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Exclusive | As AI and the Iran war loom, China’s energy technocrats are on the fast track
The energy careers of senior Communist Party cadres have given them technical expertise, foresight and management skills.
South Carolina Senate rivals spar over Iran war, AI and Trump in fiery debate
Darline Graham and Annie Andrews are running to replace the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, and the winner will make history as the first female senator elected from South Carolina.
VV: SC Senate debate takeaways
In a contentious South Carolina Senate debate, Republican Darline Graham sought to portray Democrat Annie Andrews as too far left, while Andrews challenged Graham’s qualifications and criticized her votes on the Iran war. CNN’s Dianne Gallagher breaks it down.
New Star-Filled Movie Directed By Hyatt Hotel Heir Filming in San Francisco
Filming for an upcoming movie titled 'Fog City' has taken over two blocks of Steiner Street this week, with a cast that reportedly features Miranda Otto, Cooper Koch, and Angus Imrie. The picture is being directed by billionaire Hyatt hotel heir Daniel Pritzker.
US economic campaign targets Iran's political survival, experts say
US sanctions and a naval blockade are increasingly targeting the financial networks and security structures sustaining the Islamic Republic, raising questions about whether economic pressure can force political change, experts said on Iran International's Insight.
US pushed Israel to attack Iran alone in effort to avoid political fallout before midterms
According to the report, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's position on the matter remains unclear, with his schedule described as "very security-focused."
4 candidates for Baton Rouge congressional seat offer their views on Iran war, high prices
4 candidates running for a Baton Rouge-based congressional seat debated the issues Friday night in a TV debate. One candidate skipped the event.
Paraguay will not renounce friendship with Israel despite political costs, VP tells 'Post'
DIPLOMATIC AFFAIRS: In an exclusive interview, Paraguay's vice president pledged to preserve his country's alliance with Israel, and expand cooperation against Iranian threats.
Iranian Spokesman Slams France’s Nuclear Double Standards
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei criticized France’s contradictory positions on nuclear weapons, saying Western nuclear powers seek to monopolize the power to inspire fear and the perceived legitimacy to intimidate other countries.
Trump announces diesel fuel deal with Russia
President Donald Trump said Friday that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to a deal to supply the United States with Russian diesel fuel. Diesel prices remain a significant issue ahead of the 2026 midterm elections amid the war in Iran. Trump administration officials were previously working on freeing up Russian diesel, which had […]
Trump's moves to boost diesel supplies have not yet lowered prices
US diesel prices remain at near record highs, up 70% since the US-Israeli war on Iran began despite two high-profile recent moves by President Donald Trump to boost supplies of the fuel: pressuring allies to release emergency reserves and expanding access to tax-exempt red-dyed diesel.
NEWSBRIEF: HURRICANE ISAIAS, UKRAINE WAR LATEST, POLITICS OF IRAN WAR
Gulf Coast Preps for Isaias, Ukraine expects Russian winter offensive, and Trump's Iran War in focus as Midterms approach.
Oil prices fall as Trump pauses Iran attacks, China restarts fuel exports
Brent crude prices fell on Friday as president Donald Trump promised not to attack Iran ahead of the US midterm elections in November
Why Trump and Iran may now be waiting out the midterms
President Donald Trump’s declaration Thursday that he would not attack Iran again before next month’s midterm elections was an implicit admission of the damage being inflicted on Republican hopes by a war that has defied his promise of a quick victory.
El-Sayed, Rogers trade barbs over Iran war, gas prices in Michigan Senate debate
What began as a debate over Michigan families’ rising costs quickly turned into a heated political showdown Thursday night, as Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers traded personal attacks in their race for the U.S. Senate.
Pentagon draws up new Iran strike plans as Trump hesitates
The U.S. military has drafted options for three days of strikes, but in recent months the president has repeatedly vetoed plans to restart the war.
Sparks fly as Abdul El-Sayed and Mike Rogers face off in first Michigan Senate debate
While facing questions about gas prices, the war in Iran and tariffs, the candidates frequently exchanged insults amid a high-stakes campaign.
OpenAI users in Russia, Iran used models to push political agenda online, in media
OpenAI banned several accounts associated with two propaganda operations based in Iran and Russia, respectively, it confirmed Thursday. The latter of which the tech company said had the greatest re…
Can $1 billion power the GOP to victory in the midterms? Some campaigns fear it's too late
Republicans are entering the final month of the midterm campaign increasingly anxious that the $1 billion at their disposal may not be enough to fend off sweeping losses as the party reckons with President Donald Trump's unpopularity, persistent cost concerns and the fallout from the war in Iran.
Iranian operatives used AI to plant fake stories in multiple US media outlets
Operatives in Iran used OpenAI models and fake personas to help plant news articles critical of the US war against Iran in multiple US media outlets, OpenAI said on Thursday.
Rogers and El-Sayed are set for their first debate in Michigan's Senate race after sparring online
Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, competing for an open U.S. Senate seat in Michigan, are set for their first campaign debate Thursday after weeks of sparring both online and in advertisements that are flooding the state in one of the nation’s most closely watched races.
No new attack on Iran before the midterm elections, Trump says
The president has acknowledged sometimes using public statements about negotiations and military planning to keep adversaries off guard.
Trump says he will not attack Iran before the midterm election
President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he has no plans to strike Iran before the midterm election.
Trump says ‘we protect our cities’ after suggesting Iran could ‘take out’ L.A. or San Diego
At a rally Wednesday, the president repeated remarks about Iran attacking the cities but added that “we’re not going to let that happen.”
Iran’s Economy in Deep Recession as Businesses Face Empty Malls and Soaring Costs
A new wave of citizen and business-owner videos circulating on social media highlights severe market stagnation across Iran. Merchan ...
Trump tries to clarify Iran remarks about Los Angeles and San Diego
Trump says ‘we protect our cities’ after saying Iran could ‘take out’ Los Angeles or San Diego
The president recast his earlier incendiary statements at a San Antonio rally meant to galvanize voters behind Texas Republicans ahead of the midterms.
