ZeroHedge News

Facebook Is Accused Of Fostering Ethnic Enclaves At Headquarters

Tyler Durden — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 17:35:00 +0000

Facebook Is Accused Of Fostering Ethnic Enclaves At Headquarters

Authored by Jose Nino via Headline USA,

Tech advocacy group blames visa programs for enabling corporate tribalism.

A terminated software engineer is accusing Facebook parent company Meta of allowing Chinese migrants to take over entire departments while American employees face systematic exclusion and layoffs, Neil Munro of Breitbart News reported.

Jeremy Bernier, who graduated from Virginia Tech in 2012, lost his software engineering job at the company and has gone public with allegations of widespread discrimination. "At Meta, 90% of my coworkers were Chinese, and non-Chinese were routinely excluded, disadvantaged, and targeted for layoffs," Bernier said. He continued that "6 out of the 7 layoffs I observed targeted non-Chinese despite non-Chinese being the vast minority. Certain org[anizations] like ads and MRS [Meta Recommendation Systems for prioritizing Facebook posts] are notorious for being Chinese dominated."

The former employee shared his account through multiple social media posts. "On Wednesdays and Fridays I'd often be the only non-Chinese person on my team in the office, and they'd all get lunch together without inviting me," Bernier recounted.

Meta was easily the most toxic company I've worked for. There's a reason the Chinese call it "Squid Game". Others refer to it as "Hunger Games" or "Lord of the Flies". I think they're all accurate.

The company culture is basically every man/woman for themselves. The performance...
- Jeremy Bernier (@jeremybernier) May 21, 2026

He expressed frustration at the broader pattern he witnessed. "I think Americans would be outraged if they knew that their own citizens were getting marginalized and laid off at their own companies, while Chinese promote themselves up, conquer entire orgs, and reap millions [in pay and bonuses]," Bernier said. "Americans are practically non-existent in the most coveted, high paying tech jobs in the world at American companies in America."

Kevin Lynn, who founded the advocacy organization U.S. TechWorkers, provided context for why corporations permit such arrangements. "Tribalism is a [C-Suite] tool that tamps down potential [internal executive] competitors because it changes incentives. If you're either leading a tribe or you're part of a tribe, you know you're secure. Your position isn't merit-based - it's based on your race, your ethnicity, who you're friends with, family, that kind of thing."

According to Lynn, this dynamic stifles creativity and progress. "Innovation, inventiveness, novel ideas take a backseat to tribalism," he explained, noting that "When 40 percent or more of your coworkers are from another country, from another culture, and prefer to speak another language, there's not going to be any trust, any ability to bond to build something [innovative]."

The Trump administration has taken aim at workforce visa programs that channel foreign nationals into American corporations. Vice President JD Vance and other officials have criticized these initiatives for displacing domestic workers, per a report by Breitbart. Facebook previously paid a $14 million settlement in 2021 following extensive documentation of bias against American job candidates, as Breitbart previously reported.

Bernier offered nuance in his criticism. "Just to be clear, most Chinese are very kind so don't take this as an attack," he stated. However, he described the broader workplace atmosphere as brutal. "Meta was easily the most toxic company I've worked for. There's a reason the Chinese call it 'Squid Game'. Others refer to it as 'Hunger Games' or 'Lord of the Flies'. I think they're all accurate."

Meta offered no response to Bernier's claims.

Jose Nino is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/02/2026 - 13:35

'Crypto Spring': StanChart Sees Ethereum Outperforming As Mt. Gox Moves $739M BTC From Cold Wallets

Tyler Durden — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 17:15:00 +0000

'Crypto Spring': StanChart Sees Ethereum Outperforming As Mt. Gox Moves $739M BTC From Cold Wallets

“Over the past week, we acquired 26,497 ETH,” Bitmine Immersion Technologies Chair, Tom Lee, said in a statement on Monday.

“In our view, ETH prices are not reflecting the strengthening of Ethereum fundamentals, but then again, this is not surprising given we are in the early stages of crypto spring.”

As CoinTelegraph reports, Bitmine is the largest Ether treasury company with 5.4 million ETH worth more than $10.5 billion.

It had slowed its pace of buying earlier this month after scooping up more than 100,000 Ether a week for three straight weeks.

Lee told CNBC on Monday that there is disappointment in crypto at the moment because it hasn’t moved while other sectors like software are rallying, but argued that it “always happens at the end of crypto winter.”

Lee argued that the thesis for Bitcoin and Ethereum that he believes in still stands; that they are likely to be the future of money, despite the short-term price downturn across the market and some long-term holders and whales selling.

“As AI systems evolve, we’re now talking about using commerce and operating websites, you need decentralized identity and verification, and that’s really what crypto does,” he said.

“We know Wall Street wants to go toward tokenization; it’s a vast improvement in efficiency of how money actually moves, and it’s an innovation. That only happens on Bitcoin, Ethereum and other smart contracts. The future isn’t changed.”

Meanwhile, Bitcoin has tumbled to two-month lows, dramatically diverging from traditional equity markets' recent surge...

Andri Fauzan Adziima, research lead at Bitrue Research Institute, told Cointelegraph that some analysts have noted that Bitcoin is the only major asset in contraction right now, and the divergence is notable.

“It shows Bitcoin is trading more like a high-beta risk asset tied to macro sentiment rather than an independent hedge,” he added.

“This gap highlights current weakness, but it also sets up potential for stronger relative performance once macro conditions improve. I view it as a temporary phase in the cycle, not a permanent shift.”

Analytics platform Santiment said on Monday that “the gap between traditional equities and crypto has become increasingly difficult for traders to ignore.”

However, Santiment said that this pattern won’t last forever, and “mainstream influencers” discussing stock dominance over crypto is often a good sign that the crowd is leaning too far into the “equity FOMO and crypto FUD.” Markets generally move opposite to the majority of traders’ expectations, it added.

This most recent decline in bitcoin comes after Michael Saylor's Strategy actually sold some of its holdings (admittedly a de minimus amount) and perhaps even more ominously, as CoinTelegraph reports, defunct Japanese crypto exchange Mt. Gox moved roughly $739 million worth of Bitcoin from its cold wallets early Tuesday, its first onchain movement in over two months, according to Arkham Intelligence data.

Blockchain data shows the exchange transferred 10,306 Bitcoin (BTC), worth approximately $730.8 million, from its cold wallet to an unmarked address at 4:47 am UTC.

The transferred Bitcoin is currently marked as “unspent” by Arkham. The exchange also made a separate transfer of 116.3 BTC, worth around $8.25 million, to its hot wallet at the same time, which is marked as “spent.”

The transferred Bitcoin being marked “unspent” means the funds are sitting in the new address and have not yet been sent anywhere further. On the other hand, “spent” means those funds have already been moved on again to another address.

The large movement has raised questions about whether creditor distributions are imminent, which could weigh on markets, as creditors who have waited over a decade to recover their funds may choose to sell once they receive their Bitcoin.

Bringing all of this together, Standard Chartered's Geoffrey Kendrick sees opportunity in buying Ethereum against Bitcoin here, suggesting it's only a matter of time before ETH catches up to improving internal metrics.

Internal metrics for Ethereum (ETH) continue to improve – transaction numbers and total value locked (measured in ETH terms) both remain close to all-time highs.

However, the ETH price continues to underperform in both absolute and relative terms – ETH-USD has fallen 57% from its August 2025 high to around USD 2,100, while ETH-BTC is down 37% over the same period.

Describing Amazon during the 2001 dot-com bust, Jeff Bezos said, “While the stock price was going the wrong way, everything inside the company was going the right way”.

We think the same applies to the current ETH price.

Similar to the Amazon example, we see significant scope for the ETH price to catch back up to internal metrics.

Ethereum is poised to benefit as traditional finance (TradFi) equivalents migrate to digital assets.

We project that stablecoin market cap will increase 6x from current levels by end-2028, and that the market cap of tokenised, non-stablecoin real-world assets (RWAs) will multiply 50x over the same period. Ethereum dominates both of these segments, with 50-65% of each underlying market being on Ethereum. These segments now account for more than half of the value locked on Ethereum.

As such, Kendrick reaffirms his ETH forecasts of USD 4,000 for end-2026 and USD 40,000 for end-2030. This would take ETH-BTC back to the 2021 highs around 0.08.

And Kendrick notes that yesterday saw the beginning of ETH outperformance relative to BTC.

The market reaction to MSTR’s sale of 32 BTC (a ridiculously small amount for MSTR to sell, given it still owns 843,706 BTC) was telling.

Specifically, on days where the BTC price falls, yesterday was one of the largest ETH-BTC topside moves of the past few years (there have been just 23 days since the start of 2024 more than yesterday).

The StanChart analyst highlights the larger moves in this chart:

Figure – ETH-BTC price moves on BTC down days (that are bigger than yesterday)

Further, MSTR’s selling (whilst small) highlights the different business models of the BTC DATs from the ETH DATs.

Specifically, because ETH has a 3% staking yield there is zero need for the ETH DATs to ever sell ETH (differently to the BTC DATs).

As such I would expect the mNAVs of the main ETH DATs to go back above that of MSTR (and a higher mNAV makes these businesses more sustainable).

I highlight the mNAV of BMNR and SBET here:

Figure – mNAV of BMNR and SBET v MSTR

Days like yesterday form important turning points for ETH-BTC.

Kendrick sees that cross back at 0.040 by year-end (from 0.028 today), even if (as is likely) MSTR this week buys a large multiple of the 32 BTC it sold last week.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/02/2026 - 13:15

Massachusetts Church Cancels Traditional July 4th Celebration "To Better Understand Our Own Whiteness"

Tyler Durden — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 16:55:00 +0000

Massachusetts Church Cancels Traditional July 4th Celebration "To Better Understand Our Own Whiteness"

Authored by Jonathan Turley via JonathanTurley.org,

In Nantucket, there is an interesting conflict between churches after the Nantucket Unitarian Universalists (NUU) canceled its traditional celebration. In a letter from the church and the Rev. Erin Splaine of the Second Congregational Meeting House Society, residents were told the traditional reading of the Declaration of Independence would be canceled to better focus on the "on-going process within the congregation to better understand our own whiteness."

Across the country, July 4th celebrations are being canceled, and protests are planned for the nation's 250th anniversary. MS NOW anchor Ali Velshi declared this week, "I feel a deep unease about the celebrations to which I am invited to mark the 250th anniversary of our so-called democracy." The comment mirrors a recent poll showing that 85% of Democrats describe the U.S. in negative terms, and only 10% said they view it positively.

For 25 years, the historic Nantucket Unitarian Meeting House has hosted a public reading of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights.

The letter announcing the cancellation from Splaine and the NUU Nantucket church is full of the usual virtue-signaling jingoism that has become common on the left:

"Our cancelling the 4th of July celebration this year reflects ... an on-going process within the congregation to better understand our own whiteness.

...For those of us who are white the experience of the Rights and Privileges conferred by the Declaration of Independence, The Bill of Rights, and the Constitution of the United States have, for centuries, been tragically, often violently, and unequally applied to fellow citizens who are not white."

This type of pandering and posturing has become the norm today. In a time when the American flag is denounced as a divisive and "triggering" symbol, a refusal to celebrate our Independence is yet another way of proving one's bona fides to the perpetually enraged.

Splaine and the church stressed that she would not "engage" with critics on social media because "Social media is not the place for important, tender conversations."

For some of us who believe that the Declaration of Independence embodies natural rights that ultimately prevailed in a more perfect union, the letter is maddening.

As I discuss in Rage and the Republic, the continuation of slavery was recognized at the time as a fundamental betrayal of those values. However, we created a system that would ultimately reject slavery and then later segregation. It was indeed a stain on our history and a sin of our founders to continue slavery. Yet, despite those imperfections, we rallied behind the founding values that define us as a people.

Thomas Paine, who (like other founding figures) was vehemently against slavery, still celebrated the founding of a new nation and a new people: "We have it in our power to begin the world over again . . . The birth-day of a new world is at hand."

John Adams represented Massachusetts, including Nantucket, at the Continental Congress and fought to end slavery, but still understood that they had created a country based on freedoms that would ultimately prevail for everyone. He wrote his wife Abigail to predict that Independence Day would be:

"celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the Day of Deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from end of this continent to the other from this time forward forever more."

Rather than Adams, Massachusetts now has figures like Rev. Splaine who focus not on the natural rights that bind us to those ongoing conflicts that divide us. This is a holiday that allows us to take one day of the year to celebrate our shared values. In an age of rage, it is a respite from the anger and hate that consumes so many in this country.

Yet, there remain some in Massachusetts who still understand what Adams was describing 250 years ago. Another church has stepped forward to take up the celebration. St. Paul's Episcopal Church announced it would read the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. St. Paul's Rev. Max Wolf declared, "We may not be there yet but we felt it was important to gather together and try to live up to the promises our country has made. Those documents are aspirational."

Amen, Reverend, Amen.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/02/2026 - 12:55

Euro Area Inflation Tops 3.0% For First Time Since 2023, Cementing ECB Rate Hike

Tyler Durden — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 16:40:00 +0000

Euro Area Inflation Tops 3.0% For First Time Since 2023, Cementing ECB Rate Hike

Euro Area inflation topped 3% for the first time since September 2023, further cementing expectations for a rate hike when the ECB meets next week.

Consumer prices rose 3.2% from a year ago in May, and up from 3% the previous month, in line expectations. But core inflation, which excludes volatile items like food and energy, jumped more than anticipated to 2.5% (technically 2.55%), while the closely watched services gauge jumped to 3.5%, the highest since last November, and non-energy industrial goods inflation printing at 0.87%YoY.

Energy inflation increased to 10.9%YoY, while food, alcohol and tobacco inflation fell to 1.97%YoY, notably below the weak 2.2%YoY Goldman was expecting.

“The acceleration of headline and core inflation in May cements the case for a 25 basis-point rate increase from the ECB next week. Those moves have been driven by services prices, which have probably been pushed up by pass-through from oil prices. That may be used by the hawks on the Governing Council to argue broad-based inflation requires a follow-up move in September” said Bloomberg economist David Powell.

Incorporating the May flash release into the Euro area inflation path, but also accounting for the potential Easter-related nature of the outsized move in services which should not be fully persistent, Goldman's medium-term path continues to show core inflation at a weak 2.5%yoy in 2026, peaking at 2.7%yoy in 2027Q2 before gradually declining to 2.0%yoy in 2028Q4, above the ECB staff March projections. As for headline inflation, Goldman expects it to peak at 3.4%YoY in Q4, using the bank's latest baseline path for gas and oil prices.

The latest hot inflation print has cemented the ECB's first rate hike since September 2023 on June 11, with officials appearing to conclude that they can no longer wait to respond to the fallout from the Middle East conflict. ECB rate hike odds are now at 98% on Polymarket. They’re worried chiefly about workers demanding steep pay rises and firms boosting selling prices, viewing such consequences as probably now inevitable as the war drags on.

Source: Polymarket

Most policymakers, however, remain cautious on the path beyond June according to Bloomberg, as growth in the region’s 21-nation economy also takes a hit. Business activity shrank in May at the quickest pace since 2023.

ECB Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel, viewed as the most hawkish Governing Council member, suggested Monday that it’s too early to specify how many rate increases may be needed. Lithuania’s Gediminas Simkus has said a second move after June “is more likely than not,” though it’s unclear when.

“It’s quite important to react in a timely manner to this emerging inflationary environment so we can prevent a possible acceleration of inflation and the inflationary spiral, prevent it at its very beginning with the least possible impact on the economy,” Simkus said Tuesday in Vilnius.

His Finnish counterpart Olli Rehn described inflation expectations as still anchored so far, but said action is needed this month to keep prices under control. “While inflation risks have increased, a rate increase in June would be an insurance one, but not due to entrenched inflationary pressures,” he said in a speech.

Today's CPI print should not have been a major surprise: data last week showed inflation gathering pace in three of the bloc’s biggest member states, and remaining well above the ECB’s 2% target in all of them. Propelled by the war-induced surge in energy costs, May readings for France, Italy and Spain quickened to 2.8%, 3.3% and 3.6%, while the headline number for Germany moderated to 2.7%.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/02/2026 - 12:40

California, Iowa, 4 Other States Hold Primaries: Key Races To Watch

Tyler Durden — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 16:20:00 +0000

California, Iowa, 4 Other States Hold Primaries: Key Races To Watch

Authored by Joseph Lord via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The California gubernatorial and Los Angeles mayoral primaries are among the most closely watched races today.

A voter fills out a ballot at a polling station in Des Moines, Iowa, on Nov. 6, 2018. Joshua Lott/Getty Images

Voters in six states will go to the polls today for a series of key races.

The biggest item of the night will be the litany of races in California, the nation's largest state. Others will be held in Iowa, Montana, New Mexico, New Jersey, and South Dakota.

Here are the most important races to watch.

California Governor

The race to replace outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom is one of the most-watched in the nation.

California's gubernatorial elections are designed to be nonpartisan. With about six candidates polling with at least 5 percent support, only the top two vote-getters will be on the general gubernatorial election ballot in November, even if both are of the same party.

In the final weeks leading into the primary, the election underwent a total shake-up when front-runner Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) left the race - and Congress - following multiple allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault. Swalwell has denied the allegations.

