All posts tagged: ICE Brent Crude (Oct'25)

Trump says he could meet Iran’s supreme leader ‘if it was to make a deal’

Trump says he could meet Iran’s supreme leader ‘if it was to make a deal’

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event in the Oval Office of the White House on June 03, 2026 in Washington, DC. Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images President Donald Trump on Thursday said he would be “honored” to meet Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. The U.S. president said he would meet the Iranian leader if a deal is reached to end the U.S.-Iran war, which has dragged on into its fourth month. Trump was taking questions from reporters in the Oval Office after making an announcement about coal. “If we make a deal, it’s possible that I would meet,” he said. “I’d be okay with that.” Khamenei was named the supreme leader in Iran after his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed on the first day of fighting. Trump said that despite U.S.-Israeli strikes killing his father and other members of his family, he expects that Khamenei would be a “professional.” “In some circles, he has a very good reputation, actually,” Trump said. Mixed messages have emerged recently out of negotiations to end …

The Iran war has made inequality worse. An end won’t fix it

The Iran war has made inequality worse. An end won’t fix it

Published by Sam Flores

A driver refuels a vehicle with regular gasoline at a Shell gas station in Hercules, California, May 21, 2026. David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images For some Americans’ finances, the Iran war was over almost as soon as it began. Those with access to stocks — a majority of Americans have some, though the ultrawealthy have most — saw the S&P 500 dip about 8% when the war started, only for it to bounce 19% starting in late March, more than making up its losses. The index is now up 10.7% for the year, which if it held would make for the fourth consecutive year of double-digit stock increases. President Donald Trump has been quick to trumpet these gains. “We have 401(k)s at their all-time high, highest they’ve ever been, and that goes along with the stock market, which is the highest it’s ever been,” Trump said at a televised Cabinet meeting this week, repeating a refrain he has adopted to celebrate market wins. That is all despite the war, he said.  But …

Republicans stare down inflation abyss with midterms fast approaching

Republicans stare down inflation abyss with midterms fast approaching

Published by Sam Flores

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., talks with a reporter in the U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall on Friday, March 27, 2026. Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images Republicans have said for months that inflation is former President Joe Biden’s problem. Now, they’re staring down the barrel of an inflation crisis of their own making just in time for the midterm election, and the blame game is just getting started. Inflation ticked up to 3.8% year-over-year in April, the highest mark since 2023. Much of that spike is coming on the back of soaring energy prices, which have persisted since President Donald Trump launched a war in Iran. Trump and congressional Republicans swept into power in 2024 by promising to defeat the inflation that dogged Biden’s presidency. But they now risk getting trounced in the 2026 midterm election due to their own inflation crisis, and they are struggling to find a clear message to battle high prices as the president pushes for a $400 million White House ballroom and a $1.8 billion taxpayer-funded legal relief …

Iran reviewing U.S. position on ending war; Trump willing to wait

Iran reviewing U.S. position on ending war; Trump willing to wait

Published by Sam Flores

Vehicles drive past a huge billboard supporting Iran’s national football team in the upcoming 2026 World Cup, installed on a building at Enghelab Square in Tehran on May 18, 2026. – | Afp | Getty Images Iran on Thursday said it is reviewing the Trump administration’s latest proposal for bringing an end to the war after the U.S. president said he was prepared to wait a few more days to “get the right answers” from Tehran. Iran Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the Islamic Republic had received the views of the American side “and are reviewing them,” according to the state-run agency Nour News. Baghaei said Pakistan, which hosted peace talks between the U.S. and Iran last month, continues to mediate exchanges between Tehran and Washington, adding that several rounds of communication had taken place based on Iran’s original 14-point framework. Pakistan’s Army Chief Asim Munir is expected to travel to Iran’s capital on Thursday as part of ongoing mediation talks between Washington and Tehran, according to Iran’s ISNA news agency. Talks to bring …

Senate advances measure to end military action in Iran in rebuke to Trump

Senate advances measure to end military action in Iran in rebuke to Trump

Published by Sam Flores

The U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, April 22, 2026. Eric Lee | Bloomberg | Getty Images The Senate on Tuesday advanced a resolution to halt military action in Iran after a surprise defection from Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, dealing a blow to President Donald Trump’s war effort. The vote, though preliminary, shows that the Senate now could have the votes to force Trump to pull back the military from Iran or seek congressional approval for additional action. Despite the War Powers Resolution advancing 50-47, it still has little chance of becoming law. It would need to pass a final vote in the Senate, clear the House and Trump would be almost certain to veto it. But the vote does show increasing headwinds to the war with Iran, especially as gas prices continue to soar ahead of the summer driving season and the 2026 midterms. Cassidy, who failed to advance to a runoff against Trump-endorsed challenger Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., in a primary election last week, is now in the final …