Trump says he won't let Iran strike L.A. or San Diego: 'Not going to let that happen'
Trump told a Texas rally that the U.S. would not allow Iran to strike Los Angeles or San Diego, two days after his remarks on the subject stirred outrage among California leaders.
Nearly 10 months at sea. Families now count the hours until USS Lincoln docks
Sailors went months without setting foot in a port after the carrier got called to the Middle East to fight the war in Iran
Who Won August and September: Original Films or Franchises?
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) I just heard someone say that if you’re reading a pundit or data analyst, and they don’t tell you that they got anything wrong, they’re not a pundit but an “influencer”. I agree with that. You have to tell your audience when you get things wrong, or they won’t (or shouldn’t) trust you as much. Today, we’ve got another edition of “What I Got Right, What I Got Wrong”. In general, I’m patting myself on the back (and patting very hard) about a few things like IP at the box office, LIV golf, horror films, crowdfunding movies, superheroes, and old people going to the theaters. That said, I also made a couple of data mistakes on the streaming bubble popping and HBO’s datecdotes, so I’m not perfect. But first, I need your feedback... Subscribe Follow-Ups: What Should We Call Mid-Budget Movies Which Aren’t Cinematic Enough for Theaters But Are Too Expensive to Make Money on Streaming? After I asked for feedback on what we should call straight-to-streaming films that are too big to pencil out on streaming but not really big enough to resonate in theaters, I got some great suggestions from you all, including... “Moldilocks” from John Aboud “Little Big Indie” from Travis Frick1 “Midflicks” from Jonathan Funke. “Extra-Medium” from Jona Nwuke. (Read the explanation in the footnote.) Between these and Brandon Katz—who suggested “Bermuda Budget Triangle”, “The Platform Gap” and “The Distribution Deadzone”—we’ve got some excellent suggestions. And they’re better than my suggestion, the “Streaming Budget Dead Zone”, so let’s take a poll! The winning entry becomes the new term. Loading... RIGHT: LIV Golf is Fully Bankrupt…Is Anyone Else Next? A few years ago, I was always a bit perplexed at all the articles I’d read praising LIV Golf and their strategy to disrupt the PGA. LIV Golf, a brand new professional golf league, offered PGA stars ten times what they made on the PGA Tour to join their new league. And folks praised this strategy for its initial “success” in that a lot of big names did indeed leave the PGA. Yeah, of course the players came over. LIV Golf paid them so, so, so much more! But LIV Golf hadn’t discovered a way to increase potential revenue. So think about this in basic business terms… They paid much more in costs… …but had no real way to increase revenue. That’s not a strategy! That’s deficit financing. It won’t work unless you bankrupt the competition (and then turn around and pay those same golfers much, much less). It’s not a sustainable strategy and only lasts as long as the company/person/nation backing it decides they’re cool with losing money. For LIV Golf, that meant Middle East oil wealth, in particular Saudi Arabian money. Clearly, the current Iran War has hurt Middle East finances, so they need to trim their more exorbitant spending. And LIV Golf was part of that trimming. This should be a major warning for others. TGL’s parent company, TMRW Sports, just got a $1 billion valuation, despite TGL’s (the indoor golf league) horrible TV viewership of less than half a million viewers per match. Unrivaled, the women’s basketball league, just secured a $650 valuation, despite its horrible TV viewership and a new rival (Project B) entering the scene next year. To relate this to streaming, Hollywood should ask which streamers may have wealthy patrons funding their losses. (Let’s be clear: Google, Amazon and Apple.) Could those patrons lose their appetite? For Amazon, probably not. But Apple has a new boss, so maybe! WRONG: My Analysis of the Streaming Bubble Was Missing a Week I’m going to be congratulating myself a lot today, but I make mistakes too, like this data goof. When I last compiled the data on the decline in TV shows, I was missing one week at the end of June. If you look at the first image, you can see that one week was mislabelled as “July”. Mainly, this image got updated to show a 27% decline, not 29%: This change doesn’t really impact the overall analysis, but it is two percent better. By the way, through the third quarter, the decline increased and it’s now a 30% decrease since 2022. (I’ll write/visualize this in an upcoming article.) But I want you to trust me and my data. Especially these days, when many people are using LLMs that I know are inserting faulty data into their charts, I want to keep earning my audience’s faith. So that’s the accurate data. RIGHT: IP Remains Very, Very Popular In July, I wrote a giant (and I mean giant) article on Backrooms, Obsession, and the box office, going over what we know, what we don’t know about what works in theaters, looking at YouTubers, IP, the horror genre, comic book movies, and a whole lot more. The month of August really tested a lot of my theses and, being honest, mostly supported my arguments. Let’s start with IP. Looking at 8-Aug (the weekend after Spider-Man: Brand New Day came out) to 18-Sep (the weekend that Resident Evil came out, which I think provides a nice bookend to this time period), there were seven films based on pre-existing IP: Resident Evil (2026) ($126 million) Practical Magic 2 ($65 million) _Insidious: Out of the Furthe_r ($65 million) Coyote Vs. Acme ($59 million) Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie ($53 million) Tony ($15 million) Super Troopers 3 ($7 million) Compare those to the notable original films from the past month—I actually could have included more movies, but here are just thirteen, bringing us to an even twenty films—including.... The End of Oak Street ($54 million) Buddy ($26 million) Mutiny ($15 million) By Any Means ($15 million) The Dog Stars ($14 million) Runner ($14 million) One Night Only ($11 million) Hope ($8 million) Spa Weekend ($7 million) The Uprising ($6 million) Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma ($6 million) Onslaught ($3 million) Eli Roth’s Ice Cream Man ($2.8 million) Here’s that in chart form: Five of the top six films in this time period were all based on IP. I made a big chart of films that grossed over $200 million at the box office before Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey hit theaters. Let’s update that chart! By the way, if you want to see how I categorized each film—so another bar chart—here it is: I know that many of my fellow critics/pundits/analysts dislike films based on IP and how Hollywood is making so many of them. And I’m sympathetic to this point of view. As I’ve written many, many times before, you need a balance between existing franchises, new IP, and original films. And Hollywood clearly needs to make more films like Resident Evil (a well-made