Currently, the Democratic front-runners are former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra and billionaire Tom Steyer. The two are polling close, although Becerra retains a slight advantage.

Will Xavier Becerra advance from the 2026 California Governor primary election?
Yes 93% · No 7%
View full market & trade on Polymarket

The main Republican candidates in the race are Steve Hilton, a British American TV show host and conservative commentator, and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.

Polling leaves it unclear whether Hilton or Steyer is favored for second place.

Los Angeles Mayoral Primary

Residents of Los Angeles will also vote in the nonpartisan mayoral primary.

Incumbent Mayor Karen Bass is facing off against 10 other contenders. She is expected to win the top spot in the primary.

Will Karen Bass win the 2026 Los Angeles mayoral election?
Yes 68% · No 33%
View full market & trade on Polymarket

Meanwhile, the top Democratic contender for the second-place spot - member of the Los Angeles City Council Nithya Raman - is seeking to hold off a challenge from former reality TV star Spencer Pratt, running as a Republican, and make it to the general election.

California's 22nd Congressional District

In California's 22nd Congressional District, Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.) will face off in a nonpartisan primary with state Rep. Jasmeet Bains and Randy Villegas, both Democrats.

Valadao is expected to win a place in the general election, although his final opponent will be decided by the outcome on June 2.

Will David Valadao advance from the CA-22 Primary?
Yes 90% · No 10%
View full market & trade on Polymarket

Polling in the district is sparse. A single poll conducted at the beginning of May by Data for Progress, a left-leaning pollster, showed Valadao with 44 percent support, Villegas with 25 percent, and Bains with 21 percent.

California's 48th Congressional District

In California's 48th Congressional District, a flurry of candidates have put their names into the ring.

Republican Jim Desmond leads in polls in the nonpartisan election, with fellow Republican Kevin O'Neil coming in second in some polls. Marni von Wilpert and Ammar Campa-Najjar are the Democratic front-runners.

The seat was one of five redrawn to favor Democrats last year - but that advantage only holds if a Democrat wins the nonpartisan primary.

California's 11th Congressional District

In California's 11th Congressional District, a slate of Democrats is competing to replace outgoing Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

Most polls show a lead for candidate Scott Wiener, a Democrat, while Pelosi has endorsed San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan. Chan has come in second in some polls, and Wiener enters the primary as the clear front-runner.

Will Scott Wiener receive the most votes in the CA-11 primary?
Yes 99% · No 1%
View full market & trade on Polymarket

The two Republicans in the running - when they have made it into the polls at all - have pulled less than 5 percent support.

Iowa Senate

Although Iowa has long been a lock for Republicans, it is among Democrats' targets this year, as there are indications that the party could flip Senate seats previously considered safe. This year, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) will not be seeking reelection, leaving the seat open.

Polls indicate that Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) is favored for the Republican nomination over her rival, state Sen. Jim Carlin.

Will the Republicans win the Iowa Senate race in 2026?
Yes 62% · No 38%
View full market & trade on Polymarket

The polls leave it unclear whom the Democrats will nominate between candidates Josh Turek and Zach Wahls. Turek has led in more recent polling.

Will Josh Turek be the Democratic nominee for Senate in Iowa?
Yes 93% · No 7%
View full market & trade on Polymarket

Iowa Governor

Iowa's gubernatorial race is open after Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, announced that she would not seek reelection in 2026.

Several Republicans are contending for the nomination to replace her. The polls show that candidates Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa), Zach Lahn, and Adam Steen are leading in that race. On the Democratic side, only state Auditor Rob Sand is running.

A general election poll conducted in April by Echelon Insights, a Republican-aligned pollster, found that Sand had 51 percent support against Feenstra, who was polling at 39 percent.

Montana Senate

In Montana, the last-minute exit of Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) from the race left Republican challengers little opportunity to register against former U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme, who registered for the GOP nomination just as Daines exited the race.

On the Democratic side, no polls have been conducted, leaving it unclear who is in the lead for the nomination.

As recently as 2024, the state was represented by Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat. Some general election polls have shown 44 percent support for a generic Democrat.

New Mexico Governor

In New Mexico, Democrat and former U.S. Secretary of the Interior Debra Haaland is highly favored to win the Democratic nomination in the blue-leaning state, which some Republican strategists had eyed as a potential target in 2024.

On the Republican side, Gregg Hull narrowly leads Doug Turner in polls for the nomination.

New Jersey's 7th Congressional District

One of the two top targets for Democrats in New Jersey is the seat of Rep. Tom Kean (R-N.J.).

Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot, is favored to win the nomination, leading in most polls. Her closest rival is Brian Varela.

New Jersey's 12th Congressional District

In New Jersey's 12th Congressional District, incumbent Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) is retiring, leaving open a safely Democratic seat in a district where the primary essentially is the general election.

The race has exposed ideological rifts in the Democratic Party.

Leading the progressive side in the race is Dr. Adam Hamawy, a Princeton trauma surgeon and Army veteran with endorsements from progressive heavyweights such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).

The main other contenders for the Democratic nomination include East Brunswick Mayor Brad Cohen, state Rep. Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, and Somerset County Commissioner Shanel Robinson.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/02/2026 - 12:20

Bringing Sexy Back: Victoria's Secret Shoots Higher After Abandoning Woke Ideology

Tyler Durden — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 15:40:00 +0000

Bringing Sexy Back: Victoria's Secret Shoots Higher After Abandoning Woke Ideology

Shares of Victoria's Secret surged a mind-boggling 40% in the U.S. morning cash session after the bras-and-lingerie retailer delivered a stronger-than-expected first quarter, boosted its outlook, and showed signs of a turnaround plan in motion.

Net sales rose 15% to $1.56 billion in the first quarter, beating guidance, while comparable sales increased 13%, signaling that CEO Hillary Super's turnaround plan is gaining traction as product innovation, stronger regular-price selling, and renewed brand momentum drive shoppers back into stores and online.

Management lifted its 2026 outlook, now forecasting net sales of $7.03 billion to $7.13 billion, up from prior guidance of $6.85 billion to $6.95 billion. Adjusted operating income is now expected to be $550 million to $580 million, above the prior $430 million to $460 million range.

"Our customer responded strongly to our product innovation, emotionally resonant storytelling, and distinct brand projection, driving double-digit growth in new customer acquisition, increased regular-price selling, and broad-based strength across categories, channels, and geographies," Super wrote in a statement.

Super concluded, "We are increasingly confident in the trajectory of the business. Our teams are executing with greater precision and agility. Victoria's Secret, PINK, and Beauty are gaining cultural relevance and expanding their customer files, and we have a strong pipeline of product launches, partnerships, and brand moments ahead. We believe we are well-positioned to continue building momentum and creating shareholder value."

The positive earnings sent shares soaring, up more than 41% in late morning trade.

To note, some of the surge could be due to a vicious unwind of a short position. Latest Bloomberg data shows 16.6% of the float, or 13 million shares, are short.

Let's not forget that Victoria's Secret lost the plot in the woke era when it pivoted away from skinny, beautiful models to a more "inclusive" fashion message that alienated a large chunk of its core customer base.

The backlash was notable and diluted the brand's iconic image, which it had built over the years.

Notably absent from Super and the management team commentary was any discussion of a potential GLP-1 tailwind.

With nearly 20 million women reportedly taking medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy, or Zepbound, the weight-loss wave could be creating a new driver of demand as consumers refresh their wardrobes and feel more comfortable with their physiques.

Let's hope Super's turnaround plan involves getting back to basics.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/02/2026 - 11:40

Where's The Limit

Tyler Durden — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Where's The Limit

By Stefan Koopman, senior market strategist at Rabobank

The ancient Greeks left a rich intellectual legacy, as our global strategist Michael Every showed last week in The Hormuz Odyssey. The same fertile ground also produced a famous set of puzzles that have challenged thinkers for centuries. These are the paradoxes of Zeno. In the Dichotomy Paradox, Zeno argued that a runner can never reach the finish line on a straight track. The logic is simple. The runner must first cover half the distance to the goal. Once there, he must still cover half of what remains. After that, he must cover half of the new remainder, and so on, and so on. At each step, some distance remains. In Zeno’s telling, the runner is never able to reach the finish line.

US‑Iran talks follow the same logic. Washington and Tehran have broadly agreed on the outline of a deal: a 60‑day ceasefire extension, a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and a trade of sanctions relief for nuclear constraints. Officials on both sides also describe an agreement as imminent. Yet each apparent breakthrough produces a new obstacle. Negotiators still haggle over language, sequencing and enforcement, and have even yet to settle the basic question of who signs first. Like Zeno’s runner, the two sides keep halving the distance to a deal – closing in on it step by step – without seeming to ever arrive.

The resolution to Zeno’s paradox lies in the concept of limits. So when will President Trump and Ayatollah Khamenei reach theirs? When is enough, enough? Markets still assume that moment is close, with the front‑month Brent contract hovering just above six‑week lows. But the longer Washington and Tehran fail to reach an agreement, the more they open the door for disruptors to shape events, from US‑Iran skirmishes in the Strait of Hormuz to Israeli strikes in Lebanon.

Every time an Iran deal is close, it moves away again. I’d described this crisis as a polytropos Odyssey, but it also matches Zeno’s Achilles & the 🐢 paradox - ever closer but never reached.

If so, markets pricing oil lower is… ZENOHEDGE.

(Sorry, the pun was irresistible!) https://t.co/tY8moivdXn
— Michael Every (@TheMichaelEvery) June 1, 2026

The past 24 hours indeed showed how fragile this equilibrium is. Iran’s IRGC‑linked Tasnim agency reported that Iranian negotiators would halt talks with the US in response to Israeli attacks in Lebanon against Hezbollah. It also warned that the “resistance front” could be activated, including potential Houthi involvement in the Bab al‑Mandeb Strait. Oil prices jumped 7%, the dollar strengthened, and equity futures turned red. Within hours, however, Trump said he had spoken to both Hezbollah and Netanyahu (all while saying he “really doesn’t care” if talks collapse) and claimed that Israel and Hezbollah would stand down. He also added that talks with Iran were proceeding at a “rapid pace”, a line we have now heard for weeks.

Oil prices quickly reversed, but scepticism is warranted. Trump again appears to negotiate with himself. He claims progress while trying to contain escalation on fronts he does not control. From Tehran’s perspective, that urgency weakens the US position. Why offer concessions that fall short of core strategic interests if they believe they can roll the US president a bit further? The past day suggests Iran does not see itself as the side under decisive pressure. It appears to believe that the US and its partners have at least as much at stake in avoiding further instability. In that setting, President Trump does not seem to hold the stronger hand. And while Zeno’s runner never arrives, the real world does have real limits, and we are moving steadily closer to physical supply hitting effective tank bottom.

It cannot be stressed enough: the longer this drags on, the bigger the problems become. The PMIs made that clear yesterday. The US manufacturing ISM rose to 54, its highest level in four years, but that headline is deceptive. Much of the strength reflects companies bringing forward orders and activity to build inventories and protect against supply chain disruptions. That boost is likely to prove temporary but inflationary.

The details of the euro area manufacturing PMI, which printed at 51.6, are equally unconvincing. The survey shows costs rose at the fastest pace in four years, driven by higher energy and raw material prices, while more frequent supply chain delays added further upward pressure..

Higher prices for inputs, packaging and logistics will push up euro area goods inflation in the months ahead. But as factories pass these higher costs on to customers, they face weaker demand than in the immediate post‑pandemic period, when the previous supply shock hit the economy. The PMI suggests that order books are already starting to stall after an initial boost from front‑loading and precautionary bookings. This points to a clear trade‑off. The ECB will raise rates next week to signal vigilance, but it will also need to stay cautious about how far it goes as demand starts to weaken.

The ECB’s consumer expectations survey showed a slight easing in April. Consumers expect prices to rise by 2.9% a year over the next three years, down from 3.0% in March. One modestly positive signal for the ECB is that the distribution around this three‑year expectation has normalised somewhat. Last week, Schnabel warned that a rightward shift in inflation expectations could signal de‑anchoring risks that “must be monitored carefully.” Expectations for the next 12 months stayed at 4%, while five‑year expectations held at 2.4%, still above the ECB’s 2% medium‑term target.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/02/2026 - 11:00

Shocking JOLTS: Job Openings Soar By 731K, 9-Sigma Beat, As Quits Bizarrely Plunge To 6 Year Low

Tyler Durden — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 14:44:31 +0000

Shocking JOLTS: Job Openings Soar By 731K, 9-Sigma Beat, As Quits Bizarrely Plunge To 6 Year Low

We had to do a double take when the BLS reported today's JOLTS job openings: with consensus expecting no change from last month's print of 6.866MM, and near the lowest in two years, moments ago a flashing red headline revealed that in April the US added a stunning 731K jobs to 7.618 million, up from an upward revised 6.887 million, and up 520K from a year ago.

For context, this was a 9 sigma beat to expectations, the biggest beat in history.

WTF!?... and how is this possible at a time when companies are mass laying off thanks to AI? Well, according to the BLS,the number of job openings increased in professional and business services (+668,000), and also rose in manufacturing, manufacturing, and - alas - government. Jobs stumbled in finance and insurance (-135,000).

This was the biggest monthly increase in professional and business services by a huge margin. It wasn't clear what exactly job category prompted this surge.

Meanwhile, the draining of the swamp appears to be officially over with government jobs jumping by 47K to 777K, the biggest monthly increase this year.

The historic surge in April job openings, coupled with the modest increase in unemployed workers means that after 9 months of labor surplus, there were 245K more job openings than unemployed workers in April, a reversal to the "deficit" regime observed since last July.

The surge in openings also means that after falling back to 0.9x in March, in April the ratio of job openings rose back to 1.0x and was the highest since January 2025.

But while the job openings number was a shock, this month we saw a reversal of last month's surge in hires and quits, and in April both the number of Quits and Hires, tumbled once more. Specifically, hires plunged by 419K to 4.899 million, while quits - or the "take his job and shove it" indicator - plunged by 183K, or 5.8%, to 2.977 million, the lowest since 2020 and the biggest percentage drop since April 2025, as Americans are suddenly allergic to leaving their jobs on their own.

It goes without saying that a surge in job openings even as nobody is leaving their jobs, leads one to scratch their head just what is going on here, besides data massaging of course.

In any case, since this hires number feeds directly into the payrolls calculations (after netting out separations) this explains why the April payrolls report slumped to 115K from 185K in March.

Overall, this was a shockingly strong JOLTS report - so strong in fact one wonders who at the BLS had a fat finger incident when calculating the professional and business services job openings, and shows that after some significant weakness in late 2025, US labor market has continued to stabilize in early 2026. Of course, the report also lags the payrolls report by a month, which is why it gives us little insight into what Friday's jobs report will be.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/02/2026 - 10:44

Russia Unleashes Its Threatened Mass Bombardment: At Least 18 Killed, Over 100 Wounded Across Ukraine

Tyler Durden — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 14:25:00 +0000

Russia Unleashes Its Threatened Mass Bombardment: At Least 18 Killed, Over 100 Wounded Across Ukraine

The Kremlin spent much of the last week warning foreign diplomats and bystanders to evacuate Ukraine's capital, warning that an escalation in airstrikes is imminent, in response to Ukraine's own drone swarms sent against Moscow and other Russian sites last month - especially the Starobelsk dormitory attack.

"In response to terrorist attacks by the Kyiv regime, the Russian Armed Forces launched a large-scale strike using long-range, high-precision air, land and sea-based weapons — including hypersonic aero-ballistic missiles and attack drones," the Russian Defense Ministry (MoD) said in a statement. "The objectives of the strike were achieved. All designated targets were hit," it added.

In the wake of these devastating overnight attacks, Ukraine is reporting that at least 18 people were killed and over 100 more wounded. The hours-long assault was clearly one of the biggest and deadliest of the last year or more.

Tuesday attack on Ukraine's capital, via Reuters

Ukraine's air force tallied that over 640 drones were sent and 73 missiles were fired on various cities, including Kyiv, and Dnipro, as well as several eastern cities, including Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia. Ukraine claims it intercepted the majority of these, but still dozens of projectiles made it through to impact.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko later confirmed that six people were killed in the Ukrainian capital and that at least 66 others, including two children, were wounded.

There was mayhem as people fled to shelters during the nighttime "mass enemy attack". The mayor had warned while it unfolded: "Explosions in the city. Air defense forces are working! Stay in shelters!"

Central Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region also saw high casualties, with at least 12 people killed and 36 others wounded. The regional governor reported that children were among the injured.

Moscow has not owned up to inflicting civilian casualties in the fresh overnight assault, but has instead framed this as part of its previewed "systematic and consistent strikes" on Ukraine’s military infrastructure.

President Putin and top military brass had last month said strikes would be initiated against "decision-making centers" in response to the dorm attack in the Russia’s Lugansk People’s Republic on May 22, which killed 21 people - mostly teenage girls - and injured 70 others.

Kremlin officials now say that Russian forces have "a right to dismantle any infrastructure that supports terrorism."

