on cable news and social media. But the second the conversation turns toward monetary policy, toward the machinery of money creation itself, the room suddenly gets very quiet.
That’s because monetary policy has quietly become the single most powerful force reshaping wealth distribution in modern America. And unlike the endless partisan theater surrounding fiscal policy, monetary intervention oddly enjoys remarkable bipartisan support.
Republicans and Democrats may pretend to be existential enemies on television, but when it comes to flooding the financial system with dollars, both parties reliably fall into line. And that support is precisely why this topic is politically radioactive: once people understand how the system works, the illusion of two competing economic ideologies starts to collapse. Republicans want less spending, Democrats want higher taxes…but both parties want the Fed to keep printing dollars.
Since the early 2000s, and especially after 2008 and the COVID era, America has effectively entered a permanent regime of monetary intervention. Quantitative easing, near-zero interest rates, endless debt monetization, emergency lending facilities, and the mainstream acceptance of Modern Monetary Theory-adjacent thinking have fundamentally altered the structure of markets beyond recognition.
When Ben Bernanke first rolled out quantitative easing during the 2008 financial crisis, Americans were repeatedly assured it was a temporary emergency measure. Bernanke described the programs as targeted interventions designed to stabilize markets and support recovery, not permanently redefine the financial system.
QE1 was supposed to calm panic. Then came QE2. Then Operation Twist. Then QE3 became effectively open-ended, with the Fed purchasing tens of billions in bonds every month indefinitely. What began as a supposedly temporary crisis tool metastasized into a permanent feature of the modern economy. And every subsequent crisis only justified bigger interventions: larger balance sheets, lower rates, more liquidity, more market dependence on central bank support.
The Federal Reserve’s balance sheet exploded from under $1 trillion before 2008 to nearly $9 trillion after the pandemic era. Like nearly every government “emergency” program in history, the temporary measure never truly disappeared, it simply normalized, expanded, and embedded itself deeper into the system. It culminated in Neel Kashkari taking to national television to let the world know the Fed has “infinite” cash.
Which is to say…the old rules are dead.
Historical valuation metrics increasingly feel meaningless because markets are no longer functioning inside anything resembling a closed system governed by organic price discovery and economic fundamentals. Investors used to rely on earnings multiples, historical averages, bond yields, and economic cycles because those metrics assumed markets were constrained by actual capital and relatively stable money supply growth.
Now we operate inside a permanently distorted financial system where trillions of dollars can be electronically created and injected into markets whenever instability appears. The market is no longer primarily driven by productivity or efficient allocation of capital. It is driven by liquidity. Price discovery has been replaced by intervention dependency and risk has been socialized while gains remain privatized.
And every time markets threaten to correct naturally, policymakers intervene to ensure asset prices do not fall far enough to inflict meaningful pain on the people who own the overwhelming majority of financial assets. And the consequences of this have been staggering.
While both parties bitch and moan about affordability, protecting the middle and lower class, and “equity”, one of the clearest signs of this Fed-created distortion is the explosive growth of the ultrawealthy class. According to The Wall Street Journal, there are now roughly 430,000 American households worth more than $30 million, including approximately 74,000 households worth over $100 million. The growth of these groups has dramatically outpaced overall population growth over the past several decades.
In other words, Fed policy, blessed by both political parties, is widening the wealth inequality gap both political parties claim to fighting against. This staggering chart shows the result of endless QE: the rich get richer…which would normally be fine with me, I’m a capitalist…except the top 1% are getting richer faster and at the expense of the middle and lower class’ loss purchashing power.When it comes to purchasing power, we are literally taking from the poor, and giving to the rich.
And this is the direct mathematical outcome of an economic system designed to inflate asset prices continuously. The Wall Street Journalcited research showing that the inflation-adjusted wealth of the top 0.1% has increased more than thirteenfold over the past fifty years. Meanwhile, the bottom half of the country spent decades struggling merely to maintain positive net worth.
Think about how insane that divergence really is. Fed policy has caused the wealth of the rich to escape into another dimension entirely while much of the country got buried under inflated housing costs, inflated healthcare, inflated tuition, inflated insurance, inflated food prices, and stagnant purchasing power. It’s a policy that directly benefits the “haves” and disproportionately burdens the “have nots” (think about owning a house while prices rise, versus trying to a buyer of your first house while prices rise).
Nearly 72% of the wealth held by the top 0.1% consists of stocks, mutual funds, and private businesses — precisely the assets supercharged by quantitative easing and artificially suppressed interest rates, the piece notes.
This is the hidden engine underneath modern inequality.
When central banks flood the system with liquidity, the money does not magically disperse evenly across society. It enters through banks, financial institutions, government spending channels, debt markets, and asset purchases. The first recipients of newly created money benefit before inflation fully spreads through the broader economy.
By the time ordinary people feel the effects, prices have already risen. The wealthy own appreciating assets. The middle and lower classes primarily own wages and cash. And wages are always the last thing to adjust.
So while asset holders watch their net worth explode upward, ordinary families experience the opposite reality: homes become unattainable, groceries spike, savings accounts become meaningless, and generations are pushed further away from financial stability.
And the most inconvenient truth for all of Washington is that politicians love pretending to be horrified by affordability crises while continuing to support the exact monetary regime producing them.
They complain about housing costs after years of suppressing rates and inflating real estate prices. They complain about inequality after engineering one of the largest asset booms in modern history. They talk endlessly about helping “working families” while simultaneously creating trillions of dollars that overwhelmingly benefit the people who already own the overwhelming majority of financial assets.
