Job cuts in the United States observed a monthly slump of 205% and an annual one of 118% to reach 108,435 in January, Challenger, Gray & Christmas revealed in its report published on Thursday. The figure is the highest one registered for January since 2009, and the highest monthly one since last October. Most jobs, 31,243, were cut in transportation, followed by technology at 22,291, and healthcare at 17,107. Meanwhile, employers announced 5,306 hiring plans, the lowest number for the month since tracking began in 2009. “Generally, we see a high number of job cuts in the first quarter, but this is a high total for January. It means most of these plans were set at the end of 2025, signaling employers are less-than-optimistic about the outlook for 2026,” Challenger’s Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) Andy Challenger said.
Iran’s army warns US bases are within its reach
Iran’s military issued a warning to the United States on Thursday, stating that US bases in the region are vulnerable and within its operational reach. Army spokesman Amir Akraminia said US President Donald Trump “must choose between compromise or war.” Akraminia said the military is prepared for any scenario the “enemy” may choose, including war. He noted that alongside the new 1,000 drones, air defense systems have been upgraded and made operational. He warned that any war would spread across the region, targeting all US bases, from the occupied territories to the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. “Our access to US bases is easy, and this increases their vulnerability … This has been our message, and we have stated it repeatedly. Once again, we state decisively that we have full readiness to defend the country,” the spokesman stressed.
NN: Simple solution. Bomb the shit of Iran. Far easier to destroy missiles on the ground. Much harder to destroy them in the air. As far as US bases… Fly all the planes out of their. Move personal and bomb the shit of Iran.
Silver drops 14%, slides under $75
Silver prices fell sharply after a brief rally, sliding back into negative territory amid heightened market volatility. The metal, which had climbed above $90 hours ago, gaining more than 6%, lost momentum as it retreated more than 14% to trade below $75. Silver fell 14.86% to $74.47 at 9:59 pm ET, while spot gold lost 2.55% to go for $4,812.53 an ounce. At the same time, palladium dropped 2.18% to $1,704.21 and platinum plunged 3.60% to $2,149.66.
NN: The dip shits got dipped again. The bubble burst. Every rally back is a sell.
Silver fell sharply, wiping out a two-day recovery, as the white metal struggled to find a floor following a historic market rout. Gold also declined. Spot silver plunged as much as 17% on Thursday, having flickered briefly above $90 an ounce in early Asian trading. After a record-breaking rally that appeared to run too far, too fast, the metal has retreated by more than a third from an all-time high hit on Jan. 29. The sudden and sharp decline in precious metals also weighed on sentiment in base metals markets, with copper falling more than 1% to slip below $13,000 a ton. Meanwhile, spot gold dropped as much as 3.5% in choppy trading.
Precious metals soared last month in a rally underpinned by speculative momentum, geopolitical upheaval and concerns about the US central bank’s independence. That surge came to an abrupt halt at the end of last week, with silver seeing its biggest ever daily drop on Friday and gold plunging the most since 2013.
Investors had built up large positions in precious metals, and further fuel was added by heavy inflows into leveraged exchange-traded products and a wave of call-options buying. A sudden collapse during Asian trading hours on Friday continued into the early part of this week, before dip-buying supported prices in the last couple of sessions.
Gold prices are “likely to remain volatile until there is greater certainty on the monetary policy outlook,” Standard Chartered Plc analysts including Sudakshina Unnikrishnan said in a note. Some of this near-term volatility may result from investors redeeming their holdings in exchange-traded products, they said, but “structural drivers remain intact and we continue to expect a rebuild to the upside.” Silver has traditionally been more volatile than its more expensive cousin, owing to its smaller market size and lower liquidity. Even then, recent swings stand out for their scale and speed, with price moves magnified by heavy speculative inflows and thinner trading in the over-the-counter market.
NN: Silver prices at these new lower levels is a sick joke. Markets have a way of correcting stupidness. The dippers got their ass beat again in this most recent drop.
Iran says nuclear program ‘cannot be eliminated’……US, Iran said to call off nuclear talks
Iranian Army Commander Major General Amir Hatami (pictured) on Saturday declared that Iran’s nuclear program “cannot be eliminated” despite pressure from the United States, AFP reported. Hatami also warned that Iran’s forces remain prepared to respond to any attack. “The nuclear science and technology of the Islamic Republic of Iran cannot be eliminated, even if scientists and sons of this nation are martyred,” he said. His remarks followed comments from US President Donald Trump, who said he expected Tehran to seek an agreement to negotiate its nuclear status.
US, Iran said to call off nuclear talks
The US-Iran nuclear talks scheduled for Friday were canceled due to the Iranian side’s refusal to engage in non-nuclear issues, Axios reported on Wednesday, citing US officials. After US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that discussions with Iran must also address its ballistic missile program, backing for terror proxies, and suppression of rallies, Tehran rejected the suggestion, claiming that the discussions would solely be about its nuclear program. The parties had decided to meet in Istanbul on Friday, with observers from several Middle Eastern nations attending. However, the Iranians stated on Tuesday that they intended to relocate the discussions to Oman and hold them in a bilateral format to make sure they only addressed nuclear issues and not other topics like missiles that are important to the United States and other countries in the region.
