Good afternoon and welcome to Markets Desk.
Iran has launched a six-day state funeral for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, nearly four months after his death, with ceremonies spanning both Iran and Iraq before a final burial in Mashhad. Senior regime figures, including the Revolutionary Guard's top general, have emerged publicly for the first time in months, signaling a carefully managed display of institutional continuity from a government that absorbed a devastating war.
That geopolitical uncertainty lands against a backdrop of already-stressed commodity markets. Gold has pulled back to around four thousand one hundred dollars an ounce after a four-month slide, though analysts point to persistent central bank accumulation and rising industrial demand for silver as potential catalysts for a second-half recovery. Precious metals remain a closely watched risk barometer heading into the back half of the year.
And a story that is drawing serious scrutiny from economists and governance scholars alike — White House financial disclosures reveal President Trump personally earned two point two billion dollars in two thousand twenty five, with roughly one point four billion tied to crypto assets. Legal experts are raising pointed questions about conflict of interest, describing it as an unprecedented blurring of executive power and personal financial gain.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
