Wealthion Macro Bites 5-27
U.S. Central Command spokesman Captain Tim Hawkins announced U.S. strikes on missile sites near southern port city Bandar Abbas and Iranian boats attempting to place mines, “U.S. forces conducted self-defense strikes in southern Iran today to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces."
In the third meeting of Quad members since its Sept. ’24 launch, foreign ministers of Australia (Penny Wong), India (S. Jaishankar), Japan (Toshimitsu Motegi) and U.S. (Marco Rubio) agreed to jointly build a port in Fiji and signed a range of pacts covering critical minerals and energy security. Secretary Rubio commented, "We are going to be partnering on issues of port infrastructure, in particular in response to insufficient port capacity in the Pacific Islands, we are announcing plans to work with Fiji."
Separately, Secretary Rubio and India External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar signed a bilateral critical minerals agreement establishing the framework of a strategic partnership focused on the security of supply through mining and processing. Details and terms of the framework have yet to be determined.
The U.S. Department of energy has selected Oklo Inc. and closely held Exodys Energy, Shine Technologies, Standard Nuclear and Flibe Energy for advanced negotiations in its Surplus Plutonium Utilization Program, in which the U.S. will distribute 20t of weapons-grade plutonium (left over from Cold War-era weapons) to be converted into commercial nuclear reactor fuel.
The European Automobile Association (ACEA) reported that April year-to-date EU car registrations increased 4.2%, with battery-electric (BEV) share reaching 19.7% (vs. 15.3% in ’25); hybrid-electric share reaching 38.2% (vs. 35.3%); and petrol and diesel share declining to 30.2% (vs. 38.1%).
ECB Board member Isabel Schnabel said the central bank should raise rates at its June meeting even if Iranian peace talks yield a deal as high energy prices are spilling into the broader economy, “Given the size and persistence of the current shock, looking through is no longer an option…I think a rate hike in June will be needed.”
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