United States President Donald Trump warned on Monday that any future Houthi attacks would be considered direct Iranian aggression and met with severe retaliation. “Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon, from this point forward, as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN, and IRAN will be held responsible and suffer the consequences, and those consequences will be dire!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. The message follows what Trump defined as a “powerful” and “decisive” military strike against the Houthis in Yemen due to their involvement in the Middle East conflict by disrupting global shipping. For its part, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) answered that Iran would respond to any attacks from the US.
China’s retail sales increase by 4% in January-February…. They are BACK
Retail trade in China recorded a 4% yearly increase in the first two months of 2025, matching expectations and coming in higher than December’s 3.7%, according to the latest report by the National Bureau of Statistics published on Monday. Retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas rose by 3.8% year-on-year and retail sales of consumer goods in rural areas went up by 4.6%. Catering increased by 4.3% on a yearly basis, while online retail sales went up by 7.3% year on year. “In February, the total retail sales of consumer goods grew by 0.35% compared with that of the previous month,” the bureau said.
nn: well that put a end to the self-serving myth that China oil demand is faltering
Oil up on US attacks on Houthis
The price of crude oil futures rose by more than 1% on Monday after the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) reported it is continuing with its attacks on the “Iran-backed” rebel group Houthis in Yemen. Investors also focused on the potential 30-day ceasefire deal with Ukraine and Russia ahead of the conversation between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, which is set to take place tomorrow. West Texas Intermediate for deliveries in April increased by 1.10% at 5:31 am ET, selling for $67.92 per barrel. Meanwhile, Brent for settlements in May climbed by 1.11% at 5:33 am ET to trade for $71.36 per barrel.
nn: like i said the savages have not been caged nor tamed
An IDF strike kills 6 terrorists in Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday detailed the identities of six Palestinian terror operatives it said were killed in airstrikes in northern Gaza’s Beit Lahiya a day earlier, including a terrorist who participated in the October 7, 2023, onslaught. According to Palestinian media, the strikes killed nine, including journalists. The IDF said that a first strike targeted two operatives using a drone for the purpose of attacks on troops in Gaza. A second strike was carried out against another group of operatives who picked up the drone equipment, according to the military. The IDF said the strikes killed “several terrorists, including terrorists who were operating under the guise of journalists.” “Based on intelligence information regarding the terror activity in the area, it was determined that the drone was in constant use by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad organization, including during its use [on Saturday],” the IDF said. They were named by the IDF as: Mustafa Mohammed Shaaban Hamed, a Hamas terrorist who invaded Israel on October 7, 2023; Mahmoud Yahya Rashdi as-Saraj, a member of Hamas’s engineering forces; Bilal Mahmood Fuad Abu Matar, a Hamas operative operating under the guise of a photographer; Mahmoud Imad Hassan Isleem, a member of Hamas’s Zeitoun Battalion, operating under the guise of a journalist; Suheib Bassem Khaled Najar, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative who was released in the recent hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas; and Mohammed Alaa Suhbi al-Jafir, a Hamas operative. Separately, two Hezbollah operatives were killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon earlier Sunday, the military said. According to the IDF, the pair were carrying out surveillance on the border and were involved in advancing attacks on Israel from the Yater and Mays al-Jabal area. “The terrorists’ activities constitute a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the military said. The strikes in Lebanon and Gaza come amid ceasefires on both war fronts, but Israel has said it will continue to act against terror operatives who are in breach of the truces and who pose a threat to its forces.
WH: Multiple Houthi leaders eliminated in US strikes…. This is a warning to Iran
The U.S. airstrikes that bombarded Yemen on Saturday targeted and “took out” multiple leaders of the Iranian-backed Houthis, White House national security adviser Mike Waltz said Sunday. Speaking on ABC’s “This Week,” Waltz argued to co-anchor Martha Raddatz that these latest strikes differ from the countless strikes the Biden administration launched against the rebel group, which the Trump administration has designated a foreign terrorist organization. “These were not kind of pinprick, back and forth — what ultimately proved to be feckless attacks,” Waltz said. “This was an overwhelming response that actually targeted multiple Houthi leaders and took them out. And the difference here is, one, going after the Houthi leadership, and two, holding Iran responsible. Waltz accused Iran of helping the Houthis attack U.S. warships and global commerce. Some 70% of global commerce is now diverting around South Africa to avoid the Houthis, resulting in higher shipping costs and supply chain issues, Waltz said. “President Trump has found it unacceptable. What we inherited was — was a terrible situation, and this is one of what will be a sustained effort to right that wrong and to reopen global commerce,” Waltz said. A source told ABC News Saturday that the strikes are not expected to be a single day event. On social media, President Donald Trump warned the Houthis that if their attacks do not stop, “HELL WILL RAIN DOWN UPON YOU LIKE NOTHING YOU HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE!”
Trump also issued a warning to Iran, calling on the Islamic Republic to stop supporting the Houthis, and adding: “Do NOT threaten the American People, their President… or Worldwide shipping lanes. If you do, BEWARE, because America will hold you fully accountable and, we won’t be nice about it!”
