Wall Street Journal (May 12)
“The U.S. and Iran are locked in a diplomatic stalemate over issues that have bedeviled the two sides for years, as the conflict settles into a gray zone that is neither war nor peace.” Though the stalemate “could shift any day,” it appears ”the most likely scenario for now is a continued limbo.” Little suggests “that either the U.S. or Iran is ready to compromise, but neither wants to start fighting again.”
Tags: Bedeviled, Compromise, Conflict, Continued limbo, Diplomatic stalemate, Gray zone, Iran, Peace, U.S., War
Time (May 11 issue)
“One threat running through this year’s list” of the TIME100 Companies “is the power of narrative: the ability of a company and its leader to articulate a vision worth following, and to keep communicating it long enough for the rest of us to catch up.”
Tags: Ability, Articulate, Catch up, Communicating, Leader, Narrative, Power, Threat, TIME100 Companies, Vision
Bloomberg (May 9)
“A fresh batch of consumer price data in the coming week is likely to affirm Americans’ growing frustration with inflation.” According to a Bloomberg survey, economists are predicting “a sharp 0.6% increase in the consumer price index for April” as “prices at the gas pump have vaulted more than 50% since the US- and Israeli-led war on Iran started in late February.” Moreover, this is likely to begin filtering through to the broader economy. “The swift upturn in fuel prices is likely to be passed on by businesses in the form of higher consumer prices for other goods and services.”
Tags: April, Broader economy, Consumer prices, Economists, Fuel prices, Gas pump, Goods, Growing frustration, Inflation, Iran, Israel, Prices, U.S., Upturn, War
New York Times (May 8)
“A grinding war in Iran has so severely drained American firepower that Chinese analysts are openly questioning Washington’s ability to defend Taiwan. That shifting calculus threatens to undercut President Trump’s leverage in his high-stakes summit next week with China’s top leader, Xi Jinping.”
Tags: Ability, Analysts, China, Defend, Drained, Firepower, Grinding, High stakes, Iran, Leverage, Questioning, Summit, Taiwan, Threatens, Trump, U.S., Undercut, War
The Guardian (May 7)
Major appliance maker Whirlpool, is warning of a “‘recession-level’ slump” stemming from tariffs and the Iran war. Whirlpool has drastically cut its earnings forecast and hiked “prices by 10% with another 4% spike planned…. With consumers already worried about high grocery prices and escalating gas prices, many are holding off on big-ticket purchases like major appliances and instead trying to make do with what they already have.”
Tags: Appliances, Consumers, Cut, Earnings forecast, Gas, Grocery prices, Iran war, Recession, Slump, Tariffs, Warned, Whirlpool, Worried
Financial Times (May 7)
“US fuel exports have surged to a record level as Europe and Asia lean on American energy supplies to make up for the shortfalls caused by the war in Iran.” Last week, America exported over “8.2mn barrels a day of refined fuels including gasoline, diesel and jet fuel,” a year-on-year increase exceeding 20%. Last week’s “huge demand for US energy” also transformed America into “a net exporter of crude oil for the first time since the second world war.” While this provides “a windfall” to US energy companies, “it also risks a political backlash for President Donald Trump as domestic pump prices rise.”
Tags: 20%, 8.2mn bbl, Asia, Backlash, Crude oil, Demand, Diesel, Energy, Europe, Exports, Fuel, Gasoline, Iran, Jet fuel, Record, Shortfalls, Surged, Trump, U.S., War, Windfall
The Times (May 6)
“The Iran war is causing global disruption as airlines battle fuel shortages and growing costs before the peak summer holiday season.” Current estimates suggest “airlines have cancelled more than 13,000 flights scheduled for this month as jet fuel shortages and high prices caused by the war on Iran cause disruption.”
Tags: 000 flights, 13, Airlines, Battle, Costs, Global disruption, High prices, Iran war, Jet fuel, Shortages, Summer holiday season
Barron’s (May 5)
“Bad news for investors: Another major disruption to global shipping may be on the horizon. There has been a spate of attacks on ships near the Horn of Africa in recent weeks, raising fears of a resurgence in Somali piracy 15 years after the peak of a multiyear crisis that leveled a heavy cost on the global economy.”
Tags: Bad news, Cost, Crisis, Fears, Global economy, Global shipping, Horn of Africa, Investors, Major disruption, Peak, Resurgence, Somali piracy, Spate of attacks
Bloomberg Businessweek (May edition)
“For decades, global economic crises have prompted the world to band together.” Such a “coordinated response” looks unlikely today. “As central bankers and heads of state contemplate the potential fallout from the Iran war and the biggest energy crunch in half a century… it looks increasingly unlikely there’ll be another spurt of unified action. The spirit of cooperation is no longer there…. After years of responding to economic shock after economic shock, we’ve been left woefully unprepared to deal with another one.”
Tags: Central bankers, Cooperation, Coordinated response, Economic crises, Energy crunch, Global, Heads of state, Iran war, Potential fallout, Unified action
Los Angeles Times (May 4)
“Inflation surged to 3.5% in March — the highest level in nearly three years — as gas prices climbed above $4.40 due to Middle East tensions, yet consumers barely flinched. The U.S. economy expanded at a 2% annual rate in the first quarter while unemployment claims hit a 50-year low, signaling unexpected resilience despite inflation pressures.”
Tags: Consumers, Economy, Expanded, Gas prices, Inflation, March, Middle East, Q1, Surged, Tensions, U.S., Unemployment claims, Unexpected
