Good evening, this is Markets Desk with the stories moving the needle tonight.
President Trump signed sweeping sanctions legislation targeting Russia's war machine, threatening up to one hundred percent tariffs on the top five importers of Russian oil or gas. The bill, a final legacy item for the late Senator Lindsey Graham, puts real economic pressure on Moscow and signals Washington is tightening the financial vice on energy flows sustaining the conflict.
That energy angle connects directly to the Strait of Hormuz, where U.S. Central Command reports American forces have facilitated the transit of one billion barrels of oil over the past two months while Iran has exported zero. Saudi Arabia issued emergency aerial threat alerts overnight, including the first in Riyadh in years, underscoring just how live the risk premium in that corridor remains for global supply chains.
Shifting to domestic fiscal policy, six Nobel Prize-winning economists are throwing their weight behind California's Proposition forty, a ballot measure imposing a one-time five percent wealth tax on residents worth more than one billion dollars. The laureates argue it could kickstart a global movement reaching the federal government and other nations, though critics warn capital flight could blunt any revenue gains.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
