JUNE 29/TOMORROW ENDS OTC/LONDON LMBA OPTIONS EXPIRY AND TOMORROW BRINGS FIRST DAY NOTICE: GOLD CLOSED DOWN $58.30 TO $4023.60 WITH SILVER DOWN ANOTHER $1.08 TO $58.17//PLATINUM CLOSED DOWN $57.50 TO $1577.00 BUT PALLADIUM CLOSE UP $3.50 TO $1217.50//GOLD COMMENTARY TONIGHT COURTESY OF ALASDAIR MACLEOD AND WE HAVE TWO COMMENTARIES ON BITCOIN//EUROPEAN NEWS FROM THE UK//ISRAEL/USA VS IRAN MAJOR UPDATES FROM FRIDAY TO TODAY//ISRAEL TBN PODCASTS//HEZBOLLAH UPDATES/RUSSIA VS UKRAINE UPDATES//VACCINE INJURY REPORT FROM MARK CRISPIN MILLER//UPDATES ON CANADA AND CHINA TRADE RELATIONS//USA ECONOMIC NEWS FROM GENERAL MOTORS AND OTHERS//KING NEWS/SWAMP STORIES FOR YOU TONIGHT//GREG HUNTER INTERVIEWS MARTIN ARMSTRONG./.
092 C DEUTSCHE BANK 1 099 H DEUTSCHE BANK AG 1 624 H BOFA SECURITIES 5 737 C ADVANTAGE FUTURES 3 905 C ADM 3 991 H CME 1
TOTAL: 7 7 MONTH TO DATE: 40,841
JPMORGAN STOPPED: 0/7
GOLD: NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR JUNE/2026: 7 CONTRACTs NOTICES FOR 700 OZ or 0.02177 TONNES
total notices so far: 40,841 contracts FOR 4,084,100 OZ OR 127.030 TONNES
JUNE 26
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
SILVER NOTICES: 0 NOTICE(S) FILED FOR 0 OZ /
total number of notices filed so far this month : 2592 CONTRACTS (NOTICES) for 12.960 million oz
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BOTH GLD AND SLV ARE FRAUDULENT VEHICLES//THEY ARE NOW RAIDING GLD AND SLV FOR PHYSICAL
THE CROOKS ARE STEALING GOLD AND SILVER FROM THE GLD/SLV AND REPLACING THE PHYSICAL WITH PAPER DOLLARS.
WITH GOLD DOWN $58.30 INVESTORS SWITCHING TO SPROTT PHYSICAL (PHYS) INSTEAD OF THE FRAUDULENT GLD/// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 8.273 TONNES FROM THE GLD//
INVENTORY RESTS AT 1005.077 TONNES
SLV/
WITH NO SILVER AROUND AND SILVER DOWN $1.08 AT THE SLV: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: HUGE CHANGES IN SILV INVENTORY: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.402 MILLION OZ OZ OUT OF THE SLV /// : INVENTORY RESTS AT THE SLV AT 480.574 MILLION OZ//
CLOSING INVENTORY RESTS AT:
CLOSING INVENTORY: 480.574 MILLION OZ
SILVER//OUTLINE
SILVER COMEX OI ROSE BY A MEGA HUGE SIZED 2535 CONTRACTS TO AN OI OF 106,398 STILL A LOT HIGHER FROM ITS NEW RECORD LOW OF 95,999 SET MAY 1/2026. THE RECORD HIGH OI FOR SILVER IS 244,710, SET FEB 25/2020, AND THIS HUGE GAIN IN COMEX OI WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH OUR HUGE GAIN OF $0.86 IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX WITH RESPECT TO FRIDAY’S TRADING. ON THE FIRST OF MAY, WE REACHED OUR RECORD LOW OI OF 95,999 SURPASSING EVERY DAY NEW OI LOWS SET DURING THE LAST WEEK OF APRIL 2026.
NOW ON A NET BASIS OUR SPECULATORS HAVE REVERTED BACK TO GOING SHORT. THE FRBNY ON A NET BASIS IS PROVIDING THE NECESSARY PAPER TO OUR LONG BANKERS AND THEN TENDER FOR PHYSICAL AT 4 PM EACH NIGHT. BECAUSE OF THE HUGE SHORTFALL IN PHYSICAL SILVER IN LONDON THERE IS A LOTTERY TO SEE WHO GETS ANY OF THE PHYSICAL SILVER AVAILABLE THAT WHICH THEY ARE OBLIGATED TO DELIVER. THEY WAIT PATIENTLY FOR THEIR PHYSICAL METAL AND IF NOBODY GETS ANY THEY THEN COME BACK THE NEXT DAY AND SO ON. THIS IS IN LONDON, THE HOME OF PHYSICAL SILVER!! THE FACT THAT WE ARE WITNESSING MANY EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL TRANSFERS TO LONDON HIGHLIGHTS THE FACT THAT THE COMEX IS OUT OF SILVER AS WELL.
WE ARE NOW MOVING TO A MUCH LOWER BASE IN SILVER PRICING BREAKING MAJOR SUPPORT LEVEL OF $70.00. SHORTLY WE WILL REVERT BACK TO NUMBERS GREATER THAN 70 DOLLARS PER OZ.
WE HAVE A MEGA HUGE GAIN OF 2655 TOTAL CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES AS THE CME NOTIFIED US OF A SMALL SIZED SIZED 120 CONTRACT EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE , WE HAD HUGE LIQUIDATION OF T.A.S. CONTRACTS IN COMEX TRADING WITH RESPECT TO FRIDAY TRADING// WE HAD A HUMONGOUS SIZED 911 CONTRACT T.A.S. ISSUANCE!! / THEY DESPERATELY AGAIN TODAY TRYING TO CONTAIN SILVER’S PRICE RISE FOR THE PAST SEVERAL WEEKS (WHERE RAIDS ARE CALLED UPON AGAIN AND AGAIN TRYING TO STOP THE RISE IN SILVER’S PRICE TO ABOVE $100.00 AND TO QUELL ADDITIONAL DERIVATIVE LOSSES TO OUR BANKERS’ MASSIVE TOTALS). THEY FAILED ON FRIDAY WITH SILVER’S GAIN IN PRICE
THE PRICE STILL FINISHED BELOW THE MAGIC NUMBER OF $70.00 SILVER SPOT PRICE BUT STILL BELOW THE $100.00 MARK CLOSING AT $58.49 UP $0.86. WE ARE NOW WITNESSING HAVING MANY HUGE T.A.S ISSUANCES // TODAY’S WAS A HUMONGOUS SIZED 911 T.A.S. CONTRACTS !!. THE CROOKS ARE BECOMING MORE DESPERATE TO STOP SILVER BREAKING ABOVE THE 100.00 DOLLAR MARK!! AND NOW THE HUGE SUPPORT LEVEL OF 70 DOLLARS HAS BEEN BROKEN// //.MAMMOTH SIZE T.A.S ISSUANCES ARE BECOMING THE NORM AT THE COMEX NOW!!
THERE IS NO NEXT LINE IN THE SAND ONCE THE 100.00 DOLLAR SILVER IS PIERCED AGAIN. WE HAD A SMALL SIZED 120 CONTRACT EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE ACCOMPANIED BY OUR HUMONGOUS SIZED 911 CONTRACT T.A.S ISSUANCE WHICH WILL BE USED IN FUTURE TRADING//AS THEY PLAY AN INTEGRAL PART IN OUR COMEX TRADING TRYING TO CONTAIN ANY SILVER PRICE RISE.
IN ESSENCE WE HAD A MEGA HUGE SIZED GAIN OF 2655 CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES DESPITE OUR GAIN IN PRICE OF $0.86. WE HAD HUGE GOVERNMENT (FRBY) COMEX CONTRACTS TRADING ALL WEEK AND A MAJOR PORTION WILL BE REMOVED BY DAYS END. (I RECORD THIS FOR YOU ON A DAILY BASIS). THE STICKY SPECULATOR LONGS STILL REMAIN STOIC
CRAIG HEMKE HAS POINTED OUT THAT THE CROOKS USE THE MID MONTH FOR MANIPULATION AS THEY SELL THEIR BUY SIDE OF THE CALENDAR SPREAD FIRST AND THEN KEEP THE SELL SIDE TO LIQUIDATE AT A LATER DATE.
THUS WE HAVE TWO VEHICLES THE CROOKS USE FOR MANIPULATION AND BOTH ARE SPREADERS: 1) AT MONTH’S END/SPREADERS COMEX AND 2/ TAS SPREADERS, THROUGHOUT MONTH. TOTAL TAS ISSUED ON FRIDAY NIGHT/SATURDAY MORNING: A HUMONGOUS SIZED 911 CONTRACTS. DESPITE MANY COMPLAINTS THAT THESE CROOKS HAVE VIOLATED POSITION LIMITS DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE TAS ISSUED HAVE A VALUE OF ZERO (AS TO POSITION LIMITS FOR OUR CROOKED FRBNY BANKERS).
THE PROBLEM OF COURSE IS THAT THE CROOKS DO NOT LIQUIDATE THE TAS AS ONE UNIT, BUT SELL THE SHORT SIDE FIRST AND THEN LIQUIDATE THE LONG SIDE TWO MONTHS HENCE. IT IS OBVIOUS MANIPULATION TO THE HIGHEST DEGREE BUT IT NATURALLY FELL ON DEAF EARS WITH OUR REGULATORS (OCC) WHEN THEY RECEIVED OUR COMPLAINTS. IT NOW SEEMS THAT THE OCC HAS NOW ORDERED THE BANKS TO REDUCE ITS NEW LEVEL OF 1.1 TRILLION DOLLARS IN GOLD/SILVER DERIVATIVES.
THUS:
INITIAL STANDING FOR JANUARY: 22.915 MILLION OZ FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 1.185 MILLION OZ QUEUE JUMP//NEW NORMAL STANDING ADVANCES TO 49.445 MILLION OZ// TO WHICH WE ADD OUR FIRST EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR .100 MILLION OZ//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 49.545 MILLION OZ!!
INTIAL STANDING FOR FEBRUARY/SILVER: 13.505 MILLION OZ FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S HUGE 0.005 MILLION OZ QUEUE JUMP / : NEW STANDING FOR SILVER AT THE COMEX ADVANCES TO 25.180 MILLION OZ. BUT WE MUST ADD OUR FIRST EXCHANGE FOR RISK OF 25 CONTRACTS FOR .125 MILLION OZ AND THEN OUR SECOND EXCHANGE FOR RISK OF .0600 MILLION OZ TO OUR THIRD HUGE 2.825 MILLION OZ EXCHANGE FOR RISK!!
INITIAL STANDING FOR MARCH: A SURPRISINGLY LOW 31.076 MILLION OZ/ FOLLOWED BY A TINY QUEUE JUMP OF XX CONTRACTS OR XXX OZ/NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 46.060 MILLION OZ
INITIAL STANDING FOR APRIL: 7.120 MILLION OZ FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 1 CONTRACT QUEUE JUMP WHERE 5,000 OZ WILL TAKE DELIVERY OVER ON THIS SIDE OF THE POND. NEW STANDING FOR SILVER AT THE COMEX THUS ADVANCES SLIGHTLY TO 16.565 MILLION OZ PLUS WE MUST ADD OUR 4TH EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE OF 17 CONTRACTS OR 0.085 MILLION OZ. THESE WILL BE ADDED TO OUR OTHER 3 ISSUANCES //NEW TOTAL EXCHANGE FOR RISK//1.165 MILLION OZ// NEW TOTAL SILVER STANDING 17.730 MILLION OZ//
INITIAL STANDING FOR MAY: 31.495 MILLION OZ FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER 3 CONTRACT EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL JUMP TO LONDON FOR 0.015 MILLION OZ// AND THEN TO BOOT WE HAD OUR FIRST EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE FOR 51 CONTRACTS OR 255,000 OZ MAY 21./STANDING BEFORE EXCHANGE FOR RISK: 32.070 MILLION OZ/NEW STANDING THUS REDUCES TO 32.325 MILLION OZ/.//(32.070 MILLION OZ NORMAL STANDING PLUS .255 MILLION OZ EXCHANGE FOR RISK = 32.325 MILLION OZ)
JUNE INITIAL STANDING FOR SILVER:10.935 MILLION OZ TO WHICH WE ADD OUR NEXT QUEUE JUMP OF 10,000 OZ//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 12.970 MILLION OZ// TO WHICH WE ADD OUR FIRST EXCHANGE FOR RISK OF 20 CONTRACTS FOR 100,000 OZ//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 13.070 MILLION OZ. (IN EXCHANGE FOR RISK THE BUYER ASSUMES THE RISK AND ONLY A CENTRAL BANK WOULD TAKE THAT RISK. THE BUYER IS PROBABLY THE CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA.)
SUMMARY OF OUR JUNE 2026 COMEX CONTRACT MONTH:
WE HAD:
/ HUGE COMEX LOSS+// SMALL SIZED EFP ISSUANCE CONTRACTS AT 254 CONTRACTS (/ VI) A HUGE NUMBER OF T.A.S. CONTRACT ISSUANCE 1250 CONTRACTS
xx I AM NOW RECORDING THE DIFFERENTIAL IN OI FROM PRELIMINARY TO FINAL: ADDED 75 SILVER CONTRACT//
HISTORICAL ACCUMULATION OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS JUNE.. ACCUMULATION
TOTAL CONTRACTS for 20 DAY(S), total 12,333 contracts: OR 61.565 MILLION OZ (616 CONTRACTS PER DAY)
TOTAL EFP’S FOR THE MONTH SO FAR: 61.565 MILLION OZ
LAST 24 MONTHS TOTAL EFP CONTRACTS ISSUED IN MILLIONS OF OZ:
MAY 137.83 MILLION
JUNE 149.91 MILLION OZ
JULY 129.445 MILLION OZ
AUGUST: MILLION OZ 140.120
SEPT. 28.230 MILLION OZ//
OCT: 94.595 MILLION OZ
NOV: 131.925 MILLION OZ
DEC: 100.615 MILLION OZ
YEAR 2022:
JAN 2022-DEC 2022
JAN 2022// 90.460 MILLION OZ
FEB 2022: 72.39 MILLION OZ//
MARCH 2022: 207.140 MILLION OZ//A NEW RECORD FOR EFP ISSUANCE
APRIL: 114.52 MILLION OZ FINAL//LOW ISSUANCE
MAY: 105.635 MILLION OZ//
JUNE: 94.470 MILLION OZ
JULY : 87.110 MILLION OZ
AUGUST: 65.025 MILLION OZ
SEPT. 74.025 MILLION OZ///FINAL
OCT. 29.017 MILLION OZ FINAL
NOV: 134.290 MILLION OZ//FINAL
DEC, 61.395 MILLION OZ FINAL
TOTALS YR 2022: 1135.767 MILLION OZ (1.1356 BILLION OZ)
JAN 2023/// 53.070 MILLION OZ //FINAL
FEB: 2023: 100.105 MILLION OZ/FINAL//MUCH STRONGER ISSUANCE VS THE LATTER TWO MONTHS.
MARCH 2023: 112.58 MILLION OZ//FINAL//STRONG ISSUANCE
APRIL 111.035 MILLION OZ(SLIGHTLY GREATER THAN THAN LAST MONTH)
MAY 66.120 MILLION OZ/INITIAL (MUCH SMALLER THIS MONTH)
JUNE: 110.395 MILLION OZ//MUCH LARGER THAN LAST MONTH
JULY 85.745 MILLION OZ (SMALLER THAN LAST MONTH)
AUGUST: 171.43 MILLION OZ (THIS MONTH IS GOING TO BE HUGE //2ND HIGHEST ON RECORD
SEPT: 72.705 MILLION OZ (SMALLER THIS MONTH)
OCT: 97.455 MILLION OZ
NOV. 50.050 MILLION OZ
DEC. 66.140 MILLION OZ//
TOTAL 2023: 1,104.10 MILLION OZ/
JAN ’24 : 78.655 MILLION OZ//
FEB /2024 : 66.135 MILLION OZ./FINAL
MARCH: 143.750 MILLION OZ// 4TH HIGHEST ON RECORD.
APRIL: 161.770 MILLION OZ (THIS MONTH WILL BE A WHOPPER OF ISSUANCE OF EFPS//3RD HIGHEST EVER RECORDED FOR A MONTH)
MAY: 135.995 MILLION OZ //WILL BE A STRONG MONTH FOR EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE
JUNE 110.575 MILLION OZ ( WILL BE ANOTHER STRONG MONTH ISSUANCE)
JULY: 108.870 MILLION OZ (WILL BE A STRONG ISSUANCE MONTH/ A TOUCH OVER 100 MILLION OZ/)
AUGUST; 99.740 MILLION OZ//THIS MONTH WILL BE STRONG FOR ISSUANCE BUT LESS THAN JULY.
SEPT: 112.415 MILLION OZ//WILL BE A HUGE MONTH FOR EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE
OCT; 97.485 MILLION OZ (WILL BE SMALLER ISSUANCE THIS MONTH )
NOV. 115.970 MILLION OZ ( HUGE THIS MONTH)
DEC: 132.54 MILLION OZ (THIS MONTH WILL BE A HUMDINGER FOR ISSUANCE BUT ISSUANCE SLOWED DRAMATICALLY THESE PAST FIVE DAYS/// WILL NOT EXCEED MARCH 2022 RECORD OF 209 MILLION OZ
YEAR 2024 TOTAL: 1363.84 MILLION OR 1.363 BILLION OZ
JANUARY 2025: 67.230 MILLION OZ///(THIS MONTH’S ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL WILL BE SMALL)
FEB. 58.260 MILLION OZ//EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE/FINAL
MARCH: 67.020 MILLION OZ///QUITE SMALL AND BECOMING SMALLER EACH AND EVERY MONTH.
APRIL: 100.895 MILLION OZ///AVERAGE SIZE ISSUANCE
MAY: 28.975 MILLION OZ (ISSUANCE WILL BE QUITE SMALL THIS MONTH)
JUNE: 81.065 MILLION OZ
JULY: 50.925 MILLION OZ (QUITE SMALL)
AUGUST: 59.455 MILLION OZ (QUITE SMALL)
SEPT. 50.510 MILLION OZ.(QUITE SMALL)
OCT; 82.020 MILLION OZ (WILL BE STRONG THIS MONTH)/ OCC WANTS TO REIN IN THESE ISSUANCES!
NOVEMBER: 36.425 MILLION OZ
DEC: 45.765 MILLION OZ
JANUARY 2026: 134.270 MILLION OZ (WILL BE A VERY STRONG MONTH FOR EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL!)
FEB : 82.130 MILLION OZ
MARCH: 56.075 MILLION OZ
APRIL; 44.44 MILLION OZ//FINAL.. SMALL THIS MONTH.
MAY 59.79 MILLION OZ
JUNE. 61.565 MILLION OZ
RESULT: WE HAD A HUGE INCREASE IN COMEX OI SILVER COMEX CONTRACTS OF 2535 CONTRACTS WITH OUR HUGE GAIN IN PRICE OF $0.86 IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX// FRIDAY,. THE CME NOTIFIED US THAT WE HAD A SMALL SIZED CONTRACT EFP ISSUANCE OF 120 CONTRACTS ISSUED FOR JULY, AND 0 CONTRACTS ISSUED FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS).
INITIAL STANDING: 10.935 MILLION OZ PLUS 10,000 OZ QUEUE JUMP//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 12.970 MILLION OZ TO WHICH WE ADD OUR FIRST EXCHANGE FOR RISK OF 20 CONTRACTS FOR 100,000 OZ OF SILVER. THE BUYER ASSUMES THE RISK OF THAT DELIVERY AND THE RECIPIENT OF THIS LARGESS IS NO DOUBT THE CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA WHO ACCUMULATES SILVER AS AN OFFICIAL RESERVE. NEW STANDING: 13.070 MILLION OZ
LAST 14 MONTHS OF SILVER DELIVERIES
WE FINISHED APRIL WITH A STRONG SILVER OZ STANDING OF 16.050 MILLION OZ NORMAL DELIVERY , PLUS OUR 4.00 MILLION EX FOR RISK
FINAL STANDING APRIL: 19.965 MILLION OZ
AND MAY:
NEW STANDING FOR MAY FINISHES AT: 75.615 MILLION OZ. (INCLUDES 5,000 OZ EFP TRANSFER TO LONDON + 12.93 MILLION OZ EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE/PRIOR.//NEW TOTAL STANDING 88.540 MILLION OZ
AND JUNE: FINAL 16.995 MILLION OZ
AND JULY: 46.720 MILLION OZ//
AUGUST: 4.70 MILLION OZ INITIAL STANDING PLUS TODAY;S 5,000 OZ QUEUE JUMP //NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 10.960 MILLION OZ
SEPTEMBER: 68.040 MILLION OZ NORMAL DELIVERY(INCLUDES ALL QUEUE JUMPING AND EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL TRANSFERS) PLUS 3.0 MILLION OZ EX FOR RISK = 71.040 MILLION OZ. (THIS IS THE FIRST AND ONLY ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR SILVER SINCE MAY.)
OCTOBER: 39.565 MILLION OZ OF NORMAL DELIVERY INCLUDES ALL QUEUE JUMPING
PLUS
2.110 MILLION OZ EXCHANGE FOR RISK//TOTAL OZ STANDING IN OCT ADVAN
NOVEMBER: INITIAL STANDING AT 11.575 MILLION OZ FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 195,000 OZ QUEUE JUMP WHICH FOLLOWS ALL OTHER QUEUE JUMPS OF 9.155 MILLION OZ//STANDING ADVANCES TO 19.670 MILLION OZ/
DECEMBER: INITIAL AMOUNT STANDING FOR DELIVERY: 49.33 MILLION OZ// FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER STRONG 835,000OZ QUEUE JUMP+ DEC. FIRST EXCHANGE FOR RISK 0F .850 MILLION OZ + LAST WEEK.S 495,000 OZ EXCHANGE FOR RISK AND THEN A 3RD ISSUANCE IF 1.00MILLION OZ THEN FINALLY DEC 249ISSUANCE OF 1.35 MILLION OZ EXCHANGE FOR RISK//NEW TOTAL EX FOR RIS IS 3.685 MILLION OZ // STANDING ADVANCES TO 68.415 MILLION OZ//
JANUARY: INITIAL STANDING 22.915 MILLION OZ FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 1.185 MILLION OZ QUEUE JUMP//NORMAL STANDING ADVANCES TO 49.445 MILLION OZ// TO WHICH WE ADD OUR FIRST EXCHANGE FOR RISK OF 0.100 MILLLION OZ//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 49.545 MILLION OZ
FEB: 13.399 MILLION OZ IS OUR INITIAL STANDING FOR SILVER! TO WHICH WE ADD OUR NEXT QUEUE JUMP FOR 5,000 OZ AND THEN ADD OUR 3 EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR 3.010 MILLION OZ STANDING ADVANCES TO 28.190 MILLION OZ!!
MARCH: INITIAL AMOUNT OF SILVER STANDING IS 31.076 MILLION OZ FOLLOWED BY A FINAL 0.210 MILLION OZ QUEUE JUMP //NEW TOTAL STANDING ADVANCES TO 46.060 MILLION OZ
APRIL 2026: INITITAL AMOUNT OF SILVER STANDING 7.120 MILLION OZ FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 5,000 OZ QUUE JUMP //NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 16.565MILLION OZ PLUS 1.165 MILLION OZ EXCHANGE FOR RISK.NEW TOTALS 17.730 MILLION OZ
MAY: INITIAL AMOUNT OF SILVER WILLING TO STAND; 31.495 MILLION OZ/ TO WHICH WE ADD OUR NEXT EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL JUMP OF 15,000 OZ//NEW STANDING REDUCES TO 32.070 MILLION OZ//(FOLLOWING MANY EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL TRANSFERS TO LONDON DURING THIS MAY DELIVERY MONTH). THERE SEEMS TO BE A SCARCITY OF SILVER OVER AT THE COMEX). THEN WE ADD OUR FIRST EXCHANGE FOR RISK OF 51 CONTRACTS FOR 255,000 OZ//STANDING ADVANCES TO 32.325 MILLION OZ//
JUNE: INITIAL AMOUNT OF SILVER WILLING TO STAND: 10.935 MILLION OZ PLUS OUR NEXT QUEUE JUMP OF 10,000 OZ//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 12.960 MILLION OZ TO WHICH WE ADD OUR FIRST EXCHANGE FOR RISK OF 20 CONTRACTS FOR 100,000 OZ//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 13.070 MILLION OZ
THE NEW TAS ISSUANCE FOR TODAY (911) WILL BE PUT INTO “THE BANK” TO BE COLLUSIVELY USED NO DOUBT WITH FUTURE TRADING LIKE TODAY.
WE HAD 0 NOTICE(S) FILED TODAY FOR 0 OZ
THE SILVER COMEX IS NOW BEING ATTACKED FOR METAL BY BANKERS
GOLD//OUTLINE
IN GOLD, THE COMEX OPEN INTEREST ROSE BY A FAIR SIZED 2934 OI CONTRACTS UP TO 363,494 OI AND THIS OI SURPASSES BY A CONSIDERABLE MARGIN THE ALL TIME LOW AT 326,052 SET JUNE3/2026 AND THIS OI IS MUCH FURTHER FROM THE RECORD HIGH (SET JAN 24/2020) AT 799,105 AND PREVIOUS TO THAT: (SET JAN 6/2020) AT 797,110. WE HAVE NOW ADVANCED PAST THE PREVIOUS ALL TIME LOWS OF 357,136 SET APRIL 2/.2026AND 354,581 SET AT THE END OF APRIL 2026. WE ARE STILL QUITE A WAY FROM OUR TWO DECADES OLD: 390,000 CONTRACTS LOW SET IN THE YEAR OF 2001 WITH TRADING FOR GOLD AT $260.00. THUS DURING EARLY APRIL WE HAD AN ALL TIME LOW OI IN COMEX (354,531) BUT WITH AN EXTREMELY HIGH PRICE OF GOLD. IN MAY: RECORD LOW OI OF 326,052 WITH A GOLD PRICE OF $4,460 THE SHORT RATS ARE ABANDONING THE COMEX SHIP, NOBODY WANT TO PLAY IN THIS CROOKED CASINO!! (AND THIS CORRELATES WITH SILVER’S LOW OI OF 104,154 CONTRACTS WITH A MUCH HIGHER SILVER PRICE BASE//$58.00)
THE DIFFERENTIAL FROM PRELIMINARY OI TO FINAL OI IN GOLD TODAY: ADDED A HUGE 1302 CONTRACTS //.
WE HAD A FAIR GAIN IN COMEX OI (2934 CONTRACTS) . THIS GAIN IN OI OCCURRED WITH OUR GAIN IN PRICE OF $49.10 //,FRIDAY
DAY///.
LAST 14 MONTHS OF GOLD DELIVERIES: (MAY 2025 THROUGH TO /MAY 2026)
1.MAY SUMMARY FOR MAY TONNES WHICH STOOD FOR DELIVERY:
FINAL STANDING FOR MAY: 70.174 TONNES OF GOLD TO WHICH WE ADD 1. MONDAY’S (MAY 19) 6.221 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK , 2. THEN WE ADD: 1.35 TONNES TO LAST WEEK”S. THEN WE ADD 3. 1.55 TONNES TO EQUAL 9.591 TONNES// NEW EXCHANGE FOR RISK = 9.591 TONNES WHICH MUST BE ADDED TO OUR NORMAL DELIVERY SCHEDULE OF 80.644 TONNES. THUS STANDING FOR MAY INCREASES TO 90.235 TONNES OF GOLD
2 JUNE CONTRACT MONTH: 93.085 TONNES OF GOLD (WHICH INCLUDES ALL QUEUE JUMPING AND 0 EX FOR RISK)
3.JULY INITIIAL STANDING FIRST DAY NOTICE: 17.847 TONNES. PLUS TODAY’S 0 TONNES QUEUE JUMP + 1.555 TONNES EX FOR RISK + 2.195 TONNES EX FOR RISK TODAY = 41.106 TONNES STANDING
4. AUGUST: 60.547 TONNES OF INITIAL GOLD FIRST DAY NOTICE FOLLOWED BY THE NET MONTH’S QUEUE JUMP OF 47.2312 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD THE FOLLOWING EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE RECEIVED FOR THE MONTH: 5.4432 TONNES EX FOR RISK/AUG 7 , AUG 11: 2.413 TONNES EX FOR RISK AND AUG. 12 OF 2.
5.SEPT: INITIAL 8.093 TONNES OF GOLD PLUS TODAY’S QUEUE JUMP OF 0.4883 TONNES PLUS 2.2827 TONNES OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK TODAY//NEW TOTAL EX. FOR RISK/MONTH = 22.923//NEW TOTAL STANDING FOR GOLD SEPT ADVANCES TO = 48.801 TONNES!!
6.OCTOBER: 90.012 TONNES OF INITIAL GOLD STANDING WITH TODAY’S TINY 0.00311 TONNES QUEUE JUMP WHICH FOLLOWS ALL OTHER QUEUE JUMPS DURING OCT OF 76.1656 TONNES
THEN WE MUST ADD OUR 14.553 TONNES OF OUR ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK/6 OCCASIONS//NEW TOTAL OF GOLD STANDING ADVANCES TO 197.5141 TONNES OF GOLD.
7.NOVEMBER BEGINS WITH 15.651 TONNES INITIALLY STANDING FOR DELIVERY FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S QUEUE JUMP OF 2.323 TONNES FOLLOWED BY ALL PREVIOUS QUEUE JUMPS IN OF OF 21.3775 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR TWO EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE OF 4.5596 TONNES//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 43.9716 TONNES OF GOLD.
8. DECEMBER BEGINS WITH INITIAL STANDING OF 83.813 TONNES OF GOLD FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 0.0TONNE QUEUE JUMP WHICH FOLLOWS ALL OTHER QUEUE JUMPS OF: 37.163 TONNES//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 115.390 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR 4 EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR DECEMBER OF 6.587 TONNES/NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 121.977 TONNES
9. JANUARY: INITITAL STANDING: 13.785 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR FIRST EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL TRANSFER OF 0.08709 TONNES WHICH FOLLOWS ALL OTHER QUEUE JUMPS OF 30.7117TONNES //NEW TOTAL QUEUE JUMPS 30.7117//NORMAL DELIVERY OF GOLD ADVANCES TO 36.8958 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR SIX EXCHANGE FOR RISK OF 22.315 TONNES//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 59.2108 TONNES.
FEB; INITIAL AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR DELIVERY: 93.567 TONNES OF GOLD TO WHICH WE ADD OUR NEXT 0.0248 TONNES 0.1555 TONNES QUEUE JUMP TO 41.2082 TONNES/ NEW NET QUEUE JUMP INCREASES TO 41.233 TONNES// AND THEN WE ADD OUR SIX EXCHANGE FOR RISK: 10,080 CONTRACTS OR 31.251 TONNES//NEW STANDING REDUCES TO 157.878 TONNES
MARCH:: INITIAL AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR DELIVERY: 8.099 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD TODAY’S FAIR 4600 OZ QUEUE JUMP (0.2320 TONNES) AND THEN WE ADD OUR THREE EXCHANGE FOR RISK OF 22.3818 TONNES //NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 67.6648 TONNES/
APRIL: INITIAL AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR DELIVERY: 52.600 TONNES FOLLOWED BY OUR 345 CONTRACT QUEUE JUMP FOR 34,500 OZ/ (1.073 TONNES)/NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 70.286 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR 2ND EXCHANGE FOR RISK OF 1498 CONTRACTS FOR 149800 OZ OR 4.659 TONNES. THE NEW TOTAL EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL IS 2239 CONTRACTS OR 223900 OZ OR 6.964 TONNES AND THIS WILL BE ADDED TO OUR NORMAL DELIVERY TOTALS (70.762 TONNES) TO GIVE US WHAT WILL STAND IN APRIL (77.726 TONNES)
MAY: INITIAL AMOUNT OF GOLD WILLING TO STAND: 12.24 TONNES OF GOLD TO WHICH WE ADD OUR NEXT QUEUE JUMP OF 345 CONTRACTS OR 34500 OZ (1.073 TONNES) TO WHICH WE ADD OUR FIVE EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCES FOR 24.635 TONNES/STANDING NOW ADVANCES TO 51.554 TONNES OF GOLD.
JUNE; INITIAL AMOUNT OF GOLD WILLING TO STAND; 64.496 TONNES.(CME CORRECTED) TO WHICH WE ADD OUR NEXT EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL TRANSFER OF 0.0186 TONNES/NEW STANDING REDUCES TO 127.03 TONNES
E.F.P. ISSUANCE/FOR OPENING JUNE. GOLD CONTRACT
THE CME RELEASED THE DATA FOR EFP ISSUANCE AND IT TOTALED A FAIR SIZED 2160 CONTRACTS:
The NEW COMEX OI FOR THE GOLD COMPLEX RESTS AT 363,494 SURPASSING THE PREVIOUS ALL TIME LOW OF 326,052 SET JUNE 3 AND RISING FROM OUR PREVIOUS RECORD LOW//MAY 28.2026 WE HAVE THUS RECORD LOW COMEX OI WITH A HIGH PRICE OF GOLD
SILVER ALSO HAS AN ULTRA SMALL SIZED AND EXTREMELY LOW COMEX OI OF 106,322 CONTRACTS// STILL ABOVE FROM PREVIOUS ALL TIME LOWS SET DURING THE MONTH OF APRIL AND MAY FIRST.
IN ESSENCE WE HAVE A STRONG GAIN IN TOTAL CONTRACTS IN COMEX GOLD ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 5383 CONTRACTS WITH 2934 CONTRACTS INCREASED AT THE COMEX// AND A FAIR SIZED 2449 EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL OI CONTRACT ISSUANCE WHICH NAVIGATED OVER TO LONDON.
THUS TOTAL OI GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 5383 CONTRACTS.. WE HAD THE FOLLOWING TAS CONTRACTS INITIATED (ISSUED): A LOT STRONGER SIZED AND CRIMINAL 1666 CONTRACTS AND THESE ISSUANCES ARE GENERALLY USED TO INITIATE A RAID WHEN CALLED UPON LIKE THIS WEEK’S OPTION EXPIRY WEEK.
GOLD PRICE ON FRIDAY ROSE BY $49.10
CALCULATIONS ON GAIN/LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES
WE HAD A FAIR SIZED ISSUANCE IN EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS CONTRACT (2449 ) ACCOMPANYING THE FAIR GAIN IN COMEX OI OF 2934 CONTRACTS/TOTAL GAIN FOR OUR THE TWO EXCHANGES 4081 CONTRACTS!! WITH THE GAIN IN PRICE.
WE HAVE 1) NOW REVERTED TO OUR FORMAT OF BANKER (FRBNY) GOING ON THE LONG SIDE AND HUGE NUMBERS OF NEWBIE SPECULATORS GOING TO THE SHORT SIDE LED BY THE NOSE BY OUR HIGH FREQUENCY TRADERS.. IT WAS OUR SHORT SPECULATORS THAT WILL BE BRUTALIZED WHEN OUR CENTRAL BANKS TENDER FOR PHYSICAL GOLD WITH THEIR NEWLY BOUGHT GOLD FROM THE SPECS THIS MORNING. THE SPECS WILL BE SCRAMBLING LOOKING FOR PHYSICAL GOLD TO DELIVER TO OUR LONG CENTRAL BANKS.
STANDING FOR THE LAST 5 MONTHS JANUARY TO MAY:
FINAL STANDING FOR GOLD, JANUARY CONTRACT AT 59.2108 TONNES OF GOLD
FEBRUARY: INITIAL STANDING FOR GOLD: 157.878 TONNES!! WHICH INCLUDES ALL QUEUE JUMPING, THREE EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL TRANSFERS TO LONDON AND OUR SIX ISSUANCES EXCHANGE FOR RISK!!
MARCH: INITIAL STANDING AT 8.099 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR FINAL DAY: 0.2320 TONNES QUEUE JUMP AND THEN ADD +22.3818 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 67.6648 TONNES
APRIL: INITIAL STANDING 52.600 TONNES PLUS 27,800 OZ QUEUE JUMP (0.8648TONNES): NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 70.286 TONNES PLUS OUR TWO EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR 223,900 OZ OR 6.964 TONNES/NEW STANDING: 77.726 TONNES
MAY: INITIAL AMOUNT OF GOLD WILLING TO STAND; 12.24 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR NEXT QUEUE JUMP FOR 345 CONTRACTS/34,500 OZ// 1.073 TONNES/ THEN WE MUST ADD OUR EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE: TOTAL EXCHANGE FOR RISK MAY// 5 OCCASIONS: 24.635 TONNES///NEW STANDING NOW ADVANCES TO 51.554 TONNES
JUNE: INITIAL AMOUNT OF GOLD WILLING TO STAND: 64.496 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR NEXT EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL TRANSFER JUMP OF 0.0186 TONNES//NEW STANDING REDUCES TO 127.03 TONNES
3) NO T.A.S. LIQUIDATION IN THE COMEX SESSION AND SOME GOVT LIQUIDATION // WITH A STRONG GAIN OF EQUITY SHARES/JUNE26 HAVING 1)A $49.10 COMEX PRICE GAIN AND WE HAD 2) SPEC PILING HUGELY ON THE SHORT SIDE// +3. EASTERN CENTRAL BANKERS ALSO PILING INTO THE LONG SIDE. WE HAD A STRONG GAIN OF 5383 CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES AND AS WELL A STRONG AMOUNT OF GOLD WILL STAND FOR DELIVERY IN JUNE. (127.03 TONNES). THE SHORT SPECS CONTINUED TO PILE INTO THE SHORT SIDE.//, CENTRAL BANKERS THE LONG SIDE AND THEY THEN TENDERED FOR PHYSICAL WITH THEIR PURCHASES OF CONTRACTS../ ALSO, 3)STICKY GOLD’S LONGS WERE REWARDED FRIDAY EVENING AS THEY EXERCISED EFP’S FROM LONDON TO TAKE DELIVERY OF BADLY NEEDED PHYSICAL
4)A FAIR SIZED COMEX OI GAIN 5) V) FAIR SIZED ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL GOLD(2460) AND 6. A STRONG T.A.S. ISSUANCE (1666) FOR RAID PURPOSES.!!!
