Tensions are growing between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over diverging strategies on Iran and Gaza, NBC News reported Sunday. Once closely aligned, the leaders are at odds over military action and diplomacy in the Middle East. Netanyahu is pushing for strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, while Trump prefers negotiating a deal that might allow Iran to maintain civilian uranium enrichment. The disagreement has alarmed Israeli officials, who fear the US could finalize an agreement they believe leaves Iran’s nuclear capabilities intact. Trump has also halted US operations against Iranian-backed Houthis, further straining ties. Trump’s support for a Gaza ceasefire and plans to rebuild the strip clash with Israel’s ongoing offensive.
Trump said to receive $400M jet from Qatar
President Donald Trump is set to receive a Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from Qatar’s royal family, which will serve as Air Force One during his current term before transferring to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation in 2029, ABC News reported Sunday. The aircraft, dubbed a “palace in the sky,” is estimated to be worth $400 million and will be modified by the US Air Force to meet presidential standards. The unusual arrangement, approved by Trump administration lawyers, has been deemed legal under the emoluments clause since the plane is technically being donated to the government and later to the library. The move comes amid continued delays in Boeing’s new Air Force One fleet production. Trump has expressed frustration with the timeline, prompting him to explore alternative solutions, including this Qatari gift and Elon Musk’s involvement, to accelerate aircraft readiness.
NN: this deal sucks
Aramco Profit Drops With Weak Oil Signaling More Strain
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Saudi Aramco’s net income declined 4.6% to 97.5 billion riyals in the first quarter due to lower crude prices
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The company’s total dividend for the quarter fell to $21.36 billion, compared with $31 billion in the same three months of last year, which will add to the strain on the Saudi budget
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Brent contracts are trading near $64, significantly below the $92-level that the International Monetary Fund estimates the kingdom needs to balance its spending
Saudi Aramco reported a decline in profit in the first quarter as lower crude prices put pressure on the finances of the world’s biggest oil exporter. Net income slipped 4.6% to 97.5 billion riyals ($26 billion) in the quarter, according to a statement Sunday. Free cash flow again failed to cover the dividend despite the total payout being lower. Operating profit, which fell 5.3%, beat analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The numbers are another sign of the pressures on Aramco’s balance sheet. As part of a previously announced plan, the company earlier this year decided to cut its dividend for 2025 by about a third to $85 billion. While that helps ease some of the strain on Aramco, it lowers a key source of revenue for the Saudi government whose own finances are under increasing stress. Oil’s decline since April is likely to inflict more pain both on Aramco and the Saudi government despite the higher oil production. Over the past five weeks, Riyadh led the OPEC+ coalition through two bigger-than-scheduled supply hikes, which together with US President Donald Trump ’s trade war, briefly crashed oil futures to a four-year low below $60 a barrel in London.
Weak Oil Prices Pile Pressure on Aramco Earnings
The company’s total divided for the quarter fell to $21.36 billion, compared with $31 billion in the same three months of last year. That’s primarily because Aramco decided to vastly reduce the performance-linked component of the payout after completing the distribution of the bumper profits from 2022. The lower payout will add to the strain on the Saudi budget as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spends hundreds of billions of dollars to modernize the economy. That plan, which includes an entirely new city in the desert called Neom and a push into sports, has led to a widening deficit, with debt levels jumping by the most on record in the first quarter. The Saudi government and the kingdom’s main wealth fund together own over 97% of Aramco. Brent contracts are trading near $64, significantly below the $92-level that the International Monetary Fund estimates the kingdom needs to balance its spending. Aramco sold its crude at an average price of $76.30 a barrel in the first quarter, compared with $83 a year earlier, according to the statement. Trump is scheduled to tour the Middle East, arriving in Riyadh Tuesday and later visiting Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The president has called on OPEC+ to raise output and lower oil prices to control inflation and put pressure on Russia over its war in Ukraine.
NN: As a direct result of trashing oil prices Saudi debt levels are 11% of GDP this is the highest in the world. And the costs of insuring against debt default through swaps are soaring.
they are starting s fight they cannot win its called a bluff.