Russian drones and missiles struck the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and other cities, killing at least 18 people and wounding more than 100, authorities said, following days of warnings about ‌Moscow's plans for a major assault https://t.co/RZjbJYupmp pic.twitter.com/UY6FOwNne7
— Reuters (@Reuters) June 2, 2026

Despite this clear escalation, peace talks are nowhere on the horizon, also as the White House's attention is currently fixated on the Iran war and Hormuz Strait crisis. Russia has in the meantime benefited from the Iran crisis, with sanctions relief on its oil exports from Washington, and elevated crude prices.

President Trump is on a daily basis dealing with now largely stalemated back-and-forth diplomatic messaging with Tehran, and so the persistent Ukraine war seems to have taken a far back seat in terms of administration priorities.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/02/2026 - 10:25

Tencent Soars Most Since 2022 On Report It's Set To Launch AI Agent For China's Most Used App

Tyler Durden — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 13:50:00 +0000

Tencent Soars Most Since 2022 On Report It's Set To Launch AI Agent For China's Most Used App

Tencent shares jumped the most since late 2022 after an FT report that the Chinese company was testing a prototype AI agent for WeChat, China’s most widely used app for everything from messaging and social media to ride-hailing and payments, fueled optimism about the company’s artificial intelligence efforts.

The Chinese internet giant plans to begin a compliance process for a public launch of the agent as soon as this month, the Financial Times reported, citing sources. After that, Tencent plans to test the agent on a small group of outside users before initiating a phased rollout, the newspaper said.

Shares of Tencent closed up 10.5%, its biggest jump since November 2022, with turnover at the highest in more than a year. The stock gave a boost to the Hang Seng Tech Index, which rose 4.7%.

Users will be able to access the chat box for the AI agent by swiping right on the main WeChat screen, according to a person who has seen an early demonstration. They can then enter instructions for the agent to automatically tap into WeChat’s millions of mini-apps, the bedrock of the app’s broad functionality, and complete tasks such as finding a café and ordering a drink based on certain flavor and price requirements.

A successful introduction of an AI agent for the popular WeChat service would mark a step forward for Tencent’s bid to catch up to rivals in the rapidly emerging technology. While Tencent has vowed to at least double investments in the field to more than 36 billion yuan ($5.3 billion) this year, it trails peers like ByteDance and Alibaba in both user adoption and advances in developing state-of-the-art large language models.

“Tencent has been a huge underperformer this year because market perceives it as an AI laggard,” said Vey-Sern Ling, managing director at Union Bancaire Privee. “The AI agent, if successful, could change such a perception. Even though there’s very little detail right now, we know Tencent has a huge ecosystem to make it work.”

According to Citigroup, while the adoption of an AI agent in WeChat had been anticipated by the market, its earlier-than-expected timing likely prompted the positive share price reaction.

Goldman's Graham Ambrose cautions that it's still not clear how this will evolve and the market is so far unconvinced on Tencent management’s explanation of their strategy to confront the challenge.

The infrastructure was upgraded in March
The Hunyuan 3.0 foundation model powering the agent was launched in April
A Developer Beta recently started
The pilot launch is planned for June for Weixin users
The broad roll-out is expected to be in Q3 (not confirmed by management yet) with full integration across the domestic Weixin app, including deep "AI Search" and "Agentic Pay" features.

The news sparked a major move higher in Chinese stocks: in addition to Tencent developments, a slew of positive drivers including Meituan’s earnings and upbeat delivery figures by electric vehicle makers supported the Hang Seng Tech Index. Other internet and e-commerce heavyweights such as Alibaba and JD.com Inc. rose more than 6% as sentiment improved.

The rebound comes after the gauge, with its reliance on Chinese internet giants, has trailed the blistering surge in tech hardware-heavy benchmarks such as South Korea’s Kospi and Taiwan’s Taiex this year.

Prosus NV, Tencent’s biggest shareholder, jumped as much as 11% on Tuesday in Amsterdam. Its parent company Naspers rose at a similar pace in Johannesburg trading.

“Tencent’s move potentially shifts the China AI story from model development to real consumer distribution,” said Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo Markets in Singapore. “It’s still too early to say, but if WeChat can integrate an AI agent into a platform with around 1.4 billion users, that gives investors a clearer path to usage, engagement and eventually monetization.”

Bloomberg notes that even with Tuesday’s rebound, Tencent remains down about 20% for the year. Options suggest some investors are making bets on a further recovery after Tuesday’s rally, as China is about to get its own gamma squeeze. Trading of bullish options on Tencent surged to a record high, with more than 430,000 calls changing hands against 177,000 puts.

The four most-active contracts in Hong Kong were Tencent calls, and those with an exercise price 10% above Tuesday’s closing price led the pack. Meanwhile, the cost of hedging against declines in the next three months plunged to its lowest level in almost a year.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/02/2026 - 09:50

Iran Denies Progress Despite Hasty Lebanon Truce: US Talks Halted For 'At Least A Few Days'

Tyler Durden — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 13:25:00 +0000

Iran Denies Progress Despite Hasty Lebanon Truce: US Talks Halted For 'At Least A Few Days'

Summary:

Washington has seen the Lebanon partial truce as opportunity enough to press forward on broader talks, with Trump saying he expects a broader Iran deal "over the next week".
But Fars denies this Tuesday: "exchange of messages between Iran & the US has been stopped for at least a few days" on MOU.
In Lebanon, "While the ceasefire appears to be largely holding, there was further violence overnight," reports BBC, with more dead & wounded on both sides.

US announces new Iran agreement/ceasefire extension by June 7?
Yes 14% · No 87%
View full market & trade on Polymarket

* * *

Iran Denies Progress, Halt in Talks Still in Effect

State media has belatedly responded to Trump's Monday claim that talks between the US and Iran are back on. Trump has even said Tuesday that he expects an agreement for an extended ceasefire to take place "over the next week" - along with the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

"An informed source says that the exchange of messages between Iran and the US has been stopped for at least a few days for what is called the initial memorandum of understanding between Tehran and Washington," Fars reports. So this is Iran in effect saying 'not so fast' - as it seeks to 'hold the cards' and maintain some leverage. Trump has not indicated a willingness to resume bombing the Islamic Republic, but his patience has seemed to be wearing thin over the last several days, as the White House is boxed in to only choosing among several 'bad options' in the wake of launching a war of choice 95 days ago.

Oil spikes on the negative news from Tehran, extends:

And more confirmation via newswires:

An Iranian source says there is currently no message exchange with the U.S., contradicting claims of ongoing progress. The source reports talks on an initial understanding have stalled for several days. It also noted Iran’s last communication with Washington concerned Lebanon and drew international attention, despite President Trump stating negotiations are advancing rapidly.

Latest on the Lebanon front:

"American sources for AI Hadath: Proposal for a 60-day plan during which Israel withdraws gradually from southern Lebanon": AI Hadath reports.

"Negotiations propose the deployment of the Lebanese army and UNIFIL in southern Lebanon after Israel's withdrawal."
"Lebanon seeks to resolve Hezbollah's weapons file politically, but after Israel's complete withdrawal."

Lebanon Fighting Persists Amid Nominal Ceasefire

Various regional and international reports have documented serious ongoing fighting in Lebanon, despite President Trump the day prior having declared that the shooting will cease and that Hezbollah and Israel were forging a limited ceasefire. Trump had said of both sides that "they agreed that all shooting will stop" - after Iran announcing it had suspended peace talks with the US over Israeli military action in Lebanon.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did affirm he would adhere to the agreement, and reports say that planned new airstrikes on Beirut were called off, but he also warned the attacks on the capital would go ahead "if Hezbollah does not stop attacking our cities and civilians" - and that forces in the south would continue operating.

BBC has freshly written that "While the ceasefire appears to be largely holding, there was further violence overnight." The same report details:

Hezbollah said its fighters had targeted Israeli tanks in the southern Lebanese towns of Haddatha and Bayada with missiles and shells. The Israeli military said it had intercepted two projectiles that had been fired from Lebanon in the early hours of Tuesday. No injuries have been reported.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported Israeli strikes on several southern areas and said a "very violent" explosion from a large-scale demolition rocked the town of Debbine.

Tuesday has witnessed some ongoing attacks on south Lebanon, as well as Hezbollah drone attacks on Israeli troop positions, wounding some. According to some of the latest from Al Jazeera:

Israeli forces have carried out multiple air raids on the city of Nabatieh, one of the largest in southern Lebanon, our colleagues on the ground report. The city, a strategic hub for Hezbollah, has been encircled by Israeli forces in recent days as troops continue pushing north.

Israeli attacks were also reported across the wider Nabatieh district as Israel deepens its occupation of surrounding areas. Drones hit the towns of Kafr Sir and Aabba, while a strike targeted the road leading to Houmine al-Fawqa. The outskirts of Yahmour al-Shaqif were also hit.

There's also been a lot of explosions in the southern city of Tyre, with Israeli jets active in the airspace above on Tuesday. And rescuers have recovered six bodies from another town, with Lebanese civil defense agency having said in a statement: "Since yesterday evening and continuing until this morning … personnel have been carrying out search and rescue operations in a residential building that was targeted in the town of Marwaniyah – Sidon district."

#WATCH: Israel conducts strikes over south Lebanon, Hezbollah fires into northern Israel after US @POTUS @realDonaldTrump announces agreement to halt attacks that neither side has publicly accepted https://t.co/vgbtbZ2sm8 pic.twitter.com/jx5O69Knfo
— Arab News (@arabnews) June 2, 2026

Hezbollah's fiber-optic drone attacks have at the same time not ceased: "Two Israeli soldiers have been wounded in a Hezbollah drone attack in southern Lebanon, the military says, describing their injuries as minor," Al Jazeera reports Tuesday. This is after "Two other Israeli soldiers were killed over the weekend, also in drone attacks, bringing to 26 the number of soldiers killed since fighting escalated three months ago. Four Israeli civilians have also been killed."

Impact of Trump's 'Steamrolling' Netanyahu in Monday Call

President Trump's angry dressing down of Netanyahu may have had very limited effect, it appears. To review, per Axios during a Monday call Trump was reportedly heard cussing at the Israeli leader and essentially 'steamrolled' him - angry over breaking the Lebanon truce and demanding that Israel's military not attack Beirut.

Trump is said to have told Netanyahu "you’re fucking crazy’" while demanding Lebanon truce: "I’m saving your ass," he also reportedly said. Iran early Monday said it halted talks with Washington because of Israel's escalation in Lebanon.

There's been some reaction from Iran to the Axios report, with Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi having remarked, "In this regard, the US president’s claim of having dissuaded Netanyahu from launching a major attack on Beirut is more than a sign of Washington’s peace-seeking, it’s confirmation of America’s direct role in managing the Zionist regime’s aggressions."

How many times have they sold and resold this same story about Biden and now Trump being secretly VERY VERY mad at Netanyahu https://t.co/uGpSULbhhM
— Krystal Ball (@krystalball) June 1, 2026

The Iranian official continued to offer Tehran's vew: "If the decision to attack the capital of an independent state can be changed with a single phone call the main question is: why did months of ceasefire violations, aggression against Lebanon, the displacement of its people, and threats to this country’s sovereignty – backed by Western political and military support – continue unabated?" he remarked.

Mark Levin rages over White House leaks of Trump-Netanyahu call...

Mark R. Levin, a close ally of both U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, appears to confirm the veracity of the report earlier by Axios on today’s heated call between Trump and Netanyahu regarding peace negations with Iran as well as… pic.twitter.com/46qmYBJsJZ
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) June 2, 2026

Trump Returns to Optimism: Agreement 'Over the Next Week'

But Washington has seen the Lebanon partial truce as opportunity enough to press forward on broader talks. While there's hasn't been full confirmation from Tehran's side, Trump has declared the talks as back on:

US President Trump told ABC News he thinks he will have an agreement with Iran to extend the ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz over the next week, while he also stated that a peace agreement with Iran could be better than a military victory. Trump also stated that it's not simple for both sides, but they're getting what they need to get and that he still has to get a few more points.

The very same network points on Tuesday morning:

Israeli and Hezbollah forces continued their attacks on Tuesday despite President Donald Trump's claim that the warring sides had "stopped shooting each other" after his intervention to prevent escalation on Monday.

Lebanon's state-run news agency, NNA, reported three Israeli strikes in separate areas in southern Lebanon. One person was killed, NNA reported. ABC News has contacted the Israel Defense Forces to request comment.

So, once again Trump touting the likelihood of a deal to reopen Hormuz by next week seems extremely wishful and ambitious, to say the least. And we've heard all this before, and been here many times over the past 95 days of war.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/02/2026 - 09:25

Trump Taps Housing Regulator Bill Pulte As Acting Director Of National Intelligence

Tyler Durden — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 13:21:06 +0000

Trump Taps Housing Regulator Bill Pulte As Acting Director Of National Intelligence

President Trump said Tuesday that he is appointing Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to serve as acting director of national intelligence after Tulsi Gabbard leaves the post.

Gabbard announced her resignation on May 22, citing her husband Abraham Williams’ recent diagnosis with a rare form of bone cancer. Her resignation is effective June 30, meaning Pulte’s appointment would mark a change from Trump’s earlier statement that Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence Aaron Lukas would serve as acting intelligence chief after Gabbard’s departure.

Pulte is expected to continue leading the FHFA while serving as chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored mortgage companies that play a central role in the U.S. housing finance system. The arrangement would place a close Trump ally simultaneously near the center of federal housing finance and atop the U.S. Intelligence Community, which is made up of 18 organizations.

"I am appointing the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Chairman of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, William J. Pulte, to serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence," Trump posted on Truth Social. "William has deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America, the safety and soundness of the Markets, and over 10 Trillion Dollars at Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, a substantial increase from where it was just 12 months ago. During this period, he will remain Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Chairman of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac. Congratulations to Director Pulte!"

Pulte, 38, is the grandson of William J. Pulte, founder of PulteGroup, which describes itself as the nation’s third-largest homebuilder. Before entering government, the younger Pulte was known for private-equity work tied to housing and building products, as well as high-profile online philanthropy. He was sworn in as FHFA director on March 14, 2025, after Senate confirmation.

Since taking office, Pulte has turned the FHFA, historically a low-profile housing regulator, into a far more visible political force. His tenure has included board and leadership changes at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and public mortgage-fraud referrals involving several Trump critics, moves that have drawn scrutiny from Democrats and watchdogs.

The director of national intelligence position was created after the Sept. 11 attacks to improve coordination across the Intelligence Community. The DNI serves as the head of the U.S. Intelligence Community and as the principal intelligence adviser to the president, the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council. The community includes the CIA, NSA, DIA, FBI intelligence branch and other military and civilian intelligence elements.

Unlike most past confirmed DNIs, Pulte is not known for a career in intelligence, diplomacy, military command or national-security policy. His selection on an acting basis would put a housing-finance official in charge of coordinating U.S. intelligence agencies during a period of personnel upheaval inside Trump’s national-security team.

Developing...

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/02/2026 - 09:21

Europe Has "Serious, Really Serious Problems" If US Cuts Oil Exports, Currie

Tyler Durden — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Europe Has "Serious, Really Serious Problems" If US Cuts Oil Exports, Currie

Last night, the Abaxx Markets’ Jeff Currie and Veriten’s Arjun Murti joined Real Vision's Ash Bennington for a ZeroHedge Debate on what the oil market is getting wrong.

Surprise surprise… the EU is not looking good. But the U.S. may be in trouble too. Currie doubled down on his reserves-to-run-dry-by-July call.

They each gave their outlook on structural supply constraints that existed before the Hormuz debacle, whether the latest ‘ceasefire’ can be trusted, and where the price is headed and how quickly it’s headed there. Despite signs of relief in the Mid-East, many signs still read bullish oil (and thus bearish cost of living).

Here were the highlights for those short on time:

Currie’s July 4th Doomer Call

Currie on his recent warning that global oil inventories could run into serious shortages as early as July:

"There's a misnomer that the eight billion barrels of oil that you see in storage around the world is all usable,” he said, noting that fuel is not homogenous (jet, diesel, gasoline, etc.) and that 8 billion is not actually that much… “Every single energy analyst says sometime in that July, August is when you get into pretty serious problems."

The current calm in prices, Currie said, reflects seasonal demand weakness rather than a genuine easing of supply constraints. "Why you haven't seen this? We're in the seasonal low of demand," he explained. "April and May it goes down like this, and then June it just goes straight up five million barrels a day."

Murti agreed that shortages are likely to emerge region by region and product by product… where one country runs out of jet fuel, another gasoline. He added that developing Asia appears particularly vulnerable while Europe remains heavily exposed after years of energy underinvestment.

Asked how long it takes for shortages to be felt once inventories are exhausted:

"When you're out of something, it's it. That's it. It's over... it's instantaneous."

pic.twitter.com/DNrstsJMDL
— ZeroHedge Debates (@zerohedgeDebate) June 2, 2026

Turns out Exxon agrees with Jeff…

Exxon is saying that oil prices will rise to $150 to $160 in coming weeks pic.twitter.com/xI2PRsuhH7
— Josh Young (@JoshYoung) May 31, 2026

Which Countries Will Feel The Most Pain?

According to Murti: China looks good, rest of Asia… not so much. EU not great. America too complacent but likely OK.

