The price of Brent crude oil has surged past $125 a barrel as stalled U.S.-Iran talks raise doubts over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a permanent end to the Iran war. Brent crude oil to be delivered in June jumped 6.2% to $125.36 early Wednesday. Brent to be delivered in July rose 3.1% to $113.85. Before the start of the war in late February, Brent crude was trading around $70 per barrel. The Iran war, which is in its ninth week, still sees no clear path to an end. The U.S. has continued its blockade of Iranian ports while the Strait of Hormuz, is closed, pushing oil prices higher.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will face a second day of grilling from Democrats on Capitol Hill, with senators getting thei…
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday leveled a new threat against NATO ally Germany, suggesting he could soon reduce the U.S.…
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced withering questioning in his first appearance before Congress since the Trump administration went to war against Iran. Skeptical Democrats on Wednesday grilled Hegseth over a costly conflict being waged without congressional approval. The war has cost $25 billion so far. That's according to Pentagon numbers presented to the House Armed Services Committee during a contentious hearing ostensibly focused on the administration’s 2027 military budget proposal. While Republicans focused on the details of military budgeting and voiced support for the Iran operation, Democrats questioned Hegseth about the ballooning costs of the war and the huge drawdown of critical U.S. munitions.
NEW YORK (AP) — Scottish entrepreneur Mike Welch made his fortune as an online tire retailer. But he says he might've traded that lucrative ca…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The world's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, will be heading home following a record-setting deployment of …
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced nearly six hours of questioning Wednesday from House lawmakers for the first time since President Donald Trump’s administration launched the war against Iran. Democrats have contested the war as a costly conflict of choice waged without congressional approval. He’ll return tomorrow to face the Senate. Trump, meanwhile, told Axios that he’s rejecting Iran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for a lift of the U.S. blockade — a plan that would postpone discussions of Iran’s nuclear program. Until now, Hegseth has avoided public questioning from lawmakers about the war, although he and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine have held televised Pentagon briefings.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The majority of Iran’s highly enriched uranium is likely still at its Isfahan nuclear complex, which was bombarded by ai…
More jumps for oil prices sent tremors through the bond market, along with hints that some Federal Reserve officials don’t want to cut interest rates any time soon. But fat profit reports from big companies helped the U.S. stock market remain resilient Wednesday. The S&P 500 edged down by less than 0.1%, a day after slipping from its latest all-time high. The Dow dropped 0.6%, while the Nasdaq composite inched up less than 0.1%. The price for a barrel of Brent crude jumped nearly 6%. Treasury yields climbed as traders erased nearly all their bets for a cut to rates by the Fed this year.
AP
Iran’s national rial currency has hit a record low of 1.8 to the dollar as a shaky ceasefire with the U.S. and Israel holds. The rial had been stable for weeks during the war that began Feb. 28, partly due to limited trading and imports. Experts warn the fall of the rial is likely to further fuel inflation. Many imported goods, from food and medicine to electronics and raw materials, are affected by the dollar rate. The war is now in a ceasefire, but a U.S. naval blockade has continued to increase pressure on Iran’s already battered economy.