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Category: Economics/Business

Oil built the Persian Gulf but desalination keeps it alive. War could threaten both

Oil built the Persian Gulf but desalination keeps it alive. War could threaten both

The Associated Press reports: As missiles and drones curtail energy production across the Persian Gulf, analysts warn that water, not oil, may be the resource most at risk in the energy-rich but arid region. On Sunday, Bahrain accused Iran of damaging one of its desalination plants. Earlier, Iran said a U.S. airstrike had damaged an Iranian plant. Hundreds of desalination plants sit along the Persian Gulf coast, putting individual systems that supply water to millions within range of Iranian missile…

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Qatar energy minister warns war will force Gulf to halt energy exports within weeks, report

Qatar energy minister warns war will force Gulf to halt energy exports within weeks, report

Reuters reports: Qatar expects all Gulf energy producers to shut down exports within weeks if the Iran conflict continues and drives oil to $150 a barrel, ​the country’s Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi told the Financial Times in an interview ‌published on Friday. Qatar halted its production of liquefied natural gas on Monday, as Iran continued to strike Gulf countries in retaliation for Israeli and U.S. attacks. The country’s LNG production is equivalent to ​about 20% of global supply and plays…

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Trump’s war on Iran poses threat to American farmers

Trump’s war on Iran poses threat to American farmers

Wired reports: Global oil and gas prices have skyrocketed following the US attack on Iran last weekend. But another key global supply chain is also at risk, one that may directly impact American farmers who have already been squeezed for months by tariff wars. The conflict in the Middle East is choking global supplies of fertilizer right before the crucial spring planting season. “This literally could not be happening at a worse time,” says Josh Linville, the vice president of…

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Judge’s order makes clear that all companies that paid illegal Trump tariffs get refunds

Judge’s order makes clear that all companies that paid illegal Trump tariffs get refunds

Jordan Rubin writes: The Supreme Court was clear last month when it ruled that President Donald Trump’s tariffs issued under an emergency federal law were illegal. But the high court left open the question and process of refunds, with Justice Brett Kavanaugh complaining in dissent that the majority “says nothing today about whether, and if so how, the Government should go about returning the billions of dollars that it has collected from importers.” A federal judge’s order on Wednesday set…

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War set to cost Israel $3 billion a week if current limits on economy persist, ministry warns

War set to cost Israel $3 billion a week if current limits on economy persist, ministry warns

The Times of Israel reports: The cost to Israel’s economy from the war with Iran is estimated to reach NIS 9.4 billion ($3 billion) a week, if nationwide restrictions on economic activity remain in place, the Finance Ministry warned on Wednesday. In a letter sent to Home Front Command chief Maj. Gen. Shai Klapper on Wednesday, Finance Ministry Director General Ilan Rom asked to ease restrictions to allow for a gradual, partial reopening of businesses and workplaces as early as…

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Oil prices soar amid worries of sustained war in Iran

Oil prices soar amid worries of sustained war in Iran

The Washington Post reports: The widening conflict in Iran is shaking financial and energy markets worldwide as tankers in a key shipping corridor are targeted and oil prices begin to soar, threatening to escalate the affordability crunch facing U.S. voters. Major stock indexes recovered midday after a heavy morning of losses. Around 1:30 p.m. Eastern time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was slightly in the red and effectively flat. The S&P 500 index also was flat. The Nasdaq tipped into…

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The money behind the war against Iran

The money behind the war against Iran

Judd Legum writes: In private calls over the last several weeks, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) reportedly urged President Trump to attack Iran. Iran is a top regional rival of Saudi Arabia, and MBS had become concerned about Iran’s growing military capabilities. The lobbying campaign achieved success on Saturday, when Trump announced he had begun “major combat operations in Iran.” Trump launched a war even though U.S. intelligence assessed that Iran posed no imminent threat to the United…

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Strait of Hormuz: If the Iran conflict shuts world’s most important oil chokepoint, global economic chaos could follow

Strait of Hormuz: If the Iran conflict shuts world’s most important oil chokepoint, global economic chaos could follow

By Sarah Schiffling, Hanken School of Economics The reported sinking of several Iranian warships by US missiles in the Gulf of Oman serves as a reminder of the maritime aspect of the conflict which began February 28 with a barrage of Israeli and American missiles targeting Iran. Two other vessels, believed to be tankers, have also been reported as having been hit by missiles, of an as yet undetermined source, in the vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz, underlining the…

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‘Dubai’s nightmare’: Iranian missile and drone strikes shatter calm of Arabian Gulf business hub