ACCUMULATION OF EFP’S GOLD AT J.P. MORGAN’S HOUSE OF BRIBES: (EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL) FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL :
TOTAL EFP CONTRACTS ISSUED: 42,865 CONTRACTS OR 4,286,500 OZ OR 133.300 TONNES IN 20 TRADING DAY(S) AND THUS AVERAGING: 2143 EFP CONTRACTS PER TRADING DAY
TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA AS TO THE SIZE OF THESE EFP TRANSFERS : THIS MONTH IN20 TRADING DAY(S) IN TONNES: 133.300 TONNES
TOTAL ANNUAL GOLD PRODUCTION, 2025, THROUGHOUT THE WORLD EX CHINA EX RUSSIA: 3555 TONNES
THUS EFP TRANSFERS REPRESENTS 133.300 TONNES DIVIDED BY 3550 x 100% TONNES = 3.75% OF GLOBAL ANNUAL PRODUCTION
SEPT 142.12 TONNES FINAL ISSUANCE ( LOW ISSUANCE)_
OCT: 141.13 TONNES FINAL ISSUANCE (LOW ISSUANCE)
NOV: 312.46 TONNES FINAL ISSUANCE//NEW RECORD!! (INCREASING DRAMATICALLY)//SIGN OF REAL STRESS//SURPASSING THE MARCH 2021 RECORD OF 276.50 TONNES OF EFP
DEC. 175.62 TONNES//FINAL ISSUANCE//
TOTALS: 2,578.08 TONNES/2021
JAN:2023 247.25 TONNES //FINAL
FEB: 196.04 TONNES//FINAL
MARCH/2022: 409.30 TONNES //FINAL( THIS IS NOW A RECORD EFP ISSUANCE FOR MARCH AND FOR ANY MONTH.
APRIL: 169.55 TONNES (FINAL VERY LOW ISSUANCE MONTH)
MAY: 247.44 TONNES FINAL//
JUNE: 238.13 TONNES FINAL
JULY: 378.43 TONNES FINAL/SECOND HIGHEST ON RECORD
AUGUST: 180.81 TONNES FINAL
SEPT. 193.16 TONNES FINAL
OCT: 177.57 TONNES FINAL ( MUCH SMALLER THAN LAST MONTH)
NOV. 223.98 TONNES//FINAL ( MUCH LARGER THAN PREVIOUS MONTHS//comex running out of physical)
DEC: 185.59 tonnes // FINAL
TOTAL: 2,847,25 TONNES/2022
JAN 2024: 228.49 TONNES FINAL//HUGE AMOUNT OF EFP’S ISSUED THIS MONTH!!
FEB: 151.61 TONNES/FINAL
MARCH: 280.09 TONNES/INITIAL (ANOTHER STRONG MONTH FOR EFP ISSUANCE)
APRIL: 197.42 TONNES
MAY: 236.67 TONNES (A VERY STRONG ISSUANCE FOR THIS MONTH)
JUNE: 172.667 TONNES (WEAKER ISSUANCE THIS MONTH)
JULY: 151.69 TONNES (WEAKER THAN LAST MONTH)
AUGUST: 195.28 TONNES (A STRONGER MONTH)//FINAL
SEPT: 254.709 TONNES (WILL BE LARGER THAN LAST MONTH AND A STRONG MONTH)
OCT. 248.09 TONNES. LIKE SILVER, THIS MONTH IS GOING TO BE A STRONG E.F.P. ISSUANCE.
NOV. 239.16 TONNES//WILL BE STRONG THIS MONTH,
DEC. 213.704 TONNES. A STRONG MONTH//
TOTAL FOR YEAR 2023: 2,569.57 TONNES
2025: AND NOW 2026
JAN. 2025: 257.919 TONNES (ISSUANCE WILL BE PRETTY GOOD THIS MONTH BUT MUCH LOWER THAN LAST MONTH)
FEB: 207.21 TONNES//EX FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE (WILL BE A FAIR SIZED ISSUANCE THIS MONTH)
MARCH 130.84 TONNES//QUITE SMALL THIS MONTH.
APRIL; 208.57 TONNES. STRONG THIS MONTH
MAY: 113.499 TONNES OF GOLD EFP ISSUANCE//QUITE SMALL THIS MONTH
JUNE: 97.79 TONNES OF GOLD EFP ISSUANCE/EXTREMELY SMALL
JULY : 150.877 TONNES// QUITE SMALL
AUGUST: 175.86 TONNES A LOT LARGER THIS MONTH.
SEPT. 116.13 TONNES VERY SMALL
OCT. 252.72 TONNES//CERTAINLY MUCH LARGER THIS MONTH/VERY STRONG
NOV: 124.74 TONNES
DEC: 190.04 TONNES//GOOD SIZED THIS MONTH FINAL.
TOTAL EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUED FOR YEAR 2025: 2,026.20 TONNES (LOWER THAN LAST YR 2,569.00 TONNES
JANUARY: 209.08 TONNES ( (WILL BE A STRONG MONTH FOR EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL)
FEB. 176.35 TONNES (WHICH IS A FAIR ISSUANCE)
MARCH: 214.67 TONNES//WILL BE STRONG ISSUANCE THIS MONTH
APRIL; 88.00 TONNES// WILL BE VERY SMALL THIS MONTH
MAY 118.430 TONNES
JUNE: 133.30 TONNES
SPREADERS:
HERE IS A BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF HOW THE CROOKS FLEECE UNSUSPECTING LONGS
YOU WILL ALSO NOTICE THAT THE COMEX OPEN INTEREST STARTS TO RISE BUT SO IS THE OPEN INTEREST OF SPREADERS. THE OPEN INTEREST IN WILL CONTINUE TO RISE UNTIL ONE WEEK BEFORE FIRST DAY NOTICE OF AN UPCOMING ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH (OCT), AND THAT IS WHEN THE CROOKS SELL THEIR SPREAD POSITIONS BUT NOT AT THE SAME TIME OF THE DAY. THEY WILL USE THE SELL SIDE OF THE EQUATION TO CREATE THE CASCADE (ALONG WITH THEIR COLLUSIVE FRIENDS) AND THEN COVER ON THE BUY SIDE OF THE SPREAD SITUATION AT THE END OF THE DAY. THEY DO THIS TO AVOID POSIT
WHAT IS ALARMING TO ME, ACCORDING TO OUR LONDON EXPERT ANDREW MAGUIRE IS THAT THESE EFP’S ARE BEING TRANSFERRED TO WHAT ARE CALLED SERIAL FORWARD CONTRACT OBLIGATIONS AND THESE CONTRACTS ARE LESS THAN 14 DAYS. ANYTHING GREATER THAN 14 DAYS, THESE MUST BE RECORDED AND SENT TO THE COMPTROLLER, GREAT BRITAIN TO MONITOR RISK TO THE BANKING SYSTEM. IF THIS IS INDEED TRUE, THEN THIS IS A MASSIVE CONSPIRACY TO DEFRAUD AS WE NOW WITNESS A MONSTROUS TOTAL EFP’S ISSUANCE AS IT HEADS INTO THE STRATOSPHERE.
The crooks also use the spread in the TAS account (trade at settlement). They buy the spot TAS (e.g. June) and sell the future TAS two months out (e.g. August). Then they unload the front month (i.e. unload the buy side first so the price of gold/silver falls. This occurs in the middle of the front delivery month cycle. They unload the sell side of the equation, two months down the road. The crooks violate position limits as the OCC refuse to hear our complaints.
First, here is an outline of what will be discussed tonight:
SILVER:
1.TODAY WE HAD THE OPEN INTEREST AT THE COMEX IN SILVER ROSE BY A HUGE 2535 CONTRACTS TO AN OI OF 106,398
EFP ISSUANCE 120 CONTRACTS
OUR CUSTOMARY MIGRATION OF COMEX LONGS CONTINUE TO MORPH INTO LONDON FORWARDS AS OUR BANKERS USED THEIR EMERGENCY PROCEDURE TO ISSUE:
JULY 120 CONTRACTS and 0 ALL OTHER MONTHS: ZERO. TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 0 CONTRACTS. EFP’S GIVE OUR COMEX LONGS A FIAT BONUS PLUS A DELIVERABLE PRODUCT OVER IN LONDON. IF WE TAKE THE COMEX OI GAIN OF 2,535 CONTRACTS AND ADD TO THE 120 E.FP. ISSUED
WE OBTAIN A HUGE GAIN OF 2655 OI OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES WITH OUR GAIN OF $0.86
THUS IN OUNCES, THE GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES TOTALS 13.275 MILLION PAPER OZ
OCCURRED WITH OUR GAIN IN PRICE.OF $0.86
2.ASIAN AFFAIRS JUNE 29 /2025
SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 46.64 PTS OR 1.16%
HANG SENG CLOSED DOWN 354.82 PTS OR 1.57%
Nikkei CLOSED UP 161.12 PTS OR 0.23%
//Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED UP 0.35%
//Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) CLOSED UP TO 6.7943
/ OFFSHORE CLOSED UP AT 6.7969 Oil UP TO 70.53 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT UP TO 73.07 Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL RED
ONSHORE USA/ YUAN// WITH YUAN TRADING UP (6.7943) OFFSHORE YUAN TRADING UP TO 6.7969 ONSHORE YUAN TRADING ABOVE LEVEL OF OFF SHORE AND UP ON THE DOLLAR// / AND THUS STRONGER/OFF SHORE YUAN TRADING UP AGAINST US DOLLAR/ AND THUS STRONGER
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1. COMEX DATA//AMOUNTS STANDING//VOLUME OF TRADING/INVENTORY MOVEMENTS
GOLD
LET US BEGIN:
THE TOTAL COMEX GOLD OPEN INTEREST ROSE BY A FAIR 2934 CONTRACTS TO 363,494 WELL ABOVE ITS NEW LOW OF 326,052 OI SET JUNE 3, CLOSE TO THE PREVIOUS ALL TIME LOW OF 345,705 SET (MAY 28) AND CLOSE TO THE PREVIOUS ALL TIME LOW IN OI OF 353,490 SET MAY 27.. PREVIOUS TO THAT THE ALL TIME LOW IN OI WAS 390,000 SET IN THE YEAR 2001 WHEN GOLD WAS TRADING $260.00. THE CME SHOULD BE PROUD OF THEMSELVES AS MANY HAVE ABANDONED THIS CROOKED ARENA!!THUS OUR NEW ALL TIME LOW OF COMEX OI HAS NOW BEEN SET AT 326,052 //JUNE 3 2026 WITH GOLD AT AN EXTREMELY HIGH $4,450.00 WHICH MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE!!!
WE HAD HUGE T.A.S. LIQUIDATION DURING WEDNESDAY’S MASSIVE COMEX TRADING//RAID JUNE 24!!. BUT ZERO LIQUIDATION ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. IT SEEMS THAT MANY OF THE SPECULATORS THAT HAVE NOW CONTINUED AGAIN TO GO MASSIVELY ON THE SHORT SIDE WITH BANKERS ON THE LONG SIDE WERE OBLITERATED WHEN THE LONGS TENDERED FOR DELIVERY:
CENTRAL BANKS TENDERED THEIR NEW LONG CONTRACTS AT THE END OF THE DAY FOR PHYSICAL GOLD. YOU CAN VISUALIZE THIS WITH THE STRONG AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING AT THE COMEX FOR THIS JUNE CONTRACT MONTH!! AND THE HUGE MASSIVE QUEUE JUMP FOR TODAY. LAST NIGHT I SENT MANY OF YOU THE HUGE NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR TODAY.
THE STRONG SIZED GAIN ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES (5383 CONTRACTS) OCCURRED WITH OUR GAIN IN PRICE IN GOLD (UP $49.10)
WE THUS HAD A STRONG SIZED GAIN IN OI ON BOTH OF OUR EXCHANGES, THE COMEX AND LONDON’S EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL EQUATING TO 5383 CONTRACTS (OR 16.74 TONNES) WITH OUR GAIN IN PRICE, AS WE WERE INFORMED OF A FAIR CONTRACT EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE, EQUATING TO 2449 CONTRACTS.
THEN WE WERE NOTIFIED TODAY OF A 0 CONTRACT FOR RISK ISSUANCE IN GOLD CONTRACTS FOR 0 OZ OR 0 TONNES OF GOLD. ON FRIDAY, BY FAR WE HAD THE HIGHEST EVER EXCHANGE FOR RISK EVER ISSUED AT ONE TIME BEATING THE PREVIOUS SINGLE HIGHEST ISSUE BY ONE TONNE. THUS MAY 22 RECORDS THE HIGHEST EVER EXCHANGE FOR RISK AT 12.4416 TONNES. WE HAD OUR FIRST ISSUANCE FOR EXCHANGE FOR RISK IN THE MONTH OF MAY ON MAY 7, THEN OUR 2ND ISSUANCE FOR OUR MAY GOLD MONTH ON MAY 12. THE THIRD ON MAY 18 , THEN MAY 21 OUR 4TH ISSUANCE AND THEN FINALLY FRIDAY, OUR 5TH ISSUANCE. THIS GOLD WILL BE ADDED TO OUR NORMAL MAY DELIVERIES TO GIVE US OUR FINAL AMOUNT OF GOLD WILLING TO STAND AT THE COMEX..
HISTORY OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE THIS YEAR: FEBRUARY THROUGH JUNE
FEBRUARY:
DURING THE MIDDLE OF THE FEBRUARY CONTRACT MONTH, WE HAD TWO IDENTICAL MONSTER 3,000 CONTRACT ISSUED FOR THE SAME 9.33 TONNES OF GOLD, AND THESE WERE THE HIGHEST EVER IN TONNAGE EVER ISSUED BY THE COMEX. ALTOGETHER THE TOTAL ISSUANCE FOR FEB TOTALLED SIX.(31.251 TONNES).
MARCH:
THURSDAY MARCH 17 WE RECEIVED ITS INITIAL 2000 CONTRACT EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE FOR 6.22 TONNES. LAST FRIDAY: 0 ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK. BUT ON MONDAY MARCH 23 WE RECEIVED NOTICE OF OUR SECOND EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE FOR 2,200 CONTRACTS (220,000 OZ OR 6.843 TONNES) AND NOW FRIDAY WITH A MONSTER 2996 CONTRACTS FOR 9.3138 TONNES. THESE THREE ISSUANCES WILL NOW BE ADDED TO THE REGULAR AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING, I.E. 22.3818 TONNES TO OUR NORMAL GOLD STANDING TO GIVE US WHAT WILL STAND FOR PHYSICAL GOLD FOR MARCH!
APRIL;: 2 EXCHANGE FOR RISK SO FAR, I.E. 2239 CONTRACTS FOR 223,900 OZ OR 6.964 TONNES AND THIS TOTAL TONNES WILL BE ADDED TO OUR NORMAL DELIVERY TO GIVE US WHAT WILL STAND IN APRIL
MAY: FIVE ISSUANCES SO FAR FOR 7920 CONTRACTS OR 792,000 OZ OR 24.635 TONNES.
JUNE: 0 IN GOLD. THUS FOR THE ENTIRE MONTH IN GOLD ZERO NOTICES WERE FILED.
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A LITTLE HISTORY OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK DECEMBER THROUGH TO JUNE:
IN DECEMBER WE HAVE RECORDED 5 ISSUANCES OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK/4 FOR DEC AND THE LAST ONE ON DEC 31 FOR JANUARY. WE NOW HAVE 3 CHOICES FOR THE RECIPIENT OF THIS ISSUANCE AND IT MUST BE A CENTRAL BANK. YOU WILL RECALL THAT THE BUYER ASSUMES THE RISK OF THAT DELIVERY. (THUS TOTAL EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER IS 6.56 TONNES/4 OCCASIONS.
MONTH OF JANUARY/EXCHANGE FOR RISK
IN JANUARY THEY HAVE 6 TOTAL ISSUANCE : 3.446 TONNES EARLY, THEN JAN 9 ISSUANCE OF 9,331 TONNES AND THEN JAN 16: 0.1996 TONNES JAN 26: 1.499 TONNES, JAN 27: 3.160 AND FINALLY JAN 29: 4.659 TONNES TONNES//TOTAL EXCHANGE FOR RISK JANUARY 22.315 TONNES WHICH WAS ADDED TO OUR NORMAL DELVERIES.
AND FEBRUARY:
FEB EXCHANGE FOR RISK: NOW 6 ISSUANCES: 10,080 CONTRACTS FOR 1,008,000 OZ OR 31.251 TONNES!
HERE ARE THE CHOICES FOR THE RECIPIENT OF THOSE ISSUANCES:
1 THE CENTRAL BANK OF ENGLAND. BUT THEY RECEIVED CLEARANCE THAT THEIR GOLD IS BACK SO IT IS NOT LIKELY THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO ADD TO THEIR RESERVES.
2. THE CENTRAL BANK OF THE USA: THE FED. LOGICAL CHOICE AS THEY CLAMOUR TRYING TO REDUCE THEIR 146+ TONNES OF SHORTAGE. HOWEVER THEY SEEM NOT TO BE IN A HURRY TO COVER THEIR HUGE SHORTFALL
3. THE CENTRAL BANK OF CHINA AS THEY BATTLE WITS WITH THE USA.
TOTAL EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR DECEMBER IS 6.56 TONNES AND THIS WAS ADDED TO OUR NORMAL DELIVERY TOTALS..
THE JANUARY ISSUANCE OF 17.656 TONNES WAS ADDED TO OUR DAILY DELIVERY TOTALS!!
FEBRUARY ISSUANCES 6 FOR; 31.251 TONNES !! AND THIS WAS ADDED TO OUR DELIVERY TOTALS FOR THIS MONTH.
MARCH: CME ANNOUNCES ITS FIRST EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR 2000 CONTRACTS FOR 200,000 OZ OR 6.22 TONNES OF GOLD DURING THE FIRST WEEK OF MARCH, AND THEN MONDAY, MARCH 22, WE RECEIVED ITS SECOND NOTICE ISSUANCE OF 2200 CONTRACTS OR 220000 OZ (6.843 TONNES). THEN FINALLY WE RECEIVED NOTICE OF OUR THIRD EXCHANGE FOR RISK OF 2996 CONTRACTS OR 9.3188 TONNES. TOGETHER ALL 3 ISSUANCES TOTAL 22.3818 TONNES WHICH WILL BE ADDED TO OUR NORMAL DELIVERY SCHEDULE.
APRIL: 2 EXCHANGE FOR RISK SO FAR FOR 223,900 OZ OR 6.964 TONNES. AND THIS TOTAL WILL BE ADDED TO OUR NORMAL DELIVERY TO GIVE US WHAT WILL STAND FOR APRIL!!
MAY: FIVE ISSUANCES SO FAR FOR 7920 CONTRACTS, 792,000 OZ OR 24.635 TONNES OF GOLD. THIS TOTAL WILL BE ADDED TO OUR NORMAL DELIVERIES IN MAY TO GIVE US WHAT WILL STAND IN MAY.
JUNE: ZERO
DETAILS ON OUR NEW JUNE COMEX CONTRACT MONTH//
IN TOTAL WE HAD A STRONG GAIN ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 5383 CONTRACTS WITH OUR GAIN IN PRICE($49.10). HOWEVER, OUR FRIENDLY PHYSICAL LONDON BOYS HAD ANOTHER FIELD DAY AGAIN THROUGHOUT THIS WEEK AS THEY WERE READY FOR THE FRBNY.S CONTINUED ORCHESTRATED ATTACKS VERY EARLY IN THE COMEX SESSIONS AS THEY TRIED TO ABSORB EVERYTHING IN SIGHT FROM THEIR DAILY ATTACKS. LONDONERS EXERCISED THEIR BOUGHT CONTRACTS FOR PHYSICAL GOLD VIA THE EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ROUTE AND THANKED THE FRBNY AND OUR SHORT SPECULATORS FOR THEIR THOUGHTFULNESS.
LONDON ANNOUNCED EARLY IN THE YEAR (AND SCARCITY CONTINUES TO THIS DAY) THAT THEY WERE OUT OF GOLD. WRONGLY IT WAS ATTRIBUTED TO THEIR SHIPPING PHYSICAL GOLD TO COMEX FOR STORAGE DUE TO TRUMP’S INITIATION OF TARIFFS. THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS THAT THIS GOLD LEFT LONDON TO OTHER CENTRAL BANKS, AND COMEX BANKS HAVE BEEN PAPERING THEIR LOSSES (DERIVATIVE) WITH KILOBAR ENTRIES. BOTH COMEX AND LBMA ARE WITNESSING MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF GOLD LEAVING THEIR VAULTS.
THE LIQUIDATION OF T.A.S. CONTRACTS THROUGHOUT THE MONTHS OF JUNE/ CONTINUES TO DISTORT OPEN INTEREST NUMBERS GREATLY ALTHOUGH THE T.A.S. ISSUANCES IN GOLD HAVE GENERALLY BEEN ON THE LOW SIDE COMPARED TO SILVER WHICH HAVE BEEN HUGE. TODAY’S NUMBER HOWEVER IS A STRONGER SIZED T.A.S ISSUANCE CONTRACTS .THE CME NOTIFIES US THAT THEY HAVE ISSUED 1666 T.A.S CONTRACTS. THESE ARE GENERALLY USED FOR RAID PURPOSES TO STOP GOLD’S RISE AND TO TEMPER HUGE LOSSES IN OTC DERIVATIVE BETS
IT SURE LOOKS LIKE THE BIS HAS SOMEHOW LOOKED THE OTHER WAY WITH ITS GOLD SWAPS WITH THE FRBNY AS THIS ENTITY FOR THE FED REFUSES THE BIS MARCHING ORDERS TO COVER AND THAT MAY EXPLAIN THE STRONG NUMBER OF T.A.S. ISSUANCES IN DECEMBER , JANUARY AND THROUGHOUT FEBRUARY TO GO ALONG WITH OUR HUGE NUMBER OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUED DURING THESE MONTHS INCLUDING FEBRUARY’S 6 EXCHANGE FOR RISK WHICH ALSO INCLUDED TWO MONSTER 9.3312 TONNE ISSUANCE (FEB 10 AND FEB 12). TOTAL EXCHANGE FOR RISK/FEB EQUALS 31.251 TONNES!! AND MARCH’S THREE ISSUANCES FOR 22.3818 TONNES! OTHER CENTRAL BANKS ARE PAYING ATTENTION AS THEY TAKE DELIVERY OF HUGE AMOUNTS OF PHYSICAL GOLD. APRIL HAD 2 EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCES FOR 6.694 TONNES. AND NOW MAY WITH ITS 5TH ISSUANCE FOR 12.4436 TONNES///TOTAL EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR MAY: 24.635 TONNES ISSUED MAY 6 ,MAY 12, MAY 18 MAY 21 AND NOW MAY 22..
JUNE: ZERO SO FAR.
WE MUST ALSO REMEMBER THAT THE FRBNY IS SHORT 146+ TONNES OF GOLD, THIS COMMENCED ON JAN 2 2023 AS THEY REFUSE TO COVER DESPITE THE BIS’S PLEA TO DO SO. WE WILL KNOW IN JUNE WHETHER THEY COVERED ANY OF THEIR SHORTFALL.
HERE IS A SUMMARY OF GOLD STANDING FOR DELIVERY ON OUR LAST 12 MONTHS:
1.APRIL AT 209 TONNES
2. AND THIS CONTINUED INTO MAY WITH FINAL STANDING AT 90.23 TONNES.
3. JUNE WHICH IS A HUGE DELIVERY MONTH , FINAL STANDING WAS RECORDED AT A STRONG 93.085 TONNES. //(TOTAL NET QUEUE JUMPING FOR THE JUNE MONTH: 31.027 TONNES.)
4. IN JULY WE HAD HUGE DELIVERY NOTICES ESPECIALLY FOR A NON ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH WITH INITIAL STANDING AT 17.947 TONNES PLUS MANY QUEUE JUMPS + 3.75 TONNES EX FOR RISK = 41.106 TONNES OF GOLD // FINAL TOTAL TONNES STANDING JULY: 41.106 TONNES
5. FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST:
INITIAL AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR AUGUST: 60.547 TONNES PLUS THE MONTHS HUGE QUEUE JUMPS OF 47.2312 TONNES +44.696 TONNES EX FOR RISK (7 ISSUANCES) //NEW STANDING 152.208 TONNES WHICH IS MONSTROUS!!!
6. FINAL AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR SEPT; INITIAL STANDING; 2,602 CONTRACTS OR 260,200 OZ FOR 8.093 TONNES OF GOLD FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 0.4883 TONNES QUEUE JUMP TO GO ALONG WITH TODAY’S 1.244 TONNES OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE TODAY AND // TOTAL EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE SEPT: 22.923 TONNES//NEW TOTALS STANDING ADVANCES TO 48.801 TONNES OF GOLD!!!
7. OCTOBER:
OCTOBER: INITIAL STANDING FOR GOLD: 90.164 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR LATEST OCT 30 QUEUE JUMP OF 0.00311 TONNES WHICH FOLLOWS OCT 29 QUEUE JUMP OF .4096 WHICH FOLLOWS; OCT 28 QUEUE JUMP OF .5069 TONNES WHICH FOLLOWS OCT 27 OF 0.3048 TONNES WHICH FOLLOWS: OCT 24 OF 0.8615 TONNES, FOLLOWING OCT 23 QUEUE JUMP OF 1.695 TONNES OCT 22 JUMP OF 8.622 TONNES WHICH FOLLOWS OCT 21: 3.8600 TONNES TO OCT 20 QUEUE JUMP OF 7.695 TONNE
SUMMARY FOR OCTOBER STANDING:
NOVEMBER WHERE INITIAL AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING IS REGISTERED AT 15.651 TONNES OF GOLD FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S QUEUE JUMP OF 2 TONNES AND FOLLOWED BY ALL OTHER NOV QUEUE JUMPS OF 21.3775 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR TWO EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE FOR 4.5596 TONNES.
/STANDING ADVANCES TO 43.9716 TONNES OF GOLD.
DECEMBER: INITIAL AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR DELIVERY IN THIS ACTIVE MONTH IS 83.813 TONNES FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 0.05 TONNES QUEUE JUMP. THIS FOLLOWS ALL OTHER QUEUE JUMPING: 37.163 TONNES//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 115.390 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR FOUR EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE OF 6.559 TONNES//NEW STANDING THUS INCREASES TO 121.977 TONNES
JANUARY: INITITAL STANDING: 13.785 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR QUEUE JUMP OF 0.000 TONNES WHICH FOLLOWS ALL OTHER QUEUE JUMPS OF 30.7117TONNES //NEW TOTAL QUEUE JUMPS 30.7117//NORMAL DELIVERY OF GOLD ADVANCES TO 36.8958 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR SIX EXCHANGE FOR RISK OF 22.315 TONNES//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 59.2108 TONNES.
FEBRUARY: . FEBRUARY: INITIAL STANDING: 93.566 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR NEXT QUEUE JUMP OF 0.0248 TONNES WHICH MUST BE ADDED ALL OTHER QUEUE JUMPS OF 41.2087 TONNES QUEUE JUMP//TOTAL QUEUE JUMP FOR FEB::ADVANCES TO 41.233 TONNES///STANDING ADVANCES TO 126.628 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR SIX EXCHANGE FOR RISK OF 31.251 TONNES/NEW STANDING RISES TO 157.879 TONNES
MARCH: INITIAL STANDING FOR GOLD: 8.099 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR NEXT QUEUE JUMP OF 0.2320 TONNES AND THEN WE ADD OUR THREE EXCHANGE FOR RISK OF 22.3818 TONNES////NEW STANDING FOR GOLD ADVANCES TO: 67.6648TONNES WHICH IS ABSOLUTELY HUGE FOR A NON ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH!!
APRIL 2026: INITIAL STANDING FOR GOLD: 52.20 TONNES FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S SMALL 500 OZ QUEUE JUMP/ TO WHICH WE ADD OUR TWO EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCES TOTALLING 223,900 OZ OR 6.964 TONNES//STANDING ADVANCES TO 77.726 TONNES WHICH IS ABSOLUTELY HUGE
MAY: INITIAL AMOUNT OF GOLD WILLING TO STAND: 12.24 TONNES OF GOLD TO WHICH WE ADD OUR NEXT HUGE QUEUE JUMP OF 34,500 OZ (1.073 TONNES) TO WHICH WE ADD OUR FIVE EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE FOR 792,000 OZ OR 24.635 TONNES////NEW TOTALS STANDING FOR GOLD ADVANCES TO 51.554 TONNESS
JUNE: INITIAL AMOUNT OF GOLD WILLING TO STAND: 64.496 TONNES TO WHICH WE SUBTRACT AN EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL TRANSFER TO LONDON OF 0.0186 TONNES//NEW STANDING REDUCES TO 127.03 TONNES// TOTAL QUEUE JUMPING FOR THE MONTH FINALIZES AT 62.4217 TONNES OR AVERAGING 3.285 TONNES PER DAY IN JUNE.
HERE ARE THE AMOUNTS THAT STOOD FOR DELIVERY IN THE PRECEDING 48 MONTHS 2021-2024
DEC 2021: 112.217 TONNES
NOV. 8.074 TONNES
OCT. 57.707 TONNES
SEPT: 11.9160 TONNES
AUGUST: 80.489 TONNES
JULY 7.2814 TONNES
JUNE: 72.289 TONNES
MAY 5.77 TONNES
APRIL 95.331 TONNES
MARCH 30.205 TONNES
FEB ’21. 113.424 TONNES
JAN ’21: 6.500 TONNES.
TOTAL YEAR 2021 (JAN- DEC): 601.213 TONNES
YEAR 2022: STANDING FOR GOLD/COMEX
JANUARY 2022 17.79 TONNES
FEB 2022: 59.023 TONNES
MARCH: 36.678 TONNES
APRIL: 85.340 TONNES FINAL.
MAY: 20.11 TONNES FINAL
JUNE: 74.933 TONNES FINAL
JULY 29.987 TONNES FINAL
AUGUST:104.979 TONNES//FINAL
SEPT. 38.1158 TONNES
OCT: 77.390 TONNES/ FINAL
NOV 27.110 TONNES/FINAL
Dec. 64.000 tonnes
(TOTAL YEAR 656.076 TONNES)
2023:STANDING FOR GOLD/COMEX
JAN/2023: 20.559 tonnes
FEB 2023: 47.744 tonnes
MAR: 19.0637 TONNES
APRIL: 75.676 tonnes
MAY: 19.094 TONNES + 1.244 tonnes of exchange for risk = 20.338
JUNE: 64.354 TONNES
JULY: 10.2861 TONNES
AUGUST: 38.855 TONNES(INCLUDING .6842 EXCHANGE FOR RISK)
SEPT: 15.281 TONNES FINAL
OCT. 35.869 TONNES + 1.665 EXCHANGE FOR RISK =37.0355 tonnes
DEC. 47.073 + 4.634 TONNES OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK = 51.707 TONNES
TOTAL 2023 YEAR : 436.546 TONNES
2024/STANDING FOR GOLD/COMEX
JAN ’24. 22.706 TONNES
FEB. ’24: 66.276TONNES (INCLUDES 1.723 TONNES EX. FOR RISK)
MARCH: 18.8398 TONNES + 1.1695 EX FOR RISK = 20.093 TONNES
APRIL: 2024: 53.673TONNES FINAL
MAY/ 2024 8.5536 TONNES + 3.3716 TONNES EX FOR RISK/= 11.9325
JUNE; 95.578 TONNES. + 1.045 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK =96.623 THIS IS THE HIGHEST RECORDED GOLD STANDING SINCE AUGUST 2022
JULY: 11.692 TONNES
AUGUST 69.602 TONNES//FINAL STANDING
SEPT. 13.164 TONNES.
OCT 39.474 TONNES + + 20.917 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK =60.391 TONNES
NOV . 11.265 TONNES +4.665 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK/TUESDAY + 3.11 TONNES OF EX. FOR RISK/PRIOR = 19.0425 TONNES
DEC: 80.4230 TONNES PLUS DEC MONTH EXCHANGE FOR RISK TOTAL 14.6836 TONNES EQUALS 95.1066 TONNES
total year 2024: 540.30 tonnes
COMEX GOLD TRADING BEGINNING JUNE,. CONTRACT;
THE SPECS/HFT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN LOWERING GOLD’S PRICE( IT ROSE BY $49.10)
WE HAD NO T.A.S. SPREADER LIQUIDATION FRIDAY // COMEX SESSION// WITH OUR GAIN IN PRICE , OUR SPECULATORS STILL WENT MASSIVELY TO THE SHORT SIDE LED BY THE NOSE BY OUR HIGH FREQUENCY MOMENTUM PLAYERS WITH CENTRAL BANKERS TAKING THE LONG SIDE. THE SPECS WERE ANNIHILATED ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY.
OTHER EASTERN CENTRAL BANKS TENDERED FOR PHYSICAL EVERY NIGHT WHICH ALSO EXPLAINS THE HUGE NUMBER OF TONNES OF GOLD THAT STOOD FOR GOLD DURING THESE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS
FRIDAY NIGHT//SATURDAY MORNING
THE CROOKS COULD NOT STOP OTHER CENTRAL BANK LONGS, SEIZING THE MOMENT, THEY EXERCISED AGAIN FOR PHYSICAL IN A BIG WAY TENDERING FOR PHYSICAL FRIDAY EVENING //SATURDAY MORNING AND THUS OUR HUGE NUMBER OF GOLD CONTRACTS STANDING FOR DELIVERY AT THE COMEX. CENTRAL BANKERS WAIT PATIENTLY FOR THE GOLD
ALL OF THIS WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH OUR GAIN IN PRICE TO THE TUNE OF $49.10
WE HAD 1302 CONTRACTS ADDED AT THE COMEX TRADES TO OPEN INTEREST (CROOKS)//PRELIMINARY TO FINAL.
NET GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES: 5383 CONTRACTS OR 538,300 OZ (1674 TONNES)
Total monthly oz gold served (contracts) so far this month
40,841 notices 4,084100 OZ
127.03 TONNES
Total accumulative withdrawals of gold from the Dealers inventory this month
NIL oz
Total accumulative withdrawal of gold from the Customer inventory this month
dealer deposits: 0
0 ENTRY
DEPOSITS/CUSTOMER
ENTRIES: 0
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
comex withdrawal
1 ENTRIES
i) Out of Brinks: 482.260 oz (15 kilobars)
total withdrawal: 482.260 oz
adjustments: 1// customer account to dealer account
a)JPMorgan 4822.650 oz
COMEX IS DRAINING GOLD
chaos inside the comex
THE FRONT MONTH OF JUNE OI STANDS AT 6 CONTRACTS HAVING A LOSS OF 2227 CONTRACTS.
WE HAD 2220 CONTRACTS SERVED ON FRIDAY, SO WE LOST 7 CONTRACTS OR 700 OZ. (0.0622 TONNES) EXERCISED AN EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL TRANSFER WHERE THEY WILL TAKE PHYSICAL GOLD ON THE LONDON SIDE OF THE POND.
JULY LOST141 CONTRACTS UP TO 7545 CONTRACTS. JULY IS THE FRONT MONTH AND NO DOUBT WE WILL HAVE AROUND 7000 CONTRACTS STAND FOR GOLD DELIVERY (21.772 TONNES). THIS IS HUGE FOR A NORMALLY LOUSY DELIVERY MONTH.
AUGUST GAINED 620 CONTRACTS TO AN OI OF 272,543
.
