Thursday, June 18, 2026
See, we're living in his brain rent-free
Trump claims Iran deal is ‘unconditional surrender,’ says his power has ‘no limits’: Axios
... Asked what he had learned from the war about the limits to his power, Trump said that “I haven’t learned that lesson yet. I know there are, but there are no limits.” ...
Nemesis is coming.
JMIC states Strait of Hormuz open as of today and the U.S. Navy blockade at an end, tanker transits reported for June 11-17, 2026
SoH tanker transits 1.4/day, SoH E 0.9/day
BAM tanker transits 17.0/day, BAM SE 7.1/day
Real Clear Politics puts a guy in its lineup this morning to whom the Obama presidential library denied access three times
I carry no brief for Obama. I've been whaling on (look it up) the guy since 2009.
But criticizing Obama's so-called library because it's all about Obama, and Obama himself post-2016 for being apolitical, strike me as bizarre criticisms.
Isn't the latter what we want in an ex-president? In fact if the comparison is between George W. Bush and Barack H. Obama in their post-presidencies, it is Obama who has been far more political, most recently sealing the fate of Biden at the eleventh hour of the 2024 race. Bush merely fancies himself a painter.
That the Obama library isn't really a library only reminds us that the Affordable Care Act provided neither care nor affordability, just as America will not be great again when Trump leaves office and millions of illegal aliens will still be here.
To say that there isn't anything very tangible left of the Obama era can be said of all the presidents in our lifetimes to one degree or another.
Yes, it will be hard to ignore Obama's giant tombstone jutting up into the sky from Jackson Park, if you happen to be traveling there. Otherwise he'll be as forgettable as the next guy.
But to speak at this hour of Obama's excess of vanity when there has never been a more self-important and grandiose spectacle erupting daily from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue than now in the person of Donald Trump is as batshit crazy as Trump is.
Trump is making us all nuts.
Wednesday, June 17, 2026
CNBC now has the memorandum of understanding signed by Trump and the Iranian president
Trump and Iran’s President Pezeshkian sign memorandum aimed to end war
... Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, in a post on X, called the deal “the worst foreign policy blunder in decades.”
Former President Ronald “Reagan is rolling over in his grave,” Cassidy wrote.
"Iran’s nuclear ambitions were not curbed, and they have learned that threatening the Strait of Hormuz works and will undoubtedly leverage it in the future,” Cassidy said.
“Now, Iran gets to build brand-new infrastructure under this deal. Before the war, the strait was open, Iran was being crushed by sanctions, and 13 service members were still alive. Now, 13 Americans are dead, families have paid billions at the pump, sanctions will be lifted, and the bombing has stopped. ..."
2027 global oil glut headlines, but 2026 historic lows are the present reality
And Donald Trump has put Iran in the catbird seat.
... stockpiles are now dangerously low.
Among
the 38 wealthier countries in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation
and Development, stockpiles are at their lowest level since 1990,
according to the IEA.
“Further
declines in the coming months could still take global oil stocks to
historic lows before the market balance shifts to surplus,” the IEA
warned. ...
Markets to Warsh: Welcome to the party, pal
Do you think the markets care much about the Fed lol?
Ten articles on the front page right now at CNBC:
Warsh experiences worst ‘Fed day’ S&P 500 performance for a new chair since 1994
Chairman Warsh abstains from giving rate forecast as several members signal a hike in 2026
2-year Treasury yield rockets higher as many Fed officials signal possible hike this year
Chairman Warsh drastically alters Fed rate statement. Here’s what’s changed
Fed holds interest rates steady: Here’s what that means for your borrowing and savings rates
Fed holds rates steady, pares down statement to remove cutting bias
Fed meeting recap: Warsh announces task forces to overhaul major Federal Reserve operations
Jeffrey Gundlach says Fed’s Warsh is not going to be the ‘easy money’ chairman many hoped for
The market didn’t like what it heard from the Fed and its new leader Kevin Warsh
Five big takeaways from Kevin Warsh’s first meeting as Fed chairman
What we want is the truth
Three Iranian tankers exit U.S. blockade as shipowners eye Hormuz in ‘wary disbelief’
... The U.S. and Iran signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Monday to end the nearly four-month war, with a formal signing ceremony to take place on Friday in Geneva. The pact, whose details have not been disclosed, is expected to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and waive sanctions on Iran’s oil sales. ...
