Markets Plummet, Oil Soars: Global Economy in Crisis

0:00US stock markets took a brutal hit last week, dropping 3.6% over two days, the worst since Trump's tariff bombshell last April. The tech heavy NASDAQ plunged 4.3% on Thursday and Friday alone, now down over 10% since the Iran conflict kicked off. Officially in correction territory, bonds got hammered too, with yields spiking across the board. Oil prices have rocketed from around 70 bucks a barrel to 115, thanks to Iran, choking the straight of Hormuz, letting some friendly, tankers through for Iran tolls, but mostly slamming the brakes on global flows. Gasoline jumped from $2.98 to $3.98, diesel from $3.76 to $5.40. That's rippling into fertilizers, jet fuel, even aluminum supplies. Folks are freaking out over supply shocks fueling inflation and potential stack flation, hitting US drivers and factories hard. Europe, already limping on low growth, faces another energy nightmare like with Ukraine, while

1:02Asia gets squeezed even tighter on imports. Trump's trade wars were disruptive enough, now this war piles on the pain. Market smell blood, doubting Trump's team has a real plan beyond military wins, they misread Iran's obvious retaliation and can't find a clean exit, without looking weak. Investors dump assets for cash, bond yields leaped 63 basis points on two-year notes, and fed-rate cut bets dropped from two to just one. With hikes now on the table, word is Trump's market sensitive, and pressure indexes like Deutsche Banks are flashing red for a possible back down. If oil stays choked, expect global inflation spikes, higher rates, slower growth, and riskier debt piles, investors worldwide are bracing for the storm. This has been Sidney News Today, powered by AI, I'm Corey with The Story.