film from a visionary director) and fewer Practical Magic 2’s (which didn’t get critical or customer buzz). But at some point, critics and pundits need to contend with what audiences are telling them: Movie-goers aren’t showing up to original films. Audiences are speaking with their dollars, telling you they want more IP and franchises. You can try to convince studio heads to make fewer IP-based films and franchises, but the data and numbers aren’t there. Instead, critics need to work harder to convince audiences to show up for original films. Aim your ire/concern at the average person, not studio heads.2 Because they’re just making the films that audiences are telling them to make. WRONG: Original Horror Films Didn’t Break Out I’ll be honest, even though I wrote an article casting some skepticism on the horror genre in July, if you asked me to make a prediction, I would have predicted that, in August, a new, original horror film would have blown up. No, seriously, I just assumed that Obsession and Backrooms presaged a change in audience behavior. But none of the buzzy new original horror films from August—Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, Onslaught (not an action film in spite of the ads), The End of Oak Street, Eli Roth’s Ice Cream Man, or _Buddy—_broke out. To be clear, exactly one of those films (Buddy) had good “ROI”, but again—I try to be specific in my language—none were “popular” in any broad sense of the word. None of them will be “saving” movies theaters like Backrooms or _Obsession_helped save the summer. The new Insidious film and Resident Evil, both based on IP, were far and away the biggest horror films since July. (We’ll see if this changes in October/Halloween season.) RIGHT: Stay Skeptical about Crowdfunding... I’ve long been skeptical about crowd-investing platforms as one of Hollywood’s saviors, mainly because there’s so much hype/buzz. People need to stay more skeptical about more things, explaining both the potential upside but also the downsides. In particular, the media often hypes crowdfunding at the start and never checks in on the actual results after they’ve come in later. And August gave us our first update! _Ice Cream Man—_directed by Eli Roth—grossed $6 million off of a $5.5 million budget. This is a production of The Horror Section, which was one of the first “crowd investing” studios with 2,400 investors, which means that 2,400 investors probably lost money. They certainly aren’t getting as great of returns as if they had just invested their dollars in the stock market. Hopefully Stiletto (Tagline: “Someone’s Going to Make it Rain Blood!”) does better next month. WRONG: Another Data Goof Here’s another data error. When the first episode of House of the Dragon came out, HBO put out that it had 21.5 million viewers in the first three days, and I read that to mean in the US…but no, it was global. So my US-only datecdotes charts shouldn’t have included it. We never got US-only numbers for the first episode, but for the final episode, HBO put out that it had 11 million US viewers. (And that global dropped to 21 million viewers.) Here’s the updated chart (which I’ve since used in the Streaming Ratings Report): Still, this show is absolutely huge. RIGHT: Superhero Films Remain Very, Very Popular After Supergirl flopped, I read a few takes that “comic book movies are going the way of the Western”. Post-Spider-Man: Brand New Day, that take didn’t age well. To be fair, I have a very nuanced take on the superhero genre right now; it’s down right now, for a lot of reasons. But it’s not “dead”. Maybe _Spider-_Man is just a really popular character? I saw that take, and it’s a fair counter-argument. (But pundits arguing that superhero movies were dead should have mentioned this $1.5 billion counter-argument…) But is it just Spider-Man? The next Avengers film already has $50 million in pre-sales (and I was skeptical that that film would do well) and the Avengers: End Game re-release topped the box office two weekends ago (over three original films). And I wouldn’t bet against Batman or Superman. So maybe it’s just Spider-Man, Batman, Superman and the Avengers. Oh, and Deadpool, of course. And Black Panther. And Wolverine. And probably the X-Men. Plus a well-made Wonder Woman or the Hulk film could break out. But that’s it! It’s just those ten characters/teams. Oh, what’s that? Lanterns is also doing well on HBO? (See previous section…) To be fair, I’m actually pretty sympathetic to the argument that more popular characters—like Spider-Man and Batman—anchor more popular films. In fact, I made that exact argument three years ago when I first wrote about the “Marvel-cession”. In many ways, you can blame The Guardians of the Galaxy for fooling Marvel Studios (and the rest of us) into believing that any character could pop. It turns out, the list of iconic characters is probably smaller than most people think. But it’s probably too early to say that superhero films and comic book movies are dead unless “death” means a slight decline over a longtime. RIGHT: Who Killed Theaters? Old People I get frustrated whenever I see headlines or analysis about how young people are “returning” to theaters. As I’ve detailed(for years), young people have always powered the US box office, despite narratives about “kids these days” and their “phones”. Really, what’s changed post-2020/pandemic is that old people aren’t going to the movies nearly as much. This summer, I saw a movie (from an older director) in a theater near a retirement community, and multiple older people at the theater were talking about how this was their first time seeing a movie in years. I dislike personal anecdotes, so YouGov can fill in the data, best summarized by this headline: “Who killed movie theaters? Not the youths”. According to them, 64% of people aged 18-29 have seen a movie in the last year, but only 30% of 65-and-older. 20% of 18-29 have seen a movie in theaters in the last week and 42% in the last month. Here’s the polling data: Most concerning? Many Americans (17%) think theaters are a worse or much worse experience than watching films at home. Slight WRONG: Hadestown Opens Big A live theater capture of the Broadway musical, Hadestown, made $20 million at the US box office, which begs the question: was I wrong to be skeptical about musicals a few years ago? Yes and no. On the one hand, $20 million is a far cry from being “popular”, so yeah, the genre isn’t that popular overall and Hadestown is one of the more popular musicals from recent years (i.e. the “Taylor Swift Data Fallacy” in action). On the other, I doubt filming this cost all that much, and I don’t think that they spent much on marketing, so this is a good source of ancillary revenue. Smaller Updates WRONG: As I mentioned in a Streaming Ratings Report, I underestimated the budget for Enola Holmes 3. It probably cost more like $50 million, if not more. But... I’m not sure that it really matters? At sub-10 million hours, prices have to come down to make this work. WRONG: Netflix is giving Ink a 27-day in theaters! To quote the kids/YouTubers these