Update 12:10pm
Read the 14-point draft agreement between the US and Iran
... The 14-point memorandum of understanding has not yet been officially released but a copy of it was obtained by CNN from a US official.
... A White House spokesperson said the text did not reflect the actual memorandum.
... The US official told CNN that the text reflects the agreement signed digitally by President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Sunday.
... Bloomberg earlier published a version of the draft. ...
Update 5:20pm
The CNN story above now contains the official agreement, as of 38 minutes ago.
Tuesday, June 16, 2026
Middle East tanker transits June 9-15, 2026: Strait of Hormuz 0.9/day, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait 16.7/day
SoH E: 0.7/day
BAM SE: 8.4/day
Yeah right, Trump will hear Bismarck and think breakfast, not statesmanship
Article after laughable article is wasted in this country saying "Trump should" this and "Trump should" that, when all they are doing is trying to make a purse out of a sow's ear.
The number of these is legion because everyone can sense that when it comes to Trump, there is no there there. He is an empty vessel into which every Tom, Dick, and Harry pours his most fanciful thoughts and wishes in a futile attempt to steer the man in what each thinks is the right direction.
Trump is a POS, he's describing what Putin does routinely to Ukraine and for which he never lifts a finger to complain to or sanction Russia
Israel meanwhile sends evacuation warnings ahead of strikes.
It's a giant con: They signed a nothingburger with Iran, that's why they're not showing it to us
It is another desperate ploy to jawbone oil prices down in a world hurtling toward tank bottom.
Meanwhile, why did Vance have to sign?
Is Trump on his last legs?
And we're still dealing with Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf? I thought Trump said all this took extra time because they were trying to find a more moderate faction?
It's all BS, MS, Piledhigh and Deep.
... “Both
camps know exactly what is at stake,” said one industry official who
frequently interacts with the administration. “The industry folks are
intent on making sure that if the worm turns, the White House does not
point fingers that the industry did not do enough.”
“Everyone everywhere fully appreciates that the standoff cannot go on for another 30-45 days without the political calculations changing,” the official said.
“The White House knows and understands the severity of the potential situation. … They are politically constricted from saying that publicly.” ...
... Both President Trump and Vice President Vance electronically signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran on Sunday, while Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, speaker of the Iranian Parliament, signed for the Iranian side, senior U.S. officials said Monday. ...
Vice President Vance acknowledged that the preliminary U.S.-Iran memorandum is only "about a page and a half" and described it as a "very general document. ...what the MOU does is set up a framework ..."
Trump is a terrible judge of character. Ghalibaf is an IRGC fundamentalist.
Monday, June 15, 2026
How do you spell Mamdani?
... Janeese Lewis George, proudly affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America ...
Middle East tanker traffic June 7-13, 2026: Strait of Hormuz 1.3/day, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait 17.0/day
SoH E: 0.7/day
BAM SE: 8.1/day
Sunday, June 14, 2026
Saturday, June 13, 2026
Yeah well, Gene Shalit was with NBC for 40 years, lightweight Bryant Gumbel, who had a knack for saying the wrong thing, for only 15
May Eugene's memory be a blessing.
... During his tenure, he traded quips with anchors ranging from Edwin Newman, Barbara Walters and Jane Pauley to Tom Brokaw, Bryant Gumbel, Katie Couric, Jane Pauley, Al Roker and Meredith Vieira.
Gumbel was not always a fan, once saying Shalit's reviews "are often late and his interviews aren't very good." The critique came in what was supposed to be a confidential memo to Marty Ryan, the show's executive producer at the time. ...
More.
Not to mention Jane Pauley.
Gold and silver are down year to date, but not copper
Copper is up because high oil prices are bullish for all things electric.
Trump was going to halve our energy bills by now, instead he's emptying our tanks to zero
The tanks in Cushing, Oklahoma, are hitting bottom. The oil market is about to hit a tipping point
... Cushing is running out of oil because America has become the supplier of last resort for regions of the world that typically get their oil and fuel from the Middle East. Demand for US oil surged to a record high during the Iran war, and crude has flowed out of Cushing faster than America’s oil drillers can refill it.
But it’s not just a Cushing problem.
US diesel stocks recently hit their lowest level since 2003. Gas inventories have been falling, too – about 5% below where they were a year ago. Other US commercial crude storage facilities outside of Cushing are also getting drained fast – by 7.2 million barrels last week alone. ...