“Europe might be able to avoid shortage by the fact that they're still rich enough to outbid those less fortunate Asian countries for the cargoes that you have… blase attitude on the part of Americans, American investors, even American politicians, about how serious of an issue this is… we're not going to face shortages like the 70s, but go tell that to the people of you know Malaysia and Pakistan.”

According to Currie: Asia will be fine thanks to China “taking care of its neighbors” but Europe is screwed.

“Europe is the one that's the most exposed, and the only reason they don't have problems is that the United States is exporting everything they have to Europe right now…” And while China has been building up inventory, “Europe, on the other hand, didn't invest in any brown. They got serious problems, really serious, problems when the Americans don't export to them.”

pic.twitter.com/471dIHng81
— ZeroHedge Debates (@zerohedgeDebate) June 2, 2026

Check out the full discussion below, on YouTube, or listen on Spotify.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/02/2026 - 09:00

US Futures Dip As Questions Mount Over Relentless Tech Rally, Lack Of Peace Progress

Tyler Durden — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 12:22:43 +0000

US Futures Dip As Questions Mount Over Relentless Tech Rally, Lack Of Peace Progress

Futs are weaker but well off their overnight lows as the US is set to lag its global peers; according to JPM investors will need to watch to see if there is a beginning of a larger rotation similar to Jan-Feb or perhaps a slight pullback following the US’s multi-week run. As of 8:00am ET, S&P futures are down 0.2% after the artificial-intelligence trade fueled the S&P 500’s longest winning streak in more than a year, with investors gauging prospects for an end to the war in the Middle East. Nasdaq futures down a fraction after clocking yet more records on Monday (driven by a surge in Software stocks), as traders digest a barrage of AI news overnight while a growing number of traders urge caution on market positioning and the technical setup. Im premarket trading the story remains Tech with HPE / MRVL both up ~25% and AVGO +6.5%, NVDA +1.8%. Industrials, Materials, and Utilities the standout sectors. Technology stocks led gains in Asia overnight and are doing the same in Europe where the Stoxx 600 climbs 0.7%. Overnight macro news was quiet, and broader risk sentiment has also been helped by Brent crude futures falling 1.6% to around $93 a barrel. Treasuries advance, pushing US 10-year yields down 2 bps to 4.44%.Oil / Energy prices are declining along with Ags as Metals are bid led by aluminum, copper, and precious. US economic data calendar includes April JOLTS job openings at 10am; Fed speaker slate includes Hammack (8:30am) and Goolsbee (11pm).

In premarket trading, Mag 7 are mixed with Alphabet down 2.7% after raising $80 billion through a package of equity offerings, including a deeply discounted private placement with Berkshire Hathaway and a $40bn ATM ovvering (Nvidia +1.5%, Meta +0.5%, Tesla flat, Apple -0.1%, Amazon -1.6%, Microsoft -2.6%)

Shares of semiconductor companies are rallying as investors continue to rotate into the sector, seeing strong long-term growth potential related to artificial intelligence.
Credo Technology Group (CRDO) falls 3% after the communications equipment company reported fourth-quarter results that beat expectations but weren’t strong enough to extend recent strength.
Fulcrum Therapeutics (FULC) plunges 50% after the company discontinued its pociredir program for treatment of sickle cell disease and initiated a strategic review.
Generac (GNRC) is up 9% after the company signed a global agreement to supply backup power generators to a leading hyperscale data center operator.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) rallies 25% after the company gave an outlook for annual sales that topped estimates, citing massive growth in AI-fueled demand for its servers and networking.
Intuit (INTU) is down 5% after Goldman downgraded its rating on the maker of tax-preparation software to sell, the only negative rating among 32 analysts tracked by Bloomberg.
Marvell Technology (MRVL) rises 22% after Nvidia’s Jensen Huang called the firm the “next trillion dollar company.”
Microchip Technology (MCHP) gains 7% after the chipmaker says its data center solutions unit generated $302.7m in revenue in calendar year 2025, with about $500m expected for this year.
NU Holdings (NU) falls 5% after the company announced a CFO transition, hiring Visa Inc.’s Rob Livingston to succeed Guilherme Lago.
Praxis Precision Medicines (PRAX) falls 10% after the company said said vormatrigine did not meet its primary endpoint of percent change in monthly seizure frequency in the Phase 2/3 study.

In corporate news, Abivax shares plunged after cancer cases in a crucial clinical trial for an experimental bowel disease drug threw the French biotech’s future into question. Morgan Stanley risks being drawn into a probe over Bolloré’s disposal of an allegedly corrupt €5.7 billion ($6.6 billion) asset.

In AI developments, Arm may achieve its target of $15 billion in sales of its own chips earlier than anticipated, according to its CEO. SK Hynix plans to double its memory chip wafer capacity to help ease the memory chip crunch. HPE delivered a sizable beat and raise after-hours on the back of growing AI-fueled demand for its servers and networks. Alphabet unveiled an $80 billion equity raise to fund AI spending. And Tencent shares surged after a report it’s set to launch WeChat AI agent.

Traders are juggling unprecedented euphoria around the economic potential of AI and a war that has brought about a historic disruption in oil markets. Uncertainty about how close a deal may be means investors must consider that crude prices could retreat dramatically or scale to the highest levels in years. Downside risks are also growing as US large-cap positioning continued to grind higher last week, led by persistent new risk flows to both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, according to Citigroup strategists. “How much more concentration can investors handle” is the question posed by Bloomberg strategists, noting that re-risking has been unusually quick and narrow.

"Triggers that could force an unwind include hawkish Fed repricing, structural rebalancing risks surrounding a prominent SpaceX IPO, or a momentum rotation out of over-allocated Tech into Cyclicals,” notes Andrew Kent at Kyte. At these current levels, the forward three-month return profile for the S&P 500 exhibits “a clear fat left tail, signaling a significantly higher probability of a >5% correction,” Kent adds.

In the latest example of the vast amounts of capital being pumped into AI infrastructure, Alphabet Inc. said it is raising $80 billion through equity offerings. The announcement came hours after Anthropic PBC filed draft paperwork for a possible blockbuster initial public offering.

“We may be approaching the point where optimism around the long-term positive impact of the AI buildout is going to crash against a wall of higher yields, higher inflation and lower growth,” said Stephan Kemper, chief investment strategist at BNP Paribas Wealth Management.

The next part of the tech trade to experience FOMO-driven chasing looks to be software stocks. In the past two sessions, theSoftware Sector ETF IGV has experienced the familiar “vol-up/spot-up” pattern as investors have bought call options to chase upside. That’s seen the call skew invert and the volatility spread vs S&P 500 reach extremes again.

With all attention constantly focused on AI rather than macro jobs data, the set-up into US non-farm payrolls data suggests a muted reaction to the reading on Friday. Through the lens of S&P 500 options, Barclays derivatives strategists note the current NFP-related implied move of 55 bps is significantly lower than the past one-year average realized move.

“US data, such as the ISM manufacturing print we just had, still keeps the Fed/inflation debate alive and limits the scope for a dovish rates repricing, especially if oil remains volatile,” said Alessandro Gabellone, fixed-income analyst at Bank Degroof Petercam. Tuesday’s figures on US job openings will likely add to the series of favorable labor-market data releases for April. High-frequency data suggest total openings inched up, particularly in the second half of the month, according to Bloomberg.

In other assets, commodities are in a “super-squeeze,” rather than “super-cycle” that will worsen if the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively shut, according to HSBC analysts. Bitcoin dipped below $70,000 as Strategy’s rare sale of the token continues to weigh on fragile sentiment.

In hedge fund news, famed short seller Andrew Left faces the possibility of 25 years behind bars after being found guilty of using disingenuous social media posts to manipulate stocks, in a landmark case that threatens to chill a broader trading strategy loathed by corporate executives.

Technology stocks led gains in Europe where the Stoxx 600 climbs 0.7%. Here are the biggest movers Tuesday:

STMicro shares soared as much as 10% to the highest since 2000, after the chipmaker raised its data center revenue forecast for this year to about $1 billion
Alzchem shares rose as much as 13% to a record high as the German maker of chemicals used for ammunition and muscle enhancement announces that defense firm CSG has been increasing its stake
Hiab rallied as much as 7.9%, adding to its 5.6% advance on Monday, as analysts raise their price targets on the Finnish cargo-handling firm, lauding yesterday’s announcement that it’s buying refuse collection vehicle manufacturer Labrie Environmental Group
Deutsche Post shares rose as much as 3.6% to their highest level in over four years after Kepler Cheuvreux upgraded its rating to buy. The broker cites strength in a key metric, weight transported
Entain shares rose as much as 4.6%, extending Monday’s gains after MGM Resorts confirmed it received a takeover offer from People Inc
IntegraFin Holdings gained as much as 6.1%, the most since mid-December, after Shore Capital upgrades the investment platform provider to buy from hold in a note, saying it’s “an excellent business, properly undervalued”
Abivax shares plunged as much as 32%, the most in a decade, after the French biotech company reported cancer cases in a crucial clinical trial for its experimental inflammatory bowel disease drug
British American Tobacco shares fell as much as 3.8%, extending a seven-day losing streak, as a trading update showed continued downtrading from consumers is hurting margins, overshadowing the firm’s maintained guidance and growth in new, smoke-free categories
Avolta shares dropped as much as 5.9% to CHF45, after holder Richemont sold its stake in the Basel, Switzerland-based travel retail store operator for CHF45.35 per share
Paragon Banking Group shares fell as much as 7.6% to the lowest in nearly two months after first-half impairments prove unexpectedly big
GB Group slumped as much as 17%, the most since April 2025, after the identity verification and fraud prevention company announced additional investments to accelerate growth, which will impact short-term numbers

Asian stocks rebounded from early losses to extend their run of record‑setting gains, lifted by falling crude prices and gains in chipmakers and other technology shares. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.6% in afternoon trading, heading for a record, after being down as much as 1% Tuesday. Tencent Holdings, Samsung Electronics and TSMC were among the top gainers, underscoring investors’ continued enthusiasm for artificial intelligence-related shares. Hong Kong and China led the region’s gains, while Japan fell. Investors eyeing major Chinese technology firms in Hong Kong helped revive the Asia benchmark, following a report of Tencent’s progress in launching an AI agent on WeChat and Meituan’s narrower quarterly losses. A gauge tracking these companies rose 4.7%. Indian information technology stocks also gained, after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang rebuffed concerns that the software industry is at risk of being disrupted by more advanced AI tools.

In FX, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index edged 0.1% lower and oil prices eased as President Donald Trump said he is still optimistic the US can reach an interim peace deal with Iran soon, even after the Islamic Republic threatened to suspend talks. AUD/USD gained 0.3% to 0.7182 after Reserve Bank of Australia monetary policy board member Ian Harper said strong action is needed if inflation expectations become unanchored,USD/JPY ticked up less than 0.1% to 159.73. EUR/USD rose 0.2% to 1.1650

In rates, treasuries advance, pushing US 10-year yields down 2 bps to 4.44% supported by a wider rally across European bonds as oil unwinds a portion of Monday’s gains on optimism around the prospects of a US-Iran peace deal flagged by President Donald Trump. US yields richer by 2bp to 3bp across the curve with belly marginally outperforming, richening the 2s5s30s fly by ~1bp on the day. US 10-year yields trade around 4.425%, richer by 3bp on the day with bunds and gilts outperforming by 2.5bp and 4.5bp in the sector. European government bonds outperform with UK and German 10-year borrowing costs falling 5-6 bps each. Labor market in focus for the US session with JOLTS job openings data due, ahead of ADP employment and the May jobs report later this week.

In commodities, WTI crude oil futures are down 1.3% near session lows. Precious metals advance, with spot silver adding 2% and gold trading around $4,525. Bitcoin falls below $70,000 for the first time since April.

US economic data calendar includes April JOLTS job openings at 10am; Fed speaker slate includes Hammack (8:30am) and Goolsbee (11pm).

Market Snapshot

Top Overnight News

Lebanon announced a partial ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel on Monday in what would amount to a limited de-escalation of a conflict that has ‌killed thousands of people and inflamed the broader U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. RTRS
The fighting in Lebanon had become a major sticking point in end-of-war talks as Iran considers the conflict a violation of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire. Trump received briefings in recent weeks that the Israel-Hezbollah conflict was one of the key reasons why Iran remained unwilling to make a deal with the U.S., Trump administration officials said. WSJ
The Trump administration on Monday proposed a 25 percent tariff on a broad range of Brazilian imports, concluding after a trade investigation that Brazil had engaged in unfair practices that imposed burdens on American businesses. NYT
The White House will cut tariffs on agricultural equipment, such as combines and harvesters, to 15% from 25% on June 8. A lower 10% duty rate may apply if the equipment contains at least 85% US steel or aluminum. BBG
Gold has overtaken US government bonds as the world’s top reserve asset following years of relentless buying by central banks and a historic rally that has seen prices nearly double over the past two years. FT
SK Hynix plans to double its memory chip wafer capacity over the coming half-decade to ease a global shortage of a key AI component. BBG
Former BOJ board member Sayuri Shirai said the central bank may hold rates steady this month because underlying inflation pressures haven’t strengthened that much. BBG
The US is discussing whether to deploy nuclear weapons in additional European Nato states, in a move intended to reassure allies that reduced conventional military support does not weaken security guarantees. FT
NVDA CEO Jensen Huang said on Tuesday the company has enough supply to accommodate robust growth in central processing units (CPUs) and graphics processing units (GPUs) as it ‌rides an AI boom. The company, considered a barometer for the AI market's health as its semiconductors are used in virtually every major data center in the world, acknowledged, however, that supply constraints remain a concern. RTRS

Iran War

US President Trump told ABC News he thinks he will have an agreement with Iran to extend the ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz over the next week, while he also stated that a peace agreement with Iran could be better than a military victory. Trump also stated that it's not simple for both sides, but they're getting what they need to get and that he still has to get a few more points.
US President Trump said he had a very productive call with Israeli PM Netanyahu and that there will be no troops going to Beirut, while he added that Hezbollah agreed that all shooting will stop.
US President Trump reportedly lashed out at Israeli PM Netanyahu over Israel's escalation in Lebanon in an expletive-laden call on Monday, according to Axios, citing two US officials and a source briefed on the call.
Iran’s final text is still being discussed in Tehran and no response has been sent yet, Mehr News reported citing sources.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf said talks will halt if Israeli actions persist in Lebanon, and warned that Iran will confront Israel if atrocities in Lebanon continue.
A senior Iranian official said a renewed war with US 'inevitable', Arab News reported citing state TV.
Iran's IRGC reported targeting a US-owned commercial vessel with a cruise missile, according to Al Jazeera.
Iran's IRGC said 24 ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the last 24 hours after obtaining permission from Iran, Nour News reported.
"A number of vessel owners are saying that they are no longer receiving IRGC threats via the radio, which wasn’t the case a few weeks back. But still the confidence level in crossing is low", Kpler's Bakr posted.
Lebanon officials said Hezbollah and Israel agreed to the US proposal for mutual cessation of hostilities. Israel will stop strikes on Beirut southern suburbs under the proposed agreement, Press TV reported.
Israeli airstrikes target sites in southern Lebanon, Sky News Arabia reported.
Source close to Yemen's Houthis emphasised they will not allow Lebanon to be attacked and Hezbollah to fight alone, according to SNN.

A more detailed look at global markets courtesy of Newsquawk

APAC stocks were mixed following the choppy performance stateside, where the major indices ultimately finished mostly higher amid tech strength and mixed geopolitical updates. ASX 200 was subdued amid weakness in real estate, financials and defensives, while sentiment was also not helped by a slew of mostly weaker-than-expected data releases. Nikkei 225 slipped after printing a new all-time high at the open with very few fresh catalysts from Japan, and as the recent mixed geopolitical headlines provide an opportunity to book profits. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp conformed to the mixed picture with the mainland flat, while the Hong Kong benchmark was led higher by strength in the big tech names, with Meituan underpinned post-earnings, while Tencent, Alibaba, Lenovo, Kuaishou, SMIC and JD were all among the top performers.

Top Asian News

Japanese Finance Minister Katayama refrained from commenting on FX intervention and current FX levels, while she said volatility in oil markets remain and prepared to take appropriate action. Closely coordinating with the US on Forex, and both sides are closely monitoring markets.
South Korean Inflation Rate YoY (May) Y/Y 3.1% (Prev. 2.6%).
South Korean Inflation Rate MoM (May) M/M 0.5% (Prev. 0.5%).

European bourses (STOXX 600 +0.7%) start Tuesday’s trade with broad gains after raised hopes of an imminent US-Iran deal. US President Trump said negotiations with Tehran were continuing and signalled expectations of a deal to extend the ceasefire and reopen Hormuz "over the next week". Furthermore, Trump also claimed Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to stop shooting, which further weighed on energy prices and boosted the global risk tone. European sectors highlight the positive bias. Technology (+2.7%) tops the sector pile, with Basic Resources (+2.2%) following closely behind as metals surge amid worries of a tighter global supply. Energy (-0.7%), Healthcare (-0.6%) and Food, Beverages & Tobacco (-0.4%) are the only sectors printing modest losses.

