Syz the moment

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Source: Not Jerome Powell

Persian Gulf-Japan tanker rates hit $55k/day, the highest in over a year, while East Africa routes hit $40k, a multi-month peak. Costs doubled in 2 weeks amid the Israel-Iran conflict.

‼️ Oil prices edged higher on Thursday to their highest in more than two months, after U.S. President Donald Trump said U.S. personnel were being moved out of the Middle East, which raised fear that escalating tensions with Iran could disrupt supply. ➡️ Trump on Wednesday said U.S. personnel were being moved out of the Middle East because “it could be a dangerous place,” adding that the United States would not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon. ⚠️ Reuters reported earlier on Wednesday that the U.S. is preparing a partial evacuation of its Iraqi embassy and will allow military dependents to leave locations around the Middle East due to heightened security risks in the region, according to U.S. and Iraqi sources.

• Massive 5 GW AI campus planned for Abu Dhabi • 200 MW AI cluster set to launch in 2026 • Oracle, SoftBank, and Cisco onboard to help build out the datacenter infrastructure Source: Stocktwits

➡️ Boeing and GE Aerospace Deal: The centerpiece of the agreements is a $96 billion deal with Qatar Airways for the purchase of up to 210 Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 777X aircraft, powered by GE Aerospace engines. This is described as the largest widebody aircraft order in Boeing’s history, expected to support approximately 154,000 U.S. jobs annually during production and delivery. ➡️ Defense and Security Investments: The deal includes a statement of intent for $38 billion in future investments in Qatar’s Al Udeid Air Base, as well as other air defense and maritime security capabilities, strengthening U.S.-Qatar security cooperation. ➡️ Other Commercial Agreements: Additional private sector deals include: McDermott’s $8.5 billion in energy infrastructure projects in Qatar. Parsons securing 30 projects worth up to $97 billion for engineering services. A joint venture between Quantinuum and Al Rabban Capital for up to $1 billion in quantum technologies and workforce development in the U.S.

▶️ Nvidia shares rose on Wednesday on a report that the Trump administration plans to revise a set of chip trade restrictions called the “AI diffusion” rule. ▶️ The rule, which was proposed in the last days of the Biden administration, organizes countries into three different tiers, all of which have different restrictions on whether advanced AI chips like those made by Nvidia, AMD, and Intel can be shipped to the country without a license. ▶️ The Trump administration plans to rescind the rule, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. The chip restrictions were scheduled to take effect on May 15. ▶️ Nvidia had no comment on the reported move by the Trump administration. ▶️ Chipmakers including Nvidia and AMD have been against the rule. AMD CEO Lisa Su told CNBC on Wednesday that the U.S. should strike a balance between restricting access to chips for national security and providing access, which will boost the American chip industry. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said earlier this week that being locked out of the Chinese AI market would be a “tremendous loss.” 🔴 However, this is more about Middle East than China. Indeed, the changes are taking shape as Trump readies for a trip to the Middle East, where a number of nations including Saudi Arabia and the UAE have bristled at restrictions on their ability to acquire AI chips. Source: Shay Boloor, CNBC

That's already well over half of the $27 bn the government had budgeted for the entire year. Oil averaged $75 in the first quarter of 2025 -- it's now near $60 Source: Ziad Daoud @ZiadMDaoud, Bloomberg