“Well, all actions are always on the table with the president. But Iran needs to hear him loud and clear. It is completely unacceptable and it will be stopped. The level of support that they’ve been providing the Houthis, just like they have Hezbollah, just like they have the militias in Iraq, Hamas and others. The difference here is the Houthis have incredibly sophisticated air defenses, and they also have anti-shipping cruise missiles, drones, sea skimming types of attack drones and other ballistic missiles even. They’ve launched dozens of attacks on multiple war ships, dozens of attacks, over 175 on global commerce, sank multiple ships. … We will hold not only the Houthis accountable, but we’re going to hold Iran, their backers, accountable as well. And if that means they’re targeting ships that they have put in to — to help their Iranian trainers, IRGC and others, that intelligence, other things that they have put in to help the Houthis attack the global economy, those — those targets will be on the table, too.” “What the president has completely — has repeatedly said is that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. All options are on the table to ensure it does not have one. And that’s all aspects of Iran’s program. That’s the missiles, the weaponization, the enrichment. They can either hand it over and give it up in a way that is verifiable, or they can face a whole series of other consequences. But, either way, we cannot have a world with the ayatollahs with their finger on the nuclear button. We cannot have a situation that would result in an arms race across the Middle East in terms of nuclear proliferation. … Iran has been offered a way out of this to make sure that we don’t have a world that can be threatened by a radical regime, not only our ally Israel, but the entire world that would be threated with a – with – by a radical regime that could destroy, not only Israel, but its neighbors, and have the capability to hit the United States.”
US launches serous wave of air strikes on Yemen’s Houthis…. this is a serous escalation
The US has launched a “decisive and powerful” wave of air strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen, President Donald Trump has said, citing the group’s attacks on shipping in the Red Sea as the reason. “Funded by Iran, the Houthi thugs have fired missiles at US aircraft, and targeted our Troops and Allies,” Trump said on social media, adding that their “piracy, violence, and terrorism” had cost “billions” and put lives at risk. The Houthi-run health ministry said at least 31 people were killed and 101 others were injured in the strikes. The group later said it would continue to target Red Sea shipping until Israel lifted its blockade of Gaza, and that its forces would respond to the strikes. The Houthis reported a series of explosions on Saturday evening in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, and in the northern province of Saada – the rebels’ stronghold on the border with Saudi Arabia. The Iranian-backed rebel group, which considers Israel its enemy, controls Sanaa and the north-west of Yemen, but it is not the country’s internationally-recognised government. Unverified images show plumes of black smoke over the area of Sanaa’s airport – which includes a military facility. In a statement, the Houthis blamed the US and the UK for “wicked” aggression targeting residential areas in Sanaa. The UK did not participate in Saturday’s US strikes against the Houthi targets but it did provide routine refuelling support for the US. The Houthis have said they are acting in support of the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and have claimed – often falsely – that they are targeting ships only linked to Israel, the US or the UK. Since November 2023, the Houthis have targeted dozens of merchant vessels with missiles, drones and small boat attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. They have sunk two vessels, seized a third, and killed four crew members.
These attacks, Trump said, “will not be tolerated”.
He added: “We will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective.” The Houthis have not been deterred by the deployment of Western warships to protect merchant vessels, or by multiple rounds of US and British air strikes on its military targets. Israel has also carried out air strikes against the Houthis since July, in retaliation to the 400 missiles and drones that the Israeli military said had been launched at the country from Yemen, most of which were shot down. Major shipping companies have been forced to stop using the Red Sea – through which almost 15% of global seaborne trade usually passes – and use a much longer route around southern Africa instead. Trump said that it had been more than a year since a US-flagged ship had sailed safely through the Suez Canal – which the Red Sea leads to – and four months since a US warship had been through the body of water between east Africa and the Arabian peninsula. The Suez Canal is the quickest sea route between Asia and Europe, and is particularly important in the transportation of oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Addressing the Houthis directly, Trump wrote that if they did not stop, “HELL WILL RAIN DOWN UPON YOU LIKE NOTHING YOU HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE”.
But the Houthis were unwavering in their response, saying the aggression would not diminish their support for Palestinians. “This aggression will not go without response and our Yemeni armed forces are ready to answer escalation with further escalation,” the group said. Trump urged Iran to cease its support for the Houthis, warning that Washington would hold Tehran “fully accountable and, we won’t be nice about it”. He also accused the previous White House administration, under Joe Biden, of being “pathetically weak” and allowing the “unrestrained Houthis” to keep going. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the US government had “no authority, or business, dictating Iranian foreign policy”. End support for Israeli genocide and terrorism,” he posted on X on Sunday. “Stop killing of Yemeni people.”
nn this is a serious escalation. peace? Try peace of Houthis and Iranian ass
Israel allegedly doesn’t see Hamas accepting US ceasefire proposal
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s aids do not expect Hamas to accept a Gaza ceasefire proposal put forth by United States Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel on Sunday.