Top European News

EU is weighing fiscal flexibility for energy costs, while the proposal would allow countries budgetary leeway to cushion energy costs, according to Bloomberg.
US is in talks to expand nuclear weapon deployments in Europe, according to FT.
UK Labour leader candidate Andy Burnham said he rules out an early General Election if he is elected to replace PM Starmer, Bloomberg reported citing his spokesperson.
UK's Ofgem is seeking views on draft guidance to support proportionate supply chain security risk management in the downstream gas and electricity sector.

G10s are mixed but mostly stronger against the Buck as energy benchmarks pull back alongside more constructive Gulf headlines.
The Buck trades a touch lower after pressure seen in the early European morning attempted to push the Dollar index to the 99.00 level. Markets are generally more risk-on after headlines overnight were more constructive than those seen on Monday. See 08:20 BST headline for geopolitical specifics. US domestic newsflow has been light. Today sees the release of JOLTS job openings. The figure is expected to be broadly unchanged from the March figure. DXY trades 0.1% lower within a 99.05-9922 range.
EUR is a touch firmer against the weaker Buck in a reaction you would expect to see in response to the recent geopolitical headlines. The EZ Inflation report held a hawkish skew, with the energy component and Services jumping. The single currency was little moved on the report, given it ultimately plays in favour of a hike in June, which is ultimately fully priced in.
JPY is incrementally lower vs the USD. Japan saw strong demand at its 10yr auction overnight, where demand rose beyond the 12-month average despite the BoJ slated to hike rates in two weeks. JPY saw modest strength on the results, though it proved fleeting with USD/JPY rangebound given the various fiscal/Terms of Trade headwinds. In a note this morning, ING wrote "The risk of new intervention does look a bit underpriced, considering Japanese authorities have remained rather hawkish with their intervention narrative." Katayama was on the wires overnight, she said: "Closely coordinating with the US on FX."

Fixed Income

Global fixed benchmarks are stronger across the board, facilitated by a pullback in energy prices after some positive-leaning geopolitical newsflow. In brief, President Trump suggested that talks with Iran are continuing at a rapid pace, adding that he thinks an agreement will be made with Iran to extend the ceasefire over the next week.
As for price action, USTs benefit from the lower energy prices this morning, with gains of c. 8 ticks at pixel time; currently holds at the upper end of a 109-22 to 109-30 range (vs Monday’s trough of 109-09+). From a yield perspective, rates at the belly of the curve are underperforming vs short-dated rates, signalling that traders remain uncertain about near-term geopolitical progress. The 10yr (4.43%) now resides back towards recent troughs, and another leg lower could see a test of the low from 12 May at 4.41%. Focus ahead turns to US JOLTS.
Bunds (+50 ticks) and Gilts (+60 ticks) also extend higher, following the geopolitical risk tone. For the EZ specifically, a hawkish inflation report out of the EZ (Services at 3.5% from 3.00%, and Core Y/Y topped expectations), led to some mild pressure in German paper.
JGBs (+92 ticks) are outperforming vs peer, boosted by the geopolitical tone and a solid 10yr Japanese auction. Whilst the b/c and avg. yield were not so good, the lowest accepted price fell to 98.01 (prev. 98.86), indicating some solid demand for the paper. The 10yr knee-jerked higher following the sale, before then gradually moving higher as other investors also bought debt. As it stands, the 10yr (2.57%) now resides at levels not seen since 13 May 2026.
Germany sells EUR 3.857bln vs exp. EUR 5bln 2.50% 2028 Schatz: b/c 1.58x (prev. 1.4x), average yield 2.59% (prev. 2.70%), retention 22.86% (prev. 22.8%).
UK sells GBP 3.25bln 4.625% 2037 Green Gilt: b/c 3.63x, average yield 4.975%, tail 0.2bps.
Japan sells JPY 1.98tln 10yr JGBs, b/c 3.53x (prev. 3.90x, 12-month avg. 3.35x), average yield 2.649% (prev. 2.540%).

Central Banks

ECB's Rehn says a June rate move would be an insurance hike and that inflation expectations remain unanchored.
ECB's Simkus said consumer short-term inflation expectations are similar to 2022 and that it is important to react in a timely manner to inflation.
Rabobank maintains its forecast for a 25bps ECB rate hike next week; expects the ECB to raise rates by another 25bps, likely in September.
RBA's Harper said stronger than expected domestic demand and re-emergence of capacity constraints have widened the output gap again, and markets are now anticipating that the bank would have to address this, while he added that persistent inflation is a genuine concern and market measures of inflation have gone up, which is a worry.
Nikkei reported that the BoJ is continuing to call for a June hike, though the government is opting for a "wait-and-see" approach given the risks of risking inflation and a weaker JPY.
BoJ summary of meeting with investors: one participant said the need for further tapering of bond purchases is not high; participant said there is no need for further tapering of bond buying. One participant said the BoJ should act nimbly, such as conducting emergency bond-buying operations as needed when the bond market destabilises.

Commodities

Crude futures are subdued this European morning as the complex takes a breather from yesterday’s surge, with upside capped by constructive comments from US President Trump. To recap, US President Trump said talks with Iran were continuing at a rapid pace and that he believes an agreement to extend the ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz could be reached within the next week. That being said, it was reported this morning that Iran’s final text is still being discussed in Tehran and no response has been sent yet; Mehr News reported, citing sources. Meanwhile, a senior Iranian official said renewed war with the US is 'inevitable', Arab News reported, citing state TV. Elsewhere, Lebanon emerged as a major issue, with Iran warning that continued Israeli actions could impact negotiations.
WTI and Brent front-month futures trade softer by some 2% and 1.8% respectively, at the time of writing after the benchmarks settled higher by USD 4.80/bbl and USD 3.86/bbl, respectively, on Monday. Benchmarks have held a negative bias throughout the European morning. WTI Jul resides towards the bottom end of a USD 90.15-92.65/bbl range, Brent Aug trades in a USD 90.66-92.85/bbl range. Dutch TTF trades -2.5% within the recent EUR 47-48/MWh range.
Spot gold is slightly firmer as the USD remains subdued by oil prices, with the yellow metal in a USD 4,463-4,541/oz range, within yesterday’s USD 4,447-4,546/oz range. Spot silver similarly rebounds but tops yesterday’s high (USD 76.29/oz) to currently trade towards the top end of a USD 74.48-76.93/oz range.
Base metals are firmer across the board amid the softer USD and softer oil prices, coupled with a firm performance across Chinese markets overnight. 3M LME copper resides in a narrow USD 13,821.53-13,992.22/t range at the time of writing.
The IEA’s oil division chief said oil supplies from the US, Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela have exceeded expectations, but output from the Americas can only marginally offset supplies lost East of Suez.
UAE's ADNOC executive said China’s demand is starting to come back, and "teapot" refineries are showing appetite.

Trade/Tariffs

White House released a Fact Sheet stating President Trump signed a Proclamation adjusting certain metals tariffs to more effectively address national security threats and spur investment. The Proclamation adjusts the tariffs on agricultural equipment, like combines and harvesters, as well as certain other equipment, from 25% to 15%, while it expands the category of industrial equipment subject to a 15% tariff to include mobile industrial equipment, like bulldozers and forklifts, when imported from trade deal countries that are entitled to such treatment. It also encourages foreign companies to use more US steel and aluminium by allowing them to qualify for a 10% duty rate if their capital equipment includes at least 85% US melted and poured or smelted and cast steel or aluminium by weight.
US Trade Representative said they determined that Brazil has performed unreasonable acts under Section 301 and that the acts are actionable, while the US continues to engage with Brazil to seek a resolution, and the US will hold a hearing about proposed action on June 6th. USTR later proposed to impose tariffs of 25% on all imports from Brazil, except for goods that are subject to Section 232 national security tariffs.
European Parliament’s Trade Committee voted in favour of legislation to remove EU duties on several US goods imports.

Geopolitics

Russia's Kremlin said systematic strikes against Ukrainian military infrastructure are being carried out, however reiterated that it is ready to achieve its aims in Ukraine through diplomacy.
Explosions were reported in Kyiv, and a witness said the city sustained a large-scale air bombardment, while Ukraine's air force said it detected missiles headed towards the Sumy region and Kyiv, as well as UAVs that were headed towards Zaporizhzhia from the south.
Air raid sirens were activated in Ukraine's Kyiv, while authorities urged residents to seek shelter.
Ukraine’s military said it has struck Russia’s Ilsky oil refinery (132k-138k BPD).

US Event Calendar

10:00 am: Apr JOLTS Job Openings, est. 6866k, prior 6866k
1:50 am: Fed’s Kashkari in Panel Discussion
8:30 am: Fed’s Hammack Speaks on Monetary Policy
11:00 pm: Fed’s Goolsbee Speaks on CBS Chicago

DB's Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap

I'll be at a Parisian breakfast as you read this presenting our new semi-annual World Outlook, which is called “1999 meets 1990”. The title reflects the interplay of AI-driven optimism and the disruptive effects of the Middle East conflict, which makes it feel like those two years are now coinciding.

In the outlook, our baseline expectation is that a US-Iran deal is reached this month that allows shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to resume, with Brent crude falling back to $86/bbl in Q4. However, if the Strait of Hormuz experiences a prolonged closure, that would push Brent towards $150/bbl, hitting global growth and pushing Europe into recession. But net net, our global GDP forecast has only been trimmed slightly to 3.0% this year, before recovering back to 3.2% in 2027.

For markets, our equity strategists remain constructive, still seeing the S&P 500 at 8000 by year-end. However, our fixed-income strategists expect a further selloff, with 10yr Treasury yields reaching 4.7%, and 10yr bund yields up to 3.2%. In credit, we also see some mild spread widening by year-end, particularly in Europe. And on the FX side, we expect a continued (albeit slower) dollar depreciation, with EUR/USD reaching 1.20 by year-end.

Looking at the last 24 hours, 1990 continued to fight it out with 1999 as higher oil met fresh mega equity issuance and AI euphoria. Brent crude (+4.24%) and 10yr Treasury yields (+1.7bps) climbed yesterday as headlines pointed away from a US-Iran deal though the S&P 500 (+0.26%) still reached a fifth consecutive record high as AI optimism persisted. However, the equity mood has softened overnight, with NASDAQ futures (-0.67%) underperforming those on the S&P (-0.42%) as news that Alphabet is planning a $80bn equity offering, reminding investors of unprecedented scale of the AI spending boom.

Starting with Iran, the biggest market moving story yesterday came as Iran’s Tasnim news reported that negotiators would suspend “talks and the exchange of documents through mediators”, which dashed hopes for an imminent deal. A little later, further escalatory risks came into play, as Iran also threatened to target northern Israel if Israel continued attacks on Lebanon. That was according to Iran’s ISNA news, who cited the country’s Central Military Command. This marked a clear shift from the more hopeful tone of last week. The mood did then improve later in the session as Trump sought to de-escalate the tensions in Lebanon, with the US President claiming that Israel and Hezbollah agreed to “stop shooting” at each other after his calls with their respective leaders. Trump also countered the news out of Iran, claiming talks were continuing “at a rapid pace” and telling ABC News yesterday evening that he thinks an MoU will be completed “over the next week”.

Trump’s intervention helped ease fears that the weekend’s escalation in Lebanon would lead to a broader re-escalation between the US and Iran. Still, uncertainty over the possible US-Iran deal persists, with growing doubts that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen soon. For instance, the Polymarket probability of a return to normal traffic in the Strait this month stands at 22%, down from 26% on Sunday and 36% back on Friday. The resulting increased caution in oil markets saw Brent crude jumping to as high as $97.79bbl following the Tasnim report before settling at $94.98/bbl. When adjusting for the roll in the monthly benchmark from July to August, this marked the biggest daily jump for the front-end contract (+4.24%) in four weeks. Brent is -0.74% lower this morning as I type.

This backdrop of rising oil prices yesterday led investors to price back in the chance of a stagflationary shock. So yields moved higher, with the 10yr Treasury yield (+1.7bps) reversing a run of 7 consecutive declines to close at 4.45%, though it did retreat from an intra-day higha of 4.516%. In Europe markets closed before the positive comments on Lebanon came through, with yields on 10yr bunds (+6.5bps), OATs (+7.9bps) and BTPs (+8.3bps) all posting larger increases. Pricing of a Fed rate hike by December moved up to a 69% probability, having been at 57% on Friday, while for the ECB 63bps of hikes are now priced by year-end (+11.5bps yesterday).

Whilst oil prices drove most of yesterday’s bond moves, a rise in yields was also supported by another batch of solid data. Most notably in the US, the ISM manufacturing print hit a 4-year high of 54.0 in May (vs. 53.0 expected), which cemented the view of economic resilience there. Meanwhile in the Eurozone, the manufacturing PMI was also revised up modestly from the flash print, up two-tenths to 51.6.

For equities, US stocks held onto their risk-on tone yesterday, with the S&P 500 (+0.26%) and the NASDAQ (+0.42%) both posting an 8th consecutive advance to fresh records. That marks the first time in a year the S&P has achieved 8 consecutive daily gains. And if you look at the moves on a weekly basis, a positive gain this week would be the S&P’s 10th consecutive advance, which is something we haven’t seen since 1985. The Mag-7 (-1.03%) did decline amid outsized losses for Meta (-5.07%) and Tesla (-4.57%), while the Philly semiconductor index rose +1.06%. The latter included a large dispersion among the chipmakers as Nvidia (+6.26%) announced a new chip to enter the PC market. The news also boosted the likes of ARM Holdings (+15.73%) and Micron (+6.64%) but weighed on Intel (-4.67%) and Qualcomm (-8.78%).

In other tech news, Anthropic confidentially submitted its draft IPO filing, which follows the anticipation that OpenAI will also file for an IPO soon. Then shortly after the US close, we heard that Alphabet is set to raise $80bn through a package of equity offerings that includes a $10bn investment from Berkshire Hathaway. So funding of the AI capex boom is becoming an increasingly key topic for markets. The 1999 comparison in our World Outlook seemed quite apt yesterday.

Across the Atlantic it was a more downbeat picture, with the STOXX 600 (-0.76%) seeing a sizeable decline, reflecting the region’s greater exposure to the energy shock and as European markets closed before some of the more constructive headlines came through. Euro STOXX 50 futures (+0.38%) are reversing some of yesterday’s loss overnight.

In Asia we're seeing a mixed picture with the KOSPI (-1.97%) and the Nikkei (-1.53%) the worst performers with both indexes falling from record highs. Additionally, the S&P/ASX 200 (-0.33%) is also edging lower. However the Hang Seng (+1.46%) is bucking the regional trend with gains in heavyweight tech shares. Meanwhile, mainland Chinese stocks are a mixed bag with the CSI (+0.78%) trading moderately higher while the Shanghai Composite (-0.04%) is flat. Meanwhile, 10yr USTs are -1.4bps lower trading at 4.44% as we go to print.

Early morning data showed that Korean CPI hit a 26-month high in May, ramping up bets that the Bank of Korea will hike interest rates later this year. CPI rose +3.1% from a year earlier (v/s +2.9% expected), after climbing +2.6% in April.

Looking at the day ahead, data releases include the Euro Area flash CPI print for May, UK mortgage approvals for April, and the US JOLTS report for April. Otherwise, central bank speakers include the Fed’s Hammack, the ECB’s Rehn, Vujcic and Sleijpen, BoE Governor Bailey, and the BoE’s Greene.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/02/2026 - 08:22

Marvell Soars After Nvidia CEO Says Chipmaker Is Headed For Trillion-Dollar Club

Tyler Durden — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 12:15:00 +0000

Marvell Soars After Nvidia CEO Says Chipmaker Is Headed For Trillion-Dollar Club

Computex 2026 in Taipei is underway for the second day.

Let's begin with Monday's wrap-up of the event:

There was no shortage of fireworks on day two, as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang took the stage and greeted Marvell Technology CEO Matt Murphy, stating that the fabless semiconductor company that designs chips will be "the next trillion-dollar company."

$NVDA CEO Jensen Huang says $MRVL could 5x and become “the next trillion-dollar company.”

Marvell is one of the few companies with exposure to both custom AI silicon and networking fabric connecting modern AI data centers. https://t.co/5rDcHLa0eJ pic.twitter.com/12C7IYTDWQ
— Shay Boloor (@StockSavvyShay) June 2, 2026

Pumpmaxxing...

» Be Nvidia

» Invest $2 billion in Marvell

» Introduce them as “the next trillion dollar company”

» Stock goes up 40% overnight on remarks

Wild times! https://t.co/h9QXmOE0l3
— Brandon Carl (@brandonjcarl) June 2, 2026

Huang's comments catapulted Marvell shares, sending the stock up 26% in premarket trading and extending what was already a stunning 158% year-to-date rally as of Monday's close.

A move to a $1 trillion market cap would imply more than a fivefold increase from the semiconductor and networking company's current valuation. Huang noted that Marvell's valuation will soar now that the age of "useful AI has arrived."

The stock has 44 "Buy" ratings, 6 "Holds", and zero sells. What could possibly go wrong?

For context, Marvell's business is data infrastructure silicon, meaning the chips and networking tech that help data move, store, process, and connect inside cloud and AI data centers.