Macron: Russia to be hit with ‘massive’ sanctions if no ceasefire
French President Emmanuel Macron underlined on Saturday during a press conference that Russia will be hit with “massive [and] coordinated” sanctions if it refuses to accept and violates a 30-day ceasefire with Ukraine, which is supposed to begin on May 12. “In the event of a violation of this ceasefire, we agree that massive sanctions will be prepared and coordinated between Europeans and Americans,” he commented, adding that the United States would be primarily “monitoring compliance” with the truce. Meanwhile, United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that during a summit in Kiev, the European leaders agreed to act in “absolute unity.” On his end, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky remarked that the leaders agreed that there is a need to end the war in Ukraine “with dignity and peace.”
VDL: EU ready to maintain pressure on Russia
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Saturday in a post on X that the European Union supports the proposal for a “full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire” between Ukraine and Russia. She stressed that the truce must be implemented, underpinning that the “ball is now in Russia’s court,” and stressing that the bloc stands ready to “maintain strong pressure on Russia and impose further biting sanctions in the event of a breach of a ceasefire. “Her remarks come as European leaders gather in Ukraine.
US said to push Israel toward deal with Hamas……Hegseth supposedly cancels trip to Israel …… Trump meets Netanyahu aide ahead of Mideast trip……. Israel says it struck 60 sites in Gaza
The United States has put significant pressure on Israel to achieve a ceasefire and hostage exchange agreement with Hamas before President Donald Trump visits the Middle East or risk Washington’s further support, Haaretz reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. The sources also said that it was US Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff that Channel 12 reported as criticizing Israel for the way it approached the hostage situation. “If until today, the hostages paid the price for not ending the war, then today the price will be much heavier for Israel, and not only the hostages,” the official that Channel 12 cited said. The official, allegedly Witkoff, also slammed Israel for not using the potential nuclear deal between the US and Saudi Arabia to its advantage. Haaretz’s sources added that Witkoff wanted his words to be leaked to the press.
Hegseth supposedly cancels trip to Israel
United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth canceled his visit to Israel, the Jerusalem Post reported on Friday, citing a source familiar with the matter. He was expected to arrive in the country on May 12, although his trip was not confirmed by the Pentagon. The newspaper did not provide a reason for the supposed cancellation. According to a separate report by Haaretz, the US is now pushing Israel toward a deal with Hamas that would end the conflict in the Gaza Strip after Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich claimed Gaza will be “entirely destroyed.”
Trump meets Netanyahu aide ahead of Mideast trip
United States President Donald Trump held a private meeting Thursday at the White House with Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer (pictured right), a top adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Axios reported, citing two sources briefed on the meeting. The discussion focused on the conflict in Gaza and US nuclear talks with Iran, which are set to resume Sunday in Oman. The meeting came shortly after Trump announced a ceasefire with Yemen’s Houthis, reportedly catching Israeli officials off guard. “We were shocked… and learned about it from the television,” an Israeli official was cited as saying.
Trump is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) next week but will not stop in Israel.
Israel says it struck 60 sites in Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Friday it had struck around 60 targets across the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, including buildings that were reportedly used for storing weapons and positions from which missiles were fired. The operations involved air and ground forces, particularly in southern Gaza. According to the military, one person was shot near a tunnel shaft, and another airstrike hit a structure linked to projectile launches. The situation for Palestinians in Gaza remains dire, as international warnings persist over the severe humanitarian crisis, which has been described as a consequence of Israel’s genocidal actions.
NN: their is no negotiation with the hoouties, Hamzas, Hezbollah and their daddy iran. Their is only elimination.
American Cardinal Prevost becomes 267th pope……. Trump ‘looks forward’ to meeting new pope Leo XIV
The Vatican announced on Thursday that Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost had been elected the new pope. The announcement came around an hour after white smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel, signaling the swift conclusion of the 2025 conclave. The election was finalized roughly 24 hours after the College of Cardinals began deliberations. Cardinal Robert Prevost, an American missionary who devoted his career to serving in Peru, has been elected as the first American pope in the Catholic Church’s 2,000-year history. At 69 years old, he has taken the name Leo XIV.
Trump ‘looks forward’ to meeting new pope Leo XIV
US President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Thursday to express his anticipation to meet America’s first pontiff, Robert Francis Prevost, who will take the papal name Leo XIV. “Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope. It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!” he wrote.
