Archives of “January 9, 2020” day
rss85-90% of the Muslim world is Sunni. Iran is unique because over 90% of its population is Shia.
S&P finds new buyers
Tesla shares on course to $500. In terms of mkt cap, less than $10bn are needed to overtake the world’s top-selling car company VW.
34 Years Of Outperforming
Mike Pence: US continues to receive word that Iran is standing down
Comments by US vice president, Mike Pence

- The US is ‘ready for anything’ on Iran
- No doubt that Iranians wanted to kill Americans with missile strikes
- It would be a different place today if the missiles hit its intended targets
A bit of focus is still on tensions in the Middle East but I would expect markets to move on from this eventually. US-Iran tensions will no doubt stay the course but it shouldn’t grip markets as much as it did over the past few days unless we see a major escalation again.
Trump has pretty much moved on as well as he already switches back to focus on the impeachment case, tweeting out: PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT!
Iranian commander: Missile strikes’ aim was not to kill US troops, but to damage military machines
A senior Iranian Guards commander is speaking on state television
- Missile attacks on US targets started operation that will continue across the region
- The appropriate revenge to Soleimani’s killing is to expel US troops from the region
It is much easier to talk in hindsight I guess but I reckon this is part and parcel of the recent theatrics. US-Iran geopolitical tensions will still carry on for quite some time yet but for now, any major escalation is not likely to be in this chapter of the story.
That said, the headline is spooking markets a little as gold nudges up a tad bit alongside oil with USD/JPY easing by about 10 pips to 109.35.

The Fun Of Short Selling
China’s Liu He said to lead 10-member delegation to Washington – report
Dow Jones reports, citing people familiar with the matter
The 10-member delegation is set to include China’s commerce minister, the PBOC governor, and the vice ministers of finance, agriculture and information technology. Adding that the deal signing will be set for 15 January at 1130 ET (1600 GMT).
I wouldn’t count on any major hiccups happening over the coming week regarding the deal signing. Instead, markets will now turn their focus towards the details of the Phase One deal – which should be disclosed some time after the signing ceremony.