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Evening Analysis – The Gist President Trump’s overnight decree—slapping a 25 % tariff on every nation that trades with Iran—weaponises U.S. market access on a scale unseen since the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Act. China, which bought $22 bn of Iranian goods in 2022, and India, whose exports range from …

Morning Intelligence – The Gist A dawn tweet-turned-policy now threatens to weaponise the U.S. tariff code against half the planet. President Trump’s 25 % duty on any nation trading with Iran extends secondary sanctions logic into headline-rate protectionism, instantly putting China (which bou…

Evening Analysis – The Gist Gold vaulted past $4,600 an ounce while the dollar index slid to 99.0 after U.S. prosecutors served grand-jury subpoenas on Fed Chair Jerome Powell—an act his three predecessors denounced as an “unprecedented” assault on central-bank independence. Futures on the S&a…

Morning Intelligence – The Gist Iran’s streets have erupted again: at least 544 dead and 10,600 detained since the rial’s plunge ignited nationwide protests the regime now meets with blackouts and live fire. Brent nudged $63.39 a barrel as traders began to price the risk of a repeat of 1978’s …

Evening Analysis – The Gist Iran’s streets have again become the global barometer of authoritarian stress. In just two weeks, at least 500 people have been killed and 10,000 arrested (reuters.com), while a nationwide internet blackout seeks to cauterise information flow. Markets notice: Brent …

Morning Intelligence – The Gist Washington’s weekend launch of “Operation Hawkeye Strike” – a midday wave of precision raids that hit multiple Islamic State sites across Syria – signals a decisive shift from containment to pre-emption. CENTCOM reports the joint sortie followed December’s ambus…

Evening Analysis – The Gist The overnight severing of Iran’s internet—traffic down 90 percent—announces more than censorship; it signals the regime’s conviction that survival now depends on information starvation. Over 50–70 protesters and 15 security personnel are dead, with roughly 2,300 arr…

Morning Intelligence – The Gist Iran’s streets are again aflame: inflation above 40 %, the rial down 50 % in a year, and an internet blackout meant to hide mounting casualties—rights monitors count 34-62 dead and more than 2,200 arrests as protests spread to all 31 provinces. (reuters.com) Thi…

Evening Analysis – The Gist Russia’s overnight barrage on January 9—hundreds of Shahed drones, 36 missiles and, critically, the second recorded launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik hypersonic missile—killed four in Kyiv and struck infrastructure near Lviv, 70 km from NATO territory. Ukrainia…

Morning Intelligence – The Gist Washington’s decision to seize de facto command of Venezuela’s oil—50 m barrels on day one, with plans to triple output—recasts crude as a geopolitical lever rather than a mere commodity. Brent rose 0.7 % to $62.39, defence stocks hit records, and a bipartisan U…