Nvidia sells GPUs, but giant AI data center clusters also need ultra-fast networking and interconnects so all those GPUs and servers can function as a single system. Marvell is one of the companies positioned to supply that connective tissue:

Custom AI chips and ASICs for hyperscalers
High-speed networking chips that connect servers and GPUs
Optical and copper interconnects that move data inside and between AI clusters
Ethernet switches
Storage and memory-controller chips
Data-center, telecom, enterprise, auto, and carrier infrastructure silicon

Also notable at Computex 2026 was SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, who told reporters that his memory chip company plans to double its wafer capacity over the next five years.

"We are going to double the whole capacity over the next five years ... there are a lot of obstacles and hurdles, but we will get over them and expand," Chey told reporters.

SK Hynix remains one of the top players in the AI memory chip market, holding 58% of the global HBM market in the first quarter, well ahead of Samsung and Micron, which each held 21%, according to Counterpoint Research.

Must Read:

Will $800 Billion In AI Capex Spending Boost US GDP: The Surprising Math That Leads To Disappointment

The broader takeaway is that AI demand is expanding the club of trillion-dollar market companies, with the latest Bloomberg data showing about 15 companies.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/02/2026 - 08:15

Britain's White 'George Floyd' Moment?

Tyler Durden — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 12:10:00 +0000

Britain's White 'George Floyd' Moment?

Update: Vickrum Singh Digwa, 23, received a life sentence with a 21-year minimum on Monday for the murder of 18-year-old Henry Nowak.

Judge William Mousley describes Nowak as a “much-loved, kind, hard-working and ambitious young man, devoted to his family and with a bright future.”

Mousley includes agonizing testimony from Nowak’s family: Nowak’s death has caused his sister’s world to “fall apart,” she said; Nowak’s father describes his son’s death as a “life sentence” for the family.

The judge then details the extensive lies he believes Digwa told to evade responsibility for the murder.

'His murderer was afforded decency. He was believed'

Henry Nowak's father says the 'contrast' in the police's treatment of his son and his murderer is 'unbearable' in a statement after Nowak's killer was sentenced to 21 years in prison. pic.twitter.com/9w8A35hpMp
— GB News (@GBNEWS) June 1, 2026

As Daily Caller noted, Mousley more or less excused the actions of the responding police officers, writing they “honestly believed that there were reasonable grounds for suspecting Henry had committed an offence and arrested him.”

* * *

As Bruce Oliver Newsome detailed earlier via American Greatness, this had all the ingredients (except inverted) to become Britain's white 'George Floyd' moment.

If police see racism before they see a man bleeding out, something has gone profoundly wrong with justice.

Police handcuffed and arrested an 18-year-old while he was bleeding out from multiple stabbings because the stabber, a Sikh, accused the victim, a white man, of racism.

The stabber showed no signs of being the victim of violence. He said the man lying in his own blood on the ground had knocked off his turban in a drunken racist attack. And for that, the police arrested and handcuffed the victim.

The victim had been stabbed once in the face, twice in the legs while trying to escape over a fence, and once in the lung. But somehow the police claim not to have been aware of his wounds.

Vickrum Digwa, the 23-year-old stabber, was carrying two blades: an 8-inch “shastar” openly, and a smaller “kirpan” around his neck and under his clothing. During the trial, the prosecutor said that Digwa had “been training with weapons since the age of 12,” slept with weapons, and used “loving terms” when speaking about the murder weapon.

Digwa’s defense barrister claimed religious allowance for openly carrying knives that are illegal for the rest of us to carry. And the judge instructed the jury to consider whether the stabber had a good reason, such as self-defense or religion, to carry his weapons. The national government says that courts should decide what is legal to carry. The police federation says there is no limit on the size of the blade that can be carried with religious allowance.

Police initially arrested and handcuffed the victim without treating his wounds and without detaining the stabber.

On Thursday, May 28, the stabber was convicted of murder. The court found that the stabber had certainly not told the whole truth. He had told arriving officers of racist provocation but denied stabbing anyone.

There is no evidence for any racism other than the retrospective verbal claims of the stabber and his brother, who arrived after the stabbings and who made a call to emergency services claiming his brother was a victim of racism. He too did not mention any stabbing.

The perp’s father and mother also showed up at the scene. The mother helped to conceal the weapons.

The victim did not know his murderer. The victim was walking home around 11:30 p.m. on December 3, 2025, from a night out with his university soccer team in Southampton. He was well-dressed and well-groomed. He had drunk less alcohol than would have put him over the driving limit. But Digwa claimed to be attacked by a racist drunk. And the police believed him.

What will the consequences for the police entail?

The police force (Hampshire) referred itself for independent investigation but is also making excuses.

They claim that the stabbings were not obvious to officers, despite a trail of blood, and despite the victim repeatedly saying he had been stabbed and couldn’t breathe.

The police force maintains that officers could not have known the victim was suffering from internal bleeding. Yet the victim had been stabbed five times, of which one stabbing went 8 cm (more than 3 inches) into his lung. The blade itself is 21 centimeters (8 inches) long.

The police force isn’t publicly pondering whether the police officers should have examined rather than arrested the victim.

The police force says the victim couldn’t have been saved, but the victim didn’t die for another hour.

The police force says it is the victim of the stabber’s lies and that its officers were obliged to act on the stabber’s false accusations of racial provocation. But aren’t officers trained in judgment, to use their freaking eyes, to not make hasty judgments, and to care for even the perps? Wasn’t the victim’s plight obvious and the other party’s rude behavior equally obvious?

Note that the police force didn’t refer itself for investigation until the day of the conviction, almost six months after the murder.

And the police force still hasn’t released bodycam footage, even though one justification for introducing bodycams was to reassure the public of impartiality in racially sensitive cases, following the BLM explosion in 2020. The trial has concluded, so there can be no concerns around contempt of court by releasing footage.

[ZH: police just released the bodycam - its not embeddable]

Note that in other cases, such as the stabbings of girls at Southport in 2024 and the rape of a child in Nuneaton in 2025, local police, courts, and national government fell over each other to cover up the non-white race of the perpetrators, to warn against white racist misinformation, and even to prosecute some of the supposed misinformers for supposedly promoting hate.

I bet the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) won’t be investigating what journalists and opposition politicians have already identified: the racism of anti-racism.

Matt Goodwin, an academic and candidate for Parliament representing Reform UK, writes that “Henry Nowak now joins a growing list of people that most people in Westminster have probably never heard of—Terence Carney, Thomas Roberts, Victoria Agoglia, Lucy Lowe, Charlene Downes, Wayne Broadhurst, Rhiannon Whyte, among countless more—all of whom happen to belong to the wrong identity group to be considered worthy of serious discussion and attention,” after being murdered or raped by immigrants or the progeny of immigrants.

The Critic’s Tom Jones tweeted that “were the races reversed, this could be a story from the Jim Crow South that became a cause célèbre of the Civil Rights movement.”

The Spectator’s David Shipley wonders whether the police are so primed to posture as anti-racist (that is: anti-white racist) that they were blind to the evidence on and from the victim because he is white and gullible towards the stabber because he is not white.

Ed West, author of the classic The Diversity Illusion, reports that even the prosecutor went out of his way to avoid accusing the perpetrator of racism. “This is not a case about Sikhism. This is not a case about racism. This is a case about murder.” But as Ed West notes, the same defender made this a case of anti-racism.

This is a case with a false accusation of racism and a false justification of anti-racism for homicide, including labeling the victim as racist partly because of his different color.

So isn’t that racist?

You won’t find such questions in the mainstream media. The Guardian does not report the police’s actions at all and was at pains to specify the justifications for carrying a kirpan.

Worst of all, where the BBC reports on the police force’s decision to refer itself for investigation, the BBC goes out of its way to claim that “Digwa . . . had used a blade he said he carried because of his Sikh faith.” In fact, the jury had not formally agreed with that claim from the defense.

Anti-racism is racism, and British police are racist.

The name of the victim is Henry Nowak. Say his name.

And remember his last words: “I can’t breathe.”

But protesters aren’t blockading the streets. Keir Starmer isn’t taking the knee. Politicians aren’t calling on the public to chant his name or his last words, unlike in the case of the career criminal George Floyd, who almost certainly died of a fentanyl overdose.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/02/2026 - 08:10

Another Hurricane Season Is Underway: What To Know

Tyler Durden — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 12:05:00 +0000

Another Hurricane Season Is Underway: What To Know

Authored by T.J.Muscaro via The Epoch Times,

June 1 marked the start of yet another hurricane season for the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of America.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is forecasting a lower-than-average number of named storms between now and Nov. 30 thanks to “El Niño.” This is a recurring weather event known to lower the jet stream over the southeastern United States and create an environment in the Gulf and Atlantic less friendly to hurricane development.

But every storm that ultimately manifests will be monitored with the help of a new array of AI and drone technologies.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick praised the adoption of what he called “the most advanced forecast modeling and hurricane tracking technologies,” promising it would allow NOAA to provide “real-time storm forecasts and warnings” with “the most accurate information possible.”

However, the government’s weather experts made clear that advanced forecasting capabilities and a lower storm count do not signal any decrease in potential damages.

“Although El Niño’s impact in the Atlantic Basin can often suppress hurricane development, there is still uncertainty in how each season will unfold,” said NOAA’s National Weather Service Director Ken Graham. “That is why it’s essential to review your hurricane preparedness plan now. It only takes one storm to make for a very bad season.”

Forecast: 8-14 Named Storms

Between June 1 and Nov. 30, NOAA predicted that eight to 14 named storms—well-formed cyclones with sustained winds of 39 mph or higher—will form in the Atlantic Basin. Of that total, three to six are forecast to reach hurricane status (cyclones with sustained winds of 74 mph or greater), with one to three expected to become major hurricanes (storms labeled Category 3-5 with sustained winds reaching 111 mph or more).

An “average” hurricane season produces 14 named storms, with seven of those being hurricanes and three reaching major hurricane status.

Hurricane season probabilities from NOAA's 2026 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook. Courtesy of NOAA

The forecast reflects the return of El Niño, but NOAA also noted that warmer-than-average waters and weaker-than-average trade winds are anticipated. This is a combination favorable for storm development.

The 2025 hurricane season produced 13 named storms: four tropical storms, five hurricanes, and four major hurricanes. It was also the first time in 10 years that no hurricane made landfall in the United States.

But the annual devastation still made its mark as Hurricane Melissa ripped across Jamaica with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph. It was one of the most powerful hurricanes on record to make landfall, leaving as much as 70 percent of the western half of the island uninhabitable.

NOAA advises all citizens living in hurricane-vulnerable areas to consult its online safety and preparation guides.

AI, Drone Forecasting Tools

NOAA and its National Hurricane Center will unleash a swath of new data-collecting technologies this hurricane season.

Drones built for air and sea by industry partners such as Saildrone and Black Swift will venture into corners of an active hurricane that are too dangerous for crewed missions.

Two Saildrone Explorers launched during the 2021 hurricane season from Jacksonville, Fla. Courtesy of Saildrone

More than two dozen surface vehicles will collect data on wind speeds, wave heights, air temperature and pressure, as well as ocean temperature and salinity as a storm passes overhead. Other data-collecting tools will be used to study subsurface ocean temperatures and salinity and their relation to hurricane development.

Meanwhile, aerial drones will work side by side with the crewed Hurricane Hunter flights. They will collect data from corners of the cyclone too dangerous for people to fly through, including ultra-low altitudes where the storms meet the sea. NOAA said the drones were expected to improve the accuracy of its Hurricane Analysis and Forecast System by as much as 10 percent.

NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanic and Meteorological Laboratory is also using machine learning to improve data collection capabilities of the Hurricane Hunter planes’ tail doppler radar by 25 percent.

Upgraded forecast prediction models will also be unveiled this season. By using AI tools, these new models will better indicate a storm’s predicted intensity.

“Instead of replacing traditional models, AI is helping them to become smarter, faster and more effective,” said Hiro Murakami, a scientist at NOAA’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Lab. “Early results show this approach can improve forecasts of how active a hurricane season will be.”

As of June 1, the National Hurricane Center announced that no tropical cyclone activity was expected in the Atlantic for the next seven days.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/02/2026 - 08:05

Abivax Crashes Most On Record After Cancer Cases In Trial Data Spooks Wall Street

Tyler Durden — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 11:45:00 +0000

Abivax Crashes Most On Record After Cancer Cases In Trial Data Spooks Wall Street

French biotech Abivax suffered its largest intraday decline on record after reporting new data on its lead experimental inflammatory bowel disease drug, which showed cancer cases among patients in the clinical trial. The new data certainly point to regulatory headwinds and raise the risk profile for approval.

Abivax's ABTECT maintenance data showed strong efficacy readout, with both once-daily obefazimod doses meeting the primary endpoint at week 44. Clinical remission rates were 50.8% for the 25 mg dose and 51.3% for the 50 mg dose, versus 10.4% for placebo, implying placebo-adjusted remission rates of about 39% to 40% and highly statistically significant results.

The problem for the stock was not efficacy, but safety optics...

Goldman analyst Esah Hayat pointed out that the market was focused not on efficacy but on cancer cases among patients taking the higher doses of obefazimod:

ABTECT maintenance trial out yday (press release) – "at week 44, both the 25 mg and 50 mg once-daily obefazimod doses met the primary endpoint, demonstrating placebo-adjusted clinical remission rates of ∆39.3% and ∆40.3%, respectively (25 mg: 50.8%, 50 mg: 51.3% vs placebo 10.4%; p<0.0001)."

Though no new safety signals were observed per the press release, the safety results summary table (below) indicated 8 cases of malignancy, which spooked the market. Note, a number of investors are in this name for the M&A takeout story which could be muddied on this update. Mgmt did host a call on the results in which they did suggest the malignancies observed do align with background rates in UC (e.g. here for basal cell carcinoma), and weren't considered a new safety signal by monitoring committees. Wonder if this becomes a Fenebrutinib-like situation where market goes negative on headline safety imbalance, those are explained away as non-treatment linked at a detailed presentation and docs come out in support of the drug, and we see a re-rating.

The pushback this morning is that pharma BD teams are now unlikely to take on the risk here – and that this is now a solid solo story with fair value likely still in the $100+ region, and so there is upside out of today's levels but in fairness, not many (visible) catalysts to realise it – CD data in mid-27. And we are in a challenging biotech tape as it is, with SMMT -10% yday on myopic focus around >65 age subgroup, despite mgmt assuring this was due to baseline imbalances (which had been addressed at 2025 ESMO too, no less) and after adjusting for these, PFS HR would've been an in-line 0.69, not 0.88 (note).

In a separate note, Jefferies analysts stated, "The cancer signal complicates matters. Even if it is unrelated noise, we think the overhang will be real, especially considering the absence of other value-inflecting data events over the next year."

They noted that "a reasonable explanation" for the cancer cases was plausible, but "it doesn't seem like an easily dismissed overhang." This prompted the analysts to downgrade the stock from a "Buy" rating to "Hold."

Abivax shares in Paris crashed 31.4%, exceeding the 31.03% drop on June 6, 2016.

All gains for 2026 were wiped out.

Analysts tracked by Bloomberg were overwhelmingly bullish, with 4 "Buy" ratings, 1 "Hold," and 0 "Sells."

"While the malignancy signal cannot be ignored, we view it as a potential labeling overhang rather than evidence of a clear causal safety risk," Stifel analyst Damien Choplain told clients.

CNBC noted, "Abivax has been positioned as a prime takeover target, with unconfirmed rumors that big pharma has its eyes on the clinical-stage biotech led by CEO Marc de Garidel."

The key question now is whether Abivax remains a "prime" takeover target after the cancer overhang complicated what had been a clean M&A story in the rumor mill.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/02/2026 - 07:45

Trump Slashes Tractor Tariffs In Bid To Revive Ag Belt Optimism

Tyler Durden — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 10:55:00 +0000

Trump Slashes Tractor Tariffs In Bid To Revive Ag Belt Optimism

The Trump administration appears to be trying to inject new optimism across the nation's farm belt following the China meeting last month, during which Beijing committed to making billions of dollars of new purchases of U.S. agricultural goods. The White House's latest move is to reduce tariffs on tractors and combines, a policy shift aimed at easing cost pressures on farmers already squeezed by diesel, fertilizer, and machinery costs.

Late Monday, President Trump signed a proclamation slashing tariffs on imported agricultural equipment, including combines and harvesters, from 25% to 15% to lower costs for US farmers and manufacturers.

More color from the White House:

The Proclamation adjusts the tariffs on agricultural equipment, like combines and harvesters, as well as certain other equipment, from 25% to 15%.
The Proclamation also expands the existing category of industrial equipment subject to a 15% tariff to include mobile industrial equipment, like bulldozers and forklifts, when imported from trade deal countries that are entitled to such treatment.
The Proclamation encourages foreign companies to use more U.S. steel and aluminum by allowing them to qualify for a 10% duty rate, if their capital equipment include at least 85% U.S. melted and poured or smelted and cast steel or aluminum by weight.
These tariff changes are temporary, lasting until December 31, 2027, to spur near–term investments that will rebuild the Nation's industrial base.

The move is a clear attempt by the Trump administration to spur optimism across the nation's farm belt following China's commitments last month to purchase $17 billion annually in additional U.S. agricultural goods.

