One of the key sticking points remaining in negotiations between the US and Iran centers on monetary compensation, as President Donald Trump is eager to strike a deal that will be viewed as superior to a prior agreement inked during the Obama administration, a US official familiar with the talks told CNN.

Iran has communicated to mediators that they want some form of financial compensation to be released as soon as the two sides agree on an initial memorandum of understanding, the official said, and not withheld for a future date.

But Trump administration officials are concerned that any unfreezing of funds at such an early stage could lessen the economic pain the US has inflicted on Iran throughout the course of the war — potentially eliminating, or at least weakening, a key leverage point Washington holds over Tehran. (CNN – Continue Reading)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a wide-ranging interview with CNBC’s Sara Eisen in Jerusalem on Wednesday talked about his relationship with President Donald Trump, played down concerns about the world’s oil supply being constrained due to the war with Iran, and touted Israel to investors.

The sitdown came on the heels of reports that Trump had cursed at Netanyahu in a phone call over Israel’s continued military action against Hezbollah in Lebanon as the U.S. pursues peace negotiations with Iran.

The war, which Trump initially suggested would last for several weeks, has entered its fourth month. (CNBC – Continue Reading)

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has proposed additional tariffs of up to 12.5% on imports from 60 economies over their failure to ban goods made with forced labour, in a sweeping action that would hurt most trading partners, including China, the European Union and Japan.

The determination, made under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, found that all 60 countries have failed to impose or effectively enforce a prohibition on forced labour-related imports, creating what it called an “unlevel playing field” for American workers.

USTR has proposed a 10% duty rate for economies that have adopted a full or partial prohibition on forced labour trade, and 12.5% for all other economies. (CNBC – Continue Reading)

Silvana Tenreyro sits on the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England, her vote helps set UK interest rates. 2 weeks ago alongside Thomas Drechsel (Maryland, NBER), Michael McLeay (Bank of England), and Enrico Turri (LSE) she published NBER Working Paper, a formal welfare optimization model of how central banks should respond to commodity price shocks.

The conclusion …look through both the direct effect of energy on CPI and the indirect effects on core inflation that flow through firms’ input costs.

Translation? stop fighting commodity driven inflation with rates. (The Merchant’s News – Continue Reading)