Trump hails ‘great’ new UK trade deal as first of many
United States President Donald Trump officially announced on Thursday a new trade agreement with the United Kingdom, calling it “full and comprehensive” and the first in a series of major deals. Speaking from the Oval Office alongside Vice President JD Vance, Trump celebrated the accord as a milestone for transatlantic relations, noting it comes 80 years after the nations “won the war together.” President Trump also stressed that the administration is involved in many negotiations, affirming that “reciprocity and fairness are essential values in today’s world.” He emphasized the deal’s benefits for American exporters, highlighting increased access for US beef, ethanol, and other agricultural products, reduced non-tariff barriers, and faster customs processing. He praised both negotiating teams as “very talented” and said final details would be written in the coming weeks.
Trump announces ‘full’ UK trade deal reached
United States President Donald Trump announced the trade deal with the United Kingdom on Thursday, calling it “full and comprehensive,” and the first in a series of major new agreements. “This should be a very big and exciting day for the United States of America and the United Kingdom,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, confirming a press conference at the Oval Office at 10 a.m. local time. The leader praised the agreement as one that will “cement the relationship” between Washington and London, adding it was “a great honor” to have the United Kingdom as the first country featured in this new trade initiative. “Many other deals, which are in serious stages of negotiation, to follow,” he exclaimed.
Oil Rebounds on Signs of US Output Decline
Oil climbed from the lowest closing price in four years on signs that production from the US may contract in the months ahead.
West Texas Intermediate advanced 3.4% to settle above $59 a barrel after tumbling more than 9% during the past six sessions. Diamondback Energy Inc., the largest independent producer in the Permian Basin, trimmed its full-year production forecast and said it expects US shale production will drop in the coming months.
Declining US crude output would help ease the global oversupply that’s expected to form this year as OPEC and its allies bring back production at a faster-than-expected pace. Diamondback projects onshore oil rigs across the US industry will drop by almost 10% by the end of this quarter, and Chief Executive Officer Travis Stice wrote that American output is “at a tipping point.”
Meanwhile, the US cut its forecast for domestic oil production this year in a report developed prior to a weekend supply decision from OPEC and its allies, signaling that the pullback in expectations for American output is set to continue.
Oil has plunged this year as OPEC+ boosts supplies and US President Donald Trump’s trade war weighs on the outlook for demand. The cartel agreed over the weekend to a further supply boost starting in June, with Saudi Arabia warning of additional increases if overproducing members don’t fall in line.
“Given that Saudi Arabia’s preferred oil price range is near $90, its tolerance for prices around the $50 mark appears to be reaching its limit,” said Razan Hilal, a market analyst at Forex.com. “However, regaining market share through supply cut unwinds — particularly against non-OPEC producers — could help offset those losses.”
Trump said he was willing to lower tariffs on China at some point because the levies are so high that the two countries have essentially stopped doing business with each other. He added that there were no imminent plans to speak with President Xi Jinping, who is in Russia this week to showcase ties with counterpart Vladimir Putin.
Elsewhere, Oman’s foreign minister said in a social media post that the US and Iran-backed Houthis have agreed to a ceasefire in the Red Sea following tit-for-tat airport attacks in Israel and Yemen. Neither side has since confirmed. The renewed tensions come ahead of a fourth round of nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran.
Global benchmark Brent recently dipped into oversold territory on the nine-day relative strength index and pierced its lower Bollinger Bands, pointing to a market that has fallen too quickly. Chinese markets also reopened after a holiday
Trump says will make ‘earth-shattering’ announcement
United States President Donald Trump told reporters on Tuesday that he would be making an “earth-shattering” announcement in a couple of days, insisting that it won’t have anything to do with trade. “It’s not about trade, it’s about something else, but it’s going to be a truly earth-shattering and positive development for the people of this country,” he said. Trump first teased the “as big as it gets” announcement during his meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. This time, however, he made sure to dismiss any assumptions that the news would be trade-related. “That will take place sometime in the next few days,” Trump added without elaborating further.
NN{ always the showman. so stay tuned to Trumps daily presidential reality show update