Friday, June 12, 2026
Thursday, June 11, 2026
Middle East tanker transits June 4-10, 2026: Strait of Hormuz 1.7/day, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait 16.6/day
SoH E: 1.1/day
BAM SE: 8.7/day
U.S. House forces Trump's hand to dump Pulte lol
10:45 AM: FISA to expire Friday after House blocks extension
The U.S. House on Thursday rejected a proposal to extend a key foreign surveillance program through July 2, as Democrats continued to withhold support over President Donald Trump’s choice of Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence. The program will expire on Friday. ...
2:05 PM: Trump picks former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton as national intelligence director
Core wholesale prices, not seasonally adjusted, rose 4.89% yoy in May 2026, a sideways move from 4.85% the previous month which however was initially reported at 5.2%
Wholesale prices rose 1.1% in May, more than expected, on surge in energy
The producer price index increased a seasonally adjusted 1.1% in May, putting the 12-month wholesale inflation rate at 6.5%, the highest since November 2022.
Excluding food and energy, the so-called core PPI accelerated 0.4%, compared with the consensus view of 0.5%, indicating that rising fuel prices are causing much of the inflationary burden.
Wholesale prices are frequently revised significantly from month to month but that is seldom followed-up.
According to this report, core wholesale prices increased last month at a somewhat less fearsome rate, and this month is about the same as that revision.
Should I get excited when it's not 5.2% when it's still pretty awful?
I still expect increases in energy costs to act as a screen for producers to increase prices more than warranted in order to realize higher profits.
My latest lube, oil, and filter cost me $83, $30 of which was labor. The specific oil used retails for $7.99/quart. My discount was $0.24/quart lol.
But in 2021 the very same oil retailed for $3.99/quart.
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| core nsa |
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| total index nsa |
Wednesday, June 10, 2026
When the going gets tough, the weak have to sell their gold, or hinder its purchase
As gold’s tumble continues, traders bet the pain may last for two more years
... “Turkey’s central bank is selling gold and buying dollars trying to support the lira, and the gulf nations – Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia – they need the money for the war so they’ve been selling gold, too,” Nigam Arora, founder of the Arora Report, said in a call. “At the same time, India’s raised duties on gold, and anyone who’s just watching charts, they had stops under $4,400 and had to start selling when it broke that level.“ ...
Meanwhile in India . . .
Reserve Bank of India’s forex defense tool surpasses $110 billion as rupee slides
The RBI's net-short dollar book has ballooned to record levels as India's central bank fights to stabilize a currency under siege from oil prices, geopolitical tensions, and capital outflows.
India’s central bank is burning through an unprecedented amount of financial ammunition to keep the rupee from cratering. The Reserve Bank of India’s forward dollar-selling contracts have crossed the $110 billion mark, reaching an estimated $110-115 billion in early June 2026, a record for the institution’s net-short dollar book.
Think of it like this: instead of selling dollars from its vault today and watching reserves drain in real time, the RBI is writing IOUs to sell dollars at a future date. It’s a way to defend the currency now while kicking the reserve hit down the road. The problem is that the IOUs are piling up fast, and the road isn’t getting any longer. ...
India imports roughly 85% of its crude oil needs, making it acutely sensitive to energy cost swings. When oil gets more expensive, India needs more dollars to pay for it, which weakens the rupee.
The forward sales strategy itself carries a subtle risk. Those contracts eventually mature, meaning the RBI will need to deliver dollars at the agreed-upon future dates. If the rupee hasn’t stabilized by then, the central bank could face a situation where it’s simultaneously defending the currency in real time and settling old commitments. ...
Trump signs DHS funding for ICE and CBP rammed through under reconciliation
Trump signs $70 billion immigration funding bill after months of delay
... Democrats had refused to fund the two Department of Homeland Security subagencies since January, when an immigration surge in Minneapolis led to the deaths of two U.S. citizens at the hands of federal agents. ... The Senate advanced the immigration funding package on Friday on a 52-47 vote, with no Democrats voting in favor. The House followed on Tuesday, approving the package 214-212, also with no Democratic support. ...
Five days of supply is better than nothing I guess lol
Except US military operations are costing $435 million per day.
After 30 days we're spending $13 billion trying to free-up $9 billion worth of oil.
Just brilliant.
Trump says U.S. secretly moved more than 100 million barrels of oil through Strait of Hormuz
Middle East tanker transits June 2-8, 2026: Strait of Hormuz 2.1/day, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait 15.6/day
SoH E: 1.1/day
BAM SE: 7.9/day
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