days, let’s go! Now I might actually have a chance to see Danny Boyle’s latest in theaters. I’d complained about this in a “Coming Soon” section, but I was heartened to read that Netflix is giving multiple films longer theatrical windows this year. RIGHT: Netflix is sending 4-5 films per year to theaters. Netflix is slowly but surely sending more and more films to theaters, as I cautiously predicted earlier this year. For now, it’s just three big films and a number of awards contenders, but still, this is great news. And they’ll be releasing box office grosses! Just this week, Ted Sarandos confirmed that KPop Demon Hunters 2 will come to theaters (and my guess is it performs in the box office top ten at a minimum). WRONG: Angel has 3 million subscribers! How do I know this? Well, they told Deadline, who reported it. I marked this as “wrong”, since they’ve doubled their subscribers in one year but, you know, they don’t really have a hit film to speak of and they’re still losing money. WRONG: Furious was only renewed for one more season. I accidentally wrote “two more seasons” in my latest “Renewals, Cancellations, Un-Orders and Removals Update”. RIGHT: House of David is ending with its third season. In July, Prime Video renewed House of David for a third season, as I just wrote in my latest “Renewals and Cancellations” report. Well, now it’s ending after that third season. Why? As I’ve been writing, its viewership wasn’t great. I got feedback that this show didn’t cost very much, but it cost enough that its limited viewership didn’t save it. WRONG: Adults was a Hulu original! So I missed Adults when it first came out last year; I saw that it aired on FX and just assumed that it was a linear-first program. Turns out, it aired three episodes on FX, but binge-released the rest of its episodes the next day on Hulu. Huh. So I should have covered it last year! But I just wrote about it. 1 “When I was a kid in the 90s, if you wore a t-shirt to school that wasn’t too big and also wasn’t too small, but somehow didn’t quite fit, we’d say you were wearing an “extra-medium” shirt.” 2 As always, a huge exception is Disney, which barely makes anything original anymore.
Trump's executive order on dyed diesel will offer little relief, farmers and truckers say
Farmers, truckers and economists say a move to cut taxes on diesel will provide little relief from record-high fuel prices that have soared since the U.S. attacked Iran months ago.
Iran's Islamic regime continues war against secular entertainment industry
Tehran steps up its cultural crackdown, targeting cafes and theaters over mandatory hijab rules, 'vulgar' music, and on-stage contact.
In Iran, music is far more than entertainment as the regime seeks to use it as a political tool
Iranian authorities are trying to persuade prominent singers in exile to return home. While the state seeks to harness music as a political tool, music has also become a powerful expression of dissent and resistance.
Jimmy Kimmel threatens to call the FCC on Trump for suggesting Iran should bomb California
Jimmy Kimmel threatened to call the FCC on Donald Trump after the president suggested Iran bomb California during a midterm election rally.
Iran War costs Arkansas farmers at least $343 million
The war with Iran continues to rage and it continues to plunge profit margins for farmers in Arkansas. About one-fifth of the world’s oil supply is moved through the Strait...
Hear Iowa 1st Congressional District candidates on tariffs, Iran war
The marquee U.S. House race in Iowa's 1st District heads for a third rematch, with an independent candidate adding a fresh twist. Meet the candidates.
Newsom Calls for 25th Amendment After Trump Imagines Iran Attacking California
The California governor and other critics say the President’s comments signal mental instability.
Takeaways from the Maine Senate debate between Susan Collins, Troy Jackson
The debate in a race for a critical Senate seat featured lots of talk about President Trump, high prices and the war in Iran.
Oil prices rise as storms and air strikes threaten supply
Oil prices rose on Wednesday as the market weighed supply constraints from a storm heading for US oil-producing regions and attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis on Saudi Arabia against increased supplies of Middle East crude.
Democrats eye political shift as key US Senate races take center stage ahead of midterms
A ‘Special Report’ panel discusses energy costs amid the war in Iran, Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign and key races ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Trump’s comment about Iran nuking Los Angeles and San Diego was incoherent, not malicious
President Donald Trump says many bizarre and even hateful things. But signaling he would allow Iran to nuke Los Angeles and San Diego is not one of them.
Trump's remark about letting Iran 'take out' LA, San Diego draws backlash
The president made the comment Monday night during a campaign rally in Nebraska
Trump draws cheers, then criticism for musing about Iran taking out U.S. cities
“They could take out a city,” he said. "Let ‘em take out Los Angeles. Let ’em take out San Diego.”
Democrat Hickenlooper takes aim at Iran war in 1st general election ad
U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper ties soaring fertilizer and fuel costs to what the Colorado Democrat calls President Donald Trump’s “illegal war” with Iran in the first general election TV ad, released on Tuesday by his campaign. In the 30-second spot, made available first to Colorado Politics, Hickenlooper links costs stemming from of the 31-week-old conflict […]
Soldiers Wounded by Iranian Drone Strike Accuse Military Health Care System of Failing Them
Six U.S. Army Reserve soldiers died and more than 30 suffered wounds during the March attack,
California leaders slam Trump for saying Iran could ‘take out’ L.A. or San Diego
Officials in California condemned the president's comments as “dangerous,” after he told a Nebraska rally the war in Iran was a “small price to pay for keeping the world safe.”
Trump says Iran can 'take out' LA or San Diego during political rally
President Donald Trump faces backlash for saying Iran could 'take out' Los Angeles and San Diego as a 'small price to pay' during Nebraska rally. (Source: POOL)
Trump says Iran can 'take out' LA or San Diego during political rally
President Donald Trump faces backlash for saying Iran could 'take out' Los Angeles and San Diego as a 'small price to pay' during Nebraska rally. (Source: POOL)
Trump draws backlash after he suggests Iran could ‘take out’ Los Angeles or San Diego
Officials in California denounced comments made by President Donald Trump as “dangerous” on Monday after he appeared to suggest Iran could “take out” Los Angeles or San Diego – major cities in a state he has often criticized.
Trump suggests Iran could 'take out' Los Angeles and San Diego
President Donald Trump suggested Monday during a political rally in Nebraska that Iran could “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego, comments that drew condemnation.
