In the face of geopolitical strife oil and gas prices were able to register moderate gains through the first half of 2025, although the second half of the year is likely to be punctuated with continued unrest and supply chain fragility. Oil benchmarks ended the first quarter slightly off their 2025 start positions, with Brent crude coming in at US$76.08 ...
The US has struck three key nuclear sites in Iran, President Donald Trump said on Truth Social Saturday evening as the Iran-Israel conflict enters a second week. The Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz sites lie at the heart of Iran’s nuclear ambitions, and had previously been targeted by Israeli strikes. Here’s what we know about them. Natanz The nuclear complex, about ...
The bodies of an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldier and two civilians killed in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks have been recovered from Gaza in a military hostage recovery operation. In a special operation carried out by the Israel Security Agency (ISA) and the IDF, the bodies of civilians, Ofra Keidar and Yonatan Samerano, and soldier Shay Levinson were recovered ...
In a warehouse in northeast Nigeria, a nonprofit’s stocks of food to treat malnourished children and pregnant women are running low. The organization, Action Against Hunger (ACF), is running a project to combat malnutrition that had been relying on funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to procure much-needed therapeutic food sachets. But the project was intermittently suspended, ...
After the United States’ overnight strikes on Iran’s secretive nuclear program, the most important question is at least a “known unknown” – that is, what remains of it. The answer could define the region for decades to come, and be the ultimate arbiter of US President Donald Trump’s decision to embark on another conflict in the Middle East. It is ...
Warplanes. Submarines. Cruise missiles. Bombs that weigh 30,000 pounds. After initially favoring diplomacy, US President Donald Trump resorted to an extraordinary use of force against Iran on Saturday night, striking three of the regime’s key nuclear sites. Trump claimed Iran’s nuclear facilities had been “obliterated,” but some Iranian officials downplayed the impact of the strikes – just as they did ...
U.S. stocks are on the cusp of a very impressive breakout to all-time highs, but are still missing one key ingredient. They need help in the form of a semiconductors ($DJUSSC) breakout of its own. When the DJUSSC reached its all-time high on June 20, 2024, one year ago, a nasty bearish engulfing candle printed on extremely heavy volume, I ...
This week, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and OpenAI’s once tight alliance showed signs of strain, while Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) continued to source artificial intelligence (AI) talent from rival companies. Meanwhile, SoftBank’s (TSE:9434) CEO is considering a new chip and robotics venture in Arizona, and Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is looking to bring AI solutions to American cities. Read on to dive deeper into this ...
Gold was on the decline this week, closing just below US$3,370 per ounce, after tensions in the Middle East pushed it past the US$3,430 level toward the end of last week. All eyes were on the US Federal Reserve, which in a widely expected move left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday (June 18) following its two day meeting. The central ...
Pope Leo XIV has said the Catholic Church must establish a culture that refuses to tolerate abuse in “any form,” as he thanked a Peruvian journalist for reporting on allegations of abuse inside a powerful Catholic group. Leo’s remarks, the first he has made publicly on the church’s abuse scandals since his election to the papacy on May 8, were ...