Defense stocks in focus after U.S. strikes on Iran: Here's what to know
CNBC's Morgan Brennan to discuss the aerospace and defense sector following Washington's surprise attack against Iranian nuclear sites.
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Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Live updates: ‘Fighting Oligarchy' tour brings Bernie Sanders to Fort Worth
Bernie Sanders and his 'Fighting Oligarchy: Where We Go From Here' national tour has made targeted stops in deep-red congressional districts held by Republicans. Today's stop? Dickies Arena in Fort Worth. The independent senator from Vermont said his tour highlights the country's move toward authoritarianism and the increasingly large role billionaires and big corporations play on Capitol Hill. U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, a Democrat from Austin, and former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, a Democrat from El Paso, were among those speaking. At least 3,000 North Texans joined labor leaders in chants of 'What kind of power? People power,' as the crowd prepared for the entrance of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Sanders is appearing in Fort Worth just short of 24 hours after President Donald Trump launched a series of airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear facility sites. News of the strikes came to Sanders last night while he was onstage at another Fighting Oligarchy rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Sanders did not appear at an earlier event in Amarillo due to security meetings about the strikes, according to Amarillo's KAMR. IAM Union President Brian Bryant, the union representing Fort Worth Lockheed Martin workers, said he is worried the country is headed toward being controlled by an oligarchy, whether citizens realize it or not. He said the issues Sanders is highlighting are ones that resonate with all workers across the United States. 'It's an issue that our members, regardless of what party they affiliate themselves with, they can connect with this because even though they may have voted for the Trump administration, they're sensing that they are being left behind with the legislation he's passing,' Bryant said. 'It's not what they envisioned. It wasn't going to be they thought he was going to be pro-worker. He hasn't done anything that's pro-worker.' Though the union has made efforts to reach out to the Trump administration to raise questions about legislation being passed, Bryant said 'no one's listening.' 'Huge tax breaks for billionaires, and they're not doing anything to help the economy for the working people,' Bryant said. 'None of his executive orders, none of the bills that Congress has passed, they do nothing to go towards the heart of what the issue is that working people are still hurting.' Bryant said he is glad to be representing IAM Union at the Fighting Oligarchy Tour because Sanders is standing up for the workers Trump is leaving behind. 'We aren't just taking punches anymore, we're throwing them too,' Texas Democratic Party Chair Kendall Scudder said as the crowd erupted in cheers. Scudder said it's high time to flip Texas and start actually representing the people instead of allowing Republicans to 'rig the game.' O'Rourke described a world where workers only have to work one job and money is not being funneled into billionaire's pockets. A world where the president does not stage an 'illegal war' on Iran and where veterans receive the benefits they are promised. 'But to realize this picture, we need action from all of us, and we need it right now,' O'Rourke said. 'If you see a protest, please show up and join it. If you don't see one, start on your own. This stuff is breaking through. It's changing public perception. It's applying political pressure on those in these positions of public trust, and we need more of it.' Casar said Trump's playbook is based on dividing people. 'He would try to play native born workers against immigrant workers, black against white, against Brown, have us fight each other so the rich could get richer.' The only way to beat the playbook every time, Casar said, is to stick together and stand in union. On stage, O'Rourke called out Republicans on the Tarrant County Commissioners Court for their mid-decade redistricting that some residents call racial gerrymandering. He said the act was one that would draw Precinct 2 Commissioner Alisa Simmons out of her seat — something Republicans on the court have been transparent about. O'Rourke told the Star-Telegram that redrawing lines to ensure political gain is human nature and that both parties do it while in power. The only way to fight it, he said, is to vote. 'So you have to guard against human nature, and that requires you know the people, the voters of Tarrant County, rejecting this, and even within newly drawn districts, making sure that there's a political consequence for those who tried to thwart the will of the voters.' As goes Tarrant County, so goes Texas, O'Rourke believes. With none of the 13 conservative-backed candidates winning in Tarrant County municipal elections, O'Rourke said it's a good sign for the midterm elections, but progressive candidates aren't out of the woods yet. He said voters are rejecting fascism and authoritarianism, no matter what political party is associated with it. 'It's just, do you believe in the Constitution? Do you believe in the rule of law? Do you believe that people should be treated with dignity and respect?' O'Rourke said. 'Those are so fundamental and so basic, and I'm so encouraged that so many Americans are responding to these challenges and these choices at school board level, at the city council, at the commissioners court level across the state, in a very, very positive way.' O'Rourke, who lost to Gov. Greg Abbott in 2022 in the race for Texas Governor by about 10 percentage points, said he will stop speaking out politically when the problems Texans are facing solved. 'Everything that I was concerned about as a member of Congress, everything I was concerned about as a candidate, I'm still concerned about today,' O'Rourke said. 