And both parties are complicit, which is what makes the entire charade so grotesque. Both parties scream about fiscal deficits when politically convenient. Yet both become remarkably comfortable with monetary expansion so long as markets remain elevated and the reckoning gets delayed beyond the next election cycle.
Consider the rhetoric around interest rates over the past several years.
President Trump has repeatedly pressured the Federal Reserve for lower rates and easier monetary conditions, arguing that tighter policy threatened markets and growth. Elizabeth Warren has also pushed for looser monetary policy from the opposite ideological direction, warning that higher rates could weaken the labor market and hurt workers.
Different rhetoric, same addiction. The right frames easy money as pro-growth, the left frames easy money as compassionate.But both roads lead to the same destination: more liquidity, higher asset prices, and widening wealth inequality. What’s the last thing President Trump and Elizabeth Warren agreed on?
This is why the supposed economic divide between the parties increasingly feels performative. Beneath the culture war circus exists a deeper bipartisan consensus: financial markets must remain inflated at all costs.
And the lower and middle class gets absolutely brutalized in this arrangement.
Historically, middle-class wealth accumulation depended on disciplined saving, stable employment, affordable housing, and gradual investment appreciation over time. But inflationary monetary regimes destroy the reliability of all of those pathways. Savings become punishment, cash becomes a melting ice cube, young people are forced into speculative assets (or outright becoming gambling addicts) simply to attempt to preserve purchasing power. Conservative investing gets punished while reckless leverage gets rewarded.
Entire generations now feel compelled to try and make quick money in markets not because they are greedy, but because monetary debasement has made traditional financial prudence nonviable. This creates an economy built less on productivity and innovation and more on asset inflation, debt expansion and outright speculation.
And inflation itself is particularly nefarious because it operates invisibly. It steals purchasing power quietly, gradually, and often incomprehensibly. Most people do not connect central bank balance sheets to why they suddenly cannot afford the same standard of living they had five years earlier. They simply feel squeezed. They work harder, save less, delay families, postpone homeownership, drown in debt, and wonder why prosperity always seems permanently out of reach.
The theft of their purchasing power happens in the darkness. Unlike direct taxation, monetary debasement allows everyone involved to avoid accountability. Instead of openly taxing citizens to fund endless spending and bailouts, the system simply dilutes the value of everyone’s currency. And the people causing the inflation are usually insulated from its consequences because they own the very assets inflated by the policy itself.
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That is why luxury demand continues exploding even while ordinary consumers struggle. The Wall Street Journal recently noted booming demand for Ferrari, Hermès, luxury Manhattan real estate, and private aviation among the ultrawealthy even as many middle-class consumers pull back spending elsewhere. That is not a healthy economy, that is a bifurcated economy.
And Modern Monetary Theory only pushes this logic to its most dangerous extreme. MMT advocates often speak in sanitized academic language about sovereign currency issuance and functional finance, but the real-world result is painfully simple: endless money creation distorts prices, rewards asset holders, punishes savers, and accelerates inequality. A society cannot print its way to genuine prosperity forever, it can only redistribute claims on existing prosperity while weakening the currency denominator underneath the entire system.
The defenders of perpetual intervention always insist the alternative would be catastrophic…markets would crash, unemployment would rise, and recession would follow. There is truth in that argument. The system has become so addicted to liquidity that withdrawal now threatens immense instability.
But that only exposes the deeper problem. A market that cannot survive without permanent monetary life support is no longer a healthy market, it is a managed dependency system. A patient on hospice care. And every bailout pushes the reckoning further into the future while making the eventual consequences even worse.
That is why so many people feel like the game is rigged even when official economic statistics appear healthy. GDP can rise. Stock indices can hit all-time highs. Unemployment can remain low. Yet millions of people still feel poorer because the underlying structure increasingly funnels gains upward while socializing losses downward. If the bond market eventually needs a bailout, which I have speculated it may, this would be a great lesson for us to remember and empower ourselves with.
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Semiconductor Manufacturing International soared to a record high in China after Huawei unveiled what it described as a breakthrough pathway for advanced semiconductor production at the IEEE ISCAS conference, without relying on the West’s most advanced chipmaking equipment.
Huawei’s semiconductor chief, He Tingbo, told the audience earlier today that the company has developed a “New Semiconductor Path in Practice” that replaces traditional Moore’s Law-style geometric scaling with time scaling and reducing signal propagation delay across devices, circuits, chips, and systems.
In her speech, she presented the Tau (τ) Scaling Law, a new principle for guiding the future development of the semiconductor industry. This law proposes replacing geometric scaling with time (τ) scaling as a new guiding principle for the evolution of both semiconductors and electronic systems. Based on this principle, innovative technologies such as LogicFolding can be used to continuously compress signal propagation delay and steadily improve transistor density, which will drive the ongoing evolution of semiconductors and electronic systems.
Tingbo said Huawei plans to make 1.4-nanometer chips by 2031 using its own “LogicFolding” architecture. TSMC has said it expects to begin mass production of 1.4nm chips in 2028, leaving Huawei about five years behind the global leader, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing.
Tingbo claims LogicFolding can boost chip performance and will be used in upcoming Kirin mobile chips expected this fall.
This comes as U.S. sanctions on advanced chipmaking equipment and high-end semiconductors have been aimed at slowing China’s push into cutting-edge chip production.
Shares of Chinese chip stocks surged, with SMIC jumping more than 18% and Hua Hong Semiconductor hitting daily limits.
The view is that this is a potential breakthrough in China’s effort to bypass U.S.-led export controls and reduce dependence on Western semiconductor equipment.
We suspect someone in the Trump team will likely weigh in on this development in the coming days, if not weeks.