The latest reading of the US ag economy via the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer has been fading from a summer 2025 peak as trade wars and, now, the Gulf-related energy shock hurt farmers' incomes.

Trump's directive sent shares of the Japanese agricultural and industrial machinery company Kubota up 5% in Tokyo trading.

Efforts to boost farmer sentiment come ahead of the midterm election cycle, which is gearing up and is only 154 days away.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/02/2026 - 06:55

Net Zero & Statism Deliver Stagnation: How Interventionism Undermined Growth In The UK & Canada

Tyler Durden — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 10:30:00 +0000

Net Zero & Statism Deliver Stagnation: How Interventionism Undermined Growth In The UK & Canada

Authored by Daniel Lacalle,

Governments are terrible at picking winners and even worse at choosing losers. Net zero and interventionist “Keynesian” policies in Canada and the UK have proven that government intervention has created a worse outcome than anyone would have expected. The result is higher costs, distorted incentives, and weakened productivity growth, with increased dependency on fossil fuels to attend to peak demand, exactly what Austrian economists predicted.

What has been sold as a recipe for prosperity and “green growth” has in practice eroded affordability while failing to deliver stronger, sustainable expansion.

It is not surprising to see that the world’s examples of green interventionism, the UK and Canada, have become economic failures. Years ago, some argued that these policies needed time to prove their success. Now, it is not even debatable that the stagnation and recession in the UK and Canada are self-inflicted.

Net zero in Canada and the UK is not a single policy but an entire regime of targets, regulations, limits, subsidies, and new bureaucratic requirements.

The Canadian federal plan to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 combines rising carbon taxes, prescriptive regulations, technology mandates, and public investment schemes intended to steer capital away from fossil fuels and into politically selected “green” projects.

In the UK, the government’s “Net Zero Growth Plan” is also built on regulatory limits, spending commitments, and industrial policy designed to phase out conventional energy and reshape entire sectors through top-down planning.

This is a classic example of interventionism. The state attempts to override market price signals and entrepreneurial judgment to engineer a politically preferred energy and industrial structure and achieves the opposite of what it wants to deliver. Rather than relying on decentralized knowledge, competition, technology, and creative destruction, dispersed among millions of consumers and firms, net zero regimes assume that politicians and regulators know exactly which technologies should win, what the “right” energy mix ought to be, and how fast the transition should occur.

In an open market, prices and profits coordinate production across time, and entrepreneurs interpret prices as signals about real scarcities and consumer preferences. However, net-zero policies deliberately tamper with these signals. Carbon taxes, subsidies, and regulatory mandates change relative prices not because underlying preferences or scarcities changed but because policymakers decided that certain activities should be penalized and others subsidized. All this is justified by a completely ideological and unreliable assumption of externality costs, where governments present themselves as the ones that know precisely what those alleged externality costs are and try to push a pricing signal imposed through ideology, creating enormous distortions that, ultimately, end benefiting the “old” and “loser” industries.

Governments are not worried about the failure of these policies. Bureaucrats always believe that interventionism did not work because there was not enough of it. Therefore, they impose additional burdens and regulations while portraying themselves as the solution to the inflation and stagnation problems they have caused.

In both Canada and the UK, this has pushed vast amounts of capital into projects that are unprofitable and can only subsist due to policy support rather than genuine market demand. “Green industrial strategies” crowd out investment in other sectors, especially in traditional energy and manufacturing, even when those sectors still deliver higher value at lower cost to consumers. Austrian theory predicts that politicized credit and subsidies will generate malinvestment: projects that look viable under distorted interest rates and prices but which fail to cover their costs once the policy support is withdrawn or the fiscal burden becomes unsustainable.

Canadian long-run productivity growth has fallen from annual rates above 3% in the postwar decades to less than 1% since 2000, despite repeated waves of policy activism and “pro-productivity” rhetoric. Chronic underinvestment in business capital and weak technological progress as key drivers of this decline, suggesting that the policy mix has not created an environment for genuine, bottom-up innovation. The more that investment decisions depend on regulatory favor and subsidy access, the less they depend on entrepreneurial assessment of consumer wants and long-term profitability.

Net zero has also harmed affordability in exactly the way Austrian economists would expect when governments interfere with relative prices. Carbon pricing, renewable mandates, and restrictions on fossil-fuel projects increase energy costs directly by making reliable sources of power more expensive or scarce. These higher input costs then cascade through the economy to transport, food, housing, and manufactured goods, eroding real wages and living standards.

In both Canada and the UK, affordability has become a central political issue. Households face higher utility bills, fuel costs, and housing expenses, while governments insist that the transition is “pro-growth” and “pro-jobs.” From an Austrian viewpoint, this contradiction is unsurprising: when the state deliberately raises the cost of dominant energy sources and limits investment in efficient, market-chosen technologies, the outcome is necessarily higher prices and reduced real income for consumers, especially for low- and middle-income households.

The C.D. Howe Institute has calculated the costs of justifying public “stimulus” projects based on their benefits, showing that a typical public-services stimulus in Canada needs to create at least 73 cents in benefits for every dollar spent, while many infrastructure projects must improve productivity by at least 61 cents per dollar just to be socially acceptable. This illustrates how difficult it is for discretionary fiscal programs to deliver genuine, net productivity gains, especially when they are designed around political objectives like net zero rather than around consumer demand.

Loose money, loose budgets, weak growth

Energy policy is just one aspect of the overall narrative. Canada and the UK have also pursued aggressively expansionary fiscal and monetary policies recently, justified in the language of Keynesian stabilization and “stimulus.” Central banks slashed interest rates and expanded their balance sheets, while governments ran large deficits to finance transfer programs, public investment packages, and targeted subsidies.

Such policies create an artificial boom by pushing interest rates below their market level, encouraging borrowing and investment that are not backed by genuine savings. When combined with interventionist climate and industrial policies, the result is a double distortion: not only is the cost of capital suppressed by central banks, but its allocation is further skewed by political targets and bureaucratic criteria.

The persistent weakness of productivity growth in both countries reflects the outcome. Despite waves of stimulus and intervention, neither Canada nor the UK has returned to the trend growth rates of earlier decades. Research on why productivity is stuck in advanced economies shows that slow business investment, poor use of resources, and uncertain policies are major problems—exactly what Austrian theory warns about when governments try to control demand and manage entire industries.

At the same time, the loose monetary and fiscal stance has fueled asset inflation and housing booms, worsening affordability while doing little to raise real wages in line with living expenses. For Austrians, this pattern is predictable: credit expansion inflates asset prices and encourages leverage, while deficit spending diverts resources from productive private activity toward politically selected uses, without solving underlying structural obstacles to innovation and entrepreneurship.

The “dynamics of interventionism” described by Austrian scholars such as Frank Shostak and Huerta de Soto captures what is now playing out in Canada and the UK. Initial interventions—carbon pricing, subsidies, ultra-loose money—create side effects such as higher energy costs, misallocated capital, and inflationary pressures. Rather than rolling back the original policies, governments respond with further interventions: price caps, windfall taxes, rent controls, targeted transfers, and new stimulus packages.

More layers mean more complexity, uncertainty, and lobbying, which sucks talent and capital out of productive activity and into regulatory arbitrage and rent-seeking. In the end, the private sector becomes less about serving consumers and more about navigating the policy maze, bidding for subsidies, and changing business models based on political risk, not market signals.

This process tends to push mixed economies toward either more radical intervention and taxation, because the accumulating distortions and contradictions become unsustainable. Rising public debt, chronic productivity stagnation, and growing discontent over affordability are all signs that the current policy mix in Canada and the UK is reaching such a breaking point.

An Austrian approach to the problems of growth, productivity, and affordability in Canada and the UK would start from the opposite principle: radically reduce the role of the state in credit allocation, industrial planning, and energy choices. The goal would be to restore genuine price discovery in interest rates, energy markets, and capital allocation, rather than using central banks and fiscal policy to engineer demand and support politically favored sectors.

That would require ending the “permanent emergency” stance in monetary policy and allowing interest rates to reflect real-time preferences and savings, rather than central-bank discretion; rolling back net zero mandates, technology bans, and targeted subsidies allow entrepreneurs and consumers to decide which energy sources and technologies best serve their needs at the lowest cost; and moving from government spending based on political choices to a system with clear rules and less government involvement that safeguards property rights, upholds contracts, and maintains low and steady taxes and regulations.

Under such a regime, capital would no longer be herded into fashionable, subsidy-dependent projects. Instead, entrepreneurs would once again be guided by undistorted profit and loss, discovering the production structures that genuinely align with consumer preferences and technological realities. Over time, such an approach is the only path consistent with higher productivity, faster real wage growth, and true improvements in affordability.

In short, the disappointing growth and deteriorating affordability in Canada and the UK are not market failures; they are the predictable result of layering net zero interventionism on top of already inflationary, deficit-driven macro policy. The solution is not more of the same but a decisive shift back toward sound money, fiscal restraint, and genuine economic freedom.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/02/2026 - 06:30

Trump Reportedly Ripped Netanyahu In Phone Call, Demanded Lebanon Truce: 'You're F**king Crazy, I'm Saving Your Ass'

Tyler Durden — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 10:01:00 +0000

Trump Reportedly Ripped Netanyahu In Phone Call, Demanded Lebanon Truce: 'You're F**king Crazy, I'm Saving Your Ass'

Summary

Axios reports angry call between Trump and Netanyahu; Trump is said to have told Netanyahu "you’re fucking crazy’" while demanding Lebanon truce: "I’m saving your ass,"
Trump has announced the "shooting will stop" in Lebanon, after phone calls with both sides. Says Iran talks back on "at rapid pace"; Lebanese presidency confirms Hezbollah agreed to US ceasefire proposal
Iran announces halt to all exchanges with US, citing Israeli aggression in Lebanon. Trump says 'haven't heard' this from Tehran, vows to keep US naval blockade in place.
Iran overnight initiated fresh attacks on neighboring Kuwait and even released video showing footage of a ballistic missile launch.
The US bombed radar & drone sites in Iran in response to the Iranians having shot down a US drone over the weekend. Reports of foreign jets over Iranian airspace.
Iran negotiator Ghalibaf charges US with breaking the ceasefire: "the naval blockade and escalation of war crimes in Lebanon" were "clear evidence of US noncompliance with the ceasefire."
Trump Truth Social: "Just sit back and relax, it will all work out well in the end - it always does!"

US x Iran permanent peace deal by July 31, 2026?
Yes 39% · No 62%
View full market & trade on Polymarket

* * *

Trump Steamrolls Netanyahu: Axios

A bizarre and unexpected evening report from Axios says that President Trump ripped into Netanyahu during a phone call, cussing at him and essentially 'steamrolled' him - angry over breaking the Lebanon truce and demanding that Israel's military not attack Beirut.

One U.S. official said Trump told Netanyahu that following through on his threats to bomb the Lebanese capital would further isolate Israel around the world.

Two of the sources said Trump claimed he'd helped keep Netanyahu out of jail — a reference to his support during Netanyahu's corruption trial.

Summarizing Trump's remarks to Netanyahu, the U.S. official said: "You're fucking crazy. You'd be in prison if it weren't for me. I'm saving your ass. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this."

A second source briefed on the call said Trump was "pissed" and at one point yelled at Netanyahu: "What the fuck are you doing?"

And more:

The second U.S. official claimed that, in reality, Trump had "steamrolled" Netanyahu on the call. "Bibi said, 'OK, OK, just make sure everything is taken care of,'" according to the official.

The level of detail in this call 'leak' is remarkable, suggesting it was an 'official leak' or intentional.

Reports of Ongoing Fighting in South Lebanon

Fresh reports of fighting, amid shaky truce declaration:

Sirens sound in the border community of Metula amid an apparent Hezbollah rocket attack from Lebanon.

The rocket fire comes despite US President Donald Trump announcing that Hezbollah would stop carrying out attacks on Israel amid the ceasefire.

Meanwhile, Iran claims it attacked a US container ship in the Sea of Oman (Fars News).

Lebanon Truce Affirmed

The Lebanese presidency has announced that Hezbollah agreed to a US proposal on the mutual cessation of attacks, which will expand to all Lebanese territory.

Per a regional Arab correspondent:

As we emphasized, the Israeli attack on Lebanon was obstructing the reaching of the agreement. The mediators exerted great effort today, and after the American pressure and the Israeli retreat, the doors are now open to return the negotiations to their natural and positive course, and there is no longer much left.

Iran Talks Back On?

Wishful thinking or already a reality? ...following a proclaimed Lebanon truce, uneasy at best:

Trump Suggests He is Forging Lebanon Ceasefire

Trump has announced the "shooting will stop" in Lebanon, after a flurry of phone calls, including with Netanyahu. This came shoon on the heels of Hezbollah signaling it is ready to agree to an immediate truce. Israel too has reportedly halted plans to begin new airstrikes on Beirut.

The Lebanon crisis caused Tehran to earlier announced it is halting all contacts with the US. Will the US-Iran talks now be back on?

Trump to CNBC: 'I don't care' if talks are over

Trump has shrugged off the apparent collapse of talks with Iran, after Tehran earlier said it has halted all communications with Washington over Israel's expanded assault on Lebanon and Hezbollah. Trump has freshly told CNBC by phone, "I don’t care if they’re over, honestly."

"I really don’t care. I couldn’t care less," he added, and indicated he was "going to ask" Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "what’s going on with Lebanon." This suggests Trump could pressure America's ally to lower tensions.

Trump appears to be betting the US can 'outlast' the Islamic Republic, in terms of inflicting economic pain amid the growing global oil supply crisis due to the Hormuz Strait closure. On this, he reacted as follows:

He also said he wasn't worried about oil prices, which spiked following the report in Iranian state media that Tehran is vowing to “completely block” the Strait of Hormuz in addition to halting negotiations.

“I think the oil will be dropping like a rock in the very near, you know, the very near distance,” Trump said.

Trump Reacts

President Trump tells NBC News that he's not heard from Iran on reports they're suspending talks, and on Iran, "I think we've been talking too much if you want to know the truth, going silent would be very good"

We'll keep the blockade in Hormuz.

I think I can wait as long as they want. They're losing a fortune.

His comments to NBC:

“It’s an appropriate thing to say, because they’re better negotiators than they are fighters,” he said in a brief phone call. “But they haven’t informed us of that.”

“It doesn’t mean we’re going to go and start dropping bombs all over there,” added Trump, who said Friday he would soon decide on a proposed deal to extend an ostensible ceasefire agreed to in early April. “We’ll keep the blockade.”

State Media: Iran Stops Exchanging Messages with US

Merely last week, Western MSM press reports were touting the usual 'close to a deal' headlines, but this morning demonstrates how illusory such claims were and are, as Iranian state media now suggests a total halt in communications between the sides.

Per state Tasnim, "Iran stops exchanging messages with the US in protest against Zionist crimes." This as the IDF has sent ground forces deep into Lebanon, past the Litani River - in the deepest operation in decades. Tehran has insisted on linking up any US-Iran deal with a Israel-Lebanon peace. Tehran is now warning to "completely block the Strait of Hormuz, including the Bab al-Mandab Strait" - the latter with the cooperation of Yemen's Houthis. All of this has direct impact on the US-Iran ceasefire:

IRAN'S STATE TV SAYS PROBABILITY OF CEASEFIRE BETWEEN IRAN AND U.S. ENDING IS HIGH IF ATTACKS ON LEBANON DO NOT STOP

Below is the full translated statement:

• "The determination of the Iranian armed forces and all axes of the resistance front to respond to Zionist crimes and open new fronts".

• "Tasnim has obtained information indicating that, given the continuation of the Zionist regime's crimes in Lebanon and considering that Lebanon was one of the preconditions for the ceasefire and that this ceasefire has now been violated on all fronts, including Lebanon, the Iranian negotiating team is stopping "talks and exchange of texts through a mediator"."

• "The immediate cessation of the Zionist regime's aggressive and brutal army operations in Gaza and Lebanon and the necessity of the regime's complete withdrawal from the occupied areas in Lebanon have been emphasized by Iranian officials and negotiators, and there will be no talks until Iran and the resistance's views on this matter are met".

• "Also, the Resistance Front and Iran have set their agenda to completely block the Strait of Hormuz, and activate other fronts, including the Bab al-Mandab Strait, in order to punish the Zionists and their supporters".

Oil jumps on the headline of halted talks...

Futures slide...

Author and University of Chicago professor of the 'realist' school Robert Pape says the following on Monday published report: "We will run out of our cushion of oil inventories in July, whether it's the middle or end of July," he said. "And Iran knows that. So what Iran is doing is just stringing out the clock to get a better deal."

"What that tells me is they're not interested in returning the price of oil back to where it was before the war," he said. "I think what we need to understand is Iran's goal is to continue instability, continue elevated price of the world's oil because it gains from that."

For more, read our:

"Approaching Unheard Of Inventory Levels": Exxon, Chevron Issue Apocalyptic Warning About What Happens Next To Oil

CENTCOM: Intercepted Pair of Ballistic Missiles on Base

On Monday morning US Central Command issued its official statement and explanation over the earlier tit-for-tat brief flare-up in fighting, which appears to have ended...