'You can't get rid of me, whether I'm a candidate or not, I'm going to be out here doing the work.' At the heart of the issues in America's political climate, Sanders said, is an immense concentration of wealth among a select few corporations and people. 'The bottom line is that today, the people on top have never, ever been better,' Sanders said to the crowd of over 6,500. The Vermont senator recalled sitting at Trump's inauguration earlier this year, where Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos sat near the president. Behind them, he said, were a dozen more billionaires, all of whom are reaping more rewards in U.S. politics than ever before. Trump is not being slick about lining their pockets, Sanders said. 'If you recall, right behind him, plain vision for the world to see, were the three wealthiest people in our country,' Sanders said. Throughout the night, O'Rourke, Casar and Sanders repeatedly decried this weekend's strikes in Iran as a blatantly unconstitutional effort to involve the United States in another 'forever war.' Sanders said the vast majority of Democrats understand what is happening and plan to act against the president. 'Whether you want to go to war in Iran or argue against, it just so happens, the President of the United States doesn't have the authority to do that,' Sanders said. 'Read the Constitution of the United States. It is Congress that has that authority. And I would hope that this week, we will force that resolution, War Powers Act, onto the floor and force people to vote.' Sanders said he doesn't accept states as being solely red or blue, he instead sees hard workers who have the same goals, needs and the same vision. 'This is not Democrat, Republican or independent,' Sanders said. 'I think it is criminal that in the richest country on Earth, we have so much income and wealth inequality that 60% of our people are living paycheck to paycheck. We're the only major country not to guarantee health care to all people. And all of this is related to money in politics.' The bottom line of his tour across America, Sanders said, is that citizens need to get involved politically. 'I would urge people, in any way that they find comfortable, to stand up to the oligarchy,' Sanders said. 'Because what you have now is a small number of people who are incredibly greedy.'
CNBC
42 minutes ago
- CNBC
Why global markets are brushing off U.S. strikes on Iran
The U.S. joining the war between Israel and Iran might seem like a geopolitical flashpoint that would send markets tumbling. Instead, investors are largely shrugging off the escalation, with many strategists believing the conflict to be contained — and even bullish for some risk assets. As of 1 p.m. Singapore time, the MSCI World index, which tracks over a thousand large and mid-cap companies from 23 developed markets, declined only 0.12%. Safe havens are also trading mixed, with the Japanese yen weakening 0.64% against the dollar, while spot gold prices slipped 0.23% to $3,360 per ounce. The dollar index, which measures the U.S. dollar against a basket of currencies, rose 0.35%. In general, the market reactions after the U.S. strikes have been less aggressive, especially relative to just over a week ago when Israel launched airstrikes against Iran. "The markets view the attack on Iran as a relief with the nuclear threat now gone for the region," said Dan Ives, managing director at Wedbush, adding that he sees minimal risks of the Iran-Israel conflict spreading to the rest of the region and consequently more "isolated." While the gravity of the latest developments should not be dismissed, they are not seen as a systemic risk to global markets, other industry experts echoed. On Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the United States had attacked Iranian nuclear sites. Traders are now keeping a close eye on any potential countermeasures from Iran following the U.S. strikes on its nuclear facilities. Iran's foreign minister warned that his country reserved "all options" to defend its sovereignty. According to Iranian state media, the country's parliament has also approved closing the Strait of Hormuz, a pivotal waterway for global oil trade, with about 20 million barrels of oil and oil products traversing through it each day. "It all depends on how Iran responds," said Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at Bleakley Financial Group. "If they accept the end of their military nuclear desires… then this could be the end of the conflict and markets will be fine," he told CNBC. Boockvar is not of the view that Iran will carry out the disruption of global oil supplies. The worst-case scenario for markets would occur if Iran were to close the Strait, which is unlikely, said Marko Papic, chief strategist at GeoMacro Strategy. "If they do, oil prices go north of $100, fear and panic take over, stocks go down ~10% minimum, and investors rush to safe havens," he said. However, markets are subdued now given the "limited tools" that Tehran has at its disposal to retaliate, Papic added. The idea of shutting down the Hormuz waterway has been a recurring rhetoric from Iran, but it has never been acted upon, with experts highlighting that it is improbable. In 2018, Iran warned it could block the Strait of Hormuz after the U.S. pulled out of the nuclear deal and reinstated sanctions. Similar threats were made earlier in 2011 and 2012, when senior Iranian officials — including then-Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi — said the waterway could be closed if Western nations imposed more sanctions on Iran's oil exports due to its nuclear activities. "Tehran understands that, if they were to close the Strait, the retaliation from the U.S. would be swift, punitive, and brutal," Papic added. In a similar vein, Yardeni Research founder Ed Yardeni said the latest events have not shaken his conviction in the U.S. bull market."Geopolitically, we think that Trump has just reestablished America's military deterrence capabilities, thus increasing the credibility of his 'peace through strength' mantra," he said, adding that he is targeting 6,500 for the S&P 500 by the end of 2025. While predicting geopolitical developments in the Middle East is a "treacherous exercise," Yardeni believes that the region is in for a "radical transformation" now that Iranian nuclear facilities have been destroyed.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Oil up, but stocks look to slide after U.S. attacks on Iran