NN: Talks will go nowhere. Its time ton get down to the nit cutting!
Iran demands changes in venue and scope of talks with US, source says
DUBAI/WASHINGTON, Feb 3 – Iran is demanding that talks with the U.S. this week be held in Oman not Turkey, and that the scope be narrowed to two-way talks on nuclear issues only, a regional source said on Tuesday, casting doubt on whether the meeting will go ahead as planned.
Iran’s effort to change the venue and agenda for the talks, currently scheduled for Friday in Istanbul, came amid heightened tensions as the U.S. builds up forces in the Middle East. Regional players have pushed for resolution of a standoff that has led to mutual threats of air strikes.
The U.S. military on Tuesday shot down an Iranian drone that “aggressively” approached the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea, the U.S. military said, in an incident first reported by Reuters.U.S. President Donald Trump said that with big U.S. warships heading to Iran, “bad things” would probably happen if a deal could not be reached.
“They want to change the format, they want to change the scope,” said the regional diplomat with knowledge of Iran’s demands. “They only want to discuss the nuclear file with the Americans while the U.S. wants to include other topics such as the (ballistic) missiles and the activities of Iran’s proxies in the region.” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Tuesday that talks with Iran were still scheduled to take place later this week. A source familiar with the situation said on Tuesday that Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner was due to take part in the talks, along with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi. Ministers from several other countries in the region were also expected to attend. An Iranian diplomatic source said earlier that Tehran’s view of the talks is neither optimistic nor pessimistic, adding that the Islamic Republic’s defensive capabilities are non-negotiable and that it is ready for any scenario. “It remains to be seen whether the United States also intends to conduct serious, results-oriented negotiations or not,” the source said.
Bitcoin drops 5% to below $75,000
Candle Stick Assholes
Bitcoin slid sharply on Tuesday, dipping 5% to under $75,000, and Ethereum lost over 7% as markets reacted to news that US President Donald Trump had selected Kevin Marsh to be the next Federal Reserve Chair. Warsh is widely seen as more comfortable with tighter policy than investors were expecting. Concurrently, investors were drawn to traditional safe-haven assets like gold and silver due to global uncertainty, making risk-sensitive assets like cryptocurrencies susceptible to selling.
At 1:13 pm ET, the world’s most famous cryptocurrency was trading at $74,592, down 5.18%, while Ether was priced at $2,172, reflecting a 7.37% drop.
Oil up by 2% on claims US has downed Iranian drone
The prices of oil futures jumped on Tuesday after it was reported that the United States has downed an Iranian drone in the Arabian Sea. According to a US official who allegedly spoke to Reuters, the military shot down an Iranian drone that came too near to USS Abraham Lincoln, a Navy aircraft carrier stationed in the Arabian Sea. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for March’s deliveries soared by 2.29% at 12:19 pm ET to $63.64 per barrel. A minute later, Brent for April’s settlements increased by 2.03% to $67.38 per barrel.
A US F-35C warplane shot down the drone in self-defense as the unmanned aircraft “aggressively approached” the USS Abraham Lincoln with “unclear intent,” US Central Command said in a statement on Tuesday. No American service members were harmed during the incident, and no US equipment was damaged, CentCom said. Oil prices spiked to a session-high on the report as investors weighed the risk of a broader escalation in the Middle East, which provides about a third of the world’s crude. The move came just hours after an oil tanker that’s part of a US-military fuel procurement program was hailed by small armed ships in the Strait of Hormuz off Iran’s coast, underscoring renewed risks to maritime traffic in the region. The drone incident comes after numerous threats from President Donald Trump about striking Iran over the suppression of recent protests there. It interrupts a flurry of diplomatic activity in recent days after Trump on Monday signaled there could be a new Iran nuclear deal, while warning that “bad things would happen” if talks don’t yield anything. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said the Islamic Republic is ready for diplomacy but urged restraint in “threats, intimidation or pressure” from the US. The White House declined to comment on the US shooting down the Iranian drone and referred questions to the Defense Department. “Continued Iranian harassment and threats in international waters and airspace will not be tolerated,” US Central Command said in its statement. “Iran’s unnecessary aggression near US forces, regional partners and commercial vessels increases risks of collision, miscalculation, and regional destabilization.”
China Silver Fund Revaluation Sparks 31% Drop
- UBS SDIC Fund Management Co. changed the valuation model for the UBS SDIC Silver Futures Fund LOF to track global futures prices, leading to a record drop in its net asset value.
- The change was made to “timely and fairly reflect the true value in assets” as the previous model could not fully reflect the fair value due to the 17% daily limit on the Shanghai Futures Exchange.
