The Trump administration is considering providing military protection to oil and gas tankers traversing the Strait of Hormuz in a bid to cool energy prices that have surged since Iran warned it would attack ships at the choke point, two people said Tuesday.

“Military support for oil and gas supplies,” a person familiar with the discussion who was granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations said when asked about the potential for U.S. naval vessels to escort ships traveling through the strait. “It’s becoming a growing concern that the energy markets could face pressures in the coming days as the military campaign intensifies and expands in geographic scope. Access to the Straits of Hormuz is obviously vital for both natural gas and crude oil shipments, especially from Qatar and Saudi.” (POLITICO – Continue Reading)

President Donald Trump says combat will continue in Iran until its “objectives” are complete. Those objectives and the justification for the war have remained fluid more than 48 hours into the conflict.

Trump and his proxies have not been aligned on their narrative, leading to confusion about how Trump and his advisors are defining the endgame for ending the escalating conflict.

Trump began a military buildup near Iran after promising dissidents “help is on its way” when protests against its government rocked the country in January. The stated justification since the attack began Saturday has whipsawed between among preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, deposing the Iranian regime that brutally represses dissent, stopping an imminent attack from Iran on U.S. interests and following Israel’s lead. (CNBC – Continue Reading)

Donald Trump said he will “cut off all trade with Spain” after the country denied access to its military bases for his bombing campaign against Iran, spurring a sharp rebuke from Madrid that the US president must respect international trade agreements.

“I told Scott to cut off all dealings with Spain,” Trump said Tuesday during a meeting at the White House, referring to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. (Bloomberg – Continue Reading)

Blue Owl Capital, a giant Wall Street lender, used to do just about anything for attention. It hosted investment advisers at five-star resorts, advertised on digital billboards, slapped its logo on professional tennis players and hosted a pickleball tournament in Central Park.

But for the past few weeks, Blue Owl has been the talk of Wall Street for an altogether different reason. It has been trying to convince investors that its $300 billion portfolio of investments and loans is actually worth what Blue Owl says.

Despite a blitz of conference calls, media interviews and news releases, Blue Owl appears not to have resolved the miasma surrounding the firm. Rather, its efforts to calm many investor jitters may have contributed to worries that Wall Street is on the precipice of a broad, new credit crisis. On Tuesday, Blue Owl stock was down as much as 9 percent, nearing its lowest point as a public company. The share prices of other large lenders also fell. (NY Times – Continue Reading)