Oil up, but stocks look to slide after U.S. attacks on Iran originally appeared on TheStreet. The U.S. attack on Iranian nuclear facilities on Saturday changes the focus of what's ahead for the U.S. economy in the last full week of June. Because everyone is waiting to see what Iran will do, other than fire missiles on Israel. That's what happened late Saturday. 💵💰💰💵 The three biggest questions a day later: How will energy and stock markets react? Does Iran still have enough enriched uranium to make and deploy a small nuclear weapon? Will Iran move to block the ships from passing from the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz into global shipping lanes? Outside geopolitics, economic events coming up include Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's testimony before Congress on Tuesday and an important inflation nuclear question is on the table because U.S. officials weren't sure Sunday if the attacks on facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan actually destroyed nuclear materials. Vice President J.D. Vance, in fact, suggested that Iran's nuclear stock pile is still intact. If that's the case, it's possible Iran could assemble a first-generation weapon. That would be as powerful as the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, Robert Pape of the Chicago Project on Security and Threats told MSNBC's Alex Witt on Sunday. Not having this awful idea become reality depends on cooler heads prevailing. A key issue: If Iran is willing to discuss destroying or otherwise ceding control its nuclear development efforts. The Trump Administration is threatening more attacks if Iran rejects the demand. Blocking the Strait of Hormuz, through which 25% of the world's crude oil passes — headed mostly to China, India and Asia — will send global oil prices surging and, ultimately, will boost gasoline prices in the United States and elsewhere. Stocks and bonds also would slump. Crude oil futures in New York opened up nearly $3 a barrel, then fell back quickly. At 7:30 p.m. EDT, crude was was up $2.12 to $75.99. Brent crude, the global benchmark, jumped to as high as $81.40, then fell back to $79.20 per barrel, up $2.19 Crude oil settled at $73.84 a barrel on Friday, up 34 cents. or 1.2%, from Thursday and up 21.5% so far in June. AAA's daily report on gasoline prices put the U.S. average at $3.218 a gallon, down slightly from Saturday's $3.129. Stock index futures were lower in early trading Sunday with S&P 500 futures off 28 points to 5,990. Futures based on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down just 184 points to 42,333. Nasdaq-100 futures had fallen 137 points to 21,710. Stocks overall were flat last week even as global tensions heated up. Some defense-oriented stocks slipped on Friday. Palantir Technologies () was off 2% to $137.30. Lockheed Martin () , however, was up 0.4% to $470.56. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who is always verbally battered by President Trump, will testify before the Congress twice this week. The questions almost certainly focus on the Iran situation and its impact on the economy. He will also have to explain why the Fed is so stubborn about NOT cutting its key federal funds rate. The Fed decided last week to leave its federal funds rate at 4.25% to 4.5%. One Fed governor, Christopher Waller, who voted in support of holding rates steady, thinks a rate cut could come in July. Mary Daly, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, thinks the Fed will have better information by September. The federal funds rate mostly affects short-term rates. Bond yields influence rates on, say, home mortgages and auto loans. The 30-year mortgage rate was just under 7% on Friday. Powell's first appearance is before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday and the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday. More Economic Analysis: Federal Reserve prepares strong message on long-term interest rates Massive city workers union approves strike Analyst makes bold call on stocks, bonds, and gold The most important economic report this coming week is the Personal Consumption Expenditures Index (PCE), due Friday from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. This is the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation rate. The index for May is expected to show a 2.3% year-over-year index. The core index, stripping out food and energy, is expected to rise 2.6%, up slightly from April. The inflation rate is still the lowest since March 2021, Barrons says. Four reports come this week that will help clarify the condition of the housing market. Existing homes sales for May, due Monday from the National Association of Realtors. Most estimates are around 4.1 million units on a seasonally-adjusted annual basis, up From April's 4 million rate. S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index, due Tuesday from Standard & Poor's. New-home sales, due Wednesday from the Commerce Department. Pending home sales, due Thursday from the National Association of Home Builders. S&P Global reports its flash purchasing manager index reports for June. These measure what manufacturing and services companies are actually buying. The Conference Board comes out with its monthly Consumer Confidence Index report for June Tuesday morning It may show a slight gain because the data were collected as stocks were rallying after April's stock-market slump. The University of Michigan offers its revised Consumer Sentiment Index report on Friday. Its early version suggested consumers were a touch less worried and cited the market up, but stocks look to slide after U.S. attacks on Iran first appeared on TheStreet on Jun 23, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jun 23, 2025, where it first appeared. Sign in to access your portfolio
