Summary

Trump dials up threat, seeking leverage, denies approving Israeli Pars strikes: however, reports from The Wall Street Journal and Axios say the White House was aware.

Energy war hits breaking point: tit-for-tat strikes are now directly targeting Gulf energy infrastructure, with Qatar’s Ras Laffan damaged, KSA, Kuwait, Bahrain sites attacked; Saudi trust in Iran “completely shattered.”

Europe pushes off-ramp, refuses entry into conflict: Macron urges direct talks  “reckless escalation,” while Friedrich Merz signals support for de-escalation—Brussels’ stance: “This is not our war.”

Iran signals not done exacting revenge: IRGC warns retaliation “not yet finished,” vowing escalating strikes across region as Gulf states, Iraq, and shipping lanes absorb widening fallout.

Strait of Hormuz a de facto economic war zone as prices rise at the pump with oil spiraling higher: Iran’s parliament is floating tolls on shipping – weaponizing control.

*  *  *

Trump Threatens To “Massively Blow Up” South Pars, Tries To Distance US & Israel Ops

In a late-night Truth Social post, President Trump has once again cranked the rhetoric to eleven, warning he’ll “massively blow up” Iran’s crown jewel gas field if Tehran dares hit Qatar’s LNG infrastructure again. Trump insisted the US “knew nothing” about Wednesday’s Israeli strike on the shared South Pars field, claiming neither did Qatar, while simultaneously declaring “no more attacks will be made by Israel” there – unless Iran escalates.

Then came the kicker: “In which instance the United States of America, with or without the help or consent of Israel, will massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field at an amount of strength and power that Iran has never seen or witnessed before,” he wrote.

However, US media reports have been quick to say otherwise – that the US did actually know about it and greenlit the risky escalation. The Wall Street Journal reports the White House was aware – and also Axios’ Barak Ravid insists so too, and he’s seen as very close to the Israeli government.

Heavy Air War Ongoing Amid Potential Energy Point of No Return

Meanwhile, the Gulf is still being lit up by tit-for-tat major attacks on energy, as Western populations brace for severe impact at the gas pumps. Iran’s retaliation is already hitting energy nodes across the region after Israel’s Wednesday South Pars strike, pushing tensions with neighbors past a potential point of no return. Qatar quickly expelled Iranian military attaches after missiles caused “extensive damage” at Ras Laffan – its main LNG export hub, while Saudi officials say “the little trust that remained in Iran has been completely shattered.”

AFP/Getty Images: Emirates aircraft prepares for landing as a smoke plume rises from an ongoing fire near Dubai International Airport on March 16

The air war is continuing against Iran, with retaliatory strikes still raining down on Israel, but reportedly at slower pace when compared to the opening days of the war. A strike in western Iran’s Dorud county reportedly killed at least a dozen civilians, Al Jazeera has reported.

Iran Signals No Signs Of Stopping Revenge Attacks

Tehran, however, is signaling the opposite of de-escalation, perhaps seeing Trump’s latest Truth Social post claiming no foreknowledge of the Israeli attack on Pars as a sign of weakness. A spokesman for the IRGC Khatam has newly warned retaliation is “not yet finished,” adding:

“We warn the enemy that you made a major mistake by attacking the energy infrastructure of … Iran… the next attacks on your energy infrastructure and that of your allies will not stop until their complete destruction.”

Kuwait: Iranian drones attacked one of the largest oil refineries, Al-Ahmadi Refinery.

⚡️#BREAKING Kuwait: Iranian drones attacked one of the largest oil refineries, Al-Ahmadi Refinery. pic.twitter.com/g6MTtLUpcR

— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) March 19, 2026

The last 24 hours saw unprecedented destruction on key Gulf energy sites, summarized in the following:

Separately, UAE authorities said they were responding to incidents at the Habshan gas facilities and at the Bab oilfield caused by falling debris from intercepted missiles. The Abu Dhabi Media Office said the facilities were shut down and no injuries were reported.
Saudi Arabia said it intercepted and destroyed four ballistic missiles launched towards Riyadh on Wednesday and an attempted drone attack on a gas facility in its east. On Thursday, Iran targeted the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
Attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain were also reported.

Elsewhere, Iraq has shut its airspace, vessels are taking hits in the Gulf, with on Wednesday Trade Winds having reported: “A ship is on fire after being hit by an unknown projectile near the United Arab Emirates deepwater port of Khor Fakkan.”