US says foreign financial institutions doing business with Iran may be sanctioned without notice
WASHINGTON, Oct 5 (Reuters) - The US Treasury Department said on Monday it was alerting foreign financial institutions that continue to do business with Iran or its financial sector that they may be sanctioned by Washington without advance notice. DETAILS: • "Foreign financial institutions continuing to transact with sanctioned Iranian financial institutions could be targeted at any time without advance notification and should take immediate action to terminate such activity and relationship
US says foreign financial institutions doing business with Iran may be sanctioned without notice
WASHINGTON, Oct 5 (Reuters) - The US Treasury Department said on Monday it was alerting foreign financial institutions that continue to do business with Iran or its financial sector that they may be sanctioned by Washington without advance notice.
US says foreign financial institutions doing business with Iran may be sanctioned without notice
The US Treasury Department said on Monday it was alerting foreign financial institutions that continue to do business with Iran or its financial sector that they may be sanctioned by Washington without advance notice.
Top Iranian official admits dire state of the economy: Report
A top Iranian official reportedly admitted that Iran’s economy is in dire straits due to the war and the U.S. blockade of the country. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and former commander in chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, made the admission Saturday at a high-level government meeting focused on […]
Soldiers wounded in Iranian drone strike say military medical system failed them
The attack on the second day of the U.S. war with Iran killed six troops and injured dozens
Why the Trump administration is reluctant to call the ongoing conflict with Iran a 'war'
Trump administration officials have attempted to distance themselves from the word 'war' when discussing the ongoing conflict in Iran.
IRGC General Warns Regional States against Letting US Use Their Territory
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Brigadier General Ali Fadavi warned regional countries against allowing the US to employ their territories for operations against Iran, stressing that any location used as a launch point for attacks on Iran will be targeted.
Oil climbs after Yemeni Houthis attack Saudi Aramco sites
Oil prices rose on Monday after Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis said they launched ballistic missiles and drones at Saudi Aramco sites in Riyadh and the Khurais area, raising concerns about production at the top exporter in the region.
US removes all Air Force bombers from Fairford base amid terrorism concerns
The United States has moved long-range bombers back to their American home stations days after the British government arrested a number of individuals in connection with an alleged Iranian plot to target the UK airbase where the planes had been stationed.
How Americans’ Financial Health Is Faring In The “K-Shaped” Economy
Hey all, Jason here. Money20/20 is still two weeks away, but I’ve already started packing (not procrastinating for once!). My calendar is already filling up with various sessions I want to catch, meetings, and of course happy hours, dinners, and other side events. If you’ll be in Vegas and want to catch up, let me know by replying to this email, and we can try to find a time amidst the chaos of the Venetian. A big if not totally unexpected piece of news dropped on Friday: the Independent Community Bankers of America, a trade group that represents smaller U.S. banks, filed a lawsuit against the OCC and Comptroller Jonathan Gould, arguing that the regulator’s move to grant trust bank charters to firms seeking to use them to conduct substantial non-fiduciary activities exceeds the authorities granted to the OCC by Congress. I haven’t had time to fully digest the legal filing or speak to folks in my network about it, but you can expect to see coverage and analysis on it in next week’s newsletter. Subscribe or Support by Upgrading The NerdCon agenda just dropped. It’s stacked. Partner content: Nubank built an AI-first bank. Chime built its own banking core. Figure and Valon are rebuilding the mortgage stack. At NerdCon, you’ll hear from the people behind those bets: what they chose, what they learned, and what they’re still figuring out. The agenda is live, with leaders from Nubank, Chime, OpenAI, Remitly, Mercury, Figure, Valon and more. Follow the mainstage conversations, bring the problem your team is wrestling with to a hands-on workshop, or pull up a chair at a roundtable. Pick your quests. Meet us in San Diego, November 18–20. Fintech Business Weekly readers save 20% with code FBW20. Explore the Agenda Things To Know & Other Good Reads Federal Reserve Board finalizes changes to enhance the transparency and public accountability of its stress test and reduce volatility in its stress test-related capital requirements (Federal Reserve Board of Governors) FDIC Announces Conclusion of Independent Monitorship (FDIC) Modernizing Financial Regulation: Initial Observations from eSLR (Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman) The Data Version of Godzilla versus Kong: FRED Takes on AI (Fed Governor Christopher Waller) Financing the AI buildout (Brookings) Q3’26: Rules for Banks but Not for Crypto (Fintech Takes Banking) The Inevitability of Local Stablecoins (Lombard Notes) Delusions of AI Governance: The Human-in-the-Loop Comfort Blanket (Fintech Snark Tank) Stripe agrees to acquire Parafin to expand revenue opportunities for platforms and help small businesses grow (Stripe) Listen: Fighting Fraud in the Age of AI, with SEON’s Tamas Kadar (Fintech Business Weekly) How Americans’ Financial Health Is Faring In The “K-Shaped” Economy If there is one overarching theme across the economy and politics in the U.S. at the moment, it’s “affordability.” The term is vague enough to encompass a panoply of factors shaping Americans’ day-to-day lives: rising costs for the hallmarks of being “middle class,” including healthcare, housing, childcare, and education, inflation and rising interest rates, and a job market with the specter of AI hovering over it. At the same time, policy shifts under the Trump administration have resulted in reduced subsidies to those who get health insurance under the Affordable Care Act and new restrictions on qualifying for Medicaid and SNAP, the impacts of which have yet to be fully felt. These factors are contributing to declining consumer confidence and general dissatisfaction with the economy, despite continuing GDP growth and stock market records. This divergence is encapsulated in the idea of the “K-shaped” economy, in which a small proportion of Americans have seen their wealth balloon, while the majority of American households struggle to preserve the lifestyle they have. Perhaps the greatest determinant of which branch of the “K” a household is on is whether their wealth and income are primarily derived from employment vs. from assets. Nearly two decades of low interest rates and, more recently, elevated rates of inflation have benefited asset owners, while those whose income is primarily or solely derived from labor have largely seen real purchasing power stagnate or decline. This is reflected in recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data showing that labor share of U.S. GDP — the fraction of economic output that accrues to workers as compensation in exchange for their labor — dropped to just 52.8% in Q2 2026, the lowest since the BLS began keeping records. In 1947, approximately 2/3rds of economic output accrued to workers; even as recently as 2001, labor’s share of GDP was 64.1%. Against this backdrop, we’ve seen the rise of more credit and credit-like products: cash advance apps, “no-fee” overdraft, earned wage access, and buy now pay later, which are often used as small-dollar short-term borrowing mechanisms to meet immediate consumption needs or pay other bills (eg utilities, cell phone, other debt payments). With the markers of a middle class existence and, increasingly, basic financial stability seemingly out of reach for many, it should be no surprise there’s been an increase in “financial nihilism,” something industry peers like Alex Johnson and Frank Rotman have discussed and analyzed the roots of. The explosion of gambling and gambling-adjacent products and services — often marketed under the guise of being an “investment” — is inextricably intertwined with the rise of financial nihilism. Crypto, sports betting, and, more