You might feel that leverage speeds up compounding. The problem is that leverage is more like compounding's hidden enemy: One million times zero equals zero.
- Manlobbi
Personal Finance Topics / Macroeconomic Trends and Risks
No. of Recommendations: 3
Iran declares Strait of Hormuz completely open to commercial traffic during Israel-Lebanon ceasefire
“In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire,” Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said in a social media post. However, vessels must transit through a “coordinated route” announced by Iran’s maritime authorities, Araghchi said.https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/17/iran-war-hormuz-st...4D chess? 5D chess?
Steve
No. of Recommendations: 5
a4D chess? 5D chess?
Well, the Strait situation seems to be improving. So far anyway. Did Trump's "complete blockade" of Iranian ships really help by causing or promising to cause Iran economic pain? Seems like it might have, though I'd expect it to take much longer to really have an effect.
Regardless, I think by the end of this 4 year reign of petulance, we'll need to define a new term: 47D chess, where the "D" stands for Dementia. 😊
No. of Recommendations: 5
The devil is in the details.
Iran is saying the Strait is open to ALL shipping during the Israeli- Lebanon truce.
Trump is saying the Strait is open to all shipping EXCEPT Iranian shipping.
Iran’s policy has been the Strait is open to ALL shipping OR no shipping.
As usual, chaos rules.
Stay tuned.
No. of Recommendations: 4
Trump is saying the Strait is open to all shipping EXCEPT Iranian shipping.
Trump the Peacemaker is also insisting that Iran has agreed to give up all it's enriched U, and not enrich for 20 years.
Not surprisingly, the stock market is flying, oil is tanking today.
So, is this the real deal, or another Trump market manipulation?
6D? 7D?
Steve
No. of Recommendations: 3
The blockade of Iranian ships will continue until they agree to certain terms.
BTW if there were really a ton of mines they wouldn’t be able to merely say “the strait is open”.
No. of Recommendations: 3
BTW if there were really a ton of mines they wouldn’t be able to merely say “the strait is open”.Iran says the strait is open, but ships need to stay in a specified channel.
“In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire,” Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on social media.
However, vessels must transit through a “coordinated route” announced by Iran’s maritime authorities, Araghchi said. It is unclear whether Tehran will force ships to pay a toll to pass the strait. https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/17/iran-war-hormuz-st...Of course, we don't know if there are mines outside of that "coordinated route", or if it's a corbomite device.
Trump the Peacemaker says there is agreement for Iran to surrender it's "nuclear dust", but no confirmation from Iran.
Israel says there is a cease fire in Lebanon, but Hezbollah was not consulted.
Who is Baghdad Bob?
Steve
No. of Recommendations: 2
4D chess? 5D chess?
Not chess. Eating the Cheetos off the floor.
No. of Recommendations: 9
BTW if there were really a ton of mines they wouldn’t be able to merely say “the strait is open”.
There aren't "a ton of mines." The primary threat to navigation has been missiles and drones. What mines there are were laid in the area closest to Oman, in order to get ships to use the portion of the strait closest to the Iranian coast, and were not intended to close the strait.
No. of Recommendations: 4
There aren't "a ton of mines." The primary threat to navigation has been missiles and drones. What mines there are were laid in the area closest to Oman, in order to get ships to use the portion of the strait closest to the Iranian coast, and were not intended to close the strait.First cruise ship transits Strait of Hormuz since conflict began.
The cruise ship Celestyal Discovery has become the first passenger vessel to transit the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the conflict. The Malta-flagged vessel departed Dubai on 17 April after remaining docked for approximately 47 days, having first arrived in early March. According to #MarineTraffic data, the ship crossed the Strait of Hormuz at UTC today and is currently heading toward Muscat, Oman, with an estimated arrival on 18 April. Reports indicate the vessel is sailing without passengers.It hugged the coast of Oman:
https://x.com/MarineTraffic/status/204518679155717...They didn't take the "approved" line.
No. of Recommendations: 8
The devil is in the details.
Iran is saying the Strait is open to ALL shipping during the Israeli- Lebanon truce.
Trump is saying the Strait is open to all shipping EXCEPT Iranian shipping.
Iran’s policy has been the Strait is open to ALL shipping OR no shipping.
While neither side has been trustworthy during this crisis, Iran has been more consistent in their messaging than the United States. Process that for a minute. Not good.
Trump has always had a problem processing information that people explain to him. When someone explains something to Trump, he is incapable of understanding what they are saying. In other words, Trump hears what he wants to hear, not what is actually being said.
And as Trump’s cognitive function worsens as he ages, it’s only going down hill from here.
Trump continues to weaken America’s standing in a hostile world. It makes us weaker while our adversaries are dealing with reality versus Trump’s irrationality.
No. of Recommendations: 9
Iranian gunboats just fired on a ship in the strait, twenty miles north of Oman, so I will assume the strait is closed.
Assume that President Trump is about to become absolutely furious on Truth Social. One can also assume that backchanneling and behind-the-scenes talks are not going well if an incident like this occurred ahead of the U.S.-Iran weekend negotiations.
The Trump administration’s "baffle 'em with bullshit" methodology has been on full display……………And this was from the right wing zerohedge…
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/bit-chaos-h...
No. of Recommendations: 6
One might ask…. Where did these Iranian gunboats come from? They’ve always been the backbone of the Iranian navy- which Trump assured us was now sitting on the bottom of the Persian gulf
These were the craft that sunk American warships in wargames conducted by the Pentagon in the early 200o’s.