WTI-Brent Spread Explodes As U.S. Export Ban Priced In 

RBC Capital Markets analyst Julian Triscott told clients, “Our boots on the ground in D.C. suggest the administration favors a crude export tariff over an outright ban, though a full ban remains a tail risk.”

Triscott said the Trump administration is likely weighing intervention in the oil market as gasoline and diesel prices at the pump surge, with a crude export tariff seen as more likely than an outright export ban, though the analyst said a full ban is still a major risk.

Triscott said the idea would be to shield U.S. consumers by making crude exports less attractive to foreign buyers, while potentially offsetting the impact with a pause or reduction in the federal fuel excise tax.

Triscott pointed out that traders are already beginning to price in this next intervention, with the WTI–Brent spread widening to its highest level since about 2012.

The market is largely pricing in a US oil export ban: Brent less WTI spread is the widest in decades (ex the negative WTI print). Export ban would landlock US oil, sending it sharply lower while sending Brent soaring pic.twitter.com/3YSLlVNZcx

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) March 19, 2026

Triscott’s conversation with sources in D.C. about what the Trump administration may do next to combat surging pump prices comes as the Trump administration appears to be following the six-option playbook laid out by JPMorgan analysts last week.

On Wednesday, the Trump administration waived the Jones Act to allow foreign vessels to ship crude to US ports. That was Option 3 on the list, while last week’s SPR release was Option 1. Option 2 is export restrictions.

We suspect the administration is following the six-point playbook, and here’s what may come next (read the report).

Energy Market Shockwaves After Iranian Attacks on Gulf Energy Assets

Brent crude futures surged toward $120/bbl, while WTI remained muted around $96/bbl, as Wednesday marked a major escalation in the US-Iran conflict. Israeli fighter jets struck Iran’s giant South Pars gas field with air-delivered munitions, triggering a retaliatory chain reaction in which IRGC forces targeted critical energy infrastructure across the Gulf.

Iranian drone and missile strikes caused heavy damage to Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG hub, while gas plants in Abu Dhabi shut down, Kuwaiti refineries were hit by drones, and Saudi refining assets on the Red Sea were targeted.

Unlike temporary shipping disruptions in the Gulf waters or the Strait of Hormuz, damage to upstream energy assets, such as production and LNG facilities, is far more serious and could take months or even years to repair, raising the risk of prolonged tight global supply.

Read overnight report:

Iran’s Attack On Qatar’s LNG Plant Is Bad; The Math Behind The Global LNG Fleet Is Far Worse

Some 20% of global LNG exports originate from Gulf countries, and the latest round of Israeli and IRGC attacks on upstream energy assets shows how the conflict has entered an entirely new phase where energy infrastructure is being directly targeted.

Disruptions at Qatar’s LNG facilities threaten to tighten the global gas market, with ripple effects quickly spreading worldwide – across Asia, Europe, and even U.S. gas prices.

European natural gas benchmark futures jumped as much as 35% today, pushing prices to more than double their pre-war levels, as traders brace for what only appears to be a prolonged period of disruption from critical LNG hubs that account for a fifth of the world’s total supply.

QatarEnergy warned earlier that LNG facilities inside its Ras Laffan Industrial City were attacked by missiles, “causing sizable fires and extensive further damage.”

“This could be a game changer for the LNG industry, akin to the attack on Nord Stream or possibly even worse,” Susan Sakmar, visiting assistant professor at the University of Houston Law Center, said, quoted by Bloomberg. “This is a sudden disruption, with no indication that Qatar could restart anytime soon.”

Global Risk Management analyst Arne Lohmann Rasmussen warned, “LNG from Qatar could in principle be offline for months and, in the worst case, for years. For the gas market, the crisis does not end simply because the war ends and the Strait of Hormuz reopens.”

UBS analyst Matt Salmon commented on the exploding energy risk premia due to overnight war developments:

Geopolitical risk premia in the energy complex rose further following attacks on energy infrastructure in the Middle East, after President Trump failed earlier this week to establish an international coalition to support the resumption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. In a clear escalation of hostilities, Iranian energy infrastructure was targeted for the first time in the conflict, with Israel striking the South Pars gas field, while the US claimed no prior knowledge.

Iran had warned early in the conflict that there would be “no red lines” around retaliatory actions, and it made good on this threat with two strikes in less than 12 hours on Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City, home to the world’s largest LNG facility, with state operator QatarEnergy reporting “extensive damage.”