Trump warns Iran to ‘get moving’ or ‘there won’t be anything left’

Trump warns Iran to ‘get moving’ or ‘there won’t be anything left’

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media aboard Air Force One on May 15, 2026 as he returns to the United States. Alex Wong | Getty Images President Donald Trump on Sunday threatened Iran to “get moving,” or seemingly face new consequences. “For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!” Trump did not detail what exactly the consequences would be, nor what he expects Iran to do in order to avoid them. Read more CNBC politics coverage The U.S. and Iran have been at loggerheads in negotiations to end the war since a tenuous ceasefire was reached in early April. The U.S. continues to blockade Iranian ports, while Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz since the beginning of the conflict. But the apparent threat is not the first time Trump has menaced Tehran in stark terms on social media. Prior to the April ceasefire, he warned that a “whole …

The bond market is flashing a warning, energy geopolitics expert warns

The bond market is flashing a warning, energy geopolitics expert warns

Published by Sam Flores

Don’t look now, but the pain from high energy prices might be about to bite Americans twice.  With no end in sight to the war in Iran and oil prices stuck above $100 a barrel, bond traders worried about inflation have sold off long-term government debt in the U.S. and developed economies in recent days. That has the effect of raising bond yields, including on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which rose nearly 24 basis points in the past week to end Friday near 4.6%.  The 10-year Treasury yield influences the cost of mortgages, auto loans, credit card rates and other consumer debt. When it goes up, consumers feel the pinch. Its rate is set by the market, not the Federal Reserve. To unpack what’s happening at the intersection of geopolitics, energy, and global debt, CNBC reached out to Daleep Singh, vice chair and chief global economist at asset manager PGIM. Singh has seen global energy conflicts up close: As deputy national security adviser under President Joe Biden, he designed that administration’s economic effort to cut …

Iran war hangs over Trump’s China trip: Analysis

Iran war hangs over Trump’s China trip: Analysis

Published by Sam Flores

As President Donald Trump prepares to head to China for crucial negotiations with the leader of the No. 2 global power, it is becoming clear that the political and economic damage unleashed by the Iran war can’t be easily left behind. Even if a deal to get oil tankers moving again were reached tomorrow — and there is little sign of that — Americans are facing the prospect of months or more of new inflation worries. The question now isn’t whether Trump will secure his war aims with dignity. It is whether his presidency can ever recover from the war’s body blow.  Trump is banking little political goodwill from the stock market that keeps grinding to records. The S&P 500 has risen 7.3% since Feb. 27, just before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran. Meanwhile Trump’s net approval rating has fallen to the lowest of his two terms, according to CNBC’s All-America Economic Survey. Stocks are rising on faith in artificial intelligence and traders’ well-earned sense that Trump will find a way to get out …

Iran reviewing U.S. proposal, Trump says war will end soon: Reports

Iran reviewing U.S. proposal, Trump says war will end soon: Reports

Published by Sam Flores

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he departs the White House in Washington, May 1, 2026. Kevin Lamarque | Reuters Iran is “currently reviewing” messages from the U.S. that it received via Pakistani mediators, but it has yet to reach a conclusion or deliver a reply, an Iranian official said Thursday, state media outlets reported. The comments attributed to Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei came one day after Axios and other outlets reported that the U.S. and Iran were nearing a 14-point memorandum of understanding to end the war and tee up further nuclear talks. President Donald Trump later said at the White House that the Iranians want to “make a deal very much, and we’ll see whether or not they can make a deal that’s satisfactory to us.” At an event Wednesday evening to support Georgia Republican gubernatorial candidate Burt Jones, Trump predicted the war will “be over quickly,” CBS News reported. The latest signals that the 2-plus-month-old war could be ending sent stocks higher and oil prices lower on …

Trump says U.S. will ‘free’ ships trapped by Strait of Hormuz closure

Trump says U.S. will ‘free’ ships trapped by Strait of Hormuz closure

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he departs the White House on May 1, 2026 in Washington, DC. Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images President Donald Trump said Sunday that the U.S. will attempt to “free” stranded ships that have been trapped by the Strait of Hormuz closure since the war with Iran began. The effort, which Trump in a Truth Social post dubbed “Project Freedom,” is set to begin on Monday. The president said the effort is focused solely on getting civilian ships that are flagged in countries not affiliated with the conflict out of the contested waterway so they can “freely and ably get on with their business.” “I have told my Representatives to inform them that we will use best efforts to get their Ships and Crews safely out of the Strait,” Trump said. “In all cases, they said they will not be returning until the area becomes safe for navigation, and everything else.” Trump provided no details on how the U.S. would attempt to conduct such an operation, nor how …