Spencer Pratt is running a campaign unlike anything seen in Los Angeles politics. The former reality star turned mayoral candidate isn’t just talking about the city’s collapse into filth, crime, and decay – he’s making the evidence work for him.
His team has taken to the streets with power washers and stencils, blasting clean messages like “IMAGINE IF THE STREETS WERE THIS CLEAN” and “SPENCER PRATT FOR MAYOR” directly into the grime accumulated under Democrat leadership.
The tactic is as simple as it is devastating. The cleaned sections stand out starkly against the surrounding trash and dirt, creating a living advertisement for change.
Spencer Pratt has launched a campaign where filthy Los Angeles streets are power washed using a stencil reading “imagine if the streets were this clean.”
Imagine letting the streets get so dirty under your leadership that your opponent can use them as a billboard.
– Right Angle News Network (@Rightanglenews) May 24, 2026
If Democrat Mayor Karen Bass wants the signs gone, her administration has to actually clean the streets – something residents say hasn’t happened consistently for years.
? NOW: Socialists are FURIOUS that Spencer Pratt’s campaign is now POWER WASHING the streets clean spelling the words “IMAGINE IF THE STREETS WERE THIS CLEAN”
“SPENCER PRATT FOR MAYOR” ???
Karen Bass has allowed FILTH to become an ad against her ?
Pratt’s approach highlights the stark reality Los Angeles faces.
Recent reports and viral videos paint a picture of a once-great city reduced to dystopian conditions: massive homeless encampments overrun by rats, open-air drug markets operating brazenly, and public spaces buried under tents, trash, and human waste.
One video shows entire networks of makeshift homes under bridges tapping into city power.
Another resident-driven idea gaining traction involves marking potholes and blighted areas with pro-Pratt messages, forcing city crews to respond faster to erase political opposition than to basic maintenance.
Pratt has been vocal about the root causes. In campaign videos, he stresses that Los Angeles doesn’t have a homelessness problem so much as a drug addiction and failed leadership crisis. He points to billions spent with little visible improvement, calling out the “Homeless Industrial Complex” of nonprofits and bureaucrats who profit from perpetuating the cycle rather than solving it.
His five-step plan focuses on mandatory treatment, clearing encampments, cracking down on crime and drug use, and prioritizing public safety. “If that addict on your street were your own son, what would you do?” he asks, framing the issue as a moral and practical emergency.
The establishment is not amused. As Pratt surges in polls and fundraising – recent figures show him closing the gap on incumbent Karen Bass – the attacks have intensified. Hollywood figures and metropolitan leftists have lashed out, with “Price is Right” host Drew Carey calling Pratt a “serial scammer” and telling voters to reject him in a foul-mouthed rant.
? NOW: LA mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt is surging SO MUCH in the race against Karen Bass that the Democrat machine is lashing out, launching desperate attacks
Pratt is SEIZING on anger regarding homelessness, fires, crime and dilapidation
Pratt’s organic, creative tactics, and direct appeals – have rattled the machine. Supporters see it as a masterclass in connecting with frustrated residents tired of excuses.
Decades of progressive policies prioritizing open borders, soft-on-crime approaches, and massive unchecked spending have produced predictable results. California has funneled enormous sums into homelessness programs, yet streets remain filthy and unsafe. Residents navigate urine-soaked doorways and blocked infrastructure daily while officials tout statistics that don’t match lived experience.
Pratt’s personal stake adds weight. His home in Pacific Palisades was lost in the fires, an event he ties directly to leadership failures. He frames his run as fighting for his family and the city he loves, rejecting the decline as inevitable.
This isn’t just another election cycle in LA. Pratt’s campaign forces a confrontation with reality: voters can continue down the path of managed decay or demand basic competence – clean streets, safe neighborhoods, and accountability. The power-washed messages make the choice literal. As the June primary approaches, Angelenos are paying attention.
The broader lesson extends beyond one city. When leadership prioritizes ideology over results, everyday life suffers. Pratt’s unorthodox push represents a rejection of that status quo in favor of practical restoration. Whether it translates to victory remains to be seen, but the conversation he has sparked is long overdue. Los Angeles deserves better than managed decline.
Pentagon Conducts First Military Drill In Venezuela Since Maduro Overthrow
On Saturday, the US military conducted a highly visible drill right in the heart of Caracas, marking the first known American military exercise on Venezuelan soil since the chaotic January 3rd operation to abduct Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
The show of force involved two US Marine Corps Osprey aircraft touching down near the recently reopened US Embassy in Caracas, which went operational only two months ago, in March.
“The drill, which the Venezuelan government said it had authorized as an evacuation drill for possible medical emergencies or disasters, included two MV-22B Osprey aircraft that landed near the U.S. embassy and vessels that entered Venezuelan waters in the Caribbean Sea,” Reuters detailed.
Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Yván Gil had announced and previewed the drill to the local population, and dubbed the action a ‘rapid response’ exercise in the heart of the capital.
There were reports of protests in the capital, by those who reject their country being used for American military drills:
While some Caracas residents gathered to observe the aircraft, a group of protesters elsewhere in the city displayed a Venezuelan flag with the message ‘No to the Yankee drill’ to express their opposition.
However, other crowds reportedly gathered just the watch the large Marine Corps Ospreys sweep in low to the city.
The US Embassy later revealed that Gen. Francis L. Donovan, the head of US Southern Command, was personally on board one of the Ospreys.
This marks Donovan’s second high-profile visit to Caracas since the January raid, which left a bloody trail of at least 83 dead – mostly Venezuelan military forces, Cuban presidential guards, but also reportedly four civilians.
According to an official post on X by the US Embassy, Donovan’s itinerary made for a busy day: “[Donovan] participated in bilateral talks with high-ranking representatives of the interim government, met with the leadership and staff of the United States Embassy, and observed the joint force conducting a military response exercise,” it said.