"Last night at 11 p.m. ET, U.S. forces successfully intercepted two Iranian ballistic missiles targeting American forces based in Kuwait. These missiles were immediately defeated and no American personnel were harmed," it said. "U.S. Central Command remains vigilant and will continue to protect our forces from Iranian aggression while supporting the ongoing ceasefire."

Fresh Missiles on Kuwait

The extended US-Iran ceasefire is once again being severely tested, after Iran earlier in the daylight hours of Monday initiated fresh attacks on neighboring Kuwait and even released video showing footage of a ballistic missile launch. Kuwait in turn confirmed that has been intercepting inbound drone and missile fire.

It hosts a major American base, which is again being targeted, though it's unclear if anything has been hit. The IRGC subsequently identified that it targeted the US base in response to weekend US strikes on Iranian sites. According to a description of the released propaganda video:

The start of the video includes a close-up of what looks to be a sticker on the body of a missile depicting a bruised US president Donald Trump, on the phone asking for help, and overlaid on a “closed” Strait of Hormuz. The caption reads: “Until the last American soldier leaves the region.”

Iran's IRGC released footage showing the moment it launched missile attacks on what it claimed to be US airbases in Kuwait early Monday.

READ MORE: https://t.co/yRpPilUQ9S pic.twitter.com/f1Q2l5OnMu
— Rudaw English (@RudawEnglish) June 1, 2026

All sides, including the Iranians and Kuwaitis, are saying they have a right to defend themselves. The United States, for its part, has said that it bombed radar and drone sites in Iran in response to the Iranians having shot down a US drone over the weekend.

Kuwait, GCC Condemnation

After the US base in Kuwait was freshly targeted, Kuwait's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued the following: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterates the State of Kuwait’s condemnation and denunciation, in the strongest terms, of the heinous and repeated Iranian attacks, which represent a dangerous escalation and a direct assault on the security and stability of the State of Kuwait, as well as a flagrant violation of the rules of international law, the United Nations Charter, and Security Council Resolution 2817 of 2026, not to mention the grave threat they pose to the safety of civilians and vital facilities in the country," it said in a post on X.

"The continuation and repetition of these aggressions undermine efforts aimed at de-escalating tensions and threaten security and stability in the region, emphasizing the State of Kuwait’s categorical rejection of these aggressive practices," it added.

Also, a swift reaction was issued by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). It expressed its "strongest condemnation" of Iran for its attack on Kuwait, blasting it as a "dangerous and irresponsible escalation". Saying Kuwait remains a crucial part of the GCC, the bloc stated it stands "united and firm" and they fully support "all the measures and procedures it [Kuwait] takes to protect its security, preserve its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and maintain the security of its citizens and residents."

IRGC Navy seeks to flex with increasing fast boat patrols of Strait of Hormuz:

IRGC fast boats running 24/7 patrols in the Strait of Hormuz, per new footage from Iran's navy. The boats are steering commercial vessels through the waterway and intercepting any that don't follow orders. pic.twitter.com/tG5Vh71DMK
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) June 1, 2026

Iran Latest Warnings: "The Bill Comes Due"; Ceasefire Breached

Top Iranian negotiator and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has said that the continued American naval blockade of Iran's ports and Israel's intensifying offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon illustrate that the US is not truly complying with the ceasefire.

He wrote on X that "the naval blockade and escalation of war crimes in Lebanon" were "clear evidence of US noncompliance with the ceasefire." He stressed by way of warning: "Every choice has a price, and the bill comes due. It will all fall into place."

As things in Lebanon intensify, given the IDF has plunged past the Litani River and plans to expand its ground force occupation. Yemen's Houthis say they are ready to join Hezbollah's efforts against Israel, per Tasnim. Iran's Foreign Ministry has also freshly addressed the Lebanon crisis:

For immediate attention:

The ceasefire between Iran and the US is unequivocally a ceasefire on all fronts, including in Lebanon.

Its violation on one front is a violation of the ceasefire on all fronts.

The US and Israel are responsible for the consequences of any violation.
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) June 1, 2026

More...

Iran's FM Spokesperson Baghaei: The other side keeps shifting its demands and sending contradictory messages, which is dragging out negotiations. Israel's escalation in Lebanon is aimed at destroying any chance diplomacy could work. The U.S. and Israel cannot be seen as separate.… pic.twitter.com/VFbOUwX9V2
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) June 1, 2026

Trump: "Sit Back & Relax"

Trump's latest Truth Social: "Just sit back and relax, it will all work out well in the end - it always does!"

And here's pushback from Stephen Walt in Foreign Policy magazine:

Although we don’t know the details of the rumored agreement between the United States and Iran—or even if one will eventually be reached—anyone with a triple-digit IQ understands that Israel and the United States made a colossal blunder when they started the war. None of their stated goals have been achieved: The Iranian regime did not collapse, it did not surrender its nuclear stockpile, and its missile and drone capabilities are intact. It has demonstrated that it can shut down the Strait of Hormuz anytime it wants to inflict significant damage on its neighbors. All of U.S. President Donald Trump’s and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s bragging and bluster over the past three months has been exposed as a lot of hot air.

Iran Touts More Breaches of US Blockade

A total of 15 vessels, including four oil tankers, have successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz over the last 24 hours, according to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

The IRGC navy confirmed that the ships only completed their passage after receiving explicit permission and coordinating directly with its command structure. Washington and its Gulf allies (with the exception of Oman) have repeatedly condemned any attempt to impose an 'Iranian protocol' involving the extraction of tolls.

In an official statement carried by Fars News, the IRGC issued a stark warning to the region, declaring that any cooperation with "hostile forces" would be viewed by Tehran as an "imminent security threat" that will be "dealt with accordingly". This is tantamount to warning foreign vessels they could come under direct attack if they don't comply.

More Latest Developments

via Newsquawk...

Iran may propose changes to the US peace draft memorandum of understanding, according to Tasnim. This follows a report that President Trump proposed further changes to the existing text, while a source stated that text exchanges continue and that Iran may submit its own edits.
Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi told state media that talks and message exchanges with the US are ongoing, and that the talks cannot be judged until a clear result is reached.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson said the negotiation team's visit to Qatar was positive.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that they have a legal obligation to prevent aggressors from using their territory and facilities to attack another country.
Iran’s Presidential Office denied reports that Iranian President Pezeshkian submitted his resignation to the Supreme Leader, and stated that the stories were spread by some foreign media.
Iranian Supreme Leader’s military adviser Mohsen Rezaei said Iran has no intention of yielding or compromising with the US and will not place itself in a weak position, while he also stated that US President Trump is betraying diplomacy for the third time by continuing a naval blockade on Iran and making excessive demands.
IRGC said following aggression of US Army on a communication tower on Sirik Island, located in the Homozgan province an hour ago, fighters of the IRGC Aerospace Force targeted airbase where aggression originated and predicted targets were destroyed.
Iran's top negotiator said "The naval blockade and escalation of war crimes in Lebanon by the genocidal Zionist regime are clear evidence of US noncompliance with the ceasefire".
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson said at this moment they do not believe that the US has good intentions towards Iran.
Iran's FM Baghaei said "No negotiations have taken place on the details of the nuclear issue at this stage". One point being discussed is the allocation of funds for reconstruction. We are considering options for responding to the escalation of Israeli attacks in Lebanon.
Iran's Baghaei said a ceasefire in Lebanon is an integral part of any agreement and end to the war; lack of trust and constant change in US and Israeli positions in Lebanon are causing a delay on the diplomatic process. The continuation of maritime piracy and attacks on Iranian shipping is an example of a violation of the ceasefire. The diplomatic apparatus is closely following developments and we will take every measure to defend Iran's sovereignty. The exchange of messages is still ongoing.
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Gharibabadi said Iran's goal is not to hold ships in the Strait, but to declare a procedure that is not contrary to international law; these arrangements are not temporary and Iran will not back down. Stopping ships behind the Strait of Hormuz incurs storage and delay costs, and war insurance has increased by up to 500%. Accompanying Iranian forces costs less than war insurance and eliminates the risk of stoppage, inspection, and seizure. Iran's goal is not to hold the ships, but to declare a procedure that is not contrary to international law; these arrangements are not temporary and Iran will not back down.
"Three consecutive explosions were heard in Bandar Abbas", Iran International reported.
US President Trump reportedly sent tougher terms to Iran regarding the peace framework, according to officials cited by The New York Times.
US President Trump posted "Iran really wants to make a deal, and it will be a good one for the U.S.A. and those that are with us". Full post "Iran really wants to make a deal, and it will be a good one for the U.S.A. and those that are with us. But don’t the Dumocrats, and various seemingly unpatriotic Republicans, understand that it is MUCH tougher for me to properly do my job and negotiate, when political hacks keep negatively “chirping,” at levels never seen before, over and over again, that I should move faster, or move slower, or go to war, or not go to war, or whatever. Just sit back and relax, it will all work out well in the end - It always does! President DJT".
US President Trump posted "Fake News CNN said today, routinely, that my Iran Nuclear Deal doesn’t talk about Nuclear, when actually it states, very clearly, that Iran will not have a Nuclear Weapon". Full post "ScraperFake News CNN said today, routinely, that my Iran Nuclear Deal doesn’t talk about Nuclear, when actually it states, very clearly, that Iran will not have a Nuclear Weapon. It then goes on, in very strong and lengthy detail, to discuss various other aspects of Nuclear. In fact, that’s what most of the agreement is about. CNN, and so many others in the Fake News Media, is a Low Ratings disaster. Even with new ownership, it is unlikely to ever get better!!! President DJT".
US Secretary of State Rubio spoke in the last 48 hours with Lebanon's President and Israel's PM to try and promote a new ceasefire initiative, according to a senior US official cited by Axios's Ravid. said:. US senior official said that the new initiative was proposed as part of the negotiations taking place between Israel and Lebanon, as another round of talks between diplomats from both sides is scheduled to take place this week in Washington. In order to advance the talks, US proposed that as a first step, Hezbollah stop all attacks on Israel, and in return, Israel will refrain from escalation in Beirut.
US Central Command confirmed military forces conducted strikes against Iranian radar at command and control sites located in Goruk and Qeshm Island over the weekend.
Kuwait Army said air defences are intercepting hostile missile and drone attacks.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/02/2026 - 06:01

Tesla Posts Strong Registration Growth Across Europe In May

Tyler Durden — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 09:45:00 +0000

Tesla Posts Strong Registration Growth Across Europe In May

Tesla showed signs of regaining momentum in Europe during May, posting strong registration growth across several major markets, according to Reuters. New registrations climbed to 1,750 vehicles in Denmark (+136%), 1,690 in Spain (+113%), and 858 in Sweden (+71%), based on data released by local industry groups.

Reuters writes that the trend extended across the region. Norway recorded 3,345 Tesla registrations, up 29% from a year earlier, while France saw registrations rise to 5,446 vehicles—more than seven times last year's level.

The gains come as demand for electrified vehicles continues to strengthen across Europe. Battery-electric, plug-in hybrid, and hybrid vehicles represented more than two-thirds of all new registrations in April, with total electrified vehicle registrations increasing roughly 21%, according to ACEA.

Industry observers note that Tesla is benefiting from the overall expansion of the EV market, particularly in Scandinavia, while countries such as Spain are beginning to catch up in adoption. Consumer incentives, emissions-focused policies, and elevated fuel prices are also helping accelerate the shift toward electric mobility.

The recent improvement follows a difficult period for Tesla in Europe. The company lost a significant share of the regional market in 2025 as competition intensified—especially from Chinese manufacturers—while a limited refresh cycle and controversy surrounding CEO Elon Musk also weighed on demand. Registration figures from Germany and the UK, Europe's largest auto markets, are still to come.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/02/2026 - 05:45

The Cost Of The Grain That Feeds Half The World Just Posted Biggest Monthly Surge Since 2008

Tyler Durden — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 08:15:00 +0000

The Cost Of The Grain That Feeds Half The World Just Posted Biggest Monthly Surge Since 2008

Asian rice prices logged their biggest monthly gain in nearly two decades in May, as a Gulf energy shock collides with an expected El Niño event later this year. The spike adds to the mounting risks of a broader food price shock that could emerge as soon as six months from now.

Any time rice prices spike, it is a major concern because the grain feeds more than half the world's population, estimated at 3.5 to 4 billion people.

Thailand white rice, a regional Asian benchmark, surged 20% in May, the largest monthly increase in data going back to 2008, according to Bloomberg. Chicago rice futures rose 15% last month.

Seasonality:

BMI analyst Bin Hui Ong warned that an expected El Niño event later this year will unleash adverse weather conditions across major rice-growing belts in Asia, including hotter, drier conditions. She noted this adds further upside to rice prices in the months ahead.

It is not just the threat of a severe El Niño event on analysts' radars. There are also continued elevated diesel and fertilizer costs tied to disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz. This will further weigh on rice production yields across import-reliant Asia.

Rice farming is already highly fertilizer-intensive, while irrigation systems often depend on diesel-powered pumps.

In Vietnam's Vinh Long province, a farmer told Bloomberg that he plans to skip one of his usual three annual crops due to rising input costs and extreme heat.

Fertilizer prices in Thailand, Cambodia, and the Philippines have soared by nearly 50% since late February, according to the International Rice Research Institute.

The Philippines has warned that a strong El Niño could cut rice production by up to 700,000 tons, or 3.5% of its annual production target.

Already, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of a basket of globally traded food commodities, is trending upward and risks a further leg higher.

Alexandra Prokopenko, a fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, warned in mid-March that disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz would spark shortages of energy and fertilizers, translating into higher food prices in "six to nine months from now."

Last month, ZeroHedge Debates held a roundtable to ask: How bad will the food inflation mess get?

View here:

Visual Capitalist's Dorothy Neufeld outlined where food inflation is expected to hit the hardest, on a country-by-country level, this year (see report)

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/02/2026 - 04:15

Potential Offshore Strike In Norway Could Add Fresh Uncertainty To Global Energy Markets As Wage Talks Collapse

Tyler Durden — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 07:30:00 +0000

Potential Offshore Strike In Norway Could Add Fresh Uncertainty To Global Energy Markets As Wage Talks Collapse

By Michael Kern of OilPrice.com

A potential strike over wages could threaten smooth operations offshore Norway, Western Europe's top oil and gas producer, at a time when the world is scrambling for oil and gas supply amid the Middle East crisis.

Almost 8% of oil and gas workers offshore Norway could go on a strike from June 5 if trade union negotiations with industry fail to reach an agreement in a government-brokered mediation process, according to data from the labor unions on Monday.

More than 600 workers out of about 8,100 in total offshore Norway could begin a strike later this week, Reuters reported on Monday, citing the office of the government-appointed mediator.

Negotiations between the offshore industry and the workers organized in the Styrke, Lederne, and Safe trade unions continue.

At the end of last week, talks between Offshore Norway, which represents the oil industry in the wage talks, and the unions broke down.

Offshore Norway and the trade union Styrke held negotiations on May 27 on the onshore base agreements, which cover approximately 875 employees at supply bases along the Norwegian coast. But they failed to reach agreement on a new collective agreement for supply base employees.

“By evening, the parties remained too far apart, and the negotiations ended in a breakdown,” Offshore Norway said last Thursday, citing disagreements over advance payment of sickness benefits, parental benefits, and care benefits.

While talks continue, the possibility of a strike is looming over the oil and gas operations offshore Norway. It’s not clear how a strike would affect Norway’s oil and gas output, if at all.

Norway produces more than 4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, with oil and gas nearly equally divided at 2 million boepd each. Norway is shipping crude as far as Asia, which struggles without a large part of the Middle Eastern supply. Norway is also Europe’s single biggest gas supplier, having replaced Russia in 2022 when Putin invaded Ukraine.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/02/2026 - 03:30

How Contagious Is Ebola?

Tyler Durden — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 06:45:00 +0000

How Contagious Is Ebola?

More than 200 people are suspected to have died in Ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, according to the latest figures published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on May 29.

The vast majority of these are in the DRC.

With no vaccine available for this strain, the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency of international concern on May 17.

As Statista's Anna Fleck details below, Ebola is a severe and often fatal disease which is spread through direct contact with blood, secretions or other bodily fluids of infected individuals or through contact with contaminated surfaces.

There are six strains of Ebola, four of which are known to cause disease in humans, with varying fatality rates.

The Zaire ebolavirus, commonly known as just the Ebola disease, is the most lethal strain, with historical case fatality rates reaching up to 90 percent among those who have not been treated.

The Bundibugyo strain of the ebolavirus is currently causing outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.

While the Zaire ebolavirus' basic R₀ value, which is the measure for counting how easily disease spreads, is lower than several other diseases, transmission through close contact makes it highly dangerous in healthcare settings.

According to data published by Encyclopædia Britannica, the average number of people infected by an individual with the Ebola disease is 1.5 to 2.5.

You will find more infographics at Statista

By contrast, the Omicron variant of Covid-19 had a basic R₀ value of spreading to eight to 10 people from every infected individual.

Measles is even more contagious, with a value ranging from 12 to 18.

It is spread by droplets released into the air by coughing and sneezing, with the virus able to remain in the air for up to two hours.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/02/2026 - 02:45