recently, prediction markets offer an escape or even hope of sorts, like a contemporary, digital version of a scratch-off lottery ticket, while leaving the overwhelming number of people who use such products worse off. Share of Households That Are Financially “Vulnerable” Ticks Up The Financial Health Network’s 2026 Financial Health Pulse® report adds context on how American households are faring. (I linked to this report in last week’s newsletter, but wanted to take time to further unpack the data in the report this week.) The Financial Health Network publishes the report annually, providing insight into how Americans’ financial circumstances are changing over time. The 2026 report is derived from a survey fielded in April and May 2026. The report leverages survey responses to assess indicators of financial health across spending, saving, borrowing, and planning/protecting and to determine a zero to 100 “FinHealth” score. Those with scores between 0 and 39 are considered “Financially Vulnerable,” consumers with scores ranging between 40 and 79 are defined as “Financially Coping,” and those with scores of 80 to 100 are “Financially Healthy.” The report found that moderate improvements in 2025 were reversed, with the share of respondents considered financially “vulnerable” rebounding to 17%. The longitudinal data reflect the impact of pandemic-era programs, like expanded unemployment, cash stimulus payments, and pauses of federal student loan payments. The positive impacts of those programs, as reflected in the Financial Health Pulse reports, had largely disappeared by 2023. While pandemic-era inflation — to be fair, in part caused by the various support and stimulus measures — had come down from as high as 9% in 2022, it has rebounded since the start of Trump’s second term, with tariffs and energy market disruptions owing to the war in Iran pushing prices back up. Specific indicators in the survey that deteriorated from 2025 to 2026 include the share of respondents spending less than their income over the past 12 months, the share paying all bills on time over the past 12 months, the share that have a manageable amount or no debt, the share that are “moderately” or “very” confident their insurance is adequate to cover them in an emergency, and the share that “somewhat” or “strongly” agree that their household plans ahead financially. Unsurprisingly, lower- and moderate-income households are more likely to struggle to pay their bills on time and have any funds leftover to save. The share of low-income households whose income exceeded their spending dropped from 35% in 2025 to 31% in 2026, while the share of upper-income households whose income exceeded expenses remained unchanged at 63%. Households with student loans or revolving credit card debt reported having “a bit more” or “far more” debt than was manageable at rates far higher than those not carrying these types of debts. The share of those with student loan debt indicating their debt load was too high to manage increased from 50% in 2025 to 55% in 2026, while the share of those with revolving credit card debt saying the same ticked up from 51% in 2025 to 54% in 2026. Households that had student loans were markedly more likely to be financially “coping” or “vulnerable” vs. those without student loans. In 2026, 27% of households with student loans were considered financially vulnerable, a jump of 6% points vs. 2025. Households without student loans saw just a 1% point increase (not statistically significant) in those considered financially vulnerable. Households’ perception of the affordability of categories of goods and services paints a stark picture, with less than one-fourth considering higher education affordable, about a third deeming childcare affordable, and less than half viewing healthcare as affordable. Fintech Business Weekly is made possible by the generous support of paying subscribers — bringing you independent analysis of banking, fintech, and crypto without fear or favor. You can support my work by becoming a paying subscriber if you aren’t already. Paying subscribers enjoy: access to the entire archive of nearly six years of newsletters extended versions of the weekly newsletter, with additional content and analysis and (for founding member tier) quarterly personal 1:1 fintech Q&A / strategy calls with me, tapping into my unparalleled knowledge of the intersection of banking and fintech and experience working in the sector, including helping to launch Goldman Sachs’ retail bank Marcus Support Fintech Business Weekly You can also support Fintech Business Weekly by sponsoring a newsletter or podcast, putting you in front of 93,000+ of the most influential decision makers in banking, fintech, and crypto. Learn more about sponsor opportunities or request a media kit by dropping me an email. Democratic Senate Report Highlights How Iran Uses Tether to Evade U.S. Sanctions Iran uses stablecoins, specifically Tether, to evade sanctions, fund regional proxies, and to purchase military drones, a report released last week by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations says. The report was authored by committee ranking member Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and the minority staff. Crypto and stablecoin proponents will often push back on criticism that criminals make use of these assets by arguing that, on an absolute dollar basis, far more illicit funds flow through traditional banking systems and payment rails than via crypto and stablecoins. And while that is likely true, it elides the reality presented in news story after news story: whether state actors — Russia, Iran, North Korea — or criminal groups, those looking to engage in illicit transactions increasingly favor stablecoins and, specifically, Tether (USDT). The report from the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released last week adds context to how Iran uses Tether has a lynchpin in its shadow banking system. The report analyzed 846 wallets that have been sanctioned or targeted for seizure, finding that 84% of them transacted exclusively or primarily in Tether. The ability to create near limitless, anonymous wallets and to move funds effectively instantaneously and irreversibly have made crypto a favored financial mechanism for bad actors. Stablecoins solved key drawbacks of bitcoin, namely, the original cryptocurrency’s highly volatile value in dollars. And while Tether (the company) has the technical ability to “freeze” or destroy funds, the company is often limited and reactive in its approach to doing so, the Senate report argues. Tether, which is nominally based in crypto-friendly El Salvador, “has stated that its compliance with OFAC sanctions is ‘voluntary’ and that it follows ‘OFAC guidelines,’” the Senate report says. Owing to these favorable attributes, Tether “became a primary cryptocurrency for Iran, Hamas, Hizballah, and the Houthis beginning in 2023 and has expanded in scale since,” according to the report. Tether’s role in Iran’s shadow banking system, the report says, is enhanced by crypto exchanges like Bybit, Kyrrex, OKX, Gate, and Binance, and through “over the counter” exchanges and hawala networks. The consequences of these financial flows aren’t hypothetical. The Senate report links Tether as a funds transfer mechanism to Iranian proxies in the region, including Hizballah, the Houthis, and Hamas. Tether has also been used to make payments to secure components necessary to manufacture drones, the report says. The report concludes by arguing that “[s]tablecoin issuers with a significant nexus to the United States, particularly those that offer dollar-denominated stablecoins, should be subject to American sanctions law rather than being allowed to hide behind foreign jurisdictions.” Stablecoin issuers like Tether must be held accountable for repeated failures to prevent illicit finance and sanctions violations by law enforcement, the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and OFAC, the report argues. [Paying Subscriber Exclusive] OUSD Goes Live, Make Your Own Neobank, U.S. Sanctions Russia’s A7 Network As “Transnational Criminal Organization” OpenUSD, the stablecoin issued by the Open Standard consortium that includes Stripe, Visa, Mastercard, core providers, crypto firms, and numerous banks, went live last week. Social commerce platform Whop raised eyebrows in fintech by offering creators on its platform the ability to launch their own neobanks, which the company describes as “great businesses that are easy to run,” in just 15 minutes. And OFAC and FinCEN target Russia’s “shadow banking” A7 Network — more on these stories after the paywall.