Trump and Rubio posters TORCHED in Caracas streets
The current Venezuelan government, now helmed by Acting President Delcy Rodriguez (Maduro’s own former vice president), has been moving quickly to manage domestic optics.
The irony is that there has not in the end actually been ‘regime change’ in Venezuela – only government ‘decapitation’ – with Maduro on US soil and in federal custody. Rodriguez is a socialist as Latin American leaders have come, and she presides over the same government – only this time while serving Washington oil and business interests.
Futures, Global Stocks Soar To All Time High, Oil Plunges On Endless “Iran Deal” Drumbeat
US equity futures jumped and global stocks rose to record highs as crude oil fell after officials signaled – once again – that the US was nearing a deal with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restore oil flows. The dollar weakened while precious metals and crypto bounced from Friday’s drop. While the US and Iran closed in on a deal, Trump said he won’t “rush” into an agreement. The deal is still a work in progress and the US is going to give diplomacy every chance to succeed, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. S&P 500 futures squeezed higher by 0.9%, in line with Goldman expectations, while Nasdaq futs were up 1.3%, both printing in record territory as the market just can’t get enough of news that “a deal is imminent.” US cash markets are shut Monday for the Memorial Day holiday. The dollar retreated against all of its Group-of-10 peers. Crude oil slumps more than 5%: WTI crude futures fall to around $91 and Brent contracts drop below $98 a barrel. Aussie tops G-10 leaderboard; euro and pound both add about 0.3%. Nikkei surges more than 3% as Japanese equities hit record highs, and Taiex also jumps about 3%. Mainland China indexes are all in the green. Hong Kong and South Korea are closed for holidays. T-note futures jump 20/32 to near 109-28. Australian curve bull flattens with 10-year yield down 5 bps. JGB futures rally as Japan’s long-end yields slide. Gold rises more than $50 to near $4,560 and silver surges 3%.In short: global euphoria.
Consistent The MSCI All Country World Index, the broadest measure of global equities, rose 0.4% to an all-time high closing level. Europe’s benchmark Stoxx 600 gained for a sixth straight session to the highest intraday level since the outbreak of the Iran war. Trading volumes were light, with a number of markets including the UK, Norway and Denmark closed for holidays.
Brent tumbled almost 6% to below $100 a barrel amid optimism a deal will help restore the flow of oil through the vital Middle East artery.
Senior US officials said Sunday that the US and Iran were nearing an agreement that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, though final approval from both sides could still take several days. Iran said a deal isn’t imminent, though there is consensus on a number of issues. While the US and Iran closed in on a deal, President Donald Trump said he won’t “rush” into an agreement. The deal is still a work in progress and the US is going to give diplomacy every chance to succeed, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
Similarly, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson says they have reached a framework with the US but nobody can say that an agreement between the two sides is imminent, Reuters reports. he adds that Iran will not collect tolls on the Strait of Hormuz but it’s normal that services provided would require a price.
In other words, we don’t have a deal as the key sticking points remain unresolved (and unresolcable) but the market is acting as if there is a deal, as has been the case since April.
“After today’s market moves, the most likely scenario already appears to be largely priced in,” said Roberto Scholtes Ruiz, head of strategy at Singular Bank. “Therefore, I would expect some ‘sell the news’ dynamics once a deal is finally reached, and I would refrain from adding exposure to equities until yield curves move lower.”
The improvement in risk sentiment follows weeks of stalemate between the US and Iran after several previous efforts to strike a deal. Global equities have since surged on optimism that Middle East tensions may ease and on renewed enthusiasm for the artificial intelligence trade, while elevated oil prices and higher inflation pushed bond yields to multi-year highs.
“A clear FOMO factor contributes to unexpectedly strong global risk appetite: investors don’t want to be left out if the Iran war comes to an end while the AI theme continues to lift the stock market,” said Dana Malas, a strategist at SEB.
Traders also remain focused on inflation. They have fully priced in a Federal Reserve rate hike by year-end, underscoring expectations that the US central bank chair Kevin Warsh will need to act swiftly. Later this week, US Personal Consumption Expenditures data and inflation readings across Europe will offer clues on price pressures and the direction of interest rates.
Warsh, who has promised the biggest shakeup in decades at the US central bank, was sworn into office Friday. Trump stressed that he wants Warsh to independently lead the Fed, as he looked to downplay investor concern that he would pressure the new central bank chief on policy decisions. The Fed may have enough reason to justify an interest rate cut rather than a hike under new chairman Warsh, according to BlackRock Inc.
Europe is picking up where it left off last week after Trump talked up the prospects of a peace deal over the weekend. SocGen’s strategists reckon “muscle memory” built in previous crises is encouraging investors to buy dips and BofA’s say London’s buyside is “long and paranoid.”
Euro Stoxx 600 futures are 1.1% higher amid lower trade volume as markets including London are closed for a holiday, with Denmark, Norway and Switzerland, among others, also shut. Cash trading in the US will also be closed for Memorial Day. Among individual stock moves in Europe, Delivery Hero SE jumped more than 10% after it received a take-over offer from Uber Technologies Inc. in a deal that would value the German delivery company at about €10 billion ($11.6 billion). Here are the biggest movers Monday:
Delivery Hero shares rise 8.2% to €36.3 on Tradegate, above Uber’s indicative offer of €33 per share, signaling that some investors believe a higher takeover price is possible
Nexi shares rose as much as 5.5% after Italy’s state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti said it plans to raise its stake in the payments company to as much as 29.9%, tightening its grip on the Italian payments group
Kinnevik gains as much as 4.7% after the struggling Swedish investment group appointed the former finance boss of the Wallenberg family’s main holding company as its new chief executive officer
Hexagon gains as much as 2.3% after being upgraded to buy from neutral at SB1 Markets, with the broker saying the Swedish industrial technology group is an attractive investment after its upcoming spin-off of subsidiary Octave
Kambi shares advance as much as 10% after the Swedish sports betting services firm’s CEO Werner Becher bought 20,900 shares in the company at SEK156 per share, representing a 3% premium versus Friday’s close.