Trump subsequently pressed for de-escalation of attacks on gas facilities in Iran, but moves in Brent were muted, reflecting diminishing confidence that the US has a credible off-ramp. Brent crude is currently trading around $112/bbl, Asian LNG prices are above $20/bbl, and Asian refining margin proxies exceed $40/bbl, amid rising investor anxiety over disruptions to global fuel and gas supplies.

Macron Urges Direct Talks: ‘Return to Reason’

At a moment Gulf shipping lanes are freezing up with tankers idling in the Gulf of Oman waiting for a greenlight through what’s been for most a no-go zone, Iranian lawmakers have proposed a plan to impose tolls and taxes on ships passing through the strategic Strait of Hormuz – which of course would not include passage of US and Israeli ships, or others deemed participants of Operation Epic Fury.

Europe is watching nervously from the sidelines, itching for some kind of presentable offramp, also after NATO allies this week snubbed joining Trump’s coalition to seek to militarily open the strait back up to global shipping. Germany’s Friedrich Merz welcomed signals that Trump might dial things back, saying “I am particularly grateful that the US president sent a signal last night that he prepared to bring the fighting to an end” – while France’s Emmanuel Macron warned of a “reckless escalation” as energy infrastructure becomes the primary battlefield, and so has called for direct talks between Washington and Tehran. Here’s what he said in part before an EU leaders’ summit in Brussels on Thursday:

“We will obviously defend a de-escalation, a return to stability in the Middle East,” Macron said, adding that he spoke to Qatari emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Donald Trump about the war on Wednesday night.

“I think that everyone should calm down and the fighting should stop at least for a few days to try to give negotiations a chance again,” the French leader added. “I hope that, in any case, everyone will return to reason.”

⚡️ The US military has released documentation of the destruction of Iranian naval ships pic.twitter.com/tWeyUWoPFb

— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) March 19, 2026

Brussels’ bottom line has consistently been over the last days: “This is not our war.”

The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits for the first time fell to just 205k last week (well below the 215k expected and down from 213k prior). This is back near the lowest reading for initial claims ever having gone nowhere for five years…

Continuing jobless claims also remain below the 1.9 million Maginot Line, showing no sign of increasing layoffs…

Finally, as a reminder, sentiment surveys suggest the labor market is bifurcated with ‘jobs hard to get’ but joblessness not surging…

That chart reinforces the ‘no hire, no fire’ economy remains the status quo – no worse, no better.

The Bank of England shocked markets this morning, signaling that it is prepared to raise rates to counter a pickup in inflation driven by the conflict in the Middle East.

Specifically,t he BoE said it would act to counter the pickup in inflation if it threatened to become persistent, but faced high levels of uncertainty about the outlook and would seek greater clarity before deciding on the path for interest rates.

“I will be monitoring developments extremely closely and stand ready to act as necessary to ensure inflation remains on track to meet the 2% target,” said Gov. Andrew Bailey.

Before attacks on Iran by the U.S. and Israel began late last month, the U.K.’s central bank had been expected to lower borrowing costs at this week’s meeting of its policymakers.

However, the conflict has sent energy prices surging, while its impact on fertilizer costs is likely to see a revival of food inflation.

Instead of cutting, the BoE left its key interest rate at 3.75%, a reflection of how the conflict has changed the outlook for economies around the world.

In doing so, the BoE matched the Federal Reserve’s decision Wednesday. The Bank of Canada and the Bank of Japan have made the same call, as have the central banks of Sweden and Switzerland earlier Thursday. The European Central Bank is soon expected to follow suit later Thursday.

Ahead of today, there had been expectations that there could still be dovish dissent on the MPC. The 9-0 vote in favour of unchanged rates has rebuffed such expectations. 

The response to the ‘hawkish hold’ was dramatic with 2Y Gilt yields exploding 30bps higher…

For context, that is highest 2Y Yield since Jan 2025 with yields up a stunning 90bps since the war began!

As The Wall Street Journal writes, for the BOE, as for other central banks, the key question is how long the period of higher energy costs will last, and what impact it will have on the prices of other goods and services.

Officials at the U.K.’s central bank have been chastened by their experience in 2022, when a surge in energy and food prices following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine led to a jump in wage demands, and higher prices for a range of labor-intensive services.

As a result, inflation stayed above their target for longer than they had expected.

Brent crude futures surged toward $120/bbl, while WTI remained muted around $96/bbl, as Wednesday marked a major escalation in the US-Iran conflict. Israeli fighter jets struck Iran’s giant South Pars gas field with air-delivered munitions, triggering a retaliatory chain reaction in which IRGC forces targeted critical energy infrastructure across the Gulf.