Saudi Arabia to cancel Joy Awards, its answer to the Grammys, amid budget cuts, sources say
By Timour Azhari Oct 4 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia is set to cancel next year's Joy Awards, its star-studded answer to the Oscars or the Grammys, as financial strain and the Iran war hit the country's nascent entertainment sector, two people with knowledg...
Trump rally attendees react to war and the economy ahead of the midterms
CNN’s Alayna Treene speaks with Trump supporters about their views on issues like the Iran war, gas prices and the economy, as the US president campaigns in Vandalia, Ohio in a bid to help Republicans retain control of Congress in next month’s midterm elections.
Iran knows US 'is winning' as Operation Economic Outcast inflicts damage, Treasury official says
A top Treasury official told FOX Business that the "absolute isolation" campaign the Treasury is imposing on the Iranian regime has been "really effective."
Week in Politics: Inflation pressure; war in Iran and effect on midterm elections
We look at how some concerning economic indicators as well as the ongoing war in Iran might affect the midterm elections.
Breaking down Trump’s new ‘drug factories’ claim about Iranian nuclear sites
The president’s refusal to admit the likely gaffe follows a pattern of insisting he is always correct.
Strategic sovereignty, social movements, and political agency: Evidence from the US-Israeli military campaign in Iran
Military intervention may be undertaken to weaken a hostile regime and strengthen the position of its opponents. This column argues that evidence from the 2026 US-Israeli strikes on Iran points to a different outcome: the strikes left total protest levels broadly unchanged but sharply reoriented mobilisation away from anti-government protest and toward pro-government activity. The findings suggest that overt foreign intervention can make sovereignty politically valuable to incumbent governments by making domestic opposition easier to portray as aligned with an external adversary.
Protesters target new Live Nation venue with 'illegal monopoly' messages
Before Miranda Lambert took the stage for the opening night at The Truth, protesters projected messages calling Live Nation an "illegal monopoly."
Europe agrees to release stocked diesel oil, Trump says
Europe has agreed to release a massive amount of diesel oil stocks, announced by US President Donald Trump, to address rising fuel prices ahead of US elections.
Hormuz as a Multiplayer Game: From Chokepoint Control to the Politics of Access
Transit fees, Hormuz Safe insurance, and a new strait authority: how the Iran war turned Hormuz from a chokepoint into a contest over access.
Miranda Lambert returns with country-disco album 'Crisco,' a set of songs that have 'a lot of joy'
Miranda Lambert has entered her disco era with her new album, “Crisco,” set to release Friday | KYW Newsradio
Affordability is on voters’ minds in Pa. swing districts as the cost of gas and groceries skyrockets
The cost of living is the rise as the war in Iran continues. That could hurt Trump-aligned incumbents in key Pennsylvania swing districts.
Military Leaders Will Examine Ways to Limit Civilian Deaths in War
U.S. Central Command will hold a daylong conference at its Tampa headquarters after seven months of war in Iran.
Most Americans blame Trump for high prices as his economic approval hits new low, AP-NORC poll shows
A majority, 65%, of U.S. adults now blame Trump’s policies for persistently high costs more than factors outside of his control, signaling growing weariness over his aggressive use of tariffs and continued unhappiness with the war with Iran.
Sanford Black Hills welcomes new women’s health clinician at Haines Ave. Clinic
Sanford Black Hills has expanded its regional healthcare team with the addition of Miranda Pray-Dede, M.D., who is now offering specialized women’s health services at the Sanford Health Haines Ave. Clinic in Rapid City. Dr. Pray-Dede brings more than two decades of dedicated medical experience to patients across the Black Hills region.
Immigration, inflation, Iran: WA candidates for open Congress seat debate
From the first question of a debate Wednesday night, John Duresky and Amanda McKinney sparred over big issues in Washington's 4th Congressional District.
Debate stays civil: disagreement over war, health care, affordability
Health care and the war with Iran separated the two candidates running for Iowa's 4th Congressional District during a debate Wednesday night that featured extended civility between the two candidates.
Debate stays civil: disagreement over war, health care, affordability
Health care and the war with Iran separated the two candidates running for Iowa's 4th Congressional District during a debate Wednesday night that featured extended civility between the two candidates.
Max Amini says comedy can bridge divide between Iran and America
The L.A.-based Iranian American comedian, who is touted as being the world's most watched comedian on the internet, comes home to the Dolby Theatre for six shows starting this weekend.