We had 2220 contracts filed for today representing 222,000oz
Today, 0 notice(s) were issued from J.P.Morgan dealer and 0 notices issued from their client or customer account. The total of all issuance by all participants equate to 7 contract(s) of which 0 notices were stopped (received) by j.P. Morgan dealer and 0 notice(s) was (were) stopped (received) by J.P.Morgan//customer account
To calculate the INITIAL total number of gold ounces standing for JUNE. /2026. contract month, we take the total number of notices filed so far for the month (40,841) to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of JUNE (7 CONTRACTS) minus the number of notices served upon today 7 x 100 oz per contract) equals 4,084,100 OZ OR (127.03 Tonnes of gold)
THUS: INITIAL total number of gold ounces standing for JUNE. /2026. contract month, we take the total number of notices filed so far for the month (40,841) to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of JUNE( XXX CONTRACTS) minus the number of notices served upon today 7 x 100 oz per contract) equals 4,084,100 OZ OR (127.03 Tonnes of gold)
new total of gold standing in JUNE becomes 127.03 TONNES//
TOTAL COMEX GOLD STANDING FOR JUNE 127.03 TONNES TONNES WHICH IS NOW REALLY HUGE FOR THIS ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF JUNE.
confirmed volume FRIDAY confirmed 135,947/ poor// many have left the arena
COMEX GOLD INVENTORIES/CLASSIFICATION
NEW PLEDGED GOLD:
241,794.285 oz NOW PLEDGED /HSBC 5.94 TONNES
204,937.290 OZ PLEDGED MANFRA 3.08 TONNES
83,657.582 PLEDGED JPMorgan no 1 1.690 tonnes
265,999.054, oz JPM No 2
1,152,376.639 oz pledged Brinks/
Manfra: 33,758.550 oz
Delaware: 193.721 oz
International Delaware:: 11,188.542 oz
total pledged gold: 1,703,395.154 oz 52.98 tonnes pledged gold lowers
total inventories in gold declining rapidly
total pledged gold: 1,703,395.154 tonnes oz 52.98 tonnes
TOTAL OF ALL GOLD ELIGIBLE AND REGISTERED GOLD 27,676,890.545 oz
TOTAL REGISTERED GOLD 14,788,432.296 tonnes (459.982tonnes)
TOTAL OF ALL ELIGIBLE GOLD 12,888,458.249 oz//eligible gold leaving hand over fist
REGISTERED GOLD THAT CAN BE SERVED UPON 13,085,037oz ((REG GOLD- PLEDGED GOLD)=
406.999 Tonnes //
total inventories in gold declining rapidly
SILVER COMEX
JUNE DELIVERY MONTH
JUNE 29
Silver
Ounces
Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory
NIL oz
Withdrawals from Customer Inventory
2 entries
i) Out of JPMorgan: 581,104.300 oz ii) Out of Loomis: 600,879,420 oz
total withdrawal: 1,181,983.710 o
Deposits to the Dealer Inventory
1 entries
i) Stonex 24,948.148 oz
total deposit 24,948.148 oz
Deposits to the Customer Inventory
0 entries
0 entries
No of oz served today (contracts)
0 CONTRACT(S) (0 OZ)
No of oz to be served (notices)
0 Contracts (0, oz)
Total monthly oz silver served (contracts)
2592 contracts 12.960 MILLION oz
Total accumulative withdrawal of silver from the Dealers inventory this month
NIL oz
Total accumulative withdrawal of silver from the Customer inventory this month
DEPOSITS INTO DEALER ACCOUNTS
1 entries
i) Stonex 24,948.148 oz
total deposit 24,948.148 oz
DEPOSIT ENTRIES/CUSTOMER ACCOUNT
ENTRY:0
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
withdrawals: customer side/eligible
2 entries
i) Out of JPMorgan: 581,104.300 oz
ii) Out of Loomis: 600,879,420 oz
total withdrawal: 1,181,983.710 oz
adjustments 1
customer to dealer Asahi:
4,569.919.890 oz
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
TOTAL REGISTERED SILVER: 91.721 MILLION OZ//.TOTAL REG + ELIGIBLE. 322.235 Million oz
registered silver dropping in numbers
CALCULATIONS FOR THE NEW STANDING FOR SILVER FOR JUNE
silver open interest data:
FRONT MONTH OF JUNE /2026 OI: 2 OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FOR A LOSS OF 116 CONTRACTS.
WE HAD 118 NOTICE(S) SERVED ON FRIDAY SO WE GAINED 2 CONTRACTS OR AN ADDITIONAL 10,000 OZ WILL STAND AS A QUEUE JUMP AT THE SILVER COMEX.
JULY SAW A LOSS OF 6113 CONTRACTS DOWN TO 8534 CONTRACTS. JULY BECOMES THE FRONT MONTH. WE HAVE 1 MORE READING DAY BEFORE FIRST DAY NOTICE. WE SHOULD HAVE AROUND 30 MILLION OZ (6000 CONTRACTS) STANDING FOR SILVER AT THE COMEX..
AUGUST SAW A GAIN 0F 174 CONTRACTS UP TO 1693…
TOTAL NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR TODAY: 0 or 0 OZ oz
To calculate the number of silver ounces that will stand for delivery in JUNE. we take the total number of notices filed for the month so far at 2592 X5,000 oz = 12.960 MILLION oz
to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of JUNE(2) AND the number of notices served upon today (0 )x (5000 oz)
Thus the standings for silver for the JUNE 2026 contract month: (2592 )Notices served so far) x 5000 oz + OI for the front month of JUNE ( 2) minus number of notices served upon today (0)x 5000 oz equals silver standing for the JUNE..contract month equating to 12.970 MILLION OZ.+ to which we add our first exchange for risk of 20 contracts for 100,000 oz//standing thus increases to 13.070 MILLION OZ!!
We must also keep in mind that there is considerable silver standing in London coming from our longs
There are ONLY 91.721 million oz of registered silver
JPMorgan as a percentage of total silver: 137.898/322.235 million: 42.85%
The record level of silver open interest is 234,787 contracts set on April 21./2017 with the price on that day at $18.42.
The previous record was 224,540 contracts with the price at that time of $20.44.
BOTH GLD AND SLV ARE MASSIVE FRAUD
JUNE 29 /2026/WITH GOLD DOWN $58.30 /HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 8.223 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD // ./ //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1005.077 TONNES
JUNE 26 /2026/WITH GOLD UP $49.10 /HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 4.287 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD // ./ //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1013.350 TONNES
JUNE 25 /2026/WITH GOLD UP $42.70 /NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: // ./ //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1017.637 TONNES
JUNE 24 /2026/WITH GOLD DOWN $141.55 /HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 4.563 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD/./ //// ./ //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1017.637 TONNES
JUNE 19 /2026/WITH GOLD UP $36.85 /HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 7.421 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/./ //// ./ //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1020.49 TONNES
JUNE 18 /2026/WITH GOLD DOWN $135.20 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 0.856 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/./ //// ./ //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1013.069 TONNES
JUNE 17 /2026/WITH GOLD UP $20.80 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.427 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD/./ //// ./ //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1012.213 TONNES
JUNE 16 /2026/WITH GOLD UP $4.45 TODAY/NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: //// ./ //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1013.640 TONNES
JUNE 15 /2026/WITH GOLD UP $111.10 TODAY/NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: //// ./ //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1013.640 TONNES
JUNE 12 /2026/WITH GOLD UP $123.30 TODAY/NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: //// ./ //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1013.640 TONNES
JUNE 11 /2026/WITH GOLD DOWN $15.15 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.855 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD//// ./ //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1013.640 TONNES
JUNE 10 /2026/WITH GOLD DOWN $153.05 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 3.426 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD//// ./ //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1016.495 TONNES
JUNE 9 /2026/WITH GOLD DOWN $75.60 TODAY/NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:// ./ //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1019.921 TONNES
JUNE 8 /2026/WITH GOLD DOWN $3.05 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 6.936 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD// ./ //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1019.921 TONNES
JUNE 5 /2026/WITH GOLD DOWN $134;85 TODAY/NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: ./ //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1026.857 TONNES
JUNE 4 /2026/WITH GOLD UP $39.25 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.143 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD// ./ //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1026.857 TONNES
JUNE 3 /2026/WITH GOLD DOWN $51.80 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.856 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD// ./ //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1028.000 TONNES
JUNE 2 /2026/WITH GOLD UP $7.45 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 3.712 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD// ./ //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1028.856 TONNES
JUNE 1 /2026/WITH GOLD DOWN $79.30 TODAY/NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: ./ //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1032.568 TONNES
MAY 29 /2026/WITH GOLD UP $59.20 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.285 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD ./ //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1032.568 TONNES
MAY 28 /2026/WITH GOLD UP $52.00 TODAY/NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: ./ //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1034.853 TONNES
MAY 27 /2026/WITH GOLD DOWN $51.00 TODAY/NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: ./ //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1034.853 TONNES
MAY 26 /2026/WITH GOLD DOWN $25.45 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.9988 TONNES OUT OF THE GLD ./ //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1034.853 TONNES
MAY 22 /2026/WITH GOLD DOWN $13.45 TODAY/NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: ./ //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1036.851 TONNES
MAY 21 /2026/WITH GOLD UP $7.60 TODAY/NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: ./ //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1036.851 TONNES
GLD INVENTORY: 1005.077 TONNES, TONIGHTS TOTAL GOLD INVENTORY
SILVER
JUNE 29 WITH SILVER DOWN $1.08: : HUGE CHANGES IN INVENTORY AT THJE SLV A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.402 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV/./ // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 480.574 MILLION OZ
JUNE 26 WITH SILVER UP $0.86: : HUGE CHANGES IN INVENTORY AT THJE SLV A DEPOSIT OF 2.352 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV/./ // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 481.976 MILLION OZ
JUNE 25 WITH SILVER UP $0.69: : SMALL CHANGES IN INVENTORY AT THJE SLV A WITHDRAWAL OF 769,000 OUT OF THE SLV/./ // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 479.624 MILLION OZ
JUNE 24 WITH SILVER DOWN $4.18: : SMALL CHANGES IN INVENTORY AT THJE SLV A DEPOSIT OF 93,000 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV/./ // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 480.393 MILLION OZ
JUNE 19 WITH SILVER UP $1.11: : NO CHANGES IN INVENTORY AT THJE SLV/./ // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 480.302 MILLION OZ
JUNE 18 WITH SILVER DOWN $4.80: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: HUGE CHANGES IN INVENTORY A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.086 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV././ // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 480.302 MILLION OZ
JUNE 17 WITH SILVER UP $0.79: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: NO CHANGE IN INVENTORY AT THE SLV /./ // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 481.388 MILLION OZ
JUNE 16 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.13: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 0.362 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV /./ // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 481.388 MILLION OZ
JUNE 15 WITH SILVER UP $3.25: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.357 MILLION OZ OUT THE SLV /./ // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 481.026 MILLION OZ
JUNE 12 WITH SILVER UP $3.34: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.769 MILLION OZ OUT THE SLV /./ // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 482.383 MILLION OZ
JUNE 11 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.12: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.226 MILLION OZ OUT THE SLV /./ // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 483.152 MILLION OZ
JUNE 10 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.50: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.909 MILLION OZ OUT THE SLV /./ // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 483.378 MILLION OZ
JUNE 9 WITH SILVER DOWN $3.35: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 1.407 MILLION OZ INTO INTO THE SLV /./ // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 484.287 MILLION OZ
JUNE 8 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.52: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 543,000 OZ FROM THE SLV /./ // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 482.880 MILLION OZ
JUNE 5 WITH SILVER DOWN $4.86: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV /./ // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 483.423 MILLION OZ
JUNE 4 WITH SILVER UP $0.52: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV >> A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.432 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV/./ // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 483.423 MILLION OZ
JUNE 3 WITH SILVER DOWN $2.55: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV >> /./ // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 483.423 MILLION OZ
JUNE 2 WITH SILVER UP $0.25: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV >> A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.2222 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV/./ // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 484.855 MILLION OZ
JUNE 1 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.52: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLVA WITHDRAWAL OF 1.9 MILLION OZ FORM THE SLV/./ // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 486.077 MILLION OZ
MAY 29 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.03: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/ // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 487.977 MILLION OZ
MAY 28 WITH SILVER UP $1.02: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/ // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 487.977 MILLION OZ
MAY 27 WITH SILVER DOWN $1.61: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.176 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV/ // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 487.977 MILLION OZ
MAY 26 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.14: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 1.131 OF 0.315 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV/ // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 489.153 MILLION OZ
MAY 22 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.26: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.315 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV/ // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 488.022 MILLION OZ
MAY 21 WITH SILVER UP $0.64: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:/ // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 488.338 MILLION OZ
China’s yuan has been rising against the US dollar. But it hardly begins to tell the real story. The Chinese state is bailing out of the dollar, buying almost anything just to get rid of them. And you don’t have to be the Brain of Beijing to understand why — the US’s disastrous campaign against Iran has badly backfired, leading inevitably to an economic slump for all G7 nations, the bailouts of which will destroy the values of their currencies starting with the US dollar.
China sees this writing on the wall and is moving to save herself and her trade partners from the consequences.
Introduction
There is a timeline of events that strongly suggests that China expects that the global dollar-based fiat currency regime is coming to an end. These developments are all about the dollar’s replacement, and securing the value of the as-yet fiat renminbi with a link to gold.
One concern of the Chinese authorities is that the transition should be smooth. Speculation in gold and silver is being shut down and hoarding physical gold through gold accumulation accounts is encouraged. These developments emerged only last week, and the major banks have been behind much of the buying. There has been some commentary in the western blogosphere, but it mostly misses the point.
The purpose of this article is to explain that China has been working to a plan, commencing with the appointment of the Peoples Bank (PBOC) in 1983 with exclusive control of national gold and silver accumulation and trading, alongside its foreign exchange dealing monopoly.
The timing of this article is triggered by events last week, which strongly suggest preparations are being made by China for the beginning of the end for the dollar. They include accelerating the establishment of Hong Kong as the world’s major gold and silver trading hub, replacing London and New York, which, being based on dollars, will cease to function with the dollar’s collapse.
These are major developments, and the rest of this article examines the reasoning behind China’s actions, and the steps taken to ensure that China emerges safely from the end of the fiat currency era.
The original hypothesis
China was not exposed to the Keynesian-based macroeconomic theories that led to the end of conventional monetary systems in 1971, when the Bretton Woods Agreement was finally abandoned by the then-developed world. China emerged from the Mao era understanding that a metallic standard was required to guarantee a currency’s purchasing power. This was one thing that China’s Marxist universities could agree on, the other being that a fiat currency was always doomed to fail, unequivocally proven by history.
Nevertheless, they were going to play by the fiat currency rules by expanding their banking system to ensure there would be credit available for Chinese-based businesses to develop and expand. But the planners knew they would still have to insure for a post-fiat currency world, which meant accumulating gold and silver in large quantities, more or less from scratch. It would have to be done secretly so as to not threaten the US and her currency’s standing because the dollar was almost the only global trade currency.
Accordingly, Regulations of the PRC on the control of Gold and Silver were promulgated on June 15, 1983, by the State Council. Article 1 sets the scene:
These Regulations are formulated to strengthen control over gold and silver, to guarantee the State’s gold and silver requirements for its economic development, and to outlaw gold and silver smuggling and speculation and profiteering activities.
Article 3 appoints the PBOC as the state organ responsible for the control of gold and silver in the People’s Republic. And,
The total income and expenditure of gold and silver of State organs, the armed forces, organisations, schools, State enterprises, institutions and collective urban and rural economic organisations… shall be incorporated into the State plan for the receipt and expenditure of gold and silver.
The effect of the legislation was for the State to accumulate gold and silver using the PBOC. It was to be hidden by being widely distributed through diverse government entities. Initially, gold ownership was banned for citizens until 2002, when the PBOC established the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE). Until then, the PBOC had a clear run accumulating gold and silver for the State.
Other than the PBOC itself, no one knows how much gold it accumulated on behalf of the State between 1983-2002, or indeed subsequently. Bearing in mind that with equally strict exchange controls, the PBOC had the means to divert growing quantities of dollar inflows and outflows into gold purchases. Just 10% of them at contemporary gold prices was the equivalent approximately of 20,000 tonnes.
We can only guess at the true figure, but the 20,000-tonne number was certainly possible, and could be an underestimate for the following reasons:
· According to analyst Frank Veneroso, between the early 1980s and 2002, between 10,000 and 14,000 tonnes were leased by central banks and sold into the market. Much of the supply for China would have come as a result of these leasing activities.
· Gold suffered a significant bear market between 1981 and 2002, with even Swiss private banks selling customers’ holdings, providing perhaps an extra 5,000 tonnes.
· Global mine supply accelerated, with above ground stocks increasing by 41,100 tonnes between those dates, which was fully absorbed despite the bear market. China also invested heavily in her own mine output, which out of the global total supply was about 2,000 tonnes.
After the SGE was established, the state even advertised the attractions of gold ownership and by today over 28,000 tonnes have been delivered from the SGE’s vault network. This does not include scrap, for which figures are not available. Mostly, this was rendered into jewellery with some being fabricated into coins and small bars. But in addition, within the SGE’s vaults there are significant gold reserves earmarked for investment vehicles and to back gold accumulation accounts at the commercial banks.
The State continues to accumulate gold, only some of which appears in the form of reserves on the PBOC’s balance sheet. Global above ground stocks have increased to about 200,000 tonnes, 67,000 more than existed in 2002, about 10,000 of which is output from China’s mines. Virtually no gold leaves China, yet she still imports it in quantity: in the five months to May this year, China imported about 700 tonnes and mined an extra 150 tonnes.
Given all these factors, we can put together a rough estimate of how much gold is now locked up in China:
This amounts to 35% of global above-ground stocks. Clearly, whatever the true figure, the state has sufficient bullion for a credible gold standard to back its renminbi. This is the basis upon which the PBOC’s future monetary policy will evolve, based on decisions taken over forty years ago.
More recent events
As China’s trade-based influence has spread, she has been able to set up parallel settlement systems for cross-border trade. Originally developed in 2012, the growth of China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) has accelerated more recently with users encouraged by America’s weaponisation of the dollar. CIPS still accounts for only a modest proportion of global trade settlement and finance, but the point is that it has nearly 200 direct and 1,600 indirect participants in over 124 countries, and as a yuan-based settlement alternative to SWIFT it is instantly accessible.
The next move was to establish international gold-for-yuan exchange facilities, and it is to this end that SGE (International) vaults and delivery hubs have been established in Hong Kong and in Saudi Arabia. The Middle East is a major energy supplier for China, which means that exporters end up with renminbi. The facility allows them to exchange renminbi for gold, which with similar facilities in Hong Kong establishes a mechanism whereby the PBOC can at any time establish a fixed rate of exchange: in other words, put the renminbi onto a gold exchange standard.
Other gold-for-renminbi exchange vaulting facilities are reportedly planned in Singapore, Malaysia, and Dubai, and even Zurich has been mentioned. But the US’s attack on Iran and the closure of Hormuz will undoubtedly destabilise G7 economies and their currencies sooner than China will have planned for. She has had to up the pace for her plans.
Only weeks before the Iran war started, China’s PBOC gave guidance to her banks and broader financial institutions to limit purchases of dollar-denominated bonds and to reduce their positions “if too high.” This unusual message suggests that China’s authorities were taking the view that the US would lose the war that was imminent and that the consequences for dollar bonds and the dollar itself would be disastrous. At the same time, gold prices had soared before correcting, indicating that market concerns about the dollar’s future were mounting.
Despite the volatility in the dollar/gold exchange rate, China has been dumping dollars rapidly by buying gold, silver, and copper. Exports of rare earths, sulphuric acid, and fertilisers, all of which would have earned dollars, have ceased. And then we had some important developments last week.
Chinese banks are winding down or suspending leveraged gold and silver trading services for Chinese citizens with a common cut-off date of 24th July. Gold accumulation plans, ETFs, and options purchased for cash are unaffected. Banks reported to be taking these and similar actions include ICBC — the world’s largest bank — Postal Savings Bank, Ping An, China Construction Bank, and Guangfa Bank, to mention a few.
These actions suggest that the banks have been told to protect themselves against a dollar crisis.
Separately, China is beefing up gold and silver dealing facilities in Hong Kong. A cooperation agreement between SGE and Hong Kong was signed in January to establish a cross-border gold trade clearing system. The SGE has already opened its offshore vault and launched yuan-denominated gold contracts.
Hong Kong has also established Hong Kong Presious Metals Central Clearing Company, which is a copy of the London Precious Metals Clearing Limited central clearing operation. A massive expansion of gold storage capacity is planned, and incentives are being introduced to expand refining and processing facilities in Shenzhen to service the Hong Kong market.
If the dollar collapses as China expects, gold trading in London and New York will simply cease for lack of a credible settlement medium. Global gold trading will continue in Hong Kong. With China leading the way back to gold standards for currencies, gold trading will have gravitated eastward along with most of the world’s gold.
END
3. CHRIS POWELL AND HIS GATA DISPATCHES
Bolivia ends 15-year dollar peg in attempt to restore economic stability
Submitted by admin on Sat, 2026-06-27 18:49 Section: Daily Dispatches
By Monica Machicao Reuters Saturday, June 27, 2026
LA PAZ — Bolivia will adopt a flexible exchange-rate system, the government said on Friday, effectively devaluing the currency by ending a 15-year dollar peg in a major policy shift aimed at restoring economic stability.
Bolivia’s central bank will oversee the shift, as the government aims to “strengthen macroeconomic stability, preserve external competitiveness and contribute to the balance of payments equilibrium,” the economy ministry said in a decree.
The move is part of Bolivia’s broader effort to normalize currency markets and boost investor confidence as Bolivia negotiates a financing program worth at least $2.5 billion with the International Monetary Fund and grapples with severe scarcity of dollars.
Bolivia had kept its official exchange rate largely unchanged since 2011 at 6.86 bolivianos per dollar for purchases and 6.96 for sales. But falling foreign-exchange reserves and increasing dollar shortages fueled the emergence of a parallel market, with the dollar at times trading near 20 bolivianos. …
I inherited gold and silver worth tens of thousands — but with no receipts, how do I find what it’s worth?
Submitted by admin on Sat, 2026-06-27 12:45 Section: Daily Dispatches
By Laura Grande Associated Press Moneywise Saturday, June 27, 2026
Andrea knew her late aunt collected coins, but she never imagined she’d inherit a box full of gold and silver bullion.
At 51, Andrea has spent much of her adult life living paycheck to paycheck. She carries credit card debt, has only a modest emergency fund and hasn’t accumulated much wealth outside of her home.
ow she’s staring at several gold and silver bars and coins that could be worth tens of thousands of dollars. And she has no idea what she’s supposed to do with them.
Part of her wants to cash them in and finally take the European vacation she’s been dreaming about for years. Another part wonders whether she’d be better off paying down debt, boosting her retirement savings or simply holding onto the metals as an investment.
There’s another complication: Andrea has no records showing when her aunt bought the gold and silver, what she paid for them or even their exact value. Before making any big decisions, she wants to understand what inheriting precious metals means for her taxes, and whether selling them is really the smartest move. …
Maguire and Hemke say gold ‘correction’ is over and expect revaluation
Submitted by admin on Mon, 2026-06-22 11:56 Section: Daily Dispatches
11:56a ET Monday, June 22, 2025
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:
London metals trader Andrew Maguire and the TF Metals Report’s Craig Hemke, in conversation on this week’s edition of Kinesis Money’s “Live from the Vault” program, agree that gold’s “correction” is over and speculate how a U.S. Treasury revaluation of the monetary metal to a much higher price may come about soon.
The program is 57 minutes long and can be viewed at YouTube here:
CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc. CPowell@GATA.org
5. COMMODITY REPORT//BITCOIN
Michael Saylor Responds To Scrutiny As Strategy Shares & STRC Hit 52-Week Lows
Michael Saylor responded to the deepening selloff in Strategy’s stock and preferred shares Friday with a statement on X.
“Volatility tests every capital structure,” Saylor wrote.
“Strategy remains focused on Bitcoin, disciplined capital allocation, credit quality, and long-term value creation.
We appreciate our investors and will continue to execute with transparency and resolve. $MSTR”.
The tweet landed as MSTR shares and STRC, Strategy’s variable-rate perpetual preferred, both hit 52-week lows. MSTR has shed more than 80% from its all-time peak. STRC, which carries a par value of $100, traded near $74 — a 26% discount.
When preferred shares trade below par, the mechanism that funds bitcoin purchases through preferred issuance breaks down: the company cannot raise capital on favorable terms on instruments trading at a discount.
Bitcoin broke to $58,000 Wednesday for the first time since October 2024, pushing Strategy’s paper losses above $14 billion. The company holds 847,363 bitcoin at an average purchase price of $75,680 per coin — a gap of more than $17,000 per coin at current prices.
MSTR shares, which had shed around 25% over five trading days going into Friday, extended that decline somewhat in pre-market trading as bitcoin’s slide appeared to stagnate. The stock trades at an mNAV below 1.0, meaning the market values Strategy’s shares at a discount to the bitcoin on its balance sheet.
That matters because the company’s model depends on a premium: Strategy issues stock or preferred instruments above NAV, deploys proceeds into bitcoin, and lifts NAV per share in the process. With the premium gone, both capital taps are constrained at the same time.
Strategy’s cash strain deepens further
The pressure on the capital structure extends past bitcoin’s price.
Annual dividend obligations on Strategy’s preferred instruments — STRC, STRK, STRF, STRD, and STRE — have risen from $300 million at the start of 2026 to $1.2 billion, a fourfold increase in six months.
Cash reserves have fallen 38% this year. Dividend coverage, once above seven years, has compressed to about 14 months.
A Bloomberg report Thursday described investor scrutiny of Saylor’s funding model as the most intense the company has faced. CryptoQuant issued a note this week calling on Strategy to halt bitcoin purchases and rebuild cash to $2.8 billion before resuming accumulation.
Strategy made its first bitcoin sale in four years in early June, offloading 32 BTC at an average of $77,135 per coin. Saylor framed the move as proof the company could cover dividend obligations through asset liquidation. The market’s reaction suggests that framing did not hold.
Last week, Strategy bought 520 bitcoin — a fraction of its prior pace — and put $300 million of a $335.5 million equity raise into cash rather than bitcoin.
Saylor has not elaborated on the tweet beyond the statement posted to X.
Strategy Inc. (Nasdaq: MSTR), the world’s largest bitcoin treasury company, announced a sweeping capital management overhaul earlier today, introducing what it calls a Digital Credit Capital Framework. The announcement sent MSTR shares up 6% in pre-market trading and pushed bitcoin above $60,000.
The framework has five parts:
a board-approved USD reserve policy,
a dividend rate increase on one class of preferred stock,
a $1 billion buyback program for digital credit securities,
a $1 billion buyback program for common stock,
and a bitcoin monetization program that authorizes the sale of BTC to fund company obligations.
Strategy’s bulked up USD Reserve
At the center of the framework is a $2.55 billion USD reserve, cash and cash equivalents held to cover dividend payments and interest expense on the company’s debt. Strategy carries roughly $1.76 billion in annual preferred dividend and interest obligations, which means the current reserve represents 17.4 months of coverage.
The board has set a floor: the reserve must stay at a minimum of 12 months of coverage at all times. Any reduction below that threshold requires explicit board authorization. The reserve can only be used for two purposes — paying preferred stock dividends and servicing interest on debt. Any other use of those funds also requires board approval.
Beyond the cash reserve, Strategy is counting its bitcoin monetization capacity as part of its liquidity cushion. Combined, the $2.55 billion reserve and $1.25 billion in authorized BTC monetization capacity give the company $3.80 billion in total coverage — the equivalent of 25.9 months of preferred dividend and interest obligations.
STRC dividend increase
Strategy raised the dividend rate on its Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock, known as STRC, by 50 basis points to 12% per year. The increase takes effect for dividend periods with record dates on or after July 1, 2026. A basis point is one one-hundredth of a percentage point, so the increase moves the rate from 11.5% to 12%.
The company said its target is for STRC to trade between $99 and $100 over time, close to its $100 stated value. STRC has risen 9% on the news. Strategy said it will evaluate the STRC dividend rate on a monthly basis, taking into account trading levels, credit spreads, bitcoin price and volatility, and the overall state of its balance sheet.
Two buyback programs
The board authorized up to $1 billion in repurchases of its Digital Credit Securities — a category that includes STRC, STRF, STRK, and STRD, four series of preferred stock the company has issued.
It also authorized up to $1 billion in buybacks of its Class A common stock.
Neither program obligates the company to purchase any specific amount of securities, and both can be modified, suspended, or canceled at any time. Repurchases under both programs can be made through open-market purchases, block trades, private negotiations, or tender offers.
CEO Phong Le framed the buyback programs as a shift in how Strategy operates. “Strategy is evolving from one-way capital issuance to active capital management,” he said. “We intend to move between issuing securities when capital is attractive and repurchasing securities when our instruments trade at levels that make buybacks accretive.”
Neither buyback program will draw from the USD reserve. If Strategy funds buybacks through bitcoin sales, those sales fall under the BTC Monetization Program.
The Bitcoin Monetization Program
The Bitcoin Monetization Program authorizes Strategy to sell BTC for three specific purposes:
to build or replenish the USD reserve (up to $1.25 billion),
to fund preferred dividends and interest payments when management judges BTC sales more favorable than issuing new stock,
and to fund buybacks of preferred or common stock.
Any sale outside those three purposes requires a new board vote.
The program does not obligate the company to sell any bitcoin.
CFO Andrew Kang said the program gives Strategy a tool to use part of its bitcoin reserve without abandoning its core thesis.
“Bitcoin is capital,” Kang said.
“This program gives Strategy the flexibility to use a portion of its BTC Reserve to strengthen Digital Credit, fund dividend payments and interest expense, and fund accretive repurchases when BTC monetization is more favorable than issuing common equity.”
Founder and Executive Chairman Michael Saylor said bitcoin remains the company’s primary treasury asset.
“Digital Credit requires liquidity, discipline, and active capital management,” he said. “This framework is designed to strengthen credit quality and enable the Company to reduce expected preferred stock dividend payments when accretive.”
END
YOUR EARLY CURRENCY VALUES/GOLD AND SILVER PRICING/ASIAN AND EUROPEAN BOURSE MOVEMENTS/AND INTEREST RATE SETTINGS MONDAY MORNING.7:30 AM
SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 46.64 PTS OR 1.16%
HANG SENG CLOSED DOWN 354.82 PTS OR 1.57%
Nikkei CLOSED UP 161.12 PTS OR 0.23%
//Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED UP 0.35%
//Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) CLOSED UP TO 6.7943
/ OFFSHORE CLOSED UP AT 6.7969 Oil UP TO 70.53 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT UP TO 73.07 Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL RED
ONSHORE USA/ YUAN// WITH YUAN TRADING UP (6.7943) OFFSHORE YUAN TRADING UP TO 6.7969 ONSHORE YUAN TRADING ABOVE LEVEL OF OFF SHORE AND UP ON THE DOLLAR// / AND THUS STRONGER/OFF SHORE YUAN TRADING UP AGAINST US DOLLAR/ AND THUS STRONGER
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
YOUR EARLY CURRENCY VALUES/GOLD AND SILVER PRICING/ASIAN AND EUROPEAN BOURSE MOVEMENTS/AND INTEREST RATE SETTINGS MONDAY MORNING.7:30 AM
ONSHORE YUAN: CLOSED UP AT 6.7943
OFFSHORE YUAN: UP TO 6.7969
1.HANG SANG CLOSED UP 161.12 PTS OR 0.23%
2. Nikkei closed UP 161.12 PTS OR 0.23%
WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE OIL UP TO 70.53
BRENT; 73.07
3. Europe stocks SO FAR: ALL RED
USA dollar INDEX DOWN TO 101.04/// EURO FALLS TO 1.1403 DOWN 24 BASIS PTS
3b Japan 10 YR bond yield:RISES TO. +2.637 UP 3 FULL BASIS PTS/ VERY TROUBLESOME//Japan buying 100% of bond issuance)/Japanese YEN vs USA CROSS NOW AT 161.88… JAPANESE YEN NOW FALLING AS WE HAVE NOW REACHED THE ENDING OF THE YEN CARRY TRADE AGAIN AND THE REPATRIATION OF YEN DENOMINATED BONDS TRADING IN THE USA/EUROPE. JAPAN 30 YR BOND YIELD: 3.836 UP 3 FULL BASIS PTS
3c Nikkei now ABOVE 17,000
3d USA/Yen rate now well ABOVE the important 120 barrier this morning
3e Gold DOWN /JAPANESE Yen DOWN CHINESE ONSHORE YUAN: UP( 6.7943) AND OFFSHORE: UP AT 6.7969
3f Japan is to buy INFINITE TRILLION YEN worth of BONDS. Japan’s GDP equals 5 trillion USA
Japan to buy 100% of all new Japanese debt and NOW they will have OVER 50% of all Japanese debt.
3g Oil UP for WTI and BRENT UP this morning
3h European bond buying continues to push yields HIGHER on all fronts in the EMU. German 10yr bund YIELD DOWN TO +2.8638/ Italian 10 Yr bond yield UP to 3.619/ SPAIN 10 YR BOND YIELD UP TO 3.357%
3i Greek 10 year bond yield UP TO 3.537%
3j Gold at $4032.20 //Silver at: 57 1 am est) SILVER NEXT RESISTANCE LEVEL AT $100.00
3k USA vs Russian rouble;// Russian rouble UP 1 AND 06/ 100 roubles/77.81
3m oil (WTI) into the 70 dollar handle for WTI and 73 handle for Brent/
3n Higher foreign deposits moving out of China// huge risk of outflows and a currency depreciation. This can spell financial disaster for the rest of the world/
JAPAN ON JAN 29.2016 CONTINUES NIRP. THIS MORNING RAISES AMOUNT OF BONDS THAT THEY WILL PURCHASE UP TO .5% ON THE 10 YR BOND///YEN TRADES TO 161.63 // 10 YEAR YIELD AFTER FIRST BREAKING .54% LAST YEAR NOW EXCEEDS THAT LEVEL TO 2.637% UP 3 BASIS PTS STILL ON CENTRAL BANK (JAPAN) INTERVENTION//YEN CARRY TRADE NOW UNWINDING//YEN BOND TRADING OVERSEAS REPATRIATED.//JAPAN 30 YR: 3.836 UP 3 PTS..: USA/SF this 0.8085 as the Swiss Franc . Euro vs SF: 0.9221
USA 10 YR BOND YIELD: 4.387 UP 2 BASIS PTS…
USA 30 YR BOND YIELD: 4.866 UP 1 BASIS PTS/
USA 2 YR BOND YIELD: 4.111 UP 2 BASIS PTS
USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 46.64 UP 1 BASIS PTS/LIRA GETTING KILLED//IDIOTS FOR SELLING GOLD AND USA DOLLAR RESERVES.
10 YR UK BOND YIELD: 4.760 UP 4 PTS
30 YR UK BOND YIELD: 5.475 UP 4 BASIS PTS
10 YR CANADA BOND YIELD: 3.406 UP 2 BASIS PTS
5 YR CANADA BOND YIELD: 3.037 UP 2 BASIS PTS.
1a New York Opening report
Futures Rise As Dip-Buyers Lift Tech Stocks
Monday, Jun 29, 2026 – 08:48 AM
US equity futures are higher led by Tech as Mag7 leads the group higher and points to a reversal of last week’s profit-taking, as traders position for the end of the first half. A shortened week will likely focus on a speech from the Fed’s Warsh on Wednesday and payrolls on Thursday. As of 8:30am, S&P futures are 0.9% higher as traders bought the dip after a rotation out of this year’s top-performing stocks sent the US benchmark to its second-worst week of the quarter; Nasdaq futures gain 1.2%, with both Software and Semis higher, which may be more driven by period-end reshuffling than a shift in sentiment. A mix of space, software and artificial-intelligence infrastructure names led premarket gains. Comcast Corp. jumped 23% on a plan to split its business. Cyclicals ex-Materials are leading Defensives ex-HC with the AI theme bid up across sectors. Bond yields are +1-2bp higher with the Dollar down a touch. Commodities are lower but the Energy complex is bid following another series of attacks between US / Iran; WTI back above $70/bbl, and Brent climbed 0.8% to $72.59 a barrel following weekend flare-ups between the US and Iran. While the two sides have since agreed to halt the attacks, the pace of shipments through the chokepoint has slowed, with shipowners likely to remain wary of crossing the strait. Gold / silver are down 1-2%, base metals with a slight bid, and Ags mostly lowers. Today’s macro data focus is on the June Dallas Fed activity with the balance of the holiday-shortened US week including June jobs report Thursday and ISM-Mfg, JOLTS and ADP.
In premarket trading, Magnificent Seven stocks are all higher (Alphabet +1%, Amazon +1%, Apple +0.1%, Meta +1.5%, Microsoft +1.7%, Nvidia +1%, Tesla +0.8%)
Chip stocks are rebounding following a 5.3% decline in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index on Friday, with equipment stocks leading gains after South Korea’s Samsung and SK Hynix set out plans to build two chipmaking plants.
Comcast (CMCSA) is up 22% after the company said it plans to separate its media businesses from its cable-TV and internet operations, spinning off NBCUniversal and Sky into a new publicly traded company in a bid to increase value.
Doximity (DOCS) falls 4% after BofA double downgraded the healthcare software company to underperform from buy, citing limited clarity on the near-term trajectory of margins as well as execution risks related to the pivot to AI.
Iridium (IRDM) climbs 20% after Rocket Lab agreed to buy the company for $54 a share in a cash-and-stock transaction that puts the satellite communications company at about $8 billion in enterprise value.
Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) slips 3% after agreeing to combine with building materials supplier Lhoist North America in a transaction valued at $13.5 billion, including debt.
Viridian Therapeutics (VRDN) jumps 14% after the biotech said the FDA had approved its drug for treating an inflammatory disorder that affects the tissues around eyes.
In other corporate newsoOnline spending across all retailers in the US hit $26.4 billion during Amazon’s annual Prime Day sale, according to Adobe, narrowly beating the firm’s earlier estimate of $26.3 billion. The FDA approved AbbVie’s Skyrizi as the first IL-23 inhibitor approved in the US for pediatric patients six years of age and older weighing less than 40 kilograms.
In AI news, Anthropic won US approval to restore some access to its Mythos 5 model after resolving Trump administration concerns about the technology’s potential threats to national security. Google has placed limits on Meta’s use of its Gemini AI models because it could not provide as much computing capacity as the social media company wanted, according to the Financial Times. China is said to have matched Anthropic in cybersecurity, resetting the AI race, according to the WSJ.
As the S&P 500 heads for its best quarter since 2020, one of the biggest debates is how much further high-flying chipmakers can push markets higher after an almost one-way rally turned more volatile in recent weeks. US equities are likely to enjoy another robust earnings season on the back of a “solid macro backdrop” and the AI investment boom, according to Goldman strategists. RBC Capital Markets strategists raised their 12-month target for the S&P 500 index to 8,150 points.
“It wasn’t a full-blown selloff, but more a rotation of the kind that we saw many times in the last 12 months,” said Guy Miller at Zurich Insurance. “There are strong fundamentals in terms of super-normal profits. In semiconductors in particular, there’s still clearly a supply-demand imbalance.”
As we reported over the weekend, hedge funds dumped global TMT stocks last week, with the combined total reaching its highest level in over 10 years, according to Goldman Sachs’ Prime desk.
Deutsche Bank strategists confirmed that tech funds saw record outflows, as investors trimmed their aggregate equity positioning last week with overall equity positioning now slightly below neutral. Morgan Stanley’s Mike Wilson notes market breadth is improving as earnings recover beyond megacap tech, crude prices fall and crowded AI momentum trades in hyperscalers and semiconductors come under pressure.
Still, US equities are likely to enjoy another robust earnings season on the back of a “solid macro backdrop” and the AI investment boom, according to Goldman Sachs strategists. And RBC strategists raised their 12-month target for the S&P 500 index.
A strong first half for stocks has historically been a good sign for the rest of the year in the market. Whether that holds again is the question in light of all the wild cards on the horizon. Despite the “chip wreck” last week, the sector is on track to post the best first half performance versus the S&P 500 ever.
The surge in market leverage, stemming in part from the massive growth of levered ETF products, retail margin accounts and hedge fund deposits at prime brokers, is stoking worries that it may exacerbate the next crisis. And an AI bust, inflation and fiscal stress are among the most alarming threats to global prosperity at present, the BIS warned in its annual report published on Sunday.
Traders will shift their focus this week to the annual gathering of central bankers in Portugal, where Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh will make his public debut outside the US. Aside from hints on interest rates, questions over financial stability, including those linked to the artificial-intelligence boom, will be among the themes under discussion. Another prominent event will be the monthly US jobs report on Thursday, the culmination of the usual flurry of labor data that opens each month.
“After the hawkish pause of the Fed earlier in the month, one would have expected market exuberance to stall, but that doesn’t seem to be the case,” said Andrea Gabellone, head of global equities at KBC Securities. “That means the market believes that US exceptionalism is there to stay. It also means that the rally will likely broaden toward other corners of the market.”
Fed’s Barkin warned that inflation is too high, though he sees tentative signs that price pressures may moderate soon. The calendar for this week includes the annual central bankers’ gathering in Portugal, with an appearance by new Fed Chair Warsh, and US June jobs report on Thursday — likely to be a third straight extremely strong print, according to Bloomberg Economics.
“Our economists continue to expect a relatively hawkish policy path, with two rate hikes penciled in later this year,” noted Jim Reid at Deutsche Bank AG. “However, near-term guidance is likely to remain limited, leaving markets to take their cues primarily from incoming data.”
Europe’s Stoxx 600 is edging lower, with tech outperforming in Europe too but being offset by declines for health care and consumer stocks. Tech and media stocks rise most, while construction shares lag. Here are the biggest movers Monday:
Bridgepoint gains as much as 12%, the most since April, after the UK private equity firm announced it has agreed to buy Florida-based Kayne Anderson Real Estate in the group’s first push into the US property market
Nagarro shares rise as much as 92% to €77.50 after Galaxy Germany, a holding company for Persistent Systems, said it plans to offer €81 per share to buy the IT services firm
Prosus shares rise as much as 4% after the company reported strong results for fiscal year 2026 that were in line with expectations. Analysts welcome a 40% increase in the dividend
Elmera rises as much as 3.2% after the Norwegian electricity provider agreed to sell itself to Finnish rival Fortum, which beat an earlier bid from Spain’s Audax. Fortum shares gain as much as 1.1%
Ipsen shares climb as much as 1.9%, making them among the biggest gainers in the Stoxx 600 Health Care Index on Monday. The French company’s deal to buy Kartos Therapeutics is “strategically sensible,” according to Barclays
Gerresheimer shares fall as much as 5.8% after the German firm lowered its guidance for the 2026 financial year, citing a challenging economic environment, some project delays on the part of customers and operational challenges
Novo Nordisk shares drop as much as 2%, underperforming the Stoxx 600 Health Care Index on Monday morning, with JPMorgan noting an expected guidance raise is already reflected in current consensus figures
Asian markets traded higher on Monday after South Korean stocks recouped most of their losses following massive investment plans by heavyweight chipmakers. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.2% after falling as much as 1% earlier in the session. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix slumped more than 6% before erasing the bulk of their declines, leading to a similar move in the Kospi. In an ambitious plan aimed at cementing South Korea’s status as a technological powerhouse, the nation is planning investments of at least 1,350 trillion won ($880 billion) from companies including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix into chips and data centers. Elsewhere, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.2% higher while benchmarks in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand climbed. In geopolitics, the US and Iran agreed to stop attacking each other before peace talks resume this week over the Strait of Hormuz and other issues.
“At this point, the market appears to be driven much more by sentiment than fundamentals,” said Kim Dojoon, chief investment officer at Zian Investment Management. “Price action has been concentrated in the large electronics names,” with developments in semiconductor pricing dynamics weighing on the outlook over time.
In FX, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index is little changed, with the euro holding around $1.14 and sterling hovering just above $1.32.
In rates, bond yields in the US, Europe and the UK are higher, with gilts slightly underperforming and yields up by two or three basis points across the curve ahead of a speech by would-be prime minister Andy Burnham. Treasuries are mixed, keeping yields within a basis point of Friday’s closing levels, as oil futures stabilize near four-month low with US and Iran halting attacks, while dip buyers emerge in US stocks, following a rotation out of this year’s top performers. Front-end and belly yields are slightly higher on the day, long-end tenors slightly richer, flattening 5s30s spread by around 1bp; 10-year near 4.37% is little changed, similar to bunds and gilts in the sector. IG dollar issuance slate includes five names so far; supply this week is expected to slow, with dealers forecasting $10 billion to $15 billion of sales. Treasury coupon issuance resumes next week with 3-, 10- and 30-year tenors
In commodities, WTI crude oil futures, off session highs, remain more than 1% higher; Brent climbed 0.8% to $72.59 a barrel following weekend flare-ups between the US and Iran. While the two sides have since agreed to halt the attacks, the pace of shipments through the chokepoint has slowed, with shipowners likely to remain wary of crossing the strait. Gold is down by about $40/oz to around $4,050/oz.
US economic data calendar includes only Dallas Fed manufacturing activity at 10:30am; ahead this week before Thursday are June consumer confidence, May JOLTS job openings, June ADP employment change and June ISM manufacturing. Fed speaker slate empty for the session. Chairman Warsh participates in an ECB panel event on Wednesday in Sintra
Market Snapshot
Top Overnight News
The U.S. and Iran have agreed to end days of back-and-forth fighting around the Strait of Hormuz and resume peace talks, said officials from the U.S. and other countries involved in the negotiations.
Commercial shipping continued to move through the Strait of Hormuz at a reduced level after recent attacks on two vessels. A handful of vessels made open transits over the weekend, according to tracking data. BBG
China’s central bank set the interest rate on its new overnight liquidity tool at a level that was below expectations, according to people familiar with the matter, in what some economists see as a de facto rate cut that could push down market borrowing costs. The PBOC said it conducted 300 billion yuan ($44 billion) of overnight reverse repurchase agreements in open market operations on Monday. BBG
China has expanded the list of Japanese companies and organizations on its export control list in Beijing’s latest move to curb what it describes as a “new type of militarism” from the government of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. FT
Vladimir Putin expects US negotiators to visit Russia for Ukraine talks once Washington shifts focus from Iran, but rejected a proposal to halt long-range strikes. He acknowledged fuel supply problems and said he’s considering a full ban on diesel exports. BBG
Investors have never been more eager to ratchet up their stock returns through margin loans and funds that amplify gains and losses. U.S. margin debt, or what investors borrow from their brokerages to buy securities, rose 54% to a record $1.4 trillion in May from a year earlier, according to Finra data. Meanwhile, high-risk leveraged exchange-traded funds that produce double or triple the daily move of underlying stocks are growing rapidly, as is trading in options tied to them. WSJ
Comcast shares jumped premarket (CMCSA +24%) after it announced plans to separate into two companies with a tax-free spinoff of NBCUniversal and Sky. BBG
The Supreme Court is set to rule on two of Trump’s most audacious gambits: his bids to oust Fed governor Lisa Cook and to roll back automatic birthright citizenship. The judges will release the final seven rulings of their term this week, starting today. BBG
Private credit’s latest bet is Buy Now, Pay Later loans. Supporters say the consumer assets offer attractive returns, but critics worry about parallels to the subprime mortgage crisis. BBG
Financials will kick off the Q2 2026 earnings season the week of July 13th. By the first week of August, roughly 75% of S&P 500 market cap will have reported results. Nvidia (NVDA), the largest stock in the market, will report on August 26th. GIR
US House Speaker Johnson said he will send the Housing Bill over to President Trump on Monday: Fox News.
S&P affirmed the US at AA+; Outlook Stable.
Iran Conflict
US CENTCOM announced that it conducted strikes against multiple Iranian targets on Saturday, on the orders of US President Trump, “in direct response to continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping.” In retaliation, Iran’s IRGC responded by hitting 8 US military installations at the Ali Al Salem air base in Kuwait and the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, according to IRNA. However, in the early hours of Monday, a US official said technical talks with Iran are slated to continue on all areas of the MoU, while the official added that both sides will stand down for now and that vessels can move freely.
US official said Iranian drone and missile attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain failed and that all Iranian projectiles were intercepted or missed, according to ABC News.
Iran cancelled technical talks with the US scheduled on Sunday and cited recent attacks on the country and a failure to meet conditions outlined in the MoU with the US. However, it was separately reported that the US and Iran agreed to halt strikes and meet this week, according to Axios citing a senior US official. Furthermore, US and Iran technical talks that were scheduled to be held on Tuesday in Switzerland, which would focus on nuclear and other issues, have reportedly been changed and will now be held in Doha on Tuesday and will focus on the Strait of Hormuz and recent escalation.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Araghchi said the US and Israel have violated the MoU, particularly the first clause, which hinders the restoration of regional security, while he also stated that Iran seeks to implement the MoU in good faith in accordance with the principle of commitment for commitment and that they will act decisively against contract breaches.
Mediators have reportedly set up communication channels to de-escalate any incidents with technical talks set to continue, according to reports.
Iran’s President said they will get USD 6bln from Qatar of the USD 12bln of Iranian funds that were frozen due to US restrictions within Qatar, journalist Mallick reported.
Israeli army said it attacked 3 Hezbollah headquarters in southern Lebanon last night.
Israeli military has received no orders to withdraw from Lebanon, according to Al-Jadeed and Haaretz, citing an Israeli military source.
Instructions have been given to the Israeli army to reduce the destruction of homes and infrastructure in areas of southern Lebanon it controls, Al Hadath reported citing Israeli media.
Israel destroyed a Hezbollah underground tunnel in southern Lebanon, while Israeli forces reportedly shelled a Syrian village near the Golan Heights.
Israeli PM Netanyahu and Defence Minister Katz said the IDF will remain in the southern Lebanon “security zone” after destroying a Hezbollah underground facility.
Iran and Oman held the first meeting on the Strait of Hormuz, within the framework of Article 5 of the MoU, Mehr reported.
A more detailed look at global markets courtesy of Newsquawk
APAC stocks began the week mixed, heading closer to month- and quarter-end, while participants reflected on the geopolitical developments over the weekend, in which the US and Iran conducted tit-for-tat strikes. Although, the sides have since agreed to halt attacks and will meet for talks this week. ASX 200 traded rangebound with the index kept afloat by strength in tech, telecoms, healthcare and the consumer sectors, while utilities, industrials and real estate lagged. Furthermore, price action was contained in the absence of any pertinent data and with the ACCC announcing that the excise tax cut on fuel is to be lowered from July 1st to August 2nd. Nikkei 225 continued its pullback from recent record highs and slipped beneath the 69,000 level amid tech-related weakness, although the index is off today’s worst levels as participants also digested strong Retail Sales data. Moreover, reports that the government is to call for “appropriate” monetary policy in its basic policy guidelines, in an apparent effort to dissuade the BoJ from further hiking rates, also boosted sentiment. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp are positive, albeit to varying degrees, with outperformance in Hong Kong amid strength in biotech and a rebound in hyperscalers. Baidu was boosted as its AI chip unit Kunlunxin targets a USD 50bln Hong Kong listing. However, the mainland was contained after somewhat mixed industrial profits data, and despite the PBoC conducting overnight reverse repo operations as flagged.
Top Asian News
South Korea announced a new AI and chip spending package, which includes huge investment from the likes of Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) and SK Hynix (000660 KS).
PBoC injected CNY 157.5bln via 7-day reverse repos with the rate maintained at 1.40%, while it announced CNY 300bln in overnight reverse repos with the overnight reverse repo rate said to be 1.25% vs exp. 1.35%, according to Bloomberg.
Japan’s government is expected to call for “appropriate” monetary policy in its basic policy guidelines, in an apparent effort to dissuade the BoJ from further hiking rates, according to Bloomberg citing a document.
European bourses (STOXX 600 -0.1%) started the day tentatively, but have gradually edged off best levels. The latest US-Iran flare up has had little impact on trade this morning, with traders ultimately focusing more on any potential disruptions to the Strait rather than fresh strikes. Focus in the APAC session was on South Korea, where it announced a new KRW 1,350tln AI and chip spending package. The total plan includes promoting a semiconductor fab worth KRW 800tln, 81tln in a packaging hub and 550tln to build AI data centres. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are to be heavily involved, with the two Cos planning to build two chipmaking plants each for KRW 800tln. Even though the announcement helped reverse the earlier losses (Samsung Electronics -4.8%, SK Hynix -1.7%), analysts at Morningstar think that, if the new commitments are standalone investments, they could imply material oversupply risk over the next decade.
Top European News
Spanish Economy Ministry said the Government expects the economy to grow by 2.6% in 2026 (prev. 2.2%).
FX
Snapshot: G10s are mixed against the USD and to varying degrees. The Kiwi slightly outperforms vs peers, whilst the GBP and EUR follow closely behind. The JPY resides at the bottom of the list. Outside of the G10 space, the KRW is weaker this morning after South Korea unveiled a USD 1tln chip/AI investment plan. Potentially on fears surrounding a) how Korea aims to finance the government’s portion of the investment, b) pressure in SK Hynix/Samsung shares, which leads to outflows in domestic markets, c) heightened geopolitical risk, and the associated inflationary impacts on the region.
DXY is incrementally weaker against the USD, and currently holds within a 101.15 to 101.39 range. Focus for the index over the weekend was on the increased geopolitical risk, which ultimately highlighted the uncertain nature of the current US-Iran MoU. As a reminder, the US and Iran conducted tit-for-tat strikes; thereafter, the pair agreed to halt strikes and resume meetings this week. It seems to be the case that markets are happy to ignore the short-term flare-ups, and broadly focus on whether there are any material disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz.
GBP is slightly firmer, holding within a narrow 1.3191 to 1.32282 range. Really not much driving the action this morning for the GBP, but focus ahead will be on commentary from likely PM Burnham. He is expected to announce plans to devolve powers and money from the central government to England’s regions. This would mark his first major policy speech since announcing his intention to stand for leadership of the ruling Labour Party.
That aside, speculation around the next UK Chancellor continues. The Sun reports that current Work and Pension Secretary McFadden is a contender, under the belief he would steady the market. However, Miliband remains a contender, with a source to the Sun remarking that it is now between McFadden and Miliband. The latter remains the worst option for markets.
JPY remains the slight underperformer this morning. USD/JPY currently holds towards near-term highs at 161.95, and within a 161.72-161.88 range. Speculation surrounding intervention remains heightened, particularly heading into US Independence Day. Japan favours intervention during periods of low volume, given the improved effectiveness when attempting to strengthen the JPY.
Fixed Income
Fixed income benchmarks initially started the week on the backfoot as energy prices opened higher on renewed US-Iran strikes over the weekend, but have since come off lows as crude benchmarks fall from highs. This came after the US and Iran agreed to halt strikes, and meet on Tuesday.
Gilts (-23 ticks) are slightly softer, ahead of MP Burnham’s speech at 11:30BST/06:30EDT. It is to last around 20 minutes, focusing on his economic plans. We do not anticipate a Q&A. He is also expected to focus on expanding the devolution of control away from London, and could also touch on nuances around tax levels, housing stock, defence spending and within that, possibly war bonds. Welfare reform will also feature as part of the move to give local authorities more control. The UK benchmark currently trades in the lower part of a 89.24-89.58 range.
Bunds (-8 ticks), likewise, are rangebound (127.35-127.51), despite a hotter-than-expected inflation print from Spain. HICP Y/Y printed at 3.6% vs exp. 3.4%, well above the ECB’s 2% target, while the core figure ticked lower to 2.9% from 3.0%. If the trend of lower core figures follows through to other EZ economies, with France, Italy and Germany set to release their inflation figures later this week, this could signal that the ECB would be willing to look through higher headline figures. The lower core figures would also support the view put forward by ECB President Lagarde, in which she said, “We see no evidence yet of de-anchoring of inflation expectations or second-round effects that would warrant a more forceful policy response at this stage.”
USTs (-2+ ticks) follow their European counterparts, lacking any clear direction, with an appearance by Fed Chair Warsh at Sintra on Wednesday and the US jobs report on Thursday going to be the key driver for Treasuries. Warsh is likely to maintain a slightly hawkish tone and give little in terms of guidance. Ahead of the jobs report, economists at Capital Economics said further downside in yields could lose momentum, with the June report due to be strong again. The economist states that the increasingly strong labour market is not a reason to delay tightening, which could be the biggest near-term risk to USTs.
Commodities
A choppy morning for crude as we digest the initial escalation and then the easing of tensions between the US and Iran over the weekend, with the near-term focus now on Tuesday’s technical talks in Doha.
Just after the open, WTI and Brent hit highs of USD 70.97/bbl and USD 73.39/bbl respectively. While firmer by over USD 1.50/bbl on the day at the peak, the move failed to test Friday’s respective USD 71.86/bbl and USD 75.13/bbl tops, and by extension numerous levels thereafter.
Benchmarks pulled back in acknowledgement of the initial Axios scoop that the side would be meeting this week, and, ahead of that, have agreed to stop strikes. Nonetheless, there still appears to be conflict occurring in Gaza and Lebanon. As the European morning proceeded, WTI and Brent have clambered off lows and trades firmer by USD 0.92/bbl and USD 0.66/bbl respectively.
Spot gold picked up at the end of last week, reacting to the initial US strikes in the Hormuz area. The yellow metal ended the week at USD 4091, just off Friday’s USD 4096/oz best, though markedly shy of that week’s USD 4198/oz peak. For today, as above, geopolitical tensions have moderated somewhat and as such, XAU has lost some of its haven allure, slipping into the red by around USD 30/oz, with the US equity tone also bid and tech-led after the huge Korean AI and Chip spending plan, alongside confirmation that SPCX is to join the Nasdaq.
Base metals are mixed, despite the firmer US tone. Instead, reflecting the mixed APAC handover and acknowledging the marginal deterioration in the European tone across the morning. 3M LME Copper is just about in the green, but in a thin and familiar range, shy of the mid-May peak.
TotalEnergies (TTE FP) said operations at its oil refinery and petrochemical plant in northwest France were impacted by a power outage on Friday.
Spain’s Bilbao Port Executive President urged the EU to delay the 2027 ban on Russian LNG or risk becoming overdependent on the US, according to FT.
Oman LNG’s first LNG carrier has reportedly departed the nation, Oman News Agency reported.
US Agriculture Secretary Rollins said the US and Mexico opened a sterile fly production facility in Metapa, Mexico, which is expected to produce up to 100mln sterile flies a week.
Trade/Tariffs
China’s MOFCOM said 20 Japanese firms were added to the export control list for links to Japan’s military. MOFCOM stated that measures only target some Japanese entities and apply only to dual-use items, while they do not affect normal economic and trade exchanges between China and Japan.
Central Banks
Fed Chair Warsh is reportedly set to announce task force details in the coming few weeks, NYT reported citing sources,
Fed’s Barkin (2027 voter) said inflation is too high, but he sees some signs that price pressures could moderate soon, according to Bloomberg.
ECB’s Kazaks said there is currently no need for multiple ECB hikes in a rushed way, according to Econostream. Probabilities of the negative scenarios have fallen massively, with the shock and persistence being smaller while a smaller shock reduces the risk of non-linearities and second-round effects.
BoE’s chief economist Pill said the BoE is still experimenting with scenarios and external presentations.
Geopolitics
Ukrainian President Zelensky said Ukraine targeted the Slavyansk-na-Kubani oil refinery in the Krasnodar region and a refinery in the Yaroslavl region of Russia, as part of Kyiv’s “long-range sanctions” campaign against Russia.
Ukraine’s air force said a UAV was detected in the Dnipropetrovsk region, while explosions were reported in the suburbs of Kharkiv.
Russian President Putin said Russia has proposed that both sides stop striking each other’s deep targets and warned that if such strikes continue, Russian strikes on Ukraine will become more powerful with more severe consequences.
Russian President Putin said Russia is expecting US negotiators once the US is less busy with Iran, while he also stated that Russia is ready for talks with the US, according to AFP.
US Event Calendar
10:30 am: June Dallas Fed Manf. Activity, est. 1, prior 0.4
DB’s Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap
We have published our quarterly global markets survey, which includes a range of fascinating insights—from expectations around events in Iran and where bubbles may be forming in financial markets, to how AI is being used at work and views on its potential to replace jobs. It also covers our regular questions and, perhaps most importantly, predictions for the World Cup. You
Tensions in the Iran conflict have continued to escalate since Friday, with a series of tit-for-tat strikes around the Strait of Hormuz despite a fragile ceasefire framework. The latest flare-up began with attacks on commercial shipping, prompting successive US strikes on Iranian-linked targets, while Iran responded with missile and drone attacks on US-linked sites in the Gulf, including bases in Bahrain and Kuwait. Over the weekend, the conflict intensified further with additional strikes on vessels and military targets, leading to heightened maritime security risks and the Joint Maritime Information Center raising the threat level in the Strait to “substantial.” However, overnight developments suggest a tentative de-escalation, with the US and Iran reportedly agreeing to halt further attacks ahead of renewed technical talks in Doha this week. Both sides are said to be standing down for now, allowing shipping flows to continue, although disputes over key provisions of the memorandum of understanding—particularly around control and potential costs for transit through Hormuz—mean the situation remains fragile and risks to regional stability persist. Brent is up +0.71% this morning.
Asian equity markets are mixed this morning. Easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East are providing some support, though fresh regional trade frictions are weighing on sentiment after China imposed tighter export controls on 20 Japanese entities, requiring government approval for shipments. Beijing said the move reflects concerns over Japan’s military posture. The KOSPI (-2.24%) is the weakest performer, with technology stocks still under pressure following last week’s semiconductor volatility, while the Nikkei (-0.88%) is also lower. In contrast, the Hang Seng (+2.12%) is outperforming, with the CSI (+0.08%) and Shanghai Composite (+0.15%) posting modest gains, and the S&P/ASX 200 (+0.35%) edging higher. US equity futures are firmer, with both S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures up +0.57%, while 10yr UST yields are +1.2bps at 4.38%.
On the policy front, the PBOC has introduced an overnight reverse repo facility, setting the rate at 1.25%. This marks another step in modernising its monetary policy framework and improving short-term liquidity management. The new rate sits 15bps below the existing seven-day reverse repo rate of 1.40%, which remains the main policy benchmark.
In Japan, early data showed retail sales rose 5.3% YoY in May, well above expectations of 3.0% and up from April’s downwardly revised 2.8%.
Global attention this week will centre on the US labour market, with the June employment report due on Thursday ahead of the Independence Day holiday. A reminder that the US will be 250 years old this week and Peter and Henry have written a piece explaining how it’s continually prospered over the period and the likelihood of it doing so going forward.
Alongside that, central bank communication will be in focus at the ECB’s Sintra forum (today through Wednesday), while inflation data across Europe and activity indicators in Asia—notably China’s PMIs and Japan’s monthly data—round out a busy global calendar.
In the US, our economists expect payroll growth on Thursday to slow to +75k (from +172k previously), with private payrolls rising by around +90k. There is some risk of seasonals pulling down the numbers as they have in recent years around this time. The unemployment rate is expected to hold at 4.3%, while average hourly earnings are seen unchanged at +0.3% month-on-month. Hours worked are also expected to remain steady at 34.3, leaving nominal income growth broadly stable.
Ahead of that, today brings the Dallas Fed manufacturing survey, while tomorrow sees the May JOLTS report, where markets will watch for any shifts in hiring, quits and layoffs amid a still subdued hiring environment. Wednesday then features the ADP employment report (our economists expect +110k) alongside the ISM manufacturing index (forecast 53.8 vs 54.0 previously). These releases should help set expectations going into Thursday’s payrolls. Beyond the labour market, tomorrow also sees the Conference Board’s consumer confidence index (our economists expect 94.1 vs 93.1 previously).
On policy, attention will turn to Wednesday, when Fed Chair Warsh speaks at the ECB’s Sintra forum. Our economists continue to expect a relatively hawkish policy path, with two rate hikes pencilled in later this year. However, near-term guidance is likely to remain limited, leaving markets to take their cues primarily from incoming data.
Looking beyond the US, Europe’s main event is the aforementioned ECB’s annual Sintra conference, which begins today and runs through Wednesday, featuring remarks from major central bank leaders. In parallel, inflation data will be a key focus, with Spain and Belgium reporting today, followed by Germany, France and Italy tomorrow, and the Eurozone aggregate on Wednesday. Our economists expect inflation of 2.46% YoY in Germany, 2.30% in France, 3.23% in Italy, and 2.95% for the Eurozone. Switzerland will also release CPI on Thursday. In the UK, the BoE publishes its credit conditions surveys on Thursday and the DMP survey on Friday.
In Asia, China releases various PMIs in the first half of the week. In Japan, today’s retail sales (out earlier) is followed by industrial production tomorrow, where our economists expect a +1.4% month-on-month increase. The highlight, however, will be the Bank of Japan’s Tankan survey on Wednesday, which is expected to show broadly steady sentiment and may reinforce the case for further gradual policy tightening. Recapping last week now, and markets were rocked by a global tech sell-off, even as oil prices declined amid increasing traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. So both the S&P 500 (-1.95%, -0.05% on Friday) and the Nasdaq (-4.60%, -0.24% Friday) declined, whilst the Magnificent 7 (-5.46%, +1.47%) entered correction territory, down -12.6% from its May 28 peak. A large part of the tech weakness was driven by chipmakers, as the Philly Semiconductor Index dropped by -7.94% (-5.29% Friday), despite a brief reprieve midweek after Micron beat revenue estimates for Q4. In Asia, the Kospi (-5.81%, -7.08% on Friday) and Nikkei (-2.65%, -4.15%) also slumped.
The equity sell-off came despite Brent crude prices (-10.65%, -4.34% on Friday) falling back to below their pre-war levels at $71.99/bbl, as flows through the Strait of Hormuz continued to ramp up. The oil price decline has eased fears about an inflation shock and aggressive rate hikes. That was also helped by some positive US data last week, including Thursday’s PCE inflation which showed headline PCE up only +0.4% on the month (vs. +0.5% expected).
So investors dialled back expectations of Fed rate hikes, with the amount of hikes priced by December down -7.3bps to 32bps over the week. In turn, that led the 2yr Treasury yield -8.7bps lower over the week (-3.1bps on Friday), whilst the 10yr yield (-8.4bps, -2.3bps on Friday) fell to 4.37%. Pricing of ECB rate hikes by December also fell -12.8bps over the week to 24bps. Germany’s 2yr (-12.9bps, -1.1bps on Friday) and 10yr (-13.4bps, -0.6bps on Friday) declined in response.
Finally, in Europe UK assets outperformed as Prime Minister Starmer’s resignation announcement on Monday helped ease political uncertainty with Andy Burnham so far unchallenged as Starmer’s successor. Yields on 10yr gilts (-11.1bps, +3.2bps Friday) fell, while the FTSE 100 rose +1.40% (-0.21% on Friday). That helped keep the STOXX 600 stable over the week (+0.04%, -0.68% Friday), even as the DAX (-1.26%, -1.29% Friday) and CAC 40 (-0.55%, -0.43% Friday) fell after Friday’s slump.
1b) European Opening Report
NQ benefiting from SPCX introduction; crude choppy over mixed reporting regarding Doha talks – Newsquawk US Market Open
Monday, Jun 29, 2026 – 06:03 AM
Over the weekend, the US CENTCOM announced that it conducted strikes against multiple Iranian targets after Iran hit a Panama-flagged tanker. In response, Iran struck US military bases in Gulf nations.
Thereafter, the US and Iran agreed to halt strikes and to resume meetings this week. The talks are reportedly to be held on Tuesday, with a focus on the Strait of Hormuz and the recent escalation. Crude futures off best levels, Brent +1.3%.
South Korea announced a new USD 880bln AI and chip spending package, which includes huge investment from the likes of Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) and SK Hynix (000660 KS).
US equity futures gain, with the NQ being supported by the South Korean chip investment and the introduction of SPCX into the index.
DXY softer; G10s broadly firmer with outperformance in the Kiwi.
Fixed income benchmarks choppy but ultimately slightly softer, with Gilts in focus as MP Burnham prepares a speech.
Looking ahead, highlights include US Dallas Fed Manufacturing Index, Speakers including ECB’s Lagarde & UK MP Burnham.
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IRAN CONFLICT
US CENTCOM announced that it conducted strikes against multiple Iranian targets on Saturday, on the orders of US President Trump, “in direct response to continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping.” In retaliation, Iran’s IRGC responded by hitting 8 US military installations at the Ali Al Salem air base in Kuwait and the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, according to IRNA. However, in the early hours of Monday, a US official said technical talks with Iran are slated to continue on all areas of the MoU, while the official added that both sides will stand down for now and that vessels can move freely.
US official said Iranian drone and missile attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain failed and that all Iranian projectiles were intercepted or missed, according to ABC News.
Iran cancelled technical talks with the US scheduled on Sunday and cited recent attacks on the country and a failure to meet conditions outlined in the MoU with the US. However, it was separately reported that the US and Iran agreed to halt strikes and meet this week, according to Axios citing a senior US official. Furthermore, US and Iran technical talks that were scheduled to be held on Tuesday in Switzerland, which would focus on nuclear and other issues, have reportedly been changed and will now be held in Doha on Tuesday and will focus on the Strait of Hormuz and recent escalation.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Araghchi said the US and Israel have violated the MoU, particularly the first clause, which hinders the restoration of regional security, while he also stated that Iran seeks to implement the MoU in good faith in accordance with the principle of commitment for commitment and that they will act decisively against contract breaches.
Mediators have reportedly set up communication channels to de-escalate any incidents with technical talks set to continue, according to reports.
Iran’s President said they will get USD 6bln from Qatar of the USD 12bln of Iranian funds that were frozen due to US restrictions within Qatar, journalist Mallick reported.
Israeli army said it attacked 3 Hezbollah headquarters in southern Lebanon last night.
Israeli military has received no orders to withdraw from Lebanon, according to Al-Jadeed and Haaretz, citing an Israeli military source.
Instructions have been given to the Israeli army to reduce the destruction of homes and infrastructure in areas of southern Lebanon it controls, Al Hadath reported citing Israeli media.
Israel destroyed a Hezbollah underground tunnel in southern Lebanon, while Israeli forces reportedly shelled a Syrian village near the Golan Heights.
Israeli PM Netanyahu and Defence Minister Katz said the IDF will remain in the southern Lebanon “security zone” after destroying a Hezbollah underground facility.
Iran and Oman held the first meeting on the Strait of Hormuz, within the framework of Article 5 of the MoU, Mehr reported.
EUROPEAN TRADE
EQUITIES
European bourses (STOXX 600 -0.1%) started the day tentatively, but have gradually edged off best levels. The latest US-Iran flare up has had little impact on trade this morning, with traders ultimately focusing more on any potential disruptions to the Strait rather than fresh strikes.
Focus in the APAC session was on South Korea, where it announced a new KRW 1,350tln AI and chip spending package. The total plan includes promoting a semiconductor fab worth KRW 800tln, 81tln in a packaging hub and 550tln to build AI data centres. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are to be heavily involved, with the two Cos planning to build two chipmaking plants each for KRW 800tln. Even though the announcement helped reverse the earlier losses (Samsung Electronics -4.8%, SK Hynix -1.7%), analysts at Morningstar think that, if the new commitments are standalone investments, they could imply material oversupply risk over the next decade.
Sectors are mixed. Technology (+1.1%) is the clear outperformer, with Media (+0.8%) and Energy (+0.7%) rounding out the top 3. To the downside lie Construction & Materials (-1.4%), Chemicals (-0.8%), and Real Estate (-0.8%).
US equity futures are firmer across the board, starting to rebound from last week’s losses. The NQ (+1.0%) seems to be benefiting from the news in South Korea.
Snapshot: G10s are mixed against the USD and to varying degrees. The Kiwi slightly outperforms vs peers, whilst the GBP and EUR follow closely behind. The JPY resides at the bottom of the list. Outside of the G10 space, the KRW is weaker this morning after South Korea unveiled a USD 1tln chip/AI investment plan. Potentially on fears surrounding a) how Korea aims to finance the government’s portion of the investment, b) pressure in SK Hynix/Samsung shares, which leads to outflows in domestic markets, c) heightened geopolitical risk, and the associated inflationary impacts on the region.
DXY is incrementally weaker against the USD, and currently holds within a 101.15 to 101.39 range. Focus for the index over the weekend was on the increased geopolitical risk, which ultimately highlighted the uncertain nature of the current US-Iran MoU. As a reminder, the US and Iran conducted tit-for-tat strikes; thereafter, the pair agreed to halt strikes and resume meetings this week. It seems to be the case that markets are happy to ignore the short-term flare-ups, and broadly focus on whether there are any material disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz.
GBP is slightly firmer, holding within a narrow 1.3191 to 1.32282 range. Really not much driving the action this morning for the GBP, but focus ahead will be on commentary from likely PM Burnham. He is expected to announce plans to devolve powers and money from the central government to England’s regions. This would mark his first major policy speech since announcing his intention to stand for leadership of the ruling Labour Party.
That aside, speculation around the next UK Chancellor continues. The Sun reports that current Work and Pension Secretary McFadden is a contender, under the belief he would steady the market. However, Miliband remains a contender, with a source to the Sun remarking that it is now between McFadden and Miliband. The latter remains the worst option for markets.
JPY remains the slight underperformer this morning. USD/JPY currently holds towards near-term highs at 161.95, and within a 161.72-161.88 range. Speculation surrounding intervention remains heightened, particularly heading into US Independence Day. Japan favours intervention during periods of low volume, given the improved effectiveness when attempting to strengthen the JPY.
FIXED INCOME
Fixed income benchmarks initially started the week on the backfoot as energy prices opened higher on renewed US-Iran strikes over the weekend, but have since come off lows as crude benchmarks fall from highs. This came after the US and Iran agreed to halt strikes, and meet on Tuesday.
Gilts (-23 ticks) are slightly softer, ahead of MP Burnham’s speech at 11:30BST/06:30EDT. It is to last around 20 minutes, focusing on his economic plans. We do not anticipate a Q&A. He is also expected to focus on expanding the devolution of control away from London, and could also touch on nuances around tax levels, housing stock, defence spending and within that, possibly war bonds. Welfare reform will also feature as part of the move to give local authorities more control. The UK benchmark currently trades in the lower part of a 89.24-89.58 range.