The Stoxx 600 energy sector is the worst-performer on Monday after oil declined as senior US officials gave further, positive signals on progress toward a deal with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while airline and travel stocks outperform
Earlier in the session, Asian stocks rose for a third straight session as expectations over AI-driven revenue bolstered tech shares, while signs of a potential US-Iran deal buoyed risk appetite. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed as much as 1.5%, with TSMC, MediaTek and Delta Electronics providing the biggest support. A sub-gauge of information technology jumped to a record high. Taiwan and Japan led gains, though markets in Hong Kong and South Korea are closed for Buddha’s Birthday.
Sustained optimism around artificial intelligence and semiconductor demand continued to underpin sentiment across the region after upbeat earnings. Japan’s component makers including Taiyo Yuden surged, while Chinese semiconductor stocks also gained after Huawei Technologies touted a potential breakthrough in making advanced chips.
“The kind of near-term obsession with AI has really focused people much more heavily on Taiwan and South Korea,” Alison Shimada, senior portfolio manager at Allspring Global Investments, said on Bloomberg TV. At some point investors may take profit and rotate into markets like China and India selectively, she added.
China’s CSI 300 Index rose 1.6% amid expectations Beijing’s crackdown on cross-border trading would direct flows into domestic equities. Citic Securities said the move may hit as much as $32 billion of assets in Hong Kong, but said the impact is likely to be manageable. Chinese coal mining stocks rose after a deadly accident in Shanxi province raised concerns about possible supply disruptions.
Elsewhere, as reported last week, China launched an unprecedented campaign against illegal cross-border trading to stem capital outflows, threatening severe penalties against popular brokers and ordering non-compliant accounts to be liquidated within two years.
Top Overnight News
Iran Talks Bog Down Over Nuclear Program, Sanctions Relief: WSJ
US, Iran inch toward deal as gaps remain on uranium, sanctions: BBG
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson says they have reached a framework with the US but nobody can say that an agreement between the two sides is imminent; Iran will not collect tolls on the Strait of Hormuz but it’s normal that services provided would require a price: RTRS
Secretary of State Rubio says Iran deal is still a work in progress: BBG
Iran’s top envoys discussing potential peace deal with Qatar prime minister, official says: RTRS
Oil Slides as Ships Move Toward Hormuz: WSJ
Hassett says ending Iran war may create room for Fed rate cut: BBG
Pope urges AI regulation, apologizes for transatlantic slavery: RTRS
Pope Leo Compares AI Threat to Biblical ‘Tower of Babel’: WSJ
ECB likely to revise its inflation outlook in June, Lagarde says: BBG
Uganda confirms two more Ebola cases, taking total to seven: RTRS
Huawei Says It Has Workaround to Match Leading Chips: WSJ
Meet Mark Zuckerberg’s Right-Hand Man Who’s Unleashing AI at Meta: WSJ
Strategists warn yields to stay high even if Iran war ends: BBG
Former SNP chief pleads guilty to embezzling $540,000: RTRS
Pakistan Shi’ites deported from UAE return to lost jobs, frozen savings: RTRS
Iran War News
US President Trump posted on Saturday that an agreement has largely been negotiated, subject to finalisation between the US, Iran and various Middle Eastern countries, while the final aspects and details of the deal were being discussed, and will be announced shortly. Trump stated in addition to many other elements of the agreement, the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened.
US President Trump posted on Sunday that negotiations are proceeding in an orderly and constructive manner, while he informed representatives not to rush into a deal and that time is on their side. Trump stated the blockade will remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed, and that both sides must take their time and get it right.
US President Trump posted on Sunday “If I make a deal with Iran, it will be a good and proper one, not like the one made by Obama, which gave Iran massive amounts of CASH, and a clear and open path to a Nuclear Weapon. Our deal is the exact opposite, but nobody has seen it, or knows what it is. It isn’t even fully negotiated yet.”
US President Trump convened a meeting with his senior national security team on Friday morning regarding the war with Iran, according to Axios’s Ravid citing two US officials, while the sources stated that Trump was seriously considering launching new strikes against Iran, barring a last-minute breakthrough in negotiations.
US President Trump posted a generated image of a strike on Iranian-flagged vessels with the caption ‘Adios’.
US Secretary of State Rubio said there may be “some good news” regarding the blocked Strait of Hormuz in the coming hours, but not final news, while he also commented that a nuclear deal cannot be reached with Iran in 72 hours and that nuclear negotiations are very technical issues that cannot be done in 72 hours ‘on the back of a napkin’. Rubio separately commented that President Trump is not going to make a bad deal and that it takes time as they have to wait to hear back from Iran, while he suggested that signing a deal with Iran is still possible on Monday and that they will either a good agreement with Iran or will deal with the matter in another way, but will give diplomacy every chance to succeed before exploring alternatives.
US and Iran were reportedly close to signing an agreement involving a 60-day ceasefire extension, which could be extended by mutual consent, according to Axios. Furthermore, a US official said Trump’s key principle is “relief for performance”, while Iran wanted funds unfrozen immediately and permanent sanctions relief, but the US position is that this would only follow tangible concessions. It was also reported that US President Trump told leaders of Arab and Muslim countries during a Saturday conference call that if a deal to end the Iran war is achieved, he wants their nations to join the Abraham Accords and sign peace agreements with Israel, according to Axios’s Ravid.
US senior official said the White House doesn’t expect an agreement to end the war with Iran on Sunday and believes it could take several days for the deal’s approval by Iran’s leadership, according to Axios.
US senior officials said the naval blockade will only be lifted after Iran opens the Strait of Hormuz, and no funds will be released until enriched uranium is handed over, while it was stated that there is agreement on 95% of a deal, but it needs to be drafted. Furthermore, difficulties remained regarding issues, and it is estimated to take 5-6 days to receive approval from Supreme Leader Khamenei, with any further changes also requiring his consent, according to Jerusalem Post’s Amichai Stein.
US and Iran are said to have agreed in principle to a preliminary deal aimed at ending the war, which would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and limit Iran’s uranium stockpile, but remains subject to final approval, which is expected to take several days, according to NYT. A separate report also noted that the US understands that Iran agrees in principle to dispose of uranium stockpile and that the Supreme Leader endorses the broad template, although there was no immediate confirmation from Iran or elaboration on what an “in principle” agreement meant, according to Sky News.
US officials stated that Iranian negotiators are facing difficulty in communicating with Supreme Leader Khamenei, which is the reason for the delay in the agreement, according to CBS.
Iranian President Pezeshkian said their negotiating team will not compromise when it comes to the country’s honour or dignity, while he said they are ready to reassure the world that they are not seeking nuclear weapons.
Iranian source said Iran has no optimism towards the US and that there is no final deal yet, with challenges remaining. The source also stated that Iran rejects linking frozen assets to nuclear stockpiles and has not made any new nuclear commitments, while Iran demands the release of frozen assets as a condition for a deal and will monitor US actions if a deal is reached, according to Tasnim. Furthermore, it was reported that there is still the possibility an agreement may be cancelled.
Iran said on Friday that ‘no deal’ will reach a conclusion if the US demands enriched uranium handover. It was also reported that an Iranian official source said that stopping the war on all fronts is the essential prerequisite for discussing any future negotiations, while the source stated there was no final agreement yet, and work is underway to narrow the gap between Tehran and Washington, according to Al Jazeera.
IRGC advisor said their enemy knows that if it wants to make a mistake, it will receive an irreparable blow and that Iran would retaliate 10-fold against the US. It was separately reported that Iran shot down an Israeli surveillance drone, according to Mehr News Agency.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi said Iran and Oman discussed Hormuz maritime rules amid ongoing US talks.
Iranian officials said major disagreements remain, especially over the status of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s nuclear program and conflicts involving Tehran-backed groups in Lebanon, according to Al Jazeera.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Friday that the differences between Iran and the US are so deep and numerous that it cannot be said that they will definitely reach a conclusion with several visits or negotiations within a few weeks, according to Fars.
Israeli PM Netanyahu told US President Trump that Israel will maintain the freedom to act in Lebanon, while Netanyahu said that Trump agrees that the Iran deal must remove the nuclear threat.
Israel conducted a strike on Arzoun in the city of Tyre, southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Qassem said any attempt to disarm Hezbollah would lead to its elimination and the gradual Israeli occupation of Lebanon, while he added that Hezbollah will remain on the battlefield until an Israeli withdrawal.
A drone attack targeted the Pehmerga command centre in Salaymaniyah, Iraq, according to IRNA.
Memorial Day compels Americans to confront a word we avoid: debt.
Not the financial kind that Congress pretends will magically resolve itself, but the older, heavier meaning — the kind carved into headstones at Arlington and cemeteries across the country.
It is the debt paid in full by those who gave their lives, so the rest of us could live free.
No interest rate can measure it. No budget line can contain it. It is final, irrevocable, and sacred.
Every year, we pause, as we should, to acknowledge that liberty is no accident. Its purchase price is steep. Many stood a post, walked point, climbed into a cockpit, or sailed into hostile waters so that we could enjoy the ordinary luxuries of American life: arguing about politics, grilling in the backyard, complaining about work, raising families in relative peace. The fallen paid the ultimate debt, while the rest of us live on the dividends of their courage.
There remains another debt that all Americans must face, one far less noble and far more self-inflicted: the national debt that at $39 trillion is growing faster than the economy and its current path is unsustainable with interest payments amounting to $1 trillion a year — a figure most cannot comprehend.
Unlike the solemn debt honored on Memorial Day, this one grows not from sacrifice but from avoidance, avarice and unaccountability. It is the bill we keep pushing onto future generations because those elected lack the discipline and forbearance to make the difficult choices.
The contrast is stark.
On one side are the young Americans who never hesitated when their country asked for everything. On the other, a political culture that bemoans over the smallest act of fiscal restraint. The fallen gave their lives, while Washington can’t forego a spending increase.
Memorial Day reminds us that debts must be paid.
The laws of economics will not suspend themselves out of patriotic courtesy. We borrow to fund today’s comforts while expecting tomorrow’s citizens, many of whom are not yet born, to pay the bill.
Imagine explaining this to a Marine who never made it home from Fallujah or a soldier who fell in the Korengal Valley. They understood duty in its rawest form. They lived by the credo that you don’t hand your problems over to the next guy. You handle them. You carry your weight. You complete the mission.
The contrast is telling and that is the point.
Memorial Day should not be reduced to a political talking point; rather it should remind us of the standards we once held. The men and women we honor this day lived with a clarity of purpose that our national budget sorely lacks. They understood that freedom requires responsibility. They knew that choices have consequences. They accepted that service is putting the country’s needs ahead of one’s personal initiatives.
If we truly want to honor their memory, we can start by adopting even a fraction of that discipline. We can demand leaders who treat the national debt as a real threat, not a distant abstraction. We can stop pretending that borrowing without limit is a harmless national pastime. And we can remember that the freedoms secured by the fallen are weakened when the nation they died for is weighed down by obligations it cannot meet.
The debt paid by America’s fallen is unpayable, but it is not unteachable. It is written in sacrifice, in folded flags, in names etched into stone.
One debt was paid in blood. The other is being charged to our children.
And if we forget the difference, then we have learned nothing from those who paid the first.
In Rare Phone Call, Macron Warns Belarus’ Lukashenko Against Directly Joining Ukraine War
In their first direct contact since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron telephoned Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to warn him against increasing his country’s engagement in the war, according to sources who spoke to AFP.
“[Macron] highlighted the risks Belarus will face if dragged into the war in Ukraine. He also called on Lukashenko to take necessary measures to improve relations between Belarus and Europe,” a source told AFP. Lukashenko let Russia use Belarus as a staging area for the 2022 invasion, and has continued to let Russia launch missile and drone strikes from Belarus over the more than three years of war.
Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia might be preparing to open a new front in the war, striking northern Ukraine and Kiev with heightened involvement of the Belarusian military. Zelensky’s warning came after Belarus announced its participation in three days of massive nuclear drills with Russia. Russia’s Defense Ministry said the exercise involved 64,000 troops, over 200 missile launchers, more than 140 aircraft, 73 surface warships and 13 submarines, including eight armed with nuclear-tipped ICBMs. The drills focused on the “preparation and use of nuclear forces under the threat of aggression,” it said.
Ukraine’s Border Guard Service, however, said they haven’t observed signs of Russian or Belarusian troops massing on the frontier — yet. “If we talk about the line of our border, then, fortunately, as of this moment, we do not record any movement of equipment, weapons, or personnel in the immediate vicinity of our border or such accumulation,” said a spokesman. He did claim that intelligence shows Putin has been increasing pressure on Lukashenko to join the war.
Amid the mounting tension, Lukashenko last week offered his availability for a meeting with Zelensky. “If (Zelensky) wants to discuss something, seek advice, or anything else, please do. We are open to it,” Lukashenka said. “I am ready to meet with him anywhere – in Ukraine, in Belarus – and discuss the problems of Belarusian-Ukrainian relations.” Lukashenko also dismissed the idea that Belarus would directly join Russia’s war, saying that wouldn’t happen unless “aggression is committed against (Belarusian) territory.”
🇺🇦🇷🇺 FIRST TIME RECORDED: Up-close sounds of Russian Oreshnik IRBM warheads falling down … eerie pic.twitter.com/ZfEblDeqy1
Russia’s Belarus-based arsenal includes the Oreshnik — Russia’s nuclear-capable, hypersonic, intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM). Over Saturday night, Russia made rare use of the cutting-edge Oreshnik missiles in a spectacular assault on Kiev and nearby territory. The attack made good on Putin’s vow to avenge a Ukrainian strike that hit a secondary-school dormitory in the Russian-controlled Luhansk oblast, killing at least 18 people. Belarus announced the deployment of Oreshniks on its territory in late December.
Macron initiated Sunday’s call. Their last phone conversation came on Feb 26, 2022, just two days after the Russian army launched its so-called “special military operation” aimed at cleaving Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region from the country.
Iran Says U.S. Peace Talks Hit “Consensus” On Many Issues, But No Final Deal Yet
Asian and European equities climbed on Monday, while U.S. equity futures jumped and Brent crude fell, as signs of a possible U.S.-Iran deal boosted risk appetite. To note, the U.S. is on holiday.
Both sides appear to be moving closer to ending the three-month conflict and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. However, overnight comments from senior Iranian officials suggest gaps remain, particularly over the future of Iran’s nuclear program and uranium enrichment.
“It is true that a consensus was reached on many of the topics discussed, but no one can claim that the signing of an agreement is imminent,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei told reporters in response to a question on the progress in negotiations.
According to Baghaei, “It is fair to say that we have reached understandings on many issues, but whether this means an agreement is imminent is something no one can claim at this stage.” #US#Iranhttps://t.co/sQhizVBYBl
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) May 25, 2026
Earlier today, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump team had expected more details on progress in the US-Iran deal and may still have an update soon.
“We thought we might have some news last night. Maybe today,” Rubio told reporters in New Delhi during his multi-day visit to India.
President Trump on Sunday said, “Our relationship with Iran is becoming a much more professional and productive one. They must understand, however, that they cannot develop or procure a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb.”
Trump added that the US naval blockade of the Hormuz maritime chokepoint would remain in place until a peace deal is signed and that both sides must take their time to “get it right.”
Al Jazeera quoted Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency, which said Iran will discuss its nuclear program with U.S. negotiators once the Trump team fulfills its commitments under a potential MOU being negotiated.
BREAKING: Iran says it would discuss its nuclear programme with the US if Washington fulfils its commitments under a potential MOU being negotiated, a senior diplomat told the semi-official ISNA news agency.
— Al Jazeera Breaking News (@AJENews) May 25, 2026
Bloomberg noted that major gaps remain in the peace talks:
Still, the broad agreement described by US officials does not address Iran’s missile stockpile nor does it contain an explicit ban on uranium enrichment — two of Trump’s most important goals.
