Since I last wrote, economic news continues to be dominated by Middle Eastern tensions, much to the relief of our Prime Minister who would otherwise be front and centre of just about every newspaper, every day this week. He must have thought a few months ago that he was through the worst of his political nightmare. Apparently not. Since stories concerning a resolution to the Iranian conflict surfaced two weeks ago and markets surged, the last fortnight has reflected the deepe

Over the past 48 hours, the geopolitical climate in the Middle East has shifted noticeably, and so has the rhetoric coming from Washington. A rather weary looking President Donald Trump addressed the US nation last night and began signalling a softer, more conciliatory stance stating that the conflict was almost over. This was a sudden change from some of his most forceful threats just days before. Markets, ever sensitive to the ebb and flow of geopolitical risk, have respond

Throughout this week, you may have noticed that US President Donald Trump has occasionally asserted that the United States is engaged in meaningful talks with Iranian leadership to end the ongoing war. He understatedly described Iranians as “great negotiators” and claimed they were “begging to make a deal,” even suggesting that the U.S. and Iran were already aligned on several key points. Trump also implied that his administration had paused certain military actions because n