Bunds (-8 ticks), likewise, are rangebound (127.35-127.51), despite a hotter-than-expected inflation print from Spain. HICP Y/Y printed at 3.6% vs exp. 3.4%, well above the ECB’s 2% target, while the core figure ticked lower to 2.9% from 3.0%. If the trend of lower core figures follows through to other EZ economies, with France, Italy and Germany set to release their inflation figures later this week, this could signal that the ECB would be willing to look through higher headline figures. The lower core figures would also support the view put forward by ECB President Lagarde, in which she said, “We see no evidence yet of de-anchoring of inflation expectations or second-round effects that would warrant a more forceful policy response at this stage.”
USTs (-2+ ticks) follow their European counterparts, lacking any clear direction, with an appearance by Fed Chair Warsh at Sintra on Wednesday and the US jobs report on Thursday going to be the key driver for Treasuries. Warsh is likely to maintain a slightly hawkish tone and give little in terms of guidance. Ahead of the jobs report, economists at Capital Economics said further downside in yields could lose momentum, with the June report due to be strong again. The economist states that the increasingly strong labour market is not a reason to delay tightening, which could be the biggest near-term risk to USTs.
COMMODITIES
A choppy morning for crude as we digest the initial escalation and then the easing of tensions between the US and Iran over the weekend, with the near-term focus now on Tuesday’s technical talks in Doha.
Just after the open, WTI and Brent hit highs of USD 70.97/bbl and USD 73.39/bbl respectively. While firmer by over USD 1.50/bbl on the day at the peak, the move failed to test Friday’s respective USD 71.86/bbl and USD 75.13/bbl tops, and by extension numerous levels thereafter.
Benchmarks pulled back in acknowledgement of the initial Axios scoop that the side would be meeting this week, and, ahead of that, have agreed to stop strikes. Nonetheless, there still appears to be conflict occurring in Gaza and Lebanon. As the European morning proceeded, WTI and Brent have clambered off lows and trades firmer by USD 0.92/bbl and USD 0.66/bbl respectively.
Spot gold picked up at the end of last week, reacting to the initial US strikes in the Hormuz area. The yellow metal ended the week at USD 4091, just off Friday’s USD 4096/oz best, though markedly shy of that week’s USD 4198/oz peak. For today, as above, geopolitical tensions have moderated somewhat and as such, XAU has lost some of its haven allure, slipping into the red by around USD 30/oz, with the US equity tone also bid and tech-led after the huge Korean AI and Chip spending plan, alongside confirmation that SPCX is to join the Nasdaq.
Base metals are mixed, despite the firmer US tone. Instead, reflecting the mixed APAC handover and acknowledging the marginal deterioration in the European tone across the morning. 3M LME Copper is just about in the green, but in a thin and familiar range, shy of the mid-May peak.
TotalEnergies (TTE FP) said operations at its oil refinery and petrochemical plant in northwest France were impacted by a power outage on Friday.
Spain’s Bilbao Port Executive President urged the EU to delay the 2027 ban on Russian LNG or risk becoming overdependent on the US, according to FT.
Oman LNG’s first LNG carrier has reportedly departed the nation, Oman News Agency reported.
US Agriculture Secretary Rollins said the US and Mexico opened a sterile fly production facility in Metapa, Mexico, which is expected to produce up to 100mln sterile flies a week.
TRADE/TARIFFS
China’s MOFCOM said 20 Japanese firms were added to the export control list for links to Japan’s military. MOFCOM stated that measures only target some Japanese entities and apply only to dual-use items, while they do not affect normal economic and trade exchanges between China and Japan.
NOTABLE EUROPEAN HEADLINES
Spanish Economy Ministry said the Government expects the economy to grow by 2.6% in 2026 (prev. 2.2%).
NOTABLE EUROPEAN DATA RECAP
CBI says British companies’ growth expectations for the coming quarter dropped with the growth gauge falling to -28 in June from -24 in May, which is the lowest since December 2025.
EU Consumer Confidence Final (Jun) -17.7 vs. Exp. -17.7 (Prev. -19).
EU M3 Money Supply YoY (May) Y/Y 3.2% (Prev. 2.7%).
EU Loans to Companies YoY (May) Y/Y 4.0% (Prev. 3.4%).
EU Loans to Households YoY (May) Y/Y 3.1% (Prev. 3%).
UK M4 Money Supply MoM (May) M/M 0.1% (Prev. 0.2%).
UK BoE Consumer Credit (May) 1.662B (Prev. 1.859B).
UK Mortgage Approvals (May) 56.21K (Prev. 65.94K).
CENTRAL BANKS
Fed Chair Warsh is reportedly set to announce task force details in the coming few weeks, NYT reported citing sources,
Fed’s Barkin (2027 voter) said inflation is too high, but he sees some signs that price pressures could moderate soon, according to Bloomberg.
ECB’s Kazaks said there is currently no need for multiple ECB hikes in a rushed way, according to Econostream. Probabilities of the negative scenarios have fallen massively, with the shock and persistence being smaller while a smaller shock reduces the risk of non-linearities and second-round effects.
BoE’s chief economist Pill said the BoE is still experimenting with scenarios and external presentations.
NOTABLE US HEADLINES
US House Speaker Johnson said he will send the Housing Bill over to President Trump on Monday, according to Fox News.
S&P affirmed the US at AA+; Outlook Stable.
GEOPOLITICS
RUSSIA-UKRAINE
Ukrainian President Zelensky said Ukraine targeted the Slavyansk-na-Kubani oil refinery in the Krasnodar region and a refinery in the Yaroslavl region of Russia, as part of Kyiv’s “long-range sanctions” campaign against Russia.
Ukraine’s air force said a UAV was detected in the Dnipropetrovsk region, while explosions were reported in the suburbs of Kharkiv.
Russian President Putin said Russia has proposed that both sides stop striking each other’s deep targets and warned that if such strikes continue, Russian strikes on Ukraine will become more powerful with more severe consequences.
Russian President Putin said Russia is expecting US negotiators once the US is less busy with Iran, while he also stated that Russia is ready for talks with the US, according to AFP.
CRYPTO
Bitcoin briefly topped above USD 60k before falling back below as it consolidates following last week’s selloff.
APAC TRADE
APAC stocks began the week mixed, heading closer to month- and quarter-end, while participants reflected on the geopolitical developments over the weekend, in which the US and Iran conducted tit-for-tat strikes. Although, the sides have since agreed to halt attacks and will meet for talks this week.
ASX 200 traded rangebound with the index kept afloat by strength in tech, telecoms, healthcare and the consumer sectors, while utilities, industrials and real estate lagged. Furthermore, price action was contained in the absence of any pertinent data and with the ACCC announcing that the excise tax cut on fuel is to be lowered from July 1st to August 2nd.
Nikkei 225 continued its pullback from recent record highs and slipped beneath the 69,000 level amid tech-related weakness, although the index is off today’s worst levels as participants also digested strong Retail Sales data. Moreover, reports that the government is to call for “appropriate” monetary policy in its basic policy guidelines, in an apparent effort to dissuade the BoJ from further hiking rates, also boosted sentiment.
Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp are positive, albeit to varying degrees, with outperformance in Hong Kong amid strength in biotech and a rebound in hyperscalers. Baidu was boosted as its AI chip unit Kunlunxin targets a USD 50bln Hong Kong listing. However, the mainland was contained after somewhat mixed industrial profits data, and despite the PBoC conducting overnight reverse repo operations as flagged.
NOTABLE ASIA-PAC HEADLINES
South Korea announced a new AI and chip spending package, which includes huge investment from the likes of Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) and SK Hynix (000660 KS).See more details on the spending plan
PBoC injected CNY 157.5bln via 7-day reverse repos with the rate maintained at 1.40%, while it announced CNY 300bln in overnight reverse repos with the overnight reverse repo rate said to be 1.25% vs exp. 1.35%, according to Bloomberg.
Japan’s government is expected to call for “appropriate” monetary policy in its basic policy guidelines, in an apparent effort to dissuade the BoJ from further hiking rates, according to Bloomberg citing a document.
NOTABLE APAC DATA RECAP
Chinese Industrial Profits YY (May) 21.1% (Prev. 24.7%).
Chinese Industrial Profits YTD YY (May) 18.8% (Prev. 18.2%).
Japanese Retail Sales MM (May) 1.9% vs Exp. -0.5% (Prev. 1.3%).
Japanese Retail Sales YY (May) 5.3% vs. Exp. 3.1% (Prev. 2.1%, Rev. 2.8%).
1c) Asian Opening report
US and Iran agree to halt strikes on eachother, after a weekend of fighting; Brent +0.4% – Newsquawk EU Market Open
Monday, Jun 29, 2026 – 02:01 AM
Over the weekend, the US and Iran exchanged fire; the US said it responded to the Iranian’s decision to hit a Panama-flagged tanker. In response, Iran struck military bases in Gulf nations.
Thereafter, the US and Iran agreed to halt strikes and to resume meetings this week. The talks are reportedly to be held on Tuesday, with a focus on the Strait of Hormuz and the recent escalation.
US, Israel, and Lebanon signed a trilateral framework agreement on Friday; Hezbollah rejected the agreement, suggesting that it would only accept a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.
Crude benchmarks gained at the reopen, but then faded off highs after the US and Iran agreed to halt strikes; Brent Aug’26 +0.4%.
APAC stocks were mixed; European equity futures are indicative of a slightly firmer open.
DXY is flat and holds above 101.30; G10s are mixed, the Kiwi slightly outperforms whilst the CHF and JPY lag.
Looking ahead, highlights include Spanish Inflation Prelim. (Jun), Speakers including BoE’s Pill, ECB’s Lagarde & UK MP Burnham.
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IRAN CONFLICT
US conducted strikes on Friday against Iranian coastal radar installations and missile and drone storage sites in response to Iran’s drone attack on a commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz. US also conducted a fresh round of strikes against Iran on Saturday in tit-for-tat attacks, in which the US targeted Iranian communication and air defence sites, drone-storage facilities and minelaying capabilities after Iran hit another ship carrying Qatari oil. Furthermore, Iran launched missiles and drones targeting the Ali Al-Salem Air Base in Kuwait and the Fifth Fleet in Salman Port, Bahrain on Sunday.
US President Trump posted on Saturday that “United States aircraft just struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations, and coastal radar sites, for violating the Cease Fire Agreement, AGAIN! It is very possible that they will never learn! There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!”
US official said Iranian drone and missile attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain failed and that all Iranian projectiles were intercepted or missed, according to ABC News.
US official said technical talks with Iran are slated to continue on all areas of the MoU, while the official added that both sides will stand down for now and that vessels can move freely.
Iran cancelled technical talks with the US scheduled on Sunday and cited recent attacks on the country and a failure to meet conditions outlined in the MoU with the US. However, it was separately reported that the US and Iran agreed to halt strikes and meet this week, according to Axios citing a senior US official. Furthermore, US and Iran technical talks that were scheduled to be held on Tuesday in Switzerland, which would focus on nuclear and other issues, have reportedly been changed and will now be held in Doha on Tuesday and will focus on the Strait of Hormuz and recent escalation.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Araghchi said the US and Israel have violated the MoU, particularly the first clause, which hinders the restoration of regional security, while he also stated that Iran seeks to implement the MoU in good faith in accordance with the principle of commitment for commitment and that they will act decisively against contract breaches.
IRGC said that a direct line of communication with America regarding the Strait of Hormuz has not been and will not be established, according to an Al Arabiya report on Friday.
Israel destroyed a Hezbollah underground tunnel in southern Lebanon, while Israeli forces reportedly shelled a Syrian village near the Golan Heights.
Israeli PM Netanyahu and Defence Minister Katz said the IDF will remain in the southern Lebanon “security zone” after destroying a Hezbollah underground facility.
US, Israel, and Lebanon signed a trilateral framework agreement on Friday, while the agreement was reported to include an Israeli withdrawal from an area in favour of the Lebanese Army, according to Al Araby citing Israel Channel 13 sources. However, Hezbollah sources told Al-Araby TV that the framework agreement signed in Washington is rejected and not binding on the resistance, while they will only accept a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
US TRADE
EQUITIES
US stocks were mixed on Friday, in which most indices finished in the red, with the Nasdaq 100 the underperformer once again as the latest jitters were sparked following reports that OpenAI is leaning towards delaying its IPO until 2027, with CEO Altman insisting on a USD 1tln valuation for the IPO. Adding the most pressure to the NDX included Broadcom (-3.7%), NVIDIA (-1.6%), Micron (-6.7%), and Qualcomm (-7.6%), while Apple (+3.1%) saw a bounce after seeing the biggest selloff in over a year, with the latest news being that the Vision Pro and Smart glasses chief is to leave for OpenAI.
SPX -0.05% at 7,353, NDX -1.09% at 29,118, DJI -0.09% at 51,881, RUT +0.07% at 3,010.
US President Trump posted on Friday that “Numerous European Countries have been discussing the imminent implementation of a Digital Services Tax on American Companies”, while he threatened 100% tariffs on any country that imposes such a tax.
US President Trump’s administration partially rolled back the Anthropic model ban, with the government permitting trusted partners to access the Mythos 5 model following a two-week ban for foreign use, according to WSJ.
Apple is pressing the White House for approval to buy memory chips from blacklisted CXMT, according to FT.
China’s MOFCOM said 20 Japanese firms were added to the export control list for links to Japan’s military. MOFCOM stated that measures only target some Japanese entities and apply only to dual-use items, while they do not affect normal economic and trade exchanges between China and Japan.
NOTABLE HEADLINES
Fed’s Kashkari (2026 voter) said on Friday that he is concerned about inflation, especially in services, and is seeing some signs of life in the labour market, while he added that the inflation move up is not just about oil and the Middle East. Kashkari said he has one rate hike pencilled in for 2026 and sees rates on hold in 2027, as well as noting that it is an appropriate time to reset the Fed statement, and they are going to have to see how no forward guidance works. Furthermore, he commented that the Fed may need to raise rates amid broad inflation.
Fed’s Barkin (2027 voter) said inflation is too high, but he sees some signs that price pressures could moderate soon, according to Bloomberg.
US President Trump nominated former Oklahoma state trooper Lance Schroyer as ICE Director.
US House Speaker Johnson said he will send the Housing Bill over to President Trump on Monday, according to Fox News.
US and Mexico opened a facility to produce sterile flies in an effort to combat the New World screwworm parasite.
S&P affirmed the US at AA+; Outlook Stable.
Apple (AAPL) is heading to the UK Supreme Court to fight a USD 500mln patent bill that judges said the Co. must pay to embed patented mobile technology in its devices, such as iPhones, worldwide.
SpaceX (SPCX) is to be added to the Nasdaq 100 index on July 7th, as expected.
APAC TRADE
EQUITIES
APAC stocks began the week mixed, heading closer to month- and quarter-end, while participants reflected on the geopolitical developments over the weekend, in which the US and Iran conducted tit-for-tat strikes. Although, the sides have since agreed to halt attacks and will meet for talks this week.
ASX 200 traded rangebound with the index kept afloat by strength in tech, telecoms, healthcare and the consumer sectors, while utilities, industrials and real estate lagged. Furthermore, price action was contained in the absence of any pertinent data and with the ACCC announcing that the excise tax cut on fuel is to be lowered from July 1st to August 2nd.
Nikkei 225 continued its pullback from recent record highs and slipped beneath the 69,000 level amid tech-related weakness, although the index is off today’s worst levels as participants also digested strong Retail Sales data. Moreover, reports that the government is to call for “appropriate” monetary policy in its basic policy guidelines, in an apparent effort to dissuade the BoJ from further hiking rates, also boosted sentiment.
Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp are positive, albeit to varying degrees, with outperformance in Hong Kong amid strength in biotech and a rebound in hyperscalers. Baidu was boosted as its AI chip unit Kunlunxin targets a USD 50bln Hong Kong listing. However, the mainland was contained after somewhat mixed industrial profits data, and despite the PBoC conducting overnight reverse repo operations as flagged.
US equity futures marginally edged higher but with gains capped as the escalation between the US and Iran over the weekend, and the agreement to stand down, highlighted the frailty of the ceasefire.
European equity futures indicate a marginally positive cash market open with Euro Stoxx 50 futures up 0.1% after the cash market closed with losses of 0.7% on Friday.
FX
DXY traded little changed as geopolitics remained in the spotlight after the US and Iran exchanged strikes over the weekend, but have since agreed to stand down for now and will resume talks this week. There were very few other fresh drivers for the US, with participants looking ahead to the key NFP jobs data later in the week, while comments from Fed’s Barkin had little impact, in which he noted that inflation is too high, but sees some signs that price pressures could moderate.
EUR/USD struggled for direction after last Friday’s whipsawing and its return to beneath the 1.1400 handle, with comments from ECB’s Schnabel remaining hawkish as she warned that price pressures could turn out stronger than expected despite the US-Iran peace deal.
GBP/USD eked out slight gains and attempted to reclaim the 1.3200 status, but with upside capped in quiet FX trade and with UK PM-in-waiting Burnham expected to announce plans to devolve powers and money from the central government in London to the nation’s regions.
USD/JPY remained contained within the 161.00 handle amid higher oil prices, mild upside in yields, better-than-expected Japanese Retail Sales, and ongoing intervention risk.
Antipodeans were rangebound amid the mixed risk appetite and lack of pertinent data.
PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 6.8175 vs exp. 6.8041 (prev. 6.8166)
Bolivia reportedly moves to a flexible exchange rate system.
FIXED INCOME
10yr UST futures lacked demand and lingered well within Friday’s tight parameters in the absence of major US-specific catalysts outside of geopolitics and with mild upside in oil prices, while participants look ahead to the latest NFP jobs data scheduled for Thursday due to a holiday-shortened week.
Bund futures marginally softened amid the upside in oil, while there were comments from ECB’s Schnabel, who warned that price pressures could turn out stronger than expected despite the US-Iran deal.
10yr JGB futures continued to pull back from last week’s peak following firmer-than-expected Retail Sales data from Japan, but with downside stemmed as Japan’s government is expected to call for “appropriate” monetary policy in its basic policy guidelines, in an apparent effort to dissuade the BoJ from hiking rates further.
COMMODITIES
Crude futures gained at the reopen following the tit-for-tat strikes between the US and Iran over the weekend, although the upside was capped as the sides have since agreed to halt strikes and meet this week.
TotalEnergies (TTE FP) said operations at its oil refinery and petrochemical plant in northwest France were impacted by a power outage on Friday.
Spain’s Bilbao Port Executive President urged the EU to delay the 2027 ban on Russian LNG or risk becoming overdependent on the US, according to FT.
Spot gold mildly pulled back after last Friday’s rebound stalled just shy of the USD 4,100/oz level, while the downside coincided with higher oil prices and upside in yields.
Copper futures remained indecisive following the prior week’s fluctuations and amid the mixed risk appetite in Asia.
CRYPTO
Bitcoin edged higher but with the rebound capped by resistance just above the USD 60,000 level.
NOTABLE ASIA-PAC HEADLINES
PBoC injected CNY 157.5bln via 7-day reverse repos with the rate maintained at 1.40%, while it announced CNY 300bln in overnight reverse repos with the overnight reverse repo rate said to be 1.25% vs exp. 1.35%, according to Bloomberg.
China can withstand a further deterioration or a freeze in economic and trade ties with the EU, according to CCTV-affiliated social media account Yuyuantantian.
Japan’s government is expected to call for “appropriate” monetary policy in its basic policy guidelines, in an apparent effort to dissuade the BoJ from further hiking rates, according to Bloomberg citing a document.
DATA RECAP
Chinese Industrial Profits YY (May) 21.1% (Prev. 24.7%)
Chinese Industrial Profits YTD YY (May) 18.8% (Prev. 18.2%)
Japanese Retail Sales MM (May) 1.9% vs Exp. -0.5% (Prev. 1.3%)
Japanese Retail Sales YY (May) 5.3% vs. Exp. 3.1% (Prev. 2.1%, Rev. 2.8%)
GEOPOLITICS
RUSSIA-UKRAINE
Ukrainian President Zelensky said Ukraine targeted the Slavyansk-na-Kubani oil refinery in the Krasnodar region and a refinery in the Yaroslavl region of Russia, as part of Kyiv’s “long-range sanctions” campaign against Russia.
Ukraine’s air force said a UAV was detected in the Dnipropetrovsk region, while explosions were reported in the suburbs of Kharkiv.
Russian President Putin said Russia has proposed that both sides stop striking each other’s deep targets and warned that if such strikes continue, Russian strikes on Ukraine will become more powerful with more severe consequences.
Russian President Putin said Russia is expecting US negotiators once the US is less busy with Iran, while he also stated that Russia is ready for talks with the US, according to AFP.
OTHER
Pakistan announced it conducted an intelligence-led ground operation along the Afghanistan border, which killed 29 militants.
GLOBAL NEWS
Serbia’s President Vucic said he will resign in weeks to help his political party win early elections anticipated later this year, while the move would enable him to remain in power as PM if the party wins.
EU/UK
NOTABLE HEADLINES
UK’s Andy Burnham is expected to announce plans to devolve powers and money from the central government to England’s regions, in his first major policy speech since announcing his intention to stand for leadership of the ruling Labour Party.
Speculation around the next UK Chancellor continues. The Sun reports that current Work and Pension Secretary McFadden is a contender, under the belief he would steady the market. However, Miliband remains a contender, with a source to the Sun remarking that it is now between McFadden and Miliband.
Burnham ally Haigh has proposed that capital gains tax be “brought closer” to income tax, Telegraph reports.
France recorded about 1,000 excess deaths in the past week amid the “exceptional” heat wave.
ECB’s Schnabel warned that price pressures could turn out stronger than expected despite the US-Iran peace deal.
NORTH AND SOUTH KOREA AND JAPAN
SOUTH KOREA
JAPAN
3 CHINA
HONG KONG VS MAINLAND CHINA
4. EUROPEAN AND SCANDINAVIAN COMMENTARIES PLUS NATO
UK
UK Parents Face Five-Year Jail Terms For Questioning Their Child’s Gender ‘Transition’
While schools have been given the green light to socially transition four-year-olds and exam boards slip pro-trans propaganda into Spanish GCSE materials, the government has published a draft bill that threatens parents, teachers and doctors with up to five years in prison for so-called conversion practices.
The new legislation, unveiled by Equalities Minister Olivia Bailey, targets efforts to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
Penalties include unlimited fines, five-year prison sentences, or both. The government frames it as protection against abuse, citing reports of beatings, rape, threats, manipulation and even exorcisms.
Bailey stated: “Conversion practices are driven by the false belief that being LGBT+ is shameful and can be forcibly changed. No-one should face abuse just because of who they are. That’s why we are delivering on our manifesto commitment to ban abusive conversion practices. Legal loopholes have left LGBT+ people vulnerable to these harmful acts which is why we must legislate.”
Critics warn the wording is dangerously vague. Normal parental concern, exploratory conversations, or even citing the weak evidence base for youth transitions could be twisted into criminal “conversion practices.”
Recent approval of an NHS puberty blocker trial for children under 16 has only heightened fears that the bill arrives amid a broader push to lock in affirmation-only approaches.
Official guidance for schools makes clear that primary-age children, including those as young as four, can socially transition at school by changing pronouns and names.
The document claims such steps “should happen very rarely” and that parents should be involved in the “vast majority” of cases. In practice, campaigners say activist influence on teachers has already created a culture where affirmation is the default and caution is suspect.
Government opens door to social transitioning in schools despite Cass Review warnings
Helen Joyce of Sex Matters described schools as having “indoctrinated children” for a decade under pressure from groups like Stonewall and Mermaids. She said the government “has started a de-radicalisation programme but we actually need to de-radicalise a whole generation of teachers” and that “only total clarity will stop it.”
Maya Forstater, chief executive of Sex Matters, called the notion that a child can start school as a girl and graduate as a boy “a dangerous fairytale.” This guidance persists even after the Cass Review found the evidence for puberty blockers and medical pathways “remarkably weak” and led to restrictions on routine use for under-18s.
In a related revelation, campaigners have exposed how Pearson’s GCSE Spanish revision guide inserts pro-trans messaging into language learning.
Students are taught phrases expressing that they “follow/admire” someone who “fights/fought” for transgender causes, turning vocabulary exercises into vehicles for ideological approval.
The exam board’s own specification adds vocabulary for “trans” and “non-binary,” instructs assessors to recognise gender-neutral pronouns and invented adjectival endings, and effectively rewards ideological conformity in speaking and writing tasks.
Parents and campaigners argue this is not language education. It is political indoctrination delivered through compulsory schooling, normalising contested ideas about identity while children are still mastering basic grammar.
As we have previously highlighted, more than 650 families represented by the Bayswater Support Group have complained to Ofcom about the BBC’s systematic promotion of transgender ideology in children’s output over nearly a decade.
Shows aimed at pre-schoolers and primary ages have featured non-binary characters, storylines presenting young children as transgender based on stereotypical play, and uncritical portrayals of medical transition.
A Bayswater Support Group spokesman said: “For the past decade, the constant stream of propaganda about gender and trans activism the BBC has transmitted has played a significant role in creating a dangerous culture for children. Specifically, non-conforming children who have been led to believe simplistic identity labels and extreme medical interventions can resolve complex feelings of adolescent and neurodevelopmental distress. The end result of this is a generation of teens and young adults who have come to severe harm, frequently self-diagnosed and self-medicated, estranged from families.”
The group accused the BBC of breaching Ofcom rules on impartiality, accuracy and child protection, and of smearing concerned parents rather than examining its own output.
Meanwhile, children’s poet and author Rachel Rooney saw her career destroyed after publishing My Body is Me!, a short book encouraging young children to accept their natural bodies. Trans activists branded it “terrorist propaganda” and “transphobic.” She faced death threats, professional blacklisting, publisher distancing and event cancellations.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Rooney said: “This is the book that ended my career.” She added: “You can’t tell a child their body is wonderful while also encouraging them to believe they are the opposite sex. It’s not rocket science.” Rooney noted she expected activist attacks but was shocked by the response from industry colleagues who suddenly blocked her or apologised internally for her views. She has since announced she has given up writing children’s books.
Her experience illustrates the chilling effect on anyone who states the obvious: no child can change sex.
In April 2025 the UK Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological women and biological sex. Delivering the judgment, Lord Hodge stated: “The terms ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ refer to a biological woman and biological sex in the Equality Act 2010.”
The case, brought by For Women Scotland, clarified that individuals holding Gender Recognition Certificates are not legally women for the purposes of single-sex protections, quotas or spaces. J.K. Rowling praised the “three extraordinary, tenacious Scottish women” who secured the victory, noting they had “protected the rights of women and girls across the UK.”
That clear legal affirmation of biological reality has not slowed the institutional drive to embed gender ideology in schools, media, exam materials and now criminal law.
The through-line is unmistakable. While evidence of harm from social and medical transition of minors mounts, while the highest court has reaffirmed biological sex, and while ordinary parents simply want to protect their children from experimental pathways, the state is preparing to criminalise resistance. Exploratory talk or even polite disagreement risks being recast as abuse punishable by years behind bars.
Parents have the primary duty and right to safeguard their children’s bodies and minds. Biology is not bigotry. Dissent is not conversion therapy. The government’s approach inverts reality: it threatens jail for those defending children while actively enabling the spread of contested ideology to the youngest ages. That is not protection. It is state-backed ideological enforcement.
Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.
END
EUROPE
Did The World Cup Just Start A War In Europe Over Air Conditioning?
Monday, Jun 29, 2026 – 02:45 AM
The World Cup has triggered one of the most surprising global cultural awakenings in decades and almost no one saw it coming. The establishment media had been running negative propaganda for months, claiming that the event was going to be a disaster because it was being held in the US. The machine had already decided that the World Cup in 2026 was going to be sold as a disaster from start to finish.
Rumors were spinning that because Americans don’t care about “soccer” that the tournament would be mismanaged, that America was “racist”, the players would be treated poorly, and that the US is such a dangerous place it would deter travelers from going overseas to attend the games.
The anti-American sentiment being generating by western journalists is staggering. However, all it took was a few weeks and around 1.2 million foreign visitors per city coming to see the World Cup at the same time. Suddenly, Europeans have realized they’ve been lied to about everything.
The US hosted event is now being called one of the most successful in history. The propaganda spell has been broken. Europeans are going on social media to apologize for the hate their countrymen have been dumping on the US over the years. And, most importantly, they’ve discovered air conditioning.
Strangely, it’s not American gun rights that are sparking mass debate. Rather, it’s the air conditioning issue that’s causing the most friction with political leaders back in Europe, and the elites are not happy.
Americans have trouble understanding the angst. Only 19% of all Europeans have air conditioning in their homes, compared to 90% or people in the US. In Britain, 14% of people have cold indoor air. In France it’s 25% and in Germany it’s 19%. Keep in mind, these are high rates compared to only 10 years ago. Europe’s love affair with air conditioning is a very recent phenomenon; they’ve been burning up in silence for decades.
But now, travelers visiting America are wondering why a technology created in 1902 is not more common in their home nations? They’re starting to ask questions, and they’re finding out that their own governments simply don’t want them to have it. In other words, air conditioning is a luxury for politicians and the wealthy, not for the peasants. How else can the west save the world from “climate change”?
France has banned drinking alcohol in public to counter dehydration. Residents are stampeding stores and fighting each other for fans and the few air conditioning units they can find. EU leaders are facing increasing demands for a reexamination of “Net Zero” policies.
The French Environment Minister says she is “horrified” by the rising calls for air conditioning, suggesting that the peons need to worry less about the heat and more about global warming, if that makes sense. The debate is being presented as a matter of “selfishness” on the part of common citizens who want to stay cool.
“I’m going to tell you how I see it: I’m horrified by the people who tell me, ‘We just need to put air conditioning everywhere.’ Do you think that’s going to prevent forest fires? Do you think that’s going to stop a crop from disappearing? Do you think that’s going to prevent the death of the animals we’re seeing? Do you think that’s going to prevent anything? Nothing! Of course, people shouldn’t suffocate, but this isn’t adapting to climate change — it’s just an emergency measure.”
In response, governments across Europe are cracking down even more on air conditioning in order to send a message. The EU commission is shutting down air conditioning in their Brussels HQ to set an example, but only for the bottom seven floors where all the lower wage employees work. The top floors where the important people reside still get cool air.
In Britain, local councils are being instructed to force residents to remove air conditioning appliances from their homes or face fines. They assert that the devices create too much “carbon emissions” and should only be used as a last resort. Climate change fanatics are taking to British media to admonish people who dare to purchase one of the evil appliances.
Europe is in the midst of a rare summer heat wave. Over 1300 deaths have so far been linked to the rising temps. The temperatures are climbing to ranges common in the US but shocking by European standards. One would think that this would be a perfect rationale for air conditioning, but globalist leaders in the region are testing the will of the public and seeing how much they can take away.
In reality, the Earth has been much hotter many times over the course of millions of years and it had nothing to do with carbon emissions or air conditioners.
The concept of man-made climate change is a farce, which means all of this discomfort and potential death is pointless. Americans discovered this a long time ago, and thanks to the World Cup and social media, Europeans are finally catching on.
5. RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS//
ISRAEL USA/IRAN FRIDAY NIGHT
US Strikes Iran In Retaliation To Hormuz Ship Attack
Friday, Jun 26, 2026 – 05:15 PM
Update (5:00pm ET): As was expected, the US retaliated against Iran one day after Tehran struck a commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz, a tit-for-tat exchange similar to one observed a week ago, and one which threatened to break the two countries’ fragile ceasefire although we doubt there will be further escalation.
US Central Command said that American aircraft on Friday hit Iranian missile and drone storage sites as well as coastal radar installations, reportedly on Sirik Island located near the Strait of Hormuz, calling it a “powerful response to yesterday’s attack.”
U.S. aircraft struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites after Iran hit M/V Ever Lovely on June 25 with a one-way attack drone. The Singapore-flagged cargo ship was exiting the Strait of Hormuz along the Omani coast at the time of Iran’s attack.
The unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces clearly violated the ceasefire. Furthermore, Iran’s dangerous behavior undermined freedom of navigation as commerce increasingly flows through the vital international trade corridor.
CENTCOM forces continue to provide safe passage coordination and support to commercial vessels transiting the strait. The U.S. military remains present and vigilant to ensure all aspects of the agreement with Iran are adhered to, obeyed, and in full force and effect.
Fox reporter Jennifer Griffin said that according to senior US defense officials the strikes on Iranian targets are “ongoing” right now.
According to unconfirmed reported from military bloggers, there is currently intensified U.S. military air activity is now underway over the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, with 6 U.S. Air Force aerial refueling tankers operating alongside a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraf
On Thursday, the Singapore-flagged container ship Ever Lovely sustained damage from what the US said was a one-way Iranian attack drone. The incident irked President Donald Trump, who said earlier Friday that “I don’t like the fact that they took a shot.”
“They shouldn’t be doing that,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
Earlier on Friday, he wrote on Truth Social that the Iranian attack was “a foolish violation of our Ceasefire Agreement
Since signing a 60-day truce last week, Trump has said that he would resume fighting against Iran if Tehran violates its terms, which provides for the flow of vessels through the vital waterway and talks over its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
The question now is whether the resumption of strikes will slow progress toward restoring shipping traffic in the vital energy thoroughfare to pre-war levels. Washington and Tehran were able to agree to an interim peace deal last week despite trading strikes in the lead-up to that document being finalized.
But the two sides continue to clash over key provisions of the deal, including whether Iran will impose tolls or other monetary costs on ships seeking to sail through Hormuz. Oman told European officials that vessels may ultimately have to be charged some fees, Bloomberg reported earlier.
Now we wait to see if Iran responds militarily, although we doubt it as the entire operation has a smell of coordinated, jointly orchestrated activity to throw red meat at the respective bases, especially after Iran’s revolutionary guards said US forces attacked Sirik Island, and Iran “successfully repelled the attack.”
*IRGC: IRAN IS RESPONDING TO US ATTACKS NEAR STRAIT: ISNA
*IRGC SAYS IRAN ‘SUCCESSFULLY REPELLED’ US ATTACK: ISNA
Finally, Fox News tweeted that “military strikes targeting Iran are complete for tonight.”
And with that, the show is over.
* * *
Update (11:55am ET): While today’s announcement by Dubai that the UAE was under missile attack proved to be a false alarm, the US ceasefire it nonetheless becoming increasingly unstable. Following yesterday’s attack by Iran drones on a cargo ship next to Oman, we were wondering how long until Trump responds (and how), and he did just that moments ago when he posted on Truth Social that Iran shoting “at least four One Way Attack Drones at Ships transversing the Strait of Hormuz” is “a foolish violation of our Ceasefire Agreement.”
However, Trump’s post follows earlier reports that the US and Iran had set up a deconfliction hotline involving precisely such events in the Gulf, so we doubt that there will be much if any follow through from this latest round of jawboning, especially now that Trump is set on maintaining the flow of oil through Hormuz as much as possible, which has allowed oil to tumble to pre-war levels.
* * *
With each week and month that passes since the start of Trump’s Operation Epic Fury, more and more reports have come out revealing the massive extent of damage to US military facilities in the Mideast region based on Iran’s retaliation across the region.
This is often based on fresh satellite imaging and analysis, despite US government pressure for these research entities to refrain from publishing such data, and to censor open source photographs. After a series of deep investigative reports, it has been proven time and again that the Pentagon and Washington officials have been downplaying and covering up the real extent of devastation caused by Iranian missiles and drones.
More fresh reporting in the Wall Street Journal once again adds confirmation to this, referencing satellite imagery which shows far more serious damage at a key naval base in Bahrain than the US has publicly acknowledged.
The damage is said to be bad enough that the Pentagon is mulling shrinking its troop presence there and elsewhere in the Gulf, including a potential reduced troop footprint in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Iran is hailing this reported pullback as a significant strategic victory produced by its retaliation.
Unnamed officials were cited in the report as saying American forces could retreat as far westward as Israel, after some bases essentially became unusable or uninhabitable altogether.
The U.S. Navy base in Bahrain was repeatedly targeted between late February and June. Strikes that got through caused extensive damage, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of satellite imagery, social-media footage and interviews with current and former servicemembers—damage that the Pentagon hasn’t publicly acknowledged. Hit hard were the command headquarters and at least a dozen other buildings, along with two satellite communications terminals.
The military said no one was killed at the base, known as Naval Support Activity Bahrain, and that the strikes didn’t significantly impact operations. The U.S. evacuated most personnel but has kept a small staff on the ground.
Notably in Bahrain the headquarters building for the US Navy in the Middle East was struck and seriously damaged, along with sensitive communications centers being destroyed.
But here is a key, somewhat unexpected line in the Journal report: “The extensive damage done to America’s sole naval base in the Middle East – along with hits to at least 20 U.S. sites across the region, including military installations and diplomatic facilities – has the U.S. re-evaluating its entire footprint in the region, according to U.S. officials familiar with the deliberations.
This means that damaged structures and bases may not be rebuilt at all, and the sites may just be abandoned as future key US military hubs, WSJ says.
The draw-down of expensive Pentagon comms centers could include from Bahrain: “The military is now considering revamping the base in Bahrain, reducing the U.S. presence in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and moving some bases or base functions west, farther from the reach of Iranian missiles and drones, according to the officials familiar with the deliberations,” WSJ writes.