Iranian drone and missile strikes caused heavy damage to Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG hub, while gas plants in Abu Dhabi shut down, Kuwaiti refineries were hit by drones, and Saudi refining assets were targeted.

Unlike temporary shipping disruptions in the Gulf waters or the Strait of Hormuz, damage to upstream energy assets, such as production and LNG facilities, is far more serious and could take months or even years to repair, raising the risk of prolonged tight global supply.

Read overnight report:

Iran’s Attack On Qatar’s LNG Plant Is Bad; The Math Behind The Global LNG Fleet Is Far Worse

Some 20% of global LNG exports originate from Gulf countries, and the latest round of Israeli and IRGC attacks on upstream energy assets shows how the conflict has entered an entirely new phase where energy infrastructure is being directly targeted.

Disruptions at Qatar’s LNG facilities threaten to tighten the global gas market, with ripple effects quickly spreading worldwide – across Asia, Europe, and even U.S. gas prices.

European natural gas benchmark futures jumped as much as 35% today, pushing prices to more than double their pre-war levels, as traders brace for what only appears to be a prolonged period of disruption from critical LNG hubs that account for a fifth of the world’s total supply.

QatarEnergy warned earlier that LNG facilities inside its Ras Laffan Industrial City were attacked by missiles, “causing sizable fires and extensive further damage.”

“This could be a game changer for the LNG industry, akin to the attack on Nord Stream or possibly even worse,” Susan Sakmar, visiting assistant professor at the University of Houston Law Center, said, quoted by Bloomberg. “This is a sudden disruption, with no indication that Qatar could restart anytime soon.”

Global Risk Management analyst Arne Lohmann Rasmussen warned, “LNG from Qatar could in principle be offline for months and, in the worst case, for years. For the gas market, the crisis does not end simply because the war ends and the Strait of Hormuz reopens.”

UBS analyst Matt Salmon commented on the exploding energy risk premia due to overnight war developments:

Geopolitical risk premia in the energy complex rose further following attacks on energy infrastructure in the Middle East, after President Trump failed earlier this week to establish an international coalition to support the resumption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. In a clear escalation of hostilities, Iranian energy infrastructure was targeted for the first time in the conflict, with Israel striking the South Pars gas field, while the US claimed no prior knowledge.

Iran had warned early in the conflict that there would be “no red lines” around retaliatory actions, and it made good on this threat with two strikes in less than 12 hours on Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City, home to the world’s largest LNG facility, with state operator QatarEnergy reporting “extensive damage.”

Trump subsequently pressed for de-escalation of attacks on gas facilities in Iran, but moves in Brent were muted, reflecting diminishing confidence that the US has a credible off-ramp. Brent crude is currently trading around $112/bbl, Asian LNG prices are above $20/bbl, and Asian refining margin proxies exceed $40/bbl, amid rising investor anxiety over disruptions to global fuel and gas supplies.

President Trump’s attempts at de-escalation were largely shrugged off by the market. Brent futures topped $119/bbl, while WTI futures remained flat around the $96/bbl level.

The Brent-WTI spread is blowing out to its widest level since 2012. The reason is that U.S. traders are beginning to price in the risk of a U.S. export ban, driving a disconnect between domestic and global crude markets.

Now entering day 20 of the conflict, with more than 4,000 dead across the region, energy infrastructure is being hammered with potentially lasting damage, the Strait of Hormuz remains clogged, and an energy shock appears to be spreading rapidly through the global economy ($5/gallon diesel), with implications for shipping, industrial input costs, and household gas pump and power bills. Against that backdrop, JPMorgan analysts are asking the key question: What is Trump’s off-ramp from here?

Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog,

The asymmetric scaling of credit has inflated The Everything Bubble that will burst with devastating consequences for the real economy.

When credit scales faster than it can be absorbed by productive investments, the resulting credit-asset bubbles break the economy. This is the result of asymmetric scaling: credit (i.e. debt, money borrowed into existence) can be created in virtually limitless billions with a few keystrokes, while productive investments scale only incrementally.

The Federal Reserve added over $3 trillion to its balance sheet after the 2008-09 Global Financial Meltdown. That didn’t automatically create $3+ trillion in productive uses for this tsunami of credit-money. Private banks also create money with keystrokes: when a lender originates a mortgage, that credit-money is created out of thin air. This is “the way the world works” because this new credit-money is based on the collateral of whatever property is being mortgaged.