- The adjustment sparked an outcry among investors, who may incur an extra loss if they try to redeem the funds, with UBS SDIC stating that unadjusted valuation would be “against the principle of fairness”. UBS SDIC Fund Management Co. changed the valuation model for a $2.2 billion silver fund to more closely track global futures prices, triggering a record drop in its net asset value and outcry among investors already bruised by a precious metals slump. The UBS SDIC Silver Futures Fund LOF will be valued based on prices in silver futures on major global markets instead of those listed at the Shanghai Futures Exchange, according to statements from UBS SDIC. The change, which came into effect on Monday, led to a record 31.5% drop in the product’s net asset value. UBS SDIC, a joint venture between the Swiss bank and a unit of State Development and Investment Group Co., said in a statement that it strives “to timely and fairly reflect the true value in assets.” Last month’s rally in precious metals came to a halt on Friday when spot silver prices plunged more than 25%. Investors had been piling into commodities amid renewed concerns about geopolitical upheaval and threats to the US Federal Reserve’s independence. The LOF fund mainly invests in silver futures listed on the Shanghai bourse, which are bound by a 17% daily limit, while global futures markets have no price caps.
The drop marks one of the sharpest single-day declines for Chinese mutual funds. The adjustment came as silver futures on the Comex tumbled 32.7% in the prior two sessions as a frenzied rally, partly fueled by Chinese speculators, ground to a halt. It has also sparked an outcry on social media. Any investor who tried to redeem the funds late Monday would incur an extra loss with the revaluation.
UBS SDIC said the recent market upheaval, with global futures price declines far exceeding the 17% limit, meant the fund’s net asset value can’t fully and timely reflect the fair value in its underlying assets under the previous model, according to a statement on its public WeChat account. It will resume referencing the silver settlement prices in Shanghai for valuation once the underlying futures contracts “reflect the characteristics of active trading markets.” Unadjusted valuation would allow investors that redeem at an earlier time to exit at an inflated net asset value, and expose remaining investors to the risk of asset prices returning to their true value, which the firm said is “obviously against the principle of fairness.” After precious metals from gold to silver unraveled last week the Shanghai Futures Exchange on Monday urged member institutions to beef up risk management and to remind investors to participate rationally.
NN: The loses have not been calculated never mind disclosed… yet. Sell the dippers rally. I’ll be publishing on this during todays trade day
Precious metals rebound, gold jumps 4%….. Silver soars 7%, back above $86
Prices of precious metals rose on Tuesday, rebounding from yesterday’s losses, with gold soaring by more than 4%. Markets still reeled from last week’s volatile sessions that brought both gold and silver to their all-time highs amid tensions between the United States and Iran, after which the metals turned to losses as those tensions slightly subsided and as US President Donald Trump nominated former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh for the position of the central bank’s new chair.
Gold jumped 4.66% to $4,870.08 per ounce at 1:27 am ET, while silver surged by 6.29% to $84.97 per ounce at the same time. A minute later, platinum rose by 1.41% to $2,161.77 per ounce, and palladium climbed by 1.87% to $1,714.49 per ounce at 1:28 am ET.
NN: This is the relief rally back. Soon the next downward wave will come.
Silver soars 7%, back above $86
The price of silver continued to rise on Tuesday, soaring by more than 7%, as it recovered from drastic losses after nosediving by more than 35% last Friday, when it observed the largest single-day decline since 1980. Silver surged by 7.8% to $86.18 per ounce at 2:24 am ET, while gold rose by 5.14% to $4,891.80 per ounce a minute later. Meanwhile, platinum advanced by 3.76% to $2,211.63 per ounce at 2:26 am ET, and palladium jumped by 6.2% to $1,787.42 per ounce at the same time.
Oil Plunges as Iran Risks Ease and Commodities Selloff Deepens
Oil plunged as geopolitical risk premiums faded after US President Donald Trump said Washington is talking with Iran, while a broader commodities selloff exacerbated the slide. Brent plummeted more than 5% at one point and was trading near $66 a barrel, while US crude futures also nosedived. Trump downplayed Iran supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s threats of a regional war over the weekend, reiterating he’s hopeful they’ll make a deal. The Islamic Republic’s foreign ministry said it hopes diplomatic efforts will avert a war. The Tasnim news agency said talks between the US and Iran are likely in the coming days. “The move lower looks more like a positioning reset than a fundamental shift,” said Haris Khurshid, chief investment officer at Karobaar Capital LP. “With no new supply shock, oil is giving back some risk premium as the market recalibrates after pricing in near-term disruption that just didn’t materialize.”
Crude was also hit as commodities — particularly metals — came under intense selling pressure. Gold fell as much as 10% and copper at one point dropped more than 5% as they continued a retreat that started on Friday. The precipitous drop comes on the back of oil’s biggest monthly increase since early 2022, supported by broad-based flows into commodities during the same period. The prospect of conflict with Iran and pockets of supply disruption led to a surprisingly tight first month of the year. Still, the wider backdrop is one of elevated supplies, particularly in the first half of 2026. At current prices, the sharp reversal will trigger selling from trend-following commodity trading advisors, according to James Taylor, head of the quant service at consultant Energy Aspects. More selling would come if Brent falls below $65 a barrel, he added, noting that large levels of options open interest could also exacerbate price swings. Rapid shifts in financial flows have amplified the moves in oil prices so far this year. Traders began the year with bumper short positions that have quickly reversed after weeks of geopolitical tumult