Wall Street soars as traders bet on potential
war off-ramp
Posted By: Dreadnought, 3/31/2026 8:21:19 PM
Wall Street ended sharply higher on Tuesday, lifted by speculation about a potential de-escalation in the Middle East conflict that has sent oil prices soaring and fueled fears of global inflation in recent weeks. All three major U.S. indexes rallied after the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that U.S. President Donald Trump told aides he was willing to end the military campaign against Iran, even if the Strait of Hormuz remained largely closed. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the next few days in the Iran war would be decisive and warned Tehran that the conflict would intensify if it did not make a deal. The month-long conflict
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There's a Thomas Edsall column up today which suggests that while Democrats have reason to be optimistic about this year's election, in just a few more years they may be doomed. It's worth noting up front that Edsall, while a Democrat himself, frequently seems to be looking for the dark cloud attached to every silver lining. He is the doomiest Democrat at the New York Times almost without fail. Still, he's also pretty interesting.
Democrats are favored to win the House and have a shot at taking control of the Senate in the midterm elections later this year...
But in 2030,
Did Masoud Pezeshkian just signal a capitulation by the Iranian regime? Or is he just trying to claim turf in a power struggle among what's left of the mullahcracy's leadership?
Perhaps the answer is ... yes. Iran's president has been sidelined during the conflict as the IRGC seized power after the death of Ali Khamenei. Both the US and Israel left him alone while targeting other top-ranked regime officials, either to have a potential negotiating partner, a reflection of Pezeshkian's impotence in the war, or both. With Trump threatening to wipe out what's left of Iran's energy infrastructure and B-52s now flying unopposed in Iran's airspace,
The Dow Jones is up 1,000 points today on news that Iran is willing to make a deal, President Donald Trump might terminate Operation Epic Fury prematurely, and yet War Secretary Pete Hegseth insists that the U.S. will "negotiate with bombs" until the regime cries uncle.
It's chaos in the White House! Again! More seriously, before anybody gets all panicky, I'm certain that only two of those things are true. Can you guess which ones?
Yeah, don't believe that Trump is about to quit Epic Fury, and please read on to learn why.
Markets are way up, and oil is down a bit, even as Hegseth said
Wall Street ended sharply higher on Tuesday, lifted by speculation about a potential de-escalation in the Middle East conflict that has sent oil prices soaring and fueled fears of global inflation in recent weeks.
All three major U.S. indexes rallied after the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that U.S. President Donald Trump told aides he was willing to end the military campaign against Iran, even if the Strait of Hormuz remained largely closed. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the next few days in the Iran war would be decisive and warned Tehran that the conflict would intensify if it did not make a deal.
The month-long conflict
A month into the war with Iran, the Israeli military has almost completed bombing all of the targets it defined for itself at the start of the conflict, and has now been ordered by Israel’s political leadership to shift to hitting “economic” targets of the Iranian regime, The Times of Israel learned on Monday.
Israel launched its campaign against Iran, alongside the United States, to degrade the regime’s military capabilities, distance threats posed by Iran — including its nuclear and ballistic missile programs — and “create the conditions” for the Iranian people to topple the regime, the military and other Israeli leaders have said.
Trump says US will be ‘leaving’ Iran
‘very soon,’ insists regime change
was never a war aim 0 replies
‘very soon,’ insists regime change
was never a war aim 0 replies
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says the United States will probably wrap up the Iran war in two or three weeks — an admission that the war will likely extend beyond the White House’s four-to-six week timeline.
Speaking to reporters in the White House, Trump first says that the US will be “leaving” Iran “very soon,” insisting that gasoline prices will subsequently “tumble down” as well.
After a reporter notes that Americans are feeling the financial squeeze at the gas pump, Trump declares they’re also “feeling a lot safer” because Iran doesn’t have a nuclear weapon.
WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump says Iran doesn’t have to agree to a deal for the US to end its military operation in the country.
“No, they don’t have to make a deal,” Trump says in response to the question in the Oval Office.
“When we feel that they are… put into the stone ages and won’t be able to come up with a nuclear weapon, then we’ll leave whether we have a deal or not,” Trump says. “It’s irrelevant now.” It’s unclear if the US unilaterally ceases fire that Iran would follow suit.
Among the pub-table strategists and commentators in Europe talking about Iran you often hear the phrase, “This is not our war.”
That’s a view as wrong as it is strategically unwise.