This system has a pernicious circularity: as trillions of new credit slosh through the financial system, the wealthiest few with the highest net worth and credit ratings can borrow at lower rates of interest than the bottom 90%. They snap up houses for investment, outbidding those seeking a family home. Due to the vast scale of credit available, the higher bids push housing higher and higher, providing more collateral for more borrowing.

This is how credit-asset bubbles arise. Building a new enterprise is time-consuming and risky. It’s much easier to buy an existing asset such as a house, commercial building, stock or corporate bond. As long as the asset appreciates at a rate higher than the interest being paid, it’s wise to borrow more and buy more assets.

What happens when cheap credit chases existing assets is those assets appreciate due to the asymmetry of credit and the stock of existing assets: credit expands by the trillions of dollars, while the number of new assets being created lags far behind, as real-world buildings and enterprises can’t be magic-wanded into existence with keystrokes.

This is how asymmetric scaling of credit and productive assets generates self-reinforcing bubbles: since credit is abundant, the assets being bid up appreciate in value, making it profitable to borrow even more and bid assets up even higher.

But since relatively little of this flood of credit is actually being invested in productive uses, the net result is a credit-asset bubble that reaches extremes and then collapses, destroying the phantom wealth created by excessive credit.

The fantasy here is that creating credit in vast quantities will automatically expand investing in productive assets. This is not what happens, because of the asymmetric scaling of credit, risk and return: it’s far easier to borrow money and buy an existing asset that’s appreciating / generating income than engage in building new housing or build a new enterprise that actually succeeds in generating sufficient revenues to make a profit.

Borrowing and buying assets is easy, building something productive is hard: that’s asymmetric scaling in action. This is why private equity is snapping up veterinary clinics, specialty manufacturers and similar assets and then jacking prices to the moon once a quasi-monopoly has been established.

Once again we see the pernicious consequences of the asymmetric scaling of credit vs. real-world assets: private equity can borrow cheaply and at scale far beyond what households can borrow, and so they have the means to make owners of assets “an offer you can’t refuse.”

The owners of real-world enterprises are often struggling to pay bills, obtain insurance, retain employees, etc., and so when private equity comes with millions in untapped credit and makes an offer, few can afford to turn it down.

Private equity isn’t interested in starting new enterprises, they’re interested in establishing localized monopolies because these are so profitable and low-risk. Cheap (for the wealthy) abundant credit is what enables this pernicious cycle of more credit driving asset valuations out of reach of the bottom 90% and the assembly of quasi-monopolies that are rentier extraction machines that stripmine households to the benefit of those closest to the credit-spigot: corporations, private equity, billionaires, etc.

Burned by Billionaires: How Concentrated Wealth and Power Are Ruining Our Lives and Planet (new book by Chuck Collins)

Since it’s tax preparation time, consider the tax break used by the wealthiest few to evade taxes. Rather than sell the assets they’ve accumulated with cheap credit, they borrow whatever sums are needed to pay their living expenses. Interest paid is a write-off, and since they don’t pay themselves wages or sell any assets, there is no earned income or capital gains: no income, no income tax, and no Social Security-Medicare taxes, either.

The Federal Reserve created this asymmetric scaling credit monster to goose the wealth effect: the richer we feel, the more we borrow and spend. But that’s not all that happens: the wealthiest few borrow more to buy up existing assets, pushing them out of reach of the bottom 90% and enabling monopolies that extract wealth not by creating better products at lower prices but by jacking up prices for products and services of lower value.

Here is a chart of the S&P 500 stock market index (SPX). Absent the injection of trillions in credit and the resulting credit-asset bubble, stocks would be expected to track the economy, i.e. GDP. If stocks had tracked GDP growth, the SPX would be roughly half its current lofty level: 3.450 rather than 6,800.

If housing had tracked inflation, it would be at valuations 40% lower than current valuations.

The Federal Reserve reversed the decline of valuations in Housing Bubble #1 by socializing the mortgage market, buying up $1+ trillion in mortgage backed securities (MBS). The Fed now owns over $2 trillion in MBS, so when Housing Bubble #2 (2020-2026) bursts, they won’t be able to ride to the rescue. The asymmetries of scale will succumb to gravity.

A funny thing happens on the way to the wealth effect: the already-rich get much richer, and everyone else is left behind in The Stockyard of Unaffordability. here is a chart of housing unaffordability.

The asymmetric scaling of credit has inflated The Everything Bubble that will burst with devastating consequences for the real economy. What scales even faster than credit is risk-off fear.

Where does all this leave the rest of us? Two things to consider:

It’s harder for bad things to happen when you have no debt.