Reconstruction costs would be staggering, per the same report:
The Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated in a report published Tuesday that the total cost of the war was about $40 billion. That estimate included their calculus of $2.2 billion to $5.1 billion in damage to U.S. bases, based on structures that CSIS identified as damaged.
The Journal used satellite images and social-media footage to identify which buildings on the Bahrain base were damaged. To estimate what it would cost to construct buildings of the same types today, the Journal reviewed a publicly available Defense Department cost model as well as procurement reports. The estimates only cover construction, and don’t include other costs that could factor into the total if the buildings were to be rebuilt, such as debris removal and reinforcement.
“The estimated construction costs at NSA Bahrain totaled about $400 million,” it continues. But ultimately a draw-back from these locations would be based on the proven reality that Iran can easily hit them at any time.
Some further implications to all this are that in any future flare-up or even return to all-out war between the US and Iran, American forces would find themselves executing a conflict much further away from the theatre itself. For example, dozens of major Air Force refueling tankers have already had to be relocated far away from the Gulf, to places like Tel Aviv. Many were destroyed in the opening weeks of the war while parked at Gulf airfields, clearly over-exposed as it seems Iran knew exactly where to target.
Back in late March, US officials admitted to the NY Times that Iran’s significantly retaliation damaging US bases was “a war that is much harder to prosecute.
ISRAEL USA/IRAN SATURDAY MORNING
Iran Responds With Drone Attack On Bahrain, Another Hit On Ship In Hormuz
Saturday, Jun 27, 2026 – 09:55 AM
A lot of escalation has ensued in the last 48 hours, starting when Thursday Tehran struck a commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz, after which by the end of Friday US CENTCOM confirmed a series of fresh attacks on Iranian missile and drone storage sites as well as coastal radar installations, reportedly on Sirik Island located near the Strait of Hormuz.
Referring to Thursday’s attack on a vessel off Oman, the Pentagon called it a “powerful response to yesterday’s attack,” in the Friday statement. By early Saturday, Iran had re-retaliated and launched a fresh drone attack on Bahrain. Additionally, another ship in the Strait of Hormuz separately came under attack Saturday.
The Associated Press points to the obvious potential US-Iran deal (MoU) unraveling: “The attacks across the Persian Gulf show the danger of the Iran war again spinning out of control, even after Iran and the U.S. reached an interim deal to try and agree on a final accord to end the conflict” – though neither side has as yet indicated they are walking away from the deal at this point.
According to more details from the Saturday developments:
Bahrain said it was targeted by “a number” of Iranian drones on Saturday, accusing Tehran of “undermining peace efforts” in the region. In a statement, the country’s foreign ministry said it expressed “Bahrain’s condemnation in the strongest terms of the targeting of its territory at dawn today,” adding that the attacks were a “blatant threat to the security of citizens and residents”.
US Central Command announced that American aircraft had hit Iranian missile and drone storage locations as well as coastal radar sites in response to Iran striking the M/V Ever Lovely ship with a one-way attack drone as it navigated the Strait of Hormuz.
“The Singapore-flagged cargo ship was exiting the Strait of Hormuz along the Omani coast at the time of Iran’s attack,” CENTCOM said, adding that Iranian forces had “clearly violated” the ceasefire agreement.
But it remains that Iran is now firing warning shots at ships that haven’t cleared permits to transit the Strait of Hormuz under Iran’s own protocol, which highlights that deep divisions remain over each side’s interpretation of the terms. The latest via Reuters:
IRAN WEIGHS WALKING AWAY FROM SWISS TALKS AFTER US STRIKE
IRAN MAY HALT SWISS TALKS AFTER US STRIKE ON SIRIK
Gulf states have newly condemned “in the strongest terms the treacherous Iranian attacks” on Bahrain, after drones hit the country’s territory. The GCC statement further alleged that the Iranians targeted “civilian infrastructure and properties”.
Other nations weighed in separately, with for example Kuwait’s foreign ministry saying “The continuation of these aggressions, amid regional and international efforts aimed at de-escalation and reducing tensions, represents a dangerous undermining of efforts for peace and stability and a threat to the security and stability of the region,” on X.
Amid all the tit-for-tat, Iran’s IRGC is blaming the US for breaking it commitments under the signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). A Saturday statement described:
According to Article Five of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, arrangements for monitoring maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz are carried out in coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
However, according to the statement, the United States sought to violate this commitment through various movements and received an appropriate response, and the same will apply in the future. If any aggression is repeated, the response will be broader.”
Al Jazeera has meanwhile reported Saturday that that IRGC ‘targets’ US military sites in region after attacks – and so the response could be ongoing.
Independent journalist and pundit Michael Tracey points out sarcastically but aptly thatIndefinitely bombing Iran sounds a lot like what you might call “endless war”. And so the weekly tit-for-tat escalation might grow more regular until there simply is no more MoU deal to reference back to at all.
Ironically this comes just as Israel, Lebanon, and Israel hailed the signing of a ‘trilateral peace framework’ in Washington – and as Hezbollah is being pushed out of a political solution in south Lebanon, while the IDF occupation of significant territory remains.
end
SATURDAY NIGHT
US Conducts More Airstrikes On ‘Multiple Targets’ In Iran After IRGC Attacked Another Commercial Ship
Saturday, Jun 27, 2026 – 07:30 PM
Update1930ET): The Pentagon has sought to level the score once again, after Iran had attacked a second commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz in under 48 hours on Saturday.
Late in the day, the US military conducted more air strikes against “multiple targets in Iran”. According to a fresh CENTCOM statement:
After yesterday’s U.S. strikes in response to the Iranian attack on M/V Ever Lovely, Iran was given a chance to honor the ceasefire agreement but elected not to when its forces launched a one-way attack drone that hit M/T Kiku this morning at 4:30 a.m. ET. The Panama-flagged tanker was transiting near the Strait of Hormuz with more than two-million barrels of crude oil.
CENTCOM forces launched strikes today in direct response to continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping. U.S. military aircraft targeted Iranian military surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities, and minelayer capabilities.
Commercial vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz continue. U.S. forces remain vigilant, lethal, and ready.
While each side has accused the other of violating the ceasefire, neither has yet shown itself ready to just walk away from the signed US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding – even if commitments are slipping.
* * *
A lot of escalation has ensued in the last 48 hours, starting when Thursday Tehran struck a commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz, after which by the end of Friday US CENTCOM confirmed a series of fresh attacks on Iranian missile and drone storage sites as well as coastal radar installations, reportedly on Sirik Island located near the Strait of Hormuz.
Referring to Thursday’s attack on a vessel off Oman, the Pentagon called it a “powerful response to yesterday’s attack,” in the Friday statement. By early Saturday, Iran had re-retaliated and launched a fresh drone attack on Bahrain. Additionally, another ship in the Strait of Hormuz separately came under attack Saturday.
The Associated Press points to the obvious potential US-Iran deal (MoU) unraveling: “The attacks across the Persian Gulf show the danger of the Iran war again spinning out of control, even after Iran and the U.S. reached an interim deal to try and agree on a final accord to end the conflict” – though neither side has as yet indicated they are walking away from the deal at this point.
According to more details from the Saturday developments:
Bahrain said it was targeted by “a number” of Iranian drones on Saturday, accusing Tehran of “undermining peace efforts” in the region. In a statement, the country’s foreign ministry said it expressed “Bahrain’s condemnation in the strongest terms of the targeting of its territory at dawn today,” adding that the attacks were a “blatant threat to the security of citizens and residents”.
US Central Command announced that American aircraft had hit Iranian missile and drone storage locations as well as coastal radar sites in response to Iran striking the M/V Ever Lovely ship with a one-way attack drone as it navigated the Strait of Hormuz.
“The Singapore-flagged cargo ship was exiting the Strait of Hormuz along the Omani coast at the time of Iran’s attack,” CENTCOM said, adding that Iranian forces had “clearly violated” the ceasefire agreement.
But it remains that Iran is now firing warning shots at ships that haven’t cleared permits to transit the Strait of Hormuz under Iran’s own protocol, which highlights that deep divisions remain over each side’s interpretation of the terms. The latest via Reuters:
IRAN WEIGHS WALKING AWAY FROM SWISS TALKS AFTER US STRIKE
IRAN MAY HALT SWISS TALKS AFTER US STRIKE ON SIRIK
Gulf states have newly condemned “in the strongest terms the treacherous Iranian attacks” on Bahrain, after drones hit the country’s territory. The GCC statement further alleged that the Iranians targeted “civilian infrastructure and properties”.
Other nations weighed in separately, with for example Kuwait’s foreign ministry saying “The continuation of these aggressions, amid regional and international efforts aimed at de-escalation and reducing tensions, represents a dangerous undermining of efforts for peace and stability and a threat to the security and stability of the region,” on X.
Amid all the tit-for-tat, Iran’s IRGC is blaming the US for breaking it commitments under the signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). A Saturday statement described:
According to Article Five of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, arrangements for monitoring maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz are carried out in coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
However, according to the statement, the United States sought to violate this commitment through various movements and received an appropriate response, and the same will apply in the future. If any aggression is repeated, the response will be broader.”
Al Jazeera has meanwhile reported Saturday that that IRGC ‘targets’ US military sites in region after attacks – and so the response could be ongoing.
Independent journalist and pundit Michael Tracey points out sarcastically but aptly thatIndefinitely bombing Iran sounds a lot like what you might call “endless war”. And so the weekly tit-for-tat escalation might grow more regular until there simply is no more MoU deal to reference back to at all.
Ironically this comes just as Israel, Lebanon, and Israel hailed the signing of a ‘trilateral peace framework’ in Washington – and as Hezbollah is being pushed out of a political solution in south Lebanon, while the IDF occupation of significant territory remains.
END
SATURDAY
Tehran Retaliates Against Bahrain, Kuwait After US Bombing Campaign Along Iranian Coast
Saturday, Jun 27, 2026 – 07:30 PM
Update(2300ET): Earlier the IRGC warned: “If any aggression is repeated, the response will be broader.” That broader response has come in the overnight into Sunday hours: Tehran attacks Bahrain, Kuwait after US bombs Iranian coast, Al Jazeera reports:
Air raid sirens blare in Bahrain as Kuwait’s military says its air defenses are responding to “hostile missile and drone threats.“
Iranian state media is also confirming the fresh ‘retaliation’ for limited US airstrikes over the last two days, triggered initially by the Iranians seeking to enforce ‘control’ of the Strait of Hormuz, by attacking no less than two foreign vessels in as many days.
Latest via the same publication:
The US has bombed Iran for a second day, hitting the city of Sirik, Bandar-e Lengeh and Qeshm Island, following a drone attack on a commercial vessel near the Strait of Hormuz.
Israel has bombed southern Lebanon, killing at least one person, a day after signing a framework agreement with the Lebanese government to end hostilities.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun asks Trump to help prevent Israeli violations, as Hezbollah rejects the agreement with Israel, describing it as “a surrender of sovereignty”.
Some unconfirmed emerging video showing some of the latest US action along Iran’s coast, in a widening tit-for-tat:
Iran is threatening to walk away from the peace deal if the bombings continue:
The IRGC is saying that the enemy – the United States – should know that violating the ceasefire is against the first clause of the MoU and will lead to a complete halt to the process.
It is clearly warning the United States that if these attacks continue, the MoU and the ongoing negotiations are going to come to a halt.
CENTCOM released footage from its earlier Saturday wave of attacks on Iran:
Update1930ET): The Pentagon has sought to level the score once again, after Iran had attacked a second commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz in under 48 hours on Saturday.
Late in the day, the US military conducted more air strikes against “multiple targets in Iran”. According to a fresh CENTCOM statement:
After yesterday’s U.S. strikes in response to the Iranian attack on M/V Ever Lovely, Iran was given a chance to honor the ceasefire agreement but elected not to when its forces launched a one-way attack drone that hit M/T Kiku this morning at 4:30 a.m. ET. The Panama-flagged tanker was transiting near the Strait of Hormuz with more than two-million barrels of crude oil.
CENTCOM forces launched strikes today in direct response to continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping. U.S. military aircraft targeted Iranian military surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities, and minelayer capabilities.
Commercial vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz continue. U.S. forces remain vigilant, lethal, and ready.
While each side has accused the other of violating the ceasefire, neither has yet shown itself ready to just walk away from the signed US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding – even if commitments are slipping.
* * *
A lot of escalation has ensued in the last 48 hours, starting when Thursday Tehran struck a commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz, after which by the end of Friday US CENTCOM confirmed a series of fresh attacks on Iranian missile and drone storage sites as well as coastal radar installations, reportedly on Sirik Island located near the Strait of Hormuz.
Referring to Thursday’s attack on a vessel off Oman, the Pentagon called it a “powerful response to yesterday’s attack,” in the Friday statement. By early Saturday, Iran had re-retaliated and launched a fresh drone attack on Bahrain. Additionally, another ship in the Strait of Hormuz separately came under attack Saturday.
The Associated Press points to the obvious potential US-Iran deal (MoU) unraveling: “The attacks across the Persian Gulf show the danger of the Iran war again spinning out of control, even after Iran and the U.S. reached an interim deal to try and agree on a final accord to end the conflict” – though neither side has as yet indicated they are walking away from the deal at this point.
According to more details from the Saturday developments:
Bahrain said it was targeted by “a number” of Iranian drones on Saturday, accusing Tehran of “undermining peace efforts” in the region. In a statement, the country’s foreign ministry said it expressed “Bahrain’s condemnation in the strongest terms of the targeting of its territory at dawn today,” adding that the attacks were a “blatant threat to the security of citizens and residents”.
US Central Command announced that American aircraft had hit Iranian missile and drone storage locations as well as coastal radar sites in response to Iran striking the M/V Ever Lovely ship with a one-way attack drone as it navigated the Strait of Hormuz.
“The Singapore-flagged cargo ship was exiting the Strait of Hormuz along the Omani coast at the time of Iran’s attack,” CENTCOM said, adding that Iranian forces had “clearly violated” the ceasefire agreement.
But it remains that Iran is now firing warning shots at ships that haven’t cleared permits to transit the Strait of Hormuz under Iran’s own protocol, which highlights that deep divisions remain over each side’s interpretation of the terms. The latest via Reuters:
IRAN WEIGHS WALKING AWAY FROM SWISS TALKS AFTER US STRIKE
IRAN MAY HALT SWISS TALKS AFTER US STRIKE ON SIRIK
Gulf states have newly condemned “in the strongest terms the treacherous Iranian attacks” on Bahrain, after drones hit the country’s territory. The GCC statement further alleged that the Iranians targeted “civilian infrastructure and properties”.
Other nations weighed in separately, with for example Kuwait’s foreign ministry saying “The continuation of these aggressions, amid regional and international efforts aimed at de-escalation and reducing tensions, represents a dangerous undermining of efforts for peace and stability and a threat to the security and stability of the region,” on X.
Amid all the tit-for-tat, Iran’s IRGC is blaming the US for breaking it commitments under the signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). A Saturday statement described:
According to Article Five of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, arrangements for monitoring maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz are carried out in coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
However, according to the statement, the United States sought to violate this commitment through various movements and received an appropriate response, and the same will apply in the future. If any aggression is repeated, the response will be broader.”
Al Jazeera has meanwhile reported Saturday that that IRGC ‘targets’ US military sites in region after attacks – and so the response could be ongoing.
Independent journalist and pundit Michael Tracey points out sarcastically but aptly thatIndefinitely bombing Iran sounds a lot like what you might call “endless war”. And so the weekly tit-for-tat escalation might grow more regular until there simply is no more MoU deal to reference back to at all.
Ironically this comes just as Israel, Lebanon, and Israel hailed the signing of a ‘trilateral peace framework’ in Washington – and as Hezbollah is being pushed out of a political solution in south Lebanon, while the IDF occupation of significant territory remains.
1SRAEL USA/IRAN MONDAY
US & Iran Set For New Talks, Trump Says, Hours After Tehran Denied Plans Due To Days Of Hormuz Attacks
Monday, Jun 29, 2026 – 08:05 AM
After some persisting Sunday reports, including in The Wall Street Journal, said that last week’s renewed tit-for-tat fighting between the US and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz had ‘stalled’ the next round of talks, President Trump stated on Truth Social Monday that a meeting on Iran would be held in Doha Tuesday. He stipulated that Iran has requested the talks.
“Iran has requested a meeting. It will take place tomorrow in Doha,” Trump wrote on his social media platform in all caps. Axios reported late Sunday, citing a senior US official, that “We decided to stop all the kinetic activity” and make way for renewed talks.
NBC notes in the immediate aftermath of the statement, “There was no immediate reaction from Tehran. Hours earlier, a senior Iranian official denied any technical discussions were scheduled to take place.”
“Technical teams working on the implementation of the initial agreement between the two sides are scheduled to meet in Doha in the coming days, a source with knowledge of the talks,” the report continues.
Abbas Aslani from the Center for Middle East Strategic Studies has contextualized, “In the past few days the two sides have been flexing their muscles on this strategic issue – meaning the Strait of Hormuz, which is a leverage for Iran that can create a balance in the negotiations with the United States.”
“This has been clouding the atmosphere of the talks. The Iranian senior negotiator said they are not expecting those technical talks to be held this week,” he added.
As for how this may or may not impact vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz in the wake of the MoU deal signing, and start of Switzerland technical talks earlier this month, Bloomberg reports that “Commercial shipping continued to move through the Strait of Hormuz at a reduced level after recent attacks on two vessels. A handful of vessels made open transits over the weekend, according to tracking data.”
Last Friday into the weekend saw the escalatory spiral go into overdrive, as red lines continue to be tested. By early Sunday morning, both Bahrain and Kuwait came under direct Iranian attacks. The strikes came just hours after the Pentagon proudly announced it had pounded multiple targets inside Iran – a move Washington characterized as “retaliation” for Tehran’s continued harassment of commercial shipping lanes.
A short time before Trump’s latest Truth Social post proclaiming Doha talks set for Tuesday…
Tehran is now threatening a “complete halt” to all diplomatic negotiations, despite that Trump has been signaling that the gloves are completely off if things spill over into next year: “There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started,” he had said Saturday.
But then Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday, “Any interference in this matter and any attempt to adopt new or separate arrangements compared to what is underway by Iran will only lead to more complicated situations and delays in the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and will fuel tensions.” But for now, at least the two sides have ‘agreed’ to halt strikes, it was widely reported Sunday evening.
END
MONDAY AFTERNOON
ISRAEL/IRAN/USA
Witkoff-Kusher En Route To Doha For Planned Tuesday Talks While Iran Remains Mum, Qatar Halts Maritime Activity
Monday, Jun 29, 2026 – 10:19 AM
Summary
US-Iran talks may resume Tuesday in Doha, Trump declaring the plan in a Monday Truth Social, with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner traveling to Qatar, though Tehran denies technical negotiations are scheduled.
Qatar suspended most maritime activity as security deteriorates, while shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted & slowed.
Recent US-Iran strikes have clouded diplomacy, despite reports both sides have paused military action.
Iran warned it could halt negotiations and said further US involvement in Hormuz would escalate tensions and delay the waterway’s reopening.
Witkoff-Kushner Delegation En Route to Qatar, Iran Mum
Bloomberg reports Monday that Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will meet with Qatar’s prime minister on Tuesday to discuss the talks with Iran, also citing Axios which spoke to a White House official. Will the Iranians actually be there?
On Wednesday US and Iranian technical teams will meet separately with Qatari and Pakistani mediators, Axios says
Witkoff and Kushner will travel to Doha today: Axios
So it seems the US delegation is in motion, even as Tehran has as yet offered no concrete public confirmation that an Iranian high level team is in route.
Qatar Halts Maritime Activity due to Unravelling Security Situation
A big move from Qatar to halt almost all shipping in its maritime territory on Monday:
Qatar has recommended a temporary halt to shipping and some maritime activities in the country until further notice, without providing a reason. The Qatari Ministry of Transport said the precautionary measure includes recreational and fishing boats, jet skis and other vessels. Although no reason was given for the unusual step, the decision was made after Doha announced last night that a Qatari citizen was killed by shrapnel hitting a vessel due to ‘military operations in the area,’ but did not provide further details.
Bloomberg reported earlier in the day: Just a handful of vessels made open transits over the weekend in the strait.
Trump: Talks Continue Tuesday in Doha
After some persisting Sunday reports, including in The Wall Street Journal, said that last week’s renewed tit-for-tat fighting between the US and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz had ‘stalled’ the next round of talks, President Trump stated on Truth Social Monday that a meeting on Iran would be held in Doha Tuesday. He stipulated that Iran has requested the talks.
“Iran has requested a meeting. It will take place tomorrow in Doha,” Trump wrote on his social media platform in all caps. Axios reported late Sunday, citing a senior US official, that “We decided to stop all the kinetic activity” and make way for renewed talks.
NBC notes in the immediate aftermath of the statement, “There was no immediate reaction from Tehran. Hours earlier, a senior Iranian official denied any technical discussions were scheduled to take place.”
“Technical teams working on the implementation of the initial agreement between the two sides are scheduled to meet in Doha in the coming days, a source with knowledge of the talks,” the report continues.
END
LATE MONDAY
WHAT ON EARTH IS WRONG WITH TRUMP???
Iran Contradicts Trump, Refuses Talks ‘At Any Level’ For Coming Days, While US Delegation Travels To Qatar
Monday, Jun 29, 2026 – 01:45 PM
Summary
Iran Foreign Ministry contradicts Trump on Doha talks: “We will not hold any negotiation meetings at any level with the American side in the coming days.”
US-Iran talks may resume Tuesday in Doha, Trump declaring the plan in a Monday Truth Social, with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner traveling to Qatar, though Tehran denies technical negotiations are scheduled.
Qatar suspended most maritime activity as security deteriorates, while shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted & slowed.
Recent US-Iran strikes have clouded diplomacy, despite reports both sides have paused military action.
Iran warned it could halt negotiations and said further US involvement in Hormuz would escalate tensions and delay the waterway’s reopening.
Iran Foreign Ministry Contradicts Trump: No Talks will be Held
Earlier Monday a White House official said the Witkoff-Kushner delegation was en route to Qatar for Iran talks, but it’s looking like Tehran will give the US a cold shoulder. Iran state Tasnim is citing Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, who says:
“We will not hold any negotiation meetings at any level with the American side in the coming days,” directly contradicting prior reports coming out of Washington.
Bloomberg is also confirming the new statement out of the Iranian side. President Trump himself early Monday morning stated on Truth Social: “Iran has requested a meeting. It will take place tomorrow in Doha.” Also Fars has separately stated within the last hours:
“No nuclear negotiations have been held with the US so far, and there will be no negotiations on nuclear issues until Iran’s conditions are met.”
More latest:
IRAN SAYS DELEGATION WILL VISIT QATAR BUT RULES OUT US TALKS
So it seems Witkoff and Kushner will merely meet with Qatari and Pakistani mediators? It remains an open question whether the Iranians will be present in Doha at all. It could be Tehran is issuing the contradictory messaging in order to keep leverage and pressure up, or else to try and humiliate the White House. The Islamic Republic has been warning that more US military action against Iranian territory and in the Hormuz Strait could result in Iran walking away from the negotiating process altogether.
Witkoff-Kushner Delegation En Route to Qatar, Iran Mum
Bloomberg reports Monday that Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will meet with Qatar’s prime minister on Tuesday to discuss the talks with Iran, also citing Axios which spoke to a White House official. Will the Iranians actually be there?
On Wednesday US and Iranian technical teams will meet separately with Qatari and Pakistani mediators, Axios says
Witkoff and Kushner will travel to Doha today: Axios
So it seems the US delegation is in motion, even as Tehran has as yet offered no concrete public confirmation that an Iranian high level team is in route.
END
ISRAEL TBN FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY:
END
END
END
IRAN/OPINION
LARRY JOHNSON
Looks like Iran remaining in control of the Strait…
A little over a week since the US and Iran signed the MoU, some ships that had been trapped in the Persian rushed to travel through the corridor, with many trying to use an alternative route on the southern side of the Strait along the Omani coast. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) had coordinated this alternative routing with Oman – hugging the UAE and Musandam Peninsula coastline, avoiding the central passage that Iran had mined. This route was significant because it bypassed Iran’s designated corridor entirely, which ran closer to Iranian territorial waters.
However, Iran and Oman agreed on a new framework (joint working group) for the future administration of the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, June 24, 2026. The two countries agreed to establish a joint working group between their foreign ministries to discuss:
Future navigation rules and administration of the strait.
Services provided (e.g., safety, pilotage).
Associated costs (in accordance with international standards).
Both emphasized their sovereignty over their territorial waters in the strait.
The naval arm of the Revolutionary Guard issued a warning Thursday against using the new route. In a statement carried by Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency, naval officials said the route was established without notice or coordination with Iran, calling it “unacceptable and completely dangerous.” According to the IRGC:
The only authorized route for passing through the Strait of Hormuz is the one declared by the Islamic Republic of Iran. Vessel traffic outside these routes is extremely dangerous and prohibited. Violators will be dealt with.”
The day before, the Guard had threatened one tanker over the radio, with a soldier warning “You are in range of my missiles and maybe (I) fire on you,” according to the private security firm Ambrey.
On Thursday the Ever Lovely, a Singapore-flagged ship operating in the fleet of Taiwan-based Evergreen Marine, attempted to transit the strait using a narrow channel near the coast of Oman in accordance with a route organized by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) security monitor. The Ever Lovely was struck by a drone belonging to Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Iran allegedly shot at least four drones at ships traveling through the Strait on Thursday. One of those hit the upper deck of the Ever Lovely.
On Friday, the US attacked Iran in ‘response’ to strikes on the commercial vessel in Strait of Hormuz a day earlier:
Iran’s IRIB reported that an explosion was heard at 11:15 pm at the Taheroui pier in Sirik. A military source said the blasts were caused by a projectile hitting the pier area, adding that around five hours earlier, several warning shots had been fired from Sirik toward violating vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Reports also indicated that two warning missiles were fired earlier from around Karpan toward the strait.
US Central Command said its forces carried out strikes against Iran on 26 June in response to Iran’s attack the previous day on the Singapore-flagged cargo ship M/V Ever Lovely as it exited the Strait of Hormuz along the Omani coast. CENTCOM said US aircraft targeted Iranian missile and drone storage sites and coastal radar positions after the vessel was hit by a one-way attack drone.
Although CENTCOM presented this as a powerful strike on Iran, and the US media trumpeted it as an act of major retaliation, the US response inflicted little damage and could reasonably be interpreted as a symbolic gesture rather than a punishing attack.
The IRGC Public Relations department issued the following statement:
Following the Israeli regime’s violation of the ceasefire in southern Lebanon, the treaty-breaking US regime also violated its commitments once again. Under various pretexts, including the transit of a vessel accused of navigating through an unauthorized route in the Strait of Hormuz, the US launched an airstrike against the coasts of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
In response to this aggression, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy struck positions where the US terrorist military is stationed in the region. Under Article 5 of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, responsibility for regulating navigation through the Strait of Hormuz rests with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
However, the United States sought to violate this commitment by encouraging various parties to defy it. It received the necessary response, and the same will apply in the future. If the aggression is repeated, Iran’s response will be broader than this.
Instead of marking a return to war, this exchange of fire can best be categorize as military political theater. I believe that Iran, thanks to intel from the Russians or the Chinese, has learned that the US has issued orders that will initiate the return to CONUS of the aircraft, vehicles and troops that had been deployed to the region in preparation for the February 28 attack. Because of the limited damage inflicted by the US attack, I believe that Iran chose to respond in a limited fashion rather than escalate and run the risk of the US cancelling the redeployment order.
For now, Iran remains in control of the Strait of Hormuz and ships wanting to transit the Strait are adhering to Iran’s new policy.
IRAQ
Baghdad’s Green Zone Locked Down As Officials Arrested In Corruption Sweep
Sunday, Jun 28, 2026 – 09:20 AM
Beyond Sunday’s Iranian drone and missile attacks targeting Bahrain and Kuwait, launched in response to earlier U.S. airstrikes, Hormuz shipping traffic remains stable but well below last week’s peak, when 57 vessels transited the strait on Wednesday. With maritime flows stable through the critical waterway, attention now shifts to Iraq, where a widening corruption sweep inside Baghdad’s Green Zone could become the next area of focus.
Iraq’s state-run Iraqi News Agency reported that several political figures were arrested in a corruption probe tied to testimony from former Deputy Oil Minister Adnan al-Jumaili, who was detained last month.
Security forces locked down Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone and carried out raids inside the government and embassy district that sits on the west bank of the Tigris River. It contains key Iraqi state institutions, including parliament and government offices, as well as foreign embassies, most notably the U.S. Embassy.
Video footage on X showed security forces in tanks and other heavily armed vehicles locking down the Green Zone.
According to a security report obtained by AP News, seven people were arrested, including five members of Parliament whose immunity was revoked. Some were reportedly linked to the political bloc of former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.
“Al-Sudani’s bloc won the largest share of seats in November’s parliamentary elections, but he ultimately stepped aside amid a deadlock in the Coordination Framework — a coalition of Shiite parties allied with Iran that brought al-Sudani to power — over their preferred candidate for premier,” AP News noted.
The outlet added, “He was replaced by Ali al-Zaidi, a businessman and political newcomer, who emerged as a consensus candidate and received the blessing of the United States.”
The immediate read is that this anti-corruption sweep appears aimed at Iraq’s political class aligned with Iran. The timing is also critical, coming just after Iran targeted Bahrain and Kuwait with drones and missiles in response to U.S. strikes. That suggests Baghdad, with US influence, may be moving to eliminate Iran-linked networks inside Iraq before they can become a more worrisome pressure point.
In a move bound to test the limits of the fragile Washington-brokered regional ceasefire, Israel has unleashed massive ordinance on southern Lebanon, saying it has utterly destroyed a huge underground complex built and used by Hezbollah.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz have freshly announced that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) completely demolished a massive Hezbollah underground fortress embedded deep beneath the southern Lebanese village of Majdal Zoun. The village itself was leveled, with the IDF having released footage showing an unusually strong explosion:
The military revealed the subterranean complex spanned roughly 200 meters and plunged more than 25 meters deep – serving as a critical hub where Hezbollah allegedly assembled, stored, as well as launched Iranian-sourced suicide drones.
Notably, Israel had previously postponed the demolition following intense pressure from the Trump administration to halt all kinetic activity in southern Lebanon. However, either Israel’s patience just ran out, or else Washington is secretly still giving the greenlight to move against such infrastructure.
Ahead of the detonation, Netanyahu and Katz noted that Israel did provide a courtesy heads-up to the Trump administration and to US officials representative in Lebanon.
“Troops of the 551st Brigade Combat Team and Yahalom forces, under the command of the 91st Division, destroyed an underground route located in the village of Majdal Zoun, in the security zone in southern Lebanon,” the IDF spokesperson announced.
A chief allegation is that “The compound was built using technology and knowledge from the Iranian terror regime,” the IDF statement continued. Also, as cited in Reuters, “The Israeli statement said the tunnel contained hundreds of weapons and launchers.”
While the IDF has yet to issue its official post-operation briefing, it took the unusual step of warning residents in northern Israel to expect a massive, earth-shaking blast.
The military had actually escorted journalists on a propaganda tour of the complex earlier this month to showcase the scale of the threat, amid the ongoing Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon.
Despite the nominal ceasefire, Israel is clearly signaling that it will not tolerate a Hezbollah reconstruction phase on its border, also wishing to permanently secure a security ‘buffer zone’ to prevent Hezbollah missiles and drones from being fired into northern Israel, something which has been happening for years spanning back to the Gaza war.
RUSSIA VS UKRAINE
Zelensky Telegraphs 40-Day Pressure Offensive On Russia, Fueling Fears Of Slide Toward WW3
Saturday, Jun 27, 2026 – 07:35 AM
The Ukraine war is quite obviously escalating, especially regarding Ukrainian leaders seeking to “bring the war” to Russian soil, amid nightly drone attacks which have come in the hundreds and even thousands of late.
President Volodymyr Zelensky is seeking to seize on the momentum of repeat drone hits on Russian refinery and energy infrastructure – a reality Russia has suffered over many months, leading to a current fuel crisis spanning dozens of cities and regions, and especially Crimea, which has temporarily halted fuel sales to common citizens altogether this week.
Ukrainian media is touting a new Zelensky plan to ramp up the pressure on Russia over the next 40 days, aimed at “pressuring Russia to end its war”.
He has ordered Ukraine’s State Security Service (SBU) to launch a new 40-day operation, which also includes “plan for long-range sanctions, medium-range sanctions, and the results achieved by the SBU,” Zelensky said on X. He’s further calling it an “influence operation.”
“For several months in a row, the SBU has demonstrated the highest performance in defending Ukraine’s positions on the front lines through the use of various types of drones,” Zelensky said on Thursday evening. According to more of the statement:
I approved a 40-day influence operation for the Service against the aggressor state aimed at compelling it to end the war.
Importantly, for several months in a row, the SSU has demonstrated the highest performance in defending Ukraine’s positions on the front lines through the use of various types of drones. The Center of Special Operations “Alpha” leads in terms of the occupier’s personnel and equipment neutralized.
Earlier, in mid-June, Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov proclaimed “Hell is beginning,” for Russia and its military. “Logistics are being cut off. Crimea is being isolated,” he said at the time.
Ukraine’s asymmetric warfare against Russia’s much-larger and better armed military machine is in a significantly better position than the status of a year or so ago. Russian forces still have the upper-hand on the front line in the east, but the pain clearly being inflicted on Russia’s economy can’t be ignored at this point.
This sets up a potential slide into tit-for-tat escalation which could unleash a WW3 scenario. In the meantime this is an interesting-timed warning from Latvia and Poland:
Western intelligence agencies are increasingly concerned that Russia may be preparing a limited hybrid operation targeting NATO’s eastern flank, potentially involving the Baltic states or Poland.
Such a move, officials believe, could be an attempt to test the alliance’s unity as the war in Ukraine enters a new phase.
According to reporting by The Guardian, intelligence officials from two NATO countries have warned that Moscow is considering a “provocation” rather than a full-scale military attack.
At the moment inside Russia, many regions of Russia seem powerless to stop Ukraine’s inbound drone waves, given also that conventional air defenses are set up to defend primarily against larger, faster-moving projectiles like missiles or jets.
President Trump has lately suggested that Ukraine is doing well in the war, or at least much better than it once was. Kiev now feels the pressure to keep this narrative going, also so it can attract more and more weapons and intelligence help. But at some point Russia will feel it necessary to strongly reassert its red lines. This could come in the form of another massive escalation, and against ‘decision-making centers’.
END
STRAIT OF HORMUZ:
Hormuz Tanker Traffic Plunges After Fresh US-Iran Strikes
Monday, Jun 29, 2026 – 03:40 PM
Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz tumbled since late last week, as ship owners and operators froze up amid the renewed hostilities between Iran and the US over the weekend.
The Thursday attack on the container ship Ever Lovely prompted some shipowners to pull back and wait for additional information about how safe transiting the Strait is. The U.S. military on Friday carried out strikes on Iran in response to the attack on the vessel.
Then, on Friday and Saturday, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted strikes against multiple targets in Iran, in response to attacks on two vessels near the Strait of Hormuz. On Saturday, an Iranian attack on a Panama-flagged oil tanker, Kiku, while it was transiting the Strait of Hormuz prompted additional strikes by the U.S. forces. Kiku was carrying more than 2 million barrels of crude oil, the U.S. armed forces said.
“After yesterday’s U.S. strikes in response to the Iranian attack on M/V Ever Lovely, Iran was given a chance to honor the ceasefire agreement but elected not to when its forces launched a one-way attack drone that hit M/T Kiku this morning at 4:30 a.m. ET,” CENTCOM said on Saturday.
The attacks on commercial vessels and the U.S. retaliatory attacks on Iran continue to test not only the fragile ceasefire, but also the willingness of shipowners and operators to press on with transits through Hormuz.
Since a weekly peak of vessels transiting Hormuz on June 24, traffic has materially eased, both in the outbound and inbound directions, according to ship-tracking data by Kpler compiled by Bloomberg.
After the flare-up this weekend, the U.S. and Iran have reportedly agreed to cease attacks ahead of tentatively planned new talks this week.
Although traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has resumed and more vessels are openly broadcasting their position, a return to normality is far from certain and far from near amid persistently volatile operating conditions in the Middle East and its key shipping lane.
RUSSIA/UKRAINE
‘Problematic But Not Critical’: Putin Concedes Fuel Shortages After Ukraine Strikes, Plays It Cool
Monday, Jun 29, 2026 – 11:40 AM
President Vladimir Putin made a rare admission over this past weekend, belatedly acknowledged Sunday that Russia is facing a “certain shortage” of fuel following weeks of ramped-up drone warfare coming out of Ukraine, which has chiefly targeted oil refineries and domestic supply facilities, including in the Moscow region.
“As for strikes against critical infrastructure in general, and energy infrastructure in particular, of course, these attacks on our infrastructure facilities create problems,” Putin said in the new interview published by the Kremlin. “That’s obvious.“
“Right now we’re observing a certain shortage, but it’s not critical,” he added. He also made wide-ranging public remarks at a major summit of the ruling ‘United Russia’ party.