Of course it is our war. It is far more our war than America’s. The infiltration of European societies by Islamist networks is further advanced and more acute here than in America. (And solidarity with Israel, whose very existence is under threat, ought to be far stronger in Germany than in the United States.) But even if one believed it was not our war, or even if one were disappointed
Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said on Tuesday that Israel is “prepared to keep operating for weeks to come,” even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted that the war against Iran was “definitely beyond the halfway point” as it entered its fifth week.
“We are prepared to keep operating for weeks to come. We have the targets for that, the munition for that, the manpower for that. And it’s up to the leadership to decide,” Shoshani said on Tuesday.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Tuesday that all of its “critical” and “essential” targets in Iran will have been destroyed by Passover
President Donald Trump had a message Tuesday for U.S. allies whose access to oil has been imperiled by the White House’s war against Iran: You’re on your own.
“All of those countries that can’t get jet fuel because of the Strait of Hormuz, like the United Kingdom, which refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, I have a suggestion for you: Number 1, buy from the U.S., we have plenty, and Number 2, build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT,” he wrote on Truth Social Tuesday.
The critical waterway, through which roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil supply
Hegseth, Caine Lay Out How Iran Is Being
Crushed, Coming Days 'Will Be Decisive'
in Operation 2 replies
Crushed, Coming Days 'Will Be Decisive'
in Operation 2 replies
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine held a briefing Tuesday morning on the progress of Operation Epic Fury against Iran.
Hegseth said that the "upcoming days will be decisive." That sounds like they think they're getting close. "Iran knows that, and there's almost nothing they can militarily do about it," Hegseth claimed.
The Defense Secretary said that "American firepower is only increasing," while saying Iran's is "decreasing."
"Just one month in — only one month — we set the terms," Hegseth said.
"The last 24 hours saw the lowest number of enemy missile
American consumers shrugged off the Iran war and rising gas prices in March, pushing the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index up to 91.8 from 91.0 in February — well above the 87.9 reading economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected.
It was the second consecutive monthly increase and a sharp rebuke to forecasters who had predicted the combination of military conflict in the Middle East and surging energy costs would send confidence tumbling. The survey period ran from March 1 to 24, capturing the bulk of the initial war shock — meaning confidence didn’t merely hold steady through the conflict but actually firmed.
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Swalwell threatens FBI with legal action
as Patel reportedly weighs 'Fang Fang'
files release 31 replies
as Patel reportedly weighs 'Fang Fang'
files release 31 replies
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., is threatening legal action against the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as it reportedly considers releasing potentially damaging files just weeks before he faces voters in California’s wide-open gubernatorial race. Lawyers for Swalwell sent a cease-and-desist letter to FBI Director Kash Patel, warning the bureau would violate federal privacy law if it moves ahead with releasing records regarding the congressman’s decade-old relationship with a suspected Chinese spy named Christine "Fang Fang" Fang.
"[Y]our attempt to release the file is a transparent attempt to smear him and undermine his campaign for Governor of California," Swalwell’s attorneys
If you're not paying attention to the Tyler Robinson case, you’d better start now. A fresh court filing just dropped a massive curveball in the assassination of Charlie Kirk. The filing claims that the bullet that killed Kirk last September doesn’t match the rifle that Robinson used. “As these cases indicate, determining the number of contributors to a DNA mixture and determining whether the FBI and the ATF reliably applied validated and correct scientific procedures... is a complicated process which requires the assistance of various types of experts, including forensic biologists, geneticists, system engineers and statisticians, all of whom must review and evaluate' several different categories,” the filing states.
Two Colorado Democrats have proposed legislation that would crack down on restaurants’ abilities to provide complimentary napkins, utensils and condiments to customers, in the name of protecting the environment.
Bill SB26-146 would ban “a retail food establishment or third-party food delivery service from providing single-use food serviceware to a customer” unless the customer requested or confirms he or she wanted it, according to the bill’s text. Democratic Colorado State Sen. Lisa Cutter and Democratic Colorado State Rep. Meg Froelich introduced the legislation on March 24 and, if passed, will go into effect at the start of 2027.
The bill defines “single-use serviceware”
A federal judge on Tuesday blocked President Donald Trump from moving ahead with any further work on a massive new $400 million ballroom on the former site of the White House’s East Wing.
“The President of the United States is the steward of the White House for future generations of First Families. He is not, however, the owner!” Judge Richard Leon wrote.