Greed is a wonderful motivator but fear works much faster.

*  *  *

New podcast: Current Waves and Cycles: Energy, Commodities, Inflation (38 min)

My new book Investing In Revolution is available at a 10% discount ($18 for the paperback, $24 for the hardcover and $8.95 for the ebook edition). Introduction (free).

Check out my updated Books and Films. Become a $3/month patron of my work via patreon.com. Subscribe to my Substack for free

The paralyzed Hormuz chokepoint is becoming the worst disruption to global energy flows ever, as actual barrels quickly disappear from oil markets, driving prices sharply higher in Asia toward $150 per barrel and potentially setting the stage for demand destruction in the weeks ahead.

The oil market has fragmented: Oil is now trading for $150/bbl in Asia (except the occasional sanctioned Iranian tanker) where demand destruction has started. China and India most pressured.

Meanwhile it is still $100 in the US https://t.co/QweAyzEN0a pic.twitter.com/YyvgAMdMwl

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) March 17, 2026

President Trump has been attempting to fast-track the reopening of Hormuz by providing naval escorts for tankers and other commercial vessels. However, there are a few problems.

First, Western US partners have rejected Trump’s request to send warships to help reopen the strategic waterway, which is plagued by IRGC mines and kamikaze drones.

Second, Arsenio Dominguez, secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), told the Financial Times in an interview on Tuesday that even if naval escorts materialize in the narrow waterway, they will not provide a “100% guarantee” of tanker safety.

“It reduces the risk, but the risk is still there. The merchant ships and seafarers can be affected,” Dominguez said.

The head of the IMO, which sets rules for international shipping, continued:

“We are collateral damage in a conflict when the root causes have nothing to do with shipping,” adding that his organization has major concerns about commercial vessels stuck in the Gulf running out of food and supplies for crews.

Sending US and allied warships into the narrow waterway, just off the Iranian coast and facing threats from drones, naval mines, and shore-to-ship ballistic missiles, seems like a suicidal mission.

“The challenge is going to be dealing with the proximity of the drone launchers and the missile launchers that are going to be along the Iranian coast,” Bryan Clark, an expert in naval operations with the Hudson Institute, told The Hill.

Clark said, “The issue is that you only have a couple of minutes once the launcher comes out before the missiles are going to get on top of you, because you’re only talking about 3 or 4 miles from the shoreline to the transit lane.”

A number of top US partners, including Germany, Spain, and Italy, have no immediate plans to send warships into the waterway. This has only infuriated President Trump, as his administration has voiced frustration with some longstanding allies over their unwillingness to help reopen the strait.

The race to reopen the strait comes as Kpler oil analyst Muyu Xu warned, “The blockade is now the worst disruption to oil flows ever. Actual barrels are now disappearing from global oil markets, which could lead to demand destruction in the weeks to come.”

Three weeks into the US-Iran conflict, tanker activity on the waterway has slowed to a crawl, just about 400,000 barrels per day, compared with the pre-Hormuz-closure average of 14 million barrels per day.

It appears the Hormuz chokepoint will face a very challenging path back to its pre-war status, suggesting the energy shock will hit Asia first. In the US, $5-per-gallon diesel has already materialized. Next, could the energy shock morph into a financial event somewhere in the world if the conflict is not resolved in a timely fashion?

Authored by Zoltan Vardai via CoinTelegraph.com,

A cross-party parliamentary committee in the United Kingdom has urged the government to impose an immediate moratorium on cryptocurrency donations to political parties until stronger safeguards are in place.

In a report published on Wednesday, the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy said the government should amend the Representation of the People Bill to impose an “immediate moratorium on crypto donations” until the Electoral Commission produces statutory guidance ahead of the next general election, due by August 2029.

The committee also called for the creation of a Political Finance Enforcement Unit to oversee these activities and reduce the minimum threshold for declaring political donations from 11,180 British pounds ($14,900) to 500 pounds ($668), and proposed increasing the maximum custodial sentences to three years for wrongdoing involving foreign financing.

The committee cited growing foreign-state threats and efforts to influence the UK’s positions on critical issues, including its relations with the US, the European Union and Ukraine.

The recommendation comes amid rising scrutiny of crypto-linked money in British politics. Nigel Farage’s Reform UK became the first party to start accepting crypto donations in 2025. Reform UK recently disclosed a $4 million donation from crypto investor Christopher Harborne in the fourth quarter of 2025, after a record $12 million gift in the previous quarter.