Rubio orders visiting Iranian UN delegation to leave NYC ahead of schedule
WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered Iran’s foreign minister and his delegation to the U.N. General Assembly to leave New York earlier than
Iran indicates it’s received an official US response to its latest offer on ending the war
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi presented the U.S. response to President Masoud Pezeshkian at a Cabinet meeting, a government spokesperson told the state-run IRNA news agency.
Republican redistricting in Texas, Florida may not turn out as Trump had hoped
Even though the districts were redrawn to make them easier to win, the party remains weighed down by dissatisfaction with Trump, the economy, the war with Iran and the president's deportation agenda.
Shobeiri Zanjani: The quiet ayatollah who bridged Iran’s political divide
Grand Ayatollah Mousa Shobeiri Zanjani passed away on 20 September at the age of 98
UK business morale hits 17-month low, Lloyds says
British firms turned the least confident since April 2025 in September, according to a Lloyds survey on Wednesday that also showed executives' view of the global economic outlook darkened as the Iran war pushes up costs.
Oil prices fall on signs Middle East crude flows recovering
Oil prices declined as Saudi Arabia resumed crude exports via the East-West pipeline, easing concerns over supply disruptions amid the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Final show of the season for Modesto’s Fruit Yard Amphitheater set. Who, when
The singer has toured with musicians George Strait, Miranda Lambert and others.
‘It’s certainly a challenge for Nebraska families’: GOP senator who supports war in Iran on its economic impact
Are the midterms dictating Trump’s Iran strategy?
The president is apparently waiting until November to resume bombing
Rethinking Medicare home health
Liran Einav, Amy Finkelstein, Yunan Ji, and Neale Mahoney examine the design of the Medicare home health benefit. They assess the program’s objectives and offer reforms to better meet these goals.
Victoria Coates discusses US foreign policy on Iran, Taiwan
Heritage Foundation VP of National Security Victoria Coates and panelist Mike Lee discuss the latest U.S. foreign policy updates, focusing on indirect peace talks with Iran, military funding for Taiwan and ongoing economic pressure on Cuba.
The Beclowning of Scott Bessent
One iron law of current politics is that nobody who associates themselves with Donald Trump emerges with a shred of credibility. For some, that’s not a big loss — it’s not as if anyone respected Pete Hegseth even before he decided that the key to military success in an age of drones and AI was more testosterone. For others, however, the costs are real. I’m old enough to remember when Marco Rubio was widely considered a reasonable, thoughtful politician. Right now, however, my candidate for the biggest loser is Scott Bessent, the Secretary of the Treasury. Bessent started out with significant reputation to lose: When Trump selected him, this was the headline in the Financial Times: Jason Furman, Barack Obama’s chief economist, described him as a “credible Treasury secretary who has a real understanding of the global economy”. But Bessent has now transformed himself into the Baghdad Bob of bonds. Three weeks ago, after intervening (for reasons that remain somewhat unclear) to support the Japanese yen, Bessent boasted about his ability to move markets and dared investors to bet against his, declaring “I am the house now.” He then tried to push long-term interest rates down, buying 30-year U.S. Treasuries in a move some have compared to paying down part of your mortgage by running up your credit card balance. Here’s how that’s going so far: To get some perspective on how high interest rates have gone, here’s a longer-term perspective: We haven’t seen interest rates this high since the fading days of the dotcom bubble. Why are interest rates hitting new records? The backdrop, as I argued in last Sunday’s primer, is the huge AI-driven investment boom; more on that next week. But the immediate cause of the latest interest rate spike was Trump’s rejection of an Iranian proposal to end the war. This rejection sent crude oil prices, which for a while had fallen considerably, shooting back up: It’s notable, by the way, that oil prices remain high even though a significant amount of oil is now being shuttled through the Strait of Hormuz by night, on smaller vessels. That’s an interesting story, which has a lot to do with the fact that oil from the Hormuz shuttle runs must be transferred to larger vessels before being shipped to markets in Europe and Asia; around 15 percent of the world’s large crude carriers are now parked off the coast of Oman, waiting to be tanked up. This is creating a shipping crunch: But that’s a topic for another day. For now, the point is that with oil still high and refined products, especially diesel, still close to record levels, inflation will remain elevated. And this in turn means that the Federal Reserve will keep short-term interest rates high, an expectation that is feeding into longer-term rates. Hence Bessent’s bond-market humiliation. The truth is that Bessent might not have been able to get interest rates down even in the best of circumstances. But he certainly won’t get anywhere as long as Trump keeps believing that he can somehow convert his Iran debacle into a triumphant victory. And Trump will keep believing that as long as he is surrounded by sycophants who tell him what he wants to hear. Sycophants like, for example, Scott Bessent, who is predicting the imminent collapse of the Iranian economy, possibly within two weeks. Bessent is right to say that the embargo on Iranian oil exports is placing the country under great economic strain. But his implicit prediction that this will quickly produce a deal that Trump can call victory looks no more plausible than his boasts about the bond market. The big question now is, why would anyone with a reputation to lose work for Donald Trump? As the beclowning of Bessent shows, joining the Trump team won’t just damage your reputation; it will utterly destroy it.
Trump denies offering Iran sanctions relief for nuclear concessions
President uses social media post to deny reports that he was willing to ease sanctions in return for ‘concrete’ steps over its nuclear program
US-Iran talks continue, but ‘deal unlikely’ before midterm elections
OPINION: Indecisive politics behind U.S.-Iran ceasefire extension without agreement
A 60-day ceasefire between the United States and Iran expired in August without an agreement to extend it, underscoring what can be viewed as "indecisive" politics common to both countries.
Musician upholds 74 lashes for hijabless performance as Iran continues entertainment crackdown
The court found that a hijabless performance had violated “public decency through the production and publication of obscene and immoral content on cyberspace platforms.”
In Mike Johnson's district, the political mood is mixed for the GOP
Johnson is an ally of President Donald Trump and is in no apparent danger of securing a sixth term in Congress. But high prices, the war in Iran and the dim economic mood provide a snapshot of the grim outlook for the party in power.