Ukraine’s Zelensky has made no secret of his plans to make life inside Russia as painful as possible, in order to put pressure on the Kremlin to end the war. By close of last week, the rare national fuel crisis inside Russia was outlined as follows:
A fast-growing number of regional officials and gas station chains across Russia are restricting gasoline and diesel sales as Ukrainian drone attacks on oil refineries and supply networks take a mounting toll on supplies.
Fuel rationing measures were in place in at least 56 Russian regions as of Thursday, according to open-source data analyzed by The Moscow Times. In dozens more regions, residents are complaining about fast-rising gasoline prices, closed filling stations and miles-long lines, while some local authorities and major retailers remain hesitant to enact rationing.
“In some districts of our republic, there is no fuel at gas stations right now, so people go to [the capital] Kyzyl to refuel,” said a resident of Tyva, a southern Siberian republic roughly the size of Tunisia.
Further, a state of emergency for all citizens was also declared in Crimea last week – with fuel only being provided to military and state entities at this point.
Putin further acknowledged in his comments that small, slow-moving drones have proven a problem for Russia’s anti-air defense systems, which were conventionally designed to intercept large fast projectiles like missiles or warplanes.
This has been big on Russians’ minds, as this month they beheld unprecedented scenes of massive smoke plumes overtaking Moscow’s skyline, as a key refinery there burned. Still , the Russian leader sought to project strength, stating:
Our retaliatory strikes deep inside Ukraine are far more powerful, more painful, and, frankly, more destructive, causing serious consequences for the “Kyiv regime.”
“Yes, we see the problems, we are aware of them and are responding to them, but we will certainly ensure the security of both the country and our citizens, as well as the inviolability of Russia’s borders,” Putin said at an earlier speech at the congress of the ruling United Russia party
“We will undoubtedly overcome all the challenges facing us today, including terrorist attacks on our territory and infrastructure facilities,” he added.
In the context of the separate Kremlin interview, Putin continued to express hope of positive talks with the US, amid efforts to both improve bilateral relations and negotiate a final political solution to end the Ukraine conflict.
“We are ready to continue negotiations… and discuss all the details,” Putin said, saying that he expects White House special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner to visit Moscow after the “active phase” of the war in the Middle East passes.
Russian officials have repeatedly commented on Washington being busy and absorbed with the Iran conflict and Strait of Hormuz crisis.
That Putin is somewhat downplaying the fuel crisis, emphasizing that it’s “not critical” – signals that Russia is not yet feeling enough pressure to compromise or capitulate on anything, as Zelensky is hoping.
TURKEY/NATO
Turkey Bans Protests Across Many Provinces Ahead Of Major NATO Summit
Rights groups have condemned a protest ban imposed by Turkey ahead of a Nato summit, as well as the arrest of hundreds of people in a sweeping crackdown.
Last week, the Ankara Governorate announced a 13-day province-wide ban on all public assemblies from Sunday, citing “national security” and security measures around the conference.
A total of 225 people were also arrested, including alleged supporters of the leftist Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) and the Islamic State group.
Other detainees included academic Emel Memis, gay rights activist and journalist Yildiz Tar, environmental NGO Tema Foundation representative Nevzat Ozer, independent labour union Umut-Sen spokesperson Burcu Arikan, and Progressive Lawyers Association lawyers Semra Demir and Kursat Bafra.
The state-run Anadolu news agency said that 178 suspects taken into custody were formally arrested, while 34 others were released under judicial supervision.
In a statement, Amnesty International condemned the ban and the arrests as an “unjustifiable attack on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression”.
“All the excessively broad and disproportionate restrictions that prevent the exercise of the right to peaceful assembly must be lifted,” said Esther Major, Amnesty International’s deputy director of research for Europe.
“In addition, Nato’s decision to deny accreditation to some journalists and media outlets from Turkey is a blow to media freedom. We call on Nato to reverse its stance and enable those who have been excluded to cover the event.”
Journalists denied access
The Nato summit is scheduled to take place on 7-8 July and is expected to be attended by leaders from all 32 member states. US President Donald Trump is among those expected to attend.
Turkey has been a member of Nato since 1952 and has the second-largest land army in the alliance.
Leftists and some Islamist groups have long criticized Turkey’s membership, saying it has kept the country under US dominance and suppressed socialist and anti-imperialist movements in Turkey. US support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza, as well as its attacks on Iran, has further provoked anger towards the summit in Turkey.
Dozens of journalists have been denied accreditation for the summit, including those from respected independent outlets such as Cumhuriyet, Sozcu, Anka, T24 and Medyascope.
On Friday, a range of media freedom bodies issued a joint statement condemning Nato’s decision to deny the journalist’s access.
“Given Nato’s own accreditation criteria, which lists editorial independence as a core eligibility requirement, rejection of outlets defined by that very quality is difficult to reconcile,” the statement said.
“Should a governmental institution with a documented track record of restricting press access have played any role in this process, Nato risks allowing domestic media pressures to influence what should be an independent credentialing framework.” Middle East Eye contacted Nato for comment, but had received no response at the time of publication.
AR: footie Fernando Gaga has emergency surgery after collapse at press conference; UK: TV host Jeremy Clarkson has “aggressive” prostate cancer; comic Richard Herring has incurable blood cancer
A moment of genuine alarm for Rod Stewart [a U.S. resident and citizen since 1975]. During the concert held Friday evening at the Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre in West Valley City, the 81-year-old rock legend was forced to stop abruptly after suffering a health issue. As shown in videos that went viral within hours, the British singer suddenlyfaltered, prompting his staff to rush onto the stage and administer oxygen via a mask. Despite the scare, Rod Stewart demonstrated his legendary resilience. Visibly leaning on instruments and stage structures to steady himself, he addressed the audience with a sincerity that moved those present: “I almost fainted,” he admitted, before asking for permission to continue the set while seated: “Do you mind if I sit down for this song?” The crowd responded with prolonged, warm applause, allowing the rocker to complete the performance in a more intimate setting that was safer for his condition.
News from Underground by Mark Crispin Miller is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
New Found Glory guitarist and vocalist Chad Gilbert fought back tears as he returned to the stage in a wheelchair amid his fight against rareadrenalcancer. The rock star, 45, hit the stage in Nashville and got emotional as he was able to reunite onstage with his band after his shocking medical battle with therarecancer, which saw him being rushed to the emergency room in March after suddenly losing control of his limbs. But the beloved musician triumphed and returned to the stage last week, and was overcome with emotion in a video obtained by The Daily Mail. Four years ago, Gilbert received the diagnosis of a rarecancer called pheochromocytoma. However, the star wasn’t sure what hit him when he started losing control of his limbs onstage during a gig back in February. “On February 20th, I played a show in Nashville and was struggling to control the movements of my left hand. My left leg was getting weaker by the day and I started stumbling and falling at times. On the 23rd, I was taken to the ER,” Gilbert shared in an Instagram post in March, adding that a CT scan revealed to doctors that he had three tumors in his brain. Gilbert underwent surgery in February to remove the tumors, and it was a success. Since that nightmare, he’s been actively recovering.
Moshe Kasher [46] has been diagnosed with tonsilcancer, the comedian revealed on Instagram. “Three months ago … I found a bump on my tonsil,” Kasher posted on Sunday. “It was cancer, which did not rule so hard.” Kasher, a stand-up comic who recently appeared in “The Pitt,” was in Savannah, Georgia, at the time, working on the new Judd Apatow and Glen Powell movie “The Comeback King.” On Friday, Kasher underwent a procedure in Los Angeles, joking that “a Jewish surgery robot at Cedars Sinai yanked my jaw open for five hours and cut it out and then slit my throat and dissected my neck, leaving me with a hardcore neck scar which will make people reluctant to street fight me.” Kasher said his tongue was “clamped and yanked” out of his mouth. It’s “so swollen and bruised, I sound like ‘I Am Sam,’” he said, referencing the Sean Penn character. Attaching photos of himself in the hospital, Kasher wrote, “This has been the most terrifying and consciousness consuming experience of my life. My life has been terror, meditation, tears, and medical planning (oh and 12 hour days on set pitching jokes).” Kasher said while “I am in pain,” the “good news is the cancer I have has an incredibly high cure rate (in the 95% zone).” He is waiting to hear whether he needs radiation, “but regardless I will be okay and back to being a cool dude ASAP,” Kasher wrote. Joking that the “good news” is that he was diagnosed with the type of “cancer you get from sex,” Kasher encouraged his followers to get checked and to vaccinate their kids, writing, “HPV positive toncilcancer is an epidemic in men under 55.”
On Tuesday evening, while completing pacing duties at a Sir Walter Running Pop Up Miles event in Raleigh, N.C., American 2011 world 1,500m champion Jenny Simpson collapsed after suffering a cardiac event. Responders could not find a pulse and reportedly administered CPR and used an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to revive her. Simpson was then rushed to a local hospital, where she currently remains under observation. The 39-year-old retired from competition in 2024, following the New York City Marathon.
Fernando Gago sparked alarm bells in South American football after being rushed to hospital in Chile and undergoing surgery due to a cardiovascular issue. The Argentine coach, currently in charge of Universidad de Chile, remains under medical observation while specialists monitor his recovery. Former Real Madrid, Roma and Argentina midfielder Fernando Gago suffered a shocking heart attack during a post-match press conference. Real Madrid jerseys Gago is currently the head coach of Universidad de Chile and was speaking after a 2-0 win over O’Higgins when he started clutching his chest. The 40-year-old drank some water before abandoning his media duties. His club later reported he’d suffered a minor heart attack in a statement.
Television host Jeremy Clarkson has disclosed that he was diagnosed with an “aggressive” form of prostatecancer. He shared the news on the two June 17 episodes of his Prime Video series Clarkson’s Farm. In one episode, the 66-year-old told costars Kaleb Cooper and Charlie Ireland, “I disappeared off the other week and I had a biopsy and it is cancer and it’s aggressive, but it’s really early.” He added that he had known of his diagnosis “since May.” Clarkson did not specify the stage of his cancer but said he was likely to undergo surgery in the coming weeks and would be “slightly out of action” during his recovery, per The Independent. In the following episode, the TV personality told Cooper that the cancer was located in his prostate, noting, “The prostate, 10% of it is dead – the 10% where the cancer is.” The two new episodes, which marked the season finale, concluded with Clarkson addressing the audience from a hospital bed following treatment. “We started Season 5 with me in a hospital bed, and here we are at the end of Season 5 and I’m back in the hospital bed,” he said. He admitted that parts of the treatment did not go entirely as planned, adding, “I’m going to be here for a little while. I’m nil by mouth. I don’t know what’s going to happen. … If this is all successful, I’ll see you for Season 6. … Take care, everyone.” Season 5 of Clarkson’s Farm opened with the TV host speaking about a heart procedure he underwent in October 2024. Writing in his column for The Sunday Times at the time, Clarkson revealed, “Of the arteries feeding my heart with nourishing blood, one was completely blocked and the second of three was heading that way.” He had a stent fitted to restore blood flow.
The 58-year-old comedian revealed the “bad news” about having the blood cancer, which causes the bone marrow to make excessive abnormal white blood cells that cannot fight the disease, in an essay posted on Substack on Tuesday (16.06.26). He penned: “I have cancer again. Not ball cancer this time, I can’t afford to lose another one of those (though I will be doing my show ‘The Male Eunuch’ if it does happen). This time I have blood cancer.” Richard quipped: “And God is determined to make sure I get the funniest cancers possible, and this one is called hairy cell leukaemia.” The stand-up comic added: “The other bad news is that it is incurable.” The Great British Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer 2026 contestant wrote: “The good news is that it’s entirely treatable and will not kill me (the treatment has a tiny chance of killing me, but so has loading the dishwasher, so don’t worry about it). Richard confirmed that his leukaemia is “not linked” to the testicular cancer, the latter of which he was diagnosed with at the age of 53, and had a testicle removed. Richard detailed his first chemotherapy appointment at Lister Hospital, and spoke of his “huge admiration for the NHS and their brilliant and funny staff”.
Researcher’s note – Herring is fully vaccinated [sic] against COVID-19, having received his initial jabs in early 2021.
Daniel Klink Nørremark, known as Dingo, has told his followers that he has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer. The Danish YouTuber now reveals this himself in a story on Instagram , where he also names the disease. “Unfortunately, I have been diagnosed with brain cancer (stage 4 glioma),” it says, among other things. And the 27-year-old profile does not hide the fact that this is a serious message he has received from the doctors. “Unfortunately, it’s a pretty aggressive form of cancer, so I’m starting chemo and radiation next week, and we’re hoping that somehow miracles can happen .” Daniel Klink Nørremark has been a well-known name among young Danes on YouTube for several years, where he has amassed a large following under the name Dingo. Before his life as a YouTuber, he was also a prominent figure in Danish esports. He played FIFA at a high level and was part of Brøndby IF’s eSuperliga team, among other things. Now it’s about something completely different than games, streaming and videos. But despite the diagnosis, he insists that he has no intention of giving up.
News from Underground by Mark Crispin Miller is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
In the Italian media landscape, the confession of Natalia Paragoni [28] is being discussed – she is one of the country’s most prominent influencers, whose audience has long been accustomed to her candor and family chronicles. This time, the reason for public attention was far more serious than another fashion appearance or a comment about colleagues: Natalia announced that, in the last weeks of her pregnancy, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’slymphoma. She revealed this a month after the birth of her second daughter, when the public had already noticed her prolonged silence on social media. After Beatrice was born, Natalia began a course of chemotherapy, openly admitting that this stage comes with pain, fear, and many tears. But even in such moments, she emphasizes: for her family and for herself, she is ready to move forward, step by step.
João Almeida [27] keeps edging back towards his best. The UAE Team Emirates XRG rider tackled stage 4 of the Tour Auvergne Rhône-Alpes 2026 (in Spanish Tour Auvernia Ródano-Alpes, the Dauphiné’s new name) with optimism, while admitting he is still short of top condition. After several difficult months due to health issues that hit his form and preparation, the Portuguese said his sensations are improving day by day. Without going into detail, he confirmed that medical tests flagged anomalies that ultimately shaped his preparation. “We saw a lot of strange things in my blood work. I don’t have much to add,” he explained. The Portuguese said he initially tried to keep training to see how things evolved, but eventually had to stop. “First I tried to keep training to see how it went and then in the end I had to stop. That’s how it is,” he stated.
Noa Kirel [25] and her husband, Daniel Peretz, set off on a luxurious honeymoon in Japan, but after several days they quietly returned to Israel. The reason: Kirel felt unwell, was flown to Israel and was hospitalized. On Sunday morning, the singer published a post on her Instagram account explaining the reason for her hospitalization. “We planned a honeymoon, but my appendix wasn’t really on board,” she wrote. “Thank you all for your concern. I have a perfect husband who took care of me. Wishing everyone only health, amen.”
Researcher’s note – Israeli pop star Noa Kirel is vaccinated [sic], having received her COVID-19 vaccinations [sic] in Israel. In fact, she was highly supportive of the health initiatives there, participating in events and media campaigns tied to the nation’s vaccination [sic] rollout: https://www.imdb.com/news/ni63450386/
Appendicitis has been suggested as an adverse event of special interest post-vaccination [sic] against COVID-19 after a numerical increase in the vaccine [sic] arm of a clinical trial: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8565092/
The boxing world has been shocked by the news of Turki Alalshikh’s health condition. The 44-year-old has been diagnosed with cancer and a braintumor. Alalshikh, the most influential figure and driving force in boxing in recent years, has organized mega-events featuring Canelo Alvarez, Tyson Fury, Naoya Inoue, Anthony Joshua, and Oleksandr Usyk, among many others. Alalshikh co-founded Zuffa Boxing with UFC CEO and President Dana White, and they have become a dynamo in the sport of boxing, particularly with the upcoming changes to the Ali Act, which are nearing approval in the United States Congress. Alalshikh was diagnosed in 2015 with several forms of cancer, but in 2025 a tumor located near the pituitary gland in his brain has been detected.
Singer Hong Ju [26] shed tears while revealing that she is battling stage 3 ovariancancer. On the 15th, Hong Ju and her husband, singer and former wrestler Baek Seung-il, appeared on the “Byeoljubujeon” segment of KBS 1TV’s “Morning Stage.” That day, Hong Ju confessed that she is undergoing treatment for ovariancancer. She was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer last March. She said, “I am on chemotherapy up to the sixth round, and the standard chemotherapy is quite harsh. I have already completed three rounds.” She explained that she had undergone a major surgery lasting seven hours, as the cancerhad spread to her lymph nodes and peritoneum. Hong Ju added, “Fortunately, there was no spread to the intestines. All affected areas were removed.”
Actor JC Santos [37] opened up about his condition through a series of Instagram updates after a suddenmedical emergency landed him in the hospital. On his Instagram Stories, JC uploaded a selfie from his hospital bed, flashing a smile despite the situation. He paired the photo with a playful caption, joking that his advancing age was catching up with him. In a subsequent update, the actor detailed to his followers what happened before he was rushed to the hospital. He began by thanking everyone who reached out to check on him, sharing that he is now in good condition and grateful that doctors found nothing serious. Recalling the moments leading up to his hospitalization, the actor explained that the scare began when he woke up feeling severely dizzy. He noted that he underwent multiple diagnostic tests and continuous monitoring as medical staff worked to determine the cause of the episode. Despite the alarming situation, JC maintained a positive outlook, viewing the health scare as a wake-up call to prioritize his well-being.
An Australian social media influencer engaged to Kiwi Olympian David Nyika has announced she has beaten cancer after an 8-month battle with the disease. Lexy Thornberry, fiancée of the Kiwi boxing star and a former Love Island Australia contestant, shared the news she is cancer-free to her 75,000 followers on Instagram. The 25-year-old revealed in November last year that she was diagnosed with head and neckcancer. In a celebratory post last night, Thornberry said she “beat cancer” after “six excruciating months of chemotherapy and radiation”. “Eight months ago, I was diagnosed with stage 3 nasopharyngeal carcinoma, which spread from my nose to the lymph nodes in my neck. I endured six excruciating months of chemotherapy and radiation – celebrating my 25th birthday while receiving radiation treatment, unable to swallow or taste food. Today, I share this post in celebration of my journey. I’m excited to announce that I am now a Cancer Survivor! The rehabilitation has been challenging, but each day gets a little easier, and I’m excited to be on the path to feeling like myself again.”
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7. OIL AND NATURAL GAS//ENERGY COMMENTARIES
Oil Markets Are Pricing A Supply Surge That Isn’t Guaranteed
Oil prices are tumbling as tankers stream out of the Strait of Hormuz, but most of that traffic is stranded vessels finally allowed to leave, not new supply heading in.
Iran struck a commercial ship near Oman this week even as the 60-day U.S.-Iran ceasefire holds and markets keep pricing in a supply glut.
The U.S. strategic petroleum reserve is at its lowest level in four decades, and China may resume buying once it stops selling off the cargoes it’s offloading now.
Crude oil prices are in freefall after the United States and Iran agreed on a ceasefire, set to last 60 days. Traders expect the ceasefire to unleash an avalanche of crude, and indeed, tankers are leaving the Persian Gulf in growing numbers. And yet Iran just struck a commercial ship in Hormuz.
Bloomberg reported earlier this week that the ceasefire prompted huge discounts in available crude cargoes, noting how Angolan crude was selling at a $10 discount to dated Brent—for the first time in a decade. Not only this, but Chinese refiners were offering crude oil cargoes for sale, the publication wrote, citing unnamed traders.
“You actually get a discount to buy a barrel now versus a barrel tomorrow because of the weakness in the Asian pull on Middle Eastern grades,” Daan Struyven, co-head of global commodities at Goldman Sachs, told Bloomberg.
“Reopening is going well and quickly.”
This appears to be the general feeling in trading and analyst circles. Indeed, analysts were somewhat baffled by the speed with which oil prices dropped amid the reports of more tankers exiting the Strait of Hormuz loaded.
“The market has rebalanced through a meaningfully different mix of demand losses and inventory withdrawals than we initially assumed,” JP Morgan commodity analysts said, as quoted by the Wall Street Journal.
ING, however, sounded a note of caution.
“The market is largely focused on the resumption of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, which continues to increase,” the Dutch bank’s commodity team wrote today.
“However, much of the increase reflects previously stranded vessels leaving the Persian Gulf. Vessel flows into the Gulf remain much more modest.”
Indeed, the Wall Street Journal also noted in its report that while there has been a strong rebound in tanker traffic out of Hormuz, it is made up of stranded vessels finally allowed to exit the chokepoint. Incoming tankers, however, are nowhere near outgoing numbers. The publication cited the chief executive of Phillips 66 as estimating some 90 to 100 million barrels set to leave the strait and adding, “Then the question is: Who will be brave enough to send ships back in? Will they be able to get insurance? How does that all play out?”
Interestingly, Bloomberg also focused on the stranded tankers now leaving the Strait of Hormuz as the basis for its prediction that a flood of crude is coming into the market. The suggestion here is that oil markets are about to flip from deficit to excess in a matter of days, which was immediately reflected in prices. “The market might be a little bit overenthusiastic of how quickly the supply side, particularly inventories, are going to stabilize,” TD Securities’ global head of commodity strategy Bart Melek told the Wall Street Journal.
The reported Iranian strike on a commercial vessel in Hormuz earlier this week could give those overenthusiastic market players a pause, but for now, there is nothing to suggest it. Oil benchmarks are set for a sharp weekly decline despite a slowdown in the price movement following the news.
“With the geopolitical risk premium once again creeping back into prices, markets will be watching intently to see if tanker traffic resumes or if these latest hurdles force producers to tap the brakes on planned production increases,” IG analyst Tony Sycamore said as quoted by Reuters.
There is also the matter of inventory refilling. As Bloomberg noted in its report, echoing analyst warnings, the world handled the Hormuz crisis by tapping oil in storage. China’s contribution to relative market balance was seen as particularly notable, since the world’s largest importer of crude could afford to reduce purchases by dipping into its massive oil inventory, reducing oil prices’ potential for skyrocketing. Yet with flows out of the Persian Gulf improving, Chinese refiners may start buying once again—presumably, after they sell all the cargoes they want to sell right now.
The U.S. also needs to refill, and rather urgently, because oil in storage is at levels low enough to start worrying some observers, with the strategic petroleum reserve sitting at the lowest level in four decades, lower than when it was in 2023, after the Biden administration released close to 200 million barrels. At the end of the week ending June 19, the SPR had 331.2 million barrels in it. The thing to remember about oil in storage, whether in the U.S. or anywhere else, is that not all of these barrels are actually available. There is a certain level of crude in the system that needs to be maintained in order for the system to keep working—the so-called minimum operational level.
So, it appears that a lot more oil is coming out of the Persian Gulf, and this is, naturally, weighing on prices. Yet there are doubts as to whether the rate of this outflow can be sustained over a longer period once the stranded ships clear out, which is potentially a booster for prices. The issue of insurance also looms large over the tanker market, as does the strength of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire.
END
8. EMERGING MARKETS//AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND ISSUES
CANADA/CHINA
Beijing’s Trojan Horse Rolls Into Canada: National Security Expert Warns Carney’s Chinese EV Deals Embeds Sabotage Risk
China keeps finding inventive ways to burrow into the West, and Canada’s new appetite for Chinese electric vehicles may be the most consequential opening yet.
That is the warning at the center of a report published this week by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and written by Brenda Shaffer, an energy and national-security specialist who teaches at the United States Naval Postgraduate School.
China, she writes, “continues to find creative ways to infiltrate and influence the West,” embedding in its exports the capacity to surveil citizens, disrupt transportation and ports, and trigger blackouts and grid damage.
Shaffer situates the electric-vehicle question inside a wider argument about hybrid warfare. China, Russia and Iran, she notes, have each written attacks on Western domestic energy infrastructure into their war doctrines, erasing the old line between the home front and the battlefield. Even brief disruptions to electricity or transit, she argues, could spread public panic and erode support for a distant conflict — the defense of Taiwan being the obvious test.
The cars began arriving in June, the product of a strategic partnership Prime Minister Mark Carney signed in Beijing in January. Ottawa cut its tariff on Chinese electric vehicles from 100 percent to 6.1 percent, opening an initial quota of roughly 49,000 vehicles in the first year. Carney has cast the imports as a low-cost route for Canadians switching to electric, and analysts cited by Shaffer expect Chinese brands to capture a fifth of the Canadian market.
Shaffer leans on an internal Public Safety Canada memo, obtained under access-to-information law, warning that opening the market to “high-risk vendors” invites connected cars that “collect significant amounts of data on Canadians, which can have intelligence value.” Her account of the official response is withering. Asked how Canada would protect drivers, the chief of the defense staff, General Jennie Carignan, told reporters only that “we don’t have a lot of Chinese vehicles so far,” and Defense Minister David McGuinty said he would raise the question with base commanders.
The danger, in her telling, runs well past cars.
A congressional probe found hidden communications equipment inside Chinese-made cranes at major American ports; the same cranes are common in Canadian harbors, where Transport Canada began assessing the risk in 2023. More worrying still are solar power inverters — the devices that feed renewable energy into the grid — of which China supplies about 70 percent worldwide. American investigators have identified undeclared communication components inside some Chinese inverters that experts warn could be used to switch them off remotely and destabilize power grids.
Lithuania has banned Chinese inverters outright and the European Union has moved to bar them from public funding, while Canada, Shaffer writes, has imposed no comparable limits — even as the January partnership commits Ottawa and Beijing to deepen cooperation on solar, wind and battery storage.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s auto policy would prohibit Chinese-made vehicles from proximity to Canadian Forces bases and other sensitive or strategic infrastructure.
In Washington, where opposition to Chinese electric vehicles is one of the few genuinely bipartisan positions, President Donald Trump has called the deal a disaster for Canada, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Canada would live to regret it, and the U.S. ambassador, Peter Hoekstra, vowed the cars would never reach American roads: “We’re not going to open the floodgates to have Chinese cars coming into the US from Canada.”
Shaffer’s alarm is echoed, from a different vantage, by Michael Kovrig, the former Canadian diplomat held in China for more than 1,000 days. In testimony to Parliament this spring, Kovrig described the deal as a “trifecta of risks” — structural dependence, unfair competition that erodes industrial capacity, and systemic pressure on government policy — and warned that the People’s Republic “weaponizes technology, supply chains and market access” to force acquiescence to its agenda.
Commenting this week on his own testimony, Kovrig wrote on social media that opening Canada’s market to Chinese electric vehicles “should be assessed not as a normal trade agreement, but as a tactical gamble that risks deep entanglement.” The Chinese Communist Party, he wrote, “pours enormous resources into the sector to build scale and sustain overcapacity.” He went on: “The pattern is to flood, consolidate and weaponize. We’ve seen China do this before with solar panels, steel, ships and drones, and EVs are now moving through the same stages in global markets.”
The warnings have not slowed Carney’s government, which is pressing ahead at full speed. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly spent much of last week in China, courting BYD, Chery, Geely and Shanghai Launch Automotive Technology to build electric vehicles on Canadian soil, and confirmed that the import quota will keep climbing — rising by 6.5 percent a year from 49,000 vehicles in 2026 to roughly 67,000 annually by 2031. Carney, caught on a hot microphone with Trump at the Group of Seven summit in France, defended the arrangement as “less than 3 per cent of our market, 49,000 cars,” telling the president, “It’s a cap, we capped, a hard line.”
Beijing is pleased.
Geely Holding Group’s Lotus-brand electric vehicles will reach Canada next month — the first such models sold under the 49,000-vehicle quota — China’s ambassador to Canada, Wang Di, told Reuters on Friday. The cars would arrive, he said, “and they will be holding a ceremony when the cars are delivered in Montreal,” a milestone in the trade pivot Carney has pursued to move Canada away from dependence on the United States.
On June 26, the Chinese Communist Party’s state-run China Daily approvingly reported Canada’s pledge to lift its exports to China by 50 percent by 2030. At a Canada Day reception at the Canadian embassy in Beijing, the mission’s chargé d’affaires, Mark Richardson, called Canada “a stable, reliable partner — a partner that builds and values relationships for the long term,” adding, “That includes with China.” Of Carney’s January visit, he said: “To say this has been a significant year for Canada–China relations would be an understatement. In many ways, it has been a turning point.”
He noted that Canada had become a major energy exporter to China and observed that “the first shipment of Chinese-made electric vehicles has arrived in Canada under a new quota that was agreed in January.”
END
U.S./GOLD AND SILVER PRICING/ASIAN CLOSING MARKETS AND EUROPEAN BOURSE OPENING AND CLOSING/ INTEREST RATE SETTINGS MONDAY MORNING 6;30AM//OPENING AND CLOSING
OPENING LEVELS OF CURRENCIES// AND CLOSING ASIAN STOCK MARKET AND OPENING EUROPEAN STOCKS:6 AM EST
EURO VS USA DOLLAR: 1.1403 DOWN 0.0024
USA/ YEN 161.88 UP 0.198 NOW TARGETS INTEREST RATE AT 1.75% AS IT WILL BUY UNLIMITED BONDS TO GETS TO THAT LEVEL…//YEN STILL FALLS//END OF YEN CARRY TRADE BEGINS AGAIN DEC 2024/Bank of Japan raises rates by .25% TO 1.75 ..TAKAICHI NEW PM AS YIELDS RISE//JAPAN DEEPLY IN TROUBLE WITH RISING RATES AND A FALLING YEN!!
GBP/USA 1.3217 UP 0.0029 OR 29 BASIS PTS
USA/CAN DOLLAR: 1.4188 UP 0.0004 //CDN DOLLAR DOWN 4 BASIS PTS//
Last night Shanghai COMPOSITE CLOSED DOWN 46.64 PTS OR 1.16%
Hang Seng CLOSED UP 354.82 PTS OR 1.57%
AUSTRALIA CLOSED UP 0.07%
// EUROPEAN BOURSE: ALL RED
Trading from Europe and ASIA
I) EUROPEAN BOURSES: ALL RED
2/ CHINESE BOURSES / :Hang SENG CLOSED UP 354.82 PTS OR 1.57%
/SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 46 PTS OR 1.16%
AUSTRALIA BOURSE CLOSED UP 0.35%
(Nikkei (Japan) CLOSED UP 161.12 PTS OR 0.23%
INDIA’S SENSEX IN THE RED
Gold very early morning trading: $4031.20
silver:$57.04
USA DOLLAR VS TRY (TURKISH LIRA): 46.64 PLUS 1 BASIS PTS AND NOW WE SEE THEIR STUPIDITY OF SELLING SOME OF THEIR GOLD AND ALL OF THEIR USA DOLLAR RESERVES. THE COUNTRY IS IN BIG FINANCIAL TROUBLE
USA DOLLAR VS RUSSIAN ROUBLE: 77.81 ROUBLE// UP 1 ROUBLE AND 06 BASIS PTS. WOULD YOU BELIEVE THAT THE RUSSIAN ROUBLE AND THE ISRAEL SHEKEL ARE THE STRONGEST CURRENCIES BESIDES THE DOLLAR .
UK 10 YR BOND YIELD: 4.760 UP 4 BASIS PTS
UK 30 YR BOND YIELD: 5.475 UP 2 BASIS PTS
CDN 10 YR BOND YIELD: 3.406 UP 2 BASIS PTS
CDN 5 YR BOND YIELD; 3.037 UP 2 BASIS PTS
USA dollar index early MONDAY MORNING: 101.04 DOWN 8 BASIS POINTS FROM FRIDAY’s CLOSE
MONDAY MORNING NUMBERS ENDS
And now your closing MONDAY NUMBERS 10.00 AM
Portuguese 10 year bond yield: 3.241% UP 0 in basis point(s) yield
JAPANESE BOND 10 yr YIELD: +2.634% UP 3 FULL POINTS BASIS POINTS /JAPAN losing control of its yield curve/
JAPAN 30 YR: 3.836 UP 3 BASIS PTS//
SPANISH 10 YR BOND YIELD: 3.348 DOWN 1 in basis points yield
ITALY 10 YR BOND: 3.5980 UP 1 points in basis points yield ./ THE ECB IS QE’ ING ITALIAN BONDS (
GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD: 2.8654 UP 1 BASIS PTS
IMPORTANT CURRENCY CLOSES : MID DAY MONDAY
Closing currency crosses for day /USA DOLLAR INDEX/USA 10 YR BOND YIELD/10:00 AM
Euro/USA 1.1403 DOWN 0.0024 OR 24 basis points
USA/Japan: 161.88 UP 0.199 OR YEN IS DOWN 20 BASIS PTS// HIGHLY INFLATIONARY TO JAPAN
Great Britain 10 YR RATE 4.7202 DOWN 2 BASIS POINTS //
GREAT BRITAIN 30 YR BOND; 5.428 DOWN 2 BASIS POINTS.
Dip-Buyers Pounce, Big-Tech & Black Gold Bounce, Yen Trounced To 40-Year-Lows
WRAP UP;
Stocks bid as tech rally boosts Nasdaq – Newsquawk US Market Wrap
Monday, Jun 29, 2026 – 03:49 PM
SNAPSHOT: Equities up, Treasuries flat, Crude up, Dollar down, Gold down
REAR VIEW: US and Iran strikes resumed over the weekend, though reportedly agreed to halt strikes and meet this week; Iran rejects Trump’s claim that talks are to take place this week; Iran says delegation sent to Qatar regarding the release of Iranian frozen funds; SCOTUS rejects Trump’s power to remove Fed cook; CMCSA to spin off media assets.
COMING UP: Data: Japanese Unemployment Rate (May), Chinese NBS PMIs (Jun), German Import Prices (Jun), Retail Sales (May), Unemployment Rate (Jun), State/Nationwide Inflation Prelim. (Jun), UK GDP Final (Q1), French Inflation Prelim. (Jun), Canadian GDP (Apr), US JOLTs (May). Events: RBA Minutes (Jun). Speakers: ECB’s Vujcic, Elderson, Schnabel, Cipollone, Lane; BoE’s Breeden. Supply: Japan. Earnings: Nike
2. Trial Newsquawk’s premium real-time audio news squawk box for 7 days
MARKET WRAP
US equities closed higher on Monday, with the Nasdaq outperforming and gaining more than 2% as Semiconductor stocks led the advance. The SOXX ETF posted strong gains after South Korea unveiled a USD 880bln investment plan for its semiconductor and AI industries. Memory stocks initially weighed on sentiment, although the DRAM ETF recovered most of its early losses to finish only modestly lower.
Sector performance was mixed but tilted firmly towards growth. Technology, Consumer Discretionary and Communication Services led the gains, with the latter also supported by a sharp rally in Comcast (CMCSA) after the company announced plans to split into two publicly traded businesses by spinning off its media assets, including NBCUniversal and Sky.
In FX, price action was largely driven by the improved risk backdrop. The Dollar weakened against most G10 peers, while the Yen underperformed as haven demand faded. Sterling outperformed after Burnham’s speech on the economy contained few major policy changes, helping reduce some of the uncertainty surrounding the UK political outlook.
Energy prices rose on renewed geopolitical tensions after the US and Iran exchanged strikes over the weekend targeting assets in the Gulf. Markets also digested conflicting reports surrounding diplomacy, with US officials maintaining that talks are scheduled to take place this week, while Iran denied that formal negotiations are planned. Some reports suggested discussions could instead continue through intermediaries.
Treasuries were little changed overall, although the curve exhibited a modest flattening bias. Market attention now turns to Chair Warsh’s appearance at the ECB’s Sintra Forum and Thursday’s US nonfarm payrolls report, which has been brought forward ahead of the Independence Day holiday on Friday.
FIXED INCOME
T-NOTE FUTURES (U6) SETTLED 2+ TICKS LOWER AT 110-06
T-notes were little changed on Monday despite higher oil prices as markets balanced renewed geopolitical tensions ahead of Fed Chair Warsh and NFP this week. At settlement, 2-year +1.3bps at 4.109%, 3-year +1.1bps at 4.106%, 5-year +1.0bps at 4.144%, 7-year +0.2bps at 4.247%, 10-year -0.2bps at 4.374%, 20-year -0.7bps at 4.864%, 30-year -0.7bps at 4.860%.
THE DAY: Treasury yields finished little changed across the curve on Monday despite gains in crude prices following renewed tensions between the US and Iran. The lack of tier-one economic data kept trading relatively subdued, with attention on Fed Chair Warsh at Sintra this week and the June NFP report on Thursday.
Fed commentary was limited. Overnight, Barkin reiterated that inflation remains too high, although he acknowledged there are signs that price pressures could moderate in the coming months. Elsewhere, the Supreme Court ruled that President Trump cannot remove Fed Governor Cook from office, denying the administration’s application. Cook welcomed the decision, saying it reinforces the importance of Federal Reserve independence.
The rise in oil prices was driven by fresh geopolitical escalation over the weekend. The US reportedly struck multiple Iranian targets after Iran attacked a Panama-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, before Iran responded with strikes against US military bases across the Gulf region. Markets also digested conflicting reports surrounding diplomacy, with US officials stating talks with Iran are scheduled to take place in Doha on Tuesday, while Iranian officials pushed back against suggestions that formal negotiations are planned this week. Both US and Iranian officials are expected to be in Doha, however.