“Political finance and foreign influence” report. Source: The UK Parliament’s Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy

Crypto donations pose “unnecessary” risk for UK politics

Crypto donations pose an “unnecessary and unacceptably high risk” to the integrity of the political finance system and public trust, without robust regulator guardrails, the report states.

“We see no democratic imperative to permit the use of crypto in political finance until adequate safeguards are in place.”

The committee also cited jurisdictions, such as Ireland, that have banned party members from accepting political cryptocurrency donations due to concerns about foreign interference.

The report comes shortly after Matt Western, chair of the committee, urged the government to put a temporary halt on crypto donations to political parties, citing foreign interference risks, Cointelegraph reported on Feb. 26.

Crypto donations raise concern in the UK

Political cryptocurrency donations are legal in the UK, subject to permissible rules under the Electoral Commission guidance. UK lawmakers reportedly started considering a ban on political cryptocurrency donations in December 2025.

In January, seven senior UK Labour Party MPs urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer to ban crypto donations to political parties.

“Crypto can obscure the true source of funds, enable thousands of micro donations below disclosure thresholds, and expose UK politics to foreign interference,” wrote business and trade committee chair Liam Byrne, one of the seven signatories of the letter.

When we reported on the collapse of the first major UK-based private credit lender, Market Financial Solutions (or MFS), the UK mortgage lender that borrowed more than £2 billion ($2.7 billion) from Wall Street backers, and which collapse in spectacular fashion, we pointed out that the mastermind behind the operation, Paresh Raja, may have opportunistically fled to Dubai, although he may have since fled again for obvious reasons. 

Now, Bloomberg reports that officials overseeing the wind-down of have obtained a worldwide asset-freezing order against owner Paresh Raja. Courts in London and Dubai granted the order, according to a spokesperson for AlixPartners, the insolvency firm appointed by creditors to oversee the insolvency of MFS.

Paresh Raja must provide details of all his assets worth more than £10,000

MFS borrowed from Wall Street banks and investment firms including Barclays and Apollo’s Atlas SP Partners unit. The London-based firm collapsed Feb. 25 amid allegations of wrongdoing.

Creditors have since alleged that they’re facing possible losses of at least £1.3 billion.

“We welcome the granting of these applications which follow two weeks of intense analysis and investigation into the operations and affairs of MFS and Paresh Raja,” the spokesperson for AlixPartners said in a statement.

“This is an important and significant step in this very complex situation, and the support of the courts is critical as we continue our pursuit of the best possible outcome for all creditors of both MFS and its associated companies.”

A spokesperson for Raja declined to comment and a London court didn’t respond to an email requesting the freezing order. The Financial Times first reported the freezing order.

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

A new force in British politics is making waves with an uncompromising vision for national restoration. Just weeks after its launch as a full political party in February, Restore Britain has already overtaken the Conservative Party in membership numbers, reaching over 114,000 supporters and becoming the fourth largest party in the country. 

The growth has been entirely organic through social media and grassroots efforts, with almost no mainstream coverage.

Campaigns director and spokesman Charlie Downes laid out the bold agenda clearly: “We will not lie to the British people. Restoring Britain will require decisions that are controversial and unpleasant.”

We will not lie to the British people. Restoring Britain will require decisions that are controversial and unpleasant.

We are going to strip millions of healthy Brits who refuse to work of benefits. If that causes outrage from those who think the taxpayer owes them a living, so… pic.twitter.com/eaOvdX23w3

— Charlie Downes (@cfdownes_) March 17, 2026

He continued: “We are going to strip millions of healthy Brits who refuse to work of benefits. If that causes outrage from those who think the taxpayer owes them a living, so be it.”

“We are going to deport all illegal and burdensome migrants. If that means millions go, so be it,” Downes added.

See “burdensome”.

— Charlie Downes (@cfdownes_) March 17, 2026

He further urged, “We are going to outlaw incompatible cultural and religious practices. If that means those who refuse to integrate no longer feel welcome, so be it.”

“We are going to execute pedophiles, rapists, and murderers if that is what the British people want,” Downes stressed, adding that “If that means we are condemned by subversive ‘human rights’ groups, so be it.”

He concluded by noting “We take no pleasure in these measures. It is a damning indictment of our political class that they are necessary in the first place. But necessary they are.”

In a video clip from the party’s launch event, Downes made the philosophy explicit: “We do not believe in conserving the system. We do not believe in reforming the system. We believe in revolution.”

We do not believe in conserving the system.

We do not believe in reforming the system.

We believe in revolution.

