“The petrodollar, per Grok, refers to U.S. dollars earned by oil-exporting countries (primarily OPEC members, plus others like Russia and Norway) from crude oil exports. It is not a separate currency but simply dollars received in payment for oil. The term also describes the broader petrodollar system: the longstanding global practice of pricing and trading most international oil in U.S. dollars, which creates sustained worldwide demand for the dollar. … The decision by the West to freeze Russia’s foreign reserves (including US dollars and US Treasury bonds) was the first nail in the coffin for the dollar, obliging sovereign countries to favour stateless assets such as gold. The decision by the US to join Israel in military adventuring against Iran will likely prove the first nail in the coffin for the petrodollar (and similarly boost prospects for the likes of gold over the medium term).” (04/02/26)
“A German artist who created carnival displays mocking Russian President Vladimir Putin was sentenced in absentia on Thursday to 8 1/2 years in prison by a court In Moscow. Jacques Tilly was convicted on charges of spreading false information about the Russian military and insulting religious feelings. Carnival parades in Germany are famed for their floats mocking a wide variety of domestic and global political figures, and Putin has frequently been a target. Tilly, 62, has been designing and building floats for Düsseldorf’s Carnival parade — one of Germany’s best-known — since 1984. In recent years, his designs have depicted Putin scrubbing himself in a bathtub filled with blood and painted in the colors of the Ukraine flag, while another featured a red-faced Putin biting into Ukraine, which was decorated with the words ‘Choke on it!'” (04/02/26)
“Average US mortgage rates climbed again for the fifth week in a row, making homebuying more expensive than it was just a few weeks ago, before the outbreak of war with Iran. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 6.46% this week, jumping from 6.38% the previous week and reaching the highest level in seven months, according to Freddie Mac. The rise may be unwelcome news for those hoping to buy a home this spring, typically the busiest time of year for the housing market. During the last week of February, before the US-Israeli attack on Iran, the average 30-year mortgage rate was 5.98%.” (04/02/26)
“The anarchist ‘movement’ (if we could apply such a concept to a decentralized group) was the beginning of modern global terrorism. The idea that killing, bombing, were a tactic to bring adversaries to the negotiating table, in the age of mass media, was a novel concept, in the late nineteenth century. It would be a model followed by various political sects to come. But anarchists did not want negotiations.” (04/02/26)
“The Trump administration is preparing to impose new tariffs on [American buyers of] branded drugs from pharmaceutical companies that have not struck landmark deals with the president to lower their U.S. drug prices, CNBC has learned. [American buyers of] Patented medications and their active ingredients would be hit with a 100% tariff, according to a draft of the document obtained by CNBC. But there are pathways for drugmakers to reduce or avoid the levies [on American buyers] if they move their manufacturing to the U.S. or are negotiating deals with the administration. … The plan would represent another shift in Trump’s aggressive trade strategy, more than a month after the Supreme Court struck down the global levies he imposed in 2025, which excluded the pharmaceutical industry.” (04/02/26)