“It’s not going to happen,” the official ensured, adding that “everyone is well aware of this.”
He further said that “the goal is to get more than just American hostages out because that’s not acceptable in Israel,” after Hamas offered to release a US hostage soldier and return the bodies of four slain American-Israeli captives.
The official emphasized that Israel is preparing to return to war if Hamas does not agree to free hostages who are not US citizens.
US consumer sentiment plunges
WASHINGTON, March 14 (Reuters) – U.S. consumer sentiment plunged to a nearly 2-1/2-year low in March and inflation expectations soared amid worries that President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, which have ignited a trade war, would boost prices and undercut the economy.
The deterioration in sentiment and inflation expectations reported by the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers on Friday was across political party affiliation, with consumers saying “frequent gyrations in economic policies make it very difficult for consumers to plan for the future.” That mirrors similar concerns in some business surveys. The uncertainty created by Trump’s on- and off-again tariffs as well as an escalation in trade tensions risks derailing the economic expansion. Fears of higher prices, which drove consumers’ long-term inflation expectations to levels last seen in early 1993, create a challenge for Federal Reserve officials as they consider the next steps for monetary policy. “The jury is back and the verdict is in. Trump 2.0 policies are harming the economy and the future prosperity of America,” said Christopher Rupkey, chief economist at FWDBONDS. “The consumer is frightened and sees sharply higher prices ahead despite the assurances from Washington that trade tariffs are good for the economy.”
The University of Michigan said its Consumer Sentiment Index dropped to 57.9, the lowest level since November 2022, from a final reading of 64.7 in February. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the index falling to 63.1.
The index has erased all the gains posted in the aftermath of Trump’s election victory in November. The weakness in sentiment this month reflected a deterioration in expectations for the future across multiple facets of the economy, including personal finances, employment, inflation, business conditions and the stock market.
Republicans recorded a 10% drop in their expectations index, while Independents saw a 12% decrease. Expectations among Democrats tumbled 24%.
“Consumers from all three political affiliations are in agreement that the outlook has weakened since February,” said Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu.
nn: this is a disaster and confirms the coming recession and stock market crash
Trump orders ‘powerful’ strikes against Yemen’s Houthis
United States President Donald Trump announced he ordered “powerful” and “decisive’ military strikes against the Houthis in Yemen, describing them as a terrorist threat that has disrupted global shipping. Trump blamed previous inaction for allowing the attacks to continue, stating, “It has been over a year since a US-flagged commercial ship safely sailed through the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, or the Gulf of Aden.” Trump vowed to restore maritime security, saying no force would block US ships from international waters. The US president warned the Houthis to halt their assaults immediately or face severe consequences. “YOUR TIME IS UP, AND YOUR ATTACKS MUST STOP, STARTING TODAY,” he declared. Trump also demanded that Iran stop supporting the Houthis, warning that Washington intends to hold Tehran “fully accountable” and that his administration “won’t be nice about it.”
nn: No peace in the valley today
Key Market Indicator Warning About A Stocks Market Ceash
A century-old indicator that has helped predict the direction of the US stock market is signaling more pain ahead for battered investors. Known as the Dow Theory, it holds that moves in the Dow Jones Industrial Average must be confirmed by transport stocks, and vice versa, to be sustained.
As of Thursday’s close, the 20-member Dow Jones Transportation Average — a barometer of consumer and industrial demand — has slumped 19% from its November peak, teetering near so-called bear-market territory. Taken together with the 9.3% slump in the Dow Jones Industrial Average from its December record, the indicator is flashing a worrisome sign for the broader stock market, which has been hammered in recent days by deepening concerns over the economy and the Trump administration’s aggressive stance on tariffs.
“As a risk barometer check, that’s not a great backdrop for the overall market,” said Todd Sohn, managing director of ETF and technical strategy, at Strategas Securities. The weakness in the two Dow indexes highlights how bearish signals are starting to come in fast from different corners of the market, he added, noting steep declines in homebuilders, chipmakers and industrials
Dow transports index heading for worst week since September 2022
For some time now, investors have been concerned about the toll that an uncertain macroeconomic environment can take on businesses and consumers. Those worries came to the forefront over the past week as several airlines and retailers released cautious outlooks, citing weak demand.
“The animal spirits created after the presidential election appear to have given way to increased pessimism about the impact tariffs could have on inflation and economic activity in the US,” Bloomberg Intelligence’s senior analyst Lee Klaskow wrote in a note this week. The broad stock market has slumped into a correction, the plunge in transportation stocks — with the index on track for its worst weekly decline since September 2022 — points to bigger troubles ahead.
For technical strategists, these two indexes declining indicates that it’s time to sell. Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist at LPL Financial, noted that the current selloff has pushed the Dow Jones Transportation Average below its 2024 lows, a key level for technicians.
“To make matters worse, its Dow Theory cousin — the Dow Jones Industrial Average — has also rolled over and violated the pullback lows from January, checking the box for a sell signal as the averages confirm the primary trend of the market is no longer higher,” he said.