Leon, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, said he was delaying implementation of his ruling for two weeks for a possible appeal. But
Comer claims US Census Bureau was incorrect
in 2020, costing Republicans multiple
House seats 23 replies
in 2020, costing Republicans multiple
House seats 23 replies
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said Monday his committee has received information showing the United States' Census Bureau in 2020 miscalculated the number of Americans in a way that cost Republicans multiple House seats.
Comer claimed the basic count was biased against Republicans because the bureau made estimations instead of doing a physical count during the COVID-19 pandemic, and estimated high in Democratic areas like major cities and underestimated in suburban areas known to be more friendly to Republicans.
"The basic count was miscounted grossly in the last census, to the tune of costing the Republicans anywhere from four to five congressional seat,
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's lavish faux-royal tour of Colombia in 2024 was funded by none other than billionaire George Soros, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The duo spent four days in the South American country at the invitation of Vice President Francia Márquez, who, along with Markle, did not disclose the details about who paid the $3.8million bill from the spend-happy couple, author Tom Bower claims in his new book, Betrayal: Power, Deceit and the Fight for the Future of the Royal Family.
SURPRISE! Zohran Mamdani’s New ‘Free’
Childcare Program is Going to Cost $60,000
Per Child 20 replies
Childcare Program is Going to Cost $60,000
Per Child 20 replies
Are you sitting down? This is shocking news.
It turns out that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s new ‘free’ childcare program isn’t free at all. In fact, it’s going to cost $60,000 – Per child. Of course, it’ll be free for the people who get the service, but not for the taxpayers who are funding it.
This is the shell game that is always played by leftists. Nothing is free and they know it. Someone always pays.
Oh and by the way, this is just the rollout of the program. You know it will cost more down the road.The cost of “free” child care is soaring.
After official confirmation that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) did, in fact, commit immigration fraud, the Republic of Somaliland — which has good reason to be bitter at the crimes of Omar and her Somali family — offered to be the hammer of justice if the United States would extradite Omar there.
The tantalizing offer comes after Vice President JD Vance confirmed on Benny Johnson’s show what many of us have thought of Omar for a long time — there is, in fact, solid evidence that the radical Islamist member of Congress committed immigration fraud.
Senate GOP Needs New Leadership
20 replies
It’s becoming increasingly obvious that, despite a 53-47 Republican majority, the U.S. Senate is a graveyard for President Trump’s agenda. This is largely the fault of Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), who has never been a strong supporter of the President. Despite this, most Republicans hoped that Thune would work to advance Trump’s priorities, particularly after his decisive 2024 victory provided the momentum for the GOP to retake the Senate. But Thune’s refusal to get the SAVE America Act passed and his surrender to the Democrats on DHS funding — without additional money for ICE or CPB — dashed any hope.
Gulf allies privately make the case to
Trump to keep fighting until Iran is decisively defeated 17 replies
Trump to keep fighting until Iran is decisively defeated 17 replies
WASHINGTON (AP) — Gulf allies of the United States, led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, are urging President Donald Trump to continue prosecuting the war against Iran, arguing that Tehran hasn’t been weakened enough by the monthlong U.S.-led bombing campaign, according to U.S., Gulf and Israeli officials.
After private grumbling at the start of the war that they were not given adequate advance notice of the U.S.-Israeli attack and complaining the U.S. had ignored their warnings that the war would have devastating consequences for the entire region, some of the regional allies are making the case to the White House that the moment offers a historic opportunity
Pelosi's homeless project fails
17 replies
Nancy Pelosi hailed her latest boondoggle -- a project for the homeless -- as a “beacon of hope." Her stylish 92-unit residence appeared almost preordained to become another by-the-book scandal, squandering taxpayer money.
Inevitable. Foreseeable. Unsurprising -- if you’re going by the chronic lack of accountability for social projects in California. She unwittingly exposed a systemic failure -- one that this time ended in tragedy -- and helped produce an egregious headline in the the Wall Street Journal. “A Pelosi Model Is Now a San Francisco Scandal.”
As only TV personality and host Mike Rowe can, he embodied what makes America great. The American Dream is not just about a certain achievement like buying a home or being promoted to a particular vocation: It's about the opportunity to dream big and aspire to higher things — or just different ones.
Of course, Rowe's incredibly insightful commentary, which he posted to X on Sunday, was born from unfunny comedian Jimmy Kimmel's joke that maligned the fact that a plumber — that would be former plumber, former U.S. Senator from Oklahoma, and current Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin