The G7 leaders have agreed to a statement on recent developments between Israel and Iran:

‼️Major Mideast Escalation as Israel strikes Iranian nuclear facilities,takes out 2 senior Iranian commanders (head of IRGC & chief of staff of armed forces),warns more strikes will come Iran vows crushing response Oil was +10% now +7% as Iran says oil infra damage is limited

Who needs White Lotus when there’s Musk POTUS

how it started vs. how it’s going

Betting against S&P 500 futures every time Trump escalated trade rhetoric and buying them five days later would have yielded 12% since the beginning of February- Nomura strategist Charlie McElligott

Came with a chainsaw , left with a black eye - Elon Musk’s political career

I think he said thank you

Good morning. Back for Day 2 in Riyadh! On today’s agenda 10am local : GCC leaders family photo 10.15am: GCC plenary session . MBS opens with remarks then Trump speaks again

Notably, Trump didn't demand Syria normalize with Israel to get out from under sanctions. That would be an impossible task at the moment, but it was something that might have been expected, given how Trump managed the lifting of Sudanese sanctions in 2020 during the Abraham Accords.

Everyone thought this trip was going to be mainly a dealmaking trip Trump just delivered a hugely significant geopolitical speech that has very clearly outlined this administration’s goals and hopes in the region. “The birth of a new Mideast”

US secured $600bn in commitments from Saudi Arabia * this is the same figure MBS and Trump spoke about in January after their phone call

Trump wants a trillion-dollar show of friendship from Saudi Arabia — but MBS’s massive spending spree at home makes that difficult www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Trump Faces $2 Trillion Hurdle to Win Money From Saudi Prince

US President Donald Trump’s hopes of securing as much as $1 trillion in investment commitments from Saudi Arabia might clash with another costly ambition - transforming the kingdom’s own economy.

bloomberg.com

Historic greeting Crown Prince MBS and President Trump’s handshake in Riyadh No awkward fist bumps today

Bessent in Riyadh,fresh from Geneva “new mechanism with China will avoid new escalation. We have a very good framework. Both sides agreed we don’t want generalized decoupling between the 2 largest econs in the world. US will decouple in strategic industries” #SaudiUSForum2025

How is it only Monday? Today’s news - US China major trade breakthrough - India Pakistan truce - Zelenskyy in Turkey on Thursday for truce talks. Will Putin join? - Trump gets offered a jet as a gift / loan by Qatari royal family - Trump signs Exec Order to lower pharma prices

A big win for Trump - also note this was negotiated directly with Hamas officials sidelining Israeli gov Hamas says it released Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander - www.reuters.com/world/middle...

Hamas says it released Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander

Hamas has released Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander on Monday, the group said, paving the way for a possible return to ceasefire talks for the war-torn enclave.

reuters.com

US odds of a recession have dropped from 65% to 44% (and will likely edge even lower after today's US China news). Data is with 24h lag Source: Polymarket

BREAKING The US is cutting levies on Chinese goods to 30% from 145% for 90 days. China is lowering its levies on US goods to 10% from 125% for the same time period.

Good morning ! صباح الخير! ‎Live in Riyadh today and tracking Trump’s visit through the GCC all week ‎Today talking through what’s on the agenda : diplomacy, deals and a controversial (potential) Qatari Boeing gift

I asked the Saudi taxi driver what he thinks of President Trump’s visit this week He responded : هذا يبغى فلوس Meaning : this guy wants money 🫠🫠

A post on Saudi’s finances below www.linkedin.com/posts/jouman...

Saudi Arabia: finances and Aramco earnings On my way to Riyadh for a… | Joumanna Bercetche

Saudi Arabia: finances and Aramco earnings On my way to Riyadh for a pivotal week in the region as Trump makes his way here. Two developments in Saudi Arabia’s economy to note: - Aramco earnings ...

linkedin.com

“A very good meeting today with China, in Switzerland,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “Many things discussed, much agreed to. A total reset negotiated in a friendly, but constructive, manner.“ www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Trump Hails Progress After First Day of US-China Trade Talks

Senior US and Chinese negotiators spent hours behind closed doors in Switzerland on Saturday as they held high-stakes talks that offer the clearest opportunity yet for the two countries to de-escalate...

bloomberg.com

Life in Gaza two-and-a-half months into an Israeli blockade: people are killing horses, butchering wild rabbits, boiling weeds and scouring the shore for turtles to get something to eat. Livestock are already dead and most of Gaza's farmland is barren. www.ft.com/content/48dc...

Gaza’s farmers and fishermen eat weeds and turtles as food runs out

Attacks on agriculture exacerbate desperate shortages and enclave’s slide towards famine

ft.com

Trump’s Scant UK Deal Shows Limits of Frenzied Trade Strategy "As the president began revealing specifics of the deal,it became clear it fell short of the full and comprehensive agreement he had promised,or the US-UK free-trade pact he pursued during his first term" www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Trump's UK Trade Deal Leaves Key Issues Unresolved

President Donald Trump pitched his trade framework with the UK as a historic achievement, and the first step in his revolutionary effort to overhaul the global economy.

bloomberg.com

UK-US deal- So its a deal to have a deal. Seems to include -streamlining US goods in UK customs - maximum levels (quotas for duty free access) for some items subject to sectoral tariffs. -agreement to keep talking Both countries looking to announce a deal. Terms useful as cues for others

filling time on air until the new pope is announced is known as "pontiffication"

Tough to keep track but in the past 12h, Trump has: - teased big trade deal announcement at 10am ET (NYT saying it's UK) - said he wouldn't consider lowering145% tariff on China to start trade talks - On Gaza "we'll know something in the next 24h" - Houthis "we had good outcome"

China: PBOC cut the policy rate by 10bps and RRR by 50bps BBG Economics: "Using our in-house model SHOK, we estimate the cuts to the policy rate and RRR could lift GDP growth by as much as 0.8-1 percentage point over the four quarters through 1Q26." "This is a powerful signal"

Carney has definitely gone for the flattery approach (that tends to work!)

Trump teases a VERY VERY BIG ANNOUNCEMENT he will make towards end of this week (Into and before his Mideast trip)