Business Oil’s $82 jump tested by dollar strength and OPEC supply rise Conflict in the Middle East pushed Brent crude futures to $82 this week, marking the widest shock in months. The breakout showed on CFD charts, but futures data from ICE Futures Europe confirmed that real traders entered the market, so the move reflects both geopolitical risk and active positioning. The
Business US firms tell Middle East staff to work from home amid Iran strikes US and Israeli strikes on Iran set off retaliatory attacks across several Gulf states over the weekend, and photos showed missiles streaking across Dubai's sky. Fallout from intercepted missiles caused fires and other problems, and Amazon Web Services said connectivity from one of its UAE data centers was
Business Shanghai Stocks Hit 10-Year High as Hong Kong Crypto ETFs Slide The Shanghai Composite closed up 0.5% at 4,182.6 points on March 2, its highest finish since June 2015, as investors rushed into energy, gold and defense shares after the Iran conflict. CNOOC, PetroChina and Sinopec climbed sharply following a big jump in oil prices, an index of
Business Four-Week Oil Shock Could Tighten Liquidity and Pressure Bitcoin Tensions around the Strait of Hormuz have pushed oil back to the center of market risk. President Trump said the conflict with Iran could last four weeks, and Polymarket flagged that Maersk has suspended all transit through the passage that handles roughly 20% of global crude. Tanker insurance costs have
Business Bitcoin, U.S. futures give up early gains as Iran conflict intensifies Bitcoin slipped back below $66,000 after touching a high near $67,000 in early Asian trading, while S&P 500 e‑mini futures reversed an early advance and fell to 6,790, down 1.4% from a session peak of 6,857. Oil prices continued to trade higher,
Business First home buyers drive 'up-crash' at cheaper end of market Desperate first home buyers are driving a fierce contest for the cheaper end of the market, pushing a so-called 'up-crash' in prices even as interest rates rise. Lauren Jones, a buyer’s agent, said inner-city one-bedroom units in Brisbane have been rising close to $20,000 each week,
Business US-Israel strikes on Iran disrupt global shipping, air cargo US and Israeli military strikes on Iran have disrupted global supply chains, affecting one of the world’s most critical trade corridors. Major shipping lines are rerouting vessels, suspending services, and adding war-risk fees, while closed Middle East airspace has crippled freight capacity and fractured flight networks. Peter Sand of
Business Oil could top $100 as insurers pull cover and Hormuz traffic stalls Oil could hit $100 a barrel if tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is not restored after US and Israel's strikes on Iran. US West Texas Intermediate futures spiked as much as 12% at the open and Brent jumped 13%, with WTI later trading 4.8% higher
Business Trump Media Considers Spinning Out Truth Social Trump Media & Technology Group is discussing a plan to spin out its social platform, Truth Social, into a publicly traded company. The talks involve TAE Technologies and Texas Ventures Acquisition III, building on a December merger agreement with TAE valued at more than $6 billion. If completed, Truth Social
Business Oil surges and US futures fall after strikes on Iran Oil prices jumped and US stock futures slid as traders repositioned after the weekend attacks against Iran by the US and Israel. Brent crude spiked about 9% and WTI rose roughly 7% shortly after markets opened, later trading 4.7% and 4.2% higher at $76.27 and $69.82
Business Kalshi Founder Outlines Next Steps for 'Iran Leader Ousted By' Market Tarek Mansour, co-founder of prediction market Kalshi, said the platform voided some positions opened after the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was confirmed. "We don’t list markets directly tied to death. When there are markets where potential outcomes involve death, we design the rules
Business UAE Suspends Stock Trading Amid Iran Strikes UAE’s Capital Markets Authority shut both the Abu Dhabi (ADX) and Dubai Financial Market (DFM) stock exchanges for March 2–3 after Iran struck major ports and oil tankers across the Middle East. The ADX and DFM are the two primary equities exchanges in the United Arab Emirates, together
Business Netflix CEO Sarandos says he bailed on WBD because of price, not Trump Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said the company dropped out of the Warner Bros. Discovery bidding because it did not want to pay more. "I still believe in all the positives. I just believed in them up to $27.75 a share," he told Bloomberg, referring to the price
Business Capital Flows Shift From Bitcoin Toward Gold and Tech Stocks Gold and Bitcoin have diverged in 2026: gold has climbed 153% since the start of 2024 while Bitcoin is down roughly 30% over the same period. Analyst Jurrien Timmer said the gap reflects steady global money supply growth, cooling appetite for risky tech stocks, and falling crypto exchange balances, which
Business Costco CEO Ron Vachris says he reads and replies to members' emails Costco CEO Ron Vachris says he reads and responds to the majority of member emails. When the author emailed him, he replied the same day at about 10:30 p.m. Pacific time and wrote, "I do read my email and respond to the majority." He also noted
Business I left Florida for North Carolina after 60 years. It became unlivable. I was born and raised in Miami and spent my entire life in South Florida, but in 2025 my husband and I moved to a small town in North Carolina. Rising costs — homeowners’ and auto insurance, groceries, eating out — and constant congestion made staying feel impossible. I used to spend
Business Young fashion fans help UK charity shops thrive Young people inspired by secondhand fashion websites such as Vinted and Depop are helping charity shops thrive despite rising energy and employment costs. Save the Children’s retail sales rose 3% last year, helped by a surge in December when the charity rang up 11% more than the same month
Business Gen Zer uses real estate to pursue financial independence Carolyn Yu, 27, drew down about half her stock portfolio to pay cash for a two-bedroom, two-bath condo in Fort Worth, Texas in late 2024. She scaled that initial purchase into a five-property portfolio in roughly two years by reinvesting equity, and her goal is to grow rental income enough
Business Strategist: Passive-investing bubble could trigger 1929-style crash Michael Green, portfolio manager and chief market strategist at Simplify Asset Management, warns a 1929-style stock crash could stem from a bubble in passive investing. He says the risk from passive funds is far more pressing than any threat from the recent AI trade. Green previously drew attention for saying
Business Investment in AI-resistant Halo companies lifts UK and EU markets Investors have adopted a new mantra as AI threatens to reshape the global economy: the Halo trade. Interest in Halo — short for 'heavy assets, low obsolescence' — has risen as investors seek out companies with tangible, productive assets that might be insulated from AI disruption, such as energy and
Business After 131.6M Subscribers, HBO Max Faces a Crucial New Era Under Paramount The entertainment world is still reeling after Paramount purchased Warner Bros., a deal that ended Netflix's bid for the legacy studios. The acquisition raises immediate questions about job cuts and the contraction that often follows mega-mergers, and it puts HBO Max and Paramount+ under the same corporate umbrella.
Business OSBP Engagement 2026: L.I.F.T. Leveraging Industry and Supply Chains for Future Technology (L.I.F.T.) will take place September 15, 2026, as an in-person event at Space Center Houston, TX. The Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP) is committed to strengthening the agency’s industrial base by creating opportunities for small businesses and
Business Paramount’s Warner Bros. Deal Could Reshape Cable with 20+ Channels Paramount Skydance’s agreement to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery values the company at roughly $77 billion in equity and more than $110 billion including debt. The deal was unanimously approved by both boards but still needs regulatory and shareholder sign-off. David Ellison, who runs Paramount Skydance, says the merger will
Business Burger King's updated Whopper is a clear upgrade Burger King has updated its signature Whopper for the first time in a decade, giving it a new bun, creamier mayonnaise, and cardboard packaging designed to keep the burger from being squashed during transit. The change followed customer complaints about smashed Whoppers; "So the Whopper being smushed, literally, I&
Business McDonald’s CEO Struggles With New Big Arch Burger In Viral Video McDonald’s CEO and chairman Chris Kempczinski filmed himself eating the new Big Arch Burger for lunch in his office. The clip was posted to Instagram on February 3 and drew wider attention after it was shared on TikTok. He begins by referring to the sandwich as a “product,” then