Looking ahead, market attention now turns to Thursday’s US nonfarm payrolls report, brought forward due to the Independence Day holiday on Friday. Investors will also closely watch Chair Warsh’s appearance at the ECB’s Sintra Forum. At the recent FOMC press conference, Warsh reinforced the Fed’s commitment to price stability, confirmed his opposition to forward guidance, and announced several task forces to review key aspects of the Federal Reserve’s policy framework. Since taking office, markets have interpreted Warsh’s communication as notably hawkish, with over one rate hike priced for this year. Warsh tends to avoid forward guidance, but any commentary on inflation and the recent pullback in oil prices will be eyed.
SUPPLY
Bills
US sold 3-month bills at a high rate of 3.740%, bid-to-cover 2.32x.
US sold 6-month bills at a high rate of 3.840%, bid-to-cover 2.58x.
US to sell USD 80bln of 6-week bills on June 30th.
STIRS / OPERATIONS
Fed Pricing: 33bps (prev. Dec +30bps)
EFFR at 3.63% (prev. 3.63%), volumes at USD 120bln (prev. USD 120bln) on June 26th.
SOFR at 3.62% (prev. 3.64%), volumes at USD 3.171tln (prev. USD 3.145tln) on June 26th.
NY Fed RRP operation demand at USD 3.55bln (prev. USD 6.43bln) across 4 counterparties (prev. 8) on June 29th.
CRUDE
WTI (Q6) SETTLED USD 1.52 HIGHER AT 70.75/BBL; BRENT (U6) SETTLED USD 1.31 HIGHER AT 73.91/BBL
Crude prices settled higher to start the week following strikes between the US and Iran over the weekend. While the strikes have been reportedly halted and talks have been set for this week, Iran rejected Trump’s claim of a scheduled meeting on Tuesday in Doha. A spokesperson for the Iranian FM said that the fact that the US representatives are travelling to Qatar has nothing to do with the Iranian delegation’s trip to Qatar, which is being made to follow up on the implementation of the provisions of the MoU, including Article 11 (release of Iranian frozen funds). The strikes which led to the technical talks on Sunday being cancelled included: The US on Friday, striking Iranian coastal radar installations and missile and drone storage sites in response to Iran’s drone attack on a commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz. The US also conducted a fresh round of strikes against Iran on Saturday in tit-for-tat attacks, in which the US targeted Iranian communication and air defence sites, drone-storage facilities and minelaying capabilities after Iran hit another ship carrying Qatari oil. Meanwhile, Iran launched missiles and drones targeting the Ali Al-Salem Air Base in Kuwait and the Fifth Fleet in Salman Port, Bahrain, on Sunday. Lastly, the Iranian deputy foreign minister said they told the Omanis that transit paths in Hormuz will have to be redefined, and technical talks will be held on that. WTI and Brent traded between USD 69.32-71.15/bbl and 71.83-73.50/bbl, respectively.
EQUITIES
CLOSES: SPX +1.17% at 7,440, NDX +2.25% at 29,775, DJI +0.59% at 52,188, RUT +0.01% at 3,010
SECTORS: Materials -1.86%, Real Estate -0.75%, Energy -0.63%, Utilities -0.47%, Consumer Staples -0.45%, Financials +0.13%, Health +0.16%, Industrials +0.81%, Technology +1.69%, Consumer Discretionary +2.68%, Communication Services +3.11%.
EUROPEAN CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 +0.21% at 6,235, Dax 40 -0.14% at 24,636, FTSE 100 -0.23% at 10,484, CAC 40 -0.21% at 8,367, FTSE MIB -0.20% at 51,163, IBEX 35 -0.20% at 19,387, PSI +0.26% at 9,159, SMI +0.36% at 14,224, AEX +0.43% at 1,065.
STOCK SPECIFICS
Comcast (CMCSA): Plans to separate into two independent, publicly traded companies through a tax-free spinoff of its NBCUniversal and Sky assets.
SpaceX (SPCX): To join the NDX before the market open on 7th July.
Rocket Lab (RKLB): To acquire Iridium Communications for USD 54/shr.
Iridium Communications (IRDM): To be acquired by Rocket Lab for USD 54/shr.
Charter Communications (CHTR): SpaceX and Charter have held executive-level talks about a consumer mobile phone partnership.
Palantir Technologies (PLTR): To deliver a sovereign AI platform with NVIDIA to help the US government and critical infrastructure deploy AI.
Martin Marietta Materials (MLM): Agreed to combine with Lhoist North America in a USD 13.5bln deal.
Axon Enterprise (AXON): US President Trump reportedly bought as much as USD 5mln of the company’s shares.
Doximity (DOCS): Downgraded at BofA to ‘Underperform’ from ‘Buy’.
Amazon (AMZN) could pay more for Anthropic technology under a new deal, reports The Information.
EchoStar (ECHO) prepares Dish DBS bankruptcy filing as soon as Tuesday, WSJ reports.
Construction-products supplier Carlisle made unsolicited offers for Owens Corning (OC), in what would be a well-over USD 10bln deal, WSJ reports, citing sources.
Jana builds a bigger stake in Alkami (ALKT) and pushes for sale.
Uber (UBER) and Waymo (GOOGL) reportedly quietly part ways in Phoenix, according to TechCrunch.
FX
DXY was weaker as risk-on trade left the safe-haven currency’s appeal being reduced. US data was absent, but we did hear from Fed’s Barkin, who thinks being modestly restrictive is a reasonable place to be, believing there is some inflation persistence. Meanwhile, there was little reaction seen towards the SCOTUS decision to decline Trump’s action to remove Fed’s Cook in a 5-4 vote; now, we await an update on the actual mortgage fraud case concerning Cook. On geopolitics, strikes seen over the weekend between the US and Iran have stopped for now, yet Iran has rejected reporting and remarks from Trump that a meeting between the US and Iran is scheduled for this week, which allowed for an uptick in oil prices, leaving short-end yields firmer. DXY now trades around the lows of 101.07 from an earlier 101.394 high.
G10 FX was a mixed bag on Monday. Strength was led in GBP, EUR and NZD; meanwhile, CAD and JPY saw modest weakness. For GBP, outperformance followed UK PM candidate Burnham announcing a few economic plans, which were welcomed by markets, as they lacked any material changes. ING continues to see upside risks for EUR/GBP. “Our short-term fair value model indicates modest undervaluation (around 0.4%), political risk may resurface, and pricing for 25p of Bank of England tightening still appears too hawkish in our view.” GBP/USD currently sits at ~1.3260 highs.
EUR/USD entered a three-day streak of gains, now trading back above 1.140. Today, ECB President Lagarde spoke at Sintra, noting they are more likely to face shocks in the coming years that push inflation away from target, and European resilience means the ECB can raise rates to address inflation without fear that it becomes a source of financial stress. EUR/USD saw little reaction to the comments, which peaked at 1.14306 on the session.
USA DATA RELEASES
USA ECONOMIC REPORTS
GM Replaces 1,000 Factory Zero Workers With 50 Robots
Monday, Jun 29, 2026 – 04:15 AM
General Motors is once again under the microscope after expanding automation at its Detroit-based Factory Zero plant, installing about 50 collaborative robots not long after cutting more than 1,000 positions, according to Yahoo Finance.
The decision reflects a broader shift across the auto industry as manufacturers lean more heavily on robotics and AI to improve efficiency while labor groups warn about the impact on employment.
Factory Zero, where GM builds the GMC Hummer EV and Chevrolet Silverado EV, was originally marketed as the centerpiece of the company’s electric vehicle ambitions. Instead, inconsistent EV demand has forced production adjustments, temporary downtime, and workforce reductions, even as GM continues pouring money into advanced manufacturing technology.
The newly installed Fanuc cobots assist employees with attaching body panels during assembly. GM says the machines are intended to reduce repetitive, physically taxing work and improve safety—not eliminate workers. Even so, their arrival shortly after significant layoffs has sparked concern on the factory floor.
The Yahoo Finance article notes that the United Auto Workers’ Local 22 has challenged the rollout, filing grievances over the new equipment and arguing that employees have good reason to question what expanded automation means for future staffing levels. GM maintains that robotics complement, rather than replace, human workers by allowing employees to focus on more skilled tasks.
The investment fits into GM’s long-term manufacturing strategy. The company has spent the last several years highlighting artificial intelligence and automation as key parts of its future, including a partnership with NVIDIA to develop AI-powered factory systems. CEO Mary Barra has repeatedly said advanced technology is critical to improving productivity and keeping GM competitive.
The trend extends well beyond GM. Companies including Toyota and BMW are accelerating their own investments in robotic manufacturing as rising labor costs and competitive pressures push the industry toward greater automation. Following the UAW’s 2023 contract, GM estimated the agreement would add roughly $500 to the cost of every vehicle it builds.
With automation becoming more sophisticated each year, the debate over where robots end and human workers begin is only likely to intensify. As the next UAW negotiations approach in 2028, the role of AI and robotics on factory floors is shaping up to be one of the industry’s biggest labor issues.
Peter St Onge, Ph.D. on X: “America is now paying foreign aid to 177 countries. And Congress just shipped another $50 billion. It’s an odd way to run an empire when Washington’s cutting checks to basically the entire planet while Americans buy groceries with credit cards. https://t.co/3TF3CEIhFR” /
Bursting Of AI Bubble, Collapse Of Circular Deals Are Among Top Risks To Global Financial System, BIS Warns
Sunday, Jun 28, 2026 – 11:33 PM
An artificial-intelligence bust (and thus bubble), inflation and fiscal stress are the three the most alarming threats to global prosperity at present, the Bank for International Settlements warned. In its annual report published on Sunday, the Basel-based institution – better known as the central banks’ central bank – cited those on a list of “pressure points” that currently “demand attention,” with underlying financial vulnerabilities lurking that could amplify any shock.
“The global economy remains caught in the crosscurrents of progress and peril,” Basel officials said in the report. “Resilience is being increasingly tested and strained.”
The assessment highlighted AI-led risks prominently in a report that arrived on the eve of the ECB’s three-day annual symposium in Sintra, where a host of global policymakers will also scrutinize such stability dangers closely.
“Disappointment in returns could trigger a sudden pullback in financing and turn the capex boom into a protracted investment bust, with potential knock-on effects on financial conditions,” the BIS said, before observing that “a major equity-market correction could have larger macroeconomic consequences today than in the past.”
Besides AI, the Basel officials went on to note that other assets could face similar dangers, and highlighted credit in particular.
“Repricing of risk this time, whether triggered by higher interest rates or an AI bust, has the potential to be similarly disruptive” in that segment to the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, the BIS said.
For instance, chipmakers and hyperscalers take stakes in AI labs or neocloud providers, who in turn commit to multi-year purchases of chips or computing power, the BIS said. Data center construction is more frequently outsourced to third parties that lease facilities back to hyperscalers on long-term contracts with embedded exit clauses.
“The terms of such deals are typically poorly disclosed, with risks of the same asset being pledged multiple times,” officials wrote.
The BIS’s separate warning of a possible return of inflation jars with some initial optimism that the current energy shock caused by the Middle East crisis might recede. Signs of progress over a peace deal this week brought the oil price down to levels below where they were when the Iran war broke out in late February.
BIS officials, in tune with peers at institutions such as the ECB, also worry that the disruption to energy supplies may not be over, that infrastructure will take time to rebuild, and that existing impacts could linger.
That followed US data last week showing prices rising at the fastest pace in more than three years, and precedes numbers in coming days that may show euro-zone inflation still far above officials’ 2% target.
The last cost-of-living shock in 2022 “is still in the memory of economic agents,” BIS chief Pablo Hernandez de Cos told reporters, intending no puns with the whole “memory” thing, and noting that this can mean a “higher probability of second-round effects.”
The BIS also highlighted what has become a familiar warning about how fiscal dangers posed by high sovereign debts still loom large, with added complications given the other risks. Echoing counterparts such as the Paris-based OECD, it pointed to how hedge funds have become much more prominent as buyers of government bonds, often using funding that can quickly unwind when conditions deteriorate as part of their massively levered basis trades.
“These hedge funds employ highly leveraged strategies that rely on short-term financing on favorable terms, creating risks of fire sales and de-leveraging feedback loops,” the BIS said. “Financial stresses can now propagate quickly and broadly through funding markets, across borders and between banks and non-banks.”
This year has already seen moments of bond-market tension, with broad selloffs on the UK gilt market summoning memories of the country’s 2022 crisis, and similar developments in Japan causing global ripples that extended to US Treasuries.
“Market reactions can emerge in any moment, depending on sometimes political events or economic events,” de Cos said. “It will be important to reduce these vulnerabilities before these market reactions might take place.”
In its capacity advising global central banks, the BIS said that a strict focus on monetary discipline remains essential, ensuring that inflation expectations don’t become unhinged on the back of the recent energy price spikes and other supply shocks, Bloomberg reported, yet as we noted earlier, the US has been above the Fed’s 2% inflation target for about 5 years now, making a mockery of the central bank’s core pillar. Officials shouldn’t shirk from raising interest rates if needed, even if that harms growth in the short term, BIS said, knowing fully well nobody would do anything that harms growth in the short term.
“Policies reinforce each other,” the officials wrote. “Disciplined fiscal policy underpins monetary credibility and financial stability. Robust regulation strengthens market resilience, preserves fiscal space and limits the need for frequent central bank interventions. Credible monetary policy anchors inflation expectations.”
It’s Official: F-35s Are Now Being Delivered Without Radar
And we are expected to believe that this is mission capable force? America needs a lot of time and money to sort itself out. Otherwise getting into a fight with a peer competitor will end up much worse than with the entanglement with Iran. Try to explain this to a Neocon .
Iran must develop nuclear bomb to protect ‘peace and calm,’ IRGC media says — despite pledge to Trump (Sunday) – The article, titled “No choice but to build the atomic bomb,” claims that Iran must negotiate with its enemies from a position of strength, and was published by Iranian state news outlet Fars on Sunday. “To achieve the peace and calm that Iran needs, it must absolutely reach nuclear deterrence to ensure that the rest of the issues can be resolved through negotiation,” thunders the piece, before comparing Iran’s situation with the US to that of China in the 1970s… “Nuclear deterrence means that you can reach a balance of power against America and Israel, who possess atomic bombs — not so that war does not happen, but so that the scope of conflict remains controllable,” it goes on… https://nypost.com/2026/06/28/world-news/iran-must-develop-nuclear-bomb-to-protect-peace-and-calm-irgc-media-says-despite-pledge-to-trump/
Trump says Iran ‘wants to make a deal’ as US negotiates from ‘pure strength’ (Friday) “We knocked the hell out of them, and now we’re negotiating from a position of pure strength,” Trump said at a dinner with American farmers in the White House Rose Garden. “Pure strength. They know that.”… Trump said Iran “wants to make a deal with us very badly,” while also insisting Tehran will not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon… https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/us-iran-peace-deal-nuclear-talks-israel-lebanon-conflict-june-25-2026
WSJ: How Iran Devastated an American Naval Base—and Caused a U.S. Recalculation Satellite imagery reveals for the first time the extent of what Iran destroyed at Naval Support Activity Bahrain – When the Iranian missiles and drones came for the nerve center of America’s naval operations in the Middle East, some of them hit their mark. The U.S. Navy base in Bahrain was repeatedly targeted between late February and June. Strikes that got through caused extensive damage, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of satellite imagery, social-media footage and interviews with current and former servicemembers—damage that the Pentagon hasn’t publicly acknowledged. Hit hard were the command headquarters and at least a dozen other buildings, along with two satellite communications terminals… https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/iran-us-naval-base-bahrain-e87bbca3?st=TwdpFx
Oman Tells Allies Ships Going Through Hormuz May Have to Pay – BBG Oman has told European officials that there’s no way of going back to the pwar status quo with the Strait of Hormuz and in transiting ships may have to be charged some fees…
@IranIntl_En: The head of the Iranian parliament’s National Security Committee warned GCC leaders that US military bases had made them less secure, saying Iran’s missile and drone power and its management of the Strait of Hormuz are Tehran’s “serious red lines.” In a post on X, Ebrahim Azizi said the GCC states had “outsourced” their security and that this had made them “more insecure.” “You have seen how US military bases in your countries, instead of providing security, have become a source of threat,” he wrote. Azizi said the only reliable path to regional security was distancing from the United States.
Oil and Iran analyst @gbrew24: Much of what Iran is currently saying (and doing) is intended for a specific audience: the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. Tehran doesn’t seem especially concerned about escalation with the US or Israel, and it is trying to capitalize on its achievements in the war and turn them into strategic gains that can help support the “new status quo” in the Gulf. The message: you can’t trust the US, you can’t hope for Israel to remain restrained, the only path toward regional stability is regional cooperation…specifically, cooperation on Iran’s terms.
Trump: The Islamic Republic of Iran shot at least four One Way Attack Drones at Ships transversing the Strait of Hormuz. One of the Drones solidly hit the upper deck of a large and very expensive Cargo Carrying Ship. Damage was done, but the Ship was able to proceed on its way. We knocked down three other Drones. Obviously, this is a foolish violation of our Ceasefire Agreement. Jun 26, 2026, 10:51 AM
Ex-Clinton advisor @Mark_Penn: At this point, I am as puzzled as anyone else on what we are doing with Iran. They are still shooting at ships and asserting full control of the Strait of Hormuz and this illegitimate government that killed tens of thousands of their own citizens is being recognized as a legitimate government and even terrorist groups like Hezbollah are being given some measure of relief and security instead of disarmament and being disbanded. Our military is even meeting with the terrorist designated military wing. So, I am just waiting for all of this to clarify and see either this is all just cover for real action and negotiation for the greatest deal ever made or we have simply given the Iranians everything they ever dreamed of — a strait, no sanctions, oil money and support for proxies. (And secret nuclear development like the North Koreans did with Clinton).
May Advanced Good Trade Balance -$105.8B, -$85.0B exp, -$83.0B prior May Imports 3.6% m/m, 2.1% exp; Exports -5.4% m/m, +2.1% exp.
Univ. Of Michigan Sentiment for June: 49.5, 50.0 exp, 48.9 prior Current Conditions: 47.7, 49 exp, 48.9 prior Expectations: 50.7, 49.6 exp, 49.3 prior 1-Year Inflation: 4.6% as expected and prior 5-10 Year Inflation: 3.3%, 3.3% exp, 3.4% prior https://www.sca.isr.umich.edu/
ESUs opened modestly higher on Thursday night but quickly fell to a modest loss. ESUs then traded sideways until they exploded higher at 19:10 ET and hit a daily high of 7454.25 at 19:24 ET. A sudden decline took ESUs to a daily low of 7357.25 at 23:36 ET. After rally to 7416.00 at 358 ET, ESUs rolled over into an irregular ABC decline that took them to 7360.00 at 9:31 ET. We all know what happened next. Conditioned traders aggressively bought the lower opening for the NYSE. The frantic buying drove ESUs to 7436.25 at 10:20 ET. ESUs then retreat to 7409.75 at 10:412 ET and went inert.
On Friday, traders bought Fangs and sold AI-related stocks, notably semiconductors. The SOX Index was -5.14% at 9:41 ET. Traders conditioned to buying opening NYSE dips feverishly bought AI-related stocks. The SOX Index jumped 298 points to a daily high of 13519.555 at 10:07 ET. Sellers returned; the SOX Index sank to 13200.391 (-5.31%) at 11:15 ET. The manipulation for the European close began.
The SOX Index jumped to 13375.55 at 11:30 ET. ESUs surged to a daily high of 7459.00 at 11:40 ET. Minnesota Fed President then squashed the rally with hawkish comments. The Fed trend is crystal clear.
Kashkari Says Fed May Need Rate Hike Amid Broad Inflation – BBG 11:44 ET Kashkari: In Near Term AI Build Out Clearly Inflationary – BBG 12:05 ET Kashkari: The AI Build Probably Means Fed Will Have to Raise Rates – BBG 12:08 ET Kashkari: Inflation Too High Even If Remove Energy – BBG 12:16 ET
Despite the disconcerting Iran actions/rhetoric, DJT’s insouciance at Iran’s actions/rhetoric, and more hawkish Fed comments, a critical mass of traders were reluctant to sell stuff and miss the Friday Rally.
This obstinate and irrational behavior is exactly why bubbles are hard to burst and so many people are hurt when bubbles burst! The summer rally of 1987 clearly produced a bubble; the Internet Bubble of 1999-2000 exceeded the 1929 Bubble; Greenspan’s Housing Bubble was obvious; now, it’s the AI Bubble.
ESUs fell to 7420.75 at 12:21 ET. A belated Noon Balloon took ESUs to74520.00 at 13:10 ET. ESUs then stair stepped down to 7405.50 at 14:57 ET. The late manipulation was listless, but it forced ESUs to 7431.50 at 15:46 ET. ESUs then had a waterfall decline to 7368.50 at 16:00 ET. Seconds later, someone illegally manipulated ESUs to7408.75, 40.25 points in seconds!
The US, Israel, and Lebanon sign a framework agreement, Israel is to maintain a security zone in Lebanon. The IDF are to retain operational freedom in the security zone – Israeli Official.
@SkyNewsArabia_B: Netanyahu: We allow the Lebanese army to begin organizing its ranks, and we proceed to establish two pilot zones in accordance with the recommendation of the Israeli army.
@GuyAz: Key takeaways from Netanyahu’s statement after the signing of the agreement with Lebanon: *Israel will remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon indefinitely, until Hezbollah is disarmed and no longer poses a threat. *The agreement does not include a full Israeli withdrawal, marking a significant shift from Lebanon’s original demand. *Netanyahu framed the deal as a strategic defeat for Iran, saying Tehran has no role in Lebanon’s future. *The Lebanese Army will gradually deploy through two pilot zones recommended by the IDF before any broader transfer of control. *One pilot area is outside the security zone, while the second includes a small section of the expanded buffer zone that the IDF says it no longer requires. *Israel will maintain its original security buffer, beyond Hezbollah’s anti-tank missile range, and will not allow Hezbollah or civilians to enter it. *Israel’s freedom to prioritize its security remains the guiding principle of the agreement, according to Netanyahu.
On Friday, Omani officials said they oppose any mandatory fees or tolls in the Strait of Hormuz, citing international freedom of navigation, per CNN.
Positive aspects of previous session Oil and gasoline declined moderately. Fangs rallied smartly; the DJIA rallied moderately early. IBM +7.2% at peak on new sub-1 nanometer chip; Microsoft +5.08% near midday after 12-month low
Negative aspects of previous session Fed officials are deeply concerned about inflation – and recent data supports the concern! The Nas 100 declined sharply; trading was very lame for a Friday.
Ambiguous aspects of previous session Either US or Iranian officials are lying big-time about concessions made at the MOU talks.
First Hour/Last Hour NYSE Action [S&P 500 Index]: 1st Hour:Up; Last Hour: Up
Pivot Point for S&P 500 Index [above/below indicates daily trend to day traders]: 7347.05 Previous session (S&P 500 Index) High/Low: 7392.95 (11:44 ET); 7294.18 (9:33 ET)
NBC reported the Pentagon delayed announcing strikes on Iran until after financial markets had closed.
@HormuzLetter on Friday night: Iran’s IRGC announces it has struck “multiple high value US Army positions in the region” in response to today’s US strikes on Iranian coasts near the Strait of Hormuz, per Tasnim. The IRGC adds that “according to Clause 5 of the Islamabad MoU, the arrangements for controlling passage and traffic in the Strait of Hormuz are under the authority of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” warning “if the aggression is repeated, our response will be broader than this.”
On Saturday, Iran attacked an oil tanker in the Hormuz Strait off the coast of Oman.
UAE’s @amjadt25 on Saturday: Last night, the Islamic regime in Iran broke Iran’s MoU with JD Vance and carried out terrorist attacks against countries in the region, including Bahrain. The EU, NATO, and the UK shamefully did nothing. Not even a condemnation. Not even the courage to call terrorism by its name. Tonight, Iran will be taught a tough, strong, and unforgettable lesson. The region has made its message to Trump unmistakably clear: if you cannot stand by your friends, your friends will put their own countries first and deal with their enemies without waiting for anyone’s permission. No deals with the bloody regime in Iran. Eliminate the terrorists…
Trump on Truth Social: United States aircraft just struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations, and coastal radar sites, for violating the Cease Fire Agreement, AGAIN! It is very possible that they will never learn! There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist! Jun 27, 2026, 6:13 PM
On Saturday night, Iran attacked US facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain with missiles and drones. Trump did NOT retaliate against these strikes. Instead, this appeared an hour and 37 minutes before the futures markets opened on Sunday night:
Axios’ @BarakRavid: A senior American tells me: The US and Iran have agreed to halt the mutual attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and to hold a meeting on Tuesday in Doha. 4:23 PM · Jun 28, 2026
WSJ Editorial Board: Iran Is Winning the Battle of Hormuz The best selling point for President Trump’s memorandum of understanding with Iran was that at least it opened the Strait of Hormuz. Well, now the regime is trying to nullify those terms by using force against commercial vessels, Gulf states and U.S. bases. All of this violates the deal and calls into question why Mr. Trump signed it… More U.S. “love taps” against Iranian targets won’t impress the hard men in Tehran. They behave as if they have escalation dominance because they think Mr. Trump won’t return to war before the midterm elections. They don’t believe Mr. Trump’s social-media bluster because they see his reluctance to enforce the cease-fire terms… The regime is leaving the President a choice: surrender Hormuz to Iranian terror or fight for it, like he always should have once he started the war and reopen the Strait by force. https://www.wsj.com/opinion/iran-is-winning-the-battle-of-hormuz-f0610f99?st=CdftYh
Today – Team Trump got the Sunday night buying that wanted and typically induce.
ESUs hit +54.00 at 19:46 ET; NQUs hit +317.00 at 19:43 ET; ESUs are +23.75, NQUs are +3.75; WTI is +$0.33 & gasoline is +1.28¢; and USUs are +/32 at 20:21. Traders got too bullish early on Sunday night!
Traders will play for the Monday Rally and Q2 performance gaming. However, while organic portfolio rebalancing, namely selling stocks to buy bonds as well as unloading over-invested AI stocks appear?
S&P Index 50-day MA: 7363; 100-day MA: 7063; 150-day MA: 6997; 200-day MA: 6925 DJIA 50-day MA: 50,294;100-day MA: 49,125; 150-day MA: 48,867; 200-day MA: 48,11 (Green is positive slope; Red is negative slope)
S&P 500 Index (7354.02 close) – BBG trading model Trender and MACD for key time frames Monthly: Trender and MACD are positive – a close below 6078.33 triggers a sell signal Weekly: Trender and MACD are positive – a close below 6861.16 triggers a sell signal Daily: Trender is positive; MACD is negative – a close below 7319.33 triggers a sell signal Hourly: Trender is negative; MACD is positive – a close above 7391.23 triggers a sell signal
JD Vance advisor, Iranian born @SohrabAhmari: There is no returning to kinetic action against Iran by President Trump. And if not by Trump, then by no future president. As Freud taught, we all need to come to terms with the reality principle. 9:56 PM · Jun 25, 2026
@LauraLoomer: Why would @SohrabAhmari be invited on Air Force 2 to travel with Vice President @JDVance and get special access for an interview? In his post below, he’s bragging about flying with the VP. 3 weeks ago, a Senior White House source of mine came to me very concerned. They told me Sohrab has been running around telling people he is advising our Vice President on Iran and other foreign policy issues, and they expressed concern over why Sohrab has been given access. Now, I have no idea if he is “advising”, but now that he’s traveling on Air Force 2 and published the article below admitting his close access to the VP, I think it’s certainly plausible what I was told is true. Sohrab is someone with little to no moral character, and he openly fraternizes with enemies of America and runs cover for Islamists. He was born in Iran, and he is married to Ting Li, a Chinese immigrant. Here he is recently sitting next to serially convicted pedophile Scott Ritter, a Russian asset; a pro-Iran and pro-Hezbollah imam from Dearborn, Michigan, CodePink’s Medea Benjamin who is under investigation by the Trump administration, and Jeffrey Sachs, who is allegedly paid by China and the UAE. The Vance wing of the GOP would be wise to avoid these figures. These types of alliances don’t win votes. Those who are vested in JD Vance winning in 2028 should really make sure people like Sohrab and Tucker are kept far away from the campaign. Sohrab’s associations are anti-American. As I always say: Vetting matters. I’d be very careful about allowing Iranian born “journalists” to travel with the VP and ask about the IRGC.
Sohrab Ahmari tweet 2021: “I’m at peace with a Chinese-led 21st century. Late liberal America is too dumb and decadent to last as a superpower. Chinese civilization, especially if it recovers more of its Confucian roots, will possess a great deal of natural virtue.”
@LauraLoomer: How is it that Marco Rubio @SecRubio repeatedly wanted to deport @tparsi (an Iranian national and non- US citizen) but now Trita Parsi is advising “White House officials”? How does that even happen? A lot of questions need to be asked.
@LeeSmithDC: Here’s JD Vance’s Persian braintrust (Ahmari & Parsi). They’re angry the Secretary of State is countering the VP’s efforts to collapse US position in the Middle East policy on behalf of Iranian terror regime under cover of ‘America First.’ (Ahmari & Parsi tweets at link, claim Lebanon deal contradicts or is incompatible with MOU) https://x.com/AcrossTheBay/status/2070958137629151510
Long Island school clerk caught tearing up ballots, trashing votes to help her candidate win: probehttps://trib.al/6lafFlf (How can this be?! Dems and the MSM assures us ‘there is no vote fraud!’)
SWAMP STORIES FOR YOU TONIGHT
Supreme Court Blocks Trump Firing Of Fed Governor Lisa Cook – For Now
Monday, Jun 29, 2026 – 10:20 AM
The Supreme Court on Monday handed President Trump a significant defeat – ruling 5-4 that his attempt to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook was procedurally invalid and that the Fed’s century-old independence from presidential removal-at-will remains constitutionally intact. That said, it isn’t over for Cook – as the Court said she can stay in her job for now – while she fights in lower courts against Trump’s bid to oust her over allegations of mortgage fraud.
In a majority opinion authored by Chief Justice Roberts and joined by an unlikely coalition spanning Sotomayor, Kagan, Kavanaugh, and Jackson, the Court denied the administration’s application for a stay, leaving in place a lower court injunction that keeps Cook on the Board of Governors pending full litigation.
The Court’s decision turns nominally on procedure. Trump didn’t give Cook notice or a deadline to respond – as it was done via tweet. That, the majority held, is insufficient to terminate a presidential appointee serving a 14-year term on the body that controls the cost of money in the United States. The ruling leaves open whether the mortgage fraud allegations – two simultaneous primary-residence mortgage commitments signed just 14 days apart – would constitute adequate cause for removal once proper process is followed.
“At minimum, Cook was entitled to some explanation of the evidence at issue, some avenue for a response, and a deadline by which a response would be due,” the decision reads.
So, it’s not quite over – she just gets to keep her job, for now.
Cook, the first Black woman to serve on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, has remained in her position despite Trump’s attempt to remove her in August 2025 – citing allegations of mortgage fraud that Cook has strongly denied. No president had previously fired a sitting Fed governor in the central bank’s 112-year history.
She was initially nominated by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate in 2022. Biden renominated her in 2023 for a full 14-year term expiring in 2038. Under the Federal Reserve Act, members of the Board of Governors can be removed by the president only “for cause,” a protection intended to safeguard the central bank’s independence from political pressure.
The Dispute
In a letter posted to Truth Social, Trump accused Cook of making false statements on mortgage applications prior to her Fed service, describing the actions as “deceitful and potentially criminal.” Cook and her legal team have rejected the claims, provided rebuttal evidence, and argued that she was never given an opportunity to contest the allegations or receive due process. She has never been charged with any crime related to the matter.
In September 2025, the Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation into the mortgage allegations, issuing grand jury subpoenas related to properties in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Atlanta, Georgia. The probe remains active as of May 2026 with no charges filed against Cook.
Cook filed suit in federal court in Washington, D.C., challenging the removal as unlawful. On September 9, 2025, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb issued a preliminary injunction blocking the firing, finding that Cook made a strong showing that the removal violated the Federal Reserve Act’s for-cause provision. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the injunction on an emergency basis, allowing Cook to participate in Federal Open Market Committee meetings.
The Trump administration appealed to the Supreme Court, which on October 1, 2025, declined an emergency request to immediately remove Cook but scheduled full oral arguments for January 21, 2026. Cook has continued serving on the Board throughout the litigation.
Meanwhile, last September the DOJ opened a Grand Jury criminal investigation into Cook over the allegations.
Key Legal Issues
Trump v. Cook, centers on two core questions:
Whether the president has broad authority to interpret and apply the “for cause” standard unilaterally, or whether courts can review such removals.
The broader implications for the independence of the Federal Reserve and other independent agencies with similar statutory protections.
During oral arguments on January 21, 2026, justices across the ideological spectrum expressed skepticism about the administration’s position, questioning the lack of due process for Cook and the potential risks to central bank independence. Observers noted the Court appeared likely to side with Cook, at least on keeping her in place pending full resolution.
New Leadership at the Fed
The case unfolds against a major leadership transition at the Federal Reserve. Last month, the Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh as the new Chair of the Federal Reserve, succeeding Jerome Powell. Warsh, a former Fed governor and Trump nominee, has advocated for a “regime change” at the central bank, signaling a potential shift toward policies more aligned with administration priorities, including greater focus on lowering interest rates where appropriate while maintaining independence in decision-making.
Warsh has largely stayed out of the Cook litigation during his confirmation process, declining to comment directly on the removal effort or pledge to defend her position. His ascension marks a new direction for the Fed amid ongoing debates over monetary policy, inflation pressures, and institutional independence.
According to Cook supporters, allowing at-will removals by the president could politicize monetary policy, undermining market confidence and economic stability. The administration has contended that the president retains ultimate executive authority under Article II of the Constitution. Cook, meanwhile, has described the case as determining whether the Fed will continue to set policy based on evidence and independent judgment or face political pressure.
GREG HUNTER….INTERVIEWING MARTIN ARMSTRONG
Sovereign Debt Crisis May Start in Middle East – Martin Armstrong
Legendary financial and geopolitical cycle analyst Martin Armstrong warned in May “Iran Bombs UAE to Trigger Financial Meltdown.” Then, about two weeks ago, there was a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the US and Iran, and everyone thought the war and the crisis was on its way to being over. Oil fell below $70 a barrel, and it looked like everything was going to be worked out with a 60-day ceasefire. Now, it looks like everything could fall apart with attacks from Iran, counter-attacks from the US and the back and forth continues. Can the MOU that has dropped the price of oil survive this? Martin Armstrong says, “Iran is not stupid. What is happening is when we had Covid, oil went down to $6.50 (per barrel). It was below production costs. The governments borrowed extensively to stay alive. All that debt is still there. So, the sovereign debt crisis may start in the Middle East. People are completely blindsided because they think that in the Middle East, they are just flush with money–Not True. Now, they are like everybody else with debt up to their chin. Iran is intelligent. They are not Venezuela. They are attacking the Gulf State refineries and the whole Strait of Hormuz. They know that’s not impacting the United States. The US is basically self-sufficient. It impacts Asia, and it impacts Europe, but what else does it do? It prevents the Gulf States from selling oil. If they cannot sell oil, they default on their loans. If they default on their loans, you get a banking crisis, which goes straight to London. This is much more complicated than people think. Trump understands this is much bigger than just Hormuz and the price of oil.”
Armstrong goes on to say, “There is going to be no peace deal in Iran. . .. We have a conflict of interests. Trump is trying to get out because he has the midterms, but Netanyahu is going to run again, and he needs a victory–which to me is impossible. His opposition in Israel is pounding him saying we got nothing out of this. . .. If Netanyahu agrees to peace, he basically loses the election. The polls are saying he has 61% of Israelis against him.” So, don’t look for peace with Iran for the rest of this year going into 2027, according to Armstrong.
So, what’s going to happen with gold and oil, which have had big corrections? Armstrong predicts, “The Middle East is a mess, and oil is going to take off again after a July low. Gold may be bottoming this week. . .. Then, it will be heading up through August.”
Armstrong still sees the Democrat Party breaking up just as he predicted in December of 2024. For proof this is happening now, look no further than Dem loyalist James Carville’s recent comments. Armstrong is still predicting Europe goes to war with Russia and loses. Why go to war? Because of huge economic problems. Armstrong says, “They want war. . .. look for things to heat up between Ukraine and Russia because Zelensky has been given the green light to escalate it.”
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Join Greg Hunter of USAWatchdog as he goes One-on-One with Martin Armstrong to talk about the Iran peace deal, Ukraine, gold, oil and the Democrat Party 6.27.26.
.” Daniel Klink Nørremark has been a well-known name among young Danes on YouTube for several years, where he has amassed a large following under the name Dingo. Before his life as a YouTuber, he was also a prominent figure in Danish esports. He played FIFA at a high level and was part of Brøndby IF’s eSuperliga team, among other things. Now it’s about something completely different than games, streaming and videos. But despite the diagnosis, he insists that he has no intention of giving up.
harveyorganblog.com 