Latest headlines (courtesy of Bloomberg):
US-Iran Deal Progress
• The US and Iran are closing in on a deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to senior US officials on Sunday
• Trump said on Truth Social that negotiations are proceeding in an orderly and constructive manner, but the US will not rush into a deal
• Iran’s Foreign Ministry said consensus was reached on many topics but no one can claim that signing an agreement is imminent
• Trump stated the deal will either be great and meaningful or there won’t be a deal, calling it the exact opposite of the JCPOA disaster
• Pakistan has been serving as a mediator in the talks between the US and Iran over several weeks
Market Reaction
• Oil prices plunged more than 5% with WTI crude falling to around $91 and Brent dropping below $98 a barrel on deal optimism
• US stock futures rose with S&P 500 futures climbing 0.9% and Nasdaq 100 contracts jumping 1.4%
• Japan’s Topix hit an all-time high closing at 3,942.57 and the Nikkei advanced 2.9% to a record 65,158.19
• European natural gas dropped as much as 6.7% on optimism about the potential deal
Wall Street Commentary
• UBS analyst George Redman: Watch Out For Holiday-Thinned Liquidity And Exaggerated Moves
Eurostoxx is up 1% to start the week as markets lean into a tentative risk-on tone after weekend reports that a US-Iran MoU to end hostilities, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and begin a further negotiation window is now “largely negotiated”. It however feels more like relief than resolution since Tehran has yet to formally approve the deal and sticking points remain around the nuclear issue, Hormuz tolling and frozen assets. US President Donald Trump later said “time is on our side”.
Asia has broadly validated the positive tone, with Nikkei making all-time highs, led by AI, Taiwan, Australia, and mainland China higher. The SPX is firmer, oil down 5.6% with WTI at $91.1 and Brent $98 as crude risk premium unwinds, and FX shows a softer US dollar versus majors alongside gains in AUD, NZD and regional risk proxies. JGBs and Aussie bonds bull flattened in holiday impaired trade. The market is taking comfort from signs of improving tanker movement through Hormuz, but the full normalisation of shipping, insurance and physical crude flows will likely take time given bottlenecks, damaged infrastructure, and security concerns, so Europe should trade better but still with anticipation of delays / lagging effects.
With the US, UK, Norway, Denmark and Switzerland closed, liquidity will be thin and price action may be exaggerated, while the bigger macro constraint remains rates. Sticky US PCE, rising public and hyperscaler debt, AI-led capex inflation despite future deflation promises and increasingly hawkish ECB rhetoric mean rates may not fall as aggressively as hoped until the energy shock fades durably. US PCE, central bank commentary and mega-cap tech capex updates provide cleaner confirmation.
Strait of Hormuz
• Iran is charging ships fees for navigation services when transiting the Strait of Hormuz, according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei
• Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. has been quietly ferrying oil and gas shipments through Hormuz using dark transits with transponders switched off
• A supertanker with Iraqi crude crossed the US blockade line into the Arabian Sea carrying about 2 million barrels to China
• Three LNG tankers from Qatar and UAE appear to have crossed the Strait of Hormuz in recent days to reach key buyers
Regional Impact
• Saudi Arabia is scoring billions in added oil revenue and building trading hub ambitions during the Iran war
• China’s Xi Jinping thanked Pakistan’s Prime Minister Sharif for mediating in the Iran conflict during their Monday meeting in Beijing
• Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei faces a momentous decision over whether to accept an interim peace deal with the US
Charting Markets Reactions
Brent Crude Futs
S&P500 Futs
Global Equity Futs
Polymarket: Strait of Hormuz traffic returns to normal by end of May?
The Securities and Exchange Commission has pumped the brakes on its highly anticipated “innovation exemption” for tokenized stocks, pushing back the release of the framework as it weighs input from traditional stock exchanges and other market participants wary of the plan’s sweeping implications, according to Bloomberg reporting.
The SEC, under Chair Paul Atkins, was preparing to release the so-called innovation exemption as soon as this week.
The framework would create a new regulatory pathway allowing digital tokens linked to publicly traded company shares to trade on decentralized crypto platforms — 24 hours a day, seven days a week — bypassing the constraints of traditional stock exchanges.
The exemption is part of Atkins’ broader “Project Crypto” initiative, which aims to relax existing crypto restrictions in line with the Trump administration’s pro-crypto agenda.
The SEC was reportedly leaning toward permitting third-party tokens — digital representations of stocks like Apple, Nvidia, or Tesla — to be issued and traded without the consent of the underlying public companies.
This means outside actors, not the issuers themselves, could create blockchain-based wrappers tracking a company’s share price and list them on decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms.
These tokens may not carry traditional shareholder rights like voting or dividends, though the SEC is reportedly considering requiring platforms to provide those rights or risk delisting.
Why the SEC is delaying
The timing of the exemption’s release has been pushed back as the agency weighs feedback from stock-exchange officials and other market participants who met with SEC staff in recent days.
The World Federation of Exchanges — whose members include Nasdaq, Cboe, and CME Group — previously warned the SEC in a November 2025 letter that such exemptions could “dilute” existing investor protections and “distort” competition by giving crypto exchanges a regulatory shortcut unavailable to traditional markets.
The group cautioned that granting legitimacy to tokenized stocks before full compliance implementation would “undoubtedly have negative — potentially acute — consequences” for U.S. markets.
The tokenization debate is unfolding against a backdrop of competing visions for the future of U.S. equity markets. Nasdaq, which received SEC approval in March 2026 for its own tokenized securities proposal, is pursuing a different model: one that keeps all trades on-exchange with full shareholder rights intact, built on the DTCC’s enterprise blockchain.
The innovation exemption, by contrast, would sanction a parallel, crypto-native market running alongside the existing system — potentially fragmenting liquidity across dozens of third-party token issuers for the same underlying stock.