From my speech at the launch of @RestoreBritain_. pic.twitter.com/Ct05JdFSva

— Charlie Downes (@cfdownes_) March 16, 2026

This stance marks a clear break from the traditional parties that have presided over mass immigration, welfare dependency and soft approaches to serious crime.

It has also immediately become popular with British voters who have become frustrated with Nigel Farage’s Reform Party, over a perceived lack of transparency when it comes to their commitment to mass deportation, in addition to the questionable raft of defections of politicians from the traditional parties, the very people who oversaw the implementation of mass migration into Britain, to Reform.

Restore Party leader Rupert Lowe MP, who was ousted from Reform, addressed the need for tougher justice in response to a particularly disturbing case involving the sexual assault of a five-year-old girl by a Sudanese man. 

Sudanese national who abducted five-year-old girl while she played in Birmingham street before sexually assaulting her at his locked home is jailed https://t.co/M8WrG8UUxH

— Daily Mail (@DailyMail) March 14, 2026

Lowe argued that standard punishments fall short: “Prison or deportation is too kind.”

“A Restore Britain Government would give the British people a binding referendum on the reintroduction of the death penalty when the guilt is undeniable. I would gladly vote in favour,” Lowe remarked.

I read of how a Sudanese man snatched a five year old girl off the street and sexually assaulted her.

The Mail reports when she was rescued the girl’s shorts were ’round her ankles’ and his ‘lower clothes’ were also down. He was ‘bent over her near the bed’.

A five year old.…

— Rupert Lowe MP (@RupertLowe10) March 15, 2026

The speed of Restore Britain’s rise has caught many off guard. Lowe highlighted the achievement: “Restore Britain is now the fourth largest political party in the country – we launched just over four weeks ago… 114,000 members… The growth of Restore Britain is entirely organic.”

He pointed out the glaring omission in coverage: “The media are very quick to call Restore Britain racists, monsters and nazis. Yet absolutely no mention of a four-week old political party overtaking the Conservative Party’s membership total. It’s a big Westminster club, and we are most definitely NOT in it. Good.”

Elon Musk weighed in on the membership milestone, stating: “This is the only way to save Britain. There is no other.”

This is the only way to save Britain. There is no other. https://t.co/EpdmZO7uay

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 15, 2026

Since emerging from recent political realignments, Restore Britain has tapped into widespread frustration over open borders, failing institutions and a political class detached from ordinary Britons. Its platform emphasises secure borders, national pride and direct democracy.

With local branches forming and momentum building, Restore Britain positions itself as the vehicle for the tough decisions long avoided by successive governments. Whether stripping benefits from those unwilling to work, enforcing integration through policy or delivering justice the public supports, the party insists these steps are essential to prevent further decline.

The British people appear to be responding in droves. The old parties have failed for decades. Restore Britain is offering decisive action it says is needed to restore sovereignty, safety and sanity to a nation hollowed out by elite indifference.

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Billionaires’ wealth remains undeterred by global crises, rising by 25 percent between early 2025 and early 2026, a Forbes World’s Billionaires List release showed yesterday.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, when tech stocks soared, it took an even bigger step up, rising 64 percent between 2020 and 2021.

As Statista’s Katharina Buchholz shows in the chart below, the number of billionaires worldwide surpassed 3,000 for the first time in 2025 and climbed to more than 3,400 this year.

You will find more infographics at Statista

The number of billionaires increasing more incrementally than billionaire wealth means that the individual billionaire has become richer on average.

The $100 billion club also had a record 20 members as of March 1, 2026, the release stated, while five people owned more than $200 billion upon the creation of the list – Elon Musk, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg.

Musk’s wealth soared to an incredible $839 billion as of the cutoff date due to favorable stock market prices.

The United States had a record 989 billionaire citizens, 29 percent of all worldwide billionaires.

China followed behind at 610 billionaires (including Hong Kong) ahead of India at 229.

Almost 400 new billionaires were added to the list this year, including a first each from Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Also new on the list are celebrities Beyonce Knowles-Carter, Roger Federer, Dr. Dre and James Cameron as well as 45 new AI billionaires, some of them only in their early 20s.

This year’s 3,428 billionaires had a collective fortune of $20.1 trillion, or $5.9 billion each.

This is in contrast to 2013, when average billionaire wealth stood at just $3.8 billion. While billionaires form the tip of global wealth inequality, they themselves exhibit an unequal distribution of wealth, with the above-mentioned 20 centibillionaires worth $3.8 trillon combined, which is more than the “bottom” 2,000 billionaires on the list own collectively.