‘Dubai’s nightmare’: Iranian missile and drone strikes shatter calm of Arabian Gulf business hub

Middle East Eye reports: Iran unleashed a furious missile and drone assault across the Arabian Gulf on Saturday in response to a surprise US-Israeli attack, but one city in particular appeared to bear the brunt of it: Dubai. The Gulf emirate, one of seven in the UAE, is the region’s good-time capital, where lucrative business deals can be sealed and celebrated. On Saturday, it was engulfed in billowing smoke and flames as missiles and drones rained down on it. The…

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The State of the Union for small business is dismal

The State of the Union for small business is dismal

Matthew A. Winkler writes: Donald Trump’s State of the Union is unlike any of the President’s preceding him because America isn’t working the way it used to. Small businesses, which have fewer than 500 employees and account for almost half of private sector payrolls, are suffering record bankruptcies and “still waiting for noticeable economic growth” as US gross domestic product continues to climb, the Republican-leaning National Federation of Independent Business reported last month. The agricultural economy is sliding, with barely…

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Massive investment in AI has contributed nothing to economic growth last year, Goldman Sachs has calculated

Massive investment in AI has contributed nothing to economic growth last year, Goldman Sachs has calculated

The Washington Post reports: A new economic indicator has captivated Silicon Valley, Wall Street and Washington. Technology companies’ massive spending on artificial intelligence accounted for half or more of U.S. growth last year, some economists calculated, effectively propping up an otherwise anemic economy. To President Donald Trump and his advisers, the figures showed that AI is helping spark an economic renaissance that must not be impeded by regulation. To some critics, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), the data revealed…

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How AI agents could destroy the economy

How AI agents could destroy the economy

Bloomberg reports: Delivery, payments, and software stocks slid sharply Monday after Citrini Research published a report laying out the potential risks that artificial intelligence could pose to various segments of the global economy. DoorDash Inc., American Express Co., KKR & Co Inc. and Blackstone Inc all slumped more than 8%. Shares of other companies name-checked in the article, including Uber Technologies Inc., Mastercard Inc., Visa Inc., Capital One Financial Corp. and Apollo Global Management Inc. were all lower by at…

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As corporate America stayed silent, a small wine importer risked his business to challenge Trump’s tariffs

As corporate America stayed silent, a small wine importer risked his business to challenge Trump’s tariffs

CNN reports: When President Donald Trump announced plans to raise the nation’s effective tariff rate to levels not seen since 1930 last year, most CEOs were silent. They’d seen how opposing the president’s ambitions – let alone his signature economic policy – could prove even more costly than the policies he enacted. With billions in annual revenue at stake, the leaders of multinational corporations generally stood still. But Victor Schwartz, the owner of small New York-based wine importer VOS Selections,…

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From ‘buy America’ to ‘bye-bye America’, Wall Street investor exodus gathers pace

From ‘buy America’ to ‘bye-bye America’, Wall Street investor exodus gathers pace

Reuters reports: U.S. investors are pulling money out of their own stock market at the fastest pace in at least 16 years as Big Tech returns fade and better-performing overseas markets look more attractive. In the last six months, U.S.-domiciled investors have pulled some $75 billion from U.S. equity products, with $52 billion flowing out since the start of 2026 alone, the most in the first eight weeks of the year since at least 2010, according to LSEG/Lipper data. The…

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The Supreme Court’s ruling on tariffs marks a turning point

The Supreme Court’s ruling on tariffs marks a turning point

Noah Feldman writes: It took almost a decade, but Chief Justice John Roberts and the Supreme Court finally found a way to stand up to President Donald Trump’s executive power overreach, striking down the tariffs that are the signature initiative of his presidency. Not since the Supreme Court struck down the first New Deal in 1935 has the court reversed a policy of comparable importance to a sitting president. The 6-3 decision gives Trump two options. He can accept the…

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Even after losing at the Supreme Court, Trump has plenty of ways to reconstruct his trade regime

Even after losing at the Supreme Court, Trump has plenty of ways to reconstruct his trade regime

Rogé Karma writes: The Trump tariffs are dead. Long live the Trump tariffs? This morning, in a 6–3 opinion, the Supreme Court struck down the bulk of the president’s sweeping global tariffs. The majority ruled that the law Donald Trump had used to carry out most of his trade policies does not, in fact, allow the president to impose tariffs at all. This is a major setback for Trump’s trade agenda